Lampara

A Scary Story with a Positive Teaching: St. Teresa of Avila tells of her encounters with evil spirits and how she handled them

2010-10-29T15:32:00.001-07:00

A Scary Story with a Positive Teaching: St. Teresa of Avila tells of her encounters with evil spirits and how she handled them

(taken from Catholic Spiritual Direction Newsletter, Oct 2010)

If you like to read scary stories about demons and that kind of thing on Halloween, here is one from St. Teresa of Avila's and her personal encounters with the devil.

by St. Teresa of Avila (from The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Volume 1, Chapter 31, parts: 1-11: Chapter 31)

Deals with some exterior temptations and representations of the devil and the torments he inflicted on her. Treats also of some matters very beneficial for advising persons who journey on the path of perfection.

1. Now that I've mentioned some interior, secret temptations and disturbances the devil caused me, I want to tell about others he caused almost publicly and in which one could not be mistaken that he was the source.

2. I was once in an oratory, and he appeared to me in an abominable form at my left side. Because he spoke to me, I looked particularly at his mouth-which was frightening. It seemed that a great flame, all bright without shadow, came forth from his body. He told me in a terrifying way that I had really freed myself from his hands but that he would catch me with them again. I was struck with great fear and blessed myself as best I could; he disappeared, but returned right away. This happened to me twice. I didn't know what to do. There was some holy water there, and I threw it in that direction; he never returned again.

3. Another time I was tormented for five hours with such terrible interior and exterior pains and disturbance that it didn't seem to me I could suffer them any longer. The sisters who were with me were frightened and didn't know what to do, nor did I know how to help myself. When bodily pains and sickness become intolerable I have the custom of making interior acts of supplication to the Lord as best I can, that if His Majesty be served by my doing so He might give me patience and I might remain in this state until the end of the world. Well, since I was suffering so severely this time, I was helping myself through these acts and resolutions so as to be able to bear it. The Lord wanted me to understand it was the devil because I saw beside me a black, very abominable little creature, snarling like one in despair that where he had tried to gain he had lost. When I saw him I laughed to myself and was not afraid. There were some sisters there with me who were unable to help nor did they know of any remedy for so much torment; without being able to resist, I was striking myself hard on the body, head, and arms. What was worse was the interior disturbance, for I wasn't able to feel calm of any sort. I didn't dare ask for holy water lest I frighten them and they come to understand what the trouble was.

4. I often experience that there is nothing the devils flee from more-without returning-than holy water. They also flee from the cross, but they return. The power of holy water must be great. For me there is a particular and very noticeable consolation my soul experiences upon taking it. Without a doubt my soul feels ordinarily a refreshment I wouldn't know how to explain, like an interior delight that comforts it entirely. This isn't some fancy or something that has happened to me only once, but something that has happened often and that I've observed carefully. Let us say the relief is like that coming to a person, very hot and thirsty, when he drinks a jar of cold water; it would seem that he felt the refreshment all over. I consider everything ordained by the Church to be important, and I rejoice to see the power of those words recited over the water so that its difference from unblessed water becomes so great.

5. Well, since the torment didn't stop, I said: "If you wouldn't laugh, I'd ask for holy water." They brought it to me and sprinkled some on me, but it didn't help. I threw some toward where the devil was, and instantly he went away and all the illness left me as if it were taken away by hand, except that I remained weary as though I had been badly beaten with a stick. It did me a lot of good to reflect upon what he will do to the soul he possesses as his own if even when the soul and body don't belong to him, he causes so much harm-when the Lord permits. It made me again eager to be freed from such dreadful company.

6. Another time, not long ago, the same thing happened to me; although it didn't last as long, and I was alone. I called for holy water, and those who entered after the devil had already gone (for they were two nuns well worthy of belief, who would by no means tell a lie) smelled a foul stench like that of brimstone. I didn't smell it. It so lingered that one could notice it.
Another time I was in the choir, and there came upon me a strong impulse toward recollection. I left the choir so that the others wouldn't notice, although all of them heard the striking of loud blows near the place where I was; I heard some coarse words next to me as though the devils were plotting something, although I didn't understand anything nor did I have any fear. It happened, almost every time, when the Lord granted me the favor of persuading some soul to advance in perfection.

7. It is certain that what I shall now tell happened to me. (And there are many witnesses to this, especially the one who is now my confessor since he saw it written in a letter; without my telling him who the person was to whom the letter belonged, he knew very well who it was.)"

Cancer-Stricken Archbishop Healed Through the Intercession of Mary!

2010-09-02T02:41:00.000-07:00

http://thesplendorofthechurch.blogspot.com/2010/09/cancer-stricken-archbishop-healed.html

Joey Velasco, 43, Hapag ng Pag-asa

2010-07-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

Joey Velasco: The Man and the Artist

More Info

Padre Pio: PRAY, HOPE & DON'T WORRY

2010-07-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

Pray, HOPE and Don't Worry.

Angels and Saints Exhibit at MOA

2010-07-17T18:08:00.001-07:00

Angels and Saints Exhibit

Sister Raquel

2010-07-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

Sister Raquel

10 Nouwen Quotes

2010-07-04T20:15:00.000-07:00

10 Henri Nouwen Quotes to Help You

Biblical Evidence for Catholicism

2009-09-28T18:38:00.001-07:00

Biblical Evidence for Catholicism

Diocese of Antipolo site

2009-08-28T18:40:00.000-07:00

Antipolo Diocese

John Paul II Cathechetics and Youth Ministry

2009-04-27T02:49:00.000-07:00

The Salesians of Don Bosco Philippine North Province through its Commission on Youth Ministry invite you to the 5th John Paul II Cathechetics-Youth Ministry Conference

Cathechesis and Youth Ministry: Nourished by Biblical and Pauline Spirituality

on 6-8 May 2009
Don Bosco Technical Institute, Makati City

For registration, visit http://jp2scym.com/registration.html
For more info visit : http://jp2scym.com/

Fr Stanley Jaki

2009-04-27T02:45:00.000-07:00

In Memoriam: Father Stanley Jaki

One of the most influential scientific minds in the Church died on April 7. He gave respectability to the view that, far from being essentially at odds, Christianity and science are natural allies. His burial will be at Pannonhalma Abbey, Hungary, on April 29

By Robert Mauro

SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2009 — Father Stanley Ladislas Jaki, OSB (1924-2009), Distinguished Professor of Physics at Seton Hall University, New Jersey, since 1975 and one of the world's leading historians of science and its relationship with religion, died in Madrid on April 7, 2009, reportedly of a heart attack, at the age of 84 (the photo shows him just a few days before his death, in Rome in March of this year). He will be buried on Wednesday in his native Hungary.

Jaki was a prolific writer, authoring dozens of books, articles and essays covering everything from the metaphysics of the Eucharist, to the primacy of the Apostle Peter, to exactly where and how Charles Darwin went woefully wrong. In short, Father Jaki was one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century and his contributions to Catholic thought and culture will be difficult to quantify.

One of the central questions he dealt with was this: How is it that science became a self-sustaining enterprise only in the Christian West? Jaki believed the answer lay in the Christian faith, in belief in the Incarnation, and his life work was to show why this was so.

The American writer Walker Percy, a convert to Catholicism, formulated the position Jaki came to espouse this way in his novel Lost in the Cosmos: "As Whitehead pointed out, it is no coincidence that science sprang, not from Ionian metaphysics, not from the Brahmin-Buddhist-Taoist East, not from the Egyptian-Mayan astrological South, but from the heart of the Christian West, that although Galileo fell out with the Church, he would hardly have taken so much trouble studying Jupiter and dropping objects from towers if the reality and value and order of things had not first been conferred by belief in the Incarnation."

Jaki affirmed that Christianity prevented a slide into pantheism because the doctrine of the creation was bolstered by faith in the Incarnation. Pantheism is invariably present when the eternal and cyclic view of the cosmos prevails. The uniqueness of the Incarnation and Redemption, Jaki held, dashed to pieces any possibility of the eternal and cyclic view; for if the world were cyclic, the once-and-for-all coming of Christ would be undermined. The uniqueness of Christ secures a linear view of history and makes Christianity more than just one among many historical factors influencing the world, Jaki argued. The dogmas of the Creation and Incarnation mean "an absolute and most revolutionary break with a past steeped in paganism,'' and the enunciation of these dogmas and their historical impact is "an uphill fight never to be completed," he said.

A relentless scholar, Jaki studied the religious thinking of G. K. Chesterton, the works of the French physicist and historian of science Pierre Duhem, and the life of Cardinal John Henry Newman, the 19th-century theologian who famously converted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism. Jaki is probably best known, however, for works like The Relevance of Physics (1966) and Science and Creation (1974), in which he argued that the scientific enterprise did not become viable and self-sustaining until its incarnation in Christian medieval Europe, and that the advancement of science was indebted to the Christian understanding of creation.

Father Jaki was a beloved and much-sought after "Chestertonian," and a true follower of the Rule of St. Benedict in every way imaginable — he was always teaching. He only had to be invited to speak once to the annual American Chesterton Society Conference....after that he would simply call Dale Ahlquist in advance and announce his topic! Such graceful moxie is very rare these days and those of us who have known him, learned from him, and loved him, have all been blessed and bettered by his initiative; it will be a palpable loss not to have this spiritual and intellectual giant in our midst any longer.

Born in Gyor, Hungary, Father Jaki attended the school run by Benedictines in his native town from 1934-42. There, he fed his deep desire to read and learn with an extensive amount of mathematics as well as multiple languages. He says that his drive for education was "for a higher purpose: to understand, propagate, and defend my Roman Catholic religion."

His tutelage with the Benedictines greatly influenced his call to the priesthood, which he felt from an early age. He joined the Benedictine order in 1942 and was ordained in 1948.

During the war years, Father Jaki stayed in the Archabbey of Pannonhalma. (Photo below: an aerial view of the abbey, one of the oldest historical monuments in Hungary. Saint Martin of Tours is believed to have been born at the foot of this hill, hence its former name, Mount of Saint Martin (Márton-hegyin Hungarian), from which the monastery occasionally took the alternative name of Márton-hegyi Apátság. This is the second largest territorial abbey in the world, after the one in Monte Cassino.)

This proved to be a trying time, having several close calls with Soviet soldiers. In his typical scholarly fashion, he spent his free time memorizing the letters of Saint Paul, and much of Isaiah and Jeremiah.

He came to the U.S. in 1950 and began teaching systematic theology at the seminary attached to the St. Vincent Archabbey in Pennsylvania.

In 1953, following several health complications associated with a tonsillectomy, Jaki was deprived of the full use of his voice for the next ten years. No longer able to continue his lifestyle of teaching and monastic life that demanded a constant use of his voice, he enrolled in Fordham University's graduate program in physics. He studied under Nobel laureate Victor F. Hess, the discoverer of cosmic rays. He received a doctorate in 1957. Of Jaki's doctrinal dissertation on theology, the then-Cardinal Ratzinger once stated that he kept a copy in a "place of honor" in his library. (Years later, in 1990, Father Jaki was made an honorary member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.)

From 1960-1965, he stayed at Aquinas Institute, the Catholic chaplaincy of Princeton. The idea for his book The Relevance of Physics came to him while on the steps at Princeton's post office. At the age of 42, the University of Chicago Press bought his book The Relevance of Physics. Walter Heitler in the March 1967 issue of "American Scientist" suggested that it become compulsory reading for all physicists.

After this time, he was invited to lecture at Seton Hall — a seminar a week — which worked well with his vocal injury and afforded him the opportunity to continue writing many major publications. During this time he received the Lecomte du Nouy Prize for Brain, Mind and Computers from Rockefeller University. In 1973, the University of Edinburgh invited him to deliver the Gifford lectures. He was the Gifford Lecturer at Edinburgh University in 1974-75 and 1975-76.

The Gifford Lectures were established under the will of Lord Gifford and provided for lectureships in natural theology at four Scottish universities. A few of the many eminent thinkers who have given the Gifford Lectures include: Alfred Ayers, Karl Barth, Henri Bergson, Neils Bohr, Herbert Butterfield, Frederick Copleston, John Dewey, Etienne Gilson, Werner Heisenberg, William James, Gabriel Marcel, Reinhold Niebuhr and many others. Father Jaki, on this subject, wrote the book Lord Gifford and His Lectures (1995, Scottish Academic Press).

In 1987, he received the Templeton Prize, and rejected a possible position with Harvard, so he could continue his writing.

The Templeton Prize brought him world recognition. Established by the late Sir John Templeton, the prize is given annually to a person chosen for his or her affirmation of the spiritual dimensions of life either through discoveries or in other ways. The Templeton Prize award is traditionally larger than that given for the Nobel Prize. In 1987, the award to Father Jaki was $330,000; now the Templeton Prize winner is awarded more than $1 million. Father Jaki gave the monies awarded him to the Vatican for the benefit of Hungarian Benedictines who left Hungary after Stalinist suppression of religious activities in that nation in the late 1940s. He said, "I hope it will be used as a trust fund in times of need."
Father Jaki was a world traveler. In 1971, during a routine trip to Hungary to visit his mother, he picked up some of his old books. One such book contained a note with cross-word type scribbling. This caught the attention of the Communist border-guard as possible coded messages, which was compounded by the fact that he carried a half dozen undeveloped film rolls from his library research. While searching through Jaki's personal belongings the guards found an article of Jaki featured in a prominent publication. Fearing bad press, they released him.

Father Jaki lived through many interesting world events and never failed to give commentary — the rise and fall of Communism as well as the changes in the Catholic Church following Vatican II.

He recognized the philosophical underpinnings in every activity from a game of cricket to the social interaction of a luncheon. In his book, A Mind's Matter: An Intellectual Autobiography, Father Jaki gives an insight into himself, "Whether I uttered some truths moderately well, or whether I fought wisely, should seem less important than the fact that I did not shy away from fighting."

Father Jaki died on April 7, 2009, at about 1:15 PM (MET) in Madrid (Spain) following a heart attack. He was in Spain to visit friends on his way back to the USA, after delivering some lectures in Rome, for the Master in Faith and Science of the Pontificio Ateneo Regina Apostolorum.

He will be buried at the Archabbey of Pannonhalma, which was established in the 10th century, after a funeral Mass on Wednesday, April 29, at 2:30 pm local time. (The Benedictines seemed at first intent on cremating Fr. Jaki prior to transporting him back to Hungary until Father Jaki's brothers and friends made clear that they believed it would have been Father Jaki's wish to be buried bodily at the monastery, and that any expenses involved would not have to be paid by the order.)

Jaki is survived by two brothers, both priests, Rev. Zeno Janki and Rev Theodore Jaki, both of whom live at the Archabbey of Pannonhalma.

=======================

I became acquainted with Father Stanley Jaki because my nephew, a Columbia University graduate, did graduate work at Princeton University, and while there became a part-time assistant to Father Jaki, who was based in Princeton. Father Jaki was clearing out some of his vast library, and gave some books to my nephew, who in turn set up a library for some of these books in my office about 45 miles from Princeton. I thus — by coincidence — have some books by Father Jaki which may not be on all of the lists of books by Father Jaki that one might find on internet websites.

I also had a chance to hear Father Jaki at some of his lectures in the New York area. At one lecture — to the usual overflow crowd — he discussed Lourdes. He had slides to show on a screen at some of these presentations. He was not only very informative; he was highly entertaining at these lectures, particularly in question and answer sessions.

I invited Father Jaki and my nephew to dinner in Princeton once and had a chance to talk at length with him. He was very polite. He had strong opinions. He was very informative. He was very entertaining. He gave me an autographed book which was very gracious on his part.

One of his books, which may not be on most lists on the web sites, is The Only Chaos and Other Essays, (1990, University Press of America). In Chapter 10, entitled "Evicting the Creator," he critically discusses the very well known Professor Stephen W. Hawking, and his book A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes (1988, Bantam Books). Professor Hawking is or has been a member of The Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

One of my friends, William Doino, also a contributor to Inside the Vatican, knew Jaki, and sent me this note: "Father Jaki had a profound sense of the supernatural, and never hesitated to take on its opponents, backed with profound scholarship. He was fearless, and didn't suffer fools gladly. I once asked him a couple of innocent questions about modern science, and the challenge it presented to Christianity, and he said to me, sternly, 'You have things backward. The challenge is to the atheists. Never let your opponents set the rules or the playing ground.' He sent me a list of 10 or 12 books to read. 'Looks good, but I don't know if I have time to read them all, Father,' I replied, with typical youthful insouciance. 'No!!' he exploded. 'You must read them — you cannot be uninformed! We have too many uninformed Christians. Ignorance of the faith is forbidden, young man — it is forbidden — it is a sin, a sin!'"

An internet blogger wrote recently: "I have no idea what arrangements will be made for his funeral Mass, but I know what the 'responsorial Psalm' verse ought to be: God 'disposed everything according to measure and number and weight' (Wis 11:20). Nearly every one of his books quotes this line. It may sound unbelievable to hear, but there was a certain line of Chesterton's which I first read in one of Jaki's books (the one on Chesterton, of course!) because at that time I did not own the Chesterton book. It ought to be carved in his tombstone: 'The rebuilding of this bridge between science and human nature is one of the greatest needs of mankind.' (G.K. Chesterton, The Defendant, 75). I believe Father Jaki was the pre-eminent builder of that bridge..."

May Father Jaki's soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

============================

Father Jaki helped establish Real View Books as his publishing arm. The Real View titles include publications such as: The Bible and Science; Shakespeare and the Old Faith; The True Story of the Vatican Council (this is Vatican Council I, by H. E. Manning).

Here is an abridged list of his books:

1966. The Relevance of Physics. University of Chicago Press.
1969. Brain, Mind and Computers. Herder & Herder.
1969. The Paradox of Olbers' Paradox. Herder & Herder.
1973. The Milky Way: an Elusive Road for Science. New York: Science History Publications.
1974. Science and Creation: From Eternal Cycles to an Oscillating Universe. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press.
1978. Planets and Planetarians. A History of Theories of the Origin of Planetary Systems. John Wiley & Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press.
1978. The Road of Science and the Ways to God. Univ. of Chicago Press, and Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press. ISBN 0-226-39145-0
1978. The Origin of Science and the Science of its Origins. Scottish Academic Press.
1980. Cosmos and Creator. Scottish Academic Press. ISBN 0-7073-0285-4
1983. Angels, Apes and Men. La Salle IL: Sherwood, Sugden & Co. ISBN 0-89385-017-9
1984. Uneasy Genius. The Life and Work of Pierre Duhem. The Hague: Nyhoff.
1986. Chesterton, a Seer of Science. University of Illinois Press.
1986. Lord Gifford and His Lectures. A Centenary Retrospective. Edinburgh: Scottish Academis Press, and Macon, GA.: Mercer University Press.
1986. Chance or Reality and Other Essays. Lanham, MD: University Press of America & Intercollegiate Studies Institute.
1988. The Absolute Beneath the Relative and Other Essays. Lanham, MD: University Press of America & Intercollegiate Studies Institute.
2000 (1988). The Savior of Science. W. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-4772-2
1989. Miracles and Physics. Front Royal. VA.: Christendom Press. ISBN 0-931888-70-0
1989. God and the Cosmologists. Regnery Gateway Inc.; Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press.
The Purpose of it All (alternate title for God and the Cosmologists)
1990. The Only Chaos and Other Essays. Lanham MD: University Press of America & Intercollegiate Studies Institute.
1991. Scientist and Catholic, An Essay on Pierre Duhem. Front Royal VA: Christendom Press.
1998 (1992) Genesis 1 Through the Ages. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press.
1996. Bible And Science. Front Royal, VA: Christendom Press. ISBN 0-931888-63-8
2000. The Limits of a Limitless Science and Other Essays. Intercollegiate Studies Institute. ISBN 1-882926-46-3
2008. Hail Mary, full of grace: A Commentary. New Hope, KY: Real View Books. ISBN 978-1-892539-06-9

To order any of Jaki's books, visit www.realviewbooks.com or call, in the US, the toll-free number: (888) 808-2882. The mail address for orders is: P.O. Box 10, New Hope, KY 40052.

Here's a link to the home page:

http://realviewbooks.com/index.html

Jaki's intellectual autobiography, A Mind's Matter, is available.

============

What follows are excerpts from a final, additional chapter to A Mind's Matter, Father Stanley L. Jaki's intellectual autobiography, which he was still updating just a few days before his death. I have chosen to reprint here the fascinating account Jaki gives of his study of the Catholicism of the great Norwegian author and convert, Sigrid Undset. Father Jaki's writing also shows that, at the very end of his life, he was immersing himself in the Beatitudes, in the question of the Incarnation and the Precious Blood of Jesus, in the problem of the Garden of Eden, and in the mystery of the apparition of Our Lady at Guadalupe in Mexico. —The Editor

Three More Years (excerpts)

By Father Stanley Jaki, OSB

Time is God's most precious gift to man, a thoroughly time-conditioned creature.

Humans feel this the more keenly the older they get. One then ever more eagerly looks back to the past, without becoming one of those whom Horace called "laudator temporis acti" or a dreamer about the good old days.

No one whose life consisted to a large extent in writing books necessarily enjoys re-reading them. Such a great master of thought and style as Augustine of Hippo said this in reference to his writing, as I found to my no small surprise as I read his homilies on the Sermon on the Mount, while writing my commentaries on the Eight Beatitudes.

Every piece of writing is the product of the moment, so to speak, while man lives through single moments to ever new ones. This is not to endorse Empedocles' words that one cannot step twice into the same river. The flow of time as man experiences it goes together with an awareness of one's identity as transient moments follow one another.

So much for a philosophical reflection on what I must have felt in October 2006, when I finished an additional chapter, "Five years later," to my intellectual autobiography. By then I had completed three months of my eighty-second year. At that stage one does best to take each additional month, every new week, indeed every other day, for a special favor from on high. The favor has for its purpose to make one serve a cause that far transcends one's own self which is possibly the most miserable of all causes.

The best cause is to promote the Kingdom of God which cannot be of this world, though it should be implemented here and now.

In serving that cause, one experiences sadness as well as joy. The sadness derives from one's realization that for all the efforts of such giants of our times as John Paul II (Photo: Jaki with Pope John Paul II) and a few others, the human situation not only failed to improve noticeably, but has become more dispiriting. In some undeniable sense this is true even of the Kingdom of God which is the Church. This is the point of one of my recently published small books, Archipelago Church. During the twentieth century the Church ceased to set the tone of two continents, Europe and Latin America. Even in traditionally Catholic lands, Catholics form islands connected with one another in a way that resembles an archipelago. They are the peaks of grounds now submerged in a sea which represents the past. Instead of dominating in such parts, Catholics are reduced there to the evangelical role of being the salt of an earth bent on becoming more and more earthly, as
it busily sheds hallowed vestiges of Christianity.

So much in broad strokes about a sadness one cannot help feel as that sea change has become one's life experience. As for the joy, I certainly derived great intellectual and spiritual satisfaction from writing half a dozen smaller and two larger books during the little more than the three years under consideration here.

One of the larger books was already in the works in October 2006 and brought to completion a year later. This would not have happened without the unsparing help I received from Mrs Marianne Aga, of Drammen, Norway, a convert, like her husband Samuel. Had it not been for her interest in that fully Catholic light in which Sigrid Undset wanted her work and herself to be remembered, I would have felt deeply frustrated at almost every step. Unless one is a linguistic genius, one tries in vain to master another language in old age. Norwegian is a difficult idiom, except for the Danes, the Swedes, the Icelandic, and problematic at times even for the Norse themselves.

The fact that almost all novels and many essays of Sigrid Undset are available in English translation does not change the fact that about ten percent of the material needed to shed full light on her visceral Catholicism remains in Norwegian and in some cases unpublished. Without Marianne's help that material, which, as it turned out, is indispensable to gain a correct idea of what really happened as Sigrid Undset slowly inched toward her conversion, then made that momentous step, and lived up to it at times with total disregard to her personal interests, I would have been left to do guesswork where only factual data can really speak.

In writing Sigrid Undset's Quest for Truth, I hit upon a theological topic wrapped in a literary garb, which non-Catholic authors of books and major articles on Sigrid Undset tried to keep under cover as much as possible. Catholics, who wrote on her during the last two decades of her life, spotted on occasion the ideological gold mine in the subject, but failed to exploit it. A book worthy of Sigrid Undset, the staunch and enormously articulated Catholic, was not produced while this could have been done with her collaboration prior to her death in 1949. This was very painful to register, but even more so was the fact that ten or so years after her death a new atmosphere began to develop within which her literary and religious achievement could appear ominous to the big and small promoters of that atmosphere.

