Daily Doctrine - No Other God

For thus says the LORD,

The creator of the heavens,

who is God,

The designer and maker of the earth

who established it,

Not as an empty waste did he create it,

but designing it to be lived in:

I am the LORD, and there is no other.

I have not spoken in secret

from some place in the land of darkness,

I have not said to the descendants of Jacob,

“Look for me in an empty waste.”

I, the LORD, promise justice,

I declare what is right.

Come and assemble, gather together,

you fugitives from among the nations!

They are without knowledge who bear wooden idols

and pray to gods that cannot save.

Come close and declare;

let them take counsel together:

Who announced this from the beginning,

declared it from of old?

Was it not I, the LORD,

besides whom there is no other God?

There is no just and saving God but me.

Turn to me and be safe,

all you ends of the earth,

for I am God; there is no other!

By myself I swear,

uttering my just decree,

a word that will not return:

To me every knee shall bend;

by me every tongue shall swear.

- Isaiah 45:18-23

Daily Doctrine - Obedience

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
-Romans 6:16

Religious when it's Useful

Didn't anyone teach you at an early age these important basic principles?

They are:
1. Religion is a tool.
2. It is to be used as is appropriate for accomplishing your goals.
3. Any religion will do, as a tool, for accomplishing your goals.
4. You are not bound to any one religion, as a tool, to accomplish your goals.
5. If you desire, you may use religion only at certain times that it applies to your goals.
6. You may also discredit and ignore others who use their religion for accomplishing goals, as your tool is better than their tool, simply by the law of "individual" over "common good."
7. Religion is not to be confused with anything that has deeper meaning or applies to the values of your life. It is a tool.

Maybe something inside of your head is flashing right now, some kind of small red warning signal, hinting that this might be blatantly wrong, or at least illogical.
Hopefully, that is happening.

However, is appears that while many people (thank God), were not raised with such nonsense as what is above, some, including certain leaders, were.

Now, as I do not really know how our President was raised, I cannot say that this is so. I want to be respectful of the man who is carrying the weight of answering for the United States. I disagree with many of his policies and decisions, but I want to clarify that this is not some hateful post or something that is meant to be disrespectful.

That being said, when one reads this article, it is very hard to not assume that the principles listed above are in play. When you look at it from the objective, this is what you see:
- Religious discrimination in the form of a failure to respect religious freedom and conscience rights for the many American citizens (many who are Catholic and Christian) who do not find abortion, contraception, sterilization or embryonic stem cell research to be morally permissible.

So it is acceptable for the Department of Health and Human Services to require that organizations and institutions (such as Catholic schools and hospitals) provide contraceptive services, against their moral beliefs, while it is simultaneously acceptable for the President to state that his decisions on taxes stem from a Christian understanding of shared wealth?

I'm not arguing here about taxes... I'm going to a much more fundamental issue. This is about "when" and "where" is is acceptable in this country to talk about JESUS, and when it isn't. Did we not just see Tim Tebow taking heat for his overtly Christian messages in the public eye? Do we not also see the Susan G. Komen organization taking heat for making a fiscal decision that others are insisting is a ethical/moral decision? The problem here is consistency.

Please don't take this the wrong way: I'm not asking that "if we aren't all allowed to say, 'I live this way because of Jesus,' that no one should be allowed to." Clearly not. That would be a rather extreme persecution. However, I would like to call for some consistency in respecting religious beliefs! If the President can comfortably say that his policy on taxing the wealthy in this country is coming from an understanding of the Gospel, than by all means, I believe that any organization or institution that conscientiously objects to contraceptives/abortion/etc... should be comfortable (and in all legal rights) to say their policy of not offering those things comes from their understanding of the Gospel. End of story.

Now, I know that the President's comments were not so forceful, etc.. to be highly bent out of shape. It is still an issue that I see in the black and white - there is right, and there is wrong. It is not wrong, by any means, to help the poor and needy. I have been fortunate enough to live a life that was provided for, but I have also lived with people who have nothing, and I understand how important this message of generosity and charity is. I simply do not think that it is right to say that this particular moral truth is acceptable in this instance, but the other moral truths, those concerning life itself, are not acceptable.

Let's keep praying for religious freedom and the end to the culture of death that continues to seek ways of seeping into the fabric of our lives.

Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us.

Daily Doctrine - Sacred Scripture and Prayer

Sacred Scripture in the Life of the Church, from Catechism 131-133:


"And such is the force and power of the Word of God that it can serve the Church as her support and vigor, and the children of the Church as strength for their faith, food for the soul, and a pure and lasting fount of spiritual life." Hence "access to Sacred Scripture ought to be open wide to the Christian faithful."


"Therefore, the study of the sacred page should be the very soul of sacred theology. The ministry of the Word, too - pastoral preaching, catechetics and all forms of Christian instruction, among which the liturgical homily should hold pride of place - is healthily nourished and thrives in holiness through the Word of Scripture."


The Church "forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful. . . to learn the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ, by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.

Discrimination and anti-trafficking

I would like to draw attention to another issue that revolves around religious freedom and the movement of this great Nation.

This article, found in the Washington Post, discusses a serious debate that has begun over the decision of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award three lesser-ranked organizations grant monies that had previously been awarded to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) (specifically to the Migration and Refugee Services (known as MRS) Anti - Trafficking Services Program). The controversy comes from the fact that as a Catholic organization, MRS refuses to refer victims for contraception or abortion, as those go against the Church's moral teaching. The question presented is: does this border on religious persecution when this organization has been higher ranked, consistently, for since 2006? That's six years of successful service to victims of human trafficking and their families, and the funding that had assisted in this positive and necessary work has now been refused.

A number of congressmen have raised issue with this decision, and are now writing letters calling for legal action against HHS. Rep. Darrell Issa (Calif.), Rep. Christopher H. Smith (N.J.), Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Kelly Ayotte (N.H.) and 24 other senators signed a letter to Kathleen Sebelius, HHS Secretary. The letter stated:
"A fundamentally religious organization, it is well known that the USCCB - in lawful exercise of its conscience rights - foes not provide abortion referrals. To ensure your department respected USCCB's conscience rights and did not violate current law in awarding this grant, we request specific information related to USCCB's grant denial, a full explanation of your department's decision, and whether the USCCB's position regarding abortion referrals was a factor in your department's decision making. As you know, your department is expected to award federal contracts to the most qualified applicants who demonstrate the greatest capability to administer a program's goals."

