La Vie Catholique - The Catholic Life

In Honor of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

2011-12-08T11:23:00.004-06:00

A nicely done video looking at scriptural references and parallels to Mary.

Very Cool!

2011-09-24T20:39:00.004-05:00

So I was browsing around on Etsy and much to my surprise, saw an article about Trappist monks who make funeral caskets!

"The Trappists‘ mandate is to live by the labor of their hands,” says Mulgrew. “They don’t fundraise or run schools or hospitals. They live a self-contained life of prayer. Making caskets is a good psychological and spiritual fit. Death is about moving on, going to a different place, and the monks spend a lot of time thinking about these things. These caskets reflect the quiet, simple life led by the monks and allows them to offer a part of their lives symbolically.

I especially loved this aspect of what they do:

The monks pray over each casket and urn before they are shipped, and for each one sold a tree is planted in the carefully managed monastery forest. The monks conduct a mass in remembrance of the deceased and each name is entered in a memorial prayer book.

Isn't that just beautiful? Read the whole article here.

New Blogging Convert

2011-09-22T19:31:00.002-05:00

A little bird told me about a convert friend who recently started a blog of his own, so I'm sharing in hopes of supporting a fellow convert. :-) It's called Pure Catholic.

As I browsed his shiny new blog, this part jumped out at me:

The fact is, I was pretty much horrified at the prospect of becoming Catholic despite everything pointing toward that being the right thing to do. Since the decision, my life is improved in every respect.

Ha, sound familiar? ;-)

As the name of his blog suggests, he is primarily interested in promoting chastity, a noble endeavor indeed. Go check it out when you can!

New Series from Fr. Barron - Catholicism

2011-09-08T10:54:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to share this because it looks so cool! I think this would be a great series to watch with various groups at the parish level, I could definitely see having a series of movie nights to watch this at our little home theater. :-)

From the website:

"Catholicism" comes to U.S. public television stations this fall, with the first broadcast set for Thursday, September 22, 2011 from 8-10 p.m. EST in Washington, D.C. and Maryland.

WTTW-11 (PBS) in Chicago is the presenting station for the "Catholicism" series and will air four episodes on consecutive Thursdays from 8-9 p.m. CST beginning October 13th. PBS affiliates in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta and over 75 other public television stations plan to broadcast "Catholicism."

I'll be keeping an eye out for sure!

This one is a longer version, almost 10 minutes. Looks fascinating!

A Reader Asks - Part 3: Taking it on Faith

2011-08-23T05:00:00.000-05:00

The Ecstasy of St. Paul - Poussin

This is the third and final question I was asked by a reader about my conversion.

A reader asks:
[I was wondering] what things, if any, you still wrestled with when you decided to take the plunge, and just entrusted to faith and time.
I think I have a boring and very typical-of-converts answer to this one, lol. I definitely still had some Mary-and-the-saints type issues (mostly just those residual feelings). As I said in answer to the first question, intellectually the theological and doctrinal arguments made total sense to me. They lined up with history and scripture when explained well, they even made a lot more sense of some parts of scripture! But...well...still some of the prayers just frankly rubbed me the wrong way. I'd bristle upon hearing such prayers, and that little voice in my head would say, "Um...are you sure about this?" Lol! But, with time and exposure to people who prayed these prayers devoutly, it became obvious that these prayers were somehow bringing them closer to Christ, through Mary. The Mother points us to the Son, always, and really what are the chances you're going to start loving Jesus' mom more than He does? I'd wager they're pretty slim!

Other than that, a fairly big issue for me was interpretation of scripture. I'd been raised with a strictly literal interpretation of scripture, being told our "interpretation" was so literal that it wasn't even an interpretation...we were just reading the words on the page and taking them at face value, no interpretation necessary! I saw scripture mainly as a blueprint, a rulebook, dictated by God and meant to be read as a manual, memorizing scriptural bullet points for each potential life issue to be spewed whenever necessary.

So, it was difficult at times to readjust my understanding of scripture, to acknowledge the human element of the authors, to realize that while they were inspired and always wrote truth and while the Church maintains that scripture is inerrant, they still wrote it through the lens of their own human time and culture. I came to understand that they did not write history then the way we tend to write history now, and that the Bible is not one book, but a library which includes poetry, allegory, parable, history, theology, etc. I had to come to terms with the fact that "true" is not limited to "strictly literal." Once again, I was wrongly associating two ideas and it was difficult for me to separate them in my mind.

Now, don't misunderstand, there are some scholars who go so far as to say Jesus didn't really perform miracles and they basically want to take the supernatural out of the scriptures. That's not what I was trying to believe myself. I was just so extremely literally-minded that even the idea that the Great Flood may not have actually covered the entire world, but just the entire part of the world the writers knew of was difficult to wrap my head around, just because of my flawed association of "strictly literal" with "true."

But, at the end of the day I was convinced that the Church was our Teaching Authority, that she compiled scripture, and thus she was the best interpreter of scripture, and I acknowledged that much of my approach to scripture had been flawed. So even though at first I still bristled and creased my brow at some new-to-me interpretations, over time I've come to appreciate the Church's explanations of scripture, especially those times when she acknowledges there is more than one way to understand many things in scripture. I do not feel the veracity or inerrancy of scripture is in any way threatened by this more flexible approach, in fact I see now that it is strengthened by it the way a large flexible branch is stronger than a rigid twig ready to snap.

One thing I have seen over and over again from converts who struggled with something and yet took it on faith is how great the virtue of obedience makes humility grow! I often find myself in awe of the humility I see in others who bow their will in submission to that of the Church's, and thus to God's will. It certainly reminds me how far I have to go myself!

I am also reminded of the wisdom of St. Augustine's famous quote:

"Seek not to understand so that you may believe, but believe so that you may understand."

It really is astounding how often something doesn't make sense until you accept it on faith and live it.

Thanks so much to the reader who asked these questions! To those readers who are themselves converts, I'd love to hear your own answers as well. :-)

A Reader Asks - Part 2: Eye-Openers

2011-08-16T05:00:00.001-05:00

The Conversion of St. Paul - Parmigianino

We'll continue on with the next question I received about my conversion from a reader, concerning ways in which I was helped to come to a better understanding of the faith.

The reader asks:

[I was wondering] what things in particular (of course, prayer and faith are givens!) you found to be the key to an "aha!" moment?
I think there are several different phases within my faith journey, and the answer probably changes depending on where I was.

At the earliest and very initial stages, the biggest aha moments I had - and this is going to probably sound ridiculously obvious - were when I truly listened to and considered the other side's argument.

Prior to this I had the awful habit of what I'd call offensive listening. I wasn't really listening to hear what the other person was saying, I was listening only to find my next point of attack. There wasn't really any need to genuinely understand the point, because, very simply, I already knew they were wrong.

But something - undoubtedly God's grace - nudged me to actually listen to and consider the other points. To me, it was like taking off the CoC pair of glasses through which I'd always viewed the world, and tentatively peeking through Catholic glasses. It was playing "What If" and in doing so, being suddenly able to see pieces of the puzzle falling into place all around me which hadn't made sense in my former world view.

Once I made this more of a habit, and really began considering views other than my own, most of my aha moments came just from reading well-written books about the faith. So often, some basic point would be made, some simple reference to scripture tied to some Catholic belief, the simplicity and clarity of which would almost make me gasp in awe.

Yet another way my eyes were opened suddenly was through looking at history. Seeing descriptions from the earliest centuries of mass, and especially discussions about the Eucharist made me understand very clearly Bl. John Cardinal Newman's wise words, "To be steeped in history is to cease to be protestant."

As I progressed and began tentatively participating in Catholic life, seeing the beliefs I'd been devouring through the written word actually come to life around me in the mass and other devotions was very often an eye-opening experience. It helped me realize that there really is something humanly necessary about incarnating our beliefs in action, about doing rather than just mentally assenting to or holding a belief. Even more poignant than seeing others do such things around me was doing them myself. Talking about kneeling if Jesus were here in front of you is nice, but actually lowering yourself to kneel in front of Jesus in the Eucharist is humbling in a way like no other. Sometimes, when you don't understand something from the outside, you have to just jump in and DO, and then no words are necessary, understanding comes.

Even now, I continue to have such moments where things just click and I understand a long-held belief in a new way, and most of these probably happen through either participating in some liturgical action or through reading since that is my preferred way of learning new things! But yes, constant prayer is certainly important as well, specifically asking for guidance from the Holy Spirit. I think that's probably one of those prayers God always says yes to. ;-)

Was there anything in particular that helped to give you sudden clarity? Do share!

We'll cover the final question in the next post, so come back soon!

A Reader Asks - Part 1: Difficulties

2011-08-08T15:11:00.009-05:00

Conversion of St. Paul - Murillo
I always find hearing about other people's faith journeys extremely fascinating. I love hearing about the similarities in thought processes, and also noting the differences. What one person found difficult to understand or accept along the way, another person may not have had a problem with at all. But, more often than not, especially when people are coming from similar backgrounds, there are striking similarities. As such, it can be helpful for those potential converts still in the midst of muddling through Catholic beliefs, trying to make heads and tails of so much new information, to know what it is others struggled with, what helped them and gave clarity along the way, and what they had to just take on faith.

I was recently asked just this by a reader of my blog and forum with whom I've enjoyed a bit of correspondence, and thought it would be a great chance to share it on my blog as well. :-) I'll cover each question in a different post, starting with the first.

The reader writes:
I was wondering what in particular you found the hardest to accept about the catholic faith during that long process
My answer to this probably stems from my "thinking" style personality, because as far as Church teachings went, all the arguments I read were so convincing to me that I simply can't recall being completely unconvinced on any one teaching or struggling to accept it. Once I had been convinced of the huge foundational matter of Magisterial authority, once I accepted that God didn't just write down rules for us to follow but actually gave us a living authority to guide and teach us, accepting what that authority taught almost came with a sense of relief. I didn't have to figure everything out on my own, Christ instituted and left us a guide, protected by the Holy Spirit! Hooray! Even more than that, what this authority taught sounded logical and was clearly steeped in wisdom, and further it opened up scripture to me in ways I'd never dreamt possible. But, that didn't mean my feelings kept up with my head!

For me the hardest part was grappling with residual feelings and gut reactions which I'd had all my life. For instance, one minor belief in the grand scheme of things but one which sticks in my mind as being particularly difficult was the matter of drinking alcohol. I'd been taught my whole life that it was poison, inherently and intrinsically evil. Daily evidence on the news of drunk drivers killing innocent people, drunk husbands beating wives, and college kids dying of alcohol poisoning at parties made it easy to accept that alcohol was indeed an evil, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I can honestly say I was never tempted by friends or circumstance to drink, because it just wasn't a part of my life and from where I stood it was only ever associated with negative outcomes.

Because of this, during the course of my conversion, while I did find the historical, biblical, and theological arguments in favor of alcohol to be logical and convincing, I still just had a mental hangup with it. I mean, obviously I knew that accepting that alcohol wasn't intrinsically evil didn't mean I had to start drinking myself, but it made my stomach churn to even think of having a husband who drank! I just didn't want to be anywhere near the stuff!

What finally helped me move past this knee-jerk reaction was realizing that alcohol ≠ drunkenness.

I was able to see responsible drinking modeled, especially in my not-yet-husband's French family. I could see that for them, appreciating a good wine was just a part of being thankful for God's many gifts, the way they were for the delicious food on the table as well. To this day, I can't say that I've ever seen my husband drunk, and while I generally don't drink much myself (unless something is sugary sweet, I just can't abide the taste, lol), I no longer have those knee jerk reactions. As with anything, moderation is key, and while scripture does condemn drunkenness, and while I still believe that abusing alcohol can and does often have tragic consequences, I have no doubt that alcohol is not the intrinsic evil I once thought it was.

Another quick example of my feelings not keeping up with my head is on the matter of Marian devotion. If you haven't read it, Mark Shea does an EXCELLENT (and often quite humorous) job describing the deep seated gut reactions we converts have against Marian devotions in the third book of his trilogy, Mary, Mother of the Son. I could identify with so much of what he said, it was spot on. While I'd accepted the teachings on Mary, while I was amazed at the beauty of these teachings and how every one of them ultimately pointed back to Christ, seeing the outrageous, too-colorful, too-flowery devotions of Catholics (and especially Catholics from other cultures) just made me want to get up and run away. After being raised in an environment where even a plain cross on the wall was viewed as unacceptable to God for graven image reasons, seeing such blatant and visually overwhelming love-bombs for Mary was a scary thing!

Some of getting over this visceral reaction was just getting used to the aesthetics around me, but some of it was also learning not to judge others' hearts or intentions. I would remind myself that it was not my place to judge whether this person was honoring Mary above God, and even if I wanted to I couldn't see their heart. I reminded myself that nothing I'd read from the Magisterium concerning doctrinal matters on Mary ever came close to elevating her above Christ. And most of all, I gazed at paintings of Mary looking at and pointing to her Son, and reminded myself that even *if* some people were going overboard in their devotion to her, Mary herself would guide them closer to Christ, because that is what she does.

So those stick out in my mind as some of the toughest parts of my conversion, I suppose it is always difficult to undo a lifetime of ingrained knee-jerk reactions and strong feelings. Thanks be to God, I feel that due to the Church's teachings on such things I now have a healthier and more balanced understanding of the reality. It's often easier to forbid something outright than to try and have it in moderation, which requires self-control and temperance. We've all been there...throw all the cookies away, get rid of them!! That typically seems easier than having them there as an option and having to practice self control. But while that may work temporarily, often those who focus on appreciating one good cookie now and then do better in the long run. The cookie isn't evil, but abusing the cookie is. ;-)

So how about you? If you're a convert or perhaps a revert, I'd love to hear what some of the hardest parts about converting were for you. :-)

I'll continue with the next question in my next post, so stay tuned!

Confirmation Before Communion?

2011-07-21T15:28:00.004-05:00

Bishop Aquila of Fargo recently explained why he feels it would be better to move confirmation to an earlier age, and to be done before First Communion. I thought he made some excellent points:

Should the gift and strengthening of the Holy Spirit be denied young persons in their most formative years?” he asked.

Bishop Aquila also wondered whether the special attention and length of preparation given to confirmation makes many perceive it to be more important than baptism and the Eucharist.

The view that confirmation is a way for young people to make a personal commitment to their faith “distorts” the sacrament, he said.

“Confirmation is not marked by a choice to believe or not believe in the Catholic faith. Rather, as disciples, we are chosen by God to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit, to be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit generously bestowed by God, and we are called to cooperate with that grace,” he explained.

Confirmation confers a gift of the Holy Spirit that is ordered to “the life of worship,” the bishop said while summarizing Catholic thought. It helps the person achieve a “more perfect integration” into the body of Christ. This helps us understand how confirmation is ordered to the Eucharist.

In this light, it appears “odd” to have someone participate in the Eucharistic life of the Church if he or she has not received “the seal of the Holy Spirit, which perfects the personal bond with the community.”

I think he makes an excellent case, personally. I was first made aware of this perspective through some of the ladies on the NFP board, and since then it has seemed to me that the way things are set up now, Confirmation is often seen as "Catholic graduation." The problem with this is first, that it sends the message that confirmation refers to the teen growing up, maturing, and "confirming" their faith as their own choice, when in fact confirmation is Christ confirming US, it's a gift to us and not something we are doing ourselves. Secondly, as "Catholic graduation" it gives the impression that once you are confirmed, you're done learning about the faith, the way you're done with school when you graduate. In fact, confirmation should be the very beginning of a more involved faith life.

I also agree with the Bishop that typically, 7-8 year olds are much more likely to be receptive to faith, to the Holy Spirit, to learning about God and loving God than teenagers who often tend to be in a rebellious stage of life. Not only that, but why not send our young people out into the world with the best possible and most complete protection we have? The more grace they are armed with, the better chance they will be able to conquer the many temptations of the world. Children are being confronted with worldly temptations earlier than ever, I think. Waiting until the later teens to confirm someone seems like completely missing an opportunity to help them live a more virtuous life in a world which makes it extremely difficult to begin with. The more grace, the earlier, the better!

It makes sense to me, anyway! I think the bishop makes a great case, and I, for one, would love to see a trend towards earlier confirmation. What do you think?

Help Me Blog!

2011-07-12T12:08:00.004-05:00

Hello friends! I know it has been a long while since I've posted here, as usual life happens and distractions keep me from fulfilling my intentions. Recently, I've been blogging quite regularly, but on my sewing blog. What has helped me keep this up is having a series and a weekly goal, knowing what is coming up next and what I'm going to be blogging about before I do it.

Originally, I started this blog as a way to work through and set to "paper" the many issues I dealt with upon my conversion. It was a great help and I didn't have many problems finding topics to write about or just being randomly inspired by some subject. But because I relied on sporadic inspiration, when that didn't come I just didn't write.

Part of the reason, as well, is that as the years have gone by and as I've lived the Catholic life more and more, the need I felt to write about my former beliefs has diminished. I love my Catholic faith more than ever, I'm convinced of its truth more than ever, and I'm just generally content! This is a great thing, but it also means there's nothing pressing me to write, lol.

With that being said, I do still want this to be an active blog! I've recently been feeling nudges and seeing signs out of the blue pointing me here, making me think I need to make this blog a priority and keep at it.

So, with that in mind I'm asking you, my dear readers, to help me out! I'd like to start making a deliberate effort to plan posts and write about subjects you will find interesting. While I do like to follow generally Catholic issues and topics, I do still want to keep my niche of seeings these things through the unique lens of having a CoC background. There are a million and a half just generally Catholic blogs, but only a handful with that unique viewpoint. So, what would you like to read about? I'll consider anything and everything related to the faith somehow. I particularly like the idea of having series of posts, because I'm much more likely to have a plan and stick with it! (That's what has helped me on the sewing blog.) Any ideas for a series of posts you'd like to read? (For instance, the last one I did here was The Church's Toolbox for Lent a couple years back.)

Thank you so much for sharing this little corner of the internet with me, I can't tell you how much it means to me when people find anything I write worth spending the time to read. I'm sorry I've been such a slacker, but with your help I hope to remedy that! Looking forward to hearing your suggestions. :-)

Just Because...

2010-05-09T20:16:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to share this video with some lovely images of prayer cards, set to the music of the film Les Choristes by Bruno Coulais. If you haven't seen this film, go rent it and watch it! It's a beautiful story and the music is divine. :-)

Their Eyes Were Opened

2010-04-08T09:06:00.005-05:00

A blessed and happy Easter to all!! It seems like forever since I've sat down to blog about anything faith-related, but as I've been busy writing lately on the topic, I felt inspired to do some blogging here. I'm going to try to post more regularly than I have doing been the past year or so.

I wanted to share something that I heard related to yesterday's gospel. I was listening to our local Catholic radio station yesterday and was struck by one priest's explanation of the gospel, the story of Jesus meeting the men on the road to Emmaus, as including a kind of description of the mass. "The mass?" I thought, "How so?" I waited eagerly to hear the connection. The text of the gospel was Luke 24:13-35:

That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.

And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?”

They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?”

And he replied to them, “What sort of things?”

They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him.

But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his Body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive.Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.”

And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures.

As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.

Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the Eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

In the mass, we begin with the Liturgy of the Word, in which we usually read something from the Old Testament, a Psalm, something from the New Testament, and then a reading from one of the four Gospels. These readings are all connected in some way, they have a common theme or message. Sometimes, it's not so clear how they are connected, and in the homily the common thread is, hopefully, explained to us. In the Liturgy of the Word, we receive Jesus, the Word, in scripture.

