TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CXXXIIII -or- CXXXXIV

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY FOUND: "The more we are proud that the Bethlehem story is plain enough to be understood by the shepherds, and almost by the sheep, the more do we let ourselves go, in dark and gorgeous imaginative frescoes or pageants about the mystery and majesty of the Three Magian Kings." G. k. Chesterton

QUOTE II: “Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are unanswerable." C. S. Lewis

IN OTHER NEWS:

Patrick Bline of the Emmaus Round Table who is giving an advent mission at St. Sebastian on the Theology of the Body (the last one is tonight at 7PM) suggested this video for your viewing pleasure. (It cannot be embedded so here is the URL.) 3 minutes.

This one was sent in by Jen.

Here is one from Kay.

The Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter reports, "VATICAN (Zenit) - The Vatican Web page Pope2you.net has made it possible this Christmas to send Benedict XVI a personalized Christmas card through e-mail or the social networking site Facebook."

There are still a couple of days to check out the O Antiphons. Fr. B. provided this video. Thanks Fr. B.

MONDAY DIARY: IF ONLY SATURDAYS WERE CELEBATE

One if by land! Two if by sea!

Christmas is coming! Christmas is coming!

But we have no fear here at St. Sebastian. No sir! We designed our Christmas preparations with one full day to use as catch up in case of emergencies. And good thing too because by last Saturday we were sufficiently behind schedule to warrant wishing there was an extra day in the week. And we had it and her name was Saturday. Oh, beautiful Saturday, your arms promised comfort and your ruby lips whispered poems of quiet, lazy hours of writing bulleting articles, homilies, and other Christmas activities that require the cleverness of baking pies – time and space to do as you need.

Oh, but Saturday, you were a fickled mistress. Unfaithful were you to your promises. For during the Mass of your early hours the electricity went out. It was only for a moment. An instant really. Thanks to the hawks that have kept the critter population down to only the most intelligent of the tiny beasts, the others who used to regularly crawl into the transformers and turning themselves into an instant cooked dinner long ago serving as hawk food, save one. There was a tiny, solitary bird that slipped through your radar and cooked his own goose.

One comes to realize how truly fragile our way of life is when experiencing just one instant without the life line of electricity. The heat went out and part of the boiler system fried. The internet went down meaning that not only could we not go on line, we could not use the copiers, work on the bulletin, or send messages to each other. Then the alarms! Oh! The alarms! In every building! No sooner was the code punched in than because the system was damaged they would go off again and the company would call again and say, “Do we need to send someone over there?”

Who could think with alarms going off? Pillows were placed over the screaming, angry sirens with boards holding them in place in an effort to teach it only to speak with inside voices.

Oh Saturday, you filled your life with other men than me! How could you be so cruel? Boiler repair men, the computer repair man, the electricians, the alarm company. How they gathered at your skirts and danced with you all day long while I played host to your infidelities.

Today at Mass I see remembrances of you as we count the light bulbs blown out by your great burst of energy. Good bye Saturday for ever. No one could say your were not exciting. But you need to go. If you don’t, I will regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of my life.

We will always have Paris.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI - FEW ARE ON THE FENCE OVER RAILS

If I had to take a guess at what three architectural features cause the most consternation among practicing Catholics, number one would be the placement of the tabernacle, just about everything concerning the altar of sacrifice (size, construction, orientation, material, placement), and lastly would be the altar rail.

Altar rails still exist in many church buildings as remnants from pre-Vatican II architecture as they were desirable as part of the celebration of the Mass. Also called a Communion rail, communicants would kneel at the rail in order to receive Holy Communion.

Another purpose was to separate the sanctuary from the nave of the church. There is something sacred and special about the sanctuary area and so it was demarcated so that only activities directly related to worship would take place there. It is something like the rail found in a courtroom. The area that has a particular focus of activity is set aside and in effect guarded as a way of reminding us of the sacred mysteries that take place there.

The altar rail is no longer called for but Vatican II never called for the removal of the altar rail either and later the Vatican restated that there is no automatic need to have it removed especially when it is of artistic or architectural value except when it was necessary for the expansion of the sanctuary area.

