I Thank My God Upon Every Remembrance of You Phil 1:3

Thank all my brethren and sistrens who have committed to pray for me for this upcoming medical mission to Haiti. Please keep my family here at home in prayer as well. I really covet and appreciate your prayers. It is so wonderful to be a part of the Universal Church and experiencing the communion of saints in action.

On that same note, I am also asking my blogger friends to intercede for a frequent commentor named "Theo". He had a "massive" heart attack and is still in the hospital. He is not yet 50, has two young children and a wife at home. Please keep Theo in your prayers.
Thanks and God bless, I will post pics from the trip when I get back. Let's all grow in grace this Lenten season.

Blogfast

I have been inspired by some other bloggers to lay off the blogging a little bit during Lent. Sometimes I mistakenly start to think it's more important to get my thoughts "out there" which precludes Him getting His thoughts "In here."
I would ask for your prayers as I leave for my almost annual short term medical mission in Port-Au-Prince from March 1-10. It is a great opportunity for penance as well as ministering to Jesus through the poorest of the poor. These folks are truly "the least of these." There's no better season of the year to do this! I am looking forward to this as a great time of renewal. The team always asks us to get ten people to commit to praying for us while we are there. I ask my Catholic/Christian blogospherians to do this for me, if you are led to. I would appreciate it.

Prayer requests:

• That I can be effective in diagnosing and treating many diseases without any tests, labs etc
• That the team is protected from the kidnappings that are rampant where we work
• That I can be an effective witness for Christ and His Church

Thanks so much!
I refer you to Prodigal Daughter's blog Mystery of Suffering for her posts on the Stations of the Cross
God bless you.

Forty Days to Get Closer To God

Here's a great Link on Praying Lent which starts today.

Let us pray
for the grace to keep Lent faithfully.

Lord,
protect us in the struggle against evil.
As we begin the discipline of Lent,
make this season holy by our self-denial.
Grant this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Daily Meditation:
A very special day.

The ashes we use are the burnt palms from last year's celebration of Passion Sunday.
We begin our Lenten journey aware of where we are going.
We want to enter into the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus for us more fully.
That is the purpose of our journey. It is why we mark our heads with his cross.
It is why we fast today and abstain from meat.

Our Lenten program is not an effort to save ourselves.
We have been saved by his sacrifice.
Our self-denial helps us, in the darkness that surrounds us,
to prepare ourselves to receive his light.
For this is a journey to the Easter font,
where we will renew the promises of our Baptism,
remembering that in dying with him in the waters of Baptism,
we are re-born with him to everlasting life.

This year's journey begins today.

Yet even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;

Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.
- Joel 2:12-13

(From Creighton University Collaborative Ministry Website.)

Mortification, Schmortification, Who Needs Lent?

I do for one. I need anything that Jesus offers me through His Church that will help me to die to myself and live for Him. But,

"Many of my Protestant friends are uncomfortable with Lent. "It's all about mortification and self-discipline when we know that the Risen Jesus is joyful and alive!" they say. "We don't need to mortify ourselves to please God. That's why Jesus died for us, so we don't have be 'good enough'. Moreover, Catholics call it a 'holy season' and Paul says in Colossians 2:16-17 that we shouldn't observe any day as special. So hasn't the Church disobeyed the Bible by doing the Lenten thing?" ....... For Lent is not anti-scriptural. It is not something we give to God to earn his love, but rather his gift of love to us which he wants us to share. It is not primarily about fasting. Or abstaining. Or dryness. Or doing without. To be sure, it involves these indispensable things, but it does so as health involves exercise."

The above is from an article by Mark Shear discussing the season of Lent from a convert's perspective. Good reading.

I am so thankful for the seasons that are set aside for us by the Church to grow holier and closer to Jesus. Again, it's another tool that I did not avail myself of as an evangelical. There was truly a tendency to think that these special times and seasons were "works-oriented" Christianity and there was no "grace" in these practices. The Bible talks about fasting in prayer often, so far be it from me to decide: "I am free from the Law and am a child of the New Covenant so these things don't apply."


Lord Jesus, I ask that you would use these next forty days in a special way in my life. Grant me a desire to let go of the things that keep me from you. Give me the strength to take hold of the things that will transform me to your likeness and image.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

FREE MP3 : ROME OUR SWEET HOME!

Tiber Jumper Studios announces the release of its latest offering:

ROME OUR SWEET ROME!

Susie from RECON wrote the lyrics with some inspiration from Prodigal Daughter who placed a verse on my post about God Fearin' Fiddler's conversion to Catholicism back in November.
Hope you enjoy. Nice work Susie!

