Today's Questions

The Prodigal Son in Us

2012-02-04T14:23:00.000-08:00

The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) can be contextually interpreted in view of today's conflicts and indeed in every generation and family. Traditionally the first son was the most important child in the family. He would carry the family’s progeny for generations. The ancients, like us, wanted to be eternal. A father would become eternal through his son. And his son too would become eternal through his own son. The first son is the first fruit of his parents and this is why he was dedicated to God by his parents in the Jewish tradition and most other traditions of the world.

Professor René Girard, a contemporary brilliant anthropologist, devised his Mimetic Rivalry Theory (which is now part of advanced research in universities), based on imitation that creates rivalry. If I and my brother love the same girl with passion, then we will imitate each other and eventually fall in rivalry! If I find that my brother took his share of inheritance and thought of himself alone, I would imitate him for the possession of what I believe is my money (which is scarce today) and psychologically at least I would wish to ruin him rather than receive him if he comes back in need of my help! I can understand why the elder brother was angry when his younger brother was given a welcome of a hero by his father. If I condemn the elder brother, I would be condemning the vast majority of humanity and of Catholics, including me, indeed. Christians today who think that because they follow the gospel are better than Non-Christians are acting like the elder brother.

If I follow Girard’s thought to the end, I will find rivalry by imitation where competition forces small businesses to lower their prices and thus lay off their employees. The large corporations do more harm to society by pressing consumers through sophisticated marketing tools to buy their products at the expense of small business and indeed be more efficient by using automated technology rather than human resources thus increasingly causing higher unemployment. For a fair society we need to understand reciprocity, equity, and collaboration as inherently needed for the human survival. A good book to read is Professor Peter Corning’s “The Fair Society” published in 2011.

Let’s now have a look at the lost son, a man who wasted all his money on “fun stuff” and prostitutes, then found himself needing to survive. His selfish conclusion was to go back to his father and only utter a few words of repentance in hope that his father will give him to eat in return for letting him work as one of the servants. I also find this son’s behaviour typical of any natural reaction to hardship. This is why people return to God only when they are faced with death, in hardship or in terminal sickness.

This is probably one of the reasons for the recent revolutions in the Middle East. Division is the result of revolutions. This is why I urgently called Christians to reunite under the leadership of the Pope of Rome. See http://www.todayquestions.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-christians-should-be-catholic.html

The only shocking action in the Parable is that of the father. Christ reveals the tender love of God, the Father of all, who not only welcomes his lost son but runs not minding his old age to meet him midway and kiss him. That would have been enough for the son to be reassured of the love he has in his father’s heart. The old father does not wait for his lost son, now found, to complete the sentence of asking forgiveness and immediately orders his servants to cloth him with the best and celebrate his return. It is the story of God's providence and love throughout history who rather than damning the sinful of his creation, He dared to look for the lost ones and run after them until they said yes to His abiding love.

The idea of God's universal love is progressively revealed in the Old Testament and clearly found in the teachings of Christ our God and Saviour and, following him, St. Paul, and St. John in the New Testament. The same idea runs through the Patristic writings including those of Origen and St. Augustine, and in Medieval theology in St. Bernard of Clairvaux and others as well as in St. Thomas Aquinas and beyond.

These works have been retrieved by the Jesuit theologian Henri de Lubac (and his students such as Jean Daniélou) whose movement of “Ressourcement” (i.e. bringing the sources) and writings since the 1940s contributed to the development of thought and drafting of the documents of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), and influenced Yves Congar, Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), Blessed John Paul II, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Karl Rahner and many great contemporary Catholic theologians.

God loves all and works in all through his Spirit, the Spirit of his Son throughout the ages. It is up to us, Christians, to respond to the grace of God, spread the truth of Christ, and show the love we receive without merit by our actions and thoughts, in family, work, church, and society as did the saints; for although God offers salvation freely, only in cooperating with his grace can it be realized in us.

God is at work since the beginning of history; for God wills that fallen humans be saved and have eternal life even though it cost him his life on the cross at the hands of his beloved creatures. He always forgives not only on the cross but also in his own Resurrection. See how he responded to Thomas who doubted. And in the long history of humanity, God worked in civilizations as for example converting the hard Gothic tribes to accept the Christian faith and become more human in the 5^th century; and in a harder lesson for Christians, having seen Christian divisions in the 5^th century, he did not abandon them - God worked in the Assyrian Dyophysite Christians who separated from the Catholic Church after the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD and the Syrian Miaphysite Christians who separated from the Catholic Church after the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD. In spite of their afflictions, these faithful in Syria and Iraq lived with the Islamic conquests in the 7^th century and produced such giants as St. John of Damascus whose writings greatly influenced the Latin Catholics in Medieval Europe. They also translated the Greek philosophy of Aristotle to Arabic. Arabs took these translations and studied Aristotle whose writings then reached the Moors, an Islamic civilization in Spain, and there they were translated again to Latin. These works now in Latin fell in the hands of St. Thomas Aquinas. Saint Thomas used Aristotle to build a renewed Christian philosophy that opened the way to exploration of the natural world which developed in the scientific age.

In spite of the conflicts and sins so abundant in the world, God still loves us in Christ. Indeed, everyone who is ever saved is saved through Christ alone, and according to Dominus Iesus, published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith in 2000 “The Church is the ‘universal sacrament of salvation’ (Vatican II, Lumen gentium 48), since, united always in a mysterious way to the Saviour Jesus Christ, her Head, and subordinated to him, she has, in God's plan, an indispensable relationship with the salvation of every human being. For those who are not formally and visibly members of the Church, ‘salvation in Christ is accessible by virtue of a grace which, while having a mysterious relationship to the Church, does not make them formally part of the Church, but enlightens them in a way which is accommodated to their spiritual and material situation. This grace comes from Christ; it is the result of his sacrifice and is communicated by the Holy Spirit’ (John Paul II, Redemptoris missio, 10) it has a relationship with the Church, which ‘according to the plan of the Father, has her origin in the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit’(Vatican II, Ad gentes, 2)”.

May we all listen to that voice that moved the Prodigal Son into his father’s arms and trust in his love.

Bishop Ibrahim: How to build the Church

2012-01-20T22:21:00.000-08:00

We asked Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim, Bishop of the Melkite Catholic Church in Canada, how he was able to build the Cathedral in Montreal which cost $10 million dollars. The answer came with a story of a visit he made to the pastor of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the area Fr. Arsanios. The late priest said to Most Reverend Ibrahim that when he wanted to build the church, he was faced with an impossible task: the Church council objected to the project that would cost $6 million when they had only $36,000. The bank told the priest that a loan was not justifiable. Then Rev. Arsanios said to the bank and the council: My father is very rich – He will supply. The remark about “Our Father in heaven” ringed in our ears. “Since I felt that faith I have never lost it – I am never worried.” The impeccably enthusiastic bishop said last night at Jesus the King Church. Here he was teaching the flock! Everything we have is a gift from God, he resounded. “Everyone is given talents which can and should be invested to serve the other – Not only bishops or priests are called to the priesthood; for we all have a share in the priesthood of Christ” echoing the authentic teaching of the Church expounded in Vatican II. Then, in a moment of sheer greatness - the greatness of humility, he turned to the parents and to the young youth who came to hear him and said in a bold voice: It is true that the Church needs the youth, but it is also true that the youth need the Church. “Without you the Church will have no future, but remember too that without the Church you will have no future.” A silent moment went on as if I was gazing into eternity! Then Bishop Ibrahim gave the final word that every young Christian must remember and every parent must teach his children. He said “We are not a social club but the Apostolic Church that fed many generations for 2,000 years – There is absolutely no comparison between what each one of us can give and what the mother of all has given and continues to give!” This was a word that we all needed to hear. Bishop Ibrahim built the Church by establishing many activities for the young and the younger then built the Cathedral. He said his dream is to build the Melkite Church, a strong Church, everywhere there are Melkites in Canada, that will carry the great tradition into this land. This was indeed a word that we all needed to hear. It is up to this community to remember his word, cherish it, and invest her talents to enthusiastically build the Church. By the way, enthusiasm comes from the original “en” which means “within” and “Theou” which means “God.” The enthusiasm which Bishop Ibrahim expressed meant he carried within him “God!”

The Quest for Christian Unity

2012-01-12T16:06:00.000-08:00

Although Christian unity is urgently needed, there is little hope that it will materialize soon. One of the major stumbling blocks is rivalry between ecclesial jurisdictions of patriarchs and bishops who each claims to have the sole right of leading the community in the same city. An example may suffice: In Egypt, there are three patriarchs - the Coptic Orthodox Pope; the Greek Orthodox Patriarch; and the Coptic Catholic Patriarch. Although the Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches and the Non-Chalcedonian Churches (including the Coptic Orthodox Church) have signed agreements since 1989 that they share the same doctrines and have the same fasts, they are still not yet one Church. As for relations with the Coptic Catholic Church, tension continues to exist between Coptic Catholics and Coptic Orthodox Christians in spite of mutual visits between the heads of both and agreements between the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church.

In fact, all the major schisms in Christian history were partly caused by rivalry. The divisions which arose from the 5th century show rivalry for precedence between three main Sees of Christendom: Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch. The 11th century Great Schism between the See of Rome and the See of Constantinople was probably caused by a rift of estrangement in their respective cultures but was nevertheless a matter of rivalry.

The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches reached a reunion in two Councils: The Council of Lyons I (1274) and the Council of Florence (concluded in 1445). However, the reunion fell upon the collapse of Constantinople to the Muslim Ottomans in 1453 since the military aid promised by Catholics did not help the Greek Orthodox in defending the city.

If we look at the world from our human perspective then we will surely be disappointed by the continuous failures of us Christians to be like Christ.

An Inspiration

2012-01-04T19:15:00.000-08:00

I am unable to forget the man who inspired generations by his example. Paul Antaki who passed away a week ago is the man. His practice of virtues to a heroic level include humility, discernment of the spirits, and self-sacrifice. Many of the people who knew him recounted how he spoke of himself as Fr. Paul Antaki when he was already a bishop. He never made a public appearance for self-promotion - a lesson for other bishops. He always sat among others, not above them. I recall that Paul Antaki is the one who, by the grace of God, introduced me to my new life with my partner for life my wife. As I knew her through activities in the Supreme Council of the Melkite Youth in Egypt, I cannot forget that he was the inspiration and creator of the Council and the instrumental agent of God who through such activities brought many men and women to marriage in the Church. He blessed our engagement in 1979 and on April 25, 1982, he presided over our wedding at St. Cyril in Heliopolis. Before immigrating to Canada, Archbishop Paul Antaki encouraged us with the words: May your departure to Canada be a seed of renewal in the life of Christians in the land of Canada. He knew about the secular atmosphere that was becoming anti-Christian in Canada. In his discernment, he gave us powerful advice hardly matched by other spiritual leaders. He encouraged and worked himself in retreats with young adults to prepare them for their vocations. His work was fruitful in the many souls he sent to sacramental marriage and to sacramental priesthood. Of a high class socially, he never condescended but on the contrary appreciated what is good and positive in everyone and everything. Moderate in his outlook, he moved people who knew him to serious active life tempered by moderation for the glory of God whom he loved. In my work under his guidance, I can testify to his active work with lay movements in the Catholic Church and to his spirit of moderating openness with commitment to Tradition. If I can ascribe St. Augustine's words "Be moderate in everything except in love" to anyone's work, it is to Paul Antaki's.

His self-sacrifice has been attested to by many witnesses. Among them, we count my brother Dr. Samir Farahat, FRCP (ENT) who took him to other specialists for his hurting knee. When asked by doctors about how many times does he climb stairs a day, his response was: 30 times. Samir asked him why? The archbishop replied that he visited many parishioners everyday which required him to climb up many stairs! On the ecumenical front, Archbishop Antaki was always receptive of dialogue. In 1971, he invited Archbishop Paul Minas of the Antiochine Greek Orthodox Church to give a lecture in the Patriarchal residence that I attended. In 1972, when Patriarch Shenouda III Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church declared that he will not tire until there is one Church in Egypt, Archbishop Paul Antaki responded in his homily at St. Cyril's Church saying "Our hearts danced when we heard these words"! May Paul Antaki be a star in heaven as he was on earth leading the Pilgrim Church to Christ!

Paul Antaki The Great

2011-12-30T20:48:00.000-08:00

We are saddened by the passing away of the holy archbishop, and dean of all Greek Melkite Catholic bishops, Paul Antaki in Cairo, Egypt. Our consolation is that he will now intercede before Christ in heaven for everyone and especially for the suffering ones on Earth and in Purgatory. Paul Antaki was a great example for me personally and for many other people of several generations especially in his deep commitment to the Church, living spirituality, commitment to the young adults, vocations to the priesthood, and extreme humility coupled with extraordinary capacity for self-sacrifice which he practiced unceasingly. I recall his letters to me since I arrived in Canada which he signed as Fr. Paul Antaki and his constant encouragement. I do not know much about the iron person Paul Antaki who managed to earn the respect and love of everyone I know he knew. But this is what little I know: After serving as a priest director of the Patriarchal College, he worked tirelessly in the parishes of Alexandria and Cairo. At the young age of 42, he was elevated to the ranks of bishops by the synod headed by Patriarch Maximus V in 1968 to be General Patriarchal Vicar on the See of Alexandria, Egypt and Sudan. Many pastoral visits to the parishes in all of Egypt and Sudan followed his installation. In 1971, I requested my first meeting with him in which it became apparent to me that this man was truly a man of ecumenical breadth and commitment to dialogue with the Orthodox Churches. He was enthusiastic about the youth and actively managed their activities in the Melkite parishes in Egypt and Sudan. I worked under his direction in the Catholic Apostolic movements and conferences held from 1972 which brought together some highly intellectual Catholics and the Catholic youth. In January 1978, he inaugurated the first youth meeting with the Patriarch and soon asked me to lead the new Supreme Council of Melkite Youth (university and older) in Egypt which I served for one year. Three times he called me to the priesthood and three times I declined, but he never gave up on the youth. In 1984 he accepted to be my guest for a few days when he visited Toronto, Canada. Archbishop Antaki visited Toronto again in 1990, celebrated Mass at our home, and at St. Luke Roman Catholic Church (used at the time by Melkite Catholics in Toronto.) As always, his presence meant a special occasion to my family and to the many other friends who knew him.

In 2002, Archbishop Paul Antaki resigned as Patriarchal Vicar in Cairo due to reaching the age of 75 but remained a spiritual director for many people and was followed by Archbishop Joseph Jules Zerey who is today the General Patriarchal Vicar on the See of Jerusalem. When the choir director Joseph Homsy passed away, I informed him of the sad news and he immediately contacted the Homsy families with condolences. Many other stories come to mind about how this man of God implanted a great spiritual plant in Egypt, but I will leave them to another post. To the Greek Melkite Catholic Church together with all its bishops, priests, orders and faithful all over the world, the passing away of Paul Antaki is a moment for celebration and not for sending condolences since I believe heaven is now celebrating the arrival of this humble servant. I am confident that Paul Antaki will be elevated to the ranks of the blessed as John Paul the Great. As he is a great Christian, I wish, therefore, to call him Paul Antaki the Great!

Is this the last Christmas in Jerusalem?

2011-12-26T10:33:00.000-08:00

In view of this year’s developments in the Arab world, we need to understand the crisis that Christians are facing in the Middle East. First: Let us go back to the roots of Christianity. How were the early Christians able to spread Christ’s message with power from the Holy Land to the Roman world and eastbound to India? The Church was born in Jerusalem and so too was the Council of the Apostles held. Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Council opened the Church to the Gentiles and, by the same Spirit, 1900 years later Vatican II Council opened the Catholic Church to other Christians in the world. While the Apostles were one, today’s Apostolic Churches are not. Christians in the Middle East suffer because of divisions mainly between Catholic Christians and Orthodox Christians. As we approach the year 2012 and in this Christmas, let’s pray for an Ecumenical Council convoked by the Pope that would invite Catholic and Orthodox bishops to participate and therefore seek to unite all Catholics and Orthodox of the world. In the 50^th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II, this step would not only protect Christians in the East from violent fundamentalism but also Christians in the West from atheism. And, above all, it would resound the prayers of the early Christians “Come O Lord” (Revelation 22: 20). Second: To preserve Christian presence in the Middle East and guarantee their human rights to freely practice their religion, let’s recall the message of the Holy Father on January 1^st this year in which he asked for the protection of Christians in the Middle East. Since then he implored us many times to support those poor and suffering Christians in the region. Charity demands us to help them financially and spiritually.

As evidence for the demand of helping those needy people, recent findings in anthropology point to the development of reciprocity since the earliest human tribal societies. Reciprocity entails trade of goods for the benefit of my nation and yours. It results in collaboration of economies for the survival of all. Anthropologists found evidence too for self-sacrifice for the survival of the community which reminds us of the sacrifices that love requires. Total selfless love springs from Christ alone “who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”(Phil 2: 6-11). It is in this spirit that the early Christians shared everything (Acts 2: 44).

While many Christians dedicate much of their time and money in charitable works, the world needs more of them and their charity to spread the good news of Christ. This reminds us that we must do like the widow whom Christ praised. She was not praised for how much she gave but for how much of her survival need she gave. It is the free response to God’s grace, which is love, that matters. Everyone can generously support the above causes by giving from his heart in spite of the global economic crisis. In Jerusalem started Christ’s mission; and to Jerusalem He must come back. Every time, we sacrifice for our suffering brothers in the lands that carried the first Christian mission to the world, we share in the Christian hope of blessing on the Day of the Lord by the Judge and God of all. And while Christmas is here, it is not enough for Christians to worship Christ in their Churches. We must worship him too in our actions of good will towards the least of His brothers.

Fear Not!

2011-12-21T18:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, my colleague who works at Microsoft left me a message that she would not be able to come to my office today because her husband had a cat-scan done and was called by his physician to go see the physician this morning. And she wanted to be with her husband when he receives the “surprise” news about his health status. That was fine with me. After all, she was coming today to teach me new things about Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. I could wait but she, her husband, and the doctor could not possibly wait. Fear was taking over and with fear the expectation of patients and their families worsens. Today she called me to say that they visited the doctor and are relieved to know that her husband has only a tumour in one of his kidneys and the doctors want to do more tests. At least for her and her husband they can enjoy this Christmas. I will see her in a week. But then I will tell her about fear and the way God overcomes fear in us!

My personal experience with illness started since 1986, the year when I had a mild heart attack, the replacement of the aortic valve with a mechanical valve and a double bypass surgery in 1987, followed by my enlarged prostate in 2001, aortic aneurysm found in 2002, kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma) treated with a partial nephrectomy surgery in 2005, and stroke in 2007 following my prostate surgery in Montreal.

May 12, 1986, I recall waking up in the middle of night, having heard a coarse voice mocking me in my dream along with my father’s tender voice to go to the hospital. I was having severe angina. At Toronto General Hospital Dr. Michael Sole, FRCSC, at the time research director, professor of medicine at U of T, and later chief cardiologist at TGH, diagnosed my case: a mild myocardial infarction (heart attack) due to an enlarged aorta and a thickening of the blood arteries. The aortic problem damaged my aortic valve and enlarged my heart. He warned us that without the replacement of the aortic valve, I would die within 2 years. On January 13, 1987 I underwent a successful heart surgery: aortic valve replacement with a mechanical valve and double bypass surgery carried out by Dr. Hugh Sculley, at the time an icon in valve replacements. The mechanical valve required me to take daily an anticoagulant called coumadin, to prevent formation of blood clots on the valve. From 1987 to 2001 I was followed up regularly by my family general practitioners Dr. Alyanak to 1993, and from 1993 Dr. Shields - both at Mount Sinai Hospital (by the way, Dr. Shields was recognized for 50 years excellent services by the Hospital). From 1987 to 1992 I was seen by Dr. Sole once a year who informed me that another mild heart attack may have occurred in February 1987. But overall the valve was working fine, and from March 1987 there has been no change in my heart. I have been doing an echocardiogram every year to check the valve and the aorta. In late 1990s due to an enlarged prostate I started doing the PSA blood test which could indicate whether there is any malignant tumor. In January 2002, Dr. Shields surprised me that my PSA is fine but an X-ray shows my aorta enlarged. He immediately consulted Dr. Sole whom I saw in March of the same year. Dr. Sole’s echocardiogram report said that there is an aortic enlarged aneurysm of 6-7 cm and being alarmed he sent me in the same day to Dr. Sculley to have a an aorta repair surgery in less than a week (I knew later that Dr. Sole was top student at Harvard medical school). In meeting with Dr. Sculley, I asked him to postpone the surgery for a couple of months to allow me to participate in the graduation ceremony of my son Christian from St. Michael’s Choir school at the end of June 2002. Dr. Sculley agreed. I personally did not want to go through another heart surgery so I started calling Dr. Sculley in August, but he was already having a problem with his hands that eventually prevented him from performing any surgery. My file was then transferred to Dr. David, known as the greatest heart surgeon in Toronto and one of the top in North America. In my first meeting with Dr. David, he explained that this is not my first heart surgery, and that it is complicated by the fact that the aortic aneurysm is in the ascending aorta. He gave me a survival chance of 60-70%. I said “Thank you but no. I would rather not do it.” In mid 2004, Dr. Shields following on my enlarged prostate found a strange thing in the left kidney based on the ultrasound test and decided to send me to a urologist from Mount Sinai by the name of Dr. Juda. Dr. Juda sent me for more medical tests and when the results came back, he diplomatically announced to us that there is probably a cancer in my left kidney and he said “I am sending you to a top shotgun-Dr. Jewett at Princess Margaret Hospital”. Dr. Michael Jewett, FRCSC, is probably the top urology surgeon in Toronto. He is professor of surgery at U of T and a top researcher with 188 papers on prostate cancer and other urology illnesses. He was Chairman of urology at U of T and head of urology at UHN. Dr. Jewett said he was sure I have renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer) in the left kidney that required removal but refused to perform the surgery since I have a large aortic aneurysm. I went back to Dr. Shields hoping to convince Dr. Jewett or find an alternative surgeon. He did! But Dr. Jewett first offered the services of one of his students to perform it laparoscopically. The answer was no by the surgeon so I returned to Dr. Jewett. On January 25, 2005, I had my partial nephrectomy surgery performed by Dr. Jewett himself. He removed 40% of my left kidney to ensure that no cancer will spread. Since then I did a yearly check-up on the kidney. After my check-up this year Dr. Jewett said I need not do another check-up until 2013. While recovering from the surgery in 2005 I had bleeding from the kidney due to my anticoagulant. It took me back to the hospital for another 20 days. In April 2006 I had the first urinary tract obstruction due to my enlarged prostate. On and off using a catheter, I asked Dr. Jewett about any procedure that would relieve it. He said they do in Toronto the traditional TURP surgery which carries a risk of bleeding, but a new method called HoLEP is used by Dr. El-Helali, a top prostate surgeon, in Montreal. I went to see Dr. El-Helali in May 2007 and had my prostate surgery at Royal Victoria Hospital performed by Dr. El-Hilali on July 10. His assistant urged me to take my anticoagulant which I had stopped before the surgery as required but I thought that I do not need bleeding in Montreal. “I will come back to Toronto in 3 -4 days and can then restart my anticoagulant.” On July 18, 2007 I felt dizzy- My wife Samia called 911 and immediately they transferred me to North York Hospital. I was treated there from stroke. They said that a clot formed on the mechanical aortic valve when I did not take my anticoagulant. It travelled to the brain and caused the stroke. Thanks to God, it was a microembolism. My speech became slightly slurred and my writing became difficult but other than that I had full memory, comprehension, and all the motor functions intact. The stroke however reset my systolic blood pressure to less than 100. My beta blocker had to be reduced which caused my heart beats to go over 90 per minute. It also caused me stress and resulted in extra heart beats. I was seen by Dr. Sole in early October. He did an electrocardiogram to check my heart, an echocardiogram to check the aortic aneurysm, and a holter monitor to check my extra beats. He saw me again in November and did a blood pressure monitor to ensure my blood pressure is not hypotensive. The results were amazing: My electrocardiogram showed no change in the heart electricity since 1987. My echocardiogram showed no heart failure, and no change in the aortic aneurysm. It is even less, measuring 5.8 cm. My holter monitor showed that my extra beats are benign. They are the type that results from stress and eventually they disappeared. My blood pressure monitor showed my blood pressure is exactly what it should be – not hypotensive that could induce a stroke, and not hypertensive that could cause cerebral hemorrhage -about 105-65.

