Teaching religion was forbidden in Poland... yet religion thrived. Why? Because it was a daily experience. It was a daily part of their lives, woven into every action and thought. The traditions and customs of Poland were woven into the daily fiber of life giving that life meaning and purpose. Those traditions and customs gave a foundation of faith and meaning to daily life.
There are so many beautiful Polish customs that lead us to God and remind us that we always walk with God. For example:
When we cut a new loaf of bread, it is the custom, before making the first cut, to take the knife and sign the loaf with a cross.
When a piece of bread is dropped on the floor, it is reverently and kissed because bread is a gift from God, “to dar Boze.”
Holy water is always kept in the house and at a font at the door and at the household shrine where the family gathers for prayer. The house is sprinkled with holy water in a time of sickness and storm and the bed is sprinkled before retiring.
Family prayer is essential. Gathering together for evening prayer and offering grace before and after meals is a way of including God in our daily activities.
Every home should have a “Holy Corner,” that is, a family shrine that becomes the focus of daily devotions and a constant visual reminder of God’s presence.
The Christmas Oplatek and Wigilia
Consecrating our homes with blessed chalk by writing the monograms of the Three kings…KMB…over the main entrance to our home.
Name’s Day – celebrating the saints’ day as our own special feast day
Decorating our homes and churches with greens for Pentecost Sunday.
Eucharistic Processions with the traditional four altars for Corpus Christi
Visiting the graves of our loved ones and lighting candles for All Souls Day.
These traditions, and many others are small in themselves… but like a few drops of water on a seed they can help our faith to grow… little by little!!! And little by little deep roots are formed to drink from the rich heritage and Faith of the Polish people.
There are so many beautiful Polish customs in daily life to remind us and our families of our loving God and of the protective presence of God in our lives if we use them to sanctify our time and environment.
So too with us… We live in an environment that has become increasingly hostile to our Faith and increasingly intolerant of our Polish culture. True, the Holy Spirit sends His guidance via the Church and our priests, but if we do not make use of the gifts of our heritage and if God is not part of our every day life… as it was for our Grandparents, then the seed of faith can’t grow and the stability of our families and nation are undermined!
What can we do? We can begin to revive some of these old customs… or even make new ones to simply remind ourselves daily of the existence of God in our lives. We need traditions that will be constant reminders of the love of God. We need to constantly plant seeds that will grow strong roots.
Friday, December 31, 2010
The O Antiphons
The “O Antiphons” refer to the seven antiphons that are recited (or chanted) preceding the Magnificat during Vespers of the Liturgy of the Hours. They cover the special period of Advent preparation known as the Octave before Christmas, Dec. 17-23. The importance of “O Antiphons” is twofold: Each one highlights a title for the Messiah. Also, each one refers to the prophecy of Isaiah of the coming of the Messiah.
O Sapientia: “O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.” Isaiah had prophesied, “The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.” (11:2-3), and “Wonderful is His counsel and great is His wisdom.” (28:29).
O Adonai: “O sacred Lord of ancient Israel, who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush, who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain: come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free.” Isaiah had prophesied, “But He shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.” (11:4-5); and “Indeed the Lord will be there with us, majestic; yes the Lord our judge, the Lord our lawgiver, the Lord our king, he it is who will save us.” (33:22).
O Radix Jesse: “O Flower of Jesse’s stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.” Isaiah had prophesied, “But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” (11:1), and A On that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, the Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.” (11:10). Remember also that Jesse was the father of King David, and Micah had prophesied that the Messiah would be of the house and lineage of David and be born in David’s city, Bethlehem (Micah 5:1).
O Clavis David: “O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel controlling at your will the gate of Heaven: Come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead your captive people into freedom.” Isaiah had prophesied, AI will place the Key of the House of David on His shoulder; when he opens, no one will shut, when he shuts, no one will open.” (22:22), and “His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, from David’s throne, and over His kingdom, which he confirms and sustains by judgment and justice, both now and forever.” (9:6).
O Oriens: “O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.” Isaiah had prophesied, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shown.” (9:1).
O Rex Gentium: “O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man, come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust.” Isaiah had prophesied, “For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.” (9:5), and “He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” (2:4) .
O Emmanuel: God is with us “O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people, come and set us free, Lord our God.” Isaiah had prophesied, “The Lord himself will give you this sign: the Virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.
According to Professor Robert Greenberg of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Benedictine monks arranged these antiphons with a definite purpose. If one starts with the last title and takes the first letter of each one - Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia - the Latin words ero cras are formed, meaning, “Tomorrow, I will come.” Therefore, the Lord Jesus, whose coming we have prepared for in Advent and whom we have addressed in these seven Messianic titles, now speaks to us, “Tomorrow, I will come.” So the “O Antiphons” not only bring intensity to our Advent preparation, but bring it to a joyful conclusion.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT :
Saunders, Rev. William. “What are the ‘O Antiphons’?” Arlington Catholic Herald.
O Sapientia: “O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.” Isaiah had prophesied, “The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.” (11:2-3), and “Wonderful is His counsel and great is His wisdom.” (28:29).
O Adonai: “O sacred Lord of ancient Israel, who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush, who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain: come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free.” Isaiah had prophesied, “But He shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.” (11:4-5); and “Indeed the Lord will be there with us, majestic; yes the Lord our judge, the Lord our lawgiver, the Lord our king, he it is who will save us.” (33:22).
O Radix Jesse: “O Flower of Jesse’s stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.” Isaiah had prophesied, “But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” (11:1), and A On that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, the Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.” (11:10). Remember also that Jesse was the father of King David, and Micah had prophesied that the Messiah would be of the house and lineage of David and be born in David’s city, Bethlehem (Micah 5:1).
O Clavis David: “O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel controlling at your will the gate of Heaven: Come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead your captive people into freedom.” Isaiah had prophesied, AI will place the Key of the House of David on His shoulder; when he opens, no one will shut, when he shuts, no one will open.” (22:22), and “His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, from David’s throne, and over His kingdom, which he confirms and sustains by judgment and justice, both now and forever.” (9:6).
O Oriens: “O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.” Isaiah had prophesied, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shown.” (9:1).
O Rex Gentium: “O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man, come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust.” Isaiah had prophesied, “For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.” (9:5), and “He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” (2:4) .
O Emmanuel: God is with us “O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people, come and set us free, Lord our God.” Isaiah had prophesied, “The Lord himself will give you this sign: the Virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.
According to Professor Robert Greenberg of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Benedictine monks arranged these antiphons with a definite purpose. If one starts with the last title and takes the first letter of each one - Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia - the Latin words ero cras are formed, meaning, “Tomorrow, I will come.” Therefore, the Lord Jesus, whose coming we have prepared for in Advent and whom we have addressed in these seven Messianic titles, now speaks to us, “Tomorrow, I will come.” So the “O Antiphons” not only bring intensity to our Advent preparation, but bring it to a joyful conclusion.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT :
Saunders, Rev. William. “What are the ‘O Antiphons’?” Arlington Catholic Herald.
The Oplatek
THE OPLATEK for the Polish people is the most important element in the Christmas celebration. It is part of the family rites at the Wigilia supper on Christmas Eve and is used by friends and neighbors at parties and gatherings during the holiday season.
The Oplatek is a small piece of bread-wafer often embossed with religious images of Our Lady and of scenes depicting the birth of Jesus. These designs are usually excellent examples of Polish folk art and are often preserved in Art Museums to show the unusually wide scope of the decorative arts of the Polish peasants.
The word Oplatek is taken from the Latin word "Oblatum" meaning sacred bread. In the past, this holy bread, or Bread of Love as Oplatek is sometimes called, was made with great ceremonies and rites. The choicest wheat was chosen and the workers wore liturgical robes and chanted hymns during the process.
The Oplatek symbolizes days of harmony, when what is to be forgiven is forgiven and what is to be forgotten is forgotten. The sharing of the Oplatek signifies that everyone in the universe is related - we are all God's children - we all have His Divine power.
The Oplatek, that Bread of Love, so frail and perishable, has for all Poles a mystical meaning which cannot be explained. At Christmas time it is even sent to absent members of the family and to close friends separated by distance, to draw them close in a spiritual union with their loved ones. To receive a piece of Oplatek is a special blessing. It says that the recipient is loved in a holy way and that the most choice blessings are prayed over them.
At the Wigilia Supper the rite of sharing and breaking the Oplatek is both simple and moving. The host and hostess first share and break the Bread of Love - the Oplatek - with each other and then with all the members of their family and guests. With the breaking, good wishes, blessings and prayers are exchanged and shared. It is a time of spiritual gift-giving. Sometimes the blessings take the form of spontaneous poetry - but this is often an art form reserved to the old.
A piece of Oplatek is often saved after Christmas to use in time of sickness. It is administered to the ill as a blessing-prayer for healing. It is a strong affirmation of the love of family and friends.
In some parts of Poland and among some Polish-Americans there is the custom of saving a few squares of the Oplatek and of creating religious ornaments with them. Some of them are made into stars and miniature cradles for the Baby Jesus. Others are made into tiny churches and complicated globes - often with a tiny figure of Jesus holding the cross in the inner circle of the world-globes to signify His rule over the universe.
Usually these ornaments were carefully hung by a thread from the ceiling. With the movements in a room it gently swayed to and fro and old timers often prophesied the coming weather from the direction in which these lacy ornaments moved.
Adam Plug remembered these Oplatek ornaments of his Polish childhood and wrote: "When father glued together a fine star enclosing a tiny cradle, he hung it to the ceiling by a thread. I knew for certain this was the same star which shone down upon Jesus in the manger. I rocked the little cradle on the thread with my childish breath, and really felt I was rocking the real little baby Jesus to sleep, singing Him a kolenda."
The Oplatek is a small piece of bread-wafer often embossed with religious images of Our Lady and of scenes depicting the birth of Jesus. These designs are usually excellent examples of Polish folk art and are often preserved in Art Museums to show the unusually wide scope of the decorative arts of the Polish peasants.
The word Oplatek is taken from the Latin word "Oblatum" meaning sacred bread. In the past, this holy bread, or Bread of Love as Oplatek is sometimes called, was made with great ceremonies and rites. The choicest wheat was chosen and the workers wore liturgical robes and chanted hymns during the process.
The Oplatek symbolizes days of harmony, when what is to be forgiven is forgiven and what is to be forgotten is forgotten. The sharing of the Oplatek signifies that everyone in the universe is related - we are all God's children - we all have His Divine power.
The Oplatek, that Bread of Love, so frail and perishable, has for all Poles a mystical meaning which cannot be explained. At Christmas time it is even sent to absent members of the family and to close friends separated by distance, to draw them close in a spiritual union with their loved ones. To receive a piece of Oplatek is a special blessing. It says that the recipient is loved in a holy way and that the most choice blessings are prayed over them.
At the Wigilia Supper the rite of sharing and breaking the Oplatek is both simple and moving. The host and hostess first share and break the Bread of Love - the Oplatek - with each other and then with all the members of their family and guests. With the breaking, good wishes, blessings and prayers are exchanged and shared. It is a time of spiritual gift-giving. Sometimes the blessings take the form of spontaneous poetry - but this is often an art form reserved to the old.
A piece of Oplatek is often saved after Christmas to use in time of sickness. It is administered to the ill as a blessing-prayer for healing. It is a strong affirmation of the love of family and friends.
In some parts of Poland and among some Polish-Americans there is the custom of saving a few squares of the Oplatek and of creating religious ornaments with them. Some of them are made into stars and miniature cradles for the Baby Jesus. Others are made into tiny churches and complicated globes - often with a tiny figure of Jesus holding the cross in the inner circle of the world-globes to signify His rule over the universe.
Usually these ornaments were carefully hung by a thread from the ceiling. With the movements in a room it gently swayed to and fro and old timers often prophesied the coming weather from the direction in which these lacy ornaments moved.
Adam Plug remembered these Oplatek ornaments of his Polish childhood and wrote: "When father glued together a fine star enclosing a tiny cradle, he hung it to the ceiling by a thread. I knew for certain this was the same star which shone down upon Jesus in the manger. I rocked the little cradle on the thread with my childish breath, and really felt I was rocking the real little baby Jesus to sleep, singing Him a kolenda."
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Mesoamerica, the New World, 1521: The capital city of the Aztec empire falls under the Spanish forces. Less than 20 years later, 9 million of the inhabitants of the land, who for centuries practiced human sacrifice to appease their gods, are converted to Christianity. What happened in those times that produced such an incredible and historically unprecedented conversion?
In 1531 a "Lady from Heaven" appeared to a humble
Native American, Juan Diego, at Tepeyac, a hill northwest of what is now Mexico City.
She identified herself as the Ever Virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the True God, of the Creator of all things, Lord of heaven and earth.
She asked for a church to be built on the site, and submitted her wish to the local Bishop. When the Bishop hesitated, and requested a sign, the Mother of God obeyed without delay or question and sent Juan Diego to the top of the hill in mid-December to gather an assortment of roses for the Bishop. After complying with the Bishop's request for a sign, She also left for us an image of herself imprinted miraculously on Juan Diego’s tilma, a poor quality cactus-cloth, which should have deteriorated in 20 years but shows no sign of decay 479 years later and still defies all scientific explanations of its origin.
Science still cannot explain the fact that the image is not in the fibers of the tilma, but hovers over it.
Modern microscopes have revealed that the pupils of her eyes contain images of what was in front of her in 1531, most especially the face of Juan Diego.
