A quick word of thanks for your patience, as the Blog has been down for three days. We got hacked in a bad way. Terrible malicious software brought the whole server down. Every thing had to be cleansed and copied to a new server. We are back on Firefox, Safari and Explorer but Google Chrome is still mad at us. Hopefully they too will be back on line after we prove we’ve been cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb, and also by IT experts!
It is impossible for us to know why we were attacked, it may be something that was said or posted here or it may just be that it was “our turn.” Either way, Satan has been busy and he and his minions will answer to God someday for things far more serious than this, but not to exclude things like this.
And that leads me to today’s commentary on a Mercedes Benz commercial. In the video below Satan appears with promises to the whole world and all its pleasures if the man in the video will just sign on the dotted line. Not only will the man get a free Mercedes Benz but he will also get all the things that are supposed to go with a Benz: beautiful women, caviar, luxurious receptions, fancy homes, access, victory, popularity, you name it. “It’s all yours! Just sign here!” says Satan.
But the man considers the price of a Mercedes without the devil as a partner versus everything with the Devil as a partner. Do not miss the meaning of the name “Mercedes” which means mercy, and Benz which is a name meaning “brave”. Mercy is worth more than anything else, no matter how pleasurable in passing. For the mercy of the Lord endures forever, while the trinkets of the devil are but for a time. You might say, in financial terms, mercy has positive leverage while the Devil’s payouts have diminishing returns. If the Devil gives you a payout, you’ll watch it diminish with each passing day. But God’s grace and mercy grow to yield an abundant harvest. There may be the payout of the cross and deferred pleasure, but wait till you say the harvest. Thus once must bravely (“benz”) reach out for Mercy (“mercedes”).
Thus, in the commercial the man considers all Satan’s trinkets against the glories of mercy and he chooses mercy. He know the cost, but considers it acceptable if he can but have mercy for himself, without the Devil as a partner. How about you?
A final detail worth noting in the commercial: At the bottom of the proposed contract held out by Satan is a backward Chi Rho (The Greek abbreviation for “Christ”) and the Latin Inscription Sigilla posuere magisterdiabolus et daemones (Master seal of the Devil and demons. The backward initials recalls an image of the anti-Christ. And the Latin is more literally means “A seal to set the Devil and demons (as) Master.”
In the end that is the choice. You will have the master your choose. And of this the Lord reminds we must choose one and only one:
No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. (Matt 6:24)
Whose coins are in your pocket and whose seal is on them? The choice is yours. You are free to choose, but you are not free NOT to choose. You can have it all now, or store it up bravely for later:
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matt 6:19-21)
Why not be Benz (brave) and choose Mercedes (mercy)?
In the end the Scripture is fulfilled for the man which says, Resist the Devil and he will flee (James 4:2)
Maryanne Pope (7th Birthday) Nancy Pope Nancy Geiman in 1967
At today’s Ash Wednesday Masses we hear the ancient acclamation, as ashes are imposed: Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.
Today’s beginning of the Lenten season puts before us an urgent plea that we should be sober and watchful of our soul and its condition, for the form of this world is passing away (1 Cor 7:31).
Simply put, we are going to die and we need to be made ready to meet our God. Recall some of the urgency present in the readings:
Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart…..
Sound the trumpet in Zion!
We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God!
Behold, now is the day of salvation.
Yes, Now, not later. There is an urgency announced that we must hear and heed.
What’s in a picture? The Picture at the upper right was taken April 2, 1967. It was my sister, Mary Anne’s 7th birthday. Ash Wednesday morning the picture appeared on my screen-saver slideshow and I thought, “There it is, a picture of passing things.” For, as you look at the picture know this, there is absolutely nothing and no one in the picture that is still here in this world today. My sister who is blowing out the candles died in 1991, tragically in a fire. My mother who leans over her died in 2005 (also tragically). My maternal Grandmother, who is seated died of cancer in the late 1970s. But that is not all. This building in which the picture was taken was demolished 8 years ago. My Father who is taking the picture died in 2007. The Polaroid camera with which he took the photo is long gone as well. There is simply nothing in this picture that any longer exists in this world, and there is no one in the photo who still walks this earth. Yes, the form of this world is passing away. Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.
The Church’s reminder to us is a strong rejoinder to most of our priorities. Most of the things we think are so important, are not really that important in the long run. Most of the things that claim our attention are not all that critical either. We like Martha, are anxious about many things. We worry about our money, our house, our car, our physical health, how we look, what people think of us, and so forth. But none of this really matters all that much in the end. All these things pass.
But what about what really does matter? What of our soul and its well being? What of our direction? Is it heavenward? What are we doing with our life? Where are we headed? Do we know God, love and serve him? Are our eyes on the prize of God and heaven? These things get little attention in most people’s lives. The unessential and passing things are our passion, and the most essential and critical things are all but ignored.
In Lent the Church says stop. Be thoughtful and earnest. You are going to die. What are you doing to get ready to meet God? Your body and the things of this world are but dust, a mere passing reality. But what of your soul? Are you caring for your soul? Is it nourished on God’s Word and Holy Communion? Are the medicines of prayer, Scripture, Sacraments and holy fellowship (cf Acts 2:24) being applied so that your soul stands a chance?
