Even "The King" Honors the Mother of God

Elvis may have left the building, but he lives on at U Tube. Even the King obeys the Scripture that says "all generations shall call me blessed." Who would have thought?
H/T to the boys over at Per Christum for this one.

Humming Bird (Recorded) from TiberCam

Spiritual Communion, Not Just for Mass Anymore!

I have been reading 7 Secrets of the Eucharist by Vinny Flynn. It is a very quick and easy read. It can give you an enhanced appreciation of the great gift God has left with the Church, the Most Blessed Sacrament. In the last chapter, Flynn explains that there are two ways to receive the Eucharist. This is based on the writings of Thomas Aquinas and other saints and doctors of the Church. We can receive Christ both Sacramentally and Spiritually. What's the difference? When we go up to the priest to receive the sacred host, we can be thinking of baseball scores, mowing the lawn, or God forbid, what the parishioner in front of me is wearing. (I always have PD go up in front of me and keep my eyes low to the ground because of the desire to receive Christ not tarnished by thoughts other than what they should be. But sometimes, we may be receiving Him sacramentally but not necessarily spiritually. Going through the motions, without our hearts attentive, pliant and open. Most of us born Catholic
will admit to experiencing this.

I was once asked by an evangelical pastor why I thought so many Catholics are not transformed by the Eucharist if it is truly Christ's real presence. Firstly, we can't judge who is experiencing Christ vs those who aren't. Secondly, when our hearts are not disposed to receiving His grace, the Communion will not be efficacious. The Host is not a Magic Wafer! Like water off the ducks back, His graces can't penetrate a heart that is not open and docile to receive Him. It's that "cooperation thing" us Catholics often emphasize. So, we still actually receive Christ, His body and blood in the Eucharistic species but our hearts may not always be "in it", so to speak. However when we cooperate with Him, opening our hearts to the Holy Spirit's work, the graces can flow.


There is a whole other aspect of communing with Jesus which our non-Catholic friends understand. When they ask Jesus into their heart, they are spiritually communing with Him. The difference of course, is that Catholics believe that we receive Jesus at every Mass, not as a one time event. When we receive the Eucharist sacramentally, we too should be focus on inviting Him in as well and uniting our hearts to Him. There is no time or place on earth that I can be closer to Jesus than in the reception of the Eucharist. So we can thus, sacramentally and spiritually commune with Him.

Most of this is preaching to the choir here since most convert/reverts do receive Him sacramentally and spiritually as well. We went so long without the Eucharist that every Mass is a pretty big deal to us on most days and we haven't begun to be mechanical about it by the grace of God!

My final note is that we can make a spiritual communion with Christ even when we can't receive the sacrament of the Eucharist physically. We can unite our hearts to His through our desire to receive the sacrament and the graces that flow from this act can be efficacious as well, though not as full as the actual reception of the Eucharist. St Faustina, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Maximilian Kolbe all understood and practiced this spiritual communion throughout the day. Permit me to make it analogous to the sacrament of marriage. We can't always be receiving the sacrament of marriage, but we can in our hearts have fond and loving thoughts towards our spouse, spiritually so to speak of course. Here is a prayer we can pray to make a spiritual communion when not receiving Christ sacramentally.

My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.

The Audio CD 7 Secrets of the Eucharist is available free here.
Hope it can be a blessing to you.

Theo Speaks On the Veneration of Saints and Mary

I found a U-tube video on a blogger's site who was attempting to show that Catholics exalt Mary inappropriately. I then used the same video on my blog to draw an opposite conclusion: "If this is how Catholics honor Jesus' Mum, think of how they must worship Him!" Theo commented on it but I didn't see his comment until today and wanted to post it. Regarding the veneration of Mary, Theo said:

Seeing that I'm a life-long Catholic who worships with Christians of other communions, I can't help but wonder: Am I also an apostate or simply confused?

Seriously though, in the end (and I do mean "the end") don't you think all of this controversy will simply fade when seen in the light of the glory of God's beatific vision?

Once we stand before the great throne of the Almighty Father, with every heart joining the unending hymn of praise (Holy, Holy Holy, Lord God of Hosts, Heaven and earth are filled with Your Glory!), won't the very core of heaven and earth see that even the most "over the top" veneration of any saint to the greater glory of God's good work in us nevertheless pales in comparison to the worship of our Lord?

