Veritatis Splendor - The Splendour of Truth

Fundamentalism & Extremism

2010-04-04T17:51:00.000-07:00

The Pope's prayer intention for this month is as follows and regards every religion and ideological system: "That every tendency to fundamentalism and extremism may be countered by constant respect, by tolerance and by dialogue among all believers." Today, we see various forms of radicalism; the greatest threat today being the Islamist Fundamentalist. I believe there is a difference between the faithful Muslim who loves God and neighbor as best he knows how (read "Two Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson"), and the political Islamist who uses the Qur'an to justify the deaths of nearly 3,000 Americans on 9/11 and numerous other insidious attacks such as the throwing of acid on children who desire an education, and the recent Moscow subway bombings. These and many other acts of terror are not committed out of a positive religious identity, otherwise the need to perform these acts of unspeakable evil would be unnecessary, but out of an ideology of power as an end in itself and ultimately hatred towards religious Muslims and the rest of the human race who reject it.

In the secular world which surrounds us, we see another form of extremism: Scientism. Science is a good and noble thing when it sticks to the How's of life, but it becomes Scientism when it forbids the much more important question Why. Ironically and with the greatest hypocricy, these Secular Fundamentalists see it their mission to "debunk" people of faith with titles like: "The God Delusion", by the infamous Richard Dawkins. This is the most popular title today having sold in the millions. Such books forbid the sacred and mystical questions which ponders in every human heart, including that of the authors. Why are we here on this earth? The promoter of Scientism would answer, "for absolutely no reason", while the person of faith would respond, " because the One who is Reason and beyond our Reason, Reasoned it." With the latter answer, an entire Mystery is open to ponder, a Mystery inexhaustible and beyond all imagination and with the former answer, you're stuck with 416 reasonless pages!

So how does this tie in to the Catholic Church? Some Catholics are accused as being "pre-Vatican II" and "Fundamentalist" because they believe the Source of Revelation given to the Church comes from Someone with an Infinite Mind: Jesus Christ, the Second Divine Person of the Trinity. In other words, every faithful Catholic has been crudely lumped in with the above Fundamental-isms mentioned. For there are those curious minds who cannot discern the difference between the one who utilizes his reason and faith in harmony ( as the Church correctly teaches), and the one who resorts to ad hominem attacks, both physically in the examples of the Islamic terrorist and verbally in the case of the Secular Fundamentalist. That being said, the funny irony is that those who feel entitled of name Catholic, yet who refuse to acknowledge the Church's authority in matters pertaining to faith and morals (St. Paul University.....are you paying attention?), are in fact stating that they know better than a Mind that isn't confined in space and time! How narrow-minded! How.........Fundamentalist? So if the definition of Fundamentalist means acknowledging that there is a Mind infinitely larger than my puny brain than YES, I am a Fundamentalist, an extremist of the worst possible kind and a complete fanatic! I therefore express my deepest Thank You for such an undeserving compliment. Oh and by the way.... Happy Easter!

Modern Theology is correct and 2 Millenia of Church teaching false?

2010-01-24T13:53:00.000-08:00

Some of the latest discussions I've been involved with have highlighted the obvious truth that not compromising one's faith is almost nearly a sin. I appreciate good honest literature on any given subject and that doesn't exclude my beliefs as a Catholic. If I want to learn about my faith for example, I will read an engaging book that unfolds the beauty and splendor of the Church. That doesn't include theologians such as Richard Gaillardetz, recently recommended to me, who claims that "the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has not clearly established the infallibile nature of the ban on women’s ordination," and who gave a speech to the dissenting group "Call to Action" in 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Gaillardetz.

Call to Action is an organization that belittles celibate clergy, promotes "liberation theology", condones woman's ordination and undermines Church authority in her magisterium. Therefore, Call to Action isn't Catholic at all and Richard Gaillardetz is just another of the many theologians who betray their consciences by discarding the Church in favor of something novel.
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/reviews/view.cfm?recnum=46&repos=2&subrepos=0&searchid=572986

The modern theologians who dissent from the Church claim "we only want peaceful dialogue". I believe that is a dishonest way of furthering their agenda to create another religion in the Church from within. They despise the all male priesthood and are filled with contempt for those in a higher authority, especially our Pope. Catholics who are serious about their faith refuse to bite the bate, and I am proudly guilty of being among them. What we need is another G.K Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc to set the record straight. These were true Catholic intellectuals who were the greatest thinkers of their time who cast an enormous shadow on today's "modern theolgians"

I will not compromise Christ's Church.

2010-01-20T18:45:00.000-08:00

The title of this latest blog is most revealing to my current thoughts and feelings towards the truths of the Catholic Church in faith and morals. After a very enlightening discussion with my spiritual director on the attack from within the Church and the dilemma of St. Paul University here in the Nation's Capital which too often teaches heresy ("picking and choosing") I have come to affirm strongly without shame or guilt that there is one Church which is entirely possessed by Christ and illuminated by the Holy Spirit: the Holy Catholic Church. The Protestant communities of faith who proclaim orthodox teaching often take it for granted that these teachings originate in the Catholic Church.

The Church is Holy, because she was founded by our Blessed Lord on the rock of St. Peter, the visible head of the Church's Unity (Matthew 16:18). Christ gave Peter the keys of the kingdom, and him alone hence the dogma of Papal Infallibility which was officially defined in 1870. Even before this Dogma was well contested and in some cases detested, the Supreme Pontiff has exercised this authority in 1854 when the Immaculate Conception of Mary was pronounced by Pius IX as an article of faith definitive and binding on the faithful. This was widely received and accepted by the Bishops.

The Church is the pillar and bulwark of the truth (1 Timothy 3:50) with the Apostles as the solid foundation (Ephesians 2:19-20). Today St. Peter is traced back from the current Supreme Pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI. The Bishops of whom ordained priests are an extension are likewise traced back to the Apostles. For over 2 Millenia the Church has not compromised the divine revelations of her Founder, although she came very close with the heresy of Arianism in the 1st and 2nd centuries. Arius taught that Jesus wasn't begotten of the Father, but a created being inferior to the Father . The Council of Nicea in 325 C.E responded to this with the Nicene Creed.

