Is Barack Hussein Obama our first foreign born president?

Do you know why Henry Kissinger and Arnold Schwarzenegger could not consider a run for the presidency of the United States. Both of these men were not born in the United States. The Constitution of the United States affirms that the president must be born in the U.S.

Now, some may argue that such a rule is outdated and no longer necessary.

Let's just assume for a moment that these people are correct. If that is the case, there is a process to amend the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution mandates that the president must be born in the U.S. If we ignore that particular rule of our Constitution, then we are saying the the U.S. Constitution is no longer important. We are saying that we can ignore any part of the Constitution. We are saying that we can make it up as we go along. We are saying that we no loner have a document that governs they way we govern. If we ignore the Constitution, chaos will take over.

This controversy could be resolved today if Barrack Hussein Obama were to show us his birth certificate and prove that he was born in the United States. If he refuses to show us his birth certificate, we will soon face a Constitutional crisis which would cause chaos and political/social unrest.

Where is the birth certificate?

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The Year of the Priest

Pope John Paul II speaks about his vocation to the priesthood

The Feast of St. Peter and Paul - On this Rock

Todays' solemnity directs our gaze to Rome, the center of Catholicism. As Catholics, our identity, meaning, and direction only have fulfillment in so far as we are united to the Vicar of Christ, the visible head of the Church. The challenging times that we live in provides countless opportunities to be heroically faithful to the Magisterium of the Church.

In order to continue his work on earth and lead all peoples to eternal salvation, Jesus established one visible and hierarchical Church. It is very clear from the continual preparation of the Jewish people in the Old Testament and then with the precise act of Jesus in Cesarea Philippi, that God willed to found one Church as a visible, hierarchical, living, and continuing authority, to teach, govern, and sanctify in his name. It is no less clear that Jesus appointed the Apostle Simon the fisherman as the visible head of his Church. Even as he conferred the authority, Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter; i.e. rock. The name Peter had never existed prior to this divine event in Cesarea Philippi.

"Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven". (Matthew 16: 17-19).

Throughout biblical history, when God called someone for a particular mission, he usually changed the name of the person called. The changed name denoted the mission of the particular individual and a change in that person’s destiny.

Abram was given the name Abraham, a name that denotes the father of many nations (Genesis 17: 5). John the Baptist was not named Zechariah, but rather John, meaning Yahweh is gracious (Luke 1: 13). The angel Gabriel told Mary that she was to name her son Jesus signifying Savior (Luke 1: 32). Jesus gave Peter a new name. That name was Peter. The name Peter had never existed before Jesus gave him this new name. Peter means rock. When Jesus said, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church,” the words this rock refer to Peter.

Many people argue that the use of the word rock does not refer to Peter at all. They point out that in the Greek text Petros (Peter) is a masculine noun and that petra (rock) is a feminine noun. Therefore the two rocks do not match up.

The original Gospel of Matthew was written in Aramaic, a language that does not make a distinction between petros and petra. In Aramaic, the word for rock is kepha. In the original Aramaic kepha is used the same way twice. Your are Kepha and on this kepha I will build my Church. Since the Greek word for rock, petra, is feminine, it would have been inappropriate for the Greek translator of the Aramaic text to give Peter, Petros, a feminine name. Thus the distinction between Petros and petra.

When studying Scripture it is also important to consider the writings of the Fathers of the early Church. Not one, including those who spoke Greek, ever had a problem with this understanding of Peter as the head of the Church.

Trials and tribulations will always be a part of the Church because it is not merely a human entity. The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, and Satan will continue to attack it until the Second Coming. Perhaps history will judge our age as presenting the most formidable challenges the Catholic Church has had to face, although it is true that there have been other dramatic moments in the history of the Church.

The Catholic Church is the only institution in human history that has continually survived its own problems and failures. As G.K. Chesterton once said, this is true, "because it has a God who knew his way out of the grave". Jesus assures us of his continual presence and protection: "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16: 18).

Rather than becoming discouraged, angry, or even rebellious during a difficult time of trial, we must stand fast through prayer and fidelity. We must always pray for our Church, and always trust that God will deliver us from all evil. The words that Thomas Paine wrote in 1776 are equally true today as they were then: “These are times that try men’s souls”.

The reality of division within the Catholic Church in this country is very real. Just after the death of Pope John Paul the Great, CNN/USA TODAY/GALLUP Poll found that seventy-nine per cent of the Catholics polled said that the a new Pope should change the Church’s teaching on birth control. Sixty-three percent said that priests should be able to marry. Fifty-nine per cent want a change on the Church’s ban on embryonic stem-cell research. Fifty-five per cent said that women should be able to be ordained as priests. Thirty-seven per cent want a change on the Church’s stand against abortion. In addition, forty-nine per cent believe the Church should change her teachings on divorce.

Unity in the Catholic Church is damaged when Catholics, be they clergy or lay people, deviate from the deposit of faith, either through an unhealthy attachment to the past or a detrimental deviation, in the name of progress, from authentic Church teaching and discipline. Both postures tear away at the garment of unity.

Every member of the Church is obligated to obey every teaching of the Church. Matters regarding faith, morals and discipline are not subject to personal interpretation. Even Canon Law and liturgical norms are not guidelines. The Church is very clear that no one has the authority to deviate from Church teaching and discipline, nor does anyone have individual authority to introduce novelties for the sake of novelty into the liturgy. (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, chapter #'s 24-25).

In reality, there are no conservative Catholics or liberal Catholics. Conservative and liberal are two ambiguous political adjectives that do not apply to Catholicism. The Church is a communion. Unity is nurtured by our mature assent of mind and will, as an act of love, to the Church of Jesus Christ. Unity means that we are in step with the Church, integrating our entire being with the beauty of its rich heritage and its exciting future.

We live in a moment of history when many openly defy the authority of the Pope. We need to persevere, at times under very difficult circumstances, in the exciting adventure of fidelity. With God's help and the maternal protection of Mary, the Mother of the Church, we can repeat the sounding words of St. Paul at the end of our earthly existence: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 3: 7).

But, what is at the root of the division that affects many Catholics in America? On the morning before the conclave began that elected Cardinal Ratzinger as our new Pope, he delivered what I consider to be one of the greatest homilies that I have heard in a very long time. The Cardinal addressed the very root of the modern problem. This is what he said.

How many winds of doctrine we have known in these last decades, how many ideological currents, how many fashions of thought? The small boat of thought of many Christians has often remained agitated by the waves, tossed from one extreme to the other: from Marxism to liberalism, to libertinism; from collectivism to radical individualism; from atheism to a vague religious mysticism; from agnosticism to syncretism, etc.

Every day new sects are born and we see realized what St. Paul says on the deception of men, on the cunning that tends to lead into error (cf. Ephesians 4:14). To have a clear faith, according to the creed of the Church, is often labeled as fundamentalism. While relativism, that is, allowing oneself to be carried about with every wind of ‘doctrine,’ seems to be the only attitude that is fashionable. A dictatorship of relativism is being constituted that recognizes nothing as absolute and which only leaves the ‘I’ and its whims as the ultimate measure.

We have another measure: the Son of God, true man. He is the measure of true humanism. ‘Adult’ is not a faith that follows the waves in fashion and the latest novelty. Adult and mature is a faith profoundly rooted in friendship with Christ. This friendship opens us to all that is good and gives us the measure to discern between what is true and what is false, between deceit and truth.

We must mature in this adult faith; we must lead the flock of Christ to this faith. And this faith, the only faith, creates unity and takes place in charity. St. Paul offers us a beautiful phrase, in opposition to the continual ups and downs of those who are like children tossed by the waves, to bring about truth in charity, as fundamental formula of Christian existence. Truth and charity coincide in Christ. In the measure that we come close to Christ, also in our life, truth and charity are fused. Charity without truth would be blind; truth without charity would be like ‘a clanging cymbal’ (1 Corinthians 1:13).

Many years ago when I was in high school and college, I too did a lot of discussing and debating. I too had many religious opinions, many of which were erroneous and unfounded. I debated other issues than the hot-button issues of today; nevertheless, I too struggled with obedience or disobedience to the Pope. Thankfully, through the patient and loving guidance of a college professor who became a true life-long friend, I was able to openly search for the truth through deep prayer and sincere study, and I found it. I know that this truth is Jesus and all that his Catholic Church teaches. I love this truth very much and I will never leave it behind again, even if I have to stand alone with the Pope, whoever he may be.

To leave behind the relativism that Cardinal Ratzinger spoke about before his election as Pope Benedict XVI and fully embrace the truth and charity to which he referred, has been the most exciting and liberating event of my entire life. So, I truly do understand all of the debate, all of the discussion, and even all of the anger. I have been there, and I have left all of that behind only to find profound joy, peace and freedom in the Church that I have given my entire life to.

The ideological battlefield within the Catholic Church has profoundly divided many Catholics in America.

The only solution for the problems that we face as a Church in America is to get back to basics and rediscover the same Jesus that Peter encountered. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16: 17).

We must begin again by truly living as disciples of the Lord and living the gospels with renewed authenticity. Many of our problems are rooted in a spirit that is not Christian. A faith lived like the early Church will enliven our parishes and simplify the way we do things as a Church. In this way, we can become more efficacious in our service to our brothers and sisters, especially to those most in need.

True Christianity will liberate us from ambition, worldliness and continual scandals.

