When the Chips are Stacked Against Us - We Have to Keep Our Heads!

Osmar Schindler's David und Goliath

In several ways, the Western World seems to be losing its mind.  The culture is turning against its foundations in natural law and Judeo-Christian morality.  With the national news only a couple of hours behind us, Brennan (age 11) and I read the story of David and Goliath for the first time.  Brennan has known the story since childhood, from religious books for kids; but this was his first reading of the story from Scripture.  And there is so much there for an 11 year-old boy to love!

[David] took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine ...  David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.  So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.  David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. (1 Sam.17:40, 45-51)

What lesson do I take, do I want my son to take, from David?

1. Remember that the battles we are facing in our culture - battles which are sure to multiply in the years ahead - are not ours; they are the Lord's.
2. And because the battle is the Lord's we must engage in it always cognizant that we are His representatives.  We must avoid taking personal offense when we are attacked and misrepresented; these wrongs are ultimately done not to us, but to Jesus.  (What an honor for us to suffer for Him!)
3. Like David, we can go forward boldly, knowing that we are speaking the Truth.  It is logical; it makes sense.  (That doesn't mean it will be respected or recognized though.)
4. David did not go against Goliath using the giant's type of weaponry - sword, spear, javelin.  No, David approached him with a staff (symbolizing Christ's love, teaching, and authority) and a sling with five stones (Jesse Romero tells people they represent the Rosary with its five decades).

Christ has equipped us with more powerful weapons than David!  Because "the battle is the Lord's" we conduct ourselves, as St. Paul taught, "with innocence, knowledge, and patience, in the Holy Spirit, in sincere love as men with the message of truth and the power of God; wielding the weapons of righteousness with right hand and left, whether honored or dishonored, spoken of well or ill” (2 Cor.6:6-8).  

In the heat of the moment, don't go "losing your head" - that's a Goliath thing to do, not a David/Jesus thing.
    

"Redemptive Suffering" in Christianity's Earliest Writings

Being sick this past week has given me additional time to re-read Ignatius of Antioch's seven epistles (c.110 A.D.).  They are easy to locate online (free of charge). I have really profited from Dr. Kenneth Howell's new translation and commentary, Ignatius of Antioch & Polycarp of Smyrna.  One of the elements I have found most intriguing in his analysis of Ignatius's epistles is the presence of what later theology terms redemptive suffering.  

By "redemptive suffering," I mean the belief that the sufferings God allows into our lives, when accepted and lived with trust in His love for us, participate in the sufferings of the Crucified; and the grace we receive to participate in Jesus' sufferings are of benefit not just to us, but the entire Body of Christ.  In the past I shared my conviction that this belief is found in the writings of St. Paul and witnessed to both in our Eucharistic belief and our Blessed Mother's earthly life.  

Dr. Howell helps us follow this thread from Paul through the Church's earliest days.  Chapter two of his book is devoted to Ignatius's theology of martyrdom.  I have read two other translations of Ignatius's epistles, but no one before Dr. Howell pointed out the literal translation of Ignatius's Greek term, antipsuchon - "substitute soul."  To put it in context, here is Ignatius's usage in his epistles to the Smyrneans and Polycarp, respectively:  "My spirit and my bonds are your substitute soul"; "I and my bonds that you love are your substitute soul in every way."  Listen to Dr. Howell's commentary here, "[Ignaitus's] sharing in the passion of Christ serves to advance the spiritual welfare of those to whom he writes since he is their 'substitute soul' (antipuschon).  Since in his mind Ignatius's martyrdom began while still in chains, he is conscious that it is for more than his own salvation" (p.13-14).

I should also note how Ignatius witnessed to a "give-and-take" within the Communion of Saints, with all grace flowing from Christ Jesus, "Now pray for me as I need the love [emanating] from you in the mercy of God to make me worthy of the lot which I am set to obtain.  Pray that I may not be found unapproved."  And this truth extends beyond earth into the life of heaven, "My spirit makes you pure not only now but also when I attain to God" (Epistle to Polycarp).  

St. Ignatius of Antioch, participant in the sufferings of Christ on behalf of the Church (Col.1:24), pray for us!

