- All articles

All articles

- Forward

- We are the Fools

- A Sacramental Life in Christ

- Time

- This is My Calling, This is My Vocation

- Purgatory: are Roman Catholics losing our religion?

- Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room

- Prelude to Christmas - Suffering with Joy

- 50 Years Later

- I Am a Sinner

- Information I Must Share

- Original Unity of Man and Woman: Catechesis on the Book of Genesis by Pope John Paul II

- Arguments You Thought Were Too Dumb to Refute

- A Prayer For Difficult People

- In Defense of Decorating for Christmas in Advent

- Elf on the Shelf and Santa Claus - What are They Really Teaching Children?

- Labyrinth of Discernment

- Of Vestments and Golf Clubs

- Behold, Your Mother

- Abbey Visit (High School Seminary Parents' Day)

- The Best Thanksgiving, Ever!

- Sorting Through Emotions

- Advent Resources for Children

- The Three Great Dangers of Evangelizing through Beauty

- Listening to One in Three

- My Mother, My Hero

- The 10 Commandments and the New Law in Catholic Teaching

- Merry "Xmas"

- The Other Polish Cardinal: Karol Wojtyla's Visit to Wisconsin

- Little Lamb Who Made Thee?

- The Blood

- Catholics! Some of the Members are Wandering Away!

- Advent 2013 & Catholic Feasts

- Discovering the Image of God Within

- Things I Am Thankful For, In No Particular Order

- Reflection: Year of Faith - I Believe in God (Part II)

- We Are Our Own Worse Enemy

- Communing with the Communion of Saints

- Kevin Lee, RIP

- The Family That Prays The Rosary Together

- The Washington Post and I agree on the China one child policy. Could we agree on more?

- Heaven My Home

- Beware the Slippery Slope of C.S. Lewis

- What You See Every Day

- The Mystery of This Water and Wine

- A visit to the cemetery

- Illuminating the Minds of the Worldly with the Light of Christ

- Furthering God's Kingdom

- You shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of

- Advent: The Beginning of the Liturgical Year & Source of Rich Meditations

- What you may not know about Christmas

- Agony and Ecstasy both lift us up to God

- Bring Christ to Others

- 7 Quick Saintly Takes

- Addicted to Life

- The Power of Managing a Household Well

- Embracing the Idea of Eternal Life

- Random Catholicity

- Understanding the Kingdom

- Anna Marie

- The Humbling Music of "ma"...

- Making the Switch to Christian Radio

- Three Men I Greatlty Admire

- Do Bad Math Teachers Go to Hell?

- The 50th Anniversary of the Death of C.S. Lewis

- Looking at women

- Up A Tree

- Why Pope Francis Can't Fix Marriage in 5 Easy Steps

- The King and His Crooks

- Thoughts for Sunday {Christ has come}

- Monsters and What They Mean to Me Right Now

- Do You Think I'm Beautiful?

- Praying With Our Kids ~ Preparing Them For Reconciliation

- The Ninety-Nine Left Behind

- Free Will

- Advent: To Come

- The Future Me

- Memories of a Geisha

- Vulnerability with Friends

- Spiritual Dryness and Salt of the Earth: Let's Talk Turkey

- Love Thee, Notre Dame

- This Christmas

- Be Merciful

- Where Have All The Men Gone? The Quest for Authentic Fatherhood

- Christmas 2013: Book Recommendations

- The Purpose of Life

- Kiotsuke!

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Forward

New Evangelists Monthly is an informal, dynamic, crowd-sourced “meta-magazine” showcasing the best posts faithful Catholic bloggers publish each month. Here you will find many different, but faithfully Catholic viewpoints, insights and perspectives.

Contributing authors submit their very best piece from the prior month between subsequent first and second Saturdays. Readers are welcome to visit anytime, even while contributions are still being accepted for a new issue. Back issues are available in the archive.

eBook editions such as this are available within a few days following submission deadlines (the second Saturday of each month). eBook formats include .mobi for Kindle users, .epub for most other eBook readers and .pdf for everyone else.

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COPYRIGHT NOTICE:   Regardless of where you enjoy New Evangelists Monthly, either online or in this format, note that copyright is exclusively retained by the respective contributing authors. If you wish to use or redistribute any of their content, please contact them directly for licensing information.

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We are the Fools [at A Spiritual Journey]

Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King. The Gospel reading from Luke 23 shows how great the mercy of God is. Two criminals were crucified alongside Jesus. Now one of them reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

I can't help being greatly impressed by the Lord's mercy. Here a criminal expressed his fear of God, acknowledged that he's justly condemned, and asked Jesus to remember him in the last minute of his life, and Jesus saved him without the slightest hesitation. We are the ones, not God, making it hard for ourselves to be saved.

This contribution is available at http://journeyofimperfectsaint.blogspot.com/2013/11/we-are-fools.html

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A Sacramental Life in Christ [at The Veil of Chastity]

Last week I responded to a Reader’s question on how to fight discouragement and temptation.  I concluded with her that the only way to do this is through a Sacramental life in Christ.  I have made this somewhat vague recommendation many times on this blog and therefore I created this post with more details so that I can refer back to it in the future.

I have shared in other posts that when I returned to the Catholic Church after being away for about 4 years, it was the discovery of the Sacramental aspect of our life in Christ that was so profound to me. My body, my fertility, my struggles and my desire for marriage finally made sense in light of the Sacraments.  It was the beginning of the healing process for me.

The Armor of God

Scripture is clear that in order to fight against discouragement and temptation, we are to put on the Armor of God. As Catholics, our armor is not limited to scripture.  We have a whole cache of weapons, namely the Sacraments, which strengthen us and infuse Grace into our souls.  Through the Sacraments, our relationship with Jesus is expressed and experienced with our whole body in communion with the Church.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

“1131 The Sacraments are efficacious (this means they are actually effective and do something real) signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions.”

A “Sacrament,” according to the Baltimore Catechism, is:

“an outward sign, instituted by Christ, to give grace.” They are an outward sign of something going on inside of us.  The Sacraments have the power of giving grace from the merits of Jesus Christ.”

I have 10 recommendations for you on how to have a Sacramental Life in Christ.  Note how each one includes your body:

1.  Adoration of our Lord:  I recommend you spend time in Eucharistic Adoration and just listen to Him speak to you.  Sit in His real presence and let Him pour out His love to you and comfort you.  If you are unsure of His real presence, check out John Chapter 6.

2.  Reconciliation:  Go to Confession and get those regrets off of your chest.  Even if you believe you have been forgiven, I promise you that once you confess those sins in the Confessional, you will feel amazing and free.  Our creator God knows that our need for Sacramental Confession has both a Spiritual as well as a Psychological basis. Besides, confession to a priest is very biblical! Once you are in a state of grace again, you are prepared to take Jesus (body, blood, soul and Divinity) into your body (John Chapter 6) at Holy Communion.

“….There is no reason to die a spiritual death when we have this supreme remedy at hand.  Make frequent and devout use of this sacrament.  Not only does it cleanse from grave sin but it helps us avoid venial sins, to see them clearly and receive the graces to repair whatever damage they cause.  You will also practice the virtues of humility, simplicity and charity.  In a single act of contrition you will exercise many virtues.”

St. Francis de Sales (16th Century Bishop of Geneva)

3.  Mass:  I love the Old Testament!  Especially the specific way the Lord taught the Israelites how to worship Him.  It was very communal and it involved their whole bodies.  Today, we do this through the Mass.  I recommend that you find a parish and start going to Mass.  Even if you have to ease into it, the Lord will welcome you and pour out His grace upon you.  The Mass involves your whole body. Worship Him and kneel before Him.  Confess to Him He that is the Creator and that you are a sinner in need of help by reciting the Creed. Listen to His holy word, Sacred Scripture.

4.  Holy Eucharist:  Once you are in a state of grace from the Sacrament of Confession, you will be prepared to receive the Lord in the Eucharist at Mass.  Hunger, thirst, take and eat.  Present your body to God as a weapon.  He wants an intimate relationship with you.  He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  He makes Himself available to us in the most intimate way.

“….By adoring and consuming beauty, purity and goodness itself in his divine sacrament, you will become completely beautiful, entirely holy and perfectly good.  Go to Holy Communion as often as you can…”

St. Francis de Sales

In addition to the above, I recommend these 6 habits and practices:

5.  Scripture and Holy Books:  Sign up to receive the daily readings in your email.  Bathe your mind in Sacred Scripture.  Meditate upon it and allow God to speak to you through His sacred words.  Here is a good site for that:   Also, read holy books listed here.

6.  Daily Prayer:  Prayer conforms our mind and will to God’s will.

7.  Serve:  Apply your body in service and for the Kingdom.  For example, when I was single, I taught 7th grade Catechism.  What is your passion?  Ask the Lord to show you how to apply your body in His service.

8.  Chastity:  The enemy is cunning and he knows that our desire to be loved by a man is a weakness. Think about the ways he has deceived you in the past.  What type of men weaken you?  What drives you to make decisions which are not in line with your dignity?

9.  Holy Companions:  Seek out friends that are like-minded and who are also committed to the Lord and His precepts.

10.  Fast:  This is something I failed to take advantage of until recently.  I still am weak in this area of spiritual warfare.  What I have learned is that we can fast from anything that we love and the Lord will bless us.

“…Among many others are these four fruits:  fasting fortifies the spirit, mortifying the flesh and its sensuality; it raises the spirit to God; it fights concupiscence and gives power to conquer and deaden its passions; in short, it disposes the heart to seek to please only God with great purity of heart…”

St. Francis de Sales

God love and bless you!

p.s. Please check out all my posts listed by category here!

This contribution is available at http://theveilofchastity.com/2013/11/19/a-sacramental-life-in-christ/

Copyright is retained by the contributing author (follow above link for info on this piece).

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Time [at mommynovenas]

Precious is time spent contemplating

Jesus' sacrifice for our eternal souls.

And he said to Jesus, "Lord remember me

when thou shalt come into thy kingdom."

And Jesus said to him,

"Amen I say to thee, this day

thou shalt be with me in paradise."

Luke 23:42-43

Douay Rheims Roman Catholic Bible

This contribution is available at http://mommynovenasdelora.blogspot.com/2013/11/time.html

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This is My Calling, This is My Vocation [at joy of nine9]

My first article on Catholic Lane went live today. The new editor of  Learn and Live the Faith section, Kevin M. Tierney wrote on Facebook, “Solid debut on Catholic Lane by Melanie Juneau. She talks how she went from never holding a baby to mother of 9.

I am a conundrum: a rather outmoded sort of woman, ridiculed by modern career women, vilified by the earth’s prophets of doom and sanctified by the religious right. I was the least likely candidate to have a lot of children. I had never even held a baby before my first born.You would think having nine children would have turned me into a frazzled wreck with a figure like the Pillsbury Dough Boy and a brain gone to mush, but I remain quite articulate, with a quirky sense of humour, standing at 5’1” and weighing in at 106 lbs. Not quite a rosy-cheeked, robust, matronly looking mother of a large brood.

When the words The Joy of Mothering popped into my head as a sub-title for my short stories, it was like an epiphany for me because those few words verbalize my experience living with little people. The very existence of a joyful mother of nine children seems to confound people. Embracing an outdated lifestyle on a traditional, small, family farm has been a struggle through confusion, guilt and even public condemnation to finally reach the point where I can now shout loudly,

This is my call, this is my vocation, this is my witness to the world.

After the birth of our fourth child, Michael and I struggled to understand exactly how we were meant to live our lives. We were discussing an article by an author whose main premise was that letting go of control and trusting in God was not some abstract principle but a day-to-day practical call that included the surrender of our fertility. Of course we practised natural family planning but I was one of those rare people who could conceive long before ovulation.

As my doctor said once, “Ah, I remember reading about a woman in New Zealand, two years ago, who conceived five days before ovulation.”  I raised my hand and chirped, “Well, you can add me to that list!”

Although we could not imagine how large our family would become, the words of that article resonated within both my husband and me. Guilt lifted off us and a surge of excitement, a sense of purpose welled up from within. Although it took time to really believe that none of our children were simply a failure of the natural family planning method. Many small experiences kept reinforcing the truth for us that God called each of our children into being with our co-operation. We’d stumbled blindly at times and then a burst of clarity would shine light on our purpose.

For example, twenty-five years ago, I once again slipped into panic mode, worrying if I was pregnant with my fifth child. Suddenly a wave of peace enveloped me and my whole body relaxed.I heard these words within me,

This is your call. This is your vocation. This is your witness to the world.

All sorts of objections rushed into my head, “What on earth do you mean a witness, a witness to what?- stupidity? People don’t understand. They just think we are irresponsible or idiots……”  Then unexpected joy bubbled within me and I sensed these words in my spirit,

“I am with you.”

Once again a blanket of peace wrapped like a blanket around me. It was an actual physical sensation. My mind was calm and my spirit felt strong.  That was it for me; I understood and I said, “Yes”.  Though I still cringed under disapproval from society, I always understood that my children were saving me by compelling me to dive deeper into my spirit, discovering the power of eternal Love at my core, a love that can stand strong against all opposition.  That is my call.  That is my vocation.  That is my witness to the world.

- See more at: http://catholiclane.com/this-is-my-calling-this-is-my-vocation/#sthash.c1N1rUnZ.dpuf

This contribution is available at http://melaniejeanjuneau.wordpress.com/2013/12/06/this-is-my-calling-this-is-my-vocation-published-on-catholic-lane/

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Purgatory: are Roman Catholics losing our religion? [at Catholic Deacon]

While I am not really prepared to write extensively about Indulgences, which still exist (during his pontificate Benedict XVI sought to revive the practice of obtaining indulgences according to the manner in which they were reformed after the Second Vatican Council), in light of this passage from

Lumen Gentium

, "if any abuses, excesses or defects have crept in here or there, to do what is in their power to remove or correct them, and to restore all things to a fuller praise of Christ and of God" (par. 51), it is important to note that, at least early on, Martin Luther did not oppose Indulgences in principle.

In writing a short treatise on the theology of Indulgences, which he addressed to Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz and Magdeburg on the fateful day, 31 October 1517, the still-Augustianian friar noted:

Although indulgences are the very merits of Christ and of His saints and so should be treated with all reverence, they have in fact nonetheless become a shocking exercise of greed. For who actually seeks the salvation of souls through indulgences, and not instead money for his coffers? This is evident from the way indulgences are preached. For the commissioners and preachers do nothing but extol indulgences and incite the people to contribute. You hear no one instructing the people about what indulgences are, or about how much they grant, or about the purpose they serve. Instead, all you hear is how much one must contribute. The people are always left in ignorance, so that they come to think that by gaining indulgences they are at once saved

The promulgation of a revised and reformed

Enchiridion Indulgentiarum

with the Apostolic Constitution

Indulgentiarum Doctrina: Whereby the Revision of Sacred Indulgences is Promulgated

, given 1 January 1967, represents just one of many ways that the Second Vatican Council completes the Catholic Church's response to the Protestant schism, which response began with the Council of Trent, which, in addition to responding, reforming, and clarifying, was also forced to react in various ways. In this Apostolic Constitution, Pope Paul VI, before proceeding to his reform, buttresses Tradition:

It is a divinely revealed truth that sins bring punishments inflicted by God's sanctity and justice. These must be expiated either on this earth through the sorrows, miseries and calamities of this life and above all through death, or else in the life beyond through fire and torments or "purifying" punishments. Therefore it has always been the conviction of the faithful that the paths of evil are fraught with many stumbling blocks and bring adversities, bitterness and harm to those who follow them.

These punishments are imposed by the just and merciful judgment of God for the purification of souls, the defense of the sanctity of the moral order and the restoration of the glory of God to its full majesty. Every sin in fact causes a perturbation in the universal order established by God in His ineffable wisdom and infinite charity, and the destruction of immense values with respect to the sinner himself and to the human community. Christians throughout history have always regarded sin not only as a transgression of divine law but also—though not always in a direct and evident way—as contempt for or disregard of the friendship between God and man, just as they have regarded it as a real and unfathomable offense against God and indeed an ungrateful rejection of the love of God shown us through Jesus Christ, who called his disciples friends and not servants... (par 2)

...That punishment or the vestiges of sin may remain to be expiated or cleansed and that they in fact frequently do even after the remission of guilt is clearly demonstrated by the doctrine on purgatory. In purgatory, in fact, the souls of those "who died in the charity of God and truly repentant, but before satisfying with worthy fruits of penance for sins committed and for omissions are cleansed after death with purgatorial punishments. This is also clearly evidenced in the liturgical prayers with which the Christian community admitted to Holy Communion has addressed God since most ancient times: "that we, who are justly subjected to afflictions because of our sins, may be mercifully set free from them for the glory of thy name (par 3)

This contribution is available at http://scottdodge.blogspot.com/2013/11/purgatory-are-roman-catholics-losing.html

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Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room [at Brushstrokes]

Today marks the beginning of Advent. While I am fully embracing my "Beach Boys Holiday" Pandora radio station and strings of lights and ornaments, I am reminded of the true purpose of Advent. It is easy to fall into the mindset  that Advent is merely a countdown until Christmas. However, Advent is so much more than that. It is a reminder that Jesus calls us to watch in great anticipation for the most important event of all - His return in glory at the end of time! The Advent season reminds us that we are living in the end of times. The end of times begins with the first coming of Christ, His incarnation and birth in Bethlehem. The second advent is the arrival of Jesus Christ in the heart of the believer. The third, culminates in His final return - the second coming when Jesus will return in all His glory.  We must always be prepared for Christ to come, because "we do not know the day, nor the hour." (Matthew 24:36)

Jesus' coming is good news! God is all merciful and he gives us the grace to turn away from sin and lovingly embrace Him with our whole lives. He gives us fresh hope each day so that we can keep our eyes on the eternal reward awaiting us, God himself. The source of all truth, beauty, and goodness, and the fullness of undying love and abundant life that never ends. Advent is a time to place our hope firmly in God and His kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy! As we begin a new Church year, let's refocus our eyes on Christ in hopeful anticipation of meeting Him face to face.

In other exciting news, Papa Francesco has released a new document titled Evangelii Gaudium, meaning "The Joy of the Gospel." It is his first apostolic exhortation, and it is devoted to the theme of the New Evangelization. As a FOCUS missionary, this document is connects with my heart in a profound way. But  what I love about this document is that he is addressing the ENTIRE CHURCH. Pope Francis makes it very clear: Every Baptized member of the Catholic faith is called to evangelize and is called to be a missionary disciple. In Matthew 28:19 we hear the Great Commision: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Jesus isn't speaking to a select few, this is a call to all of us.

If you would like to learn more about this document, check out a FOCUS blog post by Kevin Cotter here! While it is a long document, I highly recommend you reading Evangelii Gaudium as well. I've only reached page 27 so far, but it's totally rocking my world. A must read.

And now for an update on what has been going on with FOCUS at ASU!

Fro yo outting with Bible Study girls.

I so enjoyed our FOCUS West Regional gathering in San Diego. It was so good to see several missionary friends and to bounce outreach ideas off one another.

A little adventure to the "Secret Garden" on ASU's campus.

The Newman Center revealed a mural that will be placed in the church at the "Divine Beauty" night!

I was blessed to have had the opportunity to serve FOCUS at the Denver Interview Weekend. We had two students from ASU interview!

My girls and I enjoyed a picnic in the park on Veteran's Day.

FOCUS held a "Get to Know Momma Mary Night" at Fuzzy's. Students were given the opportunity to learn more about who Mary is and different Marian apparations.

Some girls in my disciple chain and I went to the Hunger Games: Catching Fire midnight premiere! Sooo good!!

We celebrated Angelica's 19th birthday with a tea party at her home.

Love making new Nebraska friends. :)

We have started "Catholic Jenga Tuesdays" on campus. This giant jenga game has questions about the faith on each block. It's a great attention grabber and conversation starter!

We recently had our November Upper Room event for our student missionaries. I led the event which was focused on the Gospel and how to present it.

My discipleship chain enjoyed some ice cream at the Sugar Bowl in Old Town Scottsdale!

Since I wasn't able to make it home for Thanksgiving, I was invited to celebrate the holiday with my dear friend and fellow missionary, Jess Kunz! Her family was so welcoming and wonderful. We even enjoyed a taste of country at a bull riding bar!

Wishing you a blessed Advent season,

This contribution is available at http://focusbrushstrokes.blogspot.com/2013/12/let-every-heart-prepare-to-make-him-room.html

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Prelude to Christmas - Suffering with Joy [at Suffering With Joy]

November 28, 2013

State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/25566

Painting in Cathedral of St. Augustine, First Thanksgiving

Taylor Marshall has an interesting article on the first Thanksgivings – that’s right, it’s plural – in what is now the United States of America, but back then was termed the “New World” in European eyes. You’ll want to read Six Interesting Catholic Thanksgiving Facts You Need to Know. Even before I read his article I was meditating on the relationship this national holiday has with Christ’s birth. If Christ had not become man and died for our sins, we still would have much to be thankful for, but we would not have the greatest of all things to celebrate, our redemption.

It was Christ who gave us the great Thanksgiving at the Last Supper, and it is the Church that He founded upon Peter that continues to re-present to the Father that great Thanksgiving first celebrated before Christ’s agony, arrest, illegal trial, passion, death and resurrection. So it was, then, that the first Thanksgiving on the soil of the New World occurred on September 8, 1565 when the Timucuan Indians and the Spanish settlers held a great feast and celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in St. Augustine, Florida in thanksgiving for God’s blessings upon them.

We are days away from the beginning of Advent when the Church anticipates with eagerness the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, “…Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (Is.7:14). While we are walking with the Chosen People in darkness toward the Light by way of our sacred liturgy, we know in these days that Emmanuel, “God with Us” has already come and redeemed the world. He remains with us wherever two are three are gathered in His name (Matt. 18:20), and in every tabernacle all over this earth. The thankfulness we have on Thanksgiving Day for the fullness of the harvest is the same thankfulness we have for the Father sending His Son in the fullness of time (Gal. 4:4) to bring us the fullness of grace and eternal life in Him (Ps. 84). It is all thankfulness for the goodness and mercy of God upon this afflicted human race. If we look at Thanksgiving in any other way we do not know who we are – children of God and all of what that means.

In this world’s feast we share our food with others, an earthly analogy to the Mass where Jesus shares the heavenly food of His Body and Blood with all present. The one comes but once a year, the other, every hour of every day. If we carry this spirit of gratitude with us all the way through Advent we arrive at the night when we commemorate Christ’s birth with great joy and feasting, when we give gifts to others out of love for our Savior, and when we bring Him gifts, too.

The spirit of true gratitude engenders in us the desire to give from our hearts, not as a duty but as a privilege to love. What then are we thankful for, and what shall we present to the Baby in the manger on Christmas? How will we wrap our gifts to the Christ Child? We have all of Advent to prepare.

A few things I am grateful for and what I will give to Jesus on Christmas as presents to Him:

- Life and the chance for eternal joy. I will wrap my self-will in little, purposeful acts of self denial throughout Advent, for without surrendering my will to God my life is in vain.

- My still-functioning brain and body. I will wrap them in acts of kindness to others and more attentive participation in the sacred liturgy.

- My imperfect self with all my sins. I will wrap them in His Precious Blood to fulfill the desire of His Sacred Heart to work in me.

How will you carry your spirit of thankfulness from Thanksgiving to Christmas Day? What will you give to the Baby Jesus that night?

Want to subscribe to posts by email? Visit the third box in the sidebar.

V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R. Now and forever!

(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.)

This contribution is available at http://www.sufferingwithjoy.com/2013/11/28/thanksgiving-prelude-to-christmas/

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50 Years Later [at Plot Line and Sinker]

copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

“

A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on

.” John F. Kennedy

Today marks 50 years since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Much like 9/11, many of those who were alive at that time remember the moment they learned of the tragic murder of the president. I was four years old, so I don’t remember the exact moment, but I’m going to guess that I was taking a nap when the news hit our house. I do remember my mother crying and I recall realizing that something bad had happened. Our television set hummed continuously for four days with live coverage of the assassination updates, the replays of the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald (the first murder captured live on television) and then the funeral.

What is ingrained most vividly in my memory is the steady beating of the muffled drums of the funeral procession as the caisson carried the casket up the streets of Washington.

Mom and Dad adored JFK: he was charismatic, young and, most importantly, Catholic. My father, an aspiring author, had read (and I believe owned) a copy of JFK’s book, Profiles in Courage. Soon after the assassination, my heartbroken parents hung this framed photo in a prominent place in our living room and JFK became an icon to me; he seemed more of a legend than a president, one who was respected and revered by my parents.

Since then, I’ve been fascinated with the conspiracy theories regarding his death. I do not think all the shots came from Oswald. I still wince when I see the Zapruder film, especially at the fatal shot (WARNING:GRAPHIC). I tense when I see footage of President and Mrs. Kennedy (dressed in the now famous pink suit) emerge from the plane at Love Field in Dallas and part of me wants to shout, “Don’t get in that limousine!”

50 years later, we know things my parents didn’t at that time. My mother, upon finding out about JFK’s illicit liaisons many years afterwards said, “I don’t care what he did behind closed doors. He was still a damned good president.”

His personal immoral behavior aside, no one deserves to die like that. And his death was rather a hard lesson for Americans. Like the attack on Pearl Harbor before it and 9/11 after it, November 22nd, 1963 be will forever etched in our minds as a stark reminder of our vulnerability and mortality.

While we may feel invulnerable; we aren’t. Someday we will die, perhaps suddenly like JFK, or after a long illness. Eventually, we will all have to face God and explain the choices we made in this life.

For John F. Kennedy, his life was tragically cut short by that final bullet that tore his brain apart. However, his legacy and his words live on.

50 years later, I pray for his soul: “Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. And may his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, rest in peace. Amen.”

Copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach

This contribution is available at http://ellengable.wordpress.com/2013/11/22/50-years-later/

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I Am a Sinner [at A Dreamer's Wife]

Satan wants me to be comfortable. He wants me to take my life for granted; to not notice the little blessings given to me each day. Satan wants me to think that I have it all together, because if this were true, why would I need to seek God?

The devil doesn’t want me to share my weaknesses; to admit that I am broken and need God’s grace.

Satan doesn’t want me to notice that I rarely pick up the Bible next to my bed or admit that I sometimes get too caught up in housework instead of spending time with my girls. Or that I hesitate to help others when it might inconvenience me too much. The devil doesn’t want me to acknowledge that I know he is behind any fear and resistance that I have been battling.

Why am I typing this stuff? Simply because I have read some amazing books by saintly authors lately. The Holy Spirit has been weaving some beautiful wisdom together in my mind. Hopefully, I can now articulate what has been knocking me over the head…

“I am a sinner.” That’s the response that Pope Francis gave in his recent interview for America Magazine, when asked to describe who he was. These are the first words that came to mind of one of the holiest men on earth! What a humble example of who we are all called to be as Christians!

At the time that I read the aforementioned, A Big Heart Open to God article, I had just finished reading a section in Melody Green’s book, No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green, about her musician husband and how he started a “revival” in their community of new Christians. Keith had read a book by Charles Finney that discussed the concept of “fallow ground,” and this motivated him to confess his sins to his friends, ask for forgiveness, and turn grace into action on a whole new level. On page 269, Melody writes:

Keith explained, “Fallow ground is ground that was once tilled, but has since gotten hard and unusable. Before it can receive seed, it needs to be broken up and made soft again. Finney says to break up the fallow ground of our heart, we need to examine our motive, actions, and state of mind very carefully…” Keith quoted Finney again. “There are many professing Christians who are willing to do almost anything in religion that does not require self-denial. They are so far from realizing that self-denial is a condition of discipleship that they do not even know what it is!”

Keith was passionate about fighting hypocrisy among Christians and urged one another to move beyond “easy” grace.

For anyone out there familiar with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, you know that this is just like his term, “cheap grace.” In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer states, “Happy are they who know that discipleship simply means the life which springs from grace, and that grace simply means discipleship.”

Many Christians accept God’s gift of grace without accepting that we are also made to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him while on this earth. We are made to know our brothers and sisters in Christ; to love them and to serve them. This requires action…discipleship…grace.

We are not to take our amazing free redeeming gift of salvation and keep it to ourselves. Matthew 5:13-16 states:

You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.

Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house.

Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

“Getting saved” isn’t a one time thing, it is a a continuous accepting of Jesus by the choices that we make. Dr. Timothy Gray states in Walk the Walk: Following Christ as His Disciple, “Denial is always preceded by distance. Follow Jesus at a distance, and that discipleship will eventually end up in denial – denying Jesus.” He also states, “To not act on our belief – on our Christian thoughts – makes those Christian thoughts completely fruitless and vain.”

Can we ever do anything to earn grace? No, of course not. God freely gives us his love and mercy over and over again. Grace should inspire thankfulness – a heart overflowing with gratitude for something that we can never deserve. Thankfulness humbles us. Thankfulness is the key to joy.

I’ve been reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp and her book is absolutely filled with numerous ways we receive grace and blessings. She says:

Thanksgiving creates abundance; and the miracle of multiplying happens when I give thanks- take the just one loaf, say it is enough, and give thanks- and He miraculously makes it more than enough.

When we have more than enough, we share. We share our joy, our blessings, our hope, so that others will seek Jesus, accept His grace, and follow Him. We are called to live radically and walk boldly in faith. Without God’s grace we are nothing, and this is precisely why we owe our lives to Him. This is why we should want the Lord to till our hardened soil and plant seeds of love in our hearts.

I am a sinner. A thankful sinner. A thankful sinner who wants to shine His light.

This contribution is available at http://adreamerswife.com/2013/11/22/i-am-a-sinner/

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Information I Must Share [at Lord, Make Me a Saint]

Deb

, challenged me to further research

the use of aborted baby cells being used in products we consume

I've been researching every chance I've gotten these past couple days

It's been mostly hard to find updated information.

I want you to receive the truth here

I want to lead you to decide for yourself,

with accurate information.

Just to explain,

I'll link you to

THIS

article which I found explained the topic really good.

Please click the link, because they can explain it far better than I.

Now before you get upset at PepsiCo,

(like I did)

Read this

Here is a list of updated (June 2013)

U.S. aborted fetal products:

The good news is that Pepsi, realizing

that they would lose a ton of business,

(not only the pro-life people, but also the Pro-Choice people)

(for the "ick" factor)

stopped!

Yay Pepsi!

Yay Kraft Foods!

BOO Nestles!!!

Now,

Kari

brought it to my attention

what the Church teaches and our moral obligations

regarding Fetal (baby) testing, research and use in products

we consume, buy, use.

SO Here's a quote from the Vatican,

Pontifical Academy for Life (PAFL) from June 2005:

"Doctors and fathers of families have a duty to take recourse to alternative vaccines

(if they exist)" (pg 6) and "There is a grave responsibility to use alternative vaccines."

(summary pg 7)

Now before I go into the vaccines using aborted baby cells,

aren't you OUTRAGED!!!?

SERIOUSLY OUTRAGED?

Companies are researching the use of aborted baby cells to enhance flavor in food.

Let that sink in a little.

Companies in America are researching

and putting aborted baby cells in our FOOD!!!

I have not even touched base on the research companies that use aborted baby cells

to try to find a cure for diseases,

like Cancer--see all that PINK stuff everywhere?

You are donating to the cause for sure, the cause for more babies to

be aborted and used for research.

I have type one diabetes.

I've had it since I was 10

It is a LIVABLE disease!!!!!!

I live a happy, fulfilled life.

I've been in sports, gotten married, had children,

all with DIABETES!!!

I do not need the Juvenile Diabetes Association to

come up with a cure using aborted babies.

Why are people so afraid to suffer a little?

Onto Vaccines.

Yay, huh?

Here's a current list of vaccines and their alternatives:

(I think you'll have to click twice to see it)

Do you still have questions about it?

Children of God for Life answer many questions about it

Remember your "Moral Conscience"

I realize there are no alternatives for

MMR and the Chicken Pox vaccines,

but the very least, the very least you can do is

use the alternatives listed.

(remember to click "try again" and it will show)

Here's another link explaining the proof that MMR

also causes Autism in some children:

What about the flu shot?

Have you gotten yours yet?

Want some information on that one?

Yep. you guessed it.

More aborted baby cells.

And some other things I do NOT want in MY body.

That moral conscience thing,

pray about it, ask what is best for you and your family.

I felt compelled to write this post,

just to get the information out there.

I pray that it helps you make an informed decision or opinion.

This contribution is available at http://makemeasaint.blogspot.com/2013/11/information-i-must-share.html

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Original Unity of Man and Woman: Catechesis on the Book of Genesis by Pope John Paul II [at Back to Books]

Sunday's Christian Book Review

Catholic Edition

Original Unity of Man and Woman: Catechesis on the Book of Genesis

by Pope John Paul II. Preface by Donald W. Wuerl

Rating: (5/5)

Age: (18+)

"This "Catechesis on the Book of Genesis" was presented by His Holiness in his weekly general audiences from September 5, 1979, to April2, 1980. Pope John Paul II explains that these reflections " sprang from the answer given by Jesus. to His questioners (Gospel of Matthew 19:3-9; and of Mark10:1-12), who had asked Him a question about marriage, its indissolubility and unity. The Master had urged them to consider carefully that which was 'from the beginning.'

"We, penetrating the simple content of this answer, are trying at the same time to shed light on the context of that 'beginning' to which Christ referred. The theology of the body has its roots in it. "Precisely for this reason, in the series of our meditations, we have tried to reproduce somehow the reality of the union, or rather of the communion of persons, lived 'from the beginning' by the man and the woman.''

A friend was clearing out some books and I received this as a result.

It's absolutely impossible to review a book like this.  Pope JPII was a brilliant man and this book is full of wisdom and enlightenment.  What follows is a brief description and how I felt reading the book.  This is a collection of the Pope's Wednesday general audiences from Sept. 5, 1979 to Apr. 2, 1980.  His theme of discussions are based on Jesus' response to the Pharisees in both Mark and Matthew when questioned about Moses' Law allowing divorce.  In Matthew he answers "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female..." and also "... your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so...".  The Pope takes the phrase from these words, "in the beginning" and takes us back to the beginning to show us what Jesus meant by these words.  The whole book is an examination of mankind, humanness, male and female, marriage and our relationship to each other as God intended it "in the beginning".  The book concentrates on certain passages from Genesis 1-4, before the fall of man; that is before original sin.  This is the time of original innocence and what God's intentions for sinless man were.  The book covers such a small part of scripture and yet contains so much information it is impossible for me to do it justice here.

There are many absolutely "WOW" moments that just hit me on the head with the pure logic and common sense of God's creation of man (male and female).  A lot of time is spent on one concept which I found enlightening and that is the meaning of the creation of man and woman as separate sexes.  As always I find in my study of Scripture just how important it is to understand the meaning of the original Hebrew (OT) or Latin (NT) words before they were translated into English.  There are three words used in the Hebrew for man; first "man" itself which refers to mankind, humankind, human beings, it is a genderless word and, in English, was also understood to be so when used in a certain way (until feminism reared its ugly head).  In the OT this Hebrew word is not ever used again to refer to Adam once Eve is created.  Adam and Eve, themselves basically mean "man-male" and "man-female" and this is how Pope John Paul II refers to the genders throughout the book.  He then goes on to explain through this book why God created the two sexes, why they were created for each other, how they are meant to be together through marriage "as one flesh" so that they "are no longer two but one".  That the creation of the "man-female" was a gift that made the total of creation "good".  Looking at this relationship as God intended it "in the beginning", before the fall, as Jesus calls us to do in the NT is incredibly powerful, awesome and mind-blowing.  The book is not an easy read and when I was only half-way through, I knew this would be a re-read for me as I was being filled with such information that I wouldn't be able to fully intake it all in only one reading.

No mention is made in this book whatsoever of any circumstances of behaviour contrary to Natural Law, however, one cannot help but read this in the 21st century and boggle at how far from the "original unity" of the sexes this current (western) society has fallen.  The absolute beauty of the gift and man's objective to eventually reach agape love with his spouse is no longer understood or even remotely comprehended by modern society.

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Arguments You Thought Were Too Dumb to Refute [at Forget The Roads]

On the Reformers’ side of the Catholic-Protestant divide there are some impressive, cogent arguments for or against doctrines on which Catholics and Protestants disagree, logical, finely-nuanced arguments about which whole books have been written, indeed, arguments upon which entire Protestant denominations have been founded.

This post isn’t about those arguments.

No, this post is about some of the ridiculous things that some folks hold up as “proof” that their denomination is Christianity The Way Jesus Meant It To Be, or “proof” that the Catholic Church is the scuzzy spawn of Satan. I don’t know about you, but I can handle thoughtful objections far more easily than I can handle dumb ones. The following are indubitably dumb, yet that doesn’t keep dumb bunnies from trying them out on Catholics. You probably have your own list; these have been tried out on me.

Take the clueless comment made by a Baptist lady while attempting to engage in some spiritual one-upmanship: “Our church is growing by leaps and bounds. People are packing our services. You can see the Lord’s mighty hand upon us as we grow, and grow, and grow!”

Hmmm…. Well, I could have just answered like this:

Mass in Manila at World Youth Day, 1995

But instead, I had a dandy comparison handy:

Actually, one of the fastest growing faith groups in the U.S. is the Mormon church. As you know, Mormons deny the Trinity and teach that you can become a god. Do you feel that their growth is evidence of “God’s mighty hand” upon them?

Undaunted, this lady came back with another interesting statistic concerning her church: “We have so many doctors and lawyers in our congregation, and city council members!”

Seriously?

I’ve never been to Utah, but I’m willing to bet that the Mormon congregations are also full of doctors, and lawyers, and government officials. Remember Mitt? I bet you don’t have any presidential candidates in your congregation. Does that mean that your beliefs are all wet?

How about this supposedly unanswerable doozy?

“Well, what about near-death experiences? I’ve read books by Evangelicals who have died and come back and reported that Heaven is just as we believe it is – no purgatory, no ‘Blessed Virgin,’ faith alone and everything!”

And there have been Hindus who have “died” and “come back,” and have reported that they saw Hindu gods – leading one to question whether near-death experiences are really something one ought to be basing one’s theology upon….

Ah, anecdotal evidence – that staple of those loath to think too deeply. If it corresponds with that which has managed to pass through my subjective filter and the subjective filters of those who think just like I do, then it’s just “common knowledge” that things are the way I believe them to be. How dare you Catholics come around here trying to confuse good people with your facts?!

Okay – so far, no insightful objections that would keep a Catholic awake at night – unless maybe you couldn’t sleep because you couldn’t stop laughing. But there are common objections that, while no less ignorant, are no laughing matter at all:

“Well, I’ve read those little booklets you can buy at the Christian bookstore, so I know all about the horrors of your false religious system.”

She means those little goodies known as Chick Tracts. A Baptist friend of mine “chicked” me when I told her I was becoming Catholic. If you’ve ever been chicked, you know it’s an experience you wouldn’t care to repeat. The “information” in those booklets is so far-out, so off-the-mark, so skewed, that you don’t know where to begin to set the chicker straight.

Begin here.

Catholics have been refuting the gobbledygook in Chick Tracts ever since there have been Chick Tracts – with little success. Why should someone who’s foolish enough to get their info on Catholicism from a little cartoon booklet listen to a Catholic source? But when Christianity Today and Cornerstone magazine, both Protestant publications, produced exposés on Jack Chick and his buddy Alberto Rivera, some Protestants sat up and took notice.

Some. The local Christian bookstore still sells Chick Tracts, the logic being that if dumb bunnies will buy it, smart store owners need to sell it….

If you do succeed in making a dent in your acquaintances’ supply of dumb arguments, beware. There are people who will at that point subject you to what they consider to be the argument of all arguments, the ultimate conversation-stopper:

“Catholic priests abuse children. How can you affiliate yourself with a church where things like that happen? How can you claim that your church is the Church Jesus established when your priests engage in such sickening perversions?”

That’s no laughing matter.

Thinking back, I can remember 3 instances of sexual misconduct by Evangelical pastors, incidences with which I was personally acquainted while a Protestant – none of those incidents caused me to believe that Protestantism was rotten to the core. Those pastors sinned; I didn’t feel that that disproved the Gospel that they preached. Claiming that sin in the Church disproves Catholic theology is a dumb argument, just as it would be silly for me to try to argue that the existence of lecherous Protestant pastors somehow disproves the doctrines of sola Scriptura and sola fide.

However, those pastors I was talking about committed adultery with consenting females. Crimes against children are heinous, and there is just something inside the average person which insists that people who commit them can’t be one of us. Not only their acts must be repudiated, but everything they stand for as well. And it is simply “common knowledge” that the Church is a hotbed of pedophile activity. My children, both of whom attend a Baptist university, have been regaled with numerous pedophile priest “jokes” over the years. One Protestant told me that she “knew” that John Paul II had known about the sexual abuse of minors and had turned a blind eye; it was obvious that he had known. She felt nothing but disdain for the Church.

Catholics can respond, and have responded, that insurance statistics show that charges of abuse are aimed fairly equally at Protestant churches and Catholic parishes, but this is almost invariably seen as a dodge. The same response is forthcoming when Evangelicals are directed to a Newsweek article explaining that Catholic priests simply aren’t any more likely to molest your children than your own Protestant pastor – you believe the mainstream media??? Anecdotal evidence is considered to be every bit as good as the real thing; everyone simply “knows” that sexual abuse of children is a Catholic problem, and if you Catholics won’t accept that, you are in denial.

Recently joining us Catholics in denial, apparently, is a Liberty University professor by the name of Boz Tchividjian. His mother was a Graham, as in Billy Graham, meaning that as an Evangelical, Tchividjian has beaucoup de street cred. He is probably best known for his work with the Protestant organization GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment), and he spoke this past September on the subject of the sexual abuse of children:

AUSTIN, Texas (RNS) The Christian mission field is a “magnet” for sexual abusers, Boz Tchividjian, a Liberty University law professor who investigates abuse said Thursday (Sept. 26) to a room of journalists.

While comparing evangelicals to Catholics on abuse response, “I think we are worse,” he said at the Religion Newswriters Association conference, saying too many evangelicals had “sacrificed the souls” of young victims.

“Protestants can be very arrogant when pointing to Catholics,” said Tchividjian, a grandson of evangelist Billy Graham and executive director of Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE), which has investigated sex abuse allegations.

Earlier this summer, GRACE spearheaded an online petition decrying the “silence” and “inattention” of evangelical leaders to sexual abuse in their churches.

Mission agencies, “where abuse is most prevalent,” often don’t report abuse because they fear being barred from working in foreign countries, he said. Abusers will get sent home and might join another agency. Of known data from abuse cases, 25 percent are repeat cases, he said.

Still, he says, he sees some positive movements among some Protestants. Bob Jones University has hired GRACE to investigate abuse allegations, a move that encourages Tchividjian, a former Florida prosecutor. “That’s like the mothership of fundamentalism,” he said. His grandfather split with Bob Jones in a fundamentalist and evangelical division.

“The Protestant culture is defined by independence,” Tchividjian said. Evangelicals often frown upon transparency and accountability, he said, as many Protestants rely on Scripture more than religious leaders, compared to Catholics.

Abusers discourage whistle-blowing by condemning gossip to try to keep people from reporting abuse, he said. Victims are also told to protect the reputation of Jesus.

Too many Protestant institutions have sacrificed souls in order to protect their institutions, he said. “We’ve got the Gospels backwards,” he said.

Tchividjian said he is speaking with Pepperdine University, a Church of Christ-affiliated school in California, about creating a national GRACE center.

Please remember: Dr. Tchividjian used the word “arrogant,” not me.

Not that that word never crossed my mind.

There really is only one way to fight “dumb” – fight smart. There’s plenty of material out there by honest, thinking Protestants which corroborates the Catholic position on these issues. Find it, and have it ready when some dumb bunny comes hopping down the lane. You may not change the bunny’s mind, it’s true – but you’ll at least be able to shut his mouth.

On the memorial of St. Lorcán Ua Tuathail

Deo omnis gloria!

This contribution is available at http://forgettheroads.com/2013/11/14/arguments-you-thought-were-too-dumb-to-refute/

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A Prayer For Difficult People [at The Hill Country Hermit]

It must have been wearisome for Moses and Aaron to keep up with and have patience with the Israelites as they made their way out of Egypt and into Sinai.  The Bible makes it pretty clear that even from the early days, leading them came with much complaining and strife.  But, Moses really strove to keep the faith, and obeyed God by commanding Aaron and his sons to bless the Israelites with the following words ...

The LORD bless you and keep you!

The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!

The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!

- Numbers 6:24-26

The next time you find someone getting under your skin, complaining about you, or being inconsiderate towards you, try saying this prayer for him/her.  Maybe it will help them and help give you some peace, understanding, and/or acceptance.

This contribution is available at http://www.theresadoyle-nelson.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-prayer-for-difficult-people.html

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In Defense of Decorating for Christmas in Advent [at CF Family]

I've read several articles recently that wag the (written) finger at those of us who decorate for Christmas right after Thanksgiving, accusing us of of crass materialism and a misunderstanding of the liturgical season. Not necessarily so.

The Church calls Advent:

- *a season to prepare for Christmas when Christ's first coming to us is remembered;

- *a season when that remembrance directs the mind and heart to await Christ's Second Coming at the end of time.

Advent is thus a period for devout and joyful expectation [Norms 39].

We put up the tree and decorate it; we change around pictures; we have lights everywhere; we get out all the Christmas books and movies and music; and we get out the three children's nativity sets and keep Baby Jesus in.

Here's a description of what we do.

We work on memorizing Isaiah 9:6 and John 1:14 and praying our

Saint Andrew novena

. They play the nativity story all day long. We make a Maranatha poster. We go to Confession extra times and celebrate extra feasts for Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Nicholas. We give stuff away and make gifts for people we love. We attend Mass for the feast of the Immaculate Conception and thank God especially for babies, our lives and His plans.

All in the glow of the Christmas tree

, with Bing Crosby, Josh Groban, and Susan Boyle crooning the hymns and carols. Occasionally we break out into dance when I put in a celtic CD! The younger children ask

all the time

how much longer for Christmas and I tell the story over and over. And over.

It's our way of preparing, remembering, and directing ourselves toward Jesus in "devout and joyful expectation."

Maranatha,

Allison

Oh and P.S. ~ our afterglow does last until Epiphany, when we have a final party, write thank you notes and take everything down (Glad I remembered to add this!).

This contribution is available at http://www.northerncffamily.blogspot.com/2013/12/in-defense-of-decorating-for-christmas.html

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Elf on the Shelf and Santa Claus - What are They Really Teaching Children? [at Designs by Birgit]

I’m participating in the KEEP CHRIST in CHRISTMAS Blog Link-Up 2013 sponsored by the

.

Be sure to visit as many links as possible, listed at the bottom of this post.

+   +   +

I know that I'll get flack for this post - that's OK, it's my blog and I'll be a Scrooge if I want to. Seriously, though, I've put quite a bit of thought into this issue. First, I want to say that, although my kids believed in Santa for a while, I never really encouraged it. I was just going with the flow of what the rest of society was doing. While I didn't encourage belief in Santa, I also didn't come right out and tell them he didn't exist. Now before you decide I'm some hateful old woman who can't allow kids their childhood fantasies - hear me out.

We all know that the legend of Santa Claus has roots in a real-life saint - Saint Nicholas. He was a bishop and, as the story goes, was fond of helping those who had little in the way of worldly goods. This is a wonderful example of Charity but somehow, along the way, this nice saint was hijacked and turned into a jolly old elf who encourages the lust for 'stuff'. That's not who St. Nicholas was and that's not the virtue our kids should be taking away from his story.

As the first teachers of our children, we have a heavy responsibility for forming their lives. Our ultimate goal - getting them to Heaven - depends heavily upon being dependable purveyors of Truth. Case in point: when my little sister first learned the 'truth' about Santa she asked our mother a very telling question, "If Santa isn't real, is the story about Jesus?". Yeah, let that sink in for a moment.

In the same vein, it really makes me uncomfortable to hear children being told that Santa is watching them - that he 'knows' if they've been bad or good. Isn't that the same thing we tell them about God? When the Santa myth is exposed, is it realistic to think that they will still blindly believe in an all-knowing deity?

Speaking of knowing good vs. bad, let's talk about the Elf on the Shelf. So we have instructed our children, for their entire lives, in the value of being good and following rules. Now we're glorifying a creature who comes into our house and wreaks havoc - and we think it's funny and laugh about it? Is it just me, or is that a confusing mixed signal?