As we begin to celebrate the Year of the Priest, now, more than ever, the Catholic Church needs the Pope, the Bishops and all priests to be courageous witnesses of the truth. The Catholic Church needs to take a united stand against the culture of death and the evils of our time.

This stand must be passionate, courageous and unrelenting.

The Year of the Priest - It is so awesome to be a Catholic priest!

I finished a very long and intense day today at the parish at around 9 PM. However, my day was not over with. I just got back from one of our local hospitals. The phone rang while I was finishing up some stuff in my office. The father of one of my friends was dying in the hospital.

The guy was a drunk most of his life. He lived a rather bad life. But, here is the good news - he was baptized this past Friday. And here is some even better news - how many sins can a former drunk commit while dying in a hospital bed surrounded by his family? And here is some more good news - Father James rushed to his bed side just about an hour ago to give him the anointing of the sick. And, here is some more good news - he received the Apostolic Pardon which gave him a PLENARY INDULGENCE!

Do you know what I said to this dying man? DIE!!!! YOU JUST WON THE LOTTERY!!!! If you die tonight you will go straight to Heaven!!!! I can walk out of here and die from a car wreck - but here you are ready to go. Man, what a gift you received!!!! Praise God!!!!

It sure is awesome to be a Catholic priest. Forget the goofballs out there that cause lots of scandals. How about focusing your attention on the vast majority of us good priests who are doing our job!

Sunday Homily - The Encounter

Christianity is not about a what; rather it is about a whom. Christianity essentially is about a relationship with the living person, Jesus Christ. This Sunday’s gospel narrative tells us that faith and courage are indispensable ingredients if we wish to truly encounter the Lord.

Both Jairus and the woman with the hemorrhage who figure in today’s reading possess these essential qualities. For this reason they are truly able to encounter the Lord.

In the first place, this Sunday’s gospel passage illustrates the depth of Jairus’ faith and courage with these beautiful words: “One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, ‘My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live’” (Mark 5: 22-23).

Secondly, the woman with the hemorrhage was able to encounter the Lord by touching his cloak. The crowds were also touching and bumping into the Lord, but only this woman was really able to touch the Lord. Her faith and her courage allowed her to truly encounter Jesus. “Jesus aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who has touched my clothes?’ But his disciples said to Jesus, ‘You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” (Mark 5: 30-31).

Jairus and the woman with the hemorrhage truly encountered the Lord. Because of their faith and their courage, they were able to enter into a personal relationship with him. The gift of life was the principal fruit of this personal encounter. Jairus' daughter was raised from the dead, and the woman was healed of her affliction.

Let us recall the words from this Sunday’s Old Testament reading: “God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living. For he fashioned all things that they might have being; and the creatures of the world are wholesome, and there is not a destructive drug among them nor any domain of the netherworld on earth, for justice is undying” (Wisdom 1: 13-15).

This Sunday’s liturgy reminds us of Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John: “I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full” (John 10: 10).

Jesus wants us to have life. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to have the best possible life here on earth. He wants to fill us with his divine life, sanctifying grace, so that we may enter into his joy. He wants us to experience his peace. He wants us to be with him in eternal life in heaven. He only wants the best for us. This is why he wants us to open our hearts to him and let him enter in.

Have no fear of allowing Jesus to enter into your life. Do not fear the most exciting, most joyful, and the most powerful relationship known to the human person.

“So often today man does not know what is within him, in the depths of his mind and heart. So often he is uncertain about the meaning of his life on this earth. He is assailed by doubt, a doubt which turns into despair. We ask you therefore, we beg you with humility and trust, let Christ speak to man. He alone has words of life, yes, of eternal life” (Pope John Paul the Great, homily, October 22, 1978).

We are made by God to live for ever. We have been given the gift of an immortal soul. “For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him” (Wisdom 2: 23).

Jesus does not want us to live a life of sadness. He does not want us to wallow in doubt, frustration, and uncertainty. He wants us to live. He takes the hand of Jairus’ daughter and says “Talitha koum, which means little girl, I say to you, arise!” (Mark 5: 41). The Lord takes each of us by the hand and tells us to arise. Arise from your darkness. Arise from your doubt. Arise from your despair. Arise from your pain. Arise from your sin. Arise and live!

Medical science attests to the immortality of the soul. There are numerous testimonies about near death experiences that illustrate that the human person is partly comprised of a soul. Here is one dramatic account told by Margaret C. Rigsby.

“On June 21, 1974 I delivered a baby boy that weighed 9 lbs. and 15 oz. and was 23 inches long. I had the child by natural delivery with no problems. I was in an army hospital in Nurnburg, Germany in a ward of many women for recovery. My husband had just gone to call the family five hours after the delivery to let them know of the birth and that all was well when suddenly I realized that with every beat of my heart my life's blood was leaving my body. I tried to reach my buzzer but could not. I frantically asked the other women if they could reach theirs. They could not. By this time I was about to lose conciseness.

I knew that I would die if I passed out because no one was checking on me. I knew that it would not take many minutes for all of my blood to pump out of me. In a last effort the primal need of survival taking over, I screamed for help. I remember sinking into total oblivion.

The next thing I remember is this strange sensation of not being connected to my body anymore. I realized that my spirit or I was looking down upon my body apparently from the ceiling. It was my body, but it was not me because I was watching. I was not alarmed. I saw a nurse run in, pull up the sheet and run out bringing back a host of people donned in hospital garb. They were beating on my stomach, injecting me, and doing all kinds of medical things to save me. Still, I was not frightened. It was strange because I knew I was not there anymore, not in that empty shell.

My next memory is of being in a darkened tunnel. It was very quiet, peaceful and there was a glorious light at the end. I wish I could express in words this total peace and harmony I felt. No fear, no worries, no concerns for the baby I had wanted so desperately and tried so hard to conceive for so long. I had no thoughts or uneasiness for anyone, just a sense of peace. Blissful, heavenly peace. I was drunk with it. Nothing I had ever felt before or after that experience has ever even come close to the happiness, the awesome feeling that something so wonderful was about to happen that I wanted more than anything to experience it in its entirety.

Surprisingly and very suddenly a voice said to me, "You have to go back." I don't recall seeing anyone. I don't know from where the voice came. I just knew I did not want to go back. Then the voice said, "You have to go back to take care of your baby." I have tried so many times to recreate this all, to try to detect whose voice spoke to me, all in vain. I think it was neither male nor female, therefore according to the Bible and my beliefs, I believe it must have been an Angel. The Bible says there are neither male nor female in Heaven.

Opening my eyes from the hospital bed I found myself looking up at all of the people working on me. I have no idea how much time had lapsed. A nurse held my hand and I questioned her, "Am I going to die?" She just laughed and said I was going to be fine. I was confused, weak and suddenly wanted to see my baby. It was 23 hours from his birth before I got to see him due to my condition. I was distrustful of the staff thinking that something was wrong with him. After all I was alive because I was sent back to take care of my baby” (http://home.mchsi.com/~museheart/nde.html).

My dear friends, the same Jesus that raised Jairus’s daughter from the dead; the same Jesus that healed the woman with a hemorrhage is truly, really with us. In every tabernacle, in every Catholic Church, this same Jesus is truly and really present.

When we genuflect before the tabernacle, we fall to the ground in adoration just as Jairus did more than two thousand years ago. When we receive Jesus in Holy Communion, we encounter the Lord even in a more profound way than did the sick woman or Jairus’ daughter. The woman touched the Lord’s cloak, and the Lord held the little girl’s hand. But, when we receive Jesus in Holy Communion Jesus comes into our body and soul. He takes possession of our entire being. What intimacy! What love! This is why we must receive Holy Communion in the state of grace. Mortal sin ruptures our union with Jesus. When we are in mortal sin, in effect we join the crowd in Jairus’s house in ridiculing Jesus.

We have been given the gift of immortal life. The easiest and most efficacious way to gain eternal life in Heaven, and to participate in Heaven here on earth is to live our lives centered on the Eucharist and to always make good use of the Sacrament of Confession. Never live in mortal sin because mortal sin is death.
“There is no surer pledge or dearer sign of this great hope in the new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells, than the Eucharist. Every time this mystery is celebrated, the work of our redemption is carried on and we break the one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1405).

Daily Mass, frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and frequent Confession; here we find the most practical and efficacious means to encounter the Lord, live a life filled with joy and peace, and persevere in this life in order to live eternally with the Lord Jesus in heaven.

“You have turned my mourning into dancing, you have stripped off my sackcloth and wrapped me in gladness; and now my heart, silent no longer, will play you music; Yahweh, my God, I will praise you for ever” (Psalm 30: 11-12).

Some people do get it

Young Texan develops Conservative political website for youth

And just in case you have missed this story...here is the Constitutional crisis that the mainstream media is ignoring. Barack Obama refuses to prove that he was born in the United States. Click here for the latest.

Pope Benedict XVI - There is an Answer to Empty Confefssionals

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 18, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is urging priests to not become resigned to empty confessionals, but to help people rediscover the beauty of the sacrament by deepening their understanding of the Eucharist.

The Pope stated this in a letter to the priests of the world, on the occasion of the Year for Priests, which begins Friday in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney, the Curé d'Ars.

The saint "taught his parishioners primarily by the witness of his life," the Pontiff affirmed. "It was from his example that they learned to pray, halting frequently before the tabernacle for a visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament."

