Second Week of Lent - Tuesday

Last year:

The poor are something I have struggled with my whole life and only recently began to have pity and love for. Probably because of my background (social and prior-religious), I've always looked on the poor as people who needed to do better for themselves...not someone we should look after. Now I realize that we should do everything we can to help them and love them like Christ did. What are some things we can do for the poor?

Pray for them.

Fast for them.

Give the money from our fasting to them for food/water/clothing/shelter.

These things all fall in line well with Lent. We can also do things like volunteer to help them fix their houses, volunteer at food pantries and donate food, be involved in education in rural poor regions.

I think this is one area that I have made some significant improvement since last year - but I still have a long way to go.  We had the wonderful experience of working with the poor last year for a service trip we took for a week.  That really helped me feel more for the poor and develop a love and care for them.  At the same time, I think over the last few months that has faded somewhat and my providing for the poor has only kicked back up a notch since we have entered Lent.  

Second Week of Lent - Monday

Last year:

I've been doing a little reading about the similarities between the Jewish and Christian form of liturgical worship, and I've found it rather fascinating. I'm not sure, but there may be a good book out there that discusses the similiarities between the two. It seems that (naturally) early Christians took the Jewish form of liturgical worship (readings, responsorial psalms, public participation by responses to the priest, etc.) and adapted it to suit the purposes of Christians. This is the way Christ worshipped in the 1st century, and it was brought into the Church. One of the best ways to see it in the Bible is to look at the Book of Revelation where the activities going on in Heaven are much like a Catholic service today. I havn't been to a Jewish worship service (and I have heard that they differ from place to place), but a Catholic friend of mine was telling me that he went to one here in Morgantown and was really shocked by the similarities in worship. It's really a neat historical look at how Christian worship has developed over the years (although of course many Protestants since the 16th century or so have begun to reject the liturgical form of worship, and that's a whole historical study in and of itself that is very interesting!) Anyone seen any good history books on the evolution of Christian worship from the basic Jewish forms in the 1st Century to the broader Protestant movements of today? Feel free to recommend them if you have.

I found two books since this post and read them.  The first is Mike Aquilina's "Mass of the Early Christians".  The other is Scott Hahn's "The Lamb's Supper".  Both I would highly recommend because they explore the links between the liturgy and what the early Christians did as well as Sacred Scripture.  I still have not found any that dealt purely with the Jewish/Christian liturgical similarities, but it has been hinted at in many of the Holy Father's writings.  

First Week of Lent - Saturday and Second Sunday of Lent

I deleted the Saturday and Sunday of last Lent before I got to copy them over to this blog....  just wanted to mention that my wife and I changed parishes (and diocese) recently.  Please pray for our new parish and our family that we can all do some good in the area and learn to grow in love with them.

First Week of Lent - Friday

Last year:

Have you ever had an evening when you are in the mood to pray, think about God, and study, but everything in the world seems to distract you from it? That was this evening for me. It seems like today every door was closed for me to spend time with God, but then it helped me realize something. Sometimes distractions can actually help us think about what is keeping us from being closer to God. Some of these distractions are part of our vocation (wife, children, jobs, etc.), some of these are other responsibilities (pets, chores, etc.), some are sinful (greed, lust, gluttony, etc.), but most of them are purely entertainment (movies, music, sports, etc.). I think in many cases we can use these distractions to also help us draw closer to God. Spend time in prayer with your wife/husband and children, use pets to think about God's blessings and creation, listen to music that helps you contemplate God. Even with things like lust, when it occurs, take time to pray for the object of that desire. We should look at our distractions as an opportunity to slow down our lives and become closer to God in whatever way is possible.

I can definitely say that this is one area in which I have not improved over the last year.  Distractions still seem to find me all the time when I am trying to pray.  It seems like sometimes we look for something we'd rather be doing........this is definitely something I need to reflect and work on; re-examining myself next year to see if any improvation has been made.

First Week of Lent - Thursday

Last year:

Happy Saint Valentine's Day!

Let's think about something a little different related to Valentine's Day and love today. Valentine's Day was named after 2 different early Christian martyrs who both died because of their faith in Christ. So, how does that relate to love? In three important ways:

1) Think about (pray if you'd like) your love for God. Is it as strong as those martyrs? Think about how great their love of God must have been to die for their belief.

2) Think about God's love for you.

3) If you are married, remember that you are to love your spouse as Christ loves the Church. 

I guess I could add a couple more to think about this year:

4)  What about your relationship with your children?  Do you love them as your Heavenly Father loves you?

5)  Do you love your neighbor as yourself?  Could you use the Lenten time to give alms to help your neighbors in distress?

First Week of Lent - Wednesday

Last year:

Yesterday was my birthday. More importantly, today is the 14th year anniversary of my baptism. One Lord, One Body, One Faith, One Baptism, One Church. Blessed be God Forever! On your baptismal birthday, invite someone over and praise God for your salvation!

"God wills the interdependence of creatures....Creatures exist only in dependence on each other, to complete each other, in the service of each other." - CCC No. 340

"All this talk of consenting adults, rights of privacy, and civil liberties is counterproductive when it presents the individual as an isolated, self-contained unit, free to act without reference to the rest of society. Such a view of the human person is false." - Day by Day with the Catechism. 

Prayer: Christ, teach us to need our neighbors, to seek and give help, that we might come to know the blessings of unity.

This year, I must admit that I am probably more excited about the upcoming anniversary of my confirmation and the completion of my first year as a Catholic in full communion with the Church.  That is actually on March 23 - Easter was really early last year.  I'm also looking forward to my child's baptism this fall.  What spiritual gifts I have been blessed with over the last year!

First Week of Lent - Tuesday

Last year:

Creator of my Life, 
renew me: bring me to new life in you. 
Touch me and make me feel whole again. 
Help me to see your love 
in the passion, death and resurrection of your son. 
Help me to observe Lent 
in a way that allows me to celebrate that love. 
Prepare me for these weeks of Lent 
as I feel both deep sorrow for my sins 
and your undying love for me.

Unfortunately, I don't remember where this came from.  This was a deep subject for me last year because I thought of "celebrating that love" as taking my first Eucharist.  This year, that line is more to me a looking forward to celebrating the ressurection of our savior at Easter.  Through this period of time, I can examine myself and try to fix problems and sin in my life, preparing myself for my own bodily resurrection at the end of time.  Lent is like my lifetime - darkness before the dawn when I first meet Christ in Heaven - the real Easter feast that will last forever.

First Week of Lent - Monday

Last year:

Tonight we started a Bible study in Matthew. Just wanted to point out a few really neat things. First, notice that Matthew's gospel will point to so many similarities among the Old Testament. Notice that Joseph receives his messages in dreams, and is told to take his family into egypt to protect them (just like Joseph in Genesis). Behold the massacre of the infants (like Exodus). See how Jesus has to come out of Egypt (like Moses in Exodus). Notice how John the Baptist parallels Elijah. See how his relationship with Herod and Herodias is much like Elijah with Ahab and Jezebel? Even the gospel readings I gave you from yesterday link the temptation of Christ to Adam and Eve's temptation in the Garden. 

Simply Beautiful how the writer of Matthew relates all of Christ's early years to the Old Testament for the Jewish Population!

This post has to be overshadowed by a big change that is going on in our life.  So, instead of reflecting on what I wrote last year, I'd like to mention that my wife and I are most likely going to be changing parishes within the next week or so.  Please pray for us to find a parish that will uplift our lives as a family, be good for our children, and one that we can contribute our own gifts to.  