Outside the Church, secularism began to gain ground in a West increasingly unaware of what World War II was really about. This trend was greatly fueled by previously undreamed of scientific and technological breakthroughs. These in turn made possible an enormous rise of living standards, which fueled preoccupation with the good things of life that came as it were from a magic cornucopia. The Church in turn became enveloped in the so-called spirit of Vatican II, of which an early and signal victim was the Latin Mass codified by Pope Saint Pius V, a Mass at the center of a liturgy and sacramental practice most dear to Sigrid Undset as well as to countless other Catholics all over the globe.

Had she lived another twenty years (she died at the "young" age of sixty-seven), she would have risen in fury against a "spirit" which inspired so many "shepherds" to ignore brazenly the ruling of the Documents of Vatican II. There it is explicitly stated that if in a parish three masses are celebrated on Sunday, one of them should be in Latin. If Sigrid Undset had lived to a hundred and twenty, she would have rejoiced on seeing Pope Benedict XVI restore the legitimacy of the Latin Mass, which his illustrious predecessor often recommended but never imposed on his fellow bishops.

This vacillation of a pope, very great in many respects, would have filled Sigrid Undset with no small perplexity. She entered a Church which taught and ruled with authority and not a Church that operated with endless committees that felt themselves entitled to re-examine on the "grassroots level" even the very roots. She would have found comfort in thinking that a "Church of committees" ought to be divine insofar as it fails to be destroyed by a multitude of episcopal, diocesan, and parochial conferences. Their deliberations give the impression that nothing has been firmly established in the Church in two thousand years.

Sigrid Undset would find, therefore, a great comfort in the ruling, of June 29, 2007, of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, that only the Roman Catholic Church is entitled to call itself a Church.

This ruling pulled by one stroke the ground from under the so-called ecumenical ecclesiology which came up with models of the Church without first specifying the Church as being antecedent to all its real and imaginary models. This "scholarly" fantasizing found early spokesmen everywhere. In Africa some young priests even reconsidered the dogma of Trinity in terms of their cultural "heritage" in which patriarchal families set the pattern. In Norway some Dominicans began to dream about a corporate union of the small minority of Catholics there with a Protestant but no longer Christian Norway. Two of them, both native Norwegians but educated in Congar's Le Saulchoir, where even French Protestantism was known more by imagination than by first-hand experience, found a stumbling block in Sigrid Undset's monumental intellectual and artistic heritage as they exposed the twenty thousand Norwegian Catholics to the aggiornamento. Actually they undermined in some
of them the very foundations of their Catholic faith and in some cases of their morals. Some of the Dominicans became so "progressive" as to find some saving grace in homosexuality. Happily, they were quietly removed from a land which had, in Sigrid Undset's words, Saint Olaf for its eternal king.

Such and similar facts drifted to within my ken already during my first visit in Oslo in the Fall of 2006. It was then that I journeyed for the first time to Lillehammer and visited Bjerkebaek, the old Norwegian farm house bought and rebuilt by Sigrid Undset. The house and the ten or so thousand books she collected there form today a national monument. The prints displayed on the walls and even the furniture, which includes several prie-dieux and some large rosaries, testify to her profound faith. Of this an even more touching evidence is the inscription, "behold the handmaid of the Lord," she chose for the cross over her grave in the nearby cemetery in Mesnalien. The immortal creator of Kristin Lavransdatter did not pursue feminist ideals, whatever her total commitment to the best in women, whether spiritually or intellectually.

The extent to which tourists flocking to the newly re-opened Bjerkebaek as national monument, would be touched by the Catholic atmosphere there, is a matter with ties to the supernatural, where God's grace works often unnoticed. An exception to this was to some extent Sigrid Undset's conversion which should have appeared a foregone conclusion five years before it happened on the Feast of all Saints, 1924. For already in 1919 it should have been clear to anyone that the author of a long Efterskrift (Postscript), appended to a collection of her essays dealing with womanhood, thought and felt as a Catholic even on points that cut most deeply in the flesh.

The flesh was that of a woman with three children, who had to force her man to marry her in a civil ceremony when their first child was already well on his way. Some men, talented as they could be in many other ways, as was Svarstad, a painter of some merit, can be signally blind to what really drives women in their interest in them. Women have a more visceral interest in the child which they feel grow inside them than in the man who gave it to them, even if he is willing to turn from a lover into a true soul-mate. Svarstad failed to realize that he played an indirect but powerful role in turning his wife's gaze toward the Catholic Church which gave medieval Norway its nationhood and Christian faith.

Nothing of this is on display either in Bjerkebaek or in the new spurt of publications which began in ****, the centenary of the appearance of Sigrid Undset's first major novel Jenny. It is a safe bet that Norway will be no more ready to see the Catholic Sigrid Undset when in ten more years will come the centenary of Efterskrift, the first of her literary manifestos on behalf of a morality which has to be Catholic in order to be called moral. Most visitors to Bjerkebaek will keep carrying an armor which shields them from the influence of Catholicism. The shield is modern comfort which makes man especially satisfied with natural life on earth. It is energized in Norway not only by a State-run Lutheran Church, void of dogmas, but also by Norway's vast revenues that accrue from drilling oil from the North Sea.

Within that naturalist atmosphere only a few chosen souls awaken to deeper perspectives of human existence. This happens usually under the impact of the harsh realities of life, which was surely the case with Sigrid Undset who well into her thirties approved cohabitation, trial marriage, and divorce, and also abortion. Then her maternal instincts came into play, especially after the birth of her second child, Charlotte, who turned out to be mentally retarded. By 1919 she had realized for some years that the Lutheran Church of Norway was at best "a broken omelet," a phrase of hers that still sticks in the throat of Lutherans who fail to grasp what they have really inherited from Martin Luther.

That Sigrid Undset tracked down medical monographs written by non-Catholic psychiatrists who found in Luther a depressive maniac and a schizophrenic to boot, would not sit well with latter-day "Catholic" admirers of a Luther who surely excelled as a deformer. I was at that time also engaged, on the side so to speak, in writing a book-length study of the still Anglican Newman's Lectures on Justification, when I spotted two of those monographs on the shelves in Bjerkebaek. They came as a "God-send" for the concluding chapter of my Justification as Argued by Newman, to expose the bad faith, or the ignorance, or both, of some Catholic "scholars" who wanted to reshape the Catholic doctrine on justification, riveted in the notion of sanctifying grace, along "reformed" lines.

They could have also learned a great deal of ecclesiology from Sigrid Undset who took up the cudgels against some leading Norwegian clerics and Nathan Soderblom, the Lutheran archbishop of Uppsala. She did so after they questioned the sincerity and soundness of the conversion of the author of Kristin Lavransdatter, easily the greatest novel published in the twentieth century, although she held her The Master of Hestviken an even better novel.

In that debate with Soderblom and the others, which could have jeopardized her chances of receiving the Nobel Prize for literature on 1928, she made it crystal clear that there was only one Church. Tellingly, in an age which saw prominent Catholic theologians use modern literature as a "locus theologicus," those two novels of Sigrid Undset were not used for gaining theological inspiration. They surely fly in the face of the claim that instead of one Church there are only models of the Church, although the latter idea could eventually earn to one of them the title of "model theologian." Equally ignored by them were Kristin Undset's two great conversion novels, The Wild Orchid and The Burning Bush, set in the early twentieth century. Those theologians would not have touched with a ten-foot pole Sigrid Undset's last book, a biography of Saint Catherine of Siena. Its author, a Third Order Dominican, who took the name Olava (after Saint Olaf), held saints to
be the only real beings and felt revitalized when near their tombs.
Undsetists, or "standard" experts on her, who traced a number of insignificant details about her in her correspondence with the American medievalist, Hope Emily Allen, a New England agnostic, did not focus on the last letter Sigrid Undset wrote to her before returning to Norway in July 1945.

In that letter she recounted her visit from Brooklyn to the Cloisters, and to the adjacent shrine of the soon to be beatified Frances Xavier Cabrini. Her account of her feelings in the presence of that heroic woman's body, could have come from the pen of an Italian woman specializing in devotional writings. What electrified Sigrid Undset on that occasion was not the social worker, let alone the activist, in Mother Cabrini, but the one in whom the supernatural has become a daily, almost natural reality. The same perception sets the tone of her biography on Catherine of Siena, a fact which could not make that book a favorite with the leaders of the "new" theology, whose principal aim was to distill some droplets of the supernatural from the natural. Thirty years earlier it was the same openness to the reality of the supernatural which governed Sigrid Undset's inching toward the Catholic Church.

It has become another cliché about her the claim that her growing familiarity with medieval Catholic Norway steered her toward Rome. The factor that propelled her most powerfully was not the history of long gone times, but her own history as she lived it. It began to dawn on her that only the supernatural as represented and delivered by the Catholic Church gives answer to the great puzzles of life of which personal tragedies and sufferings are most palpable parts.

There is much more in her separation from her husband than meets the eye, a point swept under the rug in standard accounts of Sigrid Undset's life, where the cliché is repeated that "amicable" was that separation. Amicable it may have been for the sake of children but a steely resolve on Sigrid Undset's part to live alone with her children.

To find this and many other cases of willful oversight of Sigrid Undset' trajectory toward Catholicism was a bittersweet experience. It was bitter to see the evidence of Catholicism once more underplayed, though this could not come as a surprise. The sweet part of the experience consisted in noting a great opportunity to rise in defense of the Church insofar as it can also generate an outstanding literary achievement.

But the opportunity had to be seized and exploited. This meant the resolve to leave no stone unturned. It meant three flights to Norway, and friendly insistence with germane souls there to help track down sources about which one could only suspect that they contained something most valuable that deserved to be brought to light....

(section not published here)

.... The writing of short books on a topic fixed in its verbal form is satisfying also because it can be carried out relatively quickly. This is a very important facet when one's span of attention is shortening, and at times to an alarming degree, which makes one feel increasingly impatient.

To see the result of one's writing quickly in print is especially rewarding when one's allotted life-span looms ever smaller. This sense of reward turned my attention to three other topics, each dealt with within less then a hundred smallish pages.

One of them, The Perennial Novelty of Jesus, has just come out, another, The Apostles' Creed: A Commentary, is being typeset, and the manuscript of still another, The Eight Beatitudes: A Commentary, has just been sent to the printer, Mr Dennis Musk, a Third-Order Lay Dominican in charge of the New Hope Publications in Kentucky, who deserves a special word of gratitude. He never showed resentment as I sent him ever new typescripts for speedy printing. But he revealed enough of the burden I have imposed on him by gently remarking to a friend of mine that Fr Jaki can ask much when he asks something apparently little. A year ago he even assumed the burden of managing Real View Books, a strictly non-profit venture, whose continued existene owes a great deal to his zeal.

Among his rewards was the experience he had on reading the typescript of my booklet "Rebuild or not to Try" about various old and recent plans to rebuild the Second Temple. Mr Musk said that he would not have given credit to the testimony of prominent pagan contemporaries, had it not been presented by Fr Jaki. The testimony was about the failure of Julian the Apostate to rebuild the Temple in 363 A.D., in order to discredit the Galilean and his disciples once and for all. The testimony includes references to strange volcanic activities (not evidenced as a rule around Jerusalem) that made shambles of the work of laying the foundations of the reconstruction to which, incidentally, Jews all over the Empire eagerly contributed.

My writing of those smaller books certainly proved the truth of Augustine's remark about his own work, namely that he progressed by writing and wrote in order to progress. This was especially true of the Perennial Novelty of Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth was surely a novelty from the viewpoint of the Old Testament, though it was full of Messianic prophecies. Yet on a close look at those prophecies one has to admit that none of them contains a clear reference to the divinity of the Messiah, although some of them forecast him as a superhuman being, necessary to bring about the defeat of all those who opposed the establishment of the Messianic kingdom, and under a strictly Jewish leadership at that. But in the context of a Testament, one of whose principal precepts was to forbid graphic representations of God, it was inconceivable that God should appear in a human body. This is what brought about the ultimate confrontation between Jesus and the Jews, against
whom Jesus had to use his miracles as his final card. He urged those who did not believe what he said about himself, to believe miracles performed in their sight.

This appeal of Jesus to deeds, obvious to the eyes as the ultimate forum of appeal, appeals to me also as an encouragement to work out a topic, which would tentatively be entitled as "the epistemology of Jesus" or perhaps "Jesus' realism." I have, of course no wish to turn Jesus into a philosopher, though he excelled infinitely all those who tried to make men love wisdom. But those who have any respect for him, let alone the respect called worship, would do well to take most seriously the fact that he wanted to be worshipped in body.

An Incarnate God, that is a God who chose to become flesh, cannot be approached by a priori notions about the manner in which He should have gone about the work of redemption. Efforts to reshape Catholic theology, which is an eminently philosophical venture, along the lines of idealism, should seem prima facie mistaken. Indeed, if the last fifty years teach anything, those efforts did not fail to be breeding places of mistakes, indeed of dangerous vagaries.

Catholic faith and its credal systematizations have always carried the stamp of a realism, which, in addition, was authoritative, a point firmly made in my The Apostles' Creed: A Commentary. Contrary to the claim made in trendy commentaries on that Creed, so fundamental in the life of the Church now for two thousand years, that Creed was not the fruit of communal deliberations, but of authoritative teaching as it came from the apostles who were sent by the Incarnate God to teach with authority. He did not instruct them in the crafty art of poll taking, which muddies nowadays the waters of everything under the sun and soils much even within the Church.

Now a few words about my latest book, The Eight Beatitudes, also a commentary, and possibly the last of such books to be written by me. As I noted above, it was in writing that book that I came across Augustine's remark about learning while writing. This is not to suggest that I have not known beforehand the otherworldly nature of those beatitudes. But in writing about them it was not possible not to feel in a sharp way that Jesus' list of the Eight Beatitudes nowhere breathes the wisdom of this world. It is not even the wisdom of the Old Testament, let alone a Talmudic wisdom as advanced "scholarship" would have it, or the wisdom of Catholic theologians who in recent decades tried to reduce the Gospel message to mere humanism.

The "Weltethik," as the ever restless Hans Kung presents it in another massive volume, is not the ethos of the Eight Beatitudes, which will stand out when all the latest infatuation with the "sin" of leaving behind carbon footprints has run its sad course as do all epidemics. Meanwhile Jesus' emphatic call for joy on account of his forms of blessedness will be echoed in countless hearts who want more joy than what blares forth from Schiller's "Ode to Joy" even though embellished by Beethoven's orchestration of it in the final movement of the Ninth Symphony.

One should go with no trace of glorification of the self in that and similar pieces of humanism to the Sanctuary of the Beatitudes that overlooks Lake Gennesaret at the spot where Jesus declared blessed the poor, the mourners, the meek, the pure of heart, and those who are persecuted for his name. He never softened those statements of his. They are ours for the taking, but we are not free to modify them, however slightly. They are perennial mirrors in which to see our true selves, so that we may always wish to improve on our miserable features.

Vast archives would not contain all the reflections of pilgrims to that hallowed place had they formulated them also in writing. And hardly any of them would be trivial. Far from trivial is the one painted on the wall of the Sanctuary, which became engraved in my mind during my visit there in 1973. Not that I could remember word for word the plain two strophes which a German pilgrim left behind there in 1959. Vague memories are not, however, to be put in books. So it seemed a sort of approval from above when a friendly surfer on the Internet found for me the exact words also in English:

"Who makes us happy, JESUS, as You? Therefore my heart rejoices in You,
JESUS, O Joy Eternal!
Kingdom of heaven shall truly begin
When we love poverty, grieve for our sin,
JESUS, O Joy Eternal!"

To savor that joy one at least has to comply with his precept that one must go forth and bear fruit. Not being able to do something better, such as nursing the sick, than writing books and essays, which a long deceased teacher of mine, who taught me philosophy sixty-five years ago, called book writing a "criminal consumption of paper," I have to continue to bear fruit along these lines. Not that I would not get grateful words from readers totally unknown, and hardly known as my readers. One of these, Pope Benedict XVI, greatly surprised me when in receiving the members of the Pontifical Academy of Science in November 2006, said to me: "Fr Jaki, I thank you for the books you write on science and religion." These words at least prove that the greater is an individual, the greater his kindness can be. Only a day before, I surprised my confrères there with a paper in which I argued that while prediction is a hallmark of exact science, the course of even
that science is not predictable.

Books have a way of spreading that cannot be foreseen. But it is wise to keep in mind what John Henry Newman wrote on a piece of paper, a copy of which has for years been kept between the monitor of my computer and its keyboard to serve as a salutary admonishment. While he hoped that his writings might do much good, he did not wish that any praise on that account should come to him while still alive. So much for the resolve to continue to work as one keeps in mind the words, "Ambulate dum lucem habetis," of the One who called himself the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

With slight modifications, the foregoing pages were dated as October 2008. Only three months later my statement that my Commentary on the Beatitudes might be the last of similar books of mine proved to be wrong. In early January 2009, the manager of Real View Books forwarded to me an e-mail from a priest in Canada. He wanted to know whether the author of The Litany of Saint Joseph: A Commentary would consider writing a similar book on the Litany of the Precious Blood. This was the first time I heard that there was such a Litany, although I knew full well of the Feast, indeed a Solemnity, of the Most Precious Blood celebrated on the first day of each July. First I thought that this was one of the dozens of litanies which popped up during post-Tridentine times. Actually its origins go back to the thirteenth century and has since taken on many forms, of which one, thoroughly revised in 1960, became the latest addition to litanies approved by the Holy See
for public use in the Church. The priest in Canada received within a day or two my assurance that I would give a serious thought to his suggestion.

The writing of a commentary on each of the Litany's twenty-four invocations presented little problem and indeed offered most welcome opportunities as it immersed my mind in topics most spiritual. More problematic was to find sufficient material about the history of the Litany to be dealt with in the introduction.

Fortunately I had to be in Rome in March 2009 for delivering a series of lectures (more on them later), I could plan on getting proper information from the central offices of the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood. In that expectation of mine I was not disappointed. They provided me with the best published material on the history of the Litany and also on the life and work of their founder, Saint Caspar del Bufalo, a most zealous promoter of the devotion to the Most Precious Blood. He was also a chief missionary in the Pontifical States during the 1820s and 1830s, a mission land in those years.

In short, the typescript of the commentary on the Litany was essentially ready by the end of March 2009 and joined the list of minor works of mine that had been completed and in part pubished by then.

First to mention is What is the Mass? I wrote it to allay the bewilderment of a dear old friend of mine, a radiologist. Like many others he too felt that the celebration of the Mass in the vernacular could readily deprive it of its sacred character. Since I have already written a booklet Why the Mass? it took some effort not to repeat what I have already offered there. I was greatly helped by a material which was available on line and also in a booklet. The author of the second was Cecil Humphery Smith, an English convert, who in the early 1950s was miraculously cured by Padre Pio and eventually became one of his close confidants. In fact Padre Pio alloed him to share in the agonizing pains he felt each time as he came to the words of consecration when celebrating the Mass.

The prompting to write a booklet on the tilma that made Guadalupe the most famous Marian srine in the Church came when I could join two friends of mine from Madrid in the last days of January 2009 at Anahuac University in Mexico City for a conference. I offered the organizers various topics but when I mentioned Darwin, it was immediately resolved that I should speak on what I had already presented in early November 2008 at the Plenary Meeting of the Pontifical University. My topic was "Evolution as Science and Ideology." As a science, I argued, Darwin's theory is the only scientific approach to the vast sequence of living beings because its two pillars, the difference between parents and offspring can be measured as well as the impact of the environment on that difference. But since neither of those pillars have been quantitatively established with sufficient precision, Darwinaism as science remains an incomplete, a point which drives Darwinists mad. As
for Darinism as an ideology it is materialism at its worst. Evolutionary theists still should see these points in their true weight.

At that meeting of the Pontifical Academy, Prof. Ceuppens, director of the Musée de l'Homme in Paris, gave a talk on man's hominid ancestors. His presentation made clear that homo sapiens sapiens may be of very recent origin, possibly not older than 20,000 years. If this is the case, it is possible, so that idea came to me, to refocus on the biblical account on the origin of mankind from Adam and Eve as placed, after having been created in full maturity, in the Garden of Eden.

The working out of this perspective appeared in The Garden of Eden: Why, Where, When, How Long? In that booklet I elaborated on the biblical story as a creditable position against polygenism. The story, as I insist throughout, is steepd in man's moral destiny, which, and this cannot be emphasized enough, cannot be an object of evolutionary science. Further, I also insist that humanness does not have its first evidence in the paintings of Lascaux and other prehistoric caves. Art is surely a signature of man, as put concisely by Chesteron, but it it is another matter, pace Chesterton, whether those paintings are truly a form of art which man alone is capable of producing. The indisputable signature of man is language, the very tool abused in the effort to make man appear to be just an animal. The chief practitioners of those efforts should remind themselves that present-day theories about the origin of language beg the question as much as they did when a
century and a half ago the Academie des Sciences in Paris decided not to consider any further paper on the subject.

As I reflected on man's creation as given in the Bible, I was struck by a little detail there, which, I believe, has not so far been noticed. As he walks in the Garden of Eden, Adam observes that the trees forming it are surrounded by a steppe. This indicates that the Garden of Eden was small in extension. And if we consider the story's deeply moral persepective, the drama described there did not have to take up more than the hours that stretch from mid-morning till mid-afternoon. However that may be, writing on that story made me learn a great deal just as in order to learn one does well to write. Augustine of Hippo said this in his Homilies on the Eight Beatitudes.

But back to my going to Anahuac, which gave me the opportunity spend some time in the Archives and Library of the Sanctuary of Guadalupe. For no sooner than I had heard of the conference in Anahuac, I knew that I can gather the material for a booklet I have planned to write for some time since I gave a conference in Monterey, Mexico. My hosts, as I said earlier, gladly acceded to my request that in return they fly me down for a day to Mexico City. I did not suspect than that I would eventually be there again. In a feverish haste I put together a booklet of 32 pp in defense of the miracle of the tilma. But by the time my second visit there was over I hit upon an aspect of the story which would save my presentation of it from being a rehearsal of other works. The new aspect is the contrast between the frame of mind of the Apparitionists and the anti-Apparitionists. This difference determines their respective appreciation of facts and documents. The average
educated Apparitionist still has to make much of some indisputable facts, such as the stunning survival value of the tilma's textile, made of agaye cactus, and the unexpected emergence of Codex 1548. The scholars among the anti-Apparitionist systematically underplay all such evidence and at times shove it under the rug. So much about The Drama of Guadalupe. It provides a new chapter to the old story that in reference to miracles there is an ongoing drama on the purely intellectual level as well.

Readers of my books may now think that in these last years my attention has considerably shifted toward the religious or theological side. They should not rush to such a conclusion. I gladly seized on the opportunity to give a series of lectures on markedly scientific subjects. A case in point is the series of eight lectures under the general title, "The Mirage of Conflict between Science and Religion," I am giving at the Pontifical Ateneo Regina Apostolorum as these lines are written, the second half of March 2009. After its publication I plan to put together a set of eight lectures on "Apologetics in an Age of Science." Faxit Deus.

—Father Stanley Jaki, OSB, Budapest

"Inside the Vatican is a magazine I read cover to cover. I find it balanced and informative. I especially appreciate its coverage of art and architecture. It is not only an important magazine, it is also a beautiful one.” —Prof. Mary Ann Glendon, Harvard University Law School, former United States Ambassador to the Holy See

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John 9:13 and The Blind Spot

2009-04-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

'Neither he nor his parents sinned,' Jesus answered, 'he was born blind so that the works of God might be revealed in him.

John 9:13

-- THE BLIND SPOT --

Jesus again placed his hands on the man's eyes. This time... he saw
everything clearly. – Mark 8:24-25

Reflection: During my college days, our professor in Psychology
required us to experiment on discovering our blindspots. Blindspots
are the natural limitations of our sense of sight. It is the area
that we can't see but through the help of our other eye, that blind
spot can be reduced.

Jesus in this reading helped the blind man by restoring the sense of
sight that he lost. This restoration is not just about the Physical
restoration of his sense of sight but of his spritual blindness. We
may be able to have a 20 20 vision but certain impediments like sin,
pride, envy, hatred, pass hurts and so on can well blind our hearts,
blind our determination and blind us from seeing the beautiful things
that are happening or just happened and so on.
Jesus also showed the caring side of him by pulling the blind man
aside and healed him. Maybe Jesus was to pull us aside and heal us as
well. It is the personal space that Jesus is giving us. Maybe He
doesn't want to heal him in crowded and noisy place and gave him the
time and space just between the two of them for his words to be heard
clearly by him.

