Without prayer, faith will not survive

From John Henry Cardinal Newman:

Many a man seems to have no grasp at all of doctrinal truth. He cannot get himself to think it of importance what a man believes, and what not. He tries to do so; for a time he does; he does for a time think that a certain faith is necessary for salvation, that certain doctrines are to be put forth and maintained in charity to the souls of men. Yet though he thinks so one day, he changes the next; he holds the truth, and then lets it go again. He is filled with doubts; suddenly the question crosses him, “Is it possible that such and such a doctrine is necessary?” and he relapses into an uncomfortable sceptical state, out of which there is no outlet. Reasonings do not convince him; he cannot be convinced; he has no grasp of truth. Why? Because the next world is not a reality to him; it only exists in his mind in the form of certain conclusions from certain reasonings. It is but an inference; and never can be more, never can be present to his mind, until he acts, instead of arguing. Let him but act as if the next world were before him; let him but give himself to such devotional exercises as we ought to observe in the presence of an Almighty, All-holy, and All-merciful God, and it will be a rare case indeed if his difficulties do not vanish.

- From the 1837 Sermon, The Moral Effects of Communion with God

How is it that one can believe something in his mind but not act as if it were true? This is the mystery of the human person’s estrangement from God – original sin and concupiscence.

It is remarkable, I think, to consider how very many of our problems with faith would disappear if only we pray consistently: morning, noon, and at night.

If you believe in Christ, in God, then pray. If you want to believe in Christ, then pray. It is little use talking or thinking about God if you will neither speak nor listen to him.

Morning, noon, and night; morning, noon, and night; morning, noon, and night.

Plug for a Good Blog

Atheist Delusions

I recently finished a book, by David Bentley Hart, entitled “Atheist Delusions The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies.” This title, however, is distracting. It is provocative in a way different than the book itself, which, while surely engaging in some polemical fun here and there (especially at the beginning), primarily provides the reader with a brilliant analysis of the significance of the Christian movement in history – its growth and decline – all the way up to the the post-Christian world in which we live today, looking ahead to an uncertain future.

It was a very enjoyable read. It made me think hard. The author holds himself throughout to a high level of responsibility rationally. In other words, he does not try to get away with making claims that are not credible or that he cannot make credible. Nor does he fail to distinguish between his argued claims and his opinions. Neither does he refrain from treating fairly all historical parties he discusses (pagans, etc. See especially his chapter on Julian the Apostate.) And although he is content, in his direct criticisms of the “New Atheists”, not to make the whole body of their arguments his focus (opting instead to address a small handful of them), this is because his analysis of the Christian movement within history (by far the bulk of his book) ably dismantles the silly and simplistic fictions these arguments are based on.

As I indicated above, he has things to say about the future we face. Here is a sample that provides much food-for-thought:

It seems to me quite reasonable to imagine that, increasingly, the religion of the God-man, who summons human beings to become created gods through charity, will be replaced once again by the more ancient religion of the man-god, who wrests his divinity from the intractable material of his humanity, and solely through the exertions of his will. Such a religion will not in all likelihood express itself through a new Caesar, of course, or a new emperor or Fuhrer; its operations will be more “democratically” diffused through society as a whole. But such a religion will always kill and then call it justice, or compassion, or a sad necessity.

I may have more to say about this book in the future.

Thomas More, The Saint

When away on state business, Thomas More received word from home of a fire. In the letter he sent home, we can discern the essential lines of a Saint: absolute trust of God’s good will towards him and all his own, acceptance of whatever may befall as manifesting that Divine will, and solicitude for the good of others for God’s sake. These holy ideas and attitudes make life sweet; and when circumstances are at their most painful – even then – life is ’shot through’ with a clear note of joy.

I found this quote from the letter he wrote in “The Story of Thomas More” by John Farrow (Sheed and Ward, 1954):