A Palm Sunday Parallel

It is a snowy Palm Sunday, and I just finished re-reading the Martyrdom of Polycarp (written c.155 A.D.).  After the Acts of the Apostles' recounting of the martyrdom of Stephen, MoP is the earliest Christian writing focused on the martyrdom of an individual.  Polycarp was an amazing figure by all accounts - instructed and ordained bishop of Smyrna by the Apostle John, he spent over half his life in ordained service to the Church; and he finished strong.  

When told that his life would be spared if he but swear by Caesar and curse Christ, he responded, "Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?  ... You threaten me with fire which burns for an hour, and after a little is extinguished, but you are ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. Why do you hesitate? Bring forth what you will."

Polycarp's courage at that moment was a participation in Jesus' own when facing the Cross - and God did not want the Church or the world to miss that truth:  the magistrate who had Polycarp hunted and taken into custody bore the name Herod, and he had Polycarp led into the city on a donkey - like Jesus entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

Thoughts (Some, Goofy) from the Sick Bed

I have felt worse this past week than I have in years.  On Sunday, I thought I was a little worn down; so I spent the day on the couch.  By that night the croup-like cough kicked in and then by Monday afternoon it was full-blown fever, chills, body aches - the whole shebang.  It's Thursday now, and I am finally fever free; I still sound like I am going to cough up a lung, but I am fever free!  And in the spirit of pushing off (for at least another 10 minutes) the arduous process of wiping down the house with bleach and Lysol, here are some of the thoughts/realizations I've had this week:

1. As appealing as becoming a hermit may sometimes seem, I need human contact way too much to make a go of that.
2. The ring of the telephone is not always a bad thing.
3. St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote about redemptive suffering and the Communion of Saints way back in 110 A.D.
4. My pain tolerance is pitiful.
5. If it's a choice between watching Dr. Phil, Ellen, or Wendy ... just turn off the television.
6. When you're awake at 3 a.m., anxious over all of the tasks piling up at work and home, the Rosary might not put you back to sleep; but it will give you peace.
7. I am not nearly grateful enough on the 350-some days of the year when I feel "middle of the road" - those days are tremendous gifts.
8. It is possible to miss working out. 
9. Sickness isn't a waste if we tell Jesus that we want to join our discomfort to His on the Cross; it turns the sickness into a prayer.
10. Did I mention how hard it is to watch daytime television?
11. It's good to ask God for help, and it's good to pray for one another.
12. When you feel bad, it helps to stop and intentionally place yourself in God's Hands.  Get a clear picture of it in your mind.  When we're sick for a length of time our perspective becomes skewed, and we need to remind ourselves of reality.  
13. There are countless brothers and sisters dealing with so much more than me - "God, please help them."  

  


 

"Hey, Jesus is Standing Right Behind You" (or, What makes Catholic churches so different)

How would your posture or speech change if your friend whispered, "Jesus is standing right behind you"?  My back would suddenly straighten, I know that.  I have shared many intimate moments with the Lord in prayer, and I know that He is present everywhere, but I couldn't help snapping to attention if I realized that He was physically standing behind me I would .  Whatever I was in the middle of saying would suddenly lose all importance, and I would spin around on my heel as quickly as I could to acknowledge Him.  I don't think I could take a step toward Him or reach out; I would be too transfixed.  I would have to wait for Him to reach out to me.

It is this type of presence - Jesus' physical presence - that we experience in Catholic churches.  Jesus is really present, in a physical way, there in the tabernacle where the Eucharist is reserved.  And that is why we genuflect - touch our knee to the ground - before we enter our pew.  It's the reason we stand, kneel, and maintain a reverential silence through the Mass.  All our attention is fixed on Jesus, because He is present in the Catholic sanctuary in a way far different than He is anywhere else in creation - even in the churches of other Christian.  (I mean no disrespect; Protestant brothers and sisters do not share Catholic belief in  Jesus' Real Presence in the Eucharist, and so in their theology this level of presence is not possible before the Second Coming.)

This is why Catholic sanctuaries are much quiter than our Protestant brothers and sisters'.  They have a wonderful appreciation of Christ present in the gathered assembly and they celebrate that in greetings and conversation.  We Catholics need that kind of fellowship with the members of our parish!  But for us it should take place in the entry way/lobby or over coffee and donuts afterward in the cafeteria.  Within the sanctuary Christ is physically present to us through the miracle of the Eucharist - right there in the tabernacle.  And if we truly believe that, then our actions should follow, as surely as if we suddenly realized He was standing right there behind us!

