Category Archives: Hell

Why Trinitarian Belief is Essential to Christianity

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Andrei Rublev's Trinity, representing the Fath...

Andrei Rublev’s Trinity, representing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in a similar manner. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today is “Trinity Sunday” on the Liturgical Calendar. There have no doubt been literally thousands of arguments, both for and against, this central doctrine over nearly two millenia, ranging from “where is that in the Bible” to “non-Trinitarians are going to hell,” and every range in between.

I have known lovely and loving people who accepted Christ as Lord and God, but did not accept the concept of “three persons in one God.” So are they Christians? And what about those who believe Jesus was God’s “first-born” (in other words created by Him) such as Jehovah’s Witnesses teach, and the Arians as well hundreds of years earlier? Are they “real” Christians?  Or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who believe in a Triune God of sorts but that He is one of many, and that we too have the potential to one day rule and reign in our own universes?  Are they Christians?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianism

Scary isn’t it?  So many love Jesus but cannot agree about who He is. Each of the above groups who deviate from traditional Trinitarian thinking also believe that Jesus is the Son of God, lived a perfect and sinless life, died for our sins, and is forever in heaven with His Father. It is very hard to then say “they do not believe like I do so hell awaits.”  And I do not believe so. But I will get back to that thought in a moment.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) clearly indicates that belief in this doctrine is indeed the bedrock of any true form of Christianity. While not in the Sacred Scriptures expressly, the concept exists and was in fact universally approved by the Church before that same Church approved which books even belonged in Sacred Scripture.  Protestant friends please understand I am not referring to any Old Testament books but rather the New Testament, which virtually every Christian denomination (and the splinter groups listed above as well) agree upon.  The teaching of the Trinity came first.

Says the CCC in 232:

Christians are baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Before receiving the sacrament, they respond to a three-part question when asked to confess the Father, the Son, and the Spirit: “I do.” “The faith of all Christians rests on the Trinity.”54 (189, 1223)

In 189:

The first “profession of faith” is made during Baptism. The symbol of faith is first and foremost the baptismal creed. Since Baptism is given “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” the truths of faith professed during Baptism are articulated in terms of their reference to the three persons of the Holy Trinity. (1237, 232)

And in 1223:

All the Old Covenant prefigurations find their fulfillment in Christ Jesus. He begins his public life after having himself baptized by St. John the Baptist in the Jordan. After his resurrection Christ gives this mission to his apostles: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28: 19) 18 (232)

It is important to note that the teachings of the Catechism are based upon early Traditions which go back to the earliest Church Fathers and even the Apostles themselves. Sacred Scripture as well, not mentioning the word “Trinity,” makes multiple other references besides the above, such as the following quote both from Holy Writ and with commentary from St Athanasius, an early Church Father who lived in the third and fourth centuries AD and who in fact was the first to identify the 27 books of the New Testament as universally recognized today.  Here is what he says:

This is also Paul’s teaching in his second letter to the Corinthians (13:13): The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. For grace and the gift of the Trinity are given by the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. Just as grace is given from the Father through the Son, so there could be no communication of the gift to us except in the Holy Spirit. But when we share in the Spirit, we posses the love of the Father, the grace of the Son and the fellowship of the Spirit himself.   St. Athanasius

And the following:

