A Little Testimony

At the end of our RCIA class a week ago, one of the young women candidates asked us life-long Catholics what our faith means to us. I had a week to think about it before answering, but still found it difficult to put into words. Those of us who grew up in the faith sometimes take it for granted. Our religion is so ingrained in us that it becomes automatic. We seldom give it much thought, and that is not a good thing. 

I decided to make some notes on what my Catholic faith means to me. Telling some soon-to-be Catholics why I love my faith seemed of critical importance so I didn’t want to leave anything out. I wanted to do it justice. How does one speak of something so central to one’s life without falling short? After writing down a few thoughts, I tossed my notes aside. When the time comes, I will just speak from my heart and hope the Holy Spirit helps me find the words. 

The time came last Wednesday. My fellow teacher, a very spiritual woman, went first. She gave a beautiful explanation of her faith journey, starting many years ago in a poor neighborhood in Chicago. She began attending retreats and her love of Jesus and the Church grew over time. Today she attends Mass daily and leads a very prayerful life despite some tragedies including the loss of a child in an accident years ago. 

When it was my turn, I told of my upbringing with a Catholic mother and a non-practicing Methodist father. Religion was not talked about much in our household. I went through eight years of Catholic school, taught by nuns from the Order of Saint Francis. We attended Mass before school every morning, religion class each day, I was an altar boy, and a good one I might add. i learned what the Church taught, but not always the reasons for the teachings. 

My last year of Catholic school was 1964. The Beatles were the latest thing and the Second Vatican Council was session. The world was changing. The Church was changing. Many of my former Catholic school classmates would soon drift away from the faith. I never did. I continued going to Mass with my mother and sister through high school. 

By the time I went off to college, the sexual revolution was going on. Woodstock, hippies, long hair, and free love were the common denominators among people my age. I never fit in with that crowd and continued Mass attendance every Sunday. It was the way my mother and the nuns had raised me. Yet, I had my doubts about the authority of the Church to rule over our lives. I became what some call a cafeteria Catholic. I liked to pick and choose what teachings I would follow and which ones I would ignore. I thought the Catholic Church was just one of many Christian denominations. That attitude continued after college and into my married life. 

I had a friend at work who belonged to the Church of the Nazarene. He knew I was Catholic and would occasionally hit me with accusations that many Catholic teachings were non-biblical. Jesus had brothers, Mary was not sinless, we have graven images in our churches. I did not know how to refute his arguments. In fact, most of the time, I didn’t even know what he was talking about. My response was silence and a shrug. 

In the mid 1990’s (I wish I could remember the exact date), everything changed in the span of about ninety minutes one evening in our church basement. Out pastor at the time invited a young apologist from Saint Joseph Communications to speak, not just to our congregation, but to anyone in the community who wished to attend. He mailed handbills to every household on our postal routes telling of this former Baptist minister who would speak about his conversion to the Catholic Church. The speaker’s name was Tim Staples. 

 I remember thinking at the time that this guy is probably setting us up. He is going to come here under false pretenses to point out all these non-biblical Catholic teachings my friend had told me about. I decided to go hear what he had to say. 

 If you have never heard Tim Staples’ conversion story, please search his name and find it. He did bring up all of those so-called non-biblical Catholic teachings during his talk, but Tim had a friend in the Marine Corp who actually knew his Catholic faith and was able to refute every anti-Catholic misconception he raised. I learned there were Catholic answers to all of the objections to which my friend had challenged me. Tim had converted to the Catholic Church and I was inspired that night with a new confidence in my faith. He lit a fire in me that still burns today. 

 I realized the Catholic Church is not just one of many Christian denominations. She is the original Church instituted by Jesus Christ. The other Christian denominations are offshoots and offshoots of offshoots. Christianity is like a tree where the trunk represents the Catholic Church and the branches are those who have split away. Some are like twigs far removed from the original source. They sway with the winds of the world, but the trunk remains unrelenting and solid. She may not be as pretty as some of the foliage, but she is true and trustworthy and I will cling to her. 