Dr. Sole said to me “You fell on the right side” The stroke has corrected the risk of my aneurysm rupturing.

And Dr. Sole said this to me “God is smiling on you”!

Dr. Sole did another echocardiogram and an electrocardiogram last year. He was amazed that the aortic valve is working fine; both cardiograms showed a stable heart with no heart failure.

When I look back at 25 years of illness, I am amazed that not only have I survived the 2 years ultimatum for an enlarged heart, but also survived the kidney cancer, the dangerous aortic aneurysm, and the stroke. Everything worked together to give me life, even though I did not deserve it. My great sins and pride did not stop the hand of God to work through those genius physicians. In all these events, God intervened to rescue me from death. As he worked through physicians he also works through many more.

The cause is simple: God loves. Christ loves. I cannot fail today 4 full years after the stroke, to recognize the miracle that God has worked for 25 years in my body. I am a living miracle. But the greater miracle remains...”Fear Not” Christ said; for when there was a storm he calmed it and when there was sadness he overcame it.

What can I say today to my colleague from Microsoft? Fear Not – He is there! Blessed be the name of Christ.

Poverty in the Church

2011-12-20T15:59:00.000-08:00

While many middle-class people are struggling with the global economic recession and the loss of jobs in Europe, the U.S. and Canada, I can only offer prayer that the hierarchy of bishops in the Catholic Church, and leaders of other Christian Communions, share more in the suffering of their people. An example in the footstep of Christ, who had no place to rest his head on, is for the bishops starting with the Pope to relinquish some of their palaces, houses, red silk garments, and honour guards and give the proceeds to the new poor. This will be only a symbolic gesture on the part of the high authority in the Church for we know that the Catholic Church spends much on the causes of poverty and education. But it will be a signal to atheists who continue to find wrongs in every thing that the Church does.

Moreover, Vatican II gave priority to the poor. In gesture after gesture, the saintly Pope Paul VI gave up his "Tiara" following in the footsteps of his predecessor Blessed John XXIII who made it a tradition that the Pope would receive other dignitaries in the Vatican standing with them on equal footing or almost. Blessed John Paul II showed much humility when he celebrated his own coronation by offering wine to his colleagues the bishops going around the table and serving them! Of particular concern to me is the way Eastern Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs still hold on to crowns and display of honorary icons on their chests! Some Protestant leaders in the U.S. display gold rings and expensive suits while continuing to ask for donations on TV! I hope I am proven wrong. The example comes always from the top! Preaching, although necessary, is not enough!

The Development of Knowledge

2011-12-01T17:34:00.001-08:00

Why is knowledge important?

Why is knowledge important? Because without knowledge we remain content with ourselves and we would, therefore, stagnate. According to the accepted Theory of Evolution, the long evolution of life required creatures to adapt to the environment. As humans we would not have been here had our human ancestors not adapted to the difficult life they faced. From the cave-man to today’s civilization, survival remains a challenge. In a simple phrase, we stand on the shoulders of giants: philosophers and scientists who not only pioneered methods of understanding, learning, and discovery but also invented new products that made our lives easier. Humans have larger brains than other creatures. The larynges in humans allow them to utter words - they are able to speak in languages which are a symbolic way of expressing themselves, their experiences and their thoughts. Since humans have memory they are able to remember and record their experiences. Thinking in abstract developed in mathematics. Reflecting on human experience developed in arts. Archeologists found artistic paintings in the caves of Lascaux in France dated 18,000 years ago.

Deeper Knowledge?

But with all the above developments in knowledge, we still miss the most important knowledge: Knowledge of the Other. Knowledge becomes a relationship that requires two persons or more to share it. It then becomes deeper in feelings of wonder, passion, and achievement. Yet it still gets deeper in collaboration for survival together. Notice the word: together. The human race becomes a multitude not only by reproduction as in other animals but also in making tribes and nations.

Here is very briefly what I think based on my studies. This is only my opinion and needs to be ratified by the Catholic Church for its truth:

God worked throughout history in his creation to bring them closer to him. The story of Adam and Eve sheds light on the fruitful work of God. He who did not need anyone freely created the universe and life so that his love may be manifested and at last his own image his Son, the Second Adam, may save man and bring creation to his Father and offer it in his act of selfless love. "Adam knew Eve" did not mean that he knew her name or her feelings or even had sex with her but it meant that he knew her in the way she is - in her depth. Flesh from his flesh and blood from his blood. Blood is the symbol of life. He loved her as she is and this is why they begot their children in their conjugal act - Life from life and love from love. This is the fruitful work of God. This was the first Covenant, a covenant between Adam and Eve blessed by God. Knowledge is not only a mental act. It is deeper. It points to the relationship in which everyone gives himself to the other. And when we give ourselves to God, we mean, like Christ, to love God with all our hearts and minds and strength, literally to give him all we are - Not only all we have but all we ARE even as we die. For without death there is no life. And the life Christ gave us is the eternal life in the Trinity - God. We need to imitate Christ in his love, not only of his own people the Jews, but of strangers too - Samaritans and Gentiles in the land of Canaan, and not only of strangers but also of his enemies. He forgave both Jews who shouted “Crucify him” and Gentiles who executed Pilate’s orders even when they conspired to kill him on the cross. His enormous sufferings of being abandoned and his enormous sufferings of physically being tortured, flogged, crowned with thorns, crucified, and shot with a spear in the heart while his mother was watching him are the sufferings of God himself who would not accept less than death for the life of humankind. To know God is to know Christ, who is God in the flesh, among us. And to know Christ is to love him as he loved us.

An Introduction?

The story of the development of knowledge is much more interesting than what you see here. In a few months you should be able to purchase my book “An Introduction to the Development of Knowledge” from Amazon.com and many other bookstores in Canada and the U.S. In the book, I build on the findings in physics from subatomic particles to huge galaxies in the universe, and the latest in quantum physics. Of more interest you will read in the book about the development and research in information systems, artificial intelligence, economics, anthropology, neuroscience and psychology. But more to the point you will find some fascinating works in man’s search for God since the beginning of civilizations, God’s self revelation to man and man’s response to God throughout history. Lastly, the development of knowledge is a fascinating story for it is your story and mine - the story of God’s love unfolding in the lives of creation.

The story of God’s love for man culminates in Christ with whom we are “entangled” for it is impossible after we indeed know him that we could not be in love with him.

Why Have You Abandoned Me?

2011-11-19T09:36:00.000-08:00

Why have you abandoned me? Why do not you come any more to visit me? I am here imprisoned in the altar and hardly see anyone of you. I am like the lonely parents whom you do not visit anymore. You come only to ask me a favour or insult my generosity with your fighting in my church. Or you sit in my house laughing with each other and uttering lowly jokes without any respect for my presence. You come to my house and forget to pray to me although you know that I created you and nurtured you. You sit around my house playing cards or gossiping when I am here suffering your abandonment. If I did not love you, you would not be judged. If I did not offer you your eternal joy, you may be justified in denying me. But you know that I loved you and continue to love you. You know that I suffered and died so that you can live. You know that I give you myself everyday in the Eucharist. Yet you receive my blood and body when it suits you without confession and without repentance. You ungrateful children, how long can I bear your intransigence? Wake up for the enemy is going around to swallow you. I am the Alpha and the Omega. Come to me.

The Power of Christianity

2011-11-17T19:33:00.000-08:00

Fear and hope drive every human person. This is my basic theory. It is out of fear that the child in his very early age clings to his mother, for he needs to survive. He depends on his mother and surroundings to be nourished but above all to be protected from any predator. The little smile of his mother brings him comfort but he is most comfortable when he knows that he is loved by her. Expand this notion to families, tribes, nations and the world. You will see the same model. Anxiety is at its highest when I know that I am threatened in my survival. The global economic hardship experienced today is a story about humans whose needs for survival are crushed by others who have followed their selfish greed.

And the reverse is true. I am happy when I experience the love of someone else especially if that person is powerful enough to protect me. When I was a child I was protected by this tender love of my mother. I love her because she loved me first. She actually sacrificed for me so much that I still love her even after she passed away. Is this not the most valuable thing in my memory? Let’s move this thought forward. How much is love sufficient? Can someone love me unconditionally like my mother? Of course she loved me because I am her natural offspring. This is the natural phenomenon which neuroscientists keep talking about. Certain hormones in the brain such as oxytocin help the mother bond with her child.

I must love myself. By this I mean that I always need to satisfy my survival needs. Beyond my love of myself, my love of my mother and my father is a response to their enormous sacrifices for my life. This response is manifested in many ways but at least it is manifested in my attitude to trust them, respect them and pray for them. As we grow together (the environment) and as we have many similar traits (genetics), I am open to love my brothers and sisters. One problem is sibling competition which can bring about envy since each one wants to get ahead and possess the greatest good for himself. The Biblical story of Cain and Abel is an example and so is the envy exhibited by Jacob’s sons towards their younger brother Joseph. Many questions have been raised about mimetic violence in family, community, and among nations. The more we have pride and envy the more we want to crush the other. My imitation of my model can turn me into an envious person. See the contemporary writings of René Girard in his Mimetic Theory. Predation is, in a way, the history of all creatures but only humans have enough intelligence to recast this evolution into a cultural development of respect and love.

From another angle too, it has been found by anthropologists that collaboration between men goes back to the cave-man. Reciprocity of goods is stronger than enmity. It develops in trades between tribes until it reaches mutual defence against a common enemy. Survival becomes a collective enterprise. You may wish to read “The Fair Society” by Peter Corning. In spite of violence, Steven Pinker traces evidence of the decrease of violence in the history of Western human societies and others. Altruism which is the self-sacrifice for the benefit of the community is also found not only in humans but other creatures, such as birds, as well. This has been documented in many writings for over 2 decades.

Love is the epitome of values. It is the reason why we miss the people we love. But it also demands self-sacrifice. Love is the highest norm of every true civilization.

What amazes me is the Christ event. Regardless of any culture or religion, Christ showed by action and teaching that love is not only possible towards my people, but also towards the strangers and above all towards my enemies. But Christ pushes the limit to eternity. He loved his disciples, his fellow Jews, the strangers whether in Canaan or Samaria, and his enemies who crucified him and killed him. And the fruit of his love has been the spreading of his good news. The Gospel only tells us a little about Christ, and this is why we attempt to follow those who imitated him: the Church of the apostles, martyrs, and saints. Christianity did not survive only because of emperors embracing it but mainly because many followed Christ and dared to imitate him in building a huge civilization of learning. For we all must learn and continue to learn what he illuminated the world with: Love.

As for hope, it is characteristic of human persons since humans are endowed with unique intelligence and memory. If you can remember who you are, you surely want to live eternally without the minimum suffering. But true hope is more than selfish hope - because if you love others you want them to be with you. Heaven is a state of joy where all lovers and beloved are together. According to the law of non-contradiction, it is impossible to hate whom you love. From a Christian perspective, according to the late Richard John Neuhaus, faith is hope anticipated and hope is faith disposed toward the future.

If, according to the New Testament, God is Love, then God must love another in order to be love in His essence. According to the Biblical revelation, God wills that everyone be saved. He creates out of love and saves out of love. The Trinity can be perceived although never comprehended. According to St. Augustine, God the Father begets His Son eternally in selflessly loving Him. The Son loves the Father too. The bond of this eternal love from the Father to the Son and from the Son to the Father is the Holy Spirit. Modern theologians look to Christology “from below” in order to reference everything from the humanity of Christ. The idea is not flawed since he who is eternally begotten from the Father was born by the power of His Spirit from the Virgin Mary in time. Taken from this direction, if Christ brings humanity to God, it follows that he is God incarnate otherwise he would not have been able to save any human person.

Such is the beauty of Christ and Christianity! Today we need Christ and His Church more than ever!

Thérèse of the Child Jesus - The greatest saint in modern times

2011-11-12T16:23:00.001-08:00

"Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19: 14)

If we literally analyse the above statement of Jesus in the Gospel, we conclude that children will be in heaven. This tells us that people who have a child-like trust in God as children do with their parents, will enter heaven, or rather heaven will grow in them.

But what makes Thérèse the greatest saint in modern times? She did not perform any miracle in her life. She did not have the stigmata nor was she able to penetrate other people’s hearts. She was not a prophet, nor a teacher. She did not even see people but was a cloistered nun in a simple convent in Lisieux. We, in fact, would not have known anything about her short life had she not written her autobiography on order from her superior.

She was born in 1873 to two pious parents (who have recently been beatified). She was the 9^th and youngest child of Louis and Zelie-Gerin Martin, therefore, the most spoiled of their children. Her father used to call her affectionately “My queen”. She was walking with him one night and saw the stars making the letter T in the sky. Amazed she told her dad “Look, my name is written in heaven!” Her mother died of breast cancer when she was only 4. Her father had a stroke and died when she was only 15. Thérèse grew in the atmosphere of a religious family: all her sisters, like her, became nuns. This shows the example of the parents in bringing up their children. They respected their children and loved them. They recognized their dignity and joyfully carried them to become what they wanted to be.

Now little Thérèse was very sensitive – after her mother’s death she adopted her sister Pauline as her second mother. Thérèse wanted to be happy. When as a child she was asked to choose one toy from a basket of toys, she grasped them all. She claims to have been miraculously cured from illness when the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary seemed to smile to her. However, her change from “mine” to “yours” came about when she had an inner conversion experience on Christmas eve when she was almost 14 years old.

Her desire to be with Jesus grew and became an exploding love which led her to plead with Pope Leo XIII to enter the Carmelite order at the early age of 15. Approved on an exceptional basis she was admitted. Here started her “little way” - doing ordinary things in an extraordinary way. She wanted to be a saint but saw that she could not imitate the great saints who fought the spiritual wars and “earned” their merits with great deeds. For her, it was enough to do one’s little job but only do it with confidence in God’s merciful love. Thérèse practiced this way to the end. A happy girl, confident in God’s love, finding satisfaction in reading the Bible since she did not understand the great teachers, and doing her daily duties with care, she grew in carrying the cross of Christ. Her doubts of the existence of God and her physical illness did not prevent her from growing in faith, hope and love. She died of tuberculosis at the early age of 24. Her last word was “My God, I love you!”

We know now from history that Pope Benedict XV in 1922 had to break the rule that no cause for sainthood could be considered for at least 50 years after her/his death. She was beatified in 1923 and canonized in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. In 1997, on the occasion of the centenary of her death, Pope John Paul the Great, who himself was one of the most learned popes, made her Doctor (i.e. Teacher) of the Church.

The reason was simple: She was simple. She attracted many people to her “Little Way” to sainthood. When her book was published a few years after her death, it became a phenomenal best seller among ordinary lay people. Her popularity became world-wide with “showers” of miracles and conversions attributed to her intercession. Many churches have been consecrated to her, and at Lisieux where she lived and died, there is a shrine of her.

She has been, and continues to be, one of the most beloved saints in the history of the Church.

How important is this example for us and our world in this post-modern age where the rule is no rule, love is rather the selfish physical desire, and greed is the driver of souls.

Thérèse of Lisieux – Teacher of the World! That is what I think.

The End?

2011-11-12T09:00:00.000-08:00

The End is characterized by the Second Coming of Christ. The Gospel tells us in vivid parables that we must remain vigilant. But what does “vigilant” mean? If you are a student you have an incentive to study hard. You spend time sharpening your skills and memory to get the best marks. It is serious for you. This is how important the Second Coming of Christ was to the early Christians. Note that Mark 13 talks about two different events: The first is the destruction of the Temple which took place in 69-70 AD when the Romans, led by Titus, destroyed Jerusalem and killed its inhabitants. The second event is the eschatological coming of Christ “on the clouds” which is more important to us. Writing in “The New Jerome Biblical Commentary” (1991), the Jesuit Biblical scholar Daniel Harrington indicates “The cosmic portents (in reference to “the Sun will be darkened...”) preceding the coming of the Son of Man echo certain Old Testament texts: Isa 13:10; Ezek 32:7; Amos 8:9....” However, the Son of Man here is not the angelic figure described in Daniel 7:13 but “is clearly Jesus” says Harrington. According to Harrington, the Biblical message is an exhortation to confidence and vigilance (Mark 13: 28-37). The definitiveness of Christ’s saying is expressed here “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Jesus speaks the language of Isa 51:6 and 40:8 to underscore the divine authority of his teaching.

"But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Although Arians in the 4^th century, and today’s Mormons argued, based on this text, that Christ did not know the exact time of the end of the world, the early Church was confident of the divinity of Christ to whom Thomas testified “My Lord and My God”. According to Tradition, Christ meant that he was not going to reveal what he knew as the Son of God of the mystery of the end, but only as humans are curious the question may not be answered. This interpretation is in harmony with the Church’s doctrine that Christ was not only God but also fully human. In the 11^th century St. Malachy received the gift of prophecy and is said to have received a vision of the popes from his day to the end of time. According to the documented vision, there remains only one pope after the current Pope Benedict XVI before the end of time (see http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-malachy-omore/)

Meeting Jesus is the most important event that we must prepare for. Confidence in Jesus, as shown in the lives of saints, is the key to this preparation. This is the meaning of the Third Secret of Fatima which many Christians seem to be curious about. This is particularly important in the current crisis of global economic hardship. Preparation requires personal repentance and forgiveness. Christ asks us to love God and love each other as he loved us. Reading the Gospel and praying need to be followed by actions including helping those in need, and by receiving the sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist. Confidence in Jesus will move us to thank him for everything he does and allow him to enter in our minds and hearts.

One particular prophecy of Christ intrigues me, although it can safely relate to the persecution of the early Church: “children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.” In my opinion, this prophecy can be applied too to today’s attempts by governments to eliminate old people. When my own mother had her stroke in 1999, she was transferred to the nearest hospital in Brampton. As she was in vegetative state, doctors and nurses in the hospital urged us to authorize them not to resuscitate her if she gets a heart attack. She was 79 when she had her stroke and lived 3 more years in this state. We refused to authorize doctors to pre-emptively kill an innocent person. For the government, she was only a number who occupied a bed. The budget for healthcare medicare is a matter of cost. This is another thing that you must be vigilant about.

In the teaching of the Church, every life is sacred from natural conception to natural death. The tightening of economic spending may force governments to implement such ideas as euthanasia especially because the elderly live longer than years ago. However, as Christians we must oppose such barbaric ideas resurrected from the Nazi’s regime. As Christians we are invited to console the elderly in their loneliness. For love must triumph in the end. While we suffer here we are confident that Christ will wipe out every tear when we hopefully join him in the New Jerusalem of heaven (Cf. Revelation 21: 4). We hope we will be among the elect.

Curé d'Ars - A Spiritual Father

2011-11-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

Jean-Baptist Marie Vianney lived in 19th century France. Born a son of a farmer in 1786 near Lyons, he entered the seminary at the age of 20 but had difficulties in his theological studies. He was, however, ordained a priest because his bishop felt it was necessary to have not only knowledgeable priests but holy ones too. His first appointment was to assist the parish priest at Ėcully who appreciated Vianney's assistance until his death in 1817. Vianney was then appointed parish priest of Ars-end-Dombes (a remote small village of about 250 inhabitants). There the curé d’Ars, as he was popularly known, started his active campaign against immodesty. He preached everyday and received confessions of the faithful that was unmatched by any known priest before him. He spent 14 to 17 hours a day in the confessional. His fame spread quickly especially that he was regarded by all as a miracle worker. He was also given the gift of reading people's hearts. People from far away visited him and requested his guidance which forced the atheist government of the Revolution to set up transportation routes to Ars. One story stands out which tells us of his holiness. On entering the church he saw a peasant sitting in front of the Eucharist. Vianney asked him what he was doing and the answer came: I look to him and he looks to me! That was Jesus in the Eucharist who continues to look to every one for a little prayer or at least a look. The great Curé experienced much suffering and diabolical temptations but he never broke his commitment to Christ! He died in 1859 and was canonized in 1925.

