Jan 27 2012

Five Things I Learned During the Rosary Today

I just got back from Eucharistic Adoration, and I wanted to share a few of the things I learned during the Rosary. They might seem obvious, given the nature of the Sorrowful mysteries, nevertheless, they are very important things to remember, especially in the current climate of the United States.

1. Pray diligently. Jesus gives us many great examples of prayer, culminating in the prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. It is here, prior to his tribulation and passion, here, as he enters into the supreme mystery of why he came to earth that he prays. He prays so hard that he starts sweating blood. We too are in the same exact battle as Christ: the battle to defeat evil. Every day we must fight the evil within, and we must fight the attacks of evil from without. In case you haven’t noticed, but lately, our President has zero respect for Christians, for true goodness. He has entered the war as an aggressor. We must pray. We must pray diligently, because this isn’t going away. It will probably get much more difficult before it gets easier.

2. We must stand up for the truth…no matter what. Are we ready to defy unjust laws? Are we ready to stand up for our beliefs and our rights? Are we willing to write letters to our Congressmen, our Senators, our President, the Secretary of the HHS? Are we ready to be imprisoned for standing strong? Are we ready to be beaten bloody? Are we ready to give up our dignity for the kingdom? This is the example that Jesus gave. Are we ready to follow it?

3. We must endure mockery. We have to realize that what we preach is at odds with the world. And the enmity that it creates is going to create hostility towards us. It will blind people to the love, the truth, and the joy that our Faith preaches. They will make fun of our “goofy” religious beliefs, of our “bigotry” and our “oppressive, primitive beliefs”. They are going to act like little punks on the playground. And we, we will take it. Look, they spit on Jesus. They mashed a crown of thorns into his head. And he sat there silently. He turned the other cheek. When they took his dignity beating him, he gave them still more, never seeking his own honor. We too must turn the other cheek. We endure because we cannot stoop to their level. Believe me, they will get what they have coming, and we will get the reward of a suffering servant.

4. We are called to carry a cross. Sometimes I get discouraged by the crosses I am asked to bear. I find it difficult to square it away with the whole “my yoke is easy and my burden is light” stuff. I look at Jesus carrying his cross, and I don’t see him floating along like a feather, I see him falling down, bloody, practically passed out, and none of it looks easy. But you know what, it was easy for him, because he had help and encouragement from Mary, from Simon, from Veronica, and from the women. He saw the faces of the people he had known during his lifetime, and he saw those whom were created through him and he knew the final outcome and that made it easy. We, too, know the final outcome. No, I don’t know if our nation will crumble or survive, but I know that at the end of time, Jesus wins. Knowing that makes my cross easy. And I know that Jesus will provide help and encouragement along the way.

5. Be willing to die. I always pray that it won’t come to this, not in America. But the truth is, this world is a ruthless place. We never know when we might be called to die for our faith. The Church is filled with martyrs. Look at the first centuries of Catholicism; most saints were killed for the faith, beheaded, stabbed, stoned, fed to lions, eyes poked out, cooked over a fire, these people were killed brutally because they would not renounce their faith in Jesus. We must have that kind of faith.

Our nation and our world is becoming increasingly hostile towards us. Now is more important than ever to suit up, to pray, and to be ready to endure anything for Christ, even death.

Jan 21 2012

Where Should Ecumenical Dialogue Begin?

I have a been a Catholic-Christian since April 11, 2009. That was 1,015 days ago. In all that time, many things about me have developed and changed. A thousand days ago I was ready to pick a fight with any post-Reformation heretic of my choosing and I was ready to win that fight. Each fight only ended in frustration because despite the reason behind my arguments, I won a total of zero of those fights.

My views have changed a lot in the last thousand days. Now I realize that just picking a fight is not enough. People won’t convert just like that with a well thought out, completely reasonable idea. I have discovered that the only place that true dialogue can begin is when certain basic truths are accepted and acknowledged.

1. That there is absolute truth
Unless one acknowledges the reality that there is an absolute truth, true dialogue cannot begin. The reason is that they are not interested in what is true, they are not interested in right or wrong, facts or fiction, because in their eyes, the facts are only opinions. Essentially they will argue all day that a fact is “just your own personal opinion.” These types of people are not seekers of truth or knowledge, but seekers of self and pleasure.