But our reception of the Word doesn't end there, in fact this is the preparation for receiving Christ Himself in the Eucharist, the Word made Flesh. Thus we proceed, after the Liturgy of the Word, to the Liturgy of the Eucharist - the source and summit of our Christian life. We believe as Catholics that Jesus is really, substantially present there: Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

And so with that short description of the two parts of mass in mind, we turn again to yesterday's gospel.

They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?”

And he replied to them, “What sort of things?”

They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him.

But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel....

And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures.
The Liturgy of the Word! And yet, though they were talking about Him and hearing scripture interpreted about Him, they did not yet recognize Him. What did He do that finally caused them to recognize Him?

And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.
The Liturgy of the Eucharist! It was when He blessed and broke the bread and gave it to them that their eyes were opened and they saw that He was actually there, present in their midst.

Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”

In the mass, the scriptures touch our hearts and prepare us to see Him and receive Him fully.

Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

And then we receive Him and come to know him fully in the Eucharist. Wow!

Perhaps this made such a big impression on me because it seems to be a description of my own journey in some way. Though steeped in scripture from an early age, it was not until I experienced the Liturgy of the Eucharist at mass and saw the Bread being blessed and broken for me that I recognized Christ, the Word made Flesh, right before my very eyes. What a privilege to be able to see Him, recognize Him with the eyes of faith, and to say with St. Thomas the Doubter, "My Lord and my God!"

Overdue House Pics!

2010-02-15T18:00:00.008-06:00

So we've been moved in and unpacked for a few months now, loving the new house! I'm finally getting around to posting some pics here, better late than never. :-)

Sneak Peek!

2009-10-23T17:31:00.002-05:00

Here are a couple rooms I've painted.

Craft room is an olive green, will have black and white damask accents, with pops of pink. :-) I stenciled the door with a damask pattern...

Guest room, faux paneling took FOREVER, but it's done! It will be decorated with red toile accents, my favorite!

We Have a House!

2009-09-06T15:45:00.009-05:00

Thought I'd put an update here on the blog to mention the fact that we recently made an offer on a house and it was accepted. :-) Closing should be at the beginning of October.

I am, of course, already mentally decorating the rooms, haha, and there are plenty of them. It's a 4 bedroom house, with 2 1/2 bathrooms, and 3 separate living areas. I'm going to be doing a lot of painting!

Here are some pics!

Entryway/Front room

Living room

Dining area

Kitchen

Walk-in pantry!

Upstairs loft area (future home theater area!)

Upstairs Hallway

Master Bedroom

Bedroom #2

Bedroom #3

Bedroom #4

Back of house

Backyard (yes, that's a cactus in the corner)

We're super excited, can't wait to move in! :-)

Found Difficult and Left Untried

2009-06-17T10:29:00.009-05:00

In a recent online discussion on premarital sex and attempting to remain chaste, I was struck by how often I heard the term "unrealistic." I understand this coming from non-Christians and non-believers in general, since in our current secular world there aren't many voices strong enough to compete with the blaring sex-crazed culture, but I often encounter this idea among fellow Christians and specifically Catholics. It seems a lot of people have good intentions, they know what the "ideal" is, but, they seem to say, let's be realistic, pretty much everyone has premarital sex, so to expect otherwise is just being naive.

For some reason, this outlook has been weighing on me heavily. I can't seem to shake a certain feeling of dread and despair when I encounter it from Christians, and especially Catholics.

It reminds me of the well known quote from G.K. Chesterton, that "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult and left untried." Perhaps in this instance we could replace "Christianity" with "chastity," and it would be quite a good synopsis for what seems to be happening in our world. Chastity in all areas of life is hard, it's difficult, it takes effort, it takes self-control, it takes self-discipline and patience and respect and selflessness, all things extremely undervalued and avoided in our society. And again, I understand when highly secular people find the notion unrealistic, and unnecessary besides. All it takes is a quick look around to see how often humanity falls short when it comes to difficult tasks.

But I suppose I'm conditioned to imagine that when humans find something difficult, this will inspire them to encourage their children to work even harder at it, so that the children can have the benefit of learning from the parents' mistakes and go even farther in life. And yet, for some odd reason, there seems to be this notion among many now that when something has been found difficult, it's better not to put their children through the trouble of trying it at all, especially concerning issues of chastity.

When it comes to fellow Christians with this attitude, though, I have to wonder where the belief in the transforming power of Christ and His grace is? What of our belief that, in Christ, all things are possible? Are these mere platitudes we drag out when encouraging our children to go for that scholarship or try out for that team, but conveniently fail to mention when talking about something vastly more important in the grand scheme of things - the state of their souls and the importance of chastity?

Yes, we humans are weak. Yes, we fail. Yes, we should practice mercy and forgiveness when we do fail. But knowing that we are likely at some point to fall short, practically speaking doesn't it make sense, then, to reach even higher, to reach for the ideal in hopes that we go as far as possible towards it? If we shrug and proclaim it "too difficult" or "unrealistic," will we even try, then, to reach for any worthy goal?

The wonderful thing is we Catholics have available to us a treasure chest full of realistic ways to actually strive for the best and practice chastity, for people married and unmarried. We have abundant grace available to us in the Eucharist, in confession, just waiting for us to boldly ask God, not just to help keep us from sin, but to make us holy. It takes a deliberate willingness, yes, but that willingness isn't going to be inspired by a half-hearted rattling off of chastity rules that you know your children *should* practice, but deep down don't have any confidence they *will* practice. And why should they? What child will believe he can do something his own parents don't believe he can do?

Writing this out has helped me to pinpoint a bit where I think that feeling of despair I mentioned is coming from. It saddens me deeply when it seems my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ don't even seem to be aware of or place much confidence in the truly transforming power of God's grace. The thing is, it's only as powerful as we allow it to be, and we must ask for it deliberately. And yet, if parents aren't aware of it or don't seem to have much confidence in it, how will their children know the importance of seeking it out, how will they ever discover its power in struggling with chastity, or in conquering any sin? And if we aren't actively seeking to be really and truly transformed by this grace because we aren't aware of it or don't have much confidence in it...well, what's the point of being a Christian at all?

Acknowledging our human weakness is certainly being realistic, it is a good thing, it teaches us humility and emphasizes our utter dependence upon God. But there is a danger in thinking our weaknesses are too much for God's grace to handle, and this is known as despair. This is what I have been sensing, and it hurts my heart. Instead, we should be rejoicing that God is waiting for us, wanting to make us new creatures. Let us never underestimate God's transforming power, and never take for granted the sacraments widely available to us, which are direct channels of that grace. Let us use them liberally, teaching our children by example! For you can never, ever have too much grace. Nobody claims it's easy, but we can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us...even remain chaste in a sex-crazed world.

The Bread of Life

2009-04-12T00:27:00.006-05:00

The last tool of the series I hesitate to even call a "tool," because it is so much more, a "hard saying" that sets Catholics apart, the most blessed of all the sacraments, and the core of our very faith - the Eucharist.

There is so much to be said about Christ in the Eucharist, Christ who humbles Himself to appear before us under the appearance of bread and wine. This is the reason for every mass, the source of our strength, the most precious gift on earth. There is so much to be said that I feel overwhelmed at even attempting to encapsulate what the Eucharist means to us as Catholics, and compelled simply to let scripture do the talking for me.

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks, 16 and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matt 26:26-28)

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
But I told you that although you have seen (me), you do not believe.

The Jews murmured about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven," and they said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
Jesus answered and said to them, "Stop murmuring among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day.

Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?"
Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."

Then many of his disciples who were listening said, "This is a hard saying; who can accept it?"
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe." Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father." As a result of this, many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?" Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. (John 6:35-36, 41-44, 47-58, 60-68)

The following is one of the most touching pieces of music concerning the Eucharist ever written, in my opinion...Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus.

(*Note that the last few words are not an exact translation of the Latin!)

I hope this series has been of some interest, it has certainly helped me to learn more about the wonderful tools we have as Catholics, and to more fully appreciate them.

A blessed and glorious Easter to all! Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

The Emblem of True Love

2009-04-10T23:27:00.008-05:00

We're going to take a slight detour away from sacraments for a moment, and return to a certain sacramental, something that is above all others associated with Catholicism...that is, the crucifix.

Today is Good Friday, one of the most solemn days of the year. Christ has died, and we await His resurrection. There are no masses today, the only day of the year on which mass is not said. Holy water fonts are dry, tabernacle doors in churches all over the world are left open, revealing their hauntingly empty interiors. The altar lamp signifying Christ's presence in the tabernacle is extinguished. In many churches, statues are covered with violet cloths. In Catholic Churches everywhere today, there is a tangible emptiness, a somberness, a heaviness of heart.

Christ has died.

His passion is recalled with special emphasis in the stations of the cross today. It's a day of both fasting and abstinence from meat, and as mentioned before, when there is fasting there is prayer alongside it. Today above all days, we strive to unite our sufferings with Christ on the cross.

And Christ on the cross is the focus of this whole day. All year long Catholics see crucifixes in their churches, in their homes, many wear one around their necks at all times. The crucifix is a constant reminder of Christ's love for us. I once heard a wise priest say something in a homily that struck me and has remained with me since. He said, very simply, there is no true love without sacrifice. God is love, and he proved it with the ultimate sacrifice, and that is what the cross, and especially the crucifix bearing the corpus of Christ, reminds us of constantly. Today in many churches, crucifixes are taken down from their central location and a tradition from the early centuries is practiced called the veneration of the cross. Catholics come and kiss the foot of the cross, both honoring Christ's immeasurable sacrifice, and reminding ourselves in a very tangible way that as Christ embraced His cross, so, too, are we to embrace our lesser crosses and in this way unite our suffering with His. It is in this way that we proclaim the true love of Christ.

We adore You, 0 Christ, and we praise You.
Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up... (Jn 3:14)

O stupid Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?(Gal 3:1)

But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Gal 6:14)

but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (1 Cor 1:23)

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.(1 Cor 2:2)

Till Death Do Us Part

2009-04-10T22:44:00.010-05:00

The next sacrament we'll be looking at is the sacrament of matrimony. Catholics believe that God actually grants a special grace to couples getting married, to help them live out their lives in service to Him, to have a fruitful union. Marriage is such an important institution in the Church that it was raised by Christ himself to the level of a sacrament, and it is a sign of Christ and His Bride the Church. It was at a wedding that Christ's public ministry began with his first miracle. The family unit plays a central role in the life of the Church, as well as in society at large. As is the case with all sacraments, once validly done it cannot be undone.

One interesting thing to note about the sacrament of matrimony is that, while most sacraments are conferred by the priest, in the West matrimony is understood to be conferred by the spouses themselves.

1623 In the Latin Church, it is ordinarily understood that the spouses, as ministers of Christ's grace, mutually confer upon each other the sacrament of Matrimony by expressing their consent before the Church.

More from the catechism on this sacrament:

1601 "The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament."

1638 "From a valid marriage arises a bond between the spouses which by its very nature is perpetual and exclusive; furthermore, in a Christian marriage the spouses are strengthened and, as it were, consecrated for the duties and the dignity of their state by a special sacrament."

The marriage bond

1639 The consent by which the spouses mutually give and receive one another is sealed by God himself. From their covenant arises "an institution, confirmed by the divine law, . . . even in the eyes of society." The covenant between the spouses is integrated into God's covenant with man: "Authentic married love is caught up into divine love."

1640 Thus the marriage bond has been established by God himself in such a way that a marriage concluded and consummated between baptized persons can never be dissolved. This bond, which results from the free human act of the spouses and their consummation of the marriage, is a reality, henceforth irrevocable, and gives rise to a covenant guaranteed by God's fidelity. The Church does not have the power to contravene this disposition of divine wisdom.

The grace of the sacrament of Matrimony

1641 "By reason of their state in life and of their order, [Christian spouses] have their own special gifts in the People of God."[145] This grace proper to the sacrament of Matrimony is intended to perfect the couple's love and to strengthen their indissoluble unity. By this grace they "help one another to attain holiness in their married life and in welcoming and educating their children."

1642 Christ is the source of this grace. "Just as of old God encountered his people with a covenant of love and fidelity, so our Savior, the spouse of the Church, now encounters Christian spouses through the sacrament of Matrimony." Christ dwells with them, gives them the strength to take up their crosses and so follow him, to rise again after they have fallen, to forgive one another, to bear one another's burdens, to "be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ," and to love one another with supernatural, tender, and fruitful love. In the joys of their love and family life he gives them here on earth a foretaste of the wedding feast of the Lamb:
How can I ever express the happiness of a marriage joined by the Church, strengthened by an offering, sealed by a blessing, announced by angels, and ratified by the Father? . . . How wonderful the bond between two believers, now one in hope, one in desire, one in discipline, one in the same service! They are both children of one Father and servants of the same Master, undivided in spirit and flesh, truly two in one flesh. Where the flesh is one, one also is the spirit.

Some Pharisees approached him, and tested him, saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?" He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate." (Matt 19:3-6)

"For this reason a man shall leave (his) father and (his) mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church. (Eph 5:31-2)

The Laying on of Hands

2009-04-09T14:36:00.008-05:00

During Holy Thursday mass, one of the things we celebrate is the institution of the Priesthood, which happened at the Last Supper along with the institution of the Eucharist. So in honor of the institution of the priesthood which we celebrate on this day, the next sacrament we'll examine is that of Holy Orders.

1536 Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time: thus it is the sacrament of apostolic ministry. It includes three degrees: episcopate, presbyterate, and diaconate.

1544 Everything that the priesthood of the Old Covenant prefigured finds its fulfillment in Christ Jesus, the "one mediator between God and men." The Christian tradition considers Melchizedek, "priest of God Most High," as a prefiguration of the priesthood of Christ, the unique "high priest after the order of Melchizedek"; "holy, blameless, unstained," "by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified," that is, by the unique sacrifice of the cross.

1545 The redemptive sacrifice of Christ is unique, accomplished once for all; yet it is made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Church. The same is true of the one priesthood of Christ; it is made present through the ministerial priesthood without diminishing the uniqueness of Christ's priesthood: "Only Christ is the true priest, the others being only his ministers."

1548 Christ is the source of all priesthood: the priest of the old law was a figure of Christ, and the priest of the new law acts in the person of Christ.

1554 "The divinely instituted ecclesiastical ministry is exercised in different degrees by those who even from ancient times have been called bishops, priests, and deacons." Catholic doctrine, expressed in the liturgy, the Magisterium, and the constant practice of the Church, recognizes that there are two degrees of ministerial participation in the priesthood of Christ: the episcopacy and the presbyterate . The diaconate is intended to help and serve them. For this reason the term sacerdos in current usage denotes bishops and priests but not deacons. Yet Catholic doctrine teaches that the degrees of priestly participation (episcopate and presbyterate) and the degree of service (diaconate) are all three conferred by a sacramental act called "ordination," that is, by the sacrament of Holy Orders:
Let everyone revere the deacons as Jesus Christ, the bishop as the image of the Father, and the presbyters as the senate of God and the assembly of the apostles. For without them one cannot speak of the Church.

1581 This sacrament configures the recipient to Christ by a special grace of the Holy Spirit, so that he may serve as Christ's instrument for his Church. By ordination one is enabled to act as a representative of Christ, Head of the Church, in his triple office of priest, prophet, and king.

1582 As in the case of Baptism and Confirmation this share in Christ's office is granted once for all. The sacrament of Holy Orders, like the other two, confers an indelible spiritual character and cannot be repeated or conferred temporarily.

1584 Since it is ultimately Christ who acts and effects salvation through the ordained minister, the unworthiness of the latter does not prevent Christ from acting. St. Augustine states this forcefully:
As for the proud minister, he is to be ranked with the devil. Christ's gift is not thereby profaned: what flows through him keeps its purity, and what passes through him remains dear and reaches the fertile earth.... The spiritual power of the sacrament is indeed comparable to light: those to be enlightened receive it in its purity, and if it should pass through defiled beings, it is not itself defiled.

If we were to look through scripture for examples of ordination, we would first need to know what we were looking for. This describes the actions called for during ordination:

1573 The essential rite of the sacrament of Holy Orders for all three degrees consists in the bishop's imposition of hands on the head of the ordinand and in the bishop's specific consecratory prayer asking God for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and his gifts proper to the ministry to which the candidate is being ordained.

Our priests and bishops are our shephards on this earth, and without them we would not have the most precious of the sacraments, the Eucharist. We should remember to pray for priestly vocations, and especially to keep our own local bishops, priests and deacons in our prayers.

There's more about the three tiered priesthood in the Old Testament and its fulfillment in the New Testament here.

Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the holy Spirit, also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid hands on them. (Acts 6:3-6)

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then, completing their fasting and prayer, they laid hands on them and sent them off. (Acts 12:2-3)

Do not neglect the gift you have, which was conferred on you through the prophetic word with the imposition of hands of the presbyterate. (1 Tim 4:14)

I have given you a model to follow

2009-04-09T06:00:00.006-05:00

Today is Holy Thursday, the first day of that most powerful of times, the triduum, the pinnacle of Lent and of the entire liturgical year. One of the special things that happens during Holy Thursday mass is the washing of the feet, following the example Christ himself gave. This beautiful tradition reminds us of our baptismal commitment to be servants to one another. It is truly an act of humility, and it's deeply touching to see priests and bishops worldwide humbling themselves as Christ did, kneeling down and washing the feet of members of their flock. May we take this message of humility to heart and strive to follow Christ's example of deepest humility!

So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist.
Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Master, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well."
Jesus said to him, "Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all." For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, "Not all of you are clean."
So when he had washed their feet (and) put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, "Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do. (Jn 13:2-15)

Is Anyone Among You Sick?

2009-04-09T00:08:00.006-05:00

The second sacrament of healing is the annointing of the sick. The catechism tells us:

1511 The Church believes and confesses that among the seven sacraments there is one especially intended to strengthen those who are being tried by illness, the Anointing of the Sick:
This sacred anointing of the sick was instituted by Christ our Lord as a true and proper sacrament of the New Testament. It is alluded to indeed by Mark, but is recommended to the faithful and promulgated by James the apostle and brother of the Lord.

1512 From ancient times in the liturgical traditions of both East and West, we have testimonies to the practice of anointings of the sick with blessed oil. Over the centuries the Anointing of the Sick was conferred more and more exclusively on those at the point of death. Because of this it received the name "Extreme Unction." Notwithstanding this evolution the liturgy has never failed to beg the Lord that the sick person may recover his health if it would be conducive to his salvation.

The type of miracle we see most often in scripture is the healing of the sick. We don't expect, of course, that today the annointing of the sick will necessarily heal people physically. The primary purpose of the sacrament is to heal and prepare the soul for possible death, but we may also hope for physical healing.

1508 The Holy Spirit gives to some a special charism of healing so as to make manifest the power of the grace of the risen Lord. But even the most intense prayers do not always obtain the healing of all illnesses. Thus St. Paul must learn from the Lord that "my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness," (2 Cor 12:9) and that the sufferings to be endured can mean that "in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his Body, that is, the Church." (Col 1:24)

Christ the physician came to earth and showed us physically what he would be doing for us spiritually...healing us and making us whole. Even beyond that, he took on our suffering, and made it possible for us to join our own suffering with his so that it can become valuable as redemptive suffering.

1499 "By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them. And indeed she exhorts them to contribute to the good of the People of God by freely uniting themselves to the Passion and death of Christ."

They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. (Mark 6:13)

Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint (him) with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. (James 5:14-5)

Forgive Me, Father

2009-04-07T23:57:00.004-05:00

The next sacrament is confession, a beautiful and healing balm for the soul. I'll let this episode of That Catholic Show do most of the talking for this one!

