July 2007 Archives

In a fascinating move, the Jesuits’ official paper, La Civilta' Cattolica, reports that they are entering Second Life as missionaries. And it makes sense as Father Antonio Spadaro explains:

This virtual Second Life is becoming populated with churches, mosques, temples, cathedrals. synagogues, places of prayer of all kinds. And behind an avatar there is a man or a woman, perhaps searching for God and faith, perhaps with very strong spiritual needs.

He makes a great point: each “resident” of Second Life is an actual person with an actual soul. And we have an obligation to evangelize those people in whatever way we have the opportunity – or in whatever world we have the opportunity. I also love this line:

Therefore any initiative which can help the souls of residents should be considered positive.

You can read more details here. Let’s pray that they can help bring the Second Life residents closer to God in their real life.

God bless,
Jay

Ever wonder how and why Islam spread so quickly after its birth, and why so many lands that were Christian became Muslim? I did, so I researched the subject and wrote a ten-page paper on it for my Church History course. For this blog article though, I will give you a highly condensed version of the paper and only highlight the main points.

The main conclusion drawn from my research was that the areas most affected by heresy (the Middle East and North Africa) were the areas that eventually became Muslim. Arianism, Monophysitism, and Nestorianism plagued these lands so much that in some cases the local population helped the Muslim invaders defeat the Byzantine, Christian rulers. The molding of Christianity under Greek culture in the Byzantine Empire tended to alienate non-Greek populations from orthodoxy and encourage the molding of Christianity to their culture and different beliefs. They were persecuted for these beliefs and some saw a change in authority as a better option.

These lands were conquered militarily by the Muslim Arabs, but conversions were not made by the sword. Non-Muslims suffered a special tax and some political disadvantages. Over the centuries, in some places faster than others, the population eventually became Muslim. It seems that without the fullness of the Christian Faith, virtually all these Christian sects succumbed to the political-religious phenomenon of Islam. Unlike the Roman persecution of Christians centuries before, there were few heroic acts of martyrdom or adherence to Christianity.

History can teach us a lot about today and the future. In light of recent events, we in the West better think twice before we discard the Truth and the fullness of the Faith. Pursuing it in Christ and His Church is best way to defeat any heresy, any evil. May ecumenical dialogue and ongoing conversion that begins with “me” bring the fruit of peace in the world.

In Christ,
Daniel

Are you worried about having to choose between 2 presidential candidates that support abortion in the next presidential election? I sure am. Thankfully, there is at least one solidly pro-life candidate that I know of, who should be known to all Christian voters: Senator Sam Brownback. His record on life and family issues is so solid that he has been recommended by Father Frank Pavone, President of Priests for Life. Do not take my word for it; check him out at www.brownback.com. There you can see where he stands on other issues as well. And for people who criticize pro-lifers for being one issue voters, they can see that his record on human rights shows that he is concerned for the welfare of people outside the womb too.

We must pray and open our wallets for the campaigns to put ethical civil leaders in charge of this country. How devastating it will be next year, if none of people applying for the most powerful job in the world can guarantee the number one purpose that government is supposed to do: protect human life.

God bless,
Daniel

I just read a fascinating interview in The Catholic World Report about the conversion of Francis Beckwith. Unfortunately the article isn’t online, but I do quote a bit of it below.

For those who aren’t aware, Francis Beckwith was the president of the Evangelical Theological Society when he began the rite of initiation into the Catholic Church. This is a man that knows protestant theology well, but felt he had to come home to the Catholic Church. And the rationale, although not surprising to Catholics, is fascinating. Here’s a bit:

