The God of Reason

Christians, and particularly Catholics, believe in a God of reason, as opposed to a God of pure will without reason. We are to submit ourselves to God's will, but his will and reason are perfectly aligned. This doctrine is very beneficial to our religion as a whole, because it allows for thing such as justice and peace on Earth. In this short essay, I will briefly describe why this is the case.

As Catholics, we believe there are two sources of information from which a person can live his life. The first is natural law, or reason, which is within all people. The other is revealed truth, which is truth given to us by God, in various forms, including the Bible, the Church, the teachers of the church or Magisterium, which includes the Pope, Bishops, etc., as well as information obtained from ecumenical councils, and similar meetings.

Revealed truths cannot necessarily be ascertained through reason alone. It is important to understand also that revealed truth does not contradict reason, for they both contain truth.

Believing God to be the God of reason is important in how we live our lives. Believing that we can know things through our own minds is very important. This allows us to explore nature and discover scientific information and come to conclusions about nature. It allows us to know whether something is just or unjust, as well as how to treat one another. Many horrible things have been done in the name of religion, and sometimes these things have been done by people who have rejected reason. They do things in the "name of religion", as if religion was commanding them to behave in a certain way, despite how they personally felt about it. They may say they were opposed to it personally, but had to become somehow God had commanded them to do this. This is sort of like suicide bombers. Obviously, it goes against reason to be a suicide bomber for two reasons. First of all, we should not desire to kill ourselves, and secondly because we should not desire to kill others, especially innocent people. Reason would caution us against doing such a thing, whereas someone might look in the Bible or other holy book and based on their own personal interpretation think that God requires this action from us, even though it makes no moral sense. God is ultimately just, and would not want us to commit an unjust and immoral act, such as killing innocent people.

As an example of the negative impact of denying reason, we can look to Muslim Extremists, who promote such things as suicide bombings, etc. They reject reason, saying the only thing they can really know is God's pure will, which they say is impossible to understand, therefore should not be questioned at all or even understood. This position can lead to some very dangerous acts. People stop questioning whether something is right or wrong and instead rely on others to tell them what to do. They blindly commit crimes against humanity, without listening to their own reason. This point of view has lead to many problems, especially in the Muslim world. Around a thousand years ago, the Muslim world was flourishing with many discovers in science, the arts, mathematics, and other areas. This was possible because God was viewed as the essence of reason, and it was believed that humanity could possess reason as well. This knew that humans could know things such as science, math, arts, etc. In fact, Muslims, in many ways, especially the sciences were more advanced than Christianity. St. Mark's Cathedral was constructed mostly by Muslims nearly 1,000 years ago in Venice. I will discuss this in another blog posting.

This opinion and way of life however was conquered by Muslims who felt that we as humans could know nothing except the will of God, which might seem pleasant or scary for humans, but which only made sense to God. By abandoning reason, they essentially abandoned God's gift of understanding and violence took over.

Many evils in the world could be prevented if people used the reason God gave them. Deep down, I believe everyone knows that killing unborn children is wrong, for example. I will discuss this topic further in another blog, but I think people have abandoned their reason on this topic, and their own human ability to understand good from evil. We must all be careful to use reason when making decisions. Pray that God may impart true reason and love into our minds and hearts so that we may always do what the God of Reason and Loves wants of us.

Anti-Catholicism on the Internet

The Internet is a great place of collaboration, where people from all walks of life, social status, or country, can come together to speak on various issues. The Internet connects the world like never before, and a lot of information is available. But not all information is accurate, and may even be deceitful. One of the worse problems on the Internet is that of Anti-Catholicism. In this short essay, I will explore this issue, and ways to view the problem.

The Internet does not know who is using it. You could be a Gandhi or Mother Teresa, or you could be a full-blown member of the Ku Klux Klan. The thing about the internet though, is that you do not get a biography of the person who made the website you are visiting. And even if you do, the person himself made it, so it could very possibly be skewed. Do not take anyone's word for things on the Internet unless you completely trust that person.

Anti-Catholicism is rampant on the Internet, and there are even communities which revolve around spreading lies about the Catholic Faith. The problem is that when one person distorts the truth, especially if they do it in a very grevious way, others quickly use the information to spread propaganda. Some spread these lies unwittingly, because they actually believe them.

Some sites are set up to look like they are somehow helping Catholics... they claim they want to "rescue" Catholics, or show Catholics the "correct path". They like to use the Bible to show Catholics why what they believe is wrong. Do they not realize that the Bible is a book written by and for Catholics, preserved through the centuries by Catholics who believe it in its entirety? Even Martin Luther, the pre-eminent anti-Catholic admitted to this fact.

