THE SWEETEST WORDS

What are the ‘Sweetest Words’? How about, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.” ~Luke 5:20.



Or maybe you prefer, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, [and] from now on do not sin anymore.” ~John 8:11.



When we go to Confession, we have the opportunity to actually hear that our sins are forgiven. We hear the words of absolution said aloud. Whether we are aware of it or not, it is good for us as human beings to admit our sinfulness, to put it into words and then to be told we have been forgiven.



While Catholics are only required to go to sacramental Confession when they are aware of having committed a mortal sin, the Church urges the faithful to take advantage of the sacrament often. Once per month is a good suggestion. In preparation for fulfilling our Easter Duty to receive Holy Communion, we should first go to Confession even if we are aware only of venial sin.



The value of a Confession to our relationship with God is based on the recognition we are all sinners. That isn’t a popular statement to make today—if in fact it ever was. People want to be told they have done good, not bad. We are certainly called to lives of holiness. So . . . what is sin?

Sin is before all else an offense against God, a rupture of communion with Him. At the same time it damages communion with the Church. For this reason conversion entails both God's forgiveness and reconciliation with the Church, which are expressed and accomplished liturgically by the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1440)

Jesus didn’t come into the world as Our Messiah, live, preach, suffer, die, rise from the dead and ascend back into Heaven with the promise to return again because we are a race of holy angels. He did all that because we are sinners and in need of Him. We know this whenever we ponder the mystery of a crucifix, the Real Presence or the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.



What are you waiting for? Want some “sweet talk”? I know just the place to go for it. And this is what you will hear:

“God the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

BEAUTIFUL!

Atticus

Atticus is both the book’s title and the name of the main character. Given the name’s connection to a famous novel, we are supposed to associate the ideal father in To Kill a Mockingbird with this father of two grown sons. Atticus is the modern day retelling of one of Jesus’ most beloved parables, The Prodigal Son, or as it is known in some circles today, The Loving Father. The focus of the first title being on the sins of younger son, whereas by changing the title the locus of the story shifts to that of the mercy shown by the all-compassionate father.

Without giving too much of the story away, Atticus is a widower with two sons. The older son, Frank, has obligingly remained close to his father, married, and produced grandchildren. The younger son, Scott, is a rebel. He comes home for a brief – but happy – visit at Christmas and then returns to Mexico where he lives his dissolute life. The next thing Atticus learns, Scott has committed suicide. Atticus flies south of the border to attend to his son’s personal affects and arrange to have his body returned to the United States. What he finds is nothing like what he expected.

I first encountered the author, Ron Hansen, in Mariette in Ecstasy and I was amazed by his insight and story-telling ability. Once again, he has produced a fine work of modern Christian fiction. Unfortunately it will fail to make many Christian book-of-the-month club selections due to some of the more unsavory aspects of human life which Mr. Hansen has chosen to portray. This is a loss, but only for those who refuse to read books because they are easily offended. I can assure sensitive readers that Mr. Hansen never goes out of his way to shock through excess, which is what I take exception to in so much of what masquerades as literature these days.

Although it could just be the locale, Atticus occasionally reminded me of Graham Greene’s 1940 novel, The Power and the Glory. I think it was a bit more than the sun-baked Mexican landscape that had me thinking of Greene’s whiskey priest, however. No doubt the younger son, Scott and his unsavory lifestyle, especially his unwillingness to give up his mistress, was reminiscent of Greene's character. Hansen’s writing, although not yet on par with Greene’s, is exquisite. His book goes down like a cool drink on a hot day.

I’ve always loved the Parable of the Prodigal Son, but then I expect most people do. It’s easy to see oneself and God in it, which is the purpose of all of Scripture. We are called to locate our sinful selves in the place of every sinner in the Bible. This parable has the redeeming quality of a visible, tangible, all-forgiving God who rushes out to meet us—despite what we actually deserve. In Hansen’s book, the father persists in loving his son despite circumstances and actions which seem to render him all but impossible to love. Oh but for such a father when we are similarly unlovable!

Here is a passage from Atticus which says it all:

‘She told him, "When I was in college I read a folktale about a father pursuing a son who'd run far away, from one world to the next. The father called to him, 'Please come back!' But his son looked across the great gulf between them and shouted to him, 'I can't go that far!' So his father yelled to his son, 'Then just come back halfway!' But his boy replied, I can't go back halfway!' And finally his father shouted, 'Walk back as far as you can! I'll go the rest of the way!'"’

Yes Lord, I’m walking … and looking for You! Please come the rest of the way!

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Viper's Tangle

“. . . Consider, O God, that we are without understanding of ourselves; that we do not know what we would have and set ourselves at an infinite distance from our desires.” ~St. Teresa of Avila

It isn’t often anymore I finish a book in a couple of days but today I was sick and the sickbed does have one advantage: you can’t do very much but sleep and lay around. In between sleeping, I read François Mauriac’s masterpiece, Viper’s Tangle. This is the fourth novel I’ve read from the Loyola Classics series, each one excellent, but this The Best by far. It opens with the quote by St. Teresa above.