Her message of love and compassion, and her universal promise of help and protection to all mankind, as well as the story of the apparitions, are described in the "Nican Mopohua", a 16th century document written in the native Nahuatl language.
There is reason to believe that at Tepeyac Mary came in her glorified body, and her actual physical hands re-arranged the roses in Juan Diego’s tilma, which makes this apparition very special.
An incredible list of miracles, cures and interventions are attributed to Her. Yearly, between 18 - 20 million pilgrims visit the Basilica, making it Christianity's most visited sanctuary.
Altogether 25 popes have officially honored Our Lady of Guadalupe. His Holiness John Paul II visited her Sanctuary four times: on his first apostolic trip outside Rome as Pope in 1979, and again in 1990, 1999 and 2002.
The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated on
December 12th. In 1999, Pope John Paul II, in his homily from the Solemn Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, during his third visit to the sanctuary, declared the date of December the 12th as a Liturgical Holy Day for the whole continent.
During the same visit Pope John Paul II entrusted the cause of life to her loving protection, and placed under her motherly care the innocent lives of children, especially those who are in danger of not being born.
Am I not here, I, who am your Mother?
Are you not under my shadow
and protection?
Am I not the source of your joy?
Are you not in the hollow of my mantle,
in the crossing of my arms?
Do you need anything more?
Let nothing else worry you, disturb you.
In 1531 a "Lady from Heaven" appeared to a humble
Native American, Juan Diego, at Tepeyac, a hill northwest of what is now Mexico City.
She identified herself as the Ever Virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the True God, of the Creator of all things, Lord of heaven and earth.
She asked for a church to be built on the site, and submitted her wish to the local Bishop. When the Bishop hesitated, and requested a sign, the Mother of God obeyed without delay or question and sent Juan Diego to the top of the hill in mid-December to gather an assortment of roses for the Bishop. After complying with the Bishop's request for a sign, She also left for us an image of herself imprinted miraculously on Juan Diego’s tilma, a poor quality cactus-cloth, which should have deteriorated in 20 years but shows no sign of decay 479 years later and still defies all scientific explanations of its origin.
Science still cannot explain the fact that the image is not in the fibers of the tilma, but hovers over it.
Modern microscopes have revealed that the pupils of her eyes contain images of what was in front of her in 1531, most especially the face of Juan Diego.
Her message of love and compassion, and her universal promise of help and protection to all mankind, as well as the story of the apparitions, are described in the "Nican Mopohua", a 16th century document written in the native Nahuatl language.
There is reason to believe that at Tepeyac Mary came in her glorified body, and her actual physical hands re-arranged the roses in Juan Diego’s tilma, which makes this apparition very special.
An incredible list of miracles, cures and interventions are attributed to Her. Yearly, between 18 - 20 million pilgrims visit the Basilica, making it Christianity's most visited sanctuary.
Altogether 25 popes have officially honored Our Lady of Guadalupe. His Holiness John Paul II visited her Sanctuary four times: on his first apostolic trip outside Rome as Pope in 1979, and again in 1990, 1999 and 2002.
The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated on
December 12th. In 1999, Pope John Paul II, in his homily from the Solemn Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, during his third visit to the sanctuary, declared the date of December the 12th as a Liturgical Holy Day for the whole continent.
During the same visit Pope John Paul II entrusted the cause of life to her loving protection, and placed under her motherly care the innocent lives of children, especially those who are in danger of not being born.
Am I not here, I, who am your Mother?
Are you not under my shadow
and protection?
Am I not the source of your joy?
Are you not in the hollow of my mantle,
in the crossing of my arms?
Do you need anything more?
Let nothing else worry you, disturb you.
A Pillow for Baby Jesus
Long ago in Poland… in ancient Krakow… there lived an old widow named Helena. On the morning of Christmas Eve she went to the Dominican Church to watch the priests put up the Christmas crèche. She saw Father Jacek put the beautiful statue in the manger and she noticed that the baby Jesus had no pillow. She told the priest that baby Jesus should have a pillow and that the hay was too scratchy… But Father Jacek said the monastery had no money for a pillow and that the Holy Family was very poor and that is most likely the way Mary placed the little baby Jesus. All Helena could say was “I don’t think so!”
When Helena went home all she could think about was baby Jesus lying on that scratchy and rough hay and the more she thought about it the more angry she became. “What does Father Jacek know about how a mother would prepare for a baby? She said to herself. “Of course Mary had a pillow for the baby Jesus!” She answered herself.
She decided that she had to make supper and got out the fixing to make home made kluski (noodles) with cabbage. But as she was rolling out the dough she became angrier and angrier that the poor baby Jesus had no pillow and her kluski got bigger and bigger until she realized that she wasn’t really making the delicate noodles she had planned. Then she had an idea! She would make little pillows from the dough and stuff them with cabbage! After she had done that she decided that maybe if she stuffed the pillows with blueberries they would be softer and have a wonderful fragrance of summer…. So she made some little pillows stuffed with blueberries! And then she thought …
if I stuffed the pillows with cheese they would be ever so soft! And so she stuffed some of her little pillows with cheese!
After she had boiled all her little pillows she took them to the Dominican church for baby Jesus. Father Jacek was praying at the crèche and when he was shown the little pillows he became very excited! He said to Helena “Oh thank you so much! Here it is Christmas Eve and the monks have nothing for supper… how kind of you to think of us!”
Well… what could Helena say… she gave the little pillows to Father Jacek … thankful that she could help the poor monks who had given all their own food to the poor but so sad that the Baby Jesus still had no pillow. She looked at the beautiful little statue and through her tears she was sure that she saw the baby Jesus smile and give her a little wink! And she knew that she had given the a baby Jesus a pillow after all… a soft and beautiful pillow… her heart filled with love and charity!
Nobody remembers little Helena today… even though she invented the little pillows that we call pierogi and that everyone has at their Christmas Eve dinner… but she doesn’t mind… Father Jacek on the other hand later became the famous St. Jacek, St. Hyacinth in English, one of the patron saints of Poland and interestingly enough… the patron saint of pierogi makers! (As if it were his idea!)
The moral to this story is that all of us are called to prepare the way for Jesus… not with a soft pillow but with a soft heart… to comfort those who are lonely or sad… to take the time for someone who just needs to talk… to have compassion and patience on those who just need our time… these are the presents that we can prepare for the Baby Jesus… Like Helena, our charity and kindness will make Him smile!
When Helena went home all she could think about was baby Jesus lying on that scratchy and rough hay and the more she thought about it the more angry she became. “What does Father Jacek know about how a mother would prepare for a baby? She said to herself. “Of course Mary had a pillow for the baby Jesus!” She answered herself.
She decided that she had to make supper and got out the fixing to make home made kluski (noodles) with cabbage. But as she was rolling out the dough she became angrier and angrier that the poor baby Jesus had no pillow and her kluski got bigger and bigger until she realized that she wasn’t really making the delicate noodles she had planned. Then she had an idea! She would make little pillows from the dough and stuff them with cabbage! After she had done that she decided that maybe if she stuffed the pillows with blueberries they would be softer and have a wonderful fragrance of summer…. So she made some little pillows stuffed with blueberries! And then she thought …
if I stuffed the pillows with cheese they would be ever so soft! And so she stuffed some of her little pillows with cheese!
After she had boiled all her little pillows she took them to the Dominican church for baby Jesus. Father Jacek was praying at the crèche and when he was shown the little pillows he became very excited! He said to Helena “Oh thank you so much! Here it is Christmas Eve and the monks have nothing for supper… how kind of you to think of us!”
Well… what could Helena say… she gave the little pillows to Father Jacek … thankful that she could help the poor monks who had given all their own food to the poor but so sad that the Baby Jesus still had no pillow. She looked at the beautiful little statue and through her tears she was sure that she saw the baby Jesus smile and give her a little wink! And she knew that she had given the a baby Jesus a pillow after all… a soft and beautiful pillow… her heart filled with love and charity!
Nobody remembers little Helena today… even though she invented the little pillows that we call pierogi and that everyone has at their Christmas Eve dinner… but she doesn’t mind… Father Jacek on the other hand later became the famous St. Jacek, St. Hyacinth in English, one of the patron saints of Poland and interestingly enough… the patron saint of pierogi makers! (As if it were his idea!)
The moral to this story is that all of us are called to prepare the way for Jesus… not with a soft pillow but with a soft heart… to comfort those who are lonely or sad… to take the time for someone who just needs to talk… to have compassion and patience on those who just need our time… these are the presents that we can prepare for the Baby Jesus… Like Helena, our charity and kindness will make Him smile!
Gleanings: December
Contemplation is nothing else than a secret, peaceful, and loving infusion of God, which if admitted, will set the soul on fire with the Spirit of love.
~St. John of the Cross
Fight all error, but do it with good humor, patience, kindness, and love. Harshness will damage your own soul and spoil the best cause.
~St. John Cantius
Those whose hearts are pure are temples of the Holy Spirit.
~ St. Lucy
It is not the actual physical exertion that counts toward a man's progress, nor the nature of the task, but the spirit of faith with which it is undertaken.
~ St. Francis Xavier
Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent.
~St. John of the Cross
In some causes silence is dangerous.
~Saint Ambrose
He is not wise to me who is wise in words only, but he who is wise in deeds.
~ Saint Gregory
If it is "daily bread," why do you take it once a year? . . . Take daily what is to profit you daily. Live in such a way that you may deserve to receive it daily. He who does not deserve to receive it daily, does not deserve to receive it once a year.
~St. Ambrose
When in Rome, live as the Romans do; when elsewhere, live as they live elsewhere.
~ Saint Ambrose
The rich man who gives to the poor does not bestow alms but pays a debt.
~St. Ambrose
~St. John of the Cross
Fight all error, but do it with good humor, patience, kindness, and love. Harshness will damage your own soul and spoil the best cause.
~St. John Cantius
Those whose hearts are pure are temples of the Holy Spirit.
~ St. Lucy
It is not the actual physical exertion that counts toward a man's progress, nor the nature of the task, but the spirit of faith with which it is undertaken.
~ St. Francis Xavier
Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent.
~St. John of the Cross
In some causes silence is dangerous.
~Saint Ambrose
He is not wise to me who is wise in words only, but he who is wise in deeds.
~ Saint Gregory
If it is "daily bread," why do you take it once a year? . . . Take daily what is to profit you daily. Live in such a way that you may deserve to receive it daily. He who does not deserve to receive it daily, does not deserve to receive it once a year.
~St. Ambrose
When in Rome, live as the Romans do; when elsewhere, live as they live elsewhere.
~ Saint Ambrose
The rich man who gives to the poor does not bestow alms but pays a debt.
~St. Ambrose
Laughter is a Gift from God
An Irish farmer named Muldoon lived alone in the countryside with a small dog that he loved and doted on. After many long years of faithful companionship, the dog finally died, so the farmer went to the parish priest and said, “Father, me dear old dog is dead. Could you be saying a Mass for him?”
The priest replied, “I’m so very sorry to hear about your dog’s death, but unfortunately I can’t say Mass for the poor creature.”
Muldoon said, “I understand, Father, I do. I guess I’ll go to that new denomination down the road; no tellin’ what they believe. Do you think $500 is enough to donate for the service?”
The priest replied, “Why didn’t you tell me that your dog was a Catholic?”
* * * * * *
A priest was giving a lesson on the 23rd Psalm to a group of children. He noticed that Little Johnny seemed upset by the verse,
“Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.”
What’s wrong, Johnny? The priest asked.
“Well,” replied Little Johnny, “I’m not worried about goodness and mercy, but I’m not sure I’d like Shirley following me around all the time.”
The priest replied, “I’m so very sorry to hear about your dog’s death, but unfortunately I can’t say Mass for the poor creature.”
Muldoon said, “I understand, Father, I do. I guess I’ll go to that new denomination down the road; no tellin’ what they believe. Do you think $500 is enough to donate for the service?”
The priest replied, “Why didn’t you tell me that your dog was a Catholic?”
* * * * * *
A priest was giving a lesson on the 23rd Psalm to a group of children. He noticed that Little Johnny seemed upset by the verse,
“Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.”
What’s wrong, Johnny? The priest asked.
“Well,” replied Little Johnny, “I’m not worried about goodness and mercy, but I’m not sure I’d like Shirley following me around all the time.”
Friday, November 26, 2010
The Rapture Refuted, Parts 4 and 5
Taken from Carl Olson's article at Inside Catholic.
MYTH 4: "The early Church Fathers believed in the Rapture and the millennial kingdom on earth."
This clever argument, used by Ryrie, LaHaye, Lindsey, and others, is effective in persuading those with little knowledge of historical theology or the beliefs of the early Church. True, several early Christian writers -- notably Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Methodius, Commodianus, and Lactanitus -- were premillennialists who believed that Christ’s Second Coming would lead to a visible, earthly reign. But the premillennialism they embraced was quite different from that taught by modern dispensationalists.
Catholic scholars acknowledge that some of the Fathers were influenced by the Jewish belief in an earthly Messianic kingdom, while others embraced millennarianism as a reaction to the Gnostic antagonism toward the material realm. But the Catholic Church does not look to one Church Father in isolation -- or even a select group of Fathers -- and claim their teachings are infallible or definitive. Rather, the Church views their writings as valuable guides providing insights and perspectives that assist the Magisterium -- the teaching office of the Church -- in defining, clarifying, and defending Church doctrine.
