Viator

A Fascinating Video

This video is astonishing.  Watch it.  Tell me what you think.  NBC refused to run it during the Superbowl.  This seems like a good time to start writing again.

An Occasional Rant 2009.005: Sometimes the Truth Hurts

The Church's liturgical calendar simply refers to today as the Monday after the Epiphany. The scriptures and readings continue to meditate upon the revelation of Christ to the entire world. The Wall Street Journal published an article today that tells a story of a sad and tragic combination of family compromise for power, of priests who betray their Lord, and the tragic consequences for politics today.

Mass Reading

The First Letter of Saint John (3:22 – 4:6) teaches us how we should live. If we want good things from Our Lord then we must keep the commandments.

"And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit whom he gave us."

This shows that those who compromise with the philosophies of this world and thereby deny Christ are in grave danger. This passage destroys the false teaching that we can be saved with faith alone. On the same hand, those who parse the Word of God in a way that would allow the destruction of innocent children – an example of which is given below – or who in cunning ways evade the Commandments are separated from Jesus. To be separated from Our Lord is to fall back into darkness.

Second Reading

Saint Peter Chrysologus notices the consequences of the Incarnation. "The Gentiles, who were the last, become the first: the faith of the Magi is the first fruits of the belief of the Gentiles." As discussed yesterday, Gentile were the first – perhaps after Mary and Joseph – to worship the new born Jesus.

The saint reminds us of the meaning of the three gifts given by the Magi. "As they [the Magi] look, they believe and do not question, as their symbolic gifts bear witness: incense for God, gold for a king, myrrh for one who is to die."

The Baptism of the Lord must be seen in this "upside down" way as well. We enter the waters of baptism to have our sins cleansed. Jesus, as Saint Peter Chrysologus notices does something different. He says, "Today Christ enters the Jordan to wash away the sin of the world. John himself testifies that this is why he has come: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Today a servant lays his hand on God, John lays his hand on Christ, not to forgive but to receive forgiveness."

An Unholy Compromise and Betrayal

The Wall Street Journal has a shocking and sad article today. You can find it here. It seems that the Catholic Kennedy family was once whole-heartedly opposed to the holocaust that is abortion in the United States. The article quotes Ted Kennedy as saying, "When history looks back to this era it should recognize this generation as one which cared about human beings enough to halt the practice of war, to provide a decent living for every family, and to fulfill its responsibility to its children from the very moment of conception." This is an admirable goal to work toward. However, the growing political advantages of switching sides on the abortion issue compromised the Kennedy family.

The article claims that the Kennedy and Shriver families met with a group of "leading theologians and Catholic college professors" for the purpose of receiving coaching on how they could accept and promote abortion with a "clear conscience." Anyone with a modicum of human experience knows that mortal sin can be justified with clever legalistic manipulation. As a good and holy priest once said to me, each and every commandment can be rationalized away. Any sin can be committed with what appears to be good reasons. However, no commandment can be broken when the test of love of neighbor and God is applied. If the article is correct, the Kennedy family hired a collection of wolves in sheep's clothing to numb their consciences.

Who were these wolves? The article names the pack. Former – note, former – Jesuit priest Albert Jonsen recalls in his book about how he was joined by Rev. Joseph Fuchs (a high priest of the Proportionalist school of moral theology that was undone by Pope John Paul II), Rev. Robert Drinan (who served in Congress until told to stop by Pope John Paul II), Giles Milhaven, (dissenting theologian and author of Toward a New Catholic Morality – the word New ought to give a warning), Richard Mc Cormick (an abject dissenter of great renown) and Charles Curran (who was disciplined by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and is not allowed to teach as a Catholic any longer). It seems the Kennedy's gathered a collection of dissenters to tickle their ears. May God have mercy on them all.

I think that is enough.

Mary, Theotokos, pray for us!

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An Occasional Rant 2009.004: Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

What is an epiphany? An epiphany is a Greek word that means an appearance or a manifestation. In this case, it is the Lord Jesus who has appeared on Earth and specifically, has been made manifest to the entire world. The Magi represent the entire Gentile world. Notice that the Wise Men did not just find the fulfillment of a prophecy fulfilled by an extraordinary event or person. The Wise Men worshiped Jesus when they found Him!

Mass Readings

Saint Paul reveals that all the world is now chosen; as promised in the Holy Scriptures, the Messiah to the Jews is the salvation of all the world.

"It was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel." (Eph 3)

The antiphon from Psalm 72 declares: "Lord, every nation on earth will adore you." And so it is; the Church, in some form, is everywhere on Earth.

Gospel

The Gospel story of the magi finding the child Jesus needs one small note.  In the Mass, we read the New American Bible.  The NAB translates Matthew 2:2 to say, "We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage."  What does it mean to "do him homage?"  The RSV translates this verse more fully.  "For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him."  One worships God.  The magi are the first in the Gospel to know that Jesus is God!  Amazing!

Second Reading

Pope Saint Leo the Great rejoices in the Lord making salvation known to the whole world. Prior to the coming of Jesus, only Israel knew the plan of salvation that God had initiated from moments after the exile of Adam and Eve from Eden. By contrast, without Christ, the world was on a "course to destruction." The only plan that can work, that will work, is the plan of salvation made manifest by the birth and Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus!

Pope Saint Leo says, "The loving providence of God determined that in the last days he would aid the world, set on its course to destruction. He decreed that all nations should be saved in Christ." All nations are to be saved in Christ.

I think that is enough.

Mary, Theotokos, pray for us!

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An Occasional Rant 2009.003: The Most Holy Name of Jesus

Today is the Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. Blessed be the name of Jesus! This is an interesting day in the liturgical calendar. There are no English translations available for the Office and the readings in Mass seem strange. In any case, this is also the Saturday before the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.

The Second Reading of the Office

St. Augustine gives us a formula that is often used and which needs some explanation. He says, "Of his [Jesus] own will he was born for us today, in time, so that he could lead us to his Father's eternity. God became man so that man might become God. The Lord of the angels became man today so that man could eat the bread of angels."

There is a little poetry in this statement mixed with astounding facts. First, Jesus did leave the eternal to arrive in the temporal. He was not divided; partly here and partly still in Heaven. Heaven came to us! Heaven is wherever God is. He became a man in time so that He could lead the way, as a man, to the eternity of His Father's home. He brought with him, the promise of eternal life. He conquered death so that we might not suffer eternal death but have the hope of resurrection and eternal life.

Now, St. Augustine also says that "man might become God." The Eastern Christians have a better word for this: "divination." This is to become divine in the sense that we have eternal life and are glorified. We will never become "god." God is the one necessary being. We will always be contingent on the will of the Father. What this means is that we will share in the eternal life of God Himself! We will receive, as the Gospels promise, a share in the holy life of the Blessed Trinity. This is how we will live forever.

Finally, Augustine says that we can eat the "bread of angels." Most assuredly we will: this is the Eucharist. We are given the ability and the gift of receiving the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord in the Eucharist. This requires much meditation. Our circumstances make this infinite gift ordinary and routine. We should think about this.