Today in pre-Vatican II buildings you will find parishes that have retained it, have remnants of it, and those who have removed it all together. Occasionally you may find modern church buildings that give a nod in remembering communion rails by using pieces that might look like parts of an altar rail but serve merely as markers of where Communion stations are.

There are basically two distinct views of altar rails. One is that it serves as an unnecessary barrier between what happens at the altar and what those gathered are doing in the pew. Many see it as an obstacle to full participation in the Mass and as giving far too distinct a symbol of the priest’s role as opposed to a non-cleric’s role.

For others it has the exact opposite meaning. The distinction in areas helps draw one’s attention to the sacred action happening beyond it. It draws them to the sanctuary physically providing them a place to be closer to and kneel before the Blessed Sacrament. The symbolic value of coming forward in the Communion line to receive Jesus is enhanced by the two words that architecturally meet – the straight and earthly lines of the nave and the often circular and heavenly lines of the sanctuary.

AND THEY'LL KNOW WE ARE CHRISTIANS BY OUR LOVE (HOPEFULLY)

Here is the good thing about the secularization of Christmas: It has provided an outstanding opportunity to grow in the faith. There is almost always a secular bent or at least a non-Christian strain somewhere in the world where Christianity is striving to take hold and thus a certain amount of risk in proclaiming one’s faith or having the faith influence society. But for those who are serious Christian Catholics this simply provides the chance to practice the faith more fundamentally. “Blessed are you . . .” and all that.

Despite what we might say the secularization of Christmas in the United States is not an insidious underground movement. It is quite out in the open and any attempt at changing Christmas or minimizing it (thus far) has been pretty much throwing up new (and often tacky) wallpaper on old established walls. Despite what you are trying to cover up there is little doubt in anybody’s mind that the old wall is just under the paper.

Consider even the name – which makes it amazing that non-Catholic’s would even use it. Christmas! It comes to us from the term “Christ’s Mass Day.” Christ. Mass. What more could we want in a title? Therefore conversation about faith can come up with little consternation. We need not apologize for bringing Christ up at CHRISTmas, in our cards, in our greetings, in our decorations, etc. . . He is the bulldozer in the basement. What an opportunity!

So here is the opportunity to grow in the faith during this season. The first and by far the most important is to personally prepare and celebrate it in such a way that is in keeping with your Christian dignity. If the meaning of Christ’s Mass Day is lost on us it is nobody’s fault but our own.

Getting out and about is difficult during this season because everybody is out and about. Be the one that is kind a driver, be the one that extra nice to the cashier, be the one that retains a smile (it will make you feel better.)

Don’t yell at the store clerk who wishes you a “Season’s Greetings.” They may not like it any better than you (or they may be Jewish, etc . . .) They are paid to say it. Their livelihood may depend upon it. Instead send a kind note to the store manager. Anger has never won anybody over to Christianity. What wins people over is, “I want to be like that.”

A friend of mine became a Unitarian Universalist minister. I was never sure whether I should offer him a Merry Christmas or not. So I asked him. He said, “I consider it as it is intended that you wish me the best of what you are celebrating and I will do likewise.” That seemed fair. (Of course he doesn’t worship the devil or anything so it works out.) So when wished a Season’s Greetings or a Happy Holidays, simply smile and say, “And a Merry Christmas to you.” If they are a gracious person they will accept it.

GIVE CORN YOUR SPORN

I have a friend (we’ve grown a lot since this took place) that used to think that it was hysterical to send his priest buddy suggestive material. It was never pornographic per se but it was highly suggestive. One day I had to say to him, “You know, I am trying to live a chaste life and you sending me these Emails is like sending pictures of bottles of alcohol to someone who is trying to stay away from drinking inappropriately.” It stopped from that day forward.

It is one thing not to trowel for porn or suggestive material on your computer. It is another for it to arrive from friends. It is not uncommon today for pictures to be shot from phone to phone. “Hey! Did you see this one?” No brown paper wrapping, no locked doors – but complete openness and acceptance of the practice.

Men: there is only one way that it will stop. It will not run its course and disappear. It will stop when you stop it. It takes courage (and who would have thought that there would be the day that NOT wanting porn would take courage?) There need not be any big production or announcement. Simply kindly ask that these types of messages no longer be sent to you. Others will eventually get the point.