And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Courage, child, your sins are forgiven." At that, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, "Why do you harbor evil thoughts? Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" --he then said to the paralytic, "Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home." He rose and went home. When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to human beings. (Matt 9:2-8)

(Jesus) said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." (Jn 20:21-23)

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. (James 5:16)

Anointed with the Holy Spirit

2009-04-07T23:47:00.007-05:00

The next sacrament is that of confirmation, it is a further pouring out of the Holy Spirit on us, a completion of the grace we receive in baptism. The Second Vatican Council document Lumen Gentium states that Catholics “are more perfectly bound to the Church by the Sacrament of Confirmation and the Holy Spirit endows them with special strength so that they are more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith, both by word and deed, as true witnesses
of Christ” (Par. 11).

The catechism explains further:

1285 Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the "sacraments of Christian initiation," whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. 89 For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed."

1287 This fullness of the Spirit was not to remain uniquely the Messiah's, but was to be communicated to the whole messianic people. On several occasions Christ promised this outpouring of the Spirit, a promise which he fulfilled first on Easter Sunday and then more strikingly at Pentecost. Filled with the Holy Spirit the apostles began to proclaim "the mighty works of God," and Peter declared this outpouring of the Spirit to be the sign of the messianic age. Those who believed in the apostolic preaching and were baptized received the gift of the Holy Spirit in their turn.

1288 "From that time on the apostles, in fulfillment of Christ's will, imparted to the newly baptized by the laying on of hands the gift of the Spirit that completes the grace of Baptism. For this reason in the Letter to the Hebrews the doctrine concerning Baptism and the laying on of hands is listed among the first elements of Christian instruction. The imposition of hands is rightly recognized by the Catholic tradition as the origin of the sacrament of Confirmation, which in a certain way perpetuates the grace of Pentecost in the Church."

1289 Very early, the better to signify the gift of the Holy Spirit, an anointing with perfumed oil ( chrism ) was added to the laying on of hands. This anointing highlights the name "Christian," which means "anointed" and derives from that of Christ himself whom God "anointed with the Holy Spirit." 100 This rite of anointing has continued ever since, in both East and West. For this reason the Eastern Churches call this sacrament Chrismation , anointing with chrism, or myron which means "chrism." In the West, the term Confirmation suggests that this sacrament both confirms and strengthens baptismal grace.

Confirmation is the sacrament of spiritual maturity, and once we have received it we are called in a special way to be witnesses for Christ.

I will pour out water upon the thirsty ground, and streams upon the dry land; I will pour out my spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing upon your descendants. (Is 44:3)

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you. (Jn 14:16)

And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. (Acts 2:4)

Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 8:14-7)

He said, "How were you baptized?" They replied, "With the baptism of John." Paul then said, "John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus." When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid (his) hands on them, the holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. (Acts 19:3-6)

Therefore, let us leave behind the basic teaching about Christ and advance to maturity, without laying the foundation all over again: repentance from dead works and faith in God, instruction about baptisms 1 and laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.(Heb 6:1-2)

The Door of the Church

2009-04-05T23:39:00.002-05:00

During the last stretch of Lent, Holy Week, we'll be taking a look at those most precious instruments of grace, the sacraments. There is enough information out there to write volumes on each sacrament, but I'm going to try to keep it short by hitting the highlights.

The first sacrament, the one which opens the door to all the others, is baptism. The effects of baptism are as follows (taken from the Catechism):

We enjoy the remission of all sin, original and actual, as well as the remission of all temporal punishment.

1263 By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as all punishment for sin. In those who have been reborn nothing remains that would impede their entry into the Kingdom of God, neither Adam's sin, nor personal sin, nor the consequences of sin, the gravest of which is separation from God.

We become New Creatures

1265Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte "a new creature," an adopted son of God, who has become a "partaker of the divine nature," member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit.

1266 The Most Holy Trinity gives the baptized sanctifying grace, the grace of justification:
- enabling them to believe in God, to hope in him, and to love him through the theological virtues;
- giving them the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit;
- allowing them to grow in goodness through the moral virtues.
Thus the whole organism of the Christian's supernatural life has its roots in Baptism.

We are incorporated into the Church, the Body of Christ

1267 Baptism makes us members of the Body of Christ: "Therefore . . . we are members one of another." Baptism incorporates us into the Church. From the baptismal fonts is born the one People of God of the New Covenant, which transcends all the natural or human limits of nations, cultures, races, and sexes: "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body."

It creates a bond of unity among all Christians

1271 Baptism constitutes the foundation of communion among all Christians, including those who are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church: "For men who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in some, though imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church. Justified by faith in Baptism, [they] are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church." "Baptism therefore constitutes the sacramental bond of unity existing among all who through it are reborn."

It leaves an indelible mark on the soul

1272 Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, the person baptized is configured to Christ. Baptism seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark (character) of his belonging to Christ. No sin can erase this mark, even if sin prevents Baptism from bearing the fruits of salvation. Given once for all, Baptism cannot be repeated.

Catholics accept various forms of baptism, including baptism by immersion and baptism by infusion, and has done so since the Early Church as evidenced by the Didache which dates to the last half of the first century:

7:1But concerning baptism, thus baptize ye: having first recited all these precepts, baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in running water;

7:2 but if thou hast not running water, baptize in some other water, and if thou canst not baptize in cold, in warm water;

7:3 but if thou hast neither, pour water three times on the head, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

7:4 But before the baptism, let him who baptizeth and him who is baptized fast previously, and any others who may be able. And thou shalt command him who is baptized to fast one or two days before.

No other sacraments can be received until baptism is received, and it is for this reason that it is called the Door of the Church.

I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities (Ezekiel 36:25)

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:18-20)

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." (Mark 16:15-16)

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3:3-5)

"And all the people that heard [him], and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him." (Luke 7:29-30)

"And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought [us], saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide [there]. And she constrained us." (Acts 16:15)

Hosanna!

2009-04-04T23:04:00.009-05:00

Palm Sunday is upon us! It's the first day of Holy Week, and the countdown begins for Easter. I started this Lenten series off with a look at a certain sacramental we receive at the beginning of Lent - Ashes. Rounding out the season of Lent, on Palm Sunday we receive another sacramental - Palms. We remember, of course, Christ riding in on a donkey and the people placing palms before him, celebrating his triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. Palms are a symbol of victory and triumph.

The Catholic Encyclopedia says the following:

Palm branches have been used by all nations as an emblem of joy and victory over enemies; in Christianity as a sign of victory over the flesh and the world according to Psalm 92:13, "Justus ut palma florebit "; hence especially associated with the memory of the martyrs. The palms blessed on Palm Sunday were used in the procession of the day, then taken home by the faithful and used as a sacramental. They were preserved in prominent places in the house, in the barns, and in the fields, and thrown into the fire during storms. On the Lower Rhine the custom exists of decorating the grave with blessed palms. From the blessed palms the ashes are procured for Ash Wednesday.

It's a common custom for people to braid their palms or shape them into crosses, and then keep them in their homes through the year. (Being blessed, they shouldn't be just thrown in the trash.) These palms can help us recall Christ's victory year round.

The just shall flourish like the palm tree, shall grow like a cedar of Lebanon. (Ps 92:13)

On the next day, when the great crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took palm branches and went out to meet him, and cried out: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, (even) the king of Israel." (Jn 12:12-3)

Agnus Dei

2009-04-04T01:00:00.002-05:00

I have to admit that I have a special fondness for the Agnus Dei. I think it was probably the first prayer in Latin that I learned (because it was one of the rare ones actually sung in Latin frequently at mass.)

I'm also quite partial to it because it reminds me of Scott Hahn's account of his first mass, which was a major point of transition for me, even before I ever attended my first mass. Reading his book, The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth was a huge eye-opener for me. It made me realize just how scriptural the mass is (and how liturgy itself is mostly taken straight from scripture, as seen throughout this series of posts), and most importantly, it explained that crazy book of Revelation to me for the first time in a way that made sense, lol. All of it is centered around the Lamb of God, and His Supper.

Here is an excerpt that touches on some of what he writes about in more detail in the book:

My most vivid memory of the first Mass I attended was that powerful moment in the Communion Rite where the people say, "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us." "Lamb of God." "Lamb of God." Then they knelt, and the priest held up the host and said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world"—that was "Lamb of God" four times in less than a minute.

I was sitting in the back pew as simply an observer. But suddenly I knew where I was: I was back in the Book of Revelation where Jesus is called the Lamb of God no less than 28 times in 22 chapters. He’s only called "Lamb" in one other book in the entire New Testament: the Gospel of John, and there just twice. But in the Apocalypse, that’s his main title, more than all the other titles: Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Alpha and Omega, and all the rest. He’s the Lamb of God.

I went back to Mass the next day. I had my pad and pencil, and I had my Bible. This time I had it open to Revelation and I saw things I’d never seen before. I saw a connection in these liturgical actions. Not just one or two. Not even just eight or ten. I made a list of 30 elements: white-robed priests, an altar, a congregation chanting "Holy, holy, holy," the alleluias, the amen, the golden chalices, the book, the invocation of angels and saints. I hardly knew which way to turn—toward the actions on the pages of the Apocalypse, or the action up at the altar. After about 15 or 20 minutes of the second Mass, suddenly I realized they were one and the same action. What I was reading on the page was exactly what I was watching up there at the altar.

Looking back, I truly think this prayer helped me to make an important transition in my life. Up until then, the Bible had been the focus in my spiritual life, the center of my faith. But seeing all this liturgical action centered on the Lamb in the scriptures, in the very last book of the Bible, it was like a launching pad for growth in understanding beyond the words on the page. This allowed me to venture past the scriptures alone, and let go a bit of the skepticism for all this Catholic nonsense I had been clinging to and to feel a sense of surprising confidence in the actions I saw around me at mass, because they were actions I saw in The Book I trusted completely. And the words on the page and the actions around me all pointed to one thing...the Lamb of God.

And it is He who is now the focus of my spiritual life, the center of my faith, and the reason I'm a Catholic.

English:

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: grant us peace.

Latin:

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: dona nobis pacem.

Here's a beautiful Agnus Dei from the wonderful Palestrina.

Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, While we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; But the LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all. Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth. (Is 53:4-7)

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
The next day John was there again with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God." (John 1:29, 35-6)

Now if you invoke as Father him who judges impartially according to each one's works, conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning, realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb. (1 Pet 1:17-19)

I looked again and heard the voices of many angels who surrounded the throne and the living creatures and the elders. They were countless in number, and they cried out in a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing."
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, everything in the universe, cry out: "To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor, glory and might, forever and ever." The four living creatures answered, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped. (Rev 5:11-14)

They cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb." (Rev 7:10)

Peace Be With You

2009-04-03T23:21:00.004-05:00

After reciting the Our Father, we turn to each other and offer the Sign of Peace to those around us. (This is actually optional in the mass, but it's done most places.) This may be a brief hug and/or kiss with close family and friends, or a handshake in our culture with those around us. In many times and cultures, it has typically been the kiss of peace.

This is what is said during the sign of peace:

Sign of Peace:

Priest: Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom where you live for ever and ever.
All: Amen.

Priest: The Peace of the Lord be with you always.
All: And also with you.

Deacon or Priest: Let us offer each other a sign of peace.

[The ministers and all the people exchange an embrace, handshake, or other appropriate gesture of peace with those near them, according to local custom.]

It's a lovely thing, really. I know I can get crabby and impatient around people, especially in crowded places. I always try to make an effort to really remind myself to offer a heartfelt "Peace be with you!" to those around me, especially when I've been feeling irritated or grouchy!

Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (Matt 5:23-4)

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. (John 14:27)

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."
(Jesus) said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." (John 20:19, 21)

Greet one another with a loving kiss. Peace to all of you who are in Christ. (1 Pet 5:14)

Pater Noster

2009-04-02T21:23:00.003-05:00

After the Memorial Acclamation and Doxology, we stand and sing together the prayer the Christ Himself gave to us.

The catechism explains:

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

The first communities prayed the Lord's Prayer three times a day, in place of the "Eighteen Benedictions" customary in Jewish piety.

According to the apostolic tradition, the Lord's Prayer is essentially rooted in liturgical prayer:

[The Lord] teaches us to make prayer in common for all our brethren. For he did not say "my Father" who art in heaven, but "our" Father, offering petitions for the common body.

In the Eucharistic liturgy the Lord's Prayer appears as the prayer of the whole Church and there reveals its full meaning and efficacy. Placed between the anaphora (the Eucharistic prayer) and the communion, the Lord's Prayer sums up on the one hand all the petitions and intercessions expressed in the movement of the epiclesis and, on the other, knocks at the door of the Banquet of the kingdom which sacramental communion anticipates.

In the Eucharist, the Lord's Prayer also reveals the eschatological character of its petitions. It is the proper prayer of "the end-time," the time of salvation that began with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and will be fulfilled with the Lord's return. The petitions addressed to our Father, as distinct from the prayers of the old covenant, rely on the mystery of salvation already accomplished, once for all, in Christ crucified and risen.

From this unshakeable faith springs forth the hope that sustains each of the seven petitions, which express the groanings of the present age, this time of patience and expectation during which "it does not yet appear what we shall be." The Eucharist and the Lord's Prayer look eagerly for the Lord's return, "until he comes."

English:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be 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.

Latin:

Pater noster, qui es in caelis:
sanctificetur Nomen Tuum;
adveniat Regnum Tuum;
fiat voluntas Tua,
sicut in caelo, et in terra.
Panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie;
et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
Sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris;
et ne nos inducas in tentationem;
sed libera nos a Malo.

In honor of the 4th anniversary of the death of our late Holy Father, John Paul the Great, here is a recording of him singing the Pater Noster.

"This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread;
and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one. (Matt 6:9-13)

Sanctus

2009-04-01T18:08:00.006-05:00

The creed concludes the liturgy of the Word, and from there we move to the liturgy of the Eucharist.

The priest begins his prayers for the preparation of the gifts (of bread and wine just brought up to him), and the next longish prayer we all say or sing together is the Sanctus. In it, we praise God for His glory with all the angels of Heaven.

In English:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

In Latin:

SANCTUS, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua.
Hosanna in excelsis.
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.
Hosanna in excelsis.

This is the Sanctus from one of my favorite masses, Bach's Mass in B Minor.

I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple. Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings: with two they veiled their faces, with two they veiled their feet, and with two they hovered aloft. "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!" they cried one to the other. "All the earth is filled with his glory!" (Is 6:1-3)

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. We bless you from the LORD'S house. (Ps 118:26)

The crowds preceding him and those following kept crying out and saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest." (Matt 21:9)

they took palm branches and went out to meet him, and cried out: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, (even) the king of Israel." (Jn 12:13)

Credo

2009-03-31T21:38:00.005-05:00

After all the readings are read at mass, the priest gives a homily. Once the homily is over, we make our profession of faith by saying the Nicene creed.

Growing up where I did, creeds were something viewed with suspicion. There was a clear dichotomy set up between biblical truth and man made creeds.

But in actually reading the creed, I found it to be quite biblical in content. And it's a wonderful thing to be able to state clearly and with confidence what it is the main tenants of our faith are, and especially to do so together with fellow Christians at mass.

A couple years back, comedian Stephen Colbert gave a nice recitation of the Nicene Creed on his show, lol.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The De-Deification of the American Faithscape

comedycentral.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

NASA Name Contest

You can follow along here:

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven:
[bow during the next two lines:]
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered, died, and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

And in Latin:

CREDO in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem caeli et terrae,visibilium omnium et invisibilium.

Et in unum Dominum Iesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula. Deum de Deo, Lumen de Lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero, genitum non factum, consubstantialem Patri; per quem omnia facta sunt.

Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis. Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus est.

Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est, et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas, et ascendit in caelum, sedet ad dexteram patris.

Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, iudicare vivos et mortuos, cuius regni non erit finis.

Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit.

Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur: qui locutus est per prophetas.

Et unam, sanctam,catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam.

Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum. Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.

And here you can practice singing the Credo Gregorian Chant in Latin. ;-)

There is so much reference to scripture packed into the creed, that I'll just provide this link rather than posting all the scripture, because the post would be a page long! The page is not Catholic so the wording is slightly different, but the ideas are the same.

Alleluia!

2009-03-31T18:38:00.006-05:00

After the introductory rites, the next part of the mass is the Liturgy of the Word. This is when scripture is read. There is a reading from the Old Testament, then a psalm is sung, then a related reading from the New Testament, and then most importantly a reading from one of the four Gospels. We stand in honor of Christ's own words in the Gospel, and before it is read we sing Alleluia (except during Lent.)

Here's a lovely Alleluia from Vivaldi.

(I was tempted to put Mozart's well known Alleluia, but since I already posted one Mozart I thought I'd restrain myself!)

The gates of Jerusalem shall sing hymns of gladness, and all her houses shall cry out, "Alleluia! "Blessed be God who has raised you up! may he be blessed for all ages!" For in you they shall praise his holy name forever. (Tobit 13:18)

Alleluia! Give thanks to the LORD, who is good, whose love endures forever. (Ps 106:1)

After this I heard what sounded like the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying: "Alleluia! 1 Salvation, glory, and might belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her harlotry. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants."

They said a second time: "Alleluia! Smoke will rise from her forever and ever."

The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, "Amen. Alleluia."

A voice coming from the throne said: "Praise our God, all you his servants, (and) you who revere him, small and great."

Then I heard something like the sound of a great multitude or the sound of rushing water or mighty peals of thunder, as they said: "Alleluia! The Lord has established his reign, (our) God, the almighty. (Rev 19:1-6)

Gloria

2009-03-31T16:41:00.003-05:00

After the Kyrie, the Gloria is (usually) sung by all. During the penitential seasons of Lent and Advent, the Gloria is not sung. It's one of the best parts of Christmas, and especially Easter masses, singing the Gloria for the first time in weeks! It's such a joyous prayer.

The first part is probably easily recognizable, even to non-Catholics, because of such Christmas hymns as Angels We Have Heard on High.

The text of the prayer in Latin:

GLORIA in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.
Laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te, gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam, Domine Deus, Rex caelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens.

Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis; qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis.

Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dominus, tu solus Altissimus, Iesu Christe, cum Sancto Spiritu: in gloria Dei Patris. Amen.

And the English translation we use in mass:

Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord,
You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Here's a beautiful Gloria from William Byrd, one of my faves!

And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." (Luke 2:13-14)

Kyrie

2009-03-31T15:14:00.005-05:00

The beginning parts of mass are called the introductory rites. We always start off acknowledging our sins and asking God for mercy and pardon, we do this in the pentitential rite, and in the Kyrie.

I once heard a joke about an old lady who was lamenting all the changes to the mass and the movement away from Latin. She complained that the only part they said in Latin nowadays was the Kyrie. Ha ha ha!

If you don't get the joke, it might help to know that the Kyrie is not Latin but Greek. ;-)

The priest (or cantor if being sung) says, and we respond with the following:

Priest: Kyrie, eleison. All: Kyrie, eleison.
Priest: Christe, eleison. All: Christe, eleison.
Priest: Kyrie, eleison. All: Kyrie, eleison.

It is sometimes said in the vernacular as well, in English the translation is:

Priest: Lord, have mercy. All: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: Christ, have mercy. All: Christ, have mercy.
Priest: Lord, have mercy. All: Lord, have mercy.

There are some beautiful musical versions of the Kyrie in sacred pieces and masses composed. I remember in my music history class in college learning about early sacred music, and at the same time outside of school learning about Catholicism and the mass. I remember realizing that all these sounds (which I always found beautiful) that I had known in some of my favorite pieces were actually prayers of the mass. Since then, my absolute favorite pieces of music are sacred music, especially now that I know what words are being said in these prayers being sung.

For instance, here is the Kyrie from Mozart's Mass in C minor. Can anyone listen to this, know the meaning of the words, really internalize those words, make them their own, and NOT be moved to tears? It's the music of angels.

And for my fellow children of the 80s, remember this song? Turns out Mr. Mister wasn't saying "Carrying a laser" after all, lol.