We acknowledge the Trinity, holy and perfect, to consist of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In this Trinity there is no intrusion of any alien element or of anything from outside, nor is the Trinity a blend of creative and created being. It is a wholly creative and energizing reality, self-consistent and undivided in its active power, for the Father makes all things through the Word and i…n the Holy Spirit, and in this way the unity of the holy Trinity is preserved. Accordingly, in the Church, one God is preached, one God who is above all things and through all things and in all things. God is above all things as Father, for he is principle and source; he is through all things through the Word; and he is in all things in the Holy Spirit.- St. Athanasius
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Last, in a more modern context, a modern Catholic theologian, Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio states the following:
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“Happy Feast Day of the Holy Trinity.    We are Christians because we are followers of Christ. But besides this, we are also Trinitarians, because we believe in one God in three Divine Persons,  The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. If we are truly to “know” our God, we must know this.  But if we are ever to understand ourselves, we must also know this.  For we were made in the image and like…ness of God, and God is a community of self-donating love.  That means that we can never be happy isolated from others, protecting ourselves from others, holding ourselves back selfishly from others.  Unless we give ourselves in love, we can never be fully human.  And unless we participate in the life of God’s people, we can never be truly Christian either.  Because Christianity is about building up the community of divine love which is called the Church.  If God is Trinity, then there really is no place for free-lance, lone-ranger Christians.”
I think it can be thus established that belief in the Trinity is foundational to the fullness of salvation and our understanding of it. So how about those “Christians” who do not believe in this doctrine?
In both Sacred Scripture and in the early Church, the concept, if not the word, of “Catechumen” was used of those who were beginning to follow Christ but had not been baptized or who had yet to comprehend the full teachings of Christ. For example, in the New Testament a convert named Apollos was preaching Christ but missing some very important details due to poor or lack of instruction (catechesis).  A couple by the names of Aquila and Priscilla took him aside and explained the plan of Christ to him more clearly, and then he went on his way. Also, St Paul, when first meeting the Ephesians, finds that they were not properly baptized, and had no concept of the Holy Spirit. They were then re-baptized and received the Spirit of God. See passages below:

Ephesians 18: 24-28 (ESV)  24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures.  25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.  26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.  27 And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed,  28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.

Ac 19:1  (also ESV)  And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples.  2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”  3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.”  4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.”  5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.  7 There were about twelve men in all.

Quadruple combination opened to the Book of Is...

Quadruple combination opened to the Book of Isaiah – note the cross references between Biblical and Latter-day Saint scripture in the footnotes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So what does the Church teach about those who are following Christ as best they understand Him?  Are they headed for heaven or hell?  To answer that I think it depends first of all on the hearts of the people involved.  But again we turn to the Catechism (CCC) for an answer. People who are attempting to follow Christ in the New Testament are referred to by the Church as  catechumens. They may be mistaken on many points, ignorant on others, but still are part of the family of God if they truly believe according to their best understanding.

1257 (CCC):

 The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation. He also commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them.61 Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament. The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are “reborn of water and the Spirit.” God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments. (1129; 161, 846)

1258:

The Church has always held the firm conviction that those who suffer death for the sake of the faith without having received Baptism are baptized by their death for and with Christ. This Baptism of blood, like the desire for Baptism, brings about the fruits of Baptism without being a sacrament. (2473)

1259:

For catechumens who die before their Baptism, their explicit desire to receive it, together with repentance for their sins, and charity, assures them the salvation that they were not able to receive through the sacrament. (1249)

1260:

“Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery.” Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity. (848)

The only conclusion I can come to on this wonderful Trinity Sunday is that Trinitarian baptism is the normal means of entrance into the Kingdom of God. It both issues from faith and brings faith–it is the Sacrament of Faith. But for those who believe in an incomplete way, or misguided way, there would appear to be provision through what the Church clearly calls the “baptism of desire.”  That is how generous the Trinity truly is.

Holy Trinity by Fridolin Leiber (1853–1912)

Holy Trinity by Fridolin Leiber (1853–1912) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Father Thomas D Williams and “Victim Mentality”

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I am sure I am going to burst many a bubble with this post but I am–note I said am–present tense–a deep admirer of Father Thomas D Williams, who recently admitted fathering a child out-of-wedlock and is now quietly at home with his family while battling cancer. While, in a sense, what he did or did not do victimizes us all in that what hurts one hurts all, yet in a far greater sense, unless he molested minors or coerced women in the confessional, what he did really should only make us sad for all of those involved.

At the outset let it be said that much of this story has not been yet dissected and analyzed. I may change or at least modify my views if it is discovered that he has been guilty of illegal activity, and that could certainly still occur. Senior Correspondent John L Allen of NCR (National Catholic Reporter), stated that “rumors” are afloat that Williams has had numerous affairs and encounters, in some cases possibly with his students, and if so the above picture changes and quickly.