I applaud those who are making a stand for justice in this case. These congressmen and women are pointing to what is clearly wrong here: choosing organizations with lesser ranking and poorer performance over an organization with a higher ranking and better performance, because the organization will simultaneously maintain its religious liberty and not recommend actions to which it conscientiously objects. This can only hurt the men, women and children affected by human trafficking and their families. 

Schizophrenia and Abortion

In case you did not hear about this, a Massachusetts Judge ruled that a woman (and mother) suffering from mental illness (diagnosed as Schizophrenia and/or bi-polar disease) should have an abortion (of her five month old baby, who could most likely survive outside the womb at this point or within the next month, thanks to the beauty of medical advancements) and be sterilized.

I do not think I need to explain further why this is ludicrous. Fortunately, a higher court judge ruled that this was out of line. The first judge involved is reported to have ordered "to abort a mentally ill woman’s unborn baby and sterilize her — if it meant she had to be “coaxed, bribed, or even enticed ... by ruse” into the procedure."

You can read at your convenience the two articles linked to above. Below is an email letter that I wrote and sent to a number of representatives in the Massachusetts State Congress. They are representatives that work for the committees on mental health, family, ethics, etc...

If you want to copy/paste and edit the letter as you see fit, and send it to those same representatives, please feel free. The letter is below, and the email list is pasted under the letter.


Most of all, let us keep this mother in our prayers. No matter what, the illness she is suffering from is very hard to cope with, and unfortunately, for many people who do not know how to handle such a disease, the easiest way to cope is to treat the person with little compassion or dignity. This woman needs help, and not violence.


Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us.

Dear Sirs and Madams,

I have been appalled at the recent discovery concerning the court order for "Mary Moe" that she would be forced to abort her child and be sterilized.

After some research on Mass.gov, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Medical Assistance Provider Manual Series defines a "mentally incompetent individual" as follows:

“Mentally Incompetent Individual — for purposes of 130 CMR 405.428 through 405.430, an

individual who has been declared mentally incompetent by a federal, state, or local court of

competent jurisdiction for any purpose, unless the individual has been declared competent for

purposes that include the ability to consent to sterilization.”

http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/masshealth/regs-provider/regs-commhealthctr.pdf

I am deeply concerned that there is an exception for an "individual" that "has been declared competent for purposes that include the ability to consent to sterilization." This is subversive eugenics. There is no reason why any individual person who has been declared incompetent should then be declared competent for purposes such as consent to sterilization. No one who is in a state to be judged as incompetent is able to consent to such a procedure.

In your "Commonwealth of Massachusetts • Executive Office of Health and Human Services Sterilization Consent Form (Ages 21 and Older)" you include in two instances (the "person obtaining consent" and the "physicians consent") that “To the best of my knowledge and belief, the individual to be sterilized is at least 21 years old and appears mentally competent. He or she knowingly and voluntarily requested to be sterilized and appears to understand the nature and consequence of the procedure.”

Therefore, it is unreasonable to suggest that one who is mentally incompetent should also be judged "mentally competent" and "knowingly and voluntarily requested to be sterilized and appears to understand the nature and consequence of the procedure."

No one who is thought to be schizophrenic or even bipolar should be subjected to any kind of lasting decision such as that. It is absolutely inhumane to suggest that this woman would be capable of being responsible for such a decision. Rather, if she is able, through therapeutic and medical treatments, to regain her competency, she will discover her life drastically altered by something done to her, and she will not be able to hold anyone responsible but the State.

Further, to suggest that the court order an abortion for this woman is absolutely on par with all of the above reasoning. This is a child that she has conceived. The repercussions of such a procedure are often very debilitating for women (there are numerous medical journals and studies that support this, especially concerning PTSD), and it is illogical to suggest that someone who has been ruled "incompetent" could then support such a violence against herself. Moreover, while the court should not (and before God, does not) have the power to order any such penalty on two innocent lives (because that is a death order for her child and a dangerous health risk for the mother), the woman has asserted that such behavior goes against her religious beliefs. That should be even more reason for the court to keep its hands and laws off of her body in all ways.

Please forward this to the appropriate person(s) involved in this case. I beg of you to consider that this is life and death that we are discussing here. It is not simply the convenience  or inconvenience of parents who have to deal with a daughter struggling with schizophrenia, or the convenience or inconvenience of the state who might have to support her in various ways. The individual life that is "Mary Moe" and the individual life of her child are both deserving of the care, support, nourishment and legal rights that every American citizen is given in the country, as well as the basic human dignity that is given by God. No one has the right to rob them of those things when they are innocent of any crime. Schizophrenia, or any mental illness, is a tragic disease, and one that should bring pity and mercy to the hearts of those around the victim, and not cruelty and murder.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

The email list I used is as follows:

• info@towncourtlisting.com
• William.Brownsberger@masenate.gov
• Liz.Malia@mahouse.gov
• Gene.OFlaherty@mahouse.gov
• Jeffrey.sanchez@mahouse.gov
• Angelo.Scaccia@mahouse.gov
• Martin.Walsh@mahouse.gov
• Sonia.Chang-Diaz@masenate.gov
• Jack.Hart@masenate.gov
• Nick.Collins@mahouse.gov
• Carlos.Henriquez@mahouse.gov
• Mike.Rush@masenate.gov

Daily Doctrine - Creation

"Thus the revelation of creation is inseparable from the revelation and forging of the covenant of the one God with his People. Creation is revealed as the first step towards this covenant, the first and universal witness to God's all-powerful love. And so, the truth of creation is also expressed with growing vigor in the message of the prophets, the prayer of the psalms and the liturgy, and in the wisdom sayings of the Chosen People."

- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 288

Daily Doctrine - Divine Office

"By tradition going back to early Christian times, the divine office is devised so that the whole course of the day and night is made holy by the praises of God. Therefore, when this wonderful song of praise is rightly performed by priests and others who are deputed for this purpose by the Church's ordinance, or by the faithful praying together with the priest in the approved form, then it is truly the voice of the bride addressed to her bridegroom; it is the very prayer which Christ Himself, together with His body, addresses to the Father."
- Sacrosanctum Concilium, 84

Daily Doctrine - The Church

"The Son, therefore, came, sent by the Father. It was in Him, before the foundation of the world, that the Father chose us and predestined us to become adopted sons, for in Him it pleased the Father to re-establish all things. To carry out the will of the Father, Christ inaugurated the Kingdom of heaven on earth and revealed to us the mystery of that kingdom. By His obedience He brought about redemption. The Church, or, in other words, the kingdom of Christ now present in mystery, grows visibly through the power of God in the world. This inauguration and this growth are both symbolized by the blood and water which flowed from the open side of a crucified Jesus, and are foretold in the words of the Lord referring to His death on the Cross: 'And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself'."
- Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, 3

Daily Doctrine

Dear friends, 

I am going to attempt to put some doctrinal teaching, quote or instruction up each day. I intend to draw from the Catechism, from Church documents, from the Saints, from Canon Law and any other reliable sources. 


Today's "DD" is from the Catechism:

"There is an organic connection between our spiritual life and the dogmas. Dogmas are lights along the path of faith; they illuminate it and make it secure. Conversely, if our life is upright, our intellect and heart will be open to welcome the light shed by the dogmas of faith."
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 89

Wake Up Call

This article is the main topic of discussion here. It is Ms. Cecile Richards, proclaiming that 99% of women use contraception anyway, so what's the harm in HHS mandating its use?

She is so wrong!

Every once in a while I get truly upset (and that means angry). When that happens, I start posting things all over facebook and twitter about all the bull statistics that people love to falsely tout as if they were proving their agenda was correct with the backing of the masses. Last time I checked, biology is not actually a democratic issue. In other words, one cannot change something that deals with life and death simply by gathering enough votes.

That would only work if natural law did not exist. Oh wait! That MUST be the premise that Planned Parenthood is operating upon. More than that, I believe it is the end that Planned Parenthood has been striving to achieve for decades! What great leaps of discovery (and what lucrative business) will be possible if natural law isn't there to "get in the way" of progressive science?!

This is in no way as simple as "the left" or "the right" of politics. It is actually far more simple, because, as I have pointed out, it is not a political issue. It is, of course, because man has made laws concerning biology, and so constituents are called upon to vote in one way or another. At the end of the day, however, and for that matter, at the beginning of the day too, this is still a biological and natural issue, that comes before legislation and politics.

I recall about ten years ago when I was first entering the "teenage" scene. I heard comments from my parents and others' parents about "relativism" in the media. Movies, especially, were "relativistic." At the time, my comprehension of what they meant was limited. I understood that they meant that some "bad" things were being allowed when they shouldn't be. I did not really understand what "relativistic" was.

However, as an adult who can look over the progression of what was a 90's PG movie and what is a current PG movie (do they even make those anymore?), I understand the concept. I understand it, because I see it alive all around me. Particularly in any are that deals with personal/private issues (which typically are biological/natural). Health care, family planning, marital relations, sexual activity, etc...these are "taboo," but flipped upside down. These things were once taboo as far as they were considered inappropriate or improper for the public sector. Now, they are taboo in that no one should have a say about anyone else in their behavior, habits, preferences etc...to the extent that all public portrayal and licensing of these behaviors is completely acceptable SO THAT no one is excluded or isolated in negativity.

Ok, first of all, that is a ridiculous sentence. Second of all, it's sickeningly circular. No one gets anywhere in relativism. Relativism is NOT progressive. It's not exactly regressive either. It's just a status quo. That is the entire concept! Maintain some absolute LUKEWARM status quo so that everything and anything is acceptable and nothing is unacceptable.

See, even if you aren't Christian and don't find that disheartening or sickening, someone who is simply LOGICAL can understand the concept that when "anything" is acceptable and "nothing" is unacceptable, you enter into a sort of "black hole" where the vacuum of reason is constantly being sucked away, leaving nothing but the abyss of stasis. Stasis is not healthy, because it is not growing, and as it is not growing, it's more like a state of existing (which is always struggling to survive) rather than living (which is proper to the beings we are). Maybe I've lost you.

If I could put some cartoons in here, I would. Picture the following.
Little plant begins to grow.
Other little plant tries to come up next to it, but plant A is not thrilled.
Plant B needs more soil/nutrients/sunlight to continue to live.
Plant A is not sharing.
Person who is growing these plants (pretend that is all of us voters/leaders/people who decide things about our culture) tells them to share evenly, because everything is acceptable and nothing is unacceptable.
Since that clearly doesn't work well, both A and B cease to grow, because there is not enough for either of them. Why? Because the one who had the reason and logic to determine that there is a "right" and "wrong," a better answer and a poorer answer, decided to choose neither the good or bad answer, but some lukewarm crap in the middle. Death followed.

Granted, I'm not on a tirade about sharing resources or anything like that. While I do care about important social justice issues, those are not very applicable when the people themselves are dying because of legalized infanticide and other lovely forms of killing innocent children.

That is what relativism is, my friends. It says "we're all ok," and since that is not actually possible in a human society (you know, sinners and saints), the cultural theme (relativism) tries to stuff down the saints so they aren't so good and make the sinners look better so no one feels too guilty, etc...

Remember that time that everything had to be "equal opportunity," and we all have the same rights as everyone else? Too much of a good thing, is a bad thing. These concepts, when appropriately enacted, are good. I'm certainly not advocating that we pick some group of people to be "inferior" or "superior" and return to the feudal system. I am advocating that "equality" taken to an extreme actually hinders growth and health in a culture because we aren't actually the same. We do have equal dignity, of course. We are also different, though, and that is a gift that should allow us to thrive. But relativism is scared of thriving.