I am informed by my son Heron of the loss of our barns, and our neighbors’ also, with all the corn that was therein, albeit (saving God’s pleasure) it is great pity of so much good corn lost, yet since it hath liked him to send us such a chance, we must not only be content, but also be glad of his visitation. He sent us all that we have lost: and since he hath by such a chance taken it away again, his pleasure be fulfilled. Let us not grudge thereat, but take it in good worth, and heartily thank him, as well for adversity, as for prosperity. And for adventure we have more cause to thank him for our loss, than for our winning. For his wisdom better seeth what is good for us than we do ourselves. Therefore I pray you be of good cheer, and take all the household with you to Church, and there thank God both for that he hath given us, and for that he hath left us, which if it please him, he can increase when he will. And if it please him to leave us yet less, at his pleasure be it. I pray you to make some good search with what my poor neighbors have lost, and bid them take no thought therefore, and if I should not leave myself a spoon, there shall no poor neighbor of mine bear no loss by chance happened in my house. I pray you be with my children and household merry in God. And devise some-what with your friends, what way were best to take, for provision to be made for corn for our household, and for seed this year coming, if ye think it good that we keep the ground still in our hands. And whether ye think it good why we shall do or not, yet I think it were best suddenly thus to leave it all up, and to put away our folk of our farm, till we have somewhat advised us thereon … I would not any man were suddenly sent away he knows not whither.”

Sweet Surrender

Someone once asked me whether their being a good person made them a Christian. I did not have the wherewithal to give them the answer they needed at that moment (the story of my life thus far!). I wanted to express the truth that being a Christian is a way of life that is more than just being “a good person.” At the same time I wanted to assure them that I thought that they were in fact a good person – and all the while I’m thinking of the truth that all people, even “good people” are sinners. What came out may have been true, but could not have been very helpful.
What was missing? Why couldn’t I find the right thing to say?
I know with certainty that knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. And not just any love – only divine love. My weak human love gave me good intentions, but God was missing from what I said, because I did not remember in my heart the merciful kindness of God towards me – the love with which He made me His own, picking me up from the gutter to share with Him a throne.
In the place of almost any answer one might give a person who asked such a question, imagine speaking to them simply about the goodness of God and the great need that every person has for Him; “good people” and “sons of guns” alike. Why give any soul seeking God something other than God? It is like the example the Lord spoke of in the gospel, of a man giving someone a stone when they ask for a fish.
If you give a man a stone, he’ll toss it aside as worthless, which it indeed is. There are many spiritualities out there that are simply variations on the futile “spirituality” of self-sufficiency that we will practice anyway, with or without a specific spiritual doctrine that we follow. If we don’t bring God to people, but bring only theology, they will toss away the stone you gave them and find one of these instead, a prettier stone.
Every person hungers for that sweet surrender to God that they were created for, but need only to be assured that He truly is good by someone who has experienced it for themselves. Not someone who experienced it back years (or months or weeks) ago when he had some profound conversion experience, but when he prayed early that very morning, remembering God’s loving kindness to him in Christ, and joyfully praising Him in his heart.

St Paul, Apostle, pray for us!

Catholic Guilt or Catholic Conscience?

I recently read a blog post at “Young Adult Catholics: A Blog of NextGen at Call to Action” on “Catholic guilt.” With evident sincerity, the blog-poster asked these questions:

Is Catholic guilt a damaging throwback, or is it a manifestation of our conscience? The result of brainwashing from authorities hoping to hold on to their power, or God’s voice in our hearts?

She goes on to say that her personal belief is that for both questions, the former is true.

I know what you’re thinking. It should go without saying that Catholic guilt is emphatically not “the result of brainwashing from authorities hoping to hold on to their power.” That idea is, of course, a kind of “conspiracy theory.” And one should not take conspiracy theories seriously – that is, one shouldn’t put stock in ideas that ascribe evil, explicitly held intentions to large groups of people without extremely good evidence to back it up. Or to put it somewhat simplistically, the very fact that a body of paternal figures teach a moral standard that makes you feel uncomfortable does not mean that they are therefore evil men who just want to control you. From an impartial perspective, it’s extremely more likely that, right or wrong, the hierarchy are by and large sincere men who want to guide people on the way of salvation, lead them to a life of happiness, and/or help them achieve moral excellence according to the the Christian ideal as they have received and understand it. The conspiracy theories, assuredly, have more to do with adolescent authority issues than they have to do with reality.

But if Catholic guilt is not the result of an evil conspiracy, neither is it merely a myth. I propose that Catholic guilt is the result of the complexity of the Christian doctrine of redemption, and the thorny spiritual reality corresponding to it. This spiritual reality is always being accomplished, or being stifled, in the hearts of each of us. And so if the personal belief of the young Call to Action Catholic, on this matter, can be criticized, so also can her questions be singled out for their profound ‘aptness’. In other words, these are not “throw-away” questions. They need to be asked; and it is commendable that this person asks them with such honesty and sincerity.