Next (Radio) Book Club Selection - Read the ORIGINAL St. Ignatius

No disrespect to the founder of the Jesuits, St. Ignatius of Loyola, but martyred in 110 A.D., Ignatius of Antioch is the original Saint Ignatius. 

The second bishop of Antioch after Peter's departure from that city, Ignatius provides us with tremendous insight into the life of the early Church.  The man heard the Apostle John preach the Gospel!  While being transported from Antioch to Rome, where he was to be fed to the lions, Ignatius penned seven epistles.  Dr. Kevin Vost and I invite you to read Ignatius' epistles as we pass through the holiest time in the Church's year, and then call in to share your thoughts with other listeners on Saturday, April 6th, on EWTN Radio's "St. Joseph Radio Presents ..."  Ignatius' epistles are available online free of charge (click here for text, or here to download audio files).

In Ignatius' seven epistles you will:

• Discover a saint who wanted to share the sufferings of Christ
• Find the first written reference to Christ's Church as "the Catholic Church."
• Find testimony to our belief in Jesus' full humanity and divinity
• Read of the absolute centrality of the Eucharist in Christian life
• See clear teaching on Christ's Real Presence in the Eucharist
• Hear repeated testimony to the Church's ministerial structure of Bishop - Priest - Deacon
• Read historical testimony of Peter and Paul's leadership of the Roman Church
• Garner exciting testimony to the preeminent place held by the Church of Rome in the earliest days of Church

I recently ordered Dr. Kenneth Howell's Ignatius of Antioch & Polycarp of Smyrna, a brand new translation and commentary for the writings of these two early bishops and martyrs.  I can't wait to dig into it!

Making Moral Judgments

"You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment. Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty, but judge your fellow men justly" (Leviticus 19:15).

We Christians place a high value on empathy and compassion - or at least we should, if we are trying to live in the image of Christ!  Where far too many Christians run into trouble today however, at least in the West, is when we sacrifice truth in the name of compassion - when we excuse, or worse yet affirm, what Christ would call sin in the name of sparing someone's "feelings."  There is no love without truth.  Sentimentality, yes; but not love. 

Love seeks the other's good, his/her objective good - and that is freedom from sin and life with God.  A person can derive pleasure from something that is killing them.  We see it on the natural level:  smoking, abuse of alcohol, contraction of a sexually transmitted disease.  And the same is true on the supernatural level!  Sin kills the soul, and to remain in that death - to never have repented and accepted God's forgiveness - is to step into Hell.  And for a Christian to affirm someone else engaging in what is objectively sinful behavior, or to keep silent when speaking up could save that person's life, is the opposite of love. 

The Christian does not speak up out of the desire to condemn, but to save - exactly as Jesus did.  We need to judge - to evaluate actions - by Christ's criteria. His judgment does not change because we shed a few tears or feel "condemned" by what He tells us; He loves us far too much to cave to that kind of sentimentality.  He knows our lives hang in the balance.  "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:17).

The Gravity of the Papal Conclave - What I Didn't Realize!

On the drive home today I caught Dr. Matthew Bunson on Kresta in the Afternoon.  He shared two details - both related to art - that I never considered in relation to the Conclave; and both speak to the gravity of the Cardinals' actions.  

First, just before entering the Sistine Chapel, the College of Cardinals will gather to hear a sermon in the Cappalena Paolina (Chapel of St. Paul).  And the Cardinals will listen to that sermon beneath Michelangelo's fresco, the Martyrdom of St. Peter.  Looking at that fresco, each of them knows what election to the Papacy entails.

Second, once the Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel, they will engage in their deliberations under Michelangelo's Last Judgment.  They will elect Peter's Successor beneath that sobering reminder that each of them will have to answer to God for how he voted.

Jesus at Prayer, WITHIN St. Patrick

If you've been reading my blog this past year, you may have noticed my interest in the way Jesus' prayer intersects with our own.  (I have channeled most of my thoughts into a book manuscript, but haven't been able to keep myself from sharing at least a couple of tidbits.)  We Christians talk about the way Jesus speaks and acts through us, but hardly ever take the next step to talk about how He prays through us.  And yet, that is what we believe happens at Mass - Jesus' offering to the Father is made present through the action of His Church.  His petitions to the Father, on behalf of the Church, pass through the lips of His priests.  When we pray the Our Father, those are Jesus' intentions for the Church - made to the Father through you and me.  