Maximilian Kolbe in imitation of Christ

2011-10-31T15:48:00.000-07:00

Maximilian Kolbe was a Capuchin priest when he was arrested with other Christian and Jewish Polish people by the Nazi during World War II. He had been publishing devotional material that promote consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary, for when he was a child the Virgin Mary appeared to him in a vision and offered him two crowns a white one (for purity) and a red one for martyrdom. He said he accepted both. During his theological studies at Rome, he observed the vehement demonstrations by Freemasons against the Pope in which they placed the black standard of the "Giordano Burnisti" under the windows of the Vatican, on which the archangel Michael was depicted lying under the feet of the triumphant Lucifer (Satan). The event inspired Maximilian to organize the militia immaculata to convert Freemasons to the Catholic faith through the intercession of the Blessed Mother of God. When the German military occupied Poland in 1939, they sent those suspected of hiding the Jews to Auschwitz concentration camps where they were subjected to hard labour and eventually extermination. The story of Maximilian's true heart is shown in the last few weeks of his earthly life. As always, prisoners attempted to escape the brutal situation, and at one night on July 31, 1941 three prisoners succeeded in their escape. The German commander immediately picked up 10 men to be starved to death as a deterrent for other prisoners. The men, picked up randomly, cried out in despair but one of them shouted "My wife; my children!" At this moment, Maximilian asked the commander to take him instead saying "I am an old priest and this man has a family." The commander accepted and Maximilian went to the starvation prison with the other 9 people. One of the most dramatic moments in the life of the universe echoed then and there, for it was followed by the conversion of those taken with Maximilian due to his persevering and encouraging prayer with them. On August 14, 1941, he was injected with a lethal injection as, while all his co-prisoners were already dead, he appeared to survive longer than expected. A hero of love in imitation of Christ, this man died so that another man and his family may live. He was beatified by Pope Paul VI in 1971 and canonized as a martyr by Blessed Pope John Paul II in 1982 in the presence of Franciszek Gajowniczek, the man who was saved by Maximilian's death in the War.

Ignatius of Loyola

2011-10-22T15:13:00.003-07:00

The founder of the order of the Society of Jesus in the 16th century was not born a monk. He was born to a Basque noble family, a man of pride ascending the ladder of fame in Spain, then manifested in the military honour and power of knights, until he was seriously wounded in the battle of Pamplona in 1521. Such was the case also with Francis of Assisi. In Ignatius of Loyola we see again the power of the transformation God uses in us -weak humans - so that we can become one day united to him in Christ. God who is the eternal Mystery is also the approachable father who calls everyday his servants to become closer to his eternal Son.

While being hospitalized, Ignatius read De Vita Christi written by the influential theologian Ludolph of Saxony and there he contemplated in a vision the "discernment of spirits." From the hospital emerged the conversion to Christ when Ignatius experienced the joy of being with Christ and likewise the experience devoid of joy when he projected his glory without Christ. True joy is a fruit of the Spirit as written in the New Testament. And here Ignatius discerns the true joy which will carry him, with some friends, to Jerusalem and then to Rome. The Jesuits or Society of Jesus, approved by Pope Paul III in 1540, were active in the Counter Reformation preaching. They carried the missionary work to China in the Far East, to the Middle East, and the New World. Ignatius of Loyola was beatified and then canonized in 1622. In his active life as a disciple of Christ, Ignatius educated many followers in the Exercises. The Jesuits have been at the forefront of Catholic education. Not an easy task in an increasingly secular environment, they continue to teach and found universities and schools in the entire world. Among them you will recognize such giants as the twentieth/21st centuries Henri de Lubac, Karl Rahner, John Courtney Murray, and Avery Dulles with their suffix S.J. or sj which means Society of Jesus. On this blog, many of them are featured in links to other websites of great learning. In this spirit, Christians are invited to learn, guided by the Church, and be open to the Spirit.

Michel Chalhoub on Repentance

2011-10-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

Fr. Michel Chalhoub spoke at Jesus the King Melkite Catholic parish about the need for repentance. He said that we are preoccupied by temporal things at work, family, and entertainment to the point that we leave no space in our thought for God. The advances in consumerism and material innovation are not matched by advances in hunger for spiritual renewal. This is particularly seen in the Mass when people receive the body and blood of Christ without having confessed their sins. St. Paul said that he who receives the sacred body of Christ without merit brings upon himself judgment. "You may say: I did not steal or kill, but are you sure that in your heart you have not killed the reputation of your neighbour? Could not you humble yourself before God as he humbled himself to the point of death for you?" He continued: When I raise the cup to the Father in the Eucharistic prayer, I kneel and so you behind me should kneel in your hearts. The love that God showers on us everyday requires us to repent and be humble. He touched upon an event in the life of St. Elizabeth. When the Blessed Virgin Mary rushed to visit her cousin Elizabeth, she did not expect the older woman who had just been pregnant miraculously to receive Mary with humility. In Luke we read that Elizabeth said to Mary "And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me." In her humility Elizabeth was granted the revelation that from Mary shall come the Lord. It is with such humility that we should repent, receive the Sacrament of Penance or Confession and only then receive the Body and Blood of Christ our Lord and God. Michel Chalhoub also said that when he kneels before the Eucharist, he prays for all the people in church and all their sick and their departed ones so that the ever loving God may grant his mercy to all.

The "Occupy" Phenomenon

2011-10-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

The phenomenon started a couple of weeks ago in the heart of Capitalism as a protest of the "99%" of Americans who feel they have been betrayed by the government and its supporters of lobby groups which allow 1% of the population represented in Wall Street and the corporate elite to "steal" and control the resources, wages, and survival of the vast majority of people. The phenomenon has now spread to many more cities in the U.S. and in Canada where more protests have been launched by similar protesters. In Europe, and particularly the periphery where people are suffering more government programs cuts, there is an astonishing wave of protests in Greece, Italy, and Spain. Some commentators have already expressed the similarity in many ways with the Arab uprising in the Middle East. America, Canada and Europe indeed have been in what is arguably "a double dip" economic recession that, if not checked, will bring the entire globe to its knees. Many questions can be raised: 1. What is the specified objective of these protests - Are they about lost jobs? Higher fees for tuition in universities? Pensions? Poor conditions? 2. Is there a proposed alternative to respond to the above needs that protesters are proposing? 3. If these protests descend into anarchy and violence, as happened in Italy today, the police will have to respond and this by itself will discredit the good cause of protesters. How can they be justified in a civilized society? 4. We may be able to compare these protests with those in the Middle East except that violence in the Middle East is increasingly taking place along sectarian and religious lines especially the latest violence by the governing armed forces against Christian protesters in Cairo, Egypt last Sunday. It is evident that dictatorship is not only that of the political dictators exploiting the resources of their people, but also the dictatorship of the majority of rich corporate elites enslaving the workers as well as that of denying people of certain religious groups the right to worship according to their own creed. We will have to come to this again as it touches on the concept of fair society which is an urgent moral issue today.

Francis of Assisi - The Friend of Creation!

2011-10-08T07:23:00.000-07:00

On October 4, the Catholic Church remembered St. Francis of Assisi. Francis was born to a rich merchant in Assisi in the 12th century. He was given the name Francesco (the French man) by his father in honour of his French business. In Francesco's early youth years he spent his time with rich friends and in worldly pleasure, yet he also showed generosity to beggers. This is the heart that the Crucified opened up. In 1201 Francis joined a military expedition against Perugia and was taken as a prisoner where he spent a year in captivity. When he returned to Assisi he became seriously ill and there had a conversion experience. While praying at the church of St. Damieno, he had a vision of the Crucified Christ speaking to him and asking him to "Rebuild my Church." Francis took this request literally and started rebuilding the church of stone with money from his father's business. While asking God to show him the way, he came to understand Christ's request in a new way - rebuild the Church of souls. This was a turning point in Francis' life. Francis had already spent much time in meditation and came to reject the worldy life that he had experienced in his early youth. The Roman Church was at the peak of its earthly power with Pope Innocent III. Francis requested the pope to allow him to start a beggars order. Innocent III had a vision of the future Church after which he approved Francis' request. All of this is history, but the significant lesson is the way Francis responded to the call of the Crucified. His conversion was probably gradual. However his generosity allowed him to share in the poverty of beggars' life of need and create a huge order with many followers - The Franciscans who grew up to count in thousands only in a few years. Francis was called the Alter Christus (the Other Christ); for he imitated Christ in his tender love of all creatures. Francis taught by example and talked to animals, birds, called the Sun Sister and the moon Brother and seemed at ease with wild animals. He is probably the first humanist in history; for he loved Christ and every other human he encountered. He built the first manger and added real animals to be part of the nativity scene. He insisted on the beauty of creation and was himself a poet. His mission took him to Egypt to preach to the Muslim Khaliph Al-Kamel and then to Acre but without success. Francis received the first known stigmata in history and suffered with Christ in silence "to complete" in his flesh "what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body that is the Church" (Col 1:24). On his death bed, Francis was surrounded by his followers singing his hymn "Make me an instrument of your peace." Contrary to us, he was not afraid of death; for he himself considered death "a brother." Since his mission started in the 13th century, he has been beloved by many generations; for like the prostitute whom Christ forgave, he "loved much." (Luke 7: 47)

An Open Letter to Pope Benedict XVI

2011-09-04T10:12:00.000-07:00

Your Holiness Benedict XVI: I would like to thank you for the many gifts given to you by God that you have invested in serving in the vineyard of Christ. Your defence of the Church and her Lord in your addresses, books, and theological works are a shining post in theological development in the Catholic Church. Your participation in Vatican II as an expert and your work in ecumenical encounters following the Council shine more your committment to Christian unity. There is a lot more that I can cite from your work that would take me an entire book to write. However, I wish only to focus on the challenges we face today in the Middle East. As a son of the Catholic Church and in the spirit of Vatican II, I implore you to help advance the theological dialogue with the Eastern Orthodox Churches that the Catholic Church recognizes as true sister Churches of the Church of Rome. True, Christian unity is a gift from God but I believe that God uses his servants to realize the day when they share the full communion together. I also recall to your attention that most Eastern Churches whether Orthodox or Catholic are suffering in the Middle East and are mostly poor compared to the riches and assets owned by Roman Catholic Churches of the West. In the same spirit of Vatican II, I recall the insistence of the Council for a preferential treatment of the poor and the gestures made by your predecessor of venerable memory Pope Paul VI. Pope Paul VI gave up the tiara and his ring for the benefit of the poor. Blessed Pope John XXIII, who convoked Vatican II and worked tirelessly for opening the Catholic Church to the world, said that the Church seeks today to apply the remedy of mercy to her children. Blessed Pope John Paul II advanced the cause of the poor in his many addresses and called for a sincere dialogue between the rich North and the poor South. It is with the above consideration that I approach you to seriously consider the poor Christians in the Middle East. I propose that your holiness help them in their struggle for survival and encourage them to do the best not only for the Church but also for their own families that are suffering. I can think only of the remnants of Greek Melkite Catholics in the Middle East, my own community, that our patriarch and bishops are pressing to stay in the Middle East only to preserve the presence of Christians there. If the Catholic Church is serious about keeping the presence of Christians in the Middle East, she can do more than simply exhorting the faithful. Through the Vatican's diplomatic representatives, she can press governments in the Middle East to ensure the continuous safety of all Christians in that region of the world and their freedom to practice their religion. She can also help them financially and support them to remain Christian in this region. Moreover, a public gesture from your holiness would generate positive feelings in the media such as those of your predecessors of venerable memory: Probably visiting the war-torn region of Eastern Africa that is causing great famines among its most vulnerable citizens. And while speaking about Africa I note that it is the continent where Catholic missions are gaining to Christ many new faithful. This continent, together with Asia, deserves the attention of the Holy See. And as a case in point, upon their recent independence, 30 million Christians in Southern Sudan are in need of much help to reconstruct their lives after 50 years of an atrocious war with the North Sudan that claimed many innocent souls. A Jesuit priest from the Melkite Catholic Church, who has been active as vice-president of Caritas International in the Middle East and worked in Sudan himself, has proposed the idea of twinning between a rich town/city in Germany or North America and a poor one in Southern Sudan. According to him, the idea had already been successfully implemented in Europe assisting poor villages. A website is being developed for this purpose. Your personal powerful intercession for those poor Christians in Southern Sudan will definitely bear fruits. Africa is ripe as a vineyard for the Catholic Church. I will continue to recall your words at your inauguration as the Vicar of Christ in 2005: I want to be a humble servant in the vineyard of the Lord. Finally I seek Your Apostolic blessing in the name of Christ. Yours faithfully, George Farahat Chancellor, Jesus the King Council, Knights of Columbus Lecturer, Jesus the King Greek Melkite Catholic parish Toronto, Canada

Recalling The Second Vatican Council

2011-08-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

It is hard to write any theological work on the modern history of the Church without an appreciation of the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II). By all accounts, Vatican II (1962-1965) is historically the most ecumenical or universal Council in Church history. It was attended by almost 3000 bishops from all over the world. Although the Orthodox Churches of the East did not participate in the interventions, they sent representatives as observants, and so did the Anglican Communion and many other Protestant Communions. Distinctively the Eastern Catholic Churches participated in full vigor. On the eve of the Council Athenagoras I, the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch, sent a message to Maximus IV, Patriarch of the Melkite Catholics in which he said "You represent Eastern Orthodoxy." So much was there hope and fraternal love between the Churches that Blessed Pope John XXIII sought in invoking the Council the unity of all Christians. But in fact the Council became a much larger factory for the presentation of Catholic dogma always in need of representation to different ages yet always guided by the Holy Spirit in the fullness of truth. In his address in 1959, John XXIII attributed the call to the Council to a sudden inspiration by the Holy Spirit for "a new Pentecost"! It is worth mentioning the names of giants that contributed to the documents and reforms ushered by Vatican II, most of them were experts invited by the Pope or assisting the bishops coming from different countries: Karl Rahner, Yves Congar, Henri de Lubac, Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), and many others...Why do we need to recall Vatican II to mind? It is because we see fundamentalism growing as the evil reaction to such a blessed event. When the Council completed its work, the Catholic Church experienced new lay movements such as the Neo-Catechumenal Way, but also as lay people started getting involved in the New Pentecost, some priests and nuns left their vocations and fidelity to the Catholic Church. Hans Kung, a liberal theologian who participated in the Council challenged the dogma of the infallibility of the Pope and was therefore expelled from teaching in Catholic universities. Liberation Theology was born in Latin America and was immediately espoused by leading theologians there where Marxist ideology was infiltrating Latin America. In addition some Fundamentalist Christian sects started to attract more Catholics away from the bosom of the Mother Church. The Sexual Revolution ushered in Europe brought promiscuity into the minds and actions of many young adults. And individualism crept in all over the Western hemisphere promoted by lax civil laws about divorce and legalized abortion. It seems that Heaven intervened with the election of John Paul II. He was a blessed man. John Paul II took his name in veneration of Pope John Paul I who had taken his name in memory of the two great Popes of the Council: John XXIII and Paul VI. John Paul II dedicated his long pontificate to the vigorous implementation of the directives of Vatican II. He defended the Council's teachings on the dignity of every human person which became the hallmark of his pontificate.

What are some of the highlights of the doctrinal pronouncements of Vatican II?

1. The development of doctrine

2. The governance of the Church by the bishop of Rome and the other bishops in communion with him (Collegiality).

3. The infallibilty of the Church a) in pronouncements of the Ecumenical Councils b) When the bishop of Rome speaks as teacher of the Church Ex-Cathedra c) When all the bishops of the Church together with the Pope pronounce on doctrines or morals d) When the entire Church believes certain doctrines.

4. Evangelization to non-Christians as necessary for the mission of the Church.

5. The possibility of salvation to non-Christians who have not received the gospel.

6. The primacy of conscience of every individual provided he searchs for the truth.

7. The development of understanding in Tradition of the words of God in the Bible through the Magisterium.

8. The recognition that the Orthodox Churches retain valid sacraments, although they are in imperfect unity with the Catholic Church.

9. The recognition that all Christians have in common the fundamental doctrines that Christ preached as recognized in the Nicene Creed.

The Case against Capitalism

2011-08-07T14:55:00.000-07:00

Much has happened between 2008 and 2011 that obliges me to reassess the role of Capitalism as a morally acceptable system. The financial crisis of 2008 does not seem to abate as economic recovery in North America is very slow. The GDP growth has been repeatedly revised to lower values in both the U.S. and Canada. The European countries are undergoing a larger crisis. The Euro-zone countries are unable to fulfill their promises to help the less privileged members of Europe such as Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. America alone, who through globalization has exported its own economic system and almost imposed it on the rest of the world, seems to be struggling with the downgrade of its credit rating by Standard and Poor this week. What can we make of an economic system that feeds on the theory of free-market? Investors do not need to grow as much as the average citizen needs to grow. Compare the powerful American education system with those in Africa. Graduates from African or Asian universities require to qualify their degrees to the equivalent degrees in the U.S. The investment in the young people in America costs the average American money which is unaffordable by African graduates. Yet, the resources of Africa have been exploited by the Western powers. It is a long story of slavery that goes back to many centuries. Today the New World must give back to the poor of Africa. In the big picture I propose one moral solution: America, Canada, Australia and Europe need to lower their standard of living of individuals gradually to a level that would match that of Asian and African economies. But is this possible? Unlikely, since greed and selfishness are part of the human weakness especially in a materialist economy. Probably we must learn from those old civilizations that a fair society can be built on the moral integrity of the faithful. The Church has always defended the poor and today too she needs to raise her voice for their sake. The Master taught us this by his example, and the examples of holy people He inspired throughout the ages.

Jobless!!!

2011-07-20T17:05:00.000-07:00

In the aftermath of the global recession caused by the financial crisis of 2008-2009, the jobless rate increased drastically in almost all of America and Europe. It also affected the Middle East where unemployment rose in many countries above 15%. Today, the unemployment rate in the U.S. is nearly 10% while it is around 8% in Canada. Yet, we cannot measure the negative effect it has on families and individuals. Most people who are laid off are in their 50s thus it would be hard for them to find jobs that match their experience. Worse, both the U.S. and Canada appear to have tightened the immigration from other less-developed countries. Europe too is suffering from a hard-hit euro which has brought inflation to a higher level. The question is for how long would we have high unemployment? The right to work is recognized in every culture. Think about it.

Empires?

2011-07-11T20:21:00.000-07:00

The United States is about to default on its debt. If the political debates between Democrates and Republicans do not resolve within a few weeks, this will be unprecedent not only for the near collapse of the American economy but also for the global economy at large! It is morally unacceptable that discussions between Congressmen of the U.S. and the U.S. government determine the fate of billions of poor people on earth. The IMF which is the largest world bank can do nothing to prevent a return to old empire! Think of the Roman Empire and its decline. But today we have satellites and Internet communications that almost nothing can be hidden. This is a WARNING to the U.S. Wake up! It is also a WARNING to the many governments i.e. people who deal with corruption and accept it. It has become fashionable to eliminate the adversaries by force. More stories of corruption are coming to the news these days about the largest tabloid newspaper in Britain which is now out of print. Investigations have been launched against its billionaire owner by the British authority for immorally tapping into telephones of people. Others are hinting at corruption in the Italian government. But it seems that this is a worldwide phenomenon in spite of the U.N. Declarations about human rights! On top of the list come the dictatorships we know about in the Middle East. But the dictatorship that makes me shudder is that of the mightly dollar! The Capitalist economic system is probably the best system today but there are millions who are still suffering poverty and now is our turn. Nor is Communism a solution! Communism was able to generate corruption and violence in the U.S.S.R. and its satellite countries. Violence is still the norm in Communist China and Cuba on the part of corrupt goverrnments. However, the distribution of wealth must be implemented to reach out to Africa and Asia. Blessed John Paul II frequently warned that Capitalist monopoly is not tenable - He suggested the Third Way! For rich people to accept lowering of their standard of living, it takes more than regulations of the economy. It takes good will on the part of citizens and governments. We must give priority to the needs of others. This is where love shines. This is where Christ shines. It is in the hearts of the faithful that Christ reigns...We must repent! Is not that what Fatima was all about?

Purgatory

2011-06-29T15:53:00.000-07:00

Many non-Catholic Christians question the doctrine of purgatory. Although Orthodox Churches pray for their dead, they have no clear answer as to why a dead person needs prayers if he/she is in heaven where he/she already enjoys the blessed life with the holy ones in the presence of God, or if he/she is in hell where the damned do not have hope in the goodness and mercy of God. However an explanation was offered by Pope Shenouda III of the Coptic Orthodox Church as to the reason why the Coptic Orthodox Church offers prayers for their dead. He simply says that Christians who have departed this life go to paradise (not heaven) if they are blessed and wait there in peace for the Day of Judgment. The unrepentent go to Sheol (not hell) where they await their damnation on Judgment Day. As for other Christian souls, they do not rest and so the Church prays for them that they may attain peace in their hope to be among the elect on Judgment Day. In history, however, purgatory was known since the early centuries of Christianity. Purgatory affirms why Catholics pray for the dead in the hope that they died in grace. It can be inferred from the words of Christ himself. In Matthew chapter 12, Christ speaks of the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as a sin that will not be forgiven "neither in this age nor in the age to come." But what sin Christ cannot forgive? Note that Christ spoke of this sin after he was accused that his healings are performed by the power of Satan, so he immediately relates his power to the Holy Spirit. But why could not he, who has all the power to forgive, forgive this sin? Here we refer to the principle of the cooperation of the sinner with grace. Even though grace is a free gift from the Spirit of God, it must be received by the person. The fathers of the Church, especially St Augustine, interpreted this sin as the total refusal of the person to repent of his/her sins until the last moment of life. Since the Holy Spirit is always urging sinners to repent, this sin is considered a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which again is impossible for anyone who repents before death. Now, if Christ mentions that there are sins that are forgiven in the next life, it means that some sins are committed that do not lead immediately to hell where there is no hope, and not to heaven where no one defiled with any slight impurity can see God who is all pure. These sins are known as "venial sins." In purgatory, a state of the saved souls that are yet not able to see God, a purification takes place. The fire of purgatory is the burning desire of wanting to be with God. The soul in purgatory knows that she is saved but longs to be with the beloved One. From Church history, it is known that many saints passed through purgatory before they were to see God "face to face" (Cf. 1 Cor. 13). The elect must "complete what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body" (Col 1, 24). This means that for us to see God we must die to ourselves even if gradually; for no one can see God and live.

The Divine Heart

2011-06-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrate the feast of Divine body of Christ in the Melkite Catholic Church. While violence continues to rage in the Middle East, we need to look beyond the divisions of religions. In the Middle East, factions of the same people are found in war against each other in the name of religion. Christians are scared that Muslim fundamentalism will take over their freedom. Western powers are taking advantage of the largely undemocratic political systems to force their form of democracy and oultaw dictators, but my impression is that it has to do with control of the area economically and politically. Muslims are divided between Shia and Sunni. Christians are divided between Western and Eastern. Let's forget for a moment the schism between factions, cultures, and religions and ask the one God whom we all worship to help us stop the blood shedding in the name of Christ who shed his blood for the reconciliation of all people with his Father. This would be a celebration of the Divine Heart...The heart of Jesus!