Written in 1932, Viper’s Tangle is timeless and as relevant today as ever. It begins with a bitter, but wealthy, old man’s recriminating letter to his wife of forty years. His family is waiting on him to die; he wants to let them know a few things first. M. Louis has been writing this last ‘confession’ in his mind for much of his married life, almost from the beginning when his young bride told him of an indiscretion. In many ways, Mauriac is painting an Everyman who takes a wrong turn and then continues to compound his error with more bad choices all the while lost and estranged in the drama and tragedies of family life and allowing hate and greed to motivate him. As misunderstood by himself as by everyone else, he withdraws further, increasingly cynical, exacerbated by the pious practices of his Catholic wife and children whose religiosity doesn’t transcend and transform their lives.

The title of the book refers to M. Louis’s heart which he admits was a knot of vipers. Whether or not you ‘get’ Viper’s Tangle will depend on whether or not you believe in salvation and the power of God’s Grace to transform souls. Fortunately for us readers, Louis’s diatribe gets interrupted. Things happen which bring the plot of the story from past accusations to present actions.

It wouldn’t be a believable story if everyone just “lived happily ever after” and if this novel is anything (in my heart) it’s believable. So, no things don’t just get happy-happy all of sudden. But there is an awakening, transformation and redemption, for those willing to accept it.

There was so much insight in this book, I’d love to quote you all the beautiful passages I highlighted—especially those which made me cry—but that would make this post far too long. Instead I’ll just close with this:

‘Most men ape greatness or nobility. Though they do not know it, they conform to certain fixed types, literary or other. This the saints know, and they hate and despise themselves because they see themselves with unclouded eyes.’

The Story of a Soul

As I’m writing this the State of Oklahoma could be executing Julius Young.

Tonight I went to my first ever execution vigil. No, it wasn’t down at the state capital. It was in our little Daily Mass Chapel at my parish. The prayer vigil was scheduled to begin at 5:30 which would bring things to a conclusion at 6 p.m. – just around when the execution was supposed to take place.

Everyone took turns reading from Scripture: the story of Cain and Abel, an eye for an eye, how many times must I forgive my brother? The lone candle in the center of the room was extinguished; there was one less light of Christ in the world. We concluded by singing “Amazing Grace”. Although we were a small group, one man had the most incredible voice. His could have been the voice we silenced, I mused.

Afterwards our little group lingered ... as if we didn’t want to leave the comfort of each other’s companionship. We all complimented the man with the incredible voice. Another man spoke up about his experience as the spiritual director for someone on Death Row. He and his wife had literally lived there for the last few months of a man’s life. We listened and learned about that person’s final few minutes on this earth; he was praying.

As I left the chapel I recalled a gift I’d received earlier in the day from my Confirmation saint, St. Thérèse. It’s been awhile since I’ve asked her for a rose but I needed one today and she gave me one, a very special and beautiful rose. I wasn’t expecting two.

Our book club is currently reading her autobiography, The Story of a Soul. In Chapter 5 of Story, Thérèse relates an incident about an impenitent murderer who she prayed for, begging God’s mercy in response to Jesus’ cry from the Cross, “I thirst” for souls. In response, the man gave a sign at the last moment which allowed her to know he had repented his sins. This increased Thérèse’s desire to bring more souls to her Jesus.

I saw her hand in my being at the prayer vigil. Please St. Thérèse, continue to rain your shower of roses down on us. And beg God’s mercy on us all! We are so much in need of it.

New Regulations on Indulgences

Let’s be up-front about things: when you say the word, ‘indulgence’ or ‘indulgences’ to most people—including most Catholics—some grotesque system of medieval fraud and abuses is often the first thing to come to mind. Sadly, this misconception persists in spite of the deep-seated psychological need within most human beings to do something to ‘put things right’ after becoming aware of lingering guilt from past sins and transgressions, never mind the Biblical basis for this most ancient of Church traditions.

This little gem of a book defines¹ clearly and simply what an indulgence – with a small “I” – is and then gives the two types: partial and plenary. There is no more ‘determination of days or years as regards partial indulgences, only the words “partial indulgence” are used. This does away with the need of trying to explain what is meant by so many days or years. How much (temporal punishment) will be remitted depends upon the “the degree to which the charity of the one performing the act is greater, and in proportion to the degree to which the act itself is performed in a more perfect way.”’ (page 22)

What I found most enlightening about this book was when I recognized the three general ‘concessions’ under which partial indulgences are given. The first I learned is prayer or, raising the mind and heart to God in frequent invocation. After that, the text of the book gives reference after reference from Holy Writ reminding us of the importance of constantly calling on – and out to – the Almighty: Matthew 7:7-8, Matthew 26:41, Luke 21:34-36, Acts 2:42, Romans 12:12, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Ephesians 6-18, Colossians 4:2, and 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18, “Pray without ceasing. In all things give thanks.”

And what is the second general concession? Have you guessed it? It’s the giving of oneself or one’s goods in the service of those who are in need, i.e., in more quaint terms, almsgiving. So I don’t have to tell you, do I, what the third concession is … it’s fasting, or when one (in a penitential spirit) of one's own accord abstains from something permitted and pleasing.

According to St. Peter Chrysologus, 5th century bishop of Ravenna, Italy, and Doctor of the Church,

“There are three things, my brethren, by which faith stands firm, devotion remains constant, and virtue endures. They are prayer, fasting and mercy. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy receives. Prayer, mercy and fasting: these three are one, and they give life to each other.”

But going back even earlier in The Book of Matthew, Chapter 6, Our Lord also tied these three disciplines together, teaching us to fast cheerfully, give alms secretly and pray privately.