So why do I mention all of this? I do so because since Modernism, and today's Post-Modernism, the Church has been under assault by dissident theologians and many laity. Today's Politically Correct in the Church do not want to call a spade a spade. Heresy i.e picking and choosing definitive Church teaching, while discarding the inconvenient truths in faith and morals, is viewed as a virtue. Those who refuse to bend or waver are viewed with condescension as Pharisees and "not living in the real world". Yet, we see through the Church's history that the faithful who live with heroic virtue and think with the Church, as opposed to outside her i.e secular individualism, have begotten the most converts to Christ and His Church. We see that Church parishes who refuse to be influenced by the world, but rather influence the world as the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13-16) are flourishing with new members, especially in "unenlightened" third world Countries where poverty abounds, yet the flame of faith is enkindled. Therefore, I am unconvinced that dialogue must equate to compromise as today's Politically Correct elite charge. Dialogue is a noble cause if it acts as a catalyst for eliminating prejudice and misunderstanding while at the same time proclaiming the good, true and beautiful among God's people, both in the Church and outside of her. That being said compromise in the Holy Catholic Church in matters pertaining to faith and morals is not an option, for the truth is Christ and the Church is His.

Letter to Hon. John Baird MP/Nepean riding, regarding bill C-384.

2009-07-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

Dear Honorable John Baird,

I am taking the time to write you with regards to the so-called "dying with dignity" bill, also known as Bill C-384, a bill I trust you will vote against. Ms. Lalonde has crudely labelled it "ultimate compassion", yet I am far from alone to see through the smoke screens of this distortion of human compassion, for the reality is that it's a bill which profanes human dignity. Here's why:

When one thinks of compassion, what comes to mind is a sacrificial love which is life-giving. It is the kind of love which desires the very best for the other, without taking into account of oneself. Bill C-384 is the polar opposite of this definition of compassion, let alone "ultimate compassion", because it targets the vulnerable, weak, and undesirables in this Nation. Furthermore, it completely underminds the intrinsic human dignity we all possess and distorts this inherant dignity that is proper to each by definition. The deeply flawed and disturbing philosophy of moral and ethical relativism in this context of human value, i.e one has different levels of 'value' depending on their health and state of mind determined by the State, is a dangerous slippery slope well attested by the history of tyrannical regimes often cloaked under the false guises of compassion, liberty and freedom. Bill C-384 is no different. In other words, Bill C-384 and Ms. Lalonde are pushing an agenda of tyranny and not democracy, an agenda Conservatives and in fact, most Canadians are against.

Honorable Baird, I am asking you to please vote against this disturbing bill which does a grave disservice to the weakest members of our civil society. If it passes, we will all witness the tragedy of a tyrannical regime which is not the will of Canadians, but of the political elite who believe they know better than us, including the disadvantaged. I speak of the one who has the nerve to push this uncompassionate death-bill; a separatist who doesn't speak for most Canadians but a small fringe minority within one Province. The Bloc Quebecois is out of touch with the middle of the road, and continues to veer to the hard left. Sir, I trust along with most Canadians, who share the sane vision and true definition of Compassion, that you will vote against the "death Bill" C-384. Do it on behalf of the weak and defenseless human person. Do it for the sake of true freedom, for such is our Conservative patrimony. Thanks for your time.

Sincerely and Cordially,

Cameron A. Fairlie

Send and receive

The Truth of Healing

2009-07-06T14:50:00.000-07:00

Healing is of the soul, which to the spiritual order takes precedence in our lives, over being physically cured. Salvation indicates health, and God desires above all else that the soul be healed from original sin and the effects thereof. This is why when we offer up our sufferings to Christ, we are spiritually transformed and healed. There is a distinguishment between soul and body, but they are intimately connected as taught in the story of the paraleptic in today's Gospel.

St. Matthew 9:1-9

"And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on his bed; and when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven." And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk? But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--he then said to the paralytic--"Rise, take up your bed and go home." And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men."

Notice how Christ first forgives the sins of the paralytic, before granting him a physical cure. His mission was and continues to be our spiritual health and nourishment first and foremost; hence the Sacraments, the Summitt of which is the Eucharist. All of the other Sacraments point to this "Medicine of Immortality". Yet, because of the intimate connection between soul and body, the latter animating the former, people have been cured physically, as well as spiritually after Confession and receiving the Eucharist. It is therefore of utmost importance we receive the Eucharist in the state of grace (1 Corinthians 11:23-30), lest we condemn ourselves spiritually, and physically. The faithful must resist the popular trend of divorcing Confession from the Eucharist; a Satanic ideology rooted in the culture of postmodern moral relativism and nothing to do with the message of true healing and health, the fullness of which is in Christ and His Holy Catholic Church.

The other spiritual message in today's Gospel is that Christ has come for the humble, and when you are infringed with a delibitating illness or condition, you are naturally more likely to be humble and contrite in spirit than if you are in good health and have everything going for you. Take for example the common story of the young man/woman with cancer who was transformed spiritually by his/her sickness and now has a greater appreciation of their faith, friends and family. "I no longer take things for granted," is a common refrain in such moving stories.

Christ and the Sacraments He gives to His Church, aid us in this transformation, especially Reconciliation and Christ's True Presence in the Eucharist. Christ in His Mercy, transforms all things, including our concupiscence and sicknesses, in leading us into a more intimate participation in the life of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The One who suffered for our sins on Calvary is the same One who says to us, as he said to St. Paul "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9). God bless you all.

Liberalism is killing the Church, but will not win.

2009-05-18T01:44:00.000-07:00

I was watching a news program which had a panel discussing the Notre Dame U/President Obama debacle. Included was a Catholic priest. The priest defended Obama, and spewed the same old liberal non-sense of how Obama wants to reduce the number of abortions. Obviously this priest has not looked at Obama's extreme pro-abortion record, an agenda so radical he voted against the Induced Infant Liability Act in 2002, a law that would medically and legally protect babies born from botches abortions. That is the "change we can believe in"?