Our blindspot can also be reduced by allowing other's sight to
enlighten and expand our view. We also need other people's honest
comments and suggestions for us to be the better person that we need
to become.

Patron Saints Lucy and Jerome

2009-04-11T15:01:00.000-07:00

1. St Lucy, Patron Saint of the Blind

2. St Jerome Emiliani, Patron Saint of the Orphans, the Abandoned

Creighton University - An Online Retreat

2009-04-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

An Online Retreat
A 34 week retreat for Everyday Life
A Ministry of the Collaborative Ministry Office at Creighton University.

http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/cmo-retreat.html

Philippine Jesuits

2009-04-09T13:18:00.000-07:00

Philippine Jesuits

Online/Virtual Retreat

MANILA, Philippines--Laypersons from the Philippine Jesuits organization are hoping to reach out to people during the Lenten season using the Internet.

Starting last Wednesday (April 8), the official blog of the Jesuits here started a series of online activities called “The Silences of Lent,” which the organization started promoting during the last week of March.
The site is for Catholics who want to continue practicing certain Lenten activities but are at home.

In their blog’s opening essay, people who are at home with Internet connections are encouraged to set aside about 45 minutes anytime during Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Black Saturday.

The online Lenten retreat starts off with a “preparation” for persons to reflect upon themselves. Prayer videos and PowerPoint “prayers” are embedded in subsequent pages.

Visitors are treated to different series of pictures, text and embedded photos and video clips as they move forward in their online retreat.

Apart from busy people, the online Lenten retreat is also for old or sick people who are also wishing to attend processions of the Stations of the Cross. Each of the virtual stations has corresponding video clips, photos and text prayers.

The Stations of the Cross is a widely practiced tradition wherein devotees would walk for long distances and stopping to pray on preset locations representing the 14 events that led to Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and death.

Another virtual activity in the Philippine Jesuit site is an online Visita Iglesia (Church visit). It is also a widely practiced activity to visit several churches in the Philippines.

Among the churches described in the online Visita Iglesia are Quiapo Church , the Benedictine Monastery of Transfiguration in Bukidnon, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Antipolo and the Baclaran Church.

Counsels for the Holy Week

2009-04-09T02:47:00.000-07:00

Reminders from Carlos Palad :

As the Sacred Triduum begins, I would like to forward to you, my
friends, the following counsels.

1) It is better to attend the liturgical actions of the Sacred Triduum than to go on pilgrimage to various churches. The ideal is to be able to do both, but if one must choose between attending the liturgical actions of these holiest days, and going on Visita Iglesia, the former is the better choice. The sacred liturgy is the official
worship of the Church and is far superior and more pleasing to God than our private devotions, and it is through the liturgy that we enter upon the spirit of the season. If our goal in these holiest days is to be more conformed to Christ, then what better way to do so than to attend the liturgy and receive the Eucharist, by which our union to the Body of Christ is made more intense and complete?

By the way, the “Siete Palabras” is NOT a liturgical service, but a merely devotional one. If you have to choose between that and the Veneration of the Cross and Communion, please prefer the Veneration of the Cross and Communion.

2)When you go to confession and the priest does not mention the words of absolution when “absolving” you, gently but firmly insist that he recite at least the basic words of absolution (“I absolve you from your sins”). It is my personal experience that some priests use invalid formulae when giving sacramental absolution especially when there are many people, and since it is our spiritual welfare and salvation as Christ’s faithful that is endangered by this practice (which renders confession invalid), it is our duty to protest (but with charity). If the priest does not give you valid absolution, then you should repeat your confession to another priest. Remember: your eternal salvation might be at stake. God forbid that anyone who has
something serious in his conscience should die after an invalid confession.

3)The Visita Iglesia is a much-misunderstood practice. It originated with Catholics visiting seven churches on Maundy Thursday to adore the Blessed Sacrament in the “altars of repose”. Traditionally, the number seven comes form the fact that, as of the year 1900, there were seven major churches in Intramuros – San Agustin Augustinians), San Nicolas (Recoletos), San Ignacio (Jesuits), Santo Domingo (Dominicans), Nuestra Senora de Lourdes (Capuchins), San Francisco (Franciscans) and Manila Cathedral.

Obviously, the ideal time for Visita Iglesia is Maundy Thursday evening. If the Visita Iglesia is done this evening, then the focus should be on the Eucharist – after all, the Eucharist is especially placed in altars of repose during Maundy Thursday precisely so we will adore the Blessed Sacrament. If the Visita Iglesia is done on Good Friday morning (which is also possible), the Way of the Cross is more
appropriate. In our devotions, let us not forget the meaning of the day and the mysteries of Christ commemorated on that day.

4)There is no substitute for fasting and abstinence on Good Friday, not even self-flagellation, rolling on the ground, having oneself literally crucified or walking in procession barefoot. God desires our obedience, not our self-willed penances. Other penances may be substituted for abstinence on the Fridays of Lent, but Good Friday is different, it and Ash Wednesday being the days of penance par excellence. Fasting means eating only one full meal a day (which itself should not equal more than one normal full meal – some people eat enough for three meals during this ‘one full meal’!), and two meals that do not equal a full meal, plus no snacks or merienda (although energy drinks, juices, coffee, chocolate and milk are fine).
Abstinence means not eating meat – and that includes white meat or chicken meat (some people rationalize that meat refers only to red meat, or beef and pork).

Some people insist on snacking or eating meat because “it is so tiring to go on Visita Iglesia” during Good Friday. This rationalization begs the question: why go on “Visita Iglesia” only to use it as a reason not to practice penance? What is more important: to practice the little penance and self-denial that the Church asks us to do, or to go on “spiritual tourism”, eating and drinking to our heart’s content
while hopping from one church to another?

Good Friday is a time for us to think of Christ crucified, not to use Christ as an excuse for our own little pleasures. At present, the Church requires Filipino Catholics to fast and abstain for only two days of the year. Is this too much? Is Christ so distant from our hearts that we cannot even bear to offer these little sacrifices to him? Then why even observe Holy Week? Without the spirit of penance,
our Holy Week traditions are meaningless.

5)God is NOT DEAD on Good Friday and Black Saturday. When you hear someone make this claim (especially in and around Quiapo), explain to that person that Christ our God died once, but that He arose from the dead and is forever glorified in heaven. Holy water also doesn’t lose its holiness on Good Friday afternoon. If you buy amulets or practice black magic on Good Friday and Black Saturday as God won’t see your deeds because He is dead, rest assured that God knows what you are doing and will hold you to account for it.

6)Holy Saturday is not an excuse to go back to our sinful lives. Many malls and TV channels “go back to the usual programming” on this day. This is not commendable. We are supposed to be doing two things on Holy Saturday: mourn Christ, who was crucified by our sins, and prepare for the joy of Pascha (Easter). Traditionally, Catholics practiced fasting on Holy Saturday, although it is no longer required
by Church law. Easter Sunday is the time for rejoicing, but so that our rejoicing with the Risen Lord will be complete, we must also seek to understand the bitterness of His Passion. For this, Holy Saturday is the perfect time.

Perhaps it does not help that since 1970, the ancient liturgical and devotional traditions of Holy Saturday have been laid aside and forgotten (even though they were never abolished by the Church). It is my prayerful hope that the day will come when such beautiful practices as Tenebrae, the “Mater Dolorosa” sermon and many others will be revived in our parishes and cathedrals to sanctify this day once more.
Perhaps the “Soledad or Desolata Procession”, still practiced late at night on Good Friday in a few parishes, could be revived as well and done on Holy Saturday morning, in order to prevent Holy Saturday from turning into a vacuum of idleness.

7)The greatest and most important liturgical celebration of the Sacred Triduum, and of the entire liturgical year, is the Paschal or Easter Vigil. Please make the effort to attend every year or at least once every few years. Yes, it is very long (3-4 hours, depending on the musical settings used and the number of people baptized or confirmed), but it is truly worthwhile. After all, the season is about Christ’s triumph over death. Why observe the triumph, only to be absent from the victory celebration?

8)Many priests give their all during Holy Week. Please go out of your way to commend your parish priest once Holy Week is over. I know of priests who weep with joy when they see a lot of people attending the services of the Triduum – it shows just how much the Triduum means to them.

The Fire Within

2009-04-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

Whenever it's Palm Sunday, all I could think of is "palaspas" or palm fronds and hands waving, being blessed with holy water. A "palaspas" oftentimes reminds me of evil spirits, manananggal, and other underground characters. Blame the media because it inculcated in me that idea since childhood.

Last sunday, the Lord allowed me to "reexperience" His presence. We were invited to be one of the "stations" (I mean our house where there is a small terrace) where our parish priest would make a stopover and bless the palm leaves/fronds. It was the first time that such an activity happened. And so there was a choir and a group of "angels", played by small girls, all dressed in white, singing together, reenacting the welcoming of Christ entering Jerusalem.

When the statue of Christ, staged in a carroza or a small, well-adorned cart, surrounded and followed by a small crowd with bright smiling faces of co-villagers, arrived in front of our house, a surge of electricity thrilled me. It was a life-size Christ-figure, looking at our house. Even if it's just a statue, it meant a lot. I felt He was knocking, smiling and reaching out to us. It was a reinvigorating experience, rekindling the fire within.

Today is Maundy Thursday. More than commemorating the Washing of the Feet, The Seven Last Words and other Church-activities, amidst adversities, crises, dilemmas and other headaches, as long the heart and mind are open, He is always alive and burning.

On St Joseph

2009-03-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

From AmericanCatholic's Saint of the Day:

he Bible pays Joseph the highest compliment: he was a just man. The quality meant a lot more than faithfulness in paying debts.

When the Bible speaks of God justifying someone, it means that God, the all-holy or righteous One, so transforms a person that the individual shares somehow in Gods own holiness, and hence it is really right for God to love him or her. In other words, God is not playing games, acting as if we were lovable when we are not.

By saying Joseph was just, the Bible means that he was one who was completely open to all that God wanted to do for him. He became holy by opening himself totally to God.

The rest we can easily surmise. Think of the kind of love with which he wooed and won Mary, and the depth of the love they shared during their marriage.

It is no contradiction of Josephs manly holiness that he decided to divorce Mary when she was found to be with child. The important words of the Bible are that he planned to do this quietly because he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame (Matthew 1:19).

The just man was simply, joyfully, wholeheartedly obedient to Godin marrying Mary, in naming Jesus, in shepherding the precious pair to Egypt, in bringing them to Nazareth, in the undetermined number of years of quiet faith and courage.

Comment:

The Bible tells us nothing of Joseph in the years after the return to Nazareth except the incident of finding Jesus in the Temple (see Luke 2:41–51). Perhaps this can be taken to mean that God wants us to realize that the holiest family was like every other family, that the circumstances of life for the holiest family were like those of every family, so that when Jesus mysterious nature began to appear, people couldnt believe that he came from such humble beginnings: Is he not the carpenters son? Is not his mother named Mary...? (Matthew 13:55a). It was almost as indignant as Can anything good come from Nazareth? (John 1:46b).

Quote:

He was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, namely, his divine Son and Mary, Josephs wife. He carried out this vocation with complete fidelity until at last God called him, saying: Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord (St. Bernardine of Siena).

(This entry appears in the print edition of Saint of the Day.)

---

From Opus Dei :

March 19, 2009
“Get to know Joseph and you will find Jesus”
Love Saint Joseph a lot. Love him with all your soul, because he, together with Jesus, is the person who has most loved our Blessed Lady and been closest to God. He is the person who has most loved God, after our Mother. He deserves your affection, and it will do you good to get to know him, because he is the Master of the interior life, and has great power before the Lord and before the Mother of God. (The Forge, 554)

In human life, Joseph was Jesus’ master in their daily contact, full of refined affection, glad to deny himself to take better care of Jesus. Isn’t that reason enough for us to consider this just man, this holy patriarch, in whom the faith of the old covenant bears fruit, as a master of interior life? Interior life is nothing but continual and direct conversation with Christ, so as to become one with him. And Joseph can tell us many things about Jesus. Therefore, never neglect devotion to him — Ite ad Ioseph: “Go to Joseph” — as christian tradition puts it in the words of the Old Testament.

A master of interior life, a worker deeply involved in his job, God’s servant in continual contact with Jesus: that is Joseph. Ite ad Ioseph. With St Joseph, the Christian learns what it means to belong to God and fully to assume one’s place among men, sanctifying the world. Get to know Joseph and you will find Jesus. Talk to Joseph and you will find Mary, who always sheds peace about her in that attractive workshop in Nazareth. (Christ is passing by, 56)

The whole Church recognizes St Joseph as a patron and guardian. For centuries many different features of his life have caught the attention of believers. He was a man ever faithful to the mission God gave him. That is why, for many years now, I have liked to address him affectionately as “our father and lord.”

St Joseph really is a father and lord. He protects those who revere him and accompanies them on their journey through this life — just as he protected and accompanied Jesus when he was growing up. (Christ is passing by, 39) [Top]

http://www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=12802

Essays in Theology

2009-03-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

Essays in Theology

Dying, rising with Christ

2009-03-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

thanks to Prinz Luv of Katoliko. I'm copying/pasting his post in the group:

Dying, rising with Christ
Written by Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, S.J.,

Views : 28

Paul’s second epistle to the Corinthians dwells repeatedly on the threat of suffering and imminence of death in the apostle’s life and, by extension, in that of the Christian believer.

While complex — and perhaps an amalgamation of several shorter messages — in its present form, it is a letter of consolation that illustrates how the dying and rising of Christ is mysteriously at work in the inner being of each Christian (2 Corinthians 1:3-7).

When Paul was rescued by Christ from almost certain death (1:8-11), he experienced a foretaste of the victory God would one day give him through the coming resurrection.

Paul says he once regarded Jesus only “from a human point of view.” Now, however, after many encounters with the Risen Christ he has experienced the new way of life that faith makes possible. The only way to describe this new reality is by such a formula as “a new creation.” “Everything old,” Paul declared, “has passed away; see everything has become new” (5:16-17).

This changes not only one’s perception, but one’s behaviour; so that disciples “might live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died and was raised for them” (5:14-15).

Paul summed up Jesus’ sympathy for human frailty and incomprehension in a paradox expressing the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ’s incarnation: “though He was rich (in divine status), yet for your sakes He became poor (in entering the human condition), so that by His poverty you might become rich” (8:9).

Something that has fascinated Christians over the centuries is the meaning of an affliction Paul referred to near the conclusion of Second Corinthians (11:16-12:10).

While speaking of mystical graces accorded him by God (“a person in Christ who 14 years ago was caught up to the third heaven”), Paul went on to say that to keep him from being too elated “a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me” (12:7).

Commentators have speculated on the nature of Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” Identifications of it range from a bodily ailment (epilepsy, migraine, malaria, ophthalmia, a speech impediment) to something mental (bouts of depression, an experience of despair) or even spiritual (a temptation of some kind). Some focus on the term “messenger of Satan” and surmise Paul meant his persecutors or Christians who regarded him as a heretic. Whatever it was, the thorn in Paul’s flesh seems to have begun around the time of his visionary experience and continued up to the time of his writing this letter. Perhaps he needed to be brought down to Earth after his “rapture” (12:1-6).

Paul, however, did not see it that way. So, he three times prayed to be relieved of what humiliated him and seemed to interfere with the effectiveness of his ministry. The answer to Paul’s prayer taught him that the same God who had given him the spiritual experience had also given him the thorn.

Paul knew that many Corinthians — like others in the ancient world and even some people today — expected their religious leaders to have visions and revelations, tokens of God’s blessing. With this expectation, the Corinthians probably did not think visionaries would also be humbled by some affliction, an experience that we may characterize as the shame of the Cross.

Paul received his vision and revelations in the third or highest heaven, sometimes called Paradise. Paul did nothing to bring about such a mystical experience. Rather, it was given him by God. Nor would Paul permit himself to speak boastfully about it. For he had “heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat” (12:4).

Paul’s mystical journey came about entirely by God’s grace. Remarkably, the thorn in his flesh occasioned another revelation. In reply to Paul’s prayer, “the Lord” — doubtless this refers to Jesus — taught Paul a profound lesson, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” (12:8-9).

Paul could have learned many lessons from suffering: that, borne patiently, suffering produces strength of character or that within oneself one may find inner resources to endure those afflictions that come with life. Instead, however, Paul was invited to look beyond himself and to see God’s power at work in the weakness of his human condition.

Not knowing precisely what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was, Christians in every era can identify with Paul’s frustration and need of divine assistance as they face their own experience of an unwanted “thorn in the flesh.” Likewise, disciples find themselves invited to make Paul’s conclusion their own, “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me” (12:9). Thus, God’s grace enables many in every age to conclude with Paul and proclaim, “whenever I am weak, then I am strong” (12:10).

Fr LEO NILO C. MANGUSSAD

2008-12-26T18:07:00.000-08:00

MANGUSSAD, FR. LEO NILO C.

Rector
Mary Queen of Peace Shrine (EDSA SHRINE)
EDSA cor. Ortigas Ave., QC
Telefax: 631-5734; 635-5881

Fr. Leo Nilo C. Mangussad -
Magister in Sacred Music
Institute of Sacred Music, Rome.

Parish Directory

2008-12-21T21:58:00.000-08:00

When One Sings, He Prays Twice... What does St Augustine Really Mean

2008-11-15T16:06:00.000-08:00

The quote which St. Augustine actually said was:

"For he that singeth praise, not only praiseth, but only praiseth with gladness: he that singeth praise, not only singeth, but also loveth him of whom he singeth. In praise, there is the speaking forth of one confessing; in singing, the affection of one loving."
(St. Augustine, Commentary on Psalm 73, 1)

Apparently this has been abridged to "He who sings prays twice" over the centuries.

FROM: http://www.saint-mike.org/apologetics/qa/answers/church_history/h020303Parise.html

Also in more detail: http://wdtprs.com/blog/2006/02/20/

Twin Hearts and Immaculate Concepcion

2008-10-27T17:55:00.000-07:00

PARISH OF THE HEARTS OF JESUS AND MARY

ADDRESS: Daily Mirror St. cor. Bulletin St., West Triangle, Quezon City
CONTACT NUMBERS: Office:371-9102 / Convent:372-1097
DATE OF ESTABLISHMENT: January 4, 1988
FEAST DAY: Movable Feast of the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart
TITULAR: Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary
BOUNDARIES:
West Ave. from Delta Bldg. To Examiner St. Quezon Ave. from NSO Edsa, to Delta Bldg.

PASTORS:
Rev. Fr. Rio G. Evangelista (1988-2000)
Rev. Fr. Joselito R. Martin (2000-2002)
Rev. Fr. Jose S. Tupino, III (2002-2006)
Fr. Ariston L. Sison, Jr. (2006-present)

SCHEDULE OF MASSES:
Monday-Thursday: 6:30 am, 6:00 pm
Friday: 6:30 am, 12:15 pm, 6:00 pm
Saturday: 6:30 am, 6:00 pm, 7:15 pm
Sunday: 6:00 am, 7:30 am, 9:00 am, 10:15 am, 11:30 am, 6:00 pm, 7:15 pm

=======

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CATHEDRAL

ADDRESS: #39 Lantana St., Cubao, Quezon City
CONTACT NUMBERS: (02) 721-8382, (02) 721-6633
DATE OF ESTABLISHMENT: July 15, 1950
FEAST DAY: December 8
TITULAR: Immaculate Conception
BOUNDARIES:
EDSA Crame - EDSA Ermin Garcia

PASTORS:
Fr. Juan Simon, SVD (1950-1954)
Fr. Alois Vogel, SVD (1955)
Fr. Benito Rixner, SVD (1956-1958)
Fr. Anselmo Bustos (1959-1962)
Fr. Jose Lazo, SVD (1963)
Fr. John Sleumer, SVD (1964)
Fr. Francis Kutscher, SVD (1965-1970)
Fr. George Harwardt, SVD (1971-1979)
Fr. Liberato Fernandez, SVD (1980-1990)
Msgr. Reynaldo Celso (1990-2000)
Msgr. Daniel Sta. Maria (2000-2006)
Msgr. Alfonso A. Bugaoan, Jr. (2006-present)

SCHEDULE OF MASSES:
Sundays: 6:00 am, 7:15 am, 8:30 am, 9:45 am, 11:00 am, 12:15 pm, 3:30 pm, 4:45 pm, 6:00 pm, 7:15 pm
Mon-Fri: 5:30 am, 6:00 am, 7:00 am, 6:00 pm
Sat: 5:30 am, 6:00 am, 7:00 am, 5:30 pm

Our Lady of Pentecost Church

2008-10-25T15:20:00.001-07:00

Our Lady of Pentecost

This church is not really along Katipunan Avenue but this is one frequented by most residents and students near the Miriam and Ateneo campuses.

Mass Schedule:

Mon to Fri - 6:30 am, 6:30 pm
Sat - 6:30 am, 5:30 pm, 7 pm
Sundays
6:30 am, 8 am, 9:30 am
12 nn, 4 pm, 5:30 pm, 7 pm

Pastor: FR. JOSE (Bong) S. TUPINO, III
Our Lady of Pentecost Parish
12 F. Dela Rosa cor. C. Salvador St.,
Loyola Heights, Quezon City
Tel: (02) 434-2397
Telefax: (02) 929-0665

Diocese of Cubao

2008-10-13T22:22:00.000-07:00

Diocese of Cubao

Quotes from St Augustine

2008-10-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

I was thinking along "understanding, faith, paradox, contradictions" and was in the middle of writing an essay about it when I stumbled upon this quote from a blog site which coincides with my present state of mind. Wow.

"Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. Unless you believe, you will not understand."
- St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD)
(from carla fabiana

and

"Qui enim cantat laudem, non solum laudat, sed etiam hilariter laudat; qui cantat laudem, non solum cantat, sed et amat eum quem cantat. In laude confitentis est praedicatio, in cantico amantis affectio..."
(For he who sings praise, does not only praise, but also praises joyfully; he who sings praise, not only sings, but also loves Him whom he is singing about/to/for. There is a praise-filled public proclamation (praedicatio) in the praise of someone who is confessing/acknowledging (God), in the song of the lover (there is) love.)
(from Fr Z's site )

Wrong Turn : The Purpose Driven Life gives Bad Directions

2008-10-12T17:18:00.001-07:00

Link

La Naval de Manila

2008-10-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

La Naval De Manila - Despedida la Virgen

SONGS for La Naval:
Rex Sanchez's list

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La
Naval book is a multifaceted feast

'La Naval' book is a multi-faceted feast

By Ophelia A. Dimalanta
Contributor
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Posted date: October 06, 2008

MANILA, Philippines - This fabulous book, "The Saga of La Naval: Triumph of a People's Faith" (published by the Dominican Province of the Philippines, 357 pages, 2007), boasts of a working committee and editorial staff made up of some of the best historians, theologians, scholars and writers of the country.
It is "a systematic insightful tour of the byways and alleys of Philippine culture and history," quoting its editor, Lito B. Zulueta (who is an editor of this paper-Ed.).

While some essays are pure scholarly informative products of research, a number of them are creative nonfictional pieces of a superior level.

Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, OP, rector magnificus of the University of Sto. Tomas, brilliant writer and perceptive historian/scholar, meaningfully comments in his "La Naval: A Legacy of Faith and Heroism": "...we have a crisis of heroism but . . . with the miraculous intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary of La Naval, heroism will never die among us."

Florentino Hornedo punctuates historical information with exciting narrative accounts of the naval battles between the Spanish-Philippine defenders and the invading Dutch fleet, the battles ending in a victory for the poorly armed defenders and heralding the devotion to Our Lady of the Rosary of La Naval in Sto. Domingo Church.

The different images of the Santissimo Rosario provide Regalado Trota José with an interesting subject in his "Image Biography of Our Lady of the Rosary." He describes with meticulous attention to detail the Blessed Mother's typical poses, dress accessories, interspersing description with accounts of war. He also writes about the iconography of the Dominican saints in the traditional procession of La Naval.

Fr. Roland D. Mactal, OP, writes glowingly about Mary in the hearts of Filipinos. Quite importantly as well, he comments on the anthropological and social dimensions of Marian devotion in our country.

Fr. Isidro C. Abaño, OP, secretary-general of UST and director of its museum, speaks of "divine inspiration" as the sine qua non of sacred art.
"We should be ready to take the leap from the merely aesthetic to the theological level in regarding the features of our Lady's visage."
The state of the art in religious imagery is so detailed no mere review can come close to a comprehensive exegesis of Abaño's piece and the other pieces as well. Interesting to note is his perceptive conjecture that the Marian image bears the reflection of St. Thomas Aquinas' "Summa Theologica."