Those early premillennialists did not hold to distinctively modern and dispensationalist beliefs, especially not the belief in a pretribulation Rapture and the radical distinction between an earthly and a heavenly people of God; such beliefs didn’t come about until many centuries later. The early Church Fathers, whether premillennialist or otherwise, believed that the Church was the New Israel and that Christians -- consisting of both Jews and Gentiles (cf. Romans 10:12) -- had replaced the Jews as God’s chosen people.
In attempting to prove the validity of their beliefs by appealing to early Church Fathers, dispensationalists always ignore the Church Fathers’ unanimous teachings about the nature of the Eucharist, the authority and nature of the Church, and a host of other distinctively Catholic beliefs. They also conveniently blur the lines between the historical premillennialism of certain early Church writers and the dispensational premillennialism of Darby and his disciples.
MYTH 5: "The Left Behind books are harmless entertainment that encourage Christians in their faith and help them better understand the Book of Revelation."
Even when presented with the faulty theological premises underlying dispensationalism, some Catholics still insist that the Left Behind series is just good fun -- a light read with a sound moral message. Some, however, go even further and claim the books have changed their lives, provided answers about the end of the world, and made sense of the Bible, particularly the Book of Revelation. Responding to my book, a Catholic reader wrote, "I personally believe that the dispensationalists have done Catholics a favor by alerting them to the serious times we live in and by encouraging them to search out the Scriptures." She never makes mention of Catholic scholarship or magisterial documents.
Another Catholic reader of the series told me, "You condemn these books because they are successful." In fact, I’ve strongly critiqued the Left Behind books because they’re written by a noted Fundamentalist (with serious animus toward the Catholic Church) in order to propagate a theology that is incorrect, misleading, and contrary to historic Christianity.
One message of LaHaye’s that comes across clearly in books such as Are We Living in the End Times?, Rapture Under Attack, and Revelation Unveiled is that the Catholic Church is apostate, Catholicism is "Babylonian mysticism" and an "idolatrous religion," and Catholics worship Mary, knowing little about the real Jesus Christ. It’s difficult to overstate the dislike -- even hatred -- LaHaye has for the Catholic Church or to exaggerate the ridiculous character of his attacks. He condemns the use of candles in Catholic churches, insists there’s hardly any difference between Hinduism and Catholicism, and emphatically declares that the Catholic Church killed at least 40 million people during the "dark ages."
When I asked LaHaye, via e-mail, why he never refers to Catholic sources or official documents in his writings, he replied:
Because I think that for centuries the Catholic Church has presented church history in a manner protective of "Mother church." ...I have seen more concern on the part of your church for Hindus, Buddhists, and other pagan religions than they do [sic] for those who love Jesus Christ as He is presented in the Bible and are committed to making Him known to the lost so they will not be Left Behind.
In other words, the Catholic Church is simply wrong and doesn’t deserve a fair hearing. LaHaye has not only revealed himself to be an anti-Catholic polemicist but a theologian with a seriously skewed view of God’s salvific work. In a newspaper interview, LaHaye said, "We’ve [himself and Jenkins] created a series of books about the greatest cosmic event that will happen in the history of the world." What is that "greatest cosmic event"? The Incarnation? The Cross? The Resurrection? No, the Rapture -- a modern, man-made belief based on a distorted Christology and an anemic ecclesiology.
But don’t the books help people understand the Bible? According to contemporary Christian music star Michael W. Smith, "Left Behind has brought understanding and clarity to [the Book of] Revelation, a book of the Bible usually seen as confusing and dark." This echoes LaHaye’s assertion that St. John’s Apocalypse "gives a detailed description of the future." But a perusal of dispensationalist interpretations of the Book of Revelation written over the last several decades suggests otherwise. Dispensationalists disagree about nearly every major element of the book, including the identity of the Whore of Babylon (i.e., a reformed Roman Empire, the Catholic Church, Iraq, the United States), the mark of the Beast (i.e., computer chips, bar codes, social security numbers, laser technology), and numerous other entities, personages, nations, and events.
More importantly, dispensationalists give little attention to the rich Old Testament allusions or the first-century context of the Book of Revelation. To the contrary, Hal Lindsey proffers in There’s a New World Coming (Vision House, 1973) that "Revelation is written in such a way that its meaning becomes clear with the unfolding of current world events." Considering that none of Lindsey’s interpretations of the book’s prophetic utterances has come to pass over the past 30 years -- including his conviction that the Rapture would occur in the 1980s -- one can only wonder at Lindsey’s unflagging confidence. Futurists such as dispensationalists have always been prone to read current events into the Book of Revelation’s mysterious passages, and prophetic speculators of the past connected it to the French Revolution, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, and the founding of the modern Israeli state in 1948. More recent events supposedly shedding light on St. John’s vision include the Cold War, the Persian Gulf War, and the conflict with terrorism and Iraq.
The appeal of the pretribulational Rapture is understandable. The idea that those living today are "the generation" who will see Christ’s return is attractive and intoxicating. "My prophetic studies have convinced me," LaHaye writes, in Rapture Under Attack, "that we Christians living today have more evidence to believe we are the generation of His coming than any generation before us."
It’s no surprise that many people want to hear that they won’t have to die. Such promises of escape from suffering, illness, pain, and potential martyrdom are tempting, but they aren’t an option for Catholics. Each of us will endure suffering, and the Church will, one day, have to endure a final, great trial: "The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection" (CCC 677). The pretribulation Rapture, dispensationalism, and the Left Behind books, in the end, are long on promises and short on biblical, historical, and theological evidence.
MYTH 4: "The early Church Fathers believed in the Rapture and the millennial kingdom on earth."
This clever argument, used by Ryrie, LaHaye, Lindsey, and others, is effective in persuading those with little knowledge of historical theology or the beliefs of the early Church. True, several early Christian writers -- notably Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Methodius, Commodianus, and Lactanitus -- were premillennialists who believed that Christ’s Second Coming would lead to a visible, earthly reign. But the premillennialism they embraced was quite different from that taught by modern dispensationalists.
Catholic scholars acknowledge that some of the Fathers were influenced by the Jewish belief in an earthly Messianic kingdom, while others embraced millennarianism as a reaction to the Gnostic antagonism toward the material realm. But the Catholic Church does not look to one Church Father in isolation -- or even a select group of Fathers -- and claim their teachings are infallible or definitive. Rather, the Church views their writings as valuable guides providing insights and perspectives that assist the Magisterium -- the teaching office of the Church -- in defining, clarifying, and defending Church doctrine.
Those early premillennialists did not hold to distinctively modern and dispensationalist beliefs, especially not the belief in a pretribulation Rapture and the radical distinction between an earthly and a heavenly people of God; such beliefs didn’t come about until many centuries later. The early Church Fathers, whether premillennialist or otherwise, believed that the Church was the New Israel and that Christians -- consisting of both Jews and Gentiles (cf. Romans 10:12) -- had replaced the Jews as God’s chosen people.
In attempting to prove the validity of their beliefs by appealing to early Church Fathers, dispensationalists always ignore the Church Fathers’ unanimous teachings about the nature of the Eucharist, the authority and nature of the Church, and a host of other distinctively Catholic beliefs. They also conveniently blur the lines between the historical premillennialism of certain early Church writers and the dispensational premillennialism of Darby and his disciples.
MYTH 5: "The Left Behind books are harmless entertainment that encourage Christians in their faith and help them better understand the Book of Revelation."
Even when presented with the faulty theological premises underlying dispensationalism, some Catholics still insist that the Left Behind series is just good fun -- a light read with a sound moral message. Some, however, go even further and claim the books have changed their lives, provided answers about the end of the world, and made sense of the Bible, particularly the Book of Revelation. Responding to my book, a Catholic reader wrote, "I personally believe that the dispensationalists have done Catholics a favor by alerting them to the serious times we live in and by encouraging them to search out the Scriptures." She never makes mention of Catholic scholarship or magisterial documents.
Another Catholic reader of the series told me, "You condemn these books because they are successful." In fact, I’ve strongly critiqued the Left Behind books because they’re written by a noted Fundamentalist (with serious animus toward the Catholic Church) in order to propagate a theology that is incorrect, misleading, and contrary to historic Christianity.
One message of LaHaye’s that comes across clearly in books such as Are We Living in the End Times?, Rapture Under Attack, and Revelation Unveiled is that the Catholic Church is apostate, Catholicism is "Babylonian mysticism" and an "idolatrous religion," and Catholics worship Mary, knowing little about the real Jesus Christ. It’s difficult to overstate the dislike -- even hatred -- LaHaye has for the Catholic Church or to exaggerate the ridiculous character of his attacks. He condemns the use of candles in Catholic churches, insists there’s hardly any difference between Hinduism and Catholicism, and emphatically declares that the Catholic Church killed at least 40 million people during the "dark ages."
When I asked LaHaye, via e-mail, why he never refers to Catholic sources or official documents in his writings, he replied:
Because I think that for centuries the Catholic Church has presented church history in a manner protective of "Mother church." ...I have seen more concern on the part of your church for Hindus, Buddhists, and other pagan religions than they do [sic] for those who love Jesus Christ as He is presented in the Bible and are committed to making Him known to the lost so they will not be Left Behind.
In other words, the Catholic Church is simply wrong and doesn’t deserve a fair hearing. LaHaye has not only revealed himself to be an anti-Catholic polemicist but a theologian with a seriously skewed view of God’s salvific work. In a newspaper interview, LaHaye said, "We’ve [himself and Jenkins] created a series of books about the greatest cosmic event that will happen in the history of the world." What is that "greatest cosmic event"? The Incarnation? The Cross? The Resurrection? No, the Rapture -- a modern, man-made belief based on a distorted Christology and an anemic ecclesiology.
But don’t the books help people understand the Bible? According to contemporary Christian music star Michael W. Smith, "Left Behind has brought understanding and clarity to [the Book of] Revelation, a book of the Bible usually seen as confusing and dark." This echoes LaHaye’s assertion that St. John’s Apocalypse "gives a detailed description of the future." But a perusal of dispensationalist interpretations of the Book of Revelation written over the last several decades suggests otherwise. Dispensationalists disagree about nearly every major element of the book, including the identity of the Whore of Babylon (i.e., a reformed Roman Empire, the Catholic Church, Iraq, the United States), the mark of the Beast (i.e., computer chips, bar codes, social security numbers, laser technology), and numerous other entities, personages, nations, and events.
More importantly, dispensationalists give little attention to the rich Old Testament allusions or the first-century context of the Book of Revelation. To the contrary, Hal Lindsey proffers in There’s a New World Coming (Vision House, 1973) that "Revelation is written in such a way that its meaning becomes clear with the unfolding of current world events." Considering that none of Lindsey’s interpretations of the book’s prophetic utterances has come to pass over the past 30 years -- including his conviction that the Rapture would occur in the 1980s -- one can only wonder at Lindsey’s unflagging confidence. Futurists such as dispensationalists have always been prone to read current events into the Book of Revelation’s mysterious passages, and prophetic speculators of the past connected it to the French Revolution, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, and the founding of the modern Israeli state in 1948. More recent events supposedly shedding light on St. John’s vision include the Cold War, the Persian Gulf War, and the conflict with terrorism and Iraq.
The appeal of the pretribulational Rapture is understandable. The idea that those living today are "the generation" who will see Christ’s return is attractive and intoxicating. "My prophetic studies have convinced me," LaHaye writes, in Rapture Under Attack, "that we Christians living today have more evidence to believe we are the generation of His coming than any generation before us."
It’s no surprise that many people want to hear that they won’t have to die. Such promises of escape from suffering, illness, pain, and potential martyrdom are tempting, but they aren’t an option for Catholics. Each of us will endure suffering, and the Church will, one day, have to endure a final, great trial: "The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection" (CCC 677). The pretribulation Rapture, dispensationalism, and the Left Behind books, in the end, are long on promises and short on biblical, historical, and theological evidence.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
The Holy Souls in Purgatory
What is purgatory? Purgatory is simply the place where already saved souls are cleansed of the temporal effects of sin before they are allowed to see the holy face of Almighty God. Revelation 21:27 tells us that “...nothing unclean will enter [Heaven].” Purgatory is God’s way of ensuring that Revelation 21:27 is true and that nothing unclean will enter Heaven. It is only through Christ’s sacrifice that we are shown this mercy! It is Christ and Christ alone Who allows us access to the Father.
Many people ask, “Where is the word purgatory in the Bible?” It will not be found in the Bible, but the concept of a “final cleansing” or “purgation” for those who require it is very evident in the Bible, in the writings of the early Church Fathers, and in the Old Testament religion whence Christianity sprang.
Those who have died in a state of grace are not truly “dead”; they are our beloved in Heaven or in purgatory (on their way to Heaven) and will forever be, world without end, part of the Communion of Saints – the Church Triumphant (the Saints in Heaven, whether or not they are beatified or canonized), the Church Suffering (the saints in purgatory, the holy souls), and the Church Militant (the saints on earth).
Because we cannot know, aside from those the Church has beatified or canonized, who is already in Heaven, who is in purgatory for a time, or who is damned, we pray for the dead for the rest of our lives, assuming they are in purgatory, while hoping they are in Heaven and not damned.
We also ask those who have died to pray for us. While those whom the Church has deemed to be of the Church Triumphant (the canonized Saints) are in Heaven for certain and are, therefore, in no need of our prayers, we have always asked for them to pray for us. As to the Church Suffering in purgatory, St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that they are not able to know, by themselves, our prayers; however, it is piously believed, and taught by St. Alphonsus Liguori, that God makes our prayers known to them – not directly, as they are deprived of the beatific vision until they enter Heaven, but by infusing this knowledge into their souls. St. Bellarmine teaches that because the Church Suffering is so close to God – much closer than we are and having the great consolation of knowing they are saved – their prayers for us are very effective. So, as you pray for your dead loved ones and all the holy souls in purgatory, ask them to pray for you, too!