 In the Bread of Life Discourse in John Chapter 6, many of Jesus followers left him when He told them they must eat his body and drink his blood. Jesus asked the twelve, “Will you also go away?” Simon Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:66-68) I too will always remain in the Catholic Church. Where would I go? Anywhere else is going out on a limb.

Identity Crisis

I recently caught an episode of Catholic Answers Live (January 25) when the guest was Joe Heschmeyer on the topic, “Who does Jesus say that you are”  Joe Heschmeyer is an author and cohost of the Catholic Podcast Weekly.  One of his books is titled, “Who am I Lord?: Finding your identity in Christ.”  

The book description on Amazon.com says:  

The question "Who am I?" is on the minds and hearts of people of all ages. And for good reason: The answer is important! Who we are - or who we think we are - drives our actions and shapes our relationships.

While we are asking the right questions about identity, the world is busy feeding us the wrong answers: We are our political party, job title, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity - and the list goes on. But until we know why we were created, by whom, and for what purpose, we can never be truly satisfied.

Heschmeyer’s point is that we are created in the image and likeness of God.  Our identity is modeled on His identity.  Therefore, the more we know God, the better we know ourselves.  I found his presentation on Catholic Answers Live very thought provoking and would highly recommend listening to the download or getting his book.  

As our society tends to grow more distant from God, we see more people, especially the young, going through an identity crisis.  We have a natural yearning to know who we are.  Why are we here?  How do we identify?  If we do not know our creator in whose image we are made, we must create our own identity. That identity is often determined by what we are rather than who we are.  It becomes an open-ended question that can lead to confusion and uncertainty.  As Heschmeyer puts it, we settle for something less than the reality of who we are.  We should live in the identity of being a son or daughter of God.

Identity is important.  In the broadcast, Heschmeyer mentioned how Adam’s first job in Genesis was to name the animals, and that created a relationship with them.  He said we tend not to name the animals we eat.  If we name an animal, our relationship with it changes.  Today we live in a society where identity has become somewhat fluid.  Meanings change and foundations are weakened.  

In Matthew 16:15-19, Jesus names Simon Peter, the Rock, but not before He first asks Simon, “But who do you say that I am?”  Simon is not identified as Peter, the Rock, until he first acknowledges Christ.  Similarly, we cannot know our true identity until we know Christ. Jesus is God and we created in the image and likeness of God.  Knowing God is a prerequisite for knowing ourselves. 

How do we get to know God?  How does God speak to us?  He makes Himself known to us through His Son, His Church and the Scriptures.  He speaks to us through the Magesterial authority given to the bishops in union with the Pope.  But, do we really listen?  We cannot do it as a casual observer.  Going to Mass once a week and saying a few Hail Marys doesn’t get us there.  It takes time, effort and desire.  All close relationships must be nurtured in order to grow.  Prayer, study, adoration, discipline, spiritual and corporal works of mercy -  All of these things help us grow closer to God, to know Him better, serve Him better, and to better know ourselves. 

 

Quiet Please!

For the first time ever, I am beginning the New Year by silencing several of my social media friends who have a penchant for posting critical rants, most of which are copied and pasted from some other questionable source.  The insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, demonstrates the consequences of irresponsible denigration so rampant on the internet.  I have grown tired of the disrespect shown from both sides of our polarized society.  Too many people with too many opinions based on too much misinformation.  

Conspiracy theories abound.   Some people believe anything but trust no one.  It seems like a contradiction.  Our government is perceived as an enemy.  Anyone in a position of authority is an oppressor.  These paranoid radicals have always been around, but social media has brought them together.  When our nation is not at war against a common transgressor, we instead have to fight one another. 

   

My views are conservative, and I definitely align with the Republican platform and its respect for life.  Yet, I find myself silencing many like-minded friends on social media due to their continued defense of the president despite his despicable behavior.  Both sides are guilty of fanning the flames.  As Catholic Christians, we need to treat each other with respect and put a stop to baseless accusations and name-calling.  

Our parish is distributing a little book called Do Something Beautiful for God, the essential teachings of Mother Teresa, that contains some of her words of wisdom for each day of the year.  The January 9 message from Mother says, “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”  The same could be said for harsh words. They can promote peace or instigate unrest. They can be forever uplifting or inflict permanent scars.  