Section IV of the Catechism of the Catholic Church does a wonderful job of opening up this reality to the faithful:

Christian prayer is a covenant relationship between God and man in Christ.  It is the action of God and of man, springing forth from both the Holy Spirit and ourselves, wholly directed to the Father, in union with the human will of the Son of God made man.  (CCC 2564)

The prayer of Jesus makes Christian prayer an efficacious petition.  He is its model, he prays in us and with us.  (CCC 2740)

St. Paul wrote about this aspect of our prayer in Romans:

... the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Rom.8:26-27)

And to my great surprise, St. Patrick of Ireland wrote specifically on this topic!  In his Confession, he recounted two mystical experiences:

And another night - God knows, I do not, whether within me or beside me -in most learned words I heard those whom I could not understand, except that at the end of the prayer one spoke out thus, “He who gave his life for you, he it is who speaks within you.” And thus I awoke, joyful.

And on a second occasion I saw Him praying within me, and I was as it were, inside my own body , and I heard Him above me - that is, above my inner self. He was praying powerfully with sighs. And in the course of this I was astonished and wondering, and I pondered who it could be who was praying within me. But at the end of the prayer it was revealed to me that it was the Spirit. And so I awoke and remembered the Apostle's words, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we know not how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for utterance." And again: "The Lord our advocate intercedes for us.”

Jesus at prayer within Patrick, through the Holy Spirit!  Jesus at prayer within you and me, in the same way!  There's something to meditate on as we head into St. Patrick's Day weekend.

Please get to know the real St. Patrick this week.  Check out his Confession, his spiritual autobiography, and call into EWTN Radio this Saturday (March 16th) between Noon and 1 p.m. Central, to share your thoughts.  Dr. Kevin Vost and I are looking forward to hearing from you!

1-855-447-6000

Get Reading - the Book Club is COMING!

Only one week until my and Dr. Vost's first "radio book club"!  Read St. Patrick's Confession online for free (a mere 25 pages), and then call into EWTN's "St. Joseph Radio Presents" next Saturday, March 16th, to tell us your thoughts.  We want to hear from you! Show starts at Noon Central/ 1 p.m. Eastern.  
                      1-855-447-6000

0.34 Seconds - That's All It Takes

0.34 Seconds - the time it takes to blink your eye; that's as quickly as everything can change for the better.  When I prayed the Rosary this morning, I meditated on Jesus' Resurrection, putting myself in his tomb.  One second He was there, wrapped in His shroud.  And in the next second, with a brilliant flash of light, the shroud lay flat on the stone slab; He was gone.  That's how quickly God can change defeat into victory.  

We have little glimpses of this throughout life.  Think of those times when the phone has rang with a surprise invitation, or you ran into someone you hadn't seen in months; or you got an email out of the blue.  One moment everything was moving along as ho-hum as usual and then boom - you're like a rocket shooting into the stratosphere.  Life is not just one long struggle, carrying the Cross up Calvary; it's also shot through with these experiences of the Resurrection -and we never know when the Lord will surprise us next.

What we know for sure is that each second brings us closer to that instant when "we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed" (1 Cor. 15:51-52).

This year: Full-Court Press for St. Patrick's Day!!

The parade in St. Louis' Dogtown is great and green beer is a hoot - but celebrating St. Patrick's Day by reading the saint for yourself tops them all!  That's right, St. Patrick left us a book - his Confession, or spiritual autobiography.  That's news to you?  Me too - up until three short years ago!

And here's a deal too good to pass up:  it's available online, absolutely free.  CLICK HERE   I found myself completely in awe of Patrick's faith, and I have no doubt that you will too.
 
To celebrate St. Patrick's Day this year, Dr. Kevin Vost and I want to invite you to read Patrick's Confession - a mere 25 pages - over the next two weeks, and then be ready to call into EWTN Radio's "St. Joseph Radio Presents ..." on Saturday, March 16th, to share your thoughts and/or ask questions.  I am a humble fan of St. Patrick, but Dr. Vost seriously knows his Celts!  (Check out his book, Three Irish Saints.)  Our toll-free number is 1-855-447-6000, and the show starts at 1 p.m., ET.

