08.31.06
The Official Handbook of the Legion of Mary
I’ve been reading the Official Handbook of the Legion of Mary, which one article calls a Catholic classic. It really is quite a remarkable book, with pearls of wisdom on just about every page, and not a drop of lukewarm woollieness to be seen – which is a nice change. I’m not yet a full Legion member yet, since I haven’t taken the ‘Legion Promise’ yet, but I’m certainly more open to the idea now.
What impresses me is the disciplined approach that is so thorough - it leaves no stone unturned - and it’s so very orthodox that, in fact, I have never seen an apostolate more in line with the teachings of the Magisterium and the actual spirit of the Vatican II Council. According to the above article, the Legion of Mary (not the Church itself!) was the ‘public enemy no.1′ in communist China, due to its phenomenal effectiveness. What gave it that effectiveness is the Legion’s strict adherence to the handbook which would turn it into a hyper-efficient, super-organized mass evangelizin’ machine (which also churned out massive numbers o’ martyrs, by the way). Also, according to a priest, the handbook – due to its theological and doctrinal content – could possibly rebuild the whole of Catholic theology from that one book alone! Let me quote the same article:
“Some legionaries doing extension work in Philadelphia once visited a pastor who did not know the Legion of Mary. He agreed to accept a copy of the handbook. Some weeks later on a return visit the priest told them that he had read the book and believed that if someone really based their life on it they would become a saint!”
Yah. I can believe that.
08.30.06
Parallel Conflicts: Evolution vs. Intelligent Design and truth vs. the media
I’d been talking to our friend Universal regarding an article suggesting that the Pope may be thinking of embracing Intelligent Design (ID). I was quite excited, to be honest, about the Church looking into this whole subject of ID, since I had the idea that both the previous Pope, John Paul II, and the previous Vatican Astronomer, Rev. George Coyne, were against it, or at least were more pro-evolution.
It soon became clear though, as we chatted on the Instant Messenger, that the semantics and the media bias were creating a lot of confusion, at least in my mind – and I’m sure in the general public as well – as to the real stance of the Church on the matter. For example, the late Pope John Paul II’s statement that “theory of evolution more than a hypothesis” has often been quoted in the media (including the above article), giving the impression that the Catholic Church is embracing something new – conceding to the ‘enlightened’ concepts of today’s man – but the Catholic World News article, Media Twists Papal Statement On Evolution (which features excerpts from actual statements), makes it clear that “Pope John Paul has made no new pronouncement, as has been reported lately, concerning the acceptability of any hypothesis of evolution. He has merely reasserted that the scientific inquiry into the origins of life is commendable as long as it is recognized, above all, that the soul is created by God alone.”
As often is the case, the church has not presented any new ideas but the media loves to present it so it appears controversial. As Universal says, “…the Church coming out and supporting ID [won't] mean much since we already do, we just don’t necessary support what has come to be known as ID, just like we are creationists but not Creationists. …I’m thoroughly sick of the media misrepresenting what the Pope and various Catholic notables say, and hyping it all up with empty speculation.” While I do still look forward to seeing the Church evaluate the merits of ID, I can appreciate what he has to say there.
08.28.06
True love embraces responsibility
Yesterday I posted in Being Frank on a post about the increasing cultural trend of uncommitted relationships and broken marriages which leave behind solo parents. I know firsthand the sort of lasting grief it can cause, especially for the solo parent and the children, and I hate to see this becoming the norm. Here’s what I wrote:
| Coming from a broken family myself, it really does distress me to see that this sort of “casual love/sex” lifestyle is becoming the norm.
It really is a problem when people divorce the concepts of ‘love’ and ‘responsibility’ (which is the same as ‘commitment’). The two go hand in hand, or it is not true love. Love seeks the good of the beloved, as Benedict XVI says in his encyclical Deus Caritas Est. A man who does not care about his lover’s future, or about the child’s, is a man who is not in love; he is a self-seeking individual experiencing infatuation. So no true love can exist in an uncommitted sexual relationship; the man would be afraid of being led into a committed relationship, and the woman afraid that she’s being used as a simple object of gratification. It’s simply against their true desire and nature, which is to love and be loved unconditionally. I feel for the solo parents out there. It’s a difficult task, raising children alone. I feel for the children too. I know what it can be like, and nobody should have to go through it. I just hope the society realizes the damage it creates – the suffering and sorrow it creates – not only by accepting broken families as the norm, but by promoting promiscuity, “safe-sex” (so-called), contraceptive mentality (which erodes away true self-giving love) and generally saturating the culture with sex. I think our popular culture is sometimes incapable of linking the problems with their cause – or is unwilling to do so. It’s time our society had a hard look at itself and repent of its hedonistic and ruinous lifestyle. |
This cheapened love and the dehumanization of relationships are serious dangers to the future of humanity, which threaten the very foundation of our society – the family. As John Paul II said, “as the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live” – a word of warning the world would do well to take heed.