Notice that amid this great Gloria of the liturgy is a benediction upon all who act according to God's will:

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

In this model, when we venerate those who do God's will it is always in the midst of the infinitely greater veneration of God Himself.

No one can say it quite the way Theo does. Thanks.

When One Converts on TiberVision

Our topic was when one partner in the marriage is interested in Catholicism and the other isn't.
We tell the story of how we personally came to grips with this and it ended up making our marriage better, by the grace of God!
Thanks for all our guests coming to the show tonite. Sorry for all the technical glitches.
God bless, we'll try it again sometimes.

TIBERVISION

At 10 PM EST 8/29/07, I am going to try an experiment with a live video stream from TiberKitchen into Blogdom. There will be a chat back feature as well for dialogue at the end of the Chat. I have been wanting to get Prodigal Daughter to tell her side of the story of what it was like to have a spouse not interested in converting to Catholicism (me). My recording equipment has been on the fritz and Podcasts and the album have been on hold. I don't know if the audio/video will be clear enough but we will give it a try. If you are around tonite, tune into TIBERVISION. Until then maybe you can ask St. Joseph to intercede for your families. But we don't pray to statues, they are reminders of the the great cloud of witnesses we have in heaven!

He Will Listen To You

This tune is for two bloggers out there enduring some very tough times. One is in Kentucky and the other is from Canada. God bless you guys. My prayers are with you. He understands what His children need, He will listen to you. Please pray for Alan and Owen that God will meet their needs and sustain them and their families. Thanks so much.

Feast of Saint Augustine

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Augustine who was killed on this date when his city, Hippo in N. Africa, was invaded by the Vandals. He is a Doctor of the Church and his writings are greatly valued by Christians of all denominations.

"Everlasting God, in whom we live and move and have our being: You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You."

Lord, renew in your Church the spirit you gave Saint Augustine. Filled with this spirit, may we thirst for you alone as the fountain of wisdom and seek you as the source of eternal love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(Collect from the Mass today)

Another Evening at TJ and PD's Place

Just another evening at the Tiber Jumper and Prodigal Daughter's. Prod is in the background doing her Christian chat room evangelism on the lap top. I'm in front of my computer playing a little tune.

Also a reminder, today was the feast day of St. Monica, Augustine's mum. She prayed an awfully long time for his conversion from paganism and therefore has become a role model for us with loved ones that need to come to the Cross. I used to view her just as a role model of perseverance in prayer but now I also view her as my "power" prayer partner and ask her intercession for loved ones too. (About three quarters of the way through the video,the now infamous Maggie of "Maggie's Blues" saunters into the right bottom corner of the screen.)

"Nine years were to follow in which I lay tossing in the mud of that deep pit and the darkness of its falsity, though I often tried to rise and only fell the more heavily. All that time this chaste, god-fearing and sober widow - for such You love - was all the more cheered up with hope. Yet she did not relax her weeping and mourning. She did not cease to pray at every hour and bewail me to You and her prayers found entry into Your sight. But for all that, You allowed me still to toss helplessly in that darkness …(Confessions of St. Augustine)

Prayers for My Oldest Son

My firstborn left for Ireland today to spend his last semester of college at an art school.
I would kindly ask for prayers for him that God will keep him safe and close to Him. Thanks so much!

Hail Mary in Gaelic
Sé do bheath' a Mhuire, atá lán de ghrásta, tá an Tiarna leat. Is beannaithe thú idir mná agus is beannaithe toradh do bhruinne losa. A Naomh Mhuire, a mháthair Dé, guí orainn na peacaithe, anois is ar uair ar mbás.
Amen.

Found Another Great Resource Here

I just found the Catholic First website. It has just about everything. Church Fathers, Church Documents to Saints, Devotions, Prayers etc. Very nice and faithful to the Magisterium!

Kyrie Eleison

Well, PA was right again, (see comments) The band was not Toto, but Mister, Mister. Great hair, pretty good lyrics, pretty good singing and that now classic chord progression found in every hit in the 80's. "Hit me with Your best shot etc,"

Incidentally, the Kyrie is the only time the Greek language is used in the Latin Mass. It was probably taken from the eastern Churches and is made mention of by St Gregory in the 6th century, though St. Chrysostom mentions the phrase in the liturgy at an earlier time. I wonder if anyone tried to actually bring this song by Mister Mister into the Mass in the 80's. Lord Have Mercy!