Depending on your situation you may have a certain amount of grief dumped on you. But remember this, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” and give thanks that you were found worthy every time it happens.

Who does it hurt? Even if it is free and even if it is a picture shot voluntarily it still creates a market hungry for new models. It eats them up and spits them out creating an absurdly high suicide rate among porn stars. The money that is produced by porn is not used to support you schools or beautify your city. The men that watch it are not training themselves to look on women as human persons deserving dignity and respect. It steals lives for those who become wickedly addicted and not only their lives but away from their wives and children (or future wives and children – more poisoness than second hand smoke and far more insidious.)

And today it is becoming just as much a habit among women.

But it does not need to be so with you – from you – or around you.

Take courage.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CXXXIII

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: “What you loved well you grow to resemble.” from Richard Power’s, “The Echo Maker”

QUOTE II: “Progress would at last render every place terminally familiar.” same source.

IN OTHER NEWS:

The Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter reports: "WASHINGTON - 'The Senate vote to table the Nelson-Hatch-Casey amendment is a grave mistake and a serious blow to genuine health care reform," said Cardinal Francis George, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. "The Senate is ignoring the promise made by President Obama and the will of the American people in failing to incorporate longstanding prohibitions on federal funding for abortion and plans that include abortion.'" For more please read here.

From the same source: "Did you know, Catholic Greetings is a welcoming place to send free e-mail Catholic greeting cards? Catholic Greetings is a ministry of St. Anthony Messenger Press." Find out more here.

Martin sent this in: "John Paul the Great Catholic University is pleased to announce its first graduating class this December! JP Catholic is the newest Catholic University in Southern California, and the first authentically Catholic school to focus entirely on the intersection of entrepreneurship and new media." Read more here.

Fr. Mike Gurnick our diocesan vocation director has asked me to share with you our vocations websites. So here they are: For the priesthood and for all vocations.

So while we are on the topic:

MONDAY DIARY: INSTALLATION DAY

So last Tuesday the parish of Saint Sebastian celebrated the installation of their 5th pastor in the 81 year history of the parish. Bear in mind that I had been at St. Sebastian for a year and a half already and so I thought it would be somewhat unseemly to make too big a brouhaha about it. Celebrate we would but it would be a simple celebration. In fact I confided to Bishop Pevec who was kind enough to make the time to come out to be the celebrant that it seemed a bit like living with a woman for a couple of years and then having a big wedding complete with white dress and tuxes. He asked me to keep this comment to myself and leaned over to Fr. Pfeiffer and suggested that he try to keep me from saying anything stupid.

The odd part was that I had never been to an installation Mass before and did not know what to expect. All the places I have been the pastor had been there forever. This was my first installation Mass.

There was of course a dinner before hand with the bishop and some priests who made the effort to be there. I was not expecting any priests to be able to make since it was the time of vigil Masses of the Holy Day so I did not make it a point to make a fuss over guys coming but they did none-the-less. Classmates, one of our pastors emeritus, and my cousin who is a priest were able to join the clergy of St. Sebastian for a celebratory meal prepared in concert with our own cook and a friend who is a cook of a neighboring parish.

When we went over the Church there was a sparse but loyal gathering of parishioners. I was happy with the turn out. It was, after all, an early Mass, it was Monday, and a Holy Day of Obligation – what could we really expect? But by the time we started down the aisle the church was packed. All of the scouts were there in their uniforms, the Knights of Columbus in all of their glory, our fabulous choir, family, friends, and the great people of Saint Sebastian. As it turned out the celebration was quite grand all the more touching because it was not expected.

Of course the day was primarily in honor of Mary the Immaculate Conception who under this title is patroness of the United States. How fitting for this next stage in the history of this great parish. Monsignor Zwisler, the founding pastor of the parish, had a great devotion to Mary the traces of which can be seen in the architecture of the building. Much of the interior is blue, the color most associated with Mary. The grand windows in the clerestory represent the Litany of Loreto. The angels over the door form the letter “M” with their wings in honor of her. And so we begin this six hear term on her day and asking for her prayers as we go about the duties of being a Christian community.