The time has come to step back and take a breath, to seek truth backed up with facts, to remain calm, and rely on common sense.  Arguments are never won with intimidation and threats of violence.  Speak the truth with calm and confidence.  Make sense, earn respect and gain a convert. 

2020 Vision

 

What a year this has been!  With the Covid-19 vaccine now being distributed, we are beginning to optimistically hope for some return to normalcy in 2021.  For Christians, future uncertainty comes with the inauguration of a new president, one who calls himself a Catholic but openly defies much Catholic teaching.  Before he even takes office, the debate over his Catholic disposition has come to the forefront. 

 

 

Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory, now Cardinal Gregory, stated he would not deny Holy Communion to President-elect Joe Biden despite his pro-abortion stance.   Archbishop Charles Chaput said Biden should not receive Holy Communion because of his support of a “great moral evil.”  Other bishops have made similar statements.  Having bishops seemingly hold opposing views in the secular press and Catholic publications can bring forth discord and confusion among the faithful. 

 

 

Referring to the proper disposition for receiving Holy Communion, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, To respond to this invitation we must prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment. St. Paul urges us to examine our conscience: "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion.  (CCC1385) (See 1 Cor 11:27-29)

 

 

Denying Joe Biden Holy Communion prevents him from committing a sacrilege.  For a priest to offer the Eucharist to a person he knows to be in the state of mortal sin would seem to be cooperation in profaning the body and blood of the Lord, as well as an invitation for scandal.  What message does this send to other Catholics who may be receiving Communion in a state of mortal sin?  Might they take comfort in thinking what they do is okay?

 

 

Senator Dianne Feinstein once expressed her trepidation about Justice Amy Coney Barrett's Catholic faith by saying “The dogma livesloudly within you.”  Contrast that with Joe Biden's Catholic faith where the dogma is of little apparent concern.  How are Catholics to react if the Church refrains from using her faculties to support the dogma?  Is this not the most opportune time in our history to make a strong statement on the evil of abortion?  Denying Holy Communion to Joe Biden is merely showing concern for his soul.  I would argue the proper response in this case should be excommunication where the abortion proponent holds the highest office in the land.

 

 

According to Canon Law, Excommunication is a medicinal penalty of the Church. Its purpose is not necessarily to obtain justice or satisfaction but is meant to awaken an individual’s conscience to repentance (canon 1312 & 1331).  Is not the real objective here to awaken Joe Biden to the evil of abortion in order to save his soul?  The problem may be that too many Catholic clergy tend to be liberal on social issues and are reluctant to publicly censure a liberal Catholic politician. 

 

 

There may be reasons why some bishops consider excommunication an unwise or inappropriate tactic in this case, but an explanation of those reasons would help alleviate the confusion some Catholics experience.  A unified magisterial statement would be prudent at this time. 

 

 

As this awful year draws to a close, we look ahead hoping for better days when we can all worship together, without masks, share meals and hugs, and return to a normal life.  After having the Sunday obligation suspended for so long, I am concerned that some Catholics will not take their Mass attendance as seriously as they once did.  Saint Thomas Aquinas understood the effect changing a law has on its binding power.   In the Summa Theologiae Question 97,Artlicle 2, he said the following:

 

 

But, to a certain extent, the mere change of law is of itself prejudicial to the common good: because custom avails much for the observance of laws, seeing that what is done contrary to general custom, even in slight matters, is looked upon as grave. Consequently, when a law is changed, the binding power of the law is diminished, in so far as custom is abolished. Wherefore human law should never be changed, unless, in some way or other, the common weal be compensated according to the extent of the harm done in this respect. Such compensation may arise either from some very great and every evident benefit conferred by the new enactment; or from the extreme urgency of the case, due to the fact that either the existing law is clearly unjust, or its observance extremely harmful.

 

 

Observing the Sunday obligation during the pandemic could have been extremely harmful, and thus wisely suspended, but we must realize the importance of returning to our Sunday obligation when the danger subsides.  In my observation, the most vulnerable, the elderly, were the ones who continued attending Mass, while the younger Catholics were the ones who stayed away.  Let us all pray that 2021 brings forth a renewal of fervor for our Catholic faith and our churches are filled again.