Remember…..REMEMBER……you are dust, you are going to die. Get ready. Now is the time, be earnest about it. Be thoughtful and live a reflective life that considers carefully what your decisions amount to, where you are headed, what your life means. Too many people live unreflected lives, never thinking much on these things. But not you. You have heard the trumpet sound in Zion and the Church has implored you. Will you listen? Will I? Where are you going? Where will you be when the last trumpet sounds?
Immutemur habitu in cinere et cilicio; jejunemus, et ploremus ante Dominum; quia multum misericors est dimittere peccata nostra Deus noster.
Let us change our garments for ashes and sackcloth; let us fast and lament before the Lord; for our God is plentious in mercy to forgive our sins.
The video below is a good example of how we sometimes follow smaller rules and overlook bigger ones in the process.
The Lord Jesus often had to endure scorn from the people of his day that he overlooked certain precise matters of the law, often Sabbath observances. But those who rebuked him for this were guilty of far greater violations. For example,
1. [Jesus] went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.” Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus (Mk 3:1-6)
2. Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone. (Luke 11:42)
3. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” (Lk 13:14-16)
4. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. (Matt 23:24-25).
Yes, straining gnats and swallowing camels, a kind of maximizing the minimum and minimizing the maximum. Note that in the first example, they are actually planning to kill Jesus for healing on the Sabbath!
But perhaps my favorite, all time illustration of this awful human tendency is in the Gospel of John:
Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out… (John 18:28-29)
Notice, they are plotting to kill a just an innocent man, indeed, they are plotting to kill God, they are acting in wickedness, envy, jealousy, hatred and murderous anger, but their main concern is to avoid ritual uncleanness! Yes, straining gnats and swallowing camels.
Now we who are pious and observant need to be careful with this tendency. For it sometimes happens that, congratulating ourselves over lesser matters, we can either offend or neglect in weightier ones. Perhaps I get to Mass each Sunday (which is a grave obligation), perhaps I pray the rosary (a highly commendable practice), perhaps I tithe, also commendable. And these are things that ought to be done (one is commanded, one is commended, and one is a precept). But what if, at the same time I am hateful toward certain people at work, unforgiving to a family member, and insensitive to the poor?
But the danger could be that, in effect, I let my observance of certain things all me to, in effect “check off the God box” and figure, “I’ve got the righteousness thing down” since I went to Mass, gave an offering and even prayed the rosary this week. Now these are good things, and should not be neglected, but they are not the only thing. And too often, very significant and serious things like love, mercy, forgiveness and charity can be set aside or neglected as I go on congratulating myself over other, sometimes lesser things.
This can happen in the other direct too wherein someone may congratulate themselves that they have advocated for the poor, spent the day working at a soup kitchen etc., and thus think they have no need to look at the fact that they are living say, unchastely, all shacked up, or not getting to Mass.
But we cannot buy God off like this, doing certain things (usually things we like) in way that seeks to paper over other things we’d rather not observe or look at. In the end, the whole counsel of God is important.
We must avoid the sinful tendency to a sort of substitutionalism, or swapping, maybe even a trading on the holy, thinking we can observe a few things and overlook others.
Culturally too we see a lot of strange examples of this. We obsess nationally over whether or not people smoke because it might be bad for their health and then ignore the national health consequences of promiscuous behavior which spreads AIDS, and countless venereal diseases and leads to abortion. We save the baby seals and shred the baby humans by the millions. We deplore (rightfully) the death of several thousand each year by gun murder, and call the murder of over fifty million babies a constitutional right. The school nurse requires permission to dispense aspirin but none to deploy the dangerous abortifacient morning after pill. We talk about the dignity of women and yet pornography flourishes. We worry endlessly about our weight and physical appearance of our bodies that will die, and care little for our souls that will live. We decry carbon footprints and fly on jets to the global warming conference at the sprawling luxury convention center complex. We use compact bulbs to help save the planet, but fill them with poisonous mercury. etc….
Straining gnats and swallowing camels. To be sure, as the Lord says above, we ought not neglect smaller things wholly. But simply observing lesser things doesn’t give us the right to ignore greater things.
Salus animarum suprema lex (The salvation of souls is the highest Law). And thus, while little things mean a lot, we must always remember not to allow them to wholly eclipse greater things.
The ideal for which to aim is an integrated state where in the lesser serves the greater and is subsumed into it. St. Augustine rightly observed:
Quod Minimum, minimum est, Sed in minimo fidelem esse, magnum est.
St. Augustine – De Doctrina Christiana, IV,35
(What is a little thing, is (just) a little thing. But to be faithful in a little thing is a great thing).
Thus, notice, the lesser things are in service of the greater thing, in this case fidelity. And thus we rightly ask who some of the lesser things we do are really in service of the greater things like, just, love, mercy, fidelity, kindness, generosity and such. Otherwise we run the risk of straining gnats and swallowing camels.
Enjoy this video which illustrates how the one rule (silence in the library) is observed but to the total neglect of every other virtue.
There is a lesser known hymn, at least in Catholic circles, which is remarkably fit for our times since it both challenges us to soberly see the choice before us and also encourages us that the victory is already our if we choose Christ Jesus. I would like to present the verses of the hymn and supply commentary throughout. First a little background.
The hymn, Once to Every Man and Nation is a gloss on a poem written by James Russell Lowell. He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1819, and his father was the pastor of the West Congregational Church in Boston for 55 years. Graduating from Harvard in 1838 he became a lawyer, poet, and editor of Atlantic Monthly. He was also an ardent champion of abolition.
In 1876, President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed him ambassador to Spain and, in 1880, to Great Britain. He was in great demand as a public speaker….
Written over 160 years ago, Once to Every Man and Nation is a poignant reminder of Who is in control of history, and Who will ultimately write the last chapter.
The Poem by Lowell’s that served as the basis for this hymn was titled, “The Present Crisis,” and spoke to the national crisis over slavery leading up to the Civil War.
Lowell was right, the darkness of slavery could not ultimately prevail of the light of truth. And thus this hymn can also serve to summon us now to courage and remind us that the increasing moral darkness of these present times cannot ultimately stand. The light of day will return. We have already won the victory in Christ Jesus.
And now the hymn, my comments are in red.
Once to every man and nation,
comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood,
for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, some great decision,
offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever,
’twixt that darkness and that light.
Yes, we have to decide. There are only two ways, God or the World. Tertium non datur (no third way is given). The Lord says, No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. (Mat 6:24). Of old Joshua warned, But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. (Jos 24:15). And James also warns: You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (James 4:4)
And yet, far too many want two lovers, want to serve the world and get it’s passing blessings, and also inherit God’s blessings. But there comes a moment to decide.
And now as never before we see how the path of this world is diverging steadily and inexorably away from God. Sin, evil, open rebellion, sexual confusion, secularism, atheism, shredded families, and a growing tyranny of relativism and false tolerance are poisoning our culture. And secular culture increasingly sees the light of faith as harsh and obnoxious, something to be ridiculed, marginalized and ultimately criminalized.
Our choice is ever clearer and the distinctions are ever more stark. It is time for Catholics, for the Church to stake out far more clearly our choice for God. If there ever was a time when lukewarm would do, (no such time has ever really existed), it is surely not now. And the word of the Lord is true which warns by way of rebuke to the lukewarm:
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. (Rev 3:14-19)
It is going to be a lot tougher in the near future to be a Catholic, and its going to take fiery believers who are prepared to speak the truth in love, endure persecution and ridicule, and suffer loss. The Lord has been purifying and pruning his Church in recent years for just this moment. It is decision time. Once to every man and nation, Church, comes the moment to decide.
Then to side with truth is noble,
when we share her wretched crust,
Once her cause brought fame and profit,
and was prosperous to be just;
Now it is the brave man chooses
while the coward stands aside,
Till the multitude make virtue
of the faith they had denied.
In a way it is glorious time to be a Catholic, to be a Christian. Perhaps in the past one could even be praised for being religious, and in the once Judeo/Christian setting, religion was gain.
Now all that is changing and there is a glory in choosing God when that choice brings only ridicule, what the song calls “wretched crust.” It’s one thing to be a Christian when it is easy, it is a far more noble and glorious thing to be so when it is hard, even dangerous.
The distinction between courageous and the cowards to which the song refers is once again becoming clear. It is like Gideon of old who had an army of 30,000 and faced the Midianites who had 60,000. But said to him, “Your Army is too large. Tell the cowards to go home” (Judges 7:3). So Gideon dismissed any of the soldiers who didn’t think they were up for this battle. 20,000 left. Now with only 10,000 God said to Gideon, “Your army is still too large, lest you think you would win this battle on your own.” So God had Gideon observe the men at the stream as they drank water. Some drank leisurely and others lapped up the water like dogs! “That’s your army,” said the Lord, “300 men and I will be with you.” Gideon won that day with three hundred men whom the Lord had chosen. God thinned his ranks, and chose only a remnant as his true soldiers. (cf Judges 6 & 7).
Yes it is a time to stand up and be counted. It is a time for courage. It is a time to be prepared to suffer loss and endure ridicule. It is a glorious time in the valley of decision (cf Joel 3:14).
By the light of burning martyrs,
Christ, Thy bleeding feet we track,
Toiling up new Calv’ries ever
with the cross that turns not back;
New occasions teach new duties,
time makes ancient good uncouth,
They must upward still and onward,
who would keep abreast of truth.
We walk the path of Christ who said, If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. (John 15:18-21)
If, for a brief time, the world had some tolerance for Christ, and his followers, that is going away. Frankly, we are returning to the normal state for true Christians, a state that has us despised by the world. Too many Christians spend too much time wanting to have the love and respect of this world. No can do, unless you’re willing to compromise and outright surrender the Gospel.
So, welcome to the normal Christ life.
The hymn speaks of times like these which make ancient good “uncouth.” That is, as our world heads steadily downward into unbelief and the rejection of God’s truth those of us who remain with the Lord’s vision are considered “uncouth” in other words, rude, boorish, ill-mannered, hateful bigoted, homophobic, intolerant, i.e. “uncouth.”
But it is not we who have changed, nor has God, the world has slouched toward Sodom, and “ancient good” and ancient wisdom is ridiculed as uncouth. We who would dare doubt the cultural radicals are assailed in this way.
And we ought to be sober about it. For mere name-calling soon becomes demonizing and paves the way for a persecution about which the persecutors feel self-righteous. Marginalization soon replaces ridicule, and criminalization follows marginalizing. Say hello to more assaults like the HHS mandate and so called “hate-crime” legislation directed against biblical Christians who still follow the “ancient good” now seen by the radicals as “uncouth.”
Though the cause of evil prosper,
yet the truth alone is strong;
Though her portion be the scaffold,
and upon the throne be wrong;
Yet on that scaffold sways the future,
and behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow,
keeping watch above His own.
The truth will out. The light always conquers the darkness, the dawn always returns after every dark night.
Every now and again on this blog I received scoffing remarks from secularists and certain militant atheist who laugh and ridicule, saying that the days of the Church are over, that the world has come of age and no longer believes our “infantile myths.” Yes they scoff that our days are done and close to disappearing and will soon be gone forever.
Such remarks not only show no knowledge of God, but also no knowledge of history. The Church has perdured through the rise and fall of many civilizations, many nations, many philosophies have come and gone, risen and fallen; the Church alone remains. And for everyone who has announced the the Church’s doom, they have gone and the Church is here, the Gospel is still being preached, and the Sacraments celebrated. The Church has buried every one of Her undertakers. Where is Caesar now? Where is Napoleon now? Where is the Soviet Socialist Republic?
The darkness cannot win, it is always destined to be scattered by the Light of an upcoming day. The hymn refers to martyrs on the gallows, saying, on that scaffold sways the future. The darkness of unbelief is not natural to the human family and the light of belief will always return.
I do not know what what will ultimately become western culture, but whether it stays or goes, the Church will surely be here. Perhaps it is needful that she should be pruned for a time, or her numbers even reduced, as was Gideon’s army, but reduce though it was, Gideon’s army won the day against overwhelming odds.
The Church is indefectable, by the Lord’s promise (cf Matthew 16:18) And we carry the same promise, as did the army of Gideon, the promise of the Lord who said, and I will be with you (Judges 7:7; Matt 28:20). The darkness of these times cannot win, the light wins, He always wins.
Here is the hymn. The tune is “Ebeneezer” and the movie clip is from a Polish Movie on the Christian Martyrs of Rome.
We live in times and in a culture where maturity is often significantly delayed. In fact there are many in our culture who never grow up. I have argued elsewhere that one paradigm of our culture is to that it is fixated on teenage years. Fixation is a psychological description of a person who has not successfully navigated one of the stages of infancy and youth and thus remains stuck in the thinking and patterns of that stage, to one degree or another. Out culture’s fixation on teenage issues and attitudes is manifest in some of the following:
Irrational aversion to authority
Refusal to use legitimately use the authority one has
Titillation and irresponsibility regarding sexuality
General irresponsibility and a lack of personal accountability
Demanding all of one’s rights but avoiding most of one’s responsibilities
Blaming others for one’s own personal failings
Being dominated by one’s emotions and carried away easily by the passions
Obsession with fairness evidenced by the frequent cry, “It’s not fair!”
Expecting others and government agencies to do for me what I should do for myself
Aversion to instruction
Irrational rejection of the wisdom of elders and tradition
Obsession with being and looking young, aversion to becoming or appearing old
Lack of respect for elders
Obsession with having thin and young looking bodies
Glorification of irresponsible teenage idols
Inordinate delay of marriage, widespread preference for the single life
Now it is true that some of the things above have proper adult version. For example, the “obsession with fairness” matures and becomes a commitment to work for justice. Aversion to authority can be matured to a healthy and respectful insistence that those in authority be accountable to those they serve. And so forth. You may choose to take issue with one of more of the above and you may wish to add some distinctions. It is also a fact that not every teenager has all the issues listed above. All that is fine, but the point here is that the culture in which we live seems stuck on a lot of teenage attitudes and maturity is significantly delayed on account of it.
Some may also allege a kind of arrogance in my description of our culture as teenage. I accept that it is a less than flattering portrait of our culture and welcome your discussion of it. But I ask, if you reject the image of “teenage,” how would you describe our culture? Do you think that we live in an overall healthy and mature culture?
The Call to Maturity and the role of the Church – In the midst of all this is the expectation of the God through his Scriptures that we grow up, that we come to maturity, to the fullness of faith, to an adult faith. Further, the Church is expected, as an essential part of her ministry, to bring this about in us through God’s grace.
In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul has this to say:
And [Christ] gave some as Apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood to the extent of the full stature of Christ, so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming. Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ(Eph 4:11-15)
Coming to maturity is a basic task in the Christian walk. We are expected grow and come to an adult faith. The Letter to the Hebrews has something very similar to say:
You are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Heb 5:11-14)
Notice that the Ephesians text says that Christ has given Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones unto this. The Church is thus expected in a certain sense to be “the adult in the room.” She is to summon us to live responsible, mature lives. She summons us to be accountable before others, to be sober, serious, and deeply respectful of God’s authority over us by living lives that are obedient to the faith. She teaches us, by God’s grace, to master our emotions and gain authority over our passions. She holds forth for us the wisdom of tradition and teachings of the Scriptures and insists on reverence for these. She insists on correct doctrine and (as the text from Ephesians says) that we no longer be infants, tossed by the waves of the latest fads and stinking thinking, and that we not be swept along by every wind of false teaching arising from human illusions. We are to be stable and mature in our faith and judge the world by it.
Yes, the Church has the rather unpleasant but necessary task of being the adult in the room when the world is mired in things teenage and will often exhibit aversion to authority, rules, and cry out that orthodox teaching is “unfair” or “old fashioned.”
But here we encounter something of an internal problem. For the Church has faced the grave temptation to “put on jeans” and adopt the teenage fixations. Sadly, not all leaders in the Church have taken seriously their obligation to “equip the holy ones for the work of ministry….until we all attain to the unity of faith and….to mature manhood and the…..full stature of Christ.” Preferring popularity to the negative cries of how one or more Biblical teaching is “unfair!,” many teachers and pastors of the faith have succumbed to the temptation to water down the faith and to tolerate grave immaturity on the part of fellow Catholics.
It would seem that things are improving but we have a long way to go in terms of vigorously reasserting the call to maturity within the Church. Corruptio optimi pessima– the corruption of the best, is the worst. Clergy and other Church leaders, catechists and teachers, must insist on their own personal maturity and hold each other accountable in attaining to it. We must fulfill our role of equipping the faithful unto mature faith by first journeying to an adult faith ourselves.
The Church does not simply include clergy and religious. Lay people must also take up their proper role as mature, adult Christians active in renewing the temporal order. Many already have done this magnificently. More must follow and be formed in this regard. Our culture is in need of well-formed Christians to restore a greater maturity, sobriety and responsibility to our culture.
By God’s grace we are called to be the adult in the room.
I and twelve other pastors, have been meeting recently to embark on a period and plan for renewal in our parishes. which focuses back on the fundamental mission of the Church, and of our parishes, and which seeks to restore a kind of back to basics approach to Church life.
For too often many parishes are reduced from being lighthouses to clubhouses; from being thermostats which set the temperature of culture, to thermometers that merely record the temperature; from being places where Christ is central, and it is his wedding, to being places where Christ is merely an invited guest at our wedding feast.
Too often we maximize the minimum and minimize the maximum. We spend all sorts of energy and resources arranging spaghetti dinners and Superbowl fellowships, and too little time feeding our souls and taking heed of the true spiritual contest between life and death.We argue with each other over minutia such as what color to paint the Ladies restroom or who didn’t clean the kitchen, and and have no real answers to the world’s arguments against us. We contend against each other instead of instead of the principalities and powers in the high places.
Well you get the point. So easily we get lost in the weeds. And even as numbers continue to erode in most parishes, we just do “business as usual.” It’s time for some renewal and to act differently. Thus twelve parishes are coming together to begin to pray and reflect on our central mission and how to act both locally and regionally to better live our of our mission and get back more whole-heartedly to the the basics pillars of Church life.
And what is the central mission of the Church? Stated briefly it is to bring people to a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ; it to disciple them in such a way that they enter into a life changing and transformative relationship with Jesus Christ. This is our fundamental task. It is not merely to have meetings in the hall, dinners in the cafeteria, sponsor fundraisers etc. As the Pope recently warned, it is not enough to give turkeys to the poor at Christmas, we have to give Christ, and feed the poor not just materially but spiritually.
Our fundamental mission as a Church is to lead people to encounter Jesus Christ in such a way that they are changed. The life of the Christian and the Church. This personal and communal encounter with Christ is offered through Word, Sacrament, fellowship and prayer. And that leads us to the fact that the transformative relationship with Christ rests on four pillars or practices.
These four pillars, a kind of four-point plan, are found in Acts 2. Peter has just preached a sermon where he warns his listeners to repent and believe the Good News. In effect he has led them to encounter Jesus Christ. They, having encountered him in his Word, are now cut tot he quick and ask what they must do to be saved. He said to them: “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (Acts 2:40-41).
Now they are baptized and in the Church of the Living of God. And unlike some of our Protestant brethren who hold a kind of “once saved, always saved” mentality, the text does not stop there. These new disciples now have a life to lead that will help them be ready to meet God, that will help them to set their house in order. And so in the very next verse we read:
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42)
So here is our “four-point plan” for setting our house in order once we have come to faith. There are four components listed below, four pillars if you will:
The Apostles Teaching
Fellowship
The Breaking of the Bread
Prayer
Please note that the text says that they “devoted” themselves to these four pillars of the Christian life. The Greek word is προσκαρτερέω (próskartereo) which means means to continue to do something with intense effort, despite difficulty. It means to devote oneself to, to keep on, to persist in. It is from prós = “towards, and krátos, = “prevailing strength”). Thus what is described here is that they are consistently showing strength which prevails. They are staying in a fixed direction. They did not merely practice the four pillars occasionally, or when they felt like it, or when the time seemed right. They were consistent, they were devoted to this four-fold rule of life. Lets look at each pillar in turn as we consider how to set our house in order:
The Apostles Teaching– This first pillar of the Christian life is fascinating not only for what it says but also what it does not say. When we think of the “Apostles’ Teaching” we first think of the four Gospels and the the New Testament Epistles. And these would surely be true components of the Apostles’ teaching for a modern Christian. But notice that the text does not say that they devoted themselves to Scripture, but rather to the Apostles’ Teaching. For a Catholic, the Apostolic Teaching consists not only in the New Testament Scriptures but also the Sacred Tradition which comes to us from the Apostles and which has been understood and articulated by the living Magisterium of the Church. The Protestants would largely interpret this first pillar as an exhortation to read our Bible every day and base our lives on it. This is a true understanding but only partial . The early Christians as you recall did not have the New Testament in final form from day one and could not have lived this text in such as way. The Bible as we now have it was not yet completed edited or canonized. Yet they had received the Apostolic teaching through having it preached to them by the Apostles and their deputed representatives, the bishops, priests and deacons. St. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: Sothen, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter (2 Thess 2:15). Therefore the Catholic application of this first pillar is truer and fuller wherein we are devoted to the Apostles teaching not in Scripture alone but also in Sacred Tradition as passed down and interpreted by the living magisterium of the Church. To live this first pillar with devotion means to set our house in order by carefully and diligently studying what the apostles handed on to us. We do this by the daily and devoted reading of Scripture and/or the diligent study of the faith through the Catechism or other approved manuals. We should make it a daily habit that we are reading scripture and studying the faith, attempting to grow in our knowledge of what God has revealed through his prophets and apostles and then basing our life on what we learn and repenting of what is not in line with the revealed truth. Pillar number 1 is being devoted to the Apostles teaching.
The Fellowship – the word fellowship may be a little weak here as a translation of the Greek: τῇ κοινωνίᾳ (te koinonia). The more theological or sacred way of translating this word is probably ” a communion.” It would seem that members of a bowling league could have fellowship but the sacred gathering of the faithful in the reality called the “ekklesia” or “Church” is better termed a “communion.” or in Latin “communio.” It is a gathering into one of the members of Christ’s Body the Church, a communion also of Christ with his Bride the Church. The early Christians, according to this text devoted themselves to this communal gathering. Hence the second pillar of the Christian life whereby we are helped to get our house in order is “fellowship,” or better, “communio.” The Commandment is clear: Keep holy the Sabbath. It doesn’t make sense to think that we can disregard one of the Ten Commandments and then claim our house is in order. Some argue that this commandment does not say explicitly that we should be in Church on Sunday. But Leviticus 23:3 says regarding this Commandment, “You shall do no work and you shall keep sacred assembly, it is the Sabbath of the Lord.” Sacred assembly means “Church” it is the fellowship, the koinonia, the communio. No way around it. God expects us to be in his house on our Sabbath which is Sunday. The Book of Hebrews also says, “And let us not neglect to meet together regularly and to encourage one another, all the more since the Day draws near.” See here how the Last “Day” and being prepared for it is linked to “meeting together regularly.” So the second pillar of the Christian life is to get our house in order by getting to Mass every Sunday and Holy Day. In the Mass we both encourage others and are encouraged by them. We also receive instruction in the Word of God by the anointed and deputed ministers of that Word, the bishops, priests and deacons. We also fulfill the third pillar to which we now turn our attention
The Breaking of the Bread – The phrase “the breaking of the bread” in the New Testament usually meant the reception of Holy Communion, or the Eucharist. The worthy reception of Holy communion is directly connected to having our House in Order for there are wonderful promises made to those who are faithful in this regard. Jesus makes a promise in John 6:40 that Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I will raise him up on the last day. That’s quite a promise in terms of being ready! Jesus is saying that frequent reception of the Eucharist is essential preparation for the Last Day. Jesus also warns us not to stay away from “the breaking of the bread” or Holy communion: Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in you (Jn 6:53). Without Holy Communion we’re not going to make it. Gotta receive regularly to be ready! We cannot claim that our house is in order i we willfully stay away from Holy Communion. By extension we must allow this reference to one sacrament (Holy Communion) to be a reference to all the Sacraments. Clearly a Catholic approach to this third pillar of preparation would include being baptized and confirmed. It would include weekly reception of Holy Communion, regular confession, anointing of the sick when necessary, and, where possible, the reception of Holy Matrimony or Holy Orders. The Sacraments are our spiritual medicine. We have a bad condition called concupiscence (a string inclination to sin). It is like spiritual high blood pressure or diabetes. Hence we have to take our medicine and be properly nourished. The sacraments, as our medicine help us to avoid dying from our sinful condition. So the Third pillar of the Christian life is to get our house in order by receiving Holy Communion worthily every Sunday and the other Sacraments at proper times.
Prayer– This final pillar requires more of us than just saying our prayers in some sort of ritual sense. The Greek word here is προσευχαῖς (Proseuchais) and is best translated just as we have it here: “Prayers” However the Greek root proseuche is from pros = toward or immediately before + euchomai= to pray or vow. But the prefix pros would convey the sense of being immediately before Him and hence the ideas of adoration, devotion, and worship are included. So prayer is understood more than just verbally uttering or saying one’s prayers. What is called for is worshipful, attentive and adoring prayer. Prayer is experiencing God’s presence. Jesus says of prayer that it is necessary for us lest we fall: Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation (Matt 26:41). Hence the fourth pillar is prayer whereby we putt our house in order through regular, worshipful, attentive and adoring prayer of God which serves as a kind of medicine lest we fall deeply into temptation.
So here are four basic pillars of preparation for the day of Judgment. It is a kind of back to basics plan for the Christian and for the Church. This serves as a basic vision for twelve parishes that can benefit from getting focused and learning to share a common vision so as to work together regionally and better serve our area. Parochialism is less possible today given the steady erosion of parishes. We have to have a common plan and work together. Pray for us.
The Archdiocese of Washington, DC is hosting daily reflections on its Facebook page for the Year of Faith. Have you missed them? Today we are starting the next weekly series on faith. Please visit our page and “like” us, so you can follow along with the rest of the series.
Theme: Friendship.
1. Can we be friends with God?
Friendship is the very basis of our relationship with God in Jesus Christ: “I no longer call you slaves…I have called you friends.” (Jn 15:15) One quality of friendship is an exchange of personal knowledge and openness. As St. Thomas Aquinas says, “It is proper to friendship that a man reveal his secrets to his friend: because friendship unites their affections, and of two hearts makes one.” Couldn’t you use a good friend right about now? Friends talk to one another; friends listen to one another. When was the last time you spoke to Jesus as a true friend and from your heart? He is listening.
2. Why is it good to share things with our friends?
Another mark of friendship is that we share our belongings with our friends. “A friend is another self,” so we help a friend as we would ourselves–which is part of willing and doing good for our friend. St. John asks, “But if any one has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 Jn 3:17) Think too of the great love God has for us. When we were His enemies, He cleansed and sanctified our hearts by the gift of the Holy Spirit, and thus made us His friends.
3. Do you find delight in the presence of God?
“It also belongs to friendship that a man delight in the presence of his friend, and rejoice in his words and deeds: also that he find in him consolation in all his troubles: hence it is especially to our friends that we have recourse in time of sorrow.” How true this is of our friendship with Jesus! When we look upon God in prayer with a loving gaze true delight arises in our hearts, and we are able to admire His goodness. This type of prayer is called contemplation. It makes us lovers of God, and it brings us amazing joy. Do you find delight in the presence of God? Does your friendship with Jesus bring you joy?
4. What if our friends hurt us?
At their best, friends are always trying to build one another up and seeking the others good. But we are not always at our best, and all too often we end up offending those we truly care about. Still, the bond of friendship can overcome even serious human failings because “love covers all offenses.” (Pr 10:21) Of course God’s love for us is the ultimate friendship, and likewise the ultimate example of forgiveness. Despite our countless offenses against Him, by His love we are pardoned and we can be restored to our undeserved status as friends of God. What is more, by our love for God we are called to love all who are His–all people, both our friends and our enemies.
5. Does friendship mean agreeing with my friend?
Another part of friendship is harmony with your friend. Friends often and easily unite their wills, even in the smallest things, and even if they are very different personalities. We are also friends with God. Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (Jn 14:15). Friendship with God means aligning our wills to His. But there is nothing burdensome or weary about agreeing with friends. In friendship, we aren’t oppressed by obligation, but moved by the weight of love. The Holy Spirit moves us to follow God’s commandments from the heart, with love. St. Paul says, “Whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14).
Please don’t forget to visit our Facebook page and “like” it to follow this week’s daily reflections on the theme “faith.”
I like many of you heard of a recent Pew Research Center survey on Abortion (released just before the March for Life) that presents discouraging results. The very title of their release was trumpeted by secular Media: Most Oppose Overturning Abortion Decision. That was the lead and really the only thing the secular media wanted to hear.
The actual Pew report is a lot more difficult to read and the results are hard to compare with other surveys since the wording of the questions is never held constant. For example, the exclusion of rape/incest clauses makes for different results. Like it or not most Americans are more sanguine about abortions in cases of rape and incest (rare though such cases are). Whether respondents are given such distinctions makes a difference, as do other factors. For example, many if not most Americans favor any number of restrictions on Abortion short of a total ban and, depending on how the questions are asked, the restrictions they favor come close to a general exclusion of Abortion as a legal option. Thus there are many subtleties in the context and wording of questions.
You can see the full Pew Report here:Roe v. Wade at 40 Frankly the report is bewildering to my eyes, pointing in many different directions and broken into so many categories. It is hard to draw any real conclusions at least to my amateur statistician eyes.
Ramesh Ponnuru writing in National review on-line has some of the following observations of the Pew Report that also help place the survey in context and which raise the problem of leading questions flawed premises that plague such surveys. His remarks are in bold black italics, my comments are plain red text. His full article is Here: How Not to Read Abortion Polls
Actually, Pew did not find that support for Roe has been increasing. It found less support for Roe than it did in 2005, which appears to be the last time it asked the question. The ABC/Washington Post poll also found declining support for Roe between 2005 and 2010.
But of course the lead headlines all suggest that support for legal abortion was growing, not declining. The impression on radio and TV news was that over 70% Americans want Roe to stay just as it is.
But the fact is that Roe and subsequent rulings that brought us Abortion on mere demand for all nine months of pregnancy has been steadily eroding as an unabridged legal right. This is because Americans, at many state levels, are insisting on and getting increasing restrictions both on the abortion industry, and the right to unrestricted abortion for all nine months.
Americans do not in practice provide unqualified support for Roe and abortion on demand away from the poll takers survey. Late term abortion are far more repugnant to Americans, as are abortions for crass reasons such as sex-selection. There are many things that will influence how a person answers the survey.
Other polling does not find any leftward shift. The University of Michigan’s polling finds no clear change from 1990 through 2008. The CBS/New York Times poll shows no movement between 2003 and 2012. Gallup shows no clear change in either direction from 2002 to 2012. (It also finds no pro-choice majority: In May of 2012, 59 percent of respondents told Gallup abortion should be legal in a few circumstances or illegal in all circumstances, while 38 percent said it should be legal in “all” or “most” circumstances.) Harris’s numbers show a movement in the pro-life direction from 1993 to 2009 on the question of under what circumstances abortion should be legal.
And here is a key point that makes surveys hard to read. Some surveys ask the question of support for Roe in an all or nothing, up or down fashion. Other surveys introduce circumstances. And it would appear that the circumstances make a lot of difference.
And when poll takers do not add any circumstances or qualifiers to the question it is less clear what qualifiers the respondents read into the question. For example, if a person is asked to vote up or down on Roe it is important to know if they think Roe allows abortion only in the first three months or if they know that Roe permits abortion right up to the last moment in the womb. Far fewer Americans support abortion in month 8 than in week 4. Further, far fewer Americans support abortion for sex-selection than due to the health of the mother.
Simply reporting that a percentage of Americans support or don’t support Roe is not really very informative.
Pollsters [often] include misinformation in their questions about Roe, as both the Pew and NBC/WSJ polls do. They suggest falsely that Roe limits the abortion license to the first three months of pregnancy. (The combined effect of Roe and its companion case Doe v. Bolton is to make abortion legal at any stage of pregnancy.) The latter poll even uses the phrase “completely overturn” in its question, a qualifier that can be expected to lower support for the option….what the Roe polls are probably picking up is that a strong majority of the public does not favor a ban on all first-trimester abortions.
Exactly, and while we may wish that Americans rejected abortion under ALL circumstances, we may have to be content to change hearts incrementally in this matter. It is at the outer edges that the pro-life progress is most evident. For, as noted above there is a steady string of legislative and legal victories at state levels that have sought to limit abortions. Gradually Americans are more comfortable that access to abortion at any stage for any reason should not be unrestricted. This may then lay the groundwork for further progress in a total change of heart and rejection of abortion at all stages for more and more Americans.
Maybe it will turn out that the public is becoming more supportive of abortion. I’d wait to see more evidence before calling that trend, which may not exist at all, “clear.”
Yes, it seems clear that the media rush to publicize the Pew results simplistically was likely more illustrative of their own views than of what this limited result actually shows. Shame on Pew as well for their leading headline which probably was aimed more at publicity than careful analysis.
More the complexity of this issue was discussed a year and half ago on this blog when a Gallup Poll released then said that 61% of Americans want all, or most abortions, to be declared illegal. Even there, the nature of the questions had to be carefully factored in. You can read more of my blog from then Here: Americans Want most Abortion to be Illegal.
Fair is fair. We continue to have a battle on our hands, be I still contend that we are steadily eroding support for abortion at the edges and more Americans want more restrictions. We are heading in the right direction. Further embryology and medical science in general are on our side. Increasingly, with 3-D sonograms and the like the reality of life in the womb is evident to all but the most hardened.
Onward fellow pro-lifers. Time + evidence favor our cause. Do not be discouraged by misleading reports and undistinguished data.
For those of us in pro-life work there are important precedents to be seen in the fight against slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, and even in the anti-smoking campaign. Consistent, persistent and organized action brings eventual results. This is often a battle for inches, but inches become yards, and yards, miles. Keep a inching alone like a poor old inch worm, Jesus will come by and by.
A quick word of thanks for your patience, as the Blog has been down for three days. We got hacked in a bad way. Terrible malicious software brought the whole server down. Every thing had to be cleansed and copied to a new server. We are back on Firefox, Safari and Explorer but Google Chrome is still mad at us. Hopefully they too will be back on line after we prove we’ve been cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb, and also by IT experts! 