Mass Reading

The first reading from the Mass today emphasizes our eternal destiny.

"We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure." (1 Jn 2)

In faith, this is our hope.

From Daily Bible Reading

Genesis 6 has some strange and mysterious content. Much of Genesis 6 is about the history of the world at the time of Noah. A very strange reference is to beings referred to as the Nephilim. The Navarre Bible Commentary teaches that we have no explanation for this and other strange references. What is clear in Genesis is that the world is chaotic, confused, and utterly sinful. So sinful, that God has put a limit on the life span of man and is preparing to destroy all life other than the one righteous man he found in Noah.

By the way, the Nephilim are thought to be giants. The early life of the world is beyond our ability to understand. What is clear is that wickedness spread with the spread of mankind. While the flood seems like a tragedy, imagine what the world might have been if the Lord did not intervene!

I think that is enough.

Mary, Theotokos, pray for us!

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An Occasional Rant 2009.002: Two Saints Brothers in Christ

Today is the Memorial of Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory Nazianzen. These saints, both Bishops and theologians in the Fourth century were great leaders, great theologians, and great friends to one another. They led their local Church against the Arian heresy and taught the true Faith handed on to them through Apostolic Succession.

The Second Reading of the Office

Saint Gregory Nazianzen, whose sermon is read by the Universal Church today, wrote of the meaning and purpose of his life. His thought is a great example of how we should live.

"Our single objective and ambition was virtue, and a life of hope in the blessings that are to come; we wanted to withdraw from this world before we departed from it. With this end in view we ordered our lives and all our actions. We followed the guidance of God's law and spurred each other on to virtue. If it is not too boastful say, we found in each other a standard and rule for discerning right from wrong.

"Different men have different names, which they owe to their parents or to themselves, that is, to their own pursuits and achievements. But our great pursuit, the great name we wanted, was to be Christians, to be called Christians."

First Mass Reading

Saint John offers a stern warning to those who do not truly believe.

"Who is the liar? Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ? Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist. Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well."

A Quote From Saint Basil Nazianzen (The Great)

"We must neither doubt nor hesitate with respect to the words of the Lord; rather, we must be fully persuaded that every word of God is true and possible, even if our nature should rebel against the idea – for in this lies the test of faith."

From Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 3-4

The first lie: "But the serpent said to the woman, "you will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Gen 3:4-5)

The promise of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Messiah to come: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her sead; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heal." (Gen 3:15)

From Daily Bible Reading: Mark 1

The announcement of the Good News by Jesus: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:15)

In Conversation With God

ICG for 2 January contains a simple recommendation from St. Jose Maria Escriva which comes from The Way, 303. It's so simple. Why isn't it done more?

"Don't be afraid to call Our Lord by his name – Jesus - and to tell him that you love him."

I think that is enough.

Mary, Theotokos, pray for us!

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An Occasional Rant 2009.001: Mary, Mother of God!

Here it is: a new year! It seems fitting that the Church asks us to meditate on the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Octave of Christmas. We are asked to think of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a very special sense. We are to think of Mary today as the Theotokos. This is Mary the Mother of God; more accurately, the God-Bearer! If we think about it, the thought is amazing!

What the Council of Ephesus taught.

"So we shall confess one Christ and one Lord. We do not adore the man along with the Word, so as to avoid any appearance of division by using the word "with". But we adore him as one and the same, because the body is not other than the Word, and takes its seat with him beside the Father, again not as though there were two son seated together but only one, united in his own flesh. "

After expanding on the true divinity and true humanity of Our Lord, the council affirmed:

"This is the account of the true faith everywhere professed. So shall we find that the holy fathers believed. So have they dared to call the holy virgin, mother of God, not as though the nature of the Word or his godhead received the origin of their being from the holy virgin, but because there was born from her his holy body rationally ensouled, with which the Word was hypostatically united and is said to have been begotten in the flesh." (COD, 43-44)

Mary is the Theotokos in Greek, Theotocon in Latin, God-Bearer, Mother of God in English!

Insight from a Holy Homily.

Father Dennis Smith delivers profoundly holy and edifying homilies. He offered this quote from St. Basil. The question: Wherein lies the greatness of Mary? The answer from Saint Basil: "Mary conceived God in her heart before she conceived Him in her body!"

Fr. Dennis went on to say that "when we imitate Mary's faith and devotion we are opening our lives to God."

A beautiful blessing from First Reading from the Book of Numbers.

This beautiful blessing comes directly from the mouth of God! Moses was commanded to instruct Aaron to bless people in the following way.

"The Lord bless you and keep you!
The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!
The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!"

A key to our salvation from the Second Reading from Saint Paul's Letter to the Galatians.

Saint Paul taught: "So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then also an heir, through God."

We are not merely declared sanctified, we are truly made sanctified. We are made true sons and daughters of the Living God! Astonishing!

From the Gospel

When did Jesus receive His name? The Gospel of Luke tells us He was named Jesus when He was circumcised on the eighth day. Thus, the Octave of Christmas!

The Second Reading

The Second Reading from the Office of Readings offers a teaching on the Incarnation from St. Athanasaius. We are taught:

"[The angel] Gabriel used careful and prudent language when he announced His birth. He did not speak of "what will be born in you" to avoid the impression that a body would be introduced into her womb from outside; he spoke of "what will born from you," so that we might know by faith that her child originated within her and from her."

Jesus received His body from His mother. He is truly one of us in His humanity!

I think that is enough.

Mary, Theotokos, pray for us!

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An Occasional Rant 12: Is God Too Big for One Church?

In the early Middle Ages, Christians and Muslims came into direct contact with one another in Spain.  The Muslims had invaded Spain and held territory primarily in the South.  Over time, a kind of peace developed where Christians and Muslims could have civil, intellectual debate.  The Muslims were completely scandalized by the idea that God could become so small that He would become incarnate in a human person.  The Muslims believed that God is too big to be contained in a single person. The Dominicans, trained by St. Thomas Aquinas responded with this argument:

God is SO powerful, that He CAN become Incarnate and become fully human while He remains fully divine!

This fact is the essence of our Christmas celebration!  If we do not believe this, we should just wish our friends a happy non-specific holiday season. 

Today, this argument is no longer asserted.  Today we live in an era of syncretism.  A helpful article on the topic defines syncretism as the attempt to appropriate the ideas and traditions from a variety of spiritual traditions without any attempt to discriminate their truth or value on the basis of Catholic faith.  In other words, a syncretist view is that Catholicism is a "religion" that is simply a cultural and traditional manifestation of "Religion" with a capital R.  The so called super religion is the place to which all the "many roads to God" are claimed to lead.  The syncretist view is that we can not know anything about this Religion because it needs to be discovered within ourselves.  Thus, we are all free to "experience" God according to "our own way."

The claim to freedom appears to be enlightened and "spiritual" and seems to require a greater awareness than traditional, doctrinal religions like Judaism and Christianity!  To use the language of the street: the syncretist view is just more "cool" today than religions that are many thousands of years old.  The claim is that God is so big that he can not be contained in a single religion. 