Have mercy on me, LORD; see how my foes afflict me! You alone can raise me from the gates of death. (Ps 9:14)

And as Jesus passed from thence, there followed him two blind men crying out and saying, Have mercy on us, O Son of David. (Matt 9:27)

And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. (Matt 15:22)

And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. (Luke 17:13)

The Seal of God

2009-03-29T23:41:00.006-05:00

Our modern world is one full of easily recognizable brands and logos. We see a simple check mark, a bitten apple, or some golden arches and know immediately what they stand for. Humans are drawn to visible, simple representations of larger wholes.

The sign of all signs is that of the cross. This can be drawn on the forehead with the thumb, or it can be a larger sign touching the forehead, chest, left shoulder, then right shoulder. We make the sign of the cross before and after every prayer, we make it when we enter and leave the presence of Christ in a church, we make it simply as a prayer itself, in thanks or in times of suffering. It's a beautiful and visible sign which, while simple, professes the deepest mystery of our faith.

Before he became Pope, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger wrote the following in The Spirit of the Liturgy.

The most basic Christian gesture in prayer is and always will be the Sign of the Cross. It is a way of confessing Christ crucified with one's very body, in accordance with the programmatic words of St. Paul: "[W]e preach Christ Crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor 1:23). Again he says: "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (2:2).

To seal oneself with the sign of the Cross is a visible and public Yes to him who suffered for us; to him who in the body has made God's love visible, even to the utmost; to the God who reigns not by destruction but by the humility of suffering and love, which is stronger than all the power of the world and wiser than all the calculating intelligence of men.

The sign of the Cross is a confession of faith: I believe in him who suffered for me and rose again; in him who has transformed the sign of shame into a sign of hope and of the love of God that is present with us. The confession of faith is a confession of hope: I believe in him who in his weakness is the Almighty; in him who can and will save me even in apparent absence and impotence....

Thus we can say that in the sign of the Cross, together with the invocation of the Trinity, the whole essence of Christianity is summed up; it displays what is distinctively Christian.

We make the sign of the cross at the beginning and end of each mass. The sign of the cross leads us into the mass, and the following posts will be continuing that walk through the various prayers of the mass, and examining their significance.

Here's a video with some more info about the sign of the cross, as well as a look at a beautiful cross found in nature, in the thorns of a certain bush.

Pass through the city (through Jerusalem) and mark an X on the foreheads of those who moan and groan over all the abominations that are practiced within it. To the others I heard him say: Pass through the city after him and strike!...wipe them out! But do not touch any marked with the X. (Ez 9:4)

"Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God." (Rev 7:3)

They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or any tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. (Rev 9:4)

Then I looked and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. (Rev 14:1)

Ave Maria

2009-03-27T21:39:00.010-05:00

We move now from talking about general forms of prayer, to looking at specific prayers. Probably the most recognizable Catholic prayer is the Hail Mary. It's a prayer that tends to make a lot of non-Catholic Christians squirm a bit, but a closer look at the words themselves reveals that it is partly comprised of scripture, and partly a mere petition to ask for intercessory prayer (as talked about here.) The parts in brackets are not direct quotes from scripture.

Hail [Mary], full of grace, the Lord is with thee. (Luke 1:28)
Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, [Jesus]. (Luke 1:42)
[Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.]

And just because I find it beautiful, here is the text in Latin.

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum.
Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae.
Amen.

In looking at sacred art and the many images of Mary, it's common to see Mary staring at, pointing to, or holding up the child Jesus for us to adore. And this embodies her role, and provides an image of why it is we ask for her prayers at all. Mary, the first to receive Christ into her body, always helps us to draw closer to Him, she points the way to true union with Him.

Here's a lovely Ave Maria with some beautiful sacred art to accompany it. Enjoy!

Praise Him, Praise Him

2009-03-26T22:43:00.007-05:00

The last kind of prayer we'll examine is prayer of praise. We can praise God in many ways, in our actions, in our words, and in our hearts. At the heart of praise is an acknowledgement of who God is.

The catechism continues:

2639 Praise is the form of prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God. It lauds God for his own sake and gives him glory, quite beyond what he does, but simply because HE IS. It shares in the blessed happiness of the pure of heart who love God in faith before seeing him in glory. By praise, the Spirit is joined to our spirits to bear witness that we are children of God, testifying to the only Son in whom we are adopted and by whom we glorify the Father. Praise embraces the other forms of prayer and carries them toward him who is its source and goal: the "one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist."

One thing that struck me when I became Catholic was the realization that one could sing (or chant) prayer. We often praise God through song, and this itself is a form of prayer. (As a side note, this helped me realize that while I condemned "rote prayers" as vain repetition, I had no qualms repeating praises in song, and I didn't consider this to be vain.) There's a saying, commonly attributed to St. Augustine, which says "Qui bene cantat bis orat," - Who sings well prays twice.

2641 "[Address] one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart." Like the inspired writers of the New Testament, the first Christian communities read the Book of Psalms in a new way, singing in it the mystery of Christ. In the newness of the Spirit, they also composed hymns and canticles in the light of the unheard-of event that God accomplished in his Son: his Incarnation, his death which conquered death, his Resurrection, and Ascension to the right hand of the Father. Doxology, the praise of God, arises from this "marvelous work" of the whole economy of salvation.

Once again, the mass itself is one big prayer, and it envelopes all the various forms of prayer, rolling them into a flawless whole.

2643 The Eucharist contains and expresses all forms of prayer: it is "the pure offering" of the whole Body of Christ to the glory of God's name and, according to the traditions of East and West, it is the "sacrifice of praise."

Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God. (Ps 43:4)

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works! (Ps 105:1-2)

They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46-7)

He leaped up, stood, and walked around, and went into the temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God. (Acts 3:8)

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. (Heb 13:15)

Happy Feast of the Annunciation!

2009-03-25T13:06:00.003-05:00

Today we celebrate the Annunciation, and you know what that means...Christmas is only nine months away, start your shopping now!!

Ha, just kidding. A blessed day to all!

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel,
"How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?"
And the angel said to her in reply,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
Then the angel departed from her.

(Luke 1:26-38)

Ora Pro Nobis

2009-03-25T10:06:00.005-05:00

One of the beautiful things about love is that it causes us to turn outward, it causes us to look outside ourselves and to be concerned with those around us. And so it follows that when we pray fervently for the things which we need ourselves, and we experience God's loving kindness in return, we will naturally start to pray for those around us as well. This is what we call prayer of intercession.

Christ himself is, of course, THE intercessor of all men. He died for us so that we might live. But as Thomas à Kempis put it in The Imitation of Christ, we are called to be "little Christs," and this means, as much as we can, doing for others what Christ did for us.

The catechism explains further:

2634 Intercession is a prayer of petition which leads us to pray as Jesus did. He is the one intercessor with the Father on behalf of all men, especially sinners. He is "able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them." The Holy Spirit "himself intercedes for us . . . and intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."

2635 Since Abraham, intercession - asking on behalf of another has been characteristic of a heart attuned to God's mercy. In the age of the Church, Christian intercession participates in Christ's, as an expression of the communion of saints. In intercession, he who prays looks "not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others," even to the point of praying for those who do him harm.

2636 The first Christian communities lived this form of fellowship intensely. Thus the Apostle Paul gives them a share in his ministry of preaching the Gospel but also intercedes for them. The intercession of Christians recognizes no boundaries: "for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions," for persecutors, for the salvation of those who reject the Gospel.

Catholics also believe that this call extends even beyond the grave, and that those Christians who have died and gone to Heaven continue to intercede for those on Earth. Let us be imitators of Christ, and continually lift each other up in prayer!

But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you (Matt 5:44)

In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God's will. (Rom 8:26-7)

It is Christ (Jesus) who died, rather, was raised, who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. (Rom 8:34)

[Christ] is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

Bear one another's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Gal 6:2)

Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but (also) everyone for those of others. (Phil 2:3-4)

As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them"; and when he said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:60)

Peter thus was being kept in prison, but prayer by the church was fervently being made to God on his behalf. (Acts 12:5)

With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit. To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication for all the holy ones and also for me, that speech may be given me to open my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, so that I may have the courage to speak as I must. (Eph 6:18-20)

Brothers, pray for us (too). (1 Thess 5:25)

To this end, we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith, that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thess 1:11-12)

First of all, then, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. (1 Tim 2:1-2)

A Wish List?

2009-03-25T09:00:00.005-05:00

The next kind of prayer we'll take a look at may be the kind of prayer people are inclined to most often...prayer of petition. After all, that's when we ask God for stuff!

But even if we start out with a child-like image of God as the great vending machine in the sky, nevertheless the act of turning to God to ask Him for our desires is already itself an implicit acknowledgement that He is creator and Lord of all. Sincere prayer, even if imperfect in object, helps us adjust our attitudes, our perceptions - it humbles us.

One may wonder, if God knows our every need, why is it we need to pray anyway? The answer is, because prayer isn't to help God, it's to help us. Petitioning God first and foremost causes us to recognize our relationship with God as dependent upon Him, and therefore requires humility to even begin to ask for anything.

The catechism explains:

2629 The vocabulary of supplication in the New Testament is rich in shades of meaning: ask, beseech, plead, invoke, entreat, cry out, even "struggle in prayer." Its most usual form, because the most spontaneous, is petition: by prayer of petition we express awareness of our relationship with God. We are creatures who are not our own beginning, not the masters of adversity, not our own last end. We are sinners who as Christians know that we have turned away from our Father. Our petition is already a turning back to him.

Secondly, it requires us to think about what it is we need and why, and therefore helps us to prioritize and hopefully, with maturity and humility, to stop pestering God for that million dollars to drop from the sky and realize that what we should really be asking for (in other words, what we really need) is more patience/humility/charity/[insert virtue here], and not necessarily more stuff.

Of course, one of the primary things we should be asking for often is God's forgiveness. Once again, this requires humility, it also requires repentance, an acknowledgement of wrongdoing and a willingness to accept the grace needed to stop.

2631 The first movement of the prayer of petition is asking forgiveness, like the tax collector in the parable: "God, be merciful to me a sinner!" It is a prerequisite for righteous and pure prayer. A trusting humility brings us back into the light of communion between the Father and his Son Jesus Christ and with one another, so that "we receive from him whatever we ask." Asking forgiveness is the prerequisite for both the Eucharistic liturgy and personal prayer.

Our God is merciful and loving, ready and willing to forgive us our sins when we acknowledge them and turn from them, desiring to give us our every need. The catechism says that "Christ, who assumed all things in order to redeem all things, is glorified by what we ask the Father in his name." And so let us ask boldly and with confidence, glorifying God in acknowledging His sovereignty.

But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it. (James 1:5)

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asks for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him. (Matt 7:7-11)

Thanks Be To God

2009-03-23T22:47:00.006-05:00

In the last couple of posts, one thing you may notice is that typically when fasting is mentioned, prayer is mentioned right alongside it. That's because they go hand in hand.

We all know the exhortation to "pray without ceasing." We renew our focus to do just that during the penitential seasons especially. Prayer is really the foundation of all we do, it fosters our relationship with God and strengthens us. The mass itself is filled with prayer, in fact it is one giant prayer. We'll be taking a closer look at many of the prayers we say at mass in a bit. First, I want to look at some different kinds of prayer, basically what it is we pray for and why.

The first form of prayer we'll be examining is prayers of Thanksgiving.

The catechism says:

2637 Thanksgiving characterizes the prayer of the Church which, in celebrating the Eucharist, reveals and becomes more fully what she is. Indeed, in the work of salvation, Christ sets creation free from sin and death to consecrate it anew and make it return to the Father, for his glory. The thanksgiving of the members of the Body participates in that of their Head.

2638 As in the prayer of petition, every event and need can become an offering of thanksgiving. The letters of St. Paul often begin and end with thanksgiving, and the Lord Jesus is always present in it: "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you"; "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving."

The word eucharist itself means thanksgiving. Before the main Eucharistic prayer during mass, the priest says "Let us give thanks to the Lord our God," and we respond "It is right to give Him thanks and praise."

The act of thanking God, whether in our nightly prayers before bed, in our prayers before mealtime, or at mass is something that reminds us of both our dependence upon God, and His goodness and mercy for all the blessings He bestows upon us.

It seems that often the people who are most thankful for what they have are those who have less than the norm. And so it makes sense that during Lent, while we try to empty ourselves through almsgiving and fasting, while we try to do away with excess and minimize consumption of stuff in general, we in turn learn to recognize the things that truly matter, and to be more thankful than ever for them.

Here's a lovely polyphonic canon sung with simply the words, Deo Gratias - Thanks be to God.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. (Ps 107:1)

Riches and honor are from you, and you have dominion over all. In your hand are power and might; it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all. Therefore, our God, we give you thanks and we praise the majesty of your name. (1 Chron 29:12-13)

Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. (Phil 4:6)

A Musical Interlude

2009-03-23T20:53:00.004-05:00

Just thought I'd post the lyrics to a lovely Lenten hymn (the text of which dates back to the 6th century). I thought it fitting to squeeze in between the previous post and the next post to come, especially because of the focus on fasting and prayer.

You can hear the tune here.

The glory of these forty days
we celebrate with songs of praise;
for Christ, through whom all things were made,
himself has fasted and has prayed.

Alone and fasting Moses saw
the loving God who gave the law;
and to Elijah, fasting, came
the steeds and chariots of flame.

So Daniel trained his mystic sight,
delivered from the lions' might;
and John, the Bridegroom's friend, became
the herald of Messiah's name.

Then grant us, Lord, like them to be
full oft in fast and prayer with thee;
our spirits strengthen with thy grace,
and give us joy to see thy face.

O Father, Son, and Spirit blest,
to thee be every prayer addressed,
who art in three-fold Name adored,
from age to age, the only Lord.

So That Christ May Increase

2009-03-23T16:19:00.008-05:00

Probably one of the most well-known and recognizable forms of penance is fasting.

The requirements for fasting have changed over the years in order to accomodate various times and cultures. Currently Catholics in America are required to fast the whole day on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. This means we are to eat only one meal, but we can also have two snacks during the day that don't add up to one meal. These are also days of abstinence, requiring us to refrain from eating meat. We are also required to fast one hour before mass, meaning only water and any medicine needed is allowed. Abstinence from meat is required during the Fridays of Lent, and some kind of sacrifice is encouraged for Fridays throughout the whole year. (As many know, it used to be that abstinence was required on all Fridays of the year. The Church may change such disciplines the way a parent may change a curfew for their child if they feel it proper.) Of course there are exceptions to the fasting requirements such as the young, elderly, sick, and pregnant.

The Catechism explains that fasting helps us to "acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart" (CCC 2043). One of the most frequent messages of Christ is that in order to be truly free, we must die to self. The idea of "freedom" as being able to do whatever we want is an illusion, because "doing whatever we want" typically means giving into our cravings, desires, and passions without restraint. In doing so, we actually become slaves to our desires, unwilling and for some unable to say no to them.

I like how simply and yet firmly the Baltimore Catechism puts it:

Q. 1346. Why does the Church command us to fast and abstain?

A. The Church commands us to fast and abstain, in order that we may mortify our passions and satisfy for our sins.

Q. 1347. What is meant by our passions and what by mortifying them?

A. By our passions are meant our sinful desires and inclinations. Mortifying them means restraining them and overcoming them so that they have less power to lead us into sin.

The scriptures say that after Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days, he was hungry. This seems kind of obvious, but I think it actually makes an important point. Hunger is an emptiness, it's a readiness to be filled. And this is why we fast - to empty ourselves so that we may be filled with Christ. We must decrease so that Christ may increase.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. (Matt 4:1-2)

When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you. (Matt 6:16-18)

Then the disciples of John approached him and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast (much), but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. (Matt 9:15)

Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher...never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. (Luke 2:36-7)

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then, completing their fasting and prayer, they laid hands on them and sent them off. (Acts 13:2-3)

They appointed presbyters for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord in whom they had put their faith. (Acts 14:23)

A Call to Alms

2009-03-20T23:38:00.007-05:00

During penitential seasons such as Lent, we are called especially to certain forms of penance. One of these is almsgiving.

The Catholic Encyclopedia defines almsgiving as "any material favour done to assist the needy, and prompted by charity."

The following is a collection of excerpts from the beautiful message (written for last year's Lent) from Pope Benedict XVI on the purpose of almsgiving during Lent. I'm not nearly as eloquent as he, so I'll let him do most of the talking for this post. :-)

"For this year’s Lenten Message, I wish to spend some time reflecting on the practice of almsgiving, which represents a specific way to assist those in need and, at the same time, an exercise in self-denial to free us from attachment to worldly goods."

"According to the teaching of the Gospel, we are not owners but rather administrators of the goods we possess: these, then, are not to be considered as our exclusive possession, but means through which the Lord calls each one of us to act as a steward of His providence for our neighbor."

"[Jesus] made Himself poor to enrich us out of His poverty (cf. 2 Cor 8,9); He gave His entire self for us. Lent, also through the practice of almsgiving, inspires us to follow His example. In His school, we can learn to make of our lives a total gift; imitating Him, we are able to make ourselves available, not so much in giving a part of what we possess, but our very selves. Cannot the entire Gospel be summarized perhaps in the one commandment of love? The Lenten practice of almsgiving thus becomes a means to deepen our Christian vocation. In gratuitously offering himself, the Christian bears witness that it is love and not material richness that determines the laws of his existence. Love, then, gives almsgiving its value; it inspires various forms of giving, according to the possibilities and conditions of each person."

"Dear brothers and sisters, Lent invites us to “train ourselves” spiritually, also through the practice of almsgiving, in order to grow in charity and recognize in the poor Christ Himself. In the Acts of the Apostles, we read that the Apostle Peter said to the cripple who was begging alms at the Temple gate: “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk” (Acts 3,6). In giving alms, we offer something material, a sign of the greater gift that we can impart to others through the announcement and witness of Christ, in whose name is found true life. Let this time, then, be marked by a personal and community effort of attachment to Christ in order that we may be witnesses of His love."

You cannot serve God and mammon. (Luke 16:13)

For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich. (2 Cor 8:9)

Now, however, I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the holy ones. For Macedonia and Achaia have decided to make some contribution for the poor among the holy ones in Jerusalem; they decided to do it, and in fact they are indebted to them, for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to serve them in material blessings. (Rom 15:25-7)

If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? (1 Jn 3:17)

But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. (Matt 6:3-4)

In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' (Acts 20:35)

He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums.
A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.
Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury.
For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood." (Mark 12:41-4)

Penance, Penance, Penance

2009-03-19T22:59:00.006-05:00

"No Pain, No Gain." We hear it all the time when it comes to exercise of the body and practicing various sports. But Catholics also hold to this rule of thumb when it comes to our spiritual health as well.

Now, sometimes this is misunderstood as a kind of masochism, a desire for pain, but it is no such thing. It is a willingness to bear our sufferings (with the help of God's grace, of course), to take up our cross as Christ did, and to offer reparation for our sins.

Penance requires several things, as the catechism tells us:

"Penance requires . . . the sinner to endure all things willingly, be contrite of heart, confess with the lips, and practice complete humility and fruitful satisfaction." CCC 1450

In this post, I'm mostly focusing on the "fruitful satisfaction" part of penance, because while the other parts of penance are things even many non-Catholics embrace and practice, the satisfaction aspect tends to be something particularly unique to Catholics.

Many non-Catholics have a hard time understanding why we think penance is even necessary. "Didn't Christ finish all the work on the cross?" they ask. And we respond, He did more than just do it for us, He asks us to join our work with His, He sanctifies our work, which without Him could do nothing to save us. What penance is NOT is "earning" our salvation. It's abundantly clear by our actions that we don't deserve it! Yet whenever we ask for forgiveness, it's given to us, thanks be to God. There is still our mess to clean up, though.