But, for now, what we know positively is this only–Father Williams is a biological father as well as a spiritual one. He is indeed a “daddy” in several more ways than one. He has at times removed more than his Roman collar in the presence of at least one or more attractive women, and not for purposes of doing the laundry either.  And the immediate cry from the blogosphere, ad nauseam and per usual, is “the Church is at fault for insisting on priestly celibacy.”  But are they really? Maybe–or maybe not. Still we do know that the gun was not placed to his head (either upper or lower) when he took those vows and began to follow publicly the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

One thing deeply disturbs me though. I have yet to hear or read about anyone attacking the Church for her insistence, on the parts of priests or religious, to follow the other two “counsels” here, at least in the above-named case.  I suspect some may have done so or yet will, but those comments or observations are not what hits the news in a titillating case such as the dashing Father Williams. I wonder though why not?

What if, instead of focusing on “celibacy” as the culprit, we were to take this situation and use it to recognize what we do to priests, nuns, other religious, and for that matter those of other faiths who are thrown into the public eye, kept there mercilessly, and are subsequently bull-dozed as a result when our seduction of them is finished?

Truth be told, part of me, or you, may be just a bit jealous of the good Padre. Not at the moment, to be sure, but exactly who would not wish to look like a contestant for “Dancing with the Stars,” write 14 successful books, live in the Eternal City, and yet spend my life travelling to-and-fro for my next and bigger appearances on international television year upon year?  I too might eventually neglect the Liturgy of the Hours too sometimes if I were being wined and dined by the likes of Katie Couric, and it might swell my head more than I could publicly admit if I knew she was referring to me as “Father What-A-Waste.”

Katie Couric

Katie Couric (Photo credit: Image Editor)

And here is what is sad and perhaps even tragic about all of this attention and living next to, but not participating in, the glitz and glamor our world handily provides almost all other men or women with such outward physical attributes. It is like shopping all day, every day, in Macy’s but going home to my  Wal-Mart furnished apartment. Can it be done? Yes, and there are a handful of heroic souls who do so. But not many of us would slip by completely unscathed without at least a passing sense of wonder and curiosity about how the other side lives.

That is, at least in part, why I believe Father, and many others in such situations, fall prey to such temptations. While it is true he admittedly broke his vows (and such admission by the way takes more courage than most people, priest or parishioner, married or single can muster in a lifetime), it was the other two evangelical virtues that are probably far harder to follow in a case such as his and likely led to his (hopefully) temporary downfall. Poverty says “nothing is mine.”  Nothing. Jesus told us that the rich young ruler, who incidentally was chaste and obedient to literally all of the Ten Commandments “from his childhood,” would have a more difficult time entering the Kingdom of Heaven than a camel passing through the eye of a needle. Hard words from our kind Lord, especially for someone who wanted to follow Him and who sought Him out to offer his services. But he did not understand poverty of spirit. Stronger than this, though, or perhaps even coming directly from this, was and is the issue of undying obedience to Christ and the Church every single minute while the world watches, lying in wait to trip us up. How strong and consistent of a prayer life could possibly be occurring in the life of someone who spends their time jet-setting across the continents, working probably 20 hour days 7 days weekly, having women (and men) constantly throwing themselves at him with less than spectacular motives on likely a daily basis, and then watching, as we all do, the biological clock slowly tick away at his chances for another life or lifestyle ?  I would venture a guess that he is somewhere in the vicinity of 40 years of age by now, and that means in 10 short years  he will be 50,  then soon 60 and onward it goes. Life is fast, and handsome is never forever.

Ten Commandments

Ten Commandments (Photo credit: glen edelson)

I am also not sure what type of cancer he has, but add that word into the picture and the term “mid-life crisis” has a very possibly much more ominous meaning than ever before in his own life experience. And, wrong though it is, the words “last chance” begin to dance around in his brain. And so he gives in.

What we have done by our over-infatuation with this “pretty priest” is to set him up for huge and overwhelming occasions of sin. Now that he has indeed fallen, he will likely soon be mostly forgotten except for the occasional cocktail jokes and atheist websites. This for a man whose ambition was perhaps to be one day a Cardinal or even Pope. Celibacy did not do this to him. Misplaced hero-worship did. And again I do not take away from the fact of his personal responsiblity here. He has some. Plenty, in fact. He made poor choices and is now paying deeply for them.  But 1 John 2:15-17 tells us that 3 things, which correspond very closely to the above-mentioned evangelical counsels which very cleric, and in fact every Christian, are called to follow, are each part of the issue and to reduce it to the celibacy question is to miss this point entirely in my view.