A very affirming quick read. Indulgences have gotten a bad name and one they don’t deserve. We need them, along with every other help God and His Church can offer us.



¹ "An indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, a remission which one of the faithful, properly disposed and under certain definite conditions, can acquire through the Church which as a minister of the redemption authoritatively dispenses and applies the treasure of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints."

time to remodel

Jesus said: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. But these you should have done, without neglecting the others. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.” ~~Mt 23:23-26

Remember when you were a kid and the teacher really ‘gave it’ to some kid—or group of kids—who really deserved it?! Didn’t you sit there in your chair and secretly (or not so secretly!) smile, feeling rather smug that you’d witnessed justice-in-action? It so often goes the other way that it’s nice when the “bad” guys get their due.

What am I saying? Even as adults, we rather enjoy watching our powerful enemies step in their own traps, embarrassed or brought to shame by excesses or crimes. So to have someone of Jesus’ impeccable reputation chastise the scribes and Pharisees in that way must have been satisfying for his audience.

And yet, I read—or heard—somewhere once that we’re always supposed to put ourselves into every situation in Scripture; that in order to derive maximum benefit from the stories and situations, we have to imagine ourselves capable of every sin committed.

We cannot view the scribes and Pharisees as “other” but that we are them.

Jesus is talking to us.
To me.
I am blind.
I am full of plunder and self-indulgence.
I am in need of cleaning, first on the inside.

Jesus’ harsh admonition in today’s Gospel is a personal invitation to ‘remodel’ ourselves ... myself from the inside out.

I know I have some serious work to do, but with His help, it can be done. He knows my Pharisaical insides and yet He loves me even so. Jesus’ words sound harsh, but just think how beautiful something is after it is remodeled—from the inside out. He alone can do that, because He alone KNOWS me.

It was no coincidence the Responsorial Psalm today is 139. Listen to these beautiful words and be filled with Hope, Joy and Peace:

R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
O LORD, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know the whole of it.
Behind me and before, you hem me in
and rest your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
too lofty for me to attain.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.

Mental Prayer, Part 5

“We are to love God for Himself, because of a twofold reason; nothing is more reasonable, nothing more profitable. When one asks, ‘Why should I love God?’ he may mean, ‘What is lovely in God?’ or, ‘What shall I gain by loving God?’ In either case, the same sufficient cause of love exists, namely, God Himself.” ~~ St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Sometimes I’ve thought I mistitled this series of posts, “Mental Prayer” when it might have been more appropriate to give it the broader heading of “The Interior Life”. Well, it’s too late to change now I suppose, but just so you realize they go hand-in-hand, although they are not interchangeable. Mental prayer is the fuel for a powerful and rich Interior Life. In an earlier post we mentioned the first three of eleven Truths laid out by Dom Chautard in The Soul of the Apostolate. Notice he doesn’t call these ‘important’ or even ‘crucial’ but ‘Truths’. His description of them reads:

'“What Is the Interior Life? In this book the words life of prayer, contemplative life will be applied, as they are in the Imitation of Christ to the state of those souls who have dedicated themselves to a Christian life which is at the same time out of the common, and accessible to all, and, in substance, obligatory for all. Without embarking upon a study of asceticism, let us at least remind the reader that EVERYONE is obliged to accept the following principles as absolutely certain, and base his inner life upon them.”

FIRST-THIRD TRUTHS.

FOURTH TRUTH. In proportion to the intensity of my love for God, my supernatural life may increase at every moment by a new infusion of the grace of the active presence of Jesus in me; an infusion produced:

1. By each meritorious act (virtue, work, suffering under all its varying forms, such as privation of creatures, physical or moral pain, humiliation, self-denial; prayer, Mass, acts of devotion to Our Lady, etc.).

2. By the Sacraments especially the Eucharist. It is certain, then (and here is a consequence that overwhelms me with its sublimity and its depth, but above all, fills me with courage and with joy) that, by every event, person or thing, Thou Jesus, Thou Thyself, dost present Thyself, objectively, to me, at every instant of the day. Thou dost hide Thy wisdom and Thy love beneath these appearances and dost request my co-operation to increase Thy life in myself. O my soul, at every instant Jesus presents Himself to you by the GRACE OF THE PRESENT MOMENT — every time there is a prayer to say, a Mass to celebrate or to hear, reading to be done, or acts of patience, of zeal, of renunciation, of struggle, confidence, or love to be produced. Would you dare look the other way, or try to avoid His gaze?'

When I read this I was reminded of the saint whose feast day we celebrate today, the great Mellifluous¹ Doctor of the Church, St. Bernard of Clairvaux. One of his greatest works, On Loving God is available on-line through Christian Classics Ethereal Library which I highly recommend if you’ve never tried any of their services.

According to Father Christopher Renger's The 33 Doctors of the Church, St. Bernard worked more miracles in his lifetime than any other saint whose miracles are recorded. He was a man of strong friendships, charming personality and a delightful sense of humor. A story is told where 'once, when he had cured a possessed man, he brushed aside the admiration caused by this by explaining, “It were small wonder that the devil suffered defeat; for with such a helpmate as I, God could not fail. Besides, we were two against one.”' (p. 290)

And yet despite all his activities and accomplishments St. Bernard was—is—one of the world’s great contemplatives. Or perhaps I should write, because St. Bernard was such a great contemplative, through the power of the Holy Spirit, he was able to accomplish so much. 'It has been claimed that the Imitation of Christ, printed more than any other book Catholic book except the Bible is in substance contained in the works of St. Bernard.' (p. 295)

Oracle of the Twelve Century down to our own, Last of the Church Fathers, Arbiter of Christendom, Thaumaturgus² of the West, St. Bernard pray for us that we may learn to adore, love and serve Him as you did!