It is wonderful to be part of a parish that is so supportive of its clergy. I know how truly lucky I am to be here.

FRIDAY POTOURRI - PSALM 43:4

Those of you whose church buildings predate Vatican II and further where there has not been too much reconstruction in the sanctuary area will notice where the old high altar is/was there are three steps leading up to it (usually.) Though not strictly necessary it was a useful symbolically in the celebration of the Mass. This can be seen at St. Sebastian where the altar of repose is.

A few years ago when we began to talk about symbolism we noted that that which is most important is traditionally placed center, high, and large. Hence the big brouhaha when many parishes moved their tabernacles to the side, low, and hidden if not out of the sanctuary area altogether. So of course there was a natural resistance among many Catholics to this symbolic move. What was attempted to be said and what symbolically appeared to be said were often two different things.

What these three steps, called a predella, did was to raise the altar to the central focal point of the church. It helped represent (according to early Church Fathers) the mediating powers between heaven and earth. We marked how structural aspects of a church that were straight lined represented things of the earth and how circular lines represented things of heaven and how these were held in tension over the altar. The altar was then covered with a baldachino or tester, and lastly, at the center of all this where the most fantastic miracle takes place the altar is held aloft by these three steps; three always a symbolically significant number.

During a Solemn High Mass the Eucharist would of course be on the altar, on the top step the celebrating priest, on the next step down the deacon, and on the third step the second deacon. It was a grand whoosh of focus to that center of the universe that is Jesus Christ and through Him and in the power of the Holy Spirit to God our Father.

Much of this symbolism has been greatly simplified. At times it has been simplified too much where lines between sanctuary and floor have been erased as well as the difference between altar and table in an effort, I suppose, to make God more accessible – but more often than not some semblance of demarcation have been retained though strictly speaking it would not be wrong to reestablish some of the symbolic tools of the past in a time when the understanding of the Mass and what (or rather Who!) the Eucharist is has been lost.

THANK YOU FOR READING - YOU ARE AWESOME

In this world nothing seems to make something more beautiful than death. We are motivated to move forward because we are running out of time. If we lived forever on earth would we be in such a big hurry to remodel the bathroom? “We are going to be here for centuries, let’s wait till the next millennium. Please pass the cheesepuffs and the remote.”

It also motivates us to appreciate things. Spring flowers are such an appreciated show because in a couple of weeks they will be gone for another year. So we go for a walk, stop, look, and mark them as special since their beauty is so fleeting.

Food is like that too – or rather was until we discovered ways to have fresh fruits and vegetables year round. How much more luscious was that apple or that tomato when it was only able to be eaten fresh and raw in its season. Now we take for granted that we can have such food stuffs year round.

Youth grab the day with gusto and bleed every moment from a free summer day because to them the day is short and will soon die and it will be time to go to bed. The older one gets the more beautiful life looks because we realize not how short the day is, but how short life is.

Stop today and appreciate something that whizzes past your radar screen because whatever it is just always seems to be there and there will always be time to appreciate it. As we have discovered in our diocese, parishes may not be forever. Our homes, humble as they may be, provide shelter and has housed so many of our life’s events. The person who provides a service for you everyday like the postman could be thanked in a special way. A prayer of appreciation could be offered for your car that started today and every day of the last few years even in cold winter days like today.

The people that you live with everyday and are so easily assumed that they should know that you love them need to be reminded now and then as well as we needing to remember that we love them. There’s the dog that hasn’t been played with in a while, the person that may have not been called during this busy time, the grand oak in the yard, or the piece of art that was purchased that has not been contemplated for a spell.

These are all gifts and there are many more of them waiting to be reopened in this advent season once again.

IS IT NOT TRUE THAT THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES CAN FIT IN THEIR CARS?

In grade school (public) I remember being taught that the world would soon be overpopulated and that the one hope we had for food enough to feed all of us was farming in the sea. A horrible prospect for me since I do not like anything that comes out of the water. Even the cow has fallen into the water before it is eaten it is preferred that we get another cow for fear that it might taste or smell like fish.