Ugh, anyway, the major issue I raised within the relativism umbrella is that we don't even blink an eye when people are LYING outright to the world about things that really ought to matter... you know, killing babies. 99% of women do not use birth control. I promise. That is a fabricated statistic. Beyond that, even if they did, it still wouldn't make it right to kill children (assuming that many birth controls are abortifacients, which they are). Other fabrications by Ms. Richards and Planned Parenthood include that the Catholic Church is trying to take over and force our laws upon the poor, unsuspecting world, and PP is there to work with HHS to defend everyone (that's a summary, not a direct quote, of course).

But here is a direct quote from Ms. Richard's article: "The beauty of birth control is if you don't want or need it, you don't have to use it. That's a decision women can make perfectly well on their own, without the interference of government or religion. And that's something on which we should all be able to agree." The funny thing is, and sense my sarcasm if you will, mandating that health care plans carry birth control and abortion services even in religious institutions that conscientiously object is absolutely the "interference of government." What else is it? Is HHS not a government organization? I am at a loss here. Of course women can or cannot use birth control.. they were able to before this law. I fail to see how this argument is in her favor. I think that's because I'm trying to use REASON. (Remember, in a relativistic culture, you aren't really supposed to do that.)

Here, I brought in another article, in case the first one wasn't convincing. Here, Ms. Richards states, "According to the Guttmacher Institute, in 2011, state legislatures passed more than triple the number of anti-women's health provisions than in 2010 -- the highest ever." Oh no! I'm sorry, I thought those were laws to save lives, I failed to see how they were anti-women's heath. In fact, based on the many statistics about how dangerous abortions and contraception can be for women, I thought those would be laws that were pro-the lives and health of babies and mothers. I guess I'm just dumb.

This is more for the laughter, but this is further in the same article quoted above: "But now, due to anti-women's health laws passed in that state last year, those women will have to travel long distances ─and presumably go out of state in some instances -- for safe, legal abortion care. That means time away from work, transportation costs, someone to take care of the kids -- it all adds up to an additional burden on women who are already going through a very stressful experience." Well, here's a thought, Ms. Richards. Maybe the women who are pregnant might understand that the act of making love has the power and potential to bring forth new life. Maybe they would understand that even better if we are assuming that they already have kids who they are going to need to have a babysitter for, while they go have their new baby killed???

One more, than I'll stop. Here she says, "Opposing Roe and essential women's health care isn't just bad policy -- it's bad politics. That's because Americans agree with the protection that Roe provides. Polling consistently reaffirms that a majority of Americans support a woman's right to make her own decisions about pregnancy in consultation with her doctor and her family." Interesting. Here's a nice Gallop poll that disagrees with this.

Anyway, she's turning into a political issue, which means that she too misunderstands the fundamental issue that is at stake, or she willfully chooses to try to destroy it. I will certainly not pretend to know her agenda. All I can see is that these facts are not factual, and that the issue is life and death. It is black and white. It is non-negotiable. As relativistic as our culture wants to be, this isn't something that can fall into the vortex and "just be ok." The vortex will spit it back out. That is because people understand, inherently, that we come from somewhere, and go somewhere, and this experience of being born and dying is one that every person must face, whether they are in agreement or not. It cannot be "voted" away. While mankind tries to find ways to conquer or dominate life and death, he continues to be born and to die. Because natural law is what it is. It is part of the divine law, and it is based in the Truth. God has created us, and we cannot escape the reality we live in.

This blog made me very happy, because people aren't really that stupid. Moreover, it does seem that the younger generation of Americans is rather aware that life and death are very, very real things. It is full of hope, and that is what real progress is about. Living in hope, and not accepting a status quo where relativism eats us alive.

Anyway, as Padre Pio said, "Pray, hope, and don't worry." In this case, I'm praying, hoping, and writing a blog post to try to get other people to shake off the slumber and wake up.

Love Grows

You know, in this life we have many ups and downs.

In particular, with our families. I know many who have had so many burdens brought into their families, whether through separation or death, sickness or abuse, disobedience or malice, etc... Those who suffer in these ways can testify that these instances are often the greatest pains we endure. Losing a job can hurt, but it is not the same pain that we know when we lose one we love.

Something else I have been reflecting on is this: despite this truth (that life has its pains, sorrows, burdens and sufferings), there is another truth, one that comes hand-in-hand with the first. It is the truth that love grows.

To be philosophic, Aquinas said that God is fully in act, that he is always in actualization, that there is no potentiality in him because of his being. To make that down to earth, God's love, the love that we all experience and know, is a love that is not regressive. The nature of love is to act. For love, acting does not always have to be the "proactive" sense that we normally attribute to the term. It can be a residing, a dwelling-with, a being-of and being-in and being-for. It is not, however, a depletion, or reversal, or negation. Love grows. It may grow in a path other than straight up or in a linear fashion. It may grow in a large circle to include more and more family and friends, for example. It may grow to include more and more of the other person in question as one is revealed to the other. Yet, it moves.

Love becomes sick when it is asked to negate, or regress, or remove itself. In this, I do not speak of God-as-love but as man loving man. Sometimes we do have to draw away from one we love, whether that is from illness or from death, or other instances. These are the times of pain and the hardship of recognizing that our love is not yet perfect. When our love is perfected, we will be before God, and our love will be in Him and through Him and for Him. Then we will understand love's nature in its fullness. Until then, we will see it moving from all the potential we see in our earthly life into the actualization of each and every day's commitment.

That is one of the most beautiful aspects of the love of a family. It is love that begins with two who profess to love one another so much that they believe their love will continue to grow until they die. They are so convicted of this reality, that they will vow it before others and promise that each day henceforth, even though those days cannot be seen or known or anticipated at that time, they will still love one another. From then on, each and every day that they wake up, they renew that promise by living in that relationship. They make it more concrete by bringing into reality what they once said they believed would be true! Furthermore, that love reaches even beyond the two of them and their personal timelines that they have chosen to intertwine together until death, because they bring new life into this world through that love! So the actualization of the love that they possess includes the expansion of new people, who in turn come to understand, encounter and live love of their own.