Wishing everyone a Blessed Christmas Season and a Healthy New Year!

 

Biden time again

 

Come January, looks like we will have a new president.  I admit I was surprised by the outcome.  I really thought Donald Trump would win another term, and I think he would have if he weren’t so obnoxious.  He has alienated so many people with his childish behavior that any accomplishments are compromised by his nasty personality.  Biden won not for his own merits, but rather by anti-Trump votes. 

 

People may think it an overreaction to say this election was about good versus evil, especially when the good side was led by a despised Donald Trump and the evil side by a baptized Catholic Joe Biden.  For me, the abortion issue is the paramount litmus test for determining who glorifies God, and who dances with the devil.  It is difficult to watch some of my Catholic friends celebrating the Biden victory along with Planned Parenthood on social media. 

 

 I am deeply concerned about what will happen to our religious liberty over the next four years.  The pending Senate runoffs take on huge importance for determining control of the Senate.  If the Republicans can maintain a majority, some of the liberal agenda may be held in check. 

 

As Catholics, we need to focus our prayers on Joe Biden that he may learn to live his Catholic faith to the fullest, not only for the sake of the nation, but more importantly, for the salvation of his soul.  He will be the oldest serving president in the history of our country.  He may not live long enough to serve his full term.  The job is stressful and he is at an age where he should be taking it easy.  Kamala Harris could very possibly find herself sitting in the oval office one day.  This new administration is sure to be tested, as are we who stand firm in our Catholic faith.

Voting Votive

I said it before.  I believe our biggest problem in society today is a lack of respect for human life.  We see it in the way we treat other people, in the fracturing of the family unit, and certainly in the cavalier way we end the lives of babies in the womb.  Now we have an election taking place where we have two choices for President of the United States.  On one side, we have an aging career politician who leads a party that dances with the devil when it comes to respecting the lives of pre-born children.  On the other side we have an aging egotistical prattler representing a party that still shows some semblance of respect for God, family and country.  

 

Looking at party platforms, there is no question where my allegiance lies.  What makes this so difficult is the fact that President Trump is so unlikable as a human being that even many God-fearing Christians refuse to vote for him.  Using one of Trump’s favorite words, I thought the first debate was a disaster.  These two candidates behaved like children who needed a timeout.  In a nation of over three hundred million people, is this the best we can do?  A president should be able to display some level of dignity and decorum.   

 

In trying to express myself as an independent thinker, I once said that I vote for the candidate and not for the party.  In this election, I will be voting for the party and not for the candidate.  My biggest concern is that evil will gain an even stronger foothold in our country because Christians who cannot stomach Donald Trump will give power to a party that is anti-Christian.  I see people in our own Catholic parish trying to justify their Biden vote by saying there are other issues besides abortion.  They try to make prudential judgment issues take precedent over intrinsic evils.   

 

I don’t agree with everything the president does, and certainly not with everything he says.  I wish we didn’t have to build walls at our borders.  I wish we could welcome more immigrants who are looking for a better life.  I don’t want to see families divided and children suffering.  I don’t like name-calling and childish behavior.  I wish we had better jobs and more affordable healthcare, but the best way to reach these goals is a matter of judgment.  

 

I pray that Amy Coney Barret is confirmed to the Supreme Court before the election so we at least have a justice who respects the constitution and will not try to legislate from the bench.  if Trump blows the election with his acerbic personality and the democrats select the next justice, I fear the end of our nation may be near.  That may sound like an overstatement, but we are slowly being indoctrinated to accept the unacceptable.  This is about choosing good over evil.

 

Now to complicate matters even more, the President and several Republican senators have contracted the Corona virus.  With the election less than a month away, additional uncertainty enters the picture.  Will there be enough votes present to confirm the new Supreme Court justice before the election?  Will the President still be alive in November?  Would Mike Pence be more electable than Donald Trump?  We face so much uncertainty.  Stay tuned and keep praying for our country.