July 2008 Archives

The Wall Street Journal online has this interesting article on politician Bobby Jindal's conversion from being Hindu to being Catholic. It isn't an indepth article on his conversion, but provides interesting data:

It is rare for Hindus to convert to Christianity or any other religion. According to a survey released by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life earlier this year, eight in 10 American Hindus who were raised in the faith remain so as adults.

Sounds like we should all do a better job of talking about our faith to Hindus around us. This is also fascinating:

"I did not have an overnight epiphany like so many people do," said Mr. Jindal, calling his conversion a "very intellectual-based journey," where he studied countless religious texts. "Given my background and personality, that was an important part of the process." But, he notes, "I don't think you can 'read' yourself into faith. I had gotten to the point where I knew what history had to say about this person named Jesus and what he had done on Earth. . . . I think at some point you have to take a leap of faith."

I'll have to look more into his conversion to understand exactly what drove him to the foot of the cross, but I thought the article was a brief overview of his story. Worth reading. You can read it all here.

God bless,
Jay

This week's Catholic Carnival: I love to be Catholic!. Go enjoy - it's worth every minute.

And sorry for the lack of posting lately. Summer has kept me personally very busy, but hopefully I'll be posting again soon.

God bless,
Jay

I've been noticing something interesting as I've listened to the Nicene Creed being recited at Mass in recent months. I've noticed that a significant number of people, including priests leading Mass, will omit the word "men" from the Creed. So instead of saying:

"For us men and for our salvation He came down from heaven..."
They say:
"For us and for our salvation He came down from heaven..."

Has anybody else noticed this? I am curious to hear what people think since it is so subtle and don't know anyone who feels so strongly about omitting the word "men" from the Creed. Personally, I understand the word "men" in that case to mean "humankind" and not just males. It seems pretty obvious to me that Christ did not come only to save males and not females. Also, one should probably err on the side of obedience before deciding to change a statement of the Faith that has been formulated by the bishops at the Council of Constantinople.

When the bishops come together at a council and clarify a disputed matter, it is a strong statement of our Faith. I might be wrong, but my guess is that people who feel the need to omit "men" in the creed probably have issues with other teachings of the Church that are not politically correct. Unless someone responds with a good argument to drop or change it, I think it would be better to keep the word "men" in the Creed .

God bless,
Daniel