Who's to say?

Its funny working for the Catholic Church. I have asked many parents to consider the state of their Catholicism and whether they are striving to live their Christian Faith. I have been called "pompous," "arrogant," "condescending," among other things. My goal as an employee of St. Jude and, more importantly, as a disciple of Jesus Christ is to invite all Christians to deepen the faith they have received. As well, to invite non-Catholics to consider joining the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church which is still guided by the Vicar of Christ - Pope Benedict XVI.

I don't presume to think that everyone will agree with my methodology. I don't know of one job where everyone agrees with all that you do. I have tried, to the best of my ability, to be charitable in all I have written or said, but also to never cease challenging parishoners here. Of course, when it comes to the Faith, passions enter into one's approach in this job much more deeply - both for me and for parents!

What I love about the Catholic Faith is that it is so challenging. It is unfortunate that some here at St. Jude and in parishes across the world lack the understanding of this challenge. St. John in the Book of Revelation writes to seven Churches in varying degrees of understanding regarding this challenge (see chapters 2 & 3). My favorite is the letter to the Church in Laodicea. Not least of which because of this line: "For you say, 'I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,' and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. " I think at a parish like St. Jude, one of the more affluent in this part of Denver, we must question ourselves about how rich we are and what are we rich in? For God does not think as man thinks, but invites us to be set apart from the world by living in the joy and obedience of the Gospel life.

It is easy in our modern world to say, "Yes, I believe in God." But then to just ignore going to Mass or frequenting the sacraments which Jesus Christ himself has established for our salvation - as many people do because they are too busy with baseball games or going to the mountains or whatever on Saturday night and/or Sunday to assist at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

I was recently discussing with someone about the same person's son who has essentially said, "religion is useless" but then that same son also says that he believes in God. This is the unfortunate reality which many people labor under. How does one consider that Jesus, the Son of God, breathed on his disciples and said to them, "Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained (Jn 20: 22-23)." Does one think that this is a useless bit of information? In fact, St. James will later write, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful (James 5:16)." The Sacrament of Confession is not something one can just hickelty-pickelty make up just because one happens to believe in God. Rather, one must have the humility to recognize Jesus Christ did establish a Church upon the rock of St. Peter and one must accept this gift if one is truly to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

The choice of course is yours and mine to make. Whether it is becoming a disciple or remaining a disciple of Jesus Christ, as with the Church of Laodicea, the Catholic Faith is challenging. As one beloved professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville used to frequently say: "The Catholic Faith doesn't give a fig about how you feel in the morning." By this, of course, he meant that it is the same Religion revealed by Jesus Christ whether we accept it or not. The only Triune God has spoke once and spoken perfectly in establishing the Catholic Church, it is mankind that must conform to her teaching beacuse only man can change. God who is eternal is unchangeable by his very nature as God.

Nevertheless, I know that in the years to come I will be called other names and insulted in various ways for challenging people to take their Catholic Faith more seriously. My only sorrow is knowing that others may never be challenged to fully take on the essentially radical Catholic lifestyle. And, as well, my greatest joy is knowing that Christ continues to call others to the radical holiness and obedience of being a Catholic. The only question that remains is where do you, my dear reader, stand?

A Little Science

What I love about science is that it is such an opportunity too see just how human we are. Scientists, well some anyway, think that only science can explain the world. Others who are more real recognize that there is more than our material existence - oh say, for example, God's existence.

In a recent study, Americans are now being told that echinacea helps to fight colds. If you have never heard of this "wonder herb" it is a plant that is helpful in staving off colds and appears now that it can actually help in fighting colds. I had recourse myself to this little plant (in capsulet form) many a time back at University. It always worked for me, but many people kept saying, "oh, it doesn't fight colds; just keeps them from coming."