Why is syncretism so popular?  We capitalist, democratic, free thinking men and women of the 21st Century do not want to be directed or led.  We want a choice that "fits us."  Jesus Christ said that He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  We prefer a religion that tells us that We are the way, the truth, and the life.  We want a Christ of our own design.  We want a morality and a "spirituality" that maximizes our own choices even if they are immoral by traditional standards.  This is very dangerous if there is a god who has revealed himself and we have invented a religion of our own liking!

Here is the claim again:

False Statement: God is too big to be contained in a single religion.

To which the response of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, all the Prophets God sent to Israel, Saint Peter, Saint Paul, all the Apostles, the Fathers of the Church, thousands of consecrated Bishops in succession to the Apostles, and 264 Successors to St. Peter is:

God is SO powerful, and He loves us SO much, that He CAN reveal Himself in and through His One True Church whose teachings the worldly cannot comprehend but which the lowly can know, while He remains fully divine!

Yes, Saint Paul is correct when He says that if Jesus did not rise from the dead then we are the most pitiable of people.  We are betting everything on the belief that Mary received a message of Glad Tidings from an Angel sent by God.  We are wagering our lives on the witness of the Apostles that they saw the Resurrected Jesus!  They saw something that changed their lives and ours.  They saw Something.  Praise God Almighty, THEY saw Something!

I think that is enough.

Mary, Theotokos, pray for us!

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Benedict Teaches 3: The Deposit of Faith

I have been thinking about the Church lately: what she is and Who it is that leads her.  Benedict commented in The Ratzinger Report that the Church has the Deposit of Faith given to her by Our Lord Jesus and that she has the responsibility of everywhere and always proclaiming and transmitting this gift.  Then Cardinal Ratzinger said:

"In a world in which, at bottom, many believers are gripped by skepticism, the conviction of the Church that there is one truth, and that this one truth can as such be recognized, expressed and also clearly defined within certain bounds, appears scandalous.  It is also experienced as offensive by many Catholics who have lost sight of the essence of the Church.  The Church is, however, not only a human organization; she also has a deposit to defend that does not belong to her, the proclamation and transmission of which is guaranteed through a teaching office that brings it close to men of all times in a fitting manner."  (TRR, 24)

The Benedict XVI Project page can be found here.

Words of the Holy Father Benedict XVI can be found here.

St. Peter, pray for us!

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Aristotle for Everybody: 3: Man’s Three Dimensions

It is revealed that God is Beauty, that God is Truth, and that God alone is Good. These three dimensions of God correspond to the nature of mankind. Philosophy has shown through reason that the nature of humanity is oriented to and is fulfilled by the presence of God!

CHAPTER SUMMARY

Humans have three dimensions that correspond to the greatest goods: the truth, the good, and the beautiful. These three dimensions are making, doing, and knowing.

REFLECTION

Only human beings are persons. While we live in three dimensional space, we have other dimensions. Three important dimensions are (1) making, (2) doing, and (3) knowing. All three dimensions are characterized by thinking.

By "making" Aristotle meant that man is an artist or artisan. Man produces man things: shoes, ships, books, houses, and so on. Only man makes things. Some things are natural to the world; other things are artifacts, or creations from the work of man. Man is alone in this ability.

"Doing" means that man is a moral and social being. Only humans are free to do right or wrong. We in the Church would say that only man can be a sinner or a saint. Animals simply live according to their programming and do not have the freedom to act otherwise.

"Knowing" signifies that man is a learner. We acquire knowledge of all kinds. While animals learn in a rudimentary way, only humans learn for the express purpose of simply understanding.

Man is alone in his ability and desire to know the greatest values in the universe: the truth, the good, and the beautiful. Man's three dimensions correspond to the three greatest goods. Man makes the beautiful; man strives to do the good; man wants to know the truth.

KEY QUOTES

"While, as bodies, we are physical things like all other bodies, we are, as we have just seen, the special kind of thing – the only kind of thing – that is called a person." (AFE, 16)

St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us!

Analytical Table of Contents

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Aristotle for Everybody: 2: Man the Philosophical Animal

Aristotle's classification scheme expands beyond the physical world. There is also the world of ideas! There is a great divide between things and ideas. It is interesting that the reasoned position of Aristotle is consistent with Revelation: Man is the height of God's creation. We would add that only persons, men and women, can have faith and know God. We are the crown of creation.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

There is more to the universe than physical things. Ideas, concepts, mathematical notions, colors, are all non physical realities whose existence no one would doubt but which cannot be touched. Some characteristics of things are essential, or accidental, others are essential for the nature of a thing to remain. Finally, persons are a special kind of "thing" because we are able to do more than any other thing in our world.

REFLECTION

Physical things are not all that exists. There are other items that have existence: mathematical quantities, shapes, imaginary characters, spirits, God, ideas and theories. There are many other non-physical things that have existence. The great divide is what separates the universe of objects that can be thought of from the group of objects that have physical existence.

When thinking of the world of physical bodies, Aristotle divided its constituents into "bodies" and on their other side, their "characteristics" or attributes. Attributes would include ideas such as colors or odor. Bodies can change but attributes can never change. A ball can be rough and become smooth and still remain a ball. However, roughness can never become smooth without becoming something different. Redness can never become blueness; the redness will leave a thing but it cannot change.

Some attributes of a physical thing are part of its nature and must be present throughout its existence. For example, if roundness leaves a ball, it becomes something else but it ceases being a ball. This is an essential part of the nature of a ball.

We must differentiate among things and persons. We generally do not refer to persons as things. Why? Primarily because persons have more dimensions that all other things. We, like a ball, exist within the three dimensions of space. However, we can do much more than the ball can do by virtue of our nature.

KEY QUOTES

"The universe of objects that can be thought of is much larger than the physical world – the world of bodies, either those now in existence or those that have existed in the past. It includes the world of bodies, but it also includes much else besides. The line that divides bodies from everything else is the great divide." (AFE, 11)

St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us!

Analytical Table of Contents

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Aristotle for Everybody: 1: Philosophical Games

Why would a Catholic be interested in reading about the philosophy of Aristotle? There are at least three answers. First, Aristotle's view of reality is the one closest to that of the Judeo-Christian world view. We hold that reality and truth are real and that we can know them. Second, Aristotle's way of doing philosophy was taken up by the Church as a method for doing Theology. St. Thomas Aquinas refers to Aristotle as "The Philosopher." Third, we read Aristotle because what he taught was true. Aristotle was wrong about a few things. He was right, however, in his understanding of truth and a person's ability to know it. To understand God, we must understand truth.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

Classification is first step in philosophy. Aristotle classified things from inert, to plants, to animals and then humans. Humans are a special case because it is part of our nature to ask questions and to seek answers through observation and thought. The nature of a thing is defined by essential characteristics. Unessential characteristics are called accidental.

REFLECTION

Classification is a first step in philosophy. Aristotle was exceptional in his ability to categorize everything he saw around him. Philosophical thought begins with asking questions; the first question is, "What is that?" One distinction that Aristotle makes is between elementary and composite bodies. Elementary bodies consist of a single kind of matter such as gold, or zinc. Composite bodies are made up of two or more different kinds of matter such as bread or a car. There are other distinctions to be made as well.