Many people ask, “Where is the word purgatory in the Bible?” It will not be found in the Bible, but the concept of a “final cleansing” or “purgation” for those who require it is very evident in the Bible, in the writings of the early Church Fathers, and in the Old Testament religion whence Christianity sprang.
Those who have died in a state of grace are not truly “dead”; they are our beloved in Heaven or in purgatory (on their way to Heaven) and will forever be, world without end, part of the Communion of Saints – the Church Triumphant (the Saints in Heaven, whether or not they are beatified or canonized), the Church Suffering (the saints in purgatory, the holy souls), and the Church Militant (the saints on earth).
Because we cannot know, aside from those the Church has beatified or canonized, who is already in Heaven, who is in purgatory for a time, or who is damned, we pray for the dead for the rest of our lives, assuming they are in purgatory, while hoping they are in Heaven and not damned.
We also ask those who have died to pray for us. While those whom the Church has deemed to be of the Church Triumphant (the canonized Saints) are in Heaven for certain and are, therefore, in no need of our prayers, we have always asked for them to pray for us. As to the Church Suffering in purgatory, St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that they are not able to know, by themselves, our prayers; however, it is piously believed, and taught by St. Alphonsus Liguori, that God makes our prayers known to them – not directly, as they are deprived of the beatific vision until they enter Heaven, but by infusing this knowledge into their souls. St. Bellarmine teaches that because the Church Suffering is so close to God – much closer than we are and having the great consolation of knowing they are saved – their prayers for us are very effective. So, as you pray for your dead loved ones and all the holy souls in purgatory, ask them to pray for you, too!
Christianity on Trial
~ John Paul II
Częstochowa is a Light in the 20th Century
"At a time when Poland was completely overwhelmed by darkness, a light always remained lit: the Shrine of Częstochowa and the Church."After the war, Poland regained its independence but with a Communist government imposed by Moscow. During that somber period, Stephane Cardinal Wyszynski protected his people from the lure of the Communist government. To commemorate the millennium of the evangelization of Poland, he organized the "pilgrimage" from house to house of a copy of the image of Częstochowa. (When this devotion was banned, the pilgrimage still continued with an empty frame evoking Mary's presence.) This pilgrimage had a very strong popular impact and was the ferment of resistance to the oppressors of the Polish people.
Polish Madonnas: Our Lady of Ludźmierz
 |
| The Miraculous Spring |
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Ludźmierz in Ludźmierz, Poland is home to Our Lady of Ludźmierz, known as the Shepherdess of Podhale or in Polish Gaździna Podhala.
Ludźmierz is the oldest Roman Catholic parish in Podhale. Its history stretches back to the 13th century. In 1234 Teodor Gryfita began raising a simple wooden church with a shingled roof and three altars, after obtaining permission from the bishop of Kraków. Pope John Paul II visited the sanctuary in 1997. In 2001 the church was declared a Minor Basilica.
Perhaps the most well-known story regarding the shrine is an incident during the crowning of the statue by Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński in 1963, attended by the future Pope John Paul II as Bishop of the Archdiocese of Kraków. The statue accidentally slipped during the ceremony and the future pontiff caught the scepter which had fallen out of the statue's grasp, a scene that was later interpreted as a prophecy of the young Bishop's future selection as Pope.There is a medieval legend from about 1400 that refers to the Shepherdess of Podhale or the Gaździna Podhala which refers to a Hungarian merchant on his way to Nowy Targ who after having lost his way in the nearby swamps, was miraculously led out by a mysterious lady to the church. When he understood that this mysterious figure had been Mary, the mother of Jesus, he attempted to kneel to give thanks in prayer when a miraculous spring burst forth. He pledged to commission a statue that would depict Mary as he'd seen her and bring it back to the church.
Polish Madonnas: Our Lady of Gietrzwald
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| Our Lady of Gietrzwald |
On June 30, 1877, the apparition said, in Polish: "I would like you to say the rosary every day."
On July 1st, she declared: "I am the Most Blessed Mary Immaculate."
Many people joined the girls in the following months. Some asked the Virgin questions about imprisoned priests, missing people, and the freedom of Poland. Others asked for healing, especially from alcoholism.
The Virgin Mary's answer was always:
"Pray and say the rosary, priests will be freed, the sick will recover, Poland will regain its independence thanks to your prayers."
Our Lady asked the faithful to build a chapel on the place of her apparition, with a statue of the Immaculate Conception. She promised to bless a spring at the edge of the forest and encouraged the people to drink the miraculous water.
A theological and medical committee examined the girls and the content of the message: everything was found to be normal. On September 10, 1967, on behalf of Pope Paul VI, the cardinals S. Wyszynski and C.Wojtyla solemnly crowned the sacred image. On September 11, 1977, one hundred years after the apparitions, the bishop declared the authenticity of the apparitions, with the permission of the Primate and the Holy See.
The Penny Catechism
Also known as A Catechism of Christian Doctrine, The Penny Catechism gives 370 Questions and Answers on all aspects of the Catholic Faith. Having been approved by the Archbishops and Bishops of England and Wales for use in their dioceses, it is an official catechism of the Catholic Church. Topics covered include God, the Sacraments, the Ten Commandments, the Precepts of the Church, grace, virtue, sins and so forth. The Penny Catechism is excellent both as a basic class text and as a pocket-sized review of Catholic teaching for everyone. It contains concise, direct answers and provides a wonderful summary of the Catholic Faith
Faith in God
1.Who made you?
God made me.
2. Why did God make you?
God made me to know him, love him and serve him in this world, and to be happy with him for ever in the next.
3. To whose image and likeness did God make you?
God made me to his own image and likeness.
4. Is this likeness to God in your body, or in your soul?
This likeness to God is chiefly in my soul.
5. How is your soul like to God?
My soul is like to God because it is a spirit, and is immortal.
6. What do you mean when you say that your soul is immortal?
When I say my soul is immortal, I mean that my soul can never die.
7. Of which must you take more care, of your body or of your soul?
I must take more care of my soul; for Christ has said, 'What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul?' (Matt. 16:26)
8. What must you do to save your soul?
To save my soul I must worship God by Faith, Hope and Charity; that is, I must believe in him, I must hope in him, and I must love him with my whole heart.
9. What is faith?
Faith is a supernatural gift of God, which enables us to believe without doubting whatever God has revealed.
10. Why must you believe whatever God has revealed?
I must believe whatever God has revealed because God is the very truth, and can neither deceive nor be deceived.
11. How are you to know what God has revealed?
I am to know what God has revealed by the testimony, teaching, and authority of the Catholic Church.
12. Who gave the Catholic Church divine authority to teach?
Jesus Christ gave the Catholic Church divine authority to teach, when he said, 'Go therefore, make disciples of all the nations'. (Matt. 28:19)
The Apostles' Creed is divided into twelve parts or articles.
16. What is the first article of the Creed?
The first article of the Creed is, 'I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth'.
17. What is God?
God is the supreme Spirit, who alone exists of himself, and is infinite in all perfection.
18. Why is God called Almighty?
God is called 'Almighty' because he can do all things; 'For God everything is possible'. (Matt. 19:26)
19. Why is God called Creator of heaven and earth?
God is called 'Creator of heaven and earth' because he made heaven and earth, and all things, out of nothing, by his word.
20. Had God any beginning?
God had no beginning: he always was, he is, and he always will be.
21. Where is God?
God is everywhere.
22. Does God know and see all things?
God knows and sees all things, even our most secret thoughts.
23. Had God any body?
God has no body; he is a spirit.
24. Is there only one God?
There is only one God.
Faith in God
1.Who made you?
God made me.
2. Why did God make you?
God made me to know him, love him and serve him in this world, and to be happy with him for ever in the next.
3. To whose image and likeness did God make you?
God made me to his own image and likeness.
4. Is this likeness to God in your body, or in your soul?
This likeness to God is chiefly in my soul.
5. How is your soul like to God?
My soul is like to God because it is a spirit, and is immortal.
6. What do you mean when you say that your soul is immortal?
When I say my soul is immortal, I mean that my soul can never die.
7. Of which must you take more care, of your body or of your soul?
I must take more care of my soul; for Christ has said, 'What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul?' (Matt. 16:26)
8. What must you do to save your soul?
To save my soul I must worship God by Faith, Hope and Charity; that is, I must believe in him, I must hope in him, and I must love him with my whole heart.
9. What is faith?
Faith is a supernatural gift of God, which enables us to believe without doubting whatever God has revealed.
10. Why must you believe whatever God has revealed?
I must believe whatever God has revealed because God is the very truth, and can neither deceive nor be deceived.
11. How are you to know what God has revealed?
I am to know what God has revealed by the testimony, teaching, and authority of the Catholic Church.
12. Who gave the Catholic Church divine authority to teach?
Jesus Christ gave the Catholic Church divine authority to teach, when he said, 'Go therefore, make disciples of all the nations'. (Matt. 28:19)
The Apostles' Creed is divided into twelve parts or articles.
16. What is the first article of the Creed?
The first article of the Creed is, 'I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth'.
17. What is God?
God is the supreme Spirit, who alone exists of himself, and is infinite in all perfection.
18. Why is God called Almighty?
God is called 'Almighty' because he can do all things; 'For God everything is possible'. (Matt. 19:26)
19. Why is God called Creator of heaven and earth?
God is called 'Creator of heaven and earth' because he made heaven and earth, and all things, out of nothing, by his word.
20. Had God any beginning?
God had no beginning: he always was, he is, and he always will be.
21. Where is God?
God is everywhere.
22. Does God know and see all things?
God knows and sees all things, even our most secret thoughts.
23. Had God any body?
God has no body; he is a spirit.
24. Is there only one God?
There is only one God.
The Rapture Refuted, Part 3
The Hejnał continues the 5-part series on the Rapture, with an article by Carl Olson that first appeared in Inside Catholic. Olson presents five myths about the Rapture which Catholics should know in order to refute this false teaching.
MYTH 3: "The Rapture is a biblical and orthodox belief."
LaHaye declares, in Rapture Under Attack, that "virtually all Christians who take the Bible literally expect to be raptured before the Lord comes in power to this earth." This would have been news to Christians -- both Catholic and Protestant -- living prior to the 18th century, since the concept of a pretribulation Rapture was unheard of prior to that time. Vague notions had been considered by the Puritan preachers Increase (1639-1723) and Cotton Mather (1663-1728), and the late 18th-century Baptist minister Morgan Edwards, but it was John Nelson Darby who solidified the belief in the 1830s and placed it into a larger theological framework.
This historical background leaves the dispensationalist with two options: claim the pretribulation Rapture is biblical but went undiscovered for 1,800 years, or argue that it has been the belief of "true Christians" ever since Christ walked the earth. Ryrie, in his apologetic Dispensationalism Today (Moody, 1965), makes a case for the former by stating: "The fact that the church taught something in the first century does not make it true, and likewise if the church did not teach something until the twentieth century, it is not necessarily false." LaHaye and others argue for the latter, pointing to passages such as 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, and Matthew 24 as clear evidence for the pretribulation Rapture (those passages make several appearances, for instance, in the Left Behind novels).
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 is especially vital to the dispensationalist: For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord.
There are three problems with claiming this passage refers to the Rapture. First, neither it nor the entire book of 1 Thessalonians mentions Christ returning two more times, or makes any reference to such a distinction. Second, dispensationalists believe the Rapture will be a secret and silent event, yet this passage describes a very loud and public event. This is all the more problematic because dispensationalists insist that they interpret Scripture "plainly" and "literally," allowing for symbolism only when such is the obvious intent of the author. Finally, dispensationalists teach that all other New Testament references to Christ coming in the clouds (Matthew 24:30 and 26:64; Mark 14:62; Revelation 1:7) refer to His Second Coming but inexplicably deny that that is the case here.
1 Corinthians 15 and its reference to "the twinkling of an eye" is often used as a proof text but is equally unconvincing. The point of the passage is that Christians will be glorified at the Second Coming, not that they’ll be secretly whisked off the planet prior to the tribulation. It describes an event that will occur at "the last trumpet" and states that "the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:52).
Yet LaHaye and Left Behind coauthor Jerry B. Jenkins, reflecting the common dispensationalist interpretation, claim in Are We Living in the End Times? (Tyndale, 1999) that Matthew 24:29-31 describes the Second Coming, which will include "a great sound of a trumpet" (Matthew 24:31). So how can 1 Corinthians 15, which speaks of "the last trumpet," refer to the Rapture when there is yet another trumpet to be sounded, several years later, at the Second Coming?
Some dispensationalists have admitted, at least in a backhanded fashion, the recent roots of the pretribulation Rapture. In an article titled "The Origin of the Pre-Trib Rapture" (Biblical Perspectives, March/April 1989), LaHaye’s colleague at the Pre-Trib Research Institute, Thomas D. Ice, writes that "a certain theological climate needed to be created before premillennialism would restore the Biblical doctrine of the pre-trib Rapture." He continues: "Sufficient development did not take place until after the French Revolution. The factor of the Rapture has been clearly known by the church all along; therefore the issue is the timing of the event. Since neither pre- nor post-tribs have a proof text for the time of the Rapture... then it is clear that this issue is the product of a deduction from one’s overall system of theology, both for pre- and post-tribbers"
In fact, the Rapture as dispensationalists conceive of it was never part of the early or medieval Church’s theology but is the modern creation of Darby less than 200 years ago.
