The Culture of Death

Sorry for the rapid-fire posting--No, no I'm not.

Last night I was at the Charismatic prayer meeting here at St. Andrew's. Coming from Pentecostal roots, every now and again I need a quick fix ;)

Last night at the meeting we meditated on Joshua 1:3-9, where God commands Joshua to take the Promised Land, and assures him that He will be with him and to not be afraid. Three times God tells Joshua to be strong and of good courage! God also tells Joshua not to stray at all from the Law He gave to Moses.

After a small discussion time, people were invited to go up and say what this passage said to them. This is what I said:

The Christian Life is a battle. Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and violent men take it by force! We need to be those violent men and women, who stand up, are counted, and fight for the Kingdom! The Holy Father has referred to our world as the Culture of Death, and we see it every day in the abortions, the stem cell research, the wars, school massacres, and the situation with Terri Schiavo! But God has promised to be with us as He was with Joshua! He has commanded us to be strong and of good courage! He has also equipped us with His Word, which He ordered Joshua to not only follow, but to make a part of himself. In the New Testament, St. Paul writes about the same thing, calling it armour. We need to take up the armour of God, and lastly, the Sword of the Spirit, which, he says, is the Word of God! It is our primary weapon, and we need to make it a part of us! We are soldiers in God's kingdom, and we need to wage war against the Culture of Death!

Earlier today I was looking at some blogs that I read every now and again, and I noticed that this topic had come up at my friends' blog, www.dailydisciple.blogspot.com. Later I was looking at www.socrates58.blogspot.com, which is the blog of Uber-Catholic convert apologist, Dave Armstrong, whose blog and website, www.biblicalcatholic.com, were instrumental in my own conversion. So anyway, on his blog he went long and hard after the Culture of Death, especially as it relates to Terri Schiavo. I'm noticing a theme in my life, and one I want to take to the youth group!

In that vein, I want to link to Mr. Armstrong's appeal on his blog. Read it, it's inspiring, and it's gonna come up again and again at youth group meetings!
http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2005_03_20_socrates58_archive.html

I'll leave you with the words to the song Rev. Larebil, by one of my favourite bands (who I happen to be listening to as I type this) Critical Mass. I think they manage to say almost exactly what Dave Armstrong does at the link above, but with more rhyme and alliteration!

Reverend Larebil
-David Wang, Matthew Devine, Andrew Horrocks

Hey Reverend Larebil
I think you've got it backwards
You philosophise, theologise, think you're wise
You claim Jesus Christ didn't rise
You have your Jesusless Seminar
How did you drift so far?
Intellectualise, hypothesise, lobotomise
Your rhetoric makes me sick!

Chorus
You may not like the message we teach or the words we speak,
The way we live our lives and the way we preach
But after decades of your watered down voice,
It's time the listeners had another choice, Rev. Larebil!

Rap Chorus
It's time to take a stand, to take a total stand now
To critically catechise in the Catholic know-how
Dwell deeply on the divine, drive out the demons inside
It's such a slippery slope, Satan's suicide slide
Break Beelzebub's bonds, believe and be reborn
Grasp God's Grace gratefully, the great gratuitous gift
We're the Lord's loyal laity, layin' the law down
Let's radically rock the roots, replace the rot with solid ground

Dr. Hypocritic Oath
You swore you'd do no harm
You sterilise, euthanise, infanticide
Your medicine tastes like poison
You keep promoting your safe sex
You just fuel the epidemics
There's our STD's like HPV and HIV
The only cure is to be pure!

Chorus

Rap Bridge
The media grab a hold of your insanity
Headlines rage, "Misguided Piety"
Even Thomas believed when he saw the hands
Jesus doesn't measure up to your demands
You use the abusive pseudo-clergy
To bash the entire male hierarchy
You say our sexual standards are out of fashion
So you can give in to your depraved passion
I'm so flippin' angry at it all,
When was it that you lost your call?
If you deny Tradition and the Church
Where is the foundation for your search?
You dis' Confession and the Eucharist
But it's the altar of yourself you've kissed
It's time for us to make our final stand
And crush all your false idols back to sand!

Hey Mr. Chamelion
You want to lead our land
Your empty lies, compromise, virtue dies
You roll to the nearest poll
It's nothin' but a game
You're really all the same
We sit there dumb, feel so numb, vote for scum
We feed the greed that you need

Chorus
You may not like the message we teach or the words we speak,
The way we live our lives and the way we preach
But after decades of your watered down voice,
It's time the listeners had another choice, Rev. Larebil!

Happy Easter!

One of the great things I've discovered about Catholicism in my year of being one, is that the holidays last forever!

It's Easter until May 15th this year (Pentecost Sunday)! So make sure you're wishing everyone you meet a happy Easter, 'cause even more than Christmas, this is the most wonderful time of the year!

Christmas teaches us about God's impossible love, that He would come to earth as a humble baby, and live as one of us! Easter makes that love more impossible still, in that "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us"! (Romans 5:8) Jesus told His disciples that the greatest love that exists is one where a man would lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). He then went on to show how His own love goes beyond the greatest love there is, by laying His life down for His enemies. Going back to Romans, St. Paul continues in chapter 5: "How much more then, since we are now justified by His blood, will we be saved through Him from the wrath. Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by His life. Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation" (vv. 9-11).

Good Friday was all about Jesus dying for our sins. We're reconciled to God through that action! That's impossible Love! And it continues! Christ's resurrection completed that event, saving us from death, so that we can be completely alive and united with God!

Christ is Risen! Alleluia, Alleluia!

Mary: Mother of God, Mother of the Church

There is so much that could be said when it comes to The Virgin Mary. The topic of the Mother of God is so deep that I could write a book on it, but since people already complain that I talk too much, I'll just focus on some of the more prominent ideas that are highlighted in The Passion of the Christ.

First Things First--Mary as the New Eve
When I was a Protestant, I thought that the Bible had very little to say about Mary, and that the Catholics had made a whole lot of stuff up. Since then, I've come to realise that Mary, like Jesus, is written about all throughout Scripture. I'll spare you an in-depth examination, but I do want to go back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis. After Adam and Eve eat the fruit, when God is "reading their sentence", He promises not only hardship and disaster as a result, but also Redemption. "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and your seed and her seed; he shall crush your head, and you shall bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15). Ultimately, as we saw in the week on sin, Jesus fulfils this prophecy through His death and resurrection, and Gibson symbolically foreshadows this.
[Clip 1: 0:08:00-0:09:13]

But the prophecy talks not only about Jesus, but about "The Woman" whose seed (Jesus) would crush the serpent's head. Since Jesus is the seed of Mary, it is she who is prophesied about in Genesis. The early Church Fathers talk about this, referring to Mary as the "New Eve", just like St. Paul refers to Jesus as the "New Adam" (1 Corinthians 15:45). The Church Fathers contrast Eve's disobedience with Mary's complete obedience, referring to it as "Recapitulation", or, as St. Irenaeus says, "Thus, the knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. What the virgin Eve had bound in unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosed through faith." Mary's ultimate test of faith and obedience comes at Jesus' Passion. She was not merely a passive observer, as the rest were, but in a very real way, she offered Jesus up in obedience to the divine plan [Clip 2: 0:22:00-0:22:19]. Her active participation is a necessary element of the recapitulation of that original sin.