Here's the link for your free download: TiberJumperMusik

Yeah, I admit it. Converts get pretty jazzed about the Church, but only because it enhances our love for Christ. If your best friend is the bridegroom, it follows that you start to love the bride too!

"...I Would Hate the Church More Than They Do."

"There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church—which is, of course, quite a different thing. These millions can hardly be blamed for hating Catholics because Catholics “adore statues;” because they “put the Blessed Mother on the same level with God;” because they “say indulgence is a permission to commit sin;” because the Pope “is a Fascist;” because the Church “is the defender of Capitalism.” If the Church taught or believed any one of these things, it should be hated, but the fact is that the Church does not believe nor teach any one of them. It follows then that the hatred of the millions is directed against error and not against truth. As a matter of fact, if we Catholics believed all of the untruths and lies which were said against the Church, we probably would hate the Church a thousand times more than they do.

If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hates. My reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of the churches of the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He was on earth in the flesh. If you would find Christ today, then find the Church that does not get along with the world. Look for the Church that is hated by the world, as Christ was hated by the world. Look for the Church which is accused of being behind the times, as Our Lord was accused of being ignorant and never having learned. Look for the Church which men sneer at as socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because He came from Nazareth. Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. Look for the Church which the world rejects because it claims it is infallible, as Pilate rejected Christ because he called Himself the Truth. Look for the Church which amid the confusion of conflicting opinions, its members love as they love Christ, and respect its voice as the very voice of its Founder, and the suspicion will grow, that if the Church is unpopular with the spirit of the world, then it is unworldly, and if it is unworldly, it is other-worldly. Since it is other-worldly, it is infinitely loved and infinitely hated as was Christ Himself. ... the Catholic Church is the only Church existing today which goes back to the time of Christ. History is so very clear on this point, it is curious how many miss its obviousness..."

Bishop Fulton Sheen

My Catholic Credentials

I blogged on this issue a long time ago and want to re-emphasize it: Getting to know what Catholicism is, as opposed to getting to know what many others have said about it. I am embarrassed to summarize the extent of my Catholic learning up until 3 years ago: These are my credentials for what I knew of Catholicism. When I read them, I weep!

• 1 year of Catholic school as a first-grader. I had a crush on Sister Michael. Don't remember much else. Helped carry her books to the convent on Fridays. She was kind.
  

• 14 years of weekly Mass. I didn't have warm memories, but I can't remember much else. I did like the incense and to this day I get kind of choked up :)
  

• 8 years of confession a few times a year. I always felt good when I left the confessional.

• 10 years of CCD classes. I remember a devout Dominican brother, Jude, who "may have known the Lord". I remember a married couple came in and taught NFP and explained why they don't use artifical contraception. Very embarrassing at the time for a 16 yr old.
  

• 100's of Jack T. Chick tracks read cover to cover as a 14 year old. God never had a face and Catholics were always balding, pot-bellied and poorly-shaven!(with smell lines too!) Who could forget "This Was Your Life" or "Why No Revival?" (Wino Revival as we called it) or most forgettably "The Death Cookie"
  

• 1 Western Civilization course as an undergraduate taught at a liberal protestant college . I got an A and the popes were jerks.
  

• Hours and hours of long discussions with anti-Catholic fundamentalists teaching me the "essentials" of false Catholic doctrines (from 14-20 years old.) The entire time my "teacher" was quaffing Budweiser and smoking Marlboro. (Oops! I forgot my own lesson, can't judge a religion by those who don't practice it)
  

• Hours of listening to Open Forum on the radio and the Teachings of Brother Harold Camping. He has since gone further into heresy and believes we shouldn't go to church anymore. Go figure. Pray for him. My brother and I loved him.
• Sitting under the teachings of a "Pastor" who was extremely anti-Catholic for many years, who himself never had more than the equivalent of a high school diploma. He told me my banjo playing didn't glorify the Lord. He had never studied theology or church history. Not surprising, this little church he pastored eventually split and slowly disappeared. My banjo playing got better.
  
• Arguing With My Mom for 100's of hours as a teenager. She said "Once a Catholic always a Catholic and "It's not up to you to interpret the Bible." Well, turns out she was correct!
  

Based on the above, one can safely conclude I didn't really have a proper understanding of Catholicism before I chose to reject it. One could argue that the years in Mass and CCD should have given me a strong background but let's face it: Those aren't always the best places to get solid Catholic teaching, sadly enough. But the other fact is that many folks go through years of Bible camp, VBS, and Sunday school in Protestant churches and don't end up knowing the fundamentals of their faith either. The old saw still applies "Going to a Chicken Coop doesn't make you a good chicken" so going to a Catholic Church once a week for many years didn't make me a devout Catholic.

