More Latin fun

Who said Latin is a dead language, look what I found today! http://ephemeris.alcuinus.net/

The Holy See

Many Catholics unfortunately are unaware of how awesome the Vatican truly is. Let alone the beauty of its artworks - which when visited often provide an enhancement to one's faith, or its architecture - which draws one to contemplate the mystery of God, or the order by which the Church is run.

One of things that many may not be aware of are the outreaches which the Vatican has for those who desire to see the pilgrimmage sites of the world. The main branch of the Vatican is known as the Opera Romana Pelligrinagi - don't worry there is no singing here. The translation for this office is the Work of Roman pilgrimmages. In other words, this Vatican branch provides Christians with itineraries to travel throughout Christendom to many of the Church's most revered pilgrimmage sites. You can check out their website in English here.

Another of the Vatican's many branches is the Opus Fundatum Latinitas. This is a Vatican institute whose expressed purpose is twofold:
"1) to promote the study of the Latin language, classical literature and Medieval Latin;
2) to promote the increased use of the Latin language by publishing texts in Latin and other suitable means."

Unfortunately, one must have some grasp of the Latin Language to utilize the online magazine which they provide, but if one is so inclined one may view it for interest's sake here. You have to scroll down to the bottom of the page to get the articles that were written in Latin.

As I was growing up, I never thought I would be into Latin. I remember specifically thinking oddly of the "geeks" in High School who studied Latin. As I studied at University, however, it becamse apparent that much like in the movie "Braveheart" Latin is a language for those who are truly learned. It is not just a language for those who are "into it," but truly it is important for Western Culture as really our whole civilization and language rest upon the foundation of the Latin culture of Rome. Many of our words and customs continue to be excercised from their Latin roots. In fact, I remember reading an author who pointed to the sign hung on Jesus' cross reading "Jesus, the Nazorean, King of the Jews" which from the Latin is where we get the INRI on the top of crucifixes. This author pointed out that there, where this epitaph was written in Greek, Hebrew and Latin, we see an image of the culimation of the ancient world in Jesus: 1) The wisdom of the Greeks, 2) the worship of the Jews, and 3) the order or structure of the Latins. All of these three become combined in the Catholic Church.

More personally, for us Latin Rite Catholics, it is important that we begin to think about learning some of the most basic prayers of our faith in Latin. Why? In the recent presentation of the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church the Holy Father encouraged all members of the Latin Rite, to which St. Jude parish belongs, to learn the most basic prayers found at the end of the Compendium - but don't worry Kevin or Dave (or any other readers out there) because you can find them online here (but I would copy and print them as the Compendium is a little long to be printing out). How beautiful it would be that we recall what many ancients saw about the Latin language - it is undoing the Tower of Babel! That is, when we pray together with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we undo the curse of the Tower of Babel by uniting in the common language of our Rite of the Catholic Church. Whether we meet a mexican, a German, an African or others who come from different parts of the world and don't speak our American-English language we could engage in prayer with the common language of our Holy Mother Church. As well, this reminds us of the real family we have been made a part of through our Baptism - the adopted family of Jesus Christ our Lord.

It is quite exciting to realize that we belong to an incredibly well established and active family that is the Catholic Church of Jesus Christ. Our current Holy Father watches over the whole family as the "face of Christ on earth" or vicar of Christ. From the one same chair of St. Peter, Pope Benedict XVI continues to guide the Church from the snarls and traps of this world. Probably the most beautiful image of this reality is what the ancients referred to as the Barque or boat of St. Peter, which is the Church. The Pope can be thought of as being at the helm of this great ship as it is fought from all sides by the turmoil and strive of our present age. And yet, with Christ as our food and the Holy Spirit in our sails, we will arrive at our destination if we perservere in our faith.

This whole analogy really gives a whole new meaning to the idea of "jumping ship" when one commits mortal sin! We can see precisely what the Catechism of the Catholic Church means when it is says that Confession or Reconciliation is "the second plank [of salvation] after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace." The main difference, of course, is that we are never swept away by sin, rather we are the ones who choose to jump ship. This is our human dignity, that God allows us the "luxury" of rejecting Him by our mortal sins. Let no one of us ever become so impoverished as those who are filled with this type of "luxury" for such is the will of God, that all come to eternal life.