¹ 1. Flowing with sweetness or honey. 2 Smooth and sweet: "polite and cordial, with a mellifluous, well-educated voice" (H.W. Crocker III).

² Miracle worker

Mental Prayer, Part 4

Wisdom calls, “Let whoever is simple turn in here; To the one who lacks understanding, come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding.” ~~Proverbs 9:1-6

It's been a week now and I admit there were times I thought I was crazy to have started this ‘mental prayer’. There were also times I wondered where God was? Here I am trying to pray and nothing is happening. I mean NOTHING! I’m thinking to myself, ‘This is the biggest waste of time ever. I could be doing A, B, C ... Z!’ And then came yesterday – the biggest setback of all. Here's what happened...

I could barely make myself get to work on time at 6:30. We had extended hours for back-to-school sales and I asked for early hours so I could get to evening Mass, but then I was still tired from working late the night before, etc., etc., so I decide to fore go getting up even earlier and instead devote my lunch hour to my mental prayer.

My lunch time comes, I down my coffee, head for the Blessed Sacrament Chapel (5 minutes away) for a peaceful prayer time and there’s a funeral going on at our parish. Where am I supposed to go?! Where can you find 30 minutes of quiet at a busy shopping mall on the Saturday before schools resume? I sit in my hot car, first with my air conditioning on, then with it off and hot Oklahoma winds blowing through open windows.

Do I need to tell you it wasn’t a good prayer time? I caught my mind wandering; no that's an understatement—I couldn’t stop my mind from wandering. Oh great! God, this is hopeless! I’m supposed to be here praying and look at what I’m thinking?! I drug my wayward mind back and there it went again. I was thinking dishonest, playful and even prideful thoughts, and then grumpy, frustrated, disorganized ones until finally I started to veer off into despair. WOW! How can anyone get herself in so much trouble just trying to pray?! Then it dawned on me. Calm down booklady. This is perfectly normal. The mind is an undisciplined, runaway young colt; you know that. That’s the whole point of this mental prayer: to learn good mental habits, to learn how to ignore, overcome and eventually transcend these episodes. Just another step along the road of training...

So I thanked God for the lesson, closed my prayer session with formal prayers—which I was very, very grateful to fall back on—and returned to work.

Today, my mental prayer session was the most profitable, in terms of actual things I took away from it, of any I’ve had so far. These are the realizations I had:

1. I’ve engaged in mental prayer many times in life without knowing I was doing it.

a. Usually I read a book, often Holy Scripture, for a period of time, then closed my eyes and used it as the basis for my conversation with God.

b. Several years I had prayer journals with selections from spiritual classics (Imitation of Christ, God Calling and Streams in the Desert) which I read and wrote in. As the writings were directed to God—much as a friend writing a letter to another friend—they constitute another form of mental prayer.

c. My belief is most devout people engage in a regular practice of mental prayer, either with or without realizing they are actually doing so.

2. Morning mental prayer needs to be combined with daily Mass and regular Confession as much as possible.

3. It seems to be allowing me to let go of things more easily, i.e., I don’t find myself as troubled by events, people or even my own follies and sins. Things that in the past would have stayed with me for days, I resolve in hours or less. Other matters, even more quickly. I just seem able to let go and move on.

4. I find myself with a longing to love more deeply – as Jesus does – and an awareness of how often I usually don’t.

5. There’s a growing awareness of His Presence and an abiding sense of Trust in Him.

Jesus said to the crowds: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” ~~John 6:51

Theology For Beginners

This is my second reading of Theology For Beginners -- mostly because I can barely remember the first. What I do remember was at the time (probably sometime between '02-'04) it didn't seem a book 'for beginners'. This time, perhaps due to the reading I've done in the interim, it was much easier to understand. It's still very theoretical. Theology, after all, being 'the study of' God -- the most impenetrable mystery of all time -- it now amazes me Mr. Sheed has made this book as accessible as he has.

There were many things I liked about this book including the explanation of spirit/soul/body and their relationship(s) to each other. The whole spirit-soul 'thing' actually made sense after reading this explanation, spirit being not only a key word, but the key word. It 'is the element in us by which we know and love, by which we therefore decide.' Souls, on the other hand are marvellous and they animate the bodies, the life-principles, of all living things including plants and animals. So my cat has soul, but not a spirit, if I understand Mr. Sheed correctly. However, the human soul not only animates the body, it has powers of its own, powers utterly outside the possibilities of matter. (p. 62)

And then there were other pearls of Wisdom scattered throughout which I tried to collect (highlight) and add to memory, such as:

- . . . evolution and creation. These are answers to two totally different questions. Creation answers the question why does anything exist, why isn't there nothing? Evolution is a theory as to how the universe did develop once it existed. Upon how it came to exist, evolution sheds no light whatever. (p. 58)

- We are born without sanctifying grace. That is what is meant by being born in original sin, which is not to be thought of as a stain on the soul, but as the absence of that grace without which we cannot . . . reach the goal for which God destined man. (p. 80)

- It is by the saints, and not by the mediocre . . . that the Church is to be judged. A medicine must be judged not by those who buy it but by those who actually take it. (p. 116)

Theology For Beginners is really very basic theology. For some it will just whet the appetite. For others, it will saturate. Whichever is the case, as Mr Sheed says in his Foreword, 'you cannot love someone you do not know. You cannot love God well if you know Him poorly.'