First Sunday of Lent

Last year:

Today's public readings were:

Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7: 
Romans 5:12, 17-19
Matthew 4:1-11

The wonderful thing about this selection of readings is how they flow together. Look at the Genesis reading and note how man makes the decision to sin, being tested by the Serpent, and the consequences of this sin (death). Romans 5 is the perfect bridge here, detailing how death came by Adam, but life by Christ. Then, the Matthew passage deals with Christ being tempted in the wilderness by Satan. Only this time, he passes the test. I never really put the three sets of verses together, but looking at it now, it really is a beautiful thing to use the Romans scripture to bridge between Genesis and Matthew, Death stemming from Adam and Life from Christ....

Something I am coming to a greater understanding about than last year is the tie between these verses and Lent.  As we spend out "40 days in the wilderness of Lent" this year, let's try to resist the temptation to fail at our promises and visit the Holy Sacrament often in order to combat Death and receive Life through Christ our Lord.

Saturday after Ash Wednesday

Last year:

Last night was the first Stations of the Cross of this Lenten Season. Seraphina and I spent a lot of time talking last night about different things. I think it is good to reflect on which station makes you sad. Seraphina felt that the three times Jesus falls were the sad ones. I felt like the stripping was the sad one. I always think it is so terrible the way we treated him on Earth, and the stripping is about as low as I can see anyone going. 

So, what stations of the cross make you sad? What Bible verse(s) make you sad? Angry? Happy? I think it's important to reflect on how the Bible moves us to prayer, fasting, charity and how these emotions move us to do certain things.

This year obviously I am more familiar with Stations of the Cross.  I still feel basically the same about the stripping of the garments.  That still kind of tears me up - thinking about Christ allowing himself and his shame to be openly exposed - but not because he had to but because he wanted to for us.  

We used meditations from St. Alphonsus for last Friday.  I highly recommend checking them out if possible.

Friday after Ash Wednesday

Last year:

So far, my Lenten commitments are coming along very well (and some of them were very serious!) How are yours coming? I wanted to share something that I found about how some of the early Christians celebrated Lent. It seems that during the early Centuries of the Church, those who were guilty of public sin would come before the Bishop and have the ashes put on their head. The Bishop would then throw them out of the Church for 40 days as a sign of their penance. After the 40 days, on Easter, they were brought back into the fold. As this was going on, many Christians began to think about their own lives and even those who had no public sin came forward to get ashes, because they realized we were all sinners and needed the time of mourning and forgiveness. I think this is a beautiful story about the need for humility among all of us. 

"Memento homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris."

In other news, Lent is a time to pray especially for those preparing for baptism, confirmation and first Eucharist. Let's pray for those who will be baptized especially, but also keep those preparing for confirmation in our minds as well, wink wink.

I don't have much to add on to what I said last year.  Just keep on praying for those getting ready to receive these sacraments for the first time.  Yesterday in the daily Office of Readings, there was a reading from Pope Saint Leo the Great.  I'd just like to share part of his Lenten reflections today:

Dear friends,what the Christian should be doing at all times should be done now with greater care and devotion, so that the Lenten fast enjoined by the apostles may be fulfilled, not simply by abstinence from food but above all by the renunciation of sin.  

There is no more profitable practice as a companion to holy and spiritual fasting than that of almsgiving.  This embraces under the single name of mercy many excellent works of devotion, so that the good intentions of all the faithful may be of equal value, even where their means are not.  The love that we owe both God and man is always free from any obstacle that would prevent us from having a good intention.  The angels sang "Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on Earth."  The person who shows love and compassion to those in any kind of affliction is blessed, not only with the virtue of good will but also with the gift of peace.

So, let's not forget that Lent is a season not just to give up things for our own benefit, but also a season of charity in which we should give to those who are less fortunate than we.  

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Last year:

Today being the day after Ash Wednesday, and the day before another day of Abstinence, I wanted to reflect a little on fasting. Of course, we have the example of Christ who did it and told us that the Church would do it after he was gone (Mt. 6:18, Mt. 9:15). We don't see it very often in Christianity (probably not at all among 99% of Protestants), but it helps us clear our mind to focus on God in prayer. It's been a wonderful blessing to me, and I'm hoping that everyone else who got to do it drew closer to God in some way. We should try to do it more often than just when required. Any thoughts or feelings on it?

You know, after a year (and especially after my Holy Week last year), I have only built on how much benefit I think fasting gives us.  I also see a correction from last year, maybe it should have said "90%" of Protestants ;)  

Seriously though, I highly suggest any religious person to try and fast more often.  I was reading and discussing a little about the gospel reading yesterday.  Many people think that the Gospel contradicts what we do on Ash Wednesday as Catholics.  After all, Jesus tells us not to show other people that we fast or repent but just to do it in secret so that our reward will be in Heaven.  This is one of those passages that is easily taken out of context by people.  Looking at the message, Christ is warning us not to let that be the reason we are doing something.  Don't do it for earthly glory or to feel "cool" or something.  I think there are some who go to Ash Wednesday because they think that is when it is cool to be a Catholic.  That's exactly the kind of thing I think Jesus is warning about here - and is the same problem we could have with wearing a cross or praying in public or carrying a Bible around with us.  We have to make sure we are doing things for God and not to please other men - for people like that "have their reward".

Maybe I got a little off topic today....be sure to check out our first baby photo below :)

Baby

Well, here is the first photo of our baby sucking its thumb.  Still not sure of the sex yet, but wanted to share this and give thanks to God for having such a healthy pregnancy so far.

Ash Wednesday

As promised, I'm going to reflect my thoughts from last Lent and see how they have developed since last year.  Here were my last year Ash Wednesday thoughts:

Today is a wonderful day, Ash Wednesday. I hope everyone will pray for my wife and I during this season of Lent. Lent is such a wonderful time to be able to reflect on the year and to find something in your life that you can do to become closer with God for these 40 days (and of course hopefully for the rest of your life). As we approach Easter and start thinking about Christ's death and glorious ressurection, let's all take time to figure out how we can be closer to God and pray for one another.

Seraphina and I just got back from Ash Wednesday services.  Today's responsorial Psalm was from Psalm 51. I wanted to share it because I found it very emotional and think it's wonderful:

Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned. 

Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness,
in your compassion, blot out my offense.
O was me more and more from my guilt and sorrow,
and cleanse me from all of my sin.

Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

My offenses, truly I know them,
and my sins are always before me;
Against you alone have I sinned, O Lord,
what is evil in your sight I have done.

Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
put your steadfast spirit in my soul.
Cast me not away from your presence, O Lord,
and take not your spirit from me. 

Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Give back to me the joy of your salvation,
let your willing spirit bear me up
and I shall teach your way to the ones who have wandered,
and bring them all home to your side.

Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

I hope it uplifts you as well!

Not to get into too many specifics, but last year during Lent I was really struggling with a personal issue in my life.  I used that time to really help myself work out that problem and move on with my life in a healthy way.  Lent gave me the opportunity to sacrifice that thing that was holding me back from my relationship with God and a better relationship with my family.  This year I hope to do the same thing with some other issues.  I always felt that was a better way to approach Lent than simply giving up sweets or something like that.  I can look back on last year and really see how much the Lenten season helped my spiritual life and look forward to seeing it do the same this year.  Also, during Lent was when I was introduced and began praying the Liturgy of the Hours.  I plan to rededicate myself to praying those prayers this season and help kick start my prayer life again.  I have not been to mass yet, not until later this evening, but I am looking forward to receiving the ashes and starting this lenten journey.