There are so many wonderful

true

stories out there to enchant our children. Why do we insist on allowing them to build their hopes and dreams on a fantasy? Why do we laugh at and, in essence condone, unacceptable behavior. Wouldn't it be better to tell them true stories - something they could actually emulate?

The 'spirit' of Christmas comes closer to giving kids a tangible impression of true love and charity. Why not build them up by letting them in on the giving aspect of the Season? While I'm not talking about completely eliminating the Santa mystique, what I'm advocating is a healthy middle ground. Perhaps we could play along with the general idea but not participate in the over-the-top things that cement the deal. No letters from the North Pole, no glittery Santa footprints, or cookies and milk. That just encourages an innocent belief in a fading fantasy - and leads to exposure of a fraud. Instead, gently guide them toward a spirit of

giving

- not receiving. Teach them to be givers - it actually is virtuous and desirable to give rather than receive. So, although they will naturally look forward to getting, teach them how it feels to give as well.

I recently read a sweet little book to the younger kids on this very topic.

Santa's Secret Story

did a good job of bringing St. Nicholas into the forefront as the real Santa. One line that really resonated to me was an answer to a question by, Rachel, one of the child characters in the tale. When she asked St. Nicholas why he gave his gifts in secret, he replied, "I want people to thank God, not me! Remember, the greatest gift is God's love. I am just happy to give His love to others". What a valuable lesson!

Happy Advent and Merry Christmas!

This contribution is available at http://designsbybirgit.blogspot.com/2013/12/elf-on-shelf-and-santa-claus-what-are.html

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Labyrinth of Discernment [at Working to be Worthy]

-1-

Have you ever walked a labyrinth? It's not a maze. There are no dead ends, no blind corners. Physically, it is a journey to the center and back to the place you began. Spiritually, it can be an experience of self-reflection and enlightenment, truly about the journey rather than the destination. So is discernment. My husband and I have been discerning God's will about where to live, whether to stay in upstate NY or move elsewhere. Originally, we had planned to move just a few miles away, to an area where the children and I could easily walk to church, a playground, the library, and grocery store. Then we began to reconsider.

-2-

We spent a lot of time in prayer, weighing our options and on our knees begging God to direct us. At the end of that period, we thought God was calling us to leave NY. I was specifically drawn to the story of Gideon, a man who answered God's call very cautiously. Before beginning the task God placed on him, Gideon asked for very obvious signs. In that spirit, I asked God to use the sale of our house as a sign that we were headed in the right direction.

-3-

My husband wanted to relocate based on evidence that there are locations where people are happier. In the first round of decision-making, we considered the following criteria: close enough to drive home in a day, low risk of tornadoes or earthquakes, minimal predicted water shortage in the next 50 years, homeschool laws, winter lows no colder than Rochester, and happiness ratings. We ended up

deciding to move to Milwaukee, WI

. I told people at the time, though, that this was all contingent on the house selling. I didn't want to presume I was certain of God's will.

-4-

Our real estate agent was astounded that we weren't getting any offers. We were the most active of his properties for first showings, but had yet to book a second showing. We began to look around at other options. This time, we focused on healthy dioceses, as based on vocations to the priesthood and religious life along with number of new members through RCIA. We wondered why we hadn't thought to consider this aspect earlier. We decided to move to Harrisburg, PA.

-5-

Earlier this week, we decided to move within the greater Rochester area. We've come back out of the labyrinth and are back where we started. Has Rochester changed? Only slightly. A new bishop has been assigned, Bishop Matano, who has a good track record of reviving a failing diocese within five years. We hope to see changes here in the near future.

-6-

Mostly, though, we changed. The idea of moving to a happier place pushed us to be more conscious of our own negativity. Our willingness to uproot for the good of our mental health and our children's faith reaffirmed to each other our commitment to our family. Knowing that there are healthier churches out there has encouraged us that there is hope for our diocese and parish.

-7-

The journey is not complete. We haven't decided where to move. We don't know whether to stay with our current parish and see how things change in the next few years or switch to a local parish known to be more what we want. We haven't sold the house. Like Gideon, we continue to ask God for a sign, confident that he will lead us. His will be done.

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Of Vestments and Golf Clubs [at This That and the Other Thing]

Yesterday I reviewed this book.  Today, I want to talk about a particular chapter in it.  In that chapter the authors compared vestments and other "stuff" in churches to golf clubs.  They said that while golf clubs are interesting to golfers, and vestments to some churchgoers, golf clubs aren't interesting to non-golfers, and non-churchgoers don't care about vestments and don't start to go to church based on the vestments.

I've been pondering that idea.  Thinking about golfing, I just checked Academy Sports' website and I can buy a set of nine golf clubs, in a bag, for $99.00.  I also checked Edwin Watt's website.  I found a putter (one club) for $349.99.  Now, to me, a golf club is a golf club, and I'm sure I couldn't tell the difference between the putter in the $99.00 set and the $349.99 version.  I'm sure that if I went to play Putt-Putt (the only golf I play) my score would not improve substantially with the expensive club.  If you were trying to recruit me to play golf, you'd be better off buying me the $99.00 set of clubs and spending the other $250 on golf lessons and green fees, as opposed to giving me the $350 club.

Does that mean that the people who buy $350 golf clubs are wasting their money?  I'm sure there are some who are, such as those who put them in the closet and never use them or who have absolutely no skill or talent for golf.  However, I'll be willing to bet that professional golfers have clubs that cost a lot closer to $350 each than $99 for a set.  The extra comfort, the extra whatever you get with such a club is worth it to them if it knocks one or two strokes off a game or makes it easier to get through all the holes.

So what does that have to do with vestments?  I agree that vestments and similar "stuff" isn't what is going to convince non-churchgoers to join us, at least in a way they can verbalize.  I don't think any non-churchgoer will walk into a church and say "That priest's vestments are gorgeous and obviously expensive works of art; I'm going to start going to church and will be going here".  However, those vestments aren't an end in and of themselves; rather they lead us to an end.  A priest or parish that values beautiful expensive vestments may just like showing off, or it may be that they see Mass as an expression of their relationship to God and the things used at Mass as an expression of that relationship.  Buying high-quality things for use at Mass means they value it, they see it as something out of the ordinary, something worth dressing up for.  Does that attract or detract potential members?

In surfing around the Catholic blogosphere, it isn't uncommon to come across a post about a priest in a metro area who is assigned to a dying parish who revives the parish by adding Latin to Masses and even adding a Mass in the Extraordinary Form to the schedule, as well as making the church interior more formal, more fancy.  The post usually includes a statement that the new parishioners include a lot of young families with lots of kids.  When I see such posts I often leave a comment asking if the new parishioners were people who were not attending mass or whether they simply attracted other parish's members.  I have yet to get a reply talking about all the new churchgoers who have found religion because of all the fancy stuff.

I'm sure the pastor who gets all these enthusiastic parishioners who are willing to drive across town to find what they want in a parish will have an easier time balancing his budget and justifying the existence of his parish because of those new parishioners, but has he really accomplished a worthwhile goal?  If the existence of that parish keeps those parishioners from beginning (or finishing) the slide to non-practicing Catholic, then I'd say he has.  Is it more important to serve the people we have, or to reach out to those who don't attend church?  Does that formality attract non-churchgoers?  I don't know.  Does anyone have any comment about that?  Put in golf club terms, if I require you to have $350 clubs to play on my course, and this leads to more people playing my course, I can view that as a win, if I am the golf course owner.  If I sell golf clubs, it is possible that this could hurt me.  I may be able to talk a non-golfer into buying the $99 set; convincing a non-golfer to buy a set of clubs that are $350 each is going to be tougher. Maybe my course is more successful because folks who don't want to get caught being a bunch of kids with $99 sets join it.  If my course becomes "THE" place for serious golfers, that can be good for me, but is it good for the game of golf?

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Behold, Your Mother [at More Like Mary ~ More Like Me]

Do you know her? Your mother. The Blessed Virgin Mary. The mother of your Lord. Do you know her?

I've been in a blogging rut for quite some time and I think I finally know why. It became very clear to me while at a concert last night that I have been failing in my duty and mission to tell you, each and every one of you, about your mom. Yes, I know the title of this blog is named for Mary. Yes, I've written about her many times. But I've never really told you about her. I've never invited you to know her like I know her. I've shied away from it because I was scared. Nervous. Overwhelmed. Inadequate. You name it. I've wanted to write this post for four years but couldn't muster up the courage. What if I get a theological detail wrong? What if I can't answer the questions that people might ask? I'm not a theologian. And while I do read books and listen to talks about our lady, I can't ever seem to retain that information and spit it back out when I need to.

So I keep quiet.

And I don't talk about how much I love her.

Or invite you to fall in love with her too.

But here goes.

Ted surprised me with tickets to a Matt Maher and Audrey Assad concert last night. (Are they coming to your city? Go, go go!) It was at a local Baptist church that holds a Christmas concert every year around this time. Because both of those artists are Catholic, there was a huge crowd from the Catholic Student Union, local Catholic youth groups, and regular Florida Catholics like us. Plus lots of Baptists that belong to that church. Plus lots of other Christians in town that heard about the concert from local Christian radio. It was so beautiful to have people of so many different faiths in one location praising Jesus and singing Christmas carols together.

As a

friend

said, Audrey "sings flawlessly, effortlessly, like I what I imagine Heaven will sound like." She sang a song I had heard before but never really listened to.

Gabriel's Message.

The lyrics were the words the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary when he announced the coming of our Lord. Straight from scripture. Right out of the gospel of Luke.

The angel Gabriel from Heaven came

His wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame;

"All hail", said he, "Thou lowly maiden Mary,"

Most highly favoured lady, Gloria!

"For known a blessed Mother thou shalt be,

All generations laud and honour thee,

Thy Son shall be Emmanuel, by seers foretold,

Most highly favoured lady," Gloria!

Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head,

"To me be as it pleaseth God," she said,

"My soul shall laud and magnify his holy name,"

Most highly favoured lady, Gloria!

It was beautiful. And powerful. And then, she told us that she was going to sing the same song again, only in Latin. And Matt Maher started playing the piano and the music sent chills up my spine. He was playing the interlude to

Ave Maria.

I've been Catholic my whole life and had no idea what the words to

Ave Maria

actually were. Then, in that Baptist church, Audrey Assad and Matt Maher performed the most beautiful version of this ancient song I had ever heard. Not a song worshipping Mary, as so many Baptists mistakenly believe we do. But a song remembering her pivotal role in bringing us our King. Remembering her heroic "yes" to God and His will for her life. Remembering the promise that

all generations would call her blessed!

We praised God with the same words that Mary used to praise Him.

My soul shall laud and magnify His holy name.

And I just cried. Tears rolling down my cheeks. Because it hit me that so many of my friends and family don't know her. Don't know their mother. And I was overcome with this desire to tell you about her.

Why is it so crazy to believe that we can't go to Jesus in the same way He came to us? Through His mother. Why can't we love and honor and cherish this beautiful woman who our Lord loves so much? If God is our Father and Jesus our Brother, why do we reject His mother as

our

mother? Do you think that loving Mary could in any way diminish your love for Jesus? As if the respect and love I give my own mother-in-law could somehow make my husband jealous? Or hurt? Never.

Please, don't let some mistaken preacher who espouses false teachings about the Catholic Church's love for Mary keep you from knowing your mother. Don't let fallen away Catholics be your example for the role of Mary in your own life. Don't let what you might think of as "praying" to Mary, keep you from asking your mom for help. Asking your mom to be with you on this journey to Jesus.

I love my son. I think he is the most beautiful and wonderful little boy who has ever graced this planet. I would do

anything

to keep him from harm. I would lay down my life without question to keep him safe. And I know that there will

never

be another human being who will love him as much as I do. I see it in the relationship Ted and his mom have. I love my husband, but she loves him more. She always will. He's her baby and her only son and she is absolutely smitten with the 27 year old man who towers above her, beats her in tennis, and makes her laugh harder than anyone else can. She loves him like nobody else can love him.

If Mary loves Jesus even half as much as I love Paul and my mother-in-law loves Ted, then she most definitely loves Him more than any one of us. More than any saint who has ever lived. More than any priest or preacher or pope. She loves Him with a mother's love. Why not let her show us how to love Jesus? Why not ask her to help us love Him better? When Ted and I were first married I called my mother-in-law to get his favorite cake recipe so I could make it for his birthday. I went to

her

to help me love my own husband. And I loved him in the same way she had done for so many years. I didn't venture out on my own and decide to make a different cake. I sought the help of his mother.

Jesus wants us to ask His mother for help. He wants us to love and honor and cherish her just as He did. She's not just another Biblical figure like Ester or Ruth or Martha. She is the mother of our

God

. If we can strive to imitate these other beautiful women in the Bible, then surely we can strive to imitate the life of Jesus' own mother.

Please, ask Mary what kind of relationship she wants to have with you. Talk to her in your heart and open yourself up to the possibility that she wants to be

your

mother. If that freaks you out, then ask Jesus instead. Ask Him if He wants you to honor His mother. To take seriously the commandment to honor your father

and

mother and include His mother in that command. How could He say no? How could He not want you to love her and accept her prayers and her help.

I don't have all the answers for every misconception that exists about Mary. I can't perfectly explain Her role in the Church despite my belief in it. But I love her. And I know how much my love for her has helped me love Jesus. And it very literally brought me to tears knowing that so many of you might not love her. And even more, than you might not know of her love for you.

I couldn't help but think that some of the Baptists at the concert last night were moved to consider Mary in a new light after learning about the

Ave Maria

and seeing these two very Christian artists sing it in their church. I couldn't help but have hope that you might see her in a new light too. She's more than a statue in a nativity scene. More than a character that Protestants talk about once a year at Christmas time. I don't keep it a secret that I wish the whole world was Catholic. I wish everyone knew the power and purpose of the Church Christ established 2000 years ago. I wish everyone could experience the healing salve of confession and look to the saints in times of trouble. I wish everyone would really and honestly reflect on Jesus' command to eat His body and drink His blood and then receive Him every Sunday in the Eucharist. But more than any of these, I wish everyone would know His mother.

She's your mom. Do you know her?

Behold, your mother.

(John 19:27)

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Abbey Visit (High School Seminary Parents' Day) [at Glimpse of Peace]

Peter picks up the flute and joins the high school seminary orchestra.

Some things just feel right

, even though difficult, painful, or requiring great sacrifice.  Peter's attending high school seminary this year as an 8th grader is one of those things.  Our family and home school just isn't the same without Peter here, and the past few months adjusting to his absence have been both trying and rewarding.

Grandma Billie and Grandpa Cliff join Joseph, Peter and Father Peter, rector, after Sunday Mass.

Given that Peter comes home for a few days' stay each month

, and that his orthodontic appliances require the occasional visit home for business' sake, we enjoy his company fairly regularly despite the miles and international border that distance us.  Peter uses a phone card and an old fashioned pay phone to call home every so often which offers the gift of instant communication that the one-week+ snail mail routine can't offer.  The students do not have access to the internet, so all other modern forms of staying in touch are out.

Peter, tour guide at Westminster Abbey, BC

A few times each year,

the high school seminarian host a performance for parents and families showcasing their orchestra and elocution programs.  Combined with the show, parents are able to visit with the monks who teach the seminarians and receive important feedback about their son(s)' grades, behavior and adjustment to community life at the monastery.

Peter performs on stage in an adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

An added bonus to any visit to the monastery

is the open invitation to join the community for chanted Liturgy of the Hours.  Sounding bells from high above in the abbey's tower alert everyone when the time for prayer draws near.  On our recent visit for Parents' Day festivities, Peter shared his prayer book with his Grandma Billie and Grandpa Cliff, who were visiting the abbey for the first time.

Showing us around the beautiful campus on a break between Mass and midday prayer,

Peter shared his favorite viewpoint, hidden away behind the seminary.  We also made a stop at the cemetery, to continue our All Souls Octave prayers for the holy souls in purgatory.  The little cemetery saw many visitors that day on account of this special season of remembrance.

Brothers reunited for the day

Father Peter, harpist, shares his instrument with a seminarian's siblings on Parents' Day.

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The Best Thanksgiving, Ever! [at Ranting, (Repentant, Recalcitrant, Reflective) Catholic Mom]

You know those parish volunteer opportunities when nobody shows up?  You know how you drag yourself through on behalf of the haggard chairperson who always seems to end the day in tears?  You know the volunteers who show up and refuse to do the dirty jobs, then leave early?  You know the dread you feel that you'll be asked to volunteer again, and you won't feel free to say 'no' because there are so few people to help in the first place?

This is the antidote; Thanksgiving Dinner for the poor and lonely at St. Peter Parish in Omaha, Nebraska.

On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving I was busy.  The house needed cleaning, I had to teach an extra class for students with a scheduling conflict, I made 10 pounds each of mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, along with three quarts of gravy for my family celebration, and then had to take my son to help set up a dinner at our parish for the poor and lonely because it's required for Confirmation.  I was tired when we arrived at 6:15, and was ready to face the glum faces of a handful of overworked volunteers.

But that wasn't what we walked into.

The old school gym was a bustling hive of happy people working.  My son set out to join the crowd of boys he knows to set up the tables and chairs.  I walked into the kitchen and took the peeler and knives out of my purse, and joined the circles of potato peelers.  I sat next to Patricia the Potato Peeler, which is not her actual name.  She was impressively fast.  The conversation was light and pleasant.

When the potatoes were done, I joined Sally and John to steam table clothes.  Yes, the tables were set with clothes that were as wrinkle free as at any fine dining establishment.  The centerpieces were in place, the chandelier was hung, the take home bags with sandwiches and pie were prepared.

With so many helpers, maybe 100, the preparations were done very early in the evening.

The next day, we arrived after Mass to help serve.  I saw Cindy before Mass and asked if she needed me to come early.  She said 'no'.  I thought she was just being kind, but we stayed for Mass anyway.

When we walked in to the gym after Mass, the place was full of volunteers.  The organizers said they served 506 people.  They brought 170 name tags for volunteers, and ran out.  My husband's name tag was a piece of paper  attached to his suit with duct tape.

I went to the kitchen again, because that's where I like to be.  I ran food to the buffets.  There were two serving lines, servers offered one item only, including turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, corn and cranberry sauce.  After they sat down, servers offered coffee, lemonade, and water at their tables.  Other servers walked among the tables carrying trays or pushing carts with dessert options.  Many of the guests asked for extra plates to cover the left-overs to take home.

The men with their belongings in a backpack, the families with children who are new to the city and do not speak English yet, the elderly who had no family to care for them...  All were treated to service comparable to finest restaurants I ever worked at in college and beyond.

At noon, Cindy announced to those working the buffet and kitchen, like me, that she had other volunteers who needed work, and we should go home.  When does that ever happen?

I thanked Cindy, gathered my family, and went home.

I could talk of little else with my family later in the day.  I am so grateful for the chance to participate in that event.  It truly was the best Thanksgiving my family has ever had.

An update from Kevin and Cindy who organized the event:

Thank you to everyone that helped set up, baked pies, gave monetary donations and helped serve the Thanksgiving meal at St. Peters. We served over 500 plates! That included 2nds and volunteers that chose to eat. That is a record, we don't care to beat! There were many graces through out the day. Below is a letter we received from a guest at the meal. Also, there is a link to a TV video coverage of the event and pictures.  Be sure to visit St. Peters web site for more pictures to come! Thank you again for everyone's help! It was a true blessing to many of those less fortunate and those who helped.

Thank you for having a heart directed toward the poor,

May you have a blessed Advent,

Cindy and Kevin Engelkamp

St. Peter Catholic Church

Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Dear St. Peters,

I came to the Thanksgiving Dinner that I was told about. I have no income and was going to stay home with ramen noodles and spam.

That was the best meal I have had in a very long time.I sat in front where the singer/accordion player was. He was most excellent.  Good singer, funny and entertaining.  When I got home, my cheeks hurt from laughing so hard.  My stomach was so full, I had to take a nap.

Just want you all to know how much I appreciate all you done for me that special day.

I do have a Bible of my own. However, my eyesight is rapidly deteriorating and I can't see anymore.  Would it be possible to get a large print?  If so, I can volunteer my services to pay for it.

Again, thank you so much.

John K

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Sorting Through Emotions [at La Dolce Vita... the sweet life with three sons]

At the end of Mass this past Saturday our pastor announced that a priest recently assigned to our parish was placed on administrative leave due to theft of tuition payments in our parish. And just like I do whenever I need to sort out something, I write ...

A few months ago a new priest was assigned to our parish, and the first time our family met him was during confession one Saturday evening before Mass. As a family, receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation is something we do periodically; it is said that confession is good for the soul, but it also does wonders for the family. When we are out of sorts with each other, or going through a period in which the hectic pace of our schedules interferes with basic kindnesses in the home, a good confession puts us right with God, and with each other.

That evening, as we sat in line waiting our turn, I was in a bad place. Our oldest was about to leave for college, and I was having conflicting emotions about him going away. In recent weeks he had been moody and taciturn; the same son who would come up behind me and give me a hug, now spoke to us only when necessary. What was going on? Why was he being so difficult? Would he take away to college all the lessons on faith my husband and I tried to instill in him, or would he forget it all? I was also angry with

him

-- and by

him

I lumped together my son, God, and even (for no reason whatsoever) my husband. In short, I felt flawed! I made so many mistakes! I could have been so much better!

I entered that confessional a complete and total mess.

And I presented all this to our new priest. Because I was mindful of others waiting in line, I didn’t go into great detail, but he amazingly sorted through my emotions and went straight to the heart of the matter. His words swept away all the clutter until I could see clearly again. He gave me a suggestion, he said a prayer.

When I finished, I knelt in prayer in the church and, after a few minutes, my husband came out of the confessional and knelt beside me, followed by son #1, then son #2, and finally son #3. We all were filled with grace that evening.

My point in telling this story is this: As I was sitting in the stunned silence of the church this past Saturday night, I again found myself sorting through emotions. Betrayal? Yes. Disappointment? Most certainly. Sorrow? Definitely. There were some tears. But I also knew that I could not and would not judge him. Nor would I summarily dismiss him as a bad person.

There are so many levels of guilt and culpability, and add to that the fact that life is complicated

-- that

humans

are complicated – there is just no way we will ever be able to understand it all while we are on this earth.

Sometimes good people do bad things. I’m not talking about the kind of evil that festers and burrows deep into the soul, or the kind that smiles to the world during the day and then does terrible harm in the darkness of the night. No, what I am I’m talking about is when good people stray.

Am I condoning what this priest did? Absolutely not.

Am I defending him? No. What he did was wrong. But I am choosing not to be judgmental. I don’t know his story and I don’t know why he did what he did. The only thing I do know is one Saturday evening he was the instrument of grace for my entire family and, for now, I’ll hold on to that goodness.

Because it

was

there.

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Advent Resources for Children [at The Koala Bear Writer]

Next Sunday is the

start of Advent

(already!), the count-down to Christmas.  I'm looking forward to doing some fun activities with Sunshine and Lily to celebrate the season (and so are they—in fact, they're currently counting down to Advent!).  Here are a few of the resources I've found

to help us make the most of the four weeks before Christmas.

Holy Heroes Advent Adventure

I've lost track of how many friends have emailed me an invite to the Holy Heroes Advent Adventure; apparently I'm not the only mom who thinks this is a great idea!  Sign up at the

Holy Heroes website

to receive a FREE daily email (except Sundays) with videos, stories, prayers, coloring pages, activities, quizzes to test what you've learned, and more!

Happy Saints Christmas Story eBook

We are huge fans of the

Happy Saints eBooks

and they have a special eBook for Christmas.  It includes story posters, colouring pages, prayer cards, greeting cards, and badges or stickers of various scenes from the Nativity story.  The Christmas Story eBook is only US$9.90 and is available as a download from the website, so you can print as many colouring pages as your children want to colour—or a story poster for each of them.

Jesse Tree

The

Jesse Tree

is a cool idea that we stumbled across a few years ago.  This year, I'm hoping we actually remember to do it every day!  For each day of Advent, you decorate your Christmas tree (or wall) with a special ornament that represents a portion of the salvation story.  You can

print ornaments

from various websites, make your own, or buy them at your local bookstore or online.  The story each day can be as short or long as you want to make it—adapt it for whatever will suit your children.  And find a time of day that works to do this together, perhaps right before or after supper or before bedtime.

Four Advent Adventures

If doing something everyday like the Jesse Tree sounds a bit overwhelming, then check out these

Four Advent Adventures

from Focus on the Family.  Targeted for elementary-school-aged kids, each Adventure has an activity, some Scripture readings and some discussion questions for you to do together.  Author Catherine Wilson wants to "help you centre your children’s attention back on the true meaning of Christmas, and the wonder of God’s gift of Jesus."

Advent Calendars

Of course, there's always the traditional chocolate Advent calendar, with a little door to open each day and a sweet treat to eat as you count down towards Christmas.  There are also tons of great ideas online for Advent calendars, such as this

Upcycled Denim Pocket Calendar

(if you like sewing) or this

DIY Gift Tag Calendar

(if you prefer scrapbooking-type crafts).  Then you can fill the calendar with whatever you want, such as little Scripture verses or quotes from

saints

, healthy treats, small toys, and more!

How do you celebrate the Advent season?  Do you have special traditions for the week before Christmas?

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The Three Great Dangers of Evangelizing through Beauty

A notion has been creeping into the conversation of Catholic evangelization circles lately that it would behoove us to evangelize this generation through beauty; more precisely, that we should intentionally promote encounters with God through a formulaic movement from Beauty (How Wonderful I Sense it to Be), to The Good (I Desire to Participate/Share in It), to The Truth (Now I Understand What it Is).

A major proponent of this idea has been Father Robert Barron, a Catholic priest of the Arch Diocese of Chicago and the Rector/President of Mundelein Seminary. Barron is most famous for his creation of the Catholicism series. He has produced a video on the idea of evangelizing through beauty (here) that seems to mimic an article (here). Another good article on the subject is Catholic and American? Evangelizing through Beauty, by Bishop Olmsted of the Diocese of Phoenix.

Before I begin the critique of this idea and explain its three great dangers, I must clarify that I completely agree that the goodness of God can be found in beauty; that what is beautiful in the creation can lead one into an encounter with the Creator; that it is good for the senses to play a role in the encounter with God; and that the beautiful things that the senses can perceive, such as art and music, have always played a role in Catholic Christian evangelization. Pope John Paul II said it wonderfully when he wrote, “The world in which we live needs beauty in order not to fall into despair. Beauty, like truth, brings joy to the human heart, and is that precious fruit which resists the erosion of time, which unites generations and enables them to be one in admiration.”

I much also explain that my references to Father Barron in the article are not personal. I’m not attacking him or tearing him down. He just happens to be the point man on this formulaic notion of evangelizing through beauty as the first principle. In fact, Fr. Barron played a very important role in my early formation as a Catholic. I have watched every video that he produced through his Word on Fire Ministries prior to 2011, and I have read every book he had written prior to that year as well. I find him to be one of the most creative minds that our Church has had the opportunity to hear from in this generation.

The issue of danger here deals with the formulaic matter of using beauty as the first principle of Christian evangelization, as well as the danger of weakening/undermining/running-from the axiomatic Gospel of Truth, only so that we might easily preach the subjective idea of beauty. There is a grave danger found in giving up on the Truth, as well as the danger of losing another generation due to them receiving a version of Catholicism-lite if this method of evangelization is adopted. Altogether I find this idea of evangelizing through beauty as the first principle to be one of the most dangerous ideas ever uttered in modern Catholicism. I have taken time below to list what I believe are the Three Great Dangers of Evangelizing through Beauty.

First, there is a premature capitulation to relativism found in Father Barron’s promotion of this idea that inveighs against truth. He suggests that because modern culture is so relativistic, that they would instantly dismiss the truth if it is offered to them. Therefore, we must massage them into the truth by offering them a demonstration of beauty. Could you imagine if people like John the Baptizer, Saint Paul, or Saint Dominic had surrendered to comfortable ideas of their day? Inasmuch as relativism has always been in fashion, unfiltered truth has always been the light that broke through its darkness.

Rather than be cowards and surrender to relativism and be scared to lean on the primacy of truth, we ought to become martyrs of the truth. Being that truth has a divine support structure found in Jesus who is the Truth, the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of the Truth, and in the Catholic Church that is the Pillar and Foundation of Truth and the Temple of the Holy Spirit, I am not quite certain why any Christian would allow any generation to scare them away from scaring it directly; even without having to massage them into through creations.

I have a question. Is God true because He is beautiful, or is He beautiful because He is true? Clearly, God is beautiful because he is true. Therefore, I am not certain why anyone would suggest that we focus on attempting to articulate how beautiful a creation is, when we haven’t even done all that we can do to clearly articulate to all how true our Creator is. Perhaps we should more diligent in redoubling our efforts to artfully articulate the truth, rather than wasting time on an endeavor that may or may not massage anyone into it. Such an effort does not have to be what Fr. Barron has reduced to being merely moralizing and intellectualizing, because the truth doesn’t need those helps. The truth simply needs to be repeatedly shared and then God’s grace does the rest.

The most troubling thing about Fr. Barron’s idea is when he applauds the benefit of evangelizing through beauty, because it is unthreatening. Are you serious? I’m really tired of soft Christians who are afraid of the fact that the Gospel of Christ is threatening! Yes it is threatening to people who are living in lies and darkness! Yes! It is threatening because it is good and beautiful. Because it threatens it converts.

Second, the difference between divine truth and beauty is that one is axiomatic, while the other is subjective. When Father Barron offers a formulaic notion that we begin with what is subjective (beauty) he contradicts himself because he has only arrived at this method because he believes that this generation thinks truth is subjective. This same relativistic generation who thinks truth is subjective is now supposed to find beauty objective?

While Fr. Barron rightly notes through example that the aesthetic approach to evangelization can kidnap the heart and draw one into participation, he seems to dismiss the fact that truth can have that same affect. Even Bishop Olmsted in his article cites his own empirical evidence of beauty leading him to he faith, but how many millions of people can attest to truth leading them to the Church? Therefore, if both truth and beauty can lead a soul to good and to God, why not always lead in with the surest of the two? We would be much better off losing this fight because we shared the truth and they rejected it, than losing it because they rejected it because we preferred not to share it.

Third, the reliance on the senses will lead to a more Protestant-like Catholicism. If you want to know how successful a Church can become by emphasizing an appeal to the senses, then just look at modern Protestantism. It has become the religion of emotions found in praise music, dancing, and poetry. It is truly romantic and idealistic that we could facilitate a soul’s move from beauty, to good, to truth, but the reality of the situation is that many people will get stuck at beauty, just as they are in modern Protestantism. Many will not move beyond feeling good in the senses, and they will remain cursory in a shallow faith life.

In conclusion, what remains for me to say is that evangelizing through beauty as the first principle is, indeed, a beautiful idea, but it just isn’t tenable, and it is too risky in this age to attempt, even if it was trustworthy, which it is not. We must always begin with the truth, because it is God’s most powerful weapon. To begin with anything less than the truth is to begin with something less than what the world deserves to hear.

Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

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This contribution is available at http://www.davidlgray.info/blog/2013/11/the-three-great-dangers-of-evangelizing-through-beauty/

Copyright is retained by the contributing author (follow above link for info on this piece).

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Let’s talk

“The 1 in 3 campaign is a grassroots movement to start a new conversation about abortion …” says the 1 in 3 Campaign web site. There’s more: “Together, we can end the stigma and shame women are made to feel about abortion. As we share our stories we begin to build a culture of compassion, empathy, and support for access to basic health care.”

They gave away the game there, mentioning abortion and “basic health care” in the same paragraph. So much for a new conversation. But I’ll be glad to chime in.

The numbers …

Someone is putting serious money into the 1 in 3 Campaign to sell the idea that lots of women have abortions and have gotten over them just fine.

“One in three” is how many women will have abortions, according to the campaign’s organizing group – Advocates for Youth, “with a sole focus on adolescent reproductive and sexual health.” A realistic figure, perhaps, but unprovable. Abortion advocates have been very successful in preventing public-health data collection on abortion.

Noted abortion absolutist Gloria Steinem was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom this week. She took advantage of the occasion to tell the Washington Post, “Approximately one in three women in this country needs an abortion at some time in her life.” Good echo. A PR campaign needs a good tag line.

Not that I think the actual number of women affected by abortion is trivial. Twenty years ago, whenever I participated in panels and debates about the right to life, I always assumed that if I were speaking to a group of ten women, at least one would be post-abortive. For the last couple of years, I’ve assumed it’s more like one in five. Fifty million abortions since ’73 means a lot of mothers of dead children.

Do I have data and polls? No. I have people in my life who have trusted me with the truth about their lives.

Do the numbers matter? Accurate ones do, because each number represents a person. Several, in fact. Each abortion involves a pregnant woman in some kind of crisis, a child who can’t understand its fate, a man who (if he’s consulted at all) learns to deny fatherhood, a “provider” who gets through the shift by calling what she’s doing “health care.”

That’s a lot of damage.

…and the people behind the numbers

The 1 in 3 people are sure that if women tell their stories, the shock of abortion will wear off and we’ll all see it as “normal.” There will be no “stigma and shame” if only women would talk. And did you catch Steinem’s “needs”? One in three women needs an abortion …

I have some news: women have been talking for a long time.

One in three, four, five, or twenty: even if anyone were counting accurately, what difference would that make to a woman in a crisis pregnancy? It’s one-in-one to her. Sisterhood has to mean more than telling her that her abortion’s no big deal. There are women who have been there, and who have worked to provide abortions to others, who know better than to think the pain and loss and outrage of abortion can be PR’d away. Listen to some of them.

Catherine Adair, from her blog The Harvest Is Abundant:

… I have no idea when my baby would have been born. I never named her/him, it never even occurred to me to do so. When I walked out of that abortion clinic, I never thought about that baby again for years. The happiness I had experienced when I found out I was pregnant was replaced with a bitterness and anger. Anger at those people who kept insisting that abortion was the killing of a child. Didn’t they know it was just a blob of tissue? Why did they think it was a baby?

What I realize now is that in having an abortion, in killing my baby, I lost a piece of my humanity. In order to see the humanity of the child, I would have to admit my own participation in murder. And when everyone you know insists that abortion is a good thing, it is very hard to see otherwise. In fact, this is exactly why pro-abortion people villify pro-lifers the way they do and label us “extremists.”

Georgette Forney, as quoted in feministsforlife.org’s Voices of Women Who Mourn:

AT AGE 16, I found out that I was pregnant, and I had an abortion to hide the truth that I was sexually active. The day after the abortion, I woke up and decided to pretend that the previous day had never happened. After that, I became sexually promiscuous and began smoking pot and sedating myself with alcohol.

At age 32, I realized that I had played God when I aborted my baby, and for the first time, I truly knew that I had taken the life of my baby. But my thoughts stopped there.

At age 34, I got sick and began a time of deep searching and seeking to understand the drive I had to be a perfectionist. One day while cleaning out my basement, I picked up my junior-year yearbook. When I opened it to look at my fellow classmates, I didn’t see them. Instead I felt the weight and physical-ness of my aborted baby in my arms. Immediately, I knew it was the baby I aborted, and I instantly became aware of all I had missed out on in being her mother (yes, it was a baby girl in my arms). No one was more shocked by this experience than I, and I started weeping and crying for what I lost.

At age 35, I went through an abortion recovery program called Forgiven and Set Free. I knew for the first time in my life the real meaning of peace, and I finally forgave myself.

At age 36, I began to consider this issue of abortion from another angle.

At age 38, I got involved in counseling other girls online. That’s when I truly understood the depth of pain experienced by many women, and I knew then that abortion hurts more than it helps and the truth needed to be told.

At age 42, I stand here because, after five years of counseling women who have been hurt by abortion, I can be silent no more. Women deserve better than abortion, and until our sisters are no longer forced to suffer the physical and psychological consequences, I will speak the truth: Abortion hurts women. And if you are hurting, there is help.

We will be Silent No More.

Testimony by Georgette Forney,

Executive Director or NOEL and

Co-founder of Silent No More Awareness Campaign

Shumona Iqbal, a Bangladeshi diplomat working in Canada, from a LifeSiteNews article 11/11/13:

Shumona was then taken for her sonogram, which revealed that she was 8-weeks pregnant – with twins. Following the sonogram another doctor came in to ask her some questions about her family and medical history. “I was secretly hoping that the doctor would ask whether I did want the pregnancy…whether it was my choice or not,” Shumona continued, but to her dismay he never did. She was then taken to a separate room and put under anesthesia. “When I woke up I had excruciating pain in my lower abdomen and it occurred to me that I don’t have my babies anymore.”

When the nurse came in to give Shumona a drink after the procedure, she refused. The nurse then asked her if she wanted to see her husband, and again Shumona refused. “It was the first time in my married life I refused to see my husband,” she said. “It has been seven years since the abortion and I still can’t look my husband in the eyes.”

Jewels Green, as told to Kristen Walker:

There are far too many innocent lives being snuffed out in our country before they have the opportunity to take their first breath, and as a nation we should be doing better. We need to do better. We need to provide real resources to pregnant mothers facing an unplanned pregnancy. The women and babies of our country deserve better. After all, sometimes the best things in life aren’t planned.

Happy Nobirthday, Unbaby. I miss you every day. Love & tears, Mom.

VirtueMedia.org has given a group of post-abortive women the opportunity to record their stories in their own words. As “Donna” says, “I just know this whole thing about choice, about a woman’s right to choose, is not freedom. In the end, it’s not freedom. It’s a prison.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYsQj0zFzSk

Listen to the women of Project Rachel. Listen to Abby Johnson. Listen to our friends and sisters and daughters and each other.

I think we can love and support each other with something more substantial than the assurance that everybody (or 1 in 3 women, at any rate) has an abortion eventually. There’s no love or mercy or healing in that. A PR campaign can divert the viewer from a post-abortive woman’s child, but can’t undo the reality that the child existed. When it’s normal for the medical trade to peddle abortion as just another service, that’s a “norm” to be overturned. When there’s no “stigma” to destroying an inconvenient life, I’m not sure any of us is safe.

When a woman of great intelligence and influence smoothly slips the words one in three women needs an abortion into her interviews, it’s time to stop short and think about what it means to “need” another human being to stop existing.

Then it’s time to listen to the women who bought the lie and now renounce it.

This contribution is available at http://leavenfortheloaf.com/2013/11/22/listening-to-one-in-three/

Copyright is retained by the contributing author (follow above link for info on this piece).

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My Mother, My Hero [at {In}Complete Catholic]

My brother asked me a question the other night when I went over to help him fill out his questionnaire for my annulment......it made me think.  He asked why I was doing this annulment just so I could get confirmed?

To tell the complete story I have to start at the beginning......

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1963 and it was advanced at that point, I was only 5 years old.  My dad sat me down and told me that she had cancer and was going to die and that I needed to be strong and help out with my brother and sister from then on.  I doubt I really knew what he was talking about but I sure do remember the talk we had!  My Mom was a convert to the Catholic faith my father and myself were cradle Catholics, my brother and sister had not been baptisted till they were a bit older.  We went to Catholic school where my mother was the vice president of the school board. She was very highly involved in everything Catholic we used to call her "Super Catholic"!

My mother had to go through her own annulment, and studied for years with our priest to become Catholic. She was the strongest person I know.  She was dying....and it took her 8 years to finally receive all of her sacraments and finally be married in the Church. This woman was raising 3 kids, cooking dinner, running errands, keeping house, doing laundry, never missed any of my brother's baseball games because she was the scorekeeper,  worked full time, was the vice president of the school board, president of the Alter and Rosary Society, regular volunteer for whatever was going on at school or church.  She NEVER complained about how sick she was even though we would go out to eat and she would go to the bathroom and vomit her entire dinner all without complaining.

I remember coming out of church every Sunday and she was always asked how she was doing.....her stock answer was "I'm fine I have 3 kids to raise!". She didn't dwell in the past or feel sorry for herself.  For all that woman endured, from surgery to surgery and chemo session to chemo session NOTHING stopped her!   She was an amazing person, to be able to do all these things without complaining, without making excuses, she NEVER felt sorry for herself. She just moved forward never looking back at the past, there was nothing she could do about what HAD happened all she could was deal with it and put it where it belonged and didn't make others miserable by letting the past ruin her future.

Everyday she lived was a blessing to her, don't get me wrong she was not a saint, she was a sinner like all of us are, but she got it.....she knew what she had to do, live everyday like it was her last which ironically each day that pasted could have been her last. She finally died at 11:00 am on Thursday November 30, 1972.  Finally she made it home.

For as much as we all missed her, I have come to the realization that she is the person I most admire and need to emulate.  My (and my siblings) childhood was not a good one by any means but she taught us that you can overcome anything without complaining without feeling sorry for yourself. She taught us to live each day to our best, deal with problems the best we can and not carry them around for years and make others miserable in the process. She went through things with grace and dignity all her life, what a great example she was!  I just wish our children could have known her.....my brother said something that I thought was genius...she taught us to go on even if things are bad at the time they will get better, she taught us that life is short, don't live in the past, live for now, and she taught us to live our faith because she loved the Catholic Church, she loved God and she loved her kids.

This is why I'm going through with the annulment and I NEED to be confirmed.  If my Mom can do all those things while she was in the process of dying, without complaining then I should be able to do the same, especially since I have out lived her (she was only 47 when she died I am healthy and 55!).  I can proudly say my Mom is my hero!

So my goal from now on is to be like her, quit complaining about the hoops I have to jump through to get this annulment, I have it easy, I need to shut my mouth period!  I honor my Mother by being the best Catholic I can be. I know every Saturday as I attend Mass, I know she is proud of me for being there.  She so loved her religion and it was so important to her, I now realize the same and  it is just as important to me.  I know she is there with me, sitting in the pew next to me, that is a comfort for me. I have to thank her for giving me (us) a great spiritual foundation to draw from.  I love you Mom.....

This contribution is available at http://incompletecatholic.blogspot.com/2013/11/my-mother.html

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The 10 Commandments and the New Law in Catholic Teaching [at Catholicism and Adventism]

This is a supplementary post to the 3-part series The Sabbath Commandment and the Old Covenant.

In Part 1 of that series, we saw that the Sabbath commandment is one of the 10 Commandments, that the 10 Commandments are the words of the Old Covenant, and that the Sabbath was the sign of the Old Covenant.  In Part 2 we looked at the New Covenant’s legal code, and saw that the 10 Commandments are no longer binding as a legal code under the New Covenant.  In Part 3 we saw that the 10 Commandments still apply to Christians, but due to their moral content continuing in the New Covenant, even though, as the words of the Old Covenant, they no longer apply as a legal code.

Christians are under the New Covenant, and therefore the legal code in effect is the New Covenant law.

The Old Covenant and the words of the Old Covenant (the 10 Commandments) are not the legal code in effect today.

There is therefore no legal basis for the observance of the Sabbath by Christians.

The average layman, and likely the average priest, has not needed to be taught all of this – it’s not a controversy many encounter.  To us it’s a technicality – because the precepts of the Decalogue remain valid under the New Covenant.  Just like we have to dig to find Trent’s confirmation (reaffirmed in Dies Domini) that the Apostles were the ones who began Sunday observance, so too do we need to scratch through official Catholic statements (again Trent for one) which affirm that the Decalogue is indeed, as a legal code, no longer valid under the New Covenant, while the precepts underlying the Decalogue ARE found – and expanded upon – in the New Covenant (with the interesting exception of the Sabbath).  You’ll find that more clearly expounded by Evangelical Protestants, but all of us usually simply say “Obey the 10 Commandments” because to obey the 10 Commandments is a sure way to obey the precepts upon which they were based.

Evangelical Protestants are more articulate when it comes to this topic, as they have developed a theology that has needed to explicitly deal with rejection of salvation by means of the law, and simultaneously express the truth that God has moral expectations of Christians.  A good article by Wayne Jackson, Did Christ Abolish the Law of Moses? , deals with the Adventist problems with the Law of Moses in the context of Matt 5:17.

For Catholics, that was dealt with at Trent, and we’re happy with it:

If any one saith, that man may be justified before God by his own works, whether done through the teaching of human nature, or that of the law, without the grace of God through Jesus Christ; let him be anathema.

- Council of Trent, Session 6, Decree on Justification, Canon 1

Now we will look at Catholic explanations, showing that this concept of the 10 Commandments being part of the Old Covenant legal code, and therefore not the legal code in effect today, is indeed believed by Catholics and supported by Catholic teaching.

Catholic explanations

Modern Catholics

Catholicism doesn’t always express every complexity in its full detail each time it says something.  Since this is a topic Catholicism has not had the need to expressly make statements on, we have to look at related topics to find clues.

Some Catholic apologists have encountered the Adventist/Sabbatarian argument and expressed the same view as I have:

Crucifix with the Virgin and St John

Over at Catholic Answers, Jim Blackburn states (emphasis mine throughout this post):

Old Testament law, as such, is not binding on Christians. It never has been. In fact, it was only ever binding on those to whom it was delivered-the Jews (Israelites). That said, some of that law contains elements of a law that is binding on all people of every place and time. …

The Ten Commandments are often cited as examples of the natural law. Christians are obliged to follow the laws cited in the Ten Commandments not because they are cited in the Ten Commandments – part of Old Testament law – but because they are part of the natural law – for the most part. …

Christians are not and have never been bound by Old Testament law for its own sake, and those elements of Old Testament law which are not part of the natural law – e.g., the obligation to worship on Saturday – were only ever binding on the Jews. Christians do have liberty on those issues.

- Why We Are Not Bound by Everything in the Old Law

Again, in an answer to the question “Does the Church dogmatically declare that I must believe, de fide, that the Decalogue-in every respect-is written on the hearts of all men? If so, where?“, Jim Blackburn writes:

The Church teaches that the Decalogue is an expression of the natural law. …  This does not mean, however, that the Decalogue “in every respect” is written on the hearts of “all” men.

- Where Is It Written, Exactly?

Jim cites CCC 1955:

1955 The “divine and natural” law shows man the way to follow so as to practice the good and attain his end. The natural law states the first and essential precepts which govern the moral life. … Its principal precepts are expressed in the Decalogue. …

Note that the Decalogue is an expression of the principal precepts of the divine law.

He also cites CCC 2070:

2070 The Ten Commandments belong to God’s revelation. At the same time they teach us the true humanity of man. They bring to light the essential duties, and therefore, indirectly, the fundamental rights inherent in the nature of the human person. The Decalogue contains a privileged expression of the natural law: “From the beginning, God had implanted in the heart of man the precepts of the natural law. Then he was content to remind him of them. This was the Decalogue.”

The natural law is written on our hearts.  The Decalogue was a reminder.

The My Catholic Faith Delivered blog says in their post Protestant “Verses” Catholic:

Matthew 5-7 – Christ’s Sermon on the Mount

… [I]t is truly the “Magna Charta” of the life Christ calls us to lead. Here we see Christ as the New Moses giving us a New Law. While Moses brought the Old Law down to us from Mt. Sinai, Our Lord takes the crowd (and us) up on the mountain to give us His blueprint for our eternal happiness or “beatitude.”

- Protestant “Verses” Catholic

The Old Law is clearly the 10 Commandments, or at least includes them.

Icon of Christ Crucified, chapel of San Damiano, near Assisi

Again on Catholic Answers, this time Michelle Arnold:

The Old Testament Sabbath commandment contains two elements. The primary element, and the one that binds Christians as it does Jews, is the moral obligation to set aside adequate time for the purpose of divine worship. This could never be abrogated, as it is rooted in the natural law.

- What about the Seventh-day Adventist claim that the sabbath shouldn’t have been changed to Sunday?

Again, Jim Blackburn from Catholic Answers, on their forum:

The law found in the Old Testament (including the Ten Commandments) is known as the Old Law. The Old Law was revealed to the Israelites and, as given, was binding only on them. … Common to both the Old Law and the New Law is that part of the law known as natural moral law.

- Sabbath or Sunday?

Nick has a great article on Sabbatarianism, and includes the following:

The Ten Commandments are the heart of Mosaic Law and abolished as a legal code; they now only serve as guidelines. Many people think the Ten Commandments are an eternal code of laws that only accompanied the Mosaic Law, rather than being at the heart of it. Contrary to this, the fact is the Ten Commandments were the very core of the Mosaic Law, given specifically to the Jews, by which all other laws would be built around (see Ex 34:27-28; Deut 4:10-13; Deut 9:9). So when Jesus ended and fulfilled the Mosaic Law, the Ten Commandments most certainly were abolished along with it! … After the Mosaic Law was abolished, Christians only kept the Ten Commandments format to use as guidelines for general morals (e.g. don’t kill, steal, lie), but not as a legal code with detailed regulations and legal penalties.