Science can be so fickle. One day its good for you, the next it causes cancer or something. What is funny is that for all that, there is one science which continues to hold true everyday and every hour: the divine science - Theology. Not just some "fly by the seat of your pants" theology either, but the Sacred Tradition of our Holy Catholic Church. If one looks at the Catechism of the Catholic Church, then one finds that there are a great many references to the Church Fathers and Saints from the earliest days of the Church. These Christians witness that there have always been Catholics since the time of Jesus. The one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church of Jesus Christ has always upheld the same teachings for near 2000 years. By that I mean, it has always returned to the one Tradition that has been held since the time of the Apostles in her doctrines and dogmas. Certainly, the disciplines of the Church have changed here and there, namely the Holy Mass in recent years (but that is a whole other can of worms). But the content of what has been believed has been maintained officially for her whole history.

Science can change its mind repeatedly and probably will, as humanity tries to discover the various ways to see the created the world. However, the Holy Faith of St. Peter and St. Paul will be maintained until the end of time - which will occur despite the best efforts of science to deny its impending arrival. Maranatha, Lord Jesus!

Purgatory

I have often heard it said that there are some people who live out their purgatory here on earth. At times I have hoped it was true, especially times like today when I just get back from a serious dental appointment -involving blood and squirming and general sadness all around (well from me anyway).

It is a great thing to understand the Catholic Doctrine of Purgatory, because unfortunately not many people bother looking into it. What a glory of mercy that God would give us such a place, as witnessed by the Holy Scripture that we can have such a "safety net." I think one of the best analogies is those guys who get shot out of a cannon at the circus. We have to be shot out of the "cannon" of death, and our hope and labors aim to land at our destination. But if we have done our best to prepare, but have not quite made it we have the safety of that net which though we may suffer in it, at least we won't die. If you followed that analogy...

It is unfortunate that so many think that the Church is coming up with a new man-made teaching, when this teaching has been handed on to us from the Apostles and even acknowledged in the Book of the Maccabees. Sadly, given the recent findings of the International Theological Commission, a branch of one of the Vatican's Congregations (the Congregration for the Doctrine of the Faith), some even think that Purgatory has been given up. This is not true, in fact; rather, the unofficially held opinion of Limbo was revoked as a tenable position.

There many resources out there to explain the Church's constant teaching, like here, or here or here, so I won't go into those. What I think must be said is that those of who believe and understand the Mercy given to us in Purgatory should remember to pray for those poor souls who continue to await their purification for their temporal punishment due to sin.

The Power of the Keys

Today, Liz Perry (facilities coordinator at St. Jude) and I went out to visit a few parishes while they put on their Vacation Bible School. It is unfortunate that many of the VBSs out there are really Protestant programs which focus entirely too much on the bible, to the neglect of the rest of Sacred Tradition. It is more unfortunate that some Catholics try to utilize these without adding a Catholic element to them, which in some ways implicitly devalues the beauty, mystery and majesty of the Holy Catholic Faith.

Don't get me wrong, it is great the parishes are doing something for the kids, nevertheless, it leaves one to wonder what the kids are hearing when they don't hear any mention of the Sacred Tradition of the Church - Mary who? What is a Saint? Sacraments? Bueller? Bueller? Nothing.

However, it is hopeful that some Catholics do see the inherent problems of trying to utilize a Protestant program. Not to say anything bad about Protestants or their VBSs, only that for a Catholic Parish to utilize this type of program lacks the fullness of the Catholic Faith of which Protestants are protesting. An inherent problem indeed!

One of the programs which we saw was one called "Catchat." It was created and is put out by a family in Canada. It was interesting to visit one of Protestant programs utilized in a Catholic parish, and then to visit one which is, from its inception, Catholic. One notices a remarkably palpable difference. From the mention of Mary as a matter of fact being the Mother of the Church and model for us to image in responding to God, to the crowns which will be made later this week to show our regal (i.e. kingly/queenly) baptized state in Jesus. In the words of the Director at the parish we visited: "I did the other [Protestant] programs before, where the focus is on the kids being a cowboy, or being in a jungle. This one the children are the lilies of purity for Jesus." Impressive!