We can be confident, though, that there is absolute truth in this universe. For instance, either Paris, France exists or it doesn’t. It doesn’t exist for some people and not for others. Just by saying “Paris isn’t real” doesn’t make it so. Or what about something like 2+2 which equals 4. It isn’t 5. It isn’t 3. It isn’t 6.5. It is 4, and nobody who tries to say it is otherwise is not going to change it. It is always and forever absolutely 4.

This may seem like a “duh” moment, but you’d be surprised at how many people deny absolute truth, especially when it comes to God, who is, the only standard, undeviating being in existence.

2. That God is Knowable
One must be to the point where they acknowledge that God is knowable. It is not enough to acknowledge that there are absolute truths about God. We must also admit that these absolute truth are knowable. If they aren’t knowable, then we still must subject ourselves to a guessing game about what is true of God and his Will. That puts us in a place that is little better than relativism.

Non-Christian religions excluded, it is pretty easy to show, through Scripture that God has made himself knowable and that it is a gift he has given to mankind.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

John 3:16

Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you have sent, Jesus Christ.

John 17:3

This serves to show the purpose of God’s mission earth. In his love he has sent his Son to give us eternal life and that eternal life is knowing God, the only true God. Substitute the second half of John 17:3 in for eternal life (since John 17:3 is the definition of eternal life):

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might know you, the only true God, and the one whom you have sent, Jesus Christ.

It is only when a heart admits that there is absolute truth, that morality and God’s character are not up for personal definitions, and that God, in his love has made it possible to know what is truth, that a heart can truly be open to true dialogue and begin seeking the truth. It is at this junction that God’s grace empowers us and enables us to converse and lead people to communion with reality, with the Bible, with the Church, and with God.

For those hearts that are not to the point of accepting these simple truths, we pray that God would grant them the grace to understand, and accept these truths and to act in the light of that revelation.

For those hearts that have reached this critical junction, we pray that they would receive the graces to discover who God is and what God’s will is and to move forward without any fear.

And for us, who have come to the full light of truth, we pray that we would be patient, encouraging, and wise when entering into dialogue with the souls that God is drawing to him, and has longed for since the pre-dawn of Creation.

Jan 15 2012

Year B: Year of Mark

The Church is wonderfully insightful and contemplative in the liturgical cycle that flowed from the Second Vatican Council. The Gospel cycle present in each of the three years is prepared to be a yearlong instruction in various aspects of the Faith. A large bulk of this year is spent preaching on the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God.

Part 1   Jesus as the Messiah
Sun. 1  The Baptism of Jesus     Mk 1:7-11
Sun. 2  The Call of Andrew and His Friend     Jn 1:35-42

Part 2  The Mysteries of the Kingdom of God

Phase 1  Jesus with the Pharisees and the Crowds
Sun. 3  The Call of the First Disciples     Mk 1:14-20
Sun. 4  A Day in Capernaum 1     Mk 1:21-28
Sun. 5  A Day in Capernaum 2     Mk 1:29-39
Sun. 6  The Cure of a Leper     Mk 1:40-45
Sun. 7  The Cure of a Paralytic     Mk 2:1-12
Sun. 8  The Question of Fasting     Mk 2:18-22
Sun. 9  Violation of the Sabbath     Mk 2:23-3:6

Phase 2  Jesus with His Disciples
Sun. 10  Serious Criticism of Jesus     Mk 3:20-35
Sun. 11  The Parables of the Kingdom     Mk 4:26-34
Sun. 12  The Calming of the Storm     Mk 4:35-41
Sun. 13  Jairus’ Daughter; the Woman in the Crowd     Mk 5:21-43
Sun. 14  Jesus Rejected at Nazareth     Mk 6:1-6

Phase 3  The Messianic Character of Jesus’ Mission
Sun. 15  The Mission of the Twelve     Mk 6:7-13
Sun. 16  Jesus’ Concern for the Apostles     Mk 6:30-34
Sun. 17  The Feeding of Five Thousand     Jn 6:1-15
Sun. 18  The Bread of Life 1     Jn 6:24-35
Sun. 19  The Bread of Life 2     Jn 6:41-51
Sun. 20  The Eucharist     Jn 6:51-58
Sun. 21  Incredulity and Faith     Jn 6:60-69
Sun. 22  Jewish Customs     Mk 7:8, 14-15, 21, 23
Sun. 23  The Cure of the Deaf-mute     Mk 7:31-37