- 7 Reasons to reject Sabbatarianism (Seventh Day Sabbath Keeping)

Robert Sungenis, who is really dealing with another topic, but the 10 Commandments comes up frequently:

That is, we must affirm that the Mosaic covenant, in toto, was legally abolished at the cross of Christ, but that some provisions of the Mosaic law continue into the New Covenant by the Church’s choice. And we must equally affirm that they continue in the New Covenant not because the Mosaic covenant has any legal or “binding” power, but because the New Covenant incorporates them into the legal jurisdiction of the New Covenant.

- Scott Hahn and God’s Covenant with Israel (Internet Archive here)

Again, in a debate about whether the Old Covenant is still applicable to Jews:

Sungenis: And “works of the law” has always been understood to mean the divinely-inspired Mosaic statues, including but not limited to rites, as apart from God’s laws, the Ten Commandments. This parallels the Church’s mutable religious disciplines, like not eating meat on Friday, versus the immutable dogma, like the divinity of Christ.

Sippo: This is not correct. Among the Catholic Fathers and Doctors, there were a variety of opinions as to what these words meant. Some saw them as referring to the Mosaic Law as a whole. Others limited it to those laws that were ceremonial.

Sungenis: Yes, there were some Fathers who understood “works of law” as referring to the ceremonies, but those same Fathers understood that ceremonies were merely a subset of the larger issue of “works righteousness” and that ultimately, the ceremonial law was a representation of the whole Mosaic law that needed to be abrogated to make room for the New Covenant. This is especially true in Justin Martyr, the one Father that Hahn has tried to use to limit “works of law” to the ceremonies.

[T]he second [quote] reveals that Justin is fully aware that the whole law was to be abrogated, not just the ceremonial law, in order for the New Law to be inaugurated. …

“I have read, Trypho, that there will be a final law, and a covenant the most authoritative of all, which must be observed by all men who seek after the inheritance of God. That law on Horeb is old, and was only for you; but this is for all in general. A law set down after another law abrogates that which was before it, and a covenant made later likewise voids the which was earlier” Dialogue with Trypho, 11.

- Art Sippo and the Demise of Catholic Apologetics

Sungenis, again on the nature of the Old Covenant with regard to the Jews:

But it’s not just the ceremonial laws that were set aside. 2 Cor 3:7-14 says it was the laws written on stone, the Ten Commandments, that were also part of the Old Covenant.

- Does the Catechism Contain a Heresy?

Sungenis again:

It was the New Covenant that brought grace back into the picture, and when it came it set aside the Old Covenant with its legal system of moral, ceremonial and civil laws.

- Works of the Law

Sungenis on the “works of the law“:

As a LEGAL entity, the entire Old Covenant is abolished. But as a PRACTICAL guide to life, the entire Old Covenant is very much alive and useful for us. That is, in the New Covenant we borrow many ethical and worship principles from the Old Covenant. We borrow the Ten Commandments (although the New Covenant alters them a little to fit the New Covenant gospel); we borrow from some of the civil laws (e.g., paying just wages) … But whatever we borrow and practice from the Old Covenant, it is not because the Old Covenant, in whole or in part, is itself still legally valid, but because the New Covenant has the authority to incorporate any principle from the Old Covenant …

- Question 166 – “Works of the Law” in the Ignatius Study Bible

Jimmy Akin , in his article Paul and the Law

[W]e do not view the Torah the way the first century Jews did – as God’s binding legal code. Paul is concerned to show that Gentiles are under God’s Law too, and thus their consciences function for them like the Torah functions for the Jews – i.e., as a medium by which God’s Law is communicated to them. …

Murillo – Abraham receiving the three angels

Of course, the only Law which was given four centuries after Abraham was the Mosaic Law, not God’s eternal moral law. …

From the New Testament it is clear that certain commandments in the Torah, such as “You shall not murder” are still binding on us today …

Aquinas speaks of “the moral precepts of the Old Law,” “the civil precepts of the Old Law,” and “the ceremonial precepts of the Old Law,” but not “the moral law, the civil law, and the ceremonial law. The casting of the matter as if there were three separate laws is a misstep for several reasons. …

The most basic reason is that in Paul’s writings he does not talk about there as being three laws given by Moses but one Law – the Torah. The Torah may be able to have its precepts classified according to some scheme … but in Paul’s mind there is only one Torah. …

The Torah is a united entity in Paul’s mind … The Federal Law of the United States is a single entity …

Because these laws are united entities, when one of them passes away, every piece of it looses its force. …

The Torah was thus added to make the Jews aware of their sins in a way they would not have been otherwise. As Paul says, “if it had not been for the Torah, I should not have known sin. I should not have known what it is to covet if the Torah had not said, ‘You shall not covet’” (Rom. 7:7). …

[T]he Torah of Israel was not suited for use as a Law in future historical epochs, such as when the Gentiles would be included in the family of faith … The Torah, the Old Law, thus had to be torn down. … Thus the Old Law had to be abolished to make way for the New Law, the Law of Moses replaced by the Law of Christ. Of course, the New Law would reflect the eternal and the natural Law the same way the Old Law had done … However, it had to be replace the Old Law.

This is what Paul means when he says the Law of Moses passed away. He doesn’t mean “The ceremonial law passed away,” or “the civil and the ceremonial law passed away.” Paul doesn’t know anything about three separate codes of law being given by Moses. He knows of the one Mosaic Law, as embodied in the first five books of the Bible, and he means exactly what he says – the Torah, the Mosaic Law, passed away, as a unit, as an entity.

However, specific precepts within that Law may still be binding on us today, not because the Torah has any legal authority anymore, but because those precepts are included in the eternal Law, the natural Law, or the Law of Christ, which all do have legal authority for us today. We may still look to the Torah for instruction by example and to learn of God’s will, but it is not legally binding on us today. We do not have to refrain from murdering because the Torah says so, but because the natural Law and the Law of Christ say so.

- Paul and the Law

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

Pope Benedict XVI

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, later to become Pope Benedict XVI, wrote The New Covenant: A Theology of Covenant in the New Testament, which doesn’t deal directly with the relationship between the 10 Commandments and the Old Covenant, but gives a good indication of where they belong:

In his Second Letter to the Corinthians, Paul makes a sharp antithesis between the covenant instituted by Christ and that instituted by Moses, the one being enduring, the other transitory.  Characteristic of the Mosaic covenant is its provisional nature, which Paul sees manifested in the stone tablets of the law.  Stone is an expression of that which is dead, and whoever remains merely in the domain of the law, remains in the realm of death. … If at first the text emphasizes the transitory and futile nature of the Mosaic covenant … [p638]

The covenant at Sinai appears in Exodus 34 primarily as an “imposition of laws and obligations on the people”.  Such a covenant can also be broken. [p640]

[T]he Last Supper narratives … present, so to speak, the New Testament counterpart to the establishment of the covenant at Sinai (Ex 24), and thus constitute the Christian faith in the new covenant which has been sealed in Christ. [p641]

In place of the broken covenant on Sinai, God will, as the prophet says, establish a new covenant, never to be broken again, because it no longer confronts man as a book or as tablets of stone, but is engraved upon his heart. [p644]

The shattered tablets at the foot of Mt Sinai were the first dramatic expression of the shattered covenant.  When, after the exile, the restored tablets were lost forever … [p644]

The old covenant is particular, referring to the “fleshly” descendants of Abraham … The old covenant rests on a principle of ethnicity … The old covenant is conditional; because it is founded on the observance of the law, and is thus essentially bound to man’s conduct, it can be and has been broken.  Because its basic content is the law, it relies upon the formula: “if you do this …” … As far as the covenant of Sinai is concerned … it refer strictly to the people of Israel, bestowing a legal and cultic order (both are inseparable) on this people … [p645]

The Torah of the Messiah is Jesus the Messiah himself. … [T]he covenant of Sinai has indeed been surpassed … [p647]

- The New Covenant: A Theology of Covenant in the New Testament, Communio, Winter 1995

Church Fathers

Some of the Church Fathers were cited above; to this is worth adding St Augustine of Hippo (h/t Robert Sungenis for sending me in this direction), St John Chrysostom, and St Thomas Aquinas:

St Augustine of Hippo, by Carlo Crivelli

St Augustine:

Although, therefore, the apostle seems to reprove and correct those who were being persuaded to be circumcised, in such terms as to designate by the word “law” circumcision itself and other similar legal observances, which are now rejected as shadows of a future substance by Christians who yet hold what those shadows figuratively promised; he at the same time nevertheless would have it to be clearly understood that the law, by which he says no man is justified, lies not merely in those sacramental institutions which contained promissory figures, but also in those works by which whosoever has done them lives holily, and among which occurs this prohibition: “You shall not covet.” Now, to make our statement all the clearer, let us look at the Decalogue itself. It is certain, then, that Moses on the mount received the law, that he might deliver it to the people, written on tables of stone by the finger of God. It is summed up in these ten commandments, in which there is no precept about circumcision, nor anything concerning those animal sacrifices which have ceased to be offered by Christians. Well, now, I should like to be told what there is in these ten commandments, except the observance of the Sabbath, which ought not to be kept by a Christian – whether it prohibit the making and worshipping of idols and of any other gods than the one true God, or the taking of God’s name in vain; or prescribe honour to parents; or give warning against fornication, murder, theft, false witness, adultery, or coveting other men’s property? Which of these commandments would any one say that the Christian ought not to keep? Is it possible to contend that it is not the law which was written on those two tables that the apostle describes as “the letter that kills,” but the law of circumcision and the other sacred rites which are now abolished? But then how can we think so, when in the law occurs this precept, “You shall not covet,” by which very commandment, notwithstanding its being holy, just, and good, “sin,” says the apostle, “deceived me, and by it slew me?” What else can this be than “the letter” that “kills”?

- On the Spirit and the Letter, ch 23

St Augustine shows that the 10 Commandments are included in the letter of the law that kills.  He then asks which of the 10 Commandments should not kept, and if it could be that only the laws on circumcision and sacred rites were abolished?  He then says that this is unreasonable, because St Paul includes the Decalogue in his analysis.

St Augustine goes on to show that St Paul discusses definitely includes the Decalogue:

In the passage where he speaks to the Corinthians about the letter that kills, and the spirit that gives life, he expresses himself more clearly, but he does not mean even there any other “letter” to be understood than the Decalogue itself, which was written on the two tables. For these are His words: Forasmuch as you are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; who has made us fit, as ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance, which was to be done away; how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more shall the ministration of righteousness abound in glory. (2 Corinthians 3:3-9) A good deal might be said about these words; but perhaps we shall have a more fitting opportunity at some future time. At present, however, I beg you to observe how he speaks of the letter that kills, and contrasts therewith the spirit that gives life. Now this must certainly be “the ministration of death written and engraven in stones,” and “the ministration of condemnation,” since the law entered that sin might abound. (Romans 5:20) But the commandments themselves are so useful and salutary to the doer of them, that no one could have life unless he kept them. Well, then, is it owing to the one precept about the Sabbath day, which is included in it, that the Decalogue is called “the letter that kills?” Because, forsooth, every man that still observes that day in its literal appointment is carnally wise, but to be carnally wise is nothing else than death? And must the other nine commandments, which are rightly observed in their literal form, not be regarded as belonging to the law of works by which none is justified, but to the law of faith whereby the just man lives? Who can possibly entertain so absurd an opinion as to suppose that “the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones,” is not said equally of all the ten commandments, but only of the solitary one touching the Sabbath day? In which class do we place that which is thus spoken of: “The law works wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression?” (Romans 4:15) and again thus: “Until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law?” (Romans 5:13) and also that which we have already so often quoted: “By the law is the knowledge of sin?” (Romans 3:20) and especially the passage in which the apostle has more clearly expressed the question of which we are treating: “I had not known lust, except the law had said, You shall not covet?” (Romans 7:7)

- On the Spirit and the Letter, ch 24

St Augustine asks if 9 of the 10 Commandments (other than the Sabbath commandment) are excluded from St Paul’s assessment, and then concludes that this would be absurd.  Clearly he is saying that the entire law is abolished, not just the ceremonial law.

There it was on tables of stone that the finger of God operated; here it was on the hearts of men. There the law was given outwardly, so that the unrighteous might be terrified; here it was given inwardly, so that they might be justified. (Acts 2:1-47) For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not covet; and if there be any other commandment,” – such, of course, as was written on those tables – “it is briefly comprehended,” says he, “in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. Love works no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” (Romans 13:9-10) Now this was not written on the tables of stone, but “is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us.” (Romans 5:5) God’s law, therefore, is love. “To it the carnal mind is not subject, neither indeed can be;” (Romans 8:7) but when the works of love are written on tables to alarm the carnal mind, there arises the law of works and “the letter which kills” the transgressor; but when love itself is shed abroad in the hearts of believers, then we have the law of faith, and the spirit which gives life to him that loves.

- On the Spirit and the Letter, ch 29

St Augustine compares the past – the law written on stone – with the Christian law – written on our hearts, and says God’s law is love, and that love is written on our hearts.

He continues:

As then the law of works, which was written on the tables of stone, and its reward, the land of promise, which the house of the carnal Israel after their liberation from Egypt received, belonged to the old testament, so the law of faith, written on the heart, and its reward, the beatific vision which the house of the spiritual Israel, when delivered from the present world, shall perceive, belong to the new testament.

- On the Spirit and the Letter, ch 41

St Augustine shows that the law written on tables of stone belongs to the Old Covenant (“testament” and “covenant” are synonyms here).

He goes on:

I beg of you, however, carefully to observe, as far as you can, what I am endeavouring to prove with so much effort. When the prophet promised a new covenant, not according to the covenant which had been formerly made with the people of Israel when liberated from Egypt, he said nothing about a change in the sacrifices or any sacred ordinances, although such change, too, was without doubt to follow, as we see in fact that it did follow, even as the same prophetic scripture testifies in many other passages; but he simply called attention to this difference, that God would impress His laws on the mind of those who belonged to this covenant, and would write them in their hearts, Jeremiah 31:32-33 whence the apostle drew his conclusion—”not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart;” (2 Corinthians 3:3) … By the law of works, then, the Lord says, “You shall not covet:” Exodus 20:17 but by the law of faith He says, “Without me you can do nothing;” John 15:5 for He was treating of good works, even the fruit of the vine-branches. It is therefore apparent what difference there is between the old covenant and the new – that in the former the law is written on tables, while in the latter on hearts.

- On the Spirit and the Letter, ch 42

St Augustine explains that the prophecies of the New Covenant said nothing about changes being limited to sacrifices and sacred rites – and so St Paul explicitly includes the Decalogue in his explanation of the abolished law of works.

He shows that the law we are under is not the Old Covenant law, and he shows that the Old Covenant law we are not under includes the 10 Commandments.  He does not, however, deny that Christians are not expected to follow a moral law, but he clearly shows that it is both different to and greater than the Decalogue.

St John Chrysostom, soapstone carving

St John Chrysostom:

St John Chrysostom, in his homily on 2 Corinthians 3:7-18:

He said that the tables of Moses were of stone … Now by “ministration of death” he means the Law. … “For if that which passes away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.”  For the one ceased, but the other abides continually. … For if it be brought to an end by Christ, as in truth it is brought to an end, and this the Law said by anticipation, how will they who receive not Christ that has done away the Law, be able to see that the Law is done away?

- Homily 7 on Second Corinthians

The tables of Moses were the law, the “ministration of death” – and the Law is done away!

In his Homily on Romans, he includes murder, adultery, and coveting in his definition of the Law, explaining that it was the law given to Moses, and then goes on to say, re Romans 6:12:

Yet surely Paul’s object everywhere is to annul this Law …

- Homily on Romans 6:12

St John Chrysostom makes another very interest point, although not directly addressing this issue: 9 of the 10 Commandments were part of natural law, known to man before the 10 Commandments, and therefore not in need of any explanation.  The Sabbath commandment was not like this – it needed to be revealed, and that is why it did not remain binding when the Mosaic Law came to an end – it was not part of natural law.

It is, that when God formed man, he implanted within him from the beginning a natural law. And what then was this natural law? He gave utterance to conscience within us; and made the knowledge of good things, and of those which are the contrary, to be self-taught. For we have no need to learn that fornication is an evil thing, and that chastity is a good thing, but we know this from the first. And that you may learn that we know this from the first, the Lawgiver, when He afterwards gave laws, and said, “You shall not kill,” Exodus 20:13 did not add, “since murder is an evil thing,” but simply said, “You shall not kill;” for He merely prohibited the sin, without teaching. How was it then when He said, “You shall not kill,” that He did not add, “because murder is a wicked thing.” The reason was, that conscience had taught this beforehand; and He speaks thus, as to those who know and understand the point. Wherefore when He speaks to us of another commandment, not known to us by the dictate of consciences He not only prohibits, but adds the reason. When, for instance, He gave commandment respecting the Sabbath; “On the seventh day you shall do no work;” He subjoined also the reason for this cessation. What was this? “Because on the seventh day God rested from all His works which He had begun to make.” (Exodus 20:10) And again; “Because thou were a servant in the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 21:18) For what purpose then I ask did He add a reason respecting the Sabbath, but did no such thing in regard to murder? Because this commandment was not one of the leading ones. It was not one of those which were accurately defined of our conscience, but a kind of partial and temporary one; and for this reason it was abolished afterwards. But those which are necessary and uphold our life, are the following; “You shall not kill; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal.” On this account then He adds no reason in this case, nor enters into any instruction on the matter, but is content with the bare prohibition.

- Homilies on the Statutes 12:9

St Thomas Aquinas, by Carlo Crivelli

St Thomas Aquinas:

St Thomas Aquinas was one of the leading Catholic theologians ever.  Not technically a Church Father, but his theology, like St Augustine’s, has formed an important basis for Catholic theological study.  It is from him that the popular use of the term “Old Law” comes, and this must be kept in mind when reading later documents heavily influenced by his theology.

St Thomas states that the Old Law included the moral law:

I answer that he is speaking here about keeping the commandments of the Law insofar as the Law consists of ceremonial precepts and moral precepts.

- Commentary on Galatians 3:12

St Thomas is explicit as to whether the contents of the Old Law include the Decalogue:

The Old Law contained some moral precepts; as is evident from Exodus 20:13-15: “Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal.” This was reasonable: because, just as the principal intention of human law is to created friendship between man and man; so the chief intention of the Divine law is to establish man in friendship with God. Now since likeness is the reason of love, according to Sirach 13:19: “Every beast loveth its like”; there cannot possibly be any friendship of man to God, Who is supremely good, unless man become good: wherefore it is written (Leviticus 19:2; 11:45): “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” But the goodness of man is virtue, which “makes its possessor good” (Ethic. ii, 6). Therefore it was necessary for the Old Law to include precepts about acts of virtue: and these are the moral precepts of the Law.

- Summa Theologica, Ia.IIae.99.2

The Old Law’s moral precepts included the 10 Commandments:

On the contrary, It is written (Deuteronomy 4:13-14): “Ten words … He wrote in two tables of stone; and He commanded me at that time that I should teach you the ceremonies and judgments which you shall do.” But the ten commandments of the Law are moral precepts. Therefore besides the moral precepts there are others which are ceremonial.

- Summa Theologica, Ia.IIae.99.3

The New Law also has moral precepts:

Accordingly the New Law had no other external works to determine, by prescribing or forbidding, except the sacraments, and those moral precepts which have a necessary connection with virtue, for instance, that one must not kill, or steal, and so forth.

- Summa Ia.IIae.108.1

The New Law is the law of the New Covenant (“Testament” and “Covenant” are synonyms here):

The New Law is the law of the New Testament. But the law of the New Testament is instilled in our hearts. For the Apostle, quoting the authority of Jeremias 31:31,33: “Behold the days shall come, saith the Lord; and I will perfect unto the house of Israel, and unto the house of Judah, a new testament,” says, explaining what this statement is (Hebrews 8:8,10): “For this is the testament which I will make to the house of Israel . . . by giving [Vulg.: 'I will give'] My laws into their mind, and in their heart will I write them.” Therefore the New Law is instilled in our hearts.

- Summa Ia.IIae.106.1

The Old Law has been replaced by the New Law:

The state of the world may change in two ways. In one way, according to a change of law: and thus no other state will succeed this state of the New Law. Because the state of the New Law succeeded the state of the Old Law, as a more perfect law a less perfect one. Now no state of the present life can be more perfect that the state of the New Law: since nothing can approach nearer to the last end than that which is the immediate cause of our being brought to the last end.

- Summa Ia.IIae.106.4

The Old Law replaced, and the similarities and differences between the Old Law and New Law:

We must therefore say that, according to the first way, the New Law is not distinct from the Old Law: because they both have the same end, namely, man’s subjection to God; and there is but one God of the New and of the Old Testament, according to Romans 3:30: “It is one God that justifieth circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.” According to the second way, the New Law is distinct from the Old Law: because the Old Law is like a pedagogue of children, as the Apostle says (Galatians 3:24), whereas the New Law is the law of perfection, since it is the law of charity, of which the Apostle says (Colossians 3:14) that it is “the bond of perfection.”

- Summa Ia.IIae.107.7

That the Old Law has been set aside:

Those works of God endure for ever which God so made that they would endure for ever; and these are His perfect works. But the Old Law was set aside when there came the perfection of grace; not as though it were evil, but as being weak and useless for this time; because, as the Apostle goes on to say, “the law brought nothing to perfection”: hence he says (Galatians 3:25): “After the faith is come, we are no longer under a pedagogue.”

- Summa Ia.IIae.98.2

That the moral precepts of the Old Law are to be observed, not because they are the Old Law, but because they are part of the natural law, and therefore part of the New Law:

The Old Law showed forth the precepts of the natural law, and added certain precepts of its own.

- Summa Ia.IIae.98.5

From the above we can see that the Catholic Church teaches that the 10 Commandments are valid in precept, in their fundamental or primordial content, but not as a legal code.  The Old Law is not binding on Christians, yet the 10 Commandments form part of the Old Law.

Official Magisterial statements

The Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Emblem of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Since they express man’s fundamental duties towards God and towards his neighbor, the Ten Commandments reveal, in their primordial content, grave obligations. They are fundamentally immutable, and they oblige always and everywhere. No one can dispense from them. The Ten Commandments are engraved by God in the human heart.

- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2072

The 10 Commandments reveal grave obligations.  They are not themselves grave obligations.

They reveal these obligations – in their primordial content.  Their primordial content is natural law – it is because they is part of natural law that a) they are obligations, and b) they could be written into the Decalogue for those who did not read it in their hearts.

Their non-primordial (ethnic: see Joseph Ratzinger, above) content, e.g. the need for “thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates” to rest, and coveting neighbours’ oxen and donkeys, is not relevant to non-Israelites.  Even the mention of Creation and the Exodus are replaced, for Christians, with the New Creation and the redemption from sin.

The 10 Commandments are fundamentally immutable – they are immutable at their most basic level, in their primordial content, because they are part of natural law.

Council of Trent in Santa Maria Maggiore church, Museo Diocesano Tridentino, Trento (Italy)

The Council of Trent:

If any one saith, that nothing besides faith is commanded in the Gospel; that other things are indifferent, neither commanded nor prohibited, but free; or, that the ten commandments nowise appertain to Christians; let him be anathema.

- Council of Trent, Decree on Justification, Canon 19

It is wrong to say that the 10 Commandments “nowise appertain” to Christians.  In modern English, “nowise” means “in no way“.  We already know that the 10 Commandments DO apply to Christians because their principles are part of natural law and the New Law.  So this is not contrary to what I have been saying, and have found support for in the writings of the Church Fathers, modern Catholic apologists, and the official Catholic magisterium.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church:

The Law of the Gospel “fulfills,” refines, surpasses, and leads the Old Law to its perfection. In the Beatitudes, the New Law fulfills the divine promises by elevating and orienting them toward the “kingdom of heaven.” It is addressed to those open to accepting this new hope with faith – the poor, the humble, the afflicted, the pure of heart, those persecuted on account of Christ and so marks out the surprising ways of the Kingdom.

- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1967

The Pontifical Biblical Commission:

As regards the central contents of the Law (the Decalogue and that which is in accordance with its spirit), Ga 5:18-23 affirms first of all: “If you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the Law” (5:18). Having no need of the Law, a person will spontaneously abstain from “works of the flesh” (5:19-21) and will produce “the fruit of the Spirit” (5:22).

- The Jewish People and their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible, section 45, Pontifical Biblical Commission, 2001

Mystici Corporis Christi, 29-30, Pope Pius XII:

And first of all, by the death of our Redeemer, the New Testament took the place of the Old Law which had been abolished … “To such an extent, then,” says St. Leo the Great, speaking of the Cross of our Lord, “was there effected a transfer from the Law to the Gospel, from the Synagogue to the Church, from the many sacrifices to one Victim, that, as Our Lord expired, that mystical veil which shut off the innermost part of the temple and its sacred secret was rent violently from top to bottom.”

On the Cross then the Old Law died, soon to be buried and to be a bearer of death, in order to give way to the New Testament …

- Mystici Corporis Christi, 29-30

Pope Pius XII uses St Thomas Aquinas’ term “Old Law“.

The Catechism of the Council of Trent:

With regard to the exposition of this Commandment, the faithful are carefully to be taught how it agrees with, and how it differs from the others, in order that they may understand why we observe and keep holy not Saturday but Sunday.

The point of difference is evident. The other Commandments of the Decalogue are precepts of the natural law, obligatory at all times and unalterable. Hence, after the abrogation of the Law of Moses, all the Commandments contained in the two tables are observed by Christians, not indeed because their observance is commanded by Moses, but because they are in conformity with nature which dictates obedience to them.

- Catechism of the Council of Trent

The other commandments are precepts of natural law, and that is why Christians need to observe them.  The Law of Moses was abrogated – in the context of the 10 Commandments, clearly the term includes them.  We do not observe the 10 Commandments because their observance was commanded by Moses.  We observe them because they are part of natural law.

Council of Trent in Santa Maria Maggiore church, Museo Diocesano Tridentino, Trento (Italy)

The Catechism of the Council of Trent again:

But, lest the people, aware of the abrogation of the Mosaic Law, may imagine that the precepts of the Decalogue are no longer obligatory, it should be taught that when God gave the Law to Moses, He did not so much establish a new code, as render more luminous that divine light by which the depraved morals and long-continued perversity of man had at that time almost obscured. It is most certain that we are not bound to obey the Commandments because they were delivered by Moses, but because they are implanted in the hearts of all, and have been explained and confirmed by Christ our Lord.

- Catechism of the Council of Trent

When God gave Moses the Law, he established a new code, but more importantly, he shone a light on natural law that people had forgotten.  (See CCC 1962 below.)  We are bound to obey the 10 Commandments because natural law has been written onto our hearts, NOT because they were given to Moses.  Our obligations to obey these principles existed before and after the time during which the Old Law was legally in force.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church:

The Old Law is the first stage of revealed Law. Its moral prescriptions are summed up in the Ten Commandments. The precepts of the Decalogue lay the foundations for the vocation of man fashioned in the image of God; they prohibit what is contrary to the love of God and neighbor and prescribe what is essential to it. The Decalogue is a light offered to the conscience of every man to make God’s call and ways known to him and to protect him against evil: God wrote on the tables of the Law what men did not read in their hearts.

- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1962

The precepts of the Decalogue … that doesn’t mean the Decalogue itself.  The principles underlying the 10 Commandments are part of natural law, written on our hearts.  The Decalogue was given because men did not read in their hearts what was written there.

Conclusion

In the three part series that came before this, we have seen from the Bible that the Sabbath is part of the Old Covenant Law, and that the 10 Commandments are part of the Old Covenant Law, which has been abolished.  St Paul explicitly includes the 10 Commandments, written on tables of stone, in his thesis.  Adventists, for some reason, have failed to comprehend that the 10 Commandments are part of a law no longer legally in force, and they fail to understand how we can be under a better law.

The Old Law, as a whole, was binding on Israel, but never anyone else, not even the Gentiles they lived alongside.  The moral components of that law, however, were binding on all, even before the 10 Commandments were given, because they were part of the natural law anyone could grasp.

I have given plenty of evidence that the Catholic Church does not deny this, and in fact it is easy to support from Catholic statements on other matters.  The more common Catholic statements promoting the 10 Commandments are part of a fight against moral relativism rather than a technical appraisal of the status of a legal code.  In discussions about the technical aspects of the Old Covenant, it becomes clear that the 10 Commandments, in their fundamental content, are binding on Christians, even though the 10 Commandments as a legal code are not the law in force today for Christians.  The New Law has been written on our hearts, and there is no evidence that the 7th day Sabbath was included in what was written there.

Further reading:

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Merry "Xmas" [at Faith of the Fathers]

A Brief Explanation of the Original Meaning of Xmas

Merry Xmas to you and yours.

Yes, you read that right. Merry Xmas to you and yours.

“What is with this guy” you're wondering. “Does he realize what he is doing? Here he has a bunch of Catholic blogs and is saying 'Xmas'! Doesn't he realize what he is saying?”

Yes, I sure do!

A lot of people...most people in fact... tend to get very upset when they see the term "Xmas".

"Xmas? How dare they take Christ out of Christmas, and call it Xmas. After all, Christmas is derived from Christ's Mass, and calling it Xmas is just a blatant attempt to demean what Christmas means. They already want to say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”...and now they want to make their attack complete by writing “Merry Xmas”? Well, I for one am not standing idly by while these secular humanists and their anti-Christian cohorts...."

Whoa there....slow down and take a couple of deep breaths. While you're taking your deep breaths I'll give you a little information so you can get your drawers (that means underwear to you people not from the country) out of a wad....so to speak.

The term Xmas is virtually as old as Christianity itself, and actually comes from classical Greek. The Roman letter “X” in our alphabet is similar to the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός, “Christos”, which translates as "Christ". The "mas" part is from the Latin-derived Old English word for "Mass". So, the word “Christmas” is actually derived from the Old English “Cristes mæsse”, literally meaning Mass of Christ.

“Xmas” (sometimes pronounced éksməss) is, and was a very common abbreviation of the word “Christmas”. So there is a very common misconception that the word “Xmas” is a secular attempt to remove the religious tradition of Christmas by taking Christ out of Christmas. This is just not the case for the term historically speaking.

According to the “Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage” the early use of Xmas dates back to 1551. Further, it (Merriam-Webster) states that X, Xp, and Xt, all derived from the Greek name, have all been used to stand for Christ- in other words besides Xmas. "Xpen" (1485), "Xpian" (1598), and "Xtian" (1845, 1915, 1940), all meaning "Christian", "Xstened" (1685-86) "christened" and "Xtianity" (1634, 1811, 1966) "Christianity".

Also, you can find the “X” being used in the ancient Christian fish symbol, or “Icthys”, as “ΙΧΘΥΣ”, which is an acronym for “Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior”.

The labarum, more often called the Chi-Rho, was rendered by taking the first 2 Greek letters of the name Christ (Χριστός), the "X" (Chi) the "P" (Rho), and is a symbol used in Catholic, Orthodox, and many Protestant Christian churches as a symbol for Christ.

In a good deal of ancient Christian art, “x” and “xp” are used as abbreviations for Christ's name, as well as in many icons and ancient manuscripts of the New Testament.

The use of the term “Xmas” in place of Christmas was also used in letters from Lord Byron (1811), Lewis Carroll (1864) and Oliver Wendell Holmes (1923), in which Merriam-Webster's opines was indicative of “well-educated Englishmen who knew their Greek”.

So, I hope this helps.

I am not going to try to tell you that “Xmas” is not used by those who are trying to offend, as I am sure in some cases that it is intended so. Just remember the next time you see “Xmas”, they are still saying Christmas...and still honoring the name of Christ, even though they may not realize it.

Now, you do know it.

So, Merry Xmas to you and yours!

This contribution is available at http://faithofthefathers.blogspot.com/2012/12/merry-xmas.html

Copyright is retained by the contributing author (follow above link for info on this piece).

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The Other Polish Cardinal: Karol Wojtyla's Visit to Wisconsin

Today, on the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I announce my intention of writing a book in the next year. This is certainly not something I have thought of on a "whim," but is a project that I have been thinking and praying about for quite some time. I believe it is now the time to begin and I need your help!

The Book - "The Other Polish Cardinal: Karol Wojtyla's Visit to Wisconsin"

The goal of this project is to research, write, design and print a 100 page book detailing the visit of a Polish Cardinal to Central Wisconsin that was never supposed to happen.

Background

In 1976, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point professor, Dr. Waclav Soroka, who was previously forced into exile by the Communists in Poland, invited Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski to speak at the Annual Lectures on Poland at the University. Cardinal Wyszynski was well known for his opposition to the Communist regime in Poland and was the leader of all the Catholics in his country. However, the Cardinal could not make it, so he made a suggestion: invite the "other Polish Cardinal."

The "other Polish Cardinal," as he was known at the time, was Cardinal Karol Wojtyla. Providentially he was attending the International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia that summer and was willing to travel to Central Wisconsin to give the address. Little did anyone in Stevens Point know at the time that they would be welcoming a future Pope (John Paul II) as well as a living Saint.

While here in Central Wisconsin Cardinal Wojtyla did many things including visiting a family farm. As Bishop Freking put it, "He walked down the cow barns of the farm, got full of silage, and it didn't bother him one bit."

Unique

In the end, this is a unique book as it is an attempt to bring all the sources of information regarding the visit and people's experiences into one volume. It is also unique as I plan to place this visit into the context of Cardinal Wojtyla's life and to flesh out the story with additional details that have never been written down before. Additionally, it will contain numerous photographs of Cardinal Wojtyla visiting places such as Saint Peter's in Stevens Point and celebrating Mass in the field house of SPASH.

It will be an engaging narrative that will not only be accessible to those who live in Central Wisconsin, but will reveal a side of the future Pope that few have ever seen. With the forthcoming canonization of Pope John Paul II in April, many will desire to learn more about the life of one of the greatest Popes to have ever walked this earth.

Kickstarter

This project is certainly one that will take a lot of time and effort. Also, since I intend to self-publish and print this book, I will need the necessary funds to make this possible. In order to do this, I have utilized a website service called "Kickstarter." Here is a basic description of this website:

Kickstarter is a new way to fund creative projects.

We’re a home for everything from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology. Kickstarter is full of projects, big and small, that are brought to life through the direct support of people like you. Since our launch in 2009, 5.2 million people have pledged $882 million, funding 52,000 creative projects. Thousands of creative projects are raising funds on Kickstarter right now. [Read More]

The unique part about Kickstarter is that if a person does not raise enough money to meet their goal in the time allotted, the project is dead and nobody is charged anything. As a result, I will have 30 days to raise money to meet my goal and if I don't meet the goal, I will not move forward with the project.

In any case, I would ask that you check out my project by clicking here. On Kickstarter there is a more detailed explanation of the project as well as a preview of the book's contents. I am excited about this project and I hope it will draw a lot of attention to Central Wisconsin as a place of pilgrimage for those who have a devotion to Blessed (Saint) Pope John Paul II. I have a particular closeness to John Paul II, not only because of my Polish ancestry, but also because my birthday is October 22nd, which is now the day that the universal Church celebrates the life of John Paul II.

Lastly, I hope this book will help enliven Polish culture in Wisconsin as it is something that has waned with the passing of each generation. Karol Wojtyla was a great champion of Polish Culture and his visit was a great expression of solidarity with the Polish people.

In the end, I need all the help I can get, both large and small donations are most gladly accepted.

This contribution is available at http://www.philipkosloski.com/2013/11/the-other-polish-cardinal-karol.html

Copyright is retained by the contributing author (follow above link for info on this piece).

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Little Lamb Who Made Thee? [at salliesART]

"Little Lamb Who Made Thee?", drawing by Sarah "Sallie" Thayer, 2013

Here is a new drawing of Our Lady with the Child Jesus and a lamb. The drawing is loosely based on a painting by William Adolphe Bouguereau (1825 - 1905). This is another in my series of drawings showing the Son of God as either a lamb or with a lamb.

Lamb of God (Latin: Agnus Dei) is a title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John (John 1:29).  In the scene being described, John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." This description, however, was not meant to depict Our Lord as the “scapegoat” of the Old Testament, which is a person or animal subject to punishment for the sins of others without knowing it or willing it. But rather that Jesus chose to suffer at Calvary as a sign of his full obedience to the will of his Father, as an "agent and servant of God" – thus this image is more related to the Paschal Lamb of Passover.

One of the better

known image of

the Good Shepherd

found in the

catacombs

The lamb is one of the few Christian symbols dating from the first century, particularly, the image of the Good Shepherd carrying on His shoulders a lamb or a sheep. As well, the shepherd was sometimes shown with a lamb on His shoulders with two other sheep at his side. According to the research, the lamb or sheep on the shoulders of the Good Shepherd is a symbol of the soul of the deceased being borne by Our Lord into heaven; whereas the two sheep accompanying the Shepherd represent the saints already enjoying eternal bliss. Between the first and the fourth century eighty-eight frescoes of this type were depicted in the Roman catacombs.

However, after the conversion of Constantine and the cessation of the persecution of Christians, the basilicas that were built began to show the lamb as representing the Lamb of God, Christ Jesus. In Church and religious pictures we have all seen the Lamb carrying the cross or showing the five wounds of the crucifixion. The Book of Revelation contains numerous descriptions of this sort, portraying the Lamb of God as both the sacrifice and as the Lord enthroned and reigning over all of creation.

By the time of William Adolphe Bouguereau (1825 - 1905), many religious paintings depicted Our Lady holding a lamb in her arms, holding her Son and a lamb in her arms or holding her son with a lamb at their feet. Even though the lamb could be a reminder of such images as the Lamb of God or the Good Shepherd, by this time the lamb was no longer necessarily included as anything other than a lamb.

Although it has no bearing on this drawing, I will mention once again that whenever I see, think about or try to draw a lamb, these lines of William Blake's famous poem from his "Songs of Innocence and Experience" always comes to mind.

The Lamb

BY WILLIAM BLAKE

Little Lamb who made thee

Dost thou know who made thee

Gave thee life and bid thee feed.

By the stream and o'er the mead;

Gave thee clothing of delight,

Softest clothing woolly bright;

Gave thee such a tender voice,

Making all the vales rejoice!

Little Lamb who made thee

Dost thou know who made thee

Little Lamb I'll tell thee,

Little Lamb I'll tell thee!

He is called by thy name,

For he calls himself a Lamb:

He is meek and he is mild,

He became a little child:

I a child and thou a lamb,

We are called by his name.

Little Lamb God bless thee.

Little Lamb God bless thee.

*Certain parts of the above information came either from Wikipedia or the Catholic Encyclopedia.

____________________________________________________________________________

SOMETHING OF INTEREST

Recently, I have received several requests for permission to use some of the icons I have drawn.  One such request was from the pastor of a Lutheran church in Kansas.  As always, I asked that I be sent a copy of the finished product.  Thus, in Friday's mail, I received a copy of their church bulletin from the Sunday after All Saints.  The following image if of the back cover of that bulletin.

Back cover of the bulletin of a Lutheran Church in Kansas.  This bulletin was for

the Sunday following the Feast of All Saints, November 1, 2013

___________________________________________________

SUKI AND SALLIE

Suki in one of her favourite chairs!

Well, this week, I can combine most of what is happening with me with the story of what is happening with Suki!

At the beginning of this past week, the arthritis in my spine began to bother me quite a lot. I tried sleeping in my bed as usual, but I was unable to get comfortable due to the pain. Even trying to arrange all sorts of pillows to support my back did not accomplish anything.

Finally, I decided to see if my recliner would give my back the support it needed so that I could get some sleep.  The only problem with this idea was that the recliner had been moved into the living room to make more space available in my bedroom.  While there was plenty of room in the living room for the recliner, I had not placed it far enough from the wall so that it could be "reclined" to the full extent.

So, there I was at about midnight moving furniture around in my living room!  Really that sounds worse than it was as I only had to move the coffee table up close to the couch and then pull the recliner out from the wall, making sure not to bunch up the area rug.  This, of course, did not make my back feel any better, but I was desperate by this time for something relatively comfortable so that I could get to sleep!

Finally, all was in place.  I had a throw from the couch to put over my feet and legs and so I settled myself in the recliner, pushing it all the way back.  Suddenly, I felt the pain easing from my back as the recliner gave me support in just the right places.  With a prayer of gratitude to God on my lips, I quickly fell asleep.

Suki, meanwhile, had observed all my antics with a certain look of displeasure.  First of all, she greatly dislikes the movement of any furniture as that denotes change and change is anathema to Suki. As well, Suki has become really fond of spending the night in the bedroom as she is able to stretch out fully on the body pillow on my bed.  Not only is this very comfortable, but from this position, she is able to reach out with her paw and pat my face gently when she has decided that it is time for her first meal of the morning -- usually around 4 a.m.

Since I was exhausted, I had paid little attention to Suki other than to say: "Goodnight Suki, wherever you are!" just as I was falling asleep.  So I was not prepared for what was to follow.

It seemed just moments after I had fallen asleep that I was awakened by Suki perched on the recliner just above my head.  It wasn't her being there that had awakened me, rather it was the fact that she was trying to wash my scalp with her scratchy tongue! With one quick move I grabbed her and pulled her down onto my chest.  With hardly a thought as to what condition my hair might be in the morning, I quickly fell back to sleep.

Suki must have stayed there on my chest for quite some time or else she managed to move very gently as I slept soundly.  I was not awakened again until about 4 a.m.  This time I was gradually awakened by a strange brushing sound.  At first I had tried to ignore the sound in my sleep by dreaming it away and then, after awakening, I tried to actually ignore the sound and just return to sleep.  As many of you know, however, I still have excellent hearing and cannot ignore a sound of unknown origin, no matter how faint it may be.

I knew, of course, that it must be Suki up to some mischief.  So, I tried calling her name and telling her to stop whatever she was doing.  This did not work.  The sound continued just as before. Finally, I realized that I was going to have to get up, find Suki and stop her from doing whatever it was that she was doing!

As I brought the recliner upright, I begin looking in the direction from which the noise seemed to be coming.  At first I couldn't see anything as I had only turned on a small table lamp for light. Gradually, as I looked more closely, I begin to make out the outline of one very black cat sitting directly under the lamp table.

I could see that Suki was just lying there but the noise was continuing.  Then, in the dim light, I noticed one front paw moving ever so slightly.  She was gently swinging the electrical cord from the lamp.  This slight movement caused a brushing, scratching sound as the cord moved again the wall.  That was all that was happening and Suki was lying there, looking very pleased with herself.

I begin to say some rather unpleasant things to her; however, she appeared not to notice.  Instead, she stretched and began to walk slowly towards the kitchen.  I stood there, amazed at the cheek of this cat.  My first thought was to simply refuse to feed her and to return to my "bed"; however, I knew from long experience with this cat that this plan would not work.  So, I gave in, went into the kitchen and fed her!  I know when I am beaten.

Once Suki was fed, she settled done in the chair opposite me and, after a bit of washing up, went directly to sleep!  I returned to the recliner, tried to settle myself in once again and, thankfully, was able to get another few hours of sleep.  What a cat!

So, now you know about my back problems.  I am, of course, still dealing with all the other issues that are presently afflicting me, but most of them seem to be, momentarily, under control.  There are several concerns that are presently being looked into, but since I don't really know anything new at this point, I will just save any comments until later.

My biggest disappointment these days is that one of these issues is keeping me from being able to go to the gym each day.  I am really hoping that I will feel better this coming week as I miss my workouts. Thankfully, I am still able to spend a bit of time each day doing my art.

So, I come to the end of another posting.  Before long, people from St. Michael's Cathedral will be coming to bring me Our Lord in Holy Communion.  This is the high point of my week.  As I receive the Sacred Host, I will be praying that all those people who will read this blog in the days ahead will be greatly blessed and find the joy and love that we all desire.  May the peace of God be with you.

This contribution is available at http://salliesart.blogspot.ca/2013/11/little-lamb-who-made-thee.html

Copyright is retained by the contributing author (follow above link for info on this piece).

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The Blood [at The Encouragement of Scripture]

. . . and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)

For it was the Father’s good pleasure . . .  to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:19-20)

One of the things that drew me to my wife 38 years ago was her walk with Christ.  Nancy was never one to relegate her relationship with the Lord to Sundays. Commitment for her meant a day by day, week by week, year after year ever-growing effort to know and to please her Lord. Her desire to know Jesus more intimately has over the years led her to communicate with Him each day in prayer and to bring Him each day her venial sins for forgiveness and reconciliation.

The other day when I returned home from work she told me about her time with the Lord earlier that morning. As soon as she told me what He had said to her, I knew instinctively she’d heard from His lips.

She said, “I asked Him this morning if there was anything between us, and before I finished my question, He answered, “The Blood of Jesus.”

The blood of Jesus. What a word of encouragement. What a promise, what a hope, what an assurance.

In the late 19th century hymn writer Elisha Hoffman penned these lyrics:

Are you walking daily by the Savior’s side?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you washed in the blood,

In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?

Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Because of our move across country, the last several months have been like few other times in our lives. The stress has taken its toll on our sense of peace and stillness. And although we continue to do the right things by attending Sunday Mass and spending time each day with Christ in prayer and reading Scripture, I’d begun, in the midst of my spiritual weariness, to forget what it is that brings us into the Father’s presence. It is nothing less than the grace of God through the blood of Jesus, the blood that purchased mercy, pardon, forgiveness and eternal life for this chief of sinners.

Few things encourage me like that verse in 1 John. I know how dirty I was. I know how dirty I am. But the blood of Jesus washes it all away each time I bring my sins to the foot of His cross.

What about you? Are you washed in the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

You too can be reconciled, just as my wife and I have been. Ask Him. He will never turn you away.

This contribution is available at http://theencouragementofscripture.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-blood.html

Copyright is retained by the contributing author (follow above link for info on this piece).

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Catholics! Some of the Members are Wandering Away! [at Renew The Church Blog]

The Catholic Church is not doing well in holding her own.  Of those Church members raised in the Church from childhood, a Pew Forum Study (Faith in Flux) found only about 2/3 (68%) of “Cradle Catholics” remain.  Of the 1/3 who leave the Church, about half leave and become Protestants and about half leave and remain unaffiliated with any religion.  A small part (3%) of the cradle Catholics leave and join other religious groups (Buddhists, Jehovah Witnesses, etc.)  But – about one out of three “Cradle Catholics” leave!

The Church would be shrinking, were it not for immigration.  Those who have left the Church (over 10% of the American population are now “former Catholics”!) outnumber those who have become Catholic (2.6% of American adults come into the Church), by a margin of nearly four to one.  Only the immigration of Catholics has kept the Church in America from diminishing year by year.  Evangelical groups, meanwhile, are zealously working with the immigrant population to attract, to convert and to keep them satisfied in a non-Catholic form of Christianity.

Here is a number from the Pew Study that I think ought to get our attention.  Of those who left the Church and became Protestant, 71% gave as a reason that their spiritual needs were not being met.  This was the most commonly given reason for this group.  How is it that spiritual needs are not being met, in the Catholic Church formed and sent by Jesus Himself, entrusted with the fullness of divinely revealed truth?  How can former Catholics find more to fill their spiritual needs, in denominations that have less of the spiritual food that God has given?  Something seriously wrong is happening.  Or maybe something seriously right and needed is not happening in the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church believes and teaches that the Sacred Liturgy is the “source and summit of the Christian life”!  We have just noted that of the 1/3 of Catholics who were raised under this Church belief and left the Church for Protestantism, 71% left because their spiritual needs were not being met!  The overwhelming majority of those spiritually hungry former Catholics (78%) found their home in evangelical Protestantism, where Scripture reigns and “sola scriptura” is the dominant doctrine.  We Catholics ought – ought – to learn something from this.

One observation that I think we need to take seriously is the hunger for the Word of God among Catholics.  This hunger is a beautiful gift from God – it is a hunger that the Church is obliged as Mother to respond to, in her children.  Catholics ought not have to leave the Church, to find the beauty and power and presence of Christ in His holy Word.

A related matter is the Presence that the Church does strongly proclaim and offer to her own: the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  Of course these issues are connected, in the Church: in the Mass, we celebrate both the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The table of the Word is offered, the Word is proclaimed in each Mass!