Beginning the Consecrated Life

2011-06-04T22:10:00.000-07:00

Robert Hanna (now Brother Youhanna) and his son Emile gave a reflection on their experiences that led each of them to a reversal from a worldly life to a life consecrated to God. A married man with two children, he enjoyed the good life as he was rich. His own car dealership in the affluent city of Toronto afforded him a comfortable earning. He felt however that, in spite of his wealth, he was missing happiness in his heart. He said his relationship with his wife and children was getting worse when he suddenly felt the power of darkness surrounding him and showing him the abyss. Realizing the seriousness of his state, Robert begged God to hold him. He was reassured that in spite of evil God loves him. It was not an overnight experience but rather a journey. "I spent many weeks in prayer" Robert said. After you fall you get up in hope and continue, he says. The journey to be in the presence of God takes determination but the joy that God is here and loves you makes up for the suffering. Robert wanted to consecrate the remainder of his life to be for Christ alone. Robert has been assisting in the Mass as well as in services for the youth throughout the past many years since his conversion. In preparation for the consecrated diaconate and priesthood, he followed many studies at theological seminaries in Toronto and Lebanon. Ten years or so after his initial conversion, Robert or Brother Youhanna will be consecrated this year a priest of the Melkite Catholic Church! His son Emile is also following in the footsteps of his dad. Having lived an estranged youthful life from God for 3 years, Emile returned to the Church last year and has been serving in the Mass at Jesus the King church as well as in assisting in the catechism of kids there. Emile says that he cried in his prayer as he felt the loss of his soul and the misery he came to know. He asked God to show him the way and persisted in his prayers. It takes humility to believe that you are not the centre of the world. Realizing that Christ is the centre of my life, I want to consecrate my life to be for him in prayer everyday, Emile said. As Brother Youhanna said, discerning the call for the life you are meant to live is important. Prayer is an important step as it brings us into dialogue with God. The Church guides us through Scriptures, the Mass and other sacraments, prayers, her teachings, and spiritual direction. The objective of our lives is to be holy and have eternal joy in the presence of our loving God. Christ calls us to serve in the way that He finds is best for us. Some are called to live as lay persons with families. Some are called to live a monastic life. What is important is to follow the direction that Christ wishes you to follow. This is the way of holiness!

The Development of the Doctrine of The Trinity in Tradition

2011-06-04T20:44:00.000-07:00

A quick look at Biblical theology gives us a very scant picture of the doctrine that is central to Christianity: The Trinity. In the Old Testament we can hardly find any mention to the Trinity. The Trinity is mentioned in Christ's farewell address to his disciples (See Matthew 28: 19). However, Christ did not speak of the Trinity in a very explicit mode. In the Gospel according to John there are many references for the relationship between Christ and the Father. If we follow the timing of writing the New Testament books according to contemporary Biblical scholarship, we note that the divinity of Christ was perceived by the Apostles after his Resurrection - notably in the words of Thomas to the risen Christ "My Lord and My God" (John 20: 28). In the early Christian Church the Apostles continued to preach about Christ in the Temple. However, their understanding of the Divinity of Christ was clear from the confession of Peter that Jesus is the Messiah in Mark to the vision of Stephen about Christ sitting at the right hand of God (See Acts) to the confession of Paul to the Philippians that "Though [Christ] was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God something to be grasped" (Ph 2: 6-7). This is an early Christological hymn that Christians sang to Christ since Apostolic times according to modern scholarship. In the Letter to the Colossians, Paul again refers to Christ being "the image of the invisible God" (Col. 1: 15-20). There is no way to deny that Christ was worshipped as God since the Apostolic times. By the end of the first century documents by Christian authors attest to the divinity of Christ (Cf. St. Ignatius of Antioch). This continues in the second century with philosophical debates with non-Christians (Cf. Justin Martyr, Origen, St. Ireneaus). It is important to know that the fathers did not write for the sake of writing, but to correct errors of early Christians and non-Christians. Against the Arians in the early 4th century Athanasius championed the philosophical expression "Homoosious" in the First Council of Nicea (325 AD), an expression not used in the New Testament, to emphasize the faith that Christ is consubstantial with the Father and so he is equal to the Father in his divinity. Augustine further explained the Trinity from the New Testament "God is Love." If God is love, who or what does he love? If he is unlimited he could not love the world from eternity because that would make him dependent on creation which, the Bible says, was created by God! If God loved himself from eternity then he would be in love with the self i.e. narcissism. This is the opposite of love! The only logical solution is if he loved another person yet that person is his image (proceeds from him.) But how about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, Augustine reasoned, is the binding love between the Father and the Son (Christ). The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Love is the only thing that matters. God is that open fount of love in dynamic inner relationship that Ratzinger dares to call the Trinity a Relatedness of Father, Son and Holy Spirit! How did Ratzinger arrive at this new expression today? By following the Fathers and Doctors of the Church. This is also the thought of the Jesuit Karl Rahner. They take the thread of Tradition, reflect on it and develop it in the Church. More to come!

Sisyphus!

2011-05-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus challenged the gods and was able to chain "the god of death" for he loved life and thought he was more clever than the gods. Of course, his challenge did not go well and soon the gods agreed to punish him. In the underworld, his punishment consisted of perpetually rolling a great stone from the base of a steep hill to its top then before he arrives, the stone would roll down and he was to go pick it up and again roll it to the top. Sisyphus had to comply. But how did he feel about this task? Everytime Sisyphus rolled the stone, he felt the pointless hard work on ascending to the hill's top, but on descending Sisyphus felt for a moment that he was free and indeed was happy to see the stone rolling down. If we apply this to our own situation, we will see sisyphus everytime we despair but also everytime we have hope that we will overcome our suffering. However, there is more to this story than Sisyphus alone, for he alone is still a miserable man! The Greeks imagined many gods, each with a particular power. The gods served themselves and could not care much about those suffering Greek slaves. Our God is the God of love who created all humans out of love. We learn from Christ that his love for each one was infinitely higher than any other love. He loved his enemies who crucified him and still forgave them till the last breath! Which god is then truer? If you think it is the Greek god(s) you are free, but if you think it is Christ then your freedom requires you to do what he did or else he is not really your God. When a Jewish lawyer asked Christ "Who is my neighbour?" Christ answered him with a story of a good Samaritan who took care of his wounded Jewish enemy. At the end, Christ referring to the Samaritan said to the lawyer "Go and do likewise" (Luke 10)!

Happiness

2011-05-19T10:15:00.000-07:00

Happiness is what we all (everyone) seek, whether Christians or non-Christians. Atheists as much as religious people also seek happiness. The old civilizations as much as the modern ones were preoccupied with that same goal: happiness. Happiness is found in nature. Climb a mountain and sit on top of it - Once you look at the stars shining in the night, you will feel happiness, a humbling feeling that there are things which we cannot reach, yet they are beautiful, awesome and rewarding. Or go by the sea, and spend some time at the shore - You will discover a great mystery when you notice that the horizon seems unending...Look further into the life on Earth. There are so many living organisms everywhere that feed and grow on others. Life cannot stop because of you or me, for the Creator wills life and happiness to every being. The highest level of happiness on Earth is achieved in the human person. There, the hormones in the brain work out to induce love toward others. It is part of God's mystery that you and I can think - the creation and development of life is nothing less than a miracle. The question is: What is the good way of enjoying happiness and living a joyful life? That is a question that we shall attempt to answer, because not every kind of pleasure leads to happiness. The Master said "What benefits man if he gains the entire world but loses himself". Although every natural desire in my heart is implanted by God, and so must be good, the excessive use of it would lead me to slavery. When I am too attached to money, greed will be my master; when I am too attached to sexual desires, I will become a slave of the flesh; and when I am too attached to myself, I will lose myself into the abyss of pride! I like St. Augustine's words "Be moderate in everything except in love." Happiness in its fullness is more than natural things and deeper than desires. It comes from God who wills us to be happy eternally. In his grace, we are transformed to love everyone including our enemies. The mystery of the incarnation of God points us to contemplate his love for us regardless of our own merits. It is because he loved us that he died the worst death as a real man. Christ only loves and his love brings us eternal happiness!

May 13 - Mary's Intercession in Fatima

2011-05-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

May 13, 1917 is the day that the Catholic Church celebrates for the apparition of the Virgin Mary to 3 children in Fatima, Portugal. In her apparition, Mary warned that the then current world war (World War I) would finish but another greater world war would emerge in the pontificate of the pope who follows the next unless people repent. She also said that Russia will succumb to the evil forces of atheist Communism that will attempt to submit many nations to Communism but that with dedication of Russia to her heart by the Roman Pontiff, Russia will eventually come back to her heart. The two prophecies or "secrets" took place as predicted and many people perished in World War II. Mary also foresaw a great tribulation in the Catholic Church in her "Third Secret" that the pope will be assassinated and many Christians will be martyred when Rome itself will be desolate. The Third Secret, feared by many Catholics, has been interpreted in the assassination attempt against the life of now Blessed Pope John Paul II in 1982. Penance has been the call of the Virgin Mary since she appeared, but how many of us truly responded to her call! As bishop Fulton Sheen indicated in his book "The First World Love", published in 1952 by McGraw-Hill Book Company, the fact that Mary was sent to Portugal is relevant. Fatima is the name of a Muslim woman venerated in Islam as the daughter of their Prophet Mohammed. In the Qura'n, Mary is considered the most pure creature of humans and next to her is Fatima according to a variant of Hadith. Muslims occupied Portugal for centuries before they were driven out by Catholics. A story about Fatima appears in Fulton Sheen's book: While Muslims were driven out from Portugal, a Catholic young man had fallen in love with a Muslim called Fatima in a little town. She became Catholic to get married to him and out of appreciation, the name of the town was changed to Fatima. While Muslims consider Christians to be infidel, Mary is the one common person who is exalted by both Catholics and Muslims as the most pure creature. Bishop Sheen believed she will play a significant role in the dialogue of Catholics and Muslims and in the end they will come to worship her Son Jesus. On a personal note, I believe that my heart attack on May 12 1986 was treated and my heart survived until now through the intercession and prayer of this lady that the Church venerates for her tender love. She is a mother of all people. Many Christians and Muslims venerate her. She prays for all even though not many Protestant brothers know her.

Human Dignity of the Unborn

2011-05-07T16:36:00.000-07:00

When I was at Philips some 25 years ago, I had a discussion with a colleague on the right of birth. I remembered it when I lectured yesterday on pro-life. He asked: Woman has a right to abort her fetus - How can you infringe on her right? I answered: Sure but if you consider yourself in the womb of your mother would not you have the right to exist? And suppose you did not exist, at least the court should give you the benefit of doubt. The dilemma is whether you are a human at conception before you are born. But here I have evidence that you are a human with a brain being developed and little heart pounding from the beginning (See http://www.youtube.com/Watch?v=O211-kvKomg ). Even if you are not a human person yet in the womb, you still earn the benefit of doubt that we grant under law to criminals. The bondage comes from humans, not nature! If you are atheist you would agree with me as far as your freedom goes. And this is a matter of freedom of life! My colleague came back and acknowledged that my point makes sense. And you too have the opportunity to acknowledge it and furthermore to join Pro-life movement or at least support Pro-life in every way you can. It is an irony that the countries that call themselves "Developed" are the ones that legalized the destruction (or abortion) of their own children in the womb while those "Under-developed" are the ones that preserve their children for life! As a Christian, I too cannot approve of destroying my children before they are born. Support pro-life. Call BirthRight or other Pro-life agencies and do what you can. Human dignity cannot be denied to the unborn children. They are our future!

John Paul the Great

2011-04-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow the Catholic Church will beatify Pope John Paul II. Well-known for his wide influence over the fall of Communism, his indefatiguable trodding of the nations of the world carrying out the message of Christ, his care for the youth that created the World Youth Day, his strong rule of the post-Vatican II Church, and his leadership in everything moral, John Paul II was soon recognized as the greatest pope who ever lived. His many achievements include his elevation of so many men and women to sainthood more than all his predecessors did together, his many encounters with leaders of other Churches and Christian Communions in the hope of restoring full Christian unity, his openness to other religions manifested in the Assisi Prayer for the first time in the history of Christianity, his submission to the will of God in all of his actions, and his adamant support for evangelization. The day John Paul II passed away, the millions who gathered at St. Peter's Square shouted for declaring him a saint. And distinguished theologians gave him the title John Paul the Great! It is another achievement that Pope John Paul II is being declared Blessed by his immediate successor Pope Benedict XVI in only 6 years since his death. May the prayers of John Paul II accompany the entire Church as she faces the challenges of postmodernism and fundamentalism.

A Prayer To God

2011-04-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

I pray to you my God and Lord Jesus Christ. The world needs you even though the world does not know you. Above all, many Christians have abandoned you in this part of the world even though their civilization was built on your gospel. And in the Middle East many people are being killed by powers of the world and their blood cries out to you for justice. But I know that your justice is mercy. For this reason, I ask your mercy upon us all. Forgive the tyrants and the revolutionaries for they do not know you. Forgive the atheists here for they do not know you. Forgive me for I am a sinner and do not know you in spite of all you have done for me and my family. To you and your Father and the Holy Spirit be glory for ever. Amen

Democracy?

2011-04-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

We call the U.S. and Canada (where I live) democracies. However I wish to show here that we are still living in dictatorships. Here are a few points for your consideration. Anyone is welcome to refute my points. 1. Who determines the appointments of the Supreme Court? 2. Who appoints the Senate? 3. When there are election campaigns as we have now in Canada for a new Federal government, how do ads of parties in the media portray the opponents? Do they adhere to a minimal ethics code? 4. Why is the U.S. divided between only two camps each trying to destroy the other (Liberals and Conservatives)? Why is Obama (or Sarah Palin) ridiculed out of proportion? 5. Why does each party get sponsored by radical groups or organizations that wish to benefit at the expense of its opponents (e.g. feminists, fundamentalists, large corporate elites)? Let's stick to the moral values if we wish to debate and to respect of human dignity if we wish to oppose others' positions. Is not that the basis for democracy?

Pray for Benedict XVI

2011-03-31T16:51:00.000-07:00

Pope Benedict XVI needs our prayers as pastor of the Catholic Church. His responsibilities call all of us to pray that he continues to inspire the Church by his leadership in the 21st century. This pope has influenced the development of faith in many areas notably in his insightful books about Jesus of Nazareth and his encyclicals on charity. The pontificate of Pope Benedict has witnessed a great movement of going forward in the proclamation of the Catholic faith. Many Anglican bishops and pastors along with their parishes have chosen to become Catholic as a response to his call in the past two years. Benedict XVI is considered a great theologian who published recently two books on the Saviour of humanity: Christ.

If you can, say a novena tonight for the Holy Father.

May God bless Pope Benedict XVI.

Abraham - Patriarch of Today's Nations

2011-03-02T17:33:00.000-08:00

What is so magnificent about Abraham? Why would God want to create a covenant with Abraham? How does the example of this covenant help us today? Abram lived in Ur of the Chalde'ans (Babylon) about 2000 years before Christ. In Babylon, people worshiped a multitude of gods. As Abram exprienced the One true God, he had to flee for his life for he could not live securely in a place that became strange to him. This happens today too when people migrate to new countries for fear for their lives under regimes that impose restrictions on their freedom. Where there are wars people flee for peace. God educates us through the example of this man. You can flee to another country for your life but there is only one place that will satisfy your heart - the place/state chosen for you by your Father God. Abram followed God... God changed his name from Abram to Abraham when he called him out of Ur (See Genesis 11 and 12) – This is the way God deals with his beloved creatures. He named everyone of us because he knows his creatures not like us who know someone by his name or address but like a mother who knows her children affectionately, lovingly and deeply concerned about each of them. We cannot understand how much God loves, but we can only perceive his love as much as his gift/grace and our willful response to his grace allow us. Abraham simply allowed God to penetrate his life and transform him to a great father of many nations. Abraham obeyed God’s voice in his heart and walked with God to the land that God asked him to go to. This can be metaphoric for us as to whether we allow God to guide us in our journey on earth. None of us can be secure by himself/herself. We need a powerful lover. When we were kids we always depended on our parents to secure us psychologically and materially because we perceived and still perceive that they love us . If you read Abraham’s story in Genesis you will be impressed by his actions as a weak human person who is still loved by the Father of all. When Abraham had to go down to Egypt, he knew that his wife Sarah would attract the Egyptian king by her beauty even though she was old so Abraham said to Pharoe that Sarah was his sister. His lie was still forgiven! Dr. Hahn shows that God promised Abraham three things: to make Abraham a great nation (12:1); to give him a great name (12:2); and to make him the source of blessing for all the world (12:3). God later "upgrades" these three promises - turning them into divine covenants. God swears not only to make Abraham a great nation, He makes a covenant in which He promises to deliver Abraham’s descendants from oppression in an alien land and give them a specific territory of land (see Genesis 15:7-21). Not only will his name be great, but God by a covenant oath swears to make Abraham "father of a host of nations," a royal dynasty - "kings shall stem from you" (see Genesis 17:1-21)...God elevates His third promise by swearing to make Abraham’s descendants "as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore." In Abraham’s descendants "All the nations of the earth shall find blessing" (see Genesis 22:16-18). How did Abraham come to be the father of a host of nations? In Genesis, it is written that Sarah was barren yet God's oath made her pregnant from Abraham's seed. The child was named Isaac and grew to be the figure of the Lamb Christ. Isaac was to be sacrificed by his father. This is probably why Christ says that Abraham saw him (see John 8: 50). Abraham saw Christ in his son Isaac who offered himself as a sacrifice in the same way that Christ offered himself as a sacrifice. The meaning of self-sacrifice is love. Today, when we look back at the story of Abraham we ask who are the descendants of Abraham? Those are the great nations of the Middle East and the West. They are Muslims, Jews, and Christians. Yet they are still fighting today even though they come from the same father Abraham. Jerusalem is, for these three monotheist religions, a holy place where everyone of these "cousins" wishes to worship. Jerusalem is the God-given city of peace. The solution to this problem may lie in doing what Abraham did. Walk with God! But this is another huge question, for no one - it seems - is prepared yet to do it. If Christ is the Truth who Abraham foresaw, can we follow him?

The Covenant of God

2011-02-24T09:36:00.000-08:00

In our study of the Bible we are using free online resources written by the Biblical scholar Dr. Scott Hahn at http://www.salvationhistory.com/ - We cannot read the Bible verse by verse. In Catholic thought, there are different literary forms used by the Biblical authors who are inspired by God (e.g. legal, historical, apocalyptic, poetic ...etc). Historical events themselves are written in the non-scientific language of their times. You may wish to refer to Ratzinger's lecture on Genesis 1-3 here: http://www.philvaz.com/apologetics/p81.htm The entire Bible is the testimony of the revelation given by God of His unconditional love towards creatures, for He created out of love. The Covenant is an expression of that love that in different stages shows increasingly the love of God fulfilled in Christ our redeemer and God. For example Moses is the mediator of the Old Covenant between God and His people. However in time this Covenant is revealed more fully by the New Covenant - Christ himself who saves us by His blood and body. This Covenant mediated by Christ is to the entire human race. All are called to God's eternal kingdom through Christ. Of course, the other side is the curses of the Covenant which express the result of refusing to accept God`s call. When we continue to refuse God`s grace then we become accountable for rejecting God`s call, an attitude which if not reversed, may result in our own damnation. We can see today, as at the time of Christ, that some people show by their love of the other, a Good Samaritan heart, yet some others show contempt of the needy and as a result of God Himself since God lives in the other. A great example of the Covenant curses (which is still unfolding in the Middle East and other areas) is the utter disregard by dictators of the needs of their people. Long-serving dictators drew criticism from many nations for their ruthless violence against their own people (demonstrators) who only want a better condition of life. Yet those leaders condemning ruthless dictators are themselves not an example of men living by the Covenant of God. The U.S. Government is notorious for its treatment of prisoners of war in Guantamo Bay. But because the U.S. enjoys a supreme position in the U.N. it is hardly condemned by the world organization. The hypocricy that underlies much of the world political treaties shows how nations, nominally Christian, bow to others based on common interest but fall short of achieving the call to justice, respect and love that the Covenant calls for. It is not an issue for individuals only but for entire nations! "When the Son of Man comes, will he find justice?" In the end, it is love that counts. The Covenant is a relationship between God and Man which involves giving of oneself to the other. This is why I think many will end up in Purgatory and more may be already in Hell. Keep in mind that God does not will anyone to be damned. We damn ourselves. Christians particularly are accountable for the loss of many souls, because Christians were and are still given the grace to lead the world to the kingdom of God yet they fail!

Blessed be My People Egypt

2011-02-09T18:33:00.001-08:00

It is written in Isaiah 19 "Blessed be My People Egypt" for in Egypt the Church lived and lives and the Lord blesses His people. But how are the blessings of the Lord on His people being felt? So many powers wish to possess Egypt, one of the oldest civilizations on earth. The feeling around the globe in the current crisis of Egypt is that of confusion. Whether it is Egyptian President Mubarak at last transferring power to the Supreme Military Council; Egyptian demonstrators against the current regime as well as the more silent Egyptians supporting Mubarak; American President Obama insisting on his intrusion into Egypt's affairs; the media who play to the tunes of the powerful whether local, regional, or global; the stock market with its re-evaluation of the Egyptian currency by the day; Israel who is anxiously waiting for the next steps in Egypt's reform process; Iran whose leader Imam Khamini exhorted the Muslim Brotherhood to take over and transform Egypt into another Islamic republic and who congratulated the demonstrators for "forcing" their president to abdicate; the rest of the Arab world who indeed make up their minds by what happens in Egypt; Britain whose Chancellor voiced worries about Egypt's steps towards democracy; France's president who wishes to see democracy in Egypt; or Egypt's own political and religious parties who want a slice of the pie - the powerful governance in Egypt , it is true that only the prayers of people inside and outside Egypt will be able to rescue Egypt from violence and confusion. Why so? Because only God knows the hearts of people. He will still speak in the hearts that listen to His voice "Today if you hear his voice, hearden NOT your hearts" said the Apostle Paul. No power in the world will be able to suffocate His voice. The confusion will subside if we listen to His voice. The sufferings of so many millions may be lessened, because hope exists in an honest and more accountable government. However, who can secure the outcome of the revolution? Who can answer this question? Everyone needs security in Egypt and everywhere else; everyone needs basic food, shelter, clothing, healthcare and education - Who can guarantee the equitable distribution of global wealth? Egypt is the symbol for all nations - She plays today, as she did in biblical times, a pivotal role for the liberation of the human family from slavery to materialism to true worship of God. Egypt is now at a crossroad. She will either lead other countries to blessed security or she will lead them to Satanic violence. Blessed be My People Egypt!