On You Tube you can find any number of dire predictions about world over population. Here is an example of one:

Though this may be the popular view of the world it is not the world as seen by the Vatican. In his talk at the First Friday Club in Akron, John Allen, CNN Senior Vatican Analyst, reports how the world population is seen by Pope Benedict.

We are a population in decline. The world now has about 7.6 billion people in it. By mid century we will peak at 9 billion people and then it will fall. This is not theory, it is a deadlock mathematical certainty.

There is not one European country that is reproducing itself. Not one. By the end of the century Europe will lose about one third of its population and event that will reduce Europe’s population percentage wise to an extent worse than the Black Plague. As European countries have far more strict immigration laws than the United States, this number will not be made up through immigration.

Much the same could be said of North America though it will be a slower decline. But even so, our fastest growing demographic is not Hispanics or any other nationality that might be on your radar screen, but the 65+ group. The northern hemisphere will get older and smaller while the southern will stay young.

What does this mean for the future of the Church? It means less and less that the United States will have any great influence on the movement of the Church of which we make up about 6% currently. It means that the far more conservative south will start having a much greater say in the direction of Church affairs. It means that the healthy parish of the future will not be a parish full of 14 year olds but 65+ year olds who will become the new 40. (Nice to know.)

The following comment is not from Mr. Allen but from my own deduction: But within our shrinking demographic who will remain a growing percentage of Catholics? Those who believe in larger families, those who do not abort, those who do not abuse contraception, those who uphold the sanctity of marriage. An interesting outcome no?
This is all not to say that there are not problems that need attention in our world as far as how we treat the environment or how we share resources. This is presented as how this phenomena will effect the future of the Church,.

You can listen to John Allen’s talk and all First Friday presentations here.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CXXXII

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: “Truth by its nature is intolerant. It is charitable, merciful, pastoral, and we must be willing to die for it.” Patrick Bline with a head nod to G. K. Chesterton.

QUOTE II: “Sometimes it’s easier to be a lemming than a leader.” from Scott Hahn’s “A Father Who Keeps His Promises”

IN OTHER NEWS:

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops want to assist you in keeping Christ in Christmas. They have a website with prayers and activities for you and your family for advent and Christmas here.

DON'T FORGET TODAY IS THE FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION - A HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION! What a joy that we as a nation and as Catholics come together on this day to pray for our nation through Mary under the title of the Immaculate Conception. There is one Mass left at St. Sebastian Parish today at 7PM. The Cross Roads initiative provides this post on a homily by St. Anselm on the importance of this day.

Here's a little game to play. If you think about it for a moment you will be able to figure out how it's done. Thanks for sending it in Jim.

The Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter reports, "The Missale Romanum (the Roman Missal), the ritual text for the celebration of the Mass, was first promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970 as the definitive text of the reformed liturgy of the Second Vatican Council. A second edition followed in 1975." They provide this link to page three of the diocesan memorandum for further information.

From AA's correspondent in Rome we receive news of this new site which was launched on December 1st. Fr. O reports, "This is a new online magazine that offers articles from Jesuits who are committed to orthodox teaching. There are two guys from the Biblicum on their editorial board (John Gavin and Jim Swetnam), and I can attest that they are priests of the highest caliber. Both of them teach Biblical Greek there (Swetnam is retired). Gavin is also well versed in Patristics, and Swetnam has spent much of his life studying Priesthood in the Letter to the Hebrews. They asked if we could get the word out to any "orthodox bloggers" that we knew." So here it is! Enjoy!

The music director at the seminary once told the story of a host of a dinner at which the former director of the Cleveland Orchestra, Christofh Von Dohnanyi, was invited. The host happened to mention that his lovely wife was taking up the accordion to which Mr. Dohnanyi replied, "Why?" To answer that question this video is presented courtesy of Fr. O.


W. sent a note about a post on "What Does This Prayer Really Say" concerning how to save a Catholic School. Thanks!

MONDAY DIARY - OH CHRISTMAS MOUSE HOW LOVELY ARE YOUR WHISKERS

Let this story act as a lesson for you. Forewarned is forearmed.