Lenten Blog Plans

Happy Mardi Gras everyone.  Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, and as such I want to continue what I did last year by blogging every day during Lent.  I thought this year would be an awesome time to reflect on all my posts last year during lent.  After all, last year I was in RCIA awaiting the sacraments, and now I have been partaking of them for a year.  So, each day I will post what I wrote about last year in my Lenten diary and how I feel or think my journey has led me over the last year.

The one limitation I will have is that sometimes I do not always have access to the internet.  Therefore, some days I might have to post several days worth of Lenten blogging at once, but I do plan to get through all forty reflections I had last year.  

Catholic-Protestant Dialogue

I am reminded, and just wanted to think aloud about this for a minute - that frequently Catholic and Protestant dialogue breaks down and ceases to be productive when the issue of "sola scriptura" is not resolved.  As long as one side comes from the view that only the scriptures can tell us this or that (and usually involved in this view is that ones personal interpretation dictates what those scriptures ARE saying) and the other side holds that the Church is really the guardian of the truth, then it is hard to really discuss any other topics in great detail.

A similar situation happened one time when I was trying to study with a Mormon.  He wanted to talk about hundreds of issues, but I continued to say that unless we resolved whether or not the Book of Mormon held the authority of Sacred Scripture, then we would have a really hard time discussing things.

On the flip side of that, sometimes we should start discussions by talking about all the similarities between the two groups.  One way I like to study with Protestants is by reciting the Nicene Creed so that we have a huge bounty of issues that we can agree on, then try to get to the question of why we believe it. All in all, however, I really believe that the binding authority of scripture, the Church, or other sources has to be worked out in order to have a real fruitful discussion.

Nuns and Priests

We should strive to live up to this kind of example by helping the poor, even to our own detriment.  

Prayer Revisited Cathedral Style

Seraphina and I went up to Pittsburgh and visited the Cathedral of St. Paul there.  I wanted to share a bit of the young priest's homily that he gave. 

He reminded us that in order to have a good relationship with God, we need to talk to him and listen to him.  In order to do this, we must have a better prayer relationship with him.  He suggested that we at least try to make 1 minute prayers during our days.  Specifically, he suggested a one minute prayer called the "PAL" prayer - where you praise God and give him thanks, then you ask him for his intercessions, then you listen to God in silent meditation to finish up the prayer.  I thought this was pretty neat, and at the end of the homily, he said that he was going to make sure that we gave God our one minute - so he held a minute of silence to allow us to pray.  It was wonderful, and a good reminder to try and keep on track of your prayer life.  

I'll pass on one more prayer suggestion he (and many of the Saints) have given before and one that is very hard for me to keep -  the first thing we should do when we wake up in the morning is briefly offer up our entire day to the Lord - Lord Jesus I give you this day and all the sufferings and joys that come along with it.  Once we do that, we are bound to focus just a little better on everything we do and keep the most important thing at center stage - God.

Salvation only in Christ

I've noticed a lot of blogs have been posting and commenting on an image that states that salvation is in Christ alone.  I just had a couple thoughts to blurt out about this idea.  In many ways, it reminds me of the discussions I've had here and elsewhere about salvation being in the Catholic Church alone - which makes since since the Church is the Body of Christ.  

Again we have to put into perspective exactly what this might mean though.  Does that mean that only those who are publicly practicing and self-acknowledged "Catholics" can get to Heaven?  Absolutely not.  First, because the sacraments are how we draw closer to Christ.  Many can draw closer through the sacraments in other Churches - notably the Orthodox Church, but also in Protestant Churches they have access to two.  

But, on top of that since we have a merciful and loving God, we cannot exclude, and we can actually hope that those outside of the Christian Faith altogether might have access to Christ in some mysterious way that we might not fully understand.  The native in the jungle who has never been evangelized, for instance, might have his own connection with the one true God which allows him access to the grace of Christ and perhaps Salvation.  

So, yes, I believe Salvation is only in Christ, but I also think it's a complicated issue that probably requires more thought and explanation than we sometimes put into it.

Lenten Resolutions

Just a quick note - but this year for Lent instead of giving up something that might not make you suffer much or that God might not care about whether or not you do, try doing some penance in the form of outreach.  Do a ministry of some sort to the poor - maybe volunteer at a soup kitchen once a week or even just do some kind of spiritual ministry.  Then you can really make some waves in the world as a Catholic.

Penance

Many times in the Gospels, Jesus teaches us that we have to give up things.  In doing so, we lay up treasure in Heaven.  He tells people to sell all they have, to fast, to give up their families, and all kinds of things.  

Some individuals literally have a calling to do this.  St. Francis, for instance, gave up everything he ever had in order to follow Christ.  Many of us are called to a different life - one of marriage, Children, or even the single life.  When we are called to this, we have to try and figure out how Christ's message applies to us.  One way we as Catholics do penance - or offer reparation for our sins in order to help negate temporal punishment associated with them - is to give up certain things.  Most famously, we abstain from meat on Fridays during the Lenten Season, and fast on certain Holy Days of Obligations.  Many will go on to extend that abstention to all Fridays in the year, or give up other things.

We are definitely called to give up the pleasures associated with sin when we follow Christ.  That is not an option.  But, I encourage you to go even further.  Think of something that you depend on, or use as a crutch, or just really enjoy.  Give that up on one day a week or for a month and dedicate that saved time or money to Christ.  In doing so, you will draw closer to him and lay up treasure in Heaven.

Torturing in the Womb

Catholic Online posted a good thought provoking piece where they praise President Obama for signing executive orders ending torture, but also question how he can also get rid of protections that prevent the torture and death of infants in the womb.  It's a good piece to really put some things he has done so far into perspective - remembering that he has taken good steps, but is looking to make some unbelievably bad decisions. Pray for him.

Blogging Emptiness

So, it's been a while since I have posted something.  Had bad weather and been pretty busy with work.  Nothing important has really been coming to mind lately.  How about my friends who read this blog?  How are your lives going?  Anything we could discuss?  I'm going to go to daily mass later today, so maybe something inspiring will be said.

March for Life

Please pray for the unborn, those on death row, those suffering from war, and the elderly who face euthanasia or assisted suicide across the world.  Pray for all those who are suffering from a lack of respect for the sanctity of human life.  Fast, pray, do whatever you can.  Many parishes offer adoration of the Blessed Sacrament today - go if you get the chance.  

Lord, have mercy on us all and please grant us an immediate end to abortion, the death penalty, war, and all other evils that disregard human life.

I believe...in the communion of Saints

Mel just keeps giving me good material for blogging.  She writes:

Hey. Just listened to a great (RC) CD on the Communion of Saints. Have always believed in it in a way (Reformed perspective, Apostles Creed and Nicene Creed), but this was described in a wonderful way. Any blog thoughts on Communion of Saints? 

This is absolutely one of my favorite Catholic topics, because it really hits at a lot of issues - especially a lot of Marian issues that people have such a problem with who are non-Catholic.  We should note that this teaching is extremely important to the Church, and it is professed to in every mass by every Catholic when they say "I believe in the Communion of Saints".  

