Couldn't Have Said it Better

I was reading articles at catholic.org and came across this one by an author named Jennifer Hartline. I am posting it here for all of you to read, because I think it is fantastic. I hope you enjoy it!

AGAIN- I did not write this!! Blessings to all on this beautiful Sunday! Camp is awesome; the first batch of campers will arrive in about 30 minutes!

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!

Catholic Roots

Before I leave for the summer, I thought I should update my blog. Please forgive me, everyone, for failing in this. The last month of the semester was so full, and things demanded a great deal of my time. But I remembered all of you in prayer, and I kept up on my subscriptions, and even came to know a few more of you along the way; I love all of you very much. I hope that the summer camp I am headed to has internet access that I can use to check up on things once in a while, so please be patient with me this summer! I am being missioned, and with that comes a priority to the mission. If I have the time and the permission as well as the opportunity, I will look in on all of you. If not, please always remember that I am praying for you throughout the summer and will be back in late August.

I thought for this update I would talk about something I’ve been meaning to for many, many months. I have come to know many Catholics here on Xanga, and a common sense among them is a feeling of unwelcome at Revelife, a blog I enjoy most of the time. But among comments on many posts I, too, find many people referring to the Catholic Church with a degree of hostility, and very rarely (thankfully) even a degree of hatred. I know that most people who frequent Revelife are not Catholic Christians, so it is understandable that most Revelifers understand very little about Catholicism and Catholic teaching. In the hope of bringing peace to this conflict and a higher degree of understanding to Revelife readers and Catholics on Xanga, I thought that I would offer this post reminding all Christians of what I call their “Catholic roots.” It is very important for Catholics to know their history and their faith, and I think that it is important for Protestants to remember, too, where they came from and, hopefully, where they are going. Most of all, with these things in mind I think it is important for both groups to love and respect one another, Catholics in that all other Christians are at least their brothers and sisters in the same baptism and saved by the same cross, and Protestants for the same as well as (hopefully) a tremendous gratitude for all that they have come to have from their Catholic heritage.

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When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

14

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

15

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

16

Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

17

Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

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And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

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I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Here in Matthew 16 we have the laying of the foundation of the Church, with Christ choosing Peter specifically for a special leadership role, which we see affirmed after the resurrection along the seashore when Christ entrusts “the flock” to Peter, making him shepherd once Christ ascends to heaven. I read this, and other parts of the Gospel (one flock, one shepherd, for example) and notice very quickly and clearly, as the apostles and early Church Fathers did, that Christ established one Church and intended it to be one. While there was a dispersion of Christians across the known world at the time, apostles spreading out to various population centers such as Ephesus, Rome, Alexandria, etc., there was a great effort to keep everyone on the same page. This led to the gathering of several councils of bishops, all men appointed directly by the apostles, who appointed others and so on, or sometimes bishops were chosen by groups of other bishops and appointed to a particular city. Regardless, there was an established chain of authority going all the way back to the apostles, which leads to Christ himself, the point being that the men gathered at the councils (Nicea, for example) were not just a bunch of random people making decisions for everyone (neither is this the case today).

Two efforts to come of these councils that I would like to point out in particular would be the Nicene Creed and the canon of the Bible. The Nicene Creed, one of the most widely used articulations of fundamental Christian beliefs, is a part of many Christians’ heritage today and, though perhaps not employed by some Christians, the theology summarized in the Creed (one baptism, virgin birth of Christ, Trinitarian things) are still seen in every Christian group I have encountered. All of that is part of everyone’s Catholic heritage.

The canon of the Bible is another part of the same heritage. Certainly, the Bible is scripture and being scripture is important (some Christians would say it is the most important), but the canon or layout of the Bible is not itself scriptural. The books of the Bible were chosen, ordered and assembled by human beings. The Old Testament was fairly set by the time of the apostles and the very early Christians, and they also circulated letter written by apostles (such as Paul) and their followers. Also around that time some apostles and close followers of them began recording Gospels. Over time various communities preferred different texts, and by the 5^th century the canon of the New Testament was set basically to what we see today in the Catholic Church. Since the Reformation, some denominations have altered the canon a little, removing some things and placing varying degrees of doctrinal value on others, but all in all the Bible has reached the people of today through the Catholic Church, its texts painstakingly copied by hand throughout the centuries until the printing press.

