Sarah Babbs who is a contributor at Virtuous Planet recently wrote a blog post entitled, Good Wins (http://VirtuousPla.net/2011/10/24/4856/). The blog post was inspired by the debut of ABC's new show, Once Upon a Time. I too watched the first episode of Once Upon a Time, and I hope to continue to watch this new series. Read her post to get a better commentary on the show itself, and to more fully understand why I chose to blog on this topic as well.
G.K. Chesterton and J.R.R. Tolkien are two Catholic, intellectual giants who both reminded us that fairy tales can be instrumental in proclaiming profound truths. Babbs shares a wonderful quote from Chesterton at the beginning of her blog. I would like to share one from Tolkien:
“We have come from God, and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, will also reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God. Indeed only by myth-making, only by becoming 'sub-creator' and inventing stories, can Man aspire to the state of perfection that he knew before the Fall. Our myths may be misguided, but they steer however shakily towards the true harbour, while materialistic 'progress' leads only to a yawning abyss and the Iron Crown of the power of evil.”
The fact that the stories themselves are not true events, does not limit their ability to declare truth. I am huge fan of fairy stories and their modern off-spring, fantasy. In fact, I am currently re-reading The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. I have found the best stories contain shadows or echoes of the greatest story being told, and our own personal stories are a part of this story (Which is one reason I love stories within stories!).
We are all a part of the greatest story ever told, the story of God's love. The Old Testament gives us the first act in which we learn about God as creator, the fall of humanity from the Life of Love, and how God works to bring the world back into the Life of Love through his covenants with Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David. He calls upon Israel to be his light in the world, and the Old Testament ends with the prophets declaring God will send them the Messiah.
The Gospels introduce us to the second act of God's story of love for his creation. We encounter the mystery of the Incarnation, and in and through this profound mystery we encounter God becoming man. In the life, death and resurrection of the God-Man, Jesus Christ, God reveals the fullness of his love to us. During the Easter Vigil, we rejoice with the Church in saying, "O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam, which gained for us so great a Redeemer!"
The rest of the New Testament ushers us into the final act. In Christ, we are called to enter into the story of God's love. We are not just called to enter into His story, we are called to enter into the very divine life of God, the Life of Love. St. Irenaeus proclaims, "The Glory of God is man fully alive!" He echoes the words of Jesus recorded in John 10:10, "I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly." Through Christ, the Father has sent out the call, "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28)."
May God grant us the grace to respond to the Lord's call to holiness, and enter into His story and life more fully.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Reply to: Ecumenism and the Stone-Campbell Movement
The SCM movement was heading in the right direction when it looked back in history to find the proper authority to bring about Christian unity. The one mistake they made was attempting to make Sacred Scripture the sole authority of the Christian life. We can use Sacred Scripture to aid us in coming to an understanding of where that authority resides. When we ask, how did we receive Sacred Scripture from God? We will realize he gifted it to us through his Church. Our next question is, how do we recognize this Church? Sacred Scripture again can give us a clue, it is the Church that upholds the teachings of the Apostles.
Now, we can use history as an aid to help us in our search for the Church. If we are honest, the Catholic Church is where the deposit of faith, the teaching of the Apostle, resides in the first thousand years of Christianity. We will notice the Church in the first thousand years of Christianity is vigorously defending the teaching of the Apostles from heresy. The Acts of the Apostles shows how the Twelve held the Council of Jerusalem to decide authoritatively the issue of whether or not the Gentiles must become Jews in order to become Christians. This was the first great trial for Christian unity. If we follow the history of the Church, they always held Councils when the unity of the Church was being compromised by opposing teachings of members of the Church. In these Councils, we receive the authentic and authoritative teaching of the Church that was entrusted to it through the teaching of the Apostles.
The next great trial of Christian unity reached its climax in the division of the Latin West and the Greek East. There were and are numerous factors which contribute to this open wound in the body of Christ. Ultimately, the definitive point of division is on Petrine doctrine, the role of the Pope as Successor of Peter. Does the Successor of Peter have the final authority in issues of faith and morals? If he does not have this authority, then the Greek East is the most authentic keepers of the Apostolic faith. If he does have this authority, the Latin West under the Pope, the Bishop of Rome and Successor to Peter, is the authentic authority.
What does this mean for Protestant Christianity? Either they left the one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, or they were justly protesting a corruption of the one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. Either way, the body of Christ has an even more visibly open wound. I would suggest Protestant Christians ought to prayerfully seek God's wisdom in prayer. I believe a prayerful consideration can only lead them to the Latin West, the Catholic Church in union with the Successor of Peter, or the Greek East, the Orthodox Faith.
http://the3150.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/ecumenism-and-the-stone-campbell-movement/
Now, we can use history as an aid to help us in our search for the Church. If we are honest, the Catholic Church is where the deposit of faith, the teaching of the Apostle, resides in the first thousand years of Christianity. We will notice the Church in the first thousand years of Christianity is vigorously defending the teaching of the Apostles from heresy. The Acts of the Apostles shows how the Twelve held the Council of Jerusalem to decide authoritatively the issue of whether or not the Gentiles must become Jews in order to become Christians. This was the first great trial for Christian unity. If we follow the history of the Church, they always held Councils when the unity of the Church was being compromised by opposing teachings of members of the Church. In these Councils, we receive the authentic and authoritative teaching of the Church that was entrusted to it through the teaching of the Apostles.