Why are these questions about Catholic guilt so important? Questions about guilt are so very important – because the answers have to do with a critical step in the spiritual life of every person. To put it another way, everyone needs to come to grips with the true meaning of guilt and the moral law. In biblical, Pauline terms, a person needs to die to the Law (Mosaic and moral) so as live anew for Christ, according to the Spirit of God.

Now although this transformation happens by faith and baptism – it is no less a process that gradually takes place as the grace of baptism increases in the soul. In saving the Christian disciple from sin, Christ’s Divine Life leads him through a transition from reliance on the law to reliance on the love of God in Christ. This is a transition from guilt to freedom.

But what is the purpose of the law? Saint Paul, speaking of the law (primarily the Mosaic law) and of sin, wrote:

If it had not been for the law, I should not have known sin. I should not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, finding opportunity in the commandment, wrought in me all kinds of covetousness… Sin, finding opportunity in the commandment, deceived me and by it killed me. So the law is holy and just and good… It was sin, working death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin… (Romans 7:7b-8a, 11-12, 13b)

Sin, then, is within the person; and the law “shows sin to be sin.” When, through the law, a man knows that what he is doing is wrong, then he experiences guilt. He is no longer in ignorance, but knows what he is doing – sin has been “shown to be sin.”

However, sin, having been shown to be sin, is not thereby conquered. The law has no power to justify. It merely becomes the case that “I do not do the thing that I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Rom. 7:15b). St. Paul calls this “the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2). This is where the transition to reliance on the love of Christ and to freedom comes in. Once and for all in baptism, but gradually in the process of our sanctification, the love of God manifest and accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ frees us to fulfill the requirements of the law:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Rom. 8:1-4)

So the moral law has a purpose. As Paul says elsewhere of the Mosaic law (Galatians 3 & 4), it it like a child’s tutor. We have to follow a tutor’s lessons always, but when we grow up we don’t need the tutor anymore; that is, we have to follow the moral law always, but as we mature spiritually (walking more and more in the Spirit of God, living more and more by the love of Christ), we need it less and less to fulfill its purpose of stirring up our consciences, of pricking us with guilt. When Jesus encounters the rich young man, he tells him that following the commandments will bring him salvation; until the man shows by his response that he yearns for greater spiritual conquests, and Jesus tells him, “Follow Me.”

What does all this mean for “Catholic guilt”? I do not say that Catholic guilt is merely the growing pains of the spiritual life. Assuredly, and to their discredit, many of those who passed on to us the Gospel have done a better job acquainting us with our childhood tutor than with our Divine Bridegroom. These teachers-of-the-faith (priests, catechists, parents, etc.) have left many of us with a robust sense of guilt, without a correspondingly robust sense of the profound reality of God’s forgiving and transforming love. That is the terribly unfortunate reality. But that is also as far as it goes – that is, there is no great conspiracy by a power-hungry patriarchy to oppress the people of God, with only a spirit-filled movement of freedom-loving lay prophets to expose them. That tired narrative is self-serving to its adherents; and if, as we know, the law is a childhood tutor who teaches us, through guilt, that we are sinners constantly in need of the transforming love of God, then it is clear that this narrative, in facilitating the casting off of “oppressive” moral norms, also stunts the spiritual growth of those under its sway.

I don’t mean that last statement as a universal rule – I cannot read anyone’s heart. But the uncomfortable feeling known as “guilt” is meant to be a “Godly grief, [producing] repentance” (2 Cor. 7:10); therefore, when by a turn of the imagination, people make it into something else, guilt can no longer fulfill its purpose. When people look at guilt and the Church’s teaching of the moral law, and refuse to see the teaching/correcting love of God, they may be robbing themselves of deeper spiritual growth.

Is Catholic Guilt a manifestation of our conscience, the voice of God in our hearts? Primarily, yes.

Thomas More, the husband

Today is the memorial feast day of Saint Thomas More, known for his great learning and integrity. There is a lot that could be said about him, but I’d just like to pass on a little humorous  tale from an old book about More:

Early during More’s marriage Erasmus came from Rotterdam to visit the More household at Bucklersbury in London, and what he saw there provided him with the basis of a tale which he wrote years later. It was the story of a learned man who endeavored to educate a young wife by “getting her to repeat the substance of the sermons she heard.” Copious weepings and expressions of misery being the only result of such heavy instruction, the husband finally appealed to his father-in-law. “Use your rights,” he was told, “and give her a good beating.” When the husband refused to adopt such drastic measures, the father feigned such a rage and became so disagreeable that the frightened girl was glad to seek solace in the soothing arms of an understanding husband.