He taught them about the Eucharist, but it was "most effective when they saw him celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass," the Holy Father said.

He added that the saint "was convinced that the fervor of a priest's life depended entirely upon the Mass" and "was accustomed, when celebrating, also to offer his own life in sacrifice."

This identification with the sacrifice of the Cross led him from the altar to the confessional, Benedict XVI affirmed.

He continued: "Priests ought never to be resigned to empty confessionals or the apparent indifference of the faithful to this sacrament. In France, at the time of the Cure of Ars, confession was no more easy or frequent than in our own day, since the upheaval caused by the revolution had long inhibited the practice of religion.

"Yet he sought in every way, by his preaching and his powers of persuasion, to help his parishioners to rediscover the meaning and beauty of the Sacrament of Penance, presenting it as an inherent demand of the Eucharistic presence.

The Pope explained that St. John Mary spent long hours in church before the tabernacle, inspiring the faithful "to imitate him by coming to visit Jesus with the knowledge that their parish priest would be there, ready to listen and offer forgiveness."

Over time, he said, penitents started coming from all over the country, and the priest would be in the confessional for up to 16 hours a day.

Thus, the Pontiff said, his parish became known as "a great hospital of souls."

He quoted the saint who said: "It is not the sinner who returns to God to beg his forgiveness, but God himself who runs after the sinner and makes him return to him."

The Holy Father urged priests to learn from St. John Mary Vianney to "put our unfailing trust in the Sacrament of Penance, to set it once more at the center of our pastoral concerns, and to take up the 'dialogue of salvation,' which it entails."

He noted that "those who came to his confessional drawn by a deep and humble longing for God's forgiveness found in him the encouragement to plunge into the 'flood of divine mercy' which sweeps everything away by its vehemence."

"He awakened repentance in the hearts of the lukewarm by forcing them to see God's own pain at their sins reflected in the face of the priest who was their confessor," Benedict XVI stated.

He continued, "To those who, on the other hand, came to him already desirous of and suited to a deeper spiritual life, he flung open the abyss of God's love, explaining the untold beauty of living in union with him and dwelling in his presence."

The Pope affirmed: "In his time the Cure of Ars was able to transform the hearts and the lives of so many people because he enabled them to experience the Lord's merciful love.

"Our own time urgently needs a similar proclamation and witness to the truth of love."

He affirmed that the saint "sought to remain completely faithful to his own vocation and mission," lamenting that "a pastor can grow dangerously inured to the state of sin or of indifference in which so many of his flock are living."

The Pontiff noted the priest's sacrifices on behalf of the souls who came to him in confession, quoting his words to another confrere: "I will tell you my recipe: I give sinners a small penance and the rest I do in their place."

"Souls have been won at the price of Jesus' own blood," the Holy Father stated, "and a priest cannot devote himself to their salvation if he refuses to share personally in the 'precious cost' of redemption."

The Year of the Priest - week one

The Beautiful Hands of a Priest
We need them in life's early morning,
We need them again at its close;
We feel their warm clasp of true friendship,
We seek it while tasting life's woes.

When we come to this world we are sinful,
The greatest as well as the least.
And the hands that make us pure as angels
Are the beautiful hands of a priest.

At the altar each day we behold them,
And the hands of a king on his throne
Are not equal to them in their greatness
Their dignity stands alone.

For there in the stillness of morning
Ere the sun has emerged from the east,
There God rests between the pure fingers
Of the beautiful hands of a priest.

When we are tempted and wander
To pathways of shame and sin
'Tis the hand of a priest that absolve us.
Not once but again and again.

And when we are taking life's partner
Other hands may prepare us a feast
But the hands that will bless and unite us,
Are the beautiful hands of a priest.

God bless them and keep them all holy,
For the Host which their fingers caress,
What can a poor sinner do better
Than to ask Him who chose them to bless

When the death dews on our lids are falling,
May our courage and strength be increased
By seeing raised o'er us in blessing
The beautiful hands of a priest.

Archbishop Charles Chaput comments on The Stoning of Soraya M

The Stoning: Truth, Drama, and a Film that Really Matters - The Stoning: Truth, Drama, and a Film that Really Matters - Archbishop Charles Chaput

Many Catholics will remember Steve McEveety for his work as producer on The Passion of the Christ. Married, the father of four and serious about his Catholic faith, McEveety has a 30 year film career that began as a child actor and matured to include Payback, Immortal Beloved and Braveheart as executive producer, and We Were Soldiers and other major Hollywood titles as producer.

He also co-founded Mpower Pictures, which in 2007 released the extraordinary portrait of a young man’s conversion, Bella . This year, McEveety and his Mpower colleagues bring The Stoning of Soraya M . (www.thestoning.com) to limited screens across the country on June 26. Don’t let the summer go by without somehow seeing this film. Superbly written, directed and photographed, with compelling lead performances by two astonishing actresses, The Stoning is the most moving screen story I’ve seen in years. Once you’ve watched it, you’ll never forget it.

Based on real events, the movie is adapted from the book of the same name by the French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam. In the aftermath of the Iranian revolution, a husband grows tired of his young wife, who has borne him two sons and two daughters. Under Islamic law, a man may have up to four wives – but he’s also obligated to care and provide for each of them properly. Interested in a potential child bride and unable to afford the added expense of a second wife, the husband maneuvers his wife into tending house for a recent widower. Then he falsely accuses her of infidelity, after blackmailing other male village elders, including the mullah – the town’s religious leader — into colluding in his lie.

The rest of The Stoning needs to be experienced to be fully understood. But it leaves an impact that will stay with viewers for days. An aunt of the wronged young wife recounts her niece’s story to a passing journalist – Sahebjam (played by Jim Caveziel) – who smuggles it out of Iran and eventually publishes it. To this day, the Teheran regime denies that events like those reported by Sahebjam have ever happened. But multiple sources have confirmed that violence against women continues not only in Iran but in many countries around the world.

While The Stoning implicitly shows the deep differences between Christianity and Islam regarding the role of women, the film is not a critique of Islam. Quite the opposite: What happens to Soraya is an abuse of Islamic law fueled by revolutionary extremism, personal corruption and rural tradition. The film is clearly not for children; nor is the brutally graphic sequence of public “justice” near the story’s end for the faint of heart. But as a work of truth and drama, The Stoning is simply an extraordinary piece of story-telling and motion picture craft.

During the years I served on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, I came to see in a new and vivid way how unusual our nation really is. For all its flaws, the United States has a respect for religious freedom, equality under the law and the dignity of the individual that very few other societies can rival. We need to take pride in those qualities. We need to remember the moral and religious roots from which they come. We also need to protect those qualities and advance them without apology in our dialogue with other cultures.

The Stoning of Soraya M. succeeds above all because it is a moving drama of abused innocence and eventual vindication. But it also reminds us of the soul-destroying power of a lie; how tempting and easy it can be to victimize the weak; how precious the truth is; and how vigilant over our own hearts each of us needs to remain if we want to be human — even when we claim to believe in God.

+Charles J. Chaput is the Catholic archbishop of Denver. This column will appear June 17 in the newsweekly Denver Catholic Register and on the Archdiocese of Denver web pages.

The views expressed in this article represent that of +Charles J. Chaput only and are intended for his own Colorado community. They do not represent the Catholic Church in the United States or any other Catholic bishop. - Article printed from Catholic Exchange: http://catholicexchange.com

Thoughts on Fatherhood

A few days before Bob and Helen were going to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, I had the privilege of joining them for a home cooked meal at their lovely East Texas home. As Helen diligently prepared the remaining details of the delicious dinner she would be serving that evening, I asked her what was the secret that caused her and her husband, Bob, to remain faithful to each other for so many years. Without hesitating, Helen turned from the stove and said, "It's commitment Father". Bob smiled in agreement, as Helen went on to explain that while they were both very different people, they made a commitment to each other fifty years ago and that had been that.

Other friends, Richard and Pat have been married for forty years. The day before they celebrated their anniversary with a family gathering in their home tucked away in the country, Pat went to the local supermarket thinking about all of the favorite food that her grandchildren would enjoy eating the next day. As she was at the check out counter, the young girl commented about the large quantity of groceries she was purchasing that day. "Tomorrow is my fortieth wedding anniversary", Pat proudly announced. The girl was surprised and said, "You've been married for forty years? This is something unheard of today. My parents have been divorced twice".

Commitment demands maturity, sacrifice, and a lot of love. Commitment means we have the ability to make a definitive decision and never think twice about the path that we have chosen. Commitment means that we will follow through with the consequences of that decision through the difficult moments and the tedium of daily existence.

Jesus said, "Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil” (Matthew 5: 37). The rich young man decided not to follow Jesus when he was invited to be a disciple, precisely because he was incapable of making a commitment that demanded great personal sacrifice.

Immature men are incapable of making life-long decisions. Moreover, they are incapable of sacrifice, incapable of fidelity, and incapable of love. Only mature men are capable of these things.

"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loves the church and gave himself up for her..." (Ephesians 5: 25). A young parish priest from Syracuse, New York did not shy away from controversy when the Sunday reading at Mass said "Wives, be submissive to your husband, as to the Lord". He hit the controversy on the head when he said, "If your husband loves you just as Jesus loves the Church, you would want to be obedient to him". How can a wife be obedient to her husband who spends precious time drinking with his buddies, wasting precious time with frequent card games, or even indulging in addictive pornography?