Participation
This is the reason why Gibson depicts Mary as the opposite of Satan in the movie, because she too is an active participant.
[Clip 3: 1:14:18-1:14:45] It is this participation that Simeon prophesied at Jesus' Presentation in the Temple: "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (Luke 2:34b-35). This sword pierces Mary's Immaculate Heart as Jesus is crucified [Clip 4: 1:48:27-1:49:58].

Mary's heartfelt plea, "Let me die with you," is couched in the marital phrases of Adam in the book of Genesis: "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place; and the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, He made into a woman, and brought her to the man. And Adam said, 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.' Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Genesis 2:21-24, italics mine).

While Mary's use of the phrase is not in the Gospel record, its use in the movie is meant to evoke the understanding of the Mary/Eve parallel, as well as emphasise the great bond that exists between Jesus and His Mother--God the Son took His human form from Mary's genetic material, her flesh! This bond is emphasised in other scenes throughout the movie: [Clip 5: 0:34:35-0:35:35]. Both to emphasise the connection between Jesus and Mary, and to illustrate the conflict between Satan and Mary, Gibson has several scenes where Mary's presence gives Jesus the strength to go on (whereas Satan always appears when Jesus is at His lowest), for example, after Jesus takes 32 strokes by the rods at the scourging, when Mary rushes in, He rises to His feet [Clip 6: 0:55:25-0:56:00]. A similar instance occurs when Jesus is stripped of His garments. But the most memorable example is when Mary runs to meet Jesus as He carries His cross [Clip 7: 1:17:00-1:19:00].

All Things New
Jesus' statement in this scene, "See, Mother, I make all things new," is from the 21st chapter of John's Revelation. In this chapter, John sees a new heaven and a new earth, and the heavenly city, Jerusalem, descending "out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.' And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new'" (vv. 2b-5a). This New Jerusalem is a symbol of the Church, which is the New Covenant in Jesus.

As I've stressed in the previous weeks, this New Covenant is what makes us sons and daughters of God the Father, younger siblings of Jesus the Son. And just to make this New Family complete, Jesus gives us a Mother, as well--His own Mother, Mary [Clip 8: 1:50:00-1:50:27].
In the movie, immediately after Mary cries out to be able to die with Jesus, He gives her to John--or the "Disciple whom Jesus loved," as John refers to himself in his Gospel. While literally, Jesus was giving Mary into John's care now that Jesus wouldn't be around anymore, there is a spiritual meaning here, which the Church has always held to, and that is that Jesus wasn't just giving His Mother to John, but that John as the Beloved Disciple was representative of all Christians, who are each of us Jesus' beloved disciples!

This reality is described in John's Revelation, when he sees a vision of the Woman in chapter 12, who is about to give birth. The serpent (remember him?) is now a huge red dragon, waiting to devour the child, but miraculously the child is born, and John describes Him in Messianic terms, saying that He will rule with a rod of iron. Enraged by this, John says, "the dragon...went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God, and testify to Jesus Christ" (Revelation 12:17). Did you catch that? "The rest of her offspring." That's us, the Church, and the Book of Revelation calls us Mary's offspring. This is because, at the cross, Jesus laid it out to John that Mary would be his mother, and not just his, but the spiritual Mother of all "who keep the commandments of God, and testify to Jesus Christ!"

"Do Whatever He Tells You"
As Jesus' mother, as we've seen, Mary's heart is intimately connected to His. As our mother, we have the freedom to turn to her for intercession on our behalf. That means that she'll pray for us directly to Jesus--and think about it. Who possibly could have more pull with Him? The Bible says that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16), and who possibly is more righteous than Mary herself, who is, as Gabriel called her as if it was actually her name, "Full of Grace"?

This is why after St. Peter denies Jesus three times, he flees the gaze of Jesus in his shame, and falls at the feet of Mary [Clip 9: 0:30:43-0:31:35]. Mary's intercession is not there to replace our going straight to Jesus, or to take away from our idea of His love for us. But many times in our lives, we feel too ashamed to talk to Jesus because of our sin, and the Devil loves to keep us feeling that shame, to keep us from Jesus. That is why we have a Mother to turn to, who will bring us to Jesus. This is ultimately how she fights Satan on our behalf, by bringing us to Jesus when we are too weak to bring ourselves.

When I was just becoming a Catholic, these ideas about Mary were the hardest for my Protestant mind to understand and believe. But a Catholic friend of mine pointed out to me that everything we believe about Mary is dependent on everything we know about Christ--and that if we honour Mary in a way that excluded or minimises Christ, that is idolatry. But, he told me, Catholic teaching on Mary honours Christ, just as Mary's own role is to honour Christ. He brought the point home for me when he told me to meditate on the story in John's Gospel about the wedding at Cana. One verse in particular stuck out to me, and summarised Mary's role in the Christian life. After she tells Jesus that the hosts are out of wine, she turns back to the servants and says to them, "Do whatever he tells you" (John 2:5).

This is Mary's unending encouragement to all her children. This is her reason for being, and the reason for her being the Mother of God. Mel Gibson captures this idea perfectly in the second last scene of the movie, often compared to Michelangelo's Pieta sculpture. But there is a difference between the Michelangelo and the Gibson. In the sculpture, Mary gazes on the body of her Son, whereas, in the movie, just like in life, Mary looks right at us, offering to us the Life that Jesus gave us through His death and resurrection [Clip 10: 1:55:36-1:57:10].

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women,
And blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners,
Now and at the hour of our deaths.
Amen.

"No Reason Except the Gospel": Saint Patrick of Ireland

Yay Pictures! Just a brief interlude in honour of the day! Happy St. Paddy's everyone! Here's the real story of a person who knows what last Sunday's talk was all about!

The year was A.D. 432. It was Saturday, May 1st, at eventide. To some, the day was known as Beltane, but to the man traversing the hill of Slaine, it was Easter Saturday and he was intending to light the paschal flame.

As a part of the druidic rites of Beltane, the druids were due to light a sacred flame on the hill of Tara and no other fires were to be lit before it. Defiantly, this man rose to the top of Slaine, and set to lighting his vigil bonfire, while his friends and followers stood around. As the druids assembled at Tara, they could see the fire burning on the hill of Slaine opposite them with the stranger standing before it, holding a croizier and a bell. These druids were outraged, and explained to the king, Laoghaire, that the fire must be extinguished, or it would burn forever and consume the island! The king consulted the man and he was persuaded to let the fire burn. The man’s name was Patrick, and this is how he lit the fire of Christianity in Ireland.[1]

Who was Patrick, who so boldly defied the status quo? Are the common legends and stories true? Who was the man behind the parades, the green clothes, and the beer? What did he really face when he came to Ireland?

