You Will Prepare the Way

Does the Catholic priest replace Christ or get in the way of Christ?  Some non-Catholics will say that because the Church understands the priesthood of Jesus Christ in such a way that the priest's liturgical and sacramental action is referred to as 'in persona Christi', as done 'in the person of Christ', or because he is described as 'another Christ' that therefore the priest effectively masks Christ, or hides Him, or lowers Him to a mere human level, or elevates the priest beyond his level.  Is this true?  Listen to this 2 minute meditation for some insight into one element of the Catholic understanding of Christ's relationship to His priests.  It is profoundly insightful.

Just in case the above link takes you to a different meditation, the one intended is titled, "You Will Prepare the Way", and is the meditation for December 23.

Truth Speaks in Love

"Love’s joy in the truth extends to each personal union with truth. Love rejoices in receiving the truth from others, communicating the truth to others, and sharing with others in the truth possessed together. And love for other persons as persons who are aimed most deeply at truth necessarily includes therefore a desire to share together in the truth with them, whether by receiving the truth from them, or bringing them to the truth, or resting with them in a shared joy in the truth. Love makes truth social and communal." -Excerpt from this article by Bryan Cross

The Sign of the Cross

Why do Catholic Christians make the sign of the cross over their bodies or trace the sign of the cross on their foreheads, often referred to as signing or blessing oneself?  Is it merely ritualistic?  Is it superstitious?  What's the point?

Many things could be said about this ancient prayer devotion.  It's roots find themselves deep in history's soil: back to the early centuries of Christianity, in fact.  For the time being, however, I will have to limit myself to just a few points.

First of all I'd like to draw attention to the sign itself.  It is, of course, of a cross, and precisely the cross of Christ.  Every time it is made, this sign is meant to bring our thoughts back, from wherever they are, to the central act of love made in human history in the Crucifixion of our Lord Jesus.  What greater love is there than that of a man laying down his life for his friends (and, I might add, enemies)?

Secondly, while making the sign of the cross with one's hand, he prays, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."  This is not merely a dry or empty formula, some kind of magical pattern, like abracadabra.  But rather it is an invoking of God, Who is One in three persons, to bless us.  These words, all by themselves, are a profound prayer calling upon God to hear us and bless us in and through the redeeming act of love Christ Jesus made for us (represented in the sign).  (It is also a summary of our faith-a kind of seed version of the Apostles Creed which all Christians ought to be able to confess). And so, to make the sign of the cross, even if the words are not spoken out loud, like any prayer, is to pray for God to come to our aid.  And it is a Christo-centric prayer reminding us of and keeping our focus on the essence of our Christian faith.  As the apostle Paul said, "We preach Christ crucified." (1 Cor. 1:23)

As a side note, because we are made of matter and have senses that interact with the material world around us, physical things and signs can be useful to us.  They can serve to remind us of spiritual realities or real historical events that are important for us to have in front of us (as in the case of monuments).  Indeed, this is what God has done in His incarnation, He manifested Himself (Spirit-ual) to us in human (material) form.  The God-Man, Jesus, is then, the icon, the image, the sign of God among us.  When we make the sign of the Cross, we make these realities present to ourselves once again.

For a more thorough list of things 'we're doing' when we make the sign of the cross, click here.

Why Does God Let Us Suffer?

Here is an inspiring video clip with a brief reflection on this perennial question.

The Joy of the Gospel

Here is a short article concerning Pope Francis’s Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium.  The article by Bryan Cross is titled "Pope Francis’s Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium: An Opportunity for Authentic Protestant-Catholic Dialogue" and provides a link to the Exhortation itself.  The Exhortation (Joy of the Gospel) to all the faithful was published on the close of the Year of Faith ending this past Sunday, the Feast of Christ the King.  My prayer is that this document will provide not only needed "leverage" to inspire us Catholics to live out the authentic joy of our encounter with Christ, but also lead Protestants, non-Catholics, and Catholics to greater unity for which Christ Himself prayed.  May it be so...

Early Church Christians, Cannibalism, and Catholicism

Why did pagans accuse the early Church of cannibalism?

Some thoughts

A Six Year Old Catholic

The other day, my six year old and I were loading firewood on his grandpa's porch.  It was a beautiful day with all the autumn treats present for a sensory feast: sunny day, clear blue sky, variations of yellow, orange, and red leaves falling from the trees and loosely blanketing the outdoor floor. Smoke was rising from the chimney top like incense rising up to our Maker.  I uttered a prayer to ascend, like incense, to the great Physician on behalf of my father.

Streams of thought collided: my son, our faith, HIS faith.  I asked him, "What does it mean to be Catholic?", "If someone asked you, why are you Catholic?  What is important for us as Catholics?  What would you say?" He said, in his elementary and grammatically incomplete way of expressing things, "...to be deeper in knowledge of Christ...?"

I smiled.  Yes, to be authentically Catholic is to have Christ, deeper knowledge of and love for Him, central. And what's more important than that?

The Catholic Church and Medicine: An Analogy

The excerpt below is from the book, The Church and I, by Frank Sheed.  It is worthy of consideration, especially since many people do seem to judge the truth of the Catholic Faith by those Catholics who themselves are not true to it.  Such a tragic misfortune!

Pastor's Conversion Story

The First installment of a Pastor's story to become Catholic is here.

The Second installment is here.

The Third installment is here.

And the Fourth is here.

May God be praised

Encountering Christ through His Wounds

Today, on the feast of St Thomas the Apostle, Pope Francis challenges us (me!) with some hard words.

Catholic Take on the Bible

It is sometimes said (and likely many more times thought) that Catholics do not read the Bible, are not encouraged to read the Bible, and this, perhaps, precisely because of the Church's (faulty) understanding and teaching of the place of the Bible in our lives.

In light of these notions, I'd like to post a preface from an edition of the Douay Version (first published in 1609), with this particular edition (from which I'm taking the preface) first published in 1956.  I don't offer this as some kind of complete response, of course, but simply as another instance (among the many available) of the authentic Catholic view, to be read and considered for what it is.

Do you, as the reader, think it supports the common notions (outlined above) people have about the Catholic view of the Bible?

Pope Francis Addresses Pontifical Biblical Commission

About a week ago, Pope Francis received members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission.

Pope Francis told them “the Holy Scriptures are the testimony in written form of God's Word, the canonical memorial that attests to the event of Revelation. The Word of God, therefore, precedes and exceeds the Bible. It is for this reason that the center of our faith is not only a book, but a history of salvation and especially a Person, Jesus Christ”, Word of God made flesh.  Precisely because the horizon of the Divine Word embraces and extends beyond Scripture, to understand adequately the constant presence of the Holy Spirit is necessary, who "guides all to the truth" (John 16:13).

For more, click here.

Prayer and Trembling

Here is a little inside perspective on the process of electing a new Pope.  I had meant to post this during the papal conclave which ended up selecting Pope Francis, but...better late than never.