MYTH 3: "The Rapture is a biblical and orthodox belief."
LaHaye declares, in Rapture Under Attack, that "virtually all Christians who take the Bible literally expect to be raptured before the Lord comes in power to this earth." This would have been news to Christians -- both Catholic and Protestant -- living prior to the 18th century, since the concept of a pretribulation Rapture was unheard of prior to that time. Vague notions had been considered by the Puritan preachers Increase (1639-1723) and Cotton Mather (1663-1728), and the late 18th-century Baptist minister Morgan Edwards, but it was John Nelson Darby who solidified the belief in the 1830s and placed it into a larger theological framework.
This historical background leaves the dispensationalist with two options: claim the pretribulation Rapture is biblical but went undiscovered for 1,800 years, or argue that it has been the belief of "true Christians" ever since Christ walked the earth. Ryrie, in his apologetic Dispensationalism Today (Moody, 1965), makes a case for the former by stating: "The fact that the church taught something in the first century does not make it true, and likewise if the church did not teach something until the twentieth century, it is not necessarily false." LaHaye and others argue for the latter, pointing to passages such as 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, and Matthew 24 as clear evidence for the pretribulation Rapture (those passages make several appearances, for instance, in the Left Behind novels).
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 is especially vital to the dispensationalist: For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord.
There are three problems with claiming this passage refers to the Rapture. First, neither it nor the entire book of 1 Thessalonians mentions Christ returning two more times, or makes any reference to such a distinction. Second, dispensationalists believe the Rapture will be a secret and silent event, yet this passage describes a very loud and public event. This is all the more problematic because dispensationalists insist that they interpret Scripture "plainly" and "literally," allowing for symbolism only when such is the obvious intent of the author. Finally, dispensationalists teach that all other New Testament references to Christ coming in the clouds (Matthew 24:30 and 26:64; Mark 14:62; Revelation 1:7) refer to His Second Coming but inexplicably deny that that is the case here.
1 Corinthians 15 and its reference to "the twinkling of an eye" is often used as a proof text but is equally unconvincing. The point of the passage is that Christians will be glorified at the Second Coming, not that they’ll be secretly whisked off the planet prior to the tribulation. It describes an event that will occur at "the last trumpet" and states that "the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:52).
Yet LaHaye and Left Behind coauthor Jerry B. Jenkins, reflecting the common dispensationalist interpretation, claim in Are We Living in the End Times? (Tyndale, 1999) that Matthew 24:29-31 describes the Second Coming, which will include "a great sound of a trumpet" (Matthew 24:31). So how can 1 Corinthians 15, which speaks of "the last trumpet," refer to the Rapture when there is yet another trumpet to be sounded, several years later, at the Second Coming?
Some dispensationalists have admitted, at least in a backhanded fashion, the recent roots of the pretribulation Rapture. In an article titled "The Origin of the Pre-Trib Rapture" (Biblical Perspectives, March/April 1989), LaHaye’s colleague at the Pre-Trib Research Institute, Thomas D. Ice, writes that "a certain theological climate needed to be created before premillennialism would restore the Biblical doctrine of the pre-trib Rapture." He continues: "Sufficient development did not take place until after the French Revolution. The factor of the Rapture has been clearly known by the church all along; therefore the issue is the timing of the event. Since neither pre- nor post-tribs have a proof text for the time of the Rapture... then it is clear that this issue is the product of a deduction from one’s overall system of theology, both for pre- and post-tribbers"
In fact, the Rapture as dispensationalists conceive of it was never part of the early or medieval Church’s theology but is the modern creation of Darby less than 200 years ago.
Gleanings…November
Seal the cross openly on your forehead and on your children’s, so that the demons, seeing the royal sign, will tremble and flee.
~St. Cyril of Jerusalem
The saints were so completely dead to themselves they cared very little whether others agreed with them or not!~ St. John Vianney
The perfection of a Christian consists in mortifying his will for the love of Christ. Where there is no great mortification, there is no great sanctity.
~ St. Philip Neri
We must pray without tiring, for the salvation of mankind does not depend upon material success . . . but on Jesus alone.
~St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
One must see God in everyone. ~St. Catherine Labouré
Be sure that you first preach by the way you live. If you do not, people will notice that you say one thing, but live otherwise, and your words will bring only cynical laughter and a derisive shake of the head.
~St. Charles Borromeo
Leave sadness to those in the world. We who work for God should be lighthearted.~St. Leonard of Port Maurice
Refusing further service as a Roman soldier: I am a soldier of Christ: combat is not permitted to me.~St. Martin of Tours
The Child, the Lord Jesus Christ . . . Word in our flesh,
Wisdom in infancy, Power in weakness, and in true Man,
the Lord of Majesty. ~Pope St. Leo the Great
~St. Cyril of Jerusalem
The saints were so completely dead to themselves they cared very little whether others agreed with them or not!~ St. John Vianney
The perfection of a Christian consists in mortifying his will for the love of Christ. Where there is no great mortification, there is no great sanctity.
~ St. Philip Neri
We must pray without tiring, for the salvation of mankind does not depend upon material success . . . but on Jesus alone.
~St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
One must see God in everyone. ~St. Catherine Labouré
Be sure that you first preach by the way you live. If you do not, people will notice that you say one thing, but live otherwise, and your words will bring only cynical laughter and a derisive shake of the head.
~St. Charles Borromeo
Leave sadness to those in the world. We who work for God should be lighthearted.~St. Leonard of Port Maurice
Refusing further service as a Roman soldier: I am a soldier of Christ: combat is not permitted to me.~St. Martin of Tours
The Child, the Lord Jesus Christ . . . Word in our flesh,
Wisdom in infancy, Power in weakness, and in true Man,
the Lord of Majesty. ~Pope St. Leo the Great
Devotion of November: The Souls in Purgatory
 |
| St. Gertrude |
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.
Why the Daily Rosary?
Our Lady has 117 titles. She selected this title at Fatima:
"I am the Lady of the Rosary."
St. Francis de Sales said the greatest method of praying IS- Pray the Rosary.
St. Thomas Aquinas preached 40 straight days in Rome Italy on just the Hail Mary.
St. John Vianney, patron of priests, was seldom seen without a rosary in his hand.
"The rosary is the scourge of the devil" -- Pope Adrian VI
"The rosary is a treasure of graces" -- Pope Paul V
Padre Pio the stigmatic priest said: "The Rosary is THE WEAPON"
Pope Leo XIII wrote 9 encyclicals on the rosary.
Pope John XXIII spoke 38 times about our Lady and the Rosary. he prayed 15 decades daily.
"I am the Lady of the Rosary."
St. Francis de Sales said the greatest method of praying IS- Pray the Rosary.
St. Thomas Aquinas preached 40 straight days in Rome Italy on just the Hail Mary.
St. John Vianney, patron of priests, was seldom seen without a rosary in his hand.
"The rosary is the scourge of the devil" -- Pope Adrian VI
"The rosary is a treasure of graces" -- Pope Paul V
Padre Pio the stigmatic priest said: "The Rosary is THE WEAPON"
Pope Leo XIII wrote 9 encyclicals on the rosary.
Pope John XXIII spoke 38 times about our Lady and the Rosary. he prayed 15 decades daily.
The 15 Promises of Mary to Those Who Recite the Rosary
1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the rosary, shall receive signal graces.
2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the rosary.
3.The rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
4.It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the heart of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
5.The soul which recommend itself to me by the recitation of the rosary, shall not perish.
6. Whoever shall recite the rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.
7.Whoever shall have a true devotion for the rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.
8. Those who are faithful to recite the rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.
9.I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the rosary.
10.The faithful children of the rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.
11.You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the rosary.
12.All those who propagate the holy rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
13.I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.
14.All who recite the rosary are my son, and brothers of my only son Jesus Christ.
15.Devotion to my rosary is a great sign of predestination.
As given to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan by Our Lady.
2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the rosary.
3.The rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
4.It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the heart of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
5.The soul which recommend itself to me by the recitation of the rosary, shall not perish.
6. Whoever shall recite the rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.
7.Whoever shall have a true devotion for the rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.
8. Those who are faithful to recite the rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.
9.I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the rosary.
10.The faithful children of the rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.
11.You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the rosary.
12.All those who propagate the holy rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
13.I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.
14.All who recite the rosary are my son, and brothers of my only son Jesus Christ.
15.Devotion to my rosary is a great sign of predestination.
As given to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan by Our Lady.
More from Rumble & Carty: Radio Replies
THE TEACHING AUTHORITY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
477. Rome's claim to interpretative authority, based on an obviously doctored text of the Bible can only appeal to those who have not heard the voice of the true Shepherd.
It used to be the Protestant tradition that the Catholic religion is opposed to the Bible. Now when a man has that fixed idea firmly embedded in his mind, he gets a shock when he hears the Bible quoted in favor of Catholicism. The stronger the texts are, the greater his shock. But some people never dream that they may have been laboring under a delusion. They refuse to entertain the idea that they have been wrong all their lives. The texts quoted seem to point to Catholicism all right, but to them it simply cannot be true. So they seek an excuse for not believing what they cannot refute. Every text which seems to favor Catholicism cannot mean what it says, but must obviously be "doctored." And they are so sure that they alone are truly guided by God that anyone impressed by the case for the Catholic religion must be regarded as not having heard the voice of the true Shepherd!
478. Other Churches claim to have given the Bible equal study, and claim equal value for their interpretation.
Since no non-Catholic Churches claim to be infallible, but admit their constant liability to error, they cannot even claim equal value for their interpretations. Moreover, apart from their divergence from the Catholic interpretation, they differ amongst themselves. That would not be, had they all equally arrived at the correct sense of the Bible. As a matter of fact, all practically nullify the claims of each as a reliable guide to the meaning of Scripture.
479. Protestantism and Catholicism are founded on the same basic principles, their differences being due to different interpretations of the Bible.
They are not founded on the same basic principles. In basic principles they are diametrically opposed. What is the basic principle of Protestantism? It is belief in what one thinks the Bible to mean. If a man thinks the Bible to support this or that doctrine, then it surely does so; for he cannot imagine that he might be wrong. He makes an act of faith in his own judgment. But the Catholic basic principle is very different. Instead of deciding for himself what is or is not the teaching of Christ, the Catholic is taught that teaching by the Catholic Church. He knows that his own judgment is quite likely to be wrong, but that the Catholic Church cannot be wrong. How different are the basic principles of the two religions can be judged from results. For the Protestant principle leads to endless diversity, while the Catholic principle leads to a world-wide and international unity.
480. But the Catholic believes in the Catholic Church because he thinks the Bible supports it.
That is not so. The Bible does support it, of course. But even if he never saw a Bible, the Catholic would have sufficient ground for his judgment. He knows that the Catholic priest does not preach merely his own opinions, as does the Protestant minister. He knows that his Church is not a particular sect, but a vast united universal Apostolic Church, whose history shows the allegiance of innumerable saints and martyrs. And such a Church is impossible to account for by merely human forces. It is God's work on the very face of it. Merely human institutions have always tended to fluctuation, change, and disintegration. Empires have crumbled. No human being can get even one nation to agree, say, on political matters. How could a mere man persuade over 400 millions drawn from all nations to agree on religious matters — millions who differ on almost every other conceivable subject? The Catholic has reasonable grounds for his acceptance of the Church as the teacher of mankind in religious matters; and he submits to her authoritative teaching in matters of faith and morals, rather than decide for himself what the Bible must mean.
481. My point is, since Protestantism and Catholicism differ as to what the Bible means, who is to say which is right?
On Protestant principles, there is no one who could do so. And that is the basic fallacy of Protestantism. It offers no certainty, and can offer no certainty, as to what God does really teach. Yet it is essential that in so grave a matter we should have certainty. The Catholic Church alone can give it.
482. If you quote the Bible, the Protestant will quote the Bible; so we are back to our point of view of the Bible, and there is no means of deciding the issue.
For a Catholic the issue does not depend on the Bible, even though the Bible does corroborate Catholicism. No Protestant can prove his beliefs from the Bible, or even that they ought to be proved from the Bible. You say that Protestants cannot prove their position, and that Catholics cannot prove theirs. It's a matter of conjecture and opinion. Protestants may be right or Catholics may be right. Neither has proof, and we must be content to do without proof. I admit that that is the logical result of the Protestant principles on which you argue; and for that reason Protestantism must end in uncertainty and doubt. That in itself should be enough to prove that it cannot be the religion of Christ.
483. How will the problem be solved?
Only by abandoning the Protestant principle of personal and private judgment, and accepting the doctrines taught clearly and definitely by the Catholic Church. She is the only tribunal in the world with authority from God to teach all nations, and endowed with infallibility in order that she may not lead men into error. And for two thousand years she has both fulfilled and proved her mission under the protection and guidance of the Holy Ghost.
484. Do you not think that the dogmatic demands of the Roman Catholic Church constitute the difficulty for most people?
If so, it is because they have not the right idea of faith, nor the will to submit to the teaching authority of Christ. When Christ, the very Son of God, reveals the truth, that truth must not be accommodated to our mental variations; our own mental outlook must be adjusted to that truth. We cannot take what suits us, and reject what does not. Thus St. Paul wrote, "The knowledge of God brings into captivity every understanding unto the obedience of Christ." 2 Cor 10:5. God has the right to demand the obedience of the intelligence as well as of the will; and that obedience is manifested by the acceptance of dogmatic truth revealed by Him.