Fatherhood demands responsibility. Every father who is a true man will be responsible for all of his actions. Today, most people escape responsibility by blaming their parents or society for the reasons as to why they behave the way they do. Although it is true that certain situations do influence our personal baggage that we carry through life, playing the blame game is self-indulgence and an escape from reality. Every problem has a solution, and St. Paul reminds us that we can overcome any problem with the grace of God. Anyone who has fallen into the trap of blaming everyone else for personal problems should write down the following passage from St. Paul, commit it to memory, and repeat it often throughout the day: "I can do all things in He who strengthens me" (Philippians 4: 13).

Our contemporary culture has an urgent need for men who want to be real men; men capable of making definitive decisions and carrying them through no matter what obstacles may come their way. Our society needs men who are generous, self-giving, honest, industrious, sensitive to the needs of others, and well mannered; men who dress appropriately; men who are capable of an intelligent conversation with their wives, their co-workers, and their friends.

Throughout my life I have been blessed to know four men who have had a profound impact on my life. All of these men, like every human being, have their own personal faults and limitations. Nevertheless, each of them had a great capacity for making definitive decisions, providing for their families, educating their children, serving their country, and persevering as faithful sons of their Church. All of them struggled with tremendous challenges. Two of them left Sicily at a young age penniless, but rich in ambition and willing to make personal sacrifices. The other two, rising from humble beginnings, became very successful businessmen and prominent members of their community. Not one of these four men every blamed their parents, society, or even the economy for their difficulties. They did not whine and moan about their problems. They rolled up their sleeves and went to work, returning home exhausted only to get up the next day to do it all over again.

However, despite their struggles and suffering, all four men were profoundly happy and always the life of any party. Because they understood what it meant to truly be a man, they knew what it meant to be a father. Because they understood their identity as men and as fathers, they possessed a profound sense of peace and joy.

These four men all have had a profound influence on my life because they are members of my family. My great grandfather, my mother's grandfather, came to this country from Sicily. My grandfather, my father's father, left Sicily when he was only seventeen years old, never to return until he was elderly. My maternal grandfather, living during the time of the Great Depression, eventually became the vice-president of a prominent company located in the city where he lived despite having had to drop out of school after the sixth grade. My father, without even knowing how to boil water, started his own restaurant when he was twenty-five. He became a self-taught chef, and years latter became the corporate manager of a chain of forty restaurants.

I am eternally grateful to these men because they have taught me what it means to be a man and a father. As a priest, people call me "Father". The four men that I have mentioned, have been called father by a small group of people called their families. I have been called "Father" by the thousands and thousands of people that I have provided for, nourished and educated for more than 21 years as a priest. It is the vocation to celibate fatherhood that allows me to stretch my heart and give myself unconditionally with joy and love each day with renewed commitment and dedication.

Father's Day is here once again. This is a time for all fathers to reflect upon their duties as responsible and well-integrated men. Our nation has an urgent need that all fathers, be they heads of families, parishes or dioceses, be true and loving men who will give themselves unconditionally until the day the heavenly Father calls them to their eternal reward.

A time to thank our priests

This Friday, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope Benedict XVI will initiate, at the Vatican, the Year of the Priest. Here is an appropiate and inspiring editiorial from the National Catholic Register.

As the Year of the Priest begins, we lay editors of the Register want to take a moment to thank priests.

We want to thank not only the priests who have been our friends, but also those we barely knew, who did more for us than our friends ever could.

We want to thank not only the priests who inspire us with their words, but also those who moved us more deeply with the daily work of their priesthood than they ever could with words.
We want to thank not only those men who gave up their retirement, and their well-deserved rest, to enter the priesthood as late vocations, but also — especially — those who as young men saw their whole life ahead of them and handed all of it to Christ.

We want to reassure them that the attacks on the priesthood will not prevail, because Christ doesn’t take their kind of generosity lightly.

We know that there have been terrible, scandalous priests. This has been true from the beginning — from the original Twelve Apostles through the early Christian heresies, from the scandals before the Reformation to the scandals of the 20th century.
But we also know that the priesthood is under attack.

Priests know it, too.

Whenever someone looks at them suspiciously, whenever a mother hurries her children away from them, whenever they read an antagonistic article about how the life of a priest makes them prone to become monsters, they know it.

Their noble, loving sacrifice is so often made to look ugly and twisted — the opposite of what it is. The whole group is too often defined by the exceptions in a way few of us ever have to deal with.
But the priesthood will survive, and grow stronger. In fact, it is already growing stronger. There are more new priests than we have seen in a long time, and the new generation of priests is more committed to the Church’s mission than any in memory.

We want to tell the faithful priests who unjustly suffer from these attacks that we’re on their side and, more importantly, remind them what Christ said: Rejoice and be glad on this day, for your name is great in heaven.

Thank you, priests, for sacrificing the fulfillment of “making it in the world” in order to give us a chance to make it in the next world. You don’t take on jobs — they are appointed to you. You put your own will at the disposal of the Church, for us. We are grateful.

Thank you for bringing our children into the Church, and sustaining their souls with the sacraments. And thank you for welcoming them into the Church informally, as well. We see them look at you like celebrities, and we’re glad the first “celebrity” they got to meet was a man of God. Thank you for patiently listening to them, for taking such joy in teasing them, and for showing them the true face of Christ: the gentle one who said “Let the children come to me.”

Thank you, priests, for presiding at our marriages, even while you yourselves live such that you can be ready to serve your people at a moment’s notice. Sometimes married people sigh and think envious thoughts about living alone. But in the end, it’s hard for us to imagine how you do it. Thank you for risking loneliness to serve us and our families.

Thank you, priests, for putting yourself in the unenviable position of dealing with us at our worst moments — when we’re anxious, upset, depressed, even a little out of our minds, focused on our own problems to the exclusion of all else.

When we see the care you have to take in listening to the problems of so many kinds of people, we can’t imagine how you do it. How do you listen to angry people, whining people, weeping people, nervous people, suspicious people and clueless people? How do you listen to us?

Thank you, priests, for sitting in empty confessionals on Saturday afternoons. You wait there, not even knowing if we’ll come, like the Prodigal Son’s father on the road. Thank you for all the times we hear “I absolve you from your sins” and feel a great burden lifted from our hearts. This gift of God’s forgiveness brings the greatest joy back into our lives. We can give you nothing in return that even comes close to that.

And thank you, priests, most of all, for bringing Christ himself into our lives. Where would we be without your astonishing ability to make the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ present on our altars and in our tabernacles? You are there for us every Sunday, every morning, giving us this infinite gift. Thank you.

In the end, that’s what is so great about you: not you, in yourself, but who you bring us — Christ.
People call from the hospital and say, “I need a priest.” They point to the confessional and ask, “Is there a priest in there?” They approach in the airport and ask, “Are you a Catholic priest?”
When people need a priest, any priest will do.

Because a priest is nothing but a representative of Christ. Christ is the main actor in the consecration at Mass. It is Christ who forgives sins. It is in Christ that we are baptized.

“The story of my priestly vocation?” wrote Pope John Paul II. “It is known above all to God. At its deepest level, every vocation to the priesthood is a great mystery; it is a gift which infinitely transcends the individual. Every priest experiences this clearly throughout the course of his life.

Faced with the greatness of the gift, we sense our own inadequacy.”

Your inadequacy is your secret weapon.

You aren’t acting on your own behalf or through your own powers. You are acting for Christ. And that’s why, despite all the attacks, the priesthood will prevail. We depend too much on you to ever let you go.

Thank you, Father, for being Christ for us.

Here is another good laugh

A Sunday school teacher is concerned that his students might be a little confused about Jesus, so he asks his class, "Where is Jesus today?"

Steven raises his hand and says, "He's in Heaven."

Mary answers, "He's in my heart."

Little Johnny waves his hand furiously and blurts out, "He's in our bathroom!"

The surprised teacher asks Little Johnny how he knows this.

"Well," Little Johnny says, "every morning, my father gets up, bangs on the bathroom door and yells 'Jesus Christ, are you still in there?!'"

Are they getting you down? Here's a good laugh.

Hot air, empty promises and other thoughts

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered heraltitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him anhour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot airballoon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2,346 feetabove sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude. "She rolled her eyes and said,

"You must be a Republican." "I am," replied the man. "How did you know?" "Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technicallycorrect. But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."

The man smiled and responded, "You must be an Obama Democrat.."

"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?"

"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You've risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. Youmade a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve yourproblem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault."

Do you need a good laugh?

Words of wisdom

So I said to him, "Barack, I know Abe Lincoln,and you ain't Abe Lincoln."

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves." - Abraham Lincoln

Sunday Homily - The Solemnity of Corpus Christi

Most of the time, we need constant reminders of the immense gifts that God continually bestows upon us. The Eucharist is an immense miracle, but sometimes we need to be reminded just how amazing this miracle really is.

One such reminder took place in 1263. A German priest, Peter of Prague, stopped at Bolsena while on a pilgrimage to Rome. He is described as being a pious priest, but one who found it difficult to believe in Transubstantiation. While celebrating Mass at the tomb of St. Christina, located in Bolsena, Italy, he had barely spoken the words of Consecration when blood started to seep from the consecrated Host and trickle over his hands onto the altar and the corporal.