Part 3  The Revelation of the Savior

Phase 1  The Rules of the Kingdom of God
Sun. 24  Peter’s Confession of Faith     Mk 8:27-35
Sun. 25  Passion and Resurrection Foretold     Mk 9:30-37
Sun. 26  Instructions to the Disciples     Mk 9:8-43, 45, 47-48
Sun. 27  The Question of Divorce     Mk 10:2-16
Sun. 28  The Danger of Riches     Mk 10:17-30
Sun. 29  The Sons of Zebedee     Mk 10:35-45
Sun. 30  The Cure of Bartimaeus     Mk 10:46-52

Phase 2  The Ministry in Jerusalem
Sun. 31  The First Commandment     Mk 12:28-34
Sun. 32  The Widow’s Mite     Mk 12:38-44
Sun. 33  The Last Things     Mk 13:24-32

Phase 3  The Supernatural Character of God’s Kingdom
Sun. 34  Christ the King     Jn 18:33-37

It’s difficult to see the “curriculum” the Church is giving us one Sunday at a time, but when the year is overviewed it is a great discourse through the Gospel as we learn important lessons about Christ, the Church, and Christian living.

Jan 12 2012

Creating a Desert of Prayer 2

So what does a desert of prayer look like? What should I do once I’ve gotten away from the world?

Well there isn’t really one single way of praying. However, there are some really good ways of praying.

There is one prayer [besides the Mass] that is a perfect summation of all prayers, The Our Father (The Lord’s Prayer). Look at what two of the greatest theologians of all time say about it:

Run through all of the words of the holy prayers, and I do not think that you will find anything in them that is not contained and included in the Lord’s Prayer.

St. Augustine

The Lord’s Prayer is the most perfect of prayers….In it we ask, not only for all the things can rightly desire, but also in the sequence that they should be desired. The prayer not only teaches us to ask for things, but also in what order we should desire them.

St. Thomas Aquinas

In this prayer we find how we should model all of our prayer and what we should be asking for. We should begin by humbling ourselves by praising God for the holiness of his name and asking him to send his kingdom now, within our hearts. We ask him that his will be done here and now. These are the most important things and are the first things we should do in our prayer lives: praise the glorious majesty of God and desire that his rules, his ways come and penetrate our lives so that his will is accomplished on earth. The subsequent petitions fall into place, we ask for our daily bread (Jesus, the Bread of Life), the forgiveness of our sins, the grace to forgive others, and the grace to be holy and resist temptation.

In this model of prayer that the Lord Jesus himself taught us, we find the beginning of the making of a desert of prayer. So, let us begin by contemplating this simple prayer. Pray it in the quiet of our hearts and really contemplate the words. “Our Father…” God really is my Father. “who art in heaven…” God is not of this world but transcends this place and this time. ”hallowed be thy name…” God is holy and his name is to be reverence and feared.

Like I said, there is no one single way to pray, however, this is a prayer that comes straight from the lips of God, so why not build our desert of prayer on this prayer, letting it penetrate our hearts, our minds, and our souls?

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Jan 11 2012

Faithfulness Ceases to Exist Without Religion

It is said that Christ calls us to be faithful.

It is also sometimes said that Christ came to eradicate religion, usually meaning rituals, rules, penance, and liturgy.

However, I would like to make a simple observation.

Being faithful implies a certain steadfastness, a loyalty. It is thoroughness in a performance of a duty. It is an adherence to certain facts or standards. By eliminating the religious aspect of Christianity, we eliminate the ability to be faithful. When we eliminate the rituals of religion, such as the rituals of Holy Communion, Baptism, Confirmation, and the rest of the Sacraments, you lose something to be faithful towards. If we eliminate the rules such as fasting before Communion, abstaining from meat on Fridays or attending Mass every Sunday, we suddenly have nothing to be faithful towards. It is not unfaithful to skip church on Sunday because there is no rule about going to church. I can be just as faithful sitting on my rump on Sunday playing video games as sitting in a pew because Jesus abolished the rules.

When we’ve eliminated every outwards sign of Christianity because they are “religious” we have nothing to which we can be faithful or unfaithful.

“We’re faithful to Jesus.”

Woo hoo. That’s nice. But what does that entail?