Hence, we see the dynamism, the vitality, the spirit and the eternal nature that is written into love by its character of being of God. We share in it, and we come to know it, and we give it. We learn from it, we hold it close, we celebrate it. We suffer in it and we find wisdom within it that we could not have imagined. Love is a teacher and a guide. As we grow, love grows. We can only stand in awe at how we seem to lasso our figurative love-stallion at a young age and say to another as we stand at an altar, "here, I have captured my love for you, and it is yours," all the while knowing that the love is yet-to-be, yet to be uncovered as the day has yet to be lived, and yet to be known as the baby has yet to be born, etc... This is the nature of love! It is always beyond us and always within us. It is God who is more intimate to man than he is to himself. God who is the Creator who gives us our freedom and our being, and yet holds us in being. It is his love that contains us and sustains us, and yet we have the generous invitation to make that love our own and to give it away freely.

I only know that as I look back on my short life so far, I am convicted that my love has grown immensely, just as I am convinced that it will not cease to grow as long as I live. Thank God.

Poetic Last Days, December

Just because I need to put something else on this blog, I found a poem from days gone by that I wanted to share.

who knows the feeling
of a heart that's still beating
but there's no one there to hear?

who knows the feeling
of a soul still seeking
but all we're grasping is air?

breath comes but it
just runs away
taken back from where it came

light breaks but it's
stolen away
and we are in the dark

oh humanity
why do we
settle so
oh people
can we
truly believe that this
is all it is
all its worth
all that we should know?
i won't accept it as so

who knows the feeling
of empty ceilings
reaching up with no end

who knows the promise
of hope beyond this
somehow i remember

breath comes and I
gasp so that
there's life
light breaks
and I'm stolen away
far from this dark

oh humanity
why do we
settle so
oh people
can we
truly believe that this
is all it is
all its worth
all that we should know?
i won't accept it as so

beauty baby stunning and changing
cover me and put me to sleep

goodness darling startling alarming
awake for the first time and seeing

oh humanity
why do we
settle so
oh people
can we
truly believe that this
is all it is
all its worth
all we should know?
I won't accept it as so

The Word

I felt the need to give a very brief catechesis on the Word of God. I think that this is one of those important, neigh, imperative elements of the faith that somehow is often overlooked or misunderstood. We cannot misunderstand the Word, for He is Christ, and Sacred Scripture is the revelation of God given to man that we might know, love and serve God. Our faith is founded on Christ, the Word, and draws its life from His.

Here are a few quotes to help:

On the UNITY of SCRIPTURE:

"Through all the words of Sacred Scripture, God speaks only one single Word, his one Utterance in whom he expresses himself completely: You recall that one and the same Word of God extends throughout Scripture, that it is one and the same Utterance that resounds in the mouths of all the sacred writers, since he who was in the beginning God with God has no need of separate syllables; for he is not subject to time."

- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 102 

"All Sacred Scripture is but one book, and this one book is Christ, "because all divine Scripture speaks of Christ, and all divine Scripture is fulfilled in Christ. The Sacred Scriptures contain the Word of God and, because they are inspired, they are truly the Word of God" (DV 24).

- CCC, 134-135

"The unity of the two Testaments proceeds from the unity of God's plan and his Revelation. The Old Testament prepares for the New and the New Testament fulfills the Old; the two shed light on each other; both are true Word of God." - CCC, 140

What is so necessary for us to understand is that while each and every book in Sacred Scripture has a unique author or authors, and comes from a different historical moment or series of historical moments, above and below all of that is the Spirit of God divinely inspiring each author, and the spiritual sense that must always be read with the literal sense so that Sacred Scripture can properly be revered as the Holy Book that contains the revelation of God for his people in Christ. Therefore, throughout the Old Testament we read the preparatory covenantal history of God and his people leading up to the ultimate revelation, the "definitive Word" of Christ. We read all of Sacred Scripture through the lens of Jesus Christ, the Word made Flesh, who is God and man. 

 On the AUTHORSHIP of SCRIPTURE:

"God is the author of Sacred Scripture. "The divinely revealed realities, which are contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit." - CCC, 105

While it is of course true that the human authors were neither possessed nor forced or dictated to in their authorship, but freely worked with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, it is equally true that God is the author of Scripture just as Christ is the ONE WORD, the Word made flesh. It is for this reason that the Catechism says that we reverence Sacred Scripture as the body of Christ. 

On the DEPOSIT of FAITH:

"Hence there exists a close connection and communication between sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture. For both of them, flowing from the same divine wellspring, in a certain way merge into a unity and tend toward the same end. For Sacred Scripture is the word of God inasmuch as it is consigned to writing under the inspiration of the divine Spirit, while sacred tradition takes the word of God entrusted by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, and hands it on to their successors in its full purity, so that led by the light of the Spirit of truth, they may in proclaiming it preserve this word of God faithfully, explain it, and make it more widely known. Consequently it is not from Sacred Scripture alone that the Church draws her certainty about everything which has been revealed. Therefore both sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture are to be accepted and venerated with the same sense of loyalty and reverence." - Dei Verbum, 9

 The unity of Scripture and Tradition, making up this one Deposit of Faith, is the dynamic unveiling of God's loving invitation to participation in his life throughout time beginning at the creation of man and culminating in the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, bringing redemption for mankind and establishing the Church as the means through which we may be saved. It is both the actual, historical handing on of the revelation of God, orally and in written form through the ages, as well as the Sacred Word of Scriptures that together give the Church her foundation. Above all, it is Christ who is the source and summit of the faith. 

 

Serious Fishing

You may find the title humorous, especially if you know me (because I have very little experience fishing). However, thanks to my dear fiance, I have a Virginia fishing license and I think I caught something small the last time we went (it's been a few months).

This post is not a how-to on fishing, however. At least, not in a way one might expect.

This post also gives credit to Fr. Brian Bransfield, who works at the USCCB and whose homily (one in the past few weeks) inspired most of these thoughts. Some of them are more his than mine, as often happens when one meditates on the words of a homily.