The Roman Empire, as it spread throughout Europe, never was able to overtake Ireland, and so during its occupation, as Christianity spread throughout the Known World, Ireland remained staunchly pagan. Magic was the principle religion, and druids were the Island’s priestly caste. Druids exercised an absolute control over the kings and chieftains of Ireland.[2] Such was the religion and lifestyle of the people to whom St. Patrick came, but his first steps on the green hills of Erin were not as a missionary; no, not even as a free man.

Patrick was a British Celt, the son of a deacon named Calpornicus, and the grandson of a priest named Potitus. However, this religious heritage had not taken hold of the youth. Patrick writes in his Confession that in his youth he “did not know the true God.”[3]

When Patrick was sixteen years old, raiding parties came and attacked his village. He was taken as a slave with many others to Ireland. He was sold to a chieftain named Milchu, and tended his sheep, cattle, and pigs for six years in Ulster. All this time of harsh slavery, Patrick reflected on his spiritual state, remembering his Catholic upbringing. On the fields and in the mountains, Patrick began to pray and cry out to the Lord.[4] These times of prayer became daily routine, and beyond routine, as the Spirit of God became real to him. St. Patrick writes in his Confession:

But after I had come to Ireland I daily used to feed cattle, and I prayed fervently during the day; the love of God and the fear of Him increased more and more and faith became stronger, and the spirit was stirred; so that in one day I said about a hundred prayers, and in the night nearly the same; so that I used even to remain in the woods and in the mountain; before daylight I used to rise in prayer, through snow, through frost, through rain and felt no harm; nor was there any slothfulness in me, as I now perceive, because the Spirit was then fervent within me.[5]

At the end of six years, God answered Patrick and gave him instructions how to go home. This is Patrick’s account:

And there indeed one night, in my sleep, I heard a voice saying to me, “Thou fastest well, thou shalt soon go to thy country.” And again, after a short time, I heard a response saying to me, “Behold, thy ship is ready.” And it was not near, but perhaps two hundred miles away, and I never had been there, nor was I acquainted with any of the men there. After this I took flight, and left the man with whom I had been six years; and I came in the strength of the Lord, who directed my way for good; and I feared nothing till I arrived at that ship.[6]

At age twenty-two, Patrick escaped home to Britain and promised his parents that he would not leave again. However, God had other plans, and Patrick’s heart became burdened for the people who had held him in slavery.[7] As was so common in Patrick’s life, it was in a dream that God commissioned him to Ireland. He writes:

And then I saw, indeed, in the bosom of the night, a man coming as it were from Ireland, Victoricus by name, with innumerable letters, and he gave one of them to me. And I read the beginning of the letter, containing “The Voice of the Irish”. And while I was reading aloud the beginning of the letter, I myself thought indeed in my mind that I heard the voice of those who were near the wood of Foclut, which is close by the Western Sea. And they cried out thus as if with one voice, “We entreat thee, holy youth that thou come, and henceforth walk among us.” And I was deeply moved in heart, and could read no further; and so I awoke. Thanks be to God, that after many years the Lord granted to them according to their cry![8]

He returned to Ireland as a missionary in A.D. 432. He was embarrassed by his lack of formal education, and referred to it countless times in his Confession, calling himself “the rudest and the least of all the faithful”[9] and “a rustic, a fugitive, unlearned.”[10] Despite this, St. Patrick was used mightily of God, and it is said that he brought a hundred and twenty thousand people to faith in Christ.[11]

Patrick was an itinerant minister, circuiting Ireland and establishing churches. He established more than three hundred churches, bringing in clergy from Britain and Gaul (France) to nurture the new believers. He referred to himself as “a resident of Ireland”, refusing to tie himself to any county or city. He travelled on foot until he was too old to do so, and then he took to chariot.[12] It is estimated that St. Patrick died around 461 at Saul (now Saul Patrick), and was buried at Armagh, the location of Ireland’s central church.[13]

St. Patrick was a very humble and self-conscious man, almost to the point of an inferiority complex. He had a lot of self-doubt and insecurity, particularly about his lack of education. He felt himself unworthy of the office of Bishop. His lack of skill caused him to be extremely dependent on God, and in prayer constantly. He thanked God, and accredited his own ability to do the work to God alone. It was God who gave St. Patrick the wisdom and the words. He says, “Whence came this wisdom to me, which was not in me, I who neither knew the number of my days, now was acquainted with God?”[14] God had an intimate involvement in Patrick’s life, and talked to him, often in dreams.

St. Patrick was a dreamer in the Biblical sense. He had a dynamic and mystical relationship with God, and a deep prayer life. God spoke to Patrick through dreams and Patrick records upwards of eight dream experiences in his Confessions. It was through a dream that St. Patrick knew to escape Ireland, and it was through a dream that God sent him back.[15]

Contrary to the mythical and legendary portrayals of St. Patrick as a stern, dogmatic, stoic preacher, he was actually a feeling, passionate man. He was never without fear, as he was always feeling the struggle between good and evil, Christianity and Paganism, God and Satan.[16] However, St. Patrick was also full of love, a love that balanced, but never neutralised, the fear. His whole life could be considered a movement toward that perfect love that casts out all fear (1 John 4:18).[17] He looked his enemies in the face, both human and demonic, but he remained very vulnerable, full of fears and tears.

During his ministry, St. Patrick preached the simple Gospel. He was very well versed in Scripture, making reference to it or alluding to it about one hundred times in his Confessions.[18] St. Patrick travelled from county to county, preaching to the chieftains and kings. This approach led to his success in evangelising Ireland, and it has been said that the original conversion of the Irish was accomplished with less bloodshed than any other considerable nation in Europe.[19]

St. Patrick was also the first Christian to speak out strongly against slavery. As one who had been a slave himself, Patrick could closely identify with the horror and atrocities of slavery. Within his lifetime, St. Patrick had abolished the entire Irish slave trade.[20]

St. Patrick encouraged the founding of monasteries, but unlike many of those on the Continent, the Irish monasteries were not removed from society. In fact, they were a society in themselves, with every station present, from priest to blacksmith to farmer.[21] Celtic monasteries were centres of worship, scholarship, industry, and missionary activity.[22] The Irish loved the Bible, and they played a big part of spreading the knowledge of the Scriptures in Europe during the Dark Ages.[23] Eventually, through the work of St. Patrick, Ireland would become a centre from which Christian influence was spread not only to Britain and Scotland, but also to much of Western Europe as well, through the missions work of people such as Saints Aidan and Columba.[24]

St. Patrick, as is seen through the work he accomplished and the life he lived among the Irish, was truly a missionary. After being a captive slave in Ireland, St. Patrick’s love of God was truly his only reason for returning. He writes, “I testify in truth, and in joy of heart, before God and His holy angels, that I never had any reason, except the Gospel and its promises, for ever returning to that people from whom I had formerly escaped with difficulty.”[25] Truly, for a man or woman of God, the Gospel should be the only reason one needs.

St. Patrick’s humility and fear are prominent in his Confessions, and he never puts it so aptly as when he describes himself as parvitas mea: “my littleness”.[26] This thought consumed St. Patrick, and continually brought him before God for strength. God does not call people for their strengths, but is glorified in them through their weaknesses. Each Christian should live with the awareness of his or her littleness, and forever balance that by depending on God’s grace daily. Thus was Saint Patrick.