A common analogy is one of a boy playing baseball, who hits the ball through a neighbor's window. He goes to the neighbor, apologizes, and the neighbor graciously forgives him. But, the window is still broken. His penance would be the act of perhaps working to get enough money to replace that window.

When we sin, we harm ourselves and possibly others. Penance is working to repair the harm done, it's attempting to clean up our mess.

The catechism continues:

1459 Many sins wrong our neighbor. One must do what is possible in order to repair the harm (e.g., return stolen goods, restore the reputation of someone slandered, pay compensation for injuries). Simple justice requires as much. But sin also injures and weakens the sinner himself, as well as his relationships with God and neighbor. Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused. Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must "make satisfaction for" or "expiate" his sins. This satisfaction is also called "penance."

1460 The penance the confessor imposes must take into account the penitent's personal situation and must seek his spiritual good. It must correspond as far as possible with the gravity and nature of the sins committed. It can consist of prayer, an offering, works of mercy, service of neighbor, voluntary self-denial, sacrifices, and above all the patient acceptance of the cross we must bear. Such penances help configure us to Christ, who alone expiated our sins once for all. They allow us to become co-heirs with the risen Christ, "provided we suffer with him."

The satisfaction that we make for our sins, however, is not so much ours as though it were not done through Jesus Christ. We who can do nothing ourselves, as if just by ourselves, can do all things with the cooperation of "him who strengthens" us. Thus man has nothing of which to boast, but all our boasting is in Christ . . . in whom we make satisfaction by bringing forth "fruits that befit repentance." These fruits have their efficacy from him, by him they are offered to the Father, and through him they are accepted by the Father.

The practice of denying ourselves in a culture obsessed with immediate satisfaction is a truly beneficial spiritual exercise. It reminds us of our weaknesses and our utter dependence upon God, it makes apparent our attachment to earthly trifles.

But even more, Christ's sacrifice has given value to any sacrifice, however small, that we unite with His cross. Catholics have a saying, I've been told one that is heard often from mothers and teaching nuns, which is "Offer it up." The smallest discomfort, the slightest pain, up to the most difficult struggles can be offered up as personal sacrifices, accepted as personal crosses, and joined with Christ's sacrifice which gives it value. We receive grace for accepting our crosses, by the power of Christ's sacrifice we help make reparation for our own sin, and since we are one big family, we can also offer up suffering for the reparation of others as well.

As a simple child, St. Bernadette was told by Our Lady of Lourdes during one of the apparitions to pray to God for sinners. She also said, "Penance, penance, penance." This exhortation to penance is something we recall especially during this season of Lent. We must empty ourselves in order to be filled with Christ's peace and grace. In upcoming posts, we'll look in more detail at some of the specific ways we do that.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." (Matt 16:24)

We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Rom 5:3-5)

The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. (Rom 8:16-18)

But we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (1 Cor 1:23)

So I ask you not to lose heart over my afflictions for you; this is your glory. (Eph 3:13)

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church, of which I am a minister in accordance with God's stewardship given to me to bring to completion for you the word of God (Col 1:24-5)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T19:19:00.002-05:00

If you don't know the story, here is some audio of an ADORABLE little Irish child telling it, set to animation. :-D

Up, Down, Up

2009-03-16T17:43:00.010-05:00

If you've been following my Lenten series of posts, you've probably noticed in various pictures and videos that Catholics move around quite a bit! There is genuflecting going on, kneeling, standing, bowing, lots of action. This is because Catholics believe that we're not only to worship God with our hearts and minds, but we're to worship Him with our body too.

I think it's sometimes easy to forget just how important our body is. When we think of God and spiritual things, we often tend to discount the physical world as unimportant or unnecessary, or in some cases even as evil (as is the case with gnosticism, a heresy which continues to pop up in various forms today.) But countering this is a central mystery of our Catholic faith...the Incarnation. God became flesh and dwelt among men! This, in and of itself, should remind us just how important the physical is, and that it is a good because it was created by God.

So while Catholics pray to and adore God with our hearts, we feel it is also useful and more holistic to adore God with our bodies as well. It takes thoughts, feeling, and intent to the next level, and turns it to action, which then reinforces those thoughts and feelings and so on. It's like a cycle that makes itself stronger the more we do it!

What are some of the ways we incarnate reverence and adoration?

Genuflection is one of those ways. This is when, upon entering or leaving a pew for instance, a Catholic will bend down on one knee to acknowledge Christ's presence in the Eucharist, and many make the sign of the cross as well. (As a side note, there is a popular tradition that one genuflects on the right knee to God alone. To show honor to royalty or clergy such as one's bishop, one genuflects on the left knee.)

A double genuflection is when one genuflects, then brings the other knee to the ground (as in a kneeling position) for a moment before getting up. This is done during any exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, as when entering a pew for adoration, which again emphasizes our belief that Christ is truly present in front of us.

Kneeling, for me, is one of the most personally humbling forms of reverence. I remember at my first mass, seeing all the people, young and old, kneel together at the time of the consecration. I couldn't help but know, even as an outsider, that something special was happening then. I'd never before seen a group of people so simply, visibly, and uniformly humble themselves in this manner. At that point I probably could have counted the number of times I'd actually knelt in prayer or worship of God myself on one hand, it was just not something I ever really thought to do.

Bowing, either a bow of the head or a "profound bow" from the waist, is also a way to show reverence. Many bow before receiving the Eucharist, and we also bow during creed while stating the mystery of the Incarnation (when we say, "By the Power of the Holy Spirit He was born of the Virgin Mary and became Man"). It has also long been a tradition to make a slight bow of the head any time the name of Jesus is mentioned. It's a beautiful way to remind ourselves of the Lord's sovereignty.

Standing is a position of prayer and honor. We still stand when a judge enters the room out of respect, and it used to always be proper etiquette for a man to stand when a woman entered the room. At mass, "let us pray" is typically code for "stand up." We stand for many of the prayers we recite together, and we also stand out of reverence for the gospel reading, acknowledging the preeminence of Christ's words among scripture.

Prostration is a posture of reverence which isn't used often, but is a beautiful way to show humility and submission to God. This is when one lays completely on the floor, face down. It is used during the Rite of Ordination, as can be seen at the right. (I love the fact that one of the men prostrating has a cast and a crutch, lol, that's dedication.)

For more on the subject, here is another great episode of That Catholic Show called Sit, Stand, and Kneel.

Opening the windows in his upper chamber towards Jerusalem, he knelt down three times a day, and adored, and gave thanks before his God, as he had been accustomed to do before. (Daniel 6:10)

I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands to the Lord my God (Ezra 9:5)

Enter, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the LORD who made us. (Ps 95:6)

Then going out [Jesus] went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives...and kneeling, he prayed. (Luke 22:39, 41)

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil 2: 9-11)

Venite Adoremus

2009-03-15T21:40:00.009-05:00

We move now from God's dwelling place, the tabernacle, to a vessel called a monstrance in which the Eucharist is exposed to us, visible and vulnerable so that we may adore Him. The word monstrance itself comes from the Latin monstrare, which means "to show." It's typically a beautiful and ornate vessel, with a transparent center so that the host which is placed in it can be seen by and shown to those present.

The monstrance is used for several occasions. One is adoration, where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in the monstrance, and left on the altar so that people can come and pray or simply be in Christ's presence, and adore him. A famous story from the Curé d'Ars, St. Jean Vianney, relates the tale of a peasant who would spend hours apparently doing nothing but sitting quietly in church. When asked what he was doing, he responded, "I look at Him, and He looks at me." This is what many do in adoration. Some pray. Some read scripture or devotionals. Some even sing...recently at adoration, it was calmly quiet as usual, when a lone lady began singing hymns to Our Lord. It was touching, hearing one lone voice echoing in the cathedral in hymns of adoration.

I have a special place in my heart for adoration, as my very first time in a Catholic Church was in the middle of the night during adoration. I wasn't yet 100% convinced of the truth of Catholicism...and before attending my first mass, I took an opportunity to simply check out the church from the inside first. Many parishes will have perpetual adoration, and when this is the case people sign up for typically around hour long slots, so that the exposed Christ is never left alone, even in the dark of the night. There was one or two other people there praying, but what I remember most was a beautiful and surprisingly tangible sense of calm and peace (and this in a quite turbulent time of my life.) This was my first encounter with Christ in the Eucharist, and I look back on it fondly!

Benediction is when the priest takes the Eucharist in the monstrance and blesses the people with it. When he does this, he wears a shawl-like vestment called a humeral veil, to cover his hands when picking up the monstrance so that he doesn't touch it. This is to symbolize the fact that this blessing is not from him, but from Christ present in the Eucharist.

Another use of the monstrance is in a Eucharistic Procession. This is especially common on the feast of Corpus Christi (the Body of Christ.) Once again, the monstrance is held by the priest using the humeral veil, and it is processed outside under a rectangular canopy called a baldachin (which can be seen in the two pieces of artwork which portray a procession). It's quite a powerful way to bring Christ to those in the street.

The following video is one that was made to promote and encourage vocations, but it shows a Eucharistic procession in the streets of New York. The juxtaposition of the modern streets in the background with this long held tradition is really very beautiful.

"In thy presence there is fullness of joy" (Ps 16:11)

"Be still, and know that I am God." (Ps 46:10)

"Can you not watch one hour with me?" (Matt 26:40)

"And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the ancients, and about the living creatures; and they fell on their faces, and adored God, saying: ‘Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving, honor and power and strength to our God forever and ever. Amen’" (Rev 7:11-12).

Come, let us adore Him, indeed!

God's Dwelling Place

2009-03-14T00:22:00.008-05:00

At every mass, during the consecration, we believe Christ becomes truly present to us under the appearance of bread and wine. After we receive the Eucharist, there are typically hosts still leftover, and once they are consecrated, they remain so. We wouldn't dare throw the Eucharist away, and so in every Catholic Church, you could say as the heart of the church is the tabernacle, Christ's dwelling place.

photo by marylea
Once again, this is a Jewish concept brought into Christianity. In Exodus, we first read of Moses asking God to dwell among them (34:9). This is indeed a dangerous thing, and God warns against it at first (33:3) but graciously agrees at Moses' request and acknowledgement of their unworthiness. And so, a tent is set apart as a sacred space to be God's dwelling place. A whole chapter (35) is taken to describe the very detailed requirements for this space. The numbers used and materials used all have great meaning, they all point to wholeness, to purity, and the best stones, linens, metals, and woods are called for. Obviously, this is no light matter, and nothing is too precious for the dwelling place of God! No expense is spared for this most holy of places, and the Tent is brought with the Israelites through the desert.

Later in the Old Testament, the Temple replaces the tent as there is no need for it to be portable any longer. Once again, great care is taken and no expense spared for the building of this Temple. Directions are given in 1 Chorinthians 28, and in the following chapter we can see His dwelling place was to be beautiful, crafted by the best artisans, and created with the wealth given willingly by King David and his people.

But now, because of the delight I take in the house of my God, in addition to all that I stored up for the holy house, I give to the house of my God my personal fortune in gold and silver: three thousand talents of Ophir gold, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the rooms, for the various utensils to be made of gold and silver, and for every work that is to be done by artisans.(1 Chorinthians 29:3-5)

Sometimes, non-Catholics have a hard time understanding why we often include such ornate and beautiful objects in our churches. The simple answer is because, as Moses and Kind David knew, nothing is too precious for God. If Jesus were coming to one's house to have dinner, I imagine we'd all bring out our best china and crystal, our richest foods...nothing would be too good for God Himself!

And so, the Christian equivalent of the Tent and the Temple, the dwelling place of God, is the Tabernacle. It is often a beautiful and ornate golden box. Outside of every tabernacle is a lamp, called an altar lamp or sanctuary lamp. This lamp is kept lit at all times when the Eucharist is inside to remind us of Christ's presence there. (Also a concept carried over from the Jews, as in Exodus 27:20-21.)

Out of respect, any time one crosses in front of the tabernacle it is customary to bow or genuflect to acknowledge Christ's presence. People are welcome to come and pray, knowing Christ is there. His presence makes it a holy place, and our actions reflect that. The scriptures remind us, too, that our bodies are also to be considered temples of the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor 6:19) We can look to the beautiful tabernacles to remind us of the amazing gift residing within it, so that when we receive it ourselves we recognize our unworthiness and praise God accordingly.

A recent, somewhat controversial issue concerning the tabernacle has to do with its placement in the church. It has become more common to place it off to a side rather than being centrally located, and sometimes even off in a separate room not visible in the main part of the church. It may not seem like a huge deal, but it's likely no coincidence that as the tabernacle became less visible, less central in some places, belief in the Real Presence has seemed to diminish alongside it. Ornate tabernacles replaced with simple wooden boxes could make it easier to forget the precious gift that is dwelling within it. We are physical creatures, and physical attributes remind us of spiritual truths.

The video below shows some examples of tabernacles, both some modern simplistic tabernacles placed off to the side, and more ornate tabernacles cenntrally located. At the end of the day of course, what matters is what is inside...God Himself, who humbly comes to us in the form of bread and wine. May we never forget what a precious gift this is!

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty.
I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home there, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God!
How happy are those who can live in your house, always singing your praises.(Ps 84:1-4)

And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild it’s ruins, and I will set it up so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does all these things. (Acts 15:16-17)

God's Holy Altar

2009-03-12T21:47:00.005-05:00

A prominent and central object in every Catholic Church is the altar. This is where the bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ, He who is both sacrificial victim and High Priest.

As this article explains,

The Christian altar is one of the earliest elements of the liturgy. In the first years when Christianity was illegal, the Eucharist was typically celebrated in the homes of the faithful. The altar could have been the dinner table in the home or the wooden chest in which a bishop would carry needed materials for celebrating the Eucharist from place to place.

Fixed altars made of stone became prevalent when Constantine established that Christianity would no longer be illegal and more churches were erected for the purpose of celebrating the Mass...

Early altars were not placed against walls, but set apart so that the bishop or priests would stand facing the people. Around the 5th century, it became popular for the altar to face the East or be set against a wall. The priest would celebrate the Mass facing east, and the people would face East with him, symbolic of looking toward Christ as the Dawn. In the Middle Ages, the altar ceased to resemble the table of the early Church. Altars of Medieval times began to be designed very ornately, and were adorned with statues, relics, and paintings, and of course the tabernacle. In the mid-20th century, in many countries, the altar was moved away from the wall again, with the priest celebrating the Mass facing the people.

As for the meaning behind the altar, it reaches back to Jewish times and the sacrifices done to atone for sins. Some Christians feel that such a thing is no longer relevant to Christians, but as we believe Christ didn't come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it, we see the Eucharist as the intended perfect sacrifice for which the Jewish peoples were prepared for so long.

The Catholic altar is both a sacrificial altar, and a table for a communal meal. In Jesus’s time, altars where animal sacrifices took place as atonement for sin were common under Jewish norms and traditions. The passion of Christ was the ultimate sacrifice, to atone for the sin of mankind. Therefore, the Christ’s sacrifice is enacted each Mass at an altar. The altar is also a table because we are all “called to the Lord’s supper.” The sense of the Catholic altar as a table calls to mind the last supper and the tables around which the early Christians celebrated the Eucharist, as well as the fact that we as a faithful community are sharing in the saving meal.

The altar is traditionally made of stone, calling to mind Christ as the living cornerstone of the Catholic faith:

“So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:19-20)

“Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious; and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and he who believes in him will not be put to shame.” (1 Peter 2:4-6)

Some more scripture related to altars:

Then Jeshua, son of Jozadak, together with his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, together with his brethren, set about rebuilding the altar of the God of Israel in order to offer on it the holocausts prescribed in the law of Moses, the man of God. Despite their fear of the peoples of the land, they replaced the altar on its foundations and offered holocausts to the LORD on it, both morning and evening. (Ezra 3:2-3)

Do you not know that those who perform the temple services eat (what) belongs to the temple, and those who minister at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings?
In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the gospel should live by the gospel. (1 Cor 9:13-14)

When he broke open the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the witness they bore to the word of God. (Rev 6:9)

Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a gold censer. He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne. (Rev 8:3)

Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the [four] horns of the gold altar before God (Rev 9:13)

American Idol?

2009-03-11T23:44:00.003-05:00

I'm going to take the easy way out this time and just post a video! This is another episode of That Catholic Show, called Statues and Icons. Enjoy!

Via Dolorosa

2009-03-10T21:57:00.009-05:00

When you walk into a Catholic church, one of the things you may notice along the walls is a series of pictures or engravings of Jesus in various states with roman numerals above them. These are called the Stations of the Cross, or the Way of the Cross. If you've seen Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, you'd likely recognize the sequence and various scenes depicted. These scense are based on both Scripture and Tradition. Especially during Lent, and particularly on Fridays of Lent, it is a common practice in most parishes to pray the stations one by one and reflect on each one as they go.

This practice originated in the Holy Land, where the Via Dolorasa (the Way of Sorrows) has long been travelled by people following what are believed to be Christ's footsteps on His way to the crucifixion, recalling His Passion along the way.

The stations are as follows, accompanied by an image of each scene, and scripture and prayer to accompany it. There is often a reflection on each event as well, and a hymn called the Stabat Mater sung between each one, but in the interest of brevity I'm leaving them off. If you'd like, here are the commonly used reflections from St. Alphonsus Liguori.

I - JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH

We adore you O Christ and we bless you
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Matthew 27:22-26

Pilate said to them, ‘Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ All of them said, ‘Let him be crucified!’ Then he asked, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Let him be crucified!’

So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.’ Then the people as a whole answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

II - JESUS RECEIVES HIS CROSS

We adore you O Christ and we bless you
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Mark 15:16-20

Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

III - JESUS FALLS FOR THE FIRST TIME

We adore you O Christ and we bless you
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

John 12: 23-25

Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

IV - JESUS MEETS HIS MOTHER

We adore you O Christ and we bless you
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Luke 2:22, 25, 34, 35

When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’

V - SIMON OF CYRENE HELPS JESUS TO CARRY HIS CROSS

We adore you O Christ and we bless you
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Luke 23:26

As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus.

VI - VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS

We adore you O Christ and we bless you
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Matthew 25: 25-36, 40

"for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me." And the king will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me."

VII - JESUS FALLS A SECOND TIME

We adore you O Christ and we bless you
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Isaiah 53:7

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.

VIII - JESUS MEETS THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM

We adore you O Christ and we bless you
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Luke 23:27-28

A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children, for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, 'Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.'

IX - JESUS FALLS A THIRD TIME

We adore you O Christ and we bless you
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

John 15:18-20

‘If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, "Servants are not greater than their master." If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.

X - JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS

We adore you O Christ and we bless you
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Mark 15:22-24

Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

XI - JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS

We adore you O Christ and we bless you
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Luke 23:35, 49

Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’ Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, ‘Do not write, "The King of the Jews", but, "This man said, I am King of the Jews." ’ Pilate answered, ‘What I have written I have written.’

XII - JESUS DIES

We adore you O Christ and we bless you
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Matthew 27: 45- 46

From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’

Luke 23: 44-46

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ Having said this, he breathed his last.

XIII - JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS

We adore you O Christ and we bless you
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Mark 15:42-45

When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth.

XIV - JESUS IS LAID IN THE TOMB

We adore you O Christ and we bless you
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Mark 15:46-47

Joseph then laid the body in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.