A very important distinction is between living things and inert bodies. All living things have certain characteristics: they take nourishment, grow and reproduce. Inert things have mass, weight, physical presence. Plants have all the characteristics that inert things have but they also have the characteristics of living things but cannot move independently from the earth. Animals have the essential characteristics of plants and inert things but also have the ability to move freely under their own means. Additionally, animals have sense organs while plants generally do not.

Human beings are a special kind of animal. We perform certain functions that animals do not. We ask questions and seek answers to those questions through observation and by thought. Animals do not do this.

Each kind of thing has a nature. Nature is that set of characteristics that distinguishes a thing from all other things. For example, all humans have human nature but dogs do not have human nature. Further, every human being has a human nature. However, not every attribute of a thing is fundamental to its kind. For example, human beings with blonde hair are essentially the same as human beings with black hair. Hair color does not differentiate a kind of human; it only defines characteristics of some humans. These kinds of differences are called accidental. The major differences between humans and all other things with a different nature are called essential.

KEY QUOTES

"It is in another way that philosophy is useful – to help us to understand things we already know, understand them better than we now understand them. That is why I think everyone should learn how to think philosophically." (AFE, ix)

"Aristotle's thinking began with common sense, but it did not end there. It went much further. It added to and surrounded common sense with insights and understandings that are not common at all. His understanding of things goes deeper than ours and sometimes soars higher. It is, in a word, uncommon common sense." (AFE, xiv)

"Philosophical thought began with the asking of questions – questions that can be answered on the basis of our ordinary, everyday experience and with some reflection about that experience that results in a sharpening and refinement of our common sense." (AFE, 4)

"At the top of the scale are human beings who perform all the vital functions performed by other animals and who, in addition, have the ability to seek knowledge by asking and answering questions and the ability to think philosophically." (AFE, 7)

St. Thomas Aquinas, Pray for us!

Analytical Table of Contents

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On the Teaching of the Saints 12: Joy

Among the world's stereotypical views of Christianity is that its members are sad and gloomy. A popular song from about twenty years ago declared that it is better to laugh with the sinners than to cry with the saints. Nothing could be more wrong! St. Francis de Sales teaches:

"The Holy Spirit, speaking by all the saints, and our blessed Lord Himself, assures us that a devout life is a lovely, a pleasant, and a happy life."

(Esper, Saintly Solutions, 145)

St. Francis de Sales, pray for us!

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Benedict Teaches 2: On the Church

It is a near certainty that no Pope has ever written as much as Benedict – Ratzinger.  John Paul II is the most prolific as Pope, but did not publish as frequently prior to ascendency to the Throne of Peter as did Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.  The thought of our Holy Father emerged from his days as an academic, Archbishop, and also from his days as Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.  In 1985, a book length interview of Cardinal Ratzinger was published. The Ratzinger Report is a great introduction to the thinking and brilliance of our Holy Father.

Then Cardinal Ratzinger acknowledged that the Church was in a state of crisis: a turning point.

"My impression is that the authentically Catholic meaning of the reality 'Church' is tacitly disappearing, without being expressly rejected. Many no longer believe that what is at issue is a reality willed by the Lord himself. Even with some theologians, the Church appears to be a human construction, an instrument created by us and one which we ourselves can freely reorganize according to the requirements of the moment. In other words, in many ways a conception of Church is spreading in Catholic thought, and even in Catholic theology, that cannot even be called Protestant in a 'classic' sense. Many current ecclesiological ideas, rather, refer to the model of certain North American 'free churches', in which in the past believers, took refuge from the oppressive model of the 'State Church' produced by the Reformation. Those refuges, no longer believing in an institutional Church willed by Christ, and wanting at the same time to escape the State Church, created their own church, an organization structured according to their own needs." (TRR, 46)

He goes on to explain the Catholic conception of Church.

"For a Catholic the Church is indeed composed of men who organize her external visage. But behind this, the fundamental structures are willed by God himself, and therefore they are inviolable. Behind the human exterior stands the mystery of a more than human reality, in which reformers, sociologists, organizers have no authority whatever. If the Church, instead, is viewed as a human construction, the product of our own efforts, even the contents of the faith end up assuming an arbitrary character; the faith, in fact, no longer has an authentic, guaranteed instrument through which to express itself. Thus, without a view of the mystery of the Church that is also supernatural and not only sociological, Christology itself loses its reference to the divine in favor of a purely human structure, and ultimately it amounts to a purely human project; the Gospel becomes the Jesus-project, the social-liberation project or other merely historical, immanent projects that can still seem religious in appearance, but which are atheistic in substance." (TRR, 46)

The Benedict XVI Project page can be found here.

Words of the Holy Father Benedict XVI can be found here.

St. Peter, pray for us!

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An Occasional Rant 11: Becoming a Joyful Saint

The Third Sunday of Advent is focused on joy. The Old Testament reading is from Isaiah and calls us to joy: "I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation …" We who have faith and are confident in the joy that awaits us, are to be joyful!

In Conversation with God has a sobering passage today about the soul that lacks joy.  The opposite of joy is gloominess.

"A gloomy soul is at the mercy of many temptations. How many sins have been committed in the shadow of that gloominess! When the soul is happy is spreads its happiness and is an encouragement to others. When it is downcast it spreads misery and does harm to others. Sad looks spring from egoism, from thinking about oneself to the exclusion of others, from laziness in one's work, from lack of mortification, from the search for small self-indulgences, from carelessness in one's relationship with God."

That is a very straightforward statement! The consequences for the gloomy soul are not limited to relationships with others; the problem of self-absorption has eternal consequences.

"Unless we forget ourselves, and are not too much taken up with our own affairs, we will not be able to know and serve Christ, in whom is our true happiness. Anyone excessively self-centered will find it very difficult to discover the joy of opening himself out towards God and towards other people."

There is a solution!

"In order to reach God and to grow in virtue we must have joy. Moreover, if we fulfill our duties joyfully we will be able to give a great deal of help to those around us, for this is a happiness that draws many to God. St. Paul instructs the first Christians: Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

There it is: Christians have a positive duty to joy! We are to reject gloominess by thinking less about ourselves and then by putting our focus on the needs of others.

All of this leads us to consider our call to be saints.

It is clear from Holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition that the purpose of life is to become a Saint.  What is a saint?  The Catechism teaches that a "saint" is a "holy one who leads a life in union with God through the grace of Christ and receives the reward of eternal life." Simple enough! We must move toward sanctity in our present life; Purgatory is the final purification of those who have fundamentally chosen holiness and have lived to be saints.  While simple to define, becoming a saint takes effort on our part.  Most importantly, becoming a saint requires that we live a "life in union with God through the Grace of Christ." St. Alphonsus Liguori provided a list of fifty recommendations for those who seek sanctity. These recommendations are from his book: The Incarnation Birth and Infancy of Jesus Christ.

Here are fifty saintly recommended interior and exterior practices.

1: Desire ardently to increase in the love of Jesus Christ.

