This is evident as we continue praying the rosary to implore the Virgin Mary’s intercession and protection amid the coronavirus pandemic. At the Solemnity of Pentecost, Pope Francis has called all people to pray together to the Holy Spirit to renew the world and help all humanity to survive the pandemic (see his homily "The Mystery of the Spirit is Gift here)...
In his homily on Pentecost Sunday, he also referred to Jesus' departing words to his disciples "I will not leave you orphans." Read it here.
Among the sick and the elderly for whom we pray, those afflicted with cancer or other interminable diseases, need more prayer for hope that the Spirit of Jesus will heal them. In the events of my health complexities that I went through since my heart attack in May 1986, I realized that Jesus who loves me wants to give me life abundantly (see my post here). May the Holy Spirit renew our hearts as He did in creation. Fr. George Montague, SM, wrote “A spirit of love before the Lord was blowing (hovering) over the face of the waters.” This holy wind is not a part of the chaos, it is God’s motherly love conveying the promise of life, order, and beauty to what was of itself a mess. Because God’s spirit was hovering over it, chaos became promise. And so we recognize the relevance of this image for our own lives. At times we feel like our lives are a mess. There is no light, and we are floating about like a cork lost at sea. We try to fight it, to no avail. We try to flee, but there is no exit. What do we do? We fall on our knees and ask the Holy Spirit to hover over our mess, to embrace it lovingly and prepare it for the light of God’s word. If any of our chaotic depths surface, we then turn them over to the Lord. As the powerful but wordless Spirit of God prepared for God’s cosmic word, the Holy Spirit in our wordless prayer lovingly prepares our chaos for the word that will give shape and meaning to what made no sense before. The Spirit will show us how “God makes all things work together for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28).
In his homily on Sunday June 7, 2020, the Jesuit scholar Fr. Henri Boulad reflected on the power of the Holy Spirit that can affect nature (see it in French here)- He used a natural powerful phenomenon of a tornado in Chicago when he did his Master's degree in psychology some 50 years ago to describe the power of the Holy Spirit. He then referred to the Bible where the power of the Holy Spirit is described mainly at creation; and at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He was symbolically pictured as moving on water bringing life out of chaos at the beginning of creation (Genesis). This is why the Creed calls Him the "giver of life" physical, spiritual and eternal. The Holy Spirit inspired the prophets to utter the message of God and the Bible writers to write the message of God in the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Holy Spirit is called by Christ "The Spirit of Truth" for "He will guide you in all truth". So powerful is the Holy Spirit that the incarnation of God came about through His power and the cooperation of Mary the mother-to-be of Jesus. Jesus's public life started by the power of the Spirit who led him to the wilderness to be prepared for his Messianic mission and confirmed him in his baptism. Jesus calls him the Advocate for "When they bring you to trial and deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak but the Holy Spirit" (Mark 13, 11). It is said that God's relationship with Man can be traced in three ages based on how it is perceived: The Age of the Father since creation and His preparation of the Chosen People in the Old Testament to the coming of the Son, The Age of the Son since the incarnation of Christ to his Ascension, and the Age of the Holy Spirit from the time of Christ's sending of the Spirit at Pentecost to the end of the world. We live in the Age of the Holy Spirit. This does not mean that the Holy Spirit did not have a role in the Old Testament or in the life of Christ. In fact the Holy Spirit is always there; for He is the eternal love...
We know of the gifts of the Holy Spirit from the event of Pentecost when he came upon the disciples and they started speaking in languages.
St. Paul wrote "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:13).
There are many gifts of the Spirit, which we continue to see to-date, but what is more important here is his fruits. For example he brings joy to people. What is most significant is his work in each one of us to lead us into repentance. St. Augustine referring to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12), interpreted it in a non-literalist way. He wrote that the Holy Spirit urges us to repent day and night. Blasphemy is the continuous rejection of the Holy Spirit's urge for me to repent until death. This means that the Holy Spirit works always to bring us back to God. The most joyful description of the Holy Spirit is that he is "The Spirit of love." He signifies the essence not only of Christianity but of the Holy Trinity - God's inner life. This love is the eternal self-emptying (ecstasy) giving that the Father and the Son share. This binding force of self-emptying love is the Holy Spirit (St. Augustine). The Holy Spirit, since the beginning, has been working in every human, every tribe, every culture, and every civilization to bring them to the love of God. He chose the People of God to reveal to them himself (the fullness of light). However he has been giving a ray of this light to other religions, cultures and nations. In Christ alone, the fullness of light of the Spirit is revealed and a New Covenant is established through his body and blood which is the Church.
Today everyone needs to pray to the Spirit of God due to the pandemic. It is a sign of God's kingdom.
Great resources for learning more about quantum theory (and its relationship to a Trinitarian God)
There is an enormous corpus of talks, articles, commentaries, and youtube presentations focusing on one of the strangest discoveries of the 20th century: quantum mechanics and its startling attendant features, the principles of uncertainty and superposition. When you consult the resources identified in this post by Mr. George Farahat, be prepared to increase your understanding of how quantum mechanics has changed our understanding of reality, and how it relates to theology.
Two phenomenal lectures by two outstanding professors in two countries have enlightened research about the vast cosmos we live in and its quantum fields that penetrate every creature on earth.
The first is a lecture given by Professor Leo Kowenhoven at Delft University in the Netherlands, 2015 (here). In his talk, Professor Kowenhoven shows how nature itself works through quantum processes. He uses the example of a plant leaf which takes the light of the Sun. Through quantum superposition, electrons find a way to efficiently bind to the oxygen molecule, a process essential for human life. He goes on to explain how “qbits” are necessary in building quantum computers and reveals that he and his team have already made these “quantum bits” in the lab. Some of the most interesting ideas come near the end of the talk (starting around the 11th minute) when he lists the big challenges that super quantum computers can help solve, such as: more efficient energy use and storage, better airplane design, optimization for robotics, machine learning, and the use of nanotechnology in healthcare.
The second lecture, “The Real Building Blocks of the Universe” was given by Professor David Tong at Cambridge University in 2017. In a brilliant summary of quantum theory, he reveals that there are 16 “fields” that interact in a “harmonious dance.” Along the way, Tong also discusses Einstein's Theory of General Relativity (space-time flow), J. J. Thomson's discovery of the electron, Ernest Rutherford's model of the atom (a nucleus made of protons and neutrons with the lighter electrons moving around it), Faraday's discovery of electromagnetism, James Clerk Maxwell's work, Schrodinger's Wave-Particle Equation, Heisenberg's Principle of Uncertainty, and the thought-experiments of Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky, and Nathan Rosen.
Black holes and quantum theory
A great explanation of black holes, by a panel of experts found in this 2015 World Science Festival presentation, was delivered in the presence of the late British physicist and black hole expert, Professor Stephen Hawking. The presentation also explains the relationship between black holes and quantum theory.
Astonishment at quantum behaviour
In 1982, Alain Aspect and his team were able to experimentally prove that two photons emitted from the same atom will still be in contact tens of miles away. The reader may wish to listen to his lecture here, animated by his love for and “astonishment at” quantum behaviour.
Quantum theory and its relationship to a Trinitarian God
In the printed word, much of the material written by Sir John Polkinghorne, retired professor of mathematical physics at Cambridge University, is very informative and insightful. In one of his latest books, “Quantum Physics and Theology” (2008), he comments on how “relationship” is being discovered even at the subnuclear level:
“Quantum theory brought to light a remarkable form of entanglement between subatomic particles that have once interacted with each other (the so-called EPR effect), which implies that they remain effectively a single system however far they may subsequently separate spatially—a counterintuitive togetherness-in-separation that has been abundantly confirmed experimentally as a property of nature. The physical world looks more and more like a universe that would be the fitting creation of the trinitarian God, the One whose deepest reality is relational.” -Sir John Polkinghorne
Dr. Stephen Barr has written extensively on the relationship of quantum physics and theology as well. (See, for example, his article in First Things here).
What can we conclude?
The above resources reveal and help explain the 2 most important observations in quantum physics:
1. The probabilistic nature of particles which yields the Uncertainty Principle
2. The communication between particles at long distances (quantum entanglement)
From 2 above, we can say that everything must be in a relationship. In Christianity, the concept that God is relatedness or relational is found not only in Holy Scriptures (see for example 1 John 4:8; John 10:30; Col 1:15-19; Phil 2: 6-11; John 15), but also in doctors of the Church like St. Thomas Aquinas and, in our days, Bishop of Rome Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI.
If this is true, then we can say that the cosmos is signed by the stamp of the Triune God of Christians.
George Farahat holds a Masters degree in Information Systems and a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Engineering. He is a retired systems analyst who now uses his time to pursue numerous interests which include Biblical theology, anthropology, history of civilizations, and information technology. He regularly shares his insights on his blogspot Today’s Questions. The original post can be found here.
On the latest in quantum amazement, an in-depth talk was given by Prof. Sean Carroll at Caltech on May 5, 2020 which can be watched here. And an in-depth look at deep space including supermassive Black Holes can be traced here.
On Thursday June 11, 2020,at the Cathedral of the Transfiguration, the pastor Msgr. Makarios Wehbi and his assistant priests Fr. Michel Chalhoub and Fr. Youhanna Hanna celebrated the Divine Liturgy of Corpus Christi in the Greek Catholic parish with a number of choir members and others who served the parish. Here is one hymn
ان المسيح اذ احب خاصته - خميس الجسد (here).
To Fr. Rafic Greiche, our beloved pastor at St. Cyril's Greek Catholic parish in Heliopolis: Happy anniversary to you and all the parishioners in the feast of the patron Saint Cyril of Alexandria; a hero of the Church at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD.
And finally, the birthday of the beloved Most Reverend Jules Zerey was celebrated by his friends a couple of days ago. May the Lord grant him many more years to come.
Let us sing "O God beyond All Praising" here
O God beyond all praising,
we worship you today
and sing the love amazing
that songs cannot repay;
for we can only wonder
at every gift you send,
at blessings without number
and mercies without end:
we lift our hearts before you
and wait upon your word,
we honour and adore you,
our great and mighty Lord.
we worship you today
and sing the love amazing
that songs cannot repay;
for we can only wonder
at every gift you send,
at blessings without number
and mercies without end:
we lift our hearts before you
and wait upon your word,
we honour and adore you,
our great and mighty Lord.
Then hear, O gracious Saviour,
accept the love we bring,
that we who know your favour
may serve you as our king;
and whether our tomorrows
be filled with good or ill,
we'll triumph through our sorrows
and rise to bless you still:
to marvel at your beauty
and glory in your ways,
and make a joyful duty
our sacrifice of praise.
accept the love we bring,
that we who know your favour
may serve you as our king;
and whether our tomorrows
be filled with good or ill,
we'll triumph through our sorrows
and rise to bless you still:
to marvel at your beauty
and glory in your ways,
and make a joyful duty
our sacrifice of praise.
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