The priest was immediately confused. At first he attempted to hide the blood, but then he interrupted the Mass and asked to be taken to the neighboring city of Orvieto, the city where Pope Urban IV was then residing.

The Pope listened to the priest's story and gave him absolution for his lack of faith. He then sent emissaries for an immediate investigation. When all the facts were ascertained, he ordered the Bishop of the diocese to bring to Orvieto the Host and the linen cloth bearing the stains of blood. With archbishops, cardinals and other Church dignitaries in attendance, the Pope met the procession and, amid great pomp, had the relics placed in the cathedral. The linen corporal bearing the spots of blood is still reverently enshrined and exhibited in the Cathedral of Orvieto, Italy.

Pope Urban IV was prompted by this miracle to commission St. Thomas Aquinas to compose the liturgical prayers in honor of the Eucharist. One year after the miracle, in August of 1264, Pope Urban IV introduced the saint's compositions, and by means of a papal bull instituted the feast of Corpus Christi.

The Feast of Corpus Christi reminds us that we possess an immense treasure. When a Catholic priest takes a little piece of unleavened bread and repeats the words that Jesus spoke at the Last Supper, "This is my body", and when he takes a small of amount of wine in a chalice and says, "This is my blood", the bread is no longer bread and the wine is no longer wine. At every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we participate in a marvelous miracle, the miracle called Transubstantiation.

Last week we reflected upon the mystery of communion. Our Triune God is a communion of persons. We can see the image of this communion stamped into all of existence. Human nature, marriage, the family, human society and the Church are all icons of the Triune God who is a communion of three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Eucharist is called Holy Communion. Jesus himself, through the Eucharist, grants to us the most powerful experience of intimacy possible within our earthly existence. As Pope Benedict explains: “And that is what is really happening in Communion, that we allow ourselves to be drawn into him, into his inner communion, and are thus led finally into a state of inner resemblance”.[i]

What intimacy! When Jesus comes to us, he comes to us as communion. God and man become one. He comes to us as the divine lover. His communion with us is more intimate than the intimate union of husband and wife or a mother with her unborn child.

We cannot even begin to fathom the depth of God’s love for us. His love is so immense that he himself is defined as love. “God is love” (1 John 4: 8, 16). The Holy Eucharist is the most visible sign of God’s love for each of us. Jesus loves us so much that he cannot leave us. “And know that I am with you always until the end of time” (Matthew 28: 20).

Let us recall then the words from the first encyclical letter written by Pope John Paul II, “Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it”.[ii]

As we consider the mystery of God’s unconditional love we are reminded that love defines the very purpose of our existence too. The purpose of our life can be summed up with only one word: love. “…since God has loved us so much, we too should love one another” (1 John 4: 11).

The human person cannot live without the experience of divine love and human love. The human person cannot live without the experience of divine intimacy and human intimacy. The human person cannot live without communion. Man becomes fully realized in communion because he is created for communion by a God who is the most perfect communion.

This is why Pope Benedict calls the Church a “Eucharistic fellowship”. This is why the Catechism says that, “No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone… I cannot believe without being carried by the faith of others, and by my faith I help support others in the faith” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 166).

As I mentioned last week, I firmly believe that after every Eucharistic Celebration, whenever possible, there should always be some kind of fellowship activity. Moreover, sprinkled throughout the liturgical year, there should be well organized social activities that provide an opportunity for the entire parish to come together for fellowship.

How can we begin to live in our parish family the community life that we are supposed to live? First, start by forming the habit of seeing Jesus in each person. This will certainly help when you do not feel like talking to someone. Jesus is hidden in every individual. Secondly, no one should be seen as a stranger. We are all brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus. Thirdly, if you are shy, acquire a new virtue. Force yourself to be outgoing. In this way, you will be sure to make new friends. Fourthly, be universal in your charity. Do not avoid anyone. Do not form clicks. Do not stick to your own age group or your own nationality. If we really do what we are suppose to do, parish life can become a powerful experience. We can really experience the Church as a “Eucharistic fellowship”.[iii]

This is why it is liturgically incorrect to hold hands when we pray the Our Father during the Mass, the Eucharistic Celebration. It is the Eucharist that brings us together and forms us into one body, not the praying of the Our Father. We must not add things to the liturgy that are not authorized by the Holy Father. We already have a proper liturgical gesture that expresses our unity. Before we receive Holy Communion, we exchange an external sign of fraternal charity with the sign of peace. Peace, unity, and fraternal charity are all fruits of the Eucharist.

[i] God and the World, Joseph Ratzinger, p. 409
[ii] Redemptor Hominis, 10.1
[iii] God is Near Us, Joseph Ratzinger, p. 115

Defending Christopher West

Matthew Pinto’s article is excellent and right on the money. It seems to me that much of the criticism against Christopher West is coming from “conservative” and “traditional” circles that may have a rather jansenistic view towards sexuality. It is true that concupiscence will always be a part of our lives because we are fallen human creatures. But is it possible for a man to make love to his wife without being ruled by lust? If we were to answer this question in the negative, then Christianity is a huge lie. The main thread behind John Paul’s TOB is to correct the jansenistic view of human sexuality that prevaded the Church at one time. Jansenism is still around. Sex within the sacrament of matrimony is a beautiful and holy reality, not something disgusting just to have children.

By His Fruits You Shall Know Him: A Defense of Christopher West by Matthew Pinto - reprinted from Catholic Exchange

Over the past few weeks, I have watched a friend and fellow soldier in the Church get assaulted by his own troops, ironically due to his breakthrough appearance on ABC News’ Nightline, the kind of program we in the Catholic media have long been targeting as an instrument for communicating Catholic teaching in general, and Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body (TOB) message in particular.

As one of his publishers (along with the Daughters of St. Paul and Servant/St. Anthony’s Messenger), I have witnessed firsthand the dynamic impact Christopher West is having on people worldwide, both married and single. Few Catholic authors/evangelists can match his track record of eyes opened to Truth and hearts turned to Christ. Fewer still have shown the courage to battle the colossal dragon that is modern society’s dissolute sexual culture, a beast that threatens to devour the souls in its path, including those of our children.

When Archbishop Sheen would be told by agitators back in his day that they had left the Faith, he would reportedly reply, “Oh, what was your sin?” Most, undoubtedly, were sexual in nature, for the Church’s message of sexual restraint has never been an easy teaching. But here Christopher comes forward with an urgent message of sexual healing and renewal from the very heart of the Church, and he is vilified by certain quarters of the Catholic apostolate. All one can do is marvel.

Breathtaking Results
Christopher, to a degree far greater than any other Catholic evangelist I have known in my 19 years of full-time ministry, is helping to heal people’s sexual wounds and correct their errors and misinterpretations of Church teaching. To read the testimonials we at Ascension Press receive each week in response to his books and conferences is to understand how positive an impact this man is having on people’s lives. The principles of Pope John Paul’s texts that Christopher is popularizing are stimulating vocations to consecrated life, strengthening youth, saving marriages, and saving babies worldwide.

Each year, more than 55,000 engaged persons in over 40 dioceses are being introduced to the authentic Catholic vision for marriage contained in Christopher’s marriage preparation program. Of the 91% who have entered the program sexually active, more than half of these couples said they will forego ongoing sexual relations until they are married. Nearly a third of these couples state that they will employ “Natural Family Planning” methods once they are married. And fully 61% made a deeper commitment to Christ because of the program. This is powerful evangelization.

Moreover, tens of thousands of college students on both Catholic and secular campuses have heard, perhaps for the first time, what “sexual freedom” really means! Cardinals and bishops from around the U.S. have invited Christopher to address the priests in their dioceses, and as a result, more than 3,600 priests in 31 dioceses have been given new tools to minister to a Catholic community that has, by and large, jettisoned much of the Catholic sexual ethic. The most consistent comment in surveys of these priests has been: “This was the single best continuing education day I have experienced in my entire priesthood.”

More than 25 bishops have taken time from their busy schedules to attend day-long seminars given by Christopher. One Midwestern bishop said after a seminar — and in front of a crowd of 600 — that Christopher is simply “one of the best Catholic evangelists in the Church today.”
Beyond that, more than 1,100 lay church leaders have attended Christopher’s weeklong course at the Theology of the Body Institute — and have given him an approval rating of over 96%. These leaders emerge substantially equipped to run TOB studies at their parishes, spreading John Paul II’s urgent message even deeper into the Catholic grassroots.

And these statistics do not even include the tens of thousands who have undertaken a personal or group study of the TOB via West’s books and workbooks – which bear Imprimaturs from bishops such as Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, Sean Cardinal O’Malley of Boston, and Justin Cardinal Rigali of Philadelphia.

As we know from the Acts of the Apostles, if a work is not of God, it will fail (5:38-39). Yet in this time of historic sexual anarchy, Christopher’s critics remain disinclined to attribute his overwhelmingly positive results to a blessing by God.

Distinct Mission and Voice
Christopher gets criticized by some for focusing too much on “sex: the verb,” though most who intimately know his work recognize that it focuses on the entire catechetical breadth of the TOB. For most of the Nightline interview, at which I was present, Christopher shared the pope’s vision about “sex: the noun.” But he was stung by hyper-aggressive editing in the final product, and has surely learned a lesson for future broadcast interviews. Despite the incoming fire, he should not avoid these television opportunities going forward. Any occasion to introduce millions of souls to Pope John Paul’s sublime teaching during this time of crisis simply must be seized.