My advice for people who encounter anti-Catholic information is to do your homework. Do not accept these people's claims at face value, find out the real information yourself. All the doctrines, dogmas, and disciplines of the Catholic religion are freely available at the library or the Internet. Catholics are not shy about what they believe, nor do they ever try to hide it. It's out in the open for everyone to see. Like Bishop Fulton J. Sheen once said, not a hundred people disagree with the Catholic Church, but millions disagree with what they wrongly believe to be the Catholics Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, which was promulgated by the Pope, is a sure way of knowing what Catholics believe. Think about if you were having a debate with someone on, say, being vegetarian. You were against being vegetarian, and the other was debating for being vegetarian. Would it make sense if your opponent who was debating for vegetarianism was a staunch anti-vegetarian? Or would it make more sense to debate an actual vegetarian? Obviously, it makes more sense to debate the actual vegetarian. This is the same as with Catholicism.

Another question is, who do you ask? I admit that you cannot necessarily ask any regular Catholic what they Catholic Church believes. They may or may not know, and if you ask in a confrontational way, they may not know how to respond to your questions. The best thing to do is to go straight to the source. Go to the Vatican.va website, or Catholic.com, or check out the Catechism. These are the best ways to get information.

Finally, be careful of people who seem like they could be Catholic, but in actually are not. I am speaking mostly of schismatics and heretics. Some like to say they are Catholic, but in actuality are not. The best way to know if someone is truly Catholic is to find out their relationship with Pope Benedict XVI. If they say they are in full union with the Bishop of Rome, and submit to his authority, then you have a safe bet that you can trust their information. But be careful. Some schismatic groups may claim they listen to the Pope, but find out the name of "their" Pope. There is only one. Some schismatic groups claim another man, besides Benedict XVI, as their Pope, but this man is a mockery to the real Papacy established by Christ.

As you use these tips, I pray that, with the grace of God, you can navigate away from lies and toward the Truth of the Catholic Faith.

The Secret Cardinal

Cardinals play a very special role in the Roman Catholic Church. Cardinals, who are bishops with a special designation, are in charge of electing a new pope upon the current Pope's death. Traditionally they have chosen a pope from amongst their own ranks. In another blog posting, I will get into the process of electing a new Pope. In this blog, I will focus on the secret Cardinal.

A cardinal is selected by the Pope, as a special leader in the Church. This selection is accompanied by celebrations and festivities, as this sacred honor is bestowed upon a shepherd to the people. This man will guide his people spiritually in a special way, and play a part, along with the Holy Spirit, in protecting the Church against error, as her new Earthly leader is chosen. While this is the norm, sometimes circumstances call for a much different situation.

Not all countries are peaceful, some are openly hostile towards religion, and sometimes toward the Roman Catholic Church. China, for example, has tried to set up its own Church, so that people will join that instead of the true church, fearing those who join the Roman Catholic Church may have an authority outside China. Other countries are hostile toward Christianity in general, and the Roman Catholic Church in particular. Many of these regions are war-torn and violence is common. Practicing Catholics must sometimes hide or be quite secretive to avoid being punished. In such circumstances, the Church must be very careful.

Sometimes if a region is unstable and violence is very common, a pope will choose a Cardinal for that area, but will keep it a secret. Nobody knows the identity of the chosen cardinal, not even the cardinal himself, except for the Pope. These Cardinals are called Cardinals in pectore, which is Latin for in the breast. This symbolizes that they are hidden and only the Pope knows their identity. This situation is rare, but not non-existent.

If the Pope feels the situation has ameliorated enough to justify revealing the name of the cardinal, he may very well do so. The priest or bishop to whom this honor had been given may be surprised to know that he was in fact selected. It is also possible for the pope to write the name of the man in his will so that upon his death, the name of the cardinal would be revealed. This however, is unlikely, since the death of the pope does not seem to be a possible cause to improve the situation.

This is where the secret cardinal comes in. Upon the death of Pope John Paul II, on April 2, 2005, it was revealed that Pope John Paul II had named a cardinal in pectore. He had named a man to the Cardinalate sometime during his papacy, but could not reveal his name. He could have been living in a very violent or communist country which did not accept religion too well, or perhaps he was living in a country that did not accept Catholicism or Christianity in general. There are many possibilities. Yet, to this very day, we know not, and may never know, the identity of the man who was selected Cardinal!

Titles and Ranks within the Catholic Church

To some, the Catholic Church's system of positions may be confusing for some. If understood in the proper context, we see that the positions used within the Church are necessary and Biblical.

There are a multitude of positions within the Catholic Church when it comes to religious (as opposed to lay people). There are deacons, priests, monsignors, bishops, archbishops, cardinals, and the Pope.