[1] Iain Zaczek, Irish Legends. Prospero Books, 1998. p.121.
[2] T. W. Rolleston, Celtic: Myths and Legends. Senate, 1994. p. 59.
[3] “The Confession of St. Patrick”, translated by C. H. H. Wright, is taken from Appendix A of Noel Dermot O’Donoghue’s Aristocracy of Soul: Patrick of Ireland. Michael Glazier, Inc., 1987. pp. 101-118.
[4] Roger C. Palms, “Patrick of Ireland; Slave. Missionary. Man of God.” Decision Magazine, March, 1999. pp. 28, 29.
[5] “The Confession of St. Patrick”, from O’Donoghue. p. 105.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Palms, “Patrick of Ireland”.
[8] “Confession”. p. 107
[9] Ibid. p. 101.
[10] Ibid. p. 104.
[11] Palms, “Patrick of Ireland”.
[12] Katharine Scherman, The Flowering of Ireland. Little, Brown and Company, 1981. p. 96.
[13] Palms, “Patrick of Ireland”.
[14] “Confession”. p. 110.
[15] Noel Dermot O’Donoghue, Aristocracy of the Soul: Patrick of Ireland. pp. 11-23.
[16] Ibid. p.59.
[17] Ibid.
[18] T. G. Wallace, Our Debt to the Celtic Church. Sutherland Press, 1954. p. 37.
[19] Ibid. pp. 38-39.
[20] Mary Cagney, “Patrick the Saint”. Christian History, 1st Quarter, 1998. pp. 14-15.
[21] Wallace, p. 78.
[22] Ibid. p. 82.
[23] Ibid. p. 86.
[24] Palms, “Patrick of Ireland”.
[25] “Confessions”, p. 117.
[26] O’Donoghue, p. 27.

Getting Our Feet Wet

At yesterday's meeting, I washed the feet of the kids who were present, after watching the flashback scene where Jesus washes His disciples' feet. In the movie, Mel Gibson has Jesus tell His disciples that if the world hates and persecutes them, they must remember that it hated and persecuted Him first. But He also gives the promise of His Holy Spirit to strengthen them and lead them into the Truth. We then looked at the scenes of certain characters who had a life-changing encounter with Jesus on His way to the Cross...

Malchus--[0:11:50-0:14:05]
In the Garden of Gethsemane, when the mob comes to arrest Jesus, Peter, being the hot-tempered, quick thinking guy that he is, attacks one of the guards, and chops off his ear. When things are about to get really ugly, Jesus bends down, picks up the ear, and heals the guard in an amazing act of love. This love amazes the guard, who remains speechless, with a look of awe and wonder at the love and mercy of Jesus, who he has come to arrest.

Peter--[0:29:05-0:31:35]
At Jesus' trial, Peter is accused of being one of the disciples. Afraid for his life, he denies the accusations 3 times--and then remembers Jesus' prophecy that he would do just that. As Jesus looks right at him, Peter is filled with grief and shame, and runs away. He is stopped by Mary, Jesus' mother, who is with John and Mary Magdalene. Peter drops to his knees before Mary and tells her of his shameful crime, and then runs off to, as the Bible says, "weep bitterly" (Luke 22:62). Later in Scripture, we find that the Resurrected Jesus pays a special visit to Peter, to let him know that he is forgiven, and that Jesus has a special role for him (John 21:15-19). Even when we fail to stand up for Christ at a crucial moment, He doesn't just discard us, but we can find forgiveness and a second chance to live boldly for Him, as is evidenced by Peter's conversion--for it was he who stood up in front of the multitude on Pentecost, and preached so that 3000 people were saved on that day! (Acts 2:14-41)

Herod's slave--[0:44:15-0:45:05]
In this brief scene, we see Jesus, beaten and mocked, look over toward a slave, the only one not mocking Jesus. This beautiful scene shows the extent to which Jesus identifies with us in our humanity, as St. Paul wrote, "though He was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, He emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave…He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:6-8). Jesus' true majesty doesn't lie in His great power, but in His great humility, and in lowering Himself to our level, even to the level of a slave, He exalts all of us, even a slave, to His level as Sons and Daughters of God!

Barabbas (not quite)--[0:49:10-0:51:10]
In this interesting scene, even Barabbas' jubilation over being chosen over Jesus is calmed when Jesus' penetrating gaze meets his own. However, he shakes off Jesus' gaze and marches through the crowd. Whether Barabbas himself ever placed his faith in Christ, we won't know until we're in heaven, but in an allegorical sense, Barabbas stands for each of us, because, as we mentioned last week, our sins by rights get us the divine death penalty, but, like Barabbas, whose name means "The Son of the Father," we are redeemed by the true Son of the Father, and are made ourselves into true Sons and Daughters of the Father! (1 John 3:1)

Claudia--[0:46:20-0:47:10 / 0:59:45-1:00:30]
In these interesting scenes, Claudia, Pilate's wife, is depicted as being very concerned about Jesus' fate. The Bible describes her as having been troubled in a dream about Him (Matthew 27:19), and urges she Pilate not to condemn Him. There is serious speculation among scholars as to whether Claudia had become a secret disciple of Jesus, like Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea. She discusses with Pilate the concept of Truth, as he is haunted by Jesus' response to his questioning. Claudia's response to Pilate, that if a person will not hear the truth, then no one can tell them, highlights the fact that our salvation is only a result of the Grace of God, but that we have to be open to receive that grace. Claudia's own openness to God's grace is displayed in her compassion to the Virgin Mary as she gives her an armful of cloths to wipe up the Precious Blood of Jesus.

Mary Magdalene--[1:05:55-1:07:50]
Mel Gibson depicts Mary Magdalene flashing back to when she first encoun- tered the impossible love of Jesus, while she helps Mary, Jesus' Mother, clean up His blood. The scene that she flashes back to is that of the woman caught in adultery in John chapter 8--and while Mary Magdalene, biblically speaking, probably isn't the woman the story is about, Gibson decided to compact these stories for dramatic punch (He took his cue from Pope St. Gregory 1). However, the point remains profound, and that is the truth that, "Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little" (Luke 7:47). Because of the forgiveness and love of Jesus, Mary Magdalene became a loving and devoted follower, and stayed with His Mother and St. John as they followed Jesus all the way to the cross--even when all others deserted Jesus.

The guard on the road--[1:18:28-1:19:17]
When the guard sees the interaction between the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ on the road, their dynamic love for each other, and the courage she displays in following Christ to the Cross affects him. It is Mary's courage and faith that attract the guard to Christ, and seemingly to a faith in Him. This is Mary's role, as we'll discuss more next week--to present Jesus to people, and to bring people to Jesus.