The scriptural roots of the passage go back to two passages that I can think of off the top of my head.  First, St. Paul talks about this "Cloud of Witnesses" who cheer us on in our day to day life.  He is aiming to draw similarities to our life and the "Great Heroes of the Faith (Saints)" and how they are the spectators in an arena - much like watching a footrace and just another of St. Paul's athletic references.  What do these spectators do?  They push for us to get on towards that goal, to win the race, to get to Heaven!  How can they do this?  Well, seeing as they are in God's presence, who better to intercede on our behalf and ask God to do something for us?  The second scripture is in the Book of Revelation, where we see the Saints gathered around God's throne, offering up our prayers to him - a pretty plain scriptural reference in my opinion.  

The usual objection to this (which is also a common objection to Confession) is "Can't God just hear my prayers himself?"  Well, of course he can, and of course he can answer them, but that doesn't mean that asking for the intercession of others is a waste of time.  Just look at normal life.  We ask others to pray for us all the time - both in the Church and others that we meet in life.  Who better to ask than those who are already in God's presence?

National Sanctity of Life Day

Although there is much that I disagree with our current President (George Bush) about, I was pleased to hear on CatholicLand that our President has declared Sunday (Jan 18) to be National Sanctity of Life Day.  Offer up your prayers/Liturgy of the Hours/Rosaries for this cause.  This is one of the reasons that I truly do respect President Bush regardless of the poorer decisions he has made.

Book Review - The Faith of Millions

I just finished the book "The Faith of Millions" by Father John O'Brien.  I think this is a wonderful place to talk about this book, especially in light of the discussions we have been having about our relationship with those who aren't Catholic recently on this blog.  

This book was given to my Grandfather in Law when he was confirmed into the Catholic Church.  My Grandmother-in-Law gave it to me on Thanksgiving, because she thought I would really like to read it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I wanted to discuss it briefly because it was an excellent book, and well worth reading, to both Catholics and non-Catholics.  If you click on the title of this post, it should take you to Amazon, where you can buy a used copy of this book for 1 penny!  Thankfully she gave it to me, because it is out of print and I don't think I would have found it anywhere else.

First, we need to note that this book was originally written pre-Vatican II.  That being said, we need to realize that a lot of its language reflects the Church's relationship with Protestants before that council, a very different relationship indeed.  If any of you have read books from the 50s and 60s, you will quickly recognize the tone and type of language that Father O'Brien uses.  It can seem very harsh at times, and I think he assumes that everyone will logically come to the same conclusions that he does, perhaps not realizing that people's own inherent spiritual tradition and biases can cause them to come to different conclusions altogether.  

That being said, I think this book is very clearly and easily written.  It gives some insights into Catholic teaching and Tradition that almost no other book I have read can do so clearly.  I imagine that it was probably read by young faith groups or in RCIA classes in the past, because it really is nice to do an overview of Catholic teaching, but also gets into issues like an entire Chapter on St. Joseph that many other cathechetical books do not do.  His teaching on marriage and sexuality is very well done as well.

If you are a member of my former denomination the "Church of Christ" (and I know there are several who are and read this blog), I highly recommend this book because the style and prose are highly reminiscent of many books that are read by those there.  The way it is laid out reminded me of many books that CoC writers used to write, only here you will see that the same "plain logic" that they lay out can be understood very differently by Catholic thinking.  It also answers a lot of questions that you guys have posed to me here and elsewhere.

If you do pick up a copy of this book, try not to get too upset at the harsh language he uses towards Protestants at times.  I think he wrote it from a loving perspective, but I can see how it could be a big turnoff to someone who really rejects the Catholic Church.  It was updated after Vatican II, but mostly that update only takes place in the last Chapter where he really hits on the idea of ecumenicalism.  

I give it a 9/10 - only because it is in need of a more thorough updating.  As for explaining the teaching of the Church and such, it is perfect for both Catholics and non-Catholics, mostly because it does not get bogged down in too much theological teaching, while at the same time being advanced enough to explain complex teachings.  

Thoughts on Our Separated Sisters and Brothers

Since the last post spurred so many comments, we should talk briefly about those who find themselves in Protestant Churches today - thus separated from the Catholic Church.  We should think about what situation they are in and how the Church views them.

First, they are recognized as our sisters and brothers.  They are in communion with the Catholic Church - although not full communion with us.  We should note that while someone like Martin Luther would be labeled as a heretic for spreading heresy, he is only so because he personally rejected articles of faith that he knew to be true and mislead people with false teachings.  Those who are born Lutheran (or become Lutheran out of a clean conscience) today are not considered Heretics, because they are not rejecting the Church, they are instead trying to do the best they can.  

We should note that organizations may be heretical or schismatic, without the individuals in them being heretics.  For instance, a common example is the Eastern Orthodox Church, which is, as an institution, schismatic.  

We can also recall that we receive the graces of Christ through his sacraments.  To receive the fullness of that grace, we would obviously want to receive all seven sacraments.  That is not a "plan of salvation" of sorts, just the way that Christ has pointed us to receive as much as possible from him - to be in the "fullness of Christ".  Thus, we see that even the schismatic Orthodox Church has all seven sacraments and they are all valid.  And even Protestants have two valid sacraments - baptism and marriage.  Thus, they are able to receive the graces of Christ through these sacraments (we could also get into a very deep and lengthy discussion of forgiveness of sins, but it would be a different topic for a different post).  

We pray that our separated brethren will come into the fullness of Christ and the fullness of his Body - in communion with the Holy Church.  But, we do not restrict salvation (for that matter, we do not restrict salvation only to those who are "Christians" in the typically though sense, but realize that God's grace may have ways of reaching people who may never even be exposed to Christ).  At the same time that we realize they are not in full communion with us, we should grow in love and faith with them, because we are all trying to get to the same places and we should be able to help each other immensely.  

Luther and Abuses

Mel wrote in a comment below:

Here's a question I hadn't considered before, re: abuses in Luther's day. If during the years since then, so many "reforms" have occured, then was that church or today's church any less than the original? (hope that doesn't ramble too much) Is the essence of the church the same but some immoral behaviors or other abuses that made some reforms necessary? Is anyone trackin' with this line of thinking?

My response would be as follows, but it would really help to go look up some discussion of exactly what these abuses were and how they were "reformed".  I'm going to give you the basics as I see them, then I want to address her second question in a little more detail.

First, we need to realize that the abuses that Luther touted as Church teaching were never the actual teaching of the Catholic Church.  There were some priests who were corrupt (as there are now, and as there always have been, always will be, and are in every religion and job that there is) and these men made bad and sinful decisions, sometimes motivated by greed, and sometimes tricked others into thinking they were buying salvation through the use of indulgences (what many people will talk about when they talk about Luther.)  Luther points this out, but exaggerates the extent and fuzzies up the true teaching of the Church on the issue.  Instead of working from within to try and help these people or fix the abuses that indiviudals were doing, he chose instead to introduce schism into the Church - a terrible idea that resulted in the fragmentation that harms Christianity so much today.  Even he himself regretted the results of his teaching.

Luther further perverted the truth by teaching certain false and heretical doctrines, and perverted the true history of the Church by insinuating things like the so called "Deutero-canonical books" were added later by the Church, when in fact they had been used consistently by the Church since the canon was set in stone in about 400 A.D., and had been used by the early Christians extensively, and especially by both Christ and St. Paul.   These and other things that Luther taught attempted to blur the lines between real Catholic teaching and what Luther termed as abuses, many of which were either not wide spread or were total fabrications.  