I am currently trying to create my own "VBS" (though I think the name implies too much focus on the one element of divine revelation without regard for the Sacred Tradition of the Church). When one tries to do such a thing, one gains a new respect for those who have labored in this regard either in the Protestant kind or the Catholic kind. Organizing all those activities and materials is not an easy task! However, I think it is well worth it for more Catholics to make decidely Catholic Vacation Bible Schools since the Bible has come to us from the Sacred Tradition of the Catholic Church to begin with. Filling out the rest of Holy Mother Church's teaching into a weeklong program is definitely a daunting task, but hopefully more Catholics will accept the challenge, if only to help evangelize those kids and parents who - for various reasons - think they could never handle a regular Religious Education class. Totus Ad Majorem Dei (All for the Glory of God)! If one week is all a child will get in Religious Education, then may the Holy Spirit move that soul's heart to great conversion and may those who create the curriculum for that week make every moment count to evanglize that soul! And may each of us take up prayers for those who may not value Religious Education as anything more than a week's break from their kids, for perhaps no greater witness of faith can be given in a child's life than a parent (except for a martyr, I suppose).

Requiescat in Pax Domini

Some don't know, and some may not even care, that I studied in Rome for four years with my beloved wife. It truly was an incredible blessing to study theology at the beating heart of the Catholic Church. We met so many people who deeply loved their faith and the Catholic Church. Not least among these were those young men, gathered from all over the world, who were sent to Rome to study for the priesthood.

I receive a really great Catholic News service called Zenit.org, run by the Legionaires of Christ, and the other day there was a news bulletin about a young Chaldean (one Rite in the Holy Catholic Church) priest who was killed in Iraq with 3 sub-deacons. His name was Fr. Ragheed Ganni. In fact, he was one of the many men my wife and I met while in Rome. He was an incredible man. He had already been ordained when we met him. The War in Iraq was just preparing to begin when we had first met him. He spoke somewhat positively about Americans arriving there, but had already voiced concerns that it would be the Iraqi Catholics who would suffer because Sadaam himself protected them. Like each one of us, he worried for his family and for his loved ones there in Iraq, even while studying in Rome for 3 years.

I just received another news report I would like to, in part, share here:

Professor Shares E-Mails From Father Ragheed
ROME, JUNE 13, 2007 (Zenit.org ).-

"The situation here is worse than hell," Father Ragheed Ganni wrote to a former professor the day before he and three deacons were shot after Sunday Mass in Mosul, Iraq. Father Robert Christian, a theology professor at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelicum, in Rome, spoke at the requiem Mass held in that school on Tuesday. There, Father Ganni had studied theology and ecumenism. On June 3, Father Ganni and three deacons, Basman Yousef Daoud, Ghasan Bidawid and Wadid Hanna, were killed in front of the Church of the Holy Spirit. Father Christian began his homily, saying: "On Saturday, June 2, I received an e-mail from Mosul. In part it read: 'The situation here is worse than hell, and my church has been attacked a few more times since we last met. Last week, two guards in it were wounded after an attack. We shall meet in the near future and have a chat about all these events. God bless, Ragheed." Father Christian continued: "The patriarch of the Chaldeans called them martyrs. And martyrs, who conform closely to the passion and death of Jesus Christ, have been revered since Christian antiquity as saints."

Father Christian called a hell that which "those left behind are experiencing: Ragheed's family and friends; the flock he pastured; his Chaldean Church, other Christians, and yes, Muslims, too, trapped in the senseless vortex of blind hatred and violence that is daily life in Iraq.""Ragheed could have fled," Father Christian continued. "As far as I know, he came to Italy three times after he returned to Mosul upon finishing his licentiate in ecumenism at the Angelicum. "But Ragheed had a strong sense of his priestly duty to be an icon of the Good Shepherd for his people."

The article continues:

Father Christian explained the source of Father Ganni's fortitude: "The strength of Father Ragheed was the Eucharist, and in his homilies he taught the faithful that the body and blood of Jesus, who was sacrificed and resurrected, strengthened the union among the members of the mystical body of Christ... May the Eucharist give us the courage to live and die like Father Ragheed."