This said, it should be noted that Christopher’s mission is different from others who teach and evangelize within the Catholic world. He is endeavoring to reach the vast majority of Catholics, including those who have not darkened the door of a church for years, the group comprising the “walking wounded” who have made bad choices in the past, or those who have grown up secretly thinking that their bodies or sex are somehow bad. This is an important part of West’s audience and reaching them is not easily accomplished. The sexual apologetics offered by many who have criticized Christopher will simply not reach, to any measurable degree, the wife who feels used by her husband, the man who has allowed impure habits to dominate his life, or the millions who view Catholicism as hopelessly repressive.

Given the sensitivity of the topics he addresses and the sheer volume of words he expresses in public, it is only natural that Christopher will occasionally answer questions or communicate ideas in ways that he will later need to refine. But he has never, and will never, reject a single teaching of the Catholic Church. The alleged “problems” in West’s presentations amount to issues of style, not doctrine.

A highly respected Catholic bishop and scholar once counseled Christopher with these words: “They will expect perfection of you.” This has certainly proven to be the case. But combating it by standing at podiums with scholarly paper in hand is not an option for a man who wants to connect with the vast audience of Desperate Housewives. As Jules Van Schaijik of The Personalist’s Project, said, “Attempting to anticipate all objections and prevent all possible misunderstandings would sap the life and sparkle from his talks. What he might gain in precision and clarity would be lost in effectiveness.”

There is no question that many in the Church are still very uncomfortable discussing the subject of sex. But while millions are drowning in a sea of filth advanced by our sexually-twisted media culture, Christopher is one of very few hazarding a high seas rescue mission and giving people a hand into the boat. Never has such a mission been so badly needed. Within the next 10 years, probably half the states in the U.S. will have embraced same-sex marriage. Already, most Catholics of child-bearing age have rejected Church teaching on contraception. And on this very day, more than 3,600 children will be killed in their mother’s womb. Yet some of our fellow Catholics have felt it important to spend their energies publicly lancing one of their own.
It is a fact that many of the Church’s most exalted figures also encountered their greatest resistance from within Church ranks. A comforting thought for a man carrying very heavy water in the cultural wildfire that threatens us all.

[CE Editor's note: Although we have accepted two submissions in the past two weeks that are defensive of Christopher West, CE is not taking sides in the ongoing debate.]

Donna Marie Cooper O'Boyle to speak at St. Helena's this Saturday

8:30 AM Mass, breakfast, 2 conferences, lunch and final conference

Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle is a Catholic wife and mother of five, a Catechist, and an internationally known best-selling author of several books and award-winning journalist. Donna-Marie knew Blessed Mother Teresa for nearly a decade, became a lay Missionary of Charity, and founded a branch of the lay Missionaries of Charity. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta has written Donna-Marie over twenty letters, endorsed her work, and wrote the foreword for one of her books.

Donna-Marie has received awards for her work and the prestigious honor of Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic blessings on her books and work. She has also received Pope Benedict XVI’s Apostolic blessings, commendations from bishops, as well as several letters of commendation from the Catholic clergy and the President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Cardinal Pironio (in 1988). In 2008, The Pontifical Council for the Laity invited Donna-Marie to become a delegate of North America to participate in an International Women’s Congress in at the Vatican in Rome with an audience with Pope Benedict XVI.

Donna-Marie discusses Catholic issues on national radio at “Catholic Connection” (aired internationally through EWTN). She has been interviewed on many Catholic radio shows including the “Vatican Insider” and profiled on television including several segments of EWTN TV on Faith and Culture and on EWTN’s Bookmark with Doug Keck, “Crossroads Magazine” show, and “A New Day.” In addition to her books, Donna-Marie’s writing can be found in many Catholic magazines, newspapers, in several columns on the Internet, as well as on her website and blogs. Donna-Marie can be reached through her website to schedule, talks, retreats, and events: http://www.donnacooperoboyle.com/ . Her daily inspiration can be found at her blogs.

The frustration continues

When you read this article you will scratch your head and wonder what is going on in Rome. Maybe it is time for Vatican officials to turn off the espresso machines and find out what is really going on in America.

L’Osservatore Romano Takes Half a Step Back from Obama Support
By Hilary White

ROME, June 9, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – After months of criticism for its series of articles praising US president Barack Obama, the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, has backtracked half a pace in an article on the US bishops’ response to US embryo research guidelines.

On Friday, L’Osservatore Romano published an unsigned article, on page seven of its eight-page edition, that carried an end note assuring readers that the paper is in line with the US bishops’ conference on “ethical issues.”

Also towards the end of the story about the USCCB’s reaction to the embryo research policies of the National Institutes for Health, the author said that in its reportage on Obama, L’Osservatore Romano “certainly did not intend to express appreciation for [Obama’s] positions on ethical questions.”

“Obviously the Holy See and L'Osservatore Romano have been, are, and will be standing side by side with the bishops of the United States in their commitment to the inviolability of human life in whatever stage of its existence.”

However, despite the president’s long and uninterrupted history of complete support for abortion, including the gruesome partial birth abortion procedure, the article insists that Obama is “open to dialogue” on the subject of abortion and that the US bishops “have welcomed this opportunity.”

Far from heralding an end to the paper’s enthusiasm for Obama, the brief note followed a lead piece, with color photo, on the front page, giving a warm welcome to Obama’s speech to the Muslim world in Cairo on Thursday.

In recent months, Catholics and pro-life advocates around the world have been shocked to see the Vatican’s quasi-official newspaper consistently praising Obama and his administration, with little to no qualification. The paper reported on his appearance at Notre Dame last month, mentioning little of the opposition by Catholics and nothing of the over 80 individual bishops who condemned the appearance. Neither was any mention made of the protests and subsequent arrests of pro-life students and priests at the commencement.

The paper has run an editorial comparing Obama to the biblical figure of Joshua, and its appraisal of the president’s first 100 days was excoriated by pro-life advocates for having used the rhetoric of the abortion movement to describe his work.

In early March Religion News Service blog noted that back-to-back items had again revealed the paper’s affection for the man whom pro-life advocates have identified as the “most pro-abortion president” in US history.

On March 3rd the paper featured a short item about Obama’s pick for Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, that omitted the fact that she had been told by her bishop not to receive Holy Communion because of her support for abortion, an issue that has been at the forefront of US coverage.

The next day, the paper carried an article praising the president’s proposed budget for its heavy spending on welfare and health care. According to the article, “After a decade of exaltation of individual enrichment, today the USA, struck by the economic crisis, is witnessing instead the pressing resurgence of the values of solidarity.”

The real shock came, however, when editor-in-chief Vian told an Italian political analyst that he did not believe Obama is a pro-abortion president.

“What I want to stress,” Vian told Paolo Rodari, “is simply the fact that yesterday [in his speech at Notre Dame], on this very sensitive issue, U.S. President has again said that the launch of a new abortion law is not a priority of his administration. And the fact that this has comforted me greatly.” “I am also in my clear conviction: Obama is not a pro-abortion president,” he said.
This admission, coupled with the paper’s enthusiastic coverage of Obama’s extreme left-leaning economic policies, has prompted some of the US’s most prominent pro-life advocates to question where the paper’s editor stands on the US bishops’ instruction that pro-abortion politicians should not receive the support of Catholic agencies.

Michael Novak, writing at the National Review Online magazine on May 24th, asked, “Why on earth ... does L'Osservatore Romano side with the abortionists, and against the besieged, struggling minority of churchgoing Catholics who find abortion abhorrent, and an intrinsic and unrationalizable evil?”

“We ask Rome for bread, and L'Osservatore Romano gives us stones.”

Deal Hudson noted Friday that Vian’s editorship of the paper is in line with the thinking of the extreme Catholic political left who take at face value the president’s rhetoric of “reducing abortion” by increasing welfare expenditures.

He wrote, “It sounds like there is a direct line between editor Vian and our friends over at Catholics United, Catholic Democrats, and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, since that has been their primary political tactic all along - pro-lifers are partisan, while they are not.”

June is the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

These are the 12 principle promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus given to St. Margaret Mary. Click on this link for a full understanding of the beautiful devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. http://www.wf-f.org/SacredHeart.html

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.

2. I will give peace in their families.

3. I will console them in all their troubles.

4. I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.

5. I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.

6. Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.

8. Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.

9. I will bless those places wherein the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.

10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.

11. Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my Heart.

12. In the excess of the mercy of my Heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.

The Sunday Homily - The Gift of Communion

One day a little boy was playing on the beach. He dug a small hole into the sand. By using a seashell, he began to fill the hole with the ocean water. It did not take too long for the boy to realize that it would be impossible for him to scoop the vast ocean into the small hole that he had dug.

My dear friends, when we consider the mystery of God, we must realize that just like the little boy could not scoop the ocean water into the little hole, in the same way, it would be impossible for us to understand something as immense as the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. As Pope Benedict once said: “God, as the Wholly Other, remains beyond our comprehension”.

The mystery of the Blessed Trinity is clearly revealed to us throughout the New Testament. However, we already get a glimpse into this mystery in the first book of the Bible. “God said, let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves…” (Genesis 1: 26). Us? Ourselves? These words reveal to us the nature of God. God is one God, but three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One God, not three Gods.