This has been a busy week of interesting things. But there is one thing that sticks out. A friend of mine feeling poorly that he cannot come to my installation tonight stopped by on the weekend to help with projects around the parish. He is my Christmas Councilor. If you are heavily involved with your parish you know that Christmas begins in September. Masses are planned, the choir is already practicing its music, people want to know about decorations so the appropriate items might be ordered, so forth and so on.

Of course stores are already well into preparing for the holy day (or the season greeting day) and although they do not go all out in earnest until after Thanksgiving they have already had all the signs of the impending spending spree decorating their buildings and advertisements.

Through all of this the church scrupulously avoids any sign of celebrating Christmas. Why? Because it is not Christmas! It’s advent. Christmas begins on December 25th, not ends! Yet on December 27th (giving a day for people to make returns or buy a present they forgot) the store decorations are down and the music is changed and St. Valentine’s Day decorations are put out.

Now so your parish, not so! For we are finally singing “Joy to the World” and “Hark Harold the Angel Sings” and will continue to do so for the next few weeks. Our homilies will be Christmasy in nature. So between the secular world and the ecclesial world Christmas can be stretched out for MONTHS. This is why some people such as myself think that we should skip Christmas every other year.

Fortunately I have a Christmas councilor who talks me through it, making sure that I build the proper cheer of the season and carefully observe all of the Christmas brouhaha for which I am truly grateful. So this past weekend we he stopped by we went to the tree farm to get a Christmas tree for the rectory. We are not putting it up yet – it’s just here getting ready to go.

Mom always said that a tree needs to sit in the garage for a week before it is brought into the house. She never said why – just that. The why I learned this past weekend. When the man picked up the tree a mouse ran out of it. When he went to chop of the bottom for us, another mouse ran out of it. So I told him to shake it well which he did – and guess what. 3’s company.

Back at the rectory we opened the tailgate and found we had a new resident here at the parish. It’s so hard living so far away from your brothers and sisters. I hope he decided to head home for the holidays and by that I do not mean back in the tree.

Subsequently I am following my mother’s advice and the tree shall sit out for a week before we bring it in after which it will have to pass the Three Priests Vigorously Shaking It test in order to come inside. I’m sure there is a cute story about the mouse that got to spend Christmas in the rectory brewing here – but I prefer to keep that in the realm of fiction.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI - HEY BALDY

Today’s architecture piece de jure is the Baldacchino (pronounced Bald – as in what I am – ah – keenoe). The most famous of these is the one in Saint Peter Basilica in Rome designed by Bernini. It is a canopy held up by four pillars intended to be a covering over the altar of sacrifice in order to give it honor and to draw one’s attention to it. Once in common use in the Church (though not universally) the baldacchino has since fallen on hard times. If you are from an older parish and it has not been ripped out entirely it usually sits behind the current altar hopefully finding some use as a canopy of honor over the tabernacle.

Throughout history objects and person of distinction have been marked by such canopies usually made of cloth and poles. The Church eventually adopted this practice to show honor to persons, oft times over the pulpit, over the tabernacle and altar of sacrifice, or over the seat of a bishop for example.

The trend in the Church (because of fewer priests) seems to be toward making mega-parishes that seat a thousand plus. There is also the trend with mixed results over fanned seating or even circular seating. A little three by six altar could get loss in this large space where there is competition for focus. We may be poised to bring back the service of the baldacchino once again.

Here is an excellent article on the baldacchino.

Along the same lines is a tester. It is a flat canopy over an altar and sometimes over a pulpit where it can also serve as a sounding board to help push sound out. It can be part of the ceiling (as it is at Saint Sebastian) or suspended by chains or jutting out of the back wall. It serves much the same purpose as the baldacchino and since it does not require the blocked view that a pillar might cause it may be even more suited for modern church buildings.

Here is another great glossary on church architecture.

ABSURDITY IS IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER

Here is part two of “Atlas Said,” a commentary on common objections to the faith:

ATLAS SAID:

“Secondly, It matters not if I'm wrong, 'cause the "All-Loving" God will toss me to eternal wrath pain and suffering (which to me is a bit excessive, but hey, u gotta kill non-believers somehow I guess). The thing is what if YOU'RE wrong and you devoted your life to faith in that which is not their. I don't mean to be a (censored), but I mean, WHY do u irrationally believe their is a God and WHY do people not see that Evolution is a Fact?”