Enter the Church Councils who decide that some reformation is necessary.  What these councils did was try to reign in on individual abuses within the Church, and make sure that the Church was staying true to its sacred Tradition.  Neither the Church at that time nor the Church today is any more or less the original than it has been.  They are both the only Church which is marked by the four marks of the true Church- One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.  

A good Catholic article on the so-called "Counter-Reformation" is here:  http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04437a.htm

We also need to mention two other Catholic ideas that help us understand how we might think very differently about the question you ask than Protestants normally would.  First is the idea of discipline versus Faith and Morals.  Many Catholic teachings are disciplinary issues - when to fast, when priests are allowed to be married or not married, even what day is required for worship.  These ideas can change over time (many priests used to be married in the Early Church but now Latin Rite priests cannot be married in most cases but Eastern Rite Priests can) and can develop.  That is because they are not part of the Faith and Morals set forth by the Church.  These things do not change over time, but are guarded from error by the Holy Father and the Magisterium of the Church.  

That brings us to the idea of "Doctrinal development" - the fact that we can understand and more clearly define issues of Faith and morals as time goes on.  This does not mean that the ideas change by their nature, but rather that we understand them more fully.  Easy examples of this are the idea of the dual nature of Christ, the Trinity, the Canon of Scripture, etc. etc.  These things were not clearly defined or maybe even understood by the early Church, but they have always been the same and the roots of these ideas are seen as early as Christ's teachings.  We think of these doctrines as flower buds.  Think of a flower as it is closed in the bud, then imagine it as it opens up and begins to flourish as a flower.  It is exactly the same object, but once it is opened up, the full splendor of it is realized.  That is how doctrinal development works, so that over time we can get a more full and understanding sense of the beauty of certain issues of Faith and Morals, while their essence goes back to the beginning of the Church.  

Thus, unlike many Protestants, Catholics are not seeking to be "Exactly like the New Testament Church" because part of the beauty of Christ's Church is that as a living body it is able to grow into a fullness that was not realizable at that time.  As he said, it starts as small as a mustard seed and grows into a tree so large that the birds nest in its limbs.  That's a good way to think about how the Church grows and matures into something much more beautiful as time goes along while still being the same thing.

Purgatory

There was a really interesting discussion of purgatory on Catholic radio (XM 117) the other day.  They were talking about how we really don't know anything about what purgatory is like, just that it exists from what we read in Sacred Scripture.  Thus, sometimes we think of purgatory as some kind of cleansing fire (which some people draw out from St. Paul's writings), but that isn't necessarily the way it is, the Church is actually silent on the true nature, just saying that we need to be pure in order to stand before God, and luckily God has provided an avenue for us to become that way so we don't have to worry about becoming perfect before we die - which may also involve temporal punishment for sins already eternally forgiven.

I got to thinking that Purgatory could be  something like the RCIA process (can't imagine what the Deacon who taught it would say about that!).  I remember learning so much, preparing me for Confirmation and First Communion, but at the same time it was a period of suffering and purification that helped me prepare spiritually for those great events.  Maybe purgatory is something akin to that, but hopefully they don't make you sing "I'm a Child of God" (inside joke).  

Balance

I think a good thing I would like to see more discussion of is the balance between family, work, and spiritual life.  I think it is great when there are opportunities (like mass) where family and spiritual life come together, but there is a delicate balance between all of these.  For those of us called to married life, we need to find and take advantage of those opportunities.  They can be some of the greatest spiritual development to both ourselves and our families.  At the same time.  things like work responsibility are extremely important to everyone.  I think this raises two points:

First, the Catholic Church recognizes the importance of our daily work.  Especially people like Opus Dei, who realize that we should dedicate our daily work to God, but also our regular morning prayers and such.  This compared to my Protestant denomination who cannot see the value of prayer that exists in our daily work and dedicating that to God. 

But even more so, it gets me thinking about the Priesthood.  Knowing the responsibilities just of family, it is hard for me to imagine how a priest could maintain a family and totally dedicate himself to God's work as a shephard and pastor of a parish.  This helps me put into perspective and totally understand our disciplinary decision to not allow Latin Rite priests to marry.  I think it's a good thing, but definitely controversial to many.

Christmas Season

I'm fully into the Christmas spirit now, doing the Liturgy and the Hours and all really helps me keep the liturgical seasons first and foremost in my mind - every day I think about the birth and early years of Christ. I wanted to share something from the second reading in the Office of readings from a few days ago - on the Feast of the Holy Family. I think it is a wonderful way to think about these early years of Christ that we are now celebrating, and also about our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph.

This is a speech delivered at Nazareth by Pope Paul VI:

Nazareth is a kind of school where we may begin to discover what Christ’s life was like and even to understand his Gospel. Here we can observe and ponder the simple appeal of the way God’s Son came to be known, profound yet full of hidden meaning. And gradually we may even learn to imitate him.

Here we can learn to realise who Christ really is. And here we can sense and take account of the conditions and circumstances that surrounded and affected his life on earth: the places, the tenor of the times, the culture, the language, religious customs, in brief, everything which Jesus used to make himself known to the world. Here everything speaks to us, everything has meaning. Here we can learn the importance of spiritual discipline for all who wish to follow Christ and to live by the teachings of his Gospel.

How I would like to return to my childhood and attend the simple yet profound school that is Nazareth! How wonderful to be close to Mary, learning again the lesson of the true meaning of life, learning again God’s truths. But here we are only on pilgrimage. Time presses and I must set aside my desire to stay and carry on my education in the Gospel, for that education is never finished. But I cannot leave without recalling, briefly and in passing; some thoughts I take with me from Nazareth.

First, we learn from its silence. If only we could once again appreciate its great value. We need this wonderful state of mind, beset as we are by the cacophony of strident protests and conflicting claims so characteristic of these turbulent times. The silence of Nazareth should teach us how to meditate in peace and quiet, to reflect on the deeply spiritual, and to be open to the voice of God’s inner wisdom and the counsel of his true teachers. Nazareth can teach us the value of study and preparation, of meditation, of a well-ordered personal spiritual life, and of silent prayer that is known only to God.

Second, we learn about family life. May Nazareth serve as a model of what the family should be. May it show us the family’s holy and enduring character and exemplify its basic function in society: a community of love and sharing, beautiful for the problems it poses and the rewards it brings, in sum, the perfect setting for rearing children – and for this there is no substitute.

Finally, in Nazareth, the home of a craftsman’s son, we learn about work and the discipline it entails. I would especially like to recognise its value – demanding yet redeeming – and to give it proper respect. I would remind everyone that work has its own dignity. On the other hand, it is not an end in itself. Its value and free character, however, derive not only from its place in the economic system, as they say, but rather from the purpose it serves.

In closing, may I express my deep regard for people everywhere who work for a living. To them I would point out their great model, Christ their brother, our Lord and God, who is their prophet in every cause that promotes their well being.

Wonderful Christmas

I had a wonderful Christmas with all my family.  I just wanted to briefly discuss how wonderful I think midnight mass is.  We did all the smells and bells at our parish, even singing Adeste Fidelis in Latin.  I don't think I can overcome the emotions that I feel at that type of mass.  I almost teared up when we were singing Away in the Manger, just thinking about the Lord watching over our unborn child.  

Another thing that I have realized of late is that I automatically tear up every time I see the Blessed Virgin in a movie about the Life of Christ.  Thinking about the emotions she goes through just eat right at my heart, especially considering how I did not appreciate her and all her intervention on our behalf before I became Catholic.