“The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the hierarchy of the truths of faith” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 234).

Many years ago, an elderly Bishop visited a parish of his diocese for Confirmations. Despite the fact that he was losing his hearing, he still continued his custom of quizzing the children on their catechism before the Confirmations.

He asked a young girl to define the Blessed Trinity. The girl was rather nervous and shy, and she softly said: “The Blessed Trinity is one God with three distinct persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”. The Bishop could not hear her answer, so he said: “Speak up, I can’t understand you”. The girl turned to the Bishop and said: “You can’t understand, it is a mystery”.

We can look upon God as a communion of persons. We can see the image of God stamped into all of existence. Human nature, marriage, the family, human society and the Church are all icons of the Triune God who is a communion of three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Man is a communion because man has been created as male and female. Adam is not complete until the creation of Eve. Pope John Paul II affirmed that “man becomes an image of God not so much in the moment of solitude as in the moment of communion”.

The marriage of man and woman is defined as an “intimate community of life and love”. The intimate life of married spouses is an image of the interior life of the Blessed Trinity. “Authentic married love is caught up into divine love…”. Moreover, the sacrament of Matrimony can be considered as the prototype of all of the sacraments “because all of the sacraments draw their essential significance and their sacramental power from the spousal love of Christ the Redeemer”.

Finally, the family, human society, and of course the Church are, in essence, communities or communions.

As a practical application of these fundamental truths, I would like us to focus our attention this week on our community life within the parish family. Each parish is a living community of the Universal Church. Pope Benedict says that “the Church is Eucharistic fellowship”. I find these words to be quite significant because they indicate that it is not enough just to go to Sunday Mass as a private spectator. Each parish is a community or communion of believers. As living members of the parish family, we are called not only to worship, but to participate in the community life of the parish. The parish is our church family.

“Faith is a personal act – the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself. But faith is not an isolated act. No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone. You have not given yourself faith as you have not given yourself life. The believer has received faith from others and should hand it on to others. Our love for Jesus and for our neighbor impels us to speak to others about our faith. Each believer is thus a link in a great chain of believers. I cannot believe without being carried by the faith of others, and by my faith I help support others in the faith” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 166).

I firmly believe that after every Eucharistic Celebration, whenever possible, there should always be some kind of fellowship activity. Moreover, sprinkled throughout the liturgical year, there should be well organized social activities that provide an opportunity for the entire parish to come together for fellowship.

It is very meaningful, in light of this Sunday’s solemnity that St. Paul reminds us that we are children of God.

“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children of God, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8: 16-17).

How can we begin to live the community life that we are supposed to live? First, start by forming the habit of seeing Jesus in each person. This will certainly help when you do not feel like talking to someone. Jesus is hidden in every individual. Secondly, no one should be seen as a stranger. We are all brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus. Thirdly, if you are shy, acquire a new virtue. Force yourself to be outgoing. In this way, you will be sure to make new friends. Fourthly, be universal in your charity. Do not avoid anyone. Do not form clicks. Do not stick to your own age group or your own nationality. If we really do what we are suppose to do, parish life can become a powerful experience.

Well, as you can see, this Sunday’s solemnity is really profound. We have a lot to ponder. But, let’s not just think about these fundamental truths of our Catholic faith. Let us put them into practice. Egotism, radical individualism, and apathy are deep-seated obstacles to the Christian way of life.

“O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me forget myself entirely so to establish myself in you, unmovable and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing be able to trouble my peace or make me leave you, O my unchanging God, but may each minute bring me more deeply into your mystery! Grant my soul peace. Make it your heaven, your beloved dwelling and the place of your rest. May I never abandon you there, but may I be there, whole and entire, completely vigilant in my faith, entirely adoring, and wholly given over to your creative action” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 260; prayer of Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity).

We have been discussing the reality of communion. What do we receive at every Mass? Holy Communion. Next Sunday is the beautiful solemnity of Corpus Christi. We will continue our discussion of communion by taking a close look, once again, at the beautiful gift of the Eucharist, “the source and summit of the Christian life” .

The Theology of the Body debate continues

Translator of John Paul II’s Original Work Defends Christopher West - article taken from InsideCatholic.com

I know that David Schindler is a careful scholar, but I was surprised and taken aback by his recent blanket negative statement about Christopher West in reaction to West's Nightline interview. He cites a few anecdotes, quotes some snippets of texts, recalls some discussions he had with West in the past, and then makes a number of sweeping, massive accusations against West's work as a whole.

His West is not the Christopher West I know from studying West's commentary on the Theology of the Body.

Because of my close work with West during the writing of the new translation of John Paul II's original work, I know he has a deep and faithful understanding of the late pope. West's work is uncompromisingly in line with the Church's faith. Perhaps most striking is his humility in approaching the Theology of the Body and the great desire he has to reach broken humanity with this liberating message.

To answer all of Schindler's objections would require a response too lengthy for the moment; the fact that he cites no texts from West's work on which to base his four main objections also makes a response difficult.

Let me take a single example of Schindler's critique to show how it misses its target: Schindler claims, "West misconstrues the meaning of concupiscence" by denying the permanence of "objective" concupiscence. In fact, West does not contradict the Catholic teaching that concupiscence and the fomes peccati (the tendency to sin) are objective consequences of the Fall that remain in every human being until death. He is correct in diagnosing strong Jansenist influences in the American Catholicism of the early Twentieth Century, which have historical roots similar to those of Puritanism. Jesuit seminarians, when they took a bath, had to scatter charcoal dust on the surface of the water so that they would not see their own genitals and become sexually aroused. The appropriate dress for attractive women according to the same spirit would be a black cardboard box. This Jansenist negativity, which is still deeply rooted in some conservative Catholic quarters of the United States (much less in Europe), is profoundly opposed to the pedagogy of the body proposed by John Paul II.

John Paul II considers true growth in virtue not only possible, but necessary for every man and woman. This is the authentic teaching of the orthodox Catholic tradition in contrast to Jansenism: Also in the sexual sphere, true growth in virtue is possible; virtue can overcome the tendency to sin, though objective concupiscence and the consequent danger of sin remain real. The path to virtue leads through deep awareness of the spousal meaning of the body and through authentic growth in love. "Love, and then do what you want!" says St. Augustine, who is (wrongly) invoked as the father of both Puritanism and Jansenism. These are the truths West highlights in his writings and presentations. I doubt that Schindler denies these truths, but his critique of West sounds almost as if he does.

There are circumstances that make the vehemence of Schindler's condemnation of West somewhat understandable. As the Provost/Dean of the John Paul II Institute in Washington, Schindler has the responsibility of protecting the name and reputation of this Institute -- a great common good. Although getting the Theology of the Body message out to the very large audience on Nightline was potentially an important moment in Catholic evangelization, the distortions have the potential of harming not only West's reputation, but the Institute's as well. If Nightline is right, one would expect the main textbook at the John Paul II Institute to be The Joy of Sex According to John Paul II, edited by David Schindler and Hugh Hefner (centerfold included).

Yet, it is exactly at the point when the defense of a great common good becomes pressing that care needs to be taken so that one does not trample on particular persons, especially when doing so seems to be an effective means of achieving one's end.

The salacious spin Nightline put on West's work (suggesting West is a fan of Hefner's Playboy Magazine) did not come from West, but from ABC, which knows that "sex sells." I see a great irony in these circumstances. Schindler has a remarkably clear and profound perception of the defects of our dominant liberal culture. He also has a correspondingly keen x-ray vision for the regular distortion of Catholic life and theology in the dominant media. Yet in this instance, he is ready to accept ABC's spin at face value, regardless of West's protestations to the contrary and, more importantly, regardless of West's published works. To use ABC's spin against West is an act of injustice. It does violence to one of the most eloquent and effective messengers of the Theology of the Body.

Since he is a careful scholar, Schindler should offer an analysis of West's position as documented in his most recent published works in an appropriate journal, rather than using this media firestorm to go in for a quick kill. He should allow the scholarly process of close reading and judicious interpretation, argument and counterargument to take place, in which West has the opportunity to respond to criticisms in a deliberate fashion.

West's main strength lies in his effective communication of John Paul II's teaching on a popular level. An academic might look down at such "popularizing" and disdain serious intellectual engagement with West. In fact, West's theological penetration of John Paul II's work and the expression of his insight in his published materials have high academic quality. They are worthy of serious scholarly engagement. In writing my own book about the Theology of the Body (which is almost completed), I turn to West's commentary often and with profit.

Both ABC's spin on West and Schindler's condemnation of him in agreement with that spin do harm to the cause of the Theology of the Body. I appeal to all who work for the promotion of the Theology of the Body to do their utmost to counteract this harm.

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Michael Waldstein, Ph.D. is the Max Seckler Professor of Theology at Ave Maria University. He previously served as founding president of the International Theological Institute in Gaming, Austria, and was the St. Francis of Assisi Professor of New Testament there. He is a member of the Pontifical Council for the Family and is a Distinguished Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. He holds the degrees of B.A. from Thomas Aquinas College in California, Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Dallas, S.S.L. from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, and a Th.D. in New Testament from Harvard Divinity School. His published works include his definitive translation of John Paul II's Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body, The Common Good in St. Thomas and John Paul II (Nova et Vetera), and Dietrich von Hildebrand and St. Thomas Aquinas on Goodness and Happiness (Nova et Vetera).