News Flash! Christians Walk By Faith Not By Sight

Time Magazine has *breathlessly* released a review of a new book on the "true spiritual condition" of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The news is this: She didn't "feel" the presence of God in her life, and sometimes had doubts, but plugged along in obedience to Christ! For most Catholics and many non-Catholic Christians this comes as no surprise and is well-known as the Dark Night of the Soul described by believers such as King David, Elijah, Jonah, St. John of the Cross and many others. Does it invalidate her testimony? Does it validate Christopher Hitchen's critical writing about her? Nah. I don't think so.

When I had my conversion experience as a 14 year old, I must admit for about one year afterward, I had quite an emotional rush. I do also distinctly remember when the "rush" left. It was sophomore year in high school-1974, I was in the commons area chatting with my girlfriend. I told her I didn't feel Jesus like I had previously, but had no doubts that He was with me. I remember that little tract with the tooty toot train that had Faith as the engine, Fact as the middle car, and Feeling as the Caboose. You had to be lead by faith, not feelings. It was a simple construct but certainly consistent with Christian belief and practice.Ironically, I experienced my conversion in a charismatic type of group but was probably the least emotive person I knew. Just the way God made me I suppose, a little less serotonin than average, leaving me enough angst to always drive me to Him! Well it turns out that many saints from biblical to modern times have wrestled with the lack of an emotional sense of God's presence. Mother Teresa had this persistent dark, dry lack of pious feelings towards God for most of her ministry of more than 40 years! Yet she, kept on trudging along seeing God in the poor but not in herself, never feeling his emotional consolations, but inspiring thousands to walk with Christ. A British agnostic, Malcolm Muggeridge converted to Catholicism after he finished his biography of her as a result of her life and spirituality.

So we press on, by faith. We go to Mass daily, and we pray. We offer up the suffering of our sad hearts for the salvation of souls. We receive Christ in the Eucharist, by faith. We receive absolution of our sins by Christ through the priest, through faith. We walk by faith not by sight.

St. John of the Cross, pray for us that the dark nights we experience will only lead us closer to Jesus.

Mother Theresa, intercede for us that we won't grow weary in well-doing despite a lack of consolations.

Lord Jesus, we offer up to you the sadness in our hearts, our pain, our emptiness, our lonely longing, and all our anxiety. Take them uniting them to your suffering for the sake of the body of Christ as you see fit. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Amen

Toto, We Aren't in Kansas Anymore

This past Sunday's Gospel has been on my heart and mind all week. It keeps coming up in conversation and on the blog as well as in real (non-virtual) life. When my brother and I accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior during the early days of the "Jesus Movement" we quickly alienated ourselves from friends and family through aggressive witnessing and a judgmental attitude in which I saw the world as "saved" and "unsaved." My older brother called us Jesus Freaks and sided with my parents against our new found expression of faith. My parents didn't understand our need to be saved, since they thought we were good Catholic kids playing guitar in the folk Mass, going to CCD etc. We didn't tell them for many years the bad stuff we were into including the occult and illegal substances so they didn't see the need for conversion that we so obviously did. I now, with the wisdom of age, can't blame them for their reaction since we weren't honest with them regarding our errant morality that we kept hidden from them. We thought we were being "persecuted for righteousness sake" but I don't think this was what Jesus was talking about. I believe it was our arrogance of how we promoted what we thought was the Gospel that caused division, and not the Gospel itself, at least on most days. (If you're reading this my big West Coast Wally , I'm sorry for being a judgmental little Beave)

As the years went by the youthful zeal settled down quite a bit. I still talked openly about the Lord with patients in my medical practice but the degree of hostility and alienation I experienced as well as possibly self-engendered had definitely settled down. By now America had weathered the Carter years and many celebrities were claiming a born-again experience, even, Bob Dylan I might add. Evangelical Christianity had become a powerful force in politics and no longer is considered counter-cultural as it had at one time perhaps 30 years ago.