Touching on the Reformation; this is for me a very painful time in Christian history. What once was one became two, three, and today the Body of Christ has been fractured into approximately 38000 denominations, the Catholic Church and those churches in communion with her remaining the largest by a large margin. Granted, there was the Great Schism which caused a great division between the East and West Church, but with the split did not come the radical alterations of doctrine and tradition that the Reformation would eventually see.

In a nutshell, as I understand it, the Reformation led by Martin Luther (an Augustinian monk before he broke his vows of poverty, chastity and obedience), was undertaken to address certain issues he had with the Church at the time, including indulgences (chiefly the perceived buying and selling of them), and the corruption of the clergy (quite a valid concern in some cases, but not all clergy were corrupt), but mainly the controversies surrounding indulgences. There are other issues that arose after this initial effort, such as a dislike of priestly celibacy and religious chastity, as well as papal authority, along with the theology of the Eucharist regarding transubstantiation; forgive me if I haven’t touched all the issues.

I agree with the need to reform the use and abuse of indulgences and corruption of the clergy, at the time. Luther’s brave case came at a necessary time in the Church’s history, but the issue was handled quite poorly on both sides. Some officials in the Church were unwilling to listen to anyone who would dare suggest anything of the like, and I believe that Martin Luther could have endeavored further to be faithful to his vow of obedience and patiently and appropriately sought to have his case heard. But it seems to me that pride on both sides ended up tearing the Church apart, a wound that to this day has not healed. But looking back at the things Luther had the biggest problems with and then looking at the Church today, I can’t help seeing that the necessary reformation of indulgences did come about (patience is a virtue, especially when reforming a worldwide, millennia-old Church), and there is much more oversight and monitoring of priests today. Granted, yes, there are still problems with corrupt clergy, but they are, as they always have been, the exception; priests and men studying to be priests (like myself) are not all child-molesters, despite the media’s attempt to portray us as such whenever a new scandal breaks. But every organization, be it a police force, the US Congress, or a school is prone to corruption from within, being that all human endeavors are staffed with sinners. Again, I look back at the main problems Luther had with the Church of almost 500 years ago and ask myself, “Why and what are they still protesting? When will they come home?”

Despite the great divisions seen since the Reformation, there are many traditions, some scriptural and some completely traditional, that remain in many denominations today. For example, the Our Father; not only do we see the prototypes of the prayer in the Gospels, but the form most Christians use in the world today was transmitted orally over time, through many different tongues and translations. I’ve found it interesting that most Christians do not pray the prayer as it is found in most Bibles; we pray what we learned from our parents and teachers. Either way, this prayer that is known by almost every Christian and beloved by them is, again, a gift of every Christian’s Catholic roots.

Other traditions include pews, stained glass windows, candles, the altar, liturgical vestments, church buildings, and the other “stuff” that many Christians see within their church and use in their celebrations. The sermon, the role of pastor, the pulpit; all of these things have been handed down. Some of these things were Christianized long ago, adopted from Jewish practices for example, but all have reached us through the Catholic Church.

However, the greatest gift of every Christian’s Catholic heritage is Jesus Christ himself. If the Catholic Church, the very same church that grew from the one established by Christ with Peter, propagated by him along with the other apostles, and further by their disciples and appointees, has guarded and made available the Gospel to all people throughout history. When the Reformation and other events in the Church’s history led to the division of Christ’s flock entrusted to Peter, the one thing that always without fail went with the departing group was the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Despite horrific persecution in her earliest years, despite every war and natural disaster since the life of Christ was put to paper, despite every effort anyone has made to rid the world of the most powerful message ever recorded, the Catholic Church has preserved Christ’s words for all peoples and all times.

Please, the next time you are on Revelife or talking about the Catholic Church, remember these things and all the rest, and show her and her members the dignity and respect they deserve or, in the very least, “love your enemies” (hopefully we are not considered such!). For all Christians owe the Church all that their faith tradition holds dear; you may as well hate your very own mother, if you decide to hate the Catholic Church! Certainly Catholics and other Christians do not see eye-to-eye on every issue, but we all have too much to be grateful for to show her disrespect, and certainly we should all at least be grateful enough for our Catholic heritage to show Christ’s love to each other, despite doctrinal differences.