Ramon Villegas, in his account of the Virgin's jewels, notes that the jewelry of Our Lady and the Infant Jesus attracted not only devotion but greed and acts of defilement as well.

Maria Angelita R. Reyes' piece is about her mother Carmen Reyes, "the favored daughter" for having the privilege of being the camarera (custodian) of La Naval.

José Victor Torres writes about the life of a walled city, "Intramuros," with the skill of a scholar, historian and literary writer. He stresses the fact that Intramuros, once a dead city and finally restored, lives on as a symbol of our history and rich heritage.

Santo Domingo Church

Romeo Galang gives a history of the Sto. Domingo Church in Intramuros; the earthquake in 1599 that destroyed its artistic woodworks; the fire sweeping the city in 1603; and the eventual rise from its ruins in a series of renovations, climaxed by another fire during the war in 1941. He writes that some relics, holdings, archives, as well as the image of the Blessed Virgin were kept safe, "testimony of the faith of the brothers."

Architectural historian Manuel L. Noche writes also about Sto. Domingo Church, but this time as relocated in Sta. Mesa Heights, Quezon City, imposing in its "towering proportions and scale," becoming not only a shrine of the Lady but "the spiritual home of a community."

Fr. Rolando de Castro, OP, continues the narrative/descriptive thread by writing about Museo de Sto. Domingo, and Maria Lourdes Z. Banson writes about the builder of "the biggest church in Quezon City" - her dad, architect José Ma. Zaragoza,

Father De la Rosa's "Our Lady's Rosary (People's Prayer Across the Centuries)" is a history of the Rosary devotion, said to have been given by Our Lady herself to St. Dominic.

Fr. Lucio Gutierrez, OP, gives inspired and scholarly account of the Dominican missions in the country, which were instrumental in spreading the Rosary devotion.

More scholarship and historical information fortify the piece of Fr. Fidel Villarroel, OP, as he describes the missionary zeal with which the Dominicans fulfilled their task amid persecutions in Japan and elsewhere. In Japan, the Dominicans tried to spread the faith, accompanied by a layman, Lorenzo Ruiz, whose glorious martyrdom made him the Filipino protomartyr and saint.

UST Conservatory of Music professor and musicologist Julie Ann Hallazgo writes about the hymns in the La Naval repertory, especially about the two that have survived through the turmoils of war-"Regina Sacratissmi Rosarie" by Laetano Capocci, and "Despedida" by Hernandez, beautifully described by Nick Joaquin as "evoking an atmosphere of unthinkable excitement and vague joyousness."
Meanwhile, Eugene de los Santos writes about the Tiples de Sto. Domingo, "Our Lady's Choirboys."

Canonical coronation
Unquestionably, the spectacular canonical coronation of Our Lady of the Rosary in 1907 is considered one of the most significant events of the first decade of the 20th century, so writes UST history professor Eloisa Parco de Castro.
With historical and scholarly zeal, she pursues the recording of similar events and conflicts, the tale of "Three Cardinals," the canonical coronation itself, controversies that were not to be resolved until much later, ending in the Virgin's triumph and the Dominicans' vindication.

Pampanga history interlaced with interesting stories of local celebrations of La Naval is rendered by Erlita P. Mendoza.

In his essay on National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin, "Our Lady's Minstrel," Zulueta describes Joaquin's famous essay on La Naval as "robustly Rabelaisian, gargantuan in its literary significance, at the same time essentially theological, irenic and yet polemic."
Joaquin, supreme writer of prose and poetry, immortalized the Virgin's myths through his legends about the dying wanton and the Virgin's jewels, La Naval being Nick Joaquin's muse. Ultimate gesture of homage and devotion was his offering of his National Artist medallion to Our Lady at his deathbed. The medallion now graces the foot of La Naval.
A photographic survey of memorabilia, an extensive endnotes and bibliography, and and a comprehensive index close the book-the book is, in fact, a visual, intellectual and devotional feast from start to finish.

It is, indeed, one precious compendium of history, theology, culture, lore and much more. All the essays throb with meaning, gathered with loving care and attention to present more than history, scholarly studies, Marian accounts, verbal rituals.

More importantly, it is an expression of a "people's faith and hope, indefinable but ever present, ever clear, ever there," quoting the editor. Any reader ends up not only enjoying every page, feasting on the visuals, but also going through his own uplifting spiritual pilgrimage.

"The Saga of La Naval: Triumph of a People's Faith" is available at Bestsellers in Robinsons Galeria and other bookstores. Call 7126271-74 for book orders and information on the La Naval feast this month.

****************

Lito Zulueta's History of Sto Domingo

Real Presence of Christ

2006-07-20T15:06:00.000-07:00

The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist by Frank J. Sheed

The Blessed Eucharist is the Sacrament. Baptism exists for it, all the others are enriched by it. The whole being is nourished by it. It is precisely food, which explains why it is the one sacrament meant to be received daily. Without it, one petition in the Our Father-"Give us
this day our daily bread"-lacks the fullness of its meaning.

Early in his ministry, as St. John tells us (ch 6), Our Lord gave the first promise of it. He had just worked what is probably the most famous of his miracles, the feeding of the five thousand. The next day, in the synagogue at Capernaum on the shore of the sea of Galilee,

Our Lord made a speech which should be read and reread. Here we quote a few phrases: "I am the Bread of Life"; "I am the Living Bread, which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give, is my flesh for the life of the world"; "He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, abides in me, and I in him"; "He that eats me shall live by me."

He saw that many of his own disciples were horrified at what he was saying. He went on: "It is the spirit that quickens: the flesh profits nothing." We know what he meant: in saying they must eat his flesh, he did not mean dead flesh but his body with the life in it, with the living soul in it. In some way he himself, living, was to be the food of their soul's life. Needless to say, all this meant nothing whatever to those who heard it first. For many, it was the end of discipleship.
They simply left him, probably thinking that for a man to talk of giving them his flesh to eat was mere insanity. When he asked the Apostles if they would go too, Peter gave him one of the most moving answers in all man's history: "Lord, to whom shall we go?" He had not the faintest idea of what it all meant; but he had a total belief in the Master he had chosen and simply hoped that some day it would be made plain.

There is no hint that Our Lord ever raised the matter again until the Last Supper. Then his meaning was most marvellously made plain. What he said and did then is told us by Matthew, Mark, and Luke; and St. Paul tells it to the Corinthians (1 Cor 10 and 11). St. John, who gives the longest account of the Last Supper, does not mention the institution of the Blessed Eucharist; his Gospel was written perhaps thirty years after the others, to be read in a church which had been
receiving Our Lord's body and blood for some sixty years. What he had provided is the account we have just been considering of Our Lord's first promise.

Here is St. Matthew's account of the establishment: "Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to his disciples, and said, Take ye and eat: This is my body. And taking the chalice he gave thanks: and gave to them, saying: Drink ye all of this. For this is my blood of the New Testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins."

Since they deal with the food of our life, we must examine these words closely. What we are about to say of "This is my body" will do for "This is my blood" too. The word is need not detain us. There are those, bent upon escaping the plain meaning of the words used, who say that the phrase really means "This represents my body." It sounds very close to desperation! No competent speaker would ever talk like that, least of all Our Lord, least of all then. The word this, deserves a closer look. Had he said, "Here is my body," he might have meant that,
in some mysterious way, his body was there as well as, along with, the bread which seems so plainly to be there. But he said, "This is my body"-this which I am holding, this which looks like bread but is not, this which was bread before I blessed it, this is now my body. Similarly this, which was wine, which still looks like wine, is not wine. It is now my blood.

Every life is nourished by its own kind-the body by material food, the intellect by mental food. But the life we are now concerned with is Christ living in us; the only possible food for it is Christ. So much is this so that in our own day you will scarcely find grace held to be Christ's life in us unless the Eucharist is held to be Christ himself.

What Our Lord was giving us was a union with himself closer than the Apostles had in the three years of their companionship, than Mary Magdalen had when she clung to him after his Resurrection. Two of St. Paul's phrases, from 1 Corinthians 11 and 10, are specially worth
noting:

"Whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord"; and "We, being many, are one bread, one body, all that partake of one bread"- a reminder that the Eucharist is not only for each man's soul
but for the unity of the Mystical Body.

I can see why a Christian might be unable to bring himself to believe it, finding it beyond his power to accept the idea that a man can give us his flesh to eat. But why should anyone to escape the plain meaning of the words?

For the Catholic nothing could be simpler. Whether he understands or not, he feels safe with Peter in the assurance that he who said he would give us his body to eat had the words of eternal life. Return again to what he said. The bread is not changed into the whole Christ, but into his body; the wine is not changed into the whole Christ, but into his blood. But Christ lives, death has no more dominion over him.

The bread becomes his body, but where his body is, there he is; the wine becomes his blood but is not thereby separated from his body, for that would mean death; where his blood is, he is. Where either body or blood is, there is Christ, body and blood, soul and divinity. That is the doctrine of the Real Presence.

---------------------------------
Taken from Theology for Beginners (c) 1981 by Frank J. Sheed, Chapter 18.
Available from Servant Books, Box 8617, Ann Arbor, MI 48107
ISBN 0-89283-128-6 (hardback) ISBN 0-89283-124-3 (paperback

Lenten Introspection

2006-04-13T16:21:00.000-07:00

It's Lenten week once again and I'm at a loss whether I should read a novel (I usually do. Last year I read Nick Joaquin's TWWH2N and previously, Da Vinci Code), read the "classic" Leo Trese book, read the bible or simply observe. What are the things I have missed or haven't done?

Recently, a so called "Gospel of Judas" was discovered by National Geographic (it's all in the news) and it somehow "vindicates" Judas Iscariot, who for long has the image of the "traitor" or the bad apostle, the 13th apostle, which has become a symbol of bad luck.

What do all these things mean? It means we still don't know a lot of things. It used to be that science contradicts faith and vice-versa, but now the Church supports and in fact accepts science (I would add that science is a gift). We believe in miracles. We believe in healing the sick, and the supernatural grace of God, the impossible turning possible. And there are also non-supernatural (should all miracles by extraordinary), according to some, miracles. Like the fact that we are alive and kicking on this earth is a miracle in itself. Miracle or no miracle, faith is faith.

What makes it difficult is when people discover things, explanations, and processes that worked to bring the miracle to reality. After all, we live in a physical world as we are all physical (with a "spiritual" body). There is an explanation behind a "process". Why does it rain? Because the process of condensation of water particles are already "complete" or has exceeded it's "saturation point" that the next thing that comes is "precipitation".

The fact that we are born is a miracle, but when science explains the nine-month biological development of a human being isn't it a miracle in itself?

Now come documents, to be specific Gospels that are not included in the canonical Gospels. How do we react to these discoveries? Let us remember that our knowledge on our faith is based on "trust". Trust in the "elders": our parents who first taught us (or guardians) about the concept of God, and the "Church" who teaches us through cathechism, mass readings, Gospel readings. And not to forget we trust what's in the Bible. But bear in mind, there are also "processes" behind these institutions.

There are many "contradictions", "ironies" among ourselves but which I, myself, am looking for resolutions.
If we only trust God to heal us, then we don't need medicine, we don't need to go to a doctor when we are sick, we don't need a dentist when our tooth aches, we don't need to emergency rooms when we are in danger. So things outside what we believe in, are in fact part and parcels of the whole "process". They are also "miracles". After all, when someone survives a crisis in an emergency room, isn't that a "miracle" in itself.

Catholic Spirituality

2006-02-22T13:27:00.000-08:00

What Does It Mean Today?
Lawrence S. Cunningham
http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/print_format.php?id_article=1528

In the forty years since the Second Vatican Council, many devotional practices, most of them developed in the early modern period, have fallen into decline. Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, although promoted vigorously in the latter part of the papacy of John Paul II, is far less common than it was in the 1950s. So are weekly parish novenas, the stations of the cross, scapular wearing, and the communal or private recitation of the rosary.

The very architectural organization of the local parish has changed dramatically, and that shift reflects new devotional tastes as well as new liturgical demands. Tabernacles have been removed from the main altar in many churches, and there has been a “downsizing” of devotional side altars once dedicated to a range of popular saints. These changes have been lamented in some quarters and praised in others, but they constitute a seismic mutation in Catholic religious sensibility, one that transpired over a relatively brief time.

For much of the same period, I have made it a practice, while traveling throughout the United States, to examine a wide variety of parish bulletins. In so doing, I have discovered that many of the older devotions linger and actually exhibit new life. Some were modified by the late pope himself, who added new “mysteries” to the rosary and a new station to the way of the cross. But the parish bulletins also provide, if anecdotally, a window on newer forms of popular spiritual practice. There are, for example, Bible study groups and prayer groups who meet to do “centering,” Taizé, or other forms of contemplative prayer. There are Renew groups, and small meetings of the divorced or singles, as well as twelve-step outreach programs fostered in a spirit of prayer. There are opportunities for joining pilgrimages, Marriage Encounter, charismatic prayer groups, or renewal programs like Cursillo. There are also announcements calling for volunteers to sponsor a food pantry, soup kitchen, or clothing wardrobe, either with the parish St. Vincent de Paul Society or another, free-standing or ecumenical group. In line with that, there is the growing phenomenon of common prayer across Christian denominational lines, through which ecumenical bonds-at least at the experiential level-are being strengthened. All of these different opportunities for spiritual growth and enrichment-beyond just the normal liturgical life of the parish-fall under the generic term “Catholic spirituality.” Some are local instances of movements that are part of a larger organizational umbrella.

In the United States, the larger popular culture has seen an infusion of nondenominational Christian spirituality, from presidential faith-based prayer breakfasts to team prayer before sporting events, from blockbuster films like Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ to country-music classics and the phenomenal sales of quasi-religious, self-help improvement manuals. For Catholics, one of the problems in sorting out this new interest in spirituality is to figure out how the term spirituality is being used. Traditionally, it has been tied to St. Paul’s sense of “life in the Spirit,” as opposed to the path of the carnal person. This was the understanding of the early fathers of the church, and, in the scholastic period, of Thomas Aquinas. In the late modern period, though, the term came to be used pejoratively, particularly in France, where it was applied to those individuals who hankered after heightened states of religious sentiment and mystical escapism, experiences generally outside the bounds of common religious observance and practice. In our own day there is the added phenomenon of people who boast of being spiritual rather than religious. The implicit judgment is that being spiritual represents a higher path to enlightenment than simply being a member of a church.

Within the broad Catholic tradition, though, spirituality has meant, and continues to mean, the ways in which people, beyond the ordinary practices of the faith, have sought to live their Christian lives more intensely. We can even speak of schools of spirituality. By “more intensely” I mean the sort of religious attention that goes beyond the ordinary observances of practicing Catholics in the sacramental life of the church. It is very difficult to pin down the meaning of spirituality, but there are some empirical markers that can help to map out “Catholic spirituality today,” broadly conceived.

During the past four decades, there has been a veritable explosion of what the Vatican has called “new ecclesial movements.” These new groups range from Opus Dei (actually founded well before the council) with its different levels of participation, lay and clerical, to largely lay movements like Focolare, Communion and Liberation, the Neocatechumenate, the Legionnaires of Christ in its lay counterpart, Regnum Christi, Catholic Charismatics, the Sant’Egidio Community, L’Arche, Marriage Encounter, Cursillo, and also newer forms of religious life for both men and women. In Italy alone there have been more than sixteen new monastic experiments since Vatican II. Each of these groups, admittedly attracting a relatively small but vibrant membership, teaches a specific form of spiritual practice. Sant’Egidio, for example, emphasizes common liturgical prayer combined with service to the poor. Opus Dei’s emphasis is on Tridentine devotionalism, inspired largely, but not exclusively, by the writings of its founder, Josemaría Escrivá. Its basic handbook, El Camino (The Way), turns out to be a collection of Escrivá’s somewhat banal aphorisms. The constant tension within most of these movements comes from the temptation to become sectarian. A number of bishops around the world have complained about the Neocatechumenate, for example, and its members’ tendency to go it alone. Other bishops were disturbed when Opus Dei was made a “personal prelature,” answerable only to the Vatican. Nonetheless, in an important address to some of these groups in 1998, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger observed that their emergence had parallels in earlier church history, when, under the impulse of the Spirit, new groups revitalized the church. And, Ratzinger made the point, such renewal “hardly ever happens without pain or friction.”

Besides these new movements, there is considerable evidence that many Catholics continue to associate themselves, both formally and informally, with established religious orders, to share in these established schools of spirituality. Although Benedictine oblates are of long standing, as are third orders of groups like Franciscans and Carmelites, other new developments are taking place in this area. In the past few decades, for example, many individuals have become lay associates of Trappist monasteries, both here and abroad. There is a growing literature from the Cistercian generalate that has to do with codifying and giving shape to this movement. In addition, many communities of religious women now encourage lay membership: both women and men, not bound by traditional vows, who associate themselves with the group’s prayer life and apostolic work. Missionary communities like Maryknoll encourage lay associates. Other religious orders, whose traditional work has included college and university apostolates, have tapped into the youthful vigor of their students, training graduates for short-term missionary work. Many of my own students have gone on to volunteer with groups like Holy Cross Associates and the Jesuit Volunteers.

If the new ecclesial movements or affiliation with existing religious communities are oriented toward established groups, one can still observe older trends. In this country, for example, there remains a thirst among some for a type of Marian devotionalism associated with purported apparition sites, whether in this country (for example, Bayside, New York) or abroad (for example, Medjugorje). Such devotionalism got a fair impetus from John Paul II’s rather baroque enthusiasm for devotion to Mary, as seen, for instance, in his conviction that Our Lady of Fátima saved his life when he was struck by an assassin’s bullet-a bullet the pope later enshrined in a statue depicting Our Lady of Fátima. It may also account in part for the widespread popularity of Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ, whose script was influenced by the extravagant “revelations” of Anne Catherine of Emmerich, an early nineteenth-century German mystic. The rallying point for the recrudescence of these types of devotionalism is the cable channel EWTN, with its endless procession of priests swanning about in elaborate religious garb and preaching about this or that form of devotion.

The enormous popularity of spiritual writing in the past few decades is a broader sign of interest in spirituality. Thomas Moore’s The Care of the Soul was on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list for years. Kathleen Norris’s Dakota and her Cloister Walk made the same list. Both authors drew on Catholic sources, although only Moore had a Catholic background (he had been a Servite friar). His work had a largely Jungian patina. Norris, a Presbyterian, used monastic sources to introduce her contemporary audience to the teachings of traditional Christian spirituality. Other writers, such as Richard Rohr, Ronald Rolheiser, Joan Chittister, Scott Hahn, and the late Anthony De Mello, John Main, Henri Nouwen, and Basil Pennington continue to reach large, appreciative audiences. They are the natural heirs of the Caryll Houslanders, Hubert Von Zellers, and Columba Marmions of an earlier age. Thomas Merton’s books remain enormously popular, even though he has been dead nearly four decades. Along with C. S. Lewis, Merton is the most widely read spiritual writer of the previous generation.

But popular spiritual writers (of whom only Merton and Lewis count as real intellectuals) are but a single facet of the renewed public interest in spiritual writing. One of the recent success stories of Catholic publishing in this country is the phenomenally popular Paulist Press series, Classics of Western Spirituality. From several initial volumes in 1979, the series now includes more than a hundred titles, from Julian of Norwich to the Zohar. In addition, Orbis publishes its Modern Spiritual Masters collection, and Crossroad has its Spiritual Legacy books. Smaller publishing firms, some associated with religious orders, are making available classical spiritual authors from their own tradition, such as the Institute of Carmelite Studies, Cistercian Publications, Liturgical Press, and the Association of Jesuit University Presses. New City Press (associated with Focolare) has an ongoing series of brilliant new translations of the works of St. Augustine. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press (Orthodox) is a resource for inexpensive volumes of patristic writings and a wide range of Orthodox spiritual writers. Templegate continues to publish a fine line of classics and contemporary works that appeal to an ecumenical audience, as does Eerdmans. Ignatius Press has been a resource for those who wish to read twentieth-century Catholic writers such as G. K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, Jean Danielou, and Romano Guardini. It also publishes the voluminous works of the current pontiff.

Spiritual reading, always a daily component of the lives of professed religious, has become more ecumenical and eclectic. Long gone are the meditation manuals of old, replaced since Vatican II by greater attention to Scripture, its prominence underscored by Vatican II’s Dei verbum and the scholarship of such authors as Raymond Brown, Carroll Stuhmueller, Pheme Perkins, and Luke Timothy Johnson. This new popular interest in studying and praying the Scriptures has gained prominence among a variety of lay groups too, including reading clubs, RCIA classes, Catholic Worker houses, and adult-education courses. The desire for personal spiritual direction has also begun to flourish among the laity, and has given rise to formal training programs in this discipline (complete with diplomas, degrees, and associations for accreditation) to a degree unimaginable before. Many women religious have found their vocations as spiritual advisers and are staff members at numerous retreat centers.

Given the therapeutic bent of our culture and the concomitant popularity of self-help literature, there have been some dubious attempts to link these approaches with the spiritual plane. The mildly faddish interest in the Enneagram or the Jungian-inspired Myers/Briggs assessment model, for example, has attained a certain hold in some quarters of the current Catholic scene. Add to this the advertisements one reads for retreat houses offering labyrinth walks, massage therapy, specialized retreats for those who wish to combine Christian contemplative practices and Zen sitting (zazen), courses in male spirituality, hermitage experiences, and so on, and you begin to get the sense that Catholic spirituality may become too capacious an umbrella. Furthermore, the intrusion of new-age practices and other experimental approaches has raised enough concern that the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has issued warnings, not always prudently formulated, against false mysticism and/or syncretism.

If what counts for spirituality has become overly elastic in recent decades, there have also been attempts to describe it more precisely, under stricter theological and historical categories. Both the late Karl Rahner and Hans Urs von Balthasar, for example, lamented the wedge that had developed between theology and spirituality, and both sought to overcome it. As a consequence, there has been an explosion of scholarly interest in the study of Christian spirituality. It is now a component of graduate-level curriculums in this country. In the early 1990s, that interest led to the formation of the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality. Its excellent journal, Spiritus, and the recent publication of an important volume, Minding the Spirit (Johns Hopkins University Press), with essays describing the methodologies, parameters, and problems in this relatively new field, are an indication of the growing seriousness of this new discipline.

The yearning for a deeper Christian life is hardly a new phenomenon in the history of the church. One can point to a number of eras, usually following some sort of cultural crisis, where new forms of spirituality emerged, some to enter the tradition, others to fade. One thinks of the intense spirituality centered on the humanity of Christ, especially the suffering Christ, that blossomed in the thirteenth century, largely under Franciscan impulse (but with roots that go back to the Cistercians and even earlier); or, more conspicuously, of baroque spirituality in the seventeenth century. It developed, at least in part, as a counternarrative to the Reformation.

Something like that may be happening today. In the “winter period” following the council, to use Karl Rahner’s phrase, the growing interest in spirituality may signal a grass-roots attempt to find meaning and coherence. Maybe the rise of the new ecclesial movements is a response to the precipitous decline in the religious orders, just as the new forms of spiritual practice may signal a replacement for the collapse of baroque devotionalism.

Various pronouncements of the council provide warrants for such a shift, even though the conciliar documents use the term “spirituality” but once. Still, the council urged a reform of the liturgy; cautioned against holding on to antiquated customs in religious life; called for the use of the Scriptures to nourish public worship and personal devotion; and spoke of the need for adaptation in the life of prayer. The council also paid modest honors to the yearnings inherent in the world’s other religions.

In the spasms of reform immediately following the council, much that was old was swept away. In its place came experiments, some precipitous, to craft new forms for living out the Christian life. This is not a new story. In the eleventh century, new ways of living the gospel sprang up all over Europe, following the reforms initiated by Gregory VII. The same thing, one might argue, is happening now, and it’s not at all surprising. The history of Christian tradition and spirituality reveals the perennial signs of change and renewal.