In retrospect, I realize my rejection of Catholicism was based on my assessment of my dysfunctional upbringing. How could Catholicism be true if my parents were so messed up? This uses the incorrect paradigm of judging the veracity of a religion by those who don't practice it, which seems to be the way most of us, if we are honest, decide which church we will belong to.(Or won't belong to as in my case)

If I had to do it over again, (but there are no "undo" buttons in this life) I would have put much more time and effort into learning about what I was rejecting and starting to rail against. I spent 11 years after high school learning about the field of internal medicine before I actually was able to go out and practice it. Hours and hours, days and days, year after year memorizing, studying taking certifying and re-certifying and licensing exams to become a doctor. I wish that I had spent more than 5 minutes reading about Catholicism from a Catholic perspective instead of spending years being taught Catholic doctrine from anti-Catholics! The enormity of this incongruity still haunts me and my penance (making restitution for my actions, I am already forgiven) will be lifelong.

I should have gone to the source materials from the Catholic Church and not what others misrepresented about her. The word "Catechism" brings to mind boring Saturday mornings listening to a teacher who may not have known the faith herself. Was this reason enough for me to not open a Catholic Catechism myself or study the history of Christianity from a Catholic perspective? After all, I learned medicine from board-certified medical doctors in nationally-accredited universities and hospitals. Imagine how my ability to practice medicine would have been affected had I obtained my degree from The Official University of Voodoo Medicine ? Should a person learn math from an English teacher? English from a person who speaks only German? American history from a textbook produced in the Soviet Union? Capitalism from a Communist?*

Before you decide against Catholicism, pick up a catechism and give it a good long and thorough read, and get your "Catholic Credentials." If your short on time, the newly released Compendium is an excellent summary of the major points from the full Catechism. This link is to an on-line version right from across the Tiber River itself!

*Thanks to Rick L. from CHN for these thoughts.

"You Gotta Eat The Lamb"

Jesus said I have come not to abolish the Law but fulfill it. His incarnate entry into our salvation history was not intended to subjugate all of Judaism prior to His advent and re-invent a completely disparate religion called "New Testament Christianity." To be sure, Jesus instituted a New Covenant through His blood, shed once and for all, for sin. But did establishing a New Covenant mean that all of Jewish history and God's dealings with His people needed to be cast aside? Through the "retrospectacles" of history we tend to view Christianity as this completely innovative movement which is the anti-thesis of Judaism. However, when we cut the Jewish roots from Christianity, we lose a perspective and historical way of thinking that was intended to inform our theology and help us understand our faith.
The doctrines of Catholicism have become easier for me to understand when I look to the Jewish roots of this religion. Note John the Baptist's first words regarding Jesus:
"Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."
This was such a vitally important statement to his Jewish followers because it distilled the concept of salvation from the past to the present and onto the future. His proclamation immediately connects all of Jewish history and the importance of the Passover to Jesus entry into our world. At the same time, John's announcement foreshadowed the Last Supper (and therefore the Mass) when Jesus gave us His body to eat.

Every Jew knew that to escape the angel of death they needed to "eat the lamb." It was a core belief of historical Judaism. The Passover was part of who they were as a people. It would follow then, that Jesus, when he commanded us to "take and eat for this is my body" was doing nothing less than continuing the pattern that God had instituted from the beginning of salvation history.
So I need to ask again, why is the sacrament of the Eucharist a human invention? Christ came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. If you can accept the ancient Jewish paradigm that God required a spotless Lamb to be sacrificed for our sins, why not bring it to its logical completion? Bottom line: You Gotta Eat the Lamb!

ADDENDUM: This is what the Church historically has taught and practiced since 33 AD. The term "sacrifice of the altar" was used repeatedly by the early founders of Christianity to describe what transpired in the Mass. Just ask Emperor Diocletian why he slaughtered so many Christians in the early fourth century. He would tell you that the Christians were cannibals because they ate the flesh and drank the blood of the Son of Man.