As was the case for slavery, the Church is for the recognition that the unborn are an entire class of human beings, a class denied that recognition from the Supreme Court and political elite. Thus, the Church goes much further than the reduction of violence done to unborn persons, but the elimination of that violence. Getting back to the panel: during the course of the discussion an evangelical, not the priest, pointed out that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops released a document entitled "Catholics in Political Life" which clearly states, "Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions." Smirking, the priest seemed more or less indifferent. In a way I am not surprised. After all, Obama obtained most of the Catholic vote, which is nothing less than a scandal and a disgrace to the Church those American Catholics are supposed to represent.

Now, more than ever, Catholics must stand up for the most vulnerble among us which is the unborn persons in the womb. What should be a sanctuary and place for growth, has become a battleground for their survival. Therefore, these precious ones need our voice and advocacy, not our indifference. For those of you who are 'pro-choice', let me pose a question: "Choose what?" If you are honest and agree with science, you will answer "choose the destruction of an entire class of human beings". If you are against unjust wars and the killing of cilvilians in battle, should you not be that much more against the killing of the unborn person? If you believe in protecting the environment from unnatural destruction, shouldn't you also believe in protecting the womb from the unnatural procedure that is abortion? If you are a Catholic you're answer to both these questions must be a firm and resounding "yes".

Evangelicals and Catholic Together.

2009-05-16T15:25:00.001-07:00

This is a landmark document which outlines what Evangelicals and Catholics have in common, while acknowledging our differences. Therefore, it is truly Ecumenical, as opposed to Irenical, i.e pretending differences do not exist, or conveniently glossing over the truth of those differences to obtain a superficial appearence of unity. Today, the postmodern fallacy of labelling Irenicism "Ecumenism" does a disservice to honest, open and therefore charitble dialogue. Fear and ignorance is afraid of the truth, while Charity embraces it. Therefore, until we look at this broader ecumenical scope of what we share in common, and what divides us, honest dialogue won't be obtained, and without that to begin with the complete unity Christ prayed for, will never be achieved.

- Cameron

Evangelicals & Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium

by Various

As the Second Millennium draws to a close, the Christian mission in world history faces a moment of daunting opportunity and responsibility. If in the merciful and mysterious ways of God the Second Coming is delayed, we enter upon a Third Millennium that could be, in the words of John Paul II, "a springtime of world missions." (Redemptoris Missio)

As Christ is one, so the Christian mission is one. That one mission can be and should be advanced in diverse ways. Legitimate diversity, however, should not be confused with existing divisions between Christians that obscure the one Christ and hinder the one mission. There is a necessary connection between the visible unity of Christians and the mission of the one Christ. We together pray for the fulfillment of the prayer of Our Lord: "May they all be one; as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, so also may they be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me." (John 17) We together, Evangelicals and Catholics, confess our sins against the unity that Christ intends for all his disciples.

The one Christ and one mission includes many other Christians, notably the Eastern Orthodox and those Protestants not commonly identified as Evangelical. All Christians are encompassed in the prayer, "May they all be one." Our present statement attends to the specific problems and opportunities in the relationship between Roman Catholics and Evangelical Protestants.

As we near the Third Millennium, there are approximately 1.7 billion Christians in the world. About a billion of these are Catholics and more than 300 million are Evangelical Protestants. The century now drawing to a close has been the greatest century of missionary expansion in Christian history. We pray and we believe that this expansion has prepared the way for yet greater missionary endeavor in the first century of the Third Millennium.

The two communities in world Christianity that are most evangelistically assertive and most rapidly growing are Evangelicals and Catholics. In many parts of the world, the relationship between these communities is marked more by conflict than by cooperation, more by animosity than by love, more by suspicion than by trust, more by propaganda and ignorance than by respect for the truth. This is alarmingly the case in Latin America, increasingly the case in Eastern Europe, and too often the case in our own country.

Without ignoring conflicts between and within other Christian communities, we address ourselves to the relationship between Evangelicals and Catholics, who constitute the growing edge of missionary expansion at present and, most likely, in the century ahead. In doing so, we hope that what we have discovered and resolved may be of help in other situations of conflict, such as that among Orthodox, Evangelicals, and Catholics in Eastern Europe. While we are gratefully aware of ongoing efforts to address tensions among these communities, the shameful reality is that, in many places around the world, the scandal of conflict between Christians obscures the scandal of the cross, thus crippling the one mission of the one Christ.

As in times past, so also today and in the future, the Christian mission, which is directed to the entire human community, must be advanced against formidable opposition. In some cultures, that mission encounters resurgent spiritualities and religions that are explicitly hostile to the claims of the Christ. Islam, which in many instances denies the freedom to witness to the Gospel, must be of increasing concern to those who care about religious freedom and the Christian mission. Mutually respectful conversation between Muslims and Christians should be encouraged in the hope that more of the world will, in the oft-repeated words of John Paul II, "open the door to Christ." At the same time, in our so-called developed societies, a widespread secularization increasingly descends into a moral, intellectual, and spiritual nihilism that denies not only the One who is the Truth but the very idea of truth itself.

We enter the twenty-first century without illusions. With Paul and the Christians of the first century, we know that "we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6) As Evangelicals and Catholics, we dare not by needless and loveless conflict between ourselves give aid and comfort to the enemies of the cause of Christ.

The love of Christ compels us and we are therefore resolved to avoid such conflict between our communities and, where such conflict exists, to do what we can to reduce and eliminate it. Beyond that, we are called and we are therefore resolved to explore patterns of working and witnessing together in order to advance the one mission of Christ. Our common resolve is not based merely on a desire for harmony. We reject any appearance of harmony that is purchased at the price of truth. Our common resolve is made imperative by obedience to the truth of God revealed in the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, and by trust in the promise of the Holy Spirit’s guidance until Our Lord returns in glory to judge the living and the dead.

The mission that we embrace together is the necessary consequence of the faith that we affirm together.