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16　For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17　And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.

Verse 16 pretty much sums it up. Losing chastity (desires of the flesh), poverty (desires of the eyes) and obedience (pride of life) each work in tandem to kill the soul. And Father Williams’ very eternal soul is at stake to be sure. We  collectively turned him into a superstar, throwing him meaningless accolades while placing him into occasion after occasion of sin, and then rejoice that he finally got “caught.” And now we can throw him away. And we too can find a new “victim.”

Yes the people of God and our Church are surely victims here–but so is he. And to the 50% of clergy addicted to porn, and those of us, me included, who destroyed our Christian marriages or states of life due to infidelities, sexual or otherwise, which we can never take back once committed, maybe we should put down our stones and get on our knees instead.

Have you prayed for your priest today?

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HHS Mandates, Families, and Sometimes Strained Friendships

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"The Kiss of Judas" is a traditional...

Jesus told us that, should we choose to follow after Him, that many of those most vociferously opposing us would be those we are closest to, whether family or friends. While far from experiencing what Jesus went through, I have learned more and more of late the truth of this when attempting to fight in some small way the culture of death and jeopardy to religious freedom that we live in today.

Below,  in context, is an example of what happened to our own Lord Jesus Christ when He “went home” after becoming well-known and arguably the most powerful spiritual leader within Judaism of his time or thereafter. The passage is Mark 6: 6-7, and the translation used is the Revised Standard Version, considered by many scholars,  both Catholic and Protestant, to be one of the very most accurate available. The bold print is added by me.

1 He went away from there and came to his own country; and his disciples followed him. 2 And on the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? What mighty works are wrought by his hands! 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.” 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands upon a few sick people and healed them.  6 And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.

While this passage is dealing with the preaching of the Gospel in general, it with certainty applies extremely well to the recent HHS Mandate which will potentially force all religions (not only Catholic) to follow government guidelines on women’s healthcare or to be heavily fined or possibly even shut down if not. Since the Catholic health care system is the largest in the world, and Catholics make up the largest religious group in the United States, the effect on health care for both women and men could be staggering.  The effects on religious liberty even more so.

Others have written more eloquently than I could hope to on this issue, and I would not waste your time or mine in repeating their words here (I have linked to some of them at the end of this post however). But what has prompted my post today is a series of comments made by Rush Limbaugh, who arguably made a rather rash and hasty judgment of the motives behind one Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown University law student who appeared before Congress earlier this week to state her case about the “needs of women” to have access to birth control during college.

Rush Limbaugh Cartoon by Ian D. Marsden of mar...

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I am not into name-calling. I do not agree with Rush or his attitude in how he presented his views here. He referred to her as a “slut” and has refused to apologize. His words have not helped the case in any way, but rather have simply lost him advertisers (ironically one has been Select Comfort, a bed company!!!). But Limbaugh for once makes a daring but valid point. A good friend and colleague of mine had a rather heated exchange with me on this whole thing last night, particularly in regards to the definition of “slut.”  I think it may be partially a generational thing, as my colleague is younger than I, but to me “slut” and “prostitute” are pretty much interchangeable. To him they are not. Rather than wrestling about the words here though, the argument Mr. Limbaugh was actually making has some validity in my opinion. Asking the government to force payment for women (or men) to have sexual relations is “slutty” on many levels.   At one point he (Rush) likened government involvement to prostitution for that very reason, and he does speak an element of truth here. By forcing payment for universally free contraception, “we the people” become the “pimps” of both men and women who choose to become sexually active, when, at least in most cases, no gun is being held to their heads to do so.