Upon returning to the Catholic Church, my wife and I have once again experienced some of that divisiveness that Jesus predicted would occur. The difference now is that I am no longer asking people "are they saved" but simply being open about what it means to believe in Jesus as a Catholic Christian, which seems to ruffle feathers to no small degree. It is odd that as a born-again Christian I pretty much no longer received grief from people but now being Catholic and sharing that fact with others really creates some heat. What is most odd is that the heat has come from fellow believers in the household of God, and not from the outside. Early after my reversion I was performing at a Christian Coffeehouse that I had played at before. At the end of the night I made a joke about needing to go to confession because I now was Catholic. Some folks from the small audience started asking some questions and I ended the show with a spontaneous Q&A about Catholicism. It appeared friendly to me and I went my way after selling a few CD's. Two days later I received an e-mail from the Christian promoter chastising me because "Not only are you Catholic now but you had the nerve to tell the audience about it! I need to cancel your upcoming performance scheduled for October. When you decide you want to live for Jesus, we will be glad to talk to you." And with that as the first of many other e mails and gig cancellations, I realized that we were no longer in Kansas anymore. Christianity practiced correctly will always and should always remain counter-cultural. Living out devout Catholic lives will continue to cause discomfort and division as Jesus predicted. Let's pray it's not from our own arrogance and judgmental attitudes.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing!
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized,
and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
From now on a household of five will be divided,
three against two and two against three;
a father will be divided against his son
and a son against his father,
a mother against her daughter
and a daughter against her mother,
a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

Me and Scripture

After my born again experience in adolescence, I learned that Catholics don't read the Bible and discourage its personal use. Since we had no Bible at home and my parents knew very little about it, this proved it! I must have concluded that the three readings of Scripture at every Mass, somehow didn't count as "Bible reading." And that interesting way the priest elevated the Gospel and kissed it as we stood at attention as the Gospel was read. Somehow the obvious implication that the Church reverences Scripture was lost on this wide-eyed long haired fanatical young Bible totin' believer. I continued to go to Mass weekly with my parents for at least 4 more years after my born again experience so I had ample opportunity to see and hear Scripture used in the Catholic Church, but I chose not to hear it or see it. I was like a screaming four year old with his hands tightly clasped to his ears repeatedly shouting: "I can't hear You, I can't hear You."
I was so blinded by the anti-Catholicism fed to me at Wednesday and Saturday night Bible studies, I couldn't see the Truth in Catholicism if it hit me over the head. Sometimes I wish my local priest did take a Bible and whack me over the head with it. And being that the Catholic Bible has 7 more books in it than the Protestant one, the extra weight might have done some righteous good! At the time I was reading the Good News for Modern Man version of just the New Testament so you could see how balanced my theology was going to be. (15 references of the "Blood of Christ" were removed and changed to 'sacrifice' because of the bias of the translator Robert Bratcher, who was later forced to resign from the American Bible Society because of his view that Scripture was not infallible.)

I never heard these these quotes below by some well-known Bible-lovin' Catholics

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." -- St. Jerome, A.D. 340-420

"To get the full flavor of an herb, it must be pressed between the fingers, so it is the same with the Scriptures; the more familiar they become, the more they reveal their hidden treasures and yield their indescribable riches."-- St. John Chrysostom, A.D. 347-407

" The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New" -- St. Augustine, A.D. 354-430

"All troubles of the Church, all the evils in the world, flow from this source: that men do not by clear and sound knowledge and serious consideration penetrate into the truths of Sacred Scripture." -- St. Theresa of Avila, A.D. 1515-1582

The Catholic Church loves the Scripture and encourages the faithful to read it.
So much so that Mother Church has given a partial indulgence to those who spend time reading it with the veneration due God's word and as a form of spiritual reading. Yep, the authority to forgive sin and remit the temporal consequences of our sin. What's Not to Love?

Another One Dips His Toes in the Tiber

Please send along some prayer and support for this Lutheran brother who feels drawn to the Church. It's tough to go it alone sometimes. Prodigal Daughter (my wife) went for 5 years totally convinced of the Truth of Catholicism and a burning desire to receive Christ in the Eucharist but her knucklehead husband (Tiber Jumper) thought she had lost her mind! I put my foot down and said, "No for the sake of our marriage and the kids stop these Roman Ruminations!" She didn't even pray I would convert because she thought it would never happen. She just asked God if only He would allow her to convert alone. Well, God has a way of sometimes knocking us off the horse on our way to Damascus. I fell on my @#$@ and haven't been *right* since. To God be the Glory!
Our prayers are with you.