Why Pray Now

2011-01-20T16:09:00.000-08:00

If you stopped praying to God you may wish to reconsider praying based on new scientific evidence.

From the publicly-known news: So many drastic events are taking place in many parts of the world. Count only the obvious: a revolution in Tunisia; a way out for the people of Southern Sudan from the dictatorship of their Northern government is being paved; Lebanon is without a government after Hizbullah withdrew its support for fear it will have to confront the International Court for the crime of assasinating Rafic Al Hariri; Growing discontent in Egypt; The leaders of America and China are meeting in Washington to increase their trade in the superpower economic competition for control of the global economy; and in Toronto, Canada a policeman Sgt. Ryan Russell was fatally struck by a stolen snowplow when he was trying to recover it from the robber. But at least there is one good news: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who narrowly escaped assasination in Arizona is recovering well from her near-fatal wounds in the brain. For her family this is good news. It is good news that many rejoice at the recovery of a fellow human person. It is good news that we can still differentiate between what is good and what is evil. And there is more good news: The misery we see befalling other humans causes us to group together and reaffirm our togetherness. Would that be enough to celebrate? Hardly - Birds do the same thing - they group together to escape predators. Animals live in groups. Fish also swim in groups. But humans usually do better: Humans pray to God together. In ancient times humans prayed to save themselves. Religions grew because of the constant need to survive. Humans want to be eternal and for this the ancients built pyramids and temples. We are no different today except that we have a better understanding of human dignity based on the Biblical message that Man is created in the image of God.

The Biblical message fulfilled by Christ is simple: God reveals himself as the lover. Revelation is His self-communication of selfless love. In accordance with His love, He enters history in the incarnation of Christ to redeem humanity and bring it to its ultimate purpose: God. The Apocalypse is not the story of the end of the world as much as it is the story of its beginning in the glory of God. "Maran Atha" (an Aramic expression close to Arabic) was the prayer of early Christians and should be our prayer today. We must pray for the coming back of Christ - He is the same whom the Jews expect and Muslims too believe He will judge everyone. Christ is the light of the entire world which the Magi went after. How can we see Christ again? By constant prayer to Him who is our fellow human and God: The Eucharist is the mystery of our union with Him always present on earth. Frequent prayer from the heart to Him who saved us, frequent confession and communion of the Eucharist, forgiveness of others, and reconciliation seem necessary. We must pray together - married people need to pray together - families need to pray together - communities need to pray together - Christians need to pray together as the week of prayer for Christian unity is here. The message is to submit to God's will in prayer. He will never forsake us.

If atheists themselves believe that God cannot be removed from human memory, how can we remove him? Let us pray as Christ taught us: "Our Father Who Art in Heaven Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom Come. Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil."

Reconciliation of Christians and Muslims - Is it Possible?

2011-01-18T09:10:00.000-08:00

In my lecture on January 14, participants shared their reaction to the question "What would be your reaction if your brother or sister was killed in the massacre of Alexandria?" People acknowledged they would react with shock and probably with violence - a kind of revenge against the person who did it. This is the reality of Christians today. We cannot ignore the cross but it takes time to psychologically respond to a shocking event. According to Elizabeth Kubler Ross, the 5 stages that a person who lost a loved one goes through in grief are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance (1). It becomes then important in our spiritual struggle to accept, forgive and eventually reconcile with the aggressors. Love is inherently natural as found in recent neuroscientific research. Certain brain hormones such as Oxytocin and vasopressin help humans bond, socialize and love (2), (3). But to love my enemy, it is beyond natural love. This kind and level of love is, in other words, supernatural. In philosophy it is called Agape (4), (5) where you love the other not because you need him/her but only because he/she is there. This is the love of Christ. It reconciles you with the other not because he lives with you but because he is important as a human person in himself. In fact, regardless of religion and culture, the only solution to vengeance is the Christ love (i.e. to imitate Christ thus you become the alter-Christus). To my fellow Christians I can only say that Muslims are our brothers for all humans have one father (God) and one enemy (the Devil)! Much prayers, by both Christians and - dare I say - Muslims of good will, are needed. The name of God the Compassionate and Merciful is invoked by Muslims five times everyday. Go deeper. The parable of Christ, The Good Samaritan, is a great example for us today. It speaks to the apparent enmity between Christians and Muslims. In the parable, a Jew was on a journey from Jerusalem down to Jericho. He is robbed by thieves who "stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead." A priest and a Levite see him and pass by. As commented by contemporay Biblical scholars, those religious representatives of Judaism who would have been expected to be models of "neighbor" to the victim pass him by (6). Jesus explicitly reverses the meaning of loving your neighbour from a Jew who cares about another Jew to a Samaritan, an enemy to the Jews, who cares for the Jew. The Samaritan, who in the Old Testament experience was the enemy of the People of God, suddenly and shockingly turns out to be the loving caregiver who cares for the wounded and half-dead son of the People of God. Strikingly, according to St. Augustine (and Origen too), the wounded man represents Adam and his offspring. He was in Jerusalem (Paradise) and because of the thieves, who represent the Devil, Man was fatally wounded and ended up losing Paradise. On his journey to Jericho, that is to hell, no authority could ever save his life. The Good Samaritan is the Saviour, Christ himself, who alone is the life-giver to fallen humanity. Christ remains today the only solution to the sins, suffering, anxiety, and dispair of fallen humanity. Christ heals the wounds by pouring oil and wine that clean the wounds, lifts the man and gets him on his own animal, takes the wounded to the "inn" i.e. the Church where the wounded is given rest to completely heal. "The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, 'Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.'" In this Parable the story of man emerges - It did not finish because the Saviour will come back. The reward is nothing less than himself! The LOVER! Notes: (1) Kübler-Ross, E. (1973) On Death and Dying, Routledge. (2) Lee HJ, Macbeth AH, Pagani JH, Young WS (June 2009). "Oxytocin: the great facilitator of life". Progress in Neurobiology 88 (2): 127–51 (3) O'Callaghan, Tiffany (7, June 2010). "Thanks, Mom!". Time Magazine. Time, Inc. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1992405,00.html (4) Kreeft, P. (2005). Love, Fundamentals of the Faith, Ignatius Press. (5) Pope Benedict XVI (2005). God is Love, Libreria Editrice Vaticana. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html (6) United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (2002). Luke 10, The New American Bible http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/luke/luke10.htm

Death in Egypt - An Opportunity for True Love

2011-01-01T23:09:00.000-08:00

Just about the end of a mid-night Mass at Saints Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria, an explosion horrified the people in the Church and brought death to those who have just left the Church. Twenty one Christian died in the aftermath of the explosion and many more were wounded. It is thought that the explosion was the result of a deliberate violent attack by fundamentalist extremist Muslims. Although there is no evidence for the reason of the violent act, a recent news article in the Globe and Mail may or may not help: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/africa-mideast/atrocity-in-iraq-is-traced-to-marital-discord-in-egypt/article1849969/ But the question that begs an answer is this:

Did those persons who worshipped and were just leaving expect they will die? Were they ready for their death? They were killed because they are Christian - Does this make them martyrs for Christ? And if they are martyrs, would not that increase the seed of the blessings of Christ in the land of Egypt? They have just finished participating in the Eucharist which is an act of "Thanksgiving" to God. This leads me to the second question: What is Thanksgiving in the memory of the Church? Thanksgiving is par excellence the act of the elect in heaven (Revelation). In the words of the Eucharistic prayers, the priest asks the participants "Let's lift up our hearts to the Lord" and the people respond "Here they are in the presence of the Lord." We lift up our hearts/ourselves to praise the One who created us ex nihilo (out of nothing) and whose creation was an act of utter love. We praise Him who was born for our salvation and who made us his own in spite of our weakness and our faults. We praise Him who sustains us in this life and brings us to repent and hope for the eternal life. The entire prayers become an act of thanksgiving to the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thus the community anticipates the heavenly kingdom. See "The Richness of the Divine Liturgy" at http://www.todayquestions.blogspot.com/2008/06/richness-of-divine-liturgy-in-melkite.html

This raises other questions too: If death is seen as an opening to eternal life, why do we continue to mourn? Why do we allow fundamentalism to creep into our emotions? Before we preach to others, should not we preach to ourselves that joy of which the angels spoke to the shepherds in Bethlehem? Hitchens was not wrong when he accused religious people that they lack the joy they preach. Let's recall one more time the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10): The Samaritan was the enemy of the Jews, yet "moved with compassion" he dared to care for the Jewish victim his enemy who had been robbed and left half-dead. This parable of Christ was meant for the priests and the Levites who did not care about the enemy. And it still applies to us who hardly care about anyone of our enemies. The word of Christ will still ring in my ears "Love Your Enemies" for this is how we can be perfect like our Father who is in heaven. How about justice for the families who lost their dear individuals? The more I think of the word "justice" the more I find it suitable for this world due to the human weakness, but in God's judgment, I hope justice will turn into compassion and love. If our Judge is our Advocate, how can we hope for less than eternal joy?

Peace of Christ

2010-12-24T17:40:00.000-08:00

When Christ was born, Luke reports that a multitude of angels sang "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will." Yet, Christ himself says "Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division" (Luke 12: 51).

Most of us hope for peace, and tonight we salute each other with the peace of Christ. While we do that we think that threat to world security and ours are those political and military powers who run the show. North Korea is one example. Iran and Israel are probably preparing for a showdown one day not too far. Christians are killed in Iraq and their celebration of Christmas has been cancelled this year after so many threats the Churches received. Wikileaks are top news as the founder has been condemned to throwing out in the light of the Internet the secret files of highly classified documents in the ever continuing espionage between the powers of the world!

But Christ warns us that his peace is different from the calm that precedes the storm. He, in fact, provokes everyone to examine his conscience before he takes sides and sits in judgment of others. His peace is a dividing peace for in his time Simon prophesied that Christ will be a sign of contradiction. Many will rise and many will fall because of Him. We simply cannot ignore Christ as the provoker whose sharp words against the hypocrites still resound today.

The entire world wants security but only false security can it attain since it continues to ignore Christ. Christ's peace comes with a cost: the cost of inner reconciliation with myself, my fellow humans and with Him my God. It demands sacrifice and wisdom. But it all is based on love in truth. If Christ were a pacifist how could he be condemned to death? On the contrary "he came to his own and his own received him not" (John 1: 11). His own Jewish people who proclaimed him king also crucified him for he did not do as they wished but only the truth of His Father. What more do we need to understand the peace of Christ? What would you do if Christ is born today? Only a question.

The Hitchens-Blair Debate: Is Religion a Good Force in the World?

2010-12-11T16:32:00.000-08:00

Christopher Hitchens does not wish to be called "Atheist" but "Anti-theist" as he probably thinks he is sure of the non-existence of God than the average "New Atheists." His recent debate with Tony Blair (about whether religion can be a force for good in the world) showed a bit of ignorance on the part of this self-proclaimed anti-theist.

My simple questions to him are those: Where was Christopher Hitchens when God created the universe (the same question that humbled Job in the Old Testament)? How dare he propose a humanist world without God when statistics show the influence of religion is on the rise across the globe? What does Hitchens think of the myriad human values introduced to the world by the fishermen of Christ? (See my post on the blog).

And if Hitchens glories in science, what does he know about what scientists have found in the new quantum physics, cosmology, neuroscience, genetics and the complexity of the evolution of life? (See my post "Has Science found God?" on the blog). What does Hitchens think of the essence of community with his pro-radical feminist approach? How would he propose to propagate the human species when he insists on a radical feminist agenda that continues to disturb this baren Western society? How can Hitchens attribute the Rwanda massacres to the Church when learned people know that it was a tribal war?

It was obvious that he would win the debate since the audience pre-judged his opponent the British ex-Prime Minister for his strong support of the Iraqi war. But Tony Blair showed a positive attitude towards Hitchens - Blair at least proposed that the essence of faith is love. He gave evidence of the positive influence of contemporary religion citing his own encounter with Catholic nuns who spend their life caring for sick people with Aids in Africa, and the work in which religious leaders were able to accomplish reduction of African debt. Blair's point, well taken by the audience, is that religion inspired and continues to inspire people to do good even when some people use it for their own interest.

As a Christian I have for long believed and preached that Love is the cornerstone of life here and eternally. God himself is a relationship of love between Father and Son in the Holy Spirit. And because of this loving God, Hitchens himself may be saved in spite of his aggression against God.

The Youth and The Church

2010-11-22T09:39:00.000-08:00

“Mother and Teacher of all nations—such is the Catholic Church in the mind of her Founder, Jesus Christ; to hold the world in an embrace of love, that men, in every age, should find in her their own completeness in a higher order of living, and their ultimate salvation. She is ‘the pillar and ground of the truth.’ (1 Tim. 3:15) To her was entrusted by her holy Founder the twofold task of giving life to her children and of teaching them and guiding them—both as individuals and as nations—with maternal care. Great is their dignity, a dignity which she has always guarded most zealously and held in the highest esteem.” wrote Blessed Pope John XXIII in his encyclical letter “Mater et Magistra.”

This word of wisdom is needed today by all the shepherds in charge of the sheep of Christ. As a mother the Church looks with maternal love to her young ones. She teaches them the truth as she received it from Christ and carried it in her memory throughout the ages. However, many obstacles seem to stand against the youth coming (or coming back) to Church:

1. Many of them are confused about religion in an environment that promotes materialist atheism. Some join sects or spiritualist groups to make up for their perceived loss of faith.

2. Many of them go to church from time to time only to participate in weddings of friends, baptisms of children, or funerals of family members. The Church for those is an old institution that does not fit with the culture of the day.

3. Attractions abound around the youth both young adults and younger. The Internet has made it possible for global digital communications but also for global pornography, fantasy games, and gambling. Security on the Internet social networks has become a major concern for businesses, individuals and families. Technology is like anything else. You can use it to commit criminal acts or to do good things. Individualism has crept into the minds and actions of our youth. The youth “text” their peers rather than phoning them. Behind this trend there is a philosophy of spending and getting results the fast way. They have no time for much thinking. If this trend shows

anything, it is that youth are becoming lonely even though they may claim otherwise.

4. Since the introduction of artificial contraceptives in the 1960s, young adults have increasingly used them ignoring the teaching of their mother Church as expounded by Pope Paul VI in “Humanae Vitae”. This has reached phenomenal proportions with up to 70% of teenagers today having sex by the age of 17 without marriage. With the legalization of abortion, more youth are drifting to committing the sin of killing their children in the womb. Or to avoid abortion while having “safe sex” they are encouraged by the secular authorities to use condoms.

5. Legalizing divorce supported by radical feminists has made it easier for married couples to seek their own selfishness outside of marriage. Children of single-parent families are less able to succeed in their lives compared to children of heterosexual committed married parents. See the article “Is There Hope for The American Marriage?” published in July 2009 in TIME magazine here: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1908243,00.html

6. The economic hardship faced by advanced economies in the globe is also having an impact on the youth. Educated youth are not finding good jobs and less educated youth are finding it hard to survive without parental support. For many years, the experimentation with drugs has been widespread in schools including Catholic schools. Peer pressure cannot be discounted when dealing with young adults and younger. The psychological effect of peer pressure is seen in universities, colleges, and schools.

A close look at the above issues should help us in identifying the mother’s role to guide her children.

The role of the Church to bring back her young adults and younger ones is about communicating with them in their own language while teaching them her ever-abiding truth in the way they understand it for each generation speaks and understands according to its culture. One of the major initiatives is “World Youth Day” initiated on a global Catholic level by John Paul II. Certainly this initiative can be replicated at a modest level in each diocese and parish. A plan for each diocese can be elaborated along the following lines:

- The Church is a community of the faithful. A major element of the faithful is the youth. The youth should experience the need for their presence in the Church as their mother would treat them with dignity. The youth should have an essential role in all aspects of services in the Church. Examples include service of the Mass every Sunday whether as choir members, candle carriers, ushers, or offering-collectors; charitable works such as food-bank collections and distribution (see St. Vincent de Paul); visiting sick and senior people in senior homes and sharing with them in their lonely lives; sponsorship of Christian refugees from Iraq and the rest of the Middle East.

- The Church is not only a mother but also a teacher. In that sense, weekly teaching of the youth and younger generations is necessary. The most important teachings recommended are living moral values. These include how to live today as a moral person. Teaching must be based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church (See http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm) and the Second Vatican Council (http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/index.htm). The teaching should link Christian life to the great mysteries of faith: The Trinity; Christ; The Creed; The Sacraments; Saints as moral examples. Today’s issues need to be discussed in the light of the Church’s teachings (See http://www.todayquestions.blogspot.com/) The youth should participate in preparing/presenting some of the topics। Use of technology as tools of teaching where possible is encouraged (projector/screen, Internet access).

- A life of prayer and fasting is important for a personal Christian development and for the community. Young generations should be encouraged to participate in Lent and Paraclisis prayers/Holy Rosary prayers. The effectiveness of a mission is dependent on the prayer life of its members and their spiritual growth. Many examples can be given from the fathers of the Church.

- The Church should emphasize the communal aspect in social activities that bring together the young with the old. The person develops in the community not only spiritually but also socially, in good entertainment, and above all in love.The Church should not shy away from inviting its well-educated young adults to volunteer some of their time in order to help parishioners in their jobs and lives. Examples include physicians, lawyers, engineers, information systems professionals, nurses, insurance agents, teachers and others. A monthly meeting in the parish could be a starting focal point.

- The authority in the Church is invited to be a Christian example to the young as is the mother to her children. Moreover, the Church must raise its voice in all controversial political matters that affect the young and the old alike.

There will definitely be more and better opinions about how to help our youth build their new selves, their families, their Church, their society and the world Let them start and continue this journey by the power of the one who said “I am the Resurrection, the Truth, and the Life”.

Eastern Catholic Churches of the Middle East

2010-11-09T09:57:00.000-08:00

Original written by Andrea Kirk Assaf/Zenit; edited by George Farahat Armenian Catholic Church The country of Armenia was evangelized by Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus, and was the first to make Christianity its official religion in 301 under the governorship of St. Gregory the Illuminator. The Armenian Church broke away after the Council of Chalcedon in 554. After several attempts at reunification with Rome by members of the Armenian Orthodox Church over the centuries, Pope Benedict XIV ultimately announced the establishment of the Armenian Catholic Church in 1742. Its patriarchate (currently led by Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni) is located in Bzoummar, Lebanon, and its communities are found in Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Israel, Iran, Iraq, and Palestine, as well as in the global diaspora, particularly in the United States. There are an estimated 540,000 Catholic Armenians around the world. Chaldean Catholic Church The Chaldean Catholic Church originated in Edessa (in modern day Turkey) with the Apostle Thomas. Today its patriarchate is located in Baghdad, Iraq, headed by Patriarch Cardinal Emannuel III Delly, and its members number approximately 419,000. In 2007, Patriarch Delly became the first Chaldean Catholic elevated to the rank of a cardinal. The line of patriarchs in communion with Rome dates back to 1553, though this line was broken on several occasions and rival patriarchs created their own lines of succession. In 1830, only one patriarch remained and Pope Pius VIII granted him the title of Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans. The history of the Chaldean Church has been marked by waves of persecution through the centuries in Iraq, nearly decimating their number and scattering their population, yet the Church to this day maintains a firm presence and vibrant community. Coptic Catholic Church The roots of this Church are found in the conversion of an Orthodox Coptic bishop, Amba Athanasius, to Catholicism in 1741, along with 2,000 others. Athanasius was appointed apostolic vicar to this new flock but later returned to the Orthodox Church. He left behind a line of Catholic vicars, however, and in 1824 the Holy See created a Patriarchate for the Copts, re-established in 1895 by Pope Leo XIII, who appointed the first patriarch. The current Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria, who heads a Church of 163,000 in Egypt, is Patriarch Cardinal Antonios Naguib. Greek Melkite Catholic Church The Melkites, also known as Byzantine Catholics, number 1.3 million around the world. The See of Antioch never broke its ties with the Church of Rome after the schism of 1054. However, due to its proximity to Constantinople, it came under the influence of the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch. The Melkites entered into full communion with Rome in the declaration of bishop Cyril Tanas in 1724 who was then accepted with his supporters into the Catholic fold in 1729. Melkite Patriarch Gregory signed the declaration on the doctrine of papal infallibility at Vatican Council I, but with the appended clause "preserving the rights and privileges of Eastern patriarchs." Gregory's concerns about the latinization of the Eastern Churches was somewhat relieved by Leo XIII's encyclical "Orientalium Dignitas." At Vatican Council II, the Melkite Patriarch Maximus IV contributed vigorously to the declaration of collegiality (the belief that all bishops together. headed by the pope, constitute the supreme authority in the Catholic Church.) The Melkites took further measures to remove Latin-rite traditions from their liturgy. The current Greek Melkite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Alexandria, and Jerusalem is Gregory III Laham, who resides in Damascus, Syria. In the Middle East his flock can be found in Israel, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon, and also in Africa, South America, North America and Australia. Maronite (Catholic) Church The Maronites derive their name from the Syrian monk St. Maron, who was an important figure in the Christian community of Antioch at the same time as St. John Chrysostom, but who left the city to follow the example of St. Anthony of the Desert and took up a hermitic life. The Maronites voted in favor of the Council of Chalcedon in 451, subsequently finding themselves the sole Chalcedonian Christians in the region. Some 350 Maronite monks were then killed by Miaphysites/Monophysites, causing the Maronites to flee and settle in Lebanon, particularly in the mountainous regions. The first specifically Maronite patriarch, John Maron, was elected in 687, in the midst of an Islamic invasion and conflict with the Orthodox Church and the Byzantine Emperor, Justinian II. The Muslim conquest of Eastern Christendom cut off Maronite communication with Rome for 400 years, until the time of the First Crusade, when the Maronites re-affirmed their union with Rome in 1182, the only non-Uniate Eastern Christian Church in the Middle East to this day. In 1584, the Maronites established their presence in Rome with the Maronite College, followed by the building of several monasteries and convents of Maronite orders. Syriac Catholic Church The Syriac Church, also referred to as the Western Syriac Rite, uses a Syriac language liturgy that is called the "Anaphora of St. James" and dates back to the bishopric of St. Peter in Antioch. The Syriac Catholic Church made a final split from the Orthodox Church and came into union with Rome in 1781. Dramatically, in 1782, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Michael Jarweh of Aleppo declared himself Catholic and in union with Rome shortly after his election, and then took flight to Lebanon where he established an unbroken line of Catholic Syriac patriarchs. During the 18th century the Church went underground due to persecution from the Orthodox, encouraged by the Ottomans. In the subsequent years the patriarchate was moved from Lebanon to Aleppo, Syria, then to Mardin, Turkey, and finally back to Beirut during the Assyrian genocide of World War I, which brought about the deaths of over 37,500 Syriac Catholics at the hands of Turkish nationalists. Today there are approximately 159,000 Syriac Catholics globally, concentrated in the Middle East in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, and also in the diaspora in Australia, Sweden, France, Venezuela, Brazil, Sudan, the United States and Canada. The current Patriarch of Antioch and All the East of the Syrians is Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan, who resides in Beirut, Lebanon.