This then is precisely the reason we have a Holy See - the Holy Chair of St. Peter that watches over us and calls us to renew our faith and love and hope in Jesus Christ Our Lord. See what great love the Father has for us, that we should become his children - and that we allow ourselves to rest in the shelter of the Church he has provided for us.

What about "the Man?"

When I used to have freetime, or when I really need a break, I like to take a moment to check out the movie previews that are coming out. You may be aware that at the Apple Website you can watch movie trailers all day long. It is sometimes really fun to check out what is upcoming in the movie world. Unfortunately, I don't usually find many that I am that excited about - from the trailer anyway. The last movie I saw was Transformers, but that took a very good friend to really encourage me and he knew I had loved the toys when I was growing up.

However, there are some good movies out there. For example, one of the best movies I have seen in recent years, and in fact my wife and I rented it recently, is the movie "Lady in the Water." It is film by M. Night Shamalyan - of "Signs," "The Village," and "Sixth Sense" fame. What one must respect is the fact that M. Night Shamalyan has a healthy respect for our Catholic Faith. In fact, we were discussing the Holy Trinity this past Saturday for one of the catechist training sessions here at the parish. I had brought up "Lady in the Water" as one of the recent movies that gives a great analogy for the Catholic Faith. What Mr. Shamalyan provides for us, whether intentionally or not I don't know, is a great example of an analogy of the unity and practice of our faith.

"Lady in the Water" is not an easy story to follow at first. As one catechist said, "It is hard to understand." But for us Catholics it can be a very easy thing to understand, if we utilize our sacramental understanding of the world. We know that God gives the world grace through the Sacraments - those seven symbolic realities that really communicate His Love and Grace to each of us. In the climax of the movie, we find seven sisters who are the means by which the priest-like figure offers himself for the sake of another to be healed. But, even earlier the priestly figure, Mr. Heep, must decide whether he will have faith that he can discern what the answer to the movie's riddle is or whether he will rely on the media's interpretation of how things should happen. It is said in the course of the dialogue, "It is all about faith." Mr. Heep is left to figure things out, and if he can overcome his own pride then the riddle will be solved.

One of the themes running throughout "Lady in the Water" is the very Catholic notion that "every creature has a purpose." Especially each character in the movie. Of course, this is reminescent of the Church's teaching on human life - namely, that no innocent human life is worth destroying, whether unborn or elderly. Of course, like Mr. Heep, each of us must accept this reality. Every human person has the freedom to reject or accept it. But as Catholics, we should come to understand that God, to understate the matter, prefers us to accept it.

What the point of my blog today is and was for the catechist training is that analogy is a good way for us to understand our Catholic faith. Analogies can help us to begin to grasp mysteries in a way that we can understand more readily. The danger, of course, is that we must remember analogies are only tools to understand something deeper, and we can never take the analogy as the truth that we are seeking to understand.

Part of the point of this, especially for us Catholics, is that we are always seeking the Mystery - and more specifically the Mystery of the Living Triune God. In the Catholic Faith, when we speak of mystery, we don't speak of a mystery that must be solved - like the ole Agatha Christie novel or CSI or a Law & Order mystery. Rather for the Catholic Church, and subsequently our Catholic Faith, a mystery is something we can never understand fully, but at the same time something we can understand partially. Now, we have been inserted into the mystery of the Holy Trinity by our baptism, and yet God is not happy that we should merely be a member of the mystery, but that we should learn to desire and be satisifed in "never-being-satisified" in the glory of this mystery. That is, we should alway seek to understand the mystery more fully.

In this regard, "Lady in the Water" provides a great story for understanding the profound reality which each of the characters find themselves involved with in analogous way. That is, in this movie there is a great analogy with how our Catholic Faith must be lived. We too must seek to understand the "plan," not from Crossword puzzles or cereal boxes, but from the very Heart and Mind of Almighty God [See the movie and this will make more sense]. Each of us is important to His real-life plan and each of us will find our greatest joy in taking up our part to battle our enemy of sin and death. But if you see a "Scrunt," perhaps a quick poke in its eyes might stop it... but I would never try that myself...

By the way, perhaps another great analogous movie will be upcoming in "Horton hears a who." As many see this as a great analogy of seeing even the smallest human life as worth not choosing to murder.