Indeed the Liturgy of the Word precedes that of the Eucharist in the Mass, just as in salvation history the Word was given first in written form, before Christ the Word came in living form as a man.  First the words, then the living Word!  Adult Catholics today need to find Jesus first in the words – in Holy Scripture, spiritually – before they can fully know Him and receive Him by faith in His real, substantial and sacramental Presence in the Eucharist.  “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.” (Rom 10:17)

In a CARA study (Sacraments Today) at Georgetown University, the following question was asked the respondents: “Which of the following statements best agrees with your belief about the Eucharist/Holy Communion?”  Two possible responses were offered to choose from:

“Jesus Christ is really present in the bread and wine of the Eucharist.”

In 2001, 63% chose this statement.  In 2008, 57% chose this.

“Bread and wine are symbols of Jesus, but Jesus is not really present.”

In 2001, 37% chose this statement.  In 2008, 43% chose this.

Setting aside the imprecise language of the options, the startling fact remains that 43% of self-defined Catholics (not those who consider themselves “former” Catholics, yet) reject the doctrine of the Real Presence.  When we hold in the one hand the “source and summit” doctrine of the Church, and in the other hand a 43% denial of the Real Presence among self-identified Catholics, we can perhaps begin to understand the exodus to Protestantism because of spiritual hunger unfulfilled.  Is it well-educated and carefully discerned rejection of Church doctrine?  Is it ignorance of Church teaching?  Is it because the doctrine is presented (if at all) as hard and formal dogma, as unrealistic and incredible “law”?  Is it because so many Catholics today lack adult formation in the faith, and have never had the opportunity or time to consider carefully and prayerfully as adults this and the many other challenging doctrines entrusted to the Church?

The fact is, many Catholics do not receive Christ spiritually in His Word – a presence they hunger for.   Some – to our loss and theirs – leave the Church to find Him in Scripture elsewhere.   Many Catholics do not have the faith or the understanding to receive Christ in His Real and Substantial Presence in Holy Eucharist.  They think they are receiving merely a symbol, and so they lack the right disposition to become fruitful by the Gift.

Our Faith is not strong

The Pew study gives us more troubling news, concerning those Catholics who remain in the Church: by our own admission, our faith is not strong.  Less than half of the self-identified Catholics questioned, reported their faith to be very strong – whether in their childhood, in their youth, or in their adulthood now.  The numbers were, 46% reported very strong faith when they were children, 34% reported it in their teen years, and 46% reported this as true for them now as adults.  Our remaining Catholics – at least the majority of us – are not remaining because of a fervent (or “very strong”) Catholic faith.

It seems that such a lack of fervor explains very well how so many simply “gradually drifted away” from the Church.  The Pew study writes, “Nearly three-quarters of former Catholics who are now unaffiliated (71%) say this, as do more than half of those who have left Catholicism for Protestantism (54%).”  The ties that bind a human soul to the truth of God ought to be the strongest ties in his life!  But when faith is weak that the Church has such ultimate value – or when faith in God Himself is weak, unclear, poorly grasped in mind and heart – then we can well understand how such a soul can simply wander off, gradually and with little concern.

A relevant and interesting statistic that Pew reports is this: of those who left the Catholic Church for Evangelical Protestantism, 78% said that their spiritual needs were not being met in the Catholic Church, 70% said that they now have found a religion they like more.  Indeed among all former Catholics who are now Protestant (evangelical or main-line), 71% say that now their faith is “very strong”!   To me, this statistic is one of the most troubling.  These Catholics had to leave His Church to find Jesus “really” – with a faith of fervor and zeal.

Conclusions

The answer to this strange and sad conundrum is simple, and the Church on paper has been exhorting us all to it for some time: we need meaningful, substantive, comprehensive and spiritually rich adult faith formation.  We have done well at dispensing sacraments having immense potency of grace!  But we are far from the rich bounty of fruitfulness that the Lord and His sacrifice deserve.  We have not done well – indeed we continue to do poorly – at making fervent disciples in His name.

Catholic adults deserve the formation worthy of disciples – indeed the defining mission of the Church is to preach the Gospel and make disciples of all nations.  What do we need to do?  What do we need to do better?  What do we need to do less, if at all?  One thing we need to do, I am sure, is begin to care, and deeply, about our obedience to the mission of Christ: make disciples!

This contribution is available at http://renewthechurch.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/catholics-some-of-the-sheep-are-wandering-away/

Copyright is retained by the contributing author (follow above link for info on this piece).

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Advent 2013 & Catholic Feasts [at Happy Little Homemaker]

I thought about writing a brand new Advent post for this year, but I really did a pretty thorough job a few years ago. This year, we are going to do Sarah Reinhard’s Advent devotional, Welcome Baby Jesus in the morning and the Jesse Tree in the evening before bed.

I would like to do an Our Lady of Guadalupe tea, but I don’t know if I can fit another thing in — I don’t think I was smart enough to save the plans I made to do it last year .

If you are interested to know how our family celebrates in Advent, check out these posts:

On a side note, if, like me, you like to make lists and have holiday planners, but never quite felt like any of them work for you, it might be because your Advent is about, well, Advent and not Christmas.  Laci @ Catholic Icing has just released an Advent & Christmas planner that is out-of-this-world PERFECT for Catholics.  It couldn’t have been any more perfect if I had made it myself.  The only thing missing is a meal planning pages for the feast days, so I don’t have to recreate the wheel each year.  This isn’t a referral link, but it’s SO fabulous, I couldn’t NOT share it.  Seriously. worth. every. penny.

And finally, since Advent marks the start of a new liturgical year, here is the updated printable 2013-2014 Catholic Feast list/calendar.   Like last year, I’ve left it editable so you can add your family saints and such to it.  Don’t know where to start?  Check out this article I wrote @ Catholic Mothers Online about working the liturgical year into your busy life.

Enjoy!

This contribution is available at http://www.happylittlehomemaker.com/2013/11/advent-2013-catholic-feasts-printable/

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Discovering the Image of God Within [at Christ's Faithful Witness]

(editor’s note: This piece is dedicated to the owners and patrons of Kuma’s Corner, Purveyors of fine BOVINE GENOCIDE, Chicago, Illinois, in honor of their November “Sleep” burger with turkey and cranberry jelly. Yum)

“As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone ...But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear him. (Psalm 103)

American rock musician Matthew Pike has found a mysterious part of himself – something that was missing during the years he was blacked out from alcohol and dope.

Doom Metal Guitarist Matt Pike

“I’m starting to find out who I really am, what I’m worth and the value of my being,” said the 41-year-old Denver native in a 2012 interview with Vincent Duke for Pelecanus.net. “That’s an important thing for a person to realize.”

And surprisingly, it appears that the guitarist for the doom metal band, Sleep, is finding out that being human and being alive is actually something wonderful.

“I’ve been writing in this journal… some of it is very Hunter S. Thompson. It’s realism. It has comedy, and it’s kind of depressing, too, because of the way my life has been,” said Pike, who admits he is still struggling with alcohol addiction. “It kinda makes me sad that I blacked myself out for half of it.”

“I just feel like I’m starting to get grounded where I was lost for a really long time.” His face beaming with happiness, Pike added, “I asked my girl to marry me in Rome. She said, ‘Yes.’  So it will be the first time I’ve ever been married. ”

His partner on this pilgrimage to the heart of his humanity is a mysterious worm, the subject of his latest song creation, De Vermis Mysteriis. “That’s what that record is – it’s the Book of the Worm or the mysteries of the worm. It’s about digging under the earth or underneath the groundation of your soul and finding something. It’s not about how rock star I am. Being human is finding what you really are.”

I wonder if he would be surprised to know that a number of other people have courageously ridden the worm into their own soul and found something beautiful there.

Harking back to Psalm 103 where man is compared to the flower of the field, which lasts only so long as the wind passes over it, St. Theresa -- known as The Little Flower -- said, “If a little flower could speak, it would say, simply, what the good God has done for her.” Indeed the French saint lived only 24 years in an obscure Carmelite convent in Lisieux in the late 1800s. Yet she is known and loved worldwide.

Her life inspired a Vietnamese Redemptorist brother, Marcel Van, to follow the same vocation of hidden love. He died at the age of 31 in a North Vietnamese re-education camp after he voluntarily returned to the dangerous Communist Zone in 1954.  If anyone asked why he wanted to return to North Viet Nam, he answered, “I am going so that there is someone who loves God in the middle of the Communists.”

Brother Marcel Van

He described his life using the same imagery Theresa did, saying that if the flower could speak, “she would frankly admit that she is a fragile creature, quick to fade but she would also be proud of her beauty, of the crispness of her colors, of her delicate scent and of all the other qualities that nature has adorned her with.”

Isn’t Pike’s mysterious worm showing him this same reality? Under the soil of his heart, is he not finding something truly beautiful?

Van continued, “I tell myself that my soul is also like one of God’s flowers. It is God himself who has preordained all that I possess and all the events of my life. I can also therefore recount all the graces with which the good God has embellished my soul, so that together … we can sing a canticle of praise to the infinite mercy of God.”

Pike added, “I can’t summon angels or demons. I can’t do a lot of these things that you think you can when you are in that state.  I found a (different) part of myself. I want to be able to express myself through my instrument. And I’m going to strap that guitar on every day and I’m going to work hard to make a life for my children and my wife.”

“I’m going to make a lot of people, who are sad, feel something. I’m going to make a lot of people, who are angry, feel something. I’m going to make a lot of people, who are happy, feel something,” he concluded.

Is that a strange ambition for a guitarist for a group called “Sleep?”  Sleep after all is part of the doom metal scene where the smog of pot fills the room.  Its lyrics speak repeatedly about escape. “Drop out of life with bong in hand. Follow the smoke to-uh the riff-filled land.” (Refrain for Sleep’s Dopesmoker lyrics)

No, even sleep is full of emotion.  Doom metal enthusiasts are seeking to experience the same emotions every human being longs for. That’s why they go to concerts.

“Life is always a good.  This is an instinctive perception and a fact of experience, and man is called to grasp the profound reason why this is so,” said Pope John Paul II in the Gospel of Life published in 1995. He also lived through great tribulation, the Nazi and Communist occupation of Poland, the death of his parents, and the Nazi Holocaust which robbed him of personal friends.

“The life which God gives man is quite different from the life of all other living creatures, inasmuch as man, although formed from the dust of the earth, is a manifestation of God in the world, a sign of his presence, a trace of his glory,” the pope said, adding the famous quote from St. Irenaeus of Lyons, “Man, living man, is the glory of God… in man there shines forth a reflection of God himself.”

Addressing God, the author of Psalm 8 says, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have established; (I think) What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him little less than the angels, and you have crowned him with glory and honor.”

The Good Shepherd

How does God regard the human flower? Jesus Himself answered this question in the parable of the lost sheep. If a man has 100 sheep, and one goes astray, does he care? Jesus said, “Yes, he leaves the 99 and goes to look for the one that was lost.” And if he finds it, he rejoices over it more than the 99 who never went astray.

But that is God’s thinking, not ours. If a man is a modern commercial sheepherder, he will be indifferent to one sheep out of 100. He would probably use a mathematical formula to figure out that his profit only went down marginally. Then he’d forget about the sheep and go to bed. That’s how modern man thinks.  But not the Good Shepherd. He would go out and search.

"You don't have the right to despise yourself. You don't have the right," said Fr. Felicien Mbala at Mass today in Denver. He referred to the fact that God Himself has paid the price for us in His own Blood. "For God so loved the world He gave His only Son. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us."

This happened 56 years ago, but I remember it like it happened yesterday: I was four years old sitting in the back seat of the car, moments before the accident that took my father's life. I looked up from reading a comic book. My father was giving my mother one long look of love, and she returned that look with her whole heart. In that instant, my parents taught me this important lesson: Life is good. Life is beautiful. Make every moment count. Share it with the ones that you love because eventually life is over.

This contribution is available at http://christsfaithfulwitness.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-mysterious-worm-of-matthew-pike.html

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Things I Am Thankful For, In No Particular Order [at V for Victory!]

Squanto, Thanksgiving icon: Catholic.  FYI.

I am thankful for the ankle sprain I suffered in January.  There are few physical torments to compare with an ankle sprain, and I have suffered more than my share of ankle sprains; but this one saved me from a bad situation.  This is not to say that I want to sprain my ankle again, ever.

I am thankful for all the times I have not gotten my own way.  Have you ever stopped to consider the fact that disappointment is very often a sign of divine protection?  When you are attracted to someone of the opposite sex, say, and that person is not free to marry, or finds you repulsive, or suddenly disappears on you, that is God's protection.  When you don't get a job you really want, or even think you really need, that is God's protection, even though it looks like a catastrophe.  Thwarted plans are God's protection.  There is no greater disaster than eternal damnation, and so any disappointment, however terrible, is worth it if it saves us from that final and irreparable failure -- and that, really, is the ultimate purpose of these disappointments.  How many miseries I have been spared, and how many occasions of great sin I have been prevented from falling into, because of the times I was not allowed to have my own way!  Think of Michael Jackson.  There was a man who always had his own way, by means of his vast wealth, and it was his ruin.

Which reminds me that I am thankful not to have been a woman of great means up to now.  How I might have ruined myself with huge amounts of filthy lucre, especially in my younger days, I do not care to think.

I am thankful for all the difficult people I have to deal with at work.  They teach me patience and forbearance.

I am thankful for all the talents and personal qualities I wish I had, but don't -- see thankfulness for the times I didn't get my own way, above.

I am thankful for all the trials and tribulations and sufferings I have endured.  There is more merit in five minutes of suffering than in 20 years of pleasure.

Under that same category, I am thankful to be living in dangerous and uncertain times.  I do not want to live in such times: I would much rather live in a time of peace (i.e., order and justice) and stability.  But that is not the time I have been given to live in.  God wants me to live in these times; He is in charge; and He has His reasons.

What is your list of things you are thankful for?  It should include even the things you don't want to be thankful for.  The time will come when those will prove to be worth the most.

This contribution is available at http://v-forvictory.blogspot.com/2013/11/things-i-am-thankful-for-in-no.html

Copyright is retained by the contributing author (follow above link for info on this piece).

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Reflection: Year of Faith - I Believe in God (Part II) [at Quidquid Est, Est!]

See Part I of this series

Ahhhh!  Running out of time to write reflections on the Creed before the end of the Year of Faith!  I guess I’ll have to continue the reflections AFTER the year ends.   That’s not so bad, though.  One should grow in Faith no matter what year it is.   I’m sure it wasn’t Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s intention to have the faithful look into the Faith for one year and then abandon such pursuits.  No, deepening your Faith involves a lifetime of devotions.

So let us continue where we left off. . .

“I believe in God, the Father Almighty”

Explain the Trinity.  Go ahead, explain it.  Having trouble?  Unsure of exactly how to describe the 3-in-1 thing perfectly?  The language of “three Persons, one God” is helpful, but do you ever still feel confused at the end of your reflections on the Trinity?

As Fr. Robert Barron says at the end of his discussion of the Trinity in his Catholicism TV series, “Good.”

There is a difference, a huge difference, between a discussion of God’s existence and a discussion of his oneness, and a discussion of the Trinity.  The existence of God can be known through human reason, without the aid of Divine Revelation (St. Thomas, that great thinker of all things theological and philosophical, called natural beliefs like God’s existence “preambles to the Faith”).  The resulting knowledge of God without Revelation isn’t perfect, for we need Revelation from God to better understand Him, but it is possible.  We can see “proofs” that show that God’s existence is reasonable.  This is not the case with the Trinity.  Try all he wants, a pagan Greek philosopher could not come to the philosophical conclusion that God is three Persons yet one God (as a side note in speculation, perhaps the ideas of polytheism did somehow hint at this reality, and man formed multiple gods out of the truth of one God in three Persons).

The doctrine of the Trinity, though not apparent through philosophic thought, does make sense on a rational level.  If God is perfect, as He would have to be, being God, then He would have to have pure Love as one of His attributes.  St. John is right in noting that “God is Love” (1 John 8: 8, 16).  Love is a good thing, but it cannot exist if there is not some person to receive the love, someone to receive the affection (and no, you can’t really love chocolate).  You cannot love something that is not a person; love can only be shared between persons.

This is a powerful truth when applied to God.  God is perfect Love, which means that He loves eternally, without beginning or end.  Being eternal, He must likewise love perfectly someone eternal, another eternal person.  This eternal person would have to exist from all eternity, also without beginning or end.  This second person is thus also God, for God alone is eternal.  This is the Second Person in God, the Son.  Thus we can see it follows that God is two divine, eternal Persons.

So the Father (the First Person) loves the Son (the Second Person) from all eternity, and the Son loves the Father likewise.  Their Love, then, is a third eternal existence, without beginning or end, and is therefore a Third Person, the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit, in case you couldn’t see where this is going, is also God.

Now, of course, this model of the Trinity is not perfect.  It is not without reason that the Church refers to the Mystery of the Trinity.  This is not a Mystery in the sense that you hunt it down and try to find the answer.  No, it is a mystery because it transcends our limited, human understanding.  We cannot fully grasp the inner life of the Trinity, the ad intra workings of God.  What we can grasp, partially, of course, are the ad extra acts of the Trinity, that is, when He works outside of Himself through creation.  God has revealed Himself throughout history and in various steps.  He first revealed Himself through creation, which is why we can use reason to know He exists.  We can look at the created world to know that there is a God and that He loves us (we will look at God’s act of creation in the second half of this post).  God further revealed Himself through His interaction with the Hebrew people.  They were blessed to know God as Father.  God would more fully reveal Himself through the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity in Jesus of Nazareth, who likewise revealed the Third Person of God the Holy Spirit.  We do not have time now to discuss these later revelations of God, but will examine them when we look at the Son and Holy Spirit in later posts of these reflections.

“I believe in One God. . . Creator of Heaven and Earth, of all things visible and invisible.”

All of Creation depends on God, from whom all good comes.  God, being perfect, did not need to create.  He did so out of love.  He, being infinite Being itself, is the source of existence for all of creation.  God is the creator.  Nothing exists that He did not create, at least indirectly (so for example, the plastic stuff all around you wasn’t DIRECTLY created by God, but He did make the materials that would eventually become the plastic).

[And no, that does not mean God creates evil.  Evil is a privation, a lack of a good.  God allows evil to come into the world for our benefit.  We can’t know exactly how it works in this life.  Evil is another one of those mysteries of Faith mentioned above.  But evil isn’t God’s fault, as if He were trying to hurt us.  We should stop blaming God for bad things and instead work towards correcting the bad.  We should turn to Him as our model for goodness, rather than rejecting the one perfect thing in existence.]

This line from the Creed, about God creating “all things visible and invisible” went through a slight translation change in the newest translation of the Roman Missal (from 2010).  The prior English translation of the Latin phrase “visibilium omnium et invisibilium” made God the creator “of all things seen and unseen.”  The translation now states that God is the creator “of all things visible and invisible.”  This is not some obsessive translation on the part of churchmen who have nothing better to do than think of new translations of creedal statements.  It reflects a more sound concentration of the importance of God’s revelation.  “Seen and unseen” implies that one could somehow physically see everything in creation (“unseen” seems to imply that the focus of our attention could be seen somehow, but just hasn’t been seen yet); “visible and invisible” puts every thing into a category of things we can sense and things we can’t.

The new translation points towards not only invisible natural forces in creation, such as gravity or even something like the wind, but also includes the spiritual world, namely angels (and demons, or angels that rejected God).  Pure spirits without material bodies, angels are invisible.  They appear to humans, some theologians say, by manipulating light into a form that can be visible to those to whom they are sent.  Angel means “messenger,” and the angels who do interact with people do so because they have special missions from God.  The three archangels, Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, are known by name because they appear in Scripture, helping God at important points of Salvation History.  All people have their own guardian angel, as does every church and every country.  Angels were created all at once, the Church teaches, and are not the same as souls who have died and gone to Heaven (contrary to pop cultural references).  And speaking of erroneous ideas of angels, get out of your head the idea of angels as cute and fluffy babies.  There is a reason that the first words angels normally say when greeting humans are “Do not be afraid.”  Visitors from other planes of existence can be quite terrifying.

The Creed affirms not only the existence of angels, but of Heaven and Hell as well.  The existence of both Heaven and Hell are denied rather frequently today, sometimes more frequently than God and angels.  We need to remember that such eternal places exist.  Heaven is a place of bliss, where the souls of the just exist in happiness with God forever.  Dante’s Paradiso captures this reality beautifully.  The souls in Heaven, represented by human-sized lights, swirl around God.  When Dante asks one of the souls who is further away from God if that soul is jealous of those closer to God, the soul says no, because God has placed her where she belongs, and she is still in the presence of God.

Hell, also real, is eternal separation from God.  The most terrifying aspect of Hell is that the people there WANT to be there.  They have chosen to separate themselves from God, and God gives them what they want.  Hell, as strange as it sounds, is a place of justice and love, justice because it gives the souls what they are due (separation from God because of unrepented sins), love because it gives the souls what they want.  Nobody is surprised to end up in Hell.  Again, Dante portrays this marvelously in his Inferno.  At the center of Hell is Satan, frozen in thick sheets of ice.  He remains frozen because, in his pride, the Father of Lies beats his wings, creating a freezing wind that further freezes the ice around him.

Two parables emphasize this point by two very different men.  One is told by Jesus, the other by Oscar Wilde.  The parable of Jesus recounts the story of the rich man and Lazarus.  The rich man, who would not help Lazarus, even though he saw him daily outside his house, ends up in Hell, while Lazarus ends up in Heaven.  When the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers so that they might repent, Abraham responds, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them” (Luke 16:29).  The rich man rejects Abraham’s offer: “No, father Abraham; but if some one goes to them from the dead, they will repent” (Luke 16:30).  The brothers, like the rich man, have separated themselves from God, and the rich man fails to see how God might have offered the key to salvation for men like him and his brothers.

The other story is “The House of Judgment” by Oscar Wilde.  In it is a man who has done pretty much everything bad that is humanly possible.  He is told he has to go to Hell, but he replies he can’t because he’s spent his entire life there.  When Heaven is offered to him, he rejects it because, as he says, “Because never, and in no place, have I been able to imagine it.”  One cannot be with God in Heaven if he cannot build his relationship with God on earth.  In what is perhaps the most disturbing aspect of sin, Hell is the only place where such a person can feel at home.

A quick word on visible creation.  There is a lot of debate about whether science or religion has the key to understanding the beginning of the universe.  When man pits science against God or when a man rejects reason in the face of faith, only ignorance results.  Both extremes deny the other’s truth.  Faith and science work together and should agree with each other.  If they don’t, someone went wrong.  The fights over creation vs. evolution are frequently neither scientific nor religious.  Bad science ignores evidence, as many believing evolutionists do; bad religion ignores reason and Tradition, as too many creationists do.

I wrote a paper once trying to reconcile theories of human evolution with the Church’s teaching on Adam and Eve.  Maybe someday I’ll publish it in some scholarly journal.  One thing I found was that there was not a lot of work by Catholics in the field of evolutionary biology, particularly in reconciling the findings of the scientific community with the Church’s teaching on creation, original sin, and the origins of man.  There are some notable contributions by Catholic scientists, but their works are too often ignored by both scientists and Catholics.  Much is said about fitting the scientific theory of the Big Bang into the account of Genesis 1, but there has not been as much work on fitting recent genetic and biological research into the first three chapters of Genesis.  My paper sought to do that, but I am not a scientist, nor am I a genius theologian.  The work still needs to be done.

We Catholics must remember above all that, no matter the details of how the universe came to be as it is today, God must have started it.  If the evolutionary theorists are correct, that the earth and life came to be through gradual changes, then God directed those changes, with our salvation as its goal.  We must also keep in mind that often forgotten point in the debates over man’s origins: man’s ultimate goal, which is salvation in Heaven with God.

It was to regain our salvation for us after we lost it after the Fall that God became incarnate in the womb of Mary, mother of Jesus.  We will reflect on what we believe about this pivotal event in human history, upon which even our dating of history hinges (even if you don’t believe in God): the Incarnation.  And in looking at that crucial historical event, we will delve deep, deep into the mystery of God.

For Further Reading (or Listening)

Augustine of Hippo, On the Trinity

Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section Two, Chapter One (198–421)

Gregory of Nyssa, On the Trinity

________.  On “Not Three Gods”

Gregory Thaumaturgus, Fragment from “On the Trinity”

Hilary of Poitiers, On the Trinity

Institute of Catholic Culture Lectures

David Brown, Science & Religion: Compatible or Combative? (especially the first talk)

Dcn. Sabatino Carnazzo, Catechism 102: The Creed

Dr. Timothy T. O’Donnell, Suffering with God: Job & the Attacks of the Evil One

Fr. Andrew Hofer, Original Sin

Fr. Paul Scalia, Credo: I Believe in God the Father

Fr. William Saunders, Alpha and Omega: God the Father, Creator of the World

_________.  Creation or Evolution: What Does the Church Really Teach?

Pinto, Matthew J.  Did Adam and Eve Have Belly Buttons?  And 199 Other Questions from Catholic Teenagers.  West Chester, PA: Ascension Press, 1998, Chapters 1 & 2.

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Part I (deals with God and creation, including parts discussed in the previous post.

This contribution is available at http://quidquidestest.wordpress.com/2013/11/14/reflection-year-of-faith-i-believe-in-god-part-ii/

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We Are Our Own Worse Enemy [at Harvesting The Fruits Of Contemplation]

((Image from Biblebios.com)

[If God used Balaam’s donkey to get that prophet’s attention, I guess he can use me to get yours. May these periodic postings on the second and fourth Mondays of each month (God willing) generate fruitful discussion and faithful change.]

Far too many Catholics are not well-formed in the teachings of Christ's Church. Given this tragic reality, one would expect Catholic media to only publish the work of individuals and columnists who accurately set forth the tenets of the Catholic Church.  Over the years, too many publications claiming to be "Catholic" have consistently demonstrated a preference for doing just the opposite.

A most recent example of this proclivity is a column that a local Diocesean newspaper published wherein its author wrote the following: “Putting an end to the killing of unborn babies is a priority for me, and it is a priority for the Catholic Church. But it is not the only priority. The concern of Christ and the Catholic Church for the suffering of the world is not limited to any one group of people – born or unborn…So we are not to rank, pro-life, social justice and peaces issues, we are to link them (my emphasis). It’s what the Catholic Church calls the “consistent ethic of life.”

Sounds nice but the problem with the columnist’s assertion is that he is simply flat out wrong.

It was the late Cardinal Bernardin, not the Catholic Church, who preached “the seamless garment” doctrine to which this author and so many “social justice and peace Catholics” subscribe.

An accurate description of the Church’s position on these issues can be found in the writings of late Blessed John Paul II. Let this one example suffice: “The promotion of the culture of life should be the highest priority in our societies… (my emphasis again). If the right to life is not defended decisively as a condition for all other rights of the person, all other references to human rights remain deceitful and illusory.”

This prompts me to ask two questions:

Why do Catholic publications choose to print columns such as this?

How many Catholics who read this piece knew their Faith well enough to realize they were being misinformed about an essential truth?

This contribution is available at http://harvestingthefruitsofcontemplation.blogspot.com/2013/11/monday-musings-we-are-our-own-worse.html

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Communing with the Communion of Saints [at Journey to Wisdom]

For several years I've been interested in this being "in Christ":  what does that mean and how does it manifest in my life?  One aspect of being a part of Christ's mystical body involves the communion with saints.  From Merriam -Webster.com, communion is defined as an act or instance of sharing; intimate fellowship; a close relationship with someone or something; a body of Christians having a common faith and discipline.  From a lovely podcast on the communion of saints (1), communion was defined as the sharing or exchange of intimate thoughts or feelings on a mental or spiritual level.  I can certainly see the sharing of thoughts and feelings with those living saints I know, but what about the saints who have since departed earthly life?  How do I commune with them?   What lessons are they trying to teach me?

Oh the great the joys of reading the lives of the saints, a perfect way for our saints to share their inmost feelings and thoughts...of course!  We have just about every type of person in our communion of saints.  (see Rev 7:9, St John's heavenly vision of a great multitude...from every nation, race, people, and tongue, First Reading from All Saints Day Mass).  I've so enjoyed reading about the lives of St Therese of Lisieux, St Ignatius, the Blessed Virgin Mary and others. God can work through these members of His body, the Church--we participate in the saints holy work when we discover and imitate their holy, love-filled and good ways of living.  Alan Schrek in Catholic and Christian: An Explanation of Commonly Misunderstood Catholic Beliefs  (2), called it the incarnational principal.  For example, our ultimate role model, Jesus, provides us with ways of acting with love and compassion.  So when we model these Christ-like behaviors to others, it reflects His life in the world. St. Paul recommended this as well:

1 Cor 11:1  "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."

Hebrews 13:7 recommends "remember your leaders,

those who spoke to you the word of God;

Consider the outcome of their life and imitate their faith."

Thus, as we humans model our lives on persons both living on earth and those passed on, through which we are able to bring Christ to others and grow His body.   Pope Emeritus Benedict explains it this way:

At the General Audiences in the past two years we have been accompanied by the figures of so many saints: we have learned to know them more closely and to understand that the whole of the Church’s history is marked by these men and women who with their faith, with their charity, and with their life have been beacons for so many generations, as they are for us too. The saints expressed in various ways the powerful and transforming presence of the Risen One. They let Jesus so totally overwhelm their life that they could say with St Paul “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). Following their example, seeking their intercession, entering into communion with them, “brings us closer to Christ, so our companionship with the saints joins us to Christ, from whom as from their fountain and head issue every grace and the life of the People of God itself” (cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, n. 50 and CCC 957).

For the past year I've immersed myself in reading about St Thérèse of Lisieux, the patroness of my confirmation name, and a wonderful model of holiness is every day life. Several years ago, I paged through her autobiography, Story of a Soul (4), but I didn't appreciate its treasure.  Last year in Lent our parish hosted weekly talks based on the book, I Believe in Love, by Father Jean C.J. D'Elbée, and so began my reading frenzy on the Little Thérèse.  My very latest reading project on her, The Way of Trust and Love (5), by Father Jaques Philippe, is my absolute favorite!  Father Philippe has a most awesome way of explaining St Thérèse, her way of spiritual childhood, and its practical application to daily living.  What a treasure, I highly recommend reading this book!

My first delight was how St Thérèse used the elevator, namely Jesus, as the means to achieve the heights of heaven.  To do this she had to remain little and become even more little.  She looked at all kinds of wonderful saints and felt just like an obscure grain of sand compared to a lofty mountain top, yet had that deep desire to attain heaven and sainthood.  She realized that "God cannot inspire unrealizable desires.  I can, then, inspite of my littleness, aspire to holiness."   Yes, for awhile there reading the lives of saints brought me discouragement for they were so holy, I too felt like that grain of sand.   Yet Thérèse searched scripture and found Proverbs 9:4:  "Whoever is a little one, let him come to me."  She sounded quite like St Paul, writing, "I am not disturbed at seeing myself weakness itself.  On the contrary, it is in my weakness that I glory, and I expect each day to discover new imperfections in myself." (4, pg 224, C 15r)  Amazingly, she found a way to be happy and to profit from her miseries, and came to understand that her faults caused God no pain, filling her with joy.  Fear had filled her with recoil, yet love made her advance, quite quickly too.  Therese noticed that  "Jesus doesn't want me to lay up provisions; He nourishes me at each moment with a totally new food;  I find it within me without my knowing how it is there.  I believe it is Jesus Himself hidden in the depths of my poor little heart; He is giving me the grace of acting within me, making me think of all He desires me to do at the present moment." (4,pg 165, A 76r)

I discovered another beautiful, holy woman with that unfailing reliance and trust in God:   Blessed Dina Belanger, a religious sister from Quebec.  She writes, "O Jesus, O my heavenly Mother, I know that it is you who are fighting my battles; grant me the grace constantly to be faithful in allowing you freedom of action." (6, pg 256)  Not only did Blessed Dina rely on Jesus, she felt him to be her divine substitute and relied on His personal redemption:  "Sweet Master, O my divine Substitute.  I always rely on your infinite generosity to pay my debts.  Not to mention my debts towards God and towards you, I count on your power and your love to repay infinitely my debts toward others."  (6, pg 21).  Spiritual substitution...a new name for an idea brought to light in the Bible; we find it in these two religious women and in Saint Paul's writings:

Galatians 2:20  "Yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me..."

Romans 8:32  "He did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all,

how will he not also give us everything else along with him?"--

Yet the idea is even older as evidenced through out the Psalms,

Ps 37:23-24  Those whose steps are guided by the Lord;

whose way God approves,

May stumble, but they will never fall,

for the Lord holds their hand.-- .

Ps 23: 4  Even when I walk through a dark valley,

I fear no harm for you are at my side;

your rod and staff give me courage. --

Ps 28:6-8  Blessed be the Lord,

who has heard the sound of my pleading.

The Lord is my strength and my shield,

in whom my heart trusted and found help.

...Lord, you are the strength of your people...

But remember Moses confronting the Lord and how his speech had never been eloquent?  The Lord responded: Who gives one man speech and makes another deaf and dumb?  Or who gives sight to one and makes another blind?  Is it not I, the Lord?  Go, then!  It is I who will assist you in speaking and will teach you what you are to say."  Ex 4: 10-12  One could say that God's plan all along involves indwelling us to shape us in His love.

I find this idea profound:  that God would so love me to save me at my weakest points by offering His own grace, strength, skills and power--I suppose He'll help at any point, as long as I ask for His help!!  Its taken me a while to realize that I do need this saving power every day, and have come to daily "beg for the grace" (as taught in the Ignatian prayer series Lord Teach me to Pray--Thank you St Ignatius!).  St Thérèse came to realize being little also " means not being discouraged by our faults, because children often fall over, but they are so little they don't hurt themselves badly."  Father Philippe explains the fall we take in our little state is not from a great height (the height of pride or self sufficiency, for example), so we aren't really hurt, and we get up and throw ourselves into our parent's arms, then start over again.(5, pg 42).  We must have faith and trust in God that He will provide for our needs as they arise.  Jesus reminds us that we need not be anxious about the past or future (Mt 6: 31-34), and He tells St. Paul His grace is sufficient (2 Cor 12:9) One factoid of note, Jesus said at least 10 times (according to wikianswers.com) "Your faith has healed you." Must be important!

St. Thérèse's little way reconfirms the biblical way of total trust and belief (faith) in God (His mercy and love), and His ability to save us from the mess of our life. Humility means accepting our poverty and weakness, accepting ourselves as we are, with love, knowing we are still beloved by God. It also means living in the moment and not worrying, begging God for grace needed for each challenge we face. Humility also means realizing that every good and beautiful thing in life comes from God, the one source of truth, goodness and beauty. We might also make the next step and live each day with a grateful heart too.

Lastly, I'd be a loud gong if I left out love (1Cor13) for St Thérèse's chosen vocation was love.  Her goal in loving was to be like God:  bearing each others burdens and faults, not being surprised by their weaknesses and learning from each act of virtue we see them practice. Mother Theresa reminds us, “It's not about how much you do, but how much love you put into what you do that counts.”  No one is immune from the ability to show kindness and compassion to another; never should it be "hidden in the bottom of the heart." ( 4,pg 220, C 12r)  For when St Thérèse felt charitable, "it is Jesus alone who is actiing in me, and the more united I am to Him, then more also do I love my Sisters." (4, pg 221, C 12v)  So, if we can't muster the love from our own will, we can certainly beg God to pour His love into us, be our divine substitute, beg for the grace to love another as He would love.

"The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers, and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and doing the least of actions for love." --St Thérèse

Yes, my friends in Christ's wonderful, mystical body, the Communion of Saints, have taught me some of their ways to greater holiness using attitudes of love, humility, gratitude and trust, and total reliance on God's grace.  Now I have to work on putting that all into daily use!  I'm sure we could change the world if we'd only strive forward on this path of holiness!

Praise be to God for the Communion of Saints

Our role models and teachers in holiness!

All you Holy Men and Women pray for us!

Janet

Feast of All Saints, 2013

Bibliography:

2.  Catholic and Christian: An Explanation of Commonly Misunderstood Catholic Beliefs, Alan Schrek, Servant Books, 2004

3.  From Pope Benedict's General Audience on Wednesday, 13 April 2011

4.  Story of a Soul, ICS Publications, 1996

5.  The Way of Trust and Love, Father Jaques Philippe, Scepter Publishers, 2011

6.  The Autobiography of Dina Belanger, The Religious of Jesus and Mary, 1997

This contribution is available at http://journeytowisdom-ocbs.blogspot.com/2013/11/communing-with-communion-of-saints.html

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Kevin Lee, RIP

The news of Kevin Lee’s death distressed me. We never met, but we exchanged e-mails over the last 18 months, and I prayed for him often.

I was surprised by my reaction. It makes me think that when you pray for someone — even a stranger — you must enter into some sort of communion. Perhaps it’s a prefiguration of the communion of saints. I hope and pray that Kevin joins that heavenly communion.

Kevin and I started corresponding because of this blog. I blogged about him when he so spectacularly hit the headlines — posts which lacked charity, I regret. He commented in kind, but this started private correspondence which was less critical and more constructive.

Kevin became a blogger himself, and broadcast many of his experiences and thoughts. Hence, there is nothing in this which was not also related elsewhere, so I don’t think it’s a breach of privacy to reproduce:

You remind me so much of myself when I started out & I never thought or imagined I would leave ministry. I know that celibacy for me was an incredible burden that I struggled to carry honestly for all the time I did. My wife was my first lover. I have been racked with guilt about leaving ministry although I continue to pray the office & attend daily Mass although barred from receiving Holy Communion which is a greater penalty than my financial deprivation. I just trust and pray that God will one day take the reins of His Church and give them to a Pope who will serve God’s people rather than the institution. The whole rest of humanity who have turned their back on Sunday worship could not all be going to hell. God seems to be more merciful than we are as priests.

I bought Kevin’s book, which gave me some insight into why he became so embittered. He was privy to terrible evil, which seemed to be tolerated by the hierarchy. I can see why he spat the dummy. I can imagine myself doing the same.

It is not, however, a book I would ever endorse. I was scandalised not only by the evil and sacrilege which scandalised him, but also by his own betrayal of confidence, and more seriously, his profanation of sacramental confession. Two wrongs don’t make a right.

His most recent blog post — written 12 days ago — was ‘If I had not broken my vows, Michelle Lucilla Lee would not exist.’

I wrote a blog recently in which I stated that the best thing in my life (my daughter Michelle) would not be here if I had been faithful to my vows.

I was immediately reminded of the ‘whisky priest’ in Graham Green’s The Power and the Glory. Towards the end, when the fugitive priest is arrested, he prepares himself for death:

He knew it was the beginning of the end — after all these years. He began to say silently an act of contrition, while they picked the brandy bottle out of his pocket, but he couldn’t give his mind to it . . . He tried to think of his child with shame, but he could only think of her with a kind of famished love — what would become of her? He couldn’t say to himself that he wished his sin had never existed, because the sin seemed to him now so unimportant — and he loved the fruit of it.

The whisky priest, in the end, is redeemed. Greene excelled at portraying the “appalling mercy of God.” I pray Kevin, too, is redeemed. God bless him. God bless Josefina and Michelle. God bless everyone devastated by that terrible typhoon.

This contribution is available at http://www.acountrypriest.com/kevin-lee-rip/

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The Family That Prays The Rosary Together [at 8 Kids And A Business]

Posted at Catholic Insight

“It seems to me that a principal cause of the loss of faith is the dropping off in the practice of the family rosary … the abandonment of the family rosary is a main reason why so many Catholics have lost the faith…. the Church of the future is going to consist solely of those families who have been faithful to the rosary. But there will be vast numbers of people whose families used to be Catholic.” (taken from the booklet, “Our Glorious Faith and How to Lose It” by Fr. Hugh Thwaites, S.J.)

Why do so many Catholics leave the Church when they become adults? I’ve met many older Catholics who are distressed because their adult children have fallen away from the Catholic Church and their grandchildren are not being raised in the Faith. Many of these older people are devout, daily communicants who don’t understand how this happened.

Fr. Thwaites has an explanation. He tells of a man, “a great Catholic, the pillar of the parish, whose children had all lapsed, one after the other. They had all fallen away from the sacraments and from attending Mass.” The man admitted that once he had a family of his own, worldly distractions slowly but surely took the place of the family rosary.

“When the rosary goes, the faith soon collapses,” warns Fr. Thwaites.

As a little girl with my parents and four siblings, we prayed the rosary most evenings. By the time I was in high school, the practice had stopped. Since I was the second oldest child in the family, my much younger siblings didn’t grow up with the same experience. Now, I am the only  Catholic among my siblings.

The practice of praying the family rosary has largely been abandoned. We have saturated our lives with so many distractions and busyness that we have neglected the care of our families’ souls. Many parents have told me that they’re so busy they don’t have time to pray by themselves or with their families.

I confess that until recently, it was much the same in my family. Homework, extracurricular activities, TV, internet, working long hours, fatigue, and lack of interest persistently threatened my family’s resolve to pray. Some evenings we allowed ourselves to be swallowed up by  distractions and we failed to give our souls the sustenance they need. Sometimes it would take an act of will to tear ourselves away from the secular so that for a few minutes, we could focus on the eternal.

About a month ago, I realized that family rosary time had become an afterthought, something we prayed maybe a couple of times a week. I’m not sure how it happened; it just did. We had let everything else become more important.

My husband and I agreed that we had to get our prayer life back on track. We designated 8:00 p.m. as our family rosary time and everyone had to stop what they were doing and gather in the living room for prayers. We set the rule that the only people who were exempted were those who were too sick or those who were not home.

It’s important that the children understand the significance of praying the rosary together. By prioritizing our evenings, we think the message is getting through. They have stopped trying to make the excuse that they have too much homework and while we still have our struggles, they gather in the living room willingly. It’s difficult to coordinate family rosary time on the weekends but we encourage the kids to pray on their own.

Last summer, the Heralds of the Gospel brought their Apostolate of the Shrine to our parish. The work of the Apostolate “has as its goal an active cooperation with the Bishops and Pastors in the apostolic work of the new evangelization, in response to the insistent appeals of Pope John Paul II….It basically consists of pilgrimages from home to home of a small framed image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, just as she appeared in Fatima.”

On a designated day each month, the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima is passed on to our home. The next day, we pass the shrine to the next family on the list. On the day that we have the privilege of hosting the image of Our Lady, we pray the family rosary while displaying the Shrine.

Many saints have written about the power of the rosary to protect against the devil. Saint Padre Pio called it the “weapon for these times.” Saint Josemaria Escriva urged us to “use it with confidence.” Saint Louis Marie de Montfort promised that “if you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins you shall receive a never-fading crown of glory.” Saint Therese admitted that ” the recitation of the rosary is more difficult for me than the wearing of an instrument of penance,” but she persisted with the sure hope that Our Blessed Mother knew her good will.

We don’t need to go through a litany of evils that are destroying the world but we need to know how to combat those evils within our families. “As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.” (Bl. Pope John-Paul II)

A family that falls away from the Faith is a destroyed family, no matter how successful or upstanding it appears to the world. Nothing accelerates that destruction faster than the absence of the rosary in family life.

In August, Pope Francis reminded us that “Mary joins us, she fights at our side. She supports Christians in the fight against the forces of evil. Especially through prayer, through the rosary. Hear me out, the rosary… Do you pray the rosary each day?”

In our families, how are we going to answer Pope Francis’ question? Can we give him the answer we know he wants to hear or do we have work to do? The salvation of our families’ souls is our first priority. In our hands, we hold what is most powerful aid in achieving this goal: the rosary.

So call your family together and pray the rosary today, tomorrow, the next day, and all the days after that. Pray it imperfectly. Pray from the heart. Pray with your family.

Photo credit: Apostolate of the Shrine, Our Lady of Fatima, used with the permission of the Heralds of the Gospel Canada

Related:  Heralds of the Gospel Canada

Heralds of the Gospel U.S.A.

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The Washington Post and I agree on the China one child policy. Could we agree on more? [at Kitchen table chats]

Quick! Check the temperature of Hell! The Washington Post editorial board and I are in full agreement! Yesterday, my article on the so-called changes to the China one child policy was published on

the HLI Truth & Charity forum

. In it I wrote:

Chinese population control policy is not ethically more palatable because the Chinese government now allows two children instead of one under certain narrow conditions...The Chinese government still forcefully inserts itself into the intimate marital relationships of Chinese citizens. The policy change still views children as commodities whose production can be regulated like any other commodity in a centrally controlled economy. Families exist at the pleasure of the state and for the sole purpose of the support of the state. Rearranging the superficial details of a policy built on a rotten foundation does not halt the moral decay. There is no cause for celebration and there should be no kudos for Chinese leaders until they completely abandon all efforts to dictate who may have children and how many children they may have.

Then I woke up this morning to a

Washington Post editorial

saying:

Yet the thinking behind the one-child policy has survived: the arrogance of power, the notion that the state’s judgment is superior to the individual’s. Having created an economic superpower on the sweat of hundreds of millions of workers who labored for skimpy wages in coastal factories, China now faces the reality that the lower birthrate could weaken economic growth. So the party is fiddling with the population controls again, as coldly as did the original architects of the policy...The one-child policy was a stake driven through individual freedom. Rather than continue to tinker with this misguided philosophy, China should abolish population controls altogether and unleash the ingenuity and energy of its people by allowing every one of them, individually, to make life’s most important decisions.

Sarcasm aside, I am very pleased that diverse ideologies can agree on the affront to human dignity posed by the one child policy. I would now like to apply this sentence from the Post's editorial to other topics:

Yet the thinking behind the one-child policy has survived: the arrogance of power, the notion that the state’s judgment is superior to the individual's.

Is it not that same arrogance of power that leads to state intervention in school curriculums, parenting practices, food choices,  education in morals, and the exercise of religious beliefs? The many mandates of the Affordable Care Act are examples of that same arrogance of power. The state knows what kind of medical care you need. The state knows when treatment is no longer worthwhile. The state knows how you should be spending your discretionary income and deems you should be spending it on more health insurance than you desire. The state knows what doctor is best for you. The state knows what hospital is best for you. The state knows who is worthy of life and who should just be left to die.

Perhaps if we could do a better job of illustrating how big government is really the result of the arrogant elite exercising their power over the masses we would find more support for the concept of small government and subsidiarity. The fact that the Washington Post and I can find common ground on this principle gives me hope.

This contribution is available at http://catholic-mom.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-washington-post-and-i-agree-on.html

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Walked Some Distance Far

Off with trembling Feet

Rescued From the Pit

Of Sand and Darkness

Washed to Proceed again

Nothing the Earth can

Pay to stop My Feet

To drag across to own

The Crown My Heart

Longs to receive in total awe

Nothing Glamour and Fame

Can Offer to turn the

The Skin dressed towards

The upward road of Life

The Bright Sun calleth my Name

I have Survived the red Arrow

Stabs of Hatred from the serpent

A Wounded Soldier I hurry on

Sweats of Blood I drag along

To the Home across the Woods

I Pay no Heed to

the Red Sign that

Leads Down Beneath

that Offers Nothing but

Shades and Pains where

Endless Torment Never Dim

My Mind is Set

On the House that

Music of Joy never ends

Where The strings of guitar

Play on the Hymns of the Holies

Where Happiness forever

Will endless reign in the

Snowy Hearts Of the ageless saints

In Honor of Those that endure the Persecution and Struggles of this Life for the Glorious Crown beyond

Heaven is indeed our Home

Earth is but a Walk…

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Beware the Slippery Slope of C.S. Lewis [at Catholic Cravings]

Sometimes, I wonder why I blog.

When Ross Douthat can summarise my long, arduous, twist-and-turns, really-interesting-I-swear return to the Catholic Church in a single sentence, I definitely wonder.

“You start reading C.S. Lewis, then you’re reading G.K. Chesterton, then you’re a Catholic.”

That right there, that’s my story.

The Catholic Report has an article on all the Catholic converts C.S. Lewis has “led across the Tiber”, although he remained an Anglican. Like so many, I started with C.S. I became a mere Christian, thirsting after Christ and common-sense like an Englishman after a pint.

But it wasn’t enough, you know? I needed the harder stuff. I needed more whimsy and more profundity, I needed a fat, jolly man in tweed, and by St George, I needed it now.

That’s when I found G.K.

I’d heard of the guy but didn’t know much about him. But when Orthodoxy, his most popular book (for good reason!) was free on the Amazon Kindle… I was in and I was hooked.