Upcoming Journey Home Programs

Sept 10 Dr. Thomas & Lovelace Howard
Former Episcopalian and College Professor, brother of Elizabeth Elliot,

Sept 17 Marcus C. Grodi
Former Presbyterian minister and Founder of the Coming Home Network

Sept 24 Dr. Francis Beckwith
Former Evangelical and Pres. of Evangel. Theo. Society

Feast of St. Pius X

Today the Church celebrates a feast dedicated to the 259th Pope, St. Pius X. (1835-1914) He was canonized in 1954. As a young priest his zeal for the faith and holiness was noted by his Pastor who said: "They have sent me as curate a young priest, with orders to mold him to the duties of pastor; in fact, however, the contrary is true. He is so zealous, so full of good sense, and other precious gifts that it is I who can learn much from him. Some day or other he will wear the mitre, of that I am sure. After that—who knows?"
His pontificate was characterized by care for the poor and restoration of the liturgy and renewal of the Church. He died during the early days of WWI, some say as a result of his anxiety and heartsickness over the war. His epitaph reads:

"Born poor and humble of heart,
Undaunted champion of the Catholic faith,
Zealous to restore all things in Christ,
Crowned a holy life with a holy death."

St. Pius , pray for us. We have imbibed the evils of modernity you spoke against. Intercede for the restoration of the Church,
Through Christ we ask this,
Amen

Liturgy of the Hours/ Night Prayer

When we pray the liturgy of the hours, even alone, we unite our hearts in prayer with hundreds of thousands of kindred souls throughout the world.

Compline (Night Prayer)

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.

---

This is an excellent moment for an examination of conscience. In a communal celebration of Compline, one of the penitential acts given in the Missal may be recited.

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

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Psalm 85 (86)
A poor man's prayer in time of trouble
Lord God, you are full of mercies, patient and true.
Turn your ear to me, Lord, and hear me, for I am poor and destitute. Keep my life safe, for I am faithful; O God, save your servant, who trusts in you. Take pity upon me, O Lord, for I call to you all the day long. Make your servant’s heart glad, for to you, O Lord, I have raised it. For you, Lord, are gentle and mild: you are kind to all those who call on you. Let your ears hear my prayer, O Lord! Turn to the voice of my pleading! In my time of trouble I call on you, for you, O Lord, will hear me. No other god is like you, O Lord, and nothing compares with your works. All people – all nations you made – will come and worship before you; they will give glory to your name. For you are great, you work wonders: you alone are God. O Lord, teach me your paths, and I will come to your truth. Make my heart simple and guileless, so that it honours your name. I will proclaim you, Lord my God, and give you praise with all my heart. I will give glory to your name for ever, for your great kindness is upon me: you have rescued me from the deepest depths. O God, the proud rise against me, in the meetings of the powerful they seek my life: they do not keep you in their sight. And you, Lord, are a God of compassion, full of mercies, patient and true. Look upon me, have mercy upon me, give your strength and protection to your servant your servant, the child of your handmaid. Give me a sign of your goodness, let my enemies see it and be confounded; because you, O Lord, have helped me and given me comfort. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Lord God, you are full of mercies, patient and true.

---

Reading	1 Thessalonians 5:9-10
God chose that we should receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us; so that, asleep or awake, we should still live with him.

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Short Responsory	?
Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit. - Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit. You have redeemed us, Lord, God of faithfulness. - Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. - Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

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Canticle	Nunc Dimittis
Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.
Now, Master, you let your servant go in peace. You have fulfilled your promise. My own eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples. A light to bring the Gentiles from darkness; the glory of your people Israel. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.

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Prayer
Let us pray. Give our bodies rest, Lord, to restore them; and let the seeds sown by our labours today grow and yield an eternal harvest. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

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May the almighty Lord grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.

A M E N

An antiphon to Our Lady should be recited here.

The Communion of MySaints

Even MySpace has become a place to share the Catholic faith. Thank God for all the folks who put their faith out there into cyberspace. There are numerous MySpace pages for apologetics, devotional and catechetical materials but I liked this one in particular. It is a clearing house for of all the Saints who have "MySpaces."

See, this proves the saints aren't dead because they have access to the internet! I believe in the Communion of MySaints.

*****************************************************************************************
NB: I personally recommend caution on MySpace because of the inappropriate photos that sometimes get posted by "friends" of the saints. I have a MySpace for my music career but rarely use it for that reason. Your mileage may vary, but I warned you! God bless, but be careful out there and make sure you have accountability software installed on your computer. The path to sainthood will not likely be found on the internet. I suspect 300 years from now when the Pope is canonizing a saint from our current generation, it will be noted that "Saint Smith refused to use the internet and in seminary he removed the T1 cable connection to his dorm room, causing a major ruckus at St. Mary's."
His mother was rumored to say, "We gave him an I Phone for Christmas but he threw it away!"