I'm finishing up the book "The Faith of Millions" so I should be able to review that soon.  God bless you all!  Also, everyone should know that I am still reading your blogs at home on the Blackberry quite frequently but unfortunately Blogger isn't very friendly to commenting.  I am around though!

Midnight Mass

Christmas is finally upon us.  I'm about 3 hours away from Midnight Mass.  Remembering back to last year, I was just beginning to settle into RCIA and the process of becoming Catholic at this time of year.  The mass was so incredibly beautiful....just hard to describe without someone being there.  I'm really looking forward to seeing the mass again tonight, only this time through the eyes of someone who can take the Blessed Sacrament this year instead of as a Candidate for Confirmation.  

Merry Christmas everyone!  And let's keep the Mass in Christmas! :)

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

In today's office of readings, the first reading is from the Book of Isaiah the Prophet.  It is a very good prophecy of the coming of our Lord, perfect for the Advent season.  The second reading is from St. Hippolytus (one of his treatises against the heretics).  He emphasizes the importance of reading the scriptures for all of us - something that I think most of us could work on to improve.  That's another reason that I love the Liturgy of the Hours so much, I get to read several Psalms and scriptures each day, and it isn't just me picking and choosing what to read and when.  

In other news, a major issue that I've been praying hard about has been answered in a wonderful way by God!  

Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Well, I finally got the Christmas/Advent Liturgy of the Hours.  Just in time to do a couple before Christmas season begins.  I can't express how much more my life feels complete with the Liturgy at hand.  I need to get back into the daily routine of doing Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and the Office of Readings every day and more if I have time. 

Getting ready to go to my weekly confession, then I'll be ready to really bring on Christmas season.  Let's continue to pray for everyone and do what we can for the poor this year.  If you are Catholic, I highly recommend helping out as much as possible with the second collection for Catholic Community Services (I assume they do these everywhere, but at least those parishioners from our parish can do this!).  

Friday of the Third Week of Advent

I'm slowly trying to get to the point where I can post with home on the new Blackberry we have.  It's a little complicated as Blogger decided to make it extra hard for Blackberry users for some reason.  I do get to read most of your blogs from home, but I don't get to comment often.

Today, I have been thinking about a great spiritual hole that exists in my life right now.  About a week before Advent started, I ordered the Advent/Christmas Volume of the Liturgy of the Hours.  The company had some kind of screw up, and while I was not charged, I did not receive the LotH either.  So, last week I reordered it, this time from Amazon, but since it is Christmas, the mail is going very slow and I won't have it till next week probably.

I would have never imagined this, but being the first time since Lent that I have gone this long without being able to pray the LotH has been brutal.  It is like my relationship with God is somehow more distant when I am not structured and praying the Psalms and doing the readings regularly.  Luckily, the fact that we are having a child has drawn me closer to God, as has Advent season.  I would feel destitute had this happened during ordinary time.  

Monday of the Third Week of Advent

We are quickly approaching Christmas.  That being said, we found out some big news.  I am now a Father and Seraphina is a mother!  Baby is due around August, please pray for us! :)

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Today,  I thought I would thrill my Protestant readers with a Martin Luther quote:

"There are almost as many sects and beliefs as there are heads; this one will not admit Baptism; that one rejects the Sacrament of the altar; another places another world between the present one and the day of judgment; some teach that Jesus Christ is not God. There is not an individual, however clownish he may be, who does not claim to be inspired by the Holy Ghost, and who does not put forth as prophecies his ravings and dreams." "An Meine Kritiker" (by Johannes Jorgensen, p. 181)

Yep, Luther, you pretty much summed up why personal interpretation outside of true Church authority is ludicrous :)

Thursday of the Second Week of Advent

Tomorrow is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  I encourage everyone to go to mass, and pray for the unborn.  Although I cannot vouch for everything this site has to say, it does raise some interesting points about the symbolism that might appear in the image on St. Juan Diego's tilma.  Someone out there more informed on the subject may want to comment, but it seems very plausible to me.  Anyway, the whole story of Our Lady's appearance to St. Juan Diego is a beautiful and amazing story. Read what was presented about the symbolism in the image:

 The Image of Our Lady is actually an Aztec 
    Pictograph which was read and understood
quickly by the Aztec Indians. 

     1.    THE LADY STOOD IN FRONT OF 
            THE SUN
            She was greater than the dreaded 
            Huitzilopochtli, their sun-god of war.

     2.    HER FOOT RESTED ON THE 
            CRESCENT MOON  
            She had clearly crushed Quetzalcoatl, 
            the feathered serpent moon-
            god.                          

3.         THE STARS STREWN ACROSS 
            THE MANTLE
            She was greater than the stars of heaven which they worshipped.  
            She was a virgin and the Queen of the heavens for Virgo rests over 
            her womb and the northern crown upon her head. She appeared on 
           December 12, 1531 and the stars that she wore are the constellations 
           of the stars that appeared in the sky that day!

4.         THE BLUE‑GREEN HUE OF HER MANTLE
            She was a Queen because she wears the color of royalty.

5.         THE BLACK CROSS ON THE BROOCH AT HER NECK
            Her God was that of the Spanish Missionaries, Jesus Christ her son 
            who died on the cross for all mankind.

6.         THE BLACK BELT
            She was with child because she wore the Aztec Maternity Belt.

7.         THE FOUR PETAL FLOWER OVER THE WOMB
            She was the Mother of God because the flower was a special symbol 
            of life, movement and deity-the center of the universe.

8.         HER HANDS ARE JOINED IN PRAYER
            She was not God but clearly there was one greater than Her and she 
            pointed her finger to the cross on her brooch.

9.         THE DESIGN ON HER ROSE COLORED GARMENT
            She is the Queen of the Earth because she is wearing a contour map 
            of Mexico telling the Indians exactly where the apparition took place.

Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent

So, recovering from a sinus infection as I am, I could not sleep all night last night.  Instead, I read the second Ann Rice book "Christ the Lord - The Road to Cana".  Here we find Christ at 30 years old.  This book follows him from right before his baptism to the wedding feast at Cana.  I must admit that I was slightly weirded by some of the dialogue in this one, the fact that Christ was attracted to a woman, among other things.  But, he was tempted in all ways like we were, so I assume he did have attraction to women, and he handles it very well in the book.  

Interestingly, my complaint about the first book - that it was poorly written - has begun to develop some in this book.  The writing style is significantly better (still not the best written book I have ever read), but I think the author is developing Christ's mind as he matures, and thus brings up the style of her writing a notch or two.  

Overall, I think this one was a little better than the first, but now I will have to wait for the third one to come out before I can finish the story up.

Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent

Book Review - Christ the Lord - Out of Egypt

I have never read an Ann Rice book before this one.  And, to be quite honest, I highly doubt I would like any of her other books.  She has a very poor writing style (probably similar to mine in that it isn't complex enough to really be good literature).  That being said, Christ the Lord out of Egypt (her first in a trilogy? of the life of Christ) deals with Christ between the ages of 7 and 8 years old.  It is a reasonably interesting and thought provoking book, making you think quite a bit about what the young family life of Jesus must have been like.  Mary, for instance, is forbidden to enter the synagogue in Nazereth because they believe she was impregnated outside of marriage.  Whether or not these things are true, what traditions or legends they are based off of, etc. is really irrelevant, because I don't think the book is pushing it on us as truth, but rather trying to enlarge our minds about what Christ must have been like and how he developed into the great teacher we see in the New Testament.  