We Affirm Together

Jesus Christ is Lord. That is the first and final affirmation that Christians make about all of reality. He is the One sent by God to be Lord and Savior of all: "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4) Christians are people ahead of time, those who proclaim now what will one day be acknowledged by all, that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Philippians 2)

We affirm together that we are justified by grace through faith because of Christ. Living faith is active in love that is nothing less than the love of Christ, for we together say with Paul: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2)

All who accept Christ as Lord and Savior are brothers and sisters in Christ. Evangelicals and Catholics are brothers and sisters in Christ. We have not chosen one another, just as we have not chosen Christ. He has chosen us, and he has chosen us to be his together. (John 15) However imperfect our communion with one another, however deep our disagreements with one another, we recognize that there is but one church of Christ. There is one church because there is one Christ and the church is his body. However difficult the way, we recognize that we are called by God to a fuller realization of our unity in the body of Christ. The only unity to which we would give expression is unity in the truth, and the truth is this: "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4)

We affirm together that Christians are to teach and live in obedience to the divinely inspired Scriptures, which are the infallible Word of God. We further affirm together that Christ has promised to his church the gift of the Holy Spirit who will lead us into all truth in discerning and declaring the teaching of Scripture. (John 16) We recognize together that the Holy Spirit has so guided his church in the past. In, for instance, the formation of the canon of the Scriptures, and in the orthodox response to the great Christological and Trinitarian controversies of the early centuries, we confidently acknowledge the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In faithful response to the Spirit’s leading, the church formulated the Apostles Creed, which we can and hereby do affirm together as an accurate statement of scriptural truth:

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

We Hope Together

We hope together that all people will come to faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This hope makes necessary the church’s missionary zeal. "But how are they to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how can men preach unless they are sent?" (Romans 10) The church is by nature, in all places and at all times, in mission. Our missionary hope is inspired by the revealed desire of God that "all should be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2)

The church lives by and for the Great Commission: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Matthew 28)

Unity and love among Christians is an integral part of our missionary witness to the Lord whom we serve. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13) If we do not love one another, we disobey his command and contradict the Gospel we declare.

As Evangelicals and Catholics, we pray that our unity in the love of Christ will become ever more evident as a sign to the world of God’s reconciling power. Our communal and ecclesial separations are deep and long standing. We acknowledge that we do not know the schedule nor do we know the way to the greater visible unity for which we hope. We do know that existing patterns of distrustful polemic and conflict are not the way. We do know that God who has brought us into communion with himself through Christ intends that we also be in communion with one another. We do know that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14) and as we are drawn closer to him-walking in that way, obeying that truth, living that life-we are drawn closer to one another.

Whatever may be the future form of the relationship between our communities, we can, we must, and we will begin now the work required to remedy what we know to be wrong in that relationship. Such work requires trust and understanding, and trust and understanding require an assiduous attention to truth. We do not deny but clearly assert that there are disagreements between us. Misunderstandings, misrepresentations, and caricatures of one another, however, are not disagreements. These distortions must be cleared away if we are to search through our honest differences in a manner consistent with what we affirm and hope together on the basis of God’s Word.

We Search Together

Together we search for a fuller and clearer understanding of God’s revelation in Christ and his will for his disciples. Because of the limitations of human reason and language, which limitations are compounded by sin, we cannot understand completely the transcendent reality of God and his ways. Only in the End Time will we see face to face and know as we are known. (1 Corinthians 13) We now search together in confident reliance upon God’s self-revelation in Jesus Christ, the sure testimony of Holy Scripture, and the promise of the Spirit to his church. In this search to understand the truth more fully and clearly, we need one another. We are both informed and limited by the histories of our communities and by our own experiences. Across the divides of communities and experiences, we need to challenge one another, always speaking the truth in love building up the Body. (Ephesians 4)

We do not presume to suggest that we can resolve the deep and long- standing differences between Evangelicals and Catholics. Indeed these differences may never be resolved short of the Kingdom Come. Nonetheless, we are not permitted simply to resign ourselves to differences that divide us from one another. Not all differences are authentic disagreements, nor need all disagreements divide. Differences and disagreements must be tested in disciplined and sustained conversation. In this connection we warmly commend and encourage the formal theological dialogues of recent years between Roman Catholics and Evangelicals.

We note some of the differences and disagreements that must be addressed more fully and candidly in order to strengthen between us a relationship of trust in obedience to truth. Among points of difference in doctrine, worship, practice, and piety that are frequently thought to divide us are these:

The church as an integral part of the Gospel or the church as a communal consequence of the Gospel.
The church as visible communion or invisible fellowship of true believers.
The sole authority of Scripture (sola scriptura) or Scripture as authoritatively interpreted in the church.
The "soul freedom" of the individual Christian or the Magisterium (teaching authority) of the community.
The church as local congregation or universal communion.
Ministry ordered in apostolic succession or the priesthood of all believers.
Sacraments and ordinances as symbols of grace or means of grace.
The Lord’s Supper as eucharistic sacrifice or memorial meal.
Remembrance of Mary and the saints or devotion to Mary and the saints.
Baptism as sacrament of regeneration or testimony to regeneration.

This account of differences is by no means complete. Nor is the disparity between positions always so sharp as to warrant the "or" in the above formulations. Moreover, among those recognized as Evangelical Protestants there are significant differences between, for example, Baptists, Pentecostals, and Calvinists on these questions. But the differences mentioned above reflect disputes that are deep and long standing. In at least some instances, they reflect authentic disagreements that have been in the past and are at present barriers to full communion between Christians.

On these questions, and other questions implied by them, Evangelicals hold that the Catholic Church has gone beyond Scripture, adding teachings and practices that detract from or compromise the Gospel of God’s saving grace in Christ. Catholics, in turn, hold that such teachings and practices are grounded in Scripture and belong to the fullness of God’s revelation. Their rejection, Catholics say, results in a truncated and reduced understanding of the Christian reality.

Again, we cannot resolve these disputes here. We can and do affirm together that the entirety of Christian faith, life, and mission finds its source, center, and end in the crucified and risen Lord. We can and do pledge that we will continue to search together-through study, discussion, and prayer-for a better understanding of one another’s convictions and a more adequate comprehension of the truth of God in Christ. We can testify now that in our searching together we have discovered what we can affirm together and what we can hope together and, therefore, how we can contend together.

We Contend Together

As we are bound together by Christ and his cause, so we are bound together in contending against all that opposes Christ and his cause. We are emboldened not by illusions of easy triumph but by faith in his certain triumph. Our Lord wept over Jerusalem, and he now weeps over a world that does not know the time of its visitation. The raging of the principalities and powers may increase as the End Time nears, but the outcome of the contest is assured.