Yet it was St. Francis of Assisi who said "Go through all the world and preach the Gospel and if you must, use the net."

Just When You Wanted To Stop Blogging...

Sometimes I wonder whether blogging really ever reaches anyone. More often than not, if the truth be told (as if you couldn't tell), I can get as snarky as the rest of 'em. Perhaps I've alienated more than I have reconciled. It's been 3.5 years and I still have a growing passion for sharing how Catholicism can draw us ever closer to God. If PD and I just reverted without ever telling others out there what we have found, it would be selfish. We feel like we hit the jackpot and are trying to let other people see the treasure that's under all of our noses. I don't want anyone out there to not consider the Church because they were never challenged with the Truth as we see it. When I was in high school and had been challenged by a well-catechized Catholic perhaps my life would have been much different. I trust that He works all things to the good, but I do wonder sometimes.... Anyway, So when you see a post like the one below on a blog, it makes you think it might be worth plugging along.

Here's a quote from the Hidden One, a soon to be convert. (He is not referring to my blog BTW)

"I'm a convert-in-progress to the Catholic Church - that is to say that last September I ran into a Catholic's blog online, questioned/attacked Catholic theology, started a debate, lost horribly, and had firmly switched sides by November. Since then, I've researched Catholicism extensively, taken a lot of flack from a lot of people, discussed and debated theology with a lot of people, and never yet wavered, becoming evermore convinced of the truth of the Catholic Church in heart and in head. (On that note, if you ever want to discuss a theological issue, hop on over to my blog, "Why Yes, I Do Believe Something, Actually" (wyidbsa) and let fly. I'd be happy to discuss, debate, to answer questions about anything related to Catholic theology under the sun - and perhaps you can lead me deeper into Catholic spirituality, where I am quite the novice. I was raised Presbyterian, with a small slice of Arminian Sunday schooling mixed in. I eventually went non-denom, sliding Arminian, until I hit my Catholic debate opponent, where I 'fought' the Catholic Church from all angles, Calvinist and Arminian, using anything and everything I had. (I will hopefully start RCIA this fall.) Since then, I've encountered plenty of things far above and beyond what meager attacks I could launch, but with some research, thought, and occasionally consulting my debate opponent, now friend, I've handled it all. I'm quite sure there's plenty more that can be thrown at my conviction, but, after all, the beauty of Catholic apologetics is that virtually any issue anyone has with Catholic anything has already been dealt with by somebody else (often pre-Reformation) and it just gives me something more to read."

Lord Jesus, bring folks closer to you in the fullness of Truth.

The Myth Of Hitler's Pope

One of the myths regarding the Catholic Church that continues to be perpetuated is the myth that Pope Pius the 12th was in league with the Nazis during WW2. I found this short U tube that may help dispel the myth by presenting some facts, particularly weighty, because they are from Jews who lived during WW2. Of course, 3 minutes of a U-tube video can't be used as "case closed" argument but it presents a few facts that a rabbi researched and wrote a book on. He is not a Catholic convert, BTW. I saw his interview with Raymond Arroyo on EWTN last year.

H/t to The Hidden One

Why Don't We See Stuff Like This?

The Prodigal Daughter and I went to early Mass this AM and had a little extra time on our hands on this rainy Lord's Day. We spent some time chatting about the Church and evangelism and came up with the idea of establishing a Catholic Information Center to provide free information about the Church. It would be a "safe" non-threatening environment for seekers to come in and "get a little shelter from the storm." People who have an interest in Catholicism but would not go to a Church (particularly those with insensophobia) could feel free to come in for some information, non-threatening discussion and hopefully answers to their questions. Think "Catholic Science Reading Room" and you get the picture. We are considering this because our diocese is not necessarily a "hot bed" of the Catholic revival yet. (I'm not complaining, we do have some excellent parishes and priests, mine included) But, sadly our diocese has some of the lowest numbers of new converts entering the Church in the US based on Crisis Magazine's research recently published. The idea would be that if a person expresses more interest, we direct them to their local parish RCIA program .