Although this number of titles may cause confusion, it is important to realize there are only 3 sacramental positions within the Church: deacon, priest, and bishop, and to some extent Pope. The other positions (including cardinal, monsignor, and archbishop) are offices occupied by members of the first group.

The three sacramental offices are found in the Bible. The word "bishop" comes from the Greek "episcopoi". This means overseer or supervisor, epi meaning over and skopos meaning sight. Bishops are in charge of appointing priests and they have authority to rule theologically over a given area. The bishop can perform all sacraments, including baptism, confession, consecrating the Eucharist, marriage, and annointing of the sick, confirmation, and ordination. Bishops can be found in the Bible in 1 Tim. 5:19–22, 2 Tim. 4:5 and Titus 1:5.

We get the English word "priest" from the Greek word "presbuteroi", which means elders, also known as presbyters. They can be seen in 1 Timothy 5:17 and James 5:14–15. Priests are consecrated by the Bishops to be their helpers. They are authorized to perform many sacrements, except confirmation and ordination.

The third sacramental position is that of deacon, from the Greek word diakonoi. Deacons help priests carry out their duties and also help in other liturgical duties. A reference to deacons can be found in Acts 6:1–6.

The other roles, including monsignor, cardinal, archbishop and pope, are all special designations for certain sacramental positions. A monsignor is a senior priest who has a certain level of authority within his diocese. An archbishop is of course a head bishop, arch meaning chief or main. He has a higher level of authority in certain areas than a normal bishop, however, they are all bishops. A cardinal is a bishop as well, who has a special role in electing the next pope should the current pope die or no longer remain pope for some reason. The Cardinals are sometimes called the Princes of the Church. They also sometimes hold high positions within the Church. Finally, the Pope is a bishop as well. He is the Bishop of Rome. Since Peter was selected as the chief apostle and Pope, by Jesus, we have had a continuous line of Popes throughout the centuries. They have primacy or final say over matters which affect the entire Church. This is due to their special office of Pope. Therefore, although the Pope is a bishop, he is a special bishop with the power to make universal decisions which are binding on all Catholics. Please read my previous article on the Papacy for further information on this.

With the system of religious designations in place in the Catholic Church, Unity and Truth are assured.

Added October 5, 2015:

For a great read about the priesthood, including the Biblical basis for it, and other theological insights, check out Scott Hahn's great book Many Are Called: Rediscovering the Glory of the Priesthood. Purchasing this book from Amazon will help my blog immensely!

Does Papal Infallibility mean Catholics Believe the Pope is Perfect?

The simple answer to this question is no. We believe the Pope is the same as any other man in terms of his sinful nature and need for salvation. But what about Papal Infallibility you ask? There are many misconceptions floating around concerning Papal Infallibility. I will try to address many of these issues.

It is important to note first of all, that Papal Infallibility applies not so much to the man who is pope, but more so to his office, and his role as pope. Papal infallibility means that the pope, when speaking on matters of faith and morals while making an official declaration to the universal church in a general way, is protected by the Holy Spirit from teaching error.

Now that I have a definition, I will go over some possible scenarios and describe whether they are instances of infallibility, in a true or false way:

1) The Pope cannot commit sin - FALSE - Popes can and have committed sins throughout history. Pope Benedict XVI and the former pope John Paul II, both went to confession weekly. This is much more often than most Catholics. This would certainly not be the behaviour of someone who felt they could not commit a sin. The fact that a pope sins does not in any way undermine papal infallibility.

2) A Pope is always right - FALSE - The pope may or may not be correct on most issues, just like anyone else. If the pope says who he thinks will win the World Cup, dont put all your money on it.

3) The Pope, due to his position, cannot have heterodox (unorthodox) opinions - FALSE - The Pope could potentially hold opinions which are not orthodox. Because of Papal infallibility, the Holy Spirit restricts the Pope from officially declaring a teaching which is not orthodox, or in line with Catholic belief.

There is Biblical evidence for the dogma of Papal infallibility. While speaking to Peter, Jesus said he is the Rock upon which he builds his Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Peter was the solid foundation upon which the church is built. This is evident when we read the Acts of the Apostles. Anytime there is a disagreement, it is brought to an apostle, and if resolution cannot be had, Peter ultimately weighs in and his decision is final. Jesus gave this authority to Peter so that when he was gone from Earth, Christians would have a guide. Christ wanted that all people would be united and have a source of authority, which is why he established this office, held by Peter. The gates of hell would prevail against the church if it taught error contrary to Truth. Therefore the Church cannot teach error, and since the Pope is the ultimate leader of the Church, the Holy Spirit, as the third person of the Trinity, fulfills God's promise and protects the Pontiff from teaching error.