485. Is not Truth infinite and incomprehensible?
Ontological and Divine Truth as identified with the Being of God is infinite and incomprehensible. But not all logical and derived truth is infinite and incomprehensible. There is a difference between truth of being and truth of thought concerning that being. The created mind can attain and comprehend truth derived from the consideration of created things. It can attain a genuine though inadequate knowledge of uncreated truth insofar as God deigns to reveal that information and insofar as human thought can express it.
486. Is a human being who says that he knows a thing to be the truth with dogmatic certainty capable of comprehending what is truth and what is not?
He is certainly capable of comprehending that a thing is true and its opposite false, even though he cannot comprehend the full inner nature of the thing he knows to be true. For example, I know from historical evidence that Christ lived. I know that He established the Catholic Church. I know that He promised to be with that Church all days till the end of the world. I know that He wrought certain works which proved His claim to be God, and no ordinary man. All that is human knowledge on my own human level. I take His word for it that He has left Himself really present in the Eucharist. I do not fully comprehend the inner nature of His presence there. But I do understand by my human faculties the truth or falsity of facts. It is true to say that He is there; it is false to say that He is not there. I assert the truth with dogmatic certainty — a certainty based on the knowledge that the Infinite and All-perfect God must know the truth, and could not tell a lie.
487. The human mind is limited; acquires knowledge painfully and slowly; and frequently has to renounce what it once thought to be true. Is any religious belief, then, justified in dogmatic assertion?
Not if it be a question of merely human opinions derived by our own processes of thinking from more or less probable premises. But one who is quite conscious that he is preserved by God from error in declaring a truth revealed by God Himself is certainly justified in speaking with dogmatic certainty. And under certain conditions, well known and defined, the Catholic Church has this promised assistance of God where His revelation is concerned, so that her official dogmatic definitions are infallibly correct.
477. Rome's claim to interpretative authority, based on an obviously doctored text of the Bible can only appeal to those who have not heard the voice of the true Shepherd.
It used to be the Protestant tradition that the Catholic religion is opposed to the Bible. Now when a man has that fixed idea firmly embedded in his mind, he gets a shock when he hears the Bible quoted in favor of Catholicism. The stronger the texts are, the greater his shock. But some people never dream that they may have been laboring under a delusion. They refuse to entertain the idea that they have been wrong all their lives. The texts quoted seem to point to Catholicism all right, but to them it simply cannot be true. So they seek an excuse for not believing what they cannot refute. Every text which seems to favor Catholicism cannot mean what it says, but must obviously be "doctored." And they are so sure that they alone are truly guided by God that anyone impressed by the case for the Catholic religion must be regarded as not having heard the voice of the true Shepherd!
478. Other Churches claim to have given the Bible equal study, and claim equal value for their interpretation.
Since no non-Catholic Churches claim to be infallible, but admit their constant liability to error, they cannot even claim equal value for their interpretations. Moreover, apart from their divergence from the Catholic interpretation, they differ amongst themselves. That would not be, had they all equally arrived at the correct sense of the Bible. As a matter of fact, all practically nullify the claims of each as a reliable guide to the meaning of Scripture.
479. Protestantism and Catholicism are founded on the same basic principles, their differences being due to different interpretations of the Bible.
They are not founded on the same basic principles. In basic principles they are diametrically opposed. What is the basic principle of Protestantism? It is belief in what one thinks the Bible to mean. If a man thinks the Bible to support this or that doctrine, then it surely does so; for he cannot imagine that he might be wrong. He makes an act of faith in his own judgment. But the Catholic basic principle is very different. Instead of deciding for himself what is or is not the teaching of Christ, the Catholic is taught that teaching by the Catholic Church. He knows that his own judgment is quite likely to be wrong, but that the Catholic Church cannot be wrong. How different are the basic principles of the two religions can be judged from results. For the Protestant principle leads to endless diversity, while the Catholic principle leads to a world-wide and international unity.
480. But the Catholic believes in the Catholic Church because he thinks the Bible supports it.
That is not so. The Bible does support it, of course. But even if he never saw a Bible, the Catholic would have sufficient ground for his judgment. He knows that the Catholic priest does not preach merely his own opinions, as does the Protestant minister. He knows that his Church is not a particular sect, but a vast united universal Apostolic Church, whose history shows the allegiance of innumerable saints and martyrs. And such a Church is impossible to account for by merely human forces. It is God's work on the very face of it. Merely human institutions have always tended to fluctuation, change, and disintegration. Empires have crumbled. No human being can get even one nation to agree, say, on political matters. How could a mere man persuade over 400 millions drawn from all nations to agree on religious matters — millions who differ on almost every other conceivable subject? The Catholic has reasonable grounds for his acceptance of the Church as the teacher of mankind in religious matters; and he submits to her authoritative teaching in matters of faith and morals, rather than decide for himself what the Bible must mean.
481. My point is, since Protestantism and Catholicism differ as to what the Bible means, who is to say which is right?
On Protestant principles, there is no one who could do so. And that is the basic fallacy of Protestantism. It offers no certainty, and can offer no certainty, as to what God does really teach. Yet it is essential that in so grave a matter we should have certainty. The Catholic Church alone can give it.
482. If you quote the Bible, the Protestant will quote the Bible; so we are back to our point of view of the Bible, and there is no means of deciding the issue.
For a Catholic the issue does not depend on the Bible, even though the Bible does corroborate Catholicism. No Protestant can prove his beliefs from the Bible, or even that they ought to be proved from the Bible. You say that Protestants cannot prove their position, and that Catholics cannot prove theirs. It's a matter of conjecture and opinion. Protestants may be right or Catholics may be right. Neither has proof, and we must be content to do without proof. I admit that that is the logical result of the Protestant principles on which you argue; and for that reason Protestantism must end in uncertainty and doubt. That in itself should be enough to prove that it cannot be the religion of Christ.
483. How will the problem be solved?
Only by abandoning the Protestant principle of personal and private judgment, and accepting the doctrines taught clearly and definitely by the Catholic Church. She is the only tribunal in the world with authority from God to teach all nations, and endowed with infallibility in order that she may not lead men into error. And for two thousand years she has both fulfilled and proved her mission under the protection and guidance of the Holy Ghost.
484. Do you not think that the dogmatic demands of the Roman Catholic Church constitute the difficulty for most people?
If so, it is because they have not the right idea of faith, nor the will to submit to the teaching authority of Christ. When Christ, the very Son of God, reveals the truth, that truth must not be accommodated to our mental variations; our own mental outlook must be adjusted to that truth. We cannot take what suits us, and reject what does not. Thus St. Paul wrote, "The knowledge of God brings into captivity every understanding unto the obedience of Christ." 2 Cor 10:5. God has the right to demand the obedience of the intelligence as well as of the will; and that obedience is manifested by the acceptance of dogmatic truth revealed by Him.
485. Is not Truth infinite and incomprehensible?
Ontological and Divine Truth as identified with the Being of God is infinite and incomprehensible. But not all logical and derived truth is infinite and incomprehensible. There is a difference between truth of being and truth of thought concerning that being. The created mind can attain and comprehend truth derived from the consideration of created things. It can attain a genuine though inadequate knowledge of uncreated truth insofar as God deigns to reveal that information and insofar as human thought can express it.
486. Is a human being who says that he knows a thing to be the truth with dogmatic certainty capable of comprehending what is truth and what is not?
He is certainly capable of comprehending that a thing is true and its opposite false, even though he cannot comprehend the full inner nature of the thing he knows to be true. For example, I know from historical evidence that Christ lived. I know that He established the Catholic Church. I know that He promised to be with that Church all days till the end of the world. I know that He wrought certain works which proved His claim to be God, and no ordinary man. All that is human knowledge on my own human level. I take His word for it that He has left Himself really present in the Eucharist. I do not fully comprehend the inner nature of His presence there. But I do understand by my human faculties the truth or falsity of facts. It is true to say that He is there; it is false to say that He is not there. I assert the truth with dogmatic certainty — a certainty based on the knowledge that the Infinite and All-perfect God must know the truth, and could not tell a lie.
487. The human mind is limited; acquires knowledge painfully and slowly; and frequently has to renounce what it once thought to be true. Is any religious belief, then, justified in dogmatic assertion?
Not if it be a question of merely human opinions derived by our own processes of thinking from more or less probable premises. But one who is quite conscious that he is preserved by God from error in declaring a truth revealed by God Himself is certainly justified in speaking with dogmatic certainty. And under certain conditions, well known and defined, the Catholic Church has this promised assistance of God where His revelation is concerned, so that her official dogmatic definitions are infallibly correct.
The Rapture Refuted, Part Two
The Hejnał continues the 5-part series on the Rapture, with an article by Carl Olson that first appeared in Inside Catholic. Olson presents five myths about the Rapture which Catholics should know in order to refute this false teaching.
MYTH 2: "Catholic beliefs about the end times are quite similar to those of Fundamentalists such as Tim LaHaye."
Studying dispensationalism (as in studying almost any theological system) is like exploring an iceberg -- the vast majority lies beneath the surface, out of sight and unnoticed by the casual observer. On the surface, dispensationalists and Catholics appear to agree about the Second Coming, a future Antichrist, and an impending trial and time of apostasy. And, in fact, common beliefs about aspects of these teachings do exist. Although it comes as a surprise to many Fundamentalists, the Catholic Church clearly believes in the Second Coming, "a final trial," and a "supreme religious deception... of the Antichrist" (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], 675).
As noteworthy as these agreements are, the differences between premillennial dispensationalism and Catholic doctrine are even more striking. Stripped to their bare essentials, these include three premises about the past and present, and two beliefs about the future.
The first dispensationalist premise is that Jesus Christ failed to establish the kingdom for the Jews during His first coming. Dispensationalists believe that Christ offered a material and earthly kingdom, but the Jews rejected Him. John Nelson Darby (1800-1882), the ex-Anglican priest who formed the dispensationalist system, wrote, "The Lord, having been rejected by the Jewish people, is become wholly a heavenly person." This dualistic notion was echoed and articulated by Darby’s disciples, including Cyrus I. Scofield (editor of the Scofield Reference Bible), Lewis Sperry Chafer, and many of the popularizers of the system. Leading dispensationalist theologian Charles C. Ryrie, in his systematic Basic Theology, gives this convoluted explanation: "Throughout his earthly ministry Jesus’ Davidic kingship was offered to Israel (Matthew 2:2 and 27:11; John 12:13), but He was rejected.... Because the King was rejected, the messianic, Davidic kingdom was (from a human viewpoint) postponed. Though He never ceases to be King and, of course, is King today as always, Christ is never designated as King of the Church.... Though Christ is a King today, He does not rule as King. This awaits His second coming. Then the Davidic kingdom will be realized" (Matthew 25:31; Revelation 19:15 and 20).
This supposed failure leads to the second premise that the Church is a "parenthetical" insert into history. Put another way, the Church was created out of necessity when the Jews rejected Christ. Lewis Sperry Chafer (1871-1952), whose eight-volume Systematic Theology is the dispensationalist Summa, wrote, “The present age of the Church is an intercalation into the revealed calendar or program of God as that program was foreseen by the prophets of old. Such, indeed, is the precise nature of the present age."
The Church is not, in dispensationalist theology, the new Israel spoken of by St. Paul (see Galatians 6:16) but is utterly separate from Old Testament Israel. So long as the "Church age" continues, the Old Testament promises made to Israel are on hold, waiting to be fulfilled.
The third premise, so vital to dispensationalism, is the existence of two people of God: the Jews (the "earthly" people) and the Christians (the "heavenly" people). This is the language and theological vision established by Darby and taken up by leading dispensationalists ever since. In Rapture Under Attack (Multnomah, 1998), LaHaye notes that the pretribulational dispensationalist view is the "only view that distinguishes between Israel and the church," and then remarks that "the confusion of Israel and the church is one of the major reasons for confusion in prophecy as a whole.... Pre-Tribulationism is the only position which clearly outlines the program of the church."
As LaHaye’s statement indicates, these premises result in the belief of the pretribulation Rapture. This event is necessary because the heavenly people (Christians) must eventually be taken from the earthly stage so that the prophetic timeline can be "restarted" and God’s work with the earthly people (Jews) resumed. That work will involve seven years of tribulation, which dispensationalists believe will be a period of God’s chastisement on the Jewish people, resulting in the vast majority of Jews being killed, but also in the conversion of those remaining.
This, finally, leads to the second belief about the future: an earthly, millennial kingdom established by Christ for the Jews. Based on passages such as Revelation 20 and Ezekiel 40-48, this includes the claim that animal sacrifices will be renewed in a rebuilt Temple. Some dispensationalists think these sacrifices will be symbolic; others believe they will have salvific value, befitting a theocratic government.
All five of these points are incompatible with Catholic doctrine. Christ did not offer an earthly kingdom, nor did He fail, nor was He rejected by all of the Jews; His mother, the apostles, and the disciples were all Jews who accepted Him as the Messiah. The Church is not a sort of "Plan B," but is, according to the Catechism, the "goal of all things," reflecting the Catholic recognition of how intimately Christ has joined Himself to the Church (cf. Ephesians 5). The Old Covenant is fulfilled in the New, and there is only "one People of God of the New Covenant, which transcends all the natural or human limits of nations, cultures, races, and sexes: ‘For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body’" (CCC 1267).
Flowing from incorrect, flawed premises, the idea of a pretribulation Rapture is foreign to Catholic theology. Based largely on St. Augustine’s City of God, the millennium has long been understood (if not formally defined) to be the Church age -- a time when the King rules, even though the Kingdom has not been fully revealed (cf. CCC 567, 669).