I want to reflect on the following Scripture from two different perspectives:

"As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him." Mk 1:16-20

First, from the perspective of the perspective of Christ and the men fishing. Why is it that Jesus seems to imply that because these men are good at fishing for real fish, they will also make good fishers of men?

If you have ever gone fishing, you understand there are some basic elements involved. Besides being able to get your bait out into the water without tangling up your line, you need to have some comprehension of the environment you are fishing in, and the fish you are going after. The bait will change based on the fish you are going after. Sometimes the rod even changes. Perhaps for some fishing you need to be in a boat or kayak, while for other fishing it is standard to stand on the side of a lake or river. The one who is hunting in this case, being the fisherman, needs to know what he is hunting for. He needs to be aware of the patterns of behavior of the fish he is going after. I needs to have studied the fish, if he hopes to be successful in catching them. 

We can consider that the soon-to-be Apostles in the Gospel above are good fishermen. They are casting their nets and mending their nets. This means that they are not afraid to pursue what it is that they have set as their goal. They understand what it takes to catch the fish that they desire and they are willing to work so as to accomplish that end. Mending their nets also shows an element of love and patience that is often overlooked in the dynamic of hunting. Men who are strong and who go forth to capture another creature are not often depicted with the tenderness of one who respects the creature being captured. Yet, it is hard not to get a sense of patience and appreciation from the Apostles, who seem to understand that while the fish are food and mere creatures to be captured and cooked, they are also a livelihood and a gift from God. 

Now let us consider these skills in light of Christianity. Those Apostles will bear these same skills of "hunting," fishing, into the new mission they are given by Christ to "go...and make disciples of all nations" (Mt 28:18). We see throughout the Acts of the Apostles and the various Letters and Epistles of the New Testament how the Apostles use the strength of knowing those who they are seeking to convert to their advantage. They understand that people are to be met where they are at, and that the Truth of Jesus Christ, being the ONE Truth, encompasses and draws into himself all other truth. Catechism paragraph 819 says, "Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth" are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: "the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements." Christ's Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him, and are in themselves calls to "Catholic unity."

Therefore, those who at one time studied and understood the patterns and way of life of fish, now sought to study and understand the way of life of all people in their various regions and customs, to captivate them with the net that is Christ's Church, with the Truth that all men seek. This is the call to every Christian-Catholic today, to similarly proclaim the One Truth who is Christ while using the skills of understanding and knowledge to invite others through various paths and means. For some, simply being a part of the Liturgy will open their hearts and invite them into the glory that is Christ's life. For others, study and reading and comprehension of the doctrines professed and believed over the centuries will lead to the fiat of faith, saying "yes, Lord, I believe!" For others, it may be the continual witness of mercy and charity of a Christian that disproves the lies of the world and reveals to them a more humble and powerful way of life. The respect for all human life and the disposition of gratitude for life that ought to infect those of us who receive God's mercy in the Sacraments every week should be the stumbling block for those who try to profess what is not true. How can we walk past the humble heart and not be stirred? It is such a contradiction that it should at least draw fascination! This was precisely what Christ did, and how his Apostles learned to imitate his Heart. 

The other perspective I would like to look at is that of the fish. It is one thing to be the fisherman and to anticipate the hunger of the fish, to look into its life and to seek to be waiting for it, to patiently know that it will come to you (which is what God does for us, blessed be his Name!). Yet, this requires something of the fish as well. The system only works is the fish is hungry. One does not find themselves caught and captivated unless they are open to seeing. We do not walk through an art gallery and find our "favorite" painting unless we are there explicitly to look. Likewise, we do not find ourselves moved and in love with a character in a book or movie unless we are purposefully choosing to be open to the story and to the characters! We can even avoid being captivated by beautiful scenery or other natural wonders by simply never going to nature. So we can also choose to not-look for truth, or to be blind to the invitations that surround us. If we are not looking for the bait, than even if the fisherman waits all day, and into the evening, and continues to tempt us with what we should want, we will not even know he is there. 

So as a Christian this is the pivotal moment; can we be both the fish and the fisherman? It is the imperative that we are given at our Baptism, to be the child of God whom he has created us to be, ever meek and humble, ever obedient and grateful, ever thanking and praising him, and yet also empowered by the Spirit and alive in our courage and boldness to proclaim Christ crucified, risen and glorified to the world! We must be recipients of God's mercy before we can authentically proclaim his mercy to others. We must proclaim his mercy to others precisely because we have received grace upon grace. 

During this Advent (and now nearly Christmas!) season, let us consider how Christ the Lord, Second Person of the Blessed Trinity and before all things, uncreated and always with the Father and the Spirit, came and assumed human nature to be like us in all things but sin. As a baby, completely dependent on his Blessed Mother and holy father Joseph, he revealed to us just how dramatic the humility is that we are called to, for none of us can ever achieve that same humility, for it is impossible for us to become like a spec of dust just to meet the dust where it is at. Let us in turn take this joyful gift that we receive at God's hands and proclaim, fearlessly and skillfully, to the world just how free man has become in Christ! Each day is a new opportunity for us to be caught, and to catch some fish.  

Patience is a vitrue...

So I believe most of us have heard that line before a time or two... or three.

Let's consider some of the other virtues.
Cardinal: Justice, Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence
Theological: Faith, Hope, Love

Patience, while logically a participant with the virtues above, is not on either list.
Where does it fit in the tradition, then?

I discovered through our trusty wikipedia (judge me a little) that the Psychomachia was a poem written in 410 AD by a Christian illustrating the seven deadly sins or vices and their virtuous counterparts. In this work, patience is the remedy for wrath.

However, the "angelic doctor," St. Thomas Aquinas, also wrote on patience in the Summa Theologica. He writes including patience under fortitude and temperance. He writes that it is not the most perfect of virtues (which is Charity), but that is is a virtue, and one which moderates sorrow.