Catholic spirituality today provides a broad array of styles, practices, and literatures, enough to engage the interested Catholic of whatever temperament. If there is a healthy place for “cafeteria Catholicism,” it is clearly in the area of spirituality. Doctrine, liturgy, and authority provide the framework for the Catholic faith; the ways in which that faith gets enfleshed, nourished, and kept vigorous is a matter of choice and taste within the broad compass of the authentic Catholic tradition. But, as my mother pointed out many years ago, one shouldn’t only put dessert on one’s tray. In his Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales counseled wisely: “True devotion never causes harm but perfects everything we do....A devotion that conflicts with anyone’s state of life is undoubtedly false.” The same is true in choosing from the cornucopia of Catholic spiritual practices. It is good to be devoted to the Mother of God and express that devotion in prayer; it is good to mediate on the Scriptures, to make retreats, or to join a prayer group; it is salutary to serve the poor. These and other expressions of a vigorous Christian life are all good when performed by those who attend the liturgy and confess their faith in the creed, which is where the Catholic Church becomes concrete in time and place. As Vatican II reminds us, though, “the sacred liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the church.”

It is in the pluriform possibilities of Catholic spirituality that we find both old and new ways of living more intensely in the Spirit. Some of these “possibilities” may prove to have shallow roots and so fade; others may flourish well into the future. But the new experiments in Catholic spirituality that we are seeing today testify, at the very least, to the fact that the Spirit still lives in the church. For that reason, we do well to pay heed to Paul’s advice to the church of Thessalonica: “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil” (1 Thess 5:19-22).

ABOUT THE WRITER
Lawrence S. Cunningham
Lawrence S. Cunningham teaches theology at the University of Notre Dame.

Spiritual Joy

2006-02-07T13:00:00.000-08:00

Acts 16:16-34

Paul wrote extensively about spiritual joy, which had been tested and proven in his life through the "fires" of beatings, rejections, and arrests. As he sat in the Philippian jail, the apostle demonstrated what is possible for any surrendered believer: biblical joy through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

We can lose our gladness for several reasons:

1. Wrong focus. Paul and Silas were able to praise God despite severe trials because they centered on Jesus. Concentrating on our difficulties will cause delight to disappear. Refocusing through praise will bring it back.

2. Disobedience. Sin steals our joy because it separates us from the Lord. As we receive His forgiveness and obey Him, joy returns.

3. Regret. We crowd out gladness when we continue to feel bad about past mistakes and failures. Our Father wants us to believe that He forgives us (1 John 1:9). He also desires that we choose to live in His grace and move ahead.

4. Fear. Too often we attempt to live out the future before it has happened. With so much outside our control, we become afraid. Joy and fear cannot coexist. The Lord calls us to live by faith, asking Him to meet today's needs and trusting Him with the future.

5. Someone else's suffering. How can we rejoice when others are hurting? Romans 12:15 says we are to weep with them, but we are also to offer the hope of God's presence, power, and provision. A downcast spirit is a poor witness for hope (Psalm 42:11).

What excuse have you been using for your lack of joy? Fix your gaze on your Savior and let His joy become yours.

NATIONAL BIBLE WEEK 2006

2006-01-22T12:29:00.000-08:00

CELEBRATE National Bible Week January 23-29, 2006
National Bible Sunday January 29. 2006

NATIONAL BIBLE WEEK 2006
A Call for National Renewal

The whole nation observes the National Bible Week on January 23-29, 2006. This event was instituted by Presidential Proclamation Nos 44 and 1067, which emphasizes the importance of the Holy Scripture in the life of a nation; and thus held on the last week of January every year. This year's celebration is guided with the theme, "God's Word: Power for National Renewal."

The Bible Week reminds every Filipino to read the Scriptures every day as this is the key towards national renewal. God's Word has power to transform an individual and the whole nation. Individuals who feed on the Word of God daily make up strong families, and families rooted in the Word can influence a community, and communities that are transformed make up a renewed nation.

We can not ignore the sad state of our country as we are faced with alarming issues that create factions in our leadership and divide us as a people. Majority of our people suffers because of unstable economy matched with undeterred corruption in government. The need for individual and national renewal can not be denied. This is the hope pointed out by Philippine Bible Society General Secretary Mrs Nora Lucero: "If we are serious in using God's Word as foundation for
change -- change in ourselves, change in our families, in our communities, in our nation we will see a growing, blessed and transformed nation."

All churches, regardless of religious affiliation are expected to rally behind the week-long event by conducting Bible-related activities in their respective areas. Leaders in the home, schools,
churches and government agencies are encouraged to motivate their families, members and subordinates to celebrate God's Word during the Week and make Bible reading a part of their daily lives.

The National Bible Week is a yearly event in cooperation with major church bodies: the Episcopal Commission for the Biblical Associate of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, National Council of Churches in the Philippine, Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, Philippines for Jesus Movement, National Bookstore and other ministry partners.

For additional information, please contact the Philippine Bible Society at 713-7115 or visit the web site at http://www.bible.org.ph

The Subject

2006-01-18T20:44:00.000-08:00

The Subject

i shall fold this up for you
lift up a vessel full of mines.
i measure the sky silver, blue
with symbols, i read the signs.

a falling leaf, a rustle at night
when all the stars have stolen
your light, would I be so bright?
unveil, let me, your token.

how do I know? I run in circles.

by a.a.

The Need for Spiritual Discernment

2006-01-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

PHILIPPIANS 1:8-11

In Scripture, love is not a feeling but rather knowledge of the other person -- an understanding of motivations, thought patterns, and preferences. In this passage, Paul says he wants the Philippians to grow in their knowledge of God so that they can choose the best way to live. Because our heavenly Father doesn't want us living by feelings or sight, He provides the gift of spiritual discernment -- this is the believer's capacity to judge situations correctly and to determine God's best by analyzing opportunities. Unfortunately, not every Christian will cultivate this gift, but those with wisdom recognize the benefit of always practicing good judgment.

To live in the Lord's will, we must have a discerning spirit. God longs for us to walk in the way that simultaneously brings Him greatest glory and blesses us with joy and peace. Believers don't search blindly for this road; our Lord will reveal the path to anyone who asks. But we must be able to judge what is of Him and what is not so that we don't pursue avenues which merely seem right. Many opportunities and situations that look good aren't His will.

Likewise, much information expressed as true is actually false. In order to remain in the Lord's will, believers must be able to distinguish between truth and error. We would be unwise to accept as accurate everything we hear on the Internet, radio, or television. What we hear from influential people, the media, and even the pulpit must be evaluated against the only reliable measure for spiritual discernment: the standards of Scripture.

SOURCE:
http://www.crosswalkmail.com/hadddjb_uqwfbfwm.html

Who's the Real Santa?

2005-12-05T14:26:00.000-08:00

Who's the Real Santa?

St. Nicholas Day

Today is the feast day of St. Nicholas of Myra, a fourth century bishop who is the historical person behind the legend of Santa Claus. The patron saint of Russia, Greece, and Sicily, St. Nicholas is also the patron of many cities, towns, and dioceses. He is also the patron saint of pawnbrokers and of children. Legendary accounts about his generosity to poor children probably earned him this role.

Myra, where Nicholas was bishop, was the capital of the Roman province of Asia Minor. It is located in the southwestern part of modern Turkey. Nicholas was imprisoned during the terrible persecution ordered by the Emperor Diocletian between the years 303 and 305. Having survived the persecution under Diocletian, Nicholas was able to attend the famous Council of Nicaea in 325, called by order of Emperor Constantine, the man who legalized Christianity and attempted to use the Christian church as a sort of social glue to strengthen the declining Roman Empire. Nicholas was venerated in Constantinople where Emperor Justinian built a large basilica in his honor. Nicholas is also known as St. Nicholas of Bari, in Italy, the place to which relics were secretly transferred as the Eastern part of the Roman Empire fell under Muslim control in the Middle Ages.

Thus, St. Nicholas was popular in the Byzantine tradition and in the West. Some scholars claim that St. Nicholas was one of the saintly bishops most frequently represented in both Byzantine and Western art.

Giving gifts on his feast became a popular practice in the Low Countries because of popular legends about how Santa Claus rewarded good children with gifts and warned the wicked by giving them gifts of lumps of coal or onions and other unpleasant reminders to behave better in the coming year. The practice came to North

America with Dutch colonists in New Amsterdam, present-day New York. The American artist and famous political cartoonist, Thomas Nast, is generally credited with creating the American image of Santa Claus as a jovial, rotund old man dressed in red and white, with flowing white hair and beard. In fact, Thomas Nast secularized Santa Claus to suit the widely diverse religious and cultural amalgam of late nineteenth-century New York by removing all signs of Christian symbols from his popular images of Santa Claus.

This religious feast of St. Nicholas is both a remembrance of a saint and a secular legend popularized around the world. We better all watch out. After all, Santa Claus is coming to town.

PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL THEOLOGY

2005-12-02T15:40:00.000-08:00

PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL THEOLOGY
http://www.nd.edu/Departments/Maritain/etext/pnt.htm

New Links

2005-11-30T16:38:00.000-08:00

1. Archbishops Behind the Cathedral
http://www.manilacathedral.org/archbishops/behind.htm

2. Religious Life
http://www.fisheaters.com/religiouslife.html

3. The Rule of St Augustine
http://www.fisheaters.com/ruleofstaugustine.html

Chapter I: Purpose and Basis of Common Life
Chapter II: Prayer
Chapter III: Moderation and Self Denial
Chapter IV: Safeguarding Chastity,and Fraternal Correction
Chapter V: The Care of Community Goods and Treatment of the Sick
Chapter VI: Asking Pardon and Forgiving Offenses
Chapter VII: Governance and Obedience
Chapter VIII: Observance of the Rule

On Miracles

2005-11-11T15:21:00.000-08:00

On Miracle, I mean, on 'Intervention'

There's always an explanation for everything. It's just sometimes we are not ready to understand. An analogy that reinforces this thinking is the topic tackled in the 2nd chapter of A CASE FOR FAITH by Lee Strobel.

In that chapter, Lee Strobel tackles the very issue of science vs faith/miracle, and that one violates the other. In science, an object falls because of gravity and mass. There is gravitational force. No objections. We all agree.

Another scientific explanation why things fall is due to density. Less dense objects float over denser objects. A rubber band floats on water. A 'heavy' objects falls or sinks because it's denser (or its density is greater) than the densite of water. (Are you following?).

Now imagine an object suspended on air. Is that a miracle that one wants to believe? No! It can not be. It violates the law of gravity. It's against science. Surely, it's easy to dismiss. No, no one can float on WATER either -- unless he is God (someone will quickly say).

But it is not impossible that something will not fall. How? Someone/something 'intervenes' like if you a throw a stone, the possibilities are someone catches it on its way down (a person perhaps), or it lands on the roof of a vehicle, or flying object (a bird, a plane, etc) bumps into it and either hits it to delay its fall.

The thing is, SOMETHING intervenes.

***

Some books that I've not finished reading (or keep reading) since last year

1. CASE FOR FAITH by Lee Strobel
2. CASE FOR CHRIST (same author)
3. THE FAITH EXPLAINED by Leo Trese
This is the only book I keep reading since college, especially during Lenten season.

Miracles and Nature

2005-11-10T14:24:00.000-08:00

" Miracles do not happen in contradiction to nature, but only to that which is known to us in nature."

-- St. Augustine

God Allows U-Turns

2005-11-06T16:05:00.000-08:00

God Allows U-Turns

http://www.godallowsuturns.com

Journeys Along God's Path

2005-11-03T15:52:00.000-08:00

Journeys Along God's Path: Free Bible Study
http://www.wbschool.org/ads/google/index.php

Canon Law

2005-11-03T14:21:00.000-08:00

Canon Law Websites

Q. Can you tell me whether there is a website for researching canon law?
-- Henry Bouchard, via email

The text of the Code of Canon Law is available online in English at several sites, including the Vatican website: http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_INDEX.HTM

This site also has extremely useful concordances, word lists and statistics about the frequency with which words appear in the text; words in the text are linked to their respective concordances.

Canon lawyer Edward Peters, JD, JCD, who holds the Edmund Cardinal Szoka Chair at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Michigan, has a very helpful website and weblog for those interested in canon law, click here

- Paul Thigpen, Ph.D.

Bible As Literature

2005-05-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

1. Books about studying the Bible as Literature
http://classiclit.about.com/cs/toppicks/tp/aatp-bible.htm

2. Questia Links

Pearl of Great Price

2005-05-12T22:31:00.000-07:00

http://scriptures.lds.org/pgp/contents

From it's introduction:

The Pearl of Great Price is a selection of choice materials touching many significant aspects of the faith and doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These items were produced by the Prophet Joseph Smith and were published in the Church periodicals of his day.

The first collection of materials carrying the title Pearl of Great Price was made in 1851 by Elder Franklin D. Richards, then a member of the Council of the Twelve and president of the British Mission. Its purpose was to make more readily accessible some important articles that had had limited circulation in the time of Joseph Smith. As Church membership increased throughout Europe and America there was a need to make these items available. The Pearl of Great Price received wide use and subsequently became a standard work of the Church by action of the First Presidency and the general conference in Salt Lake City on October 10, 1880.

Qand A

2005-05-06T03:35:00.000-07:00

Sample Questions and Answers from

TCA Faith

By Father Ray Ryland

Speaking in Tongues?

Q. My friend, who is also Catholic, goes to group prayer meetings where
they see God and speak in tongues. She is of Asian descent. Is this a
cultural difference, or is the Catholic Church starting this practice?

- Name withheld

A. Whatever else the people in your friend's prayer group may do, they
do not "see God." Remember when Moses asked to see God, and God told
him, "no man sees me and still lives" (Ex 33:20)? The Beatific Vision -
seeing God as He is, face-to-face - is reserved for those who are in
heaven (see 1 Jn 3:2).

Speaking in tongues is not a matter of cultural difference, but of a
particular gift of the Holy Spirit. Nor is it a new gift. From the first
days of the Catholic Church, some people have received this gift (see,
for example, 1 Cor 12). Many people in the charismatic movement in the
Church today use this gift to praise and adore God.

Pope John Paul II and other Church officials have welcomed the
charismatic movement, but they have also cautioned its participants
against some common errors and tendencies. See, for example, the Pope's
message to an international gathering of Catholic charismatic leaders in
Rome in 1998, available online by clicking here. In 2000, the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued "Instructions on
Prayers for Healing" (a common practice within the charismatic
movement), which the Pope approved; visit by clicking here.

Absolution and Purgatory

Q. I have the following question for which I would like to receive a
clear understanding. Say that absolution is given by a priest after a
good confession of sins, and the person who made the confession says he
will sin no more and intends to sin no more, and will try harder not to
commit the same sins again. The person also immediately does the
penance. What if this person were to be in an accident that would take
his life immediately following his confession and absolution. Would he
be subject to time in purgatory?

- Neal Kunke, via e-mail

A. At the outset we should note that "time" is not a category applicable
to the experience of purgatory.

When we die we leave "time" behind and enter into eternity.

In the hypothetical situation you pose, the penitent's receiving
absolution would remove all guilt of his sins. It would reconcile him
not only to the Father, but also to the community that has been harmed
by his sins....

Introduction to the Bible

2005-05-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

The New Testament is a collection of 27 books of the Bible written in the seventy years following the resurrection of Jesus. The Church of the apostles saw in them an authentic expression of their faith. The Church has officially recognized these books as inspired by God, as the Word of God. Just as in the Old Testament these books did not simply fall from heaven, rather we owe them to the apostles and the evangelists of the early Church. They make no pretense to answer all our questions concerning the faith, but are a collection of testimonies where we discover the person of Jesus, the way in which the early Church saw itself animated and impelled by the power of his resurrection. It was God’s will that Christians of every age would know Jesus and his work of redemption through these powerful testimonies.

But, why a New Testament after the Old?

Simply because each forms a part of salvation history and the revelation of God within history. The cross of Jesus separates these two phases.

In the Old Testament a people is being formed. They grow through their experience, and after having hoped for the thousand and one things that all people look for, they understand that what really matters is to hope for and to seek a Kingdom of Justice where people will be made new. When we read Sacred History, we see the direction it takes and discern different stages and key people. Israel discovers the great value of existence and of social life. We understand why it took them many centuries to discover something of the beyond. We grasp why the prosperity of the ancient kingdom of Israel could not last and why it was necessary for the people of God to gain insight and interiority into what they were losing in earthly power and glory. We see why, after many saviors, the unique Savior came for them while experiencing the final crisis under Roman oppression and the radicalization of political forces.

Thus, the message of Jesus was a call to overcome the narrow-mindedness of their nationalism and fanaticism in order to find here and now the kingdom and the justice of God. The history of Israel had to flow into a new era with a universal people of God, who would be rich in the knowledge of the Father and the Son. Such a people would practice non-violence that can overcome divisions and oppression. We know that the Jewish nation collapsed after a few years: it was the end of one world and the rupture of destiny.

The New Testament does not replace the Old. Jesus’ preaching does not make the warnings of the prophets irrelevant. Love does not replace justice. The salvation promised to the Jewish people is not replaced by a “salvation of souls,” but rather the Gospel is presented as the liberating truth which redirects history and moves all civilizations toward the goal of reunion and reconciliation in Christ of all human powers and creative energy in the universe.

When attempts to evangelize the Jews in Palestine failed, the first Jewish Christians turned with added incentive to other peoples and announced the Gospel to them. Within a few years, the church began to spread throughout the known world then, that is to say, the nations of the Greco-Roman empire. At first, it was a common belief among Christians that the message would shortly reach the ends of the world, and Jesus would return in glory for judgment. In the seventies this illusion disappeared: history would last longer than they had expected.

The Christian communities began to gather what had been written down to preserve the preaching of the apostles. They also spent time recalling significant experiences of the first Christians. Of the books thus produced, the church approved those which expressed the faith as it was received from the apostles and rejected others which, although very commendable, did not seem to transmit the most fundamental and universal message of the faith.

How the Gospels were written

The Documents

All the publications of the New Testament and the Gospels in particular, whether they be in English, Spanish, or any other language are translations of original texts written in Greek. Ancient manuscripts containing these texts were copied a number of times, until each of these texts was fixed with the invention of printing; it was probably in 1456 that Guttenberg printed the first Bible.

Those copying the manuscripts could not avoid making some mistakes. By comparing the various manuscripts, grouped according to their differences and their origin, critics can determine what were the original texts which the Catholic Church recognized as the expression of the apostolic faith and as the word of God. The question remains: who wrote these first Gospels and what was their source?

Some beautiful manuscripts of the New Testament from the fourth century have been preserved. They are confirmed by many other much older documents which contain paragraphs or sometimes complete books of the New Testament. Moreover, Christian writers of the second and third centuries oftentimes quote the sacred text upon which they have commented. John’s Gospel is considered as dating from the years 90-100, and fragments have been discovered in Egypt, very far from the place of origin. The fragments are dated from the years 120-130.

In what follows, we will pay special attention to the Gospels, though they are not the most ancient writings of the New Testament. When the first three gospels were written, in the years 50-70, Paul had already sent his original letters.

The Authors of the Gospels

It is interesting to note that the first historians of the Church already made special mention of those considered by tradition as the authors of the three synoptic evangelists.

In 110, Papias of Hierapolis (near Ephesus) wrote: “Mark, Peter’s interpreter, wrote with precision, though not in an orderly manner, all that he recalled about the sayings and deeds of the Lord. He accompanied Peter who taught according to the needs of the moment, not in the form of a composition and he made no mistakes in including some things as he remembered them. Matthew put together the sayings of the Lord in Hebrew and from then on everyone translated them according to his ability.”

In 185, bishop and martyr Saint Irenaeus wrote: “Matthew published a gospel among the Hebrews and in their language, while Peter and Paul went out to evangelize Rome and establish the Church. After they left, Mark, a disciple and Peter’s translator, wrote down Peter’s preaching. Luke, Paul’s companion, also wrote a book about the Gospel preached by Paul.”

These ancient sources about which we could add more, were thoroughly examined by many modern biblical scholars, and lately they have once again been accepted as information of historical value.

Moreover, it would be a mistake to think that the Gospels had been written in one piece by men like Matthew, Mark or Luke who at a given time decided to record by means of the written word the active ministry and the teaching of Jesus.

From the Oral Tradition to Our Gospels

We know that Jesus died when he was still young and that he died without having written anything. Jesus had dedicated most of his time to forming the twelve apostles whom he had chosen. They lived with him, as was the custom of disciples with Jewish teachers. Jesus had them learn his teaching by heart. Instead of multiplying discourses, Jesus repeated the essential truths in many ways. We cannot doubt that, after the days of Pentecost, their concern was to give form to these instructions of Jesus, which were to be the catechesis of the early Church.

At the beginning the apostles witnessed to what they had seen and heard. Gradually there emerged a need to have a written record of their testimony to safeguard the memory: we ourselves often do this when, during a meeting, the sharing of the participants is recorded for the benefit of those not present.

The Christian communities of Palestine spoke Aramaic or Hebrew according to regions and environment. It follows that the first accounts were drawn up in these two languages. Gradually the texts referring to what Jesus said and did were regrouped; in this way the first Christian communities passed from an oral testimony to a written text: that of the Gospels.

At that time the Greek speaking Christian communities had become a majority and primitive texts were translated into that language.

The Gospel of John

The first three evangelists not only differ in their focus but also in rather different presentations of the deeds and words of Jesus; each actually has his own theology, his own special way of knowing Jesus and it is this profound view, this personal testimony which finally justifies the differences.

In the Gospel of John we find parts of an ancient Gospel as simple as Mark’s, with more deeds than words of Jesus, which may have been addressed to the Christian communities of Samaria, and which were written in Aramaic. This was the foundation on which John developed long discourses of Jesus showing that salvation transforms humankind and renews creation.

CAN WE BELIEVE WHAT THE GOSPELS SAY?

Most of us have probably asked this: why do we have four testimonies instead of one, and what are they worth? Following what we have just said it will be easy to understand what follows:

– Not all the deeds and words of Jesus are found in the Gospel.

– In relating the words of Jesus, each evangelist expresses them in his own way and adapts them for the better understanding of his readers.

– The events are not always told in the order in which they took place; and things that Jesus said on different occasions can be mixed together in the same passage.

This is not to say that we cannot believe the testimony of the evangelists. We are not given a “photo,” a recording of Jesus’ words, but rather four different views that complement each other. Why worry if there are certain contradictions in details. If at the gate of Jericho there was one blind man or two, what difference does it make in the basic message?

The unique place of the Gospels in Literature

The Gospels are exceptional and unique work among the literary writings of all time. Any comparison with other writings of its time, Christian or otherwise, shows a tremendous contrast – in the Gospels, simplicity and the desire to be temperate, in the other texts, what is marvelous, complex and “not down-to-earth.” A modern philosopher – not a believer – wondered why there were not more miracles in the Gospels. The Gospels carry within them the guarantee of their own authenticity. Taking into account what was said in the previous paragraph, modern criticism has not been able to find falsehood in the Gospels, even though it has scrutinized them with a magnifying glass for more than a century. What is more: the Gospels leave us with a deep sense of meaningfulness each time we are capable of opening ourselves to them.

Those who doubt

Still, those who question the testimony of the Gospels are many. At times it is because they think they see contradictions in the Gospels; more often, because it seems impossible for them to accept miracles. Even among believers who study the Gospels, some have reservations concerning the historical value of anything that could be termed a miracle in the literal sense.

This may be due to the fact that they have been trained in a “scientific” culture which relies only on human resources in order to solve every problem. In a world that covers itself with insurance, little is expected from God and God does not multiply miracles.

They reason the following way: if I cannot now see anything similar to what happened in the Gospel, how am I to believe that such things happened even then? Everything might be different if they were involved in poor or persecuted Christian communities. There they might witness the constant interventions of God for the benefit of those who can only hope in him alone. Actually, in these communities it is said: if today God works such miracles, why would he not have performed them in the time of Jesus and by his order?

In fact it is impossible to study the Gospel “impartially,” as we would do with any ordinary book, for it questions all of our life and not merely our ideas on any point. If we share the same faith of the apostles, we should have no difficulty accepting the sacred books while remaining aware of the critical questions. But if we do not fulfill the conditions that would allow us to “see God,” we feel uneasy until we find some reason to “reduce” the Gospel’s testimony to something which to us seems reasonable; that is to say that it will not question our stance in life itself. That is why many persons, though they admire the Gospels and refuse to consider it a lie, search for a thousand reasons to deny what seems shocking to them; its testimony of God-made-man; a God who moves around among people and who raises the dead.

Some objections

Therefore they especially cling to two main arguments:

– They say that the Gospels were written many years after the death of Jesus when popular imagination had already placed a halo around him. And so, they do not reveal the reality of Jesus to us, but rather the faith of the Church in the first century. (Let us remember what we said about the date when the Gospels were written.)