MYTH 2: "Catholic beliefs about the end times are quite similar to those of Fundamentalists such as Tim LaHaye."
Studying dispensationalism (as in studying almost any theological system) is like exploring an iceberg -- the vast majority lies beneath the surface, out of sight and unnoticed by the casual observer. On the surface, dispensationalists and Catholics appear to agree about the Second Coming, a future Antichrist, and an impending trial and time of apostasy. And, in fact, common beliefs about aspects of these teachings do exist. Although it comes as a surprise to many Fundamentalists, the Catholic Church clearly believes in the Second Coming, "a final trial," and a "supreme religious deception... of the Antichrist" (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], 675).
As noteworthy as these agreements are, the differences between premillennial dispensationalism and Catholic doctrine are even more striking. Stripped to their bare essentials, these include three premises about the past and present, and two beliefs about the future.
The first dispensationalist premise is that Jesus Christ failed to establish the kingdom for the Jews during His first coming. Dispensationalists believe that Christ offered a material and earthly kingdom, but the Jews rejected Him. John Nelson Darby (1800-1882), the ex-Anglican priest who formed the dispensationalist system, wrote, "The Lord, having been rejected by the Jewish people, is become wholly a heavenly person." This dualistic notion was echoed and articulated by Darby’s disciples, including Cyrus I. Scofield (editor of the Scofield Reference Bible), Lewis Sperry Chafer, and many of the popularizers of the system. Leading dispensationalist theologian Charles C. Ryrie, in his systematic Basic Theology, gives this convoluted explanation: "Throughout his earthly ministry Jesus’ Davidic kingship was offered to Israel (Matthew 2:2 and 27:11; John 12:13), but He was rejected.... Because the King was rejected, the messianic, Davidic kingdom was (from a human viewpoint) postponed. Though He never ceases to be King and, of course, is King today as always, Christ is never designated as King of the Church.... Though Christ is a King today, He does not rule as King. This awaits His second coming. Then the Davidic kingdom will be realized" (Matthew 25:31; Revelation 19:15 and 20).
This supposed failure leads to the second premise that the Church is a "parenthetical" insert into history. Put another way, the Church was created out of necessity when the Jews rejected Christ. Lewis Sperry Chafer (1871-1952), whose eight-volume Systematic Theology is the dispensationalist Summa, wrote, “The present age of the Church is an intercalation into the revealed calendar or program of God as that program was foreseen by the prophets of old. Such, indeed, is the precise nature of the present age."
The Church is not, in dispensationalist theology, the new Israel spoken of by St. Paul (see Galatians 6:16) but is utterly separate from Old Testament Israel. So long as the "Church age" continues, the Old Testament promises made to Israel are on hold, waiting to be fulfilled.
The third premise, so vital to dispensationalism, is the existence of two people of God: the Jews (the "earthly" people) and the Christians (the "heavenly" people). This is the language and theological vision established by Darby and taken up by leading dispensationalists ever since. In Rapture Under Attack (Multnomah, 1998), LaHaye notes that the pretribulational dispensationalist view is the "only view that distinguishes between Israel and the church," and then remarks that "the confusion of Israel and the church is one of the major reasons for confusion in prophecy as a whole.... Pre-Tribulationism is the only position which clearly outlines the program of the church."
As LaHaye’s statement indicates, these premises result in the belief of the pretribulation Rapture. This event is necessary because the heavenly people (Christians) must eventually be taken from the earthly stage so that the prophetic timeline can be "restarted" and God’s work with the earthly people (Jews) resumed. That work will involve seven years of tribulation, which dispensationalists believe will be a period of God’s chastisement on the Jewish people, resulting in the vast majority of Jews being killed, but also in the conversion of those remaining.
This, finally, leads to the second belief about the future: an earthly, millennial kingdom established by Christ for the Jews. Based on passages such as Revelation 20 and Ezekiel 40-48, this includes the claim that animal sacrifices will be renewed in a rebuilt Temple. Some dispensationalists think these sacrifices will be symbolic; others believe they will have salvific value, befitting a theocratic government.
All five of these points are incompatible with Catholic doctrine. Christ did not offer an earthly kingdom, nor did He fail, nor was He rejected by all of the Jews; His mother, the apostles, and the disciples were all Jews who accepted Him as the Messiah. The Church is not a sort of "Plan B," but is, according to the Catechism, the "goal of all things," reflecting the Catholic recognition of how intimately Christ has joined Himself to the Church (cf. Ephesians 5). The Old Covenant is fulfilled in the New, and there is only "one People of God of the New Covenant, which transcends all the natural or human limits of nations, cultures, races, and sexes: ‘For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body’" (CCC 1267).
Flowing from incorrect, flawed premises, the idea of a pretribulation Rapture is foreign to Catholic theology. Based largely on St. Augustine’s City of God, the millennium has long been understood (if not formally defined) to be the Church age -- a time when the King rules, even though the Kingdom has not been fully revealed (cf. CCC 567, 669).
Gleanings....from the Saints
Christ does not force our will; He only takes what we give him. But He does not give Himself entirely until He sees that we yield ourselves entirely to Him.
~ St. Teresa of Avila
Until we have acquired genuine prayer, we are like people teaching children to walk.~ St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
Before prayer, endeavor to realize whose Presence you are approaching, and to whom you are about to speak. We can never fully understand how we ought to behave towards God, before whom the angels tremble.~St. Teresa of Avila
If God can work through me, he can work through anyone.
~Francis of Assisi
"This life is full of obstacles, difficulties for one whose purpose is the close following of Christ. O how few start on this road of the following of Christ! And for this reason it may sometimes appear that the true Christian life is something excessive. Our poor human nature may even call it at times a stupidity to despise a pleasure for God. It is as if somebody said to us: 'How stupid you are to deny yoursevles all innocent pleasures which others enjoy without scruple of conscience. Do you only want to go to Heaven? O what a dry, uninteresting form of existence!' To such whisperings of the devil, you must never pay attention."~Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos
I am a very little soul, who can offer only very little things to the Lord.
~ St. Therese the Little Flower
Tell sinners that I am always waiting for them, that I listen intently to the beating of their heart...My heart rejoices when they return to me." (Jesus to St. Faustina - Notebook VI, 1728)
Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.
~Francis of Assisi
"What a paradise it is for a soul when the heart knows itself to be so loved by God" (St. Faustina - Notebook VI, 1756)
O Jesus, my Love, my vocation, at last I have found it ... my vocation is Love!
~ St. Therese the Little Flower
~ St. Teresa of Avila
Until we have acquired genuine prayer, we are like people teaching children to walk.~ St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
Before prayer, endeavor to realize whose Presence you are approaching, and to whom you are about to speak. We can never fully understand how we ought to behave towards God, before whom the angels tremble.~St. Teresa of Avila
If God can work through me, he can work through anyone.
~Francis of Assisi
"This life is full of obstacles, difficulties for one whose purpose is the close following of Christ. O how few start on this road of the following of Christ! And for this reason it may sometimes appear that the true Christian life is something excessive. Our poor human nature may even call it at times a stupidity to despise a pleasure for God. It is as if somebody said to us: 'How stupid you are to deny yoursevles all innocent pleasures which others enjoy without scruple of conscience. Do you only want to go to Heaven? O what a dry, uninteresting form of existence!' To such whisperings of the devil, you must never pay attention."~Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos
I am a very little soul, who can offer only very little things to the Lord.
~ St. Therese the Little Flower
Tell sinners that I am always waiting for them, that I listen intently to the beating of their heart...My heart rejoices when they return to me." (Jesus to St. Faustina - Notebook VI, 1728)
Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.
~Francis of Assisi
"What a paradise it is for a soul when the heart knows itself to be so loved by God" (St. Faustina - Notebook VI, 1756)
O Jesus, my Love, my vocation, at last I have found it ... my vocation is Love!
~ St. Therese the Little Flower
THE POLISH PEOPLE IN AMERICAN HISTORY
ON OCTOBER 1, 1608 a group of Polish settlers landed on the American Continent to assist the financially faltering Jamestown Settlement in Virginia. The Poles were hard workers and immediately began to clear land, build shelters, dig wells and create small industries which quickly made Capt. John Smith's community a financial success. The settled Polish pioneers proved to be such a great asset to this first English Colony in the New World that more Poles were invited to settle in Jamestown. The Polish settlers were recognized as fine craftsmen and good soldiers. In 1609, when the Indians set an ambush to capture and kill Capt. John Smith, the Poles saved his life and captured the Indian Chief.
But even in this early American settlement bigotry was evident. In 1619, all men of English descent in the Virginia colony were given the right to share in their own government. The Poles, however, were denied this right. Angry at the inequality the Poles staged a protest at the first Virginia Assembly on July 30, 1619 and as a more effective protest the Poles refused to work until they were given the same voting privileges as those of the English settlers. Thus, the first labor strike in America occurred, not for money but for liberty! The strike was most effective: Governor Yeardley and the Legislature quickly realized that if the colony sent empty ships to England the consequences could be very unpleasant, since practically all of the profits realized came as a result of the products that the Polish-organized industries had produced. The Poles quickly received equal rights and the right to vote and are thus called The Pioneers of American Liberty and Democracy!
But even in this early American settlement bigotry was evident. In 1619, all men of English descent in the Virginia colony were given the right to share in their own government. The Poles, however, were denied this right. Angry at the inequality the Poles staged a protest at the first Virginia Assembly on July 30, 1619 and as a more effective protest the Poles refused to work until they were given the same voting privileges as those of the English settlers. Thus, the first labor strike in America occurred, not for money but for liberty! The strike was most effective: Governor Yeardley and the Legislature quickly realized that if the colony sent empty ships to England the consequences could be very unpleasant, since practically all of the profits realized came as a result of the products that the Polish-organized industries had produced. The Poles quickly received equal rights and the right to vote and are thus called The Pioneers of American Liberty and Democracy!
Devotion of the Month: The Holy Rosary
The Five Joyful Mysteries: Monday & Saturday
1.The Annunciation: Humility
2.The Visitation: Charity
3.The Birth of Our Lord: Poverty, or detachment from the world
4.The Presentation of Our Lord: Purity of heart, obedience
5.The Finding of Our Lord in the Temple: Piety
The Five Sorrowful Mysteries: Tuesday & Friday
1.The Agony in the Garden: Contrition for our sins
2.The Scourging at the Pillar: Mortification of our senses
3.The Crowning with Thorns: Interior mortification
4.The Carrying of the Cross: Patience under crosses
5.The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord: That we may die to ourselves
The Five Glorious Mysteries: Wednesday & Sunday
1.The Resurrection: Conversion of heart
2.The Ascension: A desire for heaven
3.The Coming of the Holy Ghost: The Gifts of the Holy Ghost
4.The Assumption of our Blessed Mother into Heaven: Devotion to Mary
5.The Coronation of our Blessed Mother: Eternal happiness
The Five Luminous Mysteries:Thursday
1.The Baptism in the Jordan
2.The Wedding at Cana
3.The Proclamation of the Kingdom
4.The Transfiguration
5.The Institution of the Eucharist
1.The Annunciation: Humility
2.The Visitation: Charity
3.The Birth of Our Lord: Poverty, or detachment from the world
4.The Presentation of Our Lord: Purity of heart, obedience
5.The Finding of Our Lord in the Temple: Piety
The Five Sorrowful Mysteries: Tuesday & Friday
1.The Agony in the Garden: Contrition for our sins
2.The Scourging at the Pillar: Mortification of our senses
3.The Crowning with Thorns: Interior mortification
4.The Carrying of the Cross: Patience under crosses
5.The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord: That we may die to ourselves
The Five Glorious Mysteries: Wednesday & Sunday
1.The Resurrection: Conversion of heart
2.The Ascension: A desire for heaven
3.The Coming of the Holy Ghost: The Gifts of the Holy Ghost
4.The Assumption of our Blessed Mother into Heaven: Devotion to Mary
5.The Coronation of our Blessed Mother: Eternal happiness
The Five Luminous Mysteries:Thursday
1.The Baptism in the Jordan
2.The Wedding at Cana
3.The Proclamation of the Kingdom
4.The Transfiguration
5.The Institution of the Eucharist
Monday, September 20, 2010
September: Our Lady of Sorrows
The seven founders of the Servite Order, in 1239, five years after they established themselves on Monte Senario, took up the sorrows of Mary, standing under the Cross, as the principal devotion of their order. The feast originated by a provincial synod of Cologne (1413) to expiate the crimes of the iconoclast Hussites.
It was kept at a great variety of dates, mostly during Eastertide or shortly after Pentecost, or on some fixed day of a month. From the end of the fifteenth century in several dioceses the scope of this feast was widened to commemorate either five dolours (sorrows), from the imprisonment to the burial of Christ, or seven dolours, extending over the entire life of Mary.
Pius VII extended the feast to the Latin Church (September 18, 1814).
September 8: Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Be sure to visit our parish on September 8 to celebrate Our Lady’s Birthday. We will honor the Mother of God , as we do every year, with a bouquet of Rosaries, prayed every hour from 8AM to 5PM. Won’t you join us for this special devotion?
We do not usually celebrate the birthdays of the saints. Instead we celebrate the day they died, because that is the day they were born into the joys of heaven.
But the birthday of Mary, our Blessed Mother, is an exception. We do celebrate her birthday because she came into this world full of grace and because she was to be the Mother of Jesus.