The cause of Christ is the cause and mission of the church, which is, first of all, to proclaim the Good News that "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5) To proclaim this Gospel and to sustain the community of faith, worship, and discipleship that is gathered by this Gospel is the first and chief responsibility of the church. All other tasks and responsibilities of the church are derived from and directed toward the mission of the Gospel.

Christians individually and the church corporately also have a responsibility for the right ordering of civil society. We embrace this task soberly; knowing the consequences of human sinfulness, we resist the utopian conceit that it is within our powers to build the Kingdom of God on earth. We embrace this task hopefully; knowing that God has called us to love our neighbor, we seek to secure for all a greater measure of civil righteousness and justice, confident that he will crown our efforts when he rightly orders all things in the coming of his Kingdom.

In the exercise of these public responsibilities there has been in recent years a growing convergence and cooperation between Evangelicals and Catholics. We thank God for the discovery of one another in contending for a common cause. Much more important, we thank God for the discovery of one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. Our cooperation as citizens is animated by our convergence as Christians. We promise one another that we will work to deepen, build upon, and expand this pattern of convergence and cooperation.

Together we contend for the truth that politics, law, and culture must be secured by moral truth. With the Founders of the American experiment, we declare, "We hold these truths." With them, we hold that this constitutional order is composed not just of rules and procedures but is most essentially a moral experiment. With them, we hold that only a virtuous people can be free and just, and that virtue is secured by religion. To propose that securing civil virtue is the purpose of religion is blasphemous. To deny that securing civil virtue is a benefit of religion is blindness.

Americans are drifting away from, are often explicitly defying, the constituting truths of this experiment in ordered liberty. Influential sectors of the culture are laid waste by relativism, anti- intellectualism, and nihilism that deny the very idea of truth. Against such influences in both the elite and popular culture, we appeal to reason and religion in contending for the foundational truths of our constitutional order.

More specifically, we contend together for religious freedom. We do so for the sake of religion, but also because religious freedom is the first freedom, the source and shield of all human freedoms. In their relationship to God, persons have a dignity and responsibility that transcends, and thereby limits, the authority of the state and of every other merely human institution.

Religious freedom is itself grounded in and is a product of religious faith, as is evident in the history of Baptists and others in this country. Today we rejoice together that the Roman Catholic Church-as affirmed by the Second Vatican Council and boldly exemplified in the ministry of John Paul II-is strongly committed to religious freedom and, consequently, to the defense of all human rights. Where Evangelicals and Catholics are in severe and sometimes violent conflict, such as parts of Latin America, we urge Christians to embrace and act upon the imperative of religious freedom. Religious freedom will not be respected by the state if it is not respected by Christians or, even worse, if Christians attempt to recruit the state in repressing religious freedom.

In this country, too, freedom of religion cannot be taken for granted but requires constant attention. We strongly affirm the separation of church and state, and just as strongly protest the distortion of that principle to mean the separation of religion from public life. We are deeply concerned by the courts’ narrowing of the protections provided by the "free exercise" provision of the First Amendment and by an obsession with "no establishment" that stifles the necessary role of religion in American life. As a consequence of such distortions, it is increasingly the case that wherever government goes religion must retreat, and government increasingly goes almost everywhere. Religion, which was privileged and foundational in our legal order, has in recent years been penalized and made marginal. We contend together for a renewal of the constituting vision of the place of religion in the American experiment.

Religion and religiously grounded moral conviction is not an alien or threatening force in our public life. For the great majority of Americans, morality is derived, however variously and confusedly, from religion. The argument, increasingly voiced in sectors of our political culture, that religion should be excluded from the public square must be recognized as an assault upon the most elementary principles of democratic governance. That argument needs to be exposed and countered by leaders, religious and other, who care about the integrity of our constitutional order.

The pattern of convergence and cooperation between Evangelicals and Catholics is, in large part, a result of common effort to protect human life, especially the lives of the most vulnerable among us. With the Founders, we hold that all human beings are endowed by their Creator with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The statement that the unborn child is a human life that-barring natural misfortune or lethal intervention-will become what everyone recognizes as a human baby is not a religious assertion. It is a statement of simple biological fact. That the unborn child has a right to protection, including the protection of law, is a moral statement supported by moral reason and biblical truth.

We, therefore, will persist in contending-we will not be discouraged but will multiply every effort-in order to secure the legal protection of the unborn. Our goals are: to secure due process of law for the unborn, to enact the most protective laws and public policies that are politically possible, and to reduce dramatically the incidence of abortion. We warmly commend those who have established thousands of crisis pregnancy and postnatal care centers across the country, and urge that such efforts be multiplied. As the unborn must be protected, so also must women be protected from their current rampant exploitation by the abortion industry and by fathers who refuse to accept responsibility for mothers and children. Abortion on demand, which is the current rule in America, must be recognized as a massive attack on the dignity, rights, and needs of women.

Abortion is the leading edge of an encroaching culture of death. The helpless old, the radically handicapped, and others who cannot effectively assert their rights are increasingly treated as though they have no rights. These are the powerless who are exposed to the will and whim of those who have power over them. We will do all in our power to resist proposals for euthanasia, eugenics, and population control that exploit the vulnerable, corrupt the integrity of medicine, deprave our culture, and betray the moral truths of our constitutional order.

In public education, we contend together for schools that transmit to coming generations our cultural heritage, which is inseparable from the formative influence of religion, especially Judaism and Christianity. Education for responsible citizenship and social behavior is inescapably moral education. Every effort must be made to cultivate the morality of honesty, law observance, work, caring, chastity, mutual respect between the sexes, and readiness for marriage, parenthood, and family. We reject the claim that, in any or all of these areas, "tolerance" requires the promotion of moral equivalence between the normative and the deviant. In a democratic society that recognizes that parents have the primary responsibility for the formation of their children, schools are to assist and support, not oppose and undermine, parents in the exercise of their responsibility.

We contend together for a comprehensive policy of parental choice in education. This is a moral question of simple justice. Parents are the primary educators of their children; the state and other institutions should be supportive of their exercise of that responsibility. We affirm policies that enable parents to effectively exercise their right and responsibility to choose the schooling that they consider best for their children.