He got under my skin without me even realising it. I thought I was reading about Things To Find In One’s Pockets, Madmen More Sane Than Mathematicians, Original Sin Being As Practical As Potatoes and How Perfect Lying In Bed Would Be If Only One Had A Pencil Long Enough To Draw On The Ceiling.

But no… I was becoming an R.C.

Totally unawares, I was being indoctrinated, or rather romanced, into a Catholic worldview.

This Catholic worldview saw the world as God’s theatre, alive with the current of His Being: “charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out, like shining from shook foil”, as Gerald Manley Hopkins, another convert, would write.

This worldview didn’t think it strange that God should delight to use water, clay, and fire to bring the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. It certainly didn’t think it was odd that the Immortal God should become flesh and blood in the womb of a humble Woman from Nazareth, nor that a Church be ruled by a bunch of fishermen with nets too small to catch even a single soul. As it began in paradoxes, so the pilgrim Church continues in paradoxes, ruled from the very city that put to death Her Saviour.

Jean Resout II, Pentecost, 1732 (Rouen, France)

This worldview was so matter-of-fact about the supernatural, or rather about the divine in the natural.

Of course the saints sit beside us and pray with us — are they not are alive with Christ and thus with us? (Ephesians 2:5, Hebrews 12:1)

Of course the waters of baptism regenerate and the oil of chrism heals — is not the whole of creation redeemed in Christ and groaning for the revelation of the sons of God? (Romans 8:20-22)

Of course bread and wine become the Body and Blood of the Saviour Christ — if God can become Man, why the devil can’t the God-Man hide beneath His own creations to feed His people, collapsing time and space around Him so that at every moment, a pure sacrifice is offered unto the Lord? (John 6:53-58, Malachi 1:11, Revelation 13:8)

What could be more reasonable than for the God who made matter to use matter?

It is we who are His children, the first sin of pride still clinging to our souls as we long to be as gods, who think we are above this earth.

Why should I submit to water and wine, or pray for a Woman’s help, when I am the master of my own destiny? Why should I submit to an God-given earthly authority when my mind is free and quite capable to deciding God’s truth for him and for me?

Some call it the sacramentality of the universe, some the transcendence-immanence antinomy, but Lewisites and Chestertonians call it common-sense.

Lewis is a gateway drug to such common-sense.

“You start reading C.S. Lewis, then you’re reading G.K. Chesterton, then you’re a Catholic.”

C. S. Lewis himself said that a young woman who wishes to remain a sound Protestant cannot be too careful in her reading. (Or something along those lines… I forget the exact details.) If you don’t be careful, you could find yourself enjoying a pipe, a pint, and we all know what’s next, right? Popery.

I’m not saying that the Venn diagram of Protestants who love Lewis & Chesterton and Protestants who become Catholics is a circle…

I just don’t like your chances.

+JMJ+

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What You See Every Day [at FranciscanMom]

Confession time:  I am suffering from scenery envy.

It all came to a head last night when Maria posted a very beautiful photo on Twitter.

“Do you get to see that EVERY DAY?” was my reply.

Turns out, she does.

Luckyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Next week we’ll spend Thanksgiving at my sister’s house. When you look out her kitchen window, you see endless woods. And deer. And pretty rocks. She gets to look at that EVERY DAY.

Paterson Falls copyright 2012 Jackie Estrella

Growing up, I had the opportunity to see this several times a week:

I miss that. I really do.

There are advantages to living here in the ‘burbs:  I have neighbors who have become good friends. We have shared joys, sorrows, pantry staples, child care, recipes and backyard pools. I live a block and a half from the nearest gallon of milk. I can walk to Target, Panera, Dunkin’ Donuts, and the post office.

But all that convenience does come at the price of beauty. I have 3 gas stations in a half-mile radius, but I don’t get a panorama uninterrupted by a looming orange Self-Storage sign.

I could wallow in self-pity that I don’t get to enjoy, on a daily basis, a Georgia lake, the North Jersey mountains, the Paterson Falls. Or I could take better notice of what I do get:  beauty on the micro scale. There are no sweeping vistas, but I have a lilac bush right outside my living-room window, with a bird feeder nestled inside. That window faces west for optimal sunset viewing. My dining room and kitchen face east, so I can see morning sunrises as I pack lunches and evening’s moonrise while I wash the dishes. I can appreciate my neighbor’s pink-flowering dogwood tree every spring. I can marvel at snowflakes collecting on empty lilac branches and tiny snowbird footprints beneath the bird feeder.

The beauty of God’s creation is both big and small. Do you appreciate the beauty in your world, in what you get to see EVERY DAY?

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The Mystery of This Water and Wine [at Prayers From Therese]

So, let’s say you’re at Mass.  You know that part when the priest pours a drop or two of water into the chalice that’s already got wine in it?  Well, you may not be familiar with what the priest is saying (usually inaudible to the congregation):

By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.

I’ve wondered for some time, why pour the water into the wine?  What is the mystery of the water and wine?

Well, I’ve been reading this BOMB.COM (as in awesome) book.  It’s Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s St. Thérèse: A Treasured Love Story.  Archbishop Fulton Sheen was invited to Ireland (shoutout to my forefathers!) to give a series of talks on St. Thérèse (shoutout to my homegirl).  Then, the talks were transcribed and, voilà, my new favorite book.

He’s talking about how St. Thérèse got the “St.” in front of her name simply by relating every single detail of her life to our Lord.  (Simple? Yes. Easy? Eh, not always.)  He says,

That’s just exactly, for example, like pouring a drop of water into wine:  The two become whole.  Or it’s like dipping an iron into fire.  The iron becomes fused.

Well, due to my lack of experience in blacksmithing I thought long and hard about the first example.  And it got me thinking about that part of the Mass, you know, the mystery of the water and wine.  And, it hit me…

It’s experiment time: Let’s say you put a drop of water into a chalice (or, even a wine glass for that matter).  The water seems to disappear when it hits the wine.  But, is it still there?  Sure!  The water hasn’t become wine when it’s combined with the water.  It still is water.  You just can’t tell where the water ends and the wine begins because they seem to have become one–they’re fully integrated!

I say we talk about the mystery of Christ’s divinity who humbled himself to share in our humanity.  He’s totally man.  He’s totally God.  He’s one person.  His 100% man-ness and 100% God-ness doesn’t make Him 200% person.  He’s simply 100%.  (More Christian math…it doesn’t always make sense.  I mean the Trinity?!  Three persons, one God?!  I love how Jesus does math–makes me feel better about my inability to accurately solve geometric proofs and calculus problems.)  Anyway, when you read the Scriptures and look at the life of Christ you can’t tell where His human-ness ends and His divinity begins (or vice versa).  He is totally integrated.

The prayer asks that, through the mystery of the water and wine we may come to share in the divinity of Christ.  That’s quite a bold prayer, huh?  As Christians we are called to live as Christ lived.  We are called to integrate Christ into every aspect of our lives.  The goal?  The goal is to be so Christ-like that we share in Christ’s divinity.  No one should be able to tell where Christ “ends” in us and where our “humanity” begins.  I don’t ever want anyone explaining my actions by saying, “Well, she’s normally a good Christian but that was just her Jane-ness shining through.  She’s just a human.”  NO!  I want to partake; to share in Christ’s divinity.  If Christ were the wine and I the water, I want my life to be poured into His chalice that no one can separate us or distinguish between the two of us.  I’m so grateful for the Eucharist.  I am able to, daily, partake in the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ.  I’m certain that nothing can aid me on my path to total integration with our Lord than by receiving Him, truly present, in the Eucharist.

So, thank you dear Fulton Sheen for helping me solve that mystery.  Now, onto try and comprehend the Trinity.  Three persons, one God…hmmm….

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A visit to the cemetery

John and I did not take our boys to

burial two weeks ago, but I have been wanting to show them where he is buried.

So one day last week Daniel and I went. We found two sticks and made a cross on Georgie’s grave, which isn’t marked yet. Then we gathered the prettiest leaves we could find to leave there.

We said a Hail Mary—Daniel’s choice—and talked to Georgie. Then Daniel leaned against me and said, “Mama, I’m sad that Georgie died.” And I was struck again by how much Georgie has touched—and is still touching—our sons’ lives.

When I told Leo we were going to go to the cemetery on our way to school one day this week, he told me we needed to buy flowers. He has gone several times to visit my grandparents’ grave with my mother, and he knows what to do. So we stopped at the store, where he picked out a flag and the prettiest bouquet of pink roses he could find.

As we drove through the cemetery, Leo started asking why we bury people when they die, and what is a soul, and why is a soul separate from a body. Then he asked about his baby cousin.

“Is Georgie in heaven?”

“Yes,” I said. “We know Georgie is in heaven.”

“Mama! He’s in heaven!” Leo asked. “Does that mean Georgie is a saint?”

And I explained that yes, we are sure he is a saint, and that the priest at Georgie’s burial said so, too. I told Leo that he will never be reading a book and come to a Saint Georgie who is his cousin, but that there are many, many saints who aren’t in books.

“Yes, and only bank robbers don’t go to heaven, right?” he asked.

“Um, yes, something like that,” I said. “We’re not really sure about that part because we don’t know whether the bank robbers are sorry when they die or how exactly God decides who goes to heaven.”

We found Georgie’s grave easily. I hammered the flag into the ground with a rock we found nearby, and Leo arranged the roses in an arc.

As we stood there, I said, “What prayer would you like to say?”

“Mama, we should say the Glory Be,” Leo said, “because that is the right size for a baby.”

And it was.

Then we said goodbye to Georgie, and we promised to come back to visit. And on the way out of the cemetery, Leo said, “And next time we will bring purple flowers—or pink and purple flowers.”

So we will.

11/20/2013 11:12:56 PM

By

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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Illuminating The Minds Of The Worldly With The Light Of Christ.By:C.C.

``But, sad to say, a little pleasure dominates the minds of the worldly, driving out of their hearts all heavenly desires, to such an extent that many imagine that joy is to be found in living under such sensual pleasures. That is because they have neither seen nor tasted the sweetness of God and the inward joy of virtue. But those who utterly despise the world and strive to live under holy discipline experience the heavenly sweetness promised to spiritual men; they also see the errors of the world and how it is deceived in so many ways.`` (Thomas a Kempis)

It is not enough to simply regard the errors of the world and to seek detachment from it without praying for a remedy. Without desiring the saving power of our Lord to enlighten the hearts of those in darkness we become detached from a desire for all goodness. When we remove ourselves in judgement from the world and claim to be following the light of Christ we not only cease to shine His light within the world, but we sadly assist the darkness.   It is indeed ``sad to say`` that sensual pleasures take hold of the ``minds of the worldly`` and drive out all heavenly desires. However, the faithful are constantly faced with the same temptation between flesh and spirit in seeking to follow Christ while living within the world.       Though we may have the intellectual readiness to argue about the importance of virtue this ceases to be fruitful and effective if we do not truly ``taste and see the goodness of the Lord``for ourselves. If we cease to act virtuously and deny the opportunity to live out our faith by failing to submit to holy discipline we do nothing more than make a lot of senseless noise and further clutter the confusion of the worldly.  ``Despising the world`` is not to carry hate for God`s creation, but to love it in a way that values and promotes the world as it was designed to be lived in by God. It is to despise that which taints, pollutes, and clouds the image of goodness through which we have all been created.   Our Holy Father, Pope Francis reminds us in Evangelii Gaudium of the importance in sharing the news of Our Lord, and the joy of the Gospel. We must not simply look upon the ``errors`` of the world, but gaze steadfastly at the righteousness of our Lord and seek each day to live our lives as a witness to this goodness and to help bring the truth where great deception resides.   As we are faced daily with a world full of marketing aimed at `satisfying` sensual pleasures let us turn toward the spirit of our Lord, seeking to follow He who brings everlasting joy. May we strive with faith and perseverance in order to ``taste the inward joy of virtue``. And may our witness illuminate the minds of the worldly with the light of Christ. (C.C.)

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Furthering God’s Kingdom

Remember back to one of those really big days in your life – one of those life changing, nothing-is-ever-the-same days.  Perhaps it was the birth of your children or the passing of a loved one.  Those are the days that result in finding a “new normal” in your life.

One of the days that comes to mind for me is my wedding day.  I remember that  my dad and I talked as he drove me to the church, and I was floating on air!  The sunshine was as bright inside my heart as it was shining down on us.  As we wound through neighborhoods approaching the church, I remember seeing someone out mowing his lawn.  And I felt a jolt of shock!  It’s my wedding day and this guy is mowing?!?  Somewhere in my mind, I felt like the whole world should be celebrating along with me – not going about their daily chores!

A friend of mine had a similar experience with the death of a family member.  She remembers going to pick up some pictures from the store only to find people – shopping!  Shouldn’t everyone mourn with you when you mourn?

Feeling this way can also happen on those more ordinary of days – maybe really rotten days, like your kid gets in trouble at school or you are overwhelmed with work – or maybe on really happy days, like when your child scores a goal or brings home a hard-won A+!  On those happy days, it is easy to see God’s blessings in our lives.  And we want to share our happiness with others by showing kindness, even to strangers driving by.  But on those rotten days, sometimes I feel like I have a right to feel grumpy, frustrated or just a bit down.  And I absolutely do have the right, but I’m learning that in my own life, I cannot let my own bad day keep me from seeing God’s blessings in my life.

I am learning that just because I don’t feel like it, I still need to further God’s kingdom in some way.  Perhaps, it’s just being nice to that cashier at the grocery store even though the budget is too tight.  Or maybe it’s helping out others even though you feel like the one who needs a hug.  Or just smiling at someone as you walk by because maybe they need it even more then you!

Truly, when we give of ourselves in our goodness of spirit, God gives us the strength to say another prayer, lend a listening ear, or give someone a hug of encouragement.  It makes our own problems feel a little less to help another.  Even when we are feeling down, God calls us to serve him in love by loving others around us and furthering His Kingdom here on earth.

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You shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of [at Washed, Sanctified and Justified]

"Penal substitution" says that Jesus Christ drank of the cup of God's wrath SO THAT believers would not have to.

Is this right or wrong? But here's the quote from Mark chapter 10 verse 35-40.

35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. 36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? 37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. 38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:

40 But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.

There are several things to highlight here:

1. If they are drinking of the same cup from which he drinks, in Catholic doctrine, that means they will share his fate.

2. If they are drinking of the same cup from which he drinks and are receiving the same baptism which he receives, that means that they are suffering and dying for the expiation and reparation of the sins of the world.

These are things which penal substitution cannot handle AND which penal substitution completely rejects.

Sincerely,

De Maria

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Advent: The Beginning of the Liturgical Year & Source of Rich Meditations [at A Catholic Life]

With today’s solemn celebration for the First Sunday of Advent, the Church now begins anew the liturgical year.  In the words of Servant of God Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, it is in one liturgical year that the Church re-lives the 33 years of Christ’s life – thirty years obeying, three years teaching, and three hours redeeming.  As we journey through this week of Advent, let us continue to read and pray through the Scriptures.  One particular Scripture verse to focus on today is Matthew 24:37-44.  Specifically, let us meditate on the immortal words of Our Lord at the end of that section: “So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Advent is a time of penance in anticipation for the Nativity of Our Lord.  But it is also a time to help us remember that we must always be prepared for the Final Judgment and the Second Coming of Christ. Throughout the four weeks of Advent, our focus shall slightly shift, but our focus will always remain in the Child Jesus.  During the first week of Advent we should meditate on hope, peace for the second week, joy for the third week, and love during the fourth week.

Concerning the topic of Advent,

Fr

. Lawrence Smith has said, “Advent is the time to make ready for Christ to live with us. Lent is the time to make us ready to die with Christ. Advent makes Lent possible. Lent makes salvation possible. Advent is the time when eternity approaches earth. Lent is the time when time reaches consummation in Christ's eternal Sacrifice to the Father. Advent leads to Christ's life in time on earth. Lent leads to Christ's eternal Life in Heaven. The Cross -- through the Mass, penance, and mortification -- is the bridge connecting Advent and Lent, Christ and His Church, man and God. Each of the Church's penitential seasons is a dying to the world with the goal of attaining new life in Christ.”

In the words of Pope John

XXIII

, "Holy Christmas is approaching. Everything in the grotto of Bethlehem is a living lesson for all who wish to live by our faith, and be faithful to it.”  Perhaps no image visible in the Christmas season is more poignant than that of the Child Jesus in the manger of

Bethlehm

.  However, it was not until the

1200s

that the first Nativity Scene was created by St. Francis of Assisi.  St. Bonaventure (d. 1274), writes of the event in his

Life of St. Francis of Assisi

:

"It happened in the third year before his death, that in order to excite the inhabitants of Grecio to commemorate the nativity of the Infant Jesus with great devotion, [St. Francis] determined to keep it with all possible solemnity; and lest he should be accused of lightness or novelty, he asked and obtained the permission of the sovereign Pontiff. Then he prepared a manger, and brought hay, and an ox and an ass to the place appointed. The brethren were summoned, the people ran together, the forest resounded with their voices, and that venerable night was made glorious by many and brilliant lights and sonorous psalms of praise. The man of God [St. Francis] stood before the manger, full of devotion and piety, bathed in tears and radiant with joy; the Holy Gospel was chanted by Francis, the Levite of Christ. Then he preached to the people around the nativity of the poor King; and being unable to utter His Name for the tenderness of His love, He called Him the Babe of Bethlehem. A certain valiant and veracious soldier, Master John of Grecio, who, for the love of Christ, had left the warfare of this world, and become a dear friend of this holy man, affirmed that he beheld an Infant marvelously beautiful, sleeping in the manger, Whom the blessed Father Francis embraced with both his arms, as if he would awake Him from sleep. This vision of the devout soldier is credible, not only by reason of the sanctity of him that saw it, but by reason of the miracles which afterwards confirmed its truth. For the example of Francis, if it be considered by the world, is doubtless sufficient to excite all hearts which are negligent in the faith of Christ; and the hay of that manger, being preserved by the people, miraculously cured all diseases of cattle, and many other pestilences; God thus in all things glorifying his servant, and witnessing to the great efficacy of his holy prayers by manifest prodigies and miracles."

Even from the first moment of Our Lord’s existence, Holy Scripture consistently alludes to the priestly office of Christ, which manifested itself primarily in the ultimate Sacrifice of the Cross.  Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem – He took a human nature (Council of

Chalcedon

,

CCC

479 – 483) – for the purpose of one day dying for the redemption of the human race.  And Scripture, even at the time of Christmas, alludes to the Sacrifice of the Cross.  Meditate on Philippians 2:6-7, especially on the word "slave".  Since Jesus is God, His very Incarnation was a Sacrifice. The cold, pain, and hunger He endured were all part of His Sacrificial mission, which culminated on the Cross. The baby in the manger, as He stretched out his little arms, knew that those same arms would one day be drawn out and pierced by the same men redeemed by His blood.

Advent as a season is quite ancient. The season itself went through slow development, taking form in the 4th century, and reaching a definite form in Rome by 6th century. Advent starts on the Sunday nearest Nov 30 (Saint Andrew), and forms the beginning of the liturgical year by the 10th century. It started earlier at one time (as early as Nov 11) because it was fashioned after Lent, so it had forty days originally in some areas, and even earlier in other areas (September) which forms the basis of the monastic fast. By the 6th-7th centuries the number is set as a span of four Sundays. The 1962 Missal texts preserve most of the ancient Masses of this season.

The First Sunday of Advent is the start of a new liturgical year in the Church.  At Mass you might have noted the purple vestments of the priest.  You might have seen less decoration than usual, no colorful flowers for example.  Probably the most prominent thing you noticed at your parish was the Advent wreath.  These are all signs of the new liturgical season of the Church.  The Gospel reading presented by the Church also reminds of the season.  Jesus told his followers and all people to “Watch!”  The word “Advent” comes from the Latin word for “arrival” or

“coming.”

It is during this season that we “watch” for the coming or arrival of Jesus: both in the remembrance of His arrival as a baby 2,000 years ago and for His coming or arrival in the Second Coming.

And don't forget about the Advent Embertide Fasting!

For more posts on Advent and Christmas, please see the

Advent & Christmas Compilation

.

Advent Catechism Lessons:

Please visit CatechismClass.com's Advent Program and enter code ADVENT45 to save 45%!

Here's some other blogs about Keeping Christ in Christmas... Enjoy!

…and if you’d like more Catholic blogs to visit:

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What you may not know about Christmas [at Sky View]

A

Sky View

repost:

If you ever watched the History or Discover Channel you may have come across progressive theologians or historians who dismiss out of hand the historical accounts of Christ's birth as told in the Gospels. Quite often scholars look down upon tradition, the testimonies of the early Christians and their ancient writings. For some of these intellectuals, it is beneath them to give any credibility to traditions associated with piety and religious devotion. Yet, by confining their judgments within the narrow circle of contemporary scholarship, they deprive themselves of valuable insights which the traditions of the Church do provide. Perhaps, this may be one of the reasons why many people do not know the following about Christmas.

Take for instance the date of Christ's birth. Many scholars have said that it is highly unlikely that December 25th was the actual date of our Lord's birth. One principal reason was that shepherds in the Holy Land did not normally graze their pastures with their sheep during the month of December. Rather, the more likely month for such activity would be during the month of March. But, as we shall see, there are reasons to believe that the tradition of the Church got it right.

For starters, early in the fourth century (300's), St. Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem, wrote Pope St. Julius, bishop of Rome, to inquire about the date of Christ’s birth. One might think that if anyone was qualified to answer the question it would be St. Cyril himself; primarily because he was the bishop of Jerusalem, just twelve miles away from Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ. Nevertheless, it just so happened that the city of Jerusalem was pillaged in 70 A.D. by the Roman army, led by General Titus, in order to repress an uprising of Jewish zealots. In the process, the Temple was destroyed and its records- along with the census documents -were brought back to Rome only to be filed among the Roman archives. Less than three hundred years later, these documents were evidently still in existence. Interestingly enough, Pope St. Julius was the acting bishop of Rome after Christianity had been legalized. As such, he had privileged access to the Roman archives. St. Julius wrote back to the Saintly Bishop of Jerusalem and assigned December 25th as the birth date of Jesus Christ. “St. John Chrysostom [Bishop and Father of the Church in the 400's] quotes the same authority of the Roman archives as the source of the date of Christmas.”

As regards to the likelihood shepherds overseeing their sheep on a cold December night, we learn the following: It just so happened that right outside the town of Bethlehem was a watch tower called the Migdal Eder. This was a special watchtower that overlooked a pasture of sheep. But these sheep were no ordinary sheep. The sheep at the Migdal Eder were specially groomed for the Temple sacrifice "throughout the year." This pasture land happened to be alongside a road leading to Jerusalem. The Migdal Eder shepherds were trained to keep these sheep unblemished, that is, with no broken bones or any other kind of infirmity. Unblemished lambs for sacrificial offerings, of course, were required by the Law of Moses. These providential circumstances, no doubt, foretold that the Christ-child would fulfill the Messianic role as the “Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.”

Interestingly, it is believed that the Angel announced the glad tidings of the Saviors birth to these special Migdal Eder shepherds on Christmas night. It is entirely within the realm of possibility that after having witnessed the angelic apparition and having visited the baby Jesus in "swaddling clothes," these shepherds got to talking at the Temple when they transported the sheep there. Perhaps, this is why St. Simeon and the prophetess Anna (Luke 2) recognized the Christ-child as the long awaited Messiah when he was presented in the Temple forty days after his birth. After all, the following prophecy from Micah was well known within the Jewish community: “But you, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times.”

Tradition also has it that the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the age of three to the time she was betrothed to St. Joseph, had lived in the Temple. Just like Hannah did with her son Samuel in the Old Testament, Mary’s parents, St. Anne and St. Joachim, dedicated Mary to the Temple (probably due to their old age). According to an ancient document known as the Gospel of St. James (or the Proto-evangelium ), Mary was to spend most of her childhood in the Temple precincts. As such, her holiness and even her vow of virginity could very well have been made known to the likes of St. Simeon and the prophetess Anna who also lived in the Temple (not to be confused with St. Anne, Mary’s mother). Perhaps, the reason why this holy man and holy woman immediately recognized the Christ-child is because they first recognized his Mother!

Some scholars, for their own reasons, have maintained that Christ was not born in Bethlehem but rather in Nazareth. However, the early Christians have something to say about the exact place of Christ’s birth. It was virtually unanimous among the early Christians and Fathers of the Church that Jesus was born just outside of Bethlehem in a cave, also known as a grotto. St. Justin, a Palestinian by birth and a Christian philosopher who lived about a hundred years after Christ, writes that Jesus was born in a grotto near Bethlehem. He said, “Since Joseph did not find where to lodge in the village of Bethlehem, he repaired to a certain grotto near to it; and being there, Mary brought forth Jesus and laid him in the manger, where the Magi, coming from Arabia, found him.”

About fifty years after St. Justin died (165 A.D.) Origin, a Catholic priest and well known Father of the Church, had this to say about the place of Christ's birth: "At Bethlehem is shown a grotto where Jesus was born. The fact is well known throughout the whole country. Even pagans know that in this grotto was born a certain Jesus adored by the Nazarenes." When Christianity finally had become legal in 313 A.D. by the Roman Emperor Constantine, his mother, a canonized Saint, traveled to Bethlehem and found the grotto where our Lord was born. As an ancient Church historian in the third century, Eusebius, relates, the Emperors mother restored it. "Helena adorned the holy grotto with rich and varied decorations. Sometime later, the Emperor himself, outdoing his mother's munificence, embellished this place in truly royal fashion, lavishing on it gold, silver and sumptuous tapestries.” From that time forward, the grotto, later turned into a shrine, became a favorite holy site for pilgrims. Even the famous Saint and scholar of the fourth century, St. Jerome, had visited this hallowed grotto. However, he lamented that it did not retain its original simplicity when Christ was born a little over three hundred years prior to his visit.

In conclusion, although modern scholarship has furthered our knowledge about Christ in many ways, it is, nevertheless, comprised of fallible judgments based on many premises which may or may not be true. One thing is for sure: If we want to know the truth about Christmas and the circumstances of that wonderful night, we cannot afford to ignore the traditions that have come down to us through the Catholic Church. These traditions have a lot neat insights to offer. What is more, many of them are credible. Indeed, there is every reason to believe that the story of Jesus Christ’s birth, as it is read to us from the pulpit at Mass on Christmas Eve and on Christmas day, really did happen the way the Gospels say it did.

_______________________

The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own and not necessarily

reflective of any organization I works for.

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Dear Fellow Christian, or if not a Christian, Dear Fellow Traveler on the road of life....

As it often happens to us moderns, or people living at the beginning of the third millennium, we run the risk of defining or valuing ourselves a lot by our "doing"... and when you go through a "valley" in life, dark shadows of suffering, pain, isolation, loneliness, loss of employment or recognition, or of downright persecution, harassment, exploitation, or abuse; then you could say that you are feeling as though you are "in crisis mode" and unable to do as you normally do.... Well, one could say "So far so good" in the sense that what you are feeling under such circumstances is entirely human and normal for a human being that is still alive.

For the Christian as a disciple of Jesus, as also for the Jew or Jewess as a son or daughter of God, this is a time of grace. For the Muslim, it depends on what kind of faith they have come to experience, since many dominant movements or trends in Islam are all about controlling and engineering society and the behavior of others - much as the Catholic Church, which I dearly love and to which I am very devoted, has done in many places at various times - whereas the Word that God addresses to both Jews and Christians and all people of good will is that the Lord is offering us human beings during times of trial a "spiritual package of grace" that under normal circumstances He is not able to offer us because we would not notice or if we did notice we would not recognize the value and would simply pass over it. God not only wants to advance his divine work in the world of human beings, but He also wants to give human beings growth towards the eternal life He offers and which begins already here and now on Earth....

When our ability to "do" is diminished, the reduction of "noise", of "racing thoughts", of "impulsive activity", and of so many other dynamics begins to "clear the air" within our soul; so that we could say that "the dust begins to settle" and "the smoke begins to clear" and our soul's "eyes" can begin to notice a divine presence and activity it may never have seen before....

To the mind, it appears as an interior "light" that clears up many thoughts and dismisses many thoughts as useless shadows and makes room for the thoughts that are in the "mind" of Christ.... Jesus can begin more easily to "think his thoughts" in our mind and guide us along and further, deeper into the "mind" of God.... Call it wisdom, and it opens up before our mind many doors through which we can enter into all the vitality and possibilities generated within the Holy Trinity. In simple terms, God can help us step back and take a "big picture" view of our life, activity, and experience.

To the heart, it appears as an inclination to relax, to trust, to rest in God and let Him take care of things for a change, and stop worrying, stop thinking that everything is up to me, and a greater, easier willingness to let God do his part. In this heavenly light, all things suddenly become much more clearly as in God's hands, that the Holy Trinity are and always will be "Master of life and existence" in the universe and in the heavenly realms.... Our heart suddenly remembers it is only a creature and not a god, that this corporeal existence began a short time ago in our mother's womb and will shortly leave this earthly realm and be clothed with immortality in preparation for entry into the heart of the Holy Trinity to enjoy unending life for all eternity, and it will be anything but boring....

To the soul, the divine presence and activity becomes slowly more perceptible as something that is so real that it is more real than I am, than the world is, than life itself. The soul begins to grasp the magnitude of the divine being - the Father, the Son - Jesus, Risen from the dead and Master of all - and the Holy Spirit; who have existed for all eternity... we are incapable of grasping there having been no beginning to God, intellectually that is... but the soul slowly accepts to "walk on the water" like Peter and simply accept the eternity of God and that He is offering us the incomparable gift of entering into that eternity.

We may have had a beginning but we too, in God, will have no ending, because our soul is immortal, incapable of dying. All that is asked of us is to enter into God and in this way avoid the "second death", the death of the soul, which is what happens to souls that refuse to trust in God or to become like Him.... The good news is that even now the Holy Trinity breathe into the soul that opens up in trust the very breathing that is happening in the Holy Trinity... so that deep within us our soul can accept to let the Holy Spirit take care of the breathing of our soul... breathing with the very love and trust that are in the Father and the Son... the Holy Spirit living within us now, and this happens so deep within, so imperceptibly, that the soul is only conscious of being loved and wanting to love back, and beginning to do so by letting go... letting God....

In the body, the divine presence and activity is perceived in a variety of ways and in each of them the scenario is similar... the body senses its own struggle and then also perceives from God an invitation to let go, to trust, to surrender, to make room, to open up and welcome that divine presence and action. This results in the body then softening up, opening, relaxing, letting go, trusting, warming up or cooling down in a way that is coming closer to what would be "normal" and good....

This experience of God happens in a wide variety of circumstances, from ecstasy to agony.... When a soul feels physically the beauty and goodness of God, the love of God, it experiences the kinds of feelings we could associate with allowing oneself to be "seduced" or "won over" by a beloved person. Someone we trust and admire loves us and we are so taken up by trust, gratitude, and a burning desire to return that love that we surrender, we give in, we want to turn our whole life over to the beloved.

When a soul suffers agony - the physical pain caused by disease, medical procedures, torture, accidental injury, or physical degeneration, or any other cause - the body is pushed beyond the limits of comfort, of acceptance, and even of ability to endure. It is ironic that similarly to ecstasy where joy lifts us up and out of ourselves in a pleasant way, agony also lifts us up and out of ourselves, but in an unpleasant way. Still, the lasting benefit for the body is the same or similar. When we accept to be lifted up and out of ourselves - whether by ecstasy or by agony - we are in a position to accept from God a great grace: that of indifference to our own fleshly existence, of such freedom regarding our existence in the flesh that this freedom gives us a new capacity to value God, to acknowledge the importance, value, and extravagant love of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

This is why God allows human suffering and eventually death, because his grace opens up for us through these experiences so many opportunities for spiritual growth that also prepare us for greater and greater vitality and enjoyment in eternity. Our time on Earth is so short that God wants to seize every opportunity to help us prepare for the much greater gifts that are yet to come....

Of course, in the meantime, it is right for us to value the life we have now, since it is the only life we know - not just the physical, earthly existence, but also the spiritual and supernatural one as daughters and sons of God. We become more fully and more mature sons and daughters as we take to heart the "things of our Father" and become eager that He be known and loved in Jesus his Son and that more and more people come to this personal knowledge and experience in the Holy Trinity and surrender to God's advances and welcome his love, only to become fruitful in turn and a blessing to all those around us, especially those who have not yet been touched and transformed by the life-giving love of God....

Peace to you Dear Reader and to your family, and if you will allow me to formulate a very Christian wish and prayer of blessing for you and your loved ones, during these days of trial, may you allow the Holy Spirit to lift you up to the heavenly realms within you, as Jesus and Mary walk with you moment by moment, and day by day....

With all my love and respect....

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Bring Christ to Others [at Sue Elvis Writes]

I’m participating in the KEEP CHRIST in CHRISTMAS Blog Link-Up 2013,

hosted by

Please consider following your hosts

in appreciation for the work that they do…

and be sure to visit as many links as possible,

listed at the bottom of this post.

When I was a child ‘Advent’ was just a word. It was always followed by ‘calendar’. I enjoyed opening all the little windows on my Advent calendar, revealing little pictures of Santa and bells and candy canes and piles of gifts under a tree. With excitement mounting, I counted down the number of ‘sleeps’ until Christmas Eve when I knew Santa would shoot down the chimney (unless his plump body got stuck), together with his enormous sack of presents.

When my first two children were very small, I wanted to make Christmas as magical and as special as my mother had made it for me. I thought carefully about presents, making some and buying others. I baked all kinds of goodies.  My husband Andy bought a real Christmas tree early in December, and we helped our children decorate it. We added their own special home-made ornaments, such as a one-of-a-kind toilet roll angel who was blessed with a purple and green coloured-in face. My little ones would get so excited. I would too. I thought of the delight in their eyes when they woke up on Christmas morning and saw the pile of presents I’d arranged for them. Yes, we counted down the sleeps before Christmas with great anticipation.

But although Christmas was always very special, I suspected something was missing. In quiet moments I wondered: Did Christmas mean more than shopping and eating and piles of gifts and being with loved ones on this one big day of the year? I knew it was about love, but was it also about Love?  I was aware some people had religious Christmases. They went to church on Christmas day. But I didn’t belong to that world. I didn’t have much idea of what those people believed or did. But I was envious without really understanding why.

Of course God was drawing me close to Him. He worked through the conversations and actions and prayers of my friends and Catholic family, and eventually I found my way to my true home, the Church. These days I understand better the true meaning of Advent. It's not just a word always followed by 'calendar'.

On Saturday morning Andy took our younger girls to the shopping centre. Mrs Claus was there with Frosty the Snowman. (I wonder what happened to Santa.) These dressed-up characters were having their photographs taken with slightly frightened children. The shops were decorated with tinsel and Christmas trees and fairy lights and baubles. Christmas carols and songs were playing, lulling shoppers into a ‘Christmas spirit’. Children were asking, “Can I have one of those?” and mothers were replying, “Ask Santa and if you’re good, he might bring it for you.” Greeting card racks were stocked with cards showing Santa and snow and trees and gifts.

There wasn't much evidence of Jesus and the real meaning of Christmas. I am tempted to complain: Is Christmas only about Santa and presents and silly Frosty the Snowmen? Why isn’t everyone keeping Christ in Christmas? What do people think Christmas is all about anyway? Christmas. Isn’t it obvious? Jesus, not Frosty.

But I stop before uttering a word. I think of my younger self. Did we mention Jesus and the real meaning of Christmas? No. Our Christmas was all about Santa and gifts and ... snow (which I find very funny and rather strange because we celebrate Christmas in summer!) But there was that hole deep inside me that couldn’t be filled with any amount of gifts or parties or treats, or even the love of family and friends.

And I wonder how many other people have a similar hole inside them? Maybe they aren’t even fully aware of it. They might be trying to push it from their minds, hoping to bury it under a flurry of activity: Christmas shopping for bigger and better presents, more partying, more cooking, more eating... But I bet it’s there.

I know I have no right to feel superior because of the way we celebrate Christmas. I can’t look down on those who are planning a Christmas without Christ. I only arrived here because God gave me a great gift. He drew me into the Church through the words and actions and love of others around me. And I am full of gratitude.

So what will our family be doing to keep Christ in Christmas this year? We'll be following our usual traditions of the Advent wreath, Jesse tree, nativity scene... and everything else I wrote about in my last post Advent Before Christmas.

But there's something else we'll be doing.

This morning I read these words… Bring Christ to others. This Advent maybe God will use a conversation, a smile, an invitation, a kind word, a gift, a visit, an offer of help, a card, a Merry Christmas!… our love… to fill those holes deep within, to bring someone else closer to Him.

So while we're whispering Come Lord Jesus Come! I hope we can watch out for ways to bring Christ to others. And I'm sure others will help bring us closer to God too. Don't you love how we are all connected together, helping each other?

I wonder if you celebrate Christmas in a similar way to when you were a child. Even if you have always kept Christ in Christmas, has your family developed traditions of your own? I'd love to hear your stories!

Other Keep Christ in Christmas blog post links...

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7 Quick Saintly Takes [at Martin Family Moments]

1)

Happy All Saints Day!  Thank you to

Catholic Icing

for the Saintly Costume ideas, because we all know I can't think creatively, much less actually make homemade costumes!

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

My future Saints (hopefully!)

7)

I keep thinking about how amazing the Communion of Saints is, and how lucky we are to have their examples.  When I read about Catholics fighting over the right way to celebrate holidays, or mothers arguing over the proper way to raise children, or even get sucked into the working vs. stay at home debating myself, I have to stop and reflect.

It would be so boring if we all did everything exactly the same in praising Our Lord and being good Christians to one another.  God has shown us how much He appreciates diversity, and we should too!  He gave us thousands of examples of what it means to be a Saint.  And they are all so different, there's no one cookie cutter way to live in order to gain Eternal Life.  How amazing is it that someone like St. Augustine or Mary Magdalene is frolicking around Heaven with the likes of St. Therese and Padre Pio?  Heaven is going to be an awesome party!  I hope I get an invite :)

{Phil read this post and said, "You already have an invite to Heaven, it's just up to you how you will RSVP."  I love that man.  So smart.}

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Addicted to Life [at Convert Journal]

Why are most of us not ready for heaven if we were to die right now? Scripture tells us:

- The treasure and wealth of the nations will be brought there, but nothing unclean will enter it (Revelation 21:26-27a).

- So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48).

- “Be holy because I [am] holy.” (1 Peter 1:16b)

We are not ready because we are not clean, perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, nor holy as Christ is holy. When we at long last die with the grace of final perseverance, we may leave this world with unabsolved venial sins and a lifetime of temporal damage from past sins. It is through the refiners fire (Malachi 3:2-3) of purgatory that the imperfections on our soul like wood, hay or straw will be removed leaving gold, silver and precious stones (1 Corinthians 3:12-15) suitable for heaven.

Part of our problem is attachment to sin. Understanding that as an impediment to heaven is obvious.

There is, I believe, another attachment impediment: addiction to life. We love life – all the joys and hope it offers – and are often more oriented toward it then we are toward its author. Fr. Leo Clifford made this point very well in one of his reflections:

We fall in love with God’s gifts and forget the giver. We give our love to mere creatures and we forget that they are God’s gifts to us. We are so in love with his gift of life, we never want to part with it. We want to stay here instead of going back to the author of life, the God for whom we were made.

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There has been much speculation on the nature of purgatory. We know it is not Heaven nor Hell. It is not a place in between either, as it is the portico of Heaven. All who enter purgatory ARE saved. For that matter, it is not a place either and “how long” we are there is a complicated concept because it is outside of time. All we know, while we are still in time, is that we must pray for the souls in purgatory (they can pray for us too).

I still like my earlier conception of purgatory as a hospital for the soul. Like any hospital, treatment varies from person to person as does the length of treatment. Treatment is often painful. Unlike earthly hospitals, there is a 100% cure rate.

In the paradigm I am presenting here, “addiction” is a good fit for the primary disease of which we must be cured. Those who are not addicted will not have unabsolved venial sins and have turned completely to God. For them, no treatment is necessary. For most of us (I suspect), some amount of time in purgatory’s 12-step program (as I imagine it) will be necessary. We must let go of our addiction to life and replace it by union with God.

So, what might those 12 steps be? Adapting from Wikipedia’s article for alcoholics, we lifeoholics might need to:

1. Acknowledge our addiction to life and open ourselves to healing power of the Holy Spirit.

2. Abandon our false idols, uniting our will with God alone.

3. Turn ourselves completely over to God.

4. Make a searching and fearless inventory of our addiction to life.

5. Admit to God and to ourselves the nature of our addiction to life. In the Church Militant: also use the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

6. Be entirely ready to have God remove these defects.

7. Humbly ask God to cleanse our shortcomings.

8. Recognize the effects of our life addiction and how it separates us from God.

9. Pray for forgiveness.

10. Continue to take personal inventory and address our shortcomings as we recognize them.

11. Seek through prayer and meditation to complete our unity with God, praying only for knowledge of His will and His power to carry that out.

12. In the Church Militant: help others; In the Church Suffering: enter the Church Triumphant!

The good news is that we can begin our treatment NOW. Progress that we make here on earth will lessen the necessary treatment later.

O Lord, who art ever merciful and bounteous with Thy gifts, look down upon the suffering souls in purgatory. Remember not their offenses and negligences, but be mindful of Thy loving mercy, which is from all eternity. Cleanse them of their sins and fulfill their ardent desires that they may be made worthy to behold Thee face to face in Thy glory. May they soon be united with Thee and hear those blessed words which will call them to their heavenly home: “Come, blessed of My Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

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The Power of Managing a Household Well [at Naru Hodo]

There have been a few themes clunking around in my head like stuff you keep in your trunk and keep telling yourself, every time you take a sharp corner, you are going finally unload it so you don't have to keep listening to it.

And pretty much it boils down to how parents are supposed to get sanctified by raising their children. It is just a slight variant on saying we are sanctified by fulfilling our

duty

. Those who are not married or are married without children are in no way exempt from this kind of sanctification, although I admit that it possibly might be harder to see and carry out

duty

.

But I do have children, so to dig into my own reality I have to write about it that way.

And I keep coming back to those passages like 1 Tim. 3:4 where Paul says a bishop needs to manage his household well. (You can read

elsewhere

about the history of married priests and bishops in the Church. That's not my concern here.)

Managing a household well is constitutes being a channel of grace for one's family, and this is no small thing. If having been a child is not reminder enough, I am reminded constantly by my children's behavior that their eyes take in all my day-to-day behavior: the good, the bad, the ugly. They are their own persons, to be sure, but I am communicating to them a certain standard of "normal." They know what they can reasonably expect from me. And that will shape them until something more powerful comes along to shape them differently.

Some of the safest-feeling times I can remember as a child (and they did not flow thick) were when I would come into the kitchen in the early evening and find my mom cleaning up. I'm sure that she didn't do it because she loved in any more than I do it because I love it, but her work made me feel secure. I see the same thing in my daughter. When I am working, she will contentedly do whatever she is doing. Especially when she was younger, when I would be reading emails or Facebook posts, she would be far more restless. She could sense that I wasn't really spending that time for her.

But there's more to managing a household than being this kind of grace-channel. There is also my own sacrifice and pruning. Just recently I realized I needed to put more effort into making family meals a more attractive and stress-free service for everyone. So I made a meal plan, and we all benefited and enjoyed dinner more. And then, lo and behold, I had a schedule change that really made having that thing in place not just nice, but a sanity saver. This is how God teaches me the wisdom in following His inspirations. God prunes us and asks things of us for our own good.

I have also found it a "pruning" for me to take the time to teach my kids to do things for themselves and to serve the rest of the family. It sometimes suits my choleric nature to just plow through doing everything myself. But this short-changes my kids, and in the end can frustrate me. I also have to have the humility to patiently instruct my husband about some things, because it is simply better emotional hygiene for me. I realize that my needs are not about me lording it over others or insisting that everyone pull his weight. My needs are the signals for me to provide the training that others really need from me so that everyone can be happy together.

There is also a layer in all of the hidden work I do that is prayer and sacrifice offered for others. There are so many times when taking that next step in front of me in my duty is just so much not what I feel like doing. And yet, it is there. When I choose it because it is an act of service and love, I can (and do) offer that movement of my will as intercession for the salvation of souls and the conversion of sinners. That is why I make that

daily offering

in the morning, uniting my day and all that it in it to the desires of God. My work isn't about priding myself on being a perfect homemaker, but about humbling myself to offer prayer that is so quickly forgotten, even by myself.

And in the midst of this way of living, God teaches me, guides me, speaks to me in real-life ways. I am a slow learner, but I learn wisdom this slow way.

And that is exactly how St. Paul is saying bishops are supposed to learn to shepherd God's people.

I will never be a bishop, but this is also how God teaches me to have spiritual wisdom to minister to others. No textbook courses or gnostic wisdom. It is about living daily life, doing dishes and laundry, and interacting with children who very gradually develop maturity. Along the way, they forget their times tables, they chronically leave their belongings strewn everywhere, they have a hard time managing all of their emotions, they ask hard questions, they talk endlessly about things in which I barely know how to be interested, and they need to be trained to work and express care about others. And I am called to respond with love, patience, wisdom, attentiveness, and all the other virtues that get shown up in me as so very lacking. So I fall on my knees and beg God for help.

That's exactly how it is supposed to work, for moms and bishops.

This is what power in the Church looks like and where it comes from. It is not a power that makes any sense to the world.

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Embracing the Idea of Eternal Life [at Peace Garden Mama]

The thought came to me

when I was pregnant with our fourth child. During that pregnancy, my aunt, my father's oldest sister, was dying of liver cancer, and I was intently pondering life and death.

It started here:

Life doesn't end with this one, and the next life continues on eternally. Eternal life means forever, as in never-ever-ever ending.

And quickly progressed to this:

Wait now, eternal? Who would want that, really? How could that even be possible? Wouldn't it get...boring or...overly long? Is that really something I even want?

Once my mind hooked into this, I couldn't let go. For a moment, I felt physically ill thinking about it. We can't wrap our brains around eternal, I know this, and yet this wasn't about not wrapping my brain around eternal as, for the first time, confronting eternal. This was the first time I'd ever thought of it in a negative light and it was extremely disturbing.

Until this day, I'd always

taken for granted that our natural propensity is to yearn for something more -- that we have an innate sense of a life after this one -- the Act II. I know I'd always been moved in that direction. However, the earthly part of me seemed trained more in the way of anticipating endings. And so a non-ending just didn't make sense.

To be sure, I did not let this thought keep me up at nights. It was only an occasional disruption that would take hold for a little while. Eventually I would let it go and think nothing more of it.

But recently, it happened again, and I knew when I met with my spiritual director I had to bring this question before him. I felt a little silly as I explained being bothered by the idea of infinitude, feeling sure he'd think me a little loony, but he didn't. I'm assuming it's a thought others have had, too.

Now, I will be honest. I didn't think he'd be able to come up with anything satisfactory, and I will also share that I can't remember everything he said in his explanation. But at some point, I experienced one of those "aha!" moments that changes everything.

"We really can't understand

it, that's true," he said, "but maybe we can think of it this way. We can understand relationships. Think of the love you have for your children. Is that something you can imagine going on forever?"

He continued on for a bit after that, but I didn't hear any of it. I was stopped at the thought of the love I have for my children and how I could never-ever-ever imagine that ending...ever. And in that moment, even though I still cannot, nor will I ever, fully conceive of how forever works, it made a whole lot of sense how it's possible for something to endure infinitely.

Roxane and child #4, Adam, on his Baptism Day

The "Love never ends" we find in 1 Cor. 13:8 came to life, too. When my father died in January, that's what I was left with: love. And yet I haven't felt for a moment that love has left, even though my father has, nor that he is really gone. No, I don't feel that at all.

I don't know how it will work. It still doesn't make sense to me that we would ever want to continue existing into eternity and on and on and on. But I do know for certain that the love I have for my family doesn't seem to have an end point. Even on our worst days together, love, not as a concept but a reality, is very, very big and yes, I can quite imagine it lasting.

And now, I can embrace the idea of eternal life and not feel ishy at all. Instead, when I think on it, the warmest, most wonderful feeling comes over me.

It's something I could definitely get used to, forever.