I am becoming a fair-y

This time of year is always kind of a jumbled mess, in my mind anyway. I always seem to feel like I have not used the time wisely during the summer (at least for the last two years anyway) before the Religious Education program begins and RCIA begins. I think I am probably being over critical of myself, but I also always feel such needless anxiety around this time of the year before everything begins.

I guess I can really relate to that story in the bible about Martha and Mary. You know, Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus and Martha is "freaking out" about all the details, to colloquialize. I ususally feel like Mary, but it seems like these few weeks before everything begins find me more like Martha. Jesus said to Martha, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her." I guess we all need times of testing though.

Its funny thinking about this, because today I just received one of the Elementary Religious Education parent surveys back. I always find it interesting to see what people answer to the question: "I feel that sports and/or activities are more important than Religious Education." Some of us seem to feel, as I am right now, that doing things (like sports) can bear more fruit in a child's life than "sitting at the feet of Jesus" in Religious Education.

I wonder sometimes what it would take for us to re-assess where our priorties should lie. The other day I was reading a little book I was recently given on Our Lady of Knock. In case you don't know, the Blessed Mother is reported to have appeared in Knock, Ireland at a time when many of the Catholics were being persecuted for their faith, even during the Great Potato Famine. In 1879, many Catholics were still being persecuted in Ireland for their faith by their fellow Protestant countrymen. In fact, it appears historically that many Catholics were being tempted to reject the ancient Catholic Faith for the sake of receiving food for their families. Heroically, many did not reject their Catholic Faith and even still survived. In fact, it is believed by many that Mary appeared in Knock in order to strengthen the Irish people to not reject their Catholic Faith.

For those Irish Catholics, as with the ancient martyrs of the early Christian Church, giving up their faith or placing it second to anything was not an option. What would it take for us to come to this conclusion. Almighty God has offered us His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who has established the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church so that our lives might become intimately united to Himself. Yet, many things in our modern world tempt us to leave the persistent practice of our faith, including things like Broncos games, Rockies games, water parks, etc. Not that most of these things are necessarily bad, but when they become a hinderance to the devotion of our Love of God, then we should consider what we worship and whether we place any thing before the one living and true God.

It is certain one of the temptations in our age of over-abundant information and entertainment that the first Commandment of God is challenged more than I think any of us are aware: "I am the Lord your God you shall have no strange gods before me." Perhaps as we go through our day and/or prepare to sleep we should consider what is it, if anything, that makes me take the Catholic Faith as less important than education, sports, entertainment, pleasure, money or any number of things that tempt us. For in this was the whole message of the silence of Knock, where Our Lady did not say a word. Rather, she appeared silent on Aug. 21st, 1879 in Knock, Ireland . As if to say, "You have been given all in Jesus, my divine Son. Now only you can make the decision whether or not to accept him most fully with your minds, hearts and souls."

It is with this thought that I am preparing for the ministry fair this weekend at St. Jude. Hence, I think I am becoming a fair-y, a ministry fair-y. Fortunately, this too shall pass after this weekend when hopefully we will fill the volunteer catechist (teacher) positions that we need for Elementary Religious Education and we might find some RCIA sponsors as well. Unfortunately, I will have to pop back and forth between the ministry fair and the Rel. Ed. Registration. Maybe, as a fair-y I will find the wings to move back and forth quickly... because I will need to move quickly to cover both places at once!

Holy daze of obligation?

There are so many things vying for our attention these days. Everything is a marketing ploy it seems these days. Have you watched a movie recently that didn't have some kind of advertisement in it for something or another? Seems like so many people love fantasy movies (like Lord of the Rings, etc.), and perhaps part of the reason is that we can escape the marketing for Coke or Pepsi or whatever else companies are trying to sell us.

Don't get me wrong, everyone needs to work and make money to support their families. I just think that since marketing has become so invasive into our everyday lives that there should be some boundries put upon these things. Nevertheless, we are the ones who will purchase or not purchase those things which we are marketed. Everything seems like such a good idea and so inviting.