The Church is a hospital

Jesus Christ is LORD!

Blessed be Jesus Christ on this day where we remember Saint Patrick, the man who brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Irish. Patrick was a lover of Christ, he had come to know Christ and wanted others to share with him this greatest treasure. He lived Philippians 1:21 – he was willing to die for Christ because for him Christ is Life.

In his own words:

I came to the Irish people to preach the Gospel and endure the taunts of unbelievers, putting up with reproaches about my earthly pilgrimage, suffering many persecutions, even bondage, and losing my birthright of freedom for the benefit of others. If I am worthy, I am ready also to give up my life, without hesitation and most willingly, for Christ’s name. I want to spend myself for that country, even in death, if the Lord should grant me this favor. It is among that people that I want to wait for the promise made by him, who assuredly never tells a lie. He makes this promise in the Gospel: “They shall come from the east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” This is our faith: believers are to come from the whole world.

- from the Confession of Saint Patrick (thanks to SWP from Catholicland!)

Jesus Christ is truly the greatest treasure we could ever seek, the best and most lovely possession we can have. Words can not do justice to his love. Why not seek Jesus Christ and love him? Why not cling to him whatever befalls? There are many would-be Christians who are attracted to the person of Christ, but decide to turn their focus away from him and what is attractive about him, to turn their eyes instead to the many weaknesses of Christians. As long as they continue to ignore the divine beauty of the Savior, the ugliness of the sins of Christians are more than enough to keep them firmly in the place they want to be, living the way they want to live. They are very fond of reminding themselves and others that Christianity is great, “except for the Christians” – that they will not consider joining the Church because it is filled with hypocrites.

Did they ever stop to consider that the Church might be a hospital? If the Church is a hospital for sinners, sinners would be the most likely kind of person you would find there.

Are they not themselves also sinners? Don’t they also need the Divine Physician, Jesus Christ?

If they are attracted to the life and message of Jesus Christ, they should get over themselves, and join us hypocrites. There’s always room for one more.

Enough with the criticizing – if our flame burns too low, let them throw their torches into our midst!

We’re not Christians because we’re great people. We’re Christians because we have come to know that Jesus Christ is the life of the world. By his teaching and his power, we’re becoming better people than we once were.

No one should become a Christian because of Christians (at least not primarily) – but because of Jesus Christ.

The Rosary

Like peas in a pod.

The Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary invites us into the mysteries of Christ’s birth, life, death, and heavenly glory. It is a prayer that encapsulates the Gospel of Jesus Christ so that we can receive and digest it all the more easily. It is a relatively short prayer, if you pray just one of the four sets of mysteries – but not so short that the Word of God has no time to sink in.
I was praying the Rosary today – I don’t always pray it everyday. I pray it enough, however, to have it established in my life as a source of “spiritual food.” And that is what it is. If man does not live by bread alone, but instead by every word that comes from the mouth of God, and the Rosary encapsulates the Gospel (the Word of God) then the Rosary can indeed be called – without prejudice to the status of the Holy Eucharist and of the Holy Scriptures (from which the Rosary is drawn) – true “spiritual food.”
This is how I experience the Rosary (as food), and I wonder how I do not come back to it more often to feed.
There is another element of the Rosary that I have failed to mention: In the Rosary the Gospel is gazed upon together with the Virgin Mary, and while in profound communion with her. While praying the Rosary, of course, you are most often simultaneously praying to Mary and contemplating the events of Christ’s life. While in the midst of this, your attention may gently shift from a particular event in the life of Christ, to the Mother of Christ who is praying with you – and in that moment you offer her a word of love: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you! …” (This is entirely fitting, for she has been given to us by Christ to be our spiritual mother – see John 19:25-27). And then, at another moment, your attention gently shifts again from Mary to the mystery of Christ being contemplated. The whole experience is one of communion. You and anyone praying the rosary with you, the Mother of Christ, and Christ himself (never without his Father) in the communion of the Holy Spirit.
… Okay! I’ll pray it daily!

A Youth Movement

I love it!
If you haven’t already, please watch this 12 year old girl give a speech on abortion. She crafted it for a school competition, and created some controversy in the process. She was almost disqualified, but ended up winning the competition (See LifeSiteNews for the story).