I find this extremely interesting when we consider patience in the needs of our own lives. Drawing from my own experience and those close to me, patience is needing for some or all of the following in any given day: for long and exhausting traffic, for people who are oblivious and therefore injure you, inconvenience you, forget you, step on you, squish you, are rude to you, etc..., for the work day to pass, for deadlines to be accomplished, for proper responses from coworkers, employers, employees, students, etc..., for friends, for family, for boyfriends or girlfriends, fiances, husbands and wives, for kids, for cooking, for showering (depends on how lazy you feel), for working out, for results in any endeavor, for shopping, for reading, for writing, for playing sports, for practicing for rehearsals, concerts, an instrument, voice, sports, other fine skills, etc..., for glue to dry, for nails to dry, for clothes to dry, for baking, for crafts, for computers that don't work, for any technology, for conversations with others, for prayer, for cars that don't work, for anything broken, for Christmas trees that don't have stands, for wrapping presents, and on and on and on.

Really, what don't we need patience for?

This makes me ponder what patience itself is, then, if it is truly so common. Is it the waiting? Is it the understanding? Is it the process? Is it the calmness rather than aggravation? Is it the acceptance of what cannot be controlled?

Perhaps that is the beginning of what patience really is. Even before accepting what is beyond our control, we have to recognize what is beyond our control. How many times have I been yelling at the car in front of me to MOVE when I suddenly seem to remember that a) they can't hear me, b) if they could hear me it wouldn't matter anyway, and c) if I do end up any later at my destination because of this person, it is most likely going to be an unnoticeable amount of time, and therefore doesn't matter.

Once we recognize what is beyond our control, then we must accept it. Next, we wait for it to reveal itself, unveil itself, figure itself out, or whatever term is proper to the situation that means the power of action lies with the other and not with ourselves. Ideally, when we reach this point, we are more relaxed and calm. We are not always that way, but it certainly makes the waiting easier.

But to some, perhaps those of you who tend to be more proactive, this sounds much more like resignation than a virtue. The proper quote would be the serenity prayer. Yet, if you can't settle for the "wisdom to know the difference," let me break this down a little further.

I will give you a beautiful quote from Pope Benedict XVI that I believe encapsulates all I am trying to get at (but if I had given it to you at the beginning than there would be no point in a post):

"Waiting becomes too heavy a burden to bear, when we cannot be sure whether we really have anything at all to wait for. When, on the other hand, time itself is meaningful and every moment contains something especially valuable, our joyful anticipation of the greater experience that is still to come makes what we have in the present even more precious and we are carried by an invisible power beyond the present moment. Advent helps us to wait with precisely this kind of waiting."

There are two vital elements I want to point out in his quote.
First, waiting is active. The Holy Father presents waiting as if it is a choice. He refers to it as a "burden," which implies that it is something placed upon us or even required of us, and yet then adds the option of not carrying the burden in saying that we may not be sure that we have a reason to wait. Therefore, waiting, patience, requires an active choice. In this instance, not doing something, is doing something.

Second, there is an end in sight, or in mind. Waiting implies a goal, a resolution, a purpose. Waiting is not just an innominate and interminable wasteland stretching on beyond the horizon! Even for those whose waiting may seem just so, as may be the case for one who has an incurable illness or some other irreversible situation, it is not. There is and end. There is always an end. It helps, most certainly, when we have a goal or end that is both tangible and desirable. Waiting in traffic is worth it when it is the only way I get to work (and therefore have food to eat and to pay rent with) or home (where I may eat and sleep).

Yet, the end means more than only the finish line. When we really think about the patience and the goal, we realize that the goal informs the waiting. That is to say, our patience comes along with our comprehension of our end or goal, and our goal or end enables us to truly grab hold of and posses our patience. I am not going to sit by and watch glue dry on a tongue depressor unless I know that I'm building a little house. When I have this project in mind, watching glue dry is transformed from a seemingly silly and mindless activity into something done with precision and care. The image of the final product, my finished house, is ever before me while I work with the bare bones of the popsicle sticks.

If this isn't a practical enough example, think about little kids with leggos. At least for me, every Christmas is filled with some of my brothers rejoicing in the boxes of small plastic pieces that they are going to spend agonizing hours over while they follow directions included in the box to build the included plane, truck, movie scene, etc... Even a puzzle is the same concept! When we have the larger picture in mind, there is meaning in each of the small pieces.

Pope Benedict XVI wisely referred to this type of anticipation as the patience of Advent. Knowing what was coming, in the sense of the birth of our Lord, informed and enthused every moment leading up to that event. Though Our Lady certainly could not have known all that was to come, even the announcement by the angel was enough for her faith to know and believe that the Son of God was conceived in her womb and growing inside of her.

As a woman who has not had the privilege of being pregnant, I cannot conceive of what that must have been like. I imagine that the sense of anticipation and joy in life is always heightened. I imagine that every day I am more grateful for my own life as I become more aware of the other life that is entirely dependent on mine. I imagine that I will understand my own life in an entirely new sense. I imagine that I will look at my parents in a way I have not known before. I imagine that I will have a deeper respect and understanding for what it means for man to participate in God's creative work. For Our Lady, I am sure this was all a thousand times more potent for the miraculous conception of the Son of God in her womb by the Holy Spirit!

Though our waiting is not impregnated with the Word in the flesh, in a way it very seriously can be. Receiving the Lord, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist every day is as close as we can come to knowing the potency and complete union of he Word of God living within us! The Anima Christi prayer includes the phrase, "Blood of Christ, inebriate me." That we may be inebriated with the life, the Blood of Jesus. That is a very serious and total informing of our waiting, of our patience. We ought not to tire of the waiting when it is filled with the life of God!

That is our challenge, and the exact point of patience as a virtue. It is not the resignation (while that is certainly sometimes required), but it is the life, the liveliness of the Christian while he or she waits! It is the vitality that flows within the veins of one who understands the whole of life in the most important context, in the crux of existence, in the light of the Incarnation and Paschal Mystery.