It is often the case that a person has some erroneous idea that if God is all loving then there will be absolutely no consequences for one’s actions. “God’s wrath and God’s mercy are two sides of the same coin,” one spiritual guide once said. At heart here are two questions: What is love and what does God want from us.

There are many definitions of love but in this case only one that matters and that is how God defines love. We have many commandments to love: Love the Lord your God, Love you neighbor, love your enemies. I do not have warm and fuzzy feeling about my enemies. But is that what God is calling us to? “I demand that you have warm fuzzy feelings about everybody!” If this is the case, then we have a mighty cruel God Who demands that we have feelings since we cannot summon them up at will. So God must be talking about something else.

While not denying that emotions play a role in our love life at its core God is talking about decisions; primarily the decision for the betterment of the other person – and that is first and foremost their salvation. That means if my enemy is standing in the middle of the road and a bus is bearing down on them and I grab them and pull them out of the street I have acted in love toward them. If my best friend is doing something that places his salvation in danger it might mean I must risk losing our friendship to help him or even allowing him to deal with the consequences of his behavior in order for him to find truth.

So why is not everything perfect on earth? Why does God allow us to suffer war and hunger and anger? Does He cause it? No. We do. We could end war and starvation easily enough. But we choose not to. And He allows us to live with consequences (or we would never do anything that does not suit us directly would we?) Hell is much the same thing. Hell is our doing, not God’s. And on His part it is actually an act of mercy. “Nothing unclean shall enter before God” Scripture tells us. God condemns nobody to Hell. By our lives we tell God where we want to be. Could you imagine choosing “not God” with your life and then be forced to sit before His thrown for all of eternity? Rather in His mercy He allows souls their own limited realm so that they can have that which they have chosen. “Better to reign in Hell than serve in heaven,” says the devil. Indeed. And so God allows it.

The next part is an interesting (and in my estimation more dangerous) twist on Paschal’s wager which offers the proposition that if one chooses to believe in God and there is a God one in a sense “wins.” If one chooses to believe in God and there is no God, one would never know – but they would have had a life full of hope and purpose. Atlas, I think, is worried about being duped. What if we are wrong? Paschal answered that for us. But what if one chooses not to believe and they are wrong? There is a place for that.

If He does exists (and I believe wholeheartedly that He does) what does God ultimately want from us? There is a reason He is named Father. He is looking for a relationship. That is why God’s connection to His Church in Scripture is most often referred to as a marriage. This marriage is calling all in the Church toward community and unity – toward charity – toward peace. This is completely irrational! Yes it is! It makes much more sense to go after pleasure when and where I want it – to look after me and mine! It is irrational but it is what we choose as given to us by our Creator.

Now I am going to say something that will disturb some people out there. Darwinism is not fact. Not even science says so. It is a theory and, unfortunately one that is suffering at the moment – at least the way Darwin put it forth – no matter what your eighth grade science book says. This is not my or the Church’s view – this is modern science’s view. So they are on the search for another way to explain life.

In his book, “The Case for a Creator” by Lee Strobel which I recommend just because it is interesting (it will give you a different perspective even if you do not completely buy it) it makes the following point: “If Darwinism is true,” he reports the prominent evolutionary biologist and historian William Provine of Cornell University as saying, “there are five inescapable conclusions:
1 there’s no evidence for God.
2 there’s no life after death.
3 there’s no absolute foundation for right and wrong.
4 there’s no ultimate meaning of life.
5 people don’t really have free will.

Given the choice then of being wrong about a having a Creator or not – I err on the side of having one for life is just too bleak and senseless without him.

Lastly, for Darwinism to be true, he further reports, we must also believe the following:

1 Nothing produces everything.
2 Non-life produces life.
3 Randomness produces fine tuning.
4 Chaos produces organized information.
5 Unconsciousness produces consciousness.
6 Non-reason produces reason.

In the end then I guess I believe because as irrational as faith is, I find accepting this as far more irrational.