2: Make frequent acts of love towards Jesus Christ. Immediately on waking, and before going to sleep, make an act of love, seeking always to unite your own will to the Will of Jesus Christ.

3: Frequently meditate on His Passion.

4: Always ask Jesus Christ for His love.

5: Receive Holy Communion often. Also, many times in the day make spiritual Communions.

6: Frequently visit the Most Holy Sacrament.

7: Every morning receive from the hands of Jesus Christ Himself your own cross.

8: Desire Paradise and death, in order to be able to love Jesus perfectly and for all eternity.

9: Speak often of the love of Jesus Christ.

10: Accept contradictions for the sake of Jesus Christ.

11: Rejoice in the happiness of God.

12: Do that which is most pleasing to Jesus Christ. Do not refuse Him anything that is agreeable to Him.

13: Desire and endeavor that all should love Jesus Christ.

14: Pray always for sinners and for the souls in Purgatory.

15: Drive from your heart every affection that does not belong to Jesus Christ. (Love of spouse, children, family, friends all belong to Jesus Christ and are pleasing to Him.)

16: Always have recourse to the most holy Mary, that she may obtain for us the love of Jesus Christ.

17: Honor Mary in order to please Jesus Christ.

18: Seek to please Jesus Christ in all your actions.

19: Offer yourself to Jesus Christ to suffer any pain for His love.

20: Be always determined to die rather than commit a willful venial sin.

21: Suffer crosses patiently, saying, "Thus it pleases Jesus Christ."

22: Renounce your won pleasures for the love of Jesus Christ.

23: Pray as much as possible.

24: Practice all the mortifications that obedience permits.

25: Do all of your spiritual exercises as if it were for the last time.

26: Persevere in good works in the time of aridity.

27: Do not do anything or leave anything undone through human respect.

28: Do not complain in sickness.

29: Love solitude and be able to converse alone with Jesus Christ.

30: Drive away melancholy, which is gloom.

31: Spend time with persons who love Jesus.

32: In temptations, turn to Jesus crucified and to Mary in her sorrows.

33: Trust entirely in the Passion of Jesus Christ.

34: After committing a fault, do not be discouraged, but repent and resolve to amend.

35: Do good to those who do evil.

36: Speak well of all and excuse the intention when you cannot defend the action.

37: Help your neighbor as much as you can.

38: Neither say nor do anything that might vex your neighbor. If you have been wanting in charity, ask your neighbors pardon and speak kindly to him.

39: Always speak with mildness and in a low tone.

40: Offer to Jesus Christ all the contempt and persecution that you meet with.

41: Look upon religious Superiors as the representatives of Jesus Christ.

42: Obey without answering and without repugnance, and do not to seek your own satisfaction in anything.

43: Like the lowest employment.

44: Like the poorest things.

45: Do not speak either good or evil of yourself.

46: Humble yourself even towards inferiors.

47: Do not excuse yourself when reproved.

48: Do not defend yourself when found with fault.

49: Be silent when you are upset.

50: Always renew your determination of becoming a saint, saying, "My Jesus, I desire to be all Yours, and You must be all mine."

I think that is enough.

Mary, Theotokos, pray for us!

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The Philosophy of Jesus: Introduction: The Four Great Philosophical Questions

I begin far more frequently than I finish! So, I start writing now about another book. The Philosophy of Jesus is a very compact book by Professor Peter Kreeft. The purpose of the book is (1) to show Christians a view of Jesus as a Philosopher and (2) to show non-Christians a new dimension of philosophy. I begin the analysis of this book by referring to Introduction III. The purpose of the introduction is to frame the content of the book into the Four Great Philosophical Questions.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

There are four great philosophical questions. First we ask what is. We want to know reality. This area of philosophy that asks fundamental questions is called metaphysics. Once we know reality, we ask how we know what we know. This is epistemology. Then we ask about ourselves: who are we who want to know what is real? This is philosophical anthropology. Finally, when confronted with reality, how we know what we know and who we are, we wonder what we should be. This last question is ethics. As Christians, we believe that Jesus Christ is the answer to each of the four great philosophical questions. Because this is so, the purpose of the book is to look at Jesus as the "philosopher" who is the answer to our greatest questions.

REFLECTION

The Four Great Philosophical Questions can be organized in this way:

Division of Philosophy	Question
Metaphysics	What is? What is real? What is most real?
Epistemology	How can we know what is real, especially the most real?
Philosophical Anthropology	Who are we, who want to know the real?
Ethics	What should we be, how should we live, to be more real?

The first question and basis for all other questions is: what is that? We wonder about what things are in themselves. We want to understand the nature of things. This is the area of philosophy that is called metaphysics. Metaphysics is the science of being; or of the absolutely first principles of being. Metaphysics is also called ontology or philosophy of first causes. In other words, what is the essence of things? We must also define "being." Being is whatever in any way is, whether it exists or is possible, whether in the mind, in the imagination, or in a statement. Philosophically, being is the real and corresponds to essence or thing. (MCD) Simple things are hard to define.

At some point, Kreeft observes, we not only want to know what things are but we want to know the difference between one thing and another. We want to know how we know. We want to know how we can be sure we know reality. This is the philosophy of epistemology. This question leads us to ask about the ultimate reality. How can we who are finite know the infinite? How can man know God?

The next question to be asked is a turn inward. We ask about ourselves. Who are we who desire to know and to know how we know? We want to know the knower. These questions are in the area of Philosophical Anthropology. Anthropology is not only the science of what is known about man in the past but also the study of who man is always.

When we ask sufficient questions about ourselves we realize that only men can fail to be its true self. Birds never act in a way contrary to bird-ness. Bears always act in a manner consistent with the nature of bears. Plants never violate their natures. Stones and oceans always act in a manner consistent with what their nature. Only humanity can be inhuman. Only men and women will act in ways contrary to their nature. Because of this we desire to understand the differences between good and evil. We can choose either good or evil. Nothing else in the universe can make the choice between good and evil. We ask how we can be "real" or our true selves, our good selves. What does it mean to be a good person and how can good people become good people.

Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the answer to our greatest needs and to the four great philosophical questions. Through Divine Revelation we learn that Jesus is the eternal logos. What is logos? "Logos means the Word of God, the Revelation of God, the Speech of God, the Wisdom of God the Mind of God, the Truth of God, the Reason of God, the Philosophy of God." Kreeft asserts that "Jesus is God's philosophy."

KEY QUOTES

"There are four perennial philosophical questions, "Philosophy" means "the love of wisdom," and wisdom, if we had it, would give us answers to at least these four great questions: (1) What is? What is real? Especially, what is most real? (2) How can we know what is real, and especially the most real? (3) Who are we, who want to know the real? "Know thyself." (4) What should we be, how should we live, to be more real?" (POJ, 6)

"The logical order of questions is this: we must first know something real before we can know how we know it; and we must first know who we are before we can know what is good for us." (POJ, 8)

"The Christian answer: because the only adequate and final answer to all four great philosophical questions is Christ." (POJ, 9)

St. Francis De Sales, pray for us!