"The Masterworks of God"

The further in time and distance one gets from the Early Church, the more the sacraments are one by one jettisoned from the Barc of Peter by the post-reformation churches. They believe they are setting themselves free of what they see as "encumbrances and weights" that beset them. In my evangelical experience, I don't believe we had any sacraments left that we spoke of. Baptism was symbolic, communion was a memorial only and there was no confirmation, unless you consider the baptism in the Holy Spirit to be analogous to that.
The loss of sacraments over the generations has left a void in the churches that has to be filled by something. In medical school they told us that nature abhors a vacuum and I have thirty years of experience observing how this vacuum was filled in our non-Catholic churches. The "worship and praise" segment of evangelical services could be considered an unspoken sacrament in a sense, because this was considered the time when God was reaching down and touching us in the service. It doesn't exactly meet the Catholic definition of a Sacrament but you get the picture. In other churches, the expositing of Scripture for 45- 50 minutes is their "unspoken Sacrament." Some churches have both in one service. So with the vacancy left by no longer having the true sacraments ordained by Christ, other things must take their place.

True sacraments are not a burden, but a joy. They are the way we get closer to Jesus and experience His wonder working power in our lives. Would you be free from your burden of sin? Yes I would!
Through the wonder working power of the blood of Christ applied through the sacrament of Baptism, Confession, and the Eucharist. (interestingly, the Catholic Church accepts the validity of any baptism from any other Christian faith as long it was done with the proper form and matter)

The most powerful thing I have seen is in the Easter Vigil when the Church takes in the new catechumens. There is so much grace flowing that, as we used to say in the olden days "the Holy Spirit is all over the place." On that evening some folks are getting baptized, confirmed and receiving the Eucharist all in one evening!

The riches of Christ are communicated to all the members of the body through the sacraments! (to paraphrase the Catechism)(947) Sacraments are "powers that comes forth" from the Body of Christ,³³ which is ever-living and life-giving. They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his Body, the Church. They are "the masterworks of God" in the new and everlasting covenant (1116)

So the sacraments don't supplant Christ's work, they are the very way in which He applies His grace to us.


BTW, I found a new blog that has some points that recently came up in the comments on my post about the Pillar and Foundation of Truth. Check out Saint Under Construction
Saint has an excellent post describing how we come to salvation. He makes the excellent point that Catholics have the ability to see things in a both/and manner vs either/or. This was one of the first turning points for me when I saw this important paradigm for understanding Catholicism.

FREE MP3 Download of "OLDE TYME RELIGION"

The other day I posted the lyrics to my new version of "Old Time Religion." Today was a snow day, couldn't get the car out of the driveway here in Eastern PA, so I went down to the basement studio and threw together this little tune for all my readers.

The instruments used are 000-15S Martin guitar, FlatIron F 5 mandolin, Carvin fretless bass and vox. I hope you like it.

Please give a listen and feel free to Rip It, Burn it, Share it and Learn It!
Here's the Link: TiberJumperMusik

A Little Water....Another Lap on the Treadmill

We "Sacramentalists" in agreement with the writings of the Early Church and Sacred Scripture insist that "a little water" does indeed regenerate a person. This belief does not negate faith in Jesus' work on the Cross. We believe, as did most of Christendom for 1500 years, that the Holy Spirit works through the sign in an efficacious manner to the person who is rightly disposed to the reception of the Sacrament, be it Baptism, the Eucharist, Marriage etc. Why does God work this way you ask? Because it is the will of our Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe this quote can clarify it a bit for those non-sacramentalists.

"So then we must ever come to this point, that the Sacraments are effectual and that they are not trifling signs that vanish away in the air, but that the truth is always matched with them, because God who is faithful shows that he has not ordained anything in vain. And that is the reason why in Baptism we truly receive the forgiveness of sins, we are washed and cleansed with the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are renewed by the operation of his Holy Spirit.

And how so? Does a little water have such power when it is cast upon the head of a child? No. But because it is the will of our Lord Jesus Christ that the water should be a visible sign of his blood and of the Holy Spirit. Therefore baptism has that power and whatsoever is there set forth to the eye is forthwith accomplished in very deed."

John Calvin, Sermons on Deuteronomy, p. 1244.


One could almost imagine that John Calvin himself contributed to this entry in the Cathechism:

"The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation.⁵¹ "Sacramental grace" is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament. The Spirit heals and transforms those who receive him by conforming them to the Son of God. The fruit of the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the faithful partakers in the divine nature⁵² by uniting them in a living union with the only Son, the Savior."

So why do some insist on sacramentalism as "cheap human inventions that are endless treadmills?"

Am I missing something here?

• Here's another look at one of the Sacraments and their pre-figurement in the Old Testament.

• Here's a free musical gift to my reformed brethren: OLDE TYME RELIGION Free Mp3 DOWNLOAD!