You see part of being in a relationship is having boundaries and guidelines. There are certain rules and expectations to a relationship. There are certain customs and rituals that define relationships. For instance, some of my good friends and myself have this annual spring ritual of riding an old bike to the Red River and tossing it in. It is one of the things that defines our relationship. But when there are no boundaries or guidelines in a relationship, there is no faithfulness, nor is there faithlessness. You really have nothing.

Because the relationship we have is with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, we must remember that while we are brothers  of Christ, God, the Father is still our master, and so our side of the relationship involves submission and obedience.

And because God is always the same, never changing, the core of every Christian’s relationship with God ought to be the same. The things that God loves and the things that God commands are the same always and everywhere because is always and everywhere the same because he is without time or space. These things that define the relationship with Christ are first and foremost obedience to God’s commandments (1 John 2:3-11). This includes the moral law (the ten commandments, the sermon on the mount) and the ceremonial law (the Seven Sacraments which fulfill the Old Testament sacrifices) and the precepts of the Church (which replaces the old Levitical preisthood).

“Oh Norm! Nobody really means that there are no duties that a Christian has when they say that Jesus came to abolish religion.”

I say then that you need to say what you mean. If you don’t mean that there no religious precepts with Jesus than don’t say that there aren’t.

The point is that it is impossible to faithful to a relationship with no rules or structure (a.k.a. religion) because such a relationship is not really a relationship at all.

Jesus came to pay the penalty for our sins. He did not come to abolish religion.

Jan 11 2012

Creating a Desert of Prayer

In a recent post I mentioned that “we must air our hearts out, hang them up to dry in a desert of prayer that it may become sanctified.”

I realize that this image may not make sense because we often envision prayer as a nice juicy orange that is refreshing, full of flavor, and life and joy. Deserts don’t often communicate that refreshing feeling. They are hot, dry, and lifeless. Yet, a desert of prayer is exactly what we need.

God desires for us to know him

As St. Irenaeus says in one the liturgical readings this week:

The Father’s purpose in revealing the Son was to make himself known to us all and so to welcome into eternal rest those who believe in him, establishing them in justice, preserving them from death. To believe in him means to do his will.

Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus

Jesus Christ came so that we could know and do the will of God. How, then, do we know what the will of God is? It consists of making for ourselves a desert of prayer. This means carving out a space where we can find refuge and peace from worldly things. This takes discipline and may actually be the most difficult part of prayer. We must find time to escape the hustle and bustle, the appointments, all of the tasks we must accomplish. We must find time to escape from drowning in the waste of television, idle chatter, endless video and computer games, and pointless social networking. We must simply abandon the wealth and riches of the world for a desert of nothing. Nothing that is, except for God.

It also means abandoning ourselves. It means forsaking everything that we selfishly cling to or desire. It means putting our wills aside so that we can listen for the quiet voice of the Lord and hear what he has to say. It means giving up our preconceived and often deep-seated notions of what is good and true to really listen to what God is revealing to our hearts. It often means starting over, starting fresh. It takes a lot of sacrifice to do such a thing. But if we truly desire to know God and to do his will, it is worth it.

So today, make the decision.

Do I really want to know who God is and learn his will and then obey his will?

Am I ready to take seriously the command to pray always (1 Thess. 5:17) and treasure it in my heart?

I hope that you are.

More to come shortly.

Jan 11 2012

No Illinois State Cru, He Didn’t

The last time that I checked the Scriptures say nothing about Jesus dying “to end religion”. In fact he died so that we might have eternal life. These are two very different things. He died to pay the price attached to our sins. There is nothing in the Bible about Jesus ending religion, nor is this belief prominent until the rise of Evangelical Christianity.

Why do certain groups of Protestants insist on religion being bad? Why are dogmatic definitions bad? Why is structure bad? Why is a moral code bad? Why is repetition bad? These things aren’t bad. Jesus didn’t treat them like they were bad. So why do certain groups insist that he came to abolish religion?

Furthermore, why do we specifically treat the Mosaic law as if it were bad and evil? WHO invented the Mosaic Law? God himself! So why do we treat it so poorly?! It’s insane.

The “Jesus died to end religion” theory is a theory that is used to free us from obligation towards God, to free us from submitting to something, to free us from having to go with the flow. It frees us to do our own thing without any regard to a “religious institute”. None of these things are things that are found in Scripture or the vast history of Christianity, so perhaps it is time to re-examine this theory.

Christianity is a relationship. It is also a religion.