08.27.06
Fearless
I saw Fearless today. It’s a martial arts movie featuring Jet Li. Apart from the painful bone-breaking scenes, it was a very enjoyable and engaging movie with profound themes. (Warning: spoilers!) Basically, the protagonist’s selfish life of vainglory reaps a series of great tragedies and ruined relationships, but is transformed through the love of a small village community, ultimately leading him to an honorable and self-sacrificing end. In a way, this process made the greatest impression on me, even over the (although very good) martial arts combat scenes.
This reminds me of a passage in John Paul II’s Letter to Artists: “even when they explore the darkest depths of the soul or the most unsettling aspects of evil, artists give voice in a way to the universal desire for redemption” – this is no less true for a film production.
08.26.06
Anniversary Day
There was no Young Professionals’ Fellowship today, as there was a tenth anniversary celebration at the ICPE’s New Zealand base. It was great; there was a light buffet lunch followed by a presentation and testimonies. The number of lives these people have touched are amazing, through prison ministries, serving at the soup kitchen, running prayer groups, and just by being a community fully alive. It’s really a wonder to behold, the lives of these missionaries who have in some cases left their countries and given up their jobs, securities and livelihoods to serve God and to communicate the Good News of God’s love to the world. It’s funny too that they have so little, yet are the most joyful bunch of people I know. Their joy and their very presence here are a witness to the Gospel, and I’m so grateful that God has led me to live with this community. Cheers Lord.
08.24.06
When I am weak, then I am strong
I got this in my inbox a while ago, and I thought it was quite funny… as well as encouraging!
| The next time you feel like GOD can’t use you, just remember… Noah was a drunk Abraham was too old Isaac was a daydreamer Jacob was a liar Leah was ugly Joseph was abused Moses had a stuttering problem Gideon was afraid Samson had long hair and was a womanizer Rahab was a prostitute Jeremiah and Timothy were too young David had an affair and was a murderer Elijah was suicidal Isaiah preached naked Jonah ran from God Naomi was a widow Job went bankrupt Peter denied Christ The Disciples fell asleep while praying Martha worried about everything Mary Magdalene was… The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once Zaccheus was too small Paul was too religious Timothy had an ulcer..AND Lazarus was dead! |
It just goes to show that God uses the weak and the lowly, calling sinners to sanctify themselves and the world. Even my weakness, God can use so that “when I am weak, then I am strong” (II Corinthians 12:10). I think we can see how God has a sense of humour in that the reality is so paradoxical. I thank God that he can use a sinner like me to bring His sanctity to others, through a Gospel of paradoxes; a redeeming “good news” which is so often shunned as an annoyance, the way to true freedom which is derided as a captivity. St. Paul put it best:
| For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption; therefore, as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord.” (I Corinthians 1:21–31 RSV) |
08.23.06
A life less ordinary
I went out with some friends (Catholic) and their friends (non Christians) tonight. In one sense, it was an enjoyable night chatting with beer and nibbles; in another sense, it was… strange. I felt alien to the topics of conversation which inevitably turned to women and talks of dubious lifestyles. Our friend Universal was there too, and his undisguised facial expressions told me the same. It was strange, because it seemed like an abnormal thing to do yet it obviously is the “norm” and we felt out of place. It was strange because I felt like someone picnicking on top of a hill, watching others go up and down all the other hills like there was no choice in the matter (all the while looking for a picnic spot). It seemed so… laborious and unnecessary.
I guess I am not “normal” in the popular sense. I’m quite contented with the joys of a “conventional” life. I like to marvel and wonder at the scenery on the way to and from work. I enjoy chatting to the old people I meet during the day, and I find the greatest joys in familiar relationships. I find exuberance in trying to live a challenging and creative existence, to better myself and the world. I look at my life and think how blessed I am to be here and to know God.
If I’m not “normal” in the popular sense, I’d quite like to be “ordinary” in the sense that G. K. Chesterton understood it when he said the following:
“I am ordinary in the correct sense of the term; which means the acceptance of an order; a Creator and the Creation, the common sense of gratitude for Creation, life and love as gifts permanently good, marriage and chivalry as laws rightly controlling them, and the rest of the normal traditions of our race and religion.”
In such troubled times as this, a life lived out in this sense is, surely, “a life less ordinary”.