I hope this post proves a little helpful, I hope it provokes much thought and promotes peace and love amongst all Christians here on Xanga. Revelife is a wonderful opportunity for Christian unity on an internet full of division. To all Catholics: love your brothers and sisters in Christ. To all other Christians: the same; remember your roots!

If anyone finds this Revelife-worthy, please let me know and let Revelife know! Rec and spread the word! And if ever anyone would like to know or try to understand anything about the Catholic Church, ask!

EDIT: I forgot to add the address of this beautiful video about the Church that has brought many people home. The actual website, www.catholicscomehome.org , is very good for people thinking of becoming Catholic, or for people who just want to learn more. Enjoy, and God bless!

http://www.catholicscomehome.org/epic/epic120.phtml

With the Timbers of the Cross, Christ Built His Church

(From the catechesis by St. John Chrysostom, bishop.)

If we wish to understand the power of Christ's Blood, remember where itcame from, how it ran down from the Cross, flowing from the Master's side. The Gospel records that when Christ was dead, but still hung on the Cross, a soldier came and pierced his side with a lance and immediately there poured out Water and Blood. Now the water was a sign of baptism and the Blood of the Holy Eucharist. The soldier pierced the Lord's side and breached the wall of the sacred temple, and I have found the treasure and made it my own. So also with the lamb; the Jews sacrificed the victim and I have been saved by it.

There flowed from his side Water and Blood.

Beloved, do not pass over this mystery without thought; it has yet another hidden meaning, which I will explain to you. I said that Water and Blood symbolized Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. From these two sacraments the Church is born: from Baptism, the cleansing water that gives re-birth through the Holy Spirit, and from the Holy Eucharist. Since the symbols of Baptism and the Eucharist flowed from his side, it was from his side that Christ fashioned the Church, as he had fashioned Eve from the side of Adam. Moses gave a hint of this when he tells the story of the first man and makes him exclaim: Bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh!

As God then took a rib from Adam's side to fashion woman, so Christ has given us Blood and Water from his side to fashion the Church. God took the rib when Adam was in a deep sleep, and in the same way Christ gave us the Blood and Water after his own death.

Do you understand, then, how Christ has united his bride to himself and what food he gives us all to eat?

By one and the same food we are both brought into being and are nourished. As a woman nourishes her child with her own blood and milk, so does Christ unceasingly nourish with his own Blood those to whom he himself has given life.

Holy Week

O come, O come Emmanuel,

and ransom captive Israel

that mourns in lowly exile here

until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel…

Oh hark now people of Jerusalem,

throw cloaks and palms under the feet of Him,

for soon His chosen hour will come

to rise and ready our heavenly home.

Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel has come to thee O Israel!

Watch as He takes into His hands the bread,

raising it above His regal head,

and then He offers up the cup-

His body and blood given unto us.

Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel!

Oh earth beneath His weary feet,

within the Garden drank ye vintage sweet

as in His agony He shed

His tears, His blood, O! precious drops of red!

Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel!

Then by the torchlight our Lord did spy

His friend who by a kiss did betray

Him to the law, an unjust arrest

of Christ, guilty only of innocence.

Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel!

Oh the tears that Peter wept

at knowing our Lord’s prophecy was kept

of his denying Jesus thrice

and oh the sobs that filled that sorry night!

Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel!

With cruelty they mocked and beat our Lord

and uttered not a single kindly word.

If only they knew you were King,

that you their souls were delivering!

Though mocked, though beat Emmanuel shall save thee, O Israel!

And still they mocked you at your trial,

false and unjust all the while.

Oh God, to think of you in chains

and suffering through all our mortal pains!

Away, away Emmanuel! Away you sent Him, Israel!

Even Rome in all her regal might

found you guiltless in her sight,

and even had you scourged; despite

all this the crowd wished you crucified!

“The cross, the cross, Emmanuel! The cross!” cried all of Israel!

So began that solemn Way

of the Cross, the price of Sin to pay.

‘twas not your debt, but out of your Love

you paid it to save every one of us.

O walk, O fall, Emmanuel! Oh see Him bear your sins, O Israel!

To that lonely hill you did bear

the burden of our sins with care,

and oh! the sound of nails driv’n

into the hands sent to us from heav’n!

Oh watch and see! Emmanuel is pierced for thee, O Israel!