Analytical Table of Contents

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On the Catechism: 1: To Know and Love God

The first words of the Catechism express the infinite perfection, blessedness and goodness of God. God created man to “make him share in his own blessed life.” God made us to be happy and live forever with a share of the His own life. This fact alone is astounding. It has been revealed to Israel and to all the nations of the world through the Church that God is good and that He loves the humanity that He has created.

A second key point is that God draws close to man! Notice that the Catechism does not teach that man first seeks God.  Rather, the witness of history and the Holy Scriptures is that God initiates the relationship with His people.  History is full of failed efforts, false religions, and hopeless philosophies that seek to either invent or posit a “god” to worship or to ignore God and create a man made utopia.  Our Lord is revealed as “Father” who seeks after the love and good of His children.

The good and loving Holy Trinity calls man to a relationship with God: to “seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength.” In the same way, God calls men into the unity of the Church. The cause of our disunity is sin. Just as God initiates a loving relationship with men, He initiated and executed the Plan of Salvation that redeemed and justified man before God.

The supremely loving act of the Father was to send His Son as “Redeemer and Savior.” In and through the Son, God invites men, “in the Holy Spirit”, to be his adopted children and “thus heirs of His blessed life.” The teaching and life of the Church is about our response to this invitation and the life we live as restored, redeemed, and justified sons and daughters of the Lord!

CCC 1

1 God, perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life.

Q&A

Q. What are the very first words of the Catechism that describe God?

A. God is described as infinitely perfect and blessed in himself.

Q. Why did God create man?

A. God created man in a plan of sheer goodness so that man could share in His own blessed life.

Q. Does God draw close to and call man?

A. God both draws close to man and calls man. The Catechism says that God draws close to man at every time and in every place.

Q. What is God’s call to man?

A. God calls man to seek Him, to know Him, and to love Him with all his strength. He makes this call to man while constantly drawing closer to man.

Q. Does God call men to unity with one another?

A. Yes. Like all good Fathers, God wants His children to live in harmony and unity with one another.

Q. What is the source of division among men?

A. Sin.

Q. What type of unity does God desire for men?

A. God desires that all men should be united with one another in the family of the Church which is visible and identifiable to all men.

Q. How has God overcome sin and disunity?

A. God accomplished the defeat of sin and unity through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. God sent His Son, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, to men and to become one with us. Through the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord, the work of redemption and salvation was accomplished. Jesus Christ established the unified family of God in His Church.

Q. What is the status of men who enter the Church?

A. Those who enter the Church in faith in Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit, are made His adopted sons and daughters and thus heirs of His blessed life.

CREDO

I believe that God is infinitely perfect and blessed in Himself.

I believe that God created man in a plan of sheer goodness in order to share His blessed life .

I believe that God calls all men to Himself and that He draws men to unity in His Church.

I believe that all disunity among men is caused by sin.

I believe that God has defeated sin and disunity through His Son, who became one with us, and who suffered, died, and rose again.

I believe that the work of redemption and salvation was accomplished through Our Lord's suffering, death, and resurrection.

I believe that all who enter the Church in faith in Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit, are made His adopted sons and daughters and are thus heirs of His blessed life.

St. Thomas Aquinas, Pray for us!

Catechism Project Link

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Evangelium Vitae: 5 and 6: In the Name of God Love Life

We conclude the opening remarks and preambles of Humane Vitae in Paragraphs 5 and 6. By way of review, let's look at what the Holy Father has said so far.

REVIEW

In Paragraph 1, John Paul reminds us that the Gospel is essentially a Gospel of Life and that the Church has received this good news and must proclaim this good news everywhere and always. In fact, the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ is in some way related to fulfillment and joy that is part of the birth of every child. We must know that the Lord Jesus came in His divinity and entered humanity so that we would have life in abundance now and for all eternity in Heaven.

In the second paragraph, the Pope reminds us that we are far more than mere animals in a material world. We are eternal beings who live this life in preparation for an eternal life of happiness with God. The way we prepare for eternal life is to grow to perfection in love, offering ourselves as a gift to God and to our neighbors. At the same time, we each recognize natural law written in our hearts that commands us to do good and avoid evil. It is self evident that a fundamental right of each individual person is the right to life. What's more, believers in Christ have a special duty to defend and promote the right to life. In fact, the Incarnation, the Son's willingness to take on human nature demonstrates the sacred value of human life. Human life is sacred.

In Paragraphs 3 and 4, our beloved Pope presents the new threats to sacred human life that have emerged in recent history. The Church has no choice but to exercise its maternal care for every individual. He notices that the threats to human life have expanded to an alarming scale and that the conditions for human life are degrading. Science and technology, which have enormous potential to benefit man, is at the same time becoming a threat to human life and dignity. Sorrowfully, he observes that the situation is expanding and that broad sectors of society condone and justify crimes against individual lives on the basis of individual freedom. What is more, in addition to opposing the power of the state to punish such crimes, society now seeks the authorization and support of the state and health-care systems for crimes against individual lives. The cause for this state of affairs is grave moral decline. What was once clearly known to be gravely sinful is now unclear. The basic value of human life is unclear to a world that is suffering grave moral decline.

KEY POINTS

Significantly, John Paul states that he was asked to speak on the issue of life by the Cardinals of the Church "with the authority of the Successor of Peter." This means that the Pope is speaking not as a theologian or simply as a leader but as the one who holds the Keys to the Kingdom of God. Citing the involvement of the world's Bishops, John Paul explains that the Church is duty bound to speak on behalf of those who "have no voices." He continues the tradition of the great social encyclicals by speaking out in defense of the poor and "those who are threatened and despised and whose human rights are violated."

The poor and despised of our time are the millions of unborn children who are murdered in the womb. The purpose of the encyclical is to be a "vigorous reaffirmation of the value of human life and its inviolability." The Pope appeals particularly to families. Families, he pleads, should be a "sanctuary of life." At stake is whether or not our will be an authentic civilization of truth and love.

DOCUMENT

In communion with all the Bishops of the world

 5. The Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals held in Rome on 4-7 April 1991 was devoted to the problem of the threats to human life in our day. After a thorough and detailed discussion of the problem and of the challenges it poses to the entire human family and in particular to the Christian community, the Cardinals unanimously asked me to reaffirm with the authority of the Successor of Peter the value of human life and its inviolability, in the light of present circumstances and attacks threatening it today. In response to this request, at Pentecost in 1991 I wrote a personal letter to each of my Brother Bishops asking them, in the spirit of episcopal collegiality, to offer me their cooperation in drawing up a specific document. I am deeply grateful to all the Bishops who replied and provided me with valuable facts, suggestions and proposals. In so doing they bore witness to their unanimous desire to share in the doctrinal and pastoral mission of the Church with regard to the Gospel of life. In that same letter, written shortly after the celebration of the centenary of the Encyclical Rerum Novarum, I drew everyone's attention to this striking analogy: "Just as a century ago it was the working classes which were oppressed in their fundamental rights, and the Church very courageously came to their defense by proclaiming the sacrosanct rights of the worker as a person, so now, when another category of persons is being oppressed in the fundamental right to life, the Church feels in duty bound to speak out with the same courage on behalf of those who have no voice. Hers is always the evangelical cry in defense of the world's poor, those who are threatened and despised and whose human rights are violated".