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In Father R’s homily last Sunday, he told of a conversation he had with a young woman who had left the Catholic Church.  He asked her why she left, and her answer surprised him.  She said it was because the world seems so random.  Things happen and there doesn’t seem to be any order or purpose for anything.  He contrasted this reasoning with the experience of his brother, who before becoming a priest was a microphysicist or something of that sort.  The more he learned about the randomness of the smallest particles, like things that make up an electron or a quark–I don’t pretend to have any knowledge of such things, so don’t even ask me–the more he was convinced that there HAD to be an intelligence to make order out of such chaos.  (I remember reading a blog post years ago–Jennifer Fulwiler’s, I think– in which she explained why she enjoyed doing housework.  She hated it at first, and then she started looking at it like God creating the universe–making order out of chaos.  I find myself thinking about that from time to time when I’m cleaning and would much rather be doing something else.)  He knew that only a God of extreme intelligence and love could create something alive and beautiful and purposeful out of seemingly random particles.

My life has been so full and rich I have put blogging on a back burner of late.  (By “full” and “rich” I mean this:  it’s mostly wonderful, and quite busy; there is lots of love and laughter and activity, but we have our struggles, too, which certainly make things interesting.)  I want to start putting my random thoughts about my faith into this blog, especially the little encounters with God I have on a day-to-day basis.

On a recent Sunday as I settled myself into the pew, pulled down the kneeler and tried to conjure up a few lame prayers, I looked up at the crucifix.  I realized (and perhaps it was God whispering to me) that lately I had mostly been a Sunday Catholic.  I go to Mass on Sunday, and perhaps I’ll remember to say a prayer or two during the week, and I usually listen to The Catholic Channel every morning on the radio (and since I started running I’ve been praying the Rosary during my workouts, so I guess that’s something), but I hardly ever read the Bible or sit down and really take the time to pray.

I don’t want to be a Sunday Catholic.  I am trying to devote more time to scripture and prayer.  I spent a fair chunk of time yesterday writing down some random encounters with Christ I’ve had over the last several days.  I’m hoping to create some order out of the chaos in my mind and heart by sharing more of those thoughts with you, and after Thanksgiving I plan to start posting here more.  I’ve missed blogging.  (And I’ve missed blogging about food, too; I’d better start that up again or else I’m going to have to change the name of this blog…)

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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Understanding the Kingdom [at Bartimaeus' Quiet Place]

Understanding the “Kingdom” Within the Challenge of Today’s World

Do not be anxious … says the Lord!

Speaking to His Disciples, Jesus said: “Do not be anxious then, saying,  ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘With what shall we clothe ourselves?’ For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matt: 6:31-33)

.

.

.

Brothers and Sisters,

With this saying Jesus indicated to His disciples that if we desire to grow spiritually in following Him, they, and we. must turn from our anxiety-driven seeking after earthly “things” and instead yield ourselves to the Kingship of the Father in our lives. In order to do this as “true” disciples we must have established a personal relationship with Jesus and yielded ourselves totally to God by obeying His Righteous direction in our lives. Stated in todays common idiom, Jesus’ saying that we cited could read something like this:

“Don’t be anxious about how you wiil be able to sustain yourselves in this world. Place yourself in totai loving and willing obedience to the Father’s direction for you as your King, seeking no personal benefit for your service but only to fulfill His desires and Righteous purposes. If you remain centered on doing so, the Father wil provide all your incidental needs so that you may be successful in fulfilling His Righteous purposes in you and through you”.

The problem we moderns have in following this directive from the Lord is twofold: first of all we are too codependent on the world’s systems to meet our needs, and secondly our hearts are too hardened to really comprehend what he means by the “Kingdom of God”.

This saying of Jesus, as we normally would perceive it in our minds, mainly infers, living a godly life in concert with the morés and dictates of our religious tradition and scripture so that through our efforts at compliance we may obtain God’s approval and thus merit His providence in this life and entrance to His Heavenly Kingdom in the next.

Nothing, could be further from the truth of what Jesus was trying to convey to His followers – Jesus was proclaiming entrance to a spiritual Kingdom NOW, where our entrance to that Kingdom would be contingent on our faith and our purity of motive. Our faith and motive are of the essence. If we are to accomplish anything in our “yielding to the Kingdom” it can only be if we are not seeking merit or justification – all our efforts in obedience to His call must be freely done, in faith and out of true “agape” love – seeking His Righteousness and Glory, NOT our own.

For Jesus, “the Kingdom” which he preached meant something entirely different. It was the term He use to define His Ministry under the Kingship of the Father and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. An anointing which He delegated to those who entered into discipleship with Him. We must also remember  that it was the primary topic on which He preached – eg., “The Good News of the Kingdom”, and “the Kingdom of God is at hand”. Almost all for His parables were focused on this “Kingdom” and as you are well aware, these stories dealt with an earthly manifestation of the “Kingdom” here and Now: NOT some far off “blue sky” future.

Yes, Jesus did mention the eschatological or coming Kingdom on occasion, but His preaching was mainly directed at proclaiming that the Father was entering into a new epoch with humanity – an epoch, termed “the Kingdom of God”, where He would come to dwell in us so that, through a spiritual partnership with us, He could begin to re-create us spiritually in the image of His Son, Jesus, so that  through us as His new-born children and envoys, He could establish His spiritual Kingship over the hearts of those who believed the Good News of this Kingdom.  Jesus also knew that this move of God could only come through Him, the Lamb of God, and that the purposes of His Father required His sacrificial death by crucifixion to atone for the sins of men. Yet, He proclaimed this latter news only to His disciples who through faith would be His initial envoys of the Good News to the world.

The Gospel of the Kingdom was proclaimed and taught by Jesus, mainly through parables – parables that were not easily understood by those who heard. He did this for two main reasons reasons. One was that He knew that the people in general would misinterpret the proclamation of a :”Kingdom” as worldly entity and would attempt to make Him a worldly King. Secondly He knew the Father and the Holy Spirit were at work in the circumstances of His ministry to draw to him those who had “ears to hear” and really understood in their spirits what “The Kingdom” He was proclaiming really meant.

The Good news that Jesus was proclaiming was that the Father, through Jesus,His sacrifical Lamb and the Holy Spirit, who was empowering Him, was ushering in a new covenant with mankind where He would dwell in His people, those redeemed by the blood and re-born of the Spirit, in such a supernatural way that through His indwelling presence in them, He could bring forth His Kingdom on this earth. In his infinite graciousness He, through the sacrifice of His Son, was giving us the opportunity to be His partners in bringing forth His Kingdom in this fallen world.

In order that we be completely free to “enter this Kingdom” the Lord graces us with the gift of salvation through His atoning  sacrifice on the cross. In this way, we who have faith in the redemption He has won for us, without any merit on our part, are now free to volunteer to be His disciples and follow Him – for that is the only way we may enter the “Kingdom” in this life – as willing and obedient bond-servants sent by Him to operate under His anointing to bring the Gospel of the Kingdom to others.  Because of the offer to enter into discipleship in this way, our salvation is not affected  by our free and loving decision to give ourselves to Him for His Glory! Praised be His Holy Name!

Now it is up to us to decide. Are we willing to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to the Father (cf., Rom12:1-2) by giving ourselves totally to Him for His service in  the Name of His Son, Jesus?  Is the Holy Spirit moving in you to consecrate yourself  to Jesus – to yoke yourself to Him so that all that you do and say and think will be a measure of His indwelling life in us?

If you are, then the prayer that follows is meant for you.

May His Peace be with you as you consider this challenge…Amen!

Your fellow Pilgrim in Christ Jesus … Bartimaeus

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Lord Jesus, I believe that you, the Son of the Living God came down from heaven to reveal the Father’s Love to me by suffering and dying for my sins. I believe that through your death and resurrection you have brought redemption and life not only to me but also all else who believe in you. I further believe that it is only through knowing you in a loving personal relationship that I can know the Father.

It is because I have a burning desire to know you and abide in you that I now yield myself completely to you and your love. I open the door to my heart so you can come in and sup with me and thus begin the special relationship with you for which you died and for which I hunger.At this moment I yield myself to your love. Enter in and activate my spirit with your Holy Spirit so that I can go beyond just mere intellectual belief in you to a personal spiritual knowledge of you and the Father.

I yoke myself to You Lord, cleanse me from my sins and make me a fit vessel for your presence. Permeate my entire being with your life and your love so that I can truly be your instrument in this world. Be my Lord, Be My God, Be my King to rule and to reign in me. In faith and by your grace I receive You and I receive Your word.

Abide in me just as you abide in the Father and the Father in you! Thank you for giving yourself for me. Amen!

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Recommended Link(s)

Sweet Yoke Of Love

Overcoming the World

Is He Truly Your King?

Yielding to the Kingdom Anointing

(© B.R.Timeo and Bartimaeus’ Quiet Place, [2008-2013])

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Anna Marie [at This Captivating Love]

This is a little past due but if you are expecting a coherent update you will be very disappointment. This is going to be a jumbled mess of a post.

On 11/11/13 I went to work. I prayed on my drive there like I have done for the last 2 months. I prayed that I would feel her move and that it would be a sign, a sort of reassurance that she was ok. That's how I felt about every movement. I called for the intercession of the Saints and spoke most directly to the most perfect Mother. I just thought she would understand how I was feeling.

I didn't feel her for most of the morning, but I often don't pay much attention when I'm that busy at work. Then, I felt it. that fluttering. It was the most undeniably movement I had felt thus far, it was strong. And I prayed a silent "thank you" to God for that sign. I could now relax, and breathe and feel good about my OB appointment that afternoon. I was actually anticipating it. Every appointment felt like a milestone to me.

I was going to go by myself but Patrick realized he was going to be off work in time for my 4:15 appointment. It's nice when he can make it. Driving to the doctor I realized that in the business of my day I had not felt her move anymore. Not since I felt that very obvious fluttering earlier in the day. Moments later I felt a pain. It was really more like a cramp but it was sharp. It lasted a few seconds and then nothing. I brushed it off. It was easy to convince myself that everything was going to be fine... "I felt her move today."

Every time I go to the Dr, no matter how early or late I am, I end up waiting a good 30 minutes. No one seems to be in a hurry in that office. But I always am. We are a very special kind of nervous first time parents.

The Dr finally came in and asked how we were doing with everything, and if I had been feeling a lot of movement which I proudly said I had. She asked if we had talked about names, and we told her we had. We were going to name her Anna Marie. She asked when my next Perinatal appointment was and if they had talked about Genetic Counseling for us given the diagnosis of Turner Syndrome. It was a nice talk, really, and probably the most positive feeling one we had had in a while. I think Patrick and I were just finally feeling confident about everything. And I felt like a proud mother... we were beating the odds!

She got the doppler out and we listened closely.

Nothing.

After several minutes of nervous searching she looked at me and said, "I'm sorry. I'm not finding a heartbeat." She left the room to grab the portable ultrasound and I didn't shed a tear. "This isn't happening. This can't happen," I said to myself. And I told Patrick that I didn't think she was very good at finding the heartbeat anyways... which was a lie. Plus I had felt her move THAT MORNING. I was trying to stay positive. But we both knew. And she confirmed it with the ultrasound. Anna was very still and there was no movement anymore, not even in the place where I could always see her little heart pumping.

In that very moment my heart broke. There are not words to describe the feeling. The pain. The utter sadness that I felt. I tried to be strong in front of the doctor but eventually I couldn't do it anymore. She left the room to give us a few minutes alone. Patrick and I held on to each other for a long time and cried. I don't even know what was said between us. It was a long time but somehow it just feels like a blur.

On 11/12/13, my mom flew in to Wichita. Thank God for that. I knew I needed her I just didn't know how much.

On 11/13/13 at 5 AM I was admitted to the hospital to deliver our baby girl. I was going to be strong. I was going to be induced and I was going to hold it together and I would have this baby in probably the next 10-12 hrs. I thought...

I didn't feel my first contraction until about noon. It was not painful, just a little uncomfortable. by 2 PM I was exhausted and just ready for it to be over. By 5 PM, 12 hours after admission.... still no baby and honestly not much pain.

Labor happened just like it always does so I won't give you a play by play. But I will tell you, it was hard and I did feel pain. And at one point I thought, "If I was having a live baby this might be worth it." But then I pushed that thought aside. She was worth it.

On 11/14/13, with no doctor in the room and no nurse at my side, I had Anna Marie at 0621 AM. It happened really fast (when sounds funny since it took over 24 hrs for her to arrive) so my mom didn't get to leave the room like we originally planned. My mom and Patrick were on either side of me holding my hands through the hardest part and I thank God they were there.

My mom left the room and Patrick and I held our little girl. We cried and hugged and kissed and stared at her beautiful face. She had Patrick's nose and my eyes. Even though her poor little body wasn't "perfect" because of her condition, she was so perfect to me. She was so sweet. I could have stared at her all day. And if she had been alive I could have stared at her all day every day. I wish that had been the case....

Our parents came in and joined us and they took turns holding her but I held her the most. I knew our time with her was limited. The funeral home would be coming to pick her up. I knew logically we could not take her home but I wanted to. I knew logically we could not stay at the hospital with her but I wanted to. I knew she wasn't alive but holding her felt so good and so right and I didn't want it to end.

After about 6 hrs, the funeral home came to pick her up. They came and got her from our hospital room. I refused to let them take her to Pathology to lay on a cold table by herself. I didn't care if she wasn't alive. I didn't want her to be by herself. And I didn't care how irrational I sounded saying that either... so they made an exception.

Handing her to the gentleman from the funeral home broke my heart all over again. That was the last moment I would ever look at my first little baby girl, my sweet little Anna. That was it. It was very anticlimactic. Very final. And it hurt my heart. I have never felt sadness like that.

The funeral was two days later. It was a small gravesite service attending only by my mom, sister, in-laws, our two best friends, Patrick and me. It went too fast. And when it ended I felt that same feeling of finality. And my heart hurt again.

It has been three weeks now. I have been back to work for a while now. Everyone asks how I'm doing and I just say, "I'm ok." I don't really know how to answer that. It never seemed like such a complex question before. The thing is, I'd be lying if I said I'm great but really.... I'm not falling apart. I'm ok.

The reason I'm not wallowing in sadness (which I think would be perfectly acceptable for anyone who has lost a child by the way) is because I'm not afraid. I was afraid that Anna's life would mean nothing because she didn't really get to live. I was worried she would suffer and feel pain. I was never worried about me. I was always afraid for her and how her condition would affect her life. But the thing is, her life meant the world. She WAS important and she WAS a part of the Big Plan. People believed and prayed and showed love because of Anna. Anna made me talk to God in a way that I didn't know I could. She made me love her and Patrick in ways I never knew I could. She was everything to me and because of her I will never be the same.

Let me be clear... I cry all the time. I cried typing this because it felt like I was reliving it. I'm sad, really I am. I miss her. I miss carrying her around with me and feeling her move inside me. I wish she was still here. But I have no regrets about any of it. I would not do anything differently. I wouldn't trade those 6 hours of holding her for anything in the world. I will never forget it. Those were precious moments and I will always look back on this as a special memory... a very happy and very sad memory. And I will always love my little girl.

Thank you for your prayers. We all have another angel to watch over us now.

This contribution is available at http://thiscaptivatinglove.blogspot.com/2013/12/anna-marie.html

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The Humbling Music of "ma"... [at Making It In Vermont]

This morning I sit with 10 month old ~G playing on the floor.  He has been babbling, babababa, a couple of snorts, some dadas.  Then I hear it, “ma”. I try to encourage him and make the sign for mommy while saying “ma ma” and I smile big to let him know he is on to something.

I see his lips start to form the mmm sound and hear another small “ma”.  When he starts to pull my hair and move on to other sounds I know the moment passed.  He is so close…

~G as most of you know has Down syndrome which doesn’t define him, but does have its laundry list of possible delays and health risks.  Speech can come at varying ages or even never, so I am more aware of it with him than his 5 older brothers.

His little “ma” was like music.

Today is the Feast of the Annunciation, the day Mary gave the big old yes to God, and accepted His invitation to become mom to Jesus.

Just as ~G comes with his set of unique unknowns that only faith gives peace to, how amazing for this young girl to wholeheartedly give the big question mark of her life to God (and all of us) in the birth, life, and death of her son.

I can’t imagine how utterly humbling it must have been the first moments when Jesus uttered “ma”.

I’ve made a necklace honoring that relationship of mother and son, creator and created.  It has been in the works for well over a year and has sent me on a journey to get to know Jesus’ mum better.

It is called “The Lord is with Thee”.

The Lord is with Thee – Painted Sterling Silver Cross

Here’s the link to the page at Little Lisa Studios if you want to see more about it:  http://www.littlelisastudios.com/The-Lord-is-with-Thee-cross.html

I’ll leave you with a pic of ~G and his uber cuteness.

Love love love,

~Lisa

This contribution is available at http://www.makingitinvermont.com/2013/12/the-humbling-music-of-ma/

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Making the Switch to Christian Radio [at A Catholic Newbie]

Even just six short months ago, I would have seen the title to this blog and probably run screaming :). I distinctly remember laughing and rolling my eyes about a ride in the car with someone who listened to “Jesus music” even after I had begun my entrance into the Catholic church. My how we should never say never! I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had to eat my words and ended up doing things I never could have imagined.

So what caused me to take an interest in Christian music? A book I was reading, “Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Mission,” a guide to becoming the saint you were meant to be, introduced the idea of being aware of what we surround ourselves with. What TV shows do we watch? What music do we listen to? Who are our friends? All of these choices can help us or harm us. The author, John Wood, shared how he switched to Christian radio, specifically K-LOVE, which is available in most major markets, for his family. That stuck in my mind for some reason because it was such a specific suggestion.

Doesn’t every one feel like if they hear the same song on the radio ONE more time, they just can’t stand it? I was having moments like that where I was sick of all the overplayed songs and ready for something new. Plus, I was becoming more aware of some of the lyrics and how I did not want my young boys to hear inappropriate language and innuendos, which are so common in Top 40 music.

I’d already started listening to Catholic Radio (talk radio), but I found that playing it with my boys in the car was sometimes challenging. Abortion is mentioned quite often, and it’s not a topic I’ve figured out how to address with them yet. Sometimes the conversations even get graphic and I just don’t want them exposed to that. Plus, they find it quite boring and I’d rather they have something pleasant to fill their ears and make them happy.

SO, I thought… maybe I’ll give this K-LOVE a try… I scanned the radio and found what I thought was it and decided just to listen to the music for a bit and see what I thought. I’d listen for 5-10 minutes here and 5-10 minutes there until I started to get to know the songs. I found I REALLY liked them. It didn’t take me more than a week or two before I knew enough of the songs that it felt familiar and comfortable. Well, I’ve never really turned it off, except to switch back and forth to Catholic Radio.

The songs and the conversations are so uplifting and inspiring and truly give you a boost if you’re having a challenging morning. When you listen to the lyrics, just like when reading scripture or Catholic books, you’ll find messages that you need to hear RIGHT THEN. Plus, there are NO commercials, which is so lovely. Occasionally, I will switch over to Radio Disney, because I feel like they are the least likely to have offensive lyrics, but I’m still hearing the songs I was sick of several months ago and switch back pretty quickly.

I never even mentioned this switch to my kids and they’ve never made any comment or acted like they noticed. Suddenly their lives are just filled with positive songs, and a couple of times, they’ve even said “I like this song!”

Here are my tips for making the switch:

1) Just try it.

2) Promise yourself to listen just for 5 minutes a day for the next week.

3) At the end of the week, if you haven’t found a song or two you like, I’ll be very surprised! The music is really good and reminds me of singer-songwriter type music, which is very soulful, pure and lets the singer’s voice truly shine.

Take the Christian Radio challenge and tweet about it using hashtag: #SwitchtoChristianRadio. I can’t wait to hear what you think! Anyone else made the switch? How has it changed your life?

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Three Men I Greatlty Admire [at A Servant's Message: Words From A Catholic Deacon]

Pope Francis

On March 13 of this year, I was attending a meeting at our diocesan pastoral center when he heard that white smoke had arisen from the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican indicating that the cardinal electors had selected a new pope for the Church to succeed Pope Benedict XVI whose surprise resignation as Bishop of Rome had come a few weeks earlier.

A TV had been set up in one of the meeting rooms and we gathered to await the announcement of the new pope.  Finally, one of the cardinals came to the balcony above St. Peter's Square and made tne now traditional announcement: Habemus papam!  We have a pope!  Cheers erupted from the square as the world waited to hear who the choice was.  In Latin, the cardinal went on to announce the cardinals had selected Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires in Argentina who had selected the name Francis (a first).  We wondered:  Who is this man?

From the moment he stepped onto the balcony in a simple white cassock and bowed his head and asked for the prayers of the people, the world fell in love with Pope Francis.  He has made an impact not only of those who share his religious faith but many in the world, including atheists.  From the beginning of his pontificate, he has shown what it means to be a true servant of the Lord.  His humble lifestyle (not living in the papal apartments, paying his own hotel bill where he stayed before the conclave, being driven in a simple automobile, etc.) has resonated with people.  His genuine love and concern especially for those in the margins of our society is noteworthy.

Pope Francis does have his critics.  No one in any position of leadership in either church or world can escape having critics and Francis is no exception to this.  Some of the criticism has come from the more traditional wing of the Roman Catholic Church.  I recently read where one in this group felt that the "pope had thrown them under the bus."  This is perhaps because he has not slavishly followed all the nuances and rules such as when he went to a prison on Holy Thursday (rather than being in St. Peter's) and washed the feet of the prisoners (including those who were not Catholic and women as well).

To those critics, I would point to some of Jesus' own words to the critics of his day:  I say to you, someone greater than the temple is here.  If you knew what this meant, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice," you would not have condemned these innocent men (the disciples who plucked grain on the sabbath).  For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.   (Matt. 12: 6-8) And again:  They (the Pharisees) tie up heavy burdens (hard to carry) and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not life a finger to move them....Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.  You...have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity.  (Matt. 23: 4; 23)

The pope has also shown a very human side by reaching out physically to many people, particularly the children.  How many times have we seen him at a general audience stop and take a child, kiss and bless it.  For again, we read in Matthew: Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.  (Matt. 19:14).

For some time now, we have heard people speak the letters: WWJD.  What would Jesus do?  I believe we can see in Francis what Jesus would do; reach out with love, compassion and mercy to all he may touch.  May the good Lord give Pope Francis many years of health to be able to guide our Church in these difficult times.

Bishop Howard J. Hubbard

I first met Howard Hubbard when we were seminary students in 1958.  I look back on these fifty-five years of our friendship which I highly cherish.  Howard finished his seminary studies in Rome and returned to the Diocese of Albany (New York) in 1964.  His early priesthood saw him serving as a "street priest" in a poorer section of the City of Albany where he worked at Providence House, a storefront ministry.  He was also instumental in founding Hope House, a place where treatment could be offered to those suffering the pains of addiction to drugs.  He later became involved in personnel work for the diocese and in 1977, Pope Paul VI nominated him as the ninth bishop of Albany after only being a priest for 14 years.  At the time, he was the youngest bishop in the United States.

In addition to being my friend, Howard Hubbard has also been my bishop for the past 36+ years.  He has accomplished many things during his tenure in this office, most significant among them being his pursuit of social justice and for his efforts to bring together people of varying faith traditions to work for the common good.  Just this past week, he was honored for his work in ecumenical and interfaith efforts by people from not only the Christian churches, but also those representing the Jewish faith, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus.  It was one of the most memorable events that I have attended in a long time ane was a tribute to Bishop Hubbard's tiresless efforts at forging good relationships with various religious traditions.  He is often referred to by people in those traditions as "our bishop."

In October of this year, a special liturgy was held at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany honoring the bishop who celebrates fifty years of priesthood this year.  Over 1300 were in attendance including a number of bishops from around New York State, Cardinals Timothy Dolan and Edward Egan of New York and a large number of priests and deacons.  I had the privilege of serving as deacon of the Eucharist at this Mass.  The love and affection that the people of this diocese have for our bishop truly shone as he arrived in the Cathedral to thunderous applause.  He has also been feted at various events by various groups throughout the diocese and this part of our state to honor his great work.  Having reached his 75th birthday at the end of October, by church practice he submitted his resignation as the bishop of Albany and we await the announcment of his successor sometime in the future.  My prayer is that he will continue to enjoy good health and peace during his retirement years.

Father James J. Vaughan

Over 27% of my life has been involved with a parish in Troy, New York - Sacred Heart Parish.  I served as parish organist and choir director there from 1966-86 and in 2012 was asked to serve as the temporary administrator of the parish while the current pastor was on medical leave.

From 1973-2000, the pastor who served the parish was Father James Vaughan.  I had the privilege of having him as my "boss" for thirteen years while serving as music director.  In Father Vaughan, I saw an example of what a true priest of Jesus Christ should be: a man of deep prayer and love for his people.  Many people with whom I have spoken and who know Father Vaughan consider him one of the most - if not the most- revered priest in our diocese.

In the early 1960s I joined a group of young adults known as the Catholic Young Adult League.  There were groups in each of the three cities in our Capital District area of New York.  Through this group, I met my wife (now of fifty years) and the chaplain of our group was a young priest whose name was Father James Vaughan.  I got to know Father Vaughan well at that time and was privileged to be able to serve with him at Sacred Heart Church.

It is often felt that when a pastor retires, he should not remain living at the parish he served less he be seen as intruding on the work of his successor.  In the case of Father Vaughan, nothing could be further from the truth.  He has remained a resident at Sacred Heart and is seen as a source of wisdom and guidance by his successors.  He is much loved by the people of the parish and they are always greeted by him with a big smile.  (He also loves the New York Yankees and the New York Giants!)

My prayer for Father Vaughan is that God will continue to grant him good health so that he may be able to remain among the people he loves to serve.

I have blessed by these three men in my life and know that God will keep them always in his heart.

This contribution is available at http://deaconjnh.blogspot.com/2013/11/three-men-i-greatlty-admire.html

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Do Bad Math Teachers Go to Hell? [at The Back of the World]

I don’t know much about being a good math teacher… I mean, I’ve seen good math teachers at work. And some days, I think I’ve been a good math teacher myself. But it’s depressingly difficult to pin down what it is that makes for good math instruction, or to train someone to be a good math teacher. When it comes to good math teaching, I guess I’m like the famous judge who, when trying to explain what counted as pornography for the purposes of the law, said simply “I know it when I see it“.

But while I’m not very knowledgeable about what makes a good math teacher, I know plenty about being a bad math teacher. I think most of us do, as a matter of fact. We’ve all had that math teacher who muttered into the board, with his back turned to the class, making the problems as clear as mud. As the department chair at my old school, I even got to be in charge of that guy, and let me tell you, he’s not any more fun for the adults at the school than he is for the students…I could probably sit down and write a 300 pg. book, off the top of my head, no re-writing required, if the topic was “Being a Bad Math Teacher”, and the only problem would be that no one would buy it because you’re all already experts on the subject, thanks to the national pandemic of bad math teachers.

I do think, though, that over the last couple of years, I’ve gained a key insight about bad math teaching that the general public has not yet realized: bad math teachers usually begin with a bad philosophy of math…

***

I first learned to love math from an old man with a “Santa Claus” beard, who rode a Harley and cussed like a sailor in front of his students. His name was Mr. Atkinson, and he was my 10th grade Geometry teacher, and it’s mostly his fault that I don’t teach literature or history.

Mr. Atkinson had a way of explaining math as if he was that one uncle you have, who was in the Navy, and uses that as an excuse for being inappropriate at the family dinner table. Once, when explaining that Side-Side-Angle congruency doesn’t prove that you have congruent triangles, he looked out at the class and proclaimed: “Side-Side-Angle congruency is usually abbreviated SSA. A lot of students like to laugh at that, because it’s ass, backwards. I’m ok with that, because as you’ll discover when you’re an adult, most things in life are, in fact, ass-backwards.”

Once, when talking to my best friend and I after school, Mr. Atkinson told us: “look, I know that at your age, all you’ve got on your minds is girls, fast cars, and alcohol. All I’m asking is that you think about math every once in a while.” For a man trying to reach teenage boys with the Good News of Math, this was pure pedagogical gold.

Mr. Atkinson couldn’t have given less of a damn about teaching us the real world applications of the math we were learning. Sure, he had been an engineer before becoming a math teacher, and so he new a lot about applying math to the real world. But for him math was first and foremost epistemology. Math wasn’t just a tool for your toolbox, it was a path to truth.

I don’t recall doing a single word problem in his class. We did proofs. We started with assumptions–called “postulates” in Geometry–and used logic to work our way to the truth. Truth, mind you, that would always be true, that you knew for sure now because you had proven it.

***

We live in a technological age. I don’t mean merely that we live in an age driven by computers and gadgets, though that is certainly true. I mean it in the sense of the Greek root word, technos: we are obsessed with skills. In an age where knowledge is cheap and easy to get, your ability to wield tools becomes paramount.

As a society, we value functionality over truth. We’ve been that way for a while now. Maybe it’s the Pragmatists fault. Maybe it’s just that we’ve had technological progress and economic expansion for so long, we’ve given into the natural human tendency to become obsessive.  But whatever it is, this I know: math and math education have been reduced to teaching skills.

And I think that lies at the heart of a lot of bad math teaching. The bad philosophy of math that we have adopted is one which says that math is purely a functional set of skills, not the use of reason and logic in order to know. In fact, we no longer believe that reason is a path to Truth at all…if we believe that Truth can be known at all, we usually believe only in empirical truth, or in a blind faith kind of religious truth. Reason is right out, and with it goes math…

Math certainly is a useful tool for the real world, but that isn’t what math is at its core. Math is a subset of logic. Its part of a rational epistemology. It’s man using reason to know something that he didn’t know before. And if I teach math as if it is just a set of skills, just tools for a tool box, then I’m not really teaching math. And if I’m not really teaching math–rather, I’m just showing someone how to use a numerical tool set that apparently just fell from the sky, and which I have no more reason to find truthful than I do Greek mythology or the headlines on the National Enquirer–then it’s pretty hard to be a good math teacher.

‘That’s NOT to say that if all schools started going back to this tomorrow, we would suddenly have a lot of good math teachers. But we might just eliminate some of the bad math teaching that goes on…

Incidentally, this is also my complaint about the Common Core State Standards, the much-maligned federal list-o’-stuff-you-should-know-by-the-end-of-this-grade. It fosters bad math teachers and bad math teaching by reducing math to a list of skills to be acquired, rather than portraying it as it really is: a relentless pursuit of the truth. The funny thing is, that the numerical tool set is fairly easy to learn and use if I’ve pursued math-as-epistemology, but *extremely* difficult to do if I have no idea why the math is the way it is. And so, Common Core will inevitably turn out bad math students, in addition to bad math teachers…

And there’s a deep spiritual problem that can go along with bad math teaching. With reducing math to a set of skills, we risk undermining the value of finding truth. And And if we undermine the value of finding truth, if we convey that Truth and Knowledge aren’t worth pursuing with all of our hearts, then we risk adding one more stumbling block to our students, who are told by everyone around them that truth is entirely subjective, or that the pursuit of Truth is ultimately fruitless… and that belief has eternal consequences…

***

Once, Mr. Atkinson alluded to a mystical experience he had had. He wouldn’t go into the details. He wasn’t a believer in any particular religion, but he told us that after the “experience”, he became completely convinced that there was more to the universe than just the material. And he kept pursuing the truth.

I kept in touch with Mr. Atkinson until he passed away. I was in college, majoring in math at the time, so Mr. Atkinson never knew I went on to be a math teacher. But my friend and I went to his funeral, and had a chance to tell his wife how grateful we were to have had him as a teacher.

***

In his encyclical letter, Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict wrote this about salvation:

Yet we know from experience that neither case is normal in human life. For the great majority of people—we may suppose—there remains in the depths of their being an ultimate interior openness to truth, to love, to God. In the concrete choices of life, however, it is covered over by ever new compromises with evil—much filth covers purity, but the thirst for purity remains and it still constantly re-emerges from all that is base and remains present in the soul. What happens to such individuals when they appear before the Judge? Will all the impurity they have amassed through life suddenly cease to matter? What else might occur? Saint Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians, gives us an idea of the differing impact of God’s judgement according to each person’s particular circumstances. He does this using images which in some way try to express the invisible, without it being possible for us to conceptualize these images—simply because we can neither see into the world beyond death nor do we have any experience of it. Paul begins by saying that Christian life is built upon a common foundation: Jesus Christ. This foundation endures. If we have stood firm on this foundation and built our life upon it, we know that it cannot be taken away from us even in death. Then Paul continues: “Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Cor 3:12-15). In this text, it is in any case evident that our salvation can take different forms, that some of what is built may be burned down, that in order to be saved we personally have to pass through “fire” so as to become fully open to receiving God and able to take our place at the table of the eternal marriage-feast.

From time to time, I pray for Mr. Atkinson. I’m hopeful for his soul, because I do think that, at least from my experiences with him, he retained in the depths of his being an ultimate interior openness to truth. He would’ve been a bad math teacher if he hadn’t.

This contribution is available at http://backoftheworld.com/2013/11/20/do-bad-math-teachers-go-to-hell/

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The 50th Anniversary of the Death of C.S. Lewis

Fifty years ago today, two men of historical stature died. The first was the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. He was shot in his motorcade in the city of Dallas, Texas. The tragic event shocked the country and the world. The other gentleman was a professor of Literature and Philosophy at Oxford University in Oxford, England, by the name of Clives Staples Lewis. He was affectionately known as “Jack” to his family and friends, but we know him as C.S. Lewis.

Although one was the President of the United States, the more obscure individual has impacted the world fifty times more than Kennedy ever did. He may not be in every history book, but his prolific writings have impacted and inspired generations since his death at the age of 65.

Countless people have converted to Christianity because of his greatest work, Mere Christianity. He writes the text not as theologian or philosopher, but from a literary point of view. Drawing upon his experience as one that lost his faith as he entered university, Lewis makes a near flawless case for the importance of Christianity and the person of Jesus Christ. One of the best parts of the text is when he writes that Jesus is a raging lunatic or he is the Son of God -

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

My first real encounter with the great C.S. Lewis took place in the Saint Ignatius Institute at the University of San Francisco. In 1994, my first fall semester, I read his book Miracles in the course, Revelation and Christology. I remember how difficult the book was to read, as did many of my classmates, but also remember the enjoyment of it as well. The difficulty of this book caused a lot of stress for us in that class. Our lack of understanding forced Reverend Joseph Fessio, S.J. to explain Chapter 4 to us in great detail. He then told us to purchase some good German beer, go to Golden Gate Park, and read our C.S. Lewis.

While taking this course, I remember taking a literature course where we read Lewis’ Space Trilogy – Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength. Again, these books grabbed my attention even more so than Miracles. I remember not being able to put them down and found myself reading them during lunch and while I was eating dinner in the student commons.

Like The Chronicles of Narnia, Lewis’ seven book children’s classic, the space trilogy is much more than just a story about space. It’s a story steeped in philosophy, theology, and Christian humanism. Towards the end of Perelandra, Ransom says, “In our world those who know Maleldil at all believe that His coming down to us and being a man is the central happening of all that happens.” Sound familiar to you?

In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Aslan, the great lion and Christ figure, sacrifices himself up to the White Witch and all her evil cohorts to save Edmund, Peter, Susan, and Lucy. In the end, after being slaughtered on the Stone Table, the Deep Magic brings him back to life and raises him from the dead.

I could continue quoting every text of his in my personal library, but the best thing you could do is go out and purchase one of his many books and start discovering him for yourself. There are not enough words on how much his writings have affected my own life and the work I do as a Catholic Lay evangelist.

The influence that C.S. Lewis will continue to have in the decades ahead is immeasurable, but his impact on the early 21st century should continue to reverberate as more and more people continue to read, study, and share his books. So today on the 50th anniversary of his death, we celebrate his life, his accomplishments, and the man we know affectionately as Clive Staples Lewis.

This contribution is available at http://tomperna.org/2013/11/22/the-50th-anniversary-of-the-death-of-c-s-lewis/

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Looking at women [at Cum Lazaro]

First, an apology to women readers. I'm going to be talking about how men should look at women simply because I'm a man. There's an analogous discussion to be had about how women should look at men, but I'm the wrong blogger to do it. (And there are also different discussions to be had about how men should look at men (and women at women) and although I'll touch on that here, that'll be mainly for another time perhaps...)

Chris Monloch's article

in The Independent on Afghan pederasty (bacha bazi) (H/T

Standing on My Head

) is troubling in a number of ways. Most obviously, it is troubling because it deals with an evil practice and raises questions about the West's involvement in Afghanistan. At a slightly more theoretical level, I find Monloch's

approach

to the subject slightly worrying. There's clearly a history to the practice which goes beyond the recent turmoil in the area. (

Wikipedia suggests

that it was actually more common in the past until the colonial powers' disapproval (quote: 'Victorian era prudery' ?! -good for the Victorians!) reduced its prevalence.) It's clearly not just (as Monloch's term 'paedophilia' and much of the article suggests) the particular perversion of a few odd individuals but a socially endorsed and constructed practice. Moreover, it isn't a practice that is unknown in other societies (for example, the ancient

Greek practice of pederasty

is clearly analogous). If Monloch is supposed to be representative of a US intelligence expert, I'd worry that US intelligence is woefully out of its depth in dealing with other cultures, treating what is clearly a deeply embedded cultural evil as the perversion of a few damaged individuals ('rid themselves of all paedophiles')...

Anyway, putting all that aside, I was struck by the following paragraphs:

A second corrupting, and perhaps surprising, consequence of bacha bazi is its negative impact on women's rights in Afghanistan. It has become a commonly accepted notion among Afghanistan's latent homosexual male population that “women are for children, and boys are for pleasure.” Passed down through many generations and spurred by the vicious cycle created by the pedophile-victim relationship, many Afghan men have lost their attraction towards the opposite gender. Although social and religious customs still heavily dictate that all men must marry one or more women and have children, these marriages are often devoid of love and affection, and are treated as practical, mandated arrangements.

While the Afghan environment has grown more conducive to improving women's social statuses, the continued normalization of bacha bazi will perpetuate the traditional view of women as second-class citizens — household fixtures meant for child-rearing and menial labor, and undeserving of male attraction and affection.

As

I posted recently

, there is evidence that (at least in Japan) there is a reduction of male interest in

real

women. Now, that's worrying for all sorts of reasons, but one of the reasons is that it means men just aren't interested in what women really are but instead regard them as 'undeserving of male attraction and affection'. As I

also recently argued

, worrying about how to look at women is an important aspect of (as Foucault would put it) 'care of the self': that practice of constructing and purifying the self in the task of achieving virtue.

One of the damaging splits that has taken place in modernity is that between being interested

physically

in someone and being interested in them

as a person

. Partly as a result of crude versions of feminism, men find themselves subject to a critique on whether they like a woman for her body or for her mind. This separation is embodied (take that as a pun if you will) in a view of the development of erotic attraction: you become an achieved person erotically once you have discovered whether you like female (as a heterosexual) or male (as a homosexual) bodies. Of course, that makes erotics trivial: much more important than what sort of flesh you like is liking minds. And no one, no one

openly

is allowed to say that they only like male minds as the storm over

Stephen Fry's twitter comments

on women evidenced. It's fine if you're gay because you don't like women's bodies. It's not fine if you're gay because you don't like women (or at least their personalities).

Now, on the whole, I think this commonsense view is pure hokum. It is, I suppose, just about possible to construct a form of erotics based just on the body ('phwoarr, what a scorcher!') and I think that, in fact, is pretty much what modern society is doing. But many/most men -and I would say all

good

men- couldn't separate out what is attractive in women in that way: body and personality are not simply separable. It is, moreover, a separation that becomes (or at least

should

become) less and less plausible as you grow more mature: what might (just) be forgivable in the young (obsession with a particular body shape or part) becomes simply embarrassingly juvenile in anyone over thirty. There is nothing -absolutely nothing wrong- in men finding women erotically attractive, in looking at women erotically. But the mature male gaze is one that finds

women

-embodied, real women- attractive rather than women stripped of their minds and personalities and reduced to meat. Modern popular culture is busy reducing women (and men) to meat: what is striking about both pornography and fashion photography is that personality, individuality is obliterated.

Feminism -at least in many of its forms- finds the idea of a male erotic interest in women wholly problematic: men should respect women just for their minds. (Which of course then reduces any erotic interest that men might dare to have to the triviality of meat fetishism.)

What both tendencies encourage is a separation of male interest into neat packages of physical interest (which is optional because it's just about meat) and personal interest (which is unerotic because women's minds are just like men's). But the correct male view (yes, I'm a Catholic: I'm unrepentantly normative) is one that finds women -real embodied women- attractive. If that gaze disappears, then that powerful erotic combination that is found in the idea of romantic love also disappears and we are left with societies where men prefer computer screens or boys or whatever to women; or where erotic interest is simply focused on impersonal, fungible flesh rather than anything more individual and important.

This contribution is available at http://cumlazaro.blogspot.com/2013/11/looking-at-women.html

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Up A Tree [at The Crooked Halo]

It amazes me that I can hear a Bible story year after year and then suddenly have an Ahhhhhaaa moment. I know this is the Holy Spirit working within me. How grateful I am to receive the grace to allow new spiritual lessons to be learned. So it was with the story of Zacchaeus. In a nut shell... he was a chief Jewish tax collector who was so curious about Jesus that he climbed a tree in order to see Him pass. Jesus acknowledges him and asks Zacchaeus to receive Him as a guest in his home. Imagine the shock! A Jewish tax collector...despised and friendless being asked to host Jesus! What fodder for gossip that must have been. But, Jesus was very controversial and didn't conform to the norms of the day...a true rebel! Yet, a rebel

with a cause

.

Zacchaeus must have been just as shocked as the crowd. Notice that Jesus calls him by name. He does the same to us. He knows where we are hiding and what is in our hearts. How many times have we judged others by the way he/she looks or what we have heard about a person? Zacchaeus was small of stature. Perhaps, he had low self-esteem or a defensive attitude because of this-Napoleon complex? He certainly had to have thick skin. His trade was despised...doubly despised by his own people, the Jews, for extracting every penny in taxes for Rome and most likely...a bit extra. I'm sure he was shunned and grouped with sinners and outcasts. Being friendless had to make the man bitter. A bitter, greedy little man. What hope of happiness or redemption did this tax collector have? He was truly up-a-tree.

We have all been there...up-a-tree. How often have you heard or said, "I can never be forgiven?", "Who can love me, now?" "I'm this or I'm that"? Ah, but Christ sees through all of our weaknesses into our heart. He loves us. His love is what matters....His love and acceptance changes lives. As it did Zacchaeus'. Having this experience with Jesus was life altering. Meeting Jesus...knowing Jesus... always is.

Zacchaeus' sycamore fig in Jericho (Wikipedi)

Jesus promises us freedom. Freedom from guilt. Once we repent, he wipes the slate clean. Once Jesus reveals Himself to us, we must come down from the tree and be part of His plan. It is through knowing Jesus that we become responsible for others. Like Zacchaeus, we wipe the slate clean of others' "debt". He resolved to make restitution to those he bilked out of money. This magnanimous gesture showed that he forgave himself....believing that Jesus forgave him. Debt doesn't necessarily mean cash owed us...it means to forgive that hurt we've been harboring. It's doing an act of kindness and loving the unlovable without extracting a payment. Knowing Jesus, suddenly, opens our hearts to generosity. Zacchaeus yearned for his moment to shine. He just needed a bit of prompting.  He needed to be asked with compassion to come down from the tree. He felt special. Don't we all need to feel that way? Shouldn't we make others feel that way? Zacchaeus didn't deserve Jesus' love and acceptance. He was a sinner. I don't deserve it, either. But Jesus gives it anyway...His flow of mercy.

Interestingly, Zacchaeus means pure and righteous one. He is a fine example of the beatitude, "Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God." We are asked to see Christ in everyone. In this way, we get a glimpse of God. Christ saw Zacchaeus' worth. We can do no less, but to love others, warts and all.

We cannot stay up-a-tree and hide from the world because we are wounded. We must jump down excitedly, and serve God...serve humankind. So what if we skin our knees in the jump? Jesus took far more pain for

our

sins. How proud Zacchaeus must have felt to be singled out by the Christ. But it couldn't have compared to being forgiven of past sins, loved & accepted, then given the chance to show mercy and generosity all in one day! Don't miss out on the joy of having Jesus as a guest in your heart. If you find yourself...up a tree...you need only climb down and meet Jesus half way. After all, He is the Truth, the Way, and the Life.  Zacchaeus had a "front row seat" to experience a life changing miracle and we, like he, should never miss the opportunity to proclaim, "Today Salvation Has Come To This House".

This contribution is available at http://crookedhalocatholicblog.blogspot.com/2013/11/up-tree.html

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Why Pope Francis Can't Fix Marriage in 5 Easy Steps [at Can We Cana?]

As preparations heat up for Pope Francis'

2014 Extraordinary Synod on the Family

, it's a good time to revisit some ideas for fixing what's broken about the marriage preparation and annulment process in the United States. Catholic author John Zmirak recently asserted that we could

fix Catholic marriage in five easy steps

. But can we?

Although thought-provoking, Zmirak's proposals underscore the need for more thorough education about the annulments process among Catholics today, say some canonists. Let's take a look at Zmirak's five proposals and see what might work, what might not work, and what's already being done.

1. Make NFP a non-negotiable part of marriage prep.

Great strides have already been made in this area. Nearly all dioceses include a discussion of Natural Family Planning in their marriage preparation guidelines, according to a

2010 USCCB report

. 43% of dioceses responding to the survey require an introductory session, usually lasting an hour or more. Seven dioceses require an entire course. Many more are strongly considering putting such a requirement in place. The problem is severe budgetary constraints. Most diocesan NFP ministries operate on less than $10,000 per year. "If not for lay volunteer teachers most dioceses would have no NFP program" at all, stated the report.

2. Require a Catholic prenuptial agreement.

Zmirak suggests that all Catholic spouses should be required to sign a prenuptial agreement binding them to lifelong marriage, renouncing divorce and remarriage, and awarding all community property to the "wronged party" in a civil divorce. But some canonists view an agreement like this as unnecessary and even dangerous.

"First of all, there is no need for a prenuptial agreement binding persons to a lifelong marriage. The very nature of marriage itself ...binds the parties in this way," explained Anthony St. Louis-Sanchez, a canonist with five years of experience at the Diocesan Tribunal of Colorado Springs. "Obviously a great many people live as if this were not the case, or they conveniently forget as soon as they get bored with their spouse, but that does not alter the fact that what Zmirak proposes on this point undermines the ritual exchange of consent between the parties rather than strengthening it," added

Aldean Hendrickson

, canon lawyer and Director of the Tribunal of the Diocese of New Ulm.

Awarding all community property to the "wronged party" is especially problematic. "It is not always possible to identify one spouse as the sole guilty party in a divorce," reasoned St. Louis-Sanchez. That's also not the task of the marriage tribunal. As tribunal director Hendrickson stated:

I don't see that "fault" (in the sense of culpable, "it's your fault!" blame) has relevance in the context of tribunal decisions. To put it another way, a marriage nullity case is not a question of who is right and who is wrong, nor is it a question (strictly speaking) of who is "at fault" for the failure of the marriage in question. What a marriage nullity case is about is the allegation, usually by one of the two parties to the marriage in question, that their marriage was [at the time of the wedding] invalid.

The Church isn't and shouldn't be an arbiter of fault or the judge of property disputes between couples. That's the job of the civil law. "It is a bit of a derail to use that sort of language in discussing what is right and wrong with the marriage nullity process," stated Hendrickson.

3. Annulment should come before divorce, not vice versa.

Canon law doesn't require spouses to obtain a civil divorce before seeking annulment, but U.S. tribunals do. Primarily, the civil divorce provides proof that there is no hope the spouses will reconcile. If reconciliation is possible, a tribunal won't consider a petition for annulment. Secondarily, if the Church granted an annulment stating someone was free to marry when civil law would still not allow it, it might cause a conflict between Church and State. Some states have “alienation of affection” laws under which the Church could be sued for causing a separation of the parties before a civil divorce was obtained, explained St. Louis-Sanchez.

Hendrickson agreed that reversing the common practice in the way Zmirak suggests would be "an enormously confusing move" and might "encourage spouses to challenge the validity of their existent marriage."

4. Canon law should be applied more strictly.

Zmirak's suggestion of tougher application of the canon law was welcomed by Hendrickson, who stated that invalidity due to psychological reasons had been expanded so far that it justified annulment on the grounds of  "a vague poor judgment that seems likely to affect 9/10 of the population."