"While it is obvious that an ignorant man can be virtuous, it is equally obvious that ignorance is no virtue." ~~Frank Sheed

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Catholic Youth Witness

Sometimes our kids surprise us in good ways.

Saturday when my younger daughter, Michelle, returned from Falls Creek she was so tired she could barely keep awake during Mass. However, after Mass, she hopped in my car, opting to ride home with me rather than her Dad. We arrive at our parish for Vigil Mass in different cars out of expediency, because I get off from work just before I need to be at church which is very close to my place of employment, and not because we don't like each other or particularly like traveling separately. Usually dear daughter (DD) chooses to go home with Dad so she can get in some extra practice driving time; she’s hoping to test for her license next month. I was just flattered she wanted to see me more than she wanted to drive! And after a week’s separation, I confess, my mother’s eyes and ears were hungry for her face and voice.

Last year when she went to Falls Creek, I awaited Michelle's return with trepidation. I hadn’t wanted her to go. She was only fifteen. It had been a difficult year followed by an even more stressful summer. Although I stayed home with and homeschooled our children since infancy, they began attending public school that year—for many reasons. Michelle was in 9th grade; she began wearing make-up, cut and started straightening her hair. She began to look very different … from the outside. But what I wondered – and constantly worried about – was, what was going on, on the inside?

She’d wanted to go to this camp and it threatened to be the big issue of the summer. I asked around. People assured me Falls Creek was lots of prayer, music, preaching, fun and fellowship, but not much sleep. The Baptist counselors would ensure her physical and moral safety. I still had doubts about the spiritual environment. How would she weather that? Was she strong enough to withstand the pressure from 7000 non-Catholic Christians, some of whom would be bent on convincing her that much—if not all—she’d been brought up to believe was wrong? And yet, when was I going to ‘let her go’? When was I going to begin to trust her? She was a good girl, smart, honest, polite (mostly) and worthy of the opportunity. And, she wanted to go so very much…

After much soul searching, prayer, discussion and yes, some anguish, we agreed.

I waited and prayed.

Before Michelle left, I would have described her as an average Catholic, not especially devout perhaps but I knew she received the Sacraments regularly and read her Bible every night before bed. Like many young teens, although she’d been baptized and raised in the Faith from the cradle, she sometimes seemed to take her Faith for granted—or at least that’s how it appeared on the outside. However, that’s also how I’d describe her outward attitude toward family … and yet everyone (including Michelle!) tells me I’m wrong. She cares very deeply; it’s just not “cool” to show such things.

In any event, she returned … not only Catholic, but almost militantly so! The pressure to ‘give her life to Jesus’ offended my DD who was thoroughly convinced she had already given her life over to Jesus Christ. She stood firm—or perhaps stubborn…? Who am I to say? I wasn’t there.

She loved the music, endured the non-stop praying, and spoke of being exhausted. She joked about some of the things she saw and heard there, but took umbrage at others. Her overall assessment, “I’m glad I’m Catholic!”

In April of this year she received the Sacrament of Confirmation.

A few weeks ago when Michelle expressed a desire to return to Falls Creek, I was a little surprised. “I thought you said they prayed too much? And didn’t they try really hard to get you to ‘give your life to Jesus’?” Yes, yes, all that, she agreed, but she still wanted to go. Her friends were going. It was fun. They had a great ropes course!

Also, I knew this could be the last summer before she’d have a regular job which would probably preclude youthful things like camps. So… she went back.


“You know what one of the counselors said to me?” she began recounting her experiences from this year. “We were all dancing to the music and it was so great and everyone was having a wonderful time. And he leans over and says, ‘I bet you don’t have this at St. Philip Neri, do you?’”

Michelle apparently didn’t answer, but she did get angry. The man’s attempt to make a point backfired on him. Instead, she was offended and put off. “You know, Mom, I went there and listened to all that they told me all week long – even though I didn’t agree with a lot of it – and I didn’t tell any of them they were wrong to believe like they do. Why did he have to say that?”

Later she did have a one-on-one with two of the more receptive adult counselors and she told them that although she appreciated her time there, she still couldn’t accept some of their ideas.

For example, Michelle asked, “You mean if I was to kill someone after I ‘accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior’, I’d still go to Heaven?” ‘Yes’ said the lady. “Well, I can’t believe that,” my daughter answered her. “I believe in sin and forgiveness and going to Confession. And I do believe there is Purgatory.” She told me that she went on to explain things to these adults such as Apostolic Succession, the Sacraments and the Real Presence.

“They didn’t have much to say except that I could always tell Jesus I was sorry anytime I wanted. I know that. But I explained why confessing your sins to a priest is the same as telling them to Jesus.” I wanted to stop the car, pull over to the side of the road and hug her. I kept on driving.

She told me she watched her peers – all of them but her – go up for the ‘altar call’ and still she didn’t go. Why? “When those other kids went up there this week, the adults asked them all these questions and they just kind of went along with whatever they said,” she told me. “But I accepted Jesus a long time ago. I just knew one day, I wanted to do what Jesus wants me to. I don’t remember exactly what day it was, but I know I came and told you.”