Veronica--[1:23:35-1:24:40 / 1:27:00-1:27:15]
Tradition places Veronica on the Way of the Cross (station 6), as a woman who has compassion on Jesus' sufferings, and tries in her own small way to minister to Him. As a reward for her kindness, Jesus blesses her by leaving the image of His Face on the cloth with which she wiped His face. Veronica, whose name means "True Image", received the gift of Jesus' true image, and it is said that the veil is kept within a statue of Veronica in St. Peter's Basilica, in Rome--though there is some question as to whether the veil has survived...
Blessed Mother Teresa once talked about how she saw Jesus in every sick and poor person to whom she ministered in Calcutta. In this, she alluded to Jesus' parable in Matthew 25, where He judged people by how they loved "the least of [His] brethren" by saying that whatever we did to any of them, we were really doing to Him. Whenever we reach out to help the poor, the sick, or the lonely, Jesus says we are really reaching out to Him, and just as He rewarded Veronica with His Image, He rewards us with the Grace of knowing Him more as we compassionately love others.

Simon of Cyrene--[1:21:00-1:23:05]

When we first see Simon, he's disgusted by what's going on, and very opposed to taking up the cross and helping Christ. When he realises that he has no choice, he makes it very explicit that he has nothing to do with Christ--that he is innocent. [1:25:00-1:26:50] But in helping Jesus accomplish His work of salvation in helping to carry the cross, Simon begins to identify himself with Jesus, and by the end of the journey, the man who formerly wanted nothing to do with Jesus has to be forcibly driven away from Jesus [1:31:45-1:32:10].
At first we reject the cross of Christ, but persecution is an opportunity for us to become united with Jesus in a most personal and special kind of way, to share in the cross of our Lord. When we take on suffering that is given to us, especially when it's a result of our faith, we participate, like Simon, with Jesus' redemption of the world!

Dismas the Good Thief--[1:45:00-1:45:50]
The "Good Thief," Dismas, realises the truth, and even though he was a terrible criminal, his heart is still soft towards the things of God, and that is all God needs to bestow His love and forgiveness. Jesus' love and forgiveness of His torturers and murderers touches the thief's heart, and he humbly asks Christ to forgive him. The forgiveness of Dismas by Jesus gives all Christians hope in the saving power of faith.

Cassius the guard--[1:53:55-1:55:25]
Cassius is depicted as sympathetic to the plight of Mary, Jesus' mother. He is almost apologetic when he goes to pierce Jesus' side to verify His death. The key to Cassius' conversion is when he pierces Christ's side, and the blood and water pour out. While being a literal historical fact, Gibson dramatises the event by making it an outpouring like from a fountain. The Blood and Water from Christ's side have since earliest times taken on spiritual significance as representing both Baptism and the Eucharist (It is this notion that is the basis for the painting of the Divine Mercy). In this scene, then, Cassius is baptised quite literally and drops to his knees in awe and worship of Christ. The blood and water continue to flow like a fountain from Christ's side as a symbol that His Grace is available to all, a never-ending fountain, like one of my favourite hymns talks about, "There is a fountain filled with blood / drawn from Emmanuel's veins / and sinners plunged beneath the flood / lose all their guilty stains."

Each of these persons in Mel Gibson's movie teach us something about our own lives of continuous conversion and growth toward becoming more like Jesus. In the sacrament of Confirmation, Jesus' promise of the Holy Spirit that He gave at the last supper as He washed His disciples' feet, is fulfilled in each of us, as the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us in a new and powerful way, giving us the graces of strength and courage to live for Christ on a daily basis. It is the Holy Spirit in us that gives us the ability to take up our crosses daily, to die to ourselves and be united to Christ in His suffering. The Sacrament of Confirmation isn't just a one-time thing, but, like Baptism, opens the door to a greater experience of God as we live it out in our day-to-day lives. Always be open to His presence in your life.
God bless
Gregory

Lazarus....COME FORTH!

Sunday's Gospel was the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. For his homily at the 10:30 mass (and Saturday night's) Father Watters gave a reflection on the Gospel that he had given to the Students at Holy Trinity High School when he went there for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. When I heard it at mass, I thought it was worthy to be published here--and it makes a great segue between last week's topic on sin, and this week's topic on conversion.

John 11:1-45

How do some of your decisions keep you in the tomb? Do you refuse to respect other people? The earth? The earth's resources? Do you litter and show a poor interest in taking care of the environment? Do you refuse to respect yourself--in ways of physical, emotional, and spiritual health? Do you favour materials over people?

How big is the "stone" that keeps you in your tomb? What does the stone symbolise for you: Pride? Arrogance? Stubbornness? Selfishness? Prejudice? Materialism? Do you doubt God loves you because of the "stone" between you and God? Do you doubt the power of God's love to transform you or the situation? What is it about God and His Love that keeps you away from Him? Why?

Are you frightened of the "stench" that dealing with your mistakes will cause? Are you scared of other people's reactions to your mistakes? Do you doubt other people can still love you in spite and despite your unhealthy decisions in the past and present?

In what ways do you have to be unbound from your fears? What is keeping you from letting go, from making the leap of faith into God's Love?

I hope that we all can have the courage to respond to Jesus' call, to come forth out of our sins and fear and into the light of God's marvelous love and forgiveness!
God bless
Gregory

Sin and Satan

Well, we had a bigger turn-out than last week. Some new faces, which is always cool! Had a lot of good discussion, too. If you missed it, here's the finer points of the topic, as usual (all 8 pages of it).

Sin
We live today in a permissive society that embraces sin as a virtue. There are the ways of God and there are the ways of the world--two very different ways for humanity to live. The communications media is often filled with the implicit message that "anything goes" and that sin is "no big deal". Sin is a big deal, however, with real and damaging consequences.

Sin is any free, deliberate behaviour on our part that we know offends God and breaks His law. People's sins are rooted in their pride, anger, envy, greed, lust, gluttony and laziness, otherwise known as the "seven deadly sins." Whereas choosing the high road can be difficult, choosing the evils of this world can be very attractive at times.

Sin is such a big deal because God, as our Creator and loving Father, deserves all of our love, respect, and obedience. But He really does not need our obedience--we do. For He loves us more than we love ourselves and knows us better than we know ourselves. So every time we say "no" to Him and His will, we damage others and ourselves. Some sin, called venial or light, weakens our relationship with God. Mortal, or deadly, sin ruptures our relationship with Him, because it is a deliberate act, in full consent of our will, saying we're going to do it our way and not God's--in effect, flipping God off. Turning away from sin and seeking His grace restore this ruptured relationship.

The Effects of Sin
Sin is so damaging is for a number of reasons. First, God is Holy, and sin is completely opposed to His holiness, and therefore sin in our lives cuts us off from Him. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death, and that if that sin in our lives is never dealt with, ultimately the result is eternity in Hell, separated from God. The other reason why sin is so damaging, and why God takes such pains to warn us away from it, is because God designed us to be holy as well, to operate a certain way. Think of it like a car. When we drive the car properly, and maintain it regularly, it'll last for a long time without any problems. But if we shift it improperly, or put the wrong kind of fuel in the tank, then the car breaks down. Now, the designer of the car didn't write out an owner's manual telling us how to look after the car properly because he didn't want us to enjoy driving, but precisely because he did want us to enjoy driving the car. It is the same with God. He gave us His law, not to be a killjoy, but to give us true joy.