Patience is a virtue when and by we enter into the life of Christ. Let us not forget that while God became man, he too, waited. He too grew and developed, in a womb, as a child, as a youth and as an adult. He too had goals, and deadlines. He too knew what it was to yearn for something that could not immediately be. Jesus said in Luke 13:34-35, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling! Behold, your house will be abandoned. [But] I tell you, you will not see me until [the time comes when] you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Christ knows the time is not the present for the accomplishment of his mission, and he accepts that and continues his mission, knowing that certain time will come. How much we have to learn from this!

If you have ever had the experience of getting what you want when you want it, even when you should have to wait for it, you may understand why the patience is so important for the overall life of the person. Too often we are given exactly what we want instantaneously, and in doing so, it is as if we are blinded to the authenticity and beauty of the other thing/person/experience. Much like when we turn a light on suddenly when our eyes have been adjusted to very dim light, we cannot see everything right away. Rather, if we gently increased the light so that our eyes adjusted accordingly, we would be able to see clearly the whole time. This is how important patience is. That we have true sight is more valuable than if we have the power to control.

In this time of Advent, and throughout our whole lives, let us keep before us the goal. Let Christ inform us, in every moment, and feed us with his Body and Blood so that we may know what it is to truly live. Let us be thankful for the many and very consistent opportunities we have each and every day to be patient, and ask the Holy Spirit for the grace and aid to advantageously learn from those times.

Sweet Lord, come to our aid! St. Thomas, pray for us.

The greatest thing you'll ever learn...

...is just to love and to be loved in return.

Thank you, Toulouse. If you haven't seen Moulin Rouge, don't worry about it.

Today I heard a homily that I had to share.

The Gospel is one of those pointed encounters of Jesus with the Pharisees.
An excerpt (from Luke 11):
"You love the seat of honor in synagogues
and greetings in marketplaces.
Woe to you!
You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk."

Not exactly what any of us want to hear, right? Yet, I had to admit that I felt very convicted that there are plenty of times Christ would say the same to me.

Fr. Bransfield began to talk about the two principle sins of pride and envy. He said they were the sins of Satan, and they are the ones most common in human failure. He also pointed to Christ on the Cross as the epitome of overcoming those two. The humility and love present in the sacrifice of Jesus are the exact antidotes to the pride and envy of the sin of the world.

Then he made another point that really struck me. He pointed out that of all of the seven deadly sins, it is envy that is never praised in songs or spoken of as something glamorous or popular. Why? Because there is no pleasure in envy. Envy is, as he put it, the self-torture and death before the good of another.

This made me think about Satan's envy of God and about our human envy of one another. I think we often make a simple but major mistake in our understanding of others, and I think this mistake leads to envy when it should not.

Consider God. In the liturgy we pray, "You have no need of our praises, yet our desire to thank you is itself your gift," or "Our prayer of thanksgiving adds nothing to your greatness." God is completely and wholly and totally sufficient, perfect and complete without any of creation. For all that we must and should praise and adore him, he does not need us. What does the idea of such total completeness stir in us? Often, envy. We are sorry that we must be imperfect. We are sorry that we need others. We are sorry that we cannot be an island of wonderfulness that can be generous or cold as we wish. It is the ideal of a great monarch, whose power stretches so that he may be kind and merciful to his people, or he may simply demand their allegiance because they have no choice.

This idea is not God. That is a human way of seeing power. It forgets the basic and most intrinsic aspect of God's perfection - He is Trinity. He is three divine Persons in one Holy God. He is complete and total self-gift and self-receiving. It is in the relationship of the Father giving to the Son, the Son to the Father, and the Son and Father in and with the Holy Spirit that each Person is known. God did not need to create us, but he did because he is total gift. He is so generous that it would nearly be improper for him to not give us life. Yet, he does not need us. Of course this is somewhat contradictory, but welcome to dealing with the mysteries of the faith.

The point here is that there is much to be gleaned from the analogy of faith. If God, who is perfect, is perfect in and through his giving, in his relationships, than how could we wish or desire to be "good," "powerful," "perfect," or anything such as that while thinking that we could do away with being encumbered by what this life demands, which is always to be in relation to others. We want to throw off the shackles of cleaning up after another, of listening to another gripe, of doing what someone else wants or needs, of the ever-inconvenient "favor," and yet it is the rejection of the exact opportunity for being-made-perfect!

This is where I think envy creeps in, alongside pride, and whispers that so-and-so is so well off, and so satisfied in his or her wealth. Whether it is a pair of nice shoes, a job that provides well for a family, a talent for public speaking, or maybe just nice hair... we begin to see others as little citadels of power or happiness that will not be shared. We see them as greedy, or vain, or proud. We feel belittled, ignored, unworthy, poo-pooed, or mocked. We may not really want her shoes or his specific job, but we want their situation. We want the power to get "free" from the burdens life brings.

Envy on earth or of earthly things always points back to God. We, like little toddlers who demand a cookie from their parents, who pout and do that little foot-stomp-thing, shake a fist up at God and want to know why we don't have the power. We want to be mini-gods. We want to control things. We want it to be easy. And we falsely envy others whom we think have a share in that power.

But they do not. Nor shall we. The longer we waste ourselves on envy, the less time we have to learn the power and freedom found in love. God's power is not hoarded, but freely given. God's love is not meted out, but abundantly and generously poured.

The Gospel not too long ago was the story of the workers who came into the vineyard at all hours of the day, and God generously gave them a full days wage. He is not stingy! He could not be! He has ENOUGH. ALWAYS. There is no lack of abundance. There is no shortage, no rationing. There is only our confused and limited hearts that would prefer to die on the sword of envy rather than take up the battle of love.

We are cowardly, let us not deny it. We want to turn tail and run. Life gets hard and we would prefer not to see it.

We can't be cowardly, not when we know of Christ. We cannot allow Satan and his propaganda to suck us in and leave us beaten and dead. We know who is Right. We know who has the Truth. We know who is the Truth.

Near the end of mass it struck me that an excellent way to try to invite love into my heart and thoughts would be to try to pray the Our Father with real love. Christ gave us that prayer, and the Catechism calls it the quintessential prayer of the Church. Perhaps the humility of being the children that we are before God, coupled with the love of Him who offered himself as a sacrifice for us, will enable us to defeat envy more often than it defeats us.