We contend together against the widespread pornography in our society, along with the celebration of violence, sexual depravity, and antireligious bigotry in the entertainment media. In resisting such cultural and moral debasement, we recognize the legitimacy of boycotts and other consumer actions, and urge the enforcement of existing laws against obscenity. We reject the self-serving claim of the peddlers of depravity that this constitutes illegitimate censorship. We reject the assertion of the unimaginative that artistic creativity is to be measured by the capacity to shock or outrage. A people incapable of defending decency invites the rule of viciousness, both public and personal.

We contend for a renewed spirit of acceptance, understanding, and cooperation across lines of religion, race, ethnicity, sex, and class. We are all created in the image of God and are accountable to him. That truth is the basis of individual responsibility and equality before the law. The abandonment of that truth has resulted in a society at war with itself, pitting citizens against one another in bitter conflicts of group grievances and claims to entitlement. Justice and social amity require a redirection of public attitudes and policies so that rights are joined to duties and people are rewarded according to their character and competence.

We contend for a free society, including a vibrant market economy. A free society requires a careful balancing between economics, politics, and culture. Christianity is not an ideology and therefore does not prescribe precisely how that balance is to be achieved in every circumstance. We affirm the importance of a free economy not only because it is more efficient but because it accords with a Christian understanding of human freedom. Economic freedom, while subject to grave abuse, makes possible the patterns of creativity, cooperation, and accountability that contribute to the common good.

We contend together for a renewed appreciation of Western culture. In its history and missionary reach, Christianity engages all cultures while being captive to none. We are keenly aware of, and grateful for, the role of Christianity in shaping and sustaining the Western culture of which we are part. As with all of history, that culture is marred by human sinfulness. Alone among world cultures, however, the West has cultivated an attitude of self-criticism and of eagerness to learn from other cultures. What is called multiculturalism can mean respectful attention to human differences. More commonly today, however, multiculturalism means affirming all cultures but our own. Welcoming the contributions of other cultures and being ever alert to the limitations of our own, we receive Western culture as our legacy and embrace it as our task in order to transmit it as a gift to future generations.

We contend for public policies that demonstrate renewed respect for the irreplaceable role of mediating structures in society-notably the family, churches, and myriad voluntary associations. The state is not the society, and many of the most important functions of society are best addressed in independence from the state. The role of churches in responding to a wide variety of human needs, especially among the poor and marginal, needs to be protected and strengthened. Moreover, society is not the aggregate of isolated individuals bearing rights but is composed of communities that inculcate responsibility, sustain shared memory, provide mutual aid, and nurture the habits that contribute to both personal well-being and the common good. Most basic among such communities is the community of the family. Laws and social policies should be designed with particular care for the stability and flourishing of families. While the crisis of the family in America is by no means limited to the poor or to the underclass, heightened attention must be paid those who have become, as a result of well-intended but misguided statist policies, virtual wards of the government.

Finally, we contend for a realistic and responsible understanding of America’s part in world affairs. Realism and responsibility require that we avoid both the illusions of unlimited power and righteousness, on the one hand, and the timidity and selfishness of isolationism, on the other. U.S. foreign policy should reflect a concern for the defense of democracy and, wherever prudent and possible, the protection and advancement of human rights, including religious freedom.

The above is a partial list of public responsibilities on which we believe there is a pattern of convergence and cooperation between Evangelicals and Catholics. We reject the notion that this constitutes a partisan "religious agenda" in American politics. Rather, this is a set of directions oriented to the common good and discussable on the basis of public reason. While our sense of civic responsibility is informed and motivated by Christian faith, our intention is to elevate the level of political and moral discourse in a manner that excludes no one and invites the participation of all people of good will. To that end, Evangelicals and Catholics have made an inestimable contribution in the past and, it is our hope, will contribute even more effectively in the future.

We are profoundly aware that the American experiment has been, all in all, a blessing to the world and a blessing to us as Evangelical and Catholic Christians. We are determined to assume our full share of responsibility for this "one nation under God," believing it to be a nation under the judgment, mercy, and providential care of the Lord of the nations to whom alone we render unqualified allegiance.

We Witness Together

The question of Christian witness unavoidably returns us to points of serious tension between Evangelicals and Catholics. Bearing witness to the saving power of Jesus Christ and his will for our lives is an integral part of Christian discipleship. The achievement of good will and cooperation between Evangelicals and Catholics must not be at the price of the urgency and clarity of Christian witness to the Gospel. At the same time, and as noted earlier, Our Lord has made clear that the evidence of love among his disciples is an integral part of that Christian witness.

Today, in this country and elsewhere, Evangelicals and Catholics attempt to win "converts" from one another’s folds. In some ways, this is perfectly understandable and perhaps inevitable. In many instances, however, such efforts at recruitment undermine the Christian mission by which we are bound by God’s Word and to which we have recommitted ourselves in this statement. It should be clearly understood between Catholics and Evangelicals that Christian witness is of necessity aimed at conversion. Authentic conversion is-in its beginning, in its end, and all along the way-conversion to God in Christ by the power of the Spirit. In this connection, we embrace as our own the explanation of the Baptist-Roman Catholic International Conversation (1988):

Conversion is turning away from all that is opposed to God, contrary to Christ’s teaching, and turning to God, to Christ, the Son, through the work of the Holy Spirit. It entails a turning from the self-centeredness of sin to faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. Conversion is a passing from one way of life to another new one, marked with the newness of Christ. It is a continuing process so that the whole life of a Christian should be a passage from death to life, from error to truth, from sin to grace. Our life in Christ demands continual growth in God’s grace. Conversion is personal but not private. Individuals respond in faith to God’s call but faith comes from hearing the proclamation of the word of God and is to be expressed in the life together in Christ that is the Church.