St. Louis-Sanchez, on the other hand, argued that "canon law should be applied justly and equitably, not more or less strictly." He added that "a just and equitable application of canon law may or may not lower the number of annulments that are granted," since many couples fail to accept the sacramental requirements of marriage when they enter into it. Zmirak mockingly called these types of weddings "scandalous farces" -- where the spouses see no problem with divorce when things get tough. Zmirak also derided Catholic marriage prep over the last 40 years as "abysmal" and unfit to teach Catholics what marriage really means. But here, hope is clearly on the way. Numerous new pre-Cana programs based on the teachings of Blessed John Paul II are developing and growing in popularity, hopefully leading to more valid marriages and fewer annulments.

5. The at-fault party should have to wait 3-5 years to remarry.

Determining who is at fault is problematic, as mentioned in #2 above. But a hard and fast prohibition on remarriage for a fixed time is also overly punitive. Tribunals have the power to impose a "vetitum" on particular individuals, keeping them from remarrying in the Church until they can demonstrate they are capable of doing so, but such limits are applied on a case-by-case basis. Preventing an entire class of people from remarrying for a specific period of time, not tailored to their individual circumstances, seems arbitrary and unjust to St. Louis-Sanchez. A vetitum "certainly should not be used as a coercive alternative to a fundamental revival in marriage catechesis," affirmed Hendrickson.

So if Zmirak's proposals can't fix marriage in five easy steps, what else can be done? The answers don't lie in changes to the rules and procedures. As Hendrickson stated, "I don’t foresee that there is any magic switch to the procedural structures we have that can achieve" a solution to the crisis in Catholic marriage. "Ultimately, marriages fail because wounded persons marry other wounded persons," said St. Louis-Sanchez. "The way to fix marriage is [for the Church] to walk with couples and facilitate their healing – from before their engagement until their fiftieth wedding anniversary." This is not an easy fix. But few things are, especially when the issue matters so much to so many.

This contribution is available at http://canwecana.blogspot.com/2013/11/why-pope-francis-cant-fix-marriage-in-5.html

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The King and His Crooks [at bukas palad]

Year C / 34th  Week / Sunday--Solemnity of Christ the King, Lord of the Universe

Readings: Samuel 5.1-3 / Psalm 122 (R/v cf v1) / Colossians 1.12-20 / Luke 23.35-43

Today is the last Sunday of the Church’s liturgical year.

It began with Advent twelve months ago.

Then, the Church declared this liturgical year to be the Year of Faith.

This was to be a time for us to deepen our faith:

to turn our lives more and more towards Jesus

and so enter into a deeper relationship with him.

In short, this past Year of Faith was the Church’s way of inviting us

to a renewed conversion to Jesus in our lives.

On this last Sunday and in this last week of this liturgical year,

we might want to pause and take stock of how we have lived our faith

during these past twelve months of the Church’s calendar.

I believe there would have been many moments

when we did live our faith well.

These were times when we were in closer friendship with Jesus.

And our closeness to Jesus helped us live

with more Christ-like care and love for our family and friends.

Let us celebrate these.

However, there would also have been times

when we didn’t live our faith in the Christ-like ways we should have.

These were moments when we were far from God.

And this, in turn, did affect how we interacted with others.

Let us be honest about these.

You and I know these instances of our wrongdoings:

when we have hurt others with our gossip;

or when we have pained them, especially those in real need of our care,

by turning our backs on them;

or, when we have refused them our love

by not forgiving them, even when they have apologized for their mistakes.

Yes, we might find such examples, and may be, a few more,

of not having lived our Christian love for God and neighbor well

when we look back on this past liturgical year.

Recognizing them, we might probably be remorseful.

And when we experience this,

we might find ourselves drawn to the two thieves

hanging on their crosses beside Jesus in today’s gospel passage.

We might think of ourselves hanging on our own cross of shame.

That cross that makes you and me want to hide from Jesus:

to hide because we feel that we keep repeating the same sins,

and so we embarrassingly less Christian.

And, we might also think of ourselves hanging on our own cross of regret.

That cross that makes us want to repent and ask Jesus for his forgiveness:

to ask for forgiveness because

you and I really want to turn our lives around and to be closer to Jesus and others.

Perhaps, our honest reflection on what we have done

and what we have failed to do this year

might lead us to feel a lot like the two thieves

--to feel like the crooks that they are.

And yet here is Jesus still with us.

Jesus hanging on the cross with us, indeed for us,

we who feel like crooks

as we honestly see ourselves reflected back to us in the two thieves.

This is Jesus, bloody and in pain,

who dies for us so that we are saved into eternal life with God.

This is Jesus the Church says to you and me today:

“look and see him on this Cross before us in this Eucharist,

and celebrate him as your Christ the King.”

But what kind of a king is he

who is spat on and scourged, crowned with many thorns, and crucified to death?

What kind of king is he who willingly suffers

on an instrument of torture and death

instead of saving himself with power and might?

I’d like to suggest that our first reading can help us understand

the kind of king Jesus is,

and who he is as king in our lives.

Like David who is called to a kingship of shepherding Israel,

Jesus is King because he is first and foremost a shepherd.

He is the shepherd

who takes care of his flock,

who protects his sheep,

and who goes out to search for and save the one lost sheep,

at the expanse of the ninety-nine.

He is the shepherd

who guides them on the right path,

walking with them through valleys dark,

and who leads them home to dwell with him

and to feast with him at his table.

Yes, this is the kingship of Jesus we celebrate today.

This is a kingship that shepherds us into right relationship with God again.

Jesus is King who suffered with the thieves on the cross,

and with us in our struggle to live our faith well this past year.

Jesus is King who forgave the thief on his left,

as he forgives us again and again for failing him and others,

Jesus is King who sacrifices his life to save us

so that we can be with him in paradise, as he promised the thief on his right.

Yes, we may be crooks because of our sinful ways,

but to Jesus we are much more.

To him, we are meant for nothing less

than to be embraced into eternal life with God.

And even here and now, we are much more to Jesus

who today calls us to continue to live our faith in the coming liturgical year.

This will begin next Saturday evening when

the Church’s prays its first Vespers of Advent.

I believe that  Advent is always God's graced time

when Jesus calls us to keep on growing in our faith

because we are always worthy enough

to walk with him and to work with him

to bring about God’s kingdom in our lives and the lives of others

How so, you may ask?

Let me suggest that we can glimpse an answer

by understanding the word “crook” with faith-filled eyes.

In English, the word “crook” has two meanings.

The first is that of a thief.

The second is that of the curved branch or stick

a shepherd uses as a staff for his work.

He uses a crook to shepherd the sheep,

to move them along,

and to herd them finally into the safe confines of the sheepfold

where they will find rest and nourishment.

If you and I are crooks,

we are only crooks to Jesus in this second sense of the word.

In the hands of Jesus, the shepherd of our lives,

we are the crooks he uses to show his love for many others.

No matter how bad, miserable or poorly,

you and I might think that we have lived our faith this past year,

I believe, Jesus has used us well

to bring light, love and life

into the darkness, emptiness and nothingness of another’s life.

Really, you might ask? Yes, really.

Consider how Jesus has worked through your everyday concern for your family

to give someone that assurance she is loved unconditionally?

Consider how Jesus has reached out through your actions of care

to help the less fortunate know they are not abandoned but taken care of?

Consider how Jesus has embraced another through your smiles and encouragement

to lift him out of his pain and suffering?

Indeed, if we dare to peer through our regret and remorse

of not having lived our Christian faith well this past year,

we will discover, even be surprised by, the brighter truth

that Jesus has used our faith, no matter how limited,

to bring about greater faith in the lives of many others.

And this is how Jesus makes out of our limited faith

a proclamation of his Good News to others.

Indeed, this is the delight I experienced when I first read these lines

the Singaporean poet Anne Lee Tzu Peng penned:

We are all crooks caught in the hand of the Chief Shepherd;

he uses us as hooks to bring the strays back.

Sisters and brothers, can this not be our delight also

as we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King today,

and our Thanksgiving to come this Thursday?

I’d like to suggest that it can be our delight

when we accept and celebrate that Jesus comes

as King not to judge and condemn

but to judge us as his own,

good enough to be with him and to be beside him.

We are his beloved crooks,

lovingly held in his hands and wisely wielded for his mission.

He judges us in this way because we are to him worthy partners

in his good work of shepherding each other and many more

into the green pastures of eternal life,

into that divine place of feasting and of resting,

into that heavenly space saved for us to live the fullness of life in God’s loving fold.

Yes, into that one place you and I can truly go rejoicing to,

that space, our home, the Lord’s house.

Preached at Blessed Mother of Teresa of Calcutta Parish, Dorchester, Boston

This contribution is available at http://bukas-palad.blogspot.com/2013/11/homily-king-and-his-crooks.html

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Thoughts for Sunday {Christ has come}

November 17, 2013 by Ruth Anne

This is going to be super short because I really need to stop procrastinating and get dinner going.

During the homily today, Father spoke on the Gospel reading (Luke 21: 5-19) which deals in part with the end of time and Christ’s second coming. I’m not going to get into all the details of what was said. But a couple of things struck me (and maybe taken out of context they don’t make the most sense, but I’ll do my best to help).

Father said “Christ has {already} come in everyone who crosses your path. Everyone who haunts your eyes. Pounds your ears“. Side note: this was beautiful in itself because when he said it, he also explained that the Church year follows the entire life of Christ. Yes, on some level I knew that, but hearing it spelled out made it very clear! (New Catholic here!!)

When he said this, immediately my thoughts went to my kids. How they “pound my ears” on an almost constant basis. And maybe he wasn’t referring to children when he said this, but it did strike me that Christ is fully present for  me in my Children. That is Christ’s way of showing himself to me. Christ IS my children.

I pray to remember that Christ IS my children and my children ARE Christ’s way of His being present to me in my day to day.

Father also said “It’s easy to find Christ in here {church}, much harder to find Christ out there {the world}”.

Again: I pray to remember to find Christ in my children and husband in my day-to-day.

This contribution is available at http://hollowayfamilynorth.wordpress.com/2013/11/17/thoughts-for-sunday-christ-has-come/

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Monsters and What They Mean to Me Right Now [at theraineyview]

Many bloggers and nonbloggers have analyzed monsters for deeper psychological, cultural and what-have-you significance, and I like to read the various takes on why such creatures get so much popular attention, but I think hardly anyone gets it. Most analytical breakdowns of the big three monster groupings don’t look at the differences among them all. I want to try to sort them out.

Zombies don’t represent war, racial issues, sexuality, greed, guilt over wishing a loved one dead, or denial of aging and inevitable dying. Zombies, in my humble opinion, represent guilt, period. You see, it’s not just hedonistic impulses that get repressed and return. Guilt does too.

How do zombies get you where they want you? They keep coming at you, relentless, sleepless, not taking no for an answer. Like a guilty conscience. Every zombie was dead once, but just kept coming up again. They want to eat at you until you are the walking dead yourself; they want to consume your entire brain. To consume your mind, all the time. And you can do what you want, but until you hit them in the brain, until you approach them directly and with your full, honest attention, you can’t slow them down, never mind get rid of them. Guilt has to be faced squarely, seen clearly, and expiated honestly. Otherwise, the least you could lose could be your brains.

Vampires don’t stand for capitalism, sex, aristocracy or the collapse of the patriarchy (which happened decades ago in the West anyway and we know it, don’t we); they represent avarice. Greed.

They get you where they want you by showing you all the spectacular sights, coaches drawn by twelve horses carrying you through exotic forests to mountain castles, servants bringing the finest wines and meats, diamonds and gold everywhere, and they imply that all this could be yours if you will only trust them, let your guard down, and keep their exhausting hours with them. They promise eternal youth, beauty and energy, endless power and health, and above all — money, money and money. But when you grow tired or trusting, and rest, they suck the life out of you. The extra, stolen life they offer is really a living death, no life at all. They know you will never catch on to the soullessness until it’s too late. They know all about you.

They are you. They hear your thoughts because they are your thoughts — your wrong, mean, greedy, buried thoughts. They cast no shadow because they are your shadow. They have no reflection because they are your reflection.

How do you get rid of a vampire? The cross (sacrifice), dirt from their hometowns (humility), stones (realism), sunlight (truth), and a wooden stake through the heart (remembering that the heart, the soul, is at stake) usually do the trick. Sacrifice, humility, spiritual values, realism, all these things help fight off greedy impulses, don’t they?

But werewolves are rarely popular.

Who does identify with werewolves? Teenage boys with no money, mostly. They were hot when the recession of 1979-1983 was going on. They are the subject of many legends from Central and Eastern Europe, and in fact all over the world, but when a culture gets rich, the werewolves usually start fading away, replaced by vampires in most people’s horror universes.

How do werewolves catch you? You get isolated, and have to walk. It’s cold and dark. You hear a noise, an animal noise and you look up. It’s leaping at you. Poverty. It’s getting you. You kind of knew it was somewhere nearby. Everyone who is eaten by a werewolf was warned, but had no choice, being stranded with inadequate resources, but to walk through the woods anyway. How do you get rid of them? Silver. In any form. Throw a little capital at it, and the wolf will stay away from the door after all.

This contribution is available at http://theraineyview.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/monsters-and-what-they-mean-to-me-right-now/

Copyright is retained by the contributing author (follow above link for info on this piece).

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Do You Think I'm Beautiful? [at A Still Small Voice]

Do you think I'm beautiful?

No really, do you honestly think that I am beautiful??

^ I struggled with that question for a long time and to be honest, I still do, but I don't think about it as much.  Now this is something I KNOW that every single girl has asked herself as well as others. I know that I have asked my mom and dad that question countless times and even though they always told me yes it was never good enough for me. Even if my friends, a stranger, or some guy told me that I was beautiful it would bring a smile to my face for about 30 seconds but it always went away because I didn't believe them. I couldn't believe them. I couldn't look in the mirror and see my worth and my unique beauty, all I could see was every little thing that was "wrong" with me. I would look at every girl and recognize the beauty that they possessed and believe that somehow, I didn't have what they had.

Now I'm not saying this to make you pity me but rather to show you how real this issue is between all girls and that you are definitely not going through this problem alone (or didn't go through this alone.. whatever your situation).

In our society we are shown how we should look, act and dress just to be under the category "beautiful" or better yet - "accepted". And the sad part is, is that we actually believe what they say rather then believe in ourselves and what Christ says about us. We try so hard to be skinny enough, to be pretty enough, to have the perfect look, hair, clothes, EVERYTHING. -(By the way if you look up beauty on google or any search engine you will find all of these women who have been airbrushed and are advertising make up. Sorry society, you got it all wrong. So sad.)-

Dove understands how messed up "beauty" is.

Why do we try so hard to obtain all of these things and for WHO? is the question. I believe that we think the ONLY way for us to become beautiful is in the eyes of others and then we will start to believe that we are actually beautiful. But that's totally the opposite way around. We first have to look at ourselves as beautiful and worthy - and that's only made possible through the eyes of Christ. Once we acknowledge our unique beauty,  we look at others, and instead of seeking our own beauty in them, we start to find their true beauty and realize how precious they are to Christ, as well as your own self.

Why do we even bother to maintain all of those vain things anyway? I mean just look at the religious sisters!!! They are completely gorgeous and they don't even try! They don't wear make-up, their habits are not revealing (other than revealing their true identity), the only man they rely on is Christ, and they can light up a whole auditorium with just a smile. The only approval they seek is that of Christ and they find it and are completely satisfied. They are filled with Christ-like beauty and joy, which is contagious, and which you can also obtain.

Now this is just crazy. I went to Imagine Sisters Facebook page to look for pictures of sisters and I was like, PERFECT, A picture with true beauty. AND LOOK WHO IS IN THE PICTURE! If I'm not mistaken, the one in the middle is Sr. Fleur de Carmel. WHAT?!?

So here it is girls, the perfect example of true feminine beauty - MARY. There are many ways as to why but the one aspect of Mary I always strive for is her 'yes'. Just to give everything totally and completely to God and trust in Him is beauty beyond compare. When you do that, you understand your worth and beauty in Him and don't need any reason to look further.

If only we could see ourselves the way Christ sees us. (I couldn't imagine…)

I encourage all women to look upon the gifts they have been given and not on the flaws. I saw this quote about how we are all beautifully flawed, and it's true. Our flaws are what makes every individual unique, therefore beautiful and their own. We should cherish that and rejoice because of God's unique way to love us individually.

Maybe you would take this more to heart if a guy wrote this, I know I probably would, but a guy didn't. I mean all of this with my heart and soul. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL! Go no further, Christ thinks you are beautiful:) Just look:

"Do not let your adorning be external - the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear - but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." - 1 Peter 3:3-4

"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." - Proverbs 31:30

"Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed." - Psalm 43:5

"He has made everything beautiful in it's time." - Ecclesiastes 3:11

I know it is hard to live a modest, beautiful, and becoming life in this society but Jesus has overcome the world and so can you. Something I'm personally doing to help myself see beauty is stop wearing make-up. I only wore mascara but it's crazy just how much I relied on that tube of black gunk to make me pretty. Don't get me wrong, I'm still trying to get accompanied with it and it's hard. I feel like I'm naked when I go out in public when I don't have my make-up on. Maybe its weird to you, but I believe that doing this will help me look at MYSELF in the mirror and see beauty (not with the help of make-up).  Maybe I look like the ferocious beast or maybe I look like cute little Maggie (get it?) but at this point in time, I don't really care. I know that Christ has made me beautiful, as with all women/girls/young ladies, you just have to accept it. ;)

I just found this video today while searching for things to put on this post and found it very appropriate to share. She also has a blog called True Beauty if you go search for it. She has video documents on matters such as these, also. Her name is Lisa Chan and is trying to get the world to identify themselves in Christ. So glad she is doing something about this :)

May God bless you abundantly and may you find rest and peace in Him.

+JMJ.T+

This contribution is available at http://zoejumonville.blogspot.com/2013/05/do-you-think-im-beautiful.html

Copyright is retained by the contributing author (follow above link for info on this piece).

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Praying With Our Kids ~ Preparing Them For Reconciliation [at Sole Searching Mama]

I have been thinking about writing this very post for a few months now.  I know, I tend to be a procrastinator. Sometimes, I think that the Holy Spirit nudges me in a particular direction with blogging, and when a certain idea continues to weigh on my heart and my mind, I know I'm being asked to work the idea into a post.  Sometimes, the writing comes naturally, but other times, I feel a little burdened by the depth of the subject, and do not trust myself to do it proper writing justice. This time, the latter has been the case, as the topics of sin, forgiveness, and the formation of a child's conscience are not exactly light and easy writing. They deserve some thinking time....two months of thinking time, to be exact.

While this post may seem directed toward Catholics, I hope that it will not be exclusive to Catholics alone, as I am sure that all Christians can relate to the immensity of the gift of God's mercy, and as well, the need to acknowledge our own failings before the Lord, so that we can experience reconciliation with God, and with others, at the very core of our journey toward heaven.

A final note: entire books have been written on the subjects of mercy, grace, confession and reconciliation. My intent is not to dig into the theological details - you can study that on your own (see links to resources below).  The real purpose of the post is to help parents consider the value of their role in forming their child's conscience, and how our positive participation in their spiritual lives can potentially bear great fruit.

The list of topics I will briefly touch upon:

1.  First, setting it up with a story.

2.  This is where the rubber meets the road: We must know the problem (sin) to embrace the solution (salvation in Christ).

3.  Considerations for the formation of your child's conscience.

4.  How to begin formation, and why it's appropriate to begin instruction at an early age.

5.  A gentle examination of conscience for children.

1. THE STORY

On Halloween night, Steve and I sat down on the floor with the kids flanked by bags overflowing with a variety of sweet treats. Just looking at it made my teeth ache!  We decided to let each child choose 5 pieces (beyond the gazillion they had already consumed) that they could keep and enjoy at their own discretion, the rest would be put into a community basket to be handed out as rewards or for spontaneous enjoyment.

The next day, running downstairs to George and Henry's room to deliver the laundry, I discovered a countless amount of candy wrappers strung out all over the floor.  I knew that someone had taken far more than the 5 pieces they were allowed to keep.

Pausing here for a moment

, I will say that this is probably a typical experience for most parents - kids sneaking candy.  But, in sharing the ordinary story, I hope to point out that in the natural daily occurrences of life, there are ample opportunities for parents to guide their children away from sin and toward virtue.

To a certain extent, hoarding a handful of candy isn't isn't the end of the world. However, when I stopped to think about the fact that the boys had to scheme, plan and execute a mission to break into the community stash and steal their favorite pieces, instead of just asking me for more, I saw how their poor decision could eventually become a

habit,

and

habitual

sin often times turns into bigger sins. This situation provided an opportunity for me to talk briefly - not lecture - the boys not only about honesty, but self-control and obedience as well.

Beginning to dialog with your kids at an early age about sinful (yep, I said it, SIN, SIN, SIN, let's just call it what it is, folks) behavior vs. virtuous behavior paves the way for future spiritual growth, whether it's preparation for the sacrament of confession for Catholics, or, for people of other faiths, spending time in honest self-reflection and contrite prayer before the Lord.

As Catholics, when two people get married, they make a promise during their vows to be the primary teachers of the Faith to their children.  To me, that promise is not to be solely fulfilled by school teachers or religion education volunteers at church. Those generous individuals are here to assist us, but we as parents are the

primary educators

of our children.

With that in mind...

2. WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD

Three of our sons, around the age of 8, each made their first confession.  Preparing them for that new spiritual experience, was quite a mission, a mission that is on-going. The first time Steve an I prepared our oldest son, Benedict, to receive the sacrament, we were both nervous, wanting to be sure that Ben knew the 10 commandments, what the effects of sin are, the proper step each person goes with the priest during confession.  We were fresh at this, careful to cross our t's and dot our i's as if there were some formula to it all. Our heart's intentions were noble, but our methods a bit mechanical.

A child's mind is so very impressionable, and their little hearts so sensitive.  More than we give them credit for, I believe.  In essence, to place a young person before a crucifix, a staggering image of suffering and, yet, of at the same time, of hope, and tell them that Jesus died for our sins isn't simple stuff.  Proclaiming that Christ died to save you and me is a statement of ENORMOUS proportions.

What can it possibly mean to a child??

And yet, even as adults, we hear it over and over, all of the time. But what does it mean to us?? To our kiddos??

Surely, this is a primary argument

against

the Catholic Church encouraging confession at such a young age.  Perhaps.  I can relate to certain points of the opposition.  But, objective knowledge of the truths of the sacrament of reconciliation combined with personal experience of seeing the fruits of preparing a child to receive sacramental grace is an undeniable good. The opportunity to help our children grow in virtue is one not to be missed.  So how do we make "Christ died for you and me"

real

and

desirable

for our children rather than scary, bewildering, or overwhelming??

Going back to the image of Christ on the cross and the communication of His coming for our salvation, (for me), is where the

rubber meets the road

.  The Old Testament is filled with stories and images that reveal humanity's deep, deep need for a Savior.  One who could redeem us by paying a debt we could never pay, one who could save us from our own sinfulness by inviting us to share in the outpouring of His graces, a Savior who can strengthen us, through his example and through his mercy, with the courage to forgive others as we, ourselves, have been forgiven, a Savior who heals, who loves, who longs to draw us into Himself and lead us to spend eternity with Him in heaven.

What does that mean for us, and particularly for our children? To state that a SAVIOR is coming to

SAVE

can only imply one thing: that

we need to be rescued

, pulled out of the muck and mire, away from the attachment to our selfish, sinful ways, to free us from that which binds us (sin), that which keeps us from embracing what is true, good and beautiful.  But, if one cannot, or

will not

recognize a problem (sin), then what need is there for a solution (Christ)??

The words, "He has come to set us free from sin, "He has come to heal the broken-hearted," "He has come to SAVE us" means nothing to a child (to any person) who cannot or will not recognize a need to be saved.  If a child's conscience isn't lovingly formed to recognize right vs. wrong, virtue vs. sin, and in turn, shown the beautiful, passionate love of Jesus to help us, to guide us and to free us, when the time comes for the child to go to confession, confession will

merely be a formality

, another Catholic "hoop" to jump through, another parental "because it's just what we Catholics do", a routine without reason. Or, worse yet, their little hearts will reject the idea of confession, sorrow and contrition entirely and never embrace it's essential importance in their life's journey toward heaven.

4. CONSIDERATIONS FOR FORMATION

The primary way, then, in my opinion, to help a child turn toward Christ, without fear or hesitation, is to

gently

begin to dialog with them about sin

and

virtue.  The church recognizes that most children do not reach the age of reason until 6 or 7 years old (for some, it's younger), and therefore, are not as responsible for their own misbehavior as an older child would be.  But, we have found, that around the age of four children are very receptive to simple yet specific instruction. For example, if a child hits another person, a natural reaction is to say, "NO, NO! Don't do that! That's naughty!"  Instead, try pausing, bending down on your knees, holding the child's hand and saying, "Our hands are for love. When you hit others you hurt them.  Hitting does not make Jesus happy." In doing so, you take the moment beyond scolding.  The child will eventually make the connection between the virtuous choice (our hands are for love) and the sinful choice (hitting), and is encouraged to choose that which is pleasing to Jesus. Then, it is

very important

to encourage the offender to ask for forgiveness. Saying "I'm sorry" to another is never easy, but encouraging the child to be contrite and then receiving his/her contrition with affectionate reassurance will only strengthen them in the virtue of humility as they grow and mature. This is just the beginning of the formation.  Gentle and simple.

By the age of 6 or 7, the child can receive even more specific formation.  It is important not only to recognize when a child falls short of virtuous behavior, but to

catch them doing good

.  Teaching the power and beauty of virtue is

equally

as important as your instruction on sin - they both are essential for formation of conscience.

I cannot place enough emphasis on being careful that you do not fall into "scold and preach mode" with your children

, especially for the sake of being right all of time. Doing so will quickly and easily discourage the child, and he/she will either solely desire to please you (instead of the Lord) so as not to be in trouble, or worse yet, they will rebel against your authority and their hearts will become hardened and insensitive.

Let me give you a simple example of this type of positive formation. If one of our children is seen sharing freely something that they value with another, I might say something like, "Thank you, Henry for sharing! You are being very generous, and that is a virtue!  God is so happy right now!" If the child refuses to share, encourage them with, "Henry, I believe that you can be virtuous in this moment and share your toys.  I know it isn't easy, but it pleases the Lord and makes others happy too!" This same approach can be used effectively with older children as well.  Our oldest son, Ben, is nearly a teenager, and responds so well to conversation, affection and instruction.  When we see him behaving in a virtuous way - especially when it would be

so much easier

to choose the easy, sinful way, whether it be selfishness, anger, fighting, disrespect etc, we praise him for the specific virtue that he exercises (self-control, generosity, prudence, etc.). We can immediately see in his demeanor that our praise is meaningful to him, because it balances out the more difficult instruction that we are often called to work on with regards to his struggles with particular types of sin.

DISCLAIMER:PLEASE know that there are times when we do not succeed in teaching according to methods I'm sharing with you.  Honestly, on the days when I feel that hell can't possibly get any deeper, catechetical methodology is the last thing on my mind. Sometimes I'm completely overwhelmed and exasperated, and I don't feel like talking to my son about why he shouldn't throw a book across the room out of anger at his brother, knocking pictures off of the wall, shattering them into pieces. Sometimes that kid just gets sent to his room, is then forced to do a multitude of chores or miss supper, because I'm too frustrated to gently remind him why acting out in anger never bears any fruit.  That's real life - and I get it.  But, if you have a long term spiritual goal to form your child's conscience, don't give up! Even on the hardest days, we must keep trying! With a little effort and cooperation with God's grace, our attentiveness to our children's souls, with consistent encouragement and instruction, will bear a multitude of fruit.

As well....sometimes kids are just going to be kids.  They are going to be fussy, emotional, ornery and crazy!! Sometimes you just need to let them be.  Don't hyper-analyze their every word or action.  Use prudent judgement when it comes to focusing on certain sinful behaviors that you see are becoming habit and work with your kids on those.

5.  A GENTLE EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE

Once a week, Steve or I sit down with the boys in the evening for a general examination of conscience. Any of the children are invited to join us, but when they reach the age of six or seven, they are specifically invited to be a part of this form of prayer.  Examination of conscience may sound formal or technical, but really it's just a way of expressing the time one spends thinking about his or her life over the course of the day, week, or however long it's been since they last contemplated the state of their soul.  For our kids, it's once a week (the older kids are encouraged to include it in their own personal nightly prayers).  This is a simple format that we use. And, we don't stick to it rigorously.  Sometimes, we ask different questions, say different prayers, or talk about the life of a saint and how he or she struggled, just as we do, toward heaven.  The goal is for the experience to be NATURAL. The atmosphere should be peaceful and positive.  Remember, the goal isn't to pull out your naughty/nice measuring stick - it's to

help the child recognize his/her weaknesses and to praise their virtuous strengths.

The questions used in the examination of conscience (step #4 below) are structured around the 10 Commandments.  While it's good for your kids to memorize the Commandments, they will need help with the application of the Commandments in every day life.  This approach helps the kids to embrace the good news that God wants us all to be free, to be healthy, to be happy.  His laws aren't meant to be a ball and chain, they are meant to liberate us from that which is harmful to our happiness, to our health (sin) so that we may know and live the fullness of the abundant life He desires for us!

Our prayerful examination is typically is experienced in these steps:

1.  Find a quiet place where you can sit together and begin with the sign of the cross.

2. Opening prayer:

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me.

I adore you with profound reverence, I ask your pardon for my sins,

and the grace to make this time of prayer fruitful.

Mary, my Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph my father in the Lord,

and my guardian angel, intercede for me. - Amen.

3.  Allow several minutes of quiet personal reflection.

4.  One parent will read the questions (noted below) aloud as the child contemplates the question       quietly in his or her heart. *  End the examination with and Act of Contrition (below).

5. The parent(s) may then confess his or her shortcomings for the week, ask for forgiveness, and request that the their children pray for them.

Remember, we lead by example.  Humility is not an easy virtue to exercise, but if we lead in love, they will surely follow.

6.  The children may then confess any of their own struggles (but, they DO NOT have to), and ask for prayers as well.

This step can be huge for kids, not only are they practicing humility, but also patience with and compassion toward the shortcomings of others.

7.  The parent(s) spend time praising the virtuous behaviors that they have seen in their children that week (being very specific - see link to list of virtues below).

8.  The children may then praise one another as they so desire.

9.  Take turns reading verses or parables on God's mercy from the bible (see list below).

10.  Recite a litany of your favorite saints, followed by "Pray for us."

*

This is a good time to remind the kids, especially if you are reading the questions in preparation for the sacrament of confession that three things are necessary for reconciliation: 1. Thorough confession of the sin 2. True contrition for the sin 3. Fulfillment of the penance given by the priest.

Questions For Examination:

As the children get older, based upon their maturity, you may ask more detailed questions specific specific to each commandment.  These are simply our suggestions, you may fill in your own questions as you like.

- 1. -

I am the Lord your God. You shall not have any other gods before me.

Did I make time to visit with the Lord today?

Did I speak about the Lord with joy and courage? Or did I turn away in embarrassment or fear?

- 2. -

You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.

Did I speak the Lord's name in a way that was disrespectful?

Did I honor the Lord's name in prayer and praise either aloud or in my heart?

- 3. -

Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day

Did I grumble over going to Mass/church on Sunday?

Was I disruptive or did I misbehave at Mass/church on Sunday?

Did I skip going to church in order to attend a sporting event or other activity?

When children are young, it is the responsibility of the parent to prepare the kids for church, to teach them about the liturgy, to help them learn their prayers, to dress them appropriately, and to lead by example through personal reverence and joy.  Therefore, this question, for young children, should be focused on behavior and attitude.  For older kids, you may wish to include questions related to doing unnecessary work on Sundays or skipping Mass in favor of extra-curricular activities or if they are expected to drive to church on their own, and simply choose not to go.

- 4. -

Honor your mother and father.

Did I treat my parents with love and respect?

Do I listen to and respond to my parents' requests with promptness?

Have I tattled on a sibling or a friend today?

Do I honor and respect the authority of my teachers, my grandparents?

- 5. -

You shall not kill.

Did I recoginze the needs of others and help, or did I turn away?

Have I caused physical pain or harm to anyone today?

Were you too hard on yourself today?

Did I speak positively of others?

Did I recognize others hurts and seek to comfort them?

Was I a leader to my peers by virtue and good example or did I lead anyone astray?

- 6. -

You shall not commit adultery.

Did I look upon others with charity (and purity - for older children)?

Did I look at any pictures or watch any television that might cause me to think impure thoughts (older children)?

- 7. -

You shall not steal.

Did I take anything from anyone which didn't belong to me?

If I borrowed something that belonged to someone else, did I return it promptly?

Did I share my blessings and gifts with others today?

Was I quick to be generous, or did I choose to be selfish with my possessions?

- 8. -

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Was I truthful in all matters today?

Have I stretched the truth at times to make myself look good to others?

Have I said anything dishonest about another out of spite, so that they might get in trouble?

- 9. -

You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.

Am I demanding of my parents' time together, or do I allow them to have personal space?

Am I controlling in my friendships, or jealous of others' relationships?

Do I exclude others, or do I invite others to join me and my friends in play?

Do I think of myself as better than others, or do I try to see the good in everyone?

- 10. -

You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.

Am I thankful for the gifts God has given me, or do I wish to have what others have?

Am I content with what my parents have provided for me, or do I complain?

Do I share my material possessions with others?

Am I thankful for the strengths and talents God has given me? Do I use them to serve Him?

Act of Contrition:

O, my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you. I detest all my sins because of your just punishment, but most of all because they offend you, my God, who are all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin.

- OR -

For little ones, a simple, yet earnest prayer can be said with them.  For example:

My Jesus, I am sorry for the wrong that I have done.

Please forgive me.

Help me to do my best and to be my best each day.

I love you! Amen.

Scripture Verses For Memorization and/or Reflection:

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. - Micah 6:8

Christ came that we might have life and have it to the full.  - John 10:10

You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.  - Psalm 86:5

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. - Hebrews 4:16

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us. - Ephesians 2:4

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. - 1 John 1:9

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

- 2 Corinthians 5:17

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.  - Psalm 103:8-12

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that we should not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. - Galations 2:20

Above all, love each other deeply, for love covers a multitude of sins.  - 1 Peter 4:8

Parable of the Prodigal Son - Luke 15:11-32

One of the beautiful messages I have learned from spiritual direction through Opus Dei is the phrase, "begin again."  Our lives are full and busy and at times very overwhelming, so much so, that most people, myself included, would probably admit that it is difficult to find time to pray, or to direct our attention toward the Lord throughout the day.  This is where the examination of conscience comes into play and can be

so very helpful

in the spiritual life.  You aren't just working toward temporary earthly goals, but toward the greatest goal of all, which is heaven. God's mercy is new with each and every day, so even though we fall again and again, we can also, with courage, begin again and again!!

We spend all kinds of time ensuring our kids can catch a pass, shoot a free throw, sing on key, are bilingual and can do long division in their heads, and all of those things are good and noble.  But, whatever we place a strong emphasis on, whatever we demonstrate as important through our actions, our children will also deem important and value as priority. With the parent's leadership, working together, as a family, toward spiritual goals can be a natural part of daily life.

This contribution is available at http://www.solesearchingmamma.com/2013/11/praying-with-our-kids-preparing-them.html

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The Ninety-Nine Left Behind [at Confessions: What's on my Mind!]

Reflection based on Matthew 18:12-14 (Published in the Advent Magnificat 2003)

“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray?”

Our Church is blessed by many who consistently and dependably do God’s will every day. They are the ninety-nine sheep, trusted by the Good Shepherd to do His work until He returns.

The obituary of a friend described him as a lifelong “good Catholic.” He was a man of character, who practiced kindness without fanfare. His steadfast faith and charity as a husband, father, soldier and businessman transformed daily tasks into holy works that touched the lives of others.

For the past eight years, I have volunteered in my parish’s RCIA program, where adults prepare to join the Catholic Church. When I ask what attracts them to Catholicism, they almost always cite the quiet example of a friend, co-worker or family member who is a “good Catholic” in the midst of mundane, everyday responsibilities. They see in this “ordinary” Catholic a solid foundation for growing in holiness, and want that for their own lives.

Few of us will be called to do spectacular deeds in the name of Christ. However, when we bring Christ to the everyday work we do, we may witness spectacular results.

This contribution is available at http://marycarrollpatrick.blogspot.com/2011/12/ninety-nine-left-behind.html

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Free Will [at One Arrow Alone]

Sometime in November, I went visiting a Nebraskan couple in Utrecht. They are both very good people and philosophically inclined, he from a background in medical studies, she with a creative and literary bent of mind. They looked exceedingly happy together, and it was very good to be there; of necessity I must summarize this part briefly, for, as Tolkien remarked, it is much easier to tell a story about bad times than about good times (I paraphrase).

At table, we talked about our lives and our studies. I mentioned my desire to investigate, at some point or other, our capacity of making free decisions. This has become problematic in light of neurological discoveries (of which I admittedly know little). It is all very well to say that the human person is capable of self-determination, but our physical infrastructure seems externally determined through and through.

The lady from Nebraska said that she believed in free will, and that her stories involved people making truly momentous ethical decisions that changed their lives. Some universitarians (those gowned cogs in the 21st-century machine) considered her too much a Romantic. I cordially sympathized with her outlook, myself undergoing enthusiasm; then went home and tried to make the best case I could make against free will, so that a more skilful philosopher could blow it to bits and perpetually reroute the depraved neurons responsible for this intellectual atrocity.

Consider yourself invited.

1. Every act of the will has a mental and a material component.

2. The mental and the material components are in proportion to each other.

3. The material component follows the laws of matter.

4. At the molecular level, the motion of matter does not deviate from Newtonian patterns.

5. The material component of the act of the will occurs in the brain at the molecular level. (*)

6. The motion of the material component does not deviate from Newtonian patterns. (from 3, 4 and 5)

7. The mental component is in proportion to a material component that does not deviate from Newtonian patterns. (from 2 and 6)

8. One and the same material component is in proportion to one mental component only. (**)

9. The mental component cannot deviate from a pattern that stands in proportion to the Newtonian pattern governing the material component of the act of the will. (from 7 and 8)

10. A will that cannot deviate from a pattern is not a free will.

11. Hence, there is no free will. (from 9 and 10)

(*) Though the act of the will involves more than a motion of the brain, yet that motion is decisive for human movement.

(**) There is a certain indeterminacy to the material component, but I find it difficult to believe that one motion of the brain would correspond to multiple essentially different acts of the will (e.g. to repay an insult with another, or to suppress one's anger; to take a walk, or to read a book).

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Advent: To Come [at Dancing in the Rain]

Advent : To come

Broken and poor

Stripped and barren

We come

Broken by disappointment

Impoverished for pride

Stripped with humility

Barren of hope

We come

--

I haven’t read the book of Job in over a year but if I’m honest, it feels like life’s been a lot like Job’s these days. Now, there are many role models  we might yearn to emulate from the Bible; I cant’ say Job has ever made my top 10 list. I say that with all due respect as it actually has little to do with Job. The lot of his existence is plagued with suffering, stripping, and difficult trials that if he had endured just one round of trial, people would understand how it might cause a strong man to doubt and crumble. Yet, he is struck with the perfect storm and is barraged with trial.

Tuesday’s With Morrie has been on my book shelf for years and in it  a dying professor gives one last seminar to a young student on the Meaning of Life, taught from experience. During one of their weekly classes, the student poses the question about Job. “Job is a good man, but God makes him suffer. To test his faith. Takes away everything he has, his house, his money, his family, his health. “ Mitch, the student, asks Morrie, “What do you think about that?” “I think”, [Morrie] says smiling, “God overdid it.”

It’s important to remember, when we are in between the throws of accepting difficulty, that it is okay to find humor. Not as a defense mechanism but as a means to lighten the load and to express truth that sometimes it’s too much to bear. Whether we can rejoice in suffering and see the good joy God gives in the midst of the crucifixion or whether we question the meaning of the trials in our lives,  God doesn’t ask us to wait to come to Him. He doesn’t ask us to come pretty, wrapped with a bow, and perfect. He doesn’t ask us to wait until we have it all together, all figured out, or even for when we have faith.He calls us to come so that we might know He comes.

He is the light in the darkness and Advent is a call to sit to prepare our hearts so that we might know He is near. Whether you are signing along and decking the halls or if you are just not feeling “Christmasy”, we are all called to remember the call of Advent - to sit and witness again the Truth that the Light has come into the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Let us proclaim Christ’s birth and see His presence anew each time we meet Him in the Eucharist and in one another. Let us sing as the Angles sing all glory and praise for His presence through all seasons. Let us ring out the Truth that blessed is she who believed the Word would be fulfilled.

Lord, we thank you for the gift of Bl. Pier Giorgio and Bl. John Paul II’s lives as they were pillars of light. Let us emulate them and ask that they intercede so that we might more joyfully proclaim the true meaning of Christmas.

Verso l’alto,

Kathryn

I find meaning so I'm holding on

O to grace how great a debtor, Daily I'm constrained to be!

Let’s remember to pray for those whom Christmas is difficult, who “don’t feel Christmas at all”. Let us be lights.

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The Future Me [at follow and believe]

I have this image of the person I want to be.

The person I want to become.

She's active and healthy.

She's authentically confident.

She's capable of being vulnerable and honest.

She's a hard worker and driven and motivated.

She's disciplined.

She takes care of herself: physically, socially, and spiritually.

This is an image, an aspiration, that I've had for awhile.

But then it clicked - how am I going to become that person if I'm not taking steps toward that lifestyle now?

If I desire to be holy, why am I not taking small steps toward that goal?

If I desire to be healthy and active, why am I not taking the necessary steps to get there?

If I desire heaven, why am I not trying to become the person I was made to be?

I'm starting today.

Who are you aspiring to be and what's holding you back?

Live like the person you want to be.

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Memories of a Geisha [at Mercy Me!]

When I was little we often ate at a Japanese restaurant downtown.  I liked it because we could take off our shoes and sit on the floor to eat.  I much preferred this to dining at a standard table which always seemed uncomfortably high even after I outgrew sitting on telephone books with legs dangling in mid-air like limp noodles.

I admired the servers at the Japanese restaurant who looked like beautiful Geisha girls with piles of smooth hair cleverly knotted into a loose arrangement stemming from the elusive grip of a singular chopstick.

I looked forward to the miniature bowls arriving in quick succession of one another in an effort to keep my hunger at bay – a sliver of yellow egg, pickled cucumber, miso soup and ginger salad. The parade of bite-sized delectables preceding the entrée kept me satiated as well as distracted from indulging in the obvious temptation of chopstick sword-fighting with my brother and sister.  Alas, the meal ended with a slice of orange so sweet and satisfying it never occurred to me to ask for a proper dessert.

Besides, my siblings and I were always in a hurry to watch the spotted koi swim in the foyer’s bubbly pond while we sucked greedily on the complimentary peppermints found at the register.

As if sitting on the floor in a restaurant with its own pond wasn’t exotic enough, the streets of downtown held their own allure.  With businesses closed for the work day, the city seemed to have turned in for the night.  It was strange to think it had a bedtime earlier than mine. The only life I saw was from the street people who wandered about like dazed sleepwalkers.

Maybe it was because my mom always made me dress as a gypsy or hobo for Halloween when she didn’t have a more creative costume for me, but these vagabonds intrigued me.  Occasionally, when it was cold outside men wearing layers of mismatched dirty clothes sat in cardboard boxes in front of the vacant building across the street from the restaurant.  I couldn’t help wonder what they did to keep entertained, or how all their belongings fit in the box, or even where they went to the bathroom.

Sometimes my mom would take our leftovers to them, and I would stare curiously at these box-dwellers.  It was hard as a child to understand that a cardboard box could be someone’s home or that one would eat a stranger’s leftover food.  Decades later, I don’t know if I really understand it any better, or if I just don’t question the peculiarity of things as much.

While volunteering downtown at Saint Francis Soup Kitchen – only a few blocks from that now-closed favorite restaurant, I had the opportunity to serve the hungry and homeless of our city.

When I arrived it was an hour before we were scheduled to begin serving, but outside, men, women and children had already gathered in the cold morning air.  I felt awkward walking through the crowd of people to go inside, like I was somehow more important than they were having unquestioned access to the warm innards of the building.

That couldn’t have been further from the truth for me or the other volunteers who run the soup kitchen.  While logistically it would be easier to serve the hungry masses with a buffet, waiting on them like diners in a restaurant gives each person a chance to feel the dignity that hunger or homelessness has stripped from them.  So besides the countless volunteers in the kitchen preparing the meal, there were others who filled water glasses, served full plates of food, offered hot coffee or trays of desserts.

Me and one of the many beautiful volunteers I met. She commutes 25 minutes every Saturday simply because she wants to give back.

I was chosen to be a food server and was very pleased with that assignment.  I figured the only thing better than it was being the dessert girl.  The volunteer who was picked for that had a cute southern twang that just made you want to indulge in pie. So I had to admit, she was probably the best person for the job.

Besides, the server had the added task of pulling out the chair for each guest so I liked the extra interaction I got from that.  It allowed me to pause, to look each person in the face and to share a welcoming smile like they were dinner guests in my home. Getting to do that was a lot sweeter to me than passing out pie.

After each table was seated, the Monsignor who was my parish priest as a child, joined hands with me and the other volunteers and led us in the Lord’s Prayer.  Table after table, we prayed with our dinner guests before they ate, reminding me that spiritual nourishment is as important as its physical counterpart.

Women were served first.  I have to admit while they seemed gentle, they looked rough.  Many were gaunt and most had deep lines across their face like road maps to sorrowful dead-end destinations.  I felt particularly awkward around them since the only thing I had different than them were better circumstances.  Yet, here at the soup kitchen and in life, these circumstances are everything – the difference between having a place to live, food to eat, someone to love and cherish you.

The men were mostly nice and polite – they were different ages and races.  Some seemed to know one another.  Others seemed like they either wanted to be anonymous, or had gotten used to being so.  There were a few who seemed mentally ill.

Several sets of children came in with parents or grandparents.  The oldest of which looked to be about 6 years old – the youngest, an infant.  Of course, it was hard to see children at a soup kitchen, but most of them seemed oblivious to their circumstances.  They seemed happy.  The volunteer who runs the soup kitchen, along with her husband, gave me small bags of candy to give to the kids, and I got to watch their faces light with joy in anticipation of such a rare treat.

I noticed after serving one of the men that he had a stroller next to him, his back was squarely against whoever was in it and his attention was focused solely on his adjacent friend.  I reached over to see if I could get a glimpse inside the stroller and saw a tiny little girl with blonde hair latched in her seat.  I saw that she was reaching toward the table – toward his plate of food.

He seemed oblivious to her, but I thought perhaps she wasn’t old enough to eat solids yet – or maybe he was so hungry he couldn’t help but feed himself first.  She reached again with both arms toward the food.  I asked him if I could feed her so he could enjoy his meal.  He said sure and I shifted the stroller to face me.  This angelic little girl captivated me, and I felt so lucky to be the one who would feed her.  But first, I had to do something about the layers of crust dried under her still runny nose that dripped past her mouth on to her tiny chin.

After I carefully cleaned her sweet face with a napkin, she ate spoonful after spoonful of chicken and gravy, rice and carrots.  She was such a good eater, no airplane games, no coaxing, and no spitting like a camel.  She really was an angel!  I was annoyed that her father wasn’t more interested in her.   Shouldn’t he be as happy as I am that she is eating her carrots?

I interrupted his conversation to ask him her age.  He told me she would be a year old on December 27.  It was only a week or two from her first birthday – that milestone that for my children meant big parties, family and revelry.   I got teary thinking of how she would spend it, and was wondering if I was blinking back tears as fast as she was eating.  We would only take a break to occasionally wipe her face, and that darn runny nose.

Then, rather abruptly, her dad and his friend decided they were going.  I was dumbfounded.  She was in the middle of eating.  As a mama, this riled me.  I don’t believe in waking a sleeping baby, and I certainly don’t believe in cutting short this child’s meal when she was obviously still hungry. But he and his friend were already standing up and gathering their things.  I had to pick my jaw up off of the floor, and stand in its place.  I convinced him to take her plate of food with him so she could finish it wherever they were off to.  A moment later she was gone.

I felt rather helpless and avoided eye contact with the other volunteers because I was scared I was going to start crying. I had to remind myself that I wasn’t there to judge, or to tell people how to live their lives – I was there to serve and sometimes the hardest part of that is keeping your mouth shut.  So I went back to pulling out chairs and serving hot meals.  For three hours we served.  The hungry kept coming.  There were so many.