My friend rightly brought up two seeming inconsistencies, however. One is that insurance should not be forced to pay for Viagra either, since it would be doing the same thing for men. I think he is right to a large extent. We hand out “pleasure candy” to both genders and then wonder why they “eat and enjoy.” As I wrote earlier and reference below this article, we have become very good at “enabling” bad behavior in the United States and beyond. There is one difference between Viagra and contraceptives, however, and it is a “huge one” (please pardon the unplanned pun here!). Viagra can be used to create life, at least indirectly, in an otherwise infertile couple who is not able to have sexual intercourse and thus become pregnant.  Part B of that difference is that Viagra or its other forms such as Cialis do not ever remove life from this planet, however tiny. Birth control pills on the other hand do, as does the IUD(inter-uterine device) and even more true with the infamous “morning after pill,” now becoming available in many cases over the counter for anyone over age 17! Each of those ingestible or otherwise invasive contraceptives have the potential of working after fertilization, and science and medicine have proven clearly that it is at that moment of fertilization where a new life technically begins. Not even an atheist can disprove that point, nor do they try.

viagra is a commercial produced medicine conta...

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The other inconsistency, which is the one Ms. Fluke spoke of, are the rare times when a woman really does have a health issue such as endrometriosis that can be helped or greatly aided by using a contraceptive such as the Pill. What interestingly appeared in a very passing way during her conversation with Congress was that Georgetown University already covers such use of those particular medications under their insurance in such cases!  While it quite apparently true that she had a good friend who was denied this by the college’s insurance administrators, that would then be the insurance who is at fault in their processing of the claim, not the college or the Church. I do not think there is a person, Catholic, Protestant, or other, who would disagree that this was a terrible injustice done to her friend. And without putting words in His Excellency’s eloquent mouth, that would most surely include Cardinal Timothy Dolan, head of the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops).

But to change the entire way in which the contraceptive issue is dealt with by every single Catholic or otherwise religious institution in the nation due to the “fluke” (pun intended this time) of the Georgetown insurance providers is not only ludicrous, but was not seemingly her main reason for speaking on the issue at all. While extremely important, is nonetheless a side issue, albeit one that arguably must be included in the protection of women’s health on any final bill in regards to this whole complex set of issues. It, in fact, would be the only time that contraceptives ever even become a health issue. And as such, this has already been the long-standing policy of the Church on that topic. And that is no “new news.”

The late and great Father John Hardon of happy memory wrote on this exact thing a number of years ago (he passed away in December of 2000, almost 12 years ago ). In his highly informative Modern Catholic Dictionary, he writes the following on other uses of contraception rather than birth control: Again the emphasis is mine.

ENDOMETRIOSIS

A gynecological illness caused by the abnormal presence of tissue that more or less perfectly resembles the lining of the uterus (endometrium) but growing outside of the uterus itself and distributed in other pelvic areas. Since this aberrant endometrial tissue responds to the hormone-induced changes of the woman’s menstrual cycle but, unlike the true endometrial lining of the uterus, is entrapped in other tissue such as bone and muscle, its cyclic changes of menstruation, causes the problem to repress, and even after the pregnancy improvement is sometimes sustained for a period up to three or four years.   

Since a surgical approach to the problem is not always practical or successful, the so-called “contraceptive pill” has been recommended for use over prolonged periods to eliminate the cyclic changes of the menstrual cycle and thus eliminate the periodic pain of endometriosis. It should be noted, from a moral viewpoint, that although this progestational-estrogen type therapy is, in itself, essentially the same as that used in the “contraceptive pill,” it is not used in theses cases as a contraceptive. the purpose of the therapy is to ameliorate a seriously abnormal and indeed pathological condition insofar as it is aggravated by hormonal changes of the menstrual cycle. Although temporary sterility is a side effect of the treatment, contraception is not the purpose, and thus the treatment in no way conflicts with Catholic teaching.

The point of this whole thing to me is simple:  none of this has been hidden away in the proverbial “closet” somewhere. Taking certain contraceptives, if done primarily for health reasons and not reproductive ones, has not been and is not the issue here, nor will it ever become such. But when my friend’s Wisconsin Synod Lutheran minister is one day arrested for speaking out against homosexuality, just for an example, which he apparently frequently does, my friend may wish he had opposed what is the biggest affront to overall religious liberty in our time. The other point, more subtle but still serious, is that such invasiveness is pitting people against one another.  My friend and I will do just fine–but some will not. And the idea of using such difficult and divisive issues to “divide and conquer,” as it clearly appears the Obama administration is expert in doing, is reprehensible to me. I have begun to believe it is his hallmark.