It's an interesting read, and I picked up the second book tonight.

Immaculate Conception

How wonderful today's Holy Day of Obligation is.   One thing I have definitely done is grown in my devotion to Mary over the last year.  I've said this once before, unlike many Protestants who convert, the moment I became Catholic, I had absolutely no problem asking Mary for her intercessions.  I can remember kneeling in prayer asking the Blessed Mother to pray for me to make it through the RCIA process last year.  And here I am, celebrating one of her feast days, closer than ever to her.  I've done this before, but again I strongly recommend that if you have petitions to put before God, ask Mary to pray for you.  

Second Sunday of Advent

I've decided that until we upgrade our Blackberry, it is pretty much going to be impossible for me to post every day, which kind of bums me out.  I did make a mental post every day this week though, too bad I can't share my thoughts with you guys!  

Anyway, today I just wanted to reflect a little on the growth of the Church.  We've heard a lot about Churches shrinking (and the Catholic Church is growing immensely in certain areas of the world and stagnant in others).  But, on the local level we found out that we went from 700 households to 800 households in the last year....that's a net gain of 100 Households in just  a year!  That also doesn't include all our college students (which make up an awfully large portion of our parish since it is a University Parish.  Thanks be to God for this type of growth!  And with so many enrolled in RCIA classes this year, we are bound to grow again.  

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

I can't believe I forgot to mention this last Sunday, but I just realized I did.  Last Sunday was the first mass I attended with the intention of becoming Catholic.  (Last year when I decided to become Catholic, the first mass I attended was the First Sunday of Advent).  I re-read last year's Year A readings and the responsorial Psalm...and even the prayers in my missal.  I could not believe how much I remembered, and the feelings came flooding back about how Biblical the mass was when I was actually paying attention.  Thanks be to God!

Tuesday of the First Week of Advent

I recently finished Pope John Paul II's Crossing the Threshhold of Hope.  If you havn't read the book, I highly recommend it.  Basically, a reporter sent the Holy Father several questions regarding Our Faith, many of which were very hard hitting.  He covers issues like suffering, salvation, those ouside the Church, etc.  He did a superb job of answering these questions, although many times he seemed to get off track of the original question and the reporter was a little soft on bringing him back to the original.  Much of his being "off track", however, I think flowed from his immense theological understanding that, quite frankly could leave me in the dust. While I think he tried to keep his answers to something the lay person could appreciate, his genius shines forth a little too much, making it a difficult and time consuming read, but definitely one that all Catholics should do if they get the opportunity.  

Monday of the First Week of Advent

Last night Seraphina and I started our decorations for Christmas (Sorry all you hard corers that don't like to do it until the 24th....).  We put up our tree, our wreath on our front door, and set up our nativity set, all of which were extremely beautiful and came from her family.  It is so wonderful being able to decorate for Christmas (this is only the second year I have done it since my old Protestant denomination did not celebrate Christmas).  We decided that until Christmas, our nativity set will not be a nativity set but rather an advent set.  So, here is how we set it up (I took pictures, and will upload them later):

Mary and Joseph are both facing an angel hanging on the wall so that it looks like the angel is speaking to them.  The wise men are coming from the East and are gathered together meeting with each other, on their way to meet the Christ when he is born.  The shephards are slightly closer to where the manger will be, and are on their way with all the animals.

We thought this was a good way to remind ourselves that it was still advent and that we are preparing for Christ (both to celebrate his birth and watching for his second coming).  

First Sunday of Advent

On this first Sunday of Advent, Seraphina and I prayed for our marriage.  We hope that God continues to give us a wonderful and blessed marriage.  We also pray that we be open to children always and that we will some day be blessed with some.  

I think this was an important time to sit back and think about where our marriage stands and how it has progressed over the last few years.  We have been married about 3 1/2 years now, and being Catholic obviously made our relationship much stronger.  God bless you all here at the beginning of Advent and  let's all look forward to a wonderful Christmas celebration.

PS:  I was really ready for Advent and this special time...getting a little tired of the "ordinary" :)

Advent Calendar

Sarah and I are making our Advent wreath tonight, and we thought it would be a good idea to have a calendar to pray by each day. After looking at several, we decided it would be better to make our own.  So, we created a calendar that had each day of Advent with the name of a family member, friend, our priests, etc. on it and we plan to pray for that individual each day of Advent.  What will you be praying through advent?

Busy Bee

Hi Everyone.  I've been extremely busy, but I will be back around soon.  I think I will try to blog through advent, but no  promises on whether or not it is every day.  No internet at the house now...so I will be limited to when I am working/studying/at coffee places.

Blogging Advent

Earlier this year, I wrote a blog post every day for Lent about my own reflections or things that I was thinking about.  I am pondering if I would be able to do the same thing during Advent Season, and I think I might very well try it.  Maybe I won't be perfect, but it would give me some focus and help me to remember the reason for that season.  So, that's something to look forward to.  How have you guys all been?  Extremely busy on my end.

Administrator Martin

When I went to South Carolina to visit Mass, I thought it was very interesting that they were without a Bishop, so in the Eucharistic prayer they mentioned "Administrator Martin".  Well, it just so happens that he now has to respond to a rogue priest denying communion to Obama voters.  Sorry McCainiacs, but that's just not what the Church has taught.  Thankfully Administrator Martin has stood up against this type of abuse, but I think this whole situation also ties in with some of our pre-election conversations.

From Fox News (via my friend Stephanie):

""Father Newman's statements do not adequately reflect the Catholic Church's teachings. Any comments or statements to the contrary are repudiated," said Msgr. Martin Laughlin, administrator of the Charleston Diocese, which is currently without a bishop. 

Catholic dioceses in the U.S. have issued various rulings on whether Catholics who support abortion can receive communion. 

"The Church hasn't said as a body what this individual priest has said, namely that anybody who has voted for Barack Obama shouldn't go to communion," said Father Jonathan Morris, a Catholic priest and FOX News contributor."

Catholic Radio

I've been an XM Radio subscriber for quite some time now.  Recently, XM and Sirius merged together to form the same company.  As a result, we got some of their programming, and I was most excited to see earlier this week Catholic Radio was now available.  

I have never listened to Catholic Radio before, but now I must say that I truly did not know what I was missing.  It is absolutely amazing.  Because I also like EWTN, I am going to compare the two so maybe you can get an understanding of the difference.  EWTN to me seems like it is a combination of two things:  1)  Church Teaching and 2)  Apologetics.  Basically, that's what we get all the time, and that is great on one hand.  Catholic Radio, on the other hand, is in general a collection of shows where people share their own life experiences (not journeys, but just events in their lives from day to day), the latest news in the Catholic Church, and they have people call in to exchange thoughts and feelings about their daily lives.  There is also some Catholic comedy that goes on, especially in the show called "The Catholic Guy".  It's actually much better for me to just sit back and listen to, since most of what EWTN has to say I have heard over and over again - this is more applicable to those who are comfortable in their faith and just want to hear exchanges of Catholic daily life.  

No one should take this as me saying that I don't like EWTN, I just think both these formats serve a very different purpose.  The Holy Father does an ad welcoming listeners to Catholic Radio as well, which is really awesome since I love his accent!

Cops and Robbers

They finally nabbed one of those guys trying to steal the host.  I'm not sure if this was a Catholic Church or not, but it certainly is good that they got him.  This is a good time to think about purgatory and penance after confession also, because even though we can now forgive this man and pray for him, he should still have to carry out a sentence of punishment for the crime.  Hopefully this deters others from making the same sacriligious mistake.