The role of the Pope and his infallibility are beautiful and essential doctrines for the Church in order to maintain the unity which Christ spoke about in the Gospels.

War in Iraq in light of Catholic Teaching

There is a concept in Catholic theology, developed by Saint Thomas Aquinas among others, called Just War Theory, stating that there are certain circumstances in which a country can justifiably take part in a war. Throughout the centuries, the Church has refined its definition of what constitutes a just war. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that there are criteria for the use of military action:

The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time:

• the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;
  
• all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;
  
• there must be serious prospects of success;
  
• the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.

These are the traditional elements enumerated in what is called the "just war" doctrine. The evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good.

There are many reasons for which this definition will preclude going to war. These reasons include going to war to build up wealth, to simply conquer a nation, or anything like this. Also, the threat must be real and serious. Therefore, there must be a real threat. If a nation says it will fire canons that may do limited damage to a building, this would probably not justify going to war.

Another very important aspect which the Catechism addresses is that all other means must be exhausted. This means using peaceful means such as the UN, or other international bodies, sanctions, and various other techniques. Until all of these peaceful techniques are used, war can never be justified.

A third condition is that the war cannot cause even greater destruction than if there had been no response to aggresive action. As a quick example, if a group took up torches and formed a riot, involving dozens of people, it would not be justified to send in tanks and destroy buildings, and kill hundreds of people.

The Catechism also states that those in the correct position, ie in the government, must make these decisions. This would normally preclude vigilante justice.

Finally, wars must conform to certain standards, even if it is found to be justifiable to go to war. War is always regrettable, but this should be minimized.

In light of this information, we must ask ourselves if the war in Iraq is justifiable. To many, including the former Pope, it is not. There is, however, no doctrine or official pronouncement made on this particular war. Therefore, Catholics are free to make their own decision regarding the legitimacy of this war.

There is however, overwhelming support for not being at war with Iraq from Catholic leaders in Rome, and all over the world. The Pope, who was Cardinal Ratzinger at the time, said the following, as reported by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:

Asked by reporters if U.S. military action against Iraq could be justified morally, he answered, "Certainly not in this situation."

"The United Nations exists. It must make the decisive choice," he said. "It is necessary that the community of peoples and not an individual power make the decision.

"And the fact that the United Nations is trying to avoid war seems to me to demonstrate with sufficient evidence that the damage which would result would be greater than the values trying to be saved," Avvenire reported the cardinal said.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops prayed for Peace, in their speech issued in 2002. (The following is from their website):

We pray for President Bush and other world leaders that they will find the will and the ways to step back from the brink of war with Iraq and work for a peace that is just and enduring. We urge them to work with others to fashion an effective global response to Iraq's threats that recognizes legitimate self defense and conforms to traditional moral limits on the use of military force.

The war in Iraq does not seem, for many, to be justifiable given the conditions outlined above. In situations where war is a possibility, all efforts must be made in order to prevent it, and to bring peace instead.

Effects of Nazism on our Current and Previous Popes

Both Karol Józef Wojtyła and Joseph Alois Ratzinger (who became Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, respectively) have both been intimately affected by Nazism throughout their lives. In this short essay, I will explore the direct effect Nazi philosophy and politics had on our latest two Popes.

Pope John Paul II, the first non-Italian Pope for over 400 years, was born and raised in Krakow, Poland. His home country was occupied by the Nazis in the Second World War, while Karol was in his late teens and early twenties. In Poland, the Germans established the most infamous concentration camp of all time, Auschwitz. Karol, who would become a young seminarian training for priesthood, was very saddened by the destruction caused by Nazism. Many of John Paul's friend's during childhood were Jewish. He saw many of his friends suffer at the hands of Nazis. This had a great impact on John Paul and in his years as a priest, bishop, cardinal, and of course, Pope, John Paul developed a theology of great love towards the Jewish people in the world.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish Organization, "Throughout his lifetime, the Pontiff has defended the Jewish people, both as a priest in his native Poland and for all the years of his Pontificate. John Paul has denounced anti-Semitism as a "sin against God and humanity,” has normalized relations with the Jewish people and the Jewish State of Israel, and has paid homage to the victims of the Holocaust in the Vatican and at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Israel."

The experience of Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, with the Nazis has also been poignant. As a young person, living during the time of World War II, Ratzinger was forced to join the Nazis in their organization for younger soldiers. Ratzinger and his family very much dispised the Nazis, and they wanted nothing to do with them. However, at the threat of losing his life, Ratzinger had to join. He did not see military conflict first-hand. In a daring and life-risking move, Ratzinger abandonned his post in the military and fled for home. The punishment for such a crime was punishable by death, but Ratzinger risked his life anyway. At one point of his journey, he was apprehended by a couple of guards. By the grace of God, Ratzinger's life was spared because these soldiers were becoming tired of the war. In fact, the war was only days or weeks until its conclusion. Ratzinger said later he felt quite scared when he was stopped by these men.