Upon the cross they raised you high,

that all the world might see you and cry,

“O God of heaven, who am I

that for me your dear Son should die?”

O weep, O mourn! Emmanuel shall die for thee, O Israel!

Arms outstretched and heart open wide,

on that sad day the Son of God died.

Though all was given, a spear thrust

delivered the last of His blood to us.

O cry, O cry! Emmanuel has died for thee, O Israel!

Come, Mary, lay the fruit of your womb

into the dark and solitary tomb

and wait for the end of all pain

for in three days your Son shall rise again!

Lent- Giving Thanks, Not Giving Up

Lent is coming.

Or for many who are just getting to this on Wednesday, it is already here!

And there may be some who do not observe Lent.

Whatever the case may be, it has come. Who is giving up junkfood? *raises hand*

So many (including myself for many years) see Lent as a time to give something up, be it video games, junkfood, smoking, or they see it as a time to really crack down on exercise or making extra time for prayer. These are all really great things.

But since when was Lent basically the Christian New Year?

Lent has traditionally been a time of penance, when one is particularly mindful of their sinful nature and does their best to prepare themselves for the celebration of Easter. Giving up things like junkfood or drinking, as well as adopting a deeper practice and life of prayer, was seen as a discipline to help steel one against sinful tendancies and "make straight the way of the Lord" into a person's heart, to receive Christ anew and in a deeper way on Easter. This has been my understanding at least (and Lord knows I am no historian!).

In the last few years, though, I've come to look at Lent a little differently. Now, I certainly don't mean to belittle anyone for whatever their Lenten resolution might be, but I got to a point during novitiate when I wondered, "What the heck is the point?"

Seriously, how does giving up junkfood help me grow in my Christian life, if I'm just going to go to town on a pack of Peeps come Easter?

I would say, "It doesn't."

However, it can.

You see, Lent is not only a time to be mindful of one's sinful ways and to take a few weeks to work on that, but it is a time when we consider Christ's journey to the Cross. In the Catholic Church, all the Sunday readings start pointing toward Jerusalem, and we follow him week-by-week all the way to Palm Sunday, to the Triduum, the Cross. Lent, for me, is a stark reminder of Christ's sacrifice, and all this focus on my sinfulness is like being taken out to eat at a very expensive restaurant and getting a peek at the bill before the other person graciously pays for the whole thing. You get that sinking feeling in your gut like, "Shouldn't I be paying my share?"

But instead you are left sipping on the rest of your ice water while the other person stuffs a pile of bills into the little black wallet and pockets his copy of the receipt.

Lately in life I have come to see Lent as an opportunity to go to the cross with Jesus, suffering a little with him along the way. I find that you can give your Lenten resolutions a great deal of meaning if instead you offer them as sacrifices. So, whenever you are eating and someone asks, "Would you like dessert?" and you say, "No thank you," because you gave sweet up for Lent, instead of thinking, "Phew, that was easy," instead spend a moment in prayer and say something like, "Lord Jesus Christ, you have given up so much for me, more than I can ever repay. But I love you, and I want to repay you some how, so I offer you this small sacrifice in honor of and thanksgiving for the cross you bore and the death you suffered for my sake."

If we offer our little penances as sacrifices, we offer ourselves as gifts to Jesus Christ, which is part of what being a Christian is all about.

This Lent, I challenge all of us (myself included!) to, instead of merely "doing without," to "do with" a great deal of love. Let us try really hard (even if it is a sacrifice!) to love the other people in our lives as we ought, as our brothers and sisters, so that we don't spend Lent focusing on what I am giving up, but instead reminding ourselves of what He has given for all. Let us walk with him all the way to Golgotha so that, the tears of Good Friday having dried, we may rise with him to greet that glorious Easter sun.

Jesus Christ has given us all so much; let's try this Lent to give a little back.

Also, I would like to let you all know that I will not be on Xanga at all during Lent, not until Palm Sunday (April 5th). But I will be checking my email, so please, if there is anything you would like me to pray for during Lent, leave a comment and it will be emailed to me. You can come by any time during Lent and leave a comment, and I will bring your prayers into my own as soon as I see them. If they are personal, you can leave a comment asking me to message you, and I will get in touch as soon as I can. God bless all of you, and may your Lenten journey be with Christ!

Your brother in Him,

Jacob