I only pray each of us might consider whether we would, if we lived in Iraq sorrounded by persons hostile to our Catholic Faith, courageously obey Christ in the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church? Oh wait, we do live in a society hostile to our Catholic Faith - people reject the dignity of human life, murder innocent children and are seeking to murder the elderly who are "in the way," others seek to reject the teachings of the Church with regard to the dignity of a person not to be born of an IVF treatment, others reject our near 2000 year old belief of the Holy Eucharist, others use our Lord's Holy Name in vain, others deride Christ's teaching for us to live as a chaste people, others seek to lead our children into sexual sins and temptations, others seek to degrade our faith by making it irrelevant to the public discourse in our country, others reject and deride the glory of the Holy Priesthood of Christ, and I could go on and on.

In other words, the question we must ask ourselves is whether each of us WILL courageously obey Christ through the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church? Fr. Ragheed has been called a martyr by his Patriarch and bishop of the Chaldean (Catholic) Church because he was shot immediately after Mass. I know Fr. Ragheed and I don't think there is any other way he would have preferred to enter to his eternal reward than to have been so close to the Eucharistic Lord after Mass, joining the sacrifice of Christ for the sake of the world. May this glorious martyr of Christ's witness not be lost on each of us, the People of God, and may we be inspired to live and persevere in our faith more seriously and with more conviction for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Its bath time!

There are many times in our lives when nothing really relaxes you like a nice hot bath. My son, after a short stint in the Baseball league in his mind, came inside tonight to take a bath. When one is so worked up there is nothing like a little warm water and bubbles to take off the edge, right?

Its funny how often we forget how great a bath or shower can feel until you are deprived for a while or until you really need one - say after running around your backyard, practicing hitting baseballs.

The same is pretty much true for the spiritual life. So many Catholics forget how good it is to receive the shower of grace that comes from going to Confession. Some would so often would prefer to just stay in the grime of their sin, than to have that stuff removed through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We forget that incredidble sense of purity that comes from knowing every minute sin is forgiven through the ministry of the Church dispensed through a Catholic Priest.

I have never been to Fr. Schaffer for Confession, and unfortunately I probably never will while he is pastor of our parish. Though I hear he is an excellent priest to confess to. So why won't I go to him? Well, the Code of Canon Law (the Church's book of Church laws for Catholics) has codified that a priest is unable to reveal to anyone anything that has been learned through someone's confession. Thus, if I were to embezzle money from the Church and then go to confess it to Fr. Schaffer then he would be unable to do anything to me, because he could not reveal anything that I specifically had confessed. Now I am not going to embezzle money from the parish, but the point is that Fr. Schaffer must be able to deal with without constraints as an employee who is supporting his mission to proclaim the kingdom of Christ here at St. Jude. Nevertheless, the Church is so serious about this notion of the secrecy of confessions that if Fr. Schaffer or any priest were to break the "sacramental seal," that is to reveal something learned through confessions, then he would commit a sin which could only be forgiven by the Pope himself. Pretty serious, hunh?

Too often, I think Catholics don't realize or remember that Fr. Schaffer is the one who will be facing the gates of Hell for how he leads us. We should support him through our prayers and kind words. It is not easy these days to be a priest, with the many forces in the world that deride or reject the Catholic Church. As well, with so many families at our parish (2,300), Fr. Schaffer can often be not a little stressed! He is only one man who is trying his best, even though he is sinful like the rest of us, to follow after Jesus Christ. He has mentioned that he too goes to confession to a particular priest - that is beautiful. It is great when a priest recognizes his own sinfulness, because it reminds us that he is a man like us, but also has a mission to carry out for Christ as each of us do. An old Dominican piece of wisdom is that a priest should be "a lion in the pulpit, but a lamb in the confessional" and I think part of this mentality can only come about when one recognizes his own sinfulness.