Deus Caritas Happy St. Valentines Day

There is no better day than today to read the Holy Father's first encyclical from Dec 2005. Deus Caritas/God is Love.

Here is a condensed form from St. Anthony's messenger Website.
Here is the full version straight from the Vatican Website

Here is snippet:
"Nowadays Christianity of the past is often criticized as having been opposed to the body; and it is quite true that tendencies of this sort have always existed. Yet the contemporary way of exalting the body is deceptive. Eros, reduced to pure “sex”, has become a commodity, a mere “thing” to be bought and sold, or rather, man himself becomes a commodity. This is hardly man's great “yes” to the body. On the contrary, he now considers his body and his sexuality as the purely material part of himself, to be used and exploited at will. Nor does he see it as an arena for the exercise of his freedom, but as a mere object that he attempts, as he pleases, to make both enjoyable and harmless. Here we are actually dealing with a debasement of the human body: no longer is it integrated into our overall existential freedom; no longer is it a vital expression of our whole being, but it is more or less relegated to the purely biological sphere. The apparent exaltation of the body can quickly turn into a hatred of bodiliness. Christian faith, on the other hand, has always considered man a unity in duality, a reality in which spirit and matter compenetrate, and in which each is brought to a new nobility. True, eros tends to rise “in ecstasy” towards the Divine, to lead us beyond ourselves; yet for this very reason it calls for a path of ascent, renunciation, purification and healing."

Worship and Praise

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God!
It is right to give him thanks and praise.

Father, we give you thanks and praise
through your beloved Son Jesus Christ,
your living Word through whom you have created all things;

Who was sent by you, in your great goodness, to be our Saviour;
by the power of the Holy Spirit he took flesh
and, as your Son, born of the blessed Virgin,
was seen on earth
and went about among us.

He opened wide his arms for us on the cross;
he put an end to death by dying for us
and revealed the resurrection by rising to new life;
so he fulfilled your will and won for you a holy people.

Therefore with angels and archangels,
and with all the company of heaven,
we proclaim your great and glorious name,
for ever praising you and saying:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Isn't that a beautiful prayer to our Lord? When we pray it slowly with our hearts engaged towards the heavens, it can be a most powerful prayer of praise and worship to the Lord. Even more amazing to me is that we here on earth join with all the company of heaven in worshiping our God and King.

Before I came back home to the Church, I believed that the highest form of praise and worship was through praise songs and scripture put to music, or personal heartfelt songs sung to God.

In Mass this evening, as the priest prayed this Eucharistic prayer , I suddenly realized how much worship and praise the Mass really is. It's all about glorifying the risen Lord. I don't know how I ever missed this as a young person. Truly it is as if the scales of blindness have fallen from my eyes. This same Mass I participated in tonight has been celebrated by the faithful for nearly 2000 years .

From the Catechism:

As early as the second century we have the witness of St. Justin Martyr for the basic lines of the order of the Eucharistic celebration. They have stayed the same until our own day for all the great liturgical families. St. Justin wrote to the pagan emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161) around the year 155, explaining what Christians did:

On the day we call the day of the sun, all who dwell in the city or country gather in the same place. (Gathering together to worship on Sunday, a new Tradition)*

The memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets are read, as much as time permits. (Liturgy of the Word)*

When the reader has finished, he who presides over those gathered admonishes and challenges them to imitate these beautiful things. (The Sermon or Homily)*

Then we all rise together and offer prayers for ourselves . . .and for all others, wherever they may be, so that we may be found righteous by our life and actions, and faithful to the commandments, so as to obtain eternal salvation. (Prayers of the Faithful)*

When the prayers are concluded we exchange the kiss. (Kiss of Peace)*

Then someone brings bread and a cup of water and wine mixed together to him who presides over the brethren. (Offering of the gifts)*

He takes them and offers praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and for a considerable time he gives thanks (in Greek: eucharistian) that we have been judged worthy of these gifts. (Eucharistic Prayer)*

When he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all present give voice to an acclamation by saying: 'Amen.' (The Great Amen)*

When he who presides has given thanks and the people have responded, those whom we call deacons give to those present the "eucharisted" bread, wine and water and take them to those who are absent.^{1 (The distribution of the Body and Precious blood of the Lord)*}

*These are mine own comments inserted

The Mass is a sacrifice but at the same time the highest form of praise and worship to our God as we offer Jesus' re-presented sacrifice to the Father.

Give Me That Old Time Religion!