Last but not at all least, I would like to share Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s official letter, as of just yesterday, on this ongoing battle. If you are Roman Catholic, you are obligated as part of your Catholic Faith to be in willing submission to what he shares here. The Bishops, particularly the Bishop of Rome (Pope Benedict XVI) are the legitimate leaders of the Catholic Church. And that is not negotiable.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

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http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/upload/Dolan-to-all-bishops-HHS.pdf

Much has been made about the fact that a significant number of Catholic couples ignore the prohibition on contraception, as if that somehow justified it. But as my dear, dear friend and brother in Christ the late Angel Cruz used to often say (and Angel knew, first-hand, having been a former heroin addict and dying of HIV/AIDS as a result in 1986, at age 33) “If the whole world decides to go to hell, that does not mean I have to.” I am with Angel.

I do not ever recommend for anyone to leave the Church.  But if you truly cannot abide by her principles and precepts, then it is far better to leave in honesty than to stay and attempt to deliberately undermine the entire leadership as some have done in this fight. Perhaps Sister Carol Sheehan, Kathleen Sebelius, and Nancy Pelosi, among others, need to be reminded that they are neither practicing Catholics nor leaders within her sacred ranks. And pretending that they are is unbelievable hypocrisy and arrogance at best, and endangering their very souls at worst.

William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) - The F...

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NOTE:  After I released this article Mr. Limbaugh did indeed apologize to Ms. Fluke.  I will leave it to the reader as to his reasons or sincerity, but at least it was not a “oops it was a wardrobe malfunction” type of apology.   Here is a link to it:

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2012/03/03/a_statement_from_rush

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My Special Relationship With Osama bin Laden

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Reblogged from NicMyshkin's Blog:

I have often said that if I hadn’t been married when 9/11 happened (only 39 days earlier, actually), then I would’ve made it my life’s goal to gain 30 seconds with Osama Bin Laden to tell him that God genuinely loved him, after which he could kill me or whatever.  I started saying that because on the day the world trade towers fell, the mass reaction was always something to the effect of, “Find him and kill him!”.  

Read more… 837 more words

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"]Stencil grafitti of Osama bin Laden in Buchare...[/caption] This post is from my wonderful brother in Christ and friend, Nic Davidson, and to me it is a marked contrast to some I have seen of late who seem to have no qualms about excusing their disguised seeming hatred of others who disagree with them. May we all learn from you, Nic. Blessings to you both.
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ANOTHER BLOGGING MILESTONE: 15,000 “HITS,” 130 POSTS, “VISITS” FROM 97 NATIONS, NEARLY 200 FOLLOWERS COUNTING FACEBOOK, TWITTER, AND EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS, AND A PERSONAL NOTE FROM JEFFERSON BETHKE: NOT TOO BAD FOR 3.5 MONTHS!!!

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I think, at this important juncture, it becomes crucial that I identify some purposes and goals for this blog. First and foremost, it is opinions.  Not more, not less. I attempt to write from the perspective of someone who has been Roman Catholic for 21 years of my life and, unlike many of my generation, was well-catechized (Baltimore Catechism style), by some “bad Catholic” nuns such as those pictured on the amazing Mark Barnes’s blog ( http://www.patheos.com/blogs/badcatholic/) as well as directly below:

Although I left Rome for 35 years of my life, 20 of those were spent in strongly Bible-honoring Christ-centered/ecclesial communities within the Assemblies of God and similar circles.  While charismatic in belief and gifts, the A/G warns strongly against such misuses as constant “slaying in the Spirit,” “leg growing” (if you do not know what this is I say best not to even ask!), and using such gifts as tongues and prophetic words according to 1 Corinthians 12-14, making love the center (chapter 13) and following strict guidelines as laid down by St Paul for the public use of such gifts.