– They also say that the Gospels were writings destined for the catechesis and teaching of Christians: the facts they relate are aimed at supporting what is taught. Hence it is not important whether Jesus walked on the water or not; the episode was written to show that Jesus possessed divine power.

But what about the apostles? They had been Jesus’ witnesses, and their function was to remain his official witnesses within the Church. They knew what had actually happened; would they have remained silent while some were distorting the history of Jesus? The guarantee of the Gospel is found in the very structure of the Catholic Church, which was never a group of spontaneous believers carried away by enthusiasm or opportunism.

The Gospels came from the tradition of the apostles, and the Church retained them because it recognized this tradition in them. In those very years and during the following century, other “gospels” were written: “the gospel of Peter,” “the gospel of Thomas,” “the gospel of Nicodemus,” “the proto-gospel of James.” The Church, however, did not accept them because of the fantastic events recorded in them, or because of theological orientation which did not conform to the teaching received from the apostles.

Seven

2005-04-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

This number occurs frequently in Scripture, and in such connections as lead to the supposition that it has some typical meaning. On the seventh day God rested, and hallowed it (Gen. 2:2, 3). The division of time into weeks of seven days each accounts for many instances of the occurrence of this number. This number has been called the symbol of perfection, and also the symbol of rest.

"Jacob's seven years' service to Laban; Pharaoh's seven fat oxen and seven lean ones; the seven branches of the golden candlestick; the seven trumpets and the seven priests who sounded them; the seven days' siege of Jericho; the seven churches, seven spirits, seven stars, seven seals, seven vials, and many others, sufficiently prove the importance of this sacred number" (see Lev. 25:4; 1 Sam. 2:5; Ps. 12:6; 79:12; Prov. 26:16; Isa. 4:1; Matt. 18:21, 22; Luke 17:4).

The feast of Passover (Ex. 12:15, 16), the feast of Weeks (Deut. 16:9), of Tabernacles (13:15), and the Jubilee (Lev. 25:8), were all ordered by seven.

Seven is the number of sacrifice (2 Chr. 29:21; Job 42:8), of purification and consecration (Lev. 42:6, 17; 8:11, 33; 14:9, 51), of forgiveness (Matt. 18:21, 22; Luke 17:4), of reward (Deut. 28:7; 1 Sam. 2:5), and of punishment (Lev. 26:21, 24, 28; Deut. 28:25). It is used for any round number in such passages as Job 5:19; Prov. 26:16, 25; Isa. 4:1; Matt. 12:45. It is used also to mean
"abundantly" (Gen. 4:15, 24; Lev. 26:24; Ps. 79:12).

First Message of Pope Benedict XVI

2005-04-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

"Grace and peace in abundance to all of you! In my soul there are two contrasting sentiments in these hours. On the one hand, a sense of inadequacy and human turmoil for the responsibility entrusted to me yesterday as the Successor of the Apostle Peter in this See of Rome, with regard to the Universal Church. On the other hand I sense within me profound gratitude to God Who — as the liturgy makes us sing — does not abandon His flock, but leads it throughout time, under the guidance of those whom He has chosen as vicars of His Son, and made pastors.

"Dear Ones, this intimate recognition for a gift of divine mercy prevails in my heart in spite of everything. I consider this a grace obtained for me by my venerated predecessor, John Paul II. It seems I can feel his strong hand squeezing mine; I seem to see his smiling eyes and listen to his words, addressed to me especially at this moment: 'Do not be afraid!' "The death of the Holy Father John Paul II, and the days which followed, were for the Church and for the entire world an extraordinary time of grace. The great pain for his death and the void that it left in all of us were tempered by the action of the Risen Christ, which showed itself during long days in the choral wave of faith, love and spiritual solidarity, culminating in his solemn funeral. "We can say it: the funeral of John Paul II was a truly extraordinary experience in which was perceived in some way the power of God Who, through His Church, wishes to form a great family of all peoples, through the unifying force of Truth and Love. In the hour of death, conformed to his Master and Lord, John Paul II crowned his long and fruitful pontificate, confirming the Christian people in faith, gathering them around him and making the entire human family feel more united. "How can one not feel sustained by this witness? How can one not feel the encouragement that comes from this event of grace?

"Surprising every prevision I had, Divine Providence, through the will of the venerable Cardinal Fathers, called me to succeed this great Pope. I have been thinking in these hours about what happened in the region of Cesarea of Phillippi two thousand years ago: I seem to hear the words of Peter: 'You are Christ, the Son of the living God,' and the solemn affirmation of the Lord: 'You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church ... I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven'. "You are Christ! You are Peter! It seems I am reliving this very Gospel scene; I, the Successor of Peter, repeat with trepidation the anxious words of the fisherman from Galilee and I listen again with intimate emotion to the reassuring promise of the divine Master. If the weight of the responsibility that now lies on my poor shoulders is enormous, the divine power on which I can count is surely immeasurable: 'You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church'. Electing me as the Bishop of Rome, the Lord wanted me as his Vicar, he wished me to be the 'rock' upon which everyone may rest with confidence. I ask him to make up for the poverty of my strength, that I may be a courageous and faithful pastor of His flock, always docile to the inspirations of His Spirit. "I undertake this special ministry, the 'Petrine' ministry at the service of the Universal Church, with humble abandon to the hands of the Providence of God. And it is to Christ in the first place that I renew my total and trustworthy adhesion: 'In Te, Domine, speravi; non confundar in aeternum!' "To you, Lord Cardinals, with a grateful soul for the trust shown me, I ask you to sustain me with prayer and with constant, active and wise collaboration. I also ask my brothers in the episcopacy to be close to me in prayer and counsel so that I may truly be the 'Servus servorum Dei' (Servant of the servants of God). As Peter and the other Apostles were, through the will of the Lord, one apostolic college, in the same way the Successor of Peter and the Bishops, successors of the Apostles — and the Council forcefully repeated this — must be closely united among themselves. This collegial communion, even in the diversity of roles and functions of the Supreme Pontiff and the bishops, is at the service of the Church and the unity of faith, from which depend in a notable measure the effectiveness of the evangelizing action of the contemporary world. Thus, this path, upon which my venerated predecessors went forward, I too intend to follow, concerned solely with proclaiming to the world the living presence of Christ.

"Before my eyes is, in particular, the witness of Pope John Paul II. He leaves us a Church that is more courageous, freer, younger. A Church that, according to his teaching and example, looks with serenity to the past and is not afraid of the future. With the Great Jubilee the Church was introduced into the new millennium carrying in her hands the Gospel, applied to the world through the authoritative re-reading of Vatican Council II. Pope John Paul II justly indicated the Council as a 'compass' with which to orient ourselves in the vast ocean of the third millennium. Also in his spiritual testament he noted: ' I am convinced that for a very long time the new generations will draw upon the riches that this council of the 20th century gave us'. "I too, as I start in the service that is proper to the Successor of Peter, wish to affirm with force my decided will to pursue the commitment to enact Vatican Council II, in the wake of my predecessors and in faithful continuity with the millennia-old tradition of the Church. Precisely this year is the 40th anniversary of the conclusion of this conciliar assembly (December 8, 1965). With the passing of time, the conciliar documents have not lost their timeliness; their teachings have shown themselves to be especially pertinent to the new exigencies of the Church and the present globalized society.

"In a very significant way, my pontificate starts as the Church is living the special year dedicated to the Eucharist. How can I not see in this providential coincidence an element that must mark the ministry to which I have been called? The Eucharist, the heart of Christian life and the source of the evangelizing mission of the Church, cannot but be the permanent center and the source of the petrine service entrusted to me. "The Eucharist makes the Risen Christ constantly present, Christ Who continues to give Himself to us, calling us to participate in the banquet of His Body and His Blood. From this full communion with Him comes every other element of the life of the Church, in the first place the communion among the faithful, the commitment to proclaim and give witness to the Gospel, the ardor of charity towards all, especially towards the poor and the smallest. "In this year, therefore, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi must be celebrated in a particularly special way. The Eucharist will be at the center, in August, of World Youth Day in Cologne and, in October, of the ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops which will take place on the theme "The Eucharist, Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church.' I ask everyone to intensify in coming months love and devotion to the Eucharistic Jesus and to express in a courageous and clear way the real presence of the Lord, above all through the solemnity and the correctness of the celebrations. "I ask this in a special way of priests, about whom I am thinking in this moment with great affection. The priestly ministry was born in the Cenacle, together with the Eucharist, as my venerated predecessor John Paul II underlined so many times. 'The priestly life must have in a special way a 'Eucharistic form', he wrote in his last Letter for Holy Thursday. The devout daily celebration of Holy Mass, the center of the life and mission of every priest, contributes to this end.

"Nourished and sustained by the Eucharist, Catholics cannot but feel stimulated to tend towards that full unity for which Christ hoped in the Cenacle. Peter's Successor knows that he must take on this supreme desire of the Divine Master in a particularly special way. To him, indeed, has been entrusted the duty of strengthening his brethren. "Thus, in full awareness and at the beginning of his ministry in the Church of Rome that Peter bathed with his blood, the current Successor assumes as his primary commitment that of working tirelessly towards the reconstitution of the full and visible unity of all Christ's followers. This is his ambition, this is his compelling duty. He is aware that to do so, expressions of good feelings are not enough. Concrete gestures are required to penetrate souls and move consciences, encouraging everyone to that interior conversion which is the basis for all progress on the road of ecumenism. "Theological dialogue is necessary. A profound examination of the historical reasons behind past choices is also indispensable. But even more urgent is that 'purification of memory,' which was so often evoked by John Paul II, and which alone can dispose souls to welcome the full truth of Christ. It is before Him, supreme Judge of all living things, that each of us must stand, in the awareness that one day we must explain to Him what we did and what we did not do for the great good that is the full and visible unity of all His disciples. "The current Successor of Peter feels himself to be personally implicated in this question and is disposed to do all in his power to promote the fundamental cause of ecumenism. In the wake of his predecessors, he is fully determined to cultivate any initiative that may seem appropriate to promote contact and agreement with representatives from the various Churches and ecclesial communities. Indeed, on this occasion too, he sends them his most cordial greetings in Christ, the one Lord of all.

"In this moment, I go back in my memory to the unforgettable experience we all underwent with the death and the funeral of the lamented John Paul II. Around his mortal remains, lying on the bare earth, leaders of nations gathered, with people from all social classes and especially the young, in an unforgettable embrace of affection and admiration. The entire world looked to him with trust. To many it seemed as if that intense participation, amplified to the confines of the planet by the social communications media, was like a choral request for help addressed to the Pope by modern humanity which, wracked by fear and uncertainty, questions itself about the future. "The Church today must revive within herself an awareness of the task to present the world again with the voice of the One Who said: 'I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.' In undertaking his ministry, the new Pope knows that his task is to bring the light of Christ to shine before the men and women of today: not his own light but that of Christ. "With this awareness, I address myself to everyone, even to those who follow other religions or who are simply seeking an answer to the fundamental questions of life and have not yet found it. I address everyone with simplicity and affection, to assure them that the Church wants to continue to build an open and sincere dialogue with them, in a search for the true good of mankind and of society. "From God I invoke unity and peace for the human family and declare the willingness of all Catholics to cooperate for true social development, one that respects the dignity of all human beings. "I will make every effort and dedicate myself to pursuing the promising dialogue that my predecessors began with various civilizations, because it is mutual understanding that gives rise to conditions for a better future for everyone. "I am particularly thinking of young people. To them, the privileged interlocutors of John Paul II, I send an affectionate embrace in the hope, God willing, of meeting them at Cologne on the occasion of the next World Youth Day. With you, dear young people, I will continue to maintain a dialogue, listening to your expectations in an attempt to help you meet ever more profoundly the living, ever young, Christ.

"'Mane nobiscum, Domine!' Stay with us Lord! This invocation, which forms the dominant theme of John Paul II's Apostolic Letter for the Year of the Eucharist, is the prayer that comes spontaneously from my heart as I turn to begin the ministry to which Christ has called me. Like Peter, I too renew to Him my unconditional promise of faithfulness. He alone I intend to serve as I dedicate myself totally to the service of His Church. "In support of this promise, I invoke the maternal intercession of Mary Most Holy, in whose hands I place the present and the future of my person and of the Church. May the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the saints, also intercede. "With these sentiments I impart to you venerated brother cardinals, to those participating in this ritual, and to all those following to us by television and radio, a special and affectionate blessing."

The Devil and the Nazarene

2005-04-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

by James B. Reuter, S.J.
The Philippine Star 04/23/2005

My good friends keep sending me words of wisdom, which they have found helpful. One of my very good friends is Johnny Mercado, whom I have known at close range for more than fifty years – first as a young religious writer, with stars in his eyes, reporting for the Catholic Sentinel; then through the stormy days of martial law, when he was persecuted and imprisoned; and finally through the long years when he was a powerful journalist for the United Nations, based in Bangkok and in the United States. He sent me this, because it appealed very strongly to him:

The Resume of Jesus Christ

Address: Ephesians 1:20

Phone: Romans 10:13

Website: The Bible

Key Words: Christ, Lord, Saviour, Jesus

Hello! My name is Jesus – The Christ. Many call me "Lord" I have sent you my resume because I am seeking the top management position in your heart.

Please consider my accomplishments, as set forth in my resume.

Qualifications:

I founded the earth and established the heavens. (See Pro-verbs 3:19)

I formed man from the dust of the ground. (See Genesis 2:7)

I breathed into man the breath of life. (See Genesis 2:7)

I redeemed man from the curse of the law. (See Galatians 3:13)

The blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant come upon your life through me. (See Galatians 3:14)

Occupational Background:

I have only had one employer. (See Luke 2:49)

I have never been tardy, absent, disobedient, slothful or disrespectful. My employer has nothing but rave reviews for me.

(See Matthew 3:15-17)

Skills. Work Experience:

Some of my skills and work experience include: empowering the poor to be poor no more, healing the broken hearted, setting captives free, healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind, and setting at liberty them that are bruised. (See Luke 4:18)

I am a wonderful counselor (See Isaiah 9:16)

People who listen to me shall dwell safely and shall not fear evil. (See Proverbs 1:33)

Most importantly, I have the authority, ability and power to cleanse you of your sins. (See I John 1:7-9)

Educational Background:

I encompass the entire breadth and length of knowledge, wisdom and understanding. (See Proverbs 2:6)

In me are hidden all of the reassures of wisdom and knowledge. (See Colossians 2:3)

My word is so powerful; it has been described as being a lamp unto your feet and a lamp unto your path. (See Psalms 119:105)

I can even tell you all the secrets of your heart. (See Psalms 44:21)

Major Accomplishments:

I was an active participant in the greatest Summit Meeting of all times. (See Genesis 1:26)

I laid down my life so that you may live. (See II Corinthians 5:15)

I defeated the archenemy of God and mankind and made a show of them openly. (See Collosians 2:15)

I have miraculously fed the poor, healed the sick, and raised the dead!

There are many more major accomplishments, too many to mention here. You can read them on my website, which is located at: www dot – the BIBLE. You do not need an Internet connection or computer to access my website.

References:

Believers and followers worldwide will testify to my divine healings, salvation, deliverance, miracles, restoration and supernatural guidance.

In Summation:

Now that you have read my resume, I am confident that I am the only candidate uniquely qualified to fill this vital position in your heart. In summation, I will properly direct your paths. (See Proverbs 3:5-6) and I will lead you into everlasting life. (See John 6:47) When can I start? Time is of the essence. (See Hebrews 3:15) Please send this resume to everyone you know. You never know who may have an opening! Thank you for your help.

And may God bless you!

Another good friend who sends me things is Sister Emma Garol. She is a beautiful young nun, a Daughter of Saint Paul, who worked in my office for some time because the apostolate of the Daughters of Saint Paul is media. One woman, who had dealings with Sister Emma in my office, said: "She is the most beautiful nun, and the most pleasant person that I have ever known." She is now based in Australia, where she went through a bitter bout with cancer, and survived. She sent me this, because it appealed very strongly to her:

THE DEVIL’S BEATITUDES

Blessed are those who are too tired, too busy, too distracted to spend an hour once a week with their fellow Christians in Church – they are my workers.

Blessed are those Christians who want to be asked and expect to be thanked – I can use them.

Blessed are the touchy, with a bit of luck they may stop going to Church – they are my missionaries.

Blessed are those who are very religious but get on everyone’s nerves – they are mine forever.

Blessed are the trouble makers – they shall be called my children.

Blessed are those who have no time to pray – they are easy prey for me.

Blessed are the gossipers – for they are my secret agents.

Blessed are those who are critical of Church leadership – for they shall inherit a place with me, in my fate.

Blessed are the complainers – I am all ears for them.

Blessed are you when you read this and think it is about other people and not yourself – I’ve got you!

The great truth about Johnny Mercado’s "Resume of Christ Our Lord" is that God is really reaching out to us, constantly searching for the lost lamb.

And the great truth about Sister Emma’s "Beatitudes of Satan" is that you really have to work at loving God by loving people. The sounds of love don’t just happen. You have to make them!

* * *

Did Jesus really make Peter Pope?

2005-04-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

Did Jesus really make Peter Pope?
By Fr William Saunders

A Protestant friend of mine and I recently had a debate over whether Jesus actually made St. Peter the first pope. Although I cited Matthew 16, my friend had some other interpretation of it. What is a good answer to this question?

In Catholic tradition, the foundation for the office of the pope is indeed found primarily in Matthew 16:13-20. Here, Jesus asked the question, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" The Apostles responded, "Some say John the Baptizer, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." Our Lord then turned to them and point-blank asked them, "And you, who do you say that I am?"

St. Peter, still officially known as Simon, replied, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Our Lord recognized that this answer was grace-motivated: "No mere man has revealed this to you, but My heavenly Father."

Because of this response, our Lord said to St. Peter, "You are 'Rock,' and on this rock I will build My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The name change itself from Simon to Peter indicates the Apostle being called to a special role of leadership; recall how Abram's name was changed to Abraham, or Jacob's to Israel, or Saul's to Paul, when each of them was called to assume a special role of leadership among God's people.

The word "rock" also has special significance. On one hand, to be called "rock" was a Semitic expression designating the solid foundation upon which a community would be built. For instance, Abraham was considered "rock" because he was the father of the Jewish people (and we refer to him as our father in faith) and the one with whom the covenant was first made.

On the other hand, no one except God was called specifically "rock," nor was it ever used as a proper name except for God. To give the name "rock" to St. Peter indicates that our Lord entrusted to him a special authority. Some antipapal parties try to play linguistic games with the original Greek Gospel text, where the masculine-gender word "petros," meaning a small, moveable rock, refers to St. Peter while the feminine-gender word "petra," meaning a massive, immoveable rock, refers to the foundation of the Church. However, in the original Aramaic language, which is what Jesus spoke and which is believed to be the original language of St. Matthew's Gospel, the word "Kepha," meaning rock, would be used in both places without gender distinction or difference in meaning. The gender problem arises when translating from Aramaic to Greek and using the proper form to modify the masculine word "Peter" or feminine word "Church."

"The gates of hell" is also an interesting Semitic expression. The heaviest forces were positioned at gates; so this expression captures the greatest warmaking power of a nation. Here this expression refers to the powers opposed to what our Lord is establishing-the Church. (A similar expression is used in reference to our Lord in Acts 2:24: "God freed Him from the bitter pangs of hell, however, and raised Him up again, for it was impossible that death should keep its hold on Him.") Jesus associated St. Peter and his office so closely with Himself that He became a visible force protecting the Church and keeping back the power of hell.

Second, Jesus says, "I will entrust to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven." In the Old Testament, the "number two" person in the Kingdom literally held the keys. In Isaiah 22: 19-22 we find a reference to Eliakim, the master of the palace of King Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:17ff) and keeper of the keys. As a sign of his position, the one who held the keys represented the king, acted with his authority and had to act in accord with the king's mind. Therefore, St. Peter and each of his successors represent our Lord on this earth as His Vicar and lead the faithful flock of the Church to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Finally, Jesus says, "Whatever you declare bound on earth shall be bound in heaven; whatever you declare loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven." This is rabbinic terminology. A rabbi could bind, declaring an act forbidden or excommunicating a person for serious sin; or a rabbi could loose, declaring an act permissible or reconciling an excommunicated sinner to the community.

Here, Christ entrusted a special authority to St. Peter to preserve, interpret and teach His truth. In all, this understanding of Matthew 16 was unchallenged until the Protestant leaders wanted to legitimize their rejection of papal authority and the office of the pope. Even the Orthodox Churches recognize the pope as the successor of St. Peter; however, they do not honor his binding jurisdiction over the whole Church but grant him a position of "first among equals."

St. Peter's role in the New Testament further substantiates the Catholic belief concerning the papacy and what Jesus said in Matthew 16. St. Peter held a preeminent position among the Apostles. He is always listed first (Mt. 10:14; Mk. 3:16-19; Lk. 6:14-1 5; Acts 1:13) and is sometimes the only one mentioned (Lk. 9:32). He speaks for the Apostles (Mt. 18:21; Mk. 8:28; Lk. 12:41; Jn. 6:69).

When our Lord selects a group of three for some special event, such as the Transfiguration, St. Peter is in the first position. Our Lord chose to teach from St. Peter's boat. At Pentecost St. Peter preached to the crowds and told of the mission of the Church (Acts 2;14-40). He performed the first miraculous healing (Acts 3:6-7). SL Peter also received the revelation that the Gentiles were to be baptized (Acts 10:9-48) and sided with St. Paul against the need for circumcision (Acts 15). At the end of his life, St. Peter was crucified, but in his humility asked to be crucified upside down.

As Catholics, we believe that the authority given to St. Peter did not end with his life but was handed on to his successors. The earliest writings attest to this belief. St. Irenaeus in his Adversus Haereses described how the Church at Rome was founded by St. Peter and St. Paul and traced the handing on of the office of St. Peter through Linus, Cletus (also called Anacletus), and so on, through 12 successors to his own present day, Pope Eleutherius. Tertullian in De Praescriptione Haereticorum asserted the same point as did Origen in his Commentaries on John, St. Cyprian of Carthage in his The Unity of the Catholic Church and many others.

Granted, the expression of papal authority becomes magnified after the legalization of Christianity and especially after the fall of the Roman Empire and the ensuing political chaos. Nevertheless, our Church boasts of an unbroken line of legitimate successors of St. Peter who stand in the stead of Christ We must always remember that one of the official titles of the pope, first taken by Pope Gregory the Great is "Servant of the Servants of God."

As we think of this answer, may we be mindful of our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, and pray for his intentions.

Fr. Saunders is president of the Notre Dame Institute and associate pastor of Queen of Apostles Parish, both in Alexandria.

This article appeared in the October 20, 1994 issue of The Arlington Catholic Herald.

Source:
http://www.catholic-pages.com/pope/peter.asp

We Have a Pope !

2005-04-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI
(an Excerpt)
by Matthew Bunson

Introduction
The idea for this book was first conceived several years ago during a conversation with Greg Erlandson, president and publisher of Our Sunday Visitor. We were discussing the flurry of activities that was likely to surround the passing of Pope John Paul II and the election of his successor. While aware even then of the magnitude of John Paul II no one was prepared for the depth of emotion, the spiritual power, and the sheer historical significance of his funeral we both realized clearly the amount of interest there would be in the next pope to be chosen to follow in the footsteps of John Paul the Great.

It occurred to Greg that a biography, published immediately after the election of the new pope, might go some way in introducing Our Sunday Visitor's readers to our new pope.
From the start, we were determined that such a biography should not be merely a project crashed through the editorial process and rushed out into print to be number one. There will be several such books published over the next weeks and months. Nor is this book expected to be a final definitive biography of the new Vicar of Christ. Such a work must by its nature be the fruit of long reflection and undertaken after the shape and scope of the new pontificate can be assessed adequately. The very length of this book would preclude such ambitions and be impossible owing to its chief aim.

This book is intended to offer a first gentle introduction to the new Vicar of Christ, Successor to Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, and the Servant of the Servants of God. What we hope with this present volume is to provide readers with a sketch of sorts of the amazing events of the last weeks: the passing of Pope John Paul II as an eloquent icon of suffering conformed profoundly to Christ; the largest and most memorable funeral in Catholic history; the quiet but portentous days after John Paul's interment in St. Peter's Basilica, the ancient tradition of the conclave; and the triumphant declaration of the white smoke, the ringing of the bells, and Cardinal Medina Estevez's declaration, "Habemus papam!" From there, attention will be paid to the life of Joseph Ratzinger who is now our shepherd as Pope Benedict XVI. Throughout, readers will find excerpts from his brilliant writings and accounts of the events that shaped his life.