Commentary: Let’s Get our Facts Straight about Tiller and Anti-Abortion Violence

Yesterday morning, accompanied by a nutritive group of around 30 prolifers, I led the Rosary at our local abortion clinic. I expected some trouble from the abortion doctor due to Sunday's tragic killing of Dr. Tiller, but everything went on with the usual calculated coldness of the abortion industry: cars came in the parking lot with young girls accompanied by a mother or a boyfriend. One girl was crying, the others just looked at us and laughed. Soon after the cars came in, the local abortion doctor, Dr. Eduardo Aquino drove in with his young, glamerous looking wife, and entered the back door of the clinic ignoring our pleas to repent and to stop killing innoncent babies. Here is an interesting reflection that will provide food for thought...

by Brian Clowes, PhD - Human Life International, Research Manager

June 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Along with everyone else at Human Life International and throughout the legitimate pro-life movement, I strongly condemn the murder of abortionist George Tiller in Kansas. The Fifth Commandment does not read "Thou shalt not kill, except for abortionists."

Not only is it wrong to respond to people like Tiller with the ultimate anti-life act of murder, it also sets the entire pro-life movement back as good, committed leaders have to scramble to distance themselves from an act that they never called for and which is obviously antithetical to their philosophy and work. Pro-abortion legislators seize on the opportunity to call for laws restricting legitimate pro-life activities such as sidewalk counseling and picketing, knowing the whole time that such legislation will do nothing to hinder a maniac with a gun. And, worst of all, thousands of people who would otherwise have joined the pro-life movement will continue to sit on the sidelines, believing the media lie that we are violent.

Pro-lifers should indeed condemn the murder of George Tiller. But we should not play permanent defense as the nonsense snowballs and the unfair attacks against the pro-life movement multiply. Here are some facts that should be taken into consideration by all people of good will, especially those whose responsibility it is to report on this story.

1) George Tiller is the first abortionist to be killed in eleven years. If you think that's a "trend,” or an “epidemic” as some have said, you're just not a serious person.

2) All of the posturing going on in the pro-abortion movement over the safety of abortionists is a ruse. There are four times as many hairdressers and 150 times as many convenience store clerks murdered as there are abortionists. Where is the “pro-choice” grieving over them?

3) George Tiller made his money performing late-term abortions, which often involves the killing of a viable human being. According to Kansas state statistics, he killed 395 viable third-trimester babies in one year – 2001 – all for “mental health” reasons (which, as we know, is the category for all elective abortions). Not one of those abortions was for a mother’s physical health or for a medical emergency. Americans overwhelmingly believe this disgusting practice should not be legal. If any objective journalist were to look into his practice they would see that most people, and all sane people, are appalled by what happened in his clinic every day.

4) Tiller has been tried on criminal indictments for multiple abuses of his practice, including breaking state laws requiring another medical doctor to verify that certain patients' lives were at risk before performing late-term abortions. This man was no hero or saint, and his being held up as a martyr says more about pro-abortionists than it does about those they are trying to condemn.

5) Abortionists are not only widely considered an embarrassment to the medical profession, but they are much more likely to commit violence than to suffer violence. You may be surprised to learn that more than a dozen abortionists have been convicted of murder and manslaughter ― of their wives, of their patients, and even of other abortionists. Yet you never hear about these killings in the press (see http://www.abortionviolence.com/ for documentation). Abortionists are more likely to kill than to be killed.

6) Whenever an abortionist mutilates, kills or molests a woman, the “pro-choice” movement always rushes to his defense, as they did for Brian Finkel, the Arizona abortionist who was sent to prison for 35 years for 22 counts of sexual abuse. So much for caring for women!

7) The pro-life movement is the most peaceful social movement in the history of this country. Most other social movements, including the unionization movement, the pro-abortion movement, the homosexualist movement, the animal rights movement, and the environmental movement have all demonstrated much greater violence. So where is the outcry over the violence committed by these movements?

During the predictable surge of publicity over Tiller's murder, we must remember that abortion itself is the most cowardly form of murder, committed against the most helpless and innocent of all of God's people, the unborn. We must also remember those who have died, but who are ignored by the media and the pro-abortionists ― the hundreds of women who have died of so-called "safe and legal" abortion, and the hundreds of other women who have been murdered by their boyfriends or husbands because they would not abort their children (see http://www.abortionviolence.com/ for documentation).

Let's not be bullied or silenced by those who are trying to tar the whole pro-life movement by cynically exploiting the murder of George Tiller. Let's instead reply with facts which add context to the "abortionists are heroes, pro-lifers are violent" narrative that the "mainstream" media seems too willing to parrot.

Not that I expect the media to suddenly start reporting the truth of abortion. If they did that, there would be no legal abortion in the first place. But we can try, and the facts are on our side. Let's pray, too, for the soul of George Tiller, his family, and his murderer, as well as for the conversion of all pro-aborts that they see how destructive abortion is for all human life, not just the child who is killed and the mother who is wounded.

One thing you can do is forward this information and the address of the abortion violence Web site to your friends so that we can reach those of good will ― those who aren't just mindlessly screaming bloody murder but who can actually think and listen to reason ― and show them that the story they've been told about supposedly "violent" pro-life activists is just that ― a story.


URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060301.html


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Falling in Love with God - The Greatest Romance

By Jennifer Hartline - as featured on Catholic Online

To fall in love with God is the greatest of romances, to seek Him the greatest adventure, to find Him the greatest human achievement (St. Augustine)

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - There are days when I do battle with a deadly spiritual malady, a form of spiritual heart disease. It comes in two forms, both rather sneaky in how they creep up on me and worm their way into my heart. They are cynicism and indifference. It’s not so much that I choose them; it’s that I make no effort to refuse them.

Clearly, many of us are suffering this malady. This is the disease that zaps our energy and steals our excitement. It leaves us weary and lazy and full of handy excuses. It eats away at devotion and leaves our souls empty. Christendom in America is deeply infected with this life-sapping sickness. It is why so many Christians have been enticed and beguiled by power and popularity and persuaded to compromise. Without passion, without zeal, without fervor, we are lifeless and faith is so easily cast aside.

St. Augustine prescribes the cure: We need a new romance. "To fall in love with God is the greatest of romances, to seek Him the greatest adventure, to find Him the greatest human achievement." What the cynical and indifferent heart needs is a healthy dose of romance.

We have every reason to be enthralled in romance! The greatest gesture of love known to the universe was made toward each of us by the Author of True Love. We are not simply liked and enjoyed; we are passionately, deeply, obsessively loved!

How does it go again?

“God so understood the world…”
“God so cared for the world…”
“God so respected the world…”
“God so accepted the world…”
“God so disdained the world…”
“God so rejected the world…”

No…God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. God made a bold and unflinching proclamation of abiding, endless love to all mankind, and Jesus came to be made a fool of, all in the hope that He would win the hearts of His beloved ones. Only a passionate lover is willing to look foolish for his beloved.

People, we desperately need a new romance. We need to take a good, long look with fresh eyes at the Lover of our souls and internalize the high price He paid for the chance to be reunited with us. I hope we have not stared at our painted images of God for so long that we are no longer impressed by what we see, for it’s not the typical picture of enchantment. Unadulterated passion and pure, ambitious love are not presented to us in flowers and sunsets, but in straw, wood, nails and blood.

I wonder in our day if we can even comprehend the nature of real love. Do we spend much time anymore contemplating a love that isn’t sexual or pleasure-oriented? Are we even inclined to pursue an endeavor that demands self-sacrifice?

“There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” 2 Tim 3:1-5

We have lost the fervor of our affection for God because we have become deadened to the meaning of real love. Love gives. Love is not self-seeking. Love cannot keep anything for itself. This kind of love is increasingly foreign to us. Like some kind of Dead Sea that only receives and never gives of itself to anyone else, we die inside because we don’t love. We must make a concerted effort to dwell on this crazy, extravagant love of God until it captures us again in the flush of romance. We need to fall in love with Jesus. It is the only cure for the cynical and indifferent heart.

We need that love to make us fearless in our devotion. We need the kind of passion that turns us into willing fools, people who couldn’t care less what the world thinks of us. I want the kind of passion and love for Christ that is oblivious to everything but Him. If He holds my heart, I need nothing else. The sound of His voice makes my heart pound, and there’s no room in my ears for any scorn or insult. I say I want this kind of passion and love because I’m not quite there yet. But I’m being wooed, and the more I attend to His affection, the more this romance grows, and the more my heart longs only for Jesus. I want the love described in the Song of Solomon: “Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away.”

This is the love that turns ordinary people into saints! This is the love that turns you and me into the hands and feet of Jesus in the world. This is the love that softens the most hardened of hearts, the love the world simply cannot ignore. It is this love that gives us courage and compels us to be faithful no matter the cost.

The heart in love with Jesus has no room for compromise or deception, since it only desires more of Jesus. The moral courage and conviction we lack, the absence of zeal and fervor in our faith is easily cured, if we will purposely incline ourselves toward Him. It is a sweet romance that beckons to us…let us fall in love again!

Jennifer Hartline is a Catholic Army wife and stay-at-home mother of three precious kids who writes frequently on topics of Catholic faith and daily living. She is a contributing writer for Catholic Online.

It's Monday - do you need a laugh?