I sincerely hope we will hear from you!

Jesus Founded a Kingdom, Not a Democracy

I remember walking into a discussion back in 2004.  One of my co-workers was in my boss's office, lamenting the recent statement from our city's Archbishop that if the Democratic presidential nominee, John Kerry, campaigned within our Archdiocese, he should not present himself to receive Communion. 

Our Archbishop, (now Cardinal) Raymond Burke, was vocal in his conviction that Catholic politicians who publicly persist in grave, manifest sin such as supporting abortion, must be denied Communion.  Their reception of Communion was both a sacrilege 
(see 1 Cor.11:27-32) and a scandal to the consciences of the  faithful - giving the confusing impression that it was possible to receive the Lord in Holy Communion while simultaneously persisting in grave sin (see 1 Cor.5:1-13).

My coworker felt it was completely wrong for a churchman to tell someone how he should vote.  We live in a democracy where every one has the right to vote their conscience.  My boss, knowing how committed I was to the Faith, asked me to weigh in.  Here was how I responded to my coworker:

"Senator Kerry is free to vote however he wishes.  What he cannot do, and Archbishop Burke is reminding him of this, is support the killing of unborn children and, at the same time, be united to Christ.  The Church is not the "Democracy of God," it is the Kingdom of God.  Jesus is the King, and His statement of what is good and what is evil is absolute; it's not up for a vote.  So John Kerry must decide which is more important to him - union with Jesus or his support of abortion.  The choice is his, but he can't have it both ways."

Why am I bringing this up 9 years later?  I was reminded of it yesterday while watching PBS's Religion & Ethics Newsweekly.  With the election of a new pope about to get underway they wanted to revisit a Vatican report released earlier this year citing “serious doctrinal problems” within the United States' Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) - a group that has expressed approval of same-sex relationships and contraceptives, and signed the New York Times letter stating there were legitimate, diverse opinions possible on the matter of abortion.  The program (transcript available here) interviewed Sr. Mary Hughes, past president of the LCWR, who seemed hopeful that the Church might adopt a more democratic model in the days to come:

"This is not just about the Vatican versus the nuns. This really is about the future of how we interpret the message of the Second Vatican Council, and what’s going on right now quite frankly makes me sad, because I see certain people in Rome, in the Vatican, who want retrenchment, who want to go back to the church the way it was before the Second Vatican Council, when the church was essentially the hierarchy, and they determined everything down to sometimes the minutia of Catholic life ...  There’s always a blessing that comes with every conflict. Perhaps the blessing is that we continue to open up within the Church avenues for true dialogue and true dialogue isn’t about winners and losers. It’s about people truly being able to listen to understand the other perspective before making any judgments."

To its credit, Religion & Ethics also interviewed author Colleen Carroll Campbell, who responded:

 "Women religious need to stand with the Church, and if they don’t feel that they can in good conscience do that anymore then I think it would take more integrity to simply step back and say, you know, maybe we’re not called to be Catholic women religious anymore. Maybe we want to be something else."

The Church isn't a democracy; it's a Kingdom.  The Pope and Bishops cannot dialogue on these matters because they aren't matters upon which diverse opinions can exist among disciples of Jesus.  They aren't positions that can be changed over time.  They are the directives of our King, "Jesus Christ - the same yesterday, and today, and for ever" (Heb.13:8). 
 

EVERY Christian Has a Pope (It's Simply a Question of "Who?")

Whether we are Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, "non-denominational," or a variety of Christian somewhere in between, each of us has a pope.  Each of us has someone we:

1) look to for direction in living the Christian life, and
2) appeal to as an authority in explaining why we interpret Jesus' teachings the way we do.  

It might be the founder of your denomination, a favorite author, pastor, or ... simply yourself.

Some may object, "I just go by what the Bible tells me.  I don't need someone to interpret what Jesus said to me."  But my friends, unless you are reading the Bible in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, you are depending on someone else's interpretation of what Jesus said! And even if you are reading the Bible in its original languages, you still have interpret the meaning - the intent - of its words.  Let me give a few examples:  

• When you read the gospel accounts of Jesus' Last Supper, if you understand His words "This is My Body" and "This is My Blood," to mean anything other than that the bread and wine have literally become His Body and Blood, then you are engaged in interpretation.  The same can be said of Jesus' words in John's Gospel, "My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.  He who eats [trogein in Greek, meaning "chews, gnaws on"] my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him" (Jn.6:55-56).