When I used to sing this song, it would conjure images of Paul and Silas at sawdust revival meetings, Bible studies, altar calls, etc. When I started to read about the Church fathers, (the early Christians who were direct descendants of the apostles), a different image of the Church started to emerge. I now see this Church as it truly was in the first centuries through the writings of the Christians who were actually there. When I sing about the Old Time Religion now, I think of the Eucharist, baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and yes, the historical fact these Christians referred to themselves as the Catholic Church. Yes, they did have "altar calls" in which the faithful went forward in the worship service and received Christ as Lord and Savior. (Only for them, as Catholics do now, they believed they were literally eating the flesh of Christ and drinking his blood in the appearance of bread and wine.)

I prefer now to sing this version of Old Time Religion:

Give me that Old time Religion
Give me that Old time Religion
Give me that Old time Religion
‘Cause it’s good enough for me!

Jesus built his Church on Peter
He was it’s first bishop and leader
The gates of hell would not defeat her
So she’s good enough for me

It was good for Paul and Silas
When the jailer asked “how to revive us”
“For forgiveness please baptize us”
So it’s good enough for me

It was good enough for Justin Martyr
When he described the Mass’s order
He wrote about the Sacrifice of the Altar
So it’s good enough for me

It was good for St. Ignatius
In the Catholic Church, he said, you’ll find Jesus
In the year of 110 he did preach this
So it’s good enough for me.

Even before they had the Bible
There was a Holy Ghost revival
The Martyrs died for its survival
So it’s good enough for me

It was good for St. Augustine
In the Catholic Church he was a trustin’
Those Pelagians he was a bustin’
It’s good enough for me

Jesus said He’d never leave us
And with His flesh He said he'd feed us
Some still do not believe thus
But it’s good enough for me.

So give me that Old Time Religion
Yep the Old Catholic Tradition
it was good enough for the early Church
So it's good enough for me

Thanks to GFF's post today that inspired this. (A Roundabout Road to Rome)

2007 Catholic Blog Awards

I appreciate the nominations for the 2007 Catholic Blog Awards. I thank you and appreciate the encouragement to keep at it. God bless!

Best Apologetic Blog, Best Indivdual Catholic Blog, Best New Catholic Blog, Best Written Catholic Blog, Most Spiritual Blog, Smartest Catholic Blog

The Pillar and Foundation of Truth (1 Tim. 3:15)

How can we know that what we believe as Christians is correct? How do we know for sure that the doctrines and dogma of Christianity are what God intended for us? Could there be doctrinal errors in our creeds and interpretations of Scripture?

A non-Catholic commenter recently posited on my re-worded CS Lewis Trilemma:

"When it comes to the church though (made of mortal, non-divine men), we as a body can always get something wrong. In fact we have, MANY times over the last 2000 years. Therefore, there is a fourth element to the argument, which is that we could be mistaken. This goes for any doctrine we may have: we are either correct, mistaken, lying or crazy."

Following this logic, therefore any truths that we currently hold to be self-evident could be wrong because we could be mistaken.
The church, from the time of the apostles, who unequivocally believed in the sacrifice of the altar (The real presence of Christ being present on the altar) was the same church that wrote the Creed beginning with the doctrine of the Trinity in 325 AD.
The Arian heresy that was threatening to divide the Roman Empire both politically and spiritually, was spreading rapidly. The question of who Jesus really was needed to be authoritatively answered. The end result of this doctrinal conflict was a "white paper" of the early church regarding the nature of God and his Church and was called the Nicean Creed.
This early church not only said that Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are one in being with the Father, but some other controversial things as well. They believed in baptism for the forgiveness of sins and believed that the Church should be one (undivided) holy(sanctified by God's grace) catholic (universal) and apostolic (a continuous and direct succession from the original apostles).

This same early church about 57 years later sat down at yet another council with much debate, prayer and deliberation to discern which letters and gospels should be included in the Canon of Sacred Scripture. The New Testament we hold in our hands today is the product of this Council of Rome in 382 AD.

In following the logic of my commenter, this current canon of Sacred Scripture could be mistaken since it was given to us from the same church that may have been mistaken regarding its belief in the Sacrifice of the Altar (Eucharist)

Is it possible that this church that was perhaps mistaken about the meaning of Jesus words "Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood..." also got it wrong when it spelled out the doctrine of the Trinity? Were they mistaken regarding that statement about worshiping and glorifying the Holy Spirit, since that is not found in theBible? Were they mistaken when they said we believe in one baptism for the forgiveness of sins? Ultimately, following this logic, the basic tenets of our salvation believed for 2000 years could be wrong!