We see the effects of sin on the hearts of people in the scene where Pilate presents the flogged Jesus to the crowd that we saw last week. We see a vivid contrast between a man who still has a shred of compassion left in his heart set against a seething mob whose appetites for greater spectacle can't be satisfied. Sadly, this is a perceptive portrayal of the human condition: our appetites for sin and vice, once we indulge them, grow ever stronger and can never, ultimately, be satisfied.

The Source of Sin--Satan
It can all be traced back to the fall of Lucifer, the "Angel of Light"--the devil--who rebelled against God and established his kingdom on earth. God thereafter has allowed people the freedom to choose for themselves between His way of truth, selflessness, and light, and the devil's way of lies, selfishness, and darkness. Having rejected God, the devil surely harbours immense hatred for the Creator. We also know from Scripture that he intends to wage spiritual battle against humans, God's special creation. This enmity includes desiring that humans lose their salvation. In the beginning, Satan tempted Adam and Eve into believing that God was holding out on them, and that, if they did things their own way, they could become like God Himself. Unfortunately, Adam and Eve went for it, and because of the sin of our first parents (original sin), we inherit a natural tendency toward sin.

But that is not the whole story. Satan is a master at deceitful advertising. He makes sin appear glamorous and desirable, just as he did in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). He tries to convince us that God forbids things, not because they are harmful, but because they will make us like Him and He wants to keep us down, subservient, under His feet. So Satan markets sin as liberating while it is the exact opposite--enslaving. Our first parents fell for it, and so do we.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Satan did what he could to try to discourage and prevent Jesus from accomplishing His saving mission. [Clip 1: 0:07:55-0:09:12] As Jesus prays for the strength to complete His mission, Gibson depicts Satan unleashing a serpent, which Jesus crushes under His foot. This is an allusion to the story of the first Garden, where Adam and Eve committed the first sin and cut themselves off from God. But even then, God had put in place His plan for redemption, and He promises that the "seed of the woman" (representing all humanity, and, ultimately Jesus, the "Son of Man" and representative of all humanity) will "bruise the head" of the serpent. Jesus is the "new Adam" (1 Cor 15:22), restoring what the first Adam had lost through sin. So Jesus' crushing of the serpent in this scene is used here as a foreshadowing of Christ' victory over the devil and over sin and death through His suffering, death, and resurrection.

Believing in the devil may seem passé to the supposedly "enlightened", but this is a grave mistake. As C. S. Lewis points out in The Screwtape Letters, the widespread disbelief in Satan's existence is actually an ingenious move on the part of the Evil One. If he can convince men that he does not exist--that he is only as "real" as the boogeyman--then we will not be on guard against him. And if we're not on guard against him, we will almost certainly fall into his traps, because the reality is that he desperately wants your soul.

Far from being some abstract personification of "evil," the devil is an actual spiritual being--a fallen angel (or demon). Though this idea sounds quaint or old-fashioned to modern ears, the Catholic Church has consistently taught that the devil is a real being with formidable will and intellect. Being a pure spirit, he is not subject to the laws of the physical world. His natural intellectual abilities far surpass those of human beings. Both the Bible and the Tradition of the Church teach that the devil (also called Satan--meaning "adversary", or
"Lucifer"--"Light bearer") was the most glorious of the angels, but pride and envy caused him and his followers to rebel against God. As a result of this rebellion, Satan and the other fallen angels (or demons) were cast out from God's presence, a separation that will exist for all eternity.

Given the devil's rejection of God, we can reason that he is consumed with hatred towards God and those made in God's image and likeness--humans. Satan, therefore, is surely relentless in his desire to have you and me lose our souls and be separated eternally from the God who loves us. In the movie, and particularly in the scene in the Garden, his aim is to derail Christ's mission on earth--a mission of love, truth, and salvation.

Jesus refers to the devil many times in Scripture. For example, in Matthew 25:41, He condemns those who refuse to follow His will and love their neighbour with the words, "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." In these words, Jesus joins the fate of those who refuse to do His will with that of the devil--namely, hell. The apostle John makes the essential mission of Jesus clear in his first letter: "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8).

[Clip 2: 0:54:25-0:54:55] In the movie, the devil is present at Jesus' scourging. We see Satan holding a grotesque demon baby in his arms and swirling around the action of this sequence, inciting the torturers to maximum violence and brutality. This was the devil's moment, in which he thought he was winning the battle with God. [Clip 3: 1:01:00-1:02:00] He is depicted with the baby demon as a sort of "anti-Madonna-with-Child" image. The devil wants to corrupt anything that is good and beautiful. The devil taunts Jesus, while His Mother stands by helpless, and His Father appears to have abandoned Him. However, despite appearances, none of these things are true, for we know that it was precisely in Jesus' suffering, death, and resurrection that He won the battle.

Even Mary's apparent helplessness accomplishes much in the Divine Plan. Catholics recognise Mary's obedience to God as the antithesis of the devil's rebellion against God. This is a shock to many people, who think that the devil is the opposite of God. But nothing is the opposite of God, for God has no equals. Nor, apart from God, could Mary be the devil's opponent since the devil, as an angel, is vastly more powerful than any human being, naturally speaking. But Mary is "full of grace" as Gabriel called her. She is full of the life of God and is therefore able to confront the devil [Clip 4: 1:14:15-1:14:45], not only during Christ's Passion, but for our sake as well, now that she is glorified in heaven. Mary's "yes" to God stands in direct opposition to Lucifer's rejection of God's will. We'll discuss this in greater detail in the final week of the series.

Satan's Power
As we said, the devil is powerful, but unlike God, he is not all-powerful. There are definite limits to what he can do. For example, he can tempt us to sin, but he cannot cause us to sin. "The devil made me do it!" is not a valid excuse for our sins. There are times, however, when the devil can "possess" a person and have a certain degree of control in their lives. This notion, made popular in horror movies like The Exorcist, is often blown out of proportion. In order for the devil to possess someone, that person needs to invite him in willingly. However, as the Father of Lies, he might use the bare minimum excuse as an invite. This is a major reason that the Church warns so vehemently against things that are from the occult, like Ouija Boards, or Tarot Cards. But even in a case of possession, God is still more powerful, and repeatedly in the Gospels we hear of Jesus driving demons out of people. What's more, He promised that we would have that same authority as His followers.

The extreme case of possession aside, the primary way that the devil attacks us is through tempting us to sin, and leading us away from God. The greatest example of such a person is Judas Iscariot, the guy who betrayed Jesus [Clip 5: 0:10:25-0:10:51]. Scripture actually tells us very little about him besides his name and his role as the apostles' treasurer. After betraying Jesus, he was seized with remorse and committed suicide by hanging himself.

Judas

"Iscariot" means "dagger," which is an interesting name in light of his role in betraying Jesus--"stabbing Him in the back," so to speak. It is also believed that his family was from the town of Kerioth in the south of Judea.