By preaching, teaching, and life example, Christians witness to Christians and non-Christians alike. We seek and pray for the conversion of others, even as we recognize our own continuing need to be fully converted. As we strive to make Christian faith and life-our own and that of others-ever more intentional rather than nominal, ever more committed rather than apathetic, we also recognize the different forms that authentic discipleship can take. As is evident in the two thousand year history of the church, and in our contemporary experience, there are different ways of being Christian, and some of these ways are distinctively marked by communal patterns of worship, piety, and catechesis. That we are all to be one does not mean that we are all to be identical in our way of following the one Christ. Such distinctive patterns of discipleship, it should be noted, are amply evident within the communion of the Catholic Church as well as within the many worlds of Evangelical Protestantism.

It is understandable that Christians who bear witness to the Gospel try to persuade others that their communities and traditions are more fully in accord with the Gospel. There is a necessary distinction between evangelizing and what is today commonly called proselytizing or "sheep stealing." We condemn the practice of recruiting people from another community for purposes of denominational or institutional aggrandizement. At the same time, our commitment to full religious freedom compels us to defend the legal freedom to proselytize even as we call upon Christians to refrain from such activity.

Three observations are in order in connection with proselytizing. First, as much as we might believe one community is more fully in accord with the Gospel than another, we as Evangelicals and Catholics affirm that opportunity and means for growth in Christian discipleship are available in our several communities. Second, the decision of the committed Christian with respect to his communal allegiance and participation must be assiduously respected. Third, in view of the large number of non- Christians in the world and the enormous challenge of our common evangelistic task, it is neither theologically legitimate nor a prudent use of resources for one Christian community to proselytize among active adherents of another Christian community.

Christian witness must always be made in a spirit of love and humility. It must not deny but must readily accord to everyone the full freedom to discern and decide what is God’s will for his life. Witness that is in service to the truth is in service to such freedom. Any form of coercion-physical, psychological, legal, economic-corrupts Christian witness and is to be unqualifiedly rejected. Similarly, bearing false witness against other persons and communities, or casting unjust and uncharitable suspicions upon them, is incompatible with the Gospel. Also to be rejected is the practice of comparing the strengths and ideals of one community with the weaknesses and failures of another. In describing the teaching and practices of other Christians, we must strive to do so in a way that they would recognize as fair and accurate.

In considering the many corruptions of Christian witness, we, Evangelicals and Catholics, confess that we have sinned against one another and against God. We most earnestly ask the forgiveness of God and one another, and pray for the grace to amend our own lives and that of our communities.

Repentance and amendment of life do not dissolve remaining differences between us. In the context of evangelization and "reevangelization," we encounter a major difference in our understanding of the relationship between baptism and the new birth in Christ. For Catholics, all who are validly baptized are born again and are truly, however imperfectly, in communion with Christ. That baptismal grace is to be continuingly reawakened and revivified through conversion. For most Evangelicals, but not all, the experience of conversion is to be followed by baptism as a sign of new birth. For Catholics, all the baptized are already members of the church, however dormant their faith and life; for many Evangelicals, the new birth requires baptismal initiation into the community of the born again. These differing beliefs about the relationship between baptism, new birth, and membership in the church should be honestly presented to the Christian who has undergone conversion. But again, his decision regarding communal allegiance and participation must be assiduously respected.

There are, then, differences between us that cannot be resolved here. But on this we are resolved: All authentic witness must be aimed at conversion to God in Christ by the power of the Spirit. Those converted- whether understood as having received the new birth for the first time or as having experienced the reawakening of the new birth originally bestowed in the sacrament of baptism-must be given full freedom and respect as they discern and decide the community in which they will live their new life in Christ. In such discernment and decision, they are ultimately responsible to God, and we dare not interfere with the exercise of that responsibility. Also in our differences and disagreements, we Evangelicals and Catholics commend one another to God "who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think." (Ephesians 3)

In this discussion of witnessing together we have touched on difficult and long-standing problems. The difficulties must not be permitted to overshadow the truths on which we are, by the grace of God, in firm agreement. As we grow in mutual understanding and trust, it is our hope that our efforts to evangelize will not jeopardize but will reinforce our devotion to the common tasks to which we have pledged ourselves in this statement.

Conclusion

Nearly two thousand years after it began, and nearly five hundred years after the divisions of the Reformation era, the Christian mission to the world is vibrantly alive and assertive. We do not know, we cannot know, what the Lord of history has in store for the Third Millennium. It may be the springtime of world missions and great Christian expansion. It may be the way of the cross marked by persecution and apparent marginalization. In different places and times, it will likely be both. Or it may be that Our Lord will return tomorrow.

We do know that his promise is sure, that we are enlisted for the duration, and that we are in this together. We do know that we must affirm and hope and search and contend and witness together, for we belong not to ourselves but to him who has purchased us by the blood of the cross. We do know that this is a time of opportunity-and, if of opportunity, then of responsibility-for Evangelicals and Catholics to be Christians together in a way that helps prepare the world for the coming of him to whom belongs the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

PARTICIPANTS: Mr. Charles Colson Prison Fellowship Fr. Juan Diaz-Vilar, S.J. Catholic Hispanic Ministries Fr. Avery Dulles, S.J. Fordham University Bishop Francis George, OMI Diocese of Yakima (Washington) Dr. Kent Hill Eastern Nazarene College Dr. Richard Land Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention Dr. Larry Lewis Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention Dr. Jesse Miranda Assemblies of God Msgr. William Murphy Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Boston Fr. Richard John Neuhaus Institute on Religion and Public Life Mr. Brian O’Connell World Evangelical Fellowship Mr. Herbert Schlossberg Fieldstead Foundation Archbishop Francis Stafford Archdiocese of Denver Mr. George Weigel Ethics and Public Policy Center Dr. John White Geneva College and the National Association of Evangelicals