We can see by the example of Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, that he stood for truth and love toward all people. He risked his own life because of his beliefs. Pope John Paul II also stood firmly against oppression and hatred, which is evident from all his writings. These two great men provide spiritual guidance in their role as Pope, as well as from their personal example.

Catholic Books I am Reading

A few weeks ago, I went on Amazon.ca and bought 4 books on topics related to Catholicism. The books were as follows:

• A Refutation of Moral Relativism: Conversations with a Moral Absolutist by Peter Kreeft This book is a conversation between two fictional people. A moral relativist interviews an absolutist and explains why her position is untenable. Very good book as a guide to refuting relativism using logic and philosophy.
  
  
• Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton I haven't read this book yet, but being by Chesterton, it's bound to be awesome!
  
  
• What Catholics Really Believe--Setting the Record Straight: 52 Answers to Common Misconceptions about the Catholic Faith by Karl Keating I personally prefer this book to Keating's other apologetics book called "The Usual Suspects". The Usual Suspects spends a lot of time outlining what many Protestant groups believe, whereas this book basically gives clarification on Catholic issues which some people have issues with. This is a great book for apologetics.
  
  
• An Exorcist Tells His Story by Benedict J. Groeschel, Gabriele Amorth, and Nicoletta V. MacKenzie Haven't started this book either, but I am very familiar with Benedict Groeschel, who appears on the weekly Sunday Night Live on EWTN. He is a great speaker with a large amount of knowledge, in theology as well as in psychology.

These books seem like great reads and I can't wait to get into them.

Eucharistic Miracles in the Roman Catholic Church involving the Most Sacred Body and Blood of Christ

Throughout the history of the Catholic Church, innumerable miracles have occurred. Although there are hundreds of officially recognized miracles, these represent but a small percentage of the many thousands, even millions which have occurred throughout the Church's 2000 year history. Today, I will examine one of these miracles, the amazing Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano.

The miracle happened in the city of Lanciano, Italy around the year 700. A priest there had trouble understanding the doctrine of transubstantiation, which was believed since the time of Christ and recognized by the Church, but not given its technical name until the 1200s. As he said the words of the consecration (this is my Body, this is my Blood), the bread and wine physically changed into live flesh and live blood. The blood formed into 5 groupings. The priest went into an ecstatic state, and after some time, said to the congregation there, "Behold the Flesh and the blood of our Most Beloved Christ." Upon saying this, the congregation ran to the altar, began to cry and beg for mercy from Jesus Christ.

Although this happened about 1300 years ago, the blood and flesh remain to this day in a church in Lanciano, Italy, and has been thoroughly observed and scientifically examined by top scientists. In 1971, Professor Odoardo Linoli, eminent Professor in Anatomy and Pathological Histology and in Chemistry and Clinical Microscopy, and Professor Ruggero Bertelli of the University of Siena conducted scientific studies on the blood and flesh. All scientists who have studied this miracle have come to the same unbelivable and miraculous conclusions (from Wikipedia):

• The Flesh of the miracle is real Flesh and the Blood is real Blood.
  
• The Flesh and the Blood belong to the human species.
  
• The Flesh consists of the muscular tissue of the heart, which would be impossible to obtain through dissection.
  
• In the Flesh we see present in section: the myocardium, the endocardium, the vagus nerve and also the left ventricle of the heart for the large thickness of the myocardium. The Flesh is a heart complete in its essential structure.
  
• The Flesh and the Blood have the same blood type, AB, which is also the same blood type found on the Shroud of Turin and all other Eucharistic Miracles.
  
• In the Blood there were found proteins in the same normal proportions (percentage-wise) as are found in the sero-proteic make-up of the fresh normal blood.
  
• In the Blood there were also found these minerals: chlorides, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium and calcium.
  
• There is no trace whatsoever of any materials or agents used to preserve the Flesh or Blood.
  

This is but one of the millions of miracles which have happened through the grace of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father. Hopefully, I will continue to add more of these amazing miracles in the days, weeks, and months to come.

Pope John Paul II and his Upside Down Cross

In March 2000, Pope John Paul II, Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, was at the Sea of Galilee giving a speech about peace. This is the place where the Beatitudes were preached by Jesus Christ. Some people have spread rumours and lies concerning the cross on the back of the Pope's chair, in which he sat during his speech. The cross is upside down, an inverted cross. It is true that there was an upside down cross on the Pope's seat. Many people have spread the lie that this represents Satanism.