From the parts of the Bible that do talk about Judas, we can find out a little bit more about who he was. He seemed to be very concerned about "earthly" things, such as power and money. He rebuked Mary of Bethany when she anointed Jesus' feet with expensive perfume. Judas griped that that money should have been used for the poor. But St. John tells us that Judas' concern wasn't really for the poor, but that he looked after the money, and used to steal some of the contributions from the money bag (John 12:6).

Besides being motivated by money, Judas seems to have expected Jesus to be a different kind of Messiah, a worldly one who would free Israel from the bondage of its Roman oppressors. Having witnessed Jesus' miracles, it is possible that Judas believed in Jesus' divinity, or at least grasped that He was a prophet. It is sometimes thought that Judas turned Jesus over to the authorities to force His hand--to cause Jesus to exercise His authority and restore the Jewish nation to earthly glory.

[Clip 6: 0:31:45-0:32:35] Judas seems to have felt remorse for his betrayal of Jesus, because, as we see in the film, he throws the 30 pieces of silver he was paid to betray Jesus on the floor of the Temple (see Matt 27:5). He even says to the priests and scribes with whom he collaborated, "I have sinned in betraying innocent blood" (Matt 27:4). This shows that Judas wasn't totally without conscience. Even so, this remorse was not followed by the virtue of hope--a hope that he could be forgiven [Clip 7: 0:15:30-0:16:11].

The Bible reveals that after he cast the 30 pieces of silver on the Temple floor he went out and hung himself (Matt 27:5). Mel Gibson portrays him as being in the throes of demonic torments that plague him and drive him farther from God.

[Clip 8: 0:32:35-0:33:48; Clip 9: 0:35:40-0:37:50]. He could have become a great saint had he recovered from his sin as Peter did. Instead, he despaired of God's mercy and chose death.


"Good Thief" vs. "Bad Thief"

There are two more people to consider when it comes to the topic of sin. The two people who were crucified with Jesus illustrate both the effects of sin, and also the possibility of forgiveness and reconciliation. The "Bad Thief", whom Tradition has named Gesmas, lets his sinful life make him bitter. His sin has taken so much control of him, that he is blinded to the truth that is Jesus. He mocks Christ just as much as anyone else. Unfortunately, Gesmas' fate is all too common. Sin takes us down a road that gets farther and farther from God. While it is true that He can forgive any sin as long as we're willing to let Him, the very act of sinning, and living a sinful lifestyle, hardens our heart to His love and forgiveness. In contrast, the "Good Thief," Dismas, realises the truth, and even though he was a terrible criminal himself, his heart is still soft towards the things of God, and that is all God needs to bestow His love and forgiveness. Jesus' love and forgiveness of His torturers and murderers touches the thief's heart, and he humbly asks Christ to forgive him [Clip 10: 1:44:20-1:44:50; Clip 11: 1:45:00-1:46:15]. The "Bad Thief" scorns this humble act as a futile gesture of a desperate fool, and subsequently has his eyes gouged out by a crow, an event in the movie which echoes historical facts (carnivorous birds would often peck at crucified victims' eyes to make sure they were dead before trying to eat them) but also symbolically demonstrates his spiritual blindness.

The fate of the "bad thief" is contrasts with that of the "good thief," who in the Bible professes belief in Christ at the eleventh hour and is assured by Jesus a share in His Kingdom. The forgiveness of Dismas by Jesus gives all Christians hope in the saving power of faith. Even at the hour of death it is possible to ask for and receive forgiveness of one's sins by trusting in Jesus!

The forgiveness that Jesus won on the cross, as we discussed in detail last week, is available to everyone. That is why Jesus cried out when He was being crucified, "Father, forgive them!" [Clip 12: 1:38:00-1:38:20] Jesus' desire to forgive us and wipe out sin extends even to the very people responsible for His death! And we know we can be forgiven, because the Devil was defeated on the cross [Clip 13: 1:55:10-1:55:25]! The Bible says, "Even when you were dead in transgressions, He brought you life along with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions; obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims, which was opposed to us, he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross; despoiling the principalities and the powers, He made a public spectacle of them, leading them away in triumph by it" (Colossians 2:13-15).

How Do We Gain Forgiveness?
During the discussion yesterday, the question was asked how we know we are forgiven. In my last blog, we discussed baptism as the means that God provided for us to enter into His Covenant--His family--and to have our sins washed away. That's the first step any of us takes, and many of us take it as babies (not me, though. I was 16).

But what about the inevitable times afterwards that we will be tempted and buy into it? How are we forgiven then? The Bible tells us that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us (1 John 1:9). In most circumstances, we can just apologise to God with a sincere heart. These are the cases of venial sin, as we mentioned up above. We have means to go straight to God because our sins are of such a nature that, while they harm our relationship with God, they do not sever it completely. This is because a venial sin isn't done with the desire to sin, to flip God off, as it were, but was done in the heat of some passion and not with our full, reasoned consent. However, continuing to surrender to our passions in venial sin will continue to damage the relationship to such a point that it becomes mortal, or deadly, to our relationship with God.

Mortal sin is the kind of sin we do that is fully a result of our reasoned choice and understanding. We know it is wrong, and we still very much want to do it, consequences be damned--or rather, the consequences would be damnation. This sort of sin severs our relationship completely with God, in such a way that if it is never dealt with, we are in effect no longer Christian. As such, our forgiveness requires a more drastic approach in order for us to reenter the community. That is why Jesus provided us with the Sacrament of Reconciliation (or Confession or Penance). It is in this sacrament that we have the means to restore ourselves to the Covenant which we violated by our sin.

Jesus instituted this sacrament after His Resurrection, when He told His 12 Apostles, "'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.' And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained'" (John 20:21-23). St. James wrote in a letter about this sacrament and one other, the Anointing of the Sick. Regarding Confession, he writes, "He should summon the presbyters [of which "priest" is an English contraction] and they should pray over him....If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed" (James 5:14-16). James ties the two sacraments together in his letter, but Sacred Tradition separates the two into distinct, but often overlapping, sacraments.

In the sacrament of Reconciliation, we can know we are forgiven because we know by faith that this is the means that Jesus set up for us. Therefore, when we hear the words of absolution by the priest, they can minister to our heart in a way that might not have been the case up to that point. It's one thing to know something with our heads (God loves us and forgives us) or to read it in a book, even the Bible. But in sin, the devil (that jerk) tries to keep us from believing that forgiveness is possible, just like he drove Judas to despair and suicide. So when we, in the throes of guilt, try to reach God on our own, heaven can feel very far away. The beauty, then, of confessing our sins to a priest, gives us the opportunity to hear the words as though from Christ Himself, as the priest stands in His stead.

Furthermore, if you have a good priest, he can help you to find the root of your sin, so that you can more ably dig it out. Thus, Confession can be a mini counselling session. The third thing that Confession does is give us the first step in Repentance, which is turning 180 degrees from sin and going back to God. The Penance that the priest assigns is designed to counter the sinful act and show us the first step back to living the holy life. But by far the most important thing that the Sacrament of Reconciliation does is to humble us. It's a very easy thing to keep our sin between us and God. No one else has to know. But in Confession, we must openly admit our sins to a priest, and this is very difficult. But it is important, because the very act of Confession attacks the deadliest of the Seven deadly sins--the very sin that caused Satan's downfall--Pride.