Interfaith Encounter with Islamic and Hindu People

2010-11-09T09:41:00.001-08:00

On Saturday October 30, I was one of 3 speakers in an interfaith meeting for young adults and youth at Jaffari Islamic Centre. The two other speakers were Dr. Hashimi, a Muslim expert and Pandit Roopnauth Sharma, a Hindu guru. The topic was about angels and demons in Catholic Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. But I took this opportunity to speak, uninterrupted, about Christian faith and common themes with other religions: 1) Moral values and human dignity (Respect for human dignity may not be found in some traditions of the East) 2) Common things: Belief in God, prayer, fasting, and community life 3) Human needs: material, psychological, spiritual and security 4) We need love since love protects us 5) God loves us - In Christian tradition God is Love. Love is not only one of his names but his unique character. He loved us into life and cares about each one 6) Angels are servants of God. God loves his angels including the angels who fell into pride. The Devil and his angels separated themselves from God. 7) The lesson for us is not to separate ourselves from God - We need God - We need eternal happiness and salvation from sin through Christ 8) We have guardian angels who protect us. Angels came to Abraham, Jacob, Mary, and Christ. The angels of God sustained Christ in his fasting and in suffering before his crucifixion. 9) The most important point: In response to Dr. Hashimi who thinks that Christians are confused by considering Christ the Son of God, I said that we as Christians believe in Christ not only as the Son of God but also that Christ is God from God fully divine and fully human. When one of the Muslim youth questioned why Christians beliieve that Christ is God, I replied that the topic can be the subject of another debate. But I insist on finding common grounds rather than finding topics of differences with people of other religions. We cannot act like the self-righteous people. Moreover, When Christians speak to someone who is not Christian we need to be patient for him to learn. He will not learn as long as Christians do not show love by example. We need to respect everyone and love him as he is. Christ respected everyone and loved everyone. We must hope to be a bit as generous as our master and God.

Greek Melkite Catholics?

2010-11-05T09:37:00.000-07:00

Why are Melkite Catholics called Greek Melkite Catholics? 1) The word "Melkite" is derived from "followers of Malek" i.e followers of the emperor or king. It was used as a derogatory term by Christians who did not accept the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) against those Christians who accepted it. The Council declared that in Christ there are two natures human and divine distinct but united in his one person. 2) The word "Greek" refers to the Eastern Roman empire which extended its governance over all the Middle East and whose centre was Constantinople (today Istanbul) i.e. Byzantium. Its cultural language is Greek. Since the Church of Antioch was situated in this Greek/Byzantine culture, Christians who lived in Antioch were called Greek (Room) by the Arab conquerors of the 7th century. 3) Although the Church of Antioch distanced itself from the effects of the 1054 schism between the Churches of Rome and Constantinople, its geographical and cultural proximity to Constantinople slowly reflected a pressure or tendency to be Orthodox Christian. However, in 1724 bishop Cyril Tannas and other bishops in the Church of Antioch declared their communion with the Church of Rome. This decision resulted in the pope recognizing Cyril as a patriarch of Antioch in 1729 and, at the same time, some other bishops in Antioch preferring to stay in communion with Orthodox Constantinople. Since the reunion with the Roman Church, the followers of Patriarch Cyril Tannas have been part of the Catholic Church. Note that the Church of Rome recognizes the traditions of all Eastern Churches in union with her.

The Family - Part 3 - Sexuality

2010-10-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

Sexuality is a gift from God. According to the teachings of most religions, marriage is the framework that this gift is used and made fruitful. In Christian moral teaching, marriage reflects love of Christ to His spouse the Church. The Church as spouse loves Him who loved her first and made her holy by the shedding of His own blood. If the power of hell cannot overcome the Church, it is because Christ is with her till the end. If we think of the power of Christ against the power of hell, then we can be invited to plunge ourselves into the deeper water of eternal love. In the marital intimate act of intercourse, the husband gives himself to his wife, and she receives his love and gives herself in love to him. This power of sacrificial love binds them by the fruit of the intimate act, the child they procreate in participation with God. But why does the Church restrict the intimate act of intercourse to marriage? Why does the Church consider pre-marital sexual activity and extra-marital sexual activity to be acts of mortal sin? This is the question that liberal young adults ask themselves especially in such free cultures as Europe and North America. On one hand, we need to understand that young and older adults alike are exposed to a materialist culture of instant pleasure, a web of media attractions that makes the temptation of falling into sexual promiscuity readily available, an economic hardship in a fast-paced and often stressful job market, and an individualist mentality promoting the individual human rights as opposed to the rights of society/community. In such stressful situation, it is expected that many may fall for the temptation of premarital/extra-marital sexual acts. On the other hand, if the parents (us?) were such a good model, the young ones would imitate them. Parents need to communicate with their children since they are born. In fact, communication with the fetus in the womb is beneficial according to medical research. If parents, parish and school teach their young ones how to live faithfully to their moral values, the young ones would be influenced by them. For we have to look at the root before we judge the fruit. The model for us is Christ himself.

But more than that let's consider the following points:

1. According to recent neuroscientific research in 2006, humans are naturally endowed with a brain hormone called "Oxytocin" to help them bond and open their hearts for love. Not only it contributes to bonding between male and female, but also to bonding between mother and infant. Oxytocin contributes to increase in social collaboration and trust. Another hormone found in human brains is Vasopressin which can contribute to pair bonding thus encouraging monogomous lasting bonding between male and female. Love starts really at the natural level. We do not need to invent it. This tells us that humans are inherently created good and open to love without having to resort to Biblical sources or early tradition.

2. If humans are created good and open to love, then they will ideally propagate love to their offsprings and in their social environment, but without discounting the effects of genetic differentiation, rivalry and selfishness. Research in anthropology has shown that rivalry is mimetic or imitative. According to Rene Girard, if I admire another man and know that he loves the woman I love, his desire for this woman will be stronger because of me and he will become my rival. This probably explains why men fight each other and become violent over time. But the same imitative power is also found in imitating the good parents, leaders and saints who sacrifice themselves out of love for the sake of the other.

3. Just as much as sexual energy is powerful, self-control proves to be more powerful. This is the dictum of True Love Waits, a movement in America that seeks to encourage teenagers and young adults to commit sexual love to the bond of marriage alone (see http://www.lifeway/tlw) Self-control propagates through the formation of like-minded community of single young adults and helping them overcome the difficulties they face. In the Christian tradition, the formation of community is the responsibility of pastors, teachers, and the entire people of God. Giving them responsibilities within the parish is one way to make them feel they are part of the community.

4. If we want to extend ourselves through offsprings, there is one natural way: mating. But mating with multiple persons of the other gender not only breaks the exclusive natural bonding found by neuroscience, but also introduces the highly probable infections with transmitted sexual diseases which in turn affect the health of generations to come.

5. The idea of living by myself is scarecely possible. Humans have brains that help them organize themselves into families of man and woman in a natural way. This idea is psychologically applied to all cultures at all times regardless of religion and creed. That I can live by myself contradicts my drive for security, for I am insecure as long as I remain alone. In an urban society of individuals, who will take care of me when my parents have died and I am left alone, unless my spouse is there for me? This is why commitment to each other all life is required of both spouses in the marriage Mass or ceremony. This is why a good spouse is in pain when he/she loses the other. This is also why divorce is wrong.

6. In Christianity alone, and here is where I wish to draw more attention, the power of God is not His mighty deeds, His wisdom, or his eternal glory but His love. His love is what constitutes the Holy Trinity in One God. His love is what prompted Him to create the world and redeem it when sin entered the world. If love is recognized by theists and atheists alike to be the supreme moral value, then Christianity in the teaching and life of her founder is the answer to darkness. It is this love that precedes any sexual act. The definition of love is not pleasure but sacrifice for the other (my spouse) who is not an object of pleasure in the way passionate Hollywood pictures it. Love contains passion and emotion yet it transcends it. It contains commitment yet it transcends it - for love is the other. Nothing less.

Based on the above points combined, it is objectively evident why the Church considers premarital and extra-marital sexual activity to be wrong. The Church does not judge the sinner, yet she judges sin and encourages her children to avoid falling in it especially through prayers and fasting. In all things we need God's help for He said "Without me you can do nothing." Indeed He works through us.

The Family - Part 2 - Marriage

2010-09-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

In the animal kingdom, the family is the result of mating between males and females of the same species. Humans are "developed animals." In the very beginning of human history, the male mated with the female (Adam and Eve) and the result was a number of children. To survive, the male hunted for the prey to eat with his woman and children while the woman took care of raising their kids. Where there was fertile land for agriculture, human tribes settled. This is the example of the ancient Egyptian civilization around the Nile. In other areas where there was rain, tribes settled too. Mesopotamian civilization, for example, was built around the idea of conquering tribes in the fertile lands of Syria and Palestine. The role of man in the family developed so that he became a farmer rather than a hunter. Women were considered objects that belonged to their men in the same way as cattles belonged to men. Boys were considered a blessing because the more boys a man had the more helpers to him they would be. Boys would become men that defend the tribe and extend the family in the next generations thus making man eternal. Women of conquered tribes were often raped and taken slaves by the conquerors. So much was the dignity of women thrown away that a man could take many wives just to bear him children and care for them. This is a very sketchy picture but the idea still remains true in underdeveloped cultures today. In traditional Islamic Sharia for instance, a man can take up to four wives at the same time. This is the case in many Islamic cultures to-date. Moreover, a man in Islamic cultures can divorce his wife and marry another one. Jewish tradition too tells us in the Bible that many Jewish men married more than one woman from Abraham himself on to his offspring. Solomon is known to have had many wives under the influence of pagan cultures surrounding Israel. Divorce was allowed in the Mosaic Law down to the time of Christ 1200 years later. This is natural since a man can impregnate hundreds of women in one year but a woman can be impregnated by only one man in the same period. However, only Christ reinstated marriage to its original form: One woman for one man exclusively. A man may not divorce his wife neither can a wife divorce her husband. Their marriage is permanent till death separates them. For 20 centuries the Catholic Church has enshrined this moral doctrine in its Canon Laws. In 16th century England, Sir Thomas More, now a saint, paid the ultimate price for he refused to acknowledge King Henry VIII's remarriage and was therefore taken to martyrdom - A man for all seasons. But let's take a deeper look: What is the purpose of marriage? The Ecumenical Second Vatican Council declared that marriage between a man and a woman is for more than mere reproduction. It is a participation in the procreative act of God who wills that humans be conceived and born into life. The act of sexual intercourse that brings about human life is sacred - It must be open to life (as Pope Paul VI states in Humanae Vitae). It is also an act constituted in love which is the supreme gift of God. No human power can make divorce valid for the supreme gift of God cannot be revoked. This is why, now we understand, "a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife." Why is divorce considered evil? Because in marriage both husband and wife commit themselves to each other in good times and bad, in health and illness and in joy and sorrow. Infidelity is a great evil but is forgiven by the spouse against whom it was committed. While divorce is not an option for Catholics who commit to remain in the Church, secular societies have legalized it since the 1970s. But recent studies show the negative effect of divorce on families particularly on their children. They point to children of divorce that fail in their future marriages significantly more than the children of committed marriage. Divorced people tend to have weaker second marriage if they are remarried. In the eyes of the Gospel and the Church remarriage is invalid if the spouse of the valid marriage is still alive. The Church understands the weakness of the human nature. If spouses are unable to continue living together, they are allowed to be separated but they are not allowed to remarry in the Church. To strengthen the life of married couples Marriage Encounter is a week-end program dedicated to bringing together married couples in order to renew their love and communication. Marriage is not a simple contract. Pre-nuptial agreements that are popular in North America today assume that marriage is a legal contract that will not last. For this reason, the spouses agree before marriage as to the individual rights of each of them for his/her own assets if/when their marriage is over. What is missing in these arrangements is trust of each in the fidelity of the other. The Sacramant of Matrimony is blessed by Christ as a sign of love. In the wedding ceremony/Mass, the bridegroom and bride are each asked by the priest to declare his/her own willingness to spend the rest of life with the other in good times and bad, in good health and illness, and in joyful times and sorrowful times. They are partners for life. In rare cases the Church may consider a marriage to be invalid and therefore annulled only if there is enough evidence of certain conditions before marriage including psychological/physical/health inaptitude in one of the two partners or if one of them was married in distress. To investigate such a case the Church tribunal for marriages carries out lengthy investigations. The open character of the Catholic Church is evident in her treatment of on-Catholic marriages. In the eyes of the Catholic Church every first marriage in any religious/cultural context is considered valid although it lacks the sacramental grace of Christ. Thus the marriage of a Catholic who marries a divorced Muslim is invalid. Moreover marriage is about raising new generations in the grace of God. This is why in "mixed marriages" the Catholic partner promises to raise the children in the Catholic moral education. The same partner also promises to try to persuade the non-Catholic partner to become Catholic. It is important that the family be of the same religion and faith, pray together, and resolve any serious problems immediately by councelling the spiritual guide or parish priest. Marriage reflects the Holy Trinity. How? Marriage cannot be broken because it is in the image of the holy Trinity. Marriage unites two in one love body and soul and its fruit is love. This reflects, to our limited understanding the love of the Father to his only begotten Son. The Son returns the Father's love with love. The power that unites the Father and the Son is also Love - It is the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit gives life here on earth and in eternity.

The Family - Part 1

2010-09-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

The human family is at the centre of all cultures since the beginning of the homosapien species. This is a natural development of creation. In the animal kingdom the family starts with mating between the male and female. Humans are “developed animals” with a mind and a will. In that sense they are created in the image of God. In ancient texts, the Bible recounts the first family in Genesis with the relationship of Adam and Eve (male and female). “Adam knew Eve” (according to Genesis) did not mean that he knew her name or something about her. The language indicates experience of the other person in a deep relationship. Adam experienced Eve as no one else did emotionally, physically, spiritually and existentially. From their love relationship sprang their children. The children of humans have physical and genetic resemblance to other animals (they share 98% of the DNA with chimpanzees) but they are different in other significant ways. Babies of humans are totally dependent on their parents for survival for many years. Although the human baby comes out from his mother’s womb with a large brain, he cannot walk for at least 6 months. However while other animal babies can walk earlier and climb trees fast, only human babies learn to behave differently with time. This is the result of a different larynx that allows humans to speak and develop their language thus they communicate easier and faster. Moreover humans have the most complex brain in the universe containing 100 billion cells in each child’s brain. You can see that humans are highly complex with minds that not only can think but also can will to do things as they choose. Because humans as young as a few months old can choose, they can say yes or no to their parents. They can also choose to accept or reject to love their siblings (brothers, sisters). This is probably what Augustine called Original Sin. It is that I want myself: my growth: my life even if it is at the cost of killing others. My parents are as important to me as much as I need them. I love them because they loved me first. My siblings are only important if I can get them to do things for me. However I love them too as they resemble in traits much of what my parents had. Cultures developed around the concept of me, my family, and my tribe. The more the tribe grew together the more it became stronger. This is called collaboration. The individual belonged to the family and the family to the tribe (society) and the tribe was headed by the chief or elder of the tribe. Thus civilizations came as a development of tribal interactions, trade, and collaboration. But the fact that collaboration and organization make sense allows humans to learn together and from each other. Schools and universities are only one phenomenon of human learning. This learning starts in the family at a very young age. When children are ready to develop their writing, their parents send them to school. And schools used to be built by churches in the Western world and part of the Middle East until the contemporary secular state took over much of what the Church built. It is a fact that the Church built the first schools and the first universities in Europe and learned from other philosophies particularly Greek. Today then we need to learn from the Church. This is the foundation of the moral law that we as parents transmit to our children. Then we need to send our children to good Catholic/Christian schools where they learn more about their faith. Then we need to encourage our children to come to Church from their early young age using the reward system. This way they will grow up in Church.

A life that appears to have been a failure!

2010-09-07T09:21:00.001-07:00

His entire life was in giving. His healings meant to cure people of afflictions. Although he was accused by teachers of the Law that he healed by the power of Satan, his healing drove out demons and brought peace to the healed ones. His teaching was summed up in loving the enemy and praying for the offenders. Yet his life ended on a cross where he died between two thieves. His own disciples left him except for his mother and a few followers. All the crowds who shouted for him as their king cursed him a few days later on the way to the cross. And despite this he forgave them all. If he did not claim to be the Son of God he probably would not have been condemned. How could he be silent when he was to witness to the truth? Suffering to death on a cross was the most horrible way to die invented by the Romans. A life that appears to have been a failure in all human measures. Nevertheless his crown was a glorious Resurrection and Ascension that over centuries brought kings and multitudes to him. Now we know that the Crucified One who failed in the eyes of Man is the One who made his coward disciples conquer the world in his name. Glory be to Jesus the King!

Today's Question: Peace between Palestinians and Israelis

2010-09-02T10:08:00.000-07:00

For both Israelis and Palestinians to find a just solution, they must start with good will towards each other. That was Sadat's achievement. He went all the way to the Knesset in Israel in spite of huge opposition in the Arab world. Egypt was expelled from The Arab League. Yet he persevered. Menahem Begin, while considered criminal by many non-Jews, took the opportunity to negotiate an agreement with Egypt. It takes two to tango... Today, thirty one years after the Egyptian-Israeli Agreement, the hawks of Israel and Palestine must first stop violence against each other. This takes courage as there are other players in the Middle East who would benefit from extending the conflict's atmosphere. Fundamentalists on both sides must learn to forgive the past and attempt a reconciliation. This is not easy at all especially for people who were driven out of their land and still suffer in camps. Peace has a cost. Life has a cost. But hope is the only way to go. It may take years to achieve a permanent solution. Perseverance in the hope that those estranged cousins will be able to recognize each other's right to life is the beginning of peace.

Jospeh Jules Zerey on Faith

2010-08-28T21:26:00.000-07:00

It is my prayer that we as a Christian community whether in Toronto or in Jerusalem be converted and live our faith according to the Lord's commandment of love. He loved his disciples who betrayed him. He forgave his enemies who crucified him. "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you that you may be children of your heavenly Father" (Matthew 5: 44-45). It is only through love that we can be his disciples. The place where I live is not far from the mountain on which Christ shone in transfiguration and gave us a foretaste of his glory. This transfiguration awoke the three apostles and after his Resurrection they became a powerful testimony to his awakening from the dead. Must we not today awaken again from our slumber? We need to to have a room for God in our everyday life - contemplate his beauty in his creatures, and reflect on his love that was fulfilled in the incarnation, death and resurrection of his only begotten Son. In Jerusalem, our patriarchate offers a home to the visitors who come to pray and seek the Lord. We have a few schools to teach children according to the faith, but half of my students do not have the money to pay their tuition fees. We do not press them. They receive education so that they be good Christians. We have a couple of houses run by the Sisters of Charity and the Little Sisters of Jesus. Their vocation is to serve the poor of the poor, the dying and foresaken children, and the old and broken hearts. None of these services discriminates between Muslims, Christians and Jews, for all humans are children of God. In the Catholic Church of the Holy Land, a conference of bishops maintains monthly dialogue between the episcopate of each of the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Roman Catholic Patrairchate. We coordinate the efforts together to build a Catholic presence that serves the rest of people. We also maintain a convergent dialogue with our brothers in Christ: Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant. We pray together for the day when we all become one in Christ. In the interfaith dialogue with our Muslim and Jewish brothers, we are in good contact with their authorities. We respect our elder brothers the Jews from whom Christ, his mother and the Apostles came. With our Muslim brothers, we share much such as belief in one God, prayer, and fasting. For example, a day before my travel, I received an invitation for a Ramadan Breakfast with the Palestinian Authority to which I had to delegate a representative from the Melkite Catholic Church. In spite of all the sufferings we work with all parties in the conflict of Palestine to establish peace in hearts and to break the violent reactions between parties who seek to overthrow each other. Everything starts in the heart. This is why peace is possible only when people accept to live together and forgive each other. What can you in Toronto do to help us in Palestine? I am not asking for money but only for your own hearts to be in solidarity with us and the millions who seek peace. Our tradition is full of reminders to grow in wisdom and spiritual life. This raises questions to you: Answer in your hearts 1) When was the last time you fasted? 2) When was the last time you prayed from your heart? 3) When was the last time you received the sacrament of confession (reconciliation)? Remember that your children will imitate you as you imitated your parents. Even if it is hard economically for many, we should not run after the mighty dollar for it is written "You worship either God or money but not both." I will continue to be a voice for peace and love - the love that Christ alone brings to you. This is the faith of the Church that I meant to tell you about. Archbishop Joseph Jules Zerey is Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem for the Greek Melkite Catholic Church. The above was paraphrased from a lecture he gave at Jesus the King Church on Friday August 27, 2010

A Mosque Near Ground Zero!