Although the upside-down cross can possibly represent Satanism, it does not do so exclusively, and certainly not in this case. The Cross on the back of the Pope's seat is called St. Peter's Cross. St. Peter, the chief apostle, was crucified upside-down for his beliefs. This was done on Peter's request, who believed he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as Christ.

As Catholics, we believe the Pope is the successor of Peter, the first Pope. As such, the upside-down cross is a fitting symbol to be placed on the Pope's Chair during his visit to Israel.

There is a lot of anti-catholic propaganda on the Internet. Hopefully you read this article if you were seeking information on this subject. People who are against the Catholic Church will sometimes distort or invent information to purposely deceive people into believing falsehoods. The ones to blame mostly for this are those who invent falsehoods simply for their anti-catholic agendas. We should pray for these people, as well as for the victims of their false information.

Not Eating Fish on Fridays, including Good Friday and Ash Wednesday

For many centuries, it has been the practice of Catholics of abstaining from eating meat on

Steadfast and Faithful to the Church Part I

Catholic history is full of people who were completely loyal to the Catholic Church. These people displayed unwavering faith in the harshest of times. We should all pray that we may have such faith and strength, especially in our times of struggle. One man I would like to present is John Houghton.

John Houghton was most probably a priest. He lived during the reign of King Henry VIII. King Henry himself felt he was fully Catholic, despite causing, perhaps unknowingly, a heretical group away from the Church. One of the chief instigators of this movement was Thomas Cromwell. Thomas Cromwell set out to remove Papal influence in England. He was brutal and unyielding in doing so, causing great suffering. Many people were victimized, and many cathedrals were sacked. One of the victims of Cromwell's brutality was John Houghton.

John Houghton was an abbot and later a Prior of the London Charterhouse. He was asked to make an oath to the Act of Succession, and upon refusing was sent to the Tower of London, where he was imprisoned. After several months, he was convinced that the oath was fully Catholic, and he agreed to it. In 1534, he was asked to give an oath to the Act of Supremacy. This Act said that King Henry VIII was the head of the Church of England. John Houghton refused to take this oath, because he was fully loyal to the Catholic Church. John Houghton and several others who refused to sentenced to be executed by being hanged, drawn, and quartered. Even this did not deter Houghton.

His last words show us the power of his faith. His last words were: "Our holy mother the Church has decreed otherwise than the king and parliament have decreed. I am therefore bound in conscience and am ready and willing to suffer every kind of torture rather than deny a doctrine of the Church." (Hendriks)

We should all pray that we may have such amazing confidence and hope, through the grace of God.

Feast of Mary the Mother of God

January 1 of each year is the feast of Mary the Mother of God. This is Mary's most important title. The name is appropriate because Jesus came to us as both fully man and fully God. Some people find it hard to call Mary the Mother of God, but logic and reason will have it no other way. Mary gave birth to Jesus, and Jesus is God, therefore she is the mother of God. Mary did not give birth to Jesus' human nature, which doesn't make sense. Jesus is both human and divine, these cannot be separated. In fact, saying Mary gave birth to Jesus's human nature is not only a fallacy, both logically and theologically, it also brings up the old fallacy of Nestorianism. This is an ancient heresy, which was preached by Nestor, and was condemned by the entire Church.

Mary is due great honor, because she accepted God's call, no matter how difficult. Even though what God told her seemed impossible, Mary willingly participated in our salvation, as the handmaiden of the Lord, as she calls herself in the Bible.

Tradition of Giving Gifts during Christmas

We all know Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ around 2,000 years ago. This is a very important celebration for Christians, because this is when Christ came into the world to save the human race. Therefore, we praise and worship during this time, and have festivals, and so on. But where does the tradition of giving gifts to one another come from? There are other very important Christian celebrations, such as Easter, Pentecost, Good Friday, etc. but during these people do not customarily give gifts. Easter is a possible exception, but until recently, people only gave chocolates during this time. This is a topic for another day (probably around Easter). Back to Christmas. You may notice that St. Nicholas is always intrisic to Christmas, and this is the main clue. St. Nicholas is famous for helping out 3 women in Turkey who could not get married because they didn't have enough money. So St. Nicholas, threw bags of gold into their houses so that they would have enough to be married. This helped them greatly. St. Nicholas was a very famous saint for many other reasons as well. He was instrumental during the ecumenical council of Nicea for proclaiming Christ's divinity. St. Nicholas was a very holy man from the moment of his birth. Legend has it that St. Nicholas would not nurse from his mother on Wednesdays and Fridays, traditional Christian fast days. It is also said that after his death, many people received miracles from his grave. A large following developed around St. Nicholas and devotions to him grew substantially. During the Middle Ages, St. Nicholas had one of the greatest number of devotees of any saint at the time. In order to celebrate their devotion, people gave gifts to each other on December 6, the feast day of St. Nicholas. This became a tradition. Eventually, Christians felt there was too much emphasis on St. Nicholas day and not enough of Chritmas Day, so the date of giving gifts was changed to Christmas.