Yet one must stop and consider our Catholic Faith. Our Lord has established Sunday as the day upon which we commemorate his Resurrection. It is our sabbath day, our day of rest. This is the reason why, as Catholics, we break the 3rd Commandment ("Remember to keep Holy the Sabbath Day.") when we willfully don't attend the Holy Sacrifice of Mass. But, the Lord himself has a sort of "marketing" ploy for us - kinda interesting when you think of it this way. During the year there are certain feast days that are of such great importance to our Catholic Faith that the Church raises them to the level of a Solemnity. Then, on top of this, very few of these Solemnities have become "Holy Days of Obligation." What is "Holy Day?" And why are we "obliged" to attend Mass on these days?

Well, we must remember the whole purpose of the Catholic Church: to make us holy and thus unite us more closely to our Lord Jesus Christ. When we attend Mass we are being re-presented to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, which has become the salvation of all mankind. Certain days the Church calls us to re-consider our everyday life. How important is our love for Christ in our lives? Three of the Five Holy Days of obligation (in America anyway) are devoted to the Mother of God, Mary. If we just think about it for a minute, then we might come to realize that the Church is telling us to look to the example of Mary who gave her whole life to the service of Jesus Christ, her son and Lord.

Though none of us have been asked to physically become the mother of God, we have all been asked to share God's own life by our baptism. Part of sharing His life is recognizing and looking with love to Our Blessed Mother. Again, as we gaze upon her loveliness, we should come to see she is glorious primarily because she has loved God with her whole mind, body, and soul as each of us should be striving to do. This I think is, in part, the reason Holy Mother Church places some days during the Liturgical Year as days we are obliged to attend Mass. These are days in which, if we only accept them as the gifts that they are, we will find great impetus to continue to seek after Christ, to continue to willfully give up our sinfulness in order that the Holy Spirit of God might use us as His instruments.

This, of course, means we should not just feel like we are being forced to go to Church a couple of days out of the year. Rather, we should consider these great feasts as gifts which allow us to re-consider how much importance we should place on our Catholic Faith above our jobs, our relationships with our friends, and in some instances (not all, but some) even above our families. In other words, Christ should be the focus of our lives, and Holy Mother Church invites us to "be obliged," that is, to recognize in humility that God has placed these profound mysteries, like Mary's Assumption body and soul into Heaven, for us to re-consider His love and promises to us if we seek and follow after His only begotten Son, Jesus.

Far too many Catholics sometimes ignore or blow-off Holy days as days which are like those marketing ploys found everywhere today. Holy Days are seen as impositions upon "my daily things I need to get done!" Instead, as we come to realize just how much the one true and living God has loved us and provided many Sacred Mysteries in our Catholic Faith in order that our minds and our hearts might be satiated, we ought to be thankful for the opportunity to reconsider God's promises of Heaven, of Joy, of Love, and of uniting in and with the cross of Christ as we live our Christian Faith. Let us not feel that anything is more important that these great Feast Days, for Our Holy Mother Church has given them to us knowing that they are good for us and will make us grow - even whether we are aware of it or not. Perhaps, instead of thinking of these Holy Days of obligation as annoying, maybe we should begin to see them as gifts of God through His Catholic Church to each of us.

The Assumption

We await the feast of the Assumption tomorrow. I remember last year driving around in Wheat Ridge and coming across a Protestant Church that had put up on their billboard: "Assumption is the mother of all evil." Interesting, isn't it? It is beyond my comprehending that Christians, those who love Jesus Christ, can so greatly overlook one of the greatest gift He desires to give to us in our Blessed Mother, Mary.

If we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, which we ought to do as Catholics, then we ought also to accept the reality that in our baptism we have been given over to Christ. We belong to Him; in fact, we have become a part of Him if we are willing to respond in love by our life. As has long been the Catholic Church's teaching, even before Protestantism began, we participate in the life of Jesus Christ by our living His example in our own life situation. Then, on top of all of that, we are also given His mother to be our own mother, as the Gospel of John clearly states. If we seek to be the beloved disciple of Jesus, which I have never met one practicing Christian who doesn't want to be, then we too must take Mary into our own home - our soul. We must accept her as our own mother, just as Jesus accepted her as a gift from God the Father. Does it get more simple? Eternal God becomes man, and entrusts himself to the care of the Blessed Mother. We become participants in God's life and should do as he did in all things, including entrusting ourselves to the Blessed Mother.

What of the Assumption then? Did you know that this teaching has been believed, like all Marian Dogmas, since the earliest days of Christianity? Why then did Pope Pius XII see fit to declare this doctrine to upgraded to the level of a dogma? A dogma being "a truth appertaining to faith or morals, revealed by God, transmitted from the Apostles in the Scriptures or by tradition, and proposed by the Church for the acceptance of the faithful."

The fact of the matter is that during the 1950's, Europe was still reeling from the Second World War. Mankind had just overcome some of the most brutual destruction the world had ever seen. Many people were wondering, "What is the point of life?" Everything seemed very hopeless as a whole continent and world tried to rebuild from the rubble of war. Yet, as she always does, Holy Mother Church saw the answer for mankind - Hope, especially Hope in Christ. Every hope that we dare to place on Jesus Christ will not be dashed, for He never ceases to labor for us, if we are willing to persevere in prayer. Thus, the Holy Father proposed for the world the Dogma of the Assumption. Reminding all of mankind that Mary was and is the model Christian, seeking to do all that Christ desired and desires of her. It was Mary who was first able to say with her whole body and soul to the Archangel Gabriel, "Let it be done to me according to thy word."

We too, in our own day, can realize and recieve this great hope. All that need be done is to overcome our own sorrow, our own fear, our own will, and allow ourselves to labor for love - namely to labor for Jesus Christ himself. In our desire to care for one another we find that God will bless us in ways we will never expect. Jesus himself tells us:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. "

Let us Christians accept Mary for the gift of Motherly Love that Jesus desires for her to be for all of us who desire to be his beloved disciple. The Solemnity of the Assumption allows us to re-consider that there is nothing in our lives that cannot be overcome by Him who has overcome the world. May we allow ourselves to sit at the feet of Jesus and to accept all that He desires for our greatest joy and our sanctification as we continue to say to Him, "Let it be done to me according to thy will."

Harry Potter - harmless or harmful?

There are, of course, many adherents to either camp. But a friend of mine posted this suggestion on his blog, I thought, perhaps, the parishioners of St. Jude might consider its content, for certainly popular culture will not cease in our marketing age.

The Militia Immaculata

I don't know about you, but there have been many times in my life when it seemed like revolution was the only way. Only way to what? Well, whatever I wanted. It seemed like I could get things a lot easier for me if I could just rebel against whatever it is that was getting in my way. How about you? Ever feel that way?

When I finally met Jesus Christ. It began to occur to me that this wasn't the way one could get things. Once you realize there is truly a God who does not want you to be stifled but who truly cares about you and wants only that you find joy beyond what you ever expected, then one begins to realize that maybe there is something to discussion. There is something to making known your desires, especially in prayer. There is something to allowing what you want to be known to the one who cares most fully for you.

As I have begun to mature in my faith, it has become even more clear to me that discussion is good, but it must be coupled with abandonment. It must become discussion with a clear understanding that I am happily not in control of my life. In fact, I can only get in the way if I do not respond to God's love with an appropriate love. Part of loving the Lord Jesus Christ is recognizing that there is only one Lord and it is not me - even if it is still sometimes difficult to live or recognize that.

Nevertheless, I think that is the glory of practicing the Catholic Faith and especially part of being a member of St. Jude. We have some great people at this parish who truly love Jesus Christ - as there are at many parishes. Now, when we love Jesus, then the further gift we are allowed to receive is the gift of his blessed Mother, Mary. She who gave us all grace in Jesus. Many Catholics allow themselves to receive her, but then God is even more gracious in giving us the opportunity to be consecrated to her - that we might be her instruments to allow Christ's grace to work through us by her prayers.

To be consecrated means to entrust ourselves entirely to her care. This is something which we follow our Lord Jesus Christ in doing, if we choose to do it. "What is born of flesh is flesh, what is born of spirit is spirit (Jn 3:6)." So when we are born of Baptism, we are allowed to choose to recieve Jesus' Mother as our own, then more than just receiving her we may choose to abandon or entrust ourselves to her care. And is this not what Jesus himself did by becoming an infant who nursed from her?

May each of us consider the love of God shown through the gift of the Blessed Mother of Jesus Christ, Mary. For this was the wisdom followed by many of the Saints, but especially, in our modern times, of St. Maximillian Kolbe whose feast we celebrate tomorrow - August 14th. St. Maximillian was an incredible man who gave up his life for a husband who was going to be killed in Auschwitz during WWII. Yet, his martyrdom for love was only the beginning. He wrote a number of things and started newspapers devoted to proclaiming the Good News of Our Lord Jesus Christ in print and established radio stations all to honor Mary, the Mother of God. St. Maxilmillian also started a movement called the Militia Immaculata. This an international movement for laypeople to grow in devotion to the Mother of God, Mary. By being devoted to Mary we show our devotion to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Can you name one person you love who isn't honored when you honor their mother? Believe me, it is no different with the Savior of all mankind.

If you are interested, you can check out http://www.consecration.com/ if you would like more on what it means to belong the Militia Immaculata. I have been a member since 1998. Perhaps, another day I will post the incredible year that Our Mother Mary gave me after I had consecrated myself to her service. I know firsthand what blessings God can give you, if you are willing to be an instrument for Jesus Christ placed in the hands of His Blessed Mother. At any rate, the whole point of this post is to remind each of us, including me, that we should never tire of growing closer to the Almighty God who has shown us His love in Jesus Christ.

I am directed.

I just finished reading one of the Catholic Church's documents called "The General Directory for Catechesis." This was put out at the end of the millenium to instruct all those responsible for passing on the faith. There are some interesting tidbits in there about how Catholics should all feel the responsibility to pass on our faith to the next generations and other non-Catholics. It is all very interesting because this is something we may not hear very often.

Nevertheless, the General Directory for Catechesis states in paragraph #255:

Parents are the primary educators in the faith. Together with them, especially in certain cultures, all members of the family play an active part in the education of the younger members. It is thus necessary to determine more concretely the sense in which the Christian family community is a locus of catechesis. The family is defined as a "domestic Church", that is, in every Christian family the different aspects and functions of the life of the entire Church may be reflected: mission; catechesis; witness; prayer etc. Indeed in the same way as the Church, the family "is a place in which the Gospel is transmitted and from which it extends". The family as a locus of catechesis has an unique privilege: transmitting the Gospel by rooting it in the context of profound human values. On this human base, Christian initiation is more profound: the awakening of the sense of God; the first steps in prayer; education of the moral conscience; formation in the Christian sense of human love, understood as a reflection of the love of God the Father, the Creator. It is, indeed, a Christian education more witnessed to than taught, more occasional than systematic, more on-going and daily than structured into periods. In this family catechesis, the role of grandparetns is of growing importace. Their wisdom and sense of the religious is often times decisive in creating a true Christian climate. [emphasis added]

I think that these words should cause us to pause and reflect how much are we implementing these things in our own families? It is interesting to know that many children, by the time they get to the second grade do not know the Our Father or the Hail Mary - two very basic Catholic prayers. Yet, this would not be a big deal, if they at least were used to praying at home. Unfortunately, this is too often not the case.

If we parents are to take up our role as educators and witnesses of our belief in Jesus Christ then we NEED to re-consider how seriously are we taking the Christian Faith and more importantly how serious is our commitment to the one, holy Catholic Church established by Jesus Christ, our Lord and King.

Many things in our lives demand our time and our effort, but there is nothing more rewarding and nothing more precious than our Catholic Faith. The question we must ask ourselves is whether we truly believe that. What is the reason that people were willing to die for the Catholic Faith throughout the centuries? Perhaps, just perhaps, there is more for you discover as an adult in the teachings of the Church which can bring you much greater joy than you can imagine. I know that in my own experience, after studying Catholic Theology for 7 years I always find that to be true! I find that even now as I am reading St. Gregory of Nyssa's Life of Moses.

May you and I be blessed to find your eyes even more opened to the wonder of the teachings of Christ which have been entrusted to the Holy Catholic Church.

Man's Capacity for fun...

Today, while building a Powerpoint presentation for the first session of RCIA on "Man's Capacity for God." I had the notion to use a picture of Underdog. Part of the reason for this was my recent trip to Vancouver on a Frontier flight. Say what you will about Frontier Airlines, but I have to admit I was pretty pleased with the TV channel selection - main reason: Hong Kong Phooey on the Cartoon Network. [That link is the "Green Thumb" episode]

I loved cartoons like that were shown in the 80's. Does anyone reading here know what I am talking about? Underdog, Deputy Dawg, Snidely and Whiplash, Gummi Bears, Transformers, but most especially Hong Kong Phooey [that link is the theme song]. Such a great show, and primarily because there was no need for suggestive things of any sort. It was just plain ole fantastical entertainment - the phooeymobile? HA!

They just don't make cartoons like that anymore. I have tried to watch a couple with my son, who is only 2 1/2. We don't do it very often, but once in a while. Its seems like they are just too complicated. Maybe it is just me. I rarely watch TV to begin with anymore, but when I do I just want to relax and be entertained. Though, if I had cable, I think I might watch too much of these cartoons. I read somewhere that there are only 16 episodes of Hong Kong Phooey, so perhaps I should just buy the DVD collection.

Anyway, I think those old Hanna-Barbera cartoons, for the most part, always seemed so funny because they had a great sense of irony and fantasy all rolled into one. What was your favorite, if you had one?

By the way, I realize that neither Transformers or Gummi Bears were from Hanna-Barbera but I still loved those too... does anyone remember Marsupalami? If you liked those ole cartoons too you might be interested in this t-shirt website: http://www.80stees.com/

To say the least...

A friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, often sends me very interesting articles because his marketing job allows for him to search the internet for various things. It is often interesting to read some of the amazing things the internet can tell us about. For example, supposedly there is a group that has come up with a way to soon manufacture hoverboards, you know like those showcased in the movie "Back to the Future 2."

But there are also some other things which makes one wonder about the effects of the science we are imposing on our children? Does the scientism of our modern age affect you? Should we believe in science over our belief in Jesus Christ? Are they even at odds? These are all very interesting questions which can be discussed and should be among sincere Catholic Adults.

However, in the meantime, reports continue to come out about the effects of our modern way of life on our children. Take for example this article, which is linked here. I find this particularly scary, if this newsreport is credible. For me, I think the most interesting thing is that, beyond the evironmental consideration, there is a suggestion of children growing up fatherless being a factor in sexual maturity being expedited.

We must - especially as Catholics - begin to see the inherent dangers of allowing our children to grow up fatherless. We must support men who have fathered children to not be afraid nor to be domineering, but rather to love as Jesus Christ loved us. There are many problems with the modern understanding of Fatherhood, as are detailed in various books and articles both online and in print. It seems to me one of the most serious are the influences of the proponents of extreme Feminism, that is those who desire to see men subjected to the authority and power of women. This is certainly not a tenable Catholic position, just as men domineering their families is not either. The reason, it seems to me, is that it causes certain men to feel inadequate in the face of the challenge of becoming a father - hence causing women to be coerced into abortion, the abandoment of pregnant mothers, and the increase of sexual promiscuity which allows men to be irresponsible.

Men, in all of our weakness and strength, must be supported by society, by spouses, and by friends to take up the "cross" of love in the footsteps of Jesus. Each of us should feel the necessity to encourage men. I am often struck by the way some people, without even knowing it, discourage men or degrade them, because of the hurts or wounds of their own experience. We must recognize innocence in young boys and we must support those wounded men who are already struggling with their own sinfulness. And we men must come to recognize that we are sinners and have sins to which we must "man up to" and fight against.

The Glory of our Lord Jesus Christ is that He shows us that nothing in this world can not be overcome, if not physically than at least interiorally. Our souls are invited to receive the Mercy and Healing of Jesus Christ - most especially in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We can do it, no matter what has wounded us and no matter what we struggle with. But each man and each woman must accept this gift of God's mercy, and live a life in response to it if our world is to ever change.

Home again, Home again, lickety split...

It always hard coming back from vacation. If and when I make it to heaven, I think one of the things I will miss very little is that sense of disappointment that comes with arriving back at home. You know, when you show up at home, tired and you have no idea what to eat for dinner because everything in your fridge is either rotten or not there!

Only when we arrive in heaven will those small disappointments be gone. But can you imagine what it will be like to enter into the joy of heaven? Just think Peter, James and John had a small taste at the Transfiguration, which is the feast we celebrate on Monday. Let no one of us ever feel in despair or worry because of such disappointments, for when the Lord Jesus returns such things will never arise again.

In the meantime, we have only to overcome our own desires and self-centeredness. While each of us want many things for ourselves, let us strive to receive all that God allows to happen to us. For thus we follow in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ as he suffered upon the cross for love of you and me.