Furthermore, how do we know that our individual church creeds and position statements are not mistaken? What if some of our own personally held interpretations of the Bible are mistaken? This goes for any doctrine we might have.

I really don't think my commenter in his heart of hearts believes that any doctrine we believe could be mistaken, because that would cast him as a theological relativist of which I know he is not. (He is a devout Christian) However, his statement ultimately leads to the conclusion that there is no absolute Truth, because just when you think you have acquired a belief system that "works for you", it could be "mistaken."

The Catholic Church believes as stated in the Catechism that "the Church is both visible and spiritual, a hierarchical society and the Mystical body of Christ. She is one, yet formed of two components, human and divine. That is her mystery, which only faith can accept."

We trust that Christ started this Church and therefore we do not accept that the truths passed down from Christ to the apostles could possibly be mistaken.

The Church, as Sacred Scripture states, "the pillar and bulwark of the truth", faithfully guards "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints". She guards the memory of Christ's words; it is she who from generation to generation hands on the apostles' confession of faith.⁵⁷ As a mother who teaches her children to speak and so to understand and communicate, the Church our Mother teaches us the language of faith in order to introduce us to the understanding and the life of faith.

172 Through the centuries, in so many languages, cultures, peoples and nations, the Church has constantly confessed this one faith, received from the one Lord, transmitted by one Baptism, and grounded in the conviction that all people have only one God and Father.⁵⁸ St. Irenaeus of Lyons, a witness of this faith, declared:

173 "Indeed, the Church, though scattered throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, having received the faith from the apostles and their disciples. . . guards [this preaching and faith] with care, as dwelling in but a single house, and similarly believes as if having but one soul and a single heart, and preaches, teaches and hands on this faith with a unanimous voice, as if possessing only one mouth."⁵⁹

174 "For though languages differ throughout the world, the content of the Tradition is one and the same. The Churches established in Germany have no other faith or Tradition, nor do those of the Iberians, nor those of the Celts, nor those of the East, of Egypt, of Libya, nor those established at the center of the world. . ."⁶⁰ The Church's message "is true and solid, in which one and the same way of salvation appears throughout the whole world."⁶¹

175 "We guard with care the faith that we have received from the Church, for without ceasing, under the action of God's Spirit, this deposit of great price, as if in an excellent vessel, is constantly being renewed and causes the very vessel that contains it to be renewed."⁶²

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Jack T. Chick Works for Edwards?

I normally attempt to stick to more devotional posts but this post on Curt Jester is too outrageous. I learned all my theology, as a 14 year old, from the volumes of Chick tracts I read and crammed my skull full of mush with. I guess I wasn't the only one so schooled in such anti-Catholic rants. What is surprising and disturbing was the degree of vitriol and profanity leveled at Catholic/Christian belief.

Despite the perhaps "humorous" and "blogadacious" aspect of this recent early campaign gaff of a possible contender for the 2008 White House, it points to the reality that Catholic bashing is the last acceptable prejudice left in America. Somehow though, I am encouraged that Catholicism does not become mainstream as many denominations have. I take comfort in the reality that Catholicism lived out as it was intended will always be counter-cultural and the target for derision, abuse and out right persecution. Perhaps, we need to take heart in the Sacred Scripture that says all who live Godly lives in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution, and corporately, His Church as well.

Now should we just move on and ignore this recent attack on the Church and Christianity?
I suggest writing to John Edwards here and encouraging him to take the path of righteousness
and make restitution for his campaign staff comments. (Something Catholics call Penance)

The Thermometer of Suffering

From St Faustina's Diary for February 8:

True love is measured by the thermometer of suffering, Jesus. I thank You for the little daily crosses, for opposition to my endeavors, for the hardships of communal life, for the misinterpretations of my intentions, for humiliations at the hands of others, for the harsh way in which we are treated, for false suspicions, for poor health and loss of strength, for self-denial, for dying to myself, for lack of recognition in everything, for the upsetting of all my plans.

Thank You, Jesus, for interior sufferings, for dryness of spirit, for terrors, fears, and incertitudes, for the darkness and the deep interior night, for temptations and various ordeals, for torments too difficult to describe, especially for those which no one will understand, for the hour of death with its fierce struggle and all its bitterness.

I thank You, Jesus, You who first drank the cup of bitterness before You gave it to me, in a much milder form. I put my lips to this cup of Your holy will. Let all be done according to Your good pleasure; let that which Your wisdom ordained before the ages be done to me. I want to drink the cup to its last drop, and seek not to know the reason why. In bitterness is my joy, in hopelessness is my trust. In You, O Lord, all is good, all is a gift of Your paternal Heart. I do not prefer consolations over bitterness or bitterness over consolations, but thank You, O Jesus, for everything! It is my delight to fix my gaze upon You, O incomprehensible God. . . .