Color Me Liturgical

2009-03-07T02:33:00.005-06:00

In the secular world we often associate certain colors with certain seasons and events. A bride wears white, at funerals we wear black and other dark colors, parties often call for bright and colorful clothes. In the spring we think of pastels, pinks, yellows, and greens that remind us of spring flowers in bloom. In the summer we may think of bright tropical colors, ocean blues and bright reds and oranges that mimic the glowing summer sun. In fall, we turn to the leaves for inspiration and think of earthy tones, browns, rusty reds, sage greens and pumpkin orange. And finally, winter brings Christmas with its cheery red and green, but also cold weather with ice blue skies and glimmering white snow. It's only natural to the human condition that we have this cycle of seasons, and cycle of colors to match. We are creatures of habit, and the seasons provide one stretched out ritual which we find comfort and familiarity in repeating each year.

The Church, too, has seasons and colors to match which greatly appeal to the visual senses. These colors vary depending on the liturgical season we are in, and are most commonly seen on priestly vestments, but are also seen in other cloths and sometimes candles used at mass.

There are five main liturgical colors in the Roman Rite: white, red, green, violet, and black, although black has greatly fallen out of use for funerals, commonly replaced nowadays by white or violet.

Gold may sometimes be used rather than white, and there is also rose that is allowed on Gaudete Sunday and Laetare Sunday, both of which are joyful Sundays in the middle of the penitential seasons when we get a small break from the penitential focus and do some restrained rejoicing that the Lord's coming (either through His Birth at Christmas or His Resurrection at Easter) is getting near!

The meanings behind the various colors are as follows (text taken from the Catholic Encyclopedia):

The variety of liturgical colours in the Church arose from the mystical meaning attached to them.

WHITE

Thus white, the symbol of light, typifies innocence and purity, joy and glory. (Gold may also be used)

White is the colour proper to Trinity Sunday, the feasts of Our Lord, except those of His Passion, the feasts of the Blessed Virgin, angels, confessors, virgins and women, who are not martyrs, the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the chief feast of St. John the Evangelist, the feast of the Chains and of the Chair of St. Peter, the Conversion of St. Paul, All Saints, to consecration of churches and altars, the anniversaries of the election and coronation of the pope and of the election and consecration of bishops; also for the octaves of these feasts and the Offices de tempore from Holy Saturday to the vigil of Pentecost; it is used for votive Masses when the feasts have white, and for the nuptial Mass; also in services in connection with the Blessed Sacrament, at the burial of children, in the administration of baptism, Holy Viaticum, and matrimony.

RED

Red, the language of fire and blood, indicates burning charity and the martyrs' generous sacrifice.

Red is used the week of Pentecost, on the feasts of Christ's Passion and His Precious Blood, the Finding and Elevation of the Cross, the feasts of Apostles and martyrs; and in votive Masses of these feasts. It is used on Holy Innocents if the feast occur on Sunday and always on its octave.

GREEN

Green, the hue of plants and trees, bespeaks the hope of life eternal.

Green is employed in Offices de tempore from the octave of the Epiphany to Septuagesima, and from the octave of Pentecost to Advent, except on ember-days and vigils during that time, and on Sundays occurring within an octave.

VIOLET

Violet, the gloomy cast of the mortified, denotes affliction and melancholy.

Violet is used during Advent and from Septuagesima to Easter, on vigils that are fast days, and on ember-days, except the vigil of Pentecost and the ember-days during the octave of Pentecost. Violet is also used for Mass on rogation-days, for votive Masses of the Passion and of penitential character, at the blessing of candles and of holy water. The stole used in the administration of penance and of extreme unction and in the first part of the baptismal ceremonies must be violet.

BLACK

Black, the universal emblem of mourning, signifies the sorrow of death and the sombreness of the tomb.

Black is used in offices for the dead, and on Good Friday.

Ringing in my Ears

2009-03-07T02:26:00.007-06:00

Hear the mellow wedding bells -
Golden bells!
What a world of happiness their harmony foretells!
Through the balmy air of night
How they ring out their delight! -
From the molten - golden notes,
And all in tune,
What a liquid ditty floats
To the turtle - dove that listens, while she gloats
On the moon!
Oh, from out the sounding cells,
What a gush of euphony voluminously wells!
How it swells!
How it dwells
On the Future! - how it tells
Of the rapture that impels
To the swinging and the ringing
Of the bells, bells, bells -
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells -
To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!

That's just one part of one of my favorite Poe poems, The Bells, which as I'm sure is obvious are the next subject of interest!

The first ecclesiastical use of bells was to announce the hour of church services. It is plain that in the days before watches and clocks some such signal must have been a necessity, more especially in religious communities which assembled many times a day to sing the Divine praises....as it became needful to call to church the inhabitants of a town or hamlet, bell turrets were built, and bells increased in size, and as early as the eighth century we hear of two or more bells in the same church. Perhaps these were at first intended to reinforce each other and add to the volume of sound. But, in any case it became in time a recognized principle that the classicum, the clash of several bells ringing at once, constituted an element of joy and solemnity befitting great feasts.

Bells were also used to note the passing of fellow parishioners, which is what the phrase "for whom the bell tolls" refers to. More from the Catholic Encyclopedia:

This was extended later to parish churches, and a bell was rung to announce that a parishioner was in his agony, which seemingly developed further into a bell tolled after his decease to solicit prayers for his soul.

One of my favorite use of bells is when they are rung at the consecration during mass. They could be sanctus bells, like the ones pictured at the right, or the church bells themselves which lets those in the surrounding area know that the consecration is happening at that moment.

From the introduction of the Elevation of the Host in the Mass at the beginning of the thirteenth century it seems to have been customary to ring one of the great bells of the church, at any rate during the principal Mass, at the moment when the Sacred Host was raised on high. This was to give warning to the people at work in the fields in order that they might momentarily kneel down and make an act of adoration.

You can hear what the sanctus bells sound like in this video:

I love the idea of bells that call us to prayer wherever we are and whatever we're doing. Below is a lovely painting by Millet entitled The Angelus which depicts peasants stopping in the field to pray as, presumably, the Angelus bell rings from the church in the background. Makes me wish there was a bell tower right by my house to remind me to pray throughout the day! ;-)

There's a great article with more on the Church's use of bells here, and finally, some scripture to top it off.

On its skirts you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet stuff, around its skirts, with bells of gold between them, a golden bell and a pomegranate, round about on the skirts of the robe. And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the holy place before the Lord, and when he comes out, lest he die. (Exodus 28:33-5)

Praise Him with sounding cymbals; praise Him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Ps 150:5-6)

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! (Ps 98:4)

Photo of church bells by Jane Pocock

Anointed with Oil

2009-03-07T02:21:00.005-06:00

Another deeply symbolic substance used in many ways by Catholics is oil. These sweet smelling anointing oils are also called chrism.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia:

Chrism is used in the administration of the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders, in the consecration of churches, chalices, patens, altars, and altar-stones, and in the solemn blessing of bells and baptismal water. The head of the newly-baptized is anointed with chrism, the forehead of the person confirmed, the head and hands of a bishop at his consecration, and the hands of a priest at his ordination. So are the walls of churches, which are solemnly consecrated, anointed with the same holy oil, and the parts of the sacred vessels used in the Mass which come in contact with the Sacred Species, as the paten and chalice. If it be asked why chrism has been thus introduced into the functions of the church liturgy, a reason is found in its special fitness for this purpose by reason of its symbolical significance. For olive-oil, being of its own nature rich, diffusive, and abiding, is fitted to represent the copious outpouring of sacramental grace, while balsam, which gives forth most agreeable and fragrant odours, typifies the innate sweetness of Christian virtue. Oil also gives strength and suppleness to the limbs, while balsam preserves from corruption. Thus anointing with chrism aptly signifies that fulness of grace and spiritual strength by which we are enabled to resist the contagion of sin and produce the sweet flowers of virtue. "For we are the good odour of Christ unto God" (2 Corinthians 2:15).

Each year on Holy Thursday (that is, the Thursday before Easter Sunday), the Chrism Mass is held and the bishops combine sweet smelling balsam with olive oil, consecrate the chrism, and then separate it into many different containers for the priests in their diocese to use throughout the next year. There is more about this beautiful and symbolic mass here.

In scripture we see many examples of anointing with oil, especially for the sick and to consecrate people, especially priests and kings, and things to be used in the service of God. Here is a very small sampling of some of those scriptures, there were so many that I nearly got overwhelmed trying to decide which to use!

With this sacred anointing oil you shall anoint the meeting tent and the ark of the commandments, the table and all its appurtenances, the lampstand and its appurtenances, the altar of incense and the altar of holocausts with all its appurtenances, and the laver with its base.
When you have consecrated them, they shall be most sacred; whatever touches them shall be sacred. Aaron and his sons you shall also anoint and consecrate as my priests. (Exodus 30:26-30)

They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. (Mark 6:13)

Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint (him) with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. (James 5:14-15)

Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. (John 12:3)

I'll end with this lovely prayer from the Chrism Mass link above.

"God our maker, source of all growth in holiness, accept the joyful thanks and praise we offer in the name of your Church. From that time forward, through the sign of holy chrism, you dispense your life and love to men. By anointing them with the Spirit, you strengthen all who have been reborn in baptism. Through that anointing you transform them into the likeness of Christ your son and give them a share in his royal, priestly, and prophetic work."

A Wellspring of Life

2009-03-06T23:40:00.007-06:00

We move now from fire, a symbol of Christ our Light, to water, something essential to our survival, a symbol of life.

There are a lot of misunderstandings about the Catholic use of Holy Water. People sometimes think we believe it has magical properties or something along those lines. But holy water is merely water that has been blessed to use for a divine purpose.

When we think of water, we think of purity, cleansing, refreshment, quenching. It symbolizes all these things and more to us when we use it for baptisms and for blessings.

This article explains that "the ritual use of this precious substance is ancient and rooted in the Old Testament. When the Israelites entered the Temple, they had to undergo purification by immersion in a mikvah...These ritual purifications by water prefigured Christian Baptism, which we recall when we bless ourselves (cross ourselves) using holy water upon entering our churches."

There are so many bible stories that include water as a principal element, beginning in Genesis and the Creation account, to Noah and the flood, to Moses and the water springing forth from the rock (which happens to be what the painting above is depicting). All of these portray an aspect of water as essential and life giving, thus prefiguring baptism.

Returning again to the article linked above, we learn that "holy water is also used by the priest to sprinkle the people before the beginning of Mass." [This can also happen during mass throughout the season of Easter, also recalling our baptism.]

"He will have a pail-like vessel called an "aspersory" to hold the holy water, and into this he will dip a stick called an "aspergillum" (or an "aspergill"). The aspergillum has holes in it to catch droplets of the water, and the priest's swinging it toward the congregation causes the drops of water to fly out. This blessing of the congregation before Mass is called "Aspérges" and the accompanying, chanted words come from Psalm 50:

Aspérges me, Domine, hyssopo, et mundabor: lavabis me, et super nivem dealbador. Miserére mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam

Thou shalt sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop and I shall be cleansed; Thou shalt wash me, and I shall become whiter than show. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy

Here is just a small sample of other verses from scripture related to water:

In an earthen vessel he shall meanwhile put some holy water, as well as some dust that he has taken from the floor of the Dwelling. (Num 5:17)

This is what you shall do to them to purify them. Sprinkle them with the water of remission; then have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves. (Num 8:7)

But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. (Jn 19:33-4)

Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (Jn 4:13-4)

And finally, here's another great video from That Catholic Show discussing the importance of water to Catholics.

The Light of Christ

2009-03-05T16:38:00.009-06:00

photo from freefoto.com

It's pretty easy to forget, in our modern world of electricity and 24 hour daylight with the flip of a switch, that for many of our ancestors, the only way to have light among darkness was with a burning wick. And I think because of this, it's easy for us to miss the significance of a simple candle.

Something you'll find in all Catholic churches everywhere is candles, because they represent the light of Christ.

As the Catholic Encyclopedia tells us, "for mystical reasons the Church prescribes that the candles used at Mass and at other liturgical functions be made of beeswax. The pure wax extracted by bees from flowers symbolizes the pure flesh of Christ received from His Virgin Mother, the wick signifies the soul of Christ, and the flame represents His divinity."

Candles are such an important symbol of Christ that they are required at all masses.

One very special candle that plays an important role in the Easter Vigil is the Paschal Candle. This is typically a very large candle, which is lit from the new fire (usually a bonfire outside) that is started and blessed. The Catholic Encylopedia explains, "the five grains of incense set cross-wise in the candle recall the sacred wounds retained in Christ's glorified body and the lighting of the candle with new fire itself serves as a lively image of the resurrection."

Once the Paschal Candle is lit, it is processed into the church, often where the people are waiting with small, individual candles of their own. Three times during the procession, the candle is lifted and the words, Christ our light (Lumen Christi) are sung. The people respond Thanks be to God (Deo gratias). From this one large candle, all the candles are lit, passing from person to person. It is a beautiful visual image of how we can share the light of Christ in the world, simply from one person to the next. Soon, a darkened church is filled with glowing light, all from One Source.

The first minute or so of this video shows this in action:

This is one of my favorite parts of any liturgy year round!

There is really so much more to be said about the beautiful symbolism of candles and their function in the Church, but I'll stop there for now. All this "Christ our light" imagery probably doesn't make quite the impact on us it did in ages past. Sometimes it takes a power outage for us to remember how amazing, how comforting, what a relief it is when a single candle lights up a darkened room. With that image in mind, I'll end this post with some related scripture.

For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. Ps. 18:28

0 send out Thy light and Thy truth: let them lead me. Ps. 43:3

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Ps. 119:105

I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me, should not abide in darkness. John 12:46

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Update: Look what I found after I made this post! Here's an episode of That Catholic Show called Candles and Light. :-)

Holy Smoke!

2009-03-04T21:53:00.006-06:00

You know how when you walk into a familiar place, and the smell of that place hits you, it just brings back all kinds of memories? When I walk into a Target, I can still smell the cleaning solution and my many years working there come flooding back. The smell of a favorite restaurant or food makes me salivate, or even just the thought of that smell! I think it's amazing how tied to memory smell is.

Incense is that memorable smell for the Church. When I smell the sweet smell of incense, I remember my first years as a Catholic, and my first exposure to incense - Christmas midnight masses and Easter vigils especially.

Incense symbolizes our prayers which, "enkindled in the heart by the fire of God's love and exhaling the odour of Christ," ascend to Heaven, as the Catholic Encyclopedia tells us.

Here are some scripture passages that mention incense and aromas. The Revelation verse in particular gives a beautiful picture of how Catholics view incense, as rising alongside the prayers of the saints.

On entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matt 2:11)

Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. (Luke 1:10-11)

For we are the aroma of Christ for God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to the latter an odor of death that leads to death, to the former an odor of life that leads to life. (2 Cor 2:15-16)

Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a gold censer. He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne. The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of the angel. (Rev 8:3-4)

Unfortunately, I can't post a smell! So instead, I'll post a lovely visual of incense rising in Notre Dame de Paris.

*photo from National Geographic

Ashes to Ashes

2009-03-03T23:07:00.005-06:00

To kick off this Toolbox series of posts in honor of Lent, we'll look at one of the very visible ways we kick of the Lenten season itself...with ashes!

Ashes are a sign of penance, of mourning, and of repentance. They also remind us of our mortality, of the fact that we do not live forever. Christians inherited this sign from the Jews, it is an ancient tradition.

When a priest marks the forehead with the sign of the cross (or, in some places, sprinkles ashes upon the head) he says one of two things:

"Remember, man, that you are dust and to dust you will return." (Gen. 3:19)

or

"Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel." (Mark 1:15)

Here are several scripture verses related to ashes, showing their connection to mourning and repentance:

And all the Israelite men, women and children who lived in Jerusalem prostrated themselves in front of the temple building, with ashes strewn on their heads, displaying their sackcloth covering before the Lord. (Judith 4:11)

That day they fasted and wore sackcloth; they sprinkled ashes on their heads and tore their clothes. (1 Maccabees 3:47)

Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes (Matt 11:21)

Ashes are, for us, a symbol of our call to continued conversion, continued repentance, and continued penance. It is a reminder to die to self so that we might have more abundant life in Christ.

The Church's Toolbox

2009-03-03T16:46:00.010-06:00

It's been a while! Since my last post we've entered the great season of Lent, I hope it has been fruitful for everyone so far.

While at mass on Sunday, I was admiring our lovely church and pondering the incarnational aspect of our faith, the sights, sounds, smells, sensations of touch, and even tastes which make the spiritual truths of Christ tangible to us as physical beings. I was wishing I could share this beauty with everyone I know and, especially for my non-Catholic friends, explain the various depths of symbolism and meaning in all these tangible things surrounding us. It was then that an idea for a series of blog posts struck me!

I've talked before about a comment my husband made long ago when I asked him, essentially, what was with all the extra-biblical...well...stuff? His answer was that these were tools available to us, they were there to help us live the Christian life.

Now that I'm coming up on the 7th anniversary of my confirmation and reception into the fullness of the Church, I've had some time to see and experience just how truly helpful these tools are. And so, I thought it might be interesting to open up the Church's Toolbox and examine many of her tools, one by one. These tools range from small things like candles and incense to our different forms of prayer to making the sign of the cross, to larger things like our most precious gifts of the sacraments. I hope to take a look at 40 different things over the next weeks, in honor of Lent, and to examine scripture and tradition to learn a bit about them in the process.

I'll be aiming for a post a day, and I'm adding a tag called "The Church's Toolbox." I look forward to sharing the sights and sounds of Catholicism as much as I can through this series!

What if?

2009-01-29T18:58:00.002-06:00

I was recently asked about how my conversion started, and what arguments I found the most persuasive. As much as I've written about my conversion, I realized I'd never really talked in much detail about the very beginning.

It's hard to pinpoint because it really was a combination of many things kind of converging in my head at once. I think I really started to be challenged when I seriously entertained the possibility that this physical, visible Church could be God-lead, and not just man-made as I had always assumed. It dawned on me that there was nothing stopping God from working through human beings...after all, I already believed he had done this in creation of the Bible.

Prior to this the dichotomy always existed in my head, always assumed and never really challenged, that one either follows God or follows man, and the Catholic Church was obviously man-made because it had a hierarchy made up of men. The Catholic Church was led by the pope, a man (which they admitted), and seemed, from my POV, focused on paying respect to men as bishops and priests. I was so stuck on the notion that it was all for power or money (which is utterly laughable these days, lol) that I never even considered the possibility that these priests and bishops could actually be humble servants trying their best to do God's will, quite like the apostles we see in the scriptures.

So, I suppose it really all began with the simple question...what if?

Suddenly I felt compelled to really examine the possibility...What if Christ set up a visible Church on earth, and gave us a visible steward (the pope) not as a replacement of Him, but as a visible authority, led by the Holy Spirit to guide us on earth while He was away? What would that look like? What would I expect this to look like?

I couldn't deny it made sense, all I had to do was look around me at the 1001 interpretations of the Bible various denominations held, all quite sincerely and in good faith. And yet, I still believed God would surely have foreseen this kind of confusion among men and given us something to guard against it...the Catholics proposed a solution, the living authority of the Church.

Basically, it came down to authority for me. I already believed the Bible was God's word...but looking at the history of how the canon of the Bible was decided upon in the first place, I couldn't deny it was the Catholic Church who finally settled the canon. (This was a shock, along with the fact that the "extra books" Catholics had supposedly "added" at some point were, in fact, taken out by Martin Luther at the time of the protestant reformation.) This really kind of shook up my whole world, as I'm sure you can understand the Bible was the center and core of my faith...and now I see it was first canonized by the Catholics, and second tampered with by the Protestants! It really made me realize just how vulnerable a mere book is, and how much it depends upon living people...for canonization, for interpretation, for translation, all kinds of things. And while I believed God could of course work through humans to protect His Written Word, my question was..how did I know which humans to trust? The Bible didn't really tell me that!