Magisterium: “the living teaching office of the Church”
As I said in my earlier post, Implementing Vatican II, those who quote the “spirit of Vatican II” has no grounds for dissent whatsoever; quite paradoxically, this is because the true spirit of Vatican II repudiates them – let me quote from a Vatican II document, Dogmatic Constitution On Divine Revelation Dei Verbum, article 10:
| Sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the word of God, committed to the Church. Holding fast to this deposit the entire holy people united with their shepherds remain always steadfast in the teaching of the Apostles, in the common life, in the breaking of the bread and in prayers (see Acts 2, 42, Greek text), so that holding to, practicing and professing the heritage of the faith, it becomes on the part of the bishops and faithful a single common effort. (7)
But the task of authentically interpreting the word of God, whether written or handed on, (8) has been entrusted exclusively to the living teaching office of the Church, (9) whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. This teaching office is not above the word of God, but serves it, teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in accord with a divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it draws from this one deposit of faith everything which it presents for belief as divinely revealed. It is clear, therefore, that sacred tradition, Sacred Scripture and the teaching authority of the Church, in accord with God’s most wise design, are so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others, and that all together and each in its own way under the action of the one Holy Spirit contribute effectively to the salvation of souls. 7. cf. Pius XII, apostolic constitution, “Munificentissimus Deus,” Nov. 1, 1950: A.A.S. 42 (1950) p. 756; Collected Writings of St. Cyprian, Letter 66, 8: Hartel, III, B, p. 733: “The Church [is] people united with the priest and the pastor together with his flock.” 8. cf. First Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith, Chap. 3 “On Faith:” Denzinger 1792 (3011). 9. cf. Pius XII, encyclical “Humani Generis,” Aug. 12, 1950: A.A.S. 42 (1950) pp. 568-69: Denzinger 2314 (3886). |
This is an important point because by rolling their own version of Catholicism, they appoint themselves to be Popes, and indeed above God. They forget that Christianity is a divine revelation, and the Church its faithful messenger. Its message is a message of love, which is truly good for us and not just superficially pleasurable. Our humble obedience is what will truely set us free; it reveals to us just how to be human, and the way we were meant to live.
Laudate Dominum, omnes gentes; laudate eum, omnes populi; quoniam confirmata est super nos misericordia eius et veritas Domini manet in aeternum.
(O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise Him, all ye peoples; for His mercy is confirmed upon us: and the truth of the Lord remaineth forever.)
08.20.06
Hail Mary
Mary is the mother of Jesus (thus the title, “mother of God”) and the mother of the Church. The Hail Mary prayer is one of the most common Catholic prayers, which consists of the following:
“Hail [Mary], full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28) – Angel Gabriel’s greeting
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, [Jesus]” (Luke 1:42) – Elizabeth’s greeting
“Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death”.
Amen” – request for her intercession
This is one of the first prayers I memorised, and I’ve always found it to be comforting and effective. I thought I’d post the English version and the Latin version of this simple but beautiful (and powerful) prayer:
| Hail Mary | Ave Maria |
| Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you amongst women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. | Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen. |
The latin translation is from this page which also provides a guide to ecclesial Latin pronounciation.
08.19.06
Implementing Vatican II
I posted a reply in a provocatively titled post called Does the Vatican II generation have to die? in the Being Frank blog. It linked to another post with the same title in a blog by Fr. Rob Johansen. He talked about the uncalled-for reforms that some of the liberals attribute to the “spirit of Vatican II”, and how we can implement the actual teachings of the Council. Here’s the reply I wrote:
| I suspect that those who justify their actions by quoting the “spirit of Vatican II” really mean in their minds, “freedom and openness to change apparent in Vatican II”, which in realty translates to “a non-existent opening to do whatever they like”. This is why quoting the actual texts of the Council has no effect on those who claim to adhere to the “spirit”; in reality, they do not believe that the Church’s (and therefore the Council’s) decisions are of the Holy Spirit, but only an intermediate process in the work of the Spirit which was interfered by the Church hierarchy. They do not believe that the Church was instituted and is led by the Spirit, but that it is a human institution which hinders Christ’s work. How else can we explain their disobedience in every aspect of the Church’s teachings, from liturgical abuse to woman’s ordination, contraception to homosexual union?
Obviously they no longer have faith in the authority that Christ himself has bestowed on the “rock” of Peter (Matthew 16:19) and the Bishops in communion with him . The relativistic and the democratic cultural “virtues” have replaced those of Christ who said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). The Church, then, is not a Democracy – it is a Monarchy. It is a Heavenly Kingdom, where Christ is its King, Mary its Queen, Pope its Prime Minister, and the Bishops its Cabinet. The Holy Spirit respects this Divinely ordained hierarchy, and this is why Paul exhorts, “obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls” (Heb 13:17). Obedience, then, is a sure sign of a true love of God. This is an important point, because the word “love” for those who reject the Church’s authority has only the woolliest and vaguest meanings, mostly synonymous with “tolerance” (when they mean “approval” and “indifference”). In actual fact, love requires us to be in absolute conformity of the Father, which is for our best even if we do not like it. It is much harder to have to conform oneself to a greater reality – to admit and take responsibilities for one’s shortcomings – than to locate supposed loopholes in such terms as “freedom of conscience” or “spirit of Vatican II”, but it is for our own and everyone’s temporal and eternal interest. It is to our own detriment that we choose our own will over God’s. This is becoming already clear in the declining Mass attendance in liberal dioceses, in the high rate of marriage breakups among couples using contraception, and so on. If we only all realized that true faith and freedom can come through obedience alone! |