The last chapter of this book is devoted to assessing the challenges, crises, and opportunities confronting Pope Benedict XVI, with an eye toward forecasting what he might do in dealing with them. We do not know what kind of a pope he will be or what he has in store for all of us who still mourn the passing of our beloved Karol Wojtyla.

And so a new pontificate commences, the 265th in the 2,000 year history of the Church. Papal history gives us little to go on for direction in anticipating what the next years will bring. Pope Benedict XVI is a pontiff aware acutely of the place of John Paul II the Great who is likely to be declared in the future John Paul II the Great, Doctor of the Church, and perhaps even a saint. The burdens of the papacy are heavy indeed, and the Shoes of the Fisherman are difficult to fill for any one pope. Pope Benedict XVI begins his pontificate with a double challenge. Not only has he been asked to succeed to the Holy See and so inherit the challenges of his 264 predecessors, he is a new pope following one of history's transcendent figures.
In assuming his place as successor to John Paul II and also to Saint Peter and all of the popes between them, Joseph Ratzinger as Benedict XVI offers a chance to see the faith alive within the context of continuity and consolidation: Continuity in the decision of the College of Cardinals to provide certitude to the continuation of John Paul's own grand vision for the Church in a new millennium and consolidation in advancing further that vision in dialogue with a deeply troubled and conflicted world.

There is no question that Joseph Ratzinger was the best known, most famous, and most influential member of the College of Cardinals. He was the most towering figure entering a conclave since 1939 when Eugenio Pacelli entered as Secretary of State and Cardinal Camerlengo, along with a sparkling reputation for his diplomatic and intellectual gifts. Joseph Ratzinger emerged from the conclave in 2005 as Supreme Pontiff for many of the same reasons that Pacelli walked out of his in 1939 as Pope Pius XII. In its collective wisdom, guided by the Holy Spirit, the Sacred College concluded in four ballots over two days that he was ideally suited to carry forward the legacy of John Paul II in continuity and consolidation while remaining firmly and eloquently faithful to his own gifts and his authentic commitment to the Catholic faith.

The challenges he faces are daunting, but Benedict XVI has long been preparing for this moment. He did not choose to be pope. Indeed, he did not even wish to remain in the positions of power he had been given by the man he succeeds. Then Cardinal Ratzinger tried to leave as prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith in the early 1990's. But John Paul II, his friend and pope, asked him to remain a laborer in the vineyard. And so he remained. Now, at the age of 78, the oldest pontiff in nearly three centuries at the time of his election (older even than Blessed John XXIII at the time of his election in 1958), Joseph Ratzinger has one more task to accomplish. He must undertake one more labor in the vineyard. This time he has been asked by his fellow Cardinals. More importantly, he has been asked by the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit who called him to serve as a priest, who set him aside to be a bishop and a cardinal, and who has guided every step of his life as a follower of Christ.

While his pontificate may prove long or short, great or transitional, Pope Benedict XVI has been chosen for this role by his fellow Cardinals. Above all, he has been chosen by the Holy Spirit. That truth alone should bring hope and confidence.

The Priceless Legacy of the Polish Pope

2005-04-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

The priceless legacy of the 'Polish Pope'
April 17, 2005
By John J. Carroll, S.J.
Inquirer News Service

SPEAKING to the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square to greet the new pope, on Oct. 16, 1978, John Paul II said that if Divine Providence had willed that a Pole be elected to the Chair of Peter at that point in history, it seemed to mean that the Polish Church had something to contribute to the Church as a whole.

Reflecting on those words, I recalled conversations with a Polish priest-student in Rome who, before coming for studies, had been secretary to the "other" cardinal in Poland, Karol Wojtyla, the future John Paul II. He was the "other cardinal" because he was overshadowed by his senior, the formidable Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski, who had suffered imprisonment under the communist regime and was seen as a hero by the Polish people for his uncompromising defense of the Church and opposition to the communist state.

The Polish student told me that, in his country, the individual bishops had no more autonomy relative to Cardinal Wyszynski than had the communist commissars relative to the Communist Party leadership. Two disciplined monoliths, the communist state and the Catholic Church, confronted each other, and neither had room for internal dissent. Cardinal Wojtyla sometimes disagreed with the policies of Wyszynski but always deferred to the latter, never allowing their disagreements to become public and resisting every effort on the part of the state to create divisions between them.

This image of loyalty to a superior was reinforced by a photograph showing the future John Paul II kneeling beside the papal chair on which his predecessor, John Paul I, was seated, and embracing the latter in a mighty bear-hug as he pledged his fidelity.

This suggests to me that when Karol Wojtyla found himself seated in that same papal chair less than two months later, it was with a sense that he had paid his dues in terms of loyalty to superiors, and that he now had the right to expect the same loyalty from others.

In the ensuing months, as I read the new pope's Sunday homilies and more formal addresses, it struck me that he saw Christianity as threatened by two powerful enemies. One of these-militant atheism-he had known at first hand. The other was more subtle but, perhaps, even more dangerous-militant secularism, the notion that one can live a good and productive life, can develop one's talents and serve one's neighbor without any reference to God; or indeed that concern with the things of God can be an obstacle to full commitment to the human and earthly task.

If the first of these two enemies had its fortresses in Eastern Europe, in China and in Cuba, the second had its bases in Western Europe and North America, from which it was spreading like a contagion to Latin America and the developing world.

The strategy which John Paul II developed to confront these double threats owed much, I suspect, to his Polish experience, and not only to the experience of discipline and loyalty to the institution. He had been trained as an intellectual, had taught philosophy, written philosophical works, and had been a member of a group of Catholic philosophers who used the writings of the young Karl Marx, particularly his respect for human freedom, to criticize the Polish Communist Party. A powerful, creative thinker, he was able to throw new light on Catholic social teaching, centering it more solidly on the dignity of the human person and bringing it to bear on issues such as the rights of labor and the Cold War. He was a master in the use of the media, and knew well how to appeal over the heads of society's "leaders" to the ordinary people, the youth in particular.

Meeting him face to face, one had the feeling that John Paul's eyes were boring into one, calling out the best in him or her in terms of faith, courage, commitment, love. He was not afraid to make heroic demands on the individual. In his philosophical writings, he emphasized human freedom, holding that by one's free acts in response to the call of truth, the human being in a sense creates oneself as a person. He had little sympathy for ideas that would diminish human freedom and pass responsibility for one's actions to psychological conditioning, social forces, or "sinful structures."

Similarly, he called for discipline in the Church as it confronts the challenges of today, and had little sympathy for dissent, or, perhaps, even for dialogue, within the Church. Historians will debate whether this element of his strategy was well chosen or reflected too much his Polish experience. It would seem that the discipline demanded and the centralization of decision-making during his pontificate run counter to the collegiality of the bishops emphasized in Vatican II, whereby they are to share in the governing of the Church, and to the role of the laity as emphasized in the same council. Many feel that his strategy has led to polarization rather than unity in the Church.

Perhaps, the conclave which will elect the successor to John Paul II, or his successor, might reflect on the three "social virtues" discussed by the same Karol Wojtyla in his philosophical work "The Acting Person." They are, first of all, solidarity by which one affirms his or her belonging to a society. Second is opposition when one is excluded from full participation in the society to which he or she belongs, as were Catholics in Poland under the communists; in such circumstances, opposition was an affirmation of belonging more than retreating into a ghetto or emigrating abroad. Third is dialogue, whereby such problems are worked out and the common good is more adequately attained.

St Paul and St. Therese

2005-04-19T03:15:00.000-07:00

Dear St Paul of Tarsus and St Therese of Lisieux,

Thank you for lately knocking at my door. I can not measure the joy you bring.

Praise be our Lord God.

JOHN PAUL II AND HIS CHRISTIAN PERSONALISM

2005-04-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

JOHN PAUL II AND HIS CHRISTIAN PERSONALISM
by Fr. Joel O. Jason, SThL

Experts are agreed that one of the most unique contributions of John Paul II to the world is his "Christian personalism". It is a way of looking at humanity and appreciating his beauty only in the light of the man-God, Jesus Christ. It is a way of looking at the human person from the perspective of man as imago dei, "image of God" - a creature who has a natural capacity to know the truth, and whose true beauty and goodness unfolds in the discovery and embracing of that truth. This was the main thesis of his very first encyclical letter, Redemptor Hominis (The Redeemer of Man) which came out March 4, 1979. Premised on the Christian conviction of Jesus as both true God and true man, understanding of the truth about God must lead us to Christ. Likewise, understanding the truth about man should likewise lead us to Christ. For 26 years, he has courageously taught this truth. For this truth he has suffered.

While the sea of humanity gathered at St. Peter's for his funeral clamored "santo subito" (sainthood now), and the multitudes all over the world now call him "Il Grande" (the great), some view John Paul II as 'naive' and his papacy "a great disappointment" for his stand on feminist concerns, contraception and human freedom among others. But what did John Paul really teach on these issues?

JOHN PAUL II AND GENUINE FREEDOM
Reflecting on the biblical imagery prohibiting partaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, "You are free to eat from any of the trees ... except the tree of knowledge of good and bad. (Gen 2:16-17), John Paul teaches in Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth) that it is not because God does not want us to know what is good and what is bad. Rather it is the biblical way of telling us that it is not for man to decide what is good and what is bad. To decide what is good and what is bad is God's alone. That was temptation of the serpent, "the moment you eat you shall be like God ..." (Gen 3:5). Eve, and later Adam fell into that temptation. And so began the entry of sin in history.

Goodness is based on the truth and truth is objective. Man does not and cannot invent the truth. Man only discovers the truth and must cling to that true as revealed in Scriptures (Divine Law), and in rational reflection on human nature (natural law). In that truth, we become free. Sir Isaac Newton did not invent but merely discovered the law of gravity, a law that is objective, a law that we obey, a law that makes us truly free.

Counterfeit freedom is the power to do what I like, regardless of its consequence on myself and others. Genuine freedom is the power to choose what I ought, to do the good. Counterfeit freedom is based on personal likes and dislikes. Genuine freedom is founded on the truth. To illustrate, false freedom tells me to beat the law of the red light. In the process, I harm or kill myself and others. Genuine freedom prompts me to embrace that law and to choose to stop. Then I become more free, because it keeps me alive and others as well.

John Paul II sees the pro-choice philosophy as founded on the same serpentine seduction. I choose abortion because this is what I like, regardless of what that choice will mean for the rights of another living person, regardless of the truth of the existence of another person over whose life I have no sovereignty. Counterfeit freedom is actually license - the power to do what I like. (Wonder why people issued wit a driver's license behave the way they do in the streets? Maybe it's time to call it driver's freedom). And license is a sin specifically condemned in Scriptures " ... from within people ... come evil thoughts ... licentiousness, envy, blasphemy..."(Mark 7:21-22). Freedom cannot be achieved apart from law. With insightful distinction, John Paul propose that genuine fredom is not anomy (a-without, nomos-law) or the absence of law. Genuine freedom is actually autonomy (autos-self;nomos-law) or the integration of the law within one's self. More precisely, in the Christian's point of view, genuine freedom is a participated theonomy (theos - God; nomos-law), i.e., a participation in God's law

JOHN PAUL II AND GENUINE FEMINISM
A necessary consequence of John Paul's teaching on genuine freedom is the affirmation that men and women will experience the true fulfillment in discovering and remaining in the truth of who they really are. John Paul II proposes that the true liberation of the sexes happens in the discovery of who humanity really is. And that means a re-affirmation and re-appreciation of the truth about their singularity, uniqueness and complementarity, not necessarily uniformity. In Mulieris Dignitatem (The Dignity of Women) John Paul II warns against the seduction that deceives women into thinking that it is only outside of marriage, maternity and the family that they can find fulfillment.

On the question of ordination of women, John Paul, nor the Church has never nor will teach that women are "unfit" for ordination. Could this be the reason why John Paul has always described the priesthood as a vocation and not a profession? A gift and not a claim? In fact, it has been the consistent teaching of the Church that no one is "fit" for
ordination. If it were so, the Virgin Mary, "blessed among women", and in fact among all creation, would have been the most worthy candidate. In the course of His Galilean ministry, Jesus definitely gave women their inherent dignity despite the bias against women of His age. Always actingagainst unjust discriminatory practices, calling her as head of the apostles would have been the clincher. But for some reason, Jesus did not confer it on Mary nor on the other women who stood by Him when all the men ran away. While there may not be any solid theological reason that would prevent women from being ordained, and while women ordination may come to be in the future of the Church, what is sure at the moment is that mindful of what Jesus, the apostles and their late successors did, the Church does what she does, from the motive of apostolic fidelity, not discrimination.

Another related point. A recent letter to a major daily also criticized John Paul for canonizing saint, a modern-day woman who choose that should complications arise, her child be allowed to live instead of her. It was not specific but she must be referring to Gianna Beretta Molla who was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 24, 1994, during the international Year of the Family. The letter asked, "What signal did it send? That it was alright to die and leave other children behind?". No. The signal it sends is "Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child in her womb?" (Isaiah 49:15). The woman who was canonized not because one life is better than the other. She was canonized because the signal her life sends is "No greater love a man can have than to lay his life for a friend."(John 15:13) John Paul canonized that modern-day woman because motherhood is the first school where we learn these values. And some misguided feminist philosophies are robbing motherhood of its nobility.

Another developing trend nowadays is women who want children but not a husband nor marriage. Thus, the proliferation of in vitro(in a petri dish) fertility clinics and womb-for-hire practices. Ironically, this feminist mentality all the more objectifies the women hired as surrogates. They are only as good as their womb. Sadly, the children too are objectified. John Paul in Familaris Consortio reminds us that children are gifts of the marital covenant. They are not properties we can have at our whim. As gifts, the first inherent right children deserve is to be nurtured in the context of a family and the paternal and maternal presence it provides.

Truly, it is unfortunate that there are single parent families. We do not fault these single parents for they are not necessarily to be blamed. But to subject children purposely into such situation by our whims would be grossly irresponsible and selfish on the part of us adults.

John Paul also taught eloquently about the human body and the respect it command. His "theology of the body" is the core of his teachings on sexual responsibility, purity and chastity. We hear it often said, "If you have it, flaunt it." For John Paul II, some things are hidden to keep private not because it's ugly. On the contrary, some things are kept private because they are beautiful, too beautiful in fact as to be sacred. This is why couples celebrate the marital act not in parks but in the privacy of their rooms. This is why we feel violated when others invade our "inner sanctums", the things/persons we hold sacred. Following John Paul's line of thought, the malice of pornography is not because it reveals too much. On the contrary, it reveals too little of the human person. It arrests the person's beauty only to his/her sexual attractiveness. It reduces the human body to a commodity and an object of pleasure.

The true liberation of women lies in the discovery of profound truth, something commonly ignored by the times we live in.

A recent editorial also blamed John Paul II's teaching on contraception as the reason for the poverty in the world. Such a statement betrays a gross misunderstanding of the issue. Some clarifications are in order. John Paul, nor the Church has never taught that couples should have as many children as they could. Couple are only to raise children that they could reasonably look after and provide for. The Church does not even teach that each act of marital intercourse should result in a child because it does not. The natural periods of female infertility points to this. What the Church teaches is that each act of marital intercourse should remain open to the possibility of parenthood. This openness couples manifest when they do not resort to acts or methods (contraception) that have as its intent that no life shall be conceived from this intercourse. Contraception is morally unacceptable not because it is artificial, but because it is contraceptive -- i.e., it actually destroys and prevents life from being conceived. Likewise, natural family planning (NFP) is morally acceptable not because it is not "artificial", but because it is not contraceptive. In NFP, couples simply tune in to the natural fertility/infertility cycles of the woman, the way God intended her to be. It is simply sex in its most natural beauty, with its natural period of fertility and infertility, the way God intended it to be. Some accuse this teaching as a "physicalist strand of the Eternal Law of God in the order of procreation." I beg to disagree. What is physicalist is to believe that man and woman is powerless before his physical/sexual urges. NFP tells us otherwise. We control our reproductive lies by reason, not by season.

Obviously, this requires discipline and dialogue from couples. Herein lies the beauty of NFP. Responsible parenthood becomes a shared responsibility. Dialogue is promoted and the husband is taught to treat the wife vice versa, not as a passive property, but as a partner. In NFP, the woman is truly respected because we do not dump her body with harmful and potentially fatal chemicals to control her fertility. In NFP, we do not surrender to chemicals something that is properly the realm of personal responsibility and human discipline.

Now the Cardinals are preparing for the conclave to choose the next Pope. Speculations of whether the next Pope should be "traditional" or "liberal" abound. Papal biographer George Weigel, when asked how Paul II will be remembered by history answered succinctly. "He is the Great Christian witness". When the Cardinals gather in a conclave on the 18th of April, traditional or liberal will not be the agenda. What they will ask the Holy Spirit for is a man of witness - a witness to the truth about God, love and humanity. Veni Creator Spiritus ! (Come, Creator Spirit!)

About the author :
Fr Joel A. Jason is a diocesan priest of the Archdiocese of Manila. He is presently assigned as spiritual director of San Carlos Seminary in Guadalupe, Makati. He is also professor of Moral Theology, Sexuality and Bioethics and heads the Ministry for Family and Life of the Archdiocese of Manila.

Address: San Carlos Seminary, EDSA Guadalupe, Makati City

Prayer to St Therese

2005-04-17T16:18:00.000-07:00

St. Therese, beloved friend, you promised to spend your heaven doing good upon earth. We come before you in our need.

We believe that you listen to us and approach God for and with us. You are love in the heart of the Church.

You are love in the heart of God. Please accept these petitions, hopes, needs, and dreams I list below. Please present them to our Loving Father so that God may do what is best for us, for our loved ones, and for the fulfillment of God's Kingdom.

Continue your shower of roses in our lives. We ask you, dear friend, with the bold confidence and loving surrender you taught us.

We make this prayerful petition in the name of Jesus and through the power of His Spirit.

The Good Shepherd

2005-04-17T14:46:00.000-07:00

The good shepherd John 10:11-18

JESUS said, "I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know Mine and Mine know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I will lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from My Father."

The WORD

Other sheep – The plateaus of Israel offer abundant pasture, and sheep and goats are the chief support of the pastoral peoples. In the Bible, allusions to sheep and to sheep raising abound. The care of sheep is a rich source of theological imagery. The sheep must be protected from the wild beasts, inclement weather, and thieves (Gn 31:39-40). They are kept inside an enclosure or sheepfold (Greek auls). Sometimes, the sheepfold is jointly used by a number of shepherds for a plurality of flocks, guarded by an attendant through the night. In the morning, each shepherd calls forth his own flock.

The sheepfold, especially if it is a permanent one and enclosed by stone walls, is entered through the gate. It is through the gate that the shepherd comes in and the sheep go out when they are led to pasture.

In John, the sheepfold represents the gathering of Jesus’ disciples and of later believers. In His discourse on the "Good Shepherd," Jesus says that aside from His followers He has "other sheep that do not belong to this fold," which He will also call (10:16). This group possibly refers to the Jews not yet belonging to the Johannine community and "outsiders" like the Samaritans and the Gentiles. These are the "dispersed children of God" (Jn 11:52) for whom Jesus will also give His life. When Jesus returns to the glory of the Father, the disciples will preach the gospel to them and welcome them to their community, the sheepfold of Jesus.

SOURCE:
"365 Days with the Lord,"
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Tel.: 895-9701;
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MYSTERIES OF LIGHT

2005-04-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

MYSTERIES OF LIGHT
Rev. John Phalen, CSC

The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, in his Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, encourages us to pray the new Mysteries of Light to contemplate the face of Christ with Mary accompanying us. “It is during the years of his public ministry that the mystery of Christ is most evidently a mystery of light: ‘While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’” (JN 8:12) RVMp9

GOD’S LOVE FOR US
Let us pray that Christ will give us a deeper understanding of God’s love for us through the five Mysteries of Light.

I. THE BAPTISM IN THE JORDAN
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17

Christ descended into the waters of the Jordan River, the innocent one who became “sin” for our sake (2 Cor. 5:21). The heavens opened wide and the voice of the Father proclaimed him the beloved Son. Our prayer time, too, is an opportunity to rejoice that we are beloved of God, that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him (sees his light) might not perish, but might have eternal life.” (JN 3:16) The Spirit descended on him to invest him with his mission.

Loving God, help me to realize that the mission vested in me by virtue of my baptism is based upon your tremendous love for me.

II. CHRIST’S SELF-MANIFESTATION AT THE WEDDING OF CANA
"Women, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servers, "Do whatever he tells you." (Jn 2:1-12)

“His mother said to the servers, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” John 2:5

In the finding of the child, Jesus, in the Temple, he had to be about the work of his Father, while his mother was upset that he could have done such a thing as to go missing. Now at Cana it is the mother of Jesus who prepares the way for his self- manifestation as the Christ. “Do whatever he tells you.” she says confidently to the servers, implying that the hour of his self-manifestation had come.

What love was felt by Son and mother for the bride and groom. This was the first of many signs which revealed Christ’s glory.

Loving God, teach me that there is no need or disappointment I may experience which does not stir you to compassion.

III. THE PROCLAMATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
"This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." (Mk 1:15)

“But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth, he said to the paralytic, ‘I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.’” Mark 2:10, 11

What greater sign of God’s loving mercy than the testimony of forgiveness of sins freely given? The people were scandalized that Christ would forgive sins, and yet amazed when he cured a paralytic, having first forgiven him. The forgiveness combined with the healing are signs of the true identity of the merciful Christ (cf. Mark 2:3-13).

Oh God, you are so loving that you grant me forgiveness of my sins through the sacramental reconciliation offered by your Church. What a grace and blessing! May I never be too proud to seek conversion. Help me see in Christ the revelation of your Kingdom of mercy and light.

IV. THE TRANSFIGURATION

“While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.” Luke 9:29

Those who are close to God in prayer have something different about their appearance. There is an aura about them, much like what is depicted as a luminous halo. The fact is, real deep prayer changes us and makes us more loving, more like the Christ. In this mystery we contemplate the Christ, transfigured and beaming, shining in splendor and holiness. The voice of the Father speaks once again and commands the apostles to listen to His chosen Son.

Loving God, help me to remember those mountain-top experiences of grace and favor in which your presence was so obvious to me. May the luminous memory of them motivate me to listen to your word even when I am uninspired.

V. THE INSTITUTION OF THE EUCHARIST
Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father.
“He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.” John 13:1b

Jesus, at the last supper, gave himself to his apostles as bread and wine transformed, and as service in the washing of their feet. He revealed himself not only as master and teacher, but as the Christ as he encouraged them to imitate him by washing each other’s feet.

Real love manifests itself in service. Help us, oh God to know how to reach out to others and aid them. I am confident that such washing of the feet will help me realize how great is your love for all your sons and daughters. May we imitate Christ in service, for we are the Body of Christ.

JOHN PAUL II, THE GREAT

2005-04-13T13:40:00.000-07:00

Why we should call him Pope John Paul the Great
By Gerald Korson, Editor

"Ah, man's own weight, the proper weight of man!" exclaims the title character in the authorized English translation of Karol Wojtyla's ponderous three-act play, "The Jeweler's Shop." His jeweler's scales, he explains, "have this peculiarity that they weigh not the metal, but man's entire being and fate."

Taken in the singular, the concept is expressed also in the philosopher's query, "What is the measure of a man?" Put yet another way, how do we take stock and evaluate the life, character and contributions of an individual person?

In the case of the playwright Pope John Paul II, it seems a daunting task to take a comprehensive measure of his "proper weight." In paying tribute to a man whose sense of service to the Church and humanity led him to reach out to the world like no pontiff before him, many possible recollections, stories, anecdotes and listings of achievements could be developed without fully capturing the essence of the fingerprint his pontificate leaves behind.

Even an encyclopedic treatment would prove insufficient to exhaust the mine of golden memories buried deep within the hearts of so many whose lives he touched. As a far less voluminous effort, this two-section issue of Our Sunday Visitor likewise can offer little more than a mere summary of Pope John Paul II's life, his mission and his 26-plus-year reign as visible head of the Catholic Church.

We open with a biographical study written by OSV's Washington correspondent, Russell Shaw, whose nearly 50 years in Catholic journalism and membership on a key Vatican commission have afforded him an insider's appreciation of the papacy.

Afterward we examine Pope John Paul's impact on the various regions of the world, from the United States to Oceania to the conflict- ridden Holy Land.

Finally, we take a topical approach to understanding his pontificate by surveying his contribution to our understanding of such concerns as life issues, the Eucharist, family life, ecumenism, the dignity of labor and Marian devotion.