Keep the X in Christmas

During Christmas there are many signs around saying, “Keep Christ in Christmas”. These have a good intention, and often times it is very justified and necessary for such a message, especially in this day and age. Christmas is the reason for the season, but the act of giving gifts during Christmas is not something which was always associated with it, nor is it necessary. Often, people’s reason for saying Keep Christ in Christmas is to remind people that Christmas is not there just as a material celebration and reason to give and receive gifts, but that it is meant to celebrate and worship the birth of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is our Lord and Savior.

Where does the term X-mas originate? Some may say it’s a way of shortening the word Christmas because it can’t fit on a lot of signs. A sign might have 50 words on it, and be 10 meters across and 5 meters high, but someone might need to save 3 inches by putting X instead of Christ. This sounds a bit fishy. Well, many (including those putting X-Mas on their signs) will be surprised to know that X-Mas goes back a long way, hundreds of years ago. The first two letters of the name of Jesus in Greek is spelled XP, and the X came to represent Christ. XP is a famous Catholic symbol, and is often used on vestments of priests and places around Churches.

So now that I've established the original meaning of X-mas, in my next post, I will find out where the idea of giving gifts during Christmas comes from.

Amazing Facts about the Catholic Church

There are many interesting facts about the Catholic Church of which many are not aware. As this blog continues, I will continue to add more facts in future posts.

1. St. Peter's Basilica is the largest Church in the world. It was designed by many famous people including Michelangelo, Bernini and others. It was completed in the 1500s, but ever since Peter, there has been a church located there.

2. St. Peter is buried directly beneath the altar in St. Peter's Basilica.

3. St. Paul is also buried in the Vatican City.

4. The number of Christians was well into the many millions before Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. In fact, Constantine's convertion was heavily influenced by the sheer number of Christians at the time. This huge number developed despite Christianity being illegal and punishable by death. One of the reasons for this, besides divine intervention, was that Christians cared for their sick and dying, which allowed many to get better during plagues and outbreaks. Most Romans at the time were too afraid to catch something so they avoided caring for the sick, but Christians, not afraid of death, helped millions live. New evidence shows a series of plagues at the time of the Roman Empire, after each of which the proportion of Christians in the population grew substantially.

5. Popes, for centuries, have customarily taken a new name once elected. It has been a Catholic tradition since 1009, and the first pope to take a new name was John II in 533. However, this is not a requirement.

There will be more amazing facts later. Stay tuned!

Reflections of Advent, 4 weeks before Christmas

Advent is a time of preparation for Christmas. At Mass every week, we say that we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We are waiting for Christ to return. Remember, Christ was already here. He came to Earth about 2,000 years ago, born of the Virgin Mary. When the Angel appeared to Mary at the Annunciation, he told he she would bear the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Mary was completely faithful to God, no matter how hard his teachings were to accept. Mary was completely obedient to God, whereas Eve disobeyed God. Eve's no was Mary's yes. In fact, Mary is the reverse of Eve. Eve in Latin is Eva, Eva is reversed to form Ave, from which we say Ave Maria, or Hail Mary in English. Adam brought death into the world by disobeying God, but Jesus, the new Adam brought life into the world, and opened the gates of Heaven. We celebrate the incarnation of Jesus Christ, from the moment of his conception. Jesus, just a few cells minutes after his conception, was the Son of God Incarnate. Mary is the mother of God.

Now, during Advent, we also wait for the coming of Jesus Christ, but now we wait with a double meaning. We not only anticipate Christ's first coming, but also his second. We marvel at the past, and rejoice in the future. For the gift of God's son to Mankind is an eternal gift, shared by our generation as well as hundreds of generations before us. Jesus, though God, gave himself completely to mankind, so that they might see that the greatest of kings is the lowliest of servants.

God is a God of paradox, but the wisdom of man is the folly of God. God's ways are so much above our own. While some Jews and Gentiles waited for a King fit for human standards, a ruler who would cast off his enemies with great armies, others were ready to hear God's voice, however it were to appear. Mary accepted Jesus as he was. She followed God, no matter what her human mind may have told her. She opened herself to all possibility which God has revealed. Jesus, the Son of God, was born in the lowliest place, the feeding trough of animals. And Jesus suffered the most humiliating death, a crucifixion fit for criminals. As we wait for Christ to be born, we remember that true faith, hope, and love are not found in countless armies, but in the hearts of everyone, even the lowliest servant.