I’m sure she did too. I wish I had a better memory. I wish I could recall that wonderful day all those years ago. Sadly, I probably wasn’t paying attention. That’s why I’m writing all this down now … before I forget this incredible testimony. God bless you my dear daughter. I am so very proud of you!

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Pied Piper of Atheism

If you want to understand why your children (grandchildren or any young people you really care about) should not be reading His Dark Materials, read Pete Vere and Sandra Miesel's book, Pied Piper of Atheism. It consists of two essays which give a brief back ground of Philip Pullman, the author/creator of the series; summarize the series and critique its many pitfalls for young readers.

For starters, there's Pullman himself, as volatile as an Oklahoma firestorm, and just as likely to change directions. Numerous examples are given of his conflicting statements, retractions, inconsistencies and contradictory claims; they are too numerous and unbelievable to begin to list or go into here, so I’ll just mention one. He accuses C. S. ‘Lewis – who he hates with a vengeance – “of a sadomasochistic relish for violence”. Yet his own novels offer gore far more graphic than anything in Narnia. Pullman sees no reason to shield young readers from…murder, suicide, mutilation, torture, euthanasia, and cannibalism. Iorek the polar bear eats his fallen rival’s heart and his best friend Lee’s corpse.’ (page 88) Both essays offer enough other disturbing examples of excessive savagery from the Dark Materials Trilogy to make Narnia seem as tranquil as a sleeping baby by comparison.

As for Pullman’s irrational hatred of Lewis -- and J. R. R. Tolkien -- 'So deep is Pullman's aversion to Lewis that he marked the hundredth anniversary of Lewis’ birth in 1998 by viciously denouncing the man and his work in Britain’s premier leftist newspaper, the Guardian. … His hottest wrath is directed at the Narnia series, “one of the most ugly and poisonous things I’ve ever read”.’

Speaking about his contemporary competition, Pullman is quite thrilled by the heavy artillery Christian critics have trained on J. K. Rowling. This amused him. “Harry Potter’s been taking all the flak”, he told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2003. “Meanwhile, I’ve been flying under the radar, saying things that are far more subversive than anything poor old Harry has said. My books are about killing God.” (page 89)

Miesel's essay does an excellent job explaining the difference between the so-called magic in the Harry Potter series which is really natural, inborn ability, not Gnostic “secret wisdom” as it is the Pullman series. Rowling’s spells invoke no gods or demons, and consists of an alternate form of technology. Pullman’s Arctic witches are pagan, sexually permissive and embody modern Wiccan divination. Neopagan ceremonies, child sacrifice, adultery, church trashing and moral relativism are the stuff of the alternate world Pullman has created. Even the so-called god he claims to have killed is a tired old man and certainly not the One True God at all, for all the author’s wasted imaginative efforts and talent.

If the violence, atheism and occultism isn’t enough to concern you, then be assured there’s also plenty of ambivalent sexuality, both overt and covert to fill any child’s mind with confusion. Every person in Pullman’s world possesses what is known as an external daemon—part soul, part conscience, part personality—which assumes the form of an animal. In all but a few cases, the daemon is of the opposite sex, a point which Pullman draws attention to and uses to create/raise gender identity questions totally inappropriate for young readers.

Parents are most strongly urged to boycott this series. For further information, do read Pied Piper of Athiesm. There is a very small amount of overlap in the two essays but they are in no way redundant. This book is quick read and comes most highly recommended!

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Dereliction

'Early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets, until the anger of the LORD against his people was so inflamed that there was no remedy.' ~~selection from Reading 1, 2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23, for Lætare Sunday, Fourth Sunday of Lent

As I was listening to those words read during Saturday evening Vigil Mass, I thought they are as true today as when they were written over two thousand years ago. It seems the more things change, the more they remain the same.

Our book group, Benedict's Book Club is currently reading Death on a Friday Afternoon, Chapter 4, Dereliction. Each chapter is devoted to one of the Seven Words of Jesus on the Cross:

1. "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." Luke 23:34

2. "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." Luke 23:43

3. "Jesus said to his mother: "Woman, this is your son". Then he said to the disciple: "This is your mother." John 19:26-27

4. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:46 & Mark 15:34

5. "I thirst." John 19:28

6. "It is finished." John 19:30

7. "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." Luke 23:46

In Chapter 1, Coming To Our Senses, Father Neuhaus focuses on the gravity of our sinfulness and His great love for us which consequentially led to Good Friday, and hopefully will bring us 'to our senses'.

The second chapter, Judge Not, is long and complicated; reading it often seemed like following a rabbit trail. Eventually however, after several readings, what I took away from it was the following, ‘It would seem to be the unanimous experience of Christian thinkers and mystics that, the farther they travel on the roads of thought and contemplation, the more they know that they do not know. The most rigorous thought and the most exalted spiritual adventure bring us, again and again, to exclaim with St. Paul, “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements and how inscrutable his ways!” Therefore it is rightly said that all theology is finally doxology. That is to say, all analysis and explanation finally dissolves into wonder and praise.’

Chapter 3, A Strange Glory, reflects on Mary, Christ's gift of her to us from the cross and (what is often forgotten) our gift to her.