Today there exists a great multitude of weak and defenseless human beings, unborn children in particular, whose fundamental right to life is being trampled upon. If, at the end of the last century, the Church could not be silent about the injustices of those times, still less can she be silent today, when the social injustices of the past, unfortunately not yet overcome, are being compounded in many regions of the world by still more grievous forms of injustice and oppression, even if these are being presented as elements of progress in view of a new world order. The present Encyclical, the fruit of the cooperation of the Episcopate of every country of the world, is therefore meant to be a precise and vigorous reaffirmation of the value of human life and its inviolability, and at the same time a pressing appeal addressed to each and every person, in the name of God: respect, protect, love and serve life, every human life! Only in this direction will you find justice, development, true freedom, peace and happiness! May these words reach all the sons and daughters of the Church! May they reach all people of good will who are concerned for the good of every man and woman and for the destiny of the whole of society!

6. In profound communion with all my brothers and sisters in the faith, and inspired by genuine friendship towards all, I wish to meditate upon once more and proclaim the Gospel of life, the splendor of truth which enlightens consciences, the clear light which corrects the darkened gaze, and the unfailing source of faithfulness and steadfastness in facing the ever new challenges which we meet along our path. As I recall the powerful experience of the Year of the Family, as if to complete the Letter which I wrote "to every particular family in every part of the world", I look with renewed confidence to every household and I pray that at every level a general commitment to support the family will reappear and be strengthened, so that today too-even amid so many difficulties and serious threats-the family will always remain, in accordance with God's plan, the "sanctuary of life". To all the members of the Church, the people of life and for life, I make this most urgent appeal, that together we may offer this world of ours new signs of hope, and work to ensure that justice and solidarity will increase and that a new culture of human life will be affirmed, for the building of an authentic civilization of truth and love.

Q&A

Q. With whose authority does Pope John Paul II speak?

A. He speaks with the authority of the Successor of Peter.

Q. What is the duty of the Church regarding the oppressed?

A. The Church has the duty to speak out on behalf of those who have no voice. In particular, the church must speak for the poor, the threatened, the despised, and those whose human rights are violated.

Q. What group of people is the Pope concerned with in this encyclical letter?

A. He is concerned with the multitude of weak and defenseless human beings: the unborn children.

Q. What is the purpose of the encyclical?

A. The encyclical is a precise and vigorous reaffirmation of the value of human life and its inviolability. It also an appeal, in the name of God, to respect, protect, love and service every human life.

St. Pope Pius X, pray for us!

Link to John Paul II Project: Evangelium Vitae

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On the Teaching of the Saints 11: The Immaculate Conception

Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Consider the praise offered to the Mother of God from Saint Maximilian Kolbe.

"The Immaculate One appears in this world without the least stain of sin, the masterpiece of God's hands, full of grace.  God, the Most Holy Trinity, beholds the lowliness (that is, the humility, the root of all her other virtues) of His Handmaid, and does great things for her, He the Almighty.  God the Father gives her His own Son to be her Son; God the Son descends into her womb; and God the Holy Spirit forms the body of Christ in the womb of this pure virgin.  And the Word was made flesh.  The immaculate One becomes the Mother of God.  The fruit of the love of God in his Trinitarian life and of Mary the Immaculate One is Christ the God-Man."

Mary, Theotokos, pray for us!

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An Occasional Rant 10: Subtle Speculation

There is a danger for those who seriously study theology. The danger is asking too many questions. One of those questions for me has been to wonder how the sacrifice of living creatures – especially Our Lord's sacrifice – makes up for our individual sins and for the stain of original sin with which all sons and daughters of Adam are born.  At the same time, one should be careful when raising these issues and avoid disturbing the peace of others. I am going to continue to research this issue but here is information that I put together that satisfies the "what" of the question. The "why" will have to wait.

How sacrifice atones for sin.

Consider these definitions from the Modern Catholic Dictionary:

Sacrifice, Old Testament. As described in the books of the Old Law, sacrifice essentially meant honoring God by offering him some of the creatures that are precious to human beings, in acknowledgement of God's sovereignty and human dependence on the Creator. Two kinds of sacrifice are recognized and required of humanity, the bloody and the unbloody. Four kinds of bloody sacrifices are described: 1. Holocaust was the most perfect, also called the whole-burnt offering; the animal or other object was completely consumed by fire, and as the "perpetual sacrifice" it was offered twice daily, morning and evening.; 2. Sin offering was to expiate misdeeds committed through ignorance or inadvertence,; the kind of victim depended mainly on the dignity of the person offended; 3. Guilt offering was especially prescribed for sins demanding restitution; 4. Peace offerings were either in gratitude or in fulfillment of a vow, or simply voluntary; part of the ceremony of this kind of sacrifice was that part of what was offered was returned to the one offering, to be eaten in a sacrificial meal.

So it appears that the acts of sacrifice were acts of worship that acknowledged the dignity of God.  They were fitting in view of the who God is and how sin was an offense to Him.  What these sacrifices did not do is fix the relationship.  When an animal was thoroughly destroyed, man lost complete use of the benefits of that animal.  Of course, we know that Jesus Christ offered Himself as the sacrifice of the New Covenant and that no further sacrifices were needed because of the infinite value of His life. He was the priest and the victim. He was the Holocaust and the sin offering and the guilt offering. Hebrews 10:12-13 tells us that Christ, who by his perfect obedience has "offered one single sacrifice for sins, and then taken his place forever at the right hand of God." We say that Our Lord atoned once and for all for our sins. What does it mean to atone? Again the MCD helps me to understand.

Atonement. The satisfaction of a legitimate demand. In a more restricted sense it is the reparation of an offense. This occurs through a voluntary performance that outweighs the injustice done. If the performance fully counterbalances the gravity of the guilt, the atonement is adequate. And if the atonement is done by someone other than the actual offender, but in his stead, it is vicarious. Applied to Christ the Redeemer, through his sufferings and death he rendered vicarious atonement to God for the sins of the whole human race. His atonement is fully adequate because it was performed by a divine person. In fact, it is superabundant because the positive value of Christ's expiation is actually greater than the negative value of human sin.

So we see that the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament were not sufficient to overcome sin. Justice is giving a person his rightful due. Because sin offended the infinite dignity of God, then our death as a result of sin is justified. God does not play games with definitions. If the price for sin is death then death is needed. However, the death of animals for centuries in the Temple could only delay the justice due God by giving Him continual honor. All the while, the Father's plan of salvation was moving toward the only sacrifice that would suffice: the sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is only His suffering and death that satisfies the need of justice and in which atonement is available. The word atonement does in fact mean the restoration of "at one-ness." Because of Jesus, we can be one with God again. All the while, we remember that, as St. Augustine says, we sinned without God but He will not save us without us.

I think that, for now, this satisfies my understanding of the sacrifice in the Old Testament and the sacrifice of Our Dear Lord. I need to study the Old Testament more carefully.