The birth of Our Lady was like a dawn. When the sky starts to turn a rosy pink early in the morning, we know the sun will soon come up. In the same way, when Mary was born, she brought great happiness to the world. Her birth meant that soon Jesus, the Sun of justice, would appear. Mary was the wonderful human being whose privilege it was to bring the Lord Jesus to all people.
Even today, if we have Mary, we have Jesus. Whoever is very
devoted to her is very close to the heart of Jesus.
We do not usually celebrate the birthdays of the saints. Instead we celebrate the day they died, because that is the day they were born into the joys of heaven.
But the birthday of Mary, our Blessed Mother, is an exception. We do celebrate her birthday because she came into this world full of grace and because she was to be the Mother of Jesus.
The birth of Our Lady was like a dawn. When the sky starts to turn a rosy pink early in the morning, we know the sun will soon come up. In the same way, when Mary was born, she brought great happiness to the world. Her birth meant that soon Jesus, the Sun of justice, would appear. Mary was the wonderful human being whose privilege it was to bring the Lord Jesus to all people.
Even today, if we have Mary, we have Jesus. Whoever is very
devoted to her is very close to the heart of Jesus.
Gleanings…from our Founding Fathers (and others!)
Ronald Reagan
The right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty, it is not in the power of man to alienate this gift, and voluntarily become a slave.
John Adams
It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.
George Washington
The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth—that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?
Benjamin Franklin
True religion affords to government its surest support.
George Washington
No pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown.
William Penn
Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.
Ronald Reagan
The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.
John F. Kennedy
Are the religious and moral supports described by George Washington no longer as important to our nation’s well-being? Or do we ban the expression of such supports in our public square at the peril of our Republic?
Newt Gingrich
Our form of government makes no sense unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious faith.
Dwight Eisenhower
Will Catholics Be “Left Behind?”
Carl Olson, a convert from Protestantism, has written a persuasive article, first published in Inside Catholic. We reproduce it here in five installments. Look for the remaining installments in future issues of The Hejnał.
Part One:
(Inside Catholic) About ten years ago, I mentioned to a Catholic friend that I was starting to work on a book critiquing the Left Behind novels. I explained that it would thoroughly examine premillennial dispensationalism, the unique apocalyptic belief system presented, in fictional format, within those books. Premillennial dispensationalism teaches that the "Rapture" and the Second Coming are two events separated by a time of tribulation and that there will be a future millennial reign of Christ on earth. "Why?" she asked, obviously bewildered. "No one really takes that stuff seriously."
That revealing remark merely reinforced my desire to write Will Catholics Be "Left Behind"? (Ignatius, 2003). Other conversations brought home the same point. Far too many people -- including a significant number of Catholics -- don’t recognize the attraction and power of this Fundamentalist phenomenon. Nor do they appear to appreciate how much curiosity exists about the "end times," the book of Revelation, and the "pretribulation Rapture" -- the belief that Christians will be taken up from earth prior to a time of tribulation and the Second Coming. In the course of writing articles, giving talks, and writing the book, I’ve encountered a number of questions and comments -- almost all from Catholics -- that indicate how much confusion exists about matters of eschatology (theology of the end times), not to mention ecclesiology, historical theology, and the interpretation of Scripture. The five myths I present here summarize many of those questions.
MYTH 1: "The Left Behind books represent a fringe belief system that very few people take seriously."
Exactly how many copies of the Left Behind books must be sold before the theology they propagate can be taken seriously? Sixty-five million? That’s actually where sales stand right now, making the 16 novels the biggest-selling series of Christian fiction ever. Then there are the movies, CDs, children’s books, devotionals, greeting cards, and a host of other products, along with a Web site that attracts hundreds of thousands of fans every month.
But that’s only part of the larger picture. The biggest-selling work of non-fiction (other than the Bible) since 1970 is dispensationalist Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth (Bantam, 1970), which sold more than 40 million copies and established the blueprint for a number of other popular, self-described "Bible prophecy" experts (including Tim LaHaye, creator and coauthor of the Left Behind series). LaHaye’s first work of "Bible prophecy" was The Beginning of the End (Tyndale, 1972), essentially a carbon copy of Lindsey’s mega-seller. In the years that followed, Lindsey and LaHaye, along with authors such as Salem Kirban, David Wilkinson, Dave Hunt, Grant Jeffrey, John Walvoord, and others, produced a string of best-selling books warning of the rapidly approaching pretribulation Rapture, the Antichrist, and the tribulation.
The success of these books and of the dispensationalist system isn’t "fringe." Far from it -- they’re actually quite main- stream, influencing even nominal Christians and non-Christians. It reflects a trend that has been steadily growing for several decades. While Lutherans, Methodists, and Episcopalians dwindle in number and influence, Fundamentalist and conservative Evangelical groups continue to form and grow vigorously, making their mark increasingly in the secular realm. Many of these Fundamentalists -- including "non-denominational" Christians, "Bible-believing" Christians, "born-again" Christians, Baptists, and Assembly of God members -- are antagonistic toward the Catholic Church and her teachings, and a majority of them believe in some form of dispensationalism.
Harvard historian Paul Boyer, author of When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture (Harvard University Press, 1998), estimates that 30 to 40 percent of Americans believe in "Bible prophecy" and hold to eschatological beliefs such as those taught in the Left Behind novels. Admittedly, such numbers are difficult, if not impossible, to verify with any real accuracy. Still, it can be safely said that tens of millions of Americans believe in a pretribulation Rapture and would readily accept the Left Behind books as a fairly accurate, fictionalized depiction of the fast-approaching end of the world.
Rumble and Carty: The radio priests who evangelized the world
 |
| Rev. Dr. Leslie Rumble |
Said Fr. Rumble, “"I was brought up as a Protestant, probably with more inherited prejudices than most non-Catholics of these days. My parents were Anglican and taught me the Anglican faith. My 'broad-minded' protestant teachers taught me to dislike the Catholic Church intensely. I later tried Protestantism in various other forms, and it is some thirty years since, in God's providence, I became a Catholic. As for the 'open, free, sincere worship' of a Protestant Church, I tasted it, but for me it proved in the end to be not only open, but empty; it was altogether too free from God's prescriptions."
Rev. Charles Mortimer Carty:
I broadcast my radio program, the Catholic Radio Hour, from St. Paul, Minnesota.
I was also carrying on as a Catholic Campaigner for Christ, the Apostolate to the man in the street through the medium of my trailer and loud-speaking system. In the distribution of pamphlets and books on the Catholic Faith, Radio Replies proved the most talked of book carried in my trailer display of Catholic literature. As many of us street preachers have learned, it is not so much what you say over the microphone in answer to questions from open air listeners, but what you get into their hands to read. The questions Fr. Rumble had to answer on the other side of the planet are same the questions I had to answer before friendly and hostile audiences throughout my summer campaign."
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s Introduction to Radio Replies
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| Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen |
My reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of the churches of the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He was on earth in the flesh. If you would find Christ today, then find the Church that does not get along with the world. Look for the Church that is hated by the world as Christ was hated by the world. Look for the Church that is accused of being behind the times, as our Lord was accused of being ignorant and never having learned.
Look for the Church which men sneer at as socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because He came from Nazareth. Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils.
Look for the Church which, in seasons of bigotry, men say must be destroyed in the name of God as men crucified Christ and thought they had done a service to God. Look for the Church which the world rejects because it claims it is infallible, as Pilate rejected Christ because He called Himself the Truth. Look for the Church which is rejected by the world as Our Lord was rejected by men.
Look for the Church which amid the confusions of conflicting opinions, its members love as they love Christ, and respect its Voice as the very voice of its Founder, and the suspicion will grow, that if the Church is unpopular with the spirit of the world, then it is unworldly, and if it is unworldly it is other worldly. Since it is other-worldly, it is infinitely loved and infinitely hated as was Christ Himself. But only that which is Divine can be infinitely hated and infinitely loved. Therefore the Church is Divine.
Excerpts from Radio Replies by Rumble & Carty
1. Please give me evidence that God exists. I have never had any such evidence for I do not accept the Bible.
What do you mean by evidence? Some people think that evidence must be seen and touched, as an animal sees a patch of grass and eats it. But men are not mere animals. They have reason, and can appreciate intellectual evidence. For example, the evidence of beauty in music or in painting is perceived by man's mind, not by his senses. An animal could hear the same sounds, or see the same colors, without being impressed by their harmony and proportion. Apart from the Bible altogether, reason can detect sufficient evidence to guarantee the existence of God.
2. What is this evidence for God's existence, apart from the Bible?
There are many indications, the chief of which I shall give you very briefly: The first is from causality. The universe, limited in all its details, could not be its own cause. It could no more come together with all its regulating laws than the San Francisco Harbor Bridge could just happen, or a clock could assemble itself and keep perfect time without a clock-maker. On the same principle, if there were no God, there would be no you to dispute His existence. A second indication is drawn from the universal reasoning, or if you wish, intuition of men. The universal judgment of mankind can no more be wrong on this vital point than the intuition of an infant that food must be conveyed to the mouth. The stamp of God's handiwork is so clearly impressed upon creation, and, above all, upon man, that all nations instinctively believe that there is a God. The truth is in possession. Men do not have to persuade themselves that there is a God. They have to try to persuade themselves that there is no God. And no one yet, who has attained to such a temporary persuasion, has been able to find a valid reason for it. Men do not grow into the idea of a God; they endeavor to grow out of it.
The sense of moral obligation confirms these reasons. In every man there is a sense of right and wrong. A man knows interiorly when he is doing wrong. Something rebukes his conduct. He knows that he is going against an inward voice. It is the voice of conscience, dictating to us a law we did not make, and which no man could have made, for this voice protests whether other men know our conduct or not. This voice is often quite against what we wish to do, warning us beforehand, condemning us after its violation. The law dictated by this voice of conscience supposes a lawgiver who has written his law in our hearts. And as God alone could do this, it is certain that He exists.
Finally, justice demands that there be a God. The very sense of justice among men, resulting in law-courts, supposes a just God. We did not give ourselves our sense of justice. It comes from whoever made us, and no one can give what he does not possess himself. Yet justice cannot always be done by men in this world. Here the good often suffer, and the wicked prosper. And, even though human justice does not always succeed in balancing the scales, they will be balanced some day by a just God, who most certainly must exist.
3. You, as a Priest, argue to a clock-maker. I, as a rationalist, ask,
"Who created your uncreated clock-maker?"
That is not a rational question. I say that the universe is obviously created, and that what is created supposes a Creator who is uncreated, or the problem goes on forever, the whole endless chain of dependent beings as unable to explain itself as each of its links. It is rational to argue to an uncreated clock-maker. It is not rational to ask, "Who created this uncreated clock-maker?" God was not created. If He were, He would be a creature and would have a creator. His creator would then be God, and not He Himself. God always existed. He never began, and will never cease to be. He is eternal.
What do you mean by evidence? Some people think that evidence must be seen and touched, as an animal sees a patch of grass and eats it. But men are not mere animals. They have reason, and can appreciate intellectual evidence. For example, the evidence of beauty in music or in painting is perceived by man's mind, not by his senses. An animal could hear the same sounds, or see the same colors, without being impressed by their harmony and proportion. Apart from the Bible altogether, reason can detect sufficient evidence to guarantee the existence of God.
2. What is this evidence for God's existence, apart from the Bible?
There are many indications, the chief of which I shall give you very briefly: The first is from causality. The universe, limited in all its details, could not be its own cause. It could no more come together with all its regulating laws than the San Francisco Harbor Bridge could just happen, or a clock could assemble itself and keep perfect time without a clock-maker. On the same principle, if there were no God, there would be no you to dispute His existence. A second indication is drawn from the universal reasoning, or if you wish, intuition of men. The universal judgment of mankind can no more be wrong on this vital point than the intuition of an infant that food must be conveyed to the mouth. The stamp of God's handiwork is so clearly impressed upon creation, and, above all, upon man, that all nations instinctively believe that there is a God. The truth is in possession. Men do not have to persuade themselves that there is a God. They have to try to persuade themselves that there is no God. And no one yet, who has attained to such a temporary persuasion, has been able to find a valid reason for it. Men do not grow into the idea of a God; they endeavor to grow out of it.
The sense of moral obligation confirms these reasons. In every man there is a sense of right and wrong. A man knows interiorly when he is doing wrong. Something rebukes his conduct. He knows that he is going against an inward voice. It is the voice of conscience, dictating to us a law we did not make, and which no man could have made, for this voice protests whether other men know our conduct or not. This voice is often quite against what we wish to do, warning us beforehand, condemning us after its violation. The law dictated by this voice of conscience supposes a lawgiver who has written his law in our hearts. And as God alone could do this, it is certain that He exists.
Finally, justice demands that there be a God. The very sense of justice among men, resulting in law-courts, supposes a just God. We did not give ourselves our sense of justice. It comes from whoever made us, and no one can give what he does not possess himself. Yet justice cannot always be done by men in this world. Here the good often suffer, and the wicked prosper. And, even though human justice does not always succeed in balancing the scales, they will be balanced some day by a just God, who most certainly must exist.
3. You, as a Priest, argue to a clock-maker. I, as a rationalist, ask,
"Who created your uncreated clock-maker?"
That is not a rational question. I say that the universe is obviously created, and that what is created supposes a Creator who is uncreated, or the problem goes on forever, the whole endless chain of dependent beings as unable to explain itself as each of its links. It is rational to argue to an uncreated clock-maker. It is not rational to ask, "Who created this uncreated clock-maker?" God was not created. If He were, He would be a creature and would have a creator. His creator would then be God, and not He Himself. God always existed. He never began, and will never cease to be. He is eternal.
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