• Jesus told the Apostles, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (Jn.20:23).  If you do not believe that Jesus gave the shepherds of His Church the power, in His Name, to forgive sins, then you are engaged in some type of interpretation.

• If you believe that we are saved through faith alone, and that works play absolute no part in obtaining final salvation, then you are interpreting the Epistle of James (the only place in the Bible where you find the phrase "faith alone") in some sense other than the text's face-value, "You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone" (Jas.2:24).

Now, if you have read these verses (or the multitude of similar ones) but haven't experienced a pull toward the Catholic Church you either

a)  haven't truly wrestled with them, or 
b)  believe there is another way to interpret them

We Catholics are very comfortable with their face-value meaning.  If you understand them in a way other than at face-value however, what is your authority for that?  What is the weight of your argument?  Whose insight are you relying on, and what are their (or your) credentials?  

I glossed over or tried interpreting them other ways - for a couple of years - but the more I learned, the more I found myself humbled.  Time after time, when I really dug into Scripture and how it was understood by its earliest readers - in 70 A.D., 90 A.D., 107 A.D., 150 A.D. - those in a far better position to understand its original meaning, their interpretation always matched what was being said by the Pope today! 

I realized how I had went for years denying the Pope's gift of  infallibility, but acting as if I was infallible!  (And seriously, what credentials did I have?)  I denied that the Pope was the Successor of Peter, holding the "the keys of the Kingdom," with the power to "bind and loose" (Mt.16:19) but lived my life as if I did - as if I was the final arbiter of what Christ taught!  The thing is, when I finally buckled down and did the research, every piece of historical evidence spoke in the Popes' favor instead of mine (or anyone else's)!  Here's but one example.
 
A little unsettling to think about?  Tell me about it.  What it finally came down to for me was this:  "Jesus, I know that you didn't appoint me as an infallible authority.  I need help, I need guidance, to understand Your teaching and how to live it out.  If You appointed the Pope as a shepherd for me - and I am now convinced that You did - then I accept him."

Each of us has a pope, it's just a matter of, "Who?"

Sharing About the Blessed Mother

This Friday morning, March 1st, I will have the pleasure of speaking about the Blessed Mother with Sean Herriot of Relevant Radio's Morning Air.  We will discuss Chp.5 of The God Who is Love, "Every Boy Needs His Mother (and Brothers and Sisters too)."  If you would like to tune in, I will be speaking with him from 6 - 6:20 a.m. CT, with a replay at 9 p.m.  Below is a list of articles and blog posts I have written about Our Lady: 

"Am I Not Here Who is Your Mother?" (A short explanation of what it means to be consecrated to Jesus through Mary)

"The Eucharist, Mary, and Redemptive Suffering"

"Did the Apostles Pray the Rosary?"

"Eve and Mary (the New Eve)"

"I'm 'No' on the Rapture, But 'Yes' on Mary's Assumption"

"Participating in the Obedience of Jesus"

"The Blessed Mother, Receiving Jesus From John (A brief thought on the Priesthood)"

"When Life Takes That 'Wrong' Turn"

"Mother Mary and Father Abraham"

"The Eucharist and the Assumption"

Hope you enjoy!

Why the New Pope will be POWERLESS

Cover of Pope Fiction

- powerless to change Church teaching, that is.  

Every time a new Pope is elected, the media begins to buzz as to whether or not this new Pope will be more "liberal," and bring Church teaching up to date with the "modern" world.  We even hear it among fellow Catholics.  
Will this new Pope:

• ease restrictions on the use of contraceptives?
• recognize same-sex "marriage"?
• allow women to be ordained to the priesthood?
• change Church "rules" on divorce and remarriage?

What these questioners fail to realize is that the Pope does not have the power to change these things.  Why not?  Because they are not his policies; they are Christ's.  