2010-08-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

Many questions are raised these days about the plans of building an Islamic cultural centre including a mosque near "Ground Zero." Ground Zero is the name of the New York place where the radical Islamist terrorist attacks exploded the Trade Centres towers on September 11, 2001. Almost 80% of Americans polled are opposed to the building of the Islamic cultural centre on grounds that it is a reminder of a dark day in America's history when thousands were killed by a foreign violent mob. On the other hand, Imam Faisal Abdul Raouf, who is behind the Cordoba Initiative, argues together with liberal supporters that the mosque will be a symbol for tolerance of all religions by America. But let's look at the question from a deeper perspective. Most Muslims do not endorse violence. They follow the dictates of Islam, pray, fast at least during the month of Ramadan and seek the All-merciful God. The vast majority of Muslims oppose abortion. Pope John Paul II collaborated with Muslim countries to defeat the abortion agenda proposed at the U.N. Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, 1994. Bringing the above memory to the present, we could see in the current agenda of global Western thought a scapegoat represented by religion. Any religion is to be excluded from Western social norms and legal systems. Look at America, Canada and Europe. You will see Rene Girard's prophetic words of the scapegoat - Excluding religious prayer and teaching from public schools, religious symbols from public hospitals, religious opinion from the media. Moreover, religious institutions (particularly the still powerful Catholic Church) are shunned and attacked everywhere there is an opportunity. The recent fiasco about a few sex-offending priests is a sign. These are only signs of the scapegoat. Only the powerful remains and we are again in Darwinian lands. As I wrote in The Economist today I wish people understand that in this age of science we cannot separate religion from life. We will never be able to remove from the human mind the need to worship. The idea of God will be with us because it responds to our quest for eternal life. Since we are the only creatures with memory, we think and relate to past events. Violence is a big problem today. The problem with building this mosque is about security. No one, it appears to me, wants to be a target of a violent destruction initiated by fellow humans "in the name of God." In spite of the formidable progress made by science, economic and political cooperation, there is an indespensable element lacking in relationships: trust. Trust requires good will which remains a hidden mystery to-date. Even if all Muslim and non-Muslim nations declare their opposition to violence, there could still be elements or people who would take advantage of religion to proclaim their victory over the others using a distorted picture of God. From a practical view, it is better not to build the mosque in the near future as it could today explode sensitivities still fresh from 9/11 when thousands of Americans, including Muslims, were killed. The Islamic cultural centre at Ground Zero may give the impression to fundamentalist Muslims that they have won the war against America. The name itself "Cordoba" is a reminder of Islamic conquering of Spain in the Middle Ages. Christian people may interpret it as a return to Islamic invasion by other means. Then there is the fearful question: Who will fund this project. It could be the government or an organization in Iran, Lybia, Saudi Arabia or Pakistan. Some of these sources fund terrorist groups. Some commentators argued that Muslims already worship near the Pentagon. However the chapel they use is also used by other people from different religions at different times.My opinion: DO NOT BUILD the Islamic Cultural Centre nor the mosque near Ground Zero. First there must be a more profound encounter of mind and spirit between peoples. Slowly a civilization of love may emerge or may not. We must pray for it to emerge. In the end, we have hope that Christ will transform many hearts and minds for he came to save people, not to condemn them.

A Man for All Seasons

2010-07-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

A Man for All Seasons is the name of a movie that inspired many about the heroic acts of St. Thomas More. Sir Thomas More, chancellor of 16th-century England, was a humanist and intellectual married man whose commitment to the faith never affected his devotion to his family, king, and country. On the contrary his well-formed conscience allowed him to face up to the powers of his time.

In his conversation with Cardinal Woolsey, More showed the primacy of his conscience over and against the "pressures" that Woolsey, a cleric of the Church, wanted to exert on the pope in order to obtain a divorce for King Henry VIII. The king wanted a heir to the throne since his wife Queen Catherine was barren. Thomas More's response was prayer for the king. Again his defiance of civil authorities when they trample upon the dignity of human people is supremely evident in his trial instigated by Secretary Cromwell and the betrayal of More by his friend Richard Rich who lied under oath. Thomas More was executed for "treason" along with thousands who refused to bend to the king's new unlawful laws as Supreme Head of the Church in England and his unlawful second marriage.

Today, the Church (i.e., the People of God) need another Thomas More to stand for human dignity in face of the new tyrants: Capitalist corporations whose main purpose is to gain excessive profits at the expense of poor classes and poor countries, competing for the resources of the earth. Under globalization, the entire economic world is shifting to the powerful desire for swallowing the weaker economies. On the other hand, poor countries are governed by dictators who would swallow their own people.

More to the point, we see selfishness arising from insecurity in the hearts in every land (particularly after the global recession), shyless pornography over the Internet, media catering to the powerful, division among Christians, stubborn fundamentalism in many areas of the world especially in Islamic countries, and a huge carelessness for pro-life issues. The U.N. with a liberal Western mentality is pressing women all over the world to use contraceptives and otherwise perform abortion.

In spite of the above bleak information, we believe that Christ who works in the hearts has conquered the world. In time, the world will realize the truth that Thomas More defended.

What can we do?

1. Pray more in church, at home, at work, and on the way to work. Give room to God in your heart.

2. Read and learn the teachings of Christ. You will find them in the Bible and the Church Tradition as interpreted by the Church. Recall that the Church grows in its understanding of the words and realities of the deposit of faith (Vatican II, Dei Verbum, 8). Form your conscience based on your search for the truth. A good conscience takes time to be formed. When you learn the truth from the Church, pass it on to your family and invite your friends to share it too.

3. Imitate the good shepherds and servants who work for Christ. Help the Church by offering services through her to the poor, the sick, and the alienated.

4. The hardest thing is to love the true love. Love is more than feelings. Love is an act of the will. It is shown in the experience of God's love who loved us first. We cannot love if we are not loved. God loves you. Return that love in love to everyone you encounter: Your family, your friends, your people, your co-workers, your managers, and the world. Love does not mean that you must agree with what people do but that you will their eternal salvation. Start with the little love that you offer when you sacrifice some time for another person. Offer your love in little things you do in an extraordinary way (the little way of St. Therese of Lisieux). The love of Christ did not stop there for he did not only love everyone, but also forgave them on the cross. He, the innocent lamb, did not will to retaliate nor revenge. Christ loved his enemies: the Samaritans he taught and healed, the Canaanite whose son he healed, and the Jewish authorities who condemned him to death.

Love is eternal - God is Love.

Robert Hanna on Martyrs

2010-07-04T12:33:00.001-07:00

This past Friday Robert Hanna, who is finishing his theological studies in Lebanon to become a priest, gave a beautiful lecture on martyrs. He chose 4 examples from the New Testament. First is St. John the Baptist, known as the forerunner in Tradition. John was the cousin of Christ. He was begotten in a miraculous way and was sanctified by the Holy Spirit when still in the womb of his mother Elizabeth (Luke 1). John's father, Zekariah the priest, prophesied that John "will be called Prophet of the Most High." John grew and lived an ascetic life in the wilderness. Before preparing the people for God, John was prepared. The most impressive fact about John is his witness to the truth regardless of the cost. He was, the Bible says, "a voice crying out in the desert" for people to repent. He baptized those who came to him for repentance. Of Christ he said "I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Luke 3: 16). John paid the ultimate price at a young age for admonishing King Herod of his sinful life with Herodia, his brother's wife. The second example is St. Stephen, one of the disciples in the early Church who preached about Christ and performed wonders. Stephen was stoned to death by the Jewish elders who opposed his teaching on Christ, Son of God. What made Stephen a great example for all ages is not only his martyrdom but also his prayer to the Lord while dying "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." (Acts 7) The third and fourth examples are Sts. Peter and Paul whose feast we celebrated on June 29. Peter was given the keys by Christ to rule over the Church, yet he did not consider himself worthy to die like Christ. He was crucified by the Roman Emperor Nero upside-down. Peter spoke the truth to all. The head of the apostles who denied Christ before the crucifixion became a transformed man after the Resurrection of Christ and spoke without fear to the people at Pentecost. He performed miracles in the name of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul too laboured for the Church more than anyone else, yet he considered himself the least of the apostles. In the 16th century, one of the great martyrs is St. Thomas More. Sir Thomas More sacrificed his property, land and the good life with his beloved family, for he loved his Lord more and could not swear obedience against his conscience although King Henry VIII favoured him as Lord Chancellor of England. Thomas More was beheaded on account of "treason" but he himself said before his death "I die the subject of the king but the subject of God first." Today, we think of those martyrs and many more that paid the ultimate price for the truth. We imitate them as they show us Christ who said "I am the Truth." The entire Christian witness is to follow in the footsteps of Christ. It takes more than talk as it requires daily sacrifice and a life of prayer. We do not have to be martyrs but we need our hearts to get less full of ourselves, our material concerns, and our comfort so that God can have more room in our hearts.

Athanasius the Great

2010-06-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

When he was severely persecuted by the emperor and exiled 5 times from his See of Alexandria, Athanasius the Great was once told: O Athanasius, the entire world is against you. To which, he replied: And I am against the world!

One thing that moves me about Athanasius is his perseverence for the truth even if it meant persecution and martyrdom. The hero of Christian faith in the first Ecumenical Council at Nicea (325 AD), he succeeded his Patriarch on the Apostolic See of Alexandria. He immediately worked hard to regain people lost to the Arian heresy. From 319 AD Arius, a priest in Alexandria, had preached a distorted view of the relationship of Christ to God the Father. Arius claimed that the Son (Christ) was not God but only a creature, the first of all creatures. At the Council, the young Athanasius argued that the Son was God from God. Inspired by his defence, the Council produced the Nicene Creed which was further developed at the second Ecumenical Council at Constantinople (381 AD). The amazing thing is the insistence of Athanasius to use a Greek expression for the divinity of the Son emanating from the divinity of the Father although this expression "homoosious" was not Biblical. This movement under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is a sign of the development of doctrine in Catholic teaching, which was recently promulgated in the Second Vatican Council (Dei Verbum 8).

Athanasius is invoked not only as a saint, but also as a doctor of the Church (teacher for all generations).

True Freedom

2010-05-27T15:23:00.000-07:00

The only freedom we can ever have is the freedom of love. Whatever we do, we are enslaved on earth to the flesh...to the self...If you think that you are free because you live in a free democracy, you are mistaken. Look around and you will see people carrying crosses and walking in the shadow of death. The most advanced technology cannot save you from spiritual death, unless you make a turn towards Love - God. If you are a worrier throw your worries on the One who said "Come to me all you tired ones and put your loads on me" This is the way of saints. They became saints because they learned to unload their fears, worries and thoughts on Christ. The communion of saints is the community in which everyone loves and supports the others. They entrust themselves to Christ. If you really wish to be free, unload your fears on Christ and tell him to give you the power of love. Work with the promptings of the Holy Spirit to receive his love and transmit it around you. For only in love there is freedom. The powers of the world look only to expand their empires at whatever cost - militarily, economically and socially - in order to prosper even if it means the insecurity, and destruction of other people(s). No one has the right to force their own version of "freedom" on other nations. We watched with horror the second Gulf war in which hundreds of thousands were scattered and became refugees. It is terrible that a Christian president gave himself such rights of invasion causing divisions not only with his Western allies but also within Muslim sects in Iraq. Moreover, this act of unjustified aggression caused and still causes persecution of Christians living in Iraq and the Middle East in general. This story is only one of thousands that took place on this earth causing death to millions of people. Some of the wars were justified on religious basis. The story of the Tower of Babel reminds us that humans who want to reach to heaven on their own will fail and be divided. The name of the Devil reminds us of division. But the power of the Spirit of God unites us all humans. For God loves us. Work with the promptings of the Holy Spirit to receive his love and transmit it around you. For only in love there is freedom!

Death in Light of the Holy Spirit

2010-05-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

The Holy Spirit is "The Lord Giver of Life" as the Creed states. When we think of death, the Holy Spirit gives us light of life eternal. The Father sent his Son to save the world and the Son sent the Holy Spirit to sanctify the world. All graces are free gifts from God that come to us through the Holy Spirit. It is in Him that saints die to the self and the world. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God who urges us to repent and commit ourselves to God. This is why St. Augustine interpreted "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit" in the sense of stubbornly refusing to repent until the last moment of life. Death in light of the Holy Spirit is seen as only a transition to the fullness of life which is to see God "face to face." Who could see God face to face in this earthly life but Christ alone? Even Moses the great messenger of the Old Covenant was told by God "No one sees me and lives." Why Christ alone could see God? Because Christ is God, one with the Father who lives the fullness of love from eternity.

If God is Love, then he could not love himself in loneliness. From eternity, He must love another - His image, His Son. The Father loves the Son so much that he empties himself and gives his divinity unconditionally to the Son. The Son receives this love and in turn returns the divinity in self-emptying love to the Father. The dynamism that binds the Father and the Son in their eternal love is the Holy Spirit who is Love. In Karl Rahner and Joseph Ratzinger, God is not a person but a relatedness of persons (i.e. a relationship). It is impossible to comprehend God. But we can know God in our experience of love. The more we love others the more we love God and know Him. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to love unconditionally. Did not He say "Even if a mother forgets her infant, I will not forget you"? Augustine in the same vein says "Love and do what you will," because he deeply knew that true self-emptying love is the essence of God. He knew God. Knowledge never meant a mere literalist objective understanding, but also a subjective experience of the other.

Since today, May 22, is the feast of St. Rita of Cascia, it is good to recall that she was a mother and a wife who loved God, loved her unfaithful husband and her two sons in a beautiful way. When her husband was killed in a vendetta, she prayed that her sons never avenge the death of their father. In an extraordinary answer to prayer, God allowed her sons to die before committing an act of vengeance. Rita, a widow after 18 years of suffering, spent the rest of her life in a convent helping the sick. The Oxford Dictionary of Saints recounts "By constant prayer and mortification, accompanied by meditation on the Passion of Christ were so intense that a wound appeared in her forehead as though pierced by a crown of of thorns, she became a mystic" (The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, p. 371). An example of real martyrdom, Rita is credited with the intercession of many miracles after her death. Her incorrupt body remains in an elaborate tomb until this day. She is called "Saint of the Impossible Cases." This is an example of the gifts of the Holy Spirit greatly actualized in the lives of people when they cooperate with His will for the salvation of the world.

Death in Light of the Resurrection

2010-05-07T10:02:00.000-07:00

While everyone wants to live, everyone ends up in death. The experience of a close person dying was brought to me personally when my aunt Victoria died a few weeks ago. When someone you love dies, you think of yourself at least subconsciously. This is why older people go to church thinking of their approaching death so they could repent before they die. Many people I know would want to die, but they do not want to suffer before they die. This is what Victoria hoped for but this saintly woman was not spared suffering - She had to suffer for years. Even when there is no suffering, no one will escape death... From a natural view, death is a threat of annihilation. Since humans are probably the only creatures who can think of death, they have always attempted to overcome it. At least two ways have been attempted since early civilizations: 1) Man begets offspring so as to carry him from generation to generation. This is why in ancient cultures, infertility was considered a curse of God or the gods. 2) Man builds temples, pyramids, and towers to eternalize himself when he is gone in the memory of his offspring. Today medical procedures to reproduce the self have been attempted for the same reason, immortality, but without much success - an example is cloning. In all the above cases, eternalization failed. Offspring do not really carry the person in their lives. They also die. Temples and towers carry only a memory of the past and they too perish. Cloning, if successful, does not eternalize the self. It simply reproduces another copy of the self which also dies. From a socio-economical view, death is a separation of humans. It breaks the family and the community. Survival becomes harder when the breadwinners are gone. From a psychological view, death separates the lovers and the beloved. He dies and she mourns him or vice versa...And the community too mourns the dead. It is a fact that only humans bury their dead. Whether this is because they want to protect them, venerate them, or to simply go on with life and attempt to forget them, is subject to debate. However the fact that love remains after separation of death is a strong evidence that love is stronger than death and accordingly the unselfish lover may hope to find his beloved after his or her own death. This hope is found in many old religions and mythologies. Today scientific research in psychology recognizes the enormous benefits of the hope provided by religion. Near Death Experiences of a survival after death have also been documented in numerous cases. Love seems not only to survive death but has also been found to be naturally strengthened through the brain hormone oxytocin. Sexual intercourse -the act of love between man and woman - is naturally procreative and has the potential of begetting new life.

From a Christian perspective, there is a higher dimension to consider. Christianity alone of all ideologies and religions speaks of both eternal life and eternal damnation after death. The reason for this is that the truth of love carries responsibility and eternal consequences. Early Christians postponed their baptism till their deathbed to ensure they are cleansed of their sins by the water of baptism in which according to St. Paul "We are buried with Christ so that we rise with him." This is the sacrament that brings the baptized into the communion of the Church. It carries the significance of the Resurrection of Christ. The development of the monastic life is a direct result of the admonishment to "die to this world" and hope for the next one. The parable of the rich man provides a strong case when God said to him: "Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be" (Luke 12, 20). Even though monasticism seems to be too harsh for modern lay people to imitate, modern life offers the same harsh conditions at least psychologically due to increased materialism in social conditions. As an example, the effect of materialism is so widespread that divorce and abortion are leaving scars in societies which legalized them in the Western world. In the Middle East, increased Islamic fundamentalist violence has broken loose and threatens human life itself. Death can be defined not only as the elimination of physical life, but also as the decline, isolation and eventual death of spiritual personal and communal life. So great is the loss of Christian faith in Europe and North America that other forms of Eastern New Age spirituality have taken hold of many Christians. In the midst of a civilization of death, Blessed Pope John XXIII hoped that it still produces saints as much as earlier Christian civilizations. Paul says "Where sin increased, grace multiplied" This is a positive outlook that God's love is available to the most wretched. From a Christian perspective, the more life becomes difficult, the more living as a Christian makes those who cling to Christ true saints. Myrna Al-Akhras of Damascus is a living example of such testimony. Taken in this supernatural dimension the meaning of death is more than a physical death but denotes the increasing self-sacrifice for the other and for the sake of the Triune God who inspires love. It is the opening of the self to the gift of God - The word "Islam" itself means submission to God. How is the Resurrection of Christ related to death: The Resurrection of Christ is the basis of Christian faith. But we cannot separate his resurrection from his death. "Where is your thorn, O Death!" St. Paul said after he saw the risen Christ. Most of the Biblical accounts of the Resurrection of Christ tie his death to his Resurrection. Reaching the resurrection is not easy at all. Mother Teresa herself confessed in her letters that she did not feel God's love for her for over 40 years. Yet she persisted in loving him in her services to the dying and in her constant prayers everyday. Although she was surrounded by many sisters she was alone in her inner "death" - She felt no consolation from God. Teresa was "abandoned" by God to the point that she experienced doubts about the existence of God. This mystic shook hands with me in Egypt before coming to Canada and I did not know then the blessing she brings even in her "dark night" of which St. John of the Cross speaks. In the entire history of the people of God, even great saints did not want to die. The Gospel of John gives a vivid picture of the dialogue of Jesus with Peter after Jesus' Resurrection. Peter, the chief Apostle who saw Christ in the Transfiguration surrounded by Moses and Elijah also saw Christ after his Resurrection, yet after Christ made him the chief shepherd of his flock, he said to Peter these words "Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go" (John 21:19). These words ring in our ears today and remind us that none of us wants to really die. But if that is the case, how did the martyrs accept death for the sake of Christ? What made the Apostles, who were so fearful after the Crucifixion, so courageous in the face of death after the Resurrection? I believe the difference lies in the power of the Holy Spirit who urges us to repent and open ourselves to the mystery of Christ risen and glorified. For the Spirit transforms people's hearts when they accept his grace. This, I believe, is what made Paul exclaim "Where is your thorn O Death!" and what made Peter accept martyrdom for the truth of Christ. It is the same Spirit who gave courage to Mother Teresa in order to persevere in spite of her apparent inner loneliness. He is the Spirit of Love. Where love prevails, love bears fruit, because God is Love. Love begets love. Love survives. Love is stronger than death because it springs from God. People ask: What happens after death? According to Catholic teaching, God does not send anyone to hell. God desires all to be in the kingdom of heaven. The person who, with full consent, completely refuses God's grace and love and remains closed upon himself (e.g. completely hating or selfish) until the last moment of his life endangers his eternal salvation. The Catholic Church does not know of any population in hell, yet the possibility of being in hell is real. On the other hand, the Catholic Church has declared over 6,000 saints and hopes there will be many more in heaven. The Catholic Church recognizes the advances in psychological studies and for this reason allows prayer over the departed ones who commit suicide and whose will may have been diminished at the moment of death due to drugs, stress, or other psychological factors. For many reasons including the above ones, we can only pray to God, who knows the hearts of people, for our salvation and that of everyone. However, as Christians we are accountable to bring the Gospel (the good news) to everyone around us and to the world. The Eucharist is a communion of Christ. Prayer is also an important element in the communion of Christ. Reaching out to the needy is one more act of charity (love) which reflects a Christian attitude.

To recap, death is real and unavoidable. A number of phenomena indicate the survival of death.

Christian faith tells us that God is Love. Since we all look to be loved, it is reassuring that the Almighty One loves all of us unconditionally. In view of the Resurrection of Christ, we entrust the departed to God's love and hope to be with the beloved in heaven. He is faithful and will not foresake us.