So, as I asked myself what would it look like if Christ gave us a living authority in the Church, meant as a companion to the written Word which I already acknowledged as authoritative, I couldn't help but feel that the Catholic Church would be a likely candidate for what that shining city upon a hill might look like.

This, coupled with my reading of the Early Church Fathers, seeing that so much of what the core of Catholicism is about was undeniably present in the Early Church....the Eucharist as the center of their faith, the mass, the sacraments, confession (which seemed so obviousl in Jn 20:23, although I couldn't recall ever reading it before!), their view of Mary as held in great regard...I saw all this and more in the writings of Christians who lived not 100 years after Christ was on the earth.

And the amazing thing was, the Catholic Church, even if it was wrong (which I still at that point assumed) had kept these practices, these teachings just the same for 2,000 years. This was something that really impressed me, as I saw just how fickle mere human beings were, especially in the CoC with a new argument breaking out every couple years over the smallest little detail concerning doctrine or worship.

So...all of this kind of converged at once in my head, and the "what if?" really started to weigh on my heart. I couldn't believe I was even considering the possibility...but each time I did, although I really was looking for proof that the idea was absolutely ridiculous, it seemed from whatever angle I approached, it made so much sense, it fit like a glove. I'd try to snap myself out of it and remind myself of some of the Catholics' most horrid offenses, like their treatment of Mary, and their pompous exaltation of men...but the problem was, I felt a dutiful sense of fairness that compelled me to consider their own explanations of such things. And each time I'd read an explanation of why in their understanding, they're not exalting Mary above Christ or any man on earth above Christ, to my surprise and sometimes terror, their explanation, again, made sense within the context of their worldview.

The more I looked, the more I saw a depth of wisdom that I had never even had a glimpse of in the CoC...and it started with things we agreed on, and led me to consider their points on things I disagreed on. And the more I read and studied and examined, the more pieces of the puzzle that is life started to fall into place in my head. I found answers to questions I'd never even thought to ask brilliantly expounded upon, and little by little, quite despite myself, I started to trust this grand authority on matters of faith and morals. I didn't understand everything, to be sure, and there were some things I still felt quite queasy about...but I had yet to ask a question and not receive a well thought-out and exceedingly wise answer, so I set that queasiness aside and that's when I really started studying to learn, with the intent to become Catholic.

So, I think probably the biggest thing was the question of authority...whether the Bible alone was meant as our only authority, or whether Christ meant for us to have a living, breathing authority guided by the Holy spirit, meant to teach us, to help us interpret scripture rightly, etc. And when I asked "What if...?" and examined the possible answers, it was the Catholic Church that seemed the most logical choice as that living authority, for me, despite the fact that I sincerely hoped to find evidence to the contrary.

I still remained skeptically hesitant, mind you, even when I started seriously considering Catholicism, but each newly answered question and shining bit of supernatural wisdom slowly wore down my skepticism over time, and by my confirmation I couldn't wait to receive what I now believed to be Christ actually present in the Eucharist...and this, Christ in the Eucharist, replaced the Bible as the center and core of my faith as a Catholic, and remains so to this day, thanks be to God!

Our Christmas Entertainment

2009-01-03T00:36:00.010-06:00

My husband was kind enough to give my family a little bagpipe concert on Christmas day, so I thought I'd share a taste of his piping here on my blog as well.
:-)

Christ is Born!!

2008-12-25T00:00:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone!!

O Holy Night...

2008-12-07T15:19:00.000-06:00

**Reposted for your listening pleasure! And check out this interview with the man behind it.**

Christmas is just around the corner, and so I thought I'd drag out my favorite mp3 of the worst rendition of O Holy Night ever sung. This was passed onto me from my former coworker, and we used to listen to it around Christmas and just have giggling fits over it. Those were some good times!

So, here you are, and enjoy!! (Be sure to listen to the WHOLE thing, it gets progressively "better!")

Traditions and Rituals

2008-12-04T17:30:00.000-06:00

As Christmas approaches, I got to thinking about what it is I, and people in general I think, like so much about holidays. I think a lot of it is a sense of familiarity. We bring out those same decorations year after year, make those same cookies, practice our same family traditions, sing those familiar songs etc, and they bring us together and make us feel united. Humans crave familiarity, tradition, and even ritual.

I grew up in a church where tradition and ritual were seen as bad things, and yet we practiced them all the same without calling them what they were. The family prayer was always the same, complete with hesitations in the same spots that made it perhaps sound more like spontaneous prayer on the surface, but the truth is any of us could have repeated it word for word, hesitations and all. Church services were the same each week and would have fit any definition of ritual, for instance this one from a dictionary online: "Any practice or pattern of behavior regularly performed in a set manner." Well yeah, that's what we did!

I think an interesting side note is the fact that, as an introvert, I appreciate rituals and rote prayer even more because it allows me to really focus on my intentions and prayers, rather than frantically scrambling to find "the right words." I'm not a good thinker off the cuff, and I was always terrified of having to pray out loud in front of people (and thankful I was a girl so I didn't have to often!) But with rote prayer, the words are given to me so that I can focus on the meaning rather than finding the words.

But rote prayer and rituals were seen as vain and empty in the church of my upbringing, and yet we practiced them all the same. We practiced them without calling them what they were. And we practiced them in family settings too, especially around the holidays. It doesn't matter how much we said they were bad or wrong, in the end we were drawn to them and we practiced them anyway. Why did we do this? Because it is natural, it is good. God created us with this longing for tradition and ritual, it is not a bad thing or a dirty word.

People have their bedtime routines, their nightly prayers, their weekly Saturday morning breakfast or weekday game night. The seasons and the activities that come and go with them are also a form of tradition, we can see that our liturgical seasons mirror the natural seasons. These things comfort us, they give structure to our time and familiarity and closeness. So why wouldn't we embrace these things in our worship? Why pretend like we don't practice them when we do?

Of course the answer one would probably receive is because these rituals and traditions are "man-made." Well, so are church service programs, who gets to decide how many songs you sing before the sermon? A man does! But the thing is, man-made does not automatically mean wrong. Yes, some of these rituals and traditions are "man made" in the sense that men were there to organize them. But the desire, I believe, is God-given. It's why, even when we try to avoid rituals we end up fitting them in somewhere in our lives...in our weekly schedules, or in our holiday traditions, even in our daily family interactions. Seeing as God created us, and became one of us, certainly he's aware of this natural human desire for ritual and tradition. How, then, could we say it's a bad thing?

I love the structure that the liturgical year brings to my life, and I thank God for fulfilling the desires He places in our hearts for such things through the Church!

My (Very) Early Christmas Gift

2008-11-19T09:00:00.005-06:00

So for a long time we've been talking about getting a second car, so that I can you know, go grocery shopping during the day and not on the weekend! We've had good luck with our two previous Hyundais, and when the 2007 Santa Fe came out, we both really liked it. But, it was a bit pricey (not as far as SUVs go, but just more than we paid for cars before) and I'd been trying to figure out if we could justify spending that much just for little old me. Then the gas prices shot up and I almost gave up the idea of getting one at all.

Last month or so, I was browsing Carmax and saw some great deals on fairly new Santa Fes, so I kept my eye out. Then last week I looked, and they were suddenly all gone! Just to make sure I checked again this past Sunday, and a 2008 Santa Fe with only 10K miles on it was listed for an extremely reasonable price, not much more really than what we'd paid for our other cars! And to top it off, it was silver, my favorite car color! So we talked it over and decided to go for it a bit early...

And here she is! :-)

It's really kind of hard to believe I can just walk out and go somewhere during the day, lol! Not that I really plan to all that often, but it's just nice having the option there. :-) I'll never have to wake up early to drop Camille off at work again if I need to go somewhere, woohoo!

Rosaries for Life

2008-11-11T22:43:00.004-06:00

Check out Rosaries for Life, which started out as this blog, and if you feel so inclined pledge to pray the rosary every day until the inauguration for the intention, as Archbishop Wuerl stated, “That our nation’s new leaders be guided in their decisions with wisdom and compassion and at the heart of all of their decisions may there be a deep respect for and commitment to the sanctity and dignity of all human life and support for the most vulnerable among us.”

The original idea was to start on November 10th and go through January 20th, but you can either start now and go to the end, or do a couple to catch up. If you can't do a rosary every day, pledge to do one a week. Or even just one!

Whatever you do, let's join together in prayer for our country!

Post Election Obama Zombies

2008-11-11T22:33:00.003-06:00

Lol, saw this on Mark Shea's blog...gotta love The Onion!

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

And It's Over.

2008-11-04T22:19:00.004-06:00

Finally...

The Obama supporters got their wish. I truly, genuinely hope I'm wrong in my belief that this means the death of so many more unborn children, children that I would give anything to raise as my own while we wait with empty, aching arms as unwanted children are being disposed of as trash legally in our country.

I hope all of us, especially those who hoped for an Obama victory, will be on our knees in fervent prayer the day he fulfills his promise and signs the FOCA, undoing and forbidding any and all restrictions for the murder of children nation wide.

May God forgive us our most heinous sins, and may our future president's heart be softened toward the most defenseless among us.

Election Novena - Day Nine

2008-11-04T00:00:00.000-06:00

The prayer in podcast form.

Ninth Day

Opening Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Reading

Mt 5:13-16

“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with
what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are
the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be
hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a
bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light
to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before
others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your
heavenly Father.”

Reflection

How am I salt for my community?
How do I shine your light for all the community to see?
What deeds am I performing in order to glorify God?

Prayer

Lord Jesus,
you give us your love and your grace
to do great things.
Give us the faith
to shine our light
by walking humbly
and acting justly
before our God.

Amen.

Novena Prayer

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
help us to conquer the menace of evil,
which so easily
takes root in the hearts of the people of today,
and whose immeasurable effects
already weigh down upon our modern world
and seem to block the paths toward the future.
From famine and war, deliver us.
From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, from
every kind of war, deliver us.
From sins against human life from its very beginning,
deliver us.
From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of the
children of God, deliver us.
From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both
national and international, deliver us.
From readiness to trample on the commandments of God,
deliver us.
From attempts to stifle in human hearts the very truth of
God, deliver us.
From the loss of awareness of good and evil, deliver us.
From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us.
Accept, O Mother of Christ,
this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual
human beings,
laden with the sufferings of whole societies.
Help us with the power of the Holy Spirit conquer all sin:
individual sin and the “sin of the world,”
sin in all its manifestations.
Let there be revealed once more in the history of the world
the infinite saving power of the redemption:
the power of merciful love.
May it put a stop to evil.
May it transform consciences.
May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of hope.

Amen.

Stinkin' ADORABLE!!!

2008-11-03T13:13:00.002-06:00

Mark Shea posted one of these videos on his blog, and I went and watched all of them. They are SO cute!! They're recordings of little Irish children telling Bible stories set to animation, lol. I could listen to the accents all day, so so cute!

Birth of Jesus

John the Baptist

Lol, I love "Are ya reeeally God or are ya a ssshhhhhockin' holy saint?"

Election Novena - Day Eight

2008-11-03T00:00:00.000-06:00

The prayer in podcast form.

Eighth Day

Opening Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Reading

Is 32:15-18

Until the spirit from on high
is poured out on us.

Then will the desert become an orchard
and the orchard be regarded as a forest.

Right will dwell in the desert
and justice abide in the orchard.

Justice will bring about peace;
right will produce calm and security.

My people will live in peaceful country,
in secure dwellings and quiet resting places.

Reflection

How do I recognize the Spirit’s involvement in my life in
the community?

Prayer

Spirit of God,
fill our hearts with peace
so that we may bring peace to our community.

Amen.

Novena Prayer

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
help us to conquer the menace of evil,
which so easily
takes root in the hearts of the people of today,
and whose immeasurable effects
already weigh down upon our modern world
and seem to block the paths toward the future.
From famine and war, deliver us.
From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, from
every kind of war, deliver us.
From sins against human life from its very beginning,
deliver us.
From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of the
children of God, deliver us.
From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both
national and international, deliver us.
From readiness to trample on the commandments of God,
deliver us.
From attempts to stifle in human hearts the very truth of
God, deliver us.
From the loss of awareness of good and evil, deliver us.
From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us.
Accept, O Mother of Christ,
this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual
human beings,
laden with the sufferings of whole societies.
Help us with the power of the Holy Spirit conquer all sin:
individual sin and the “sin of the world,”
sin in all its manifestations.
Let there be revealed once more in the history of the world
the infinite saving power of the redemption:
the power of merciful love.
May it put a stop to evil.
May it transform consciences.
May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of hope.

Amen.

Election Novena - Day Seven

2008-11-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

The prayer in podcast form.

Seventh Day

Opening Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Reading

Ephesians 4:1-6

I . . . urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call
you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with
patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to
preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one
hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one
God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and
in all.

Reflection

What divisions exist in my community? What structures in
society seem unjust?
How am I striving to achieve justice and peace in my
neighborhood, church, and nation?

Prayer

God of justice,
we are created in your image.
May we glorify you in all of our actions.

Amen.

Novena Prayer

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
help us to conquer the menace of evil,
which so easily
takes root in the hearts of the people of today,
and whose immeasurable effects
already weigh down upon our modern world
and seem to block the paths toward the future.
From famine and war, deliver us.
From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, from
every kind of war, deliver us.
From sins against human life from its very beginning,
deliver us.
From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of the
children of God, deliver us.
From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both
national and international, deliver us.
From readiness to trample on the commandments of God,
deliver us.
From attempts to stifle in human hearts the very truth of
God, deliver us.
From the loss of awareness of good and evil, deliver us.
From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us.
Accept, O Mother of Christ,
this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual
human beings,
laden with the sufferings of whole societies.
Help us with the power of the Holy Spirit conquer all sin:
individual sin and the “sin of the world,”
sin in all its manifestations.
Let there be revealed once more in the history of the world
the infinite saving power of the redemption:
the power of merciful love.
May it put a stop to evil.
May it transform consciences.
May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of hope.

Amen.

Happy All Saints' Day!

2008-11-01T16:11:00.003-05:00

Hope your All Saints' Eve (aka Halloween) was a good one! Here's a fun little song for All Saints Day. :-)

Election Novena - Day Six

2008-11-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

The prayer in podcast form.

Sixth Day

Opening Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Reading

Mt 5:43-46

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your
neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your
enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you
may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his
sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on
the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you,
what recompense will you have?”

Reflection

Who are my enemies? How do I love them?
How do I live up to the definition Jesus provides for living
a Christian lifestyle, a life of Christian love?

Prayer

God of peace,
Give us the courage
to be reconciled with our neighbors, our enemies.
Give us the vision
to truly see what it means to be a Christian
so that peace and justice may rule in our world.

Amen.

Novena Prayer

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
help us to conquer the menace of evil,
which so easily
takes root in the hearts of the people of today,
and whose immeasurable effects
already weigh down upon our modern world
and seem to block the paths toward the future.
From famine and war, deliver us.
From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, from
every kind of war, deliver us.
From sins against human life from its very beginning,
deliver us.
From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of the
children of God, deliver us.
From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both
national and international, deliver us.
From readiness to trample on the commandments of God,
deliver us.
From attempts to stifle in human hearts the very truth of
God, deliver us.
From the loss of awareness of good and evil, deliver us.
From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us.
Accept, O Mother of Christ,
this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual
human beings,
laden with the sufferings of whole societies.
Help us with the power of the Holy Spirit conquer all sin:
individual sin and the “sin of the world,”
sin in all its manifestations.
Let there be revealed once more in the history of the world
the infinite saving power of the redemption:
the power of merciful love.
May it put a stop to evil.
May it transform consciences.
May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of hope.

Amen.

Election Novena - Day Five

2008-10-31T00:00:00.000-05:00

The prayer in podcast form.

Fifth Day

Opening Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Reading

1 Cor 11:26-29

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you
proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of
the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and
blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and
so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats
and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks
judgment on himself.

Reflection

How is the Eucharist central in my life? My community?
Where do I reach out to the body of Christ in my
community?

Prayer

Lord,
we come together at the Eucharist to celebrate
your death and resurrection.
Help us experience authentic worship.
Help us grow in awareness of each person’s dignity,
and increase our sensitivity to injustices.
Guide us to seek ways to redress them.

Amen.

Novena Prayer

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
help us to conquer the menace of evil,
which so easily
takes root in the hearts of the people of today,
and whose immeasurable effects
already weigh down upon our modern world
and seem to block the paths toward the future.
From famine and war, deliver us.
From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, from
every kind of war, deliver us.
From sins against human life from its very beginning,
deliver us.
From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of the
children of God, deliver us.
From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both
national and international, deliver us.
From readiness to trample on the commandments of God,
deliver us.
From attempts to stifle in human hearts the very truth of
God, deliver us.
From the loss of awareness of good and evil, deliver us.
From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us.
Accept, O Mother of Christ,
this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual
human beings,
laden with the sufferings of whole societies.
Help us with the power of the Holy Spirit conquer all sin:
individual sin and the “sin of the world,”
sin in all its manifestations.
Let there be revealed once more in the history of the world
the infinite saving power of the redemption:
the power of merciful love.
May it put a stop to evil.
May it transform consciences.
May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of hope.

Amen.

Election Novena - Day Four

2008-10-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

The prayer in podcast form.

Fourth Day

Opening Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Reading

Deut 30:15-20

Moses said to the people:
“Today, I have set before you
life and prosperity, death and doom.

If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin on you today,
loving him, and walking in his ways,
and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees,
you will live and grow numerous,
and the LORD, your God,
will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy.

If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen,
but are led astray and adore and serve other gods,
I tell you now that you will certainly perish;
you will not have a long life
on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter
and occupy.

I call heaven and earth today to witness against you:
I have set before you life and death,
the blessing and the curse.

Choose life, then,
that you and your descendants may live, by loving the
LORD, your God,
heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.

For that will mean life for you,
a long life for you to live on the land which the LORD
swore he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob.”

Reflection

How do I defend the right to life especially of the unborn
and those near death? How am I tempted to turn away
from the commandments and not support the right to life
of all people? How can I overcome that temptation?

Prayer

God of life,
may we protect and defend the inviolable sanctity of
human life
from the moment of conception until natural death
with strong voices, gentle hands, and loving hearts.

Amen.

Novena Prayer

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
help us to conquer the menace of evil,
which so easily
takes root in the hearts of the people of today,
and whose immeasurable effects
already weigh down upon our modern world
and seem to block the paths toward the future.
From famine and war, deliver us.
From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, from
every kind of war, deliver us.
From sins against human life from its very beginning,
deliver us.
From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of the
children of God, deliver us.
From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both
national and international, deliver us.
From readiness to trample on the commandments of God,
deliver us.
From attempts to stifle in human hearts the very truth of
God, deliver us.
From the loss of awareness of good and evil, deliver us.
From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us.
Accept, O Mother of Christ,
this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual
human beings,
laden with the sufferings of whole societies.
Help us with the power of the Holy Spirit conquer all sin:
individual sin and the “sin of the world,”
sin in all its manifestations.
Let there be revealed once more in the history of the world
the infinite saving power of the redemption:
the power of merciful love.
May it put a stop to evil.
May it transform consciences.
May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of hope.

Amen.

Election Novena - Day Three

2008-10-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

The prayer in podcast form.

Third Day

Opening Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Reading

Is 58:2-3, 6-8

[The Lord said]:
They seek me day after day,
and desire to know my ways,
Like a nation that has done what is just
and not abandoned the law of their God;
They ask me to declare what is due them,
pleased to gain access to God.
“Why do we fast, and you do not see it?
afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?”

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed.

Reflection

What actions do I perform to please God?
How am I healing the wounds of my community?

Prayer

God of light,
give us the freedom to walk in
the footprints of your Son, Jesus.
Let our light shine out for all to see
by turning to those who call for our help.
Heal our wounds, heal our community.