I think that is enough.

Mary, Theotokos, pray for us!

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Prayer For Beginners 2: Motives

Why should we pray? Professor Kreeft has provided a very useful list of ten reasons to pray. Kreeft is a delight to read because he cuts to the heart of things with a minimum of words. Consequently, summarization is barely required.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

The Ten Reasons to pray are these:

1^st    Only prayer can save the world.

2^nd    We must pray because God commands it.

3^rd    God wants us to receive truth for our mind, goodness for our will, and beauty for our heart.

4^th    God's honor deserves and demands our prayer.

5^th    We will die one day and so we do not have an infinite amount of time.

6^th    Prayer is delightful.

7^th    We know God through prayer.

8^th    Prayer is a prerequisite of teaching and preaching.

9^th    Prayer is the only way to make spiritual progress.

10^th    Without prayer we cannot attain the meaning of life, the end purpose of our existence.    

REFLECTION

The question "why pray" has a very practical answer. We must pray because only prayer can save the world. To the mind of secular man, prayer is tedium at worst and escapism at best. Prayer is the most practical thing in the world. The world needs saints. Saints are made in prayer. The root of our problems in the world is sin. Kreeft says, "Saints are the antibodies that fight sin."

We must pray because God commands it. Prayer is not a program of self improvement. Our Lord tells us in 1 Thessalonians to "pray constantly." Why does God command us to pray always? The answer is amazing. We must pray always because God loves us and yearns and longs to come to us and share His life with us. We should not pray, "Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, MY will be done." We should pray to change our will. We should pray for the grace to more closely conform to His will. When we ask for things, which we should do, we do so because even this has been commanded by Jesus Christ! Secular man can't see this; we live in a world of "my will be done." We acknowledge no one as greater than ourselves or more deserving of love than ourselves.

God commands us to pray for good reasons. Our soul has three powers: mind, will, and heart. In prayer we receive the three things our souls need: we receive truth for our mind, we receive goodness for our will, and we receive beauty for our heart. Yes, we can perceive beauty and goodness in prayer! In the silence and presence of God we receive a tiny glimpse of Him: He is Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Why would we avoid this? How is it that we can stop praying! The answer: we are weak and sinful and we still fight against the consequences of sin.

God's honor deserves our prayer. Kreeft makes this clear: "To put it most simply, God is God, the Absolute Reality, Infinite Perfection, more massively real than the universe itself and more worthy than all the ideals together ever conceived by all human minds. If we could see the truth, we would fall to our knees with great joy! Each of us has a sense of the greatness of God. Even if we do not know His name, we sense greatness in a beautiful piece of music, we enjoy truth when we hear it, we want what is good and we reject what is not good. Each person was made with this sense of reality. How do we respond to reality? Kreeft offers this formula: "Right Response to Reality – the Three R's – is the fundamental principle of morality, of sanctity, and of sanity. We know disorder and dissipation when we see it and we are repelled by it. These are all signs that we were made for God. Knowing God's greatness shows God's honor and we desire to pray.

When we think about the fact that we will die, we have a greater sense of urgency about prayer. We do not have an infinite amount of time. Universally, people who are dying think about the things they should have done. They think about what is important in life; we can learn much from them. In the end, we will wish we had prayed more.

Prayer is delightful! The saints all say that spending time in prayer is sweet and delightful. They live in continual conversation with God. They live in His presence. God accepts the "selfish" motive of our pleasure as a reason to pray. This is a natural motive. Kreeft says, "Our own delight and peace and joy and happiness is perfectly proper for God appeals to this motive throughout Scripture." C.S. Lewis said that God is "like a good earthly father, he is easy to please but hard to satisfy." Even though we are pleased by our prayer, we have obligations with which we must live.

Prayer is the way to know God. Jesus defined eternal life as knowing God. Our Lord said, "This is eternal life: that they know thee, the only true God." (Jn 17:3) Kreeft makes some key points here. First he says, "To know anyone, you must not just know thousands of things about him, but you must know him, you must meet him, you must spend time, with him." We must practice the presence of God. Praying is knowing God by practicing His presence. This is the highly realistic way to live because God is really present. It is a fantasy to construct a world in our own minds, in which God is absent.

Every Christian will be called upon to teach and evangelize even if only to the very few around us. Prayer, and its effect, knowing God, is "the essential prerequisite for all religious teachers, catechists, evangelists, and preachers." If we are to be useful, we must be in communion with God. We teach best what we love.

Prayer is the only way to spiritual progress. Jesus puts spiritual progress in its proper perspective. Kreeft explains: "When he says to us, 'Follow me' (Mt 8:22), he is not saying, 'Please remember to be nice.' He is inviting us to a high-speed chase down the roads of our life. On that chase there is no rest except eternal rest and no security except eternal security." Spiritual progress, in one sense happens because God does not leave us alone. He pursues us. Kreeft uses the example of uncles. Uncles will always tell us we are great, they pat us on the head and then they go home. Fathers, on the other hand, pursue us. Fathers never leave their children alone; they constantly push and drive us to be better. Fathers love more than uncles.

Without prayer we cannot attain the meaning of life, the end and purpose of our existence. What is the purpose of life? The purpose of life is to become a saint. This is to say, to become holy. Everything God has done from the creation of the world to His death on the cross through every detail of our lives is to make us saints. Kreeft makes a key point about Jesus Christ, "He was not called 'Jesus' (Savior) merely because he was to save us from the punishment for our sins; he was called 'Jesus' for he will save people from their sins.' (Mt 1:21) His purpose was not just to make us safe but to make us saints." Our Lord died not only to take on the punishment that we deserved but to make it possible for us to be saints. Prayer is the fuel for that blessing.

KEY QUOTES

"… nothing else can ever cure our sick world except saints, and saints are never made except by prayer." (PFB, 14)

"He [God] yearns and longs for us to pray more passionately than any earthly lover yearns for his beloved to turn her eyes and her attention to him. (All earthly loves are tiny droplets of his infinite sea of love; he is where all love comes from whether we receive it pure or whether we pollute it.)" (PFB, 15)

"Three reasons God commands us to pray correspond to our three deepest needs, the fundamental needs of the three powers of our soul: prayer gives truth to our mind, goodness to our will, and beauty to our heart. The true, the good, and the beautiful are the three things we need and love the most, because they are three attributes of God." (PFB, 16)

"[W]e should pray because prayer is the most realistic thing in the world to do. It is our acknowledgment of reality, our right response to reality, our honesty with reality. Right Response to Reality – the Three R's – is the fundamental principle of morality, of sanctity, and of sanity." (PFB, 17)

"To pray is to know God by practicing his presence; and this is to live in reality (for God is really present), instead of in the fantasy worlds we construct in our own minds, in which God is absent." (PFB, 20)

"Even good earthly fathers want the very best for their children; why do we expect our Heavenly Father to be any less demanding and leave us alone? That is what uncles do, not fathers. Christ did not teach us to pray, "Our Uncle who art in Heaven."" (PFB, 23)

St. Thomas More, Pray for us!

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