The world has shown itself to be a place of opinion, not moral conviction.  Its understanding of sexuality and the meaning of marriage has morphed in the past 50 years.  But Jesus' understanding has not.  Many, many Christian groups have slowly let go of elements of Christ's teaching in this area.  But the Successor of Peter, because Christ appointed him to share His own role of acting as a Rock to the faithful, cannot. (See here, here, and here.) Take an issue such as "same-sex marriage" - it is oxymoronic to the mind of Christ and thus, must be to the Pope's as well (and honestly, to anyone who believes that Jesus' words were not just those of a man, but God). 

The Pope's ministry is to strengthen his fellow bishops and all of the faithful in living out Christ's teachings.  He has no authority to change them. 

Please keep our new Pope in your prayers; he has a tough row to hoe - but in the end God will make his work fruitful.  A couple of verses to keep in the back of our minds as we pray:
 
"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Jn.16:33)
 
"Whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith." (1 Jn. 5:4) 

That Tight-Lipped Jesus ...

So here is a stream-of-consciousness post for you.  Stay with me though, there is a point:

On the drive to work today I was praying the Rosary and meditating on the Lord's Resurrection.  I was thinking of the women at Jesus' tomb.  Nothing could have prepared them for the absolute shock of the empty tomb - and definitely not for their encounter with the Resurrected Jesus.  I was struck how you and I are often so completely in the dark about all of the good things that God is doing behind the scenes, completely surprised when they break out into the light.  God seems to work in silence; He doesn't make us privy to His plans - just shocks us with their awesomeness.

Wait, that's not quite right.  Hadn't Jesus told His disciples, over and over, that He would be rejected by the chief priests and elders and be raised on the third day?  Yes, He had; but they didn't understand.  Jesus had told them exactly what was going to happen.  His crucifixion shouldn't have come as a shock - and neither should His Resurrection!

And here is what Jesus says to you and me.  We should listen closely so that we're not caught off-guard:

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn.16:33).
  
Fore-warned is fore-armed.  We will suffer the Cross.  And if we stay united with Him, we will experience His Resurrection.

Confused By the Accounts of Jesus' Resurrection?

I can understand that.  When you put the Resurrection accounts in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John side-by-side you will notice discrepancies.  (Click one of the above links to open that gospel's account of the Resurrection.)  But these are apparent, and not actual discrepancies.

In the The God Who is Love, I wrote about several of the events that God used to shape my life.  From time to time I felt the need to streamline anecdotes.  There were details that weren't needed to come to my point and I felt that, had I included them, they would have weighed the story down unnecessarily.  (Readers want something that reads smoothly - not a story constantly interrupted to fill in this or that detail or piece of background info.) Everything I wrote was true; but it wasn't as full of an account as I could have written.  That gave me a new appreciation for the way the four gospels narrate the same events from Jesus' life in different ways.

Looking at the four accounts of Jesus' Resurrection, I would like to suggest a chronology for the events of Easter morning that, if kept in the back of your mind, will resolve the apparent discrepancies.  In a nutshell, I think that the women who visited Jesus tomb that morning went back and forth between it and the apostles more than once:

1.    Jesus rose from the dead.
2.    The guards outside the tomb fled.
3.    The women (Mary Magdalene,  Mary the mother of James, Salome, Joanna, and one or more  unnamed women) arrived at the tomb to annoint Jesus' Body, but found it empty.
4.    The women ran to the apostles to alert them that someone had stolen the Body.
5.     Peter and John raced to the tomb, saw the grave wrappings, and left.
6.     The women returned to the tomb and saw angels inside.  The angels announced Jesus' Resurrection.
7.     The women were frightened by the angels' appearance but (possibly after a delay) set out to carry the announcement to the apostles, when Jesus appeared to them.
8.     The women reported all of this to the apostles but were not believed.
9/10 Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus.  He also appeared to Peter.
11.    Jesus appeared to the apostles and disciples gathered in the upper room.

Each of the gospel writers streamlined these events in different ways - omitted one or more of the numbered events, or omitted one or more characters (human and angelic) in their telling of an event. The accounts do not disagree with each other but each is fragmentary.  None of the gospels claim to give an exhaustive account.  Quite to the contrary; John's Gospel plainly says, "Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (Jn.20:30-31).  

When you listen to the Gospel readings at Easter time, keep the eleven points above in your mind to see if it helps.  I would of course love to hear your thoughts about my stab at reconstructing the sequence of events that first Easter morning.