Through the Cross, Jesus makes forgiveness available to all. He gave His Church the means of Grace and Forgiveness so that we may be members of His Covenant Family. So then, as members of His Family, where do we go from here? We'll discuss that next week as we look at some of the characters in The Passion of the Christ who had a life-changing encounter with Jesus, and see that our lives should tell a similar story of radical change!

God bless.

Reflections on Snow

Well, last night we got dumped on here in Southern Ontario, which means an early morning shovelling the driveway, and a late morning to work. I like shovelling the driveway, though. Especially when I don't have to hurry. It gives me time to think, in the quiet winter morning, or evening, depending on when I get around to it. We have a fairly large driveway (holds about 10 cars) so it's a lot of time to think, or to pray, or to listen to God.

This morning was one such occasion. Because of my recent conversion to Catholicism from Protestantism, I have a lot of Protestant friends still, and we often get into discussions or sometimes even heated debates. Actually, my comments on the Covenant and the Eucharist prompted some among good friends of mine. So when I was out shovelling this morning, I had these people, and these discussions on my mind.

I also had next Sunday's talk related to The Passion of the Christ on my mind. This week's topic is "Sin and Satan", and how Jesus defeats Satan by the cross, and frees us from our sins. Stated simply like that, our Protestant brothers and sisters agree 100% with us Catholics. It's in the details of how this Grace is bestowed that we differ. It was these differences that I was ruminating on this morning as I shovelled snow.

I looked around at the world, covered under a deep blanket of snow. It reminded me of our sinfulness and God's salvation. The prophets described the cleansing of our sins as being made white like snow (Isaiah 1:18), and indeed, at first glance, the world did look white, pure, and peaceful. The trees, formerly black bark and leafless, now seemed to glow with a radiant splendour. But when I looked at the trees closely, I saw that the bottoms of the branches were still black and leafless. The snow hadn't actually changed the tree into something beautiful, but covered the tree with something beautiful.

When I was a Protestant, this is how I looked at salvation. When we come to Jesus, and "ask Him into our hearts" as the saying goes, Jesus bestows His righteousness on us, and we wear it over our sinfulness like a cloak. Then, at the judgement, God declares us righteous, because He sees not our sinfulness, but Jesus. No intrinsic change has been made in us. We are "justified by faith" and God "reckons it to us as righteousness." In this scenario, it is no more than a legal fiction. Then, my protestant pastors, teachers, and theologians would tell me, the work of "sanctification" begins, where we gradually become more and more like the cloak-that-is-Christ that we've put on. We become more and more holy--but, they stress, this process of becoming more holy is a separate event from our salvation, which is our justification.

To me, though, that seems like being a tree covered by snow. So the question becomes, I think, what happens to the deathbed Christian, the thief on the cross, for example, who is "covered" by Jesus' righteousness, but no inward change has taken place? What happens when his sinful humanity still under the snow meets God's consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29)? It's one thing to have our righteousness "imputed" to us as some sort of "legal fiction" loophole. But when that fiction meets reality, it must be exposed. In that sense, it seems to me that Protestants are more in need of a doctrine that they got rid of -- Purgatory -- than Catholics are!

In Psalm 51, which David composed after having his affair with Bath-Sheba and then killing her husband, he cries out to God in repentance for his grave sin. In verse 9, he says, "Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure; / wash me, make me whiter than snow" (italics added). David isn't content with being even as pure as the driven snow, as the saying goes. He wants to go deeper, to go farther. "Why? Because snow is white, but it quickly turns black and filthy with any dirt," as St. Ambrose points out. And, at best, snow only covers us. It cannot change us (unless it gives us frostbite, and that's not a change for the good). David cries out for something deeper. He knows that he needs a change from the inside out, just like all of us.

Catholicism teaches that when we are saved, we are both justified and sanctified. The two, in the Bible, are interchangeable terms--two sides of the same coin. God declares us righteous based on Jesus' victory on the cross, but He also literally infuses us with Jesus' righteousness. It actually becomes our own! Granted, it is an ongoing process that never ends until we're dead (or after, in Purgatory), but Catholics, unlike many Protestants, do not believe that Salvation is a one-time event in our lives, but a lifestyle and a process. It has a definite beginning, which is baptism. It is at this point that we are born again, according to the Bible. It is here that, not only does the righteousness of Christ cover our sins, but actually, literally, washes them away!

Ezekiel prophesies about this in his 36th chapter: "I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put My Spirit within you and make you live by My statutes, careful to observe My decrees" (Ez 36:25-27). God tells His people that He will wash them with water, removing their sins and giving them His Spirit.

This passage is explicitly fulfilled when St. Paul discusses God's salvation with St. Titus, in the third chapter:

"But when the kindness and generous love
of God our Saviour appeared,
not because of any righteous deeds we had done
but because of His mercy,
He saved us through the bath of rebirth
and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom He richly poured out on us
through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
so that we might be justified by His grace
and become heirs in hope of eternal life.
This saying is trustworthy" (Titus 3:4-8a italics added).

This "Bath of Rebirth" is what Jesus was talking about in John 3, when He was talking to Nicodemus: "Jesus...said to him, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the Kingdom of God without being born from above.' Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother's womb and be born again, can he?' Jesus answered, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit'" (John 3:3-5, my italics again).

This phrase, "Born of water and Spirit," refers to baptism, and all the earliest Christians, right up until well into the Reformation, understood it so--and the Catholic Church still teaches this. My Protestant friends tell me (and I used to believe it myself) that the "water" meant either the Word of God or the amniotic sac that the baby is encased in in the womb. But these do not make much sense, especially in light of the passages quoted above. Moreover, one still has to explain why the earliest Christians, including the Apostles themselves, interpreted this to mean baptism, and have done so for nearly 2000 years.

According to St. Paul, Baptism takes the place of Jewish Circumcision (Colossians 2:11-15), and is our entry into the New Covenant that I talked about below. Through this sacrament, we are forgiven our sins, born again, and made heirs of the Kingdom. But we must continue in the faith that we were baptised into. This is why our salvation is a process. Initially, it's all about God's grace, and not our works. He gives us the grace of forgiveness of sins, and the grace to accept that forgiveness in faith, and the grace to act out that faith in our works. But, that grace comes with the responsibility to use it, to participate in our own salvation, as St. Paul writes, "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12b). But God doesn't expect us to do that alone, as the next verse says, "For God is the one who, for His good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work" (v.13).

All that is to say, snow looks pretty, and adds some flavour to the bland death of winter, but it is no substitute for the inward change that Spring brings, when the trees burst forth with New Life. May we all, "like [trees] planted near streams of water," burst forth in the New Life that Christ has given to us, and "yield [our] fruit in season" (Psalm 1:3)!

For we have been saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved! Alleluia!
God bless.

This post makes a nice segue between "Why did Jesus Die?" and "Sin and Satan" -- Due out next Monday!