The next great trial of Christian unity reached its climax in the division of the Latin West and the Greek East. There were and are numerous factors which contribute to this open wound in the body of Christ. Ultimately, the definitive point of division is on Petrine doctrine, the role of the Pope as Successor of Peter. Does the Successor of Peter have the final authority in issues of faith and morals? If he does not have this authority, then the Greek East is the most authentic keepers of the Apostolic faith. If he does have this authority, the Latin West under the Pope, the Bishop of Rome and Successor to Peter, is the authentic authority.
What does this mean for Protestant Christianity? Either they left the one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, or they were justly protesting a corruption of the one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. Either way, the body of Christ has an even more visibly open wound. I would suggest Protestant Christians ought to prayerfully seek God's wisdom in prayer. I believe a prayerful consideration can only lead them to the Latin West, the Catholic Church in union with the Successor of Peter, or the Greek East, the Orthodox Faith.
http://the3150.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/ecumenism-and-the-stone-campbell-movement/
Friday, October 14, 2011
An Open Letter to Women
How should a woman be treated? It grieves me that those of us who are men do not ask ourselves this question enough, nor do we properly respond to the question in thought, word and deed. First and foremost, you are a person created in love by God and for God. As men, we are not called to be your end all and be all. Your beginning and end can only be found in God. Instead, we are called to be your help in the pursuit of that which is most beautiful, most good, and most true. Each man who encounters you, must answer that call to the best of his ability. In our weakness, we will fall short, but that does not mean our struggle is in vain.
Secondly, God created you as a woman. What joy Adam experienced when he first beheld Eve! For he discovered a helpmate, another person to aid him in his love for God. In women, we as men discover the call to not only love God, but to love our neighbor as ourself. What does this love demand? Reason cannot fully answer this question. God had to reveal it to us. Love demands, as men, that we are to make of ourselves a gift to the women we encounter. As men, we are God's gift to women, but not in a manner that is egotistical or self-serving. We are called to give ourselves in the same manner Jesus Christ gave of himself for us. Our gift of self, must be a gift that is sacrificial and pure.
Thus, we are called to help you become the best person possible. We are called to help, not hinder you, in becoming the best woman possible. We must live so deeply in the love of God that we love you with God's heart, see you with God's eyes, and embrace you and hold you up with the arm's of God.
Please forgive me for failing to always live up to this standard in my encounters with you. You are worthy of such love.
Secondly, God created you as a woman. What joy Adam experienced when he first beheld Eve! For he discovered a helpmate, another person to aid him in his love for God. In women, we as men discover the call to not only love God, but to love our neighbor as ourself. What does this love demand? Reason cannot fully answer this question. God had to reveal it to us. Love demands, as men, that we are to make of ourselves a gift to the women we encounter. As men, we are God's gift to women, but not in a manner that is egotistical or self-serving. We are called to give ourselves in the same manner Jesus Christ gave of himself for us. Our gift of self, must be a gift that is sacrificial and pure.
Thus, we are called to help you become the best person possible. We are called to help, not hinder you, in becoming the best woman possible. We must live so deeply in the love of God that we love you with God's heart, see you with God's eyes, and embrace you and hold you up with the arm's of God.
Please forgive me for failing to always live up to this standard in my encounters with you. You are worthy of such love.
Sunday, October 02, 2011
Hebrews 12:1
Hebrews 12:1 is a verse near to my heart. I first memorized it one summer when I attended Camp Joy. As a convert to Catholicism, I have been able to encounter a fuller meaning of the truth contained within it. St. Paul calls to mind the transcendent nature of the Church. Not only is God with us always, He is accompanied by the angels and saints in heaven, who witness the lives of the those of us running the race set before us. They witness our triumphs and defeats, both public and private. With this in mind, we are called to unburden ourselves of everything that hinders us from pursuing God. Through the aid of the Holy Spirit, may we be purged of those things in ourselves contrary to the love of God and neighbor, becoming more like our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who desires that through Him, we may know the Father.
Holy Mother of God, pray for us!
St. Paul, pray for us!
Angels of the Lord, pray for us!
Saints of the Heaven, pray for us!
Holy Mother of God, pray for us!
St. Paul, pray for us!
Angels of the Lord, pray for us!
Saints of the Heaven, pray for us!
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