Let no one of us think that Jesus cannot work through His priest, Fr. Schaffer. For this is the promise that Jesus gave to his Apostles, ""Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained (Jn 20:22-23)." The apostles' mission continues even to this day through their successors - our bishops, including our own Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M., Cap. And those bishops ordain their priests to assist them in carrying out this apostolic mission. Thus, Fr. Schaffer soldiers on - forgiving our sins and confecting the Holy Eucharist so that we can be fed upon the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, as well as dispensing the other sacred mysteries of the Catholic Church's sacramental life.

Perhaps when we want to begin complaining about something in our lives, we might stop to

think about when our last Confession was. For as often as we repent of our sinfulness, especially in approaching Christ's throne of grace which a Catholic priest sits upon, then the more we are ready to ask Jesus to allow us to see His plan in our lives so that we can offer up our sufferings with Him upon the cross. Since it is only by doing this that we can "make up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church (Col 1:24)." When we do this we will be able to enjoy just basking in the bath of grace we can receive in each Confession, not unlike a little boy playing with his duckies.

The Mystical Body of Christ

Yesterday we celebrated the Glorious Feast of the Body of Christ - no greater day is there for our Catholic Faith than that which makes us Catholic. However, in light of this day it reminds me of the teaching of Pope Pius XII on the Mystical Body of Christ. We, those who belong to the Catholic Church, are enveloped into the Church established by Jesus Christ upon the rock of St. Peter. And yet, in the history of the world there have been many divisions amongst the one Holy Catholic Church.

How to explain such divisions? Is Christ powerless to keep us together? Did Christ establish a useless Church? Are we merely wasting our time each Sunday? Or perhaps the reality is far more mysterious. The teaching of Holy Mother Church tells us that Christ, in all humility, has entered into the world and allows us to either accept or reject the gift of the Church. For centuries, people understood this reality. In fact, there was a great article in Latin Mass Magazine a few months ago (Winter 2007 edition) about the realities which transpired when certain Catholic rejected the authority and divine inception of the Catholic Church. Essentially the author, James Bemis, points out that there was essentially a civil war which took place in Europe since the Reformation. The Catholic Church had upheld and defended the unity of Europe, even to the point of the Pope negotiating peace on numerous occasions between nations within Europe. However, when the wholesale rejection of the Authority of the Church came into being, one finds a slow descent culturally, philosophically, theologically, and practically into a disunified mess. This is ultimately the heritage of the Reformation, so implies the author. What had been known as Christendom was effectively divided into two kingdoms: those who were faithful to the Vicar of Christ and those who rejected Christ and His Vicar.

Even today we find this unfortunate reality persisting. Many Catholics don't realize the great gift we have in the Catholic Faith. That Christ gave to St. Peter the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven is proposed to us each time we come to Mass and see the Vatican flag in the back of St. Jude. We are reminded in the symbol of this flag that we both belong in this world and in the next world, in heaven. But if we are to make it to heaven, we must live according to the teachings of Holy Mother Church - which are only the teachings of Christ himself. As I had placed in the bulletin a few weeks ago, St. Joan of Arc reportedly once said, "About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they're just one thing, and we shouldn't complicate the matter."

If we desire to serve Christ, then we must first accept all that He desires to give us in the Catholic Church - namely, her teachings and doctrines. May each of us accept this great gift, for only in doing so will we come to unify with one another more closely in the service of Jesus Christ.

Ahh... the wisdom of the Saints!

"He who abandons the Chair of Peter, upon which the Church is founded, lives in the illusion that he still belongs to the Church." - St. Cyprian of Carthage

He is not amused!

I did not know about this until somebody showed me this on Youtube. I think it is interesting and perhaps God does have a very good sense of humor, however Mr Giuliani should be careful. Regardless of the symbolic value of this video, the Truth of the Church remains. Abortion is nothing more than the killing of an innocent human life. Mr. Guiliani may "think it is wrong," but why would you promote what you know to be wrong? Isn't that like saying, "Murder is wrong, but I won't stop somebody from doing it?" I don't know which is sadder, that Mr. Giuliani laughs at what could be a serious wake-up call from God or that he truly believes his position is tenable.