Which brings us to Chapter 4, Dereliction. A 'derelict' is someone deserted by an owner or keeper; abandoned and/or run-down; dilapidated. That certainly describes Our Lord. Does it also refer to us?

'And about three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"' Matthew 27:46

Have you ever prayed like that? Have you ever felt so abandoned, so deserted, especially by the very one you look to for support? I know I have. There are many times I've cried out to God, with far less provocation than Jesus, but still with great anguish. I suspect most people have.

However, what I appreciated most in this chapter was Fr. Neuhaus’s treatment of the complexity of sin, the struggle we all face in trying to fight it, how often we fail, why we fail, the futility of the struggle when we 'go it alone', and most of all, the fact that he refuses to compromise to the triteness of 'just do it' or 'be good', as if those remedies haven't been thought of (and tried) by almost every human being who ever lived.

Whereas the rest of the book thus far has been more informative, this chapter, for me, has been the most helpful as a reflection on humanity’s hardhearted sinfulness, as well as its helplessness without God. His observations about dualism fit perfectly with this Sunday’s readings. In the first reading from Second Chronicles, we learn how God loved His people and how He tried to help them. He loved every person He created then as He loves each of us now, but humanity was as sinful in days gone by as in the present. And they had prophets then as we do now: our own dear Pope is a living, breathing prophet; so was Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

And then there is that scary mindset so popular today of “feel good” religion, sometimes called New Age religion, referred to by Father Neuhaus as, “spirituality”, in quotes. True spirituality doesn’t need to be put in quotes. The type of spirituality Father Neuhaus is talking about, however, is the type found and heard everywhere and really thinly veiled self-aggrandizement. As he puts it on pages 129 through 130, ‘…dualism is today's dirty word in the view of many people. Consult those hundreds of books under the category of “spirituality” in your local bookstore and you will discover the preferred language is all about wholeness, unity, coherence, harmony, synchronicity and the good feelings of being “at one with All.” By way of the sharpest contrast, Paul speaks of the Christian life in terms of conflict, tension, antagonism and jarring dissonance.’ He goes on to talk about who is the true self, the “I of myself”. Is it the “I” who serves the law of God with my mind, or the “I” of the flesh who serves the law of sin? Paul believes both are the “I” of him. ‘There is no deliverance from the intolerable contradiction of this conflicted “I” unless there is another “I”. Which brings us back to Galatians. There is another “I”. “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” The complexity on the far side of which such simplicity is found might be described as the transposition of the ego.’ (p. 130) We can’t do it alone. We can’t overcome sin, or anything else for that matter, without Him Who is all-in-all, the Alpha and Omega, without this Cross, this Death on a Friday Afternoon.

The exclamation Jesus cries out from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” is the opening words of the beautiful lamentation Psalm 22. Beautiful lament? Isn’t that a contradiction in terms? It would be if there was no one to hear, no one to answer, no one to respond. But just as everyone smiles at the first cries of a newborn, knowing that he (or she) lives, it truly is beautiful when we cry out to God, for only then do we truly LIVE in Him.

'God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ — by grace you have been saved —, raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God.' ~~selection from Reading 2, Eph 2:4-10, for Lætare Sunday, Fourth Sunday of Lent

This is only the fourth chapter and the Fourth Sunday in Lent. Our journey continues...

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Descent Into Hell

One part horror, one part salvation and the rest the possibility for either, Descent Into Hell isn't all as ominous as the title sounds. Yes, there is at least one character who allows delusion to sweep away reason and reality. The reader watches in fearful fascination as the deadly descent begins and progresses.

This was my first ever book by Charles Williams, a friend of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and a member of the famous Inklings, the literary pub group they belonged to. How I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at those meetings! I can just imagine Williams reading this book to his compatriots. No blood and gore thriller produced today, no matter how fiendish, can surpass the reality of an individual succumbing to evil without a fight; it is chilling.

If the book were only about darkness, however, I don't think I could have finished it. Instead, there is a parallel story about another character who is also haunted, disappointed and apparently even more justified in following a path of descent, who does not. Descent contains many beautiful passages, hidden or double meanings, places where you want to pause and reflect on the author's full intention. It is a book worth reading slowly. Williams believed that everything which happens has an underlying spiritual meaning. It was the spiritual side of things he was interested in--the physical world was -- is -- clothing so-to-speak to dress what is really happening. That belief is not too far from Lewis' own Shadowlands concept. Again, just imagine the great conversations they had!

Read Descent Into Hell but plan to take your time with it. It can be confusing in places. I admit that I did not understand all of it. I'd love to find a William's expert somewhere who could go over the book with me because there are confusing bits here and there. Check out "Lonely...I'm Mr. Lonely" by Roger R. at The Inklings for an excellent review of Descent. I wish I'd had it while I was still trying to read the book the first time, although I definitely plan to read it again and -- God willing -- I want to read the rest of his books too.

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Pro-Choice Violence

Interesting post by Father Frank at his blog, Priests for Life, called Pro-Choice Violence. It seems violence is only going to escalate and not only against the unborn, but also against those who get involved in the fight.

Especially disconcerting are the comments made by someone who identifies himself as Doctor Defense. Defense of what? Certainly not the un-born? Nor the family. What about Life? Nope! Oh, yes, the 'right' to kill a defenseless child. That is what this 'doctor' wants to defend. Please God, defend us from all such 'doctors'!