Volunteers sharing their talent and the Christmas spirit with all of us.

It was close to Christmas and a gospel group was belting out Christmas music, reminding us of the power of hope.  One man sat in the corner crying, listening to the music.  I don’t know his story.  I don’t know any of the stories of the hundreds of people we fed that day.  I don’t know what will become of that little girl or the other children I met.  I just know that every Saturday volunteers show up to serve the hungry a hot meal with dignity and respect, the same way Jesus would if He were alive — without question or judgment.

No, I don’t know any more about the homeless than I did when I was a kid, when they were simply part of the spectacle of dining out, but now having served them I finally understand why those Japanese waitresses seemed so beautiful to me.  Treating others with dignity and respect – even when it requires obedient silence is as glorious and graceful as a Geisha whose art exists for the sole purpose of serving others.

//

Categories: Corporal Works of Mercy, Uncategorized | Tags: catholic, community, Eating, Feed the Hungry, food, Geisha, God, homeless, hungry, Japanese cuisine, Jesus, life, poor, Saint, Saint Francis, Soup Kitchen, spirituality, volunteer | Permalink.

I am using my 40th birthday as an impetus to embark on mid-life mission to perform spiritual and corporal works of mercy– that unlike aging promise to defy gravity.

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Vulnerability with Friends [at Everything is Grace!]

Linking up with the wonderful Morgan and Jen & NAS Ladies!!

Vulnerability with friends

Do you find that your non-single friends struggle with relating to you or vice versa? If so, in what ways? How do you handle it? What is something that you would like them to know or understand that they just don't seem to get?

***

Yet another on the button topic!!

I have always been single, but a lot of my friends have been in long term relationships or even just casually dating people so I have a lot of experience with this particular topic.

In general, non-single friends have trouble relating to me in the sense they don't think I relate to them and therefore they don't seem to value my opinion because I have never been in a relationship. Sometimes this can be quite patronising and makes me feel incredibly belittled. I'll find out second hand that they're having relationship troubles, or find that they have discussed it with other people in their lives but have chosen to not ask for my advice. Fair enough, that is their prerogative to do so, but it is also a little crappy.

I am the hippo. Just in case you didn't pick up on that!

Initially it really hurt me. It made me feel juvenile, inexperienced, unwanted. For some that may seem dramatic, but as a single woman all my energy goes into my non-romantic relationships - family and friends. My focus, my love and my attention all extends towards them, but they are part of a different club that I haven't had the opportunity to join yet, and they won't invite me. I have learned to accept that my opinion is not required, it still hurts, but at least I know that it's going to happen.

There is one benefit to having been on the sideline of a plethora of relationships and that is that I can see what works and what doesn't. The main thing (that is essentially obvious, but has been reaffirmed many times through my friends relationships)  I have learned is that communication is key. Too often problems seem to arise because both people in the relationship make assumptions about how they're feeling all the time, they play games and they take their problems to other people for too long before they can bring it to each other.

As I said, generally non-single friends have trouble relating to me, but I do have one recently married friend who constantly seeks my advice on all things. She lives in America now so it is mostly just text messages and the odd phonecall, but she feels confident in approaching me for advice. As a single person I don't have any experience in romantic relationships, but I do have buckets of experience in

relationships

, I participate in them on a daily basis. I have common sense; I know what is right and wrong, and above all, I do my best to relate everything back to God.

In terms of how they relate to my being single, I think sometimes it can be a case of people taking everything I say with a pinch of salt. People think I'm crazy for worrying about being single and turning 25 in a few weeks; and I find it hard to talk to other people about my "crushes" because again I feel quite juvenile doing so, peoples react to me like they would react to their 14 year old sister having a crush. There is no substance behind how people treat my singleness. And again, that is just the nature of it all. And again, that is why the

NAS

bloggers are freaking awesome in my book, because I know I'm not alone.

I hope that if God ever graces me to be in a relationship that I don't disregard someone elses feelings because of their relationship status. I also hope that perhaps even if my friends don't want my advice as a single woman, that they appreciate what I do for them within the boundaries they set.

I'm interested to go read everyone else's perspectives on this matter!! See you guys next week!

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Spiritual Dryness and Salt of the Earth: Let's Talk Turkey [at Quartermaster of the Barque]

“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” (Matthew 5:13).

Some things are best when they’re dry. For example, your underarms. Diapers. The carpet. Since the invention of carpeting, no one has ever actually said, “Oooh, the carpet is really wet, hooray!” Nor does one ever glory in the dirty diaper or say, “Look at that guy’s armpit stains — bully for him!”

However, dryness in prayer or one’s spiritual life is generally to be avoided. While there are sometimes Providential reasons that God permits us to become spiritually dry, we are not usually meant to remain in this condition forever. When one is spiritually dry, the life in prayer is brittle, crumbly; there isn’t much substance, or fruitfulness at the moment.

Even if one earnestly seeks God, is engaged in devotional prayer and reading, and frequently receives the sacraments, it is still possible to wind up “walking in the desert” at times. In fact, each of us should expect this journey, and the reality of it is part of Catholic spiritual tradition. God (like a loving parent) is always fostering our own spiritual growth, which sometimes requires us to learn to live without “good feelings”. Sometimes the medicine itself is unpleasant, but nonetheless healthy.

God sometimes permits spiritual dryness, but I suspect that He — like all rational beings — cannot abide a dry turkey. A turkey should never be dry. Dry turkey is bad turkey. You can bet that if there is food in Heaven, there is no dry turkey. Conversely, dry (and flavorless) turkey is probably on every table in Hell. The answer to a dry turkey (or really, any dry flavorless meat) is essentially the same as the answer to spiritual dryness: salt.

If we are spiritually dry, we may find it difficult to follow our Lord’s command to be “the salt of the earth.” It might be possible to attend mass or persevere in prayer, but it is frustrating to see others partaking in the full richness of the Holy Banquet or getting somewhere in their prayer life while personally everything feels immobilized.

Being the salt of the earth means that the life in Christ is supposed to have flavor. When we truly live the way that Jesus wants, we are able to savor what is good, wholesome and nourishing about creation. If we try to live outside Christ’s love or if we try to walk in the desert alone — without asking God to journey with us – all of the good things that may be present to us in our life are dry and ineffective at bringing us to the joy that we know is available.

We can banish spiritual dryness, and we can add flavor to our lives (and food), by adding salt. Salt locks in the goodness of a piece of meat. It creates a chemical gradient that literally traps moisture inside the cells it inhabits. This is why when you take in too much salt, you get bloated and retain water. All of that salt in your body is holding in extra fluid, keeping you from becoming dry! When you brine a turkey, the same thing happens, making it next to impossible to dry it out during cooking.

How to make the most JUICY, FLAVORFUL THANKSGIVING TURKEY

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving is coming up. If you’d like to exorcise dryness from your turkey this year, start the day before by making a brine:

1. Find a container big enough to hold the turkey in your refrigerator. A clean bucket will work. I have a food-grade tub with a plastic lid that I use.

2. Fill the vessel with a gallon of warm water. Dissolve at least a cup of salt and a half cup of white granulated sugar. You can add other flavors, herbs or spices (oranges, lemons, onions, garlic, apple cider, apple cider vinegar, black pepper, bay leaves, dry basil, dry oregano, dry thyme, red pepper flakes, etc.) if you like.

3. Add a gallon of cold water, or a mixture of cold water and ice.

4. Submerge the turkey (you can add a little extra water to get it completely submerged, if necessary) in the brine. Cover the vessel and refrigerate it overnight.

5. On Thanksgiving, prepare the turkey by removing it from the brine, drying it with paper towels, and roasting it the way you normally do.

This method will elevate the saddest, cheapest, lowest of the low of all frozen supermarket turkeys. You will find a turkey prepared this way almost impossible to distinguish from the finest, most expensive organic fresh free range turkeys.

Metaphorically, being salt gives spiritual and actual flavor to anything that we season. Jesus doesn’t say that He is the salt; He says that we are! We, the whole Body of Christ, through the Church, are meant to combat spiritual dryness by being “salt of the earth” to one another.

Our “salt” is the joy that we hold; it is the light that we are not meant to put under the bushel barrel. Salt is the great equalizer in our spiritual lives just as it is in cookery! Without the Christian community — without others in our life who season us and give life its flavor — we are not good for anything other than to be trampled underfoot.

So, be the salt to others, who you can support in their spiritual dryness. Ask God to send you someone salty in your times of spiritual dryness.

And, use some salt to brine your Thanksgiving turkey, so that no one needs to feel like they are walking in the desert at your holiday table!

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Love Thee, Notre Dame [at String of Pearls]

At the end of October my husband and I traveled from our home in New England out to Colorado, for a visit with our oldest son and his family.  While we were at it, we thought we’d kill two birds with one stone and watch one of Notre Dame’s contests on the road (after making it out to South Bend three times already this season to see the Irish play on their home turf).

About a half-hour after Notre Dame’s 45-10 victory over the United States Air Force Academy that Saturday afternoon, we attended an anticipated Mass.  It was held in a large heated tent on the academy’s grounds, not far from the Falcons’ football stadium.  We are generally not fans of either outdoor Masses or anticipated ones, preferring to attend Sunday morning Masses inside churches.  Especially churches as beautiful as the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the Notre Dame campus, when we’re lucky enough to make that happen.

This cell phone photo can't begin to do the Basilica's breathtaking ceiling justice.

But since my husband had to catch a couple of connecting flights the next day to get home in time for work on Monday, we decided that we should take advantage of this conveniently-timed Mass that the Notre Dame Club of Colorado Springs had taken pains to provide for any Catholic football fans who might be in the same boat we were that Saturday.  We would never fall back on the “traveler’s dispensation,” except in the most dire and extreme of circumstances, and had been working on finding a church that would offer the earliest possible Mass the next morning; but there was no doubt that this Mass that took place a stone’s throw from the stadium right after the game ended made things a whole lot easier for us that weekend, Mass planning-wise.

The tent was jam-packed with mostly Notre Dame folks, all sporting navy blue, gold, and Kelly green garb.  Just about every article of clothing I saw in that tent—t-shirts, hoodies, parkas, baseball caps, knit hats, gloves, scarves, pants, and even sneakers—was embroidered or silk-screened with leprechauns, shamrocks, or the familiar interlocking N and D.  If you’re a lover of Notre Dame (which our family most definitely is, and then some!), then the Irish-themed congregation that was huddled against the cold under a tent that night was a sight for sore eyes.

A table draped with a dark green damask tablecloth served as an altar, and upon it stood a large golden crucifix.  The priest was very holy and reverent.  The Notre Dame Club members who assisted him were obviously very faith-filled and dedicated.  A young man served as cantor, leading the rest of us in traditional hymns near and dear to any Catholic’s heart.  It was all very beautiful, and I was moved more than I ever thought I would be—surprisingly so.

We arrived early, as they were setting up for Mass.

I was sitting in a tent that had been set up on packed dirt and grass, not in a glorious church with light streaming through its stained-glass windows; yet that night, that tent felt like a cathedral.  And not once, but two or three times—as I sat in my metal folding chair next to my husband, surrounded by faithful Catholics who obviously know that Notre Dame is about so much more than just football, listening to the familiar words of the liturgy—my eyes filled with tears.  My heart was bursting with such warmth and love, contemplating the dedication of those hundreds of fans, who could have rushed out to eat a restaurant dinner or continued the tailgate cook-outs they’d begun before the game…but instead, had rushed to a huge white tent, a temporary House of the Lord, to participate in the un-bloody re-enactment of Christ’s great Sacrifice on the Cross.

This experience, in a nutshell, tells the story of how Notre Dame gets so much right.  The school has been chastised, and rightly so, for some of the mistakes she has made.  When the administration invited the most pro-abortion president in the history of the United States to be the keynote speaker at the 2009 commencement ceremony (and conferred an honorary degree from the university upon him to boot), many of Notre Dame’s most dyed-in-the-wool supporters felt betrayed.  My husband and I were affected by that poor choice in a deeply personal way, because our third oldest son graduated that year.  We were watching the whole scandal unfold, up-close.  We were there in the Joyce Center when the president gave his speech, and our hearts were heavy indeed.  We would have skipped out on it altogether, but our beloved middle son—of whom we were very proud—had worked hard for four years to earn the right to wear a cap and gown that day, and for his sake we weren’t going to miss that.  But for a while afterward, we wondered if Notre Dame was heading in a direction that would lead us to cancel our support of an institution that has been so special to so many members of the Pearl family.Few earthly institutions are perfect, however, because the human beings who run them are inherently flawed, born as they are with the stain of Original Sin.  And I’ll tell you, that Mass on the USAFA campus reminded me of why I love Notre Dame as much as I do, even though I was never a student there myself.  That Mass was just one example of how Notre Dame gets it right more often than not.  The weekend would not have been complete for Catholic Irish fans solely due to a resounding win on the gridiron; it would only be complete if it also included the opportunity to fulfill our Sunday obligation and receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist.  It did not surprise my husband and me at all when our son told us that the local chapter of the Notre Dame Club had scheduled this Mass.  That’s the sort of thing you come to expect when you’ve spent any time at all on the Notre Dame campus, or with Notre Dame alumni and fans.

If you are a Catholic parent and you want your child to attend a college where he will have absolutely no problem finding a convenient time or place to attend Sunday Mass (and plenty of like-minded students who will attend with him), there is no better place on God’s green earth than the Notre Dame campus.  Every single dorm holds a Sunday Mass in its chapel--some of them as late as 10:00 p.m., for those students who may have been traveling that day or who sleep through their alarms in the morning.  The Basilica has a full schedule of Masses, including anticipated Masses planned around football games on fall Saturdays.  Everywhere you look as you walk around that beautiful slice of Heaven in Indiana, there are many reminders of its Catholicity.  My goodness, have you been to the Grotto, a faithful replica of the original one at Lourdes?  Your soul can’t help but be touched there.  And of course the most iconic image of all is the statue of Mary, Notre Dame (which of course means “Our Lady,” in French), standing there on top of that gleaming dome, right in the heart of the campus named for Her.  That’s what it’s all about, people: it’s about providing an education that is not only academically challenging, but informed by and irrevocably tied to the Catholic Faith.  Football is only a small part of Notre Dame’s raison d’etre.  And national championships are certainly not the most important items on the list of things she’ll fight for.

Football weekend in 2002, when our oldest son was a freshman at ND.

My husband’s youngest brother (ND Class of 1992) has a good friend who didn’t grow up in South Bend, but settled there after graduation and still calls it home.  We saw this family friend earlier in the season at a football weekend get-together, and he described living in close proximity to his alma mater in this way: “It’s like living in a Catholic Disneyland.”  I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty ideal to my hubby and me.Not that long ago, our New England town boasted three thriving Catholic parishes; but due to decreased vocations and a shortage of available priests to serve as pastors, these have now been combined into one large parish.  We wonder what will happen if this newly-formed parish ever has to close its doors.  And then we think about the one place we know of that always seems to have not just enough, but more than enough, priests to serve the needs of its faithful: our dear Notre Dame (a.k.a.—“Catholic Disneyland”).  Every time we attend a special Mass there, whether for a freshman orientation, a Junior Parents Weekend, or a graduation, the altar is filled with concelebrating priests.  One day, we just might have to relocate to South Bend, if only to be assured that we will never have to worry about priest shortages.  Yes indeed, we just might have to retire near that special place where Our Lady watches over all from Her perch atop a dome of gold.

My soon-to-be second daughter-in-law snapped this photo.  I think it's exquisite.

There was a bit of a brouhaha not long ago, when Coach Brian Kelly announced that his team would no longer stand facing the student section of the stadium—after losses, that is—to join their friends and classmates in singing the school’s Alma Mater, “Notre Dame, Our Mother.”  The practice of having the team head over to sing the Alma Mater along with their most ardent supporters—those ever-faithful student-fans--after every home game, win or lose, was begun under former Coach Charlie Weis.  Many students and alumni were understandably upset by Kelly’s change in policy, because the Alma Mater is not just a run-of-the-mill secular fight song.  It is in fact a prayer to Our Lady, who watches over the university named for Her, and whom we should invoke in good times and in bad…not only when celebrating our victories, but maybe even more importantly when striving to deal graciously and bravely with our defeats.  The song that the students sing (along with so many other loyal fans in the stands) at the end of each game, as they sway back and forth with their arms draped over each other’s shoulders, is not sung in praise of a mere academic institution or a popular football program, no matter how storied; it is sung in praise of and with love for the most holy Mother of God.

Notre Dame, Our Mother [Alma Mater]

Notre Dame, our Mother

Tender, strong and true

Proudly in the heavens,

Gleams thy gold and blue.

Glory's mantle cloaks thee

Golden is thy fame,

And our hearts forever,

Praise thee, Notre Dame.

And our hearts forever,

Love thee, Notre Dame.

Every time my husband hears this song, he gets choked up and his eyes fill with tears.  And trust me, you don’t need to have graduated from Notre Dame to experience that very same reaction.

Love thee, Notre Dame.  Forever and ever.  Amen.

Sporting blue and gold--of course!--during one of our recent trips to one of my favorite places.

Written by the wife of an alumnus (Class of 1980), as well as the mother of three alumni sons (2006, 2009, and 2010), one son who spent two of his undergraduate years matriculating at Our Lady's university, and another son who is slated to graduate in 2015.

This contribution is available at http://mumsie2five.blogspot.com/2013/11/love-thee-notre-dame.html

Copyright is retained by the contributing author (follow above link for info on this piece).

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We still haven’t put up our Christmas tree.  I know, it’s like over a whole week into December already and compared to most, we are slackers.

The truth is, we haven’t put it up or even decorated yet on purpose.

This year we are putting it off longer than usual and the reason seems to be sinking in pretty deep for all of us.  We used to get crazy the weekend after Thanksgiving and deck the halls, then like most people who have been strategically living around a big ol’ spruce in the living room, the day after Christmas it’s gone!

Not this year though.  And not likely in any year to come.  Over the last several years we have put off the tree until closer and closer to Christmas day.  It goes up later and it stays up through the Christmas season in the Church which actually begins on Christmas Day.  Then we celebrate and savor it.  It feels like we’re just beginning to enjoy the season when the rest of the world around us is bidding it goodbye for another year and collapsing into a post-Christmas food/gift coma.

This year we are really taking Advent seriously.  We are preparing the way for our Lord with prayer, mediation, contemplation, and penance.  We are studying the lineage of Jesus’ family back through to Jesse.  We are reading the nativity story daily and thinking about the awesomeness of it all.  We are lighting candles on our Advent wreath every night for dinner and singing our desires for Emmanuel to come and be with us.  We are tearing a link off of our Advent chain and praying for each of the intentions written there.  We are preserving the quiet days in anticipation of that miraculous birth.

We are not waiting for Santa.  There are no creepy elves wreaking havoc while we sleep, hoping to make the kids be good.  We are not running around in search of “the perfect gift,” or stressing out about all that we should be doing.

We are waiting patiently for the Lord.

I look around at all of the craziness of the season, the parties, the gifts, the music, the trees, the decorations, the colors, the lights, and I wonder…..how did this:

{photo credit}

…become this:

I hear people stressing about finding time to decorate and put up their tree, finding the perfect gift, spending too much money, the gifts their kids just have to have and it makes me sad.  We find so many ways to add distractions to this simple celebration that the true meaning is beyond lost.

In my heart I wonder why so many people even celebrate Christmas at all when they don’t make time for Christ any other day during the year.

I hear people say that Christmas is about family or it’s about the memories and the traditions.  And it is, and those are nice.

But it is SO much more than that.

Do a quick google search for a definition of Christmas and here’s what you get:  Christ·mas:  the annual Christian festival celebrating Christ’s birth, held on December 25 in the Western Church.  ”The word ‘Christmas’ means The Mass of Christ.”

“Christian festival celebrating Christ’s birth!”

I always did find it odd that people who don’t believe in Christ celebrate this day.

My point is, what is the point?

If we don’t acknowledge that Christmas is Jesus’ birthday than what.is.the.point?  If it’s all about family, memories, cookies, and gifts, than why not celebrate it some other time?

If Jesus had never been born, Christmas would be just another day in December.  But it’s not.  Because He was and is and always will be.

In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah predicted what was to come…..

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us;

upon his shoulder dominion rests.

They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero,

Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 9: 5

Then in the New Testament, Jesus came to fulfill the prophecies….

“While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son.  She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.  Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock.  The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear.  The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:

“Glory to God in the highest

and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2: 6-14

Because the God who made us, had pity on us, and came to live right down here on this sinful earth along side of us.  He came to save us from that sin and to teach us the way to eternal life with Him.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t have parties or buy gifts or make memories.  But I am saying that “stressed” and “hurried” should not be used in the same sentence as “Christmas.”

I wonder how we make God feel when we insult Him with what we have made his birthday into.  Ouch.

There is a “reason for the season” as the old cliche goes.

That reason is not family, it is not Santa, it is not so many things that have pulled us so far away from the whole point.

The point is Christ.  Without Him, none of it matters.

~Maria

This contribution is available at http://www.ourheavenlyhomestead.com/2013/12/this-christmas/

Copyright is retained by the contributing author (follow above link for info on this piece).

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Be Merciful [at Dolce Domum]

The road got steeper and the stones got sharper. The clouds were hanging over the stony path so that you could barely see it. A storm was brewing. I moved slowly, as one heavily burdened, though the only thing I carried was a shepherd’s crook to help me walk. Still, the feeling of being heavily burdened was with me.

I came across a group of people screaming, yelling, and gesticulating. Two or three men were dragging a half-naked woman to where Christ was standing. I was deeply engrossed in my silence and really didn’t want anything to do with it. My silence seemed to be a warm protection against the storm that was coming.

The woman was crying. I tried to make a detour, but there always seemed to be somebody in my way. So I stopped. I heard her accused of adultery, a crime punishable by stoning according to the Jewish law. They were screaming at Christ too.

In an unusual gesture, he bent down and began writing something on the sand; he was absolutely silent. So was I—utterly silent. He continued writing, then suddenly he broke the silence by saying, “If any one of you is without sin, let him cast the first stone.” Then he continued to write.

The quality of the silence changed. Kneeling on the sharp stones, and as if a thousand flashes of lightning were exploding around me, I knew, with a knowledge no one could ever take from me, the mercy of God. One by one the men left her, and the woman was standing there all alone. Christ broke the silence once again: “Is there no one to condemn you?” “No one, Lord,” she said. “Then neither will I condemn you. Go, but don’t sin any more.”

She left, but I remained. Christ ceased writing on the sand. Then he sat down on a large stone and looked at me. I looked at him. Breaking my silence, I said, “Lord, I have just witnessed the immense mercy of God. Will I die for having seen it?” For I was absolutely sure that no one could behold this outpouring of mercy that flashed like lightning and live.

The Lord shook his head and smiled and said, “No, Catherine. That is not what you are here for. You are here to become a silent witness to this mercy. Now that you have had it burnt into your soul, not that you know what mercy is, go and be merciful.”

Molchanie: Experiencing the Silence of God by Catherine Doherty. pp. 39-40.

*****

In her vision Catherine Doherty asks Jesus if she will die for having seen the immense mercy of God. His response is to charge her with the task of going forth and being merciful because by her witness she has had the immense power and knowledge of mercy burned into her very soul.

Her silence in the face of conflict had provided warm comfort against the storm. How often do we…I…cloak any mercy that we could otherwise provide in the same comfortable silence? Despite carrying nothing in her vision but a shepherd’s crook Catherine felt the weight of her silence. Though she hadn’t noticed it the weight had become a burden.

We have that same burden. But we also have the same knowledge and an example to imitate. Examples of mercy abound and surround us every day. Perhaps not always in person right before our very selves. But the sheer number of repeated postings of news articles, YouTube videos or personal anecdotes on Facebook or other social media removes our ability to claim ignorance of mercy.

How much death is unknowingly caused each day by all of us because we fail to be merciful?

How many senseless arguments could be avoided? How many destructive conflicts on a scale and scope of any size?

How many storms are brewing in our spheres of life that will continue to fester because of our inability to show mercy in things great or small?

The mercy we show, give or demonstrate may be the only thing that lies between someone and a mob with stones at the ready. It may be a mob of many. It may be a mob of one. The mob may well be comprised of the individual, stoning themselves through self-defeating and self-destructive behavior.

Other than our ability to forgive, mercy may be the most powerful tool we possess to affect the lives of others. To affect our own lives.

The mercy that is burned into our very souls may be the line in the sand that protects someone, even ourselves, from the mob of condemnation.

Together let us go and be merciful.

This contribution is available at http://jeffwalker.wordpress.com/2013/11/11/be-merciful/

Copyright is retained by the contributing author (follow above link for info on this piece).

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Where Have All The Men Gone? The Quest for Authentic Fatherhood [at and these Thy gifts]

Have you ever thought about the word “father”? It is so commonplace, and yet has such profound import as to signify the initiation of a man into parenthood: “He FATHERED a child.” We don’t say, “She mothered a child” until later. Fatherhood is attached to the BEGINNING of something great, a leap into a new phase of manhood. So much meaning and expectation is woven into it, that when a man doesn’t deliver, disappointment is exponentially magnified.

We have a shortage of authentic Catholic fathers because we have a shortage of authentic Catholic men. Feminism and the sexual revolution set into motion a seemingly endless cycle. Second-wave feminism, particularly, was supposed to correct wrongs both perceived and real, but has instead led to more egregious wrongs. Instead of holding men to a higher standard, we have lowered the bar, expected mediocrity, and now have to live with exactly that. Equality sounds good and noble, but the role reversal especially as concerns sex has all but gutted and emasculated men. No need for authentic men in the “liberated” women’s world: an oversimplification of The Pill’s long-term effects, perhaps, but not too far from the truth. Too many of our stories today do not begin with the aforementioned initiation into parenthood, because a man’s role as FATHER — with all that that implies — has been seriously eroded.

Today’s world paints a picture of extremes, of fatherless homes or of abuse, of men who abdicate responsibility, of men who have little to no understanding of what responsibility is, of men who unleash aggression on their wives and children. On the other extreme we have Peter Pans, men who have never grown up and are perpetually tied to their wives’ apron strings, sometimes even their mothers’: a scary tug-o-war scenario played out in everyday life, with no winner in sight — not husband, wife, nor children. It is not a pretty picture. A non-dysfunctional family today seems almost unreachable, a fantasy for many.

Research statistics show the frightening magnitude and depth of mis-fathering and fatherlessness. One could almost argue that all the ills in the world have these as the root cause! It is an epidemic that affects both the USA and the Philippines, though the manifestations are different. In America and other Western nations, cohabitation and divorce are seen as normal and have resulted in “modern families” of all sorts of configurations. In the Philippines where there is no divorce, we find instead men with second or even third “families”, recognized neither by the Church nor by law.

If we are to turn society around from the state it’s in, then our sons need to learn how to become men. There are three pieces to this puzzle:

a) Only a man can teach and show a boy how to be a man; a mother can’t do that.

b) For fathers to be effective, we need to allow them to BE fathers.

c) In the absence of fathers, we need to find suitable, positive role models for our sons to emulate and follow.

The only way to rebuild a culture that appreciates and promotes Christian/Catholic manhood, is to decide that the buck stops here: in our homes, our families, the circles in which we move around, and in our hearts. The cycle has to be interrupted and reversed. We need more Godly men to step up to the plate, no question (see resources below). The onus is on them. But the rest of us have a role to play as well.

Job number one is to shore men up, not tear them down. There should be no place for man-bashing of any sort. As a wife, I am aware that we women are naturally verbal, and if we are not careful we can easily silence our husbands. My children need to be able to look up to the man they call “Daddy”, to know that he is someone I deeply value, respect, and admire. It is worth following a Godly man who doesn’t compromise his integrity, and who knows he’s in charge of shepherding his children into heaven. But I cannot model this mindset while undermining him at the same time. One cannot be proud of a father who is dominated or treated like a doormat by his own wife. The lessons on authority that my children learn at home carries over into how they regard other authority figures, most especially their own Creator. And they need to recognize His authority in their lives if they are to conform themselves to His will. The cycle continues: men who know how to follow Divine authority become men who know how to lead, and who become worthy of being followed, not only by their own children but by their peers as well. Moreover, I cannot tell my daughter that the man she will marry is probably not going to be good enough, intelligent enough, rich enough, and that she’ll have to take the reins or she’ll be going nowhere. We parents have a tremendous responsibility here, if we don’t intend to prime our children for feminaziland in their future domestic churches! My son needs to hear the message, “Be like your father.” And I need to be able to tell my daughter, “That’s what you look for in a man.”

One of the most important things we can do is to shine our light on the fathers who live lives of quiet sacrifice and self-gift, but who are hardly ever paid attention or celebrated. Authentic Catholic fathers are the Atlases of our world today — they bear so much on their shoulders. They provide the bones and musculature our weakened, battle-weary society needs. Entire generations have been affected by the sexual revolution, and undoing its damages may take several more. Not every man will feel up to the task of living an authentic Catholic life, but heroic fatherhood is needed now. The only way to restore Catholic fatherhood to its rightful place is to allow men once again the dignity they’ve inherited as sons of God.

Resources for Fathers:

Your Daughter Needs A Hero

Fathers for Good

What Is A Real Man – Part 1

What Is A Real Man – Part 2

Practicing the Art of Catholic Manhood

Fatherhood (1)

Fatherhood (2)

Restoring the Fullness of Fatherhood

Reversing the Deculturation of Fatherhood

On the Demise of Fatherhood – A Review

Fatherless and Hopeful in America

In Defense of Fatherhood

Men of the Church

The Essential Father

Gratissimam Sane

Toward a Theology of Authentic Masculinity

This contribution is available at http://www.andthesethygifts.com/2013/12/02/where-have-all-the-men-gone-the-quest-for-authentic-fatherhood-2/

Copyright is retained by the contributing author (follow above link for info on this piece).

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Christmas 2013: Book Recommendations [at Eastern Christian Books]

Twice in as many years I've put together a list of books that interested readers may peruse when trying to find something to buy for the Eastern Christian bibliophile on their Christmas list, or otherwise seeking to enrich their own libraries. The 2011 list is

here

, and the 2012 list is

here

.

I've done that again for 2013, focusing for the most part on books published just this year--which, as you'll soon see, is a formidable list but even this list is just a sampling of what has emerged this year. I expect that 2014 will be at least as prolific in publications if not more so. Though most of the books noted below presuppose some intellectual formation and academic background on the part of readers--that is, they are for adults--I did note

here

some recent, vibrant publications for children that I commend to your attention.

Iconography:

One of the most fascinating large and hefty collections of academic articles on icons,

Icons in Time, Persons in Eternity: Orthodox Theology and the Aesthetics of the Christian Image,

was noted

here

. Ashgate also brought out another scholarly collection on icons, which was noted

here

.

This

new book, which I have read and continue to think about, and of which I hope to have a review posted in the coming weeks, also deserves attention by those interested not just in iconography, but especially in politically motivated forms of iconoclasm:

The Politics of Iconoclasm: Religion, Violence and the Culture of Image-Breaking in Christianity and Islam.

Also on the topic of iconoclasm is a new book by the leading scholar of it today in its Byzantine context, Leslie Brubaker,

Inventing Byzantine Iconoclasm,

some details of which are

here

, where I also note other recent books on the topic by Brubaker.

Finally, this past summer I discovered a new (to me) book on Romanian iconography, which I discussed

here

.

Anniversaries:

2013 was itself an anniversary year--the 1700th anniversary of the legalization of Christianity under Constantine, whose legacy, as I noted

here

, continues to be vigorously debated.

2013 is also, of course, the lead-up to the centenary of the Great War, about which we have already seen a steady stream of books in anticipation of the anniversary next year. I discussed a number of those books

here

and more recently

here

. That war, of course, brought down many empires, and one study of their collapse was noted

here

.

Ecclesiology:

The papacy was also, of course, the object of much comment this year, a good deal of it, however ironically, from me. See

here

, e.g. Or for a vastly more authoritative treatment, perhaps even bordering on infallible, see

here

.

From Orthodox scholars, see

this

very important book by an Orthodox theologian, of which I have a review forthcoming next year for the British journal,

Reviews in Religion and Theology:

George Demacopoulos,

The Invention of Peter: Apostolic Discourse and Papal Authority in Late Antiquity.

As I noted in my review, this book shows--as other recent studies have--that the history of the papacy, and of East-West relations, is considerably more complicated than either Western apologists for the papacy, or Eastern critics of it, have usually allowed.

Much discussion in the last six weeks or so has focused on Pope Francis and his plans for reforms in the structure of the Catholic Church and his calling of a so-called synod of bishops in Rome. That misnamed institution was recently studied

here

.

The Ethiopian Church, the largest Orthodox church in Africa, is starting to garner more scholarly attention. One recent study of Ethiopian ecclesiology was noted

here

.

Finally, papal primacy is treated in a new

book

by an Orthodox theologian which I read in mss. form and am happy to see in print. It deserves careful reading from Catholic and Orthodox Christians alike.

Russia:

Just recently Eerdmans published an English translation of a book written a number of years ago in German by Thomas Bremer:

Cross and Kremlin: A Brief History of the Orthodox Church in Russia;

some details

here

.

The role of the YMCA in 20th-century Russian Christianity, and Russian relations with Western Christians, was treated in a fascinating new book which our reviewer praised. That book was was noted

here

.

A new book on post-Soviet religious life, which has been treated in at least a dozen books in English alone in the last decade, was noted

here

. The rise and role of "secularism" in Russia and Ukraine was discussed

here

.

A big new book, which I'm told is in the mail to me this week, treats one of the most important Russian theological journals of the past century: Antoine Arjakovsky (whom I will interview in the new year about his book),

The Way: Religious Thinkers of the Russian Emigration in Paris and Their Journal, 1925-1940

. Details about the book are

here

.

Russia has long been a "front" for action by, and conflicts with and between, her native Orthodox Church and various Western churches and para-church institutions. One recent book treats a fascinating episode of that:

Russian Bible Wars: Modern Scriptural Translation and Cultural Authority,

which was noted

here

.

Converts:

As we know, over the last quarter-century or so, there have been considerable numbers of Christians raised in a Western tradition who have headed East. (Some of them, alas, then begin ranting about the "pan-heresy" of ecumenism, an absurd notion discussed

here

.) Several recent books treat their stories, including converts to Orthodoxy who are

philosophers

of one sort or another (for more on philosophy in a Byzantine context, see

here

.) At the beginning of the year I noted a book on converts in general

here

. Then at the end of the year we had, as I noted a few weeks ago, what promises to be a fascinating and serious scholarly study whose author I hope to interview in the new year. That book, by the Orthodox priest and historian Oliver Herbel, was noted

here

.

Social Issues:

I've followed a number of on-line discussions this year about the problems of "bourgeois Christianity." The entanglements of economics, class, and faith in North America remains a question I hope to write more about in the coming year.

At the beginning of this year I

interviewed

an author about her fascinating new book,

They Who Give from Evil: The Response of the Eastern Church to Moneylending in the Early Christian Era.

Western Phantasmagoria:

I've spent more time than I liked this year on the uses and abuses of history, not least by Orthodox Christians against the West. Most happily indeed, we had two first-rate studies this year from Orthodox theologians and historians taking on some of the grossest and most absurd of the caricatures. The first of these was from Marcus Plested on

Orthodox Readings of Aquinas

. I interviewed Plested

here

. His book was reviewed this year in

Logos: A Journal of Eastern Christian Studies,

and the review was entirely laudatory.

The other collection that was supposed to be out in the summer was just released last month under the editorial direction of Fordham's two outstanding Orthodox theologians:

Orthodox Constructions of the West

. This highly welcome and overdue collection was noted in some detail

here

. I will continue to discuss it in the weeks ahead. If you could only buy one book this year, I'd give this one the most serious consideration.

Middle East:

For more than a decade now we have watched a steady stampede of Eastern Christians out of the Middle East. For the last three years, those who remained, especially in places like Egypt and Syria, were said by some early and hopeful commentators to be living through a so-called Arab "

spring

" but today we more correctly speak of the lack thereof, as noted

here

.

But the Arab world is not dead intellectually, and so I noted a new book on Trinitarian theology in an Arabic context

here

. And it was a very welcome event in May to have published

The Bible in Arabic: The Scriptures of the 'People of the Book' in the Language of Islam,

authored by one of the world's leading scholars on the encounter between Islam and Eastern Christians.

The role of Coptic Christians in the ongoing political struggles of Egypt came in for scrutiny in a new book noted

here

.

One of the great Byzantinists of our time treated the world on the eve of Islamic conquest in her new collection,

Late Antiquity on the Eve of Islam

.

Muslim-Christian Relations:

Continuing the theme of Muslim-Christian relations more widely, I noted a new Routledge Reader on this topic

here

.

Ayse Ozil's fascinating new book, which I hope to read over the Christmas break, was released only in late October:

Orthodox Christians in the Late Ottoman Empire: A Study of Communal Relations in Anatolia.Here

I noted another book on the endlessly debated Crusaders and Ottomans.

Finally, I spent some time commenting on this very careful and deeply fascinating study from Nicholas Doumanis:

Before the Nation: Muslim-Christian Coexistence and its Destruction in Late-Ottoman Anatolia,

which I discussed

here

. It is a very welcome study and deserves a place on every bibliography devoted to Muslim-Christian relations. Similar studies include one on Jews and Christians under Islam, noted

here

, and a recent study on, surprisingly, dhimmis in the West, noted

here

.

Liturgy:

A short little introductory handbook to the Byzantine liturgy was noted

here

, while

here

I noted the reprinting of one of the standard scholarly works in the field, Hugh Wybrew's

The Orthodox Liturgy: The Development of the Eucharistic Liturgy in the Byzantine Rite.

For the specialists among us, this

collection

of Byzantine liturgical manuscripts may be of interest.

Finally, for sacred architecture in Byzantium, see

here

.

Music:

The death, just two weeks ago, of the well known and Orthodox composer John Tavener put me in mind of several of his beautiful and deeply haunting pieces. For those see these two CDs (inter alia):

Tavener: Sacred Music

and

Best of John Tavener.

Developments in Byzantine chant were noted in

this

new book.

Spirituality:

In teaching a new class this year, I turned to one of the classics in the field,

The Way of a Pilgrim: The Jesus Prayer Journey Annotated & Explained,

which was discussed

here

.

Holy Trinity Jordanville recently published a series of small little book on the spiritual life, several of which I noted

here

.

The role of asceticism was discussed

here

, where I noted a welcome new book, that draws extensively on the East, by David Fagerberg:

On Liturgical Asceticism

The Rule of St. Basil the Great was again available in English after a long hiatus as I noted

here

.

Politics:

In addition, of course, to Aristotle Papanikolaou's new book (which actually came out at the end of last year),

The Mystical as Political: Democracy and Non-Radical Orthodoxy,

I also noted a new book on Orthodoxy and human rights

here

.

Author Interviews:

The lovely Edith Humphrey, Orthodox biblical scholar and theologian and author of

Scripture and Tradition: What the Bible Really Says,

was interviewed

here.

(My 2011 interview with her is

here

.)

My dear friend Bill Mills was interviewed here about the

Festschrift

he recently published about our mutual friend Michael Plekon,

Church and World: Essays in Honor of Michael Plekon.

The blogger Rod Dreher was interviewed

here

about his book

The Little Way of Ruthie Leming: A Southern Girl, a Small Town, and the Secret of a Good Life.

.

As noted above, Brenda  Llwellyn I hssen was intereviewed

here

about

They Who Give from Evil: The Response of the Eastern Church to Moneylending in the Early Christian Era.

Augustine Casiday was interviewed

here

about his big new collection

The Orthodox Christian World.

In 2014, I hope to interview him about his even more recent book on

Evagrius

.

Finally, just last weekend I

interviewed

Sarah Hinlicky Wilson about her book on Elisabeth Behr-Sigel.

Movies:

Finally, though it has been out for several years, I only got around to seeing

Ostrov (The Island),

this year with my students. My thoughts on it are

here

. If you've not seen it, do yourself a favor over Christmas and watch it.

This contribution is available at http://easternchristianbooks.blogspot.com/2013/11/christmas-2013-book-recommendations.html

Copyright is retained by the contributing author (follow above link for info on this piece).

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The Purpose of Life [at A Catholic Moment]

“All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God, and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is.”  The first reading from the book of wisdom muses on how men can gaze upon the beauty of the created world on earth and the universe itself and still not know God.  The moon and the stars in the night sky are beautiful.  The sunshine, the warmth of a fire, the many different kinds of plants and animals on earth and in the sea, and the billions of uniquely different human beings on the earth all bear God’s fingerprints.

Creation is like a love letter that God wrote for all of mankind to discover.  How could anyone gaze upon the intricate designs in nature, and how perfectly everything on the earth and in the heavens fit together, without understanding that an intelligent being is behind it all?  The vastness and complexity of the universe and the amazingly beautiful designs found in a single atom, or a cell in the human body, shows that God exists in all things.  Scientists recently discovered a set of gears that are located deep within the nucleus of a single human cell, that is almost an exact replica of the gears in an automobile engine.  This microscopic set of gears operate much like a car’s engine to propel the nucleus around inside a single human cell.  The complexity of human DNA is just now only beginning to be discovered and understood, but if the human DNA in your body were to be uncoiled, it would reach from the sun to the planet Pluto and back 17 times.

Scientists have studied the natural world for thousands of years, but in recent times the knowledge of the created world has been greatly accelerated, and yet many scientists still do not recognize the artist behind the masterpiece of the universe.   Today’s reading from the book of Wisdom still applies in our world today.  There is really nothing new under the sun.  Mankind can still refuse to recognize God even after admiring the beauty and complexity found in nature.  The words from the first reading from the book of Wisdom says, “For if they so far succeeded in knowledge that they could speculate about the world, how did they not more quickly find it’s Lord?”  And that is a very good question.

The purpose of life is to know God and to love Him and serve Him.  (cc: 1, 68)  Atheists and agnostics have not yet come to understand this most elemental fact of human life.  (cc: 2123-2128)  They have really missed the boat, no matter how intelligent they may be.  And that is exactly what Jesus is talking about in today’s gospel.  Lk 17: 26-27

“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.”  He went on to explain that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were carrying on with life as usual when the cities were utterly destroyed by fire and brimstone.  Jesus warns us to remember Lot’s wife and not look back or try to retrieve anything when it happens.  Honestly, we need to pay attention to this even though most people think the end of the world could not possibly happen in their lifetime, you never know.

At the very end of the gospel Christ tells us that two people will be in bed asleep and one will be taken and the other will not, or two women will be grinding flour and one will be taken and one will be left.  This may not sound fair, or loving but Christ himself makes it clear that not everyone will be found worthy to go with him.

His last remark is puzzling when the disciples asked, “Where, Lord?”  He replied, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather.”  Doesn’t that sound just like the attacks that the Catholic church is currently under throughout the world?  Especially in the United States where our religious freedom is being attacked by federal law.  The vultures in the federal courts have gathered around the church that contains and protects the body of Jesus Christ.  However, the church is also under attack in many other places throughout the world, but Christ assures us that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

This contribution is available at http://www.acatholic.org/the-purpose-of-life-is-to-know-god-to-love-him-and-serve-him/

Copyright is retained by the contributing author (follow above link for info on this piece).

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Kiotsuke! [at warriorsworlddad]

The students gather at the edge of the Judo mat in single row. The higher ranks are to the left of the instructor. The instructor looks the class over and gives a nod to the most senior student who yells, “Kiotsuke!”

Ready to train!

The entire class comes to attention, eyes forward. Ideally they are prepared in body and mind for the training that is about to begin. “Kiotsuke” is Japanese and can be translated as “Attention” but a better translation is “Prepare Your Spirit!”

Every person needs to Prepare Their Spirit for each and every day of their life. We all need to make a conscious decision that we will be engaged mentally, physically and spiritually in our daily activities. Unfortunately it is all too easy to merely go through the motions.

At work and at school we can put ourselves on autopilot (or in a coma) and glide through the day physically present but mentally somewhere else. The worries of life, fatigue and boredom, all these are an obstacle to our full active participation in our life.

“Carpe Diem” is Latin for Seize the Day. It is proclaimed forcefully urging us to Reach out and grab the opportunities that life brings. Put fear and trepidation aside and

“Boldly Go Where You Have Not Gone Before!”

Use the Gifts and Talents you have been given by God and have developed by Study and Practice to make a Difference in Your Life and the Lives of Others around you. Many of us want to do that but we are stopped by an uncertainty of what we should do Next. In reality it’s not what we should do next but what we Should Have Done Before.

When the Apostles asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He replied,

“ Our Father,

Who art in Heaven.

Hallowed be thy Name.

Thy kingdom come

Thy will be done …”

God the Father’s will Not Jesus the Son’s will!

Not the Apostles will or my will.

The Our Father tells us how to Seize the Day, where to Boldly Go and How to Prepare Our Spirits. We simply need to seek to do what God wants us to do each and every moment of our life. This is a life lived Simply even if it is Not Easy!

Humility is our acknowledgment that the Best way to live our lives is according to God’s Loving Plan for Us. When we do this we will be the Best Us we can possibly be. And the really Good News is God stands ready to help us with His Strength, Wisdom and Grace.

So Kiotsuke, Carpe Diem and Go Boldly Forth!

This contribution is available at http://warriorsworlddad.com/

Copyright is retained by the contributing author (follow above link for info on this piece).

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Table of Contents

New Evangelists Monthly #12 December 2013

All articles

Forward

We are the Fools

A Sacramental Life in Christ

Time

This is My Calling, This is My Vocation

Purgatory: are Roman Catholics losing our religion?

Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room

Prelude to Christmas - Suffering with Joy

50 Years Later

I Am a Sinner

Information I Must Share

Original Unity of Man and Woman: Catechesis on the Book of Genesis by Pope John Paul II

Arguments You Thought Were Too Dumb to Refute

A Prayer For Difficult People

In Defense of Decorating for Christmas in Advent

Elf on the Shelf and Santa Claus - What are They Really Teaching Children?

Labyrinth of Discernment

Of Vestments and Golf Clubs

Behold, Your Mother

Abbey Visit (High School Seminary Parents' Day)

The Best Thanksgiving, Ever!

Sorting Through Emotions

Advent Resources for Children

The Three Great Dangers of Evangelizing through Beauty

Listening to One in Three

My Mother, My Hero

The 10 Commandments and the New Law in Catholic Teaching

Merry "Xmas"

The Other Polish Cardinal: Karol Wojtyla's Visit to Wisconsin

Little Lamb Who Made Thee?

The Blood

Catholics! Some of the Members are Wandering Away!

Advent 2013 & Catholic Feasts

Discovering the Image of God Within

Things I Am Thankful For, In No Particular Order

Reflection: Year of Faith - I Believe in God (Part II)

We Are Our Own Worse Enemy

Communing with the Communion of Saints

Kevin Lee, RIP

The Family That Prays The Rosary Together

The Washington Post and I agree on the China one child policy. Could we agree on more?

Heaven My Home

Beware the Slippery Slope of C.S. Lewis

What You See Every Day

The Mystery of This Water and Wine

A visit to the cemetery

Illuminating the Minds of the Worldly with the Light of Christ

Furthering God's Kingdom

You shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of

Advent: The Beginning of the Liturgical Year & Source of Rich Meditations

What you may not know about Christmas

Agony and Ecstasy both lift us up to God

Bring Christ to Others

7 Quick Saintly Takes

Addicted to Life

The Power of Managing a Household Well

Embracing the Idea of Eternal Life

Random Catholicity

Understanding the Kingdom

Anna Marie

The Humbling Music of "ma"...

Making the Switch to Christian Radio

Three Men I Greatlty Admire

Do Bad Math Teachers Go to Hell?

The 50th Anniversary of the Death of C.S. Lewis

Looking at women

Up A Tree

Why Pope Francis Can't Fix Marriage in 5 Easy Steps

The King and His Crooks

Thoughts for Sunday {Christ has come}

Monsters and What They Mean to Me Right Now

Do You Think I'm Beautiful?

Praying With Our Kids ~ Preparing Them For Reconciliation

The Ninety-Nine Left Behind

Free Will

Advent: To Come

The Future Me

Memories of a Geisha

Vulnerability with Friends

Spiritual Dryness and Salt of the Earth: Let's Talk Turkey

Love Thee, Notre Dame

This Christmas

Be Merciful

Where Have All The Men Gone? The Quest for Authentic Fatherhood

Christmas 2013: Book Recommendations

The Purpose of Life

Kiotsuke!