As we prepare for the coming of the Messiah, both his first and his next appearance, let us remember all those around us. Remember the lowly, for whatever you do to the least of your brethren, you do onto God.

Evolution and the Catholic Church

One of the main issues non-religious people have with religion has to do with their perceived conflict between religion and science. This may come from non-believers or people who hold non-Christian views. Of the topics related to science and religion, the top one would be the subject of evolution.

Evoluation is a concept which was most fully developed in the writings of Charles Darwin. It concerns species' adaptation to their environments in various ways. I will not go into the subject very deeply here, because I am not a scientist. One thing I think everyone should keep in mind is that this is the "theory" of evolution, not the law of evolution, therefore, assuming science itself knows what it is talking about, they do not consider this a law, they consider it a theory.

I find people put more trust in science than science puts in itself. Science is constantly changing and theories are constantly evolving (excuse the pun). Scientists of old were convinced the Earth was flat, and that some insects came from mud or from nothing. These theories were widely accepted. Most people nowadays who are adherents of the theory of evolution have not done any firsthand experiments to determine its validity, yet would not hestitate to accuse someone of just blindly following a belief, even though they are doing this very thing. Many scientists are questioning the theory of evolution in its present form. No one disagrees that animals evolve in order to adapt to their environment and people are not denying the existence of dinosaurs and animals that have gone extinct, etc. But scientists are re-evaluating long-held beliefs about evolution. One thing which comes to mind is the missing link. Some evolutionists hold that human beings evolved from apes. This is a theory. Yet there are significant problems with this theory, especially concerning the missing link. Scientists so far have been unable to find a link between humans and monkeys, the gap is simply too wide. These are evolutionary scientists who are experts in this area, and even they are questioning many of its tenets.

I would now like to explain the position of the Catholic Church with regards to evolution. The most important thing about anything related to the Christian faith is that the Catholic Church does not teach science. The job of the church is not to make pronouncements concerning science. For that matter, it does not make pronouncements on literature, arts, math, or sports for that matter either. The Church's function is to be a guide for faith and morals. Therefore, the Catholic Church does not accept any scientific theory, including that of evolution. Catholics are free to believe in any theory of evolution they feel is most plausible. If people want to believe that God directly created Adam and Eve and from there all humans came into existence, they are free to do so. People are also free to believe that human beings evolved from animals if they would like. Catholics can believe the Earth is 6,000 years old or so, or they can believe it is billions of years old. The Church simply does not make any specific pronouncements in these areas.

Having said this, the Catholic Church of course makes statements about morality and faith that Catholics in full communion with the Catholic Church are obliged to follow. The first is that there were two first human beings. This means that there were two first people, a man and a woman who were the first to have a human soul. Perhaps God created them on the spot, perhaps they came from an evolutionary chain, but they were the first with human rational souls. We are, as Catholics, obliged to believe that these two original human beings sinned against God in some way. The most accepted theory in theological circles is that the sin of Adam and Eve was pride. They were proud because they wanted to be equal with God, they did not wish to serve him. This is a problem which we continue to see in our world. Some people reject God, and by doing so, reject humanity. They become self-absorbed and proud, only concerned for themselves. It was the sin of Adam and Eve, our first parents, which sent them from a land of complete obedience to God, to one where they were infected by pride, pride in themselves.

Do not be stuck on the names Adam and Eve, either. The purpose of Genesis, the first book in the Bible, is not to be an historical record of what happened during the creation of the world. Again, this is an area the Church does not teach in. “Adam” and “Eve” simply mean first man and first woman. These are not necessarily the given names of Adam and Eve.

The Catholic Church is in no way in contention with the findings of science, and in fact welcomes them, knowing full well that “truth cannot contradict truth”. John Paul II speaks about evolution by saying: “Today, almost half a century after the publication of the encyclical [referring to an encyclical by Pope Pius XII on evolution], new knowledge has led to the recognition of the theory of evolution as more than a hypothesis.”

Pope Benedict XVI shows that evolution and God are two aspects of the same thing: “In freely willing to create and conserve the universe, God wills to activate and to sustain in act all those secondary causes whose activity contributes to the unfolding of the natural order which he intends to produce. Through the activity of natural causes, God causes to arise those conditions required for the emergence and support of living organisms, and, furthermore, for their reproduction and differentiation.”

In conclusion, I would like to say that those who accept evolution are not at odds with the Catholic Church, but they should not rely too heavily on this theory. Remember, the Church teaches faith and morals, not science.