During the “missing in action” 15 years after, I explored many other spiritual paths and traditions including such things as the Tarot, astrology, I Ching, and a general hodge-podge of New Age types of experiences. Those were as well the years that I was active in the LGBT lifestyle. I also attended and was a member of, at various times, a United Methodist, Episcopal (Anglican), UCC (United Church of Christ), and MCC (Metropolitan Community Church). Oh, and Baptist for a bit as well.  You might say I partook of a literal “Seven Layer Salad” of various Christian groups in addition to around 7 years where I never darkened the door of a church at all.

Since my return to Rome in 2005, I went through RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults), which is a thorough review of basic core Catholic beliefs, and then took a 2 year course of studies through the St Paul Seminary.  Since I had already taken 4 years of college level theology through the Assemblies of God, I now have 6 full years of theological study from both Protestant and Catholic perspectives.

ALL TO SAY—I do not claim to be a “theologian,” on TV or otherwise!  However I do have a pretty broad spectrum of religious study and practice, and find that I have at least a decent handle on most issues. What I do not know I at least have many resources to research and find out.  So my opinions, while being simply that, are generally not based on vague “tingles of the spine” or “flavor of the day” experiences but on at least a basic grasp of my own theology and that of others.

That was a long but important digression.  I started out by saying that I was attempting to bring forth some specific goals for this blog, and one of those is in the area of becoming more devotional in my approach to blogging. For instance as I posted a couple of weeks back, I plan to start a Rosary meditation series soon.  I will continue to cover current topics of interest, and the occasional “just fun” posts too.  But expect less politics and more overall Christianity, however from a Catholic Christian perspective to be sure.  I also plan to go beyond this with the occasional sharing of posts such as the other day regarding Jefferson Bethke, a Protestant Christian evangelical brother who has done some truly amazing things, whether one totally agrees with his approach or not, and then attempting to build some authentic bridges wherever possible between Protestant and Catholic Christianity.  There are literally dozens of sites out there for Catholic apologetics, and I have in fact some of them listed on my blog roll. But what I tend to see less of are those with a concern to be truly ecumenical.  To me that may mean at times laying aside, while not ignoring, the very real differences that continue to exist between us.  And when I see someone who I believe is doing so effectively, whether Protestant or Catholic, I will gladly share their stories and perspectives without giving up my understanding of the Faith.  Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has indicated the need for this type of dialogue, and I think it sadly becomes frozen in place when all we do is wrangle over someone’s use of the word “religion” for example. There I have said it.  That is not the direction I wish to take this blog and I will be doing my utmost to steer clear of such discussions.

The changes I am making are not in truth huge—this has pretty much been the vision I have had from the beginning for my writings.  However I think even I could not have articulated it without a few months of “blog time” to begin learning the ropes within the blogosphere.  But now is the time.

As my posted article “Catholic First—Christian First” (linked below) clearly delineates, I am of the view that our first objective as believers is not to “bag Catholics” from the “evil world of Protestantism.”  I believe that the first and foremost goal we are to have as Christ-honoring historical Christians is to fellowship together in whatever ways we honestly can without compromising belief on either side.  If during that process someone becomes intrigued with or wishes to learn more about the Catholic Faith, I will gladly help direct them towards it.  But sometimes we as Catholics make it “Church first, then Jesus” and in reality it is the exact opposite.  I think that is what my brother Bethke meant when he said he “loved Jesus but hated religion.” In that context, would that more of us do the same.

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I’VE JUST SEEN AN APPARITION—ON MY FOREHEAD!!!

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Blessed Ash Wednesday to everyone!  God is continually good, isn’t He?  Especially when, as the Divine Mercy and Fatima prayers go, we are “most in need of His Mercy.”  I was recently asking myself why that might be. But one thing we as Catholics share with our Calvinist sisters and brothers is an appreciation for both the sovereignty and glory of God. It is absolutely true that the very essence of God is His love, and that is why He has offered salvation to us. But a salvation dependent on us, at least on our fleshly desire for Him, is not enough, and never has been. While we would differ from Calvin in that we believe we are both able to and must choose to cooperate with His Grace, we agree with them that it is totally and completely His Grace that saves us.