ENDORSED BY: Dr. William Abraham Perkins School of Theology Dr. Elizabeth Achtemeier Union Theological Seminary (Virginia) Mr. William Bentley Ball Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Dr. Bill Bright Campus Crusade for Christ Professor Robert Destro Catholic University of America Fr. Augustine DiNoia, O.P. Dominican House of Studies Fr. Joseph P. Fitzpatrick, S.J. Fordham University Mr. Keith Fournier American Center for Law and Justice Bishop William Frey Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry Professor Mary Ann Glendon Harvard Law School Dr. Os Guinness Trinity Forum Dr. Nathan Hatch University of Notre Dame Dr. James Hitchcock St. Louis University Professor Peter Kreeft Boston College Fr. Matthew Lamb Boston College Mr. Ralph Martin Renewal Ministries Dr. Richard Mouw Fuller Theological Seminary Dr. Mark Noll Wheaton College Mr. Michael Novak American Enterprise Institute John Cardinal O’Connor Archdiocese of New York Dr. Thomas Oden Drew University Dr. James J. I. Packer Regent College (British Columbia) The Rev. Pat Robertson Regent University Dr. John Rodgers Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry Bishop Carlos A. Sevilla, S.J. Archiocese of San Francisco

God pursues us

2009-05-07T16:30:00.000-07:00

The title of this blog reflects the dilemma of faith I have been going through, in the last year. Doubts about Christ and the Church have been mercilessly pervading my thoughts and inner spirit. I believe it is a test of my loyalty to the life of faith and current vocation as a lay person in the Church. Am I in it for the long hall, or is this another trend that will wear out now that the novelty of sentiment and good-feelings have disappeared? I only pray and hope it is the former, for I have been down the road of sentiment and it was spiritually and intellectually fullfilling for a brief time before serious questions launched me into the pursuit of the fullness of the Church where I find myself as a Catholic, stumbling along in this spiritual journey.

Being a Catholic in a postmodern world which is all too often hostile to religious sentiment can be brutally challenging. It is all too easy to fall for the snares set before us: unbridled consummerism, the thirst for power, the wholesale defrauding of the poor, 'free' love and lust in so called 'gentleman clubs' and an 'adult' industry hell-bent on shamelessly exploiting women for coin, the contraceptive mentality with abortion viewed as an acceptable form of contraception. These and many other serious issues press on people of faith from all sides with a disclaimer: 'Don't you dare question the orthodoxy of our moral position! We believe in choice, democracy and freedom!' Such 'choice' is death; 'democracy', tyranny; 'freedom', cruel and unusual punishment in the ultimate bondage to the lower nature of instinct and neglect, even the denial of human conscience. Orthodoxy indeed!

Throughout this drama, God pursues us tirelessly. Personally, Christ in His Mercy, has been right there with outstretched hands, as I clumsily row along the streams of life without a paddle or a prayer. In fact, He has been closest to me in my weakest moments, moments of despair and a spiritual life which feels far short of what God wills. What causes people of faith to refrain from saying, 'to heck with it all! If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!' and struggling against the tide of what is glamorous and easy in the eyes of the world? I believe it is the intuitive sense which comes from the Holy Spirit that we know in the deepest part of us and see with the eyes of faith, the world's vision of the meaning of life for what is truly is: one big charade. It is in making this intuition a living reality (the co-operation with God in His plan for our Salvation) that poses a dillema because we want what is easy and to obey the commandments. Of course, we cannot have both as the Gospel accounts make clear. Only by imitating the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother, in her Fiat (yes), to God's plan and abandoning ourselves to Divine Providence as She did, can we find the peace which surpasses all understanding. This peace is Christ Himself.

Passing through the Exodus of Life

2009-05-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

There is a quote from St. Rose of Lima, which summarizes the mystery of the Christian life beautifully: "Without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. The gift of grace increases as the struggles increase." In last Sunday's Gospel (St. John 10:11-18), we learn of Jesus being the "Good Shepherd", who lays down his life for His sheep. In laying down His life and taking it up again, he prepares us for the pastures of everlasting life. For Catholics this preparation is initiated at our Baptism. We die to the Original Sin of our ancestors, as we are buried with Christ, and raise again with him in the Resurrection of new life. At Confirmation, we are marked with the sign of the Spirit and go from being infants in Christ to men and women of God, filled with the Holy Spirit to proclaim God's message of repentence and reconciliation of the one true God revealed in the Incarnation of Christ the Lord. Unlike any shephered, Christ the Good Shepherd feeds us with His own body, blood and divinity in the Sacrifice of the Mass.

St. Lima reminds us that as we pass through this Exodus of life and make our way to the Promised Land (Heaven), we will find ourselves afflicted and often suffering. There will be times, when we fall from grace by our own free choice. Be it anger, disappointment, bitterness, a petty sin, or some tragedy, suffering is unavoidable. That is why Christ indentified with our broken humanity on Calvary, which is re-presented (not repeated) at every Mass, to help us die to sin and be raised in Christ. He enables us in an incomprehensible way, to be inwardly transformed through suffering, by participating in the sacred mystery of His Passion. As the struggle to live a godly Christian life in a re-paganized society seems to increase, so too does God's infinite mercy. As we are tempted and sometimes give into temptation due to the effects of Original Sin (concupiscence), in drinking from the false wisdom of the world which can never satisfy, Christ the Good Shephered pursues His sheep and softens and replenishes our hearts through the grace of Confession, where this same Good Shephered utters the words through the priest: "I absolve you of your sins, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen." Words of healing and hope. Furthermore, every suffering is an opportunity to make a spiritual communion with God in asking Him to fill our hearts and walk with us as we bear our crosses. As we participate in the Mass, and receive Him in the Eucharist and as we Confess our sins and receive His mercy and forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we recognize that deep within our souls, the work he began in us will be brought to completion through the daily suffering of life, for "God is our refuge and strength, a very hope in time of trouble." (Psalm 46:1-2).

God's Mercy

2009-05-02T23:09:00.000-07:00

I think it is appropriate to start off this blog with a poem I wrote on Divine Mercy Sunday a few weeks ago:

God is Mercy
How Beautiful the God of compassion
O confounding Love, O ageless Tomorrow!
Emerging from the light of truth
He pierces through doubt's grievous unease
Who stills the spirit in merciful waves
Sounding forth the tides of salvation.

How Kind and patient the merciful Jesus
To look with the eyes of immense consolation
To soothe all these wounds wrought in life's waging battles
And nourish with hope when our heart's bask in sorrow
Imparts to us His Strength to strength
To the poor and battered and broken.

My own blog!

2009-05-01T17:14:00.001-07:00

Finally, I have decided to participate in the wonderful world of the blogosphere, but right now I need to watch my nightly O'Reilly Factor. I shall return.