PAGAN SKELETONS - CHRISTIAN CLOSETS

Today we get to the series promised two weeks ago! A cyberfriend of Adam’s Ale by the name Atlas has been proposing some very interesting and thought provoking statements as of late in the comments section. They are classic statements of persons who do not have a particular belief in the Church and have many reasons for it.

Atlas, I appreciate your comments and hope you will continue. This is not an effort to convert you primarily. But your comments reflect what a Christian often faces in the world and you have provided me with a wonderful opportunity to reflect on them.

There are other sites that deal more specifically with apologetics and do a fantastic job so this not going to become a solely apologetic blog. For now a will limit myself to Atlas’ comments and a note of thanks to him because it has been fun thinking about it! So, here’s part one:

Atlas said...
To start off, Linda, Easter evolved from a Pagan ritual that celebrated the return of the Sun at the winter solstice. On December 22nd, the days stop getting shorter, it remains in the same spot in the sky for three days (the Sun is Dead), then on December 25th, the Winter Solstice, the Sun Rises and brings with it the coming of Spring and New Life. Christianity overtly stole this ritual from the Sol Invictus and Mithraism. In fact, Constantine the Great was an official member of Sol Invictus and is believed to have spliced the Early Christian cult, Mithraism and the Sol Invictus Cult.

This is not an uncommon claim presented to Christians and if one were truly not well versed in matters of faith and history it might give one pause for concern. Subtle though it is the implication is on one hand that the Christian celebrations lose credence because they are just modified pagan rituals or worse, on the other hand, the Christian story is false, being just a Christianized continuation of the pagan story.

But in a concisely worded response the Catholic Answers website responds:

“The fact that when it was first celebrated the feast of the Resurrection coincided with pagan celebrations doesn’t mean it was derived from them. The Jewish Passover (on which Christ was crucified) also coincided with such celebrations, yet this didn’t mean it was pagan.”

There are some other false implied assertions in such statements also. One would be that everything pagan is bad or evil and that any similarities are thus likewise tainted. C. K. Chesterton wrote on this:

“Let me set about making the matter clear. There is one broad fact about the relations of Christianity and Paganism which is so simple that many will smile at it, but which is so important that all moderns forget it. The primary fact about Christianity and Paganism is that one came after the other. Mr. Lowes Dickinson speaks of them as if they were parallel ideals --even speaks as if Paganism were the newer of the two, and the more fitted for a new age. He suggests that the Pagan ideal will be the ultimate good of man; but if that is so, we must at least ask with more curiosity than he allows for, why it was that man actually found his ultimate good on earth under the stars, and threw it away again. It is this extraordinary enigma to which I propose to attempt an answer.

“There is only one thing in the modern world that has been face to face with Paganism; there is only one thing in the modern world which in that sense knows anything about Paganism: and that is Christianity. That fact is really the weak point in the whole of that hedonistic neo-Paganism of which I have spoken. All that genuinely remains of the ancient hymns or the ancient dances of Europe, all that has honestly come to us from the festivals of Phoebus or Pan, is to be found in the festivals of the Christian Church. If any one wants to hold the end of a chain which really goes back to the heathen mysteries, he had better take hold of a festoon of flowers at Easter or a string of sausages at Christmas. Everything else in the modern world is of Christian origin, even everything that seems most anti-Christian. The French Revolution is of Christian origin. The newspaper is of Christian origin. The anarchists are of Christian origin. Physical science is of Christian origin. The attack on Christianity is of Christian origin. There is one thing, and one thing only, in existence at the present day which can in any sense accurately be said to be of pagan origin, and that is Christianity.”

If you wish to read more of his grand thoughts on this go here.

Another problem is that for the assertion to be entirely true the entire Christian story must be false or the allegation makes no sense. To make that case one would have to first throw out all evidence of the contrary. This too is done a regular basis. Often only extra ecclesial evidence is accepted as untainted and even that which is secularly archived video tape (there were not many videos being made in Jesus’ day) is explained away.

In short, this statement designed to disturb the weak Christian only “works” by smoke and mirrors – winks and nods – innuendo and insinuation. But it is as insubstantial as a Fourth of July firework which may dazzle one for a moment and then becomes nothing more than some burnt pieces of cardboard on the ground.