If that sounds paradoxical, it is because it is meant to. St Augustine of Hippo, in his 169th sermon, stated that “He who created you without you will not justify you without you.” And it is that first portion of the statement which fits so well with His delight in saving the unsalvageable  It is to the very glory of God when He reaches down and “saves a wretch like me” as the wonderful hymn Amazing Grace says to each of us.  St Paul warns us with solemnity not to misuse this grace in Romans 6: 1-4 (ESV):

 “1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Truth be told, we are saved because He loves us endlessly, and He does so because that is His very nature to do so. It therefore completely and totally glorifies and exalts His loving nature to offer salvation to undeserving humankind. The two fit together hand in glove, and one is not contrary to the other. Bringing us back to the original thought here, that is why He delights in redeeming us from our hopelessly sinful selves. His Love and His Glory. It just happens to include us in the package.

Ash Wednesday is a great reminder of this.  As the priest imposes the ashes (usually burned from last year’s blessed Palms from Palm Sunday) he says the words “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  If you had any ego remaining, thinking that God saved you or, more accurately, is in process of saving you due to your great value to the Kingdom, that pronouncement should pretty much eliminate those thoughts. As the Sign of the Cross is gently but firmly placed on your forehead, Lent begins for you. And this Holy Season, which is given to assist our growth in the threefold purpose of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and an increase of each  of these in your life and mine, is an awakening of the gift of God which is already in us through the indwelling Holy Spirit. If even St Timothy needed such an awakening according to the admonishment of St Paul, then surely we do from time to time as well.

 2 Timothy 1:6 (ESV):

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”

So what about this apparition deal? I think most of us have heard of supposed visions of our Blessed Mother in the form of everything from tortillas to chocolate, and if we look hard enough for signs we will almost always find something that might pass for one. While the rich symbolism of Ash Wednesday needs no such signs, yet each and every imposition of ashes is as individual as the person receiving it. Although the goal is to make a “cross” on each and every forehead, the priests and ministers are moving a bit fast, especially in a big parish or congregation, and the ashen image does not always look, shall we just say, traditional.

Mine first reminded me of a Tau Cross, which is a cross in the shape of the Greek letter Tau and was first promoted by St Francis of Assisi, one of my patrons.  So far so good. At next examination, it then reminded me of the dove of the Holy Spirit, and finally on 3rd glance the Resurrection of Jesus our Lord. Now however it looks more like a simple airplane. Yikes and ouch. I do not think I can claim it as a “private revelation” after all…

Still each of the above symbols (except perhaps the airplane of course!!!) are spiritual images which on this Ash Wednesday remind me of a larger and already revealed set of essential truths—Jesus dying on the Cross for us all, Jew and Greek (which then ultimately includes all Gentiles), his Resurrection from the dead, and his gift of the Holy Spirit to those of us who are baptized into Him and walk in His Faith.  So I guess there are some lessons there after all, even if they do not qualify as apparitions per se. Going back to the first Scripture I quoted (Romans 6: 1-4), it is all there. And may I, and you, and each person reading this, learn to walk in obedience to our baptisms, first in the death and then the Resurrection of the Christ. Let us further allow this Lent to be fruitful indeed by increasing us in prayer, fasting when physically able, and giving to those in need. Religion is not worth much without these three, nor is life in general. Then again, they are actually one in the same, aren’t they? And all too soon, we will once again be “dust in the wind” as the 70s song by Kansas so eloquently tells us. It is a sobering thought. And one we need more than once a year.

Lastly, I want to share the Prayer Over the Offerings from the new translation of the Roman Missal It pretty much embodies everything I am attempting to say in this writing today, and likely more besides. I think we might all do well to make this prayer our own, not just for Ash Wednesday but for all of Lent and life:

“As we solemnly offer the annual sacrifice for the beginning of Lent, we entreat you, O Lord, that, through works of penance and charity, we may turn away from harmful pleasures and, cleansed from our sins, may become worthy to celebrate devoutly the Passion of your Son. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.”

To which we each may say a heartfelt “Amen.”

 SEE LAST LINK BELOW FOR AN EXCELLENT ARTICLE ABOUT THE NEW MASS TRANSLATION AND ASH WEDNESDAY…

The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV® Text Edition: 2007.

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The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

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