Next week, we will publish a second tribute edition to Pope John Paul II, this time exploring his personal impact on so many -- Catholic and non-Catholic, famous and ordinary -- who were touched in a special way by his words and actions.

One may speculate whether historians in the next century will remember this pontiff as "Pope John Paul the Great." Truth be told, however, their failure to do so would not negate his many significant accomplishments, as surely as their approval is not requisite to validate them. No reasonable person can dispute his profound influence on the Church and the world, or his tremendous contribution to the development of Catholic thought through his deep personalist approach to philosophy as expressed in his vast writings and teachings.

Click here for the remainder of the editorial.
<http://www.osv.com/periodicals/show-article.asp?pid=1099>

Theology and Life, Bible Reading

2005-04-12T13:33:00.000-07:00

Theology and Life
by Fr. Andres Arboleda, SSP

When they go to Mass, they already are familiar with the Word of God in the liturgical celebrations and have their own reflections on them. In this case, the Bible truly becomes a table where one finds nourishment for his soul. Familiar way. Then, of course, we have the familiar way of reading the Bible.

This means that one begins reading the Bible following the books as they are arranged in the printed copies of this wonderful Book. One begins reading from the first pages containing the Book of Genesis, the story of creation, and goes on to end with the last pages of the Book of Revelation, the prophecy of the end of time. This could be a highly recommendable project for one who wants to get to know the Bible itself. It is enough that one gives himself something like fifteen minutes every day to dedicate in reading the Bible, perhaps before going to sleep or waking up early in the morning. The practice of reading the Bible, so most spiritual fathers tell us, is already prayer in itself. Reading the Bible, in fact, one gets in touch with God who speaks.

The Bible is God’s love letter to man. One who daily gets in touch with God’s letter gets in touch with God daily. He may not be aware of it but the very act of getting in touch with God has very beneficial effects on one’s spiritual life. Of course, this familiar way has its own difficulties and problems. Reading the Bible from page one to the last page can become tedious, too, more so when one is not familiar with the literary forms of the passages he reads or is not familiar with the historical background. These difficulties, however, can easily be overcome if one’s copy of the Bible includes notes and commentaries. Most printed Bibles have these notes and commentaries prepared by Bible scholars. Personally, I find these notes most helpful. One alternative to reading the Gospel in this manner is to follow the groupings or classifications with which the Bible has been arranged. In fact, most printed copies of the Bible, starting from the Latin Vulgate, are divided into sections just as a library is divided into sections. A look at the table of contents of the New American Bible, for example, will show us that the Bible is divided into two principal sections: The Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament includes the following divisions: the Pentateuch, the historical books, the wisdom books, the prophetic books.

The New Testament includes the Gospels, the New Testament Letters and the Catholic letters. One could focus reading only on any of these groupings at a time. This makes reading usually more enjoyable because one is prepared to face the literary style of what he reads, from narrative to poetry, to anecdotes and maxims, to prophecy and admonitions, etc. In the long run, what counts is that one becomes familiar with what the Bible contains, especially all those that regard to one’s relationship with God and neighbor. Scholarly way. Of course, there is the highly specialized manner of reading the Bible. In fact, it is no longer just reading but studying the Bible. This is done by all so-called Bible scholars and those who are meant to share their knowledge with people, like theology professors, priests, preachers, etc. Certainly, biblical scholarship is not limited only to scholars and priests. I know of lay persons who go out of their way, attend courses even at their own expense, study languages, etc., in order to be able to read the Bible in a scholarly manner.

Principally, the aim of reading the Bible in the scholarly manner is to discover what the original writers really wanted to say when they wrote those passages contained in the Bible. In the past, this approach was not much welcomed. In fact, in the past the Bible was taken more as a book containing dogmatic propositions and laws. This led to what we call fundamentalism, which means the literal interpretation of the Bible. Indeed, this made the Bible most vulnerable to different interpretations, which, in fact, led to the establishment of sects. Most sects consider themselves Christian because they base their teachings on the Bible. However, hardly would anyone point out that the interpretation of those passages close to these people might be but personal interpretations.

The Church has defended itself against this possibility by establishing that the Church alone, because of the ministry Christ has granted to the Apostles — (Mt 16:19):
“I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” – is infallible in interpreting the Bible. Bible scholarship, however, has become more scientific in this regard. It has become what they call interdisciplinary. Bible scholarship in fact now covers practically all areas of human knowledge that has to do with knowing what the authors of the Bible wanted to say.

This includes studies of the original languages in which the Bible books were written: Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek and Latin. These languages of course are no longer current. Then Bible scholarship also includes such areas of knowledge like philology or the study of words and their meanings, archeology (the study of the traces of past civilization), literature, history, geography, sociology, etc., etc.

It is very rare that a Bible scholar would be familiar with all those branches of human knowledge related to the Bible. This is why we have Bible scholars who are highly specialized only in some sectors of the Bible. Certainly, these contribute to the general knowledge of God’s Word. Unless one wants to specialize in these sectors, the scholarly approach to the Bible is certainly not for everyone.

As a whole, one can approach the Bible in any way he wants. Or else, he could combine for example his reading with the texts used in the liturgy. He could also make the daily reading his personal devotion. There are also those who make use of the Bible to find answers to their questions. All these are possibilities. What is important is that, in the end, one gets in touch with the Word of God, nourishes from it, and thereby become mature in the practice of the love of God and neighbor.

The Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35)

2005-04-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

Two friends—people who had known Jesus, who had walked with Him, talked with Him, and eaten meals with Him every day for three years didn’t recognize Him even on a long walk down a dusty road. Have you ever wondered about that? I have. How could that possibly be?

The reality is: the disciples were looking at a man who happened to be traveling along the same road they were. They did not see Jesus because they did not expect to see Jesus.

How many times on our walks through life do we not see Jesus? How many times do we talk with a co-worker or a parent or a child or a friend or even someone we have never met before and fail to recognize that this person holds a precious piece of Our Lord and Savior within them? And because we don’t recognize Jesus in them, we treat them not as we would treat Jesus, but as just our friend, or just our co-worker, or just our child.

It must make Jesus terribly sad that for all our flowery words and pious presumptions, we still do not recognize Him in each other.

Moreover, consider this: Is it possible that in religious settings, we look at one another, and instead of seeing Jesus, we see only the other person’s religion, their label? And because we don’t see Jesus, we say, "You are so obviously not spiritual—look, you stand when we are kneeling, or you use crucifixes instead of picturing the risen Lord, or you pray to statues and icons instead of to the living God, or you don’t have our label, and so, obviously God is not going to let you into His kingdom."

Thus, we spend so much time questioning each other's commitment to Jesus and so much time fighting over man-made rules and laws that we forget about those people who are lost and hurting. We forget to do God's real work—ministering to those who are hungry for His word and His truths to come into their lives. Instead, having been seduced by Satan to believe that God's kingdom is some kind of exclusive club, we spend our time fighting with each other about who is going to get in and completely fail to see that the world is going to hell around us.

However, we have the choice to open our eyes and commit ourselves to do God’s work here on earth. Rather than judging, we can reach out to the lost souls—not by telling them about God's love, but by showing them how great God’s love is. Witnessing by how we live and how we treat one another, so that they look to us and say, "I want to be like them. I want what they have." And then maybe God's grace will touch their hearts and make them ask, "How do I get it? What do they have that I don't?"

But living this way hinges on whether or not we see Jesus in every single person we happen to walk down a path with in our day-to-day lives. When we look at another person, do we see someone who is worthy of Christ’s message? Someone whom God loves beyond measure? Do we see Jesus Himself—lost, hurting, and alone? Or do we see just another person.

I tell you truly, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. —Matthew 25:45

Think about the inherent admonition in these words. Our goal should be to treat others not as we want to be treated but as we would treat Jesus Himself. That is God's real work. We are commissioned to spend our time ministering to God’s children—rather than trying to improve our status in His eyes or to impress one another.

By opening our eyes to Jesus’ presence in the those around us, we will come to see His spirit manifesting in our own lives. And thus we can say as the disciples did at the conclusion to the Emmaus story,

“Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road . . .”—Luke 24:32

Open your eyes. This opportunity is with you right now. Don’t waste this chance to get to know the Jesus who is in your midst at this very moment.

by Staci Stallings
source: http://www.stacistallings.com/thoughtsontheroadtoemmaus.htm

ROAD TO DAMASCUS : The Conversion of Paul (Saul)

2005-04-11T13:57:00.000-07:00

The scene of St. Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus has been retold many times and is symbolical of the many conversions which have been effected by the grace of the Holy Spirit from that day until the present. The following excerpt adheres closely to the well-known account in the Book of Acts and is by a famous writer who himself entered the Church by the same road (1893-1952)*

Saul set out on the road to Damascus with death in his heart. He could not know that he was about to keep a rendezvous with Life itself.

To Saul's mind "Pharisaism or Jesus" was the sole issue. And Saul the Pharisee went out to battle the upstart Church with a sword in his hand, and a troop of cavalry and foot soldiers at his command to pursue the Christians who had fled Jerusalem.

The military unit was the gift of Caiphas, high priest of the Jerusalem Temple. In Saul, Caiphas had recognized the perfect instrument to wipe out Christianity: a resolute man, well-educated, seething with zeal. Caiphas had given him a packet of official letters, waxed and imprinted with the seal of the high priest, and addressed to all the synagogues to the north.

Saul meant to scour the land as far north as the great desert. He promised Caiphas he would bring back, bound and captive, every Christian that he found.

But for many days and nights he rode without finding a single follower of Jesus, without excitement of any kind until he was drawing near to Damascus. From his white horse Saul could see the well-tended green gardens lying all around the ancient city and the two rivers whose embrace made this plain a lovely place of rich harvest. Even under the heel of Rome, as Damascus now was, being governed by an ethnarch called Aretas, a local king set up by the Roman Emperor, the people looked happy.

Saul, covered with dust, his throat dry, was anticipating the good dinner and the sweet night's repose he knew he could expect at the principal inn under the roofed bazaar of the "Street That Is Called Straight."

The border of the town was not more than half a mile away when Saul suddenly swayed in his saddle.

Everything he could see and hear and feel all around him underwent a change. There was a chill wind blowing at him, a blinding light shining on him from the heavens, and the roar of great waters in his ears.

Saul clutched at the reins but his palsied hands could not hold them. He pushed with his heels against the stirrups, but his ankles quaked and all power had gone out of his legs. With a great gasp he realized he had no strength to help himself. He fell to the ground and lay there helpless.

Then the roaring sound ceased and he heard a Voice assuring but compassionate:

"Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute Me?"

Groaning, not daring to lift his face from the earth, Saul replied:

"Lord, who are you?"

And the answer came in winning tones:

"I am Jesus, whom you persecute. It is hard for you to kick against the goad.'

There could be no answer to that. Saul knew what the words meant, especially in relation to himself. A goad was a long stick about nine feet in length, sharpened at one end for poking at cattle. And the cattle could not kick against it, for the herdsman was nine feet away. Saul felt very much as helpless now. He sensed, dimly, that that same futile rebellion had been at the root of his emotional storms in the weeks since Stephen's death.

Trembling and astonished, Saul faltered the question that spelled his immediate, instantaneous surrender:

"Lord, what will You have me to do?"

The voice of the Lord replied to the man lying face down in the dust:

"Arise and go into the city and there it shall be told you what you must do."

And the Voice seemed to pale away in the wind.

Saul raised his head, drew himself up to a sitting position, and shook himself. His soldiers stood, amazed and troubled, in a great circle. They, too, had heard the Voice; and yet they had seen no man speak except Saul, their captain. They stood in silence that was like a spell. Then two of them took Saul by the armpits and raised him to his feet. But Saul's groping hands, as they made to let go of him, told them a shocking truth.

Saul was blind!

Saul never doubted he had actually seen Jesus. Years later, in the first letter he wrote to the Corinthians, he would rehearse the familiar history of Christ's death, burial, and Resurrection. He would remind the people of Corinth that the risen Christ had appeared to Peter and the rest of the twelve, that He had been seen by more than five hundred disciples at once, many of whom were still alive when that letter was being written. And then he added, with fervent humility and thanksgiving:

"And last of all, He was seen also by me, as by one born out of due time.

"For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle' because I persecuted the Church of God.

"But by the grace of God, I am what I am; and His grace in me hath not been void, but I have laboured more abundantly than all they: yet not I, but the grace of God with me."

Skeptics still scoff at this encounter. Nearly two thousand years away from evidence, with no testimony for their own theories, they dismiss Saul's conversion as an epileptic fit. The line of years from then to now quakes with countless epileptics, not one of whom has written a single letter that affected the world, nor converted peoples, nor captured the imagination of posterity. Only Saul did that; Saul, of whom no fit was reported before Damascus or since. No skeptic can dispute the complete change in life of Saul, or what suffering he endured for it.

In that one blinding, falling moment Saul became another man. The hunter of Christians, the heresy detective became in one instant full of yearning to be a Christian.

He had seen God. And trembling before that glory, stripped naked of his intellectual pretenses, he had cried out in the hope and fear of all believers:

"Lord, what would You have me to do?"

Saul let his soldiers lead him slowly toward the open gate of Damascus. Strangely, he felt no humiliation in being blind, helpless in the hands of underlings.

He was going into the city, as the Lord had commanded him, to wait to be told what next he must do. To him nothing else mattered.

For three days, Saul was a problem in the house of a Christian who bore the unfortunate name of Judas.

The infamous reputation of the betrayer of Jesus had been such that this second Judas, this good man, has not fared well in the memories of the faithful. Yet he deserves to be remembered with hosannas.

His act was of sublime charity. He knew that Saul was the Christians' worst enemy. He also knew that Saul had met with some sudden accident outside the city gate. Judas was not so gullible as to hope that kindness would appease Saul; mercy in the eyes of the anti-Christians was a weakness. Judas had nothing to expect and much to fear when he opened the door of his house, behind the Street That Is Called Straight, and allowed the weakened Saul to be laid in his own bed.

For three days and three nights the soldiers of Saul stood guard over Judas' house while their captain lay in bed.

"Saul talks to himself," they said to one another. "He is a very sick man."

But none of the advice or the weird prescriptions of Damascus doctors were of help. Saul was blind. He ate nothing and he drank nothing. His lips moved, and he whispered softly.

One man in Damascus knew what Saul was trying to say. His name was Ananias and he is not to be confused with the liar of the same name. Here was a new part of Christian history with a new Judas and a new Ananias, accidentally serving as symbols of a better future.

To this second and admirable Ananias the Lord spoke directly, in a vision:

"Ananias!"

And not unlike devout men of the Old Testament, Ananias replied:

"Behold, I am here, Lord!"

And the Voice continued:

"Arise! And go into the Street That Is Called Straight! And seek in the house of Judas, one named Saul of Tarsus!" A name to ignite panic in any Christian heart, Saul of Tarsus!

"For behold--he prays!"

Ananias had been instructed in the mercy and forgiveness of God. He knew that God will forgive trespasses only as we forgive them who trespass against us. But Saul was a living terror, "breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord."

And even while Ananias was cowering in the presence of such fearful instructions, a kind of vision came at the same time, halfway across the city, to the distracted mind of blinded and helpless Saul. He saw someone entering the bedroom of Judas' house, a stranger who laid pale and trembling hands over Saul's eyes.

At the instant of that vision, Ananias was already pale and trembling.

"Lord," he protested, overwhelmed with his terror, "I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And right here in Damascus he has authority from the chief priests of the Temple to bind everybody who dares to invoke Your Name."

There was a moment's silence, and then the Lord spoke with a firmness of command not to be mistaken:

"Ananias!"

"Lord?"

"Go your way. For this man is to Me a vessel of election, to carry My Name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him what great things he must suffer for My Name's sake."

There could be no reply except instant obedience.

A minute later, Ananias set off down the narrow and deserted paths of early morning, to look for Saul in the house of Judas.

The sun was not yet up, and the room was dim as the messenger of Christ stood by the bed and spoke to the tossing, blinded man of Tarsus:

"Brother Saul."

The hands of Ananias, pale and trembling, touched the eyelids of the stricken man.

"Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus has sent me."

A sound like a groan came from the lips of Saul, weighted with profound and grateful relief, as if he had waited in anguish for this call.

"The Lord Jesus has sent me," Ananias repeated; "He that appeared to you in the way as you came; that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost."

To see again. Oh, yes, please, merciful Lord! And to be filled with the Holy Ghost! The Holy Ghost that I had sworn to drive from the hearts of men in the name of God and the Sanhedrin.

"And immediately there fell from his eyes, as it were, scales, and he received his sight. And rising up, he was baptized."

Saul baptized! Now, there was a tale the Christians back in Judaea would find it hard to believe. By the grapevine that passed from Damascus to Joppa, from Nazareth and Capemaum even to Jericho, and through Galilee into Samaria and wherever the Christians were hiding in the underground, the word would go out that Saul, the persecutor, had been stricken blind near the western gate of Damascus; had seen the Lord Jesus and heard His Voice, had been healed of his blindness by a Syrian Christian, and that now he was himself a Christian.

Who could be expected to believe a wild story like that?

Yet it was literally true. Barely able to stand in the weakness of joints and waist and thighs that was the aftermath of his fall, Saul nevertheless held himself stubbornly erect and suffered Ananias to pour the water over him in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Saul could see the room filled with sunrise; the bed, the chairs, the table, and the sweating candle; he could see the face of his new friends, Judas and Ananias.

In that moment Saul became truly, irrevocably, a new man. He was born again.

And he chose to mark that hour of transformation by shedding the Hebrew name Saul, by which all men knew him. He chose instead to be known by the name he had seldom used, his official name as a Roman citizen.

Instead of Saul, the man of Tarsus would from that day of baptism till the end of time be known as Paul.

Selection from *A Treasury of Catholic Reading* ed. John Chapin (New York: Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1957).

Source: http://www.cin.org/saints/roaddama.html

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PAUL'S EXPERIENCE ON THE DAMASCUS ROAD

When we discuss the fact that we “hear God,” we are considering that which God communicates fundamentally about the plan of salvation, and how we can obey it.

Of course, God does “speak” through his creation (Ps. 19:1; Rom. 1:20). But this general revelation of God does not specify how we can be saved from our sins. It is by specific revelation that God communicates to us his redemptive purpose.

Let’s consider the question above by making several biblical observations.

How does a person learn about Paul’s experience on the Damascus road? We all learn about it from Acts, chapters 9,22,26. Isn’t it interesting that one would appeal to the Scriptures to demonstrate that we “hear from God” without the Scriptures?
Paul’s encounter with the Lord qualified him to be an apostle (Acts 1:22; 1 Cor. 15:8). The testimony of the apostles is in the New Testament, and when we read what inspired apostles wrote, we can understand the gospel of Christ (Eph. 1:1; 3:4).
Paul saw the risen Lord on the road to Damascus. The resurrection is conclusive proof that Jesus was, and is, the Son of God. Consider this singular point about this event. Can we believe in the resurrection based upon the testimony of Scripture alone, or must the Lord appear to us personally to “prove” that he was raised from the dead? John 20:30-31 states that the reading of Christ’s miracles can produce faith.
Paul’s experience on the Damascus road was a unique demonstration of the resurrection of Jesus. Paul realized that Jesus was the promised Messiah and that he was raised from the dead. He was God’s “chosen vessel” to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, before kings, and to the children of Israel (Acts 9:15). His conversion is a testimony to the authenticity of Christianity.
Even though Paul saw the risen Lord, the Lord did not directly communicate to Paul what he needed to do in order to be saved. Christ told him to go into the city, and it would be told to him what he must do (Acts 9:6). When Ananias came to Paul, he told him, “Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). Although Paul saw Christ on the road to Damascus, he was still lost three days later, needing to have his sins washed away. The vision, therefore, was limited in purpose.
Paul’s experience does not prove that God speaks directly to you and me. In fact, his conversion proves the proposition that God speaks through human agency for the salvation of men and women — through the inspired scriptures and the preaching of their message. The Lord communicated the gospel requirements for Paul’s own salvation through Ananias.
Paul taught that Scripture is given by the inspiration of God, that it is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness, so that we may be “complete, furnished completely unto every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17, ASV). The written word of God contains all that we need in order to be faithful servants of God.
God’s word is no ordinary book. It is powerful when spoken and read. It is the revelation that God gave, authenticated, and now providentially preserves, so that men and women can learn the need and means of salvation. It is powerful (Heb. 4:12)! When we read it (Eph. 3:4), we will understand better God’s great plan of salvation.
Paul’s experience proves that he saw Jesus, the risen Savior. That is what it proves. It is interesting that Paul never appealed to his Damascus road vision to demonstrate that God speaks directly to people, apart from the Word. With consistency, the apostle refers to the word of Christ as the means by which faith is developed (Rom. 10:17; Eph. 6:17).

When the Lord appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, he obviously had a special purpose. It was, indeed, a unique situation. Paul’s experience on the Damascus road does show us several things. It is one of the post-resurrection appearances, being the only reasonable explanation for the conversion of such a hostile persecutor of Christianity. Likewise, it was Paul’s qualification to be an apostle.

The conversion of Paul also demonstrates that the preaching of the word is God’s chosen method for the communication of the gospel of salvation (1 Cor. 1:21). If you are waiting for a “Damascus road experience,” open your New Testament and listen to the risen Lord. There it will be told to you what you need to do.

On Divine Providence

2005-04-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

On Divine Providence
(Breaking Signs by Cirilo F. Bautista)

Five years after it was brought down by a storm, the guava tree in my back garden continues to flourish. Last summer, it yielded enough sweet fruits to fill up two big baskets, not counting those which the bats carried away in their nightly raid. From a fallen, pathetic skeleton to an upright, luxuriant tree - only the mysterious working of divine providence can explain it. What else can explain the branches that sprout all over the bottle, the dark green leaves catching the rays of the early morning sun, or the small white flower buds on the first stage of fruition? I marvel at this simple manifestation of God's magic and thank him for honoring my tree with it. G.K. Chesterton wrote that the wonderful thing about miracles is that they happen. Natural wonders will continue. Gerard Manley Hopkins tells us in "God's Grandeur", because "the Holy Ghost over the bent world broods with warm breasts and with ah, bright wings." Nature does things on the grand scale, as befits its noble and elevated position in the hierarchy of creation. It is "never spent" for God, in His limitless splendor and inexhaustible goodness, replenishes it constantly.

In effect, the guava tree blooms again because of the cycle of growth inherent in the being of things. But it is not automatic and inevitable, it needs divine sanction of conferment to operate. The early peoples of the earth recognized this and acknowledged the supremacy and capability of a mystical element in their natural environment. Their worship of nature was not a naive theological expression but an affirmation of their communal weakness and insufficiency. They were humbled upon feeling their proper place in this scheme of things. Now we know the same thing and are equally humbled.

That is why my anxiety over the guava was not focused on its ability to survive, but on whether my hope for it to survive was worthy of divine grant. I was anxious on the metaphysical level, and hardly knew it. Everything has its place in the universe. Thomas Gray says in "Ode to a Distant Prospect of Eton College", but he would prefer that the revelation of their prospected spots be postponed, to avoid human sadness:

"All are men, Condemn'd alike to groan; The tender for another's pain, the' unfeeling for his own. Yet, ah! why should they know their fate, Since sorrow never comes too late, And happiness to swiftly flies?"

Many will agree with him, but what he says of course, is simply wishful thinking, for destiny is implacable. The simple, uncomplicated way of life has its attractions, but remains an ideal. Gray's plea for the preservation of utter simplicity in life -- "Where ignorance is bliss, 'Tis folly to be wise" - violates the rule of natural progression. He wants time to be frozen at a point where innocence and rusticity dominate, but life, alas, moves onward, things happen on the natural and human levels. There is no more paradise on earth.

Unlike Gray, I have nothing against wisdom. It can be situated profitably beside the starkest innocence to benefit the individuals for, rightly used, it can have a tempering effect on the rigidity of attitudes. Above all, I trust in the Divine Plan because - because I know nothing about it. Its mysteriousness does not distress me, though. On the contrary, it inspires me to envision only grace and beneficence flowing from it into the stream of the human condition. It cannot be anything but good, since God does not abandon His creatures after bringing them into this world. He sees to their safe passage into the next.

Again, even for that, I have no proof. I have only the feeling that the whole of creation was premised on the goodness of its Creator, or else it should have disintegrated long ago. The Divine Plan, then, must be just and fulfilling, though. I know nothing about it. It is as concerned with the destinies of human souls as with nurturing the branches of a once fallen guava tree.