The Way of the Resurrection: Imitation of Christ on the Cross and Saints

2010-04-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

I want to first thank our Lord Jesus Christ for his outpouring love which I believe, with the Church, that it is the essence of God. “God is Love” says St. John the Apostle. There is no Resurrection without the Cross. And to imitate Christ on his cross, I must start with imitation in the anthropology of homo sapiens. Imitation is one of the traits that distinguish the human race. Very young kids imitate their parents, and we, too, adults imitate others. This is one of the ideas of René Girard’s mimetic theory. Girard, a member of l’academie francaise and retired Professor of civilization at Stanford University has challenged the academic world with his insight into generative anthropology, psychology, evolutionary sciences and Biblical studies. His multi-disciplinary approach has also impacted post-modern philosophers. This research correcting the great Jean Piaget was confirmed by Giacomo Rizolatti, and his neuroscientists team in 1996 in their discovery of the mirror neurons. According to Girard, much of our desires’ outcomes are the result of mimesis (imitation). A man desires a woman more strongly when he perceives that his model, his brother for example, also desires her. By the same token, I imitate leaders/artists/politicians/academics that were/are models to me. I also imitate the good saints if they influence me. For so long, I regarded great saints as my model. I am sure that many people admire saints such as the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary points us to Christ. Many Muslims, like Christians, venerate her even though they stop short of worshiping her son. Most people shy away from declaring their faith for fear of social or political pressure in secular countries, or worse, in dictatorial countries, for fear of violence/vengeance against them. This leads me to talk about one courageous woman whose love of Christ made her imitate him. She has been recognized all over the world as the saint of Calcutta. I was reading last night the “private writings of Mother Teresa” who passed away in 1997 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2003. One of Mother Teresa’s private letters addressed to her spiritual director, Jesuit Fr. Joseph Nuener in 1961 says this (Focus here) “In Loreto, Father, I was very happy – I think the happiest nun. Then the call came. Our Lord asked directly – the voice was clear & full of conviction. – Again & again He asked in 1946. – I knew it was He. Fear & terrible feelings – fear lest I was deceived. – But as I have always lived in obedience – I put the whole thing before my spiritual father – hoping the whole time that he will say – it was all devil’s deception, but no–like the voice– he said–it is Jesus who is asking you–& then you know how it all worked out –My Superiors sent me to Asanol 1947– and there as if Our Lord just gave Himself to me– to the full. The sweetness & consolation & union of those 6 months–passed but too soon. And then the work started –in Dec. 1948. –By 1950 as the number of the Sisters grew–the work grew. – Now Father–since 49 or 50 this terrible sense of loss–this untold darkness–this loneliness–this Continuing longing for God–which gives me that pain deep down in my heart.–Darkness is such that I really do not see–neither with my mind nor with my reason.–The place of God in my soul is blank.–There is no God in me.–When the pain of longing is so great–I just long & long for God–and then it is that I feel–He does not want me–He is not there.”(Kolodiejchuk, 2007, Pp. 209-210). The missionary she founded “The Missionaries of Charity” expanded far beyond her expectations, not only in India but also in Europe and North America. Many people converted to the Catholic faith when they saw her example. Nevertheless, Teresa endured her night of darkness for 50 years. She did not waver in her love of Christ. She said in another letter to the same priest “No Father, I am not alone - I have His Darkness – I have His pain – I have the terrible longing for God–to love and not be loved.” (Kolodiejchuk, 2007, P. 225). She wanted in her mission to satiate the thirst of Jesus on the cross for souls. In her response to Archbishop Perier in 1956, Mother Teresa showed her determination to accept anything Jesus would permit in order to satiate his thirst for souls: “Please pray for me, that I may please God to lift this darkness from my soul for only a few days. For sometimes the agony of desolation is so great and at the same time the longing for the Absent One so deep, that the only prayer which I can still say is - Sacred Heart of Jesus I trust in Thee – I will satiate Thy thirst for souls” (Kolodiejchuk, 2007, P165). Jesuit Fr. Edward Oakes commented on Mother Teresa’s doubts and desolation revealed in 2007 in an article published in First Things. He said this “Mother Teresa's darkness was a direct result of the actions of Jesus on her soul. She first felt the call to leave her original order, the Sisters of Loreto, and establish a new order, the Missionaries of Charity, when she heard the voice of Jesus say, "I thirst." That is, he thirsted in the poor; and when in obedience to him, she turned to the destitute to slake that thirst, she became Christ's own chosen instrument, living out the same reparative suffering that had already brought redemption to the world—but which now has to be continued by the members of his Body, the Church. In other words, to understand the reality of her experience of darkness, one must turn, yet again, to St. Paul, who said: "I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his Body" (Col. 1:24). Thus, far from representing a temptation to infidelity, Mother Teresa's darkness was the truest indication of her fidelity to Christ and to his ongoing work of redeeming the world, mediated through the suffering members of his Church. No wonder, then, that, except for a few captious and frightened atheists, the world—and not just Catholics—has so quickly and readily recognized her as a saint. Because she is one.” (Oakes, 2007). In His death, Christ experienced hell. His thirst on the cross is in need of such souls as Mother Teresa. She, as many before her, participated in the sufferings of Christ so as to share in his Resurrection. References: Kolodiejchuk, B. (2007). Mother Teresa – Come Be My Light, The Private Writings of the “Saint of Calcutta,” Image-Double Day. http://www.amazon.com/Mother-Teresa-Private-Writings-Calcutta/dp/0385520379#noop Oakes, E. (2007). Does Doubt Belong to Faith?, First Things, October 2007 issue.

Christ’s Resurrection is Not without the Cross

2010-04-07T10:05:00.000-07:00

So many priests today are the victims of the victims of sexual abuse crimes committed by a few priests some of them are no longer alive. This is the result of the cycle of hatred that refuses to forgive. The Cross of Christ is still erect in our souls and very few bear it willingly. The impact of this “embarrassment” may be the loss of many souls in the agony of confusion only because a few dared to break the moral law some 40 years ago. The Church will survive but many people of this materialist age are lost! I can remember one of the priests telling us 7 years ago when this whole fiasco erupted that he can no longer afford to kiss children on their cheeks! What a drama are we getting ourselves and our kids in! For the average ignorant this is nothing but a crime committed by priests who should have been punished. The issue is much larger than a discipline. For a starter it involves: 1) Preconceived ideas on the part of the media and radical feminists who support them with the aim of weakening the current pope and forcing his hand to ordain women or allow married priests in the Roman Catholic Church. 2) Diminished rights for parents and family and increased rights for children 3) Diminished sense of community 4) Psychology of transference of the blame (Adam and Eve again) 5) Changed norms of public and private ethics - away from traditional moral norms 6) An insistence on the value of money 7) Complacency on the part of governments to support lobby groups 8) Priests are also weak especially in a materialist society that promotes greed and sex. If the media tries to blame Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, or Jewish clerics for these crimes, you will see a storm of protests everywhere, but the Catholic Church, who really built the roots of this civilization, must be silenced???? Critics of the Church would say 1) Human rights are the same for every individual regardless of age, race and gender 2) Trauma caused by sexual abuse cannot be forgotten 3) To make up for sins by a few priests the Church must pay back in money to victims 40 years later! 4) The Catholic Church continues to live in affluence so why not redeem itself by giving back to victims Critics would ignore that 1) The Catholic Church alone, of all religious institutions, built the largest and most illuminating universities, and the most learned orders all over the world 2) The Catholic Church alone stands as the moral voice that no individual, organization nor country can ignore. 3) The Catholic Church alone has the power of unity under one man, chosen by Christ, the pope of Rome, the oldest and largest in all organized religions on earth Critics consciously or unconsciously want to see the demise of the strong Catholic Church. The enemy is pushing them as he pushed Adam and Eve to transfer the blame in order to justify themselves. There is perhaps an agenda for the evil that started with a few priests/bishops and now is taken out of proportion. This does not mean that priests who commit sins are to be treated differently from other people but for justice to be imparted every party must be accountable for their responsibilities. Measures of accountability must be implemented in every diocese. Clergy need to purify themselves if they are in sin –The Church must be vigilant in every diocese. Abstinence is not only in appearance. It should be in the heart. Preaching is by action according to St. Francis of Assisi. On the other hand, Catholics must unite behind their shepherds. Lay Catholics must provide support to the Church, everyone according to his/her talents. With the above in mind, we need to pray for the Catholic Church, our mother, for the bishops and priests, and for all people including ourselves that God may spare us the tribulations – Have you not read that in the last days, Christ said, “Sons will rise up against their fathers and kill them”? Is this not a sign?

Why Have You Abandoned Me?

2010-03-31T09:44:00.000-07:00

The salvific power of Christ is not that he is a nice man who gave up some of his belongings to his neighbours, but that he is confronting the evil Darwinian cosmos with his love. The Darwinian Principle is “survival for the fittest.” This is how everything develops after “Original Sin.” Christ on the other hand offers himself as the lover who suffers death in order to save the ego of man. Evolution did take place. Humans are only the last of the chain. The question is that no creature wants to die. On the contrary every creature wants to survive, even if at the expense of someone else. But in humanity there is a mind and a will that the human can direct himself to a different path. Metanoia (Penance) is exactly that: Reject the Darwinian Principle and start moving in the reverse direction – the direction of love that suffers to the end for the Other – God is in the Other. He hides there. On the cross Christ said the words “Why have you abandoned me?” Although holy Jewish people recited this psalm 22 prayer when they were dying thus entrusting themselves to God who will save them “Then I will proclaim your name to the assembly; in the community I will praise you” Christ’s prayer was much deeper. His last word was “It is finished” indicating his mission of love has come to completion by his cross. Addressing his beloved Father he said “In your hands, I commit my spirit” This is his prayer par excellence. Full trust and eternal love that challenges humanity and can transform it. He is the God and author of true life, the One who challenged the Darwinian Principle in his act of total love and trust, his act of zero retaliation, his act of filial submission to the Father - unlike the slave submission in Islam and other world religions. And today, where is Christ in our civilization? We have violence and hatred growing in the land that was once Christian – The Middle East. In the West, the Darwinian Principle of “Me” seems to be the law in spite of tremendous efforts at humanizing humanity. The big corporations eat the young ones. Technology which ideally should help alleviate suffering is used in a way that is adding more isolation – psychological distress. And not many wish to follow Christ and his cross. Life is becoming too stressful. Running around to survive has isolated almost everyone of us from the love we need in our families, our society and our world. Look into yourself and you will see a tired person! Africa needs badly help for its people to survive, and we are giving minimal help. We are content with only growing our “own” and think that extending life will offer us at last some material comfort. Our churches are one third full when half a century ago they were full. Where are we? Busy in life to survive! Even family emotional relationships are broken by making love equal to sexual gratification outside marriage, legalizing divorce and requiring my share in the assets with my partner before I get into marriage. In the Holy Week, we should have a second look at ourselves and start to repent. When we accept the cross of Christ in our lives, we will then share in his Resurrection.

Haiti - A contemporary story of Job

2010-02-01T10:15:00.000-08:00

This past Friday, we discussed how is it that God allows such evils as the earthquake in Haiti...One person had expressed her hope in an email "In spite of all the 'darkness' that has happened I cannot help but see the Light in what is happening. So many countries (some of which are enemies) have come together to help restore and bring faith and hope back to this broken nation. I see Christ working in such marvellous ways. Sometimes we must remember that before the Resurrection came the Crucifixion." Haiti, in fact, turned out to be the place where God, as always, brought good out of evil - The Red Cross reported that 3 days after the earthquake, it had already received $8 million in $10 donations by text messaging from young adults using their iPhones. What do you make of this outpouring care? Some of the donors are literally kids who wanted to share. Many organizations and countries pitched in an act of solidarity - The face of God shone on many hearts, even when they did not explicitly recognize it. We went back to Job whose trajedy in the Old Testament reminds us of our own. Job was an upright man and was blessed with abundant family life and material richness. For his great piety, Satan said to God "Is it for nothing that Job is God-fearing? Have you not surrounded him and his family and all that he has with your protection? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock are spread over the land. But now put forth your hand and touch anything that he has, and surely he will blaspheme you to your face." When God permitted the calamity to happen to Job and Job lost his family and his belongings, he, unlike us, remained loyal to God. The tempter went again and said to the Lord "Skin for skin! All that a man has will he give for his life. But now put forth your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and surely he will blaspheme you to your face." And God permitted Satan and "Satan smote Job with severe boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head." What was Job's response? He refused to curse God and was suffering in silence, but you can see how great suffering touched upon his soul and made him utter the words "Why did I not perish at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?" Only then you see Satan no more. Only then Job lost his battle...A long discussion emerges between Job and his friends - in particular a long admonition by Elihu...But wait for the end of the war - It is a story that shows the human trajedy of everyone. At the end, God responds to Job's questioning "Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its size; do you know? Who stretched out the measuring line for it? Into what were its pedestals sunk, and who laid the cornerstone, While the morning stars sang in chorus and all the sons of God shouted for joy? And who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb; When I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands?" Job responded by addressing the Lord "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know. I had heard of you by word of mouth, but now my eye has seen you. Therefore I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes." The Book of Job then proclaims "the LORD restored the prosperity of Job, after he had prayed for his friends; the LORD even gave to Job twice as much as he had before. Then all his brethren and his sisters came to him, and all his former acquaintances, and they dined with him in his house. They condoled with him and comforted him for all the evil which the LORD had brought upon him; and each one gave him a piece of money and a gold ring. Thus the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his earlier ones." The story of Job tells us of God's outpouring and unflinshing love, in spite of every evil small or great, because He alone can cure us. He alone can give us a blessed life. The entire Biblical story is online here http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/index.shtml#job for your reading. It simply reiterates what St. Paul says "We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose." (Rom 8: 28)

Is God in your brain? The Answer

2010-02-01T10:01:00.000-08:00

Dr. Andrew Newberg of the University of Pennsylvania did much research re the mind’s relationship to God. Dr. Newberg wrote a book called “Why God Won’t Go Away” based on his experiments. In this work, also sometimes referred to as neurotheology, Newberg describes the possible neurophysiological mechanisms associated with religious and spiritual experiences. His initial research included the use of functional brain imaging to study Franciscan nuns in prayer and Buddhist meditators. Newberg has maintained that science and brain imaging studies are only tools to evaluate the brain during such experiences but do not necessarily negate such experiences. Here is an excerpt from an interview that Robert Wright had with Andrew Newberg. It is accessible online through my blog. In Newberg, there are levels of union with God: First we start by having a sense of feeling beauty (sunset, concert...etc), Second, we find a sense of community and love when we pray to God in Church. We have a sense of awe when we praise God in Church. Third: Prayer is a mild relationship with God and others. Fourth: intensive and long experience in prayers and meditation may lead a few people to have ecstasy and union with God (as St. Bernard says in his teaching on the 4 loves.) Two powerful questions: One: Dr. Newberg explains the feeling of oneness with God in terms of the brain lobes. Does not this mean that God is created in our brains? Answer: Dr. Newberg did not suggest that God is created by the brain. Here is what he said in the interview with Robert Wright (an agnostic) about where in the brain he detected the changes of brain activities during meditation by some nuns “That's part of the brain technically called the posterior superior parietal lobe we've sort of dubbed "the orientation area" and it is the orientation area that takes all of our sensory input -- visual, auditory, body sensory input -- and creates for us a sense of our self and a sense of that self's orientation within the world. Our model suggests that when people go through these kinds of experiences, particularly through a meditative or prayer type of practice, that by blocking the sensory input into this area you ultimately prevent that particular part of the brain from being able to do a good job at orienting the self and even creating the sense of self. If you block that out completely you would have a complete loss of any sort of definition or boundary of the self and we think that they may explain why people feel this absorption into some object of prayer or meditation, absorption into God, becoming one with something in the universe or becoming one with God, you have a loss of that sense of self and other or that sense of self and world by blocking the input into that area. I should stop here and go back to the point here that we're talking along a very reductionist path right now which I think is okay and I think is important but I think our ultimate conclusions are actually going to be very far from the reductionist...” It is clear from the above that he is talking about a mechanism in the brain that reflects in the body what is happening in the soul. He emphatically also says “When we look at a mystical experience as being a very profound spiritual state they’re usually associated with very powerful emotional responses whether they are ecstatic responses or very powerful quiescent kind of response or even some kind of combination of the two, they often are associated with a strong sense of becoming one with or becoming unified with God (or the Universe or some absolute nature of the world). Those are probably the main defining characteristics of the most profound types of mystical experiences. But we also look at all types of spiritual experiences along a continuum where we start with base-line reality and the individual discreetness of things in reality -- tables, chairs, cars and things like that -- all the way through very mild experiences that someone may have looking at a sunset or listening to a beautiful Mozart concerto. And then finally, on up to the very powerful kinds of experiences people get after many many years of meditation or prayer and where they ultimately do become absorbed into their object of meditation or prayer... Well a very obvious example is when people go to a church or synagogue and participate in some type of service where they may experience a fairly strong sense maybe of awe, of God, a very strong sense of love, a sense of community with the people that they are with as well as the sense of becoming part of something greater than themselves even though it doesn't necessarily mean that they have a complete loss of that sense of self.” Two: What Dr. Newberg says about experiencing God can be applied to any religion. Does this mean that Christianity is like any other religion? Answer: Dr. Newberg did not speak about the difference between religions. His expertise lies in neuro-scientific research. He himself rejected the reductionist idea of atheism that the brain activities create God. See above. It is not true that Christianity is like any other religion. Christianity is the most profound religion in the world. Christians conquered the world, not by the sword, but by imitating Christ who loved his Father and all people including his enemies. Christ is the one who taught us that God is our father, not a divine stranger. Christianity brought the highest moral values in history and shaped the entire civilization of the West. On the other hand, Eastern religions are man’s search for God while Christianity is God’s response and self-revelation to man. Islam is a Christian heresy (distorted). Although there are rays of truth in other religions, only in Christianity do we know of the true God – a God who is Love itself in the Trinity, a God who out of his love created us and not only that, but also came into history to share our humanity and suffer the most cruel death in order to make us participants in God’s own life. Not only do we have the great Tradition and the Bible, but also the sacraments based on Apostolic testimony and priesthood since the Church was founded by Christ as a perfection of the Judaic tradition. As much as Christians are privileged in the true faith, they are responsible to share this faith with non-Christians. But this does not mean that non-Christians who never knew Christ will all perish. Those who follow the dictates of their conscience and search for God, will find him since God does not wish that anyone should perish. The supremacy of conscience, affirmed in the Second Vatican Council, means that everyone must follow the dictates of his conscience, but only after he has done his best to make it well informed. The bottom line is this: Atheism will never conquer religion neither in philosophy nor in science nor in experience (phenomenology).

Fear of God

2010-01-10T15:59:00.000-08:00

Part of my life as a child is fear. I want to always be secure lest some powerful animal or person devours me. You see this exact picture in crying children hiding behind their parents when some stranger visits the home for the first time. Psychologically, although humans are distinct from other creatures in their complex mind, they share with them the innate need for survival. Religion in general responds to this fear by promising an eternal life of happiness. In an atheistic world, religion will still survive if only because of this. The crusading atheist and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins recognized that religion continues to be a major force. And so did the atheist philosopher Daniel Dennett. Daniel Dennett in an interview with Robert Wright acknowledged that he cannot prove that God does not exist. The renowned 17th century philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote in his Thoughts that it is better to live a virtuous life in this world since if God exists you will be rewarded in the next, and if He does not exist, you lose nothing. But if he exists and you lived a life of sin, you will find yourself in hell. This is an extraordinary insight that brings us to the discussion about God. According to some anthropologists, the very early tribes of humans in some native Indian cultures believed in the "Sky god." In ancient civilizations, Egyptian as well as Mesopotamian and Greek, people believed in God or gods according to their needs. There, based on archeological work, we find polytheist religions in multiple cultures. The basis of worship is fear and security - Fear of natural disasters and protection. Prayers are found directed to the Sun god to provide for agriculture and life. In the Aztic cultute, prayers were directed to Tlaloc the god for rain and fertility. Hindus in India developed their pantheist religions which, taken literally, mean that the universe is God. There were gods and higher gods, each with his or her role. The entire religious systems were ultimately based on survival of the tribe/culture. Better illustrated in the ancient Egyptian cults the pharoes, kings of Egypt, were buried in mummies with food and water in order to feed them in the next life. Sacrifice developed as an act of thanksgiving but also to avoid the vengeance of the gods. Abraham, the father of monotheism, is depicted in the Old Testament to have had a message from God. He lived in Ur (today in Iraq) but God revealed to him that he should go to Canaan and settle there. The detailed story of the father of Jews and Arabs alike shows that he was obedient and full of faith. God blessed him and promised him that his offspring will be of great number. In the Biblical tradition there is a development in the belief in one God (Yahweh). As much as the Bible is considered inspired by Christians, it is not dictated. The tradition of Israel developed over 2000 years. The books of the Old Testament were written over a period of some 1000 years. Contemporary Biblical scholars think that some of the stories were edited to reflect the understanding of the Hebrews that there is one God. The Old Covenant between God and Israel represented a special relationship in which God would protect and save Israel while Israel would worship God alone and abide by His commandments revealed to Moses. Many of these commandments are prhobitions for the survival of the community. Again, the key is survival. In Judaism, the image of God slowly but surely develops from an all-powerful One to a compassionate One. This is evident in the Psalms and Isaiah and more so in Hosea where God is said to speak as the faithful husband of Israel while Israel is His unfaithful bride. At last God is seen as a father of his people and not only as their majestic lord. The sense of security developed from fear to trust. The eventual coming of Christ was the epitome of God's self revelation. As Christians, we know we have seen God in Christ, not only the majestic divine, but also the suffering God whose love to his creatures made him dwell among us, suffer with us and die for us. In Christ, God made a new Covenant - a covenant of love. Fear is still there but now we can call God the Father our father as Christ taught us. Now we know that God's essense is love: The eternal love of the Father and the Son whose binding power is the Holy Spirit. The need for survival is now the need to be with Christ our saviour and God. St. Athanasius said "God became man so that man may become divine." I am not sure I learned it yet but the Church will teach me!

Christmas Wish?

2009-12-14T16:52:00.000-08:00

I watched them twice in two days and since then they never left my memory. I am speaking about a little known band of the "Christmas Wish" missionaries that performed at Jesus the King Church. They are young adults in their 20s. Their mission, as I understand it, is to play and sing Christmas carols to people in homeless shelter houses, orphanages, senior homes, churches, public places, and every other corner of the city. They are not particularly professional but they impressed almost everyone who watched them in the Church with their joy radiating from their little faces. Their leader claims to have received a mission from God. Michael is from Australia. He toured many countries performing his mission! His team that I saw is made up of adult girls and boys that live here yet they belong to the world from Japan to Brazil. I wondered how they survive unless they do it as a hobby on the side, but my wonder grew to admiration of those dancers/singers who can attract so many people only because they smile in spite of hardship. Which brings me to the claim that the world is falling away into sin. Yes, there is ample sin in the world. I particularly experience hardship these days at work and with it a cross I hope I will endure. And who lacks a cross? Many of my relatives and friends are experiencing hardship in many ways - some have lost their jobs, others their spouses through divorce, others are seeking to marry but unable to find their future spouses, families are suffering, others are lonely and yet others are sick mentally or bodily. Today I was told that a young girl in grade 10 has been diagnosed with leukemia. And in the dilemma of experiencing evil, it is pervasive in the entire world - My pride is one of them...The dilemma is multiplied by the fact that almost every man and woman born in this world have a wounded nature and selfish tendency. I see structures of hypocricy, political correctness, manners without value, society without dignity, and corporate slavery to the boss who is a god to his enslaved employees or subjects. This is why I experience our need of God's mercy. It is not on earth although it can start here if man risks his pride and "falls in love." It is all about fear for the self. We must hope for the blessed life in heaven for all those who open their hearts to God and repent. Against all thoughts that promote the idea of a just God, I believe that God is all merciful; his justice is only a reflection of his love, and has no sense of revenge as we do. When the Lord in the Bible says "Revenge is (reserved) to me," he, as a father, disciplines his children to grow and mature but never does he revenge. The revenge intended in the Bible is a disciplinary act and not a destructive act of a vengeful God. I also experience the need for each other, to pray for each other and think of each other in the Holy Spirit, the love which the Church calls the communion of saints. The communion of saints, as far as I understand it, includes the love expressed in prayers of saints in heaven, those of souls in purgