"Governor of California is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A
coyote jumps out and attacks dog.
California :
#1. Governor starts to intervene, reflects upon the movie 'Bambi'
and then realizes he should stop; the coyote is only doing what is
natural.
#2. He calls animal control. Animal control captures coyote and
spends $200 testing it for diseases and $500 upon relocating it.
#3. He calls veterinarian. Vet collects dead dog and spends $200
testing it for diseases.
#4. Governor goes to hospital and spends $3,500 getting checked for
diseases from the coyote and on getting bite wound bandaged.
#5. Running trail gets shut down for 6 months while wildlife
services conduct a $100,000 survey to make sure the area is clear
of dangerous animals.
#6. Governor spends $50,000 of state funds implementing a 'coyote
awareness' program for residents of the area.
#7. State legislature spends $2 million investigating how to better
handle rabies and how to possibly eradicate the disease.
#8. Governor's security agent is fired for not stopping the attack
and for letting the Governor intervene.
#9. Cost: $75,000 to train new security agent.
#10. PETA protests the coyote relocation and files suit against the
state.
Arizona :
#1. Governor shoots coyote and keeps jogging. Governor has spent
$0.50 on a .45 ACP hollow point cartridge. Buzzards eat dead coyote.
Any wonder why California is broke????"
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Healing His Way
A while back a dear friend of mine gave my email address to a lady he had met whose story reminded him of mine. Christina dropped me a line by email and we got acquainted by swapping stories. I was amazed by the grace of God in helping her heal from a horrific experience. He had gone about bringing her healing in ways that would never have reached me, but that created this beautiful, spiritual woman who loves God and knows the price of forgiveness.
It's always helpful to find someone who has experienced something similar in life, but what really impacted me was how God uses unique ways with each of his children to bring them out of darkness and into his light.
I had long hoped that I could bring the methodology that had been used with me to the Catholic world. I was pretty convinced that nothing else would work as well as the steps he had carried me through. But over time, and as a result of stories like Christina's, I've realized that God's healing comes through methods as unique as each of his children. No cookie cutter methodology fits all situations. While I do believe that the two most important elements of healing are forgiveness and confession, I also trust the perfect Father of us all to know how best to heal his children.
That has produced a desire to rework the manuscript I've been working on for the last couple of years. It has also been very humbling to realize that only God knows what's best for us. It requires openness to the Holy Spirit to know how to be a support to those in need of healing.
Christina has started a blog and I know you would find it a powerful reminder of how God triumphs over our brokenness and makes all things new. Don't miss the opportunity to read her story and praise God for her healing. Meanwhile, pray for so many who are hurt and in despair. Pray that God's healing touch come to them in his unique way.
It's always helpful to find someone who has experienced something similar in life, but what really impacted me was how God uses unique ways with each of his children to bring them out of darkness and into his light.
I had long hoped that I could bring the methodology that had been used with me to the Catholic world. I was pretty convinced that nothing else would work as well as the steps he had carried me through. But over time, and as a result of stories like Christina's, I've realized that God's healing comes through methods as unique as each of his children. No cookie cutter methodology fits all situations. While I do believe that the two most important elements of healing are forgiveness and confession, I also trust the perfect Father of us all to know how best to heal his children.
That has produced a desire to rework the manuscript I've been working on for the last couple of years. It has also been very humbling to realize that only God knows what's best for us. It requires openness to the Holy Spirit to know how to be a support to those in need of healing.
Christina has started a blog and I know you would find it a powerful reminder of how God triumphs over our brokenness and makes all things new. Don't miss the opportunity to read her story and praise God for her healing. Meanwhile, pray for so many who are hurt and in despair. Pray that God's healing touch come to them in his unique way.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Be An Oblation
I’ve been pondering this subject a lot in the past several months. The fact is, there is so much to write about that I have had trouble knowing where to start.
Main Entry: ob·la·tion
Pronunciation: \ə-ˈblā-shən, ō-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English oblacioun, from Anglo-French oblation, from Late Latin oblation-, oblatio, from Latin offerre
Date: 15th century
1 : the act of making a religious offering; specifically capitalized : the act of offering the eucharistic elements to God2 : something offered in worship or devotion : a holy gift offered usually at an altar or shrine
How’s that for starting from the beginning?
Leviticus 1:17 And he shall break the pinions thereof, and shall not cut, nor divide it with a knife: and shall burn it upon the altar, putting fire under the wood. It is a holocaust and oblation of most sweet savor to the Lord.
From scripture we see that an oblation is a sacrifice offered by burning and giving off a sweet savor to the Lord. The burning process consumes the sacrifice completely making it a total loss to anyone but God.
Out of love for us, Jesus made Himself an offering to God for us. His sacrifice of self was abundantly pleasing to the Father and redeemed us all; making it possible for all to become the children of God.
In all things we are to be imitators of Christ. We are called to follow in His footsteps in our giving of self to Him and to our neighbor; especially those in our families and our brothers and sisters in Christ, but also to the stranger and the helpless.
Christ did not shrink away from the very personal price of love. He ate with sinners and took the ridicule of the religious elite for it. He touched the sick and the maimed. He spat on the ground and anointed sick eyes with clay of his own creation. Out of love for each of us, he first knocked the soldiers to the ground with a word and then surrendered himself to be beaten, whipped to the point of death, and then crucified for us.
Those of us who have been baptized into Christ have been baptized into his death. The life we now live, we live by the faith in Christ who loved us and gave himself for us. (Gal. 2) We are no longer our own. We have been bought with an unfathomable price. Now, as imitators of Christ, we are to pour out our lives out of love for him.
When we come to appreciate the depth of his love for us, our response is to seek to obey him and to give of ourselves for the sake of those souls who have not yet come to understand how loved they are. We seek to lend our own suffering to the suffering of Christ on the cross and therefore become one with him in his sacrifice for souls.
St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face understood this well. In her Act of Oblation she describes how all those down through the centuries who have poured themselves out for Christ offer their own suffering in union with Christ for the salvation of souls. Until Christ returns in glory, all those who love him will desire to join him there on the cross because the bride loves what the Divine Groom loves: the souls of men and women.
My daughter, Sarah, recently had her first child. Very soon after the birth I recognized in her eyes and her manner that overpowering love of mother for child. It is overwhelming at first. A mother gives up her body, time, strength and attention to this little bitty human who cannot do anything for themselves. When I had my first child, I was surprised to realize that for the first time in my life I would willingly offer my own life in her place. I would gladly take every blow that life delivered rather than see her suffer. I was just beginning to grasp the kind of love God has for us.
Your children become adults. They have their own children. They move away and develop their own families and lives. You get to see how well you have taught them the values and beliefs you hold dear. Sometimes you see them claim those things for themselves and live them out. Sometimes they endanger their own souls and wander away from the God who reaches for them every day and night.
As a parent, you have to find that place between indifference and complete panic in attempting to make some input into their thinking as adults. That is a very illusive place! You pray for teachable moments. You pray that God uses their circumstances, their catechesis and your own example to come to the right conclusions. Most of all you pray. You pray with tears.
Never lose faith that God hears those prayers. Pray in the face of seeming impossibility. And while you pray, offer yourself, your work, your grief, your pain, your weakness to God in union with his own suffering. The very pain in your heart over their unbelief is a mirror image of his own pain as he hung on that cross for those who still mocked him as he bled for them. Offer your own suffering for those you love. Offer the pain you feel when you see that blank stare when you try to offer a word of admonition, or when you see them take yet another step away from God’s best for them.
Growing old provides a plentiful supply of offerings to God for those we love. Offer yourself to him for them as long as he gives you breath. Your prayers are never forgotten; never without impact. I’ve heard beautiful stories about children and grandchildren who have returned to the Church as the result of the prayers of parent and grandparents who prayed for years without visible fruit, but God never forgot those prayers.
Out of love for him and for them, make yourself an oblation with Jesus for those you love and for whole world. Pour out your life with him for them.
Main Entry: ob·la·tion
Pronunciation: \ə-ˈblā-shən, ō-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English oblacioun, from Anglo-French oblation, from Late Latin oblation-, oblatio, from Latin offerre
Date: 15th century
1 : the act of making a religious offering; specifically capitalized : the act of offering the eucharistic elements to God2 : something offered in worship or devotion : a holy gift offered usually at an altar or shrine
How’s that for starting from the beginning?
Leviticus 1:17 And he shall break the pinions thereof, and shall not cut, nor divide it with a knife: and shall burn it upon the altar, putting fire under the wood. It is a holocaust and oblation of most sweet savor to the Lord.
From scripture we see that an oblation is a sacrifice offered by burning and giving off a sweet savor to the Lord. The burning process consumes the sacrifice completely making it a total loss to anyone but God.
Out of love for us, Jesus made Himself an offering to God for us. His sacrifice of self was abundantly pleasing to the Father and redeemed us all; making it possible for all to become the children of God.
In all things we are to be imitators of Christ. We are called to follow in His footsteps in our giving of self to Him and to our neighbor; especially those in our families and our brothers and sisters in Christ, but also to the stranger and the helpless.
Christ did not shrink away from the very personal price of love. He ate with sinners and took the ridicule of the religious elite for it. He touched the sick and the maimed. He spat on the ground and anointed sick eyes with clay of his own creation. Out of love for each of us, he first knocked the soldiers to the ground with a word and then surrendered himself to be beaten, whipped to the point of death, and then crucified for us.
Those of us who have been baptized into Christ have been baptized into his death. The life we now live, we live by the faith in Christ who loved us and gave himself for us. (Gal. 2) We are no longer our own. We have been bought with an unfathomable price. Now, as imitators of Christ, we are to pour out our lives out of love for him.
When we come to appreciate the depth of his love for us, our response is to seek to obey him and to give of ourselves for the sake of those souls who have not yet come to understand how loved they are. We seek to lend our own suffering to the suffering of Christ on the cross and therefore become one with him in his sacrifice for souls.
St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face understood this well. In her Act of Oblation she describes how all those down through the centuries who have poured themselves out for Christ offer their own suffering in union with Christ for the salvation of souls. Until Christ returns in glory, all those who love him will desire to join him there on the cross because the bride loves what the Divine Groom loves: the souls of men and women.
My daughter, Sarah, recently had her first child. Very soon after the birth I recognized in her eyes and her manner that overpowering love of mother for child. It is overwhelming at first. A mother gives up her body, time, strength and attention to this little bitty human who cannot do anything for themselves. When I had my first child, I was surprised to realize that for the first time in my life I would willingly offer my own life in her place. I would gladly take every blow that life delivered rather than see her suffer. I was just beginning to grasp the kind of love God has for us.
Your children become adults. They have their own children. They move away and develop their own families and lives. You get to see how well you have taught them the values and beliefs you hold dear. Sometimes you see them claim those things for themselves and live them out. Sometimes they endanger their own souls and wander away from the God who reaches for them every day and night.
As a parent, you have to find that place between indifference and complete panic in attempting to make some input into their thinking as adults. That is a very illusive place! You pray for teachable moments. You pray that God uses their circumstances, their catechesis and your own example to come to the right conclusions. Most of all you pray. You pray with tears.
Never lose faith that God hears those prayers. Pray in the face of seeming impossibility. And while you pray, offer yourself, your work, your grief, your pain, your weakness to God in union with his own suffering. The very pain in your heart over their unbelief is a mirror image of his own pain as he hung on that cross for those who still mocked him as he bled for them. Offer your own suffering for those you love. Offer the pain you feel when you see that blank stare when you try to offer a word of admonition, or when you see them take yet another step away from God’s best for them.
Growing old provides a plentiful supply of offerings to God for those we love. Offer yourself to him for them as long as he gives you breath. Your prayers are never forgotten; never without impact. I’ve heard beautiful stories about children and grandchildren who have returned to the Church as the result of the prayers of parent and grandparents who prayed for years without visible fruit, but God never forgot those prayers.
Out of love for him and for them, make yourself an oblation with Jesus for those you love and for whole world. Pour out your life with him for them.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Protestant Bloggers Need To Stop!
I find it interesting to keep tabs on the web sites that link to my blog. Most of the time it leads me to wonderful Catholic folks who have stumbled across this site and who decided to link to it because they like the content. It’s the nature of blogdom that we connect with others of like beliefs and link to them. It’s neighborly.
But then sometimes I find that people of less charity have linked my blog to theirs for their own purposes. I can’t keep them from doing that. It is their right. But that doesn’t mean I necessarily like what they are doing.
I’ve run into two distasteful situations going on out there in blogdom that annoy the fritters out of me.
First there is a guy named Peter Lumpkins or another one named Caner that are in some kind of ruckus all their own. So since my brother got in the fray, they decided to use a chapter in the Out of Darkness series as a weapon against my brother. I’m not sure I get the connection and I have chosen not to get too deeply into reading about the finger pointing going on in Protestantland.
The other thing is this repeated claim that I am being “used” by Catholic apologists as a weapon against my brother. I can’t explain how angry that accusation makes me. In fact, I’m praying for restraint as I write because this accusation is, well, frankly stupid.
Anyone who says that proves clearly that they do not know me at all. Ask anyone who beats that drum how much time they have spent in conversation with me in the last ten years. Really, ask them. How dare people make accusations like that when they do not know me or my character in the least?
First of all, I’m stubborn as a mule. When I wrote my chapter for Surprised by Truth, I insisted that every word be mine or a “better wording” of what I had written. Nothing hit the press without going through me. No Catholic apologist has ever posted anything about me (to my knowledge to this date) who didn’t either ask my permission first, or asked for my review of what they wrote and my approval shortly after posting. They have all shown me the courtesy of having the last word on anything concerning me or my family. That’s far more than I can say about the Protestants who write about me.
Secondly, no Catholic apologist has ever even suggested that the sin in my family is an apologetic argument against my brother’s beliefs. I dare you show me any time when one of them said “because James White’s father molested his daughter, anything James White believes is hog wash. How could any of us say that under the circumstances of the present scandals in the Church? I mean, really! Any one using my dysfunctional family as a reason to be or not to be any particular religious flavor isn’t really interested in truth, they are interested in sensationalism and should trade in their Bible for a copy of the Enquirer because that’s about as deep as they apparently want to get. (Are you listening Mr. Lumpkins?)
From my own point of view, I can say that my brother’s refusal to actually take the time to get to know me and to truly listen to my claims, is evidence to me (only me) that he doesn’t have the love that naturally comes along with the filling of the Holy Spirit that instills charity and compassion in the hearts of truly converted men and women. The fact that he cannot see the miracle that God has done in healing me and in bringing me into an intimate relationship with Him after the kind of impairment of faith my father was, is evidence to me that he can look at the grace of God and call it the work of the devil. But my past says nothing at all about the Catholic position or the protestant position. It is irrelevant to either. It is a completely separate issue. In fact, if you have read the Out of Darkness series in its entirety, you would know that God took away the pain of having been abused while I was still a protestant! I’ve found even greater peace as a Catholic, but He started this work while I was a dyed in the wool Calvinist. So this is NOT a Catholic vs. Protestant issue.
So all you folks who claim to know Christ, but are more than happy to call me a liar or a weak minded individual being used by others, stop bearing false witness against me! Come have lunch sometime and at least hear my side of things before you even pretend to know anything about me. Those of you who are accusing my Catholic brothers of using me as a weapon to prove the Catholic position, stop bearing false witnesses against my brothers! Your every word of accusation speaks volumes to me about how little you know the Lord I have come to love and adore.
But then sometimes I find that people of less charity have linked my blog to theirs for their own purposes. I can’t keep them from doing that. It is their right. But that doesn’t mean I necessarily like what they are doing.
I’ve run into two distasteful situations going on out there in blogdom that annoy the fritters out of me.
First there is a guy named Peter Lumpkins or another one named Caner that are in some kind of ruckus all their own. So since my brother got in the fray, they decided to use a chapter in the Out of Darkness series as a weapon against my brother. I’m not sure I get the connection and I have chosen not to get too deeply into reading about the finger pointing going on in Protestantland.
The other thing is this repeated claim that I am being “used” by Catholic apologists as a weapon against my brother. I can’t explain how angry that accusation makes me. In fact, I’m praying for restraint as I write because this accusation is, well, frankly stupid.
Anyone who says that proves clearly that they do not know me at all. Ask anyone who beats that drum how much time they have spent in conversation with me in the last ten years. Really, ask them. How dare people make accusations like that when they do not know me or my character in the least?
First of all, I’m stubborn as a mule. When I wrote my chapter for Surprised by Truth, I insisted that every word be mine or a “better wording” of what I had written. Nothing hit the press without going through me. No Catholic apologist has ever posted anything about me (to my knowledge to this date) who didn’t either ask my permission first, or asked for my review of what they wrote and my approval shortly after posting. They have all shown me the courtesy of having the last word on anything concerning me or my family. That’s far more than I can say about the Protestants who write about me.
Secondly, no Catholic apologist has ever even suggested that the sin in my family is an apologetic argument against my brother’s beliefs. I dare you show me any time when one of them said “because James White’s father molested his daughter, anything James White believes is hog wash. How could any of us say that under the circumstances of the present scandals in the Church? I mean, really! Any one using my dysfunctional family as a reason to be or not to be any particular religious flavor isn’t really interested in truth, they are interested in sensationalism and should trade in their Bible for a copy of the Enquirer because that’s about as deep as they apparently want to get. (Are you listening Mr. Lumpkins?)
From my own point of view, I can say that my brother’s refusal to actually take the time to get to know me and to truly listen to my claims, is evidence to me (only me) that he doesn’t have the love that naturally comes along with the filling of the Holy Spirit that instills charity and compassion in the hearts of truly converted men and women. The fact that he cannot see the miracle that God has done in healing me and in bringing me into an intimate relationship with Him after the kind of impairment of faith my father was, is evidence to me that he can look at the grace of God and call it the work of the devil. But my past says nothing at all about the Catholic position or the protestant position. It is irrelevant to either. It is a completely separate issue. In fact, if you have read the Out of Darkness series in its entirety, you would know that God took away the pain of having been abused while I was still a protestant! I’ve found even greater peace as a Catholic, but He started this work while I was a dyed in the wool Calvinist. So this is NOT a Catholic vs. Protestant issue.
So all you folks who claim to know Christ, but are more than happy to call me a liar or a weak minded individual being used by others, stop bearing false witness against me! Come have lunch sometime and at least hear my side of things before you even pretend to know anything about me. Those of you who are accusing my Catholic brothers of using me as a weapon to prove the Catholic position, stop bearing false witnesses against my brothers! Your every word of accusation speaks volumes to me about how little you know the Lord I have come to love and adore.
Burn, Burn, Burn
“Pier Giorgio Frassati is a vivid reminder that sainthood is not reserved for monks living cloistered lives of private prayer, or for martyrs who gave up their bodies to the cruelest forms of brutality. Sainthood is a state of grace for all who avail themselves Of God’s holy fire of heart, allowing it to burn, burn, burn, right through to the core.”
Liz KellyMay Crowning, Mass and Merton: 50 Reasons I Love Being Catholic, Loyola Press
Liz KellyMay Crowning, Mass and Merton: 50 Reasons I Love Being Catholic, Loyola Press
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Obama Takes A Swipe At Bloggers
Read this article from Fox News and tell me if you get shivers down you spine. Isn't one one of our constitutional rights the freedom of speech? Isn't it one of the things that makes this country great that anyone can speak their mind? I think one of the greatest things that has come from the electronic age is the blogosphere. Anyone can start a blog and write what is on their heart or mind. And now Obama is using his word craft to try to make the electronic media sound like a danger to our country. I'll tell you what is a danger to our country! It's that millions of Americans listen to this smooth talking revolutionary.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Clarissa Pacheco, Defends the Pope
My friend, John Pacheco, featured this on his web site. It was drawn by his daughter, Clarissa and it demonstrates that she is being taught well. God bless you, Clarissa. Keep the faith. It's all that matters in this world.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
The Pill
I read this article on CNN yesterday about what the birth control pill had done in the 40 years since it was made available. It was a sickening article really. The skewed view of life and of human sexuality was nauseating. With only one real exception and a few glimmers of gained wisdom among the comments made. In my opinion, the pill was the beginning of the end of society's understanding of human sexuality. It was the death blow that led straight to Roe v Wade and the sexual revolution that has shattered the family and eventually will lay waste to our culture. Read these comments at your own risk. You will probably want to take a shower afterward.
Friday, May 7, 2010
From The Beginning
“As spiritual heirs of the Jews and as people who were profoundly transformed by belief in the Resurrection of Jesus, the early Christians had an intense belief in judgment and prayers for the dead. Inscriptions on early Christian tombs, and the catacombs, especially in Rome, call for prayers to be said for the dead and even spell out the prayers so that the tomb itself would be a never-ending reminder to pray for the deceased person. It is also a fact that all the oldest Eucharistic Prayers extant contain a prayer for the dead, what in Latin is called the memento mori showing that from its very earliest times the Church has brought prayer for the dead into the Mass itself, the very heart of her spiritual life, thus dramatically connecting human death to Jesus’ own death and Resurrection and emphasizing once again that the deceased undergo some sort of purification after death. In this connection we are made aware that the most significant prayer we can offer for the deceased is and always will be the Mass itself.”
Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R.After this Life: What Catholics Believe about What Happens Next, Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.
Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R.After this Life: What Catholics Believe about What Happens Next, Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Church offers worship service for dogs
Church offers worship service for dogs
I would just like to remind all our Episcopal brothers and sisters that the door to the Catholic Church stands wide open. I really don't know what else to say.
I would just like to remind all our Episcopal brothers and sisters that the door to the Catholic Church stands wide open. I really don't know what else to say.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Whosoever Will
Ever since the heavenly host came to meager shepherds to announce the birth of Christ, Christianity has been a religion for all. Not just the educated, wealthy, successful and seeming blessed, but for everyone. If the poor, illiterate Grandmother in Brazil, with her babushka and her weather worn face cannot understand the gospel, then there is no truth in "whosoever will may come." God didn't love the whole world, just the educated world if the faith is not simple enough for her to understand.
Now I'm not saying that all of Christianity is elementary. St. Thomas Aquinas was a perfect example of how deep the faith is. But don't forget that even after years of study and explanation of the depths of the faith, even he declared that all his work was dust in comparison to the glance of faith he was given by God toward the end of his life. So I still insist that if that little Grandma in Brazil cannot understand the revelation of God sufficiently to be all God wants her to be, then God is an elitist.
Well, I'm being rhetorical of course, because as a Catholic I know that the faith is accessible to all, no matter their education or status.
So if our little hypothetical Grandma can't go to Bible college, read Greek or Hebrew, or even read or write her own language, how is she to know God? (Click the title of this post for an article by a friend of mine that demonstrates what I am talking about perfectly!) Now some would say, "we need to send Bible school graduates to explain the true meaning of the scriptures from the Greek and Hebrew to them." OK, that sounds nice, but there are two problems with that. One is that there are far too many people for us to go not only teach the ABC's of the faith to, but then to teach them enough for them to truly become disciples of the faith. This is especially true where the populations are illiterate. We are instructed not only to believe but to follow. Do you have time to go make sure everyone living in the hills and valleys of Brazil has you as their tutor? I know I don't.
The other issue is the discord between those who do come from an educated background and do know the biblical languages. Believe it or not, just knowing the language does not assure understanding of the meaning of what is written. No document can define itself. Without an understanding of the context of the scriptures and their original purpose and setting, it is ill advised to be too dogmatic about what is actually being said even if you can congugate your verbs perfectly.
So how is Grandma supposed to know and love God?
Well, God in His Fatherly way, provided for all in His Church. The faith was spoken and passed along orally long before anyone wrote anything down. We have a hard time understanding how faithfully the words of Christ and His teachings were preserved and passed along because in our culture we are far too lazy to memorize or to ruminate on something so diligently that we can pass it along undefiled. Nothing seems that important to us. But to them, it was the only way to know the truth and pass the truth to the next generation. That faithfullness along with the promise of God that He would lead them into all truth is the reason that our faith and our scriptures were preserved to this day.
The faith, not the book. The Bible was never designed to be the sole instrument of faith. It was a result of the faith, not the essence of that faith. So the truth was passed along in long, crowded meetings of Catholic Christians. It was taught to those who spent years preparing for baptism and who risked their lives to receive it and live it. It was guarded as the most treasured possession of this life and the next.
So now days, in the hills of Brazil, Grandma attends Mass like the first Christians did. She hears the readings from three sections of the Bible or more every Sunday. She hears the Priest explain them in her own spoken language. She sees the icons and statues that her own people created to be a visual representation of the truth they hold so dear. They carry their Grandchildren up to the altar as I did this morning and point to the Tabernacle and say "Jesus" in their own tongue and pass along some of the greatest truths of the scriptures without ever having read a word for themselves. Because, by the power of the Holy Spirit, that truth has come to her as it came to the first generation of Christians.
I would encourage you to visit this site and read the story of some friends of mine who did graduate from bible college to go to a far away place and bring the gospel to the poor illiterate people of South America. Instead, the little Grandma's in their babushkas taught them the one true faith. It's an awesome story and they are awesome people serving the Lord here in Phoenix.
Now I'm not saying that all of Christianity is elementary. St. Thomas Aquinas was a perfect example of how deep the faith is. But don't forget that even after years of study and explanation of the depths of the faith, even he declared that all his work was dust in comparison to the glance of faith he was given by God toward the end of his life. So I still insist that if that little Grandma in Brazil cannot understand the revelation of God sufficiently to be all God wants her to be, then God is an elitist.
Well, I'm being rhetorical of course, because as a Catholic I know that the faith is accessible to all, no matter their education or status.
So if our little hypothetical Grandma can't go to Bible college, read Greek or Hebrew, or even read or write her own language, how is she to know God? (Click the title of this post for an article by a friend of mine that demonstrates what I am talking about perfectly!) Now some would say, "we need to send Bible school graduates to explain the true meaning of the scriptures from the Greek and Hebrew to them." OK, that sounds nice, but there are two problems with that. One is that there are far too many people for us to go not only teach the ABC's of the faith to, but then to teach them enough for them to truly become disciples of the faith. This is especially true where the populations are illiterate. We are instructed not only to believe but to follow. Do you have time to go make sure everyone living in the hills and valleys of Brazil has you as their tutor? I know I don't.
The other issue is the discord between those who do come from an educated background and do know the biblical languages. Believe it or not, just knowing the language does not assure understanding of the meaning of what is written. No document can define itself. Without an understanding of the context of the scriptures and their original purpose and setting, it is ill advised to be too dogmatic about what is actually being said even if you can congugate your verbs perfectly.
So how is Grandma supposed to know and love God?
Well, God in His Fatherly way, provided for all in His Church. The faith was spoken and passed along orally long before anyone wrote anything down. We have a hard time understanding how faithfully the words of Christ and His teachings were preserved and passed along because in our culture we are far too lazy to memorize or to ruminate on something so diligently that we can pass it along undefiled. Nothing seems that important to us. But to them, it was the only way to know the truth and pass the truth to the next generation. That faithfullness along with the promise of God that He would lead them into all truth is the reason that our faith and our scriptures were preserved to this day.
The faith, not the book. The Bible was never designed to be the sole instrument of faith. It was a result of the faith, not the essence of that faith. So the truth was passed along in long, crowded meetings of Catholic Christians. It was taught to those who spent years preparing for baptism and who risked their lives to receive it and live it. It was guarded as the most treasured possession of this life and the next.
So now days, in the hills of Brazil, Grandma attends Mass like the first Christians did. She hears the readings from three sections of the Bible or more every Sunday. She hears the Priest explain them in her own spoken language. She sees the icons and statues that her own people created to be a visual representation of the truth they hold so dear. They carry their Grandchildren up to the altar as I did this morning and point to the Tabernacle and say "Jesus" in their own tongue and pass along some of the greatest truths of the scriptures without ever having read a word for themselves. Because, by the power of the Holy Spirit, that truth has come to her as it came to the first generation of Christians.
I would encourage you to visit this site and read the story of some friends of mine who did graduate from bible college to go to a far away place and bring the gospel to the poor illiterate people of South America. Instead, the little Grandma's in their babushkas taught them the one true faith. It's an awesome story and they are awesome people serving the Lord here in Phoenix.
Going Through My Files
I have this huge file cabinet and a pile of binders full of information I gathered during my year of investigation and instruction in the Catholic faith. I've been revisiting some of those sources as I begin to write this years "My Tenth Year" series. One file in particular, which I sorted, and bound this week, was made up of emails I printed off of my conversations with my true catechist, Marie H. She was the gift given to me by the Hahn's. She was Scott's secretary and when I called inquiring about the faith, they turned me over to her. What a gift that was. We are still good friends and I have been richly blessed by her friendship and her wisdom.
I did a lot of study on my own. In fact, I consumed a bookshelf of books and two drawers of Internet articles. But any time I hit a glitch or needed to understand something from the Catholic perspective, I called on Marie. I also shared the graces that God poured out on me during my journey home. We both agree that my conversion was a miracle of God and that it only happened by His Hand. We both felt like spectators watching the Holy Spirit do something that was completely out of our control. And of course, conversion is an act of the Holy Spirit and it is out of any one's control, but Marie and I got front row seats so to speak.
Her "file" fill be of great help as I attempt to take you through what it is like to be a dyed in the wool Calvinist from a baptist background to a Eucharist hungry Tiber swimmer.
Stay tuned.
I did a lot of study on my own. In fact, I consumed a bookshelf of books and two drawers of Internet articles. But any time I hit a glitch or needed to understand something from the Catholic perspective, I called on Marie. I also shared the graces that God poured out on me during my journey home. We both agree that my conversion was a miracle of God and that it only happened by His Hand. We both felt like spectators watching the Holy Spirit do something that was completely out of our control. And of course, conversion is an act of the Holy Spirit and it is out of any one's control, but Marie and I got front row seats so to speak.
Her "file" fill be of great help as I attempt to take you through what it is like to be a dyed in the wool Calvinist from a baptist background to a Eucharist hungry Tiber swimmer.
Stay tuned.
Living The Mysteries
I just finished the most amazing book. It's called "Living The Mysteries" by Scott Hahn and Mike Aquilina. Actually, the meat of the book is written by several of the Early Church Fathers who write on the mysteries of the faith. It is the perfect book for this time of year for those who have just entered the faith. I wish I had been taken through this book as part of the RCIA program I was involved in. We all know how woefully lacking so many RCIA programs are. (Except for St. Thomas the Apostle, where RCIA is what it was meant to be.)
The Fathers take us through each of the Sacraments. Not just what they mean and how they are administered, but what their basis is and what they will accomplish in our lives if we are open to them. It's like a tour through the channels of grace that bring us new life from the author of life. I've never read anything that explains the Sacraments so well.
Since this year I am walking down memory lane and revisiting my year of investigation and instruction in the Catholic faith, this little book was a perfect guide to all the riches that have been poured out on my life and the historical evidence that the Sacraments have always been God's channels of grace since the upper room.
Reading this book was a bit like being John the Apostle, standing in heaven, seeing the Glory of God and His amazing grace flowing from heaven into the waters of baptism, through the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, and in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation. It was seeing all the grace of the Sacraments from the fountainhead of them all. My copy is colorful and written in and I'm sure I will be visiting it again.
The Fathers take us through each of the Sacraments. Not just what they mean and how they are administered, but what their basis is and what they will accomplish in our lives if we are open to them. It's like a tour through the channels of grace that bring us new life from the author of life. I've never read anything that explains the Sacraments so well.
Since this year I am walking down memory lane and revisiting my year of investigation and instruction in the Catholic faith, this little book was a perfect guide to all the riches that have been poured out on my life and the historical evidence that the Sacraments have always been God's channels of grace since the upper room.
Reading this book was a bit like being John the Apostle, standing in heaven, seeing the Glory of God and His amazing grace flowing from heaven into the waters of baptism, through the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, and in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation. It was seeing all the grace of the Sacraments from the fountainhead of them all. My copy is colorful and written in and I'm sure I will be visiting it again.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
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