Amen.

Novena Prayer

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
help us to conquer the menace of evil,
which so easily
takes root in the hearts of the people of today,
and whose immeasurable effects
already weigh down upon our modern world
and seem to block the paths toward the future.
From famine and war, deliver us.
From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, from
every kind of war, deliver us.
From sins against human life from its very beginning,
deliver us.
From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of the
children of God, deliver us.
From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both
national and international, deliver us.
From readiness to trample on the commandments of God,
deliver us.
From attempts to stifle in human hearts the very truth of
God, deliver us.
From the loss of awareness of good and evil, deliver us.
From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us.
Accept, O Mother of Christ,
this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual
human beings,
laden with the sufferings of whole societies.
Help us with the power of the Holy Spirit conquer all sin:
individual sin and the “sin of the world,”
sin in all its manifestations.
Let there be revealed once more in the history of the world
the infinite saving power of the redemption:
the power of merciful love.
May it put a stop to evil.
May it transform consciences.
May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of hope.

Amen.

Election Novena - Day Two

2008-10-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

The prayer in podcast form.

Second Day

Opening Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Reading

Ps 146:1-8

Praise the LORD, my soul;
I shall praise the LORD all my life,
sing praise to my God while I live.

Put no trust in princes,
in mere mortals powerless to save.
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth;
that day all their planning comes to nothing.

Happy those whose help is Jacob’s God,
whose hope is in the LORD, their God,
The maker of heaven and earth,
the seas and all that is in them,
Who keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free;
the LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who are bowed down;
the LORD loves the righteous.

Reflection

Who are the oppressed in your community? How am I
helping them secure justice?
How am I helping to feed and give sight to those most
in need?

Prayer

God of Jacob,
strengthen our hope in the Lord.
Help us to keep the faith
by striving for justice in our land.
Give us hearts, hands, and feet to truly reach out to those
in need.

Amen.

Novena Prayer

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
help us to conquer the menace of evil,
which so easily
takes root in the hearts of the people of today,
and whose immeasurable effects
already weigh down upon our modern world
and seem to block the paths toward the future.
From famine and war, deliver us.
From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, from
every kind of war, deliver us.
From sins against human life from its very beginning,
deliver us.
From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of the
children of God, deliver us.
From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both
national and international, deliver us.
From readiness to trample on the commandments of God,
deliver us.
From attempts to stifle in human hearts the very truth of
God, deliver us.
From the loss of awareness of good and evil, deliver us.
From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us.
Accept, O Mother of Christ,
this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual
human beings,
laden with the sufferings of whole societies.
Help us with the power of the Holy Spirit conquer all sin:
individual sin and the “sin of the world,”
sin in all its manifestations.
Let there be revealed once more in the history of the world
the infinite saving power of the redemption:
the power of merciful love.
May it put a stop to evil.
May it transform consciences.
May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of hope.

Amen.

Election Novena - Day One

2008-10-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

Over the next 9 days, I'll be praying this novena in addition to the rosary for the intentions of our country, most urgently for respect for ALL life from conception until natural death from our politicians and citizens.

Regardless of who wins, think what a powerful witness it would be to see some of the most extreme and outspoken proponents of abortion to have a change of heart, to realize what a monstrosity it is, to acknowledge that this is the civil rights issue of our day. Whomever you vote for, I urge you to pray for our leaders, and to contact them and let them know what the people think of our abortion laws in this country, laws that are more extreme than anywhere else in the world, allowing abortion for any and all reasons, without parental consent for young teens, and at any gestational age. Let them know that this is not what the majority of people in our country want.

But most of all, pray. Nothing is impossible with God...pray fervently for a change of heart in pro-abortion, pro-ESCR, pro-euthenasia politicians. Pray that they see or hear something that speaks to them and makes them aware of the true horrors of our current culture of death. Pray, pray, pray...

The prayer in podcast form.

First Day

Opening Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Reading

Ps 8:2, 4-10
O LORD, our Lord,
how awesome is your name through all the earth!
You have set your majesty above the heavens!

When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and stars that you set in place—

What are humans that you are mindful of them,
mere mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them little less than a god,
crowned them with glory and honor.

You have given them rule over the works of your hands,
put all things at their feet:

All sheep and oxen,
even the beasts of the field,

The birds of the air, the fish of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord,
how awesome is your name through all the earth!

Reflection

How will I praise God today? How will I show respect for
others, especially my neighbor or those in my community
who are not like me?

Prayer

God of love,
may we grow in our love for you
by respecting the dignity of all people we encounter.

Amen.

Novena Prayer

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
help us to conquer the menace of evil,
which so easily
takes root in the hearts of the people of today,
and whose immeasurable effects
already weigh down upon our modern world
and seem to block the paths toward the future.
From famine and war, deliver us.
From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, from
every kind of war, deliver us.
From sins against human life from its very beginning,
deliver us.
From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of the
children of God, deliver us.
From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both
national and international, deliver us.
From readiness to trample on the commandments of God,
deliver us.
From attempts to stifle in human hearts the very truth of
God, deliver us.
From the loss of awareness of good and evil, deliver us.
From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us.
Accept, O Mother of Christ,
this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual
human beings,
laden with the sufferings of whole societies.
Help us with the power of the Holy Spirit conquer all sin:
individual sin and the “sin of the world,”
sin in all its manifestations.
Let there be revealed once more in the history of the world
the infinite saving power of the redemption:
the power of merciful love.
May it put a stop to evil.
May it transform consciences.
May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of hope.

Amen.

Wow!

2008-10-23T13:51:00.001-05:00

I'm planning on going to vote today...and then I look forward to ignoring every political ad and blog and article and email, and simply focus on praying for our country whatever the result. (I'm going to be starting a novena here on the blog 9 days before election day, please please pray with me for our country!)

In the mean time, I thought I'd post something completely off topic and fun with Halloween coming up. So here it is...

Isn't that amazing?!?!? Check out this artist's website here to see other astonishing carvings!

Political Musings

2008-10-13T10:46:00.000-05:00

I've stayed mostly away from politics on my blog, largely because I am not myself enthusiastic about any particular candidate.

But I felt compelled to mention something that has bothered me in the past. Many Catholics are struggling with who to vote for. So many of the social issues which Catholics have long been known to support are packaged in one party, but then tied up with the large red bow of abortion "rights". On the other side we have quasi-pro-life lip service mixed in with some anti-life issues (like support for ESCR), and social issues that don't always line up with a great number of Catholic voters' feelings. For many of us, neither of these are exactly inspiring choices.

I know Catholics who have equally weighed their choices, and chosen to support opposing sides. It is not my place to judge any one's heart on the matter, I assume that both sides are trying their best to apply good judgement. I know many people who are holding their nose to vote McCain, because they feel the risk that nothing at all will be done to further pro-life causes is better than the certainty that much will be done to hurt pro-life causes if the other side were chosen. I think many of those who chose the nice package despite the red bow are sincerely well intentioned, and are fed up with feeling pigeon holed and yanked around by one party because of one giant issue, and have hope that addressing other issues will help that one issue in the end. I can absolutely sympathize...as I said, I'm not enthusiastic about either side.

Here is what bothers me. In these times, where our choices are reduced to picking the least of the worst candidate rather than picking the best, it tends to surprise me when I see enthusiastic support for candidates who have huge, gaping moral problems. I'm more inclined to expect grudging support, support with a heavy heart, support accompanied by fervent prayers for a change of heart on behalf of the candidate on those moral problems, than outright enthusiasm about that choice.

I'll be frank and say I haven't even decided who I am voting for myself. I have decided who I cannot, myself, in good conscience vote for. Abortion, for me, is too fundamental an issue to let go. I see too much harm from the proposed actions of the democratic candidate that outweighs, in my mind, any good that could come from them. Once the flood gates are open, it's much less likely they'll ever be closed again, and the opening of those flood gates will cost millions of lives, and that is just too great of a risk. Those are my feelings on the matter.

If, however, there was ever a time where I felt the totality of the other issues outweighed the issue of abortion, I know with certainty that it would be one of the hardest things in my life to vote for that person. Knowing that, even if I became, in theory, a "supporter" of such a candidate, I still cannot fathom ever being an enthusiastic supporter...I can only ever imagine being a reluctant one.

I would not be smiling when I saw him on TV. I would not be rushing to be at his rallies. I would not be chanting his slogans, slapping his bumper stickers on my car, or encouraging others to follow my lead. It would be with an extremely heavy heart that I would ever make such a choice, and it would be my constant and fervent prayer that his mind was changed on the issue of abortion so that I could support him more fully. I would happily join any group who mostly supported him and yet wrote to him and lobbied for him to change his view on abortion (like this guy, kudos to him!)

And so...while I've seen reluctance (from both sides) in supporting any particular candidate, I have also seen some great enthusiasm. I've seen enthusiasm from both sides, yes...but I admit that when I see Catholics who are enthusiastic particularly about a pro-abortion candidate, it frankly boggles my mind.

Don't misunderstand me, I understand the thinking behind the choice, I understand the arguments against one-issue voting, I don't think of them as bad Catholics or anything of the sort for voting their conscience in that way, especially when I'm assured that it is a vote despite the pro-abortion stance, not because of it. I respect their choice, it is theirs to make. But to have enthusiastic support for that choice? When it will likely lead to the deaths of many more children? I honestly can't wrap my head around that. When I see such enthusiasm, I wish for, I hope for an inkling of proof that there is, at least privately if not publicly, an equal amount of fervent prayer that the candidate has a change of heart on the abortion issue, perhaps attempts to contact the candidate about it, in general I hope for a balance of horror for the extreme pro-abortion views with the enthusiasm that may be there for his other plans. I try my best to assume that it is there, but it gives me a sick feeling when I think that it might not be.

In short, it bothers me when it seems people are cheering for what they like about their candidate, and apparently ignoring the moral problems with the candidate altogether. (And again, that goes for both sides.) Especially when there is a frighteningly messianic view of a candidate, it seems to turn into a cult of personality rather than a choice about issues. And any time this happens, on either side, it bothers me. Candidates come and go, they'll have their strengths and weaknesses, they are mere mortals. The issues are what will stay and what we'll have to continue to fight for. Any time we put too much faith in one mere human as if he is going to fix all our problems, things start to get scary. And yet I see this intoxicating enthusiasm even among Catholic voters who say they are supporting a candidate despite some very serious moral issues. I want to believe they are very concerned about the bad that will be coming with the good, but I'm sorry to say...it isn't always very apparent, and that doesn't feel right in my gut. It worries me.

Whatever happens in the election, though, whichever side wins, we need to be actively praying and campaigning for an end to abortion. I ask both sides, will you match your enthusiasm for your candidate of choice with equally fervent attempts to save the lives of millions, through prayer or letter writing or protests or anything? If you are proud enough of your candidate to openly and enthusiastically support him, are you likewise proud enough of your faith to openly and enthusiastically put it into practice by defending life from conception until natural death? Are you happy to boast about your political affiliation but hesitant to mention your religious convictions? Do we fumble around when asked about pro-life issues, trying to avoid the subject as St. Peter tried to avoid association with Christ when it was asked of him, or do we own our faith with conviction as we own our political choices?

I'm not pointing fingers with these questions...I just think we all (myself included) sometimes need a reminder about our priorities in life. Politicians come and go, no single person will ever fix our nation...Christ alone is our savior and redeemer, and that of the whole World, not any one single nation. When we align our values with Christ's teachings, our world prospers. When we don't, our world suffers. No economic policy or social programs can fix a world that has turned its back on Christ. And so when we weigh the pros and cons of various candidates and make our choices about who to support, let's remember while we give support for what it is we agree with in any given candidate's platform, to pray even more fervently for an end to those grave evils which may be included in that platform.

Courageous and wise St. Thomas More, patron saint of politicians, pray for us during this election season, and for our candidates, that they may uphold what is right even among political pressure and threats as you did!

Lord, send us representatives who have prudence, wisdom, and the backbone to stand up for what is right!!

Condoms - Why Not?

2008-10-10T20:28:00.000-05:00

On my NFP board, a fellow member (a former Catholic) asked about the rationale behind being so against abortion, and yet also being against non-abortifacient contraception like condoms, since it seems that would be an easy way to prevent many abortions, by preventing many pregnancies.

This is an often asked question, a question which, on the surface, seems quite valid, but looking a little deeper reveals a fundamental flaw in understanding the root problem. As I spent some time trying to answer this question, I thought I'd share my answer here as well:

So here's the thing...a lot of people look at the Catholic teachings and see what they are on the surface, but don't see the depth behind them. On the surface , as you mentioned, it may not make sense to some...well if we're trying to stop abortion, HELLO?!? Condoms anyone? What kind of crazies are these! lol

Others have mentioned that each act must be "open to life" or "ordered towards procreation." That doesn't mean you have to have a kid each time you have relations, or that you have to be trying to have a kid. It just means that the way the act is done needs to be able to result in a kid if the stars are aligned, so to speak, nothing can be done to the act to make this impossible. Essentially, if you'll forgive my crudeness, tab A needs to end up in slot B.

But why? What's the big deal?

It's not just about "correct action", it's so much more. The action is only a "symptom" of a completely different mentality at work. Our culture, our society has sent the message that fertility can (and often should) be separated from sex. That sex can be a recreational activity, something fun to do on a Friday night, like bowling, that there's no need to wait for the protection of marriage because as long as you're careful, there's no need to get tied to someone through children, etc. How has it sent this message? Through contraception...contraception is precisely an attempt to separate fertility from sex, to make them completely unrelated.

Now, whether or not one agrees that separating sex from fertility is wrong, what has been the result? Each generation since contraception became widely available has become more and more promiscuous...because sex is largely seen as recreational. But that's not my main focus here, my main focus is the mentality, the attitude behind this behavior. People my age (I'm in my mid 20s) have grown up being told that all you have to do to separate sex from fertility is "be responsible" and use contraception.

So here we are, walking around with this notion that sex can without a doubt be separated from fertility, it's an accepted axiom. People go out, and whether they just hook up with people they meet at bars or enter into a long term relationship, they are assuming that as long as they are taking that pill or using that device, they are succeeding at separating sex from fertility with no problem, just like society told them they could.

And then that pill or that device fails. BAM, they get pregnant.

What then? It isn't FAIR!! I was being responsible like they all told me to be!! They told me I could separate sex from fertility, I did what they said, but now I'm pregnant! What happened? What went wrong? I dont understand? Well, whatever happened, it's not right that I should have to be pregnant. I was following the rules the world told me, so now I'm going to make this right. I'll get an abortion, because I mean, it's not *MY* fault I got pregnant, I was being responsible.

You see, it's about acknowledging reality. When we try to force ourselves to ignore reality, when we tell ourselves we can do something that we really can't and shouldn't do, we end up messing things up BIG TIME. What happens if you ignore reality and tell yourself you can fly? You jump off a building...and gravity proves you wrong.

Our society is walking around with their heads in the sand, imagining that they are "in control," that they can separate sex from fertility and go on their merry way and be just fine. And don't get me wrong, most contraception succeeds in preventing conception, but even if one never falls pregnant unexpectedly, there are other unfortunate consequences occuring because of this assumption that sex can be separated from fertility, like objectification of people as sexual objects and unhealthy relationships. When proof to the contrary does arise in the form of a pregnancy, rather than acknowledging our error, we've justified getting rid of that proof in the form of abortion. Anything to keep our tight grasp on the notion that we have control, that we can separate sex and fertility, and that this is good for us.

So what's the difference with NFP? NFP (and the teaching of the Church against contraception) is all about acknowledging reality as it is, not attempting to change it even when it's inconvenient for us. We acknowledge that we cannot separate sex and fertility. We can work with God's natural design, but the act itself is always ordered towards procreation, nothing is altered or changed in the act itself. And this is a physical expression of a deeply rooted mentality, of our recognition that sex cannot be separated from fertility. And so, because we acknowledge that sex cannot be separated from fertility, we also acknowledge that the only full proof way to avoid having children is to avoid having sex altogether. Now, thanks be to God, with the knowledge we have of the female body, we can pinpoit fertile and infertile times...but even this takes some sacrifice, to abstain during fertile times. It's hard at times, yes, it's not always easy...but this, in turn, can help us to overcome any potential selfishness.

After all, the yearning couples have for each other during fertile times sometimes makes them reconsider whether they really *need* to avoid having children at the moment. If the answer is, "Yes, absolutely we do!" then that's that. But sometimes, the answer is, "Hmm...well, maybe we're ready after all!" or "Hmm, maybe another one isn't a bad idea!" These kinds of thoughts are less likely to happen with contraception, because sex has already mentally been separated from fertility, and there's no reason to reconsider...after all, with or without contraception they'll be having sex, so there's not much motivation to rethink one's decision and give up the contraception.

That's largely why you tend to see larger families among NFP users...it's not just due to method failure, we're more likely to call this method success, lol, people's hearts are opened, they are more prone to reconsider their choice to avoid when it takes some sacrifice in order to do so. But regardless of whether one is trying to avoid children or trying to conceive children, there remains an underlying acknowledgement of the reality that sex and fertility are inextricably intertwined. And so if there is a surprise pregnancy, having always acknowledged that with sex comes a chance of offspring, there does not tend to be the same kind of refusal of responsibility for the pregnancy, or the same level of feelings of injustice and unfairness. They are mentally prepared for this possibility in a way that contraceptors, by and large, are not.

I hope I've been clear in describing this mentality. In a nutshell, to say that condoms are a good solution to abortion is missing the root cause of the problem. It's like if someone is trying to lose weight, and a friend suggests "Well you know if you just purge yourself after each meal you'll lose weight." Well...that may be true, on the surface that is an effective solution, but it's not addressing the root problem of gluttony, in fact it could very well be encouraging it. This proposed solution is not recognizing the function and purpose of nutrition, and therefore totally misses the mark about how to fix it. Healthy weight loss will have to involve sacrifice, it will have to recognize the relationship between food and nutrition and respect that relationship. Not gaining weight does not mean eating whatever you want and then purging yourself, it means making healthy choices to begin with, practicing self control and abstaining from certain foods.

Likewise, using contraception to avoid children does not recognize the relationship between sex and fertility, instead of practicing self control and sometimes difficult self sacrifice in order to avoid children, it encourages seeking out the pleasure while keeping the fertility aspect completely separate in an attempt to avoid the natural consequences at all costs. It's simply a continuation of the "separatist" view. We are a nation of sexual gluttons and self proclaimed victims, and we've forgotton what self control and personal responsibility really mean. (And that is, of course, not only in regards to sex...food, money, consumerism, ridiculous amounts of debt, it all goes together.)

To see the proof of the error of this mentality, note that over time, as the use of contraception went up, so did the amount of abortions. On the surface that doesn't make sense, right? If people are preventing more pregnancies then there should be less abortion...but that's because people are buying into the idea that sex can be separated from fertility, and so if a pregnancy happens despite contraception use, then it's not seen as their responsibility, and therefore they feel justified in getting an abortion.

More than that, though, the idea that one isn't responsible for getting pregnant trickles over to those who don't even use contraception. Once the idea is commonly accepted that sex can be separated from fertility, it tends to mutate into the assumption that sex already is separated from fertility. This is why we're having to remind teenagers that you can get pregnant when you have sex...because we've divorced the concepts so thoroughly that we've collectively forgotten this reality.

So you see, in our eyes the solution is not "more condoms!" which only reinforces this mentality of separation, rather the solution is acknowledging the reality, reminding ourselves that sex is not simply a recreational activity, that it has a purpose and a function, and remembering that when we ignore this reality, we start messing up our world big time. We're running towards the edge of that roof ready to jump off thinking we can fly, but in the end you simply can't cheat reality.