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Infanticide in America

Students For Life of America exposes Planned Parenthood admitting to continued infanticide, as defended by Barack Obama, with undercover footage from October 2008. This is a must see video where a nurse admits that babies are allowed to die.

http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/video.aspx?v=e46UqG8zSU

Two books

Usually I prefer to finish books before writing about them. Usually. But then these books aren't usual. Jesus of Nazareth is the first book our group, Benedict's Book club is reading. Overachiever that I am, when it comes to reading anyway, I've read ahead to the sixth chapter, even though we're currently discussing Chapter 2. Still Chapter 2 is my favorite of the six . . . so far.

The second book, My Visit to Hell, I’m reading on my own, for ‘fun’. A friend recommended it and quite frankly it didn’t sound too appealing when she suggested it. A novel about hell? I have read Dante’s Divine Comedy, and C. S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce, nevertheless, a fictional account of a journey into the nether world does not fill me with eager anticipation. Let’s be honest, who wants to even think about hell, much less read about it? I read Dante only because it was a ‘classic’ I wanted my daughters to read. I started The Great Divorce without realizing what it was about; I finished it because it was so fascinating. But look for books about fire and brimstone, suffering and misery? No. I am not interested. In fact, the thought quite repulses me.

Why put these two books together? Surely Our Lord, Jesus Christ and a trip to hell don’t belong in the same blog post?

Ah but they do! To paraphrase the Catholic apologist and scriptural exegete, Scott Hahn, "Sweet and gentle Jesus?! You only know half of Him!" The reason Chapter 2 of JoN is my favorite is because it’s about the Temptation of Jesus in the desert. Pope Benedict writes a penetrating exploration of each of the three attempts on the part of the enemy to waylay Our Lord. There are depths of meaning in the Holy Father’s explanations like you have never heard before. Most telling of all, it’s possible for the discerning reader to see how each of these efforts on the part of the enemy is only superficially directed at Jesus; the real target is us! We are really the ones in the desert doing battle with the devil; Jesus is there to show us how to parry the thrust and to assist us, so long as we let Him.

My Visit to Hell is a modern Inferno. It updates Dante’s classic journey into the realms of hell before Judgement Day. The visitor is a young agnostic who doesn’t believe where he is at first; his guide is an 18th century slave woman. As I said, I haven’t finished it yet—but I will. So far we have traveled deeper and deeper into an abyss which grows more hideous by the level. The ‘updating’ of Dante will help those unable to penetrate the Italian poet’s description or relate to unfamiliar people, places and events contained in Dante's long-forgotten world. Professor Thigpen’s terms and descriptions, on the contrary, will be all too familiar; indeed you will find yourself wishing they were less so.

Sometimes two very different texts can – and should – be read in conjunction. Although I recommend these books, I don't presume to assign ratings to either. But someone much higher, greater and mightier than I will determine how our lives reflect the teachings contained therein and I tremble at His judgments.

Blessings on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul!

‘And I say to thee, That Thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ Matthew 18:16

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Lord of the Flies

by William Golding

Mr. Golding’s book is one of the most deeply disturbing books I’ve read in a long time. Here is a brief synopsis of the plot:

A group of young boys find themselves castaways on an uncharted tropical island either after or during a major war. Although initially the boys set up an orderly British society with rules and a just system of organization, Fear of the Unknown, turns into fear of an unknown beast and this quickly spreads and infects the group’s mindset. Eventually it takes on a symbolic as well as figurative "head", that of the decapitated head of a wild boar, slain by the boys and posted on a pike. Covered with flies, it becomes known as “The Lord of the Flies”, which is a literal translation of the name of the Hebrew Ba’ alzevuv (Beelzebub in Greek) a powerful demon in hell sometimes thought to be the devil himself.

As order breaks down, violence escalates and inevitably death ensues. How the boys deal with the decay of civilization and evolution of a true Darwinian ‘survival of the fittest’ form of existence is the remainder of the book. It’s a story of the Garden of Eden without any of the niceties of Scripture. Satan is there alright, but one wonders—where is the Lord God? And as the sins multiply, Eden just gets dirtier and yet there seems no escape but death.

So where was God on this non-Paradise island?

He was in the boy's original and pervading sense of order and decency.

He was in their undying desire to be rescued from themselves.

He was in the developing relationship of support and mutual affection which sprang up between Ralph and Piggy, but also extended to others in the original group; an unlikely, even impossible, friendship under circumstances less extreme than these.

He was in the moral outrage (and even the denial) after things began to break down.

He was in the loyalty of the twins, Samneric, or Sam 'n' Eric--so devoted to each other they were usually referred to by one name.

And ultimately, He was in the voluntary nature of the forces of Good.

Altruism can never be coerced, or it loses its very essence; the forces of tyranny which oppose it eventually have to resort to oppression and coercion tactics or lose their adherents.

In other words, God was everywhere and ever present . . . whereas the Lord of the Flies . . . well, you need to read the book to find out what happens to him.

Mr. Golding’s view of mankind is bleak—depressing even, but not unduly so. And yet in today’s world—where the concept of sin seems to have all but disappeared—maybe it’s not such a bad thing to be reminded of our inescapable, inexplicable darker side . . . and where real Good truly lies . . . in and through God alone.

The Church of Oprah Exposed is an eye-opener.

Thanks Mr. Golding! We need your book now as much as ever—maybe even more!

****1/2