O Uncreated Beauty, whoever comes to know You once cannot love anything else. I can feel the bottomless abyss of my soul, and nothing will fill it but God Himself. I feel that I am drowned in Him like a single grain of sand in a bottomless ocean.

St. Faustina, pray for me that Jesus will help me to see my sufferings in the same light in which you did during your short life.

Christian Holiness

From the Catechism

God's Three Steps (2012-2013)

Paul explains the three steps of God's plan: "Those whom he predestined, he also called; those whom he called, he also justified; those whom he justified, he also glorified" (Rom 8:28-30).

All Christians are called to this perfection of charity. "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48). "In order to reach this perfection the faithful should use the strength given them by Christ's gift. Thus the holiness of the People of God will grow in fruitful abundance" (Second Vatican Council).

Mystical Union (2014-2015)

Spiritual progress which leads to union with God is called mystical. God calls all to this intimate union. Some receive extraordinary mystical signs which manifest the gift which is given to all.

Holiness comes only by the way of the cross. Progress comes through discipline and mortification(dying to self) which lead to peace and joy. "He who climbs never stops going from beginning to beginning, through beginnings that have no end" (St. Gregory of Nyssa).

Final Perseverance (2016)

The Church's children rightly hope for the grace of final perseverance and recompense from God (Council of Trent). Believers share in the "blessed hope" that they will be gathered into "the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven" (Rev 21:2).

Christ's Church, Lunatics or a Bunch of Liars?

Not to beat a dead horse once again but I keep wondering what to do with the early church writings about the sacrifice of the altar (among other things). My post about sacramentalism was excoriated on a couple of non- Catholic blogs but they never commented about the early church father's quotes that I posted regarding the sacrament of the altar, the Eucharist.
My reason for continuing to return to this is because of the integral part it played in my conversion/reversion to the Church. As I have said before, when I read Steve Ray's book about the Church Father's Eucharistic beliefs, a chill went through me when I realized the Catholic/Orthodox faith continues to believe in the Real Presence almost 2000 years after these writings.

Using CS Lewis' construct of Lord, Lunatic or Liar, I propose a similar analogy and submit that the early Christians were either truly Christ's Church, lunatics or liars! The early writings make it evident that they believed that Christ's sacrifice was truly re- presented on the altar in an un-bloodied fashion during their worship services. So either they were totally delusional or in error, or they had it right, especially since Christ said that the Spirit of Truth would guide this fledgling church. The Church Father's quotes on the sacrament of the Altar are here.

"A Church that was merely a man-made institution and said the sort of things they said (The writings of the Church Fathers) would not be a great moral teacher. It would either be lunatic - on the level with men who say they are a poached egg - or else they would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is the Church that the the Son of God established, or else a group of madmen or something worse. You can shut them up for a bunch of fools or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God and believe in the Church He started. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about this early Church being devoid of sacraments and protestant in theology . He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

(Tiber Jumper's paraphrased analogy of CS Lewis Trilemma.)

Right Knee, Left Knee: Stuff They Don't Tell You in RCIA

I was Catholic for 14 years and remained in the Church until I was 23 to please my Catholic parents (though fully Protestant at heart since being "born again") and never knew any of these "Helpful Hints." After returning to the Church 30 years later, I sat in with RCIA and none of this posted below was covered. The RCIA process used to take the catechumen three long years! I think I can now understand why. The beauty of the Church for me is that every day there is new discoveries of: new prayers, devotions, saints, sacramentals, etc. The blogosphere too has been an aid to my discovery, though at times what we read must be taken with a grain of holy salt!

Thanks to Ma Beck for these:

1) That motion with your right hand before the reading of theGospel is making three small crosses, with your thumb, on your forehead, lips, and heart. I was taught that it meant, "I will remember it with my head, proclaim it with my lips, and carry it in my heart."

2) If the Blessed Sacrament is exposed (at Communion, after Mass if someone from the choir is receiving Communion, during Adoration) you kneel on both knees. If you are genuflecting to the Tabernacle, it's on your right knee. If you're genuflecting to a Bishop, Cardinal, or Pope, it's on the left knee. (Update: This only applies to Bishops or Cardinals with jurisdiction over you - for instance, I would genuflect to Cdl. George, but not to Cdl. Mahony. For multiple reasons.)