The world must be peopled!

So saith the Bard, Shakespeare. But in our modern times, many a person sees the endowment of human life as a right we have to give and right we have to take away. Much has been written on this, and much more should be written on this. However, as is the nature of mass media, sometimes it is important that we get the point.

I found this little video extremely beautiful, except for the commercialism, but it is very beautiful in the recognition we each should have for the dignity of life, and the joy all of us will have when the world is peopled for the Glory of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Click here.

A few days off...

It is not a bad thing to take some time off. Unfortunately for me I never do it during the year. With all the children's classes and RCIA each week there is rarely any week which I am able to take a significant time away from the parish here during the Fall, Winter or Spring. I give Praise and Thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ for last week because I took off two days and they were glorious. Ultimately, I worked my usual 13 hours on Tuesday and a little bit on Friday and then took the rest of the week off.

Last week began with taking my son, 2 1/2 years old, to his first baseball game on Memorial day! What a immense joy to share that with him and his godfather.

At any rate, it was very refreshing to spend some time away. While I was gone, I even had a few more comments! Thank you Dave!

In response to those comments I I want to revisit the question regarding the "chapel veil." The question was: "What is the basis of [wearing the veil]?"

Well, in the Catholic Tradition it is not such that women are to wear the veil constantly at all times. I know that in the Russian Orthodox as well as other Orthodox traditions that is the case. However, it is not the case that women are required at all times to cover their heads, as in certain Muslim traditions. Rather, it has been primarily a liturgical requirement in the past, and arguably still today.

In fact, my beloved spouse and myself were chatting about this last night. She was coming to a conclusion about the differences between couples who practice NFP (Natural Family Planning) and those who utilize artificial means of contraception. She was pointing out that one of the main differences is openness to life in the NFP couple. Though both types of couples wish to postpone pregnancy, it is the NFP couple that will typically be very happy to be blessed with an unplanned child because of their openness to life. In this context, I think we see the wisdom and point of the chapel veil in the Tradition of Holy Mother Church. A woman is under the headship of the Most Holy Trinity first and foremost, but this headship is symbolized by her husband whom she entrusts herself to in love. In the same way, a man must entrust himself to the Most Holy Trinity as well, but it is upon the husband as head of the family to undertake to provide for his family. As the scripture says, "For this reason a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife." Notice nowhere in scripture does it say a woman leaves her father and mother. This in part helps us see that the man is meant to be the head of his household.

But in what does this headship subsist? Domination, dictatorship, suppression? Certainly not! Rather, it is to be a headship of charity. Precisely as the man enters deeper into his relationship with the living God through a life of prayer should he serve his wife and children with all of his life, strength and body for the sake of Christ. This is precisely what St. Paul is getting at when he speaks about the wife being under the headship of the husband in Ephesians. A husband is to recognize this service of love and this precisely what the Chapel Veil calls us to do. Hence, the idea that this veil is a liturgical vestment for women. It reminds us men that we are entrusted with the care of our wives.

Moreover, women are challenged to remember that they have been entrusted by their true King, Christ our Lord, to their husband. There is a beauty and wisdom in symbolism which can not be argued with, I think. For the young girl and woman it is clear that this symbolism is to remind them that they are actively placing themselves at the service of Christ the Lord. This is the reason at this year's Parent's First Communion Meeting I suggested all should continue this tradition after First Communion with their daughters. For us men we must remember to remove our hats, as it is a sign of respect that we are entrusted or will be entrusted with the care of the Church, domestic or liturgically.

All of this points to the fact that we need to have more awareness of the holy things taking place in our lives and especially at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass - the source and summit of our faith. We can never have enough reminders of the otherworldliness of our lives and of our families, the chapel veil only helps to propagate this when understood.

It seems to me that this is precisely the wisdom of