As PD and I discussed this, the idea of finding a location, paying rent and attempting to get 501(c)(3) status, etc became overwhelming. Then suddenly she remembered the festival I played at where our local Baptist Church set up a booth. Holy St. Francis!~! What if we purchased a small ice cream truck or RV and loaded it with books, apologetic tracts, free rosary beads, prayer cards, teaching CD's etc? We could travel to fairs, festivals, Walmart parking lots, parks, campgrounds and provide information to anyone interested. Maybe, I could play a little hammer dulcimer while PD shares the Good News. A modern-day Catholic version of a Travelin' Medicine Minstrel Show offering the "Medicine of Life." No snake oil here folks, just the Truth!
Yeah, we are going to pray about it a bit before we go RV shopping and sell our house.

Courtroom Vs. Family - Catholic View of Justification

The Vivator has another good post contrasting the forensic view of justification vs the Catholic view. Check it out here.

Another Emergent Church Guy Goes for a Swim

Almost a year ago I posted about the emergent church movement. The desire to return to the "roots" of the ancient faith combined with an appreciation for liturgy and more contemplative forms of spirituality, for some, inevitably leads to Rome. What I have also found in the emergent and the "ancient/future" worship movements is a willingness in these folks to let go of their disdain for anything that may have the scent of incense on it. (Perhaps they never had incensophobia*) The willingness to appreciate anything written before 1517, except the Bible, is a moderately strong predictor of an eventual Tiber Jump.
Would that I had been able to to get over my disdain of all things liturgical, ancient, and.. ca..Ca....Catholic. Perhaps I would have made the swim years ago.

After Robert Webber's passing, I told my wife, Prodigal Daughter, I expected to see a number of new conversions among the Emergent Church folks after his death. Why? Because, Robert now stands before the throne of glory and no longer sees through a "glass darkly." He is able to intercede for those on the journey that are so close to what he now knows to be the fullness of truth. Who knows? Perhaps, some of these recent conversions/reversions may be the results of his prayers. He may become the patron saint of the emergent brethren.

All that being said, Welcome Home Tom! Our prayers are with you and your family.
Please give him a hearty Catholic Blogger's Welcome!

*Incensophobia, According to Tiberpedia, an acute medical condition characterized by symptoms which develop upon exposure to liturgical incense. (Incense burned while listening to the Dead doesn't seem to have the same effect) For some, the symptoms can occur with even the slightest provocation including a brief whiff of incense often found in the foyers of Catholic Churches.
Symptoms include a tightening of the throat, lower abdominal cramps, sudden headache and an intense desire to be somewhere else. Repressed memories of Mass as a child often return upon exposure and may lead to exacerbation of the above symptoms.
As a result, the sufferer develops intense fear and a near pathologic loathing of all things associated with incense, ie. the ancient Church.

Catholics United for the Faith

Check out these folks for some excellent teaching and apologetic resources. It is a lay apostolate dedicated to support, defend, and advance the efforts of the teaching Church. The founder H. Lyman Stebbins came to faith through the writings of CS. Lewis. He also corresponded with CS in 1945 regarding Catholicism and those letters have finally been published by his widow in 1998.

Our organization inescapably (and willingly) gets involved in the various problems of the Church in which the laity have a responsibility-in areas such as sex education, catechetics, etc. But all we are and all we do is based on the primacy of the spiritual, on the “better part” of a genuine, inner spiritual renewal, and on the belief that for all soldiers of Christ the first and constant battlefield must be our own hearts.

H. Lyman Stebbins
July 29, 1974

Lord, I Want More of You!

There is a common accusation that the Catholic Church adds extra “stuff“ to the pure gospel way of living a Christian life. But, the approach to spirituality of just prayer and praise, fellowship and bible study wasn’t enough for my wife, Prodigal Daughter. In the following post, PD explains how she came to get more of Jesus through the Catholic Church. This was recently posted on a Coming Home Forum but I wanted to share it here.

As an evangelical, I always prayed "Lord I want more of you!" My battle cry was that “He might increase and I might decrease.” The way I was told to go about getting more of Jesus was through prayer, Bible reading, and fellowship.

Now as a Catholic, I find that my prayer for "more of Jesus" is answered in a complete and fulfilling way!!

Prayer:
As an evangelical all I had were MY OWN spontaneous prayers and petitions to God. Many times I didn't have the words to pray and so I would get discouraged and pray less. Or if I was in a group, the prayers of others would be filled with "loving" agendas as to what they thought the answer to my particular conundrum was. The praises I would sing to God were usually not my own but some modern “interpretation” of scripture and often times theologically l