Ebbs and Flows

My friend The Catholic Journeyman left a post over on his blog about Catholic bloggers.  I highly recommend you fellow bloggers to go check it out and respond.  I would like to thresh out my thoughts a little more about myself too.  As I have been writing on this blog for a few months now, I notice that it parallels my spiritual life in many ways.  I think mine (and most people's) spirituality ebbs and flows, like a tide coming in and out.  Each time it comes in, however, it is stronger than before in my case, I feel closer and closer to God.  Each time it goes out, it doesn't go as far, and I don't get as distracted as I used to.  I don't fall into temptation as often as I used to.  Closer and closer we come until eventually we can be with God in Heaven (purgatory might help out here too).  Even the saints would write about "Dark nights of the soul".  We need to pray for one another and with one another to grow in faith and love and hope.

Looking Back

Looking back at my blog posts, I labeled them all.  I then made a couple charts using all labels that appeared more than 5 times.  Keep in mind that the Pie Chart isn't too accurate because labels actually overlap.  It just lets you see categories compared to each other.  I havn't really done that much on politics after all.  So, I'll take everyone's suggestions and keep it mixed. 

Daily Mass

Joseph once vocalized to me when we had waited until a Sunday to attend again "It feels like I haven't been to Mass in forever!"

Unfortunately, do to my more tumultuous schedule this semester, my Daily Mass goings have been much less frequent. However, I do make the time to still try to go at least once in the week, and whenever I do I can't help but feel so much more in harmony with the rest of my life. It allows me to take just a half an hour and completely focus on spiritual things.

I am digressing. Perhaps a post on this at a later time.

What I wanted to post for everyone is a homily spoken by one of our parish priests. It was in reference to the readings on Thursday, November 6th, 2008.

Today's parables include the theme of repentance, but they change the way repentance sounds. We often think of repentance as a change of direction in our lives - and that's a good picture of what it means. But, we lose a deeper sense of this change if we begin to badger ourselves, or others, with the notion that sinners must abandon their sins before God will forgive them; and the lost must figure out a way to get themselves found before a heavenly search and rescue effort begins. As St. Augustine pointed out, that's like waiting to get healthy before you go to the doctor and deal with what ails you. Today, our Lord shows us that repentance is the deep trust that our Good Shepherd has already come to us and gathered us in his arms; that God, pictured as a searching woman, has sought us out and found us. After all, a lost sheep doesn't have to prove it's the one with the wooliest coat before the shepherd goes after it, and a lost coin can't make sincere prayers to get the woman of the house looking for it. But, because the sheep is precious, the shepherd searches; because the coin is valuable, the woman picks up the broom and won't rest until it's found. Repentance is the joy of being found and refusing to wander away, the deep trust that we are sought after by God and brought home safely in the life of Jesus Christ.

Even as I type this out I can't help but heave a sigh of relief. Perhaps so much time in a Fundamentalist Protestant Church made me doubt the ability God's grace and occasionally, I need to be reminded of its far reach.

Glory to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - Amen!

What Catholics Really Believe

It's been a while since I have done a book review, so here goes one.  I just finished up "What Catholics Really Believe:  52 Answers to Common Misconceptions About the Catholic Faith" by Karl Keating.  Overall, this book is fairly good at presenting apologetics in a very simple, easy to understand manner.  Actually, it was a little too simple for me, but I imagine it would be great for a non-Catholic or someone who does not know a lot about their faith.  It also would be great for someone who has their faith challenged frequently (non-Catholic spouse, friends, family, etc.) because it clearly explains ways to answer these types of typical misunderstandings.  

There are several negatives to the book though.  First, I would much more highly recommend his "Catholicism and Fundamentalism" because it is much more in-depth, and answers many of the same charges in a more systematic way, targeting the responses at those who are generally challenging our faith - fundamentalists.  Secondly, Keating has the bad habit of being quite antagonizing when he responds to these challenges that he sees as common.  His writing style and attitude come off in a way that is likely to put off many readers, especially those who may be mistaken about the faith honestly and hold false conceptions, they may feel that he is unfair to their position or belittling of their intelligence.  If you have read any of his other works, you will be familiar with what I am talking about.  

Finally, there are a few questions that I think he inadequately answers by putting the real answers off and instead just discussing them in light of things that other Christians believe.  His discussion on the rosary and prayers for the dead were both inadequate, in my opinion.  Again, this could be a useful tool or a quick refresher course for those wanting to learn more about Church teaching or being challenged by a non-Catholic friend or family member.  

Soul Searching

I've been having some thoughts about this blog and wondering where to go with it.  It's main purpose has always been to talk about my journey into Catholicism.  That being said, I get the most discussion and response when I talk about politics - something that I have a Masters degree in (Political Science).  So the real question is, should I switch the purpose of this blog to a political commentary from a Catholic view blog?  Or, should I keep it mixed between personal journey/Church teaching and politics?  Or, should I just quit talking about politics period?  I'd welcome my readers inputs into what you like to hear about here, and I'll be doing some deep thinking about what direction I really want to go.

Divorce

Growing up in a Church of Christ (Evangelical) background, one of their favorite topics to squabble endlessly about was the topic of when divorce and remarriage was permissible. Of course, this simplifies a lot when you become Catholic because we don't believe there can be such a thing as a divorce - at all.

So, the "scripture scholars" over in the Protestant side will come back asking about Matthew 19 and what it means. I'm linking this blog post from "Biblical Evidence from Catholicism" just to let him make a point so I don't have to ramble all day. You might want to read up about what an annulment really is in order to understand this argument in its totality.

McCaniacs succeed in at least one thing

Well, it's time to put the election behind us. Let's pray and hope that Obama leads our country in the right direction. The apocalypse didn't happen yet.

I thought I would share this interesting tidbit from the exit polling data. Among Catholics, the breakdown was as follows:

19% of all voters were White Catholics.
12% of all voters were Catholics who attend weekly or more.
14% of all voters were Catholics who attend less often than once a week.
McCain won 52%-47% over Obama with White Catholics
McCain won 50%-49% over Obama with Catholics who attend weekly or more
Obama won 58-40% over Catholics who attend less often.

Also wanted to pass along something Renee said in the comments below:
"The USCCB urge us to write to our State politicians opposing FOCA as soon as possible."

So, get to writing folks.

I Voted

Cast my vote for Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party today. Here's the:

Seven Principles of the Constitution Party are:

1. Life: For all human beings, from conception to natural death;
2. Liberty: Freedom of conscience and actions for the self-governed individual;
3. Family: One husband and one wife with their children as divinely instituted;
4. Property: Each individual's right to own and steward personal property without government burden;
5. Constitution: and Bill of Rights interpreted according to the actual intent of the Founding Fathers;
6. States' Rights: Everything not specifically delegated by the Constitution to the federal government is reserved for the state and local jurisdictions;
7. American Sovereignty: American government committed to the protection of the borders, trade, and common defense of Americans, and not entangled in foreign alliances.

Ruling Out McCain?

Here is a nice article which I totally agree with from Bishop Tobin of Rhode Island.

Note the following quotation:

"I don’t know about you, dear reader, but I could never vote for a candidate – of any party for any office – who supports laws that promote or allow the death of thousands of children in the hideous crime of abortion. I just don’t want that on my conscience. "