. . . Then when I read the Fathers, those closest to the Apostles, the Reformation doctrine was just not there. To be sure, salvation by grace was there. To be sure, the necessity of faith was there. And to be sure, works righteousness apart from God’s grace was decried. But what was present was a profound understanding of how saving faith was not a singular event that took place “on a Wednesday,” to quote a famous Gospel song, but that it was the grace of God working through me as I acquiesced to God’s spirit to allow His grace to shape and mold my character so that I may be conformed to the image of Christ. I also found it in the Catechism.
And there was an aesthetic aspect to this as well: the Catholic view of justification elegantly tied together James and Paul and the teachings of Jesus that put a premium on a believer’s faithful practice of Christian charity. Catholicism does not teach “works righteousness.” It teaches faith in action as a manifestation of God’s grace in one’s life. That’s why Abraham’s faith results in righteousness only when he attempts to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God.
Then I read the Council of Trent, which some Protestant friends had suggested I do. What I found was shocking, I found a document that had been nearly universally misrepresented by many Protestants, including some friends. I do not believe, however, that this misrepresentation is the result of purposeful deception. But rather, it is the result of reading Trent with Protestant assumptions and without a charitable disposition. For example, Trent talks about the four causes of justification, which correspond somewhat to Aristotle’s four causes. None of these causes is the work of the individual Christian. For, according to Trent, God’s grace does all the work. However, Trent does condemn “faith alone,” but what it means is mere intellectual assent without allowing God’s grace to be manifested in one’s actions and communion with the Church. This is why Trent also condemns justification by works.
This is why I am convinced that the typical “Council of Trent” rant found on anti-Catholic sites is the Protestant equivalent of the secular urban legend that everyone prior to Columbus believed in a flat earth.
I returned again to the [early Church] Fathers and found in them, very early on, the Real Presence, infant baptism, and apostolic succession as well as other “Catholic” doctrines. Even in the cases where these doctrines were not articulated in their contemporary formulations, their primitive versions were surely there. But what is shocking to me is that one never finds in the Fathers claims that these doctrines are “unbiblical” or “apostate” or “not Christian,” as one finds in contemporary anti-Catholic fundamentalist literature . . .

I wish I could link to the full interview, since it is worth reading. There are several other excellent passages where Mr. Beckwith explains his thoughts and reasons for converting. His wife is also in the process of becoming Catholic.

Hope you enjoyed this – it’s fascinating to see the reasons behind a person’s conversion to Catholicism.

God bless,
Jay

Go enjoy this week's Catholic Carnival. There's lots more on Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church, which is the latest "controversial" document put out by the Church.

God bless,
Jay

Recently, a hot topic for the media has been a certain document issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith entitled RESPONSES TO SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE DOCTRINE ON THE CHURCH. It's classic to me how the media feels it necessary to make it sound like Pope Benedict is personally making comments anytime the Magisterium issues a document. Yes, each issued document is "ratified and confirmed...and ordered (for) publication" by the pope, but I believe the media simply enjoys stirring up controversy when it come to reporting on the pope.

Many of the articles I've read attempt to make it sound like the Church is changing Her mind on the doctrine proclaimed in reference to the Church or that the issuing of this document was ill-intended. However, as is always the case, this document was issued to provide clarification as to what the Church, specifically at the 2nd Vatican Council, has taught about the Church in relation to other Christian churches and communities.

In reference to what the document had to say about the Catholic Church's understanding of God's presence within other Christian churches and communities, it stated the following:

“It follows that these separated churches and Communities, though we believe they suffer from defects, are deprived neither of significance nor importance in the mystery of salvation. In fact the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as instruments of salvation, whose value derives from that fullness of grace and of truth which has been entrusted to the Catholic Church”[12].

It also goes on to explain the Catholic Church's explanation as to why it does not refer to those Christian communities born out of the Reformation of the sixteen century as churches:

According to Catholic doctrine, these Communities do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a constitutive element of the Church. These ecclesial Communities which, specifically because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood, have not preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery[19] cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called “Churches” in the proper sense[20].

Again, nothing new here. Pope Benedict XVI and the rest of the Magisterium are simply reasserting what the Church has always taught and believed. I highly recommend reading the entire document, I provided a hyperlink to it above.

In Christ,
Joe

Catholics have always made certain Saints into "patrons" of a certain area or for a certain cause. Typically it is tied very closely with how the Saint lived their life or the issues they had. For example, St. Peregrine is the patron saint of cancer patients since he suffered with the ailment (and was miraculously cured) while on earth.

And countries are no different. The Americas have a single patron saint: Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our Lady of Guadalupe refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary's appearance in Guadalupe. Because of the interest shown for the Americas, she naturally became the patron saint for our area. On the 4th of July, we take time to ask for her prayers for our country in a special way, since she is our patron (as well as the patron of other areas). Here's the prayer:

Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe
How kind you were, O Mary,
to appear to an Indian convert in Mexico,
leaving on his cloak as a credential
a permanent image of yourself.
You thereby won many for Christ
and naturally became the patroness of Mexico and the Americas,
and especially of the poor,
May more and more people through your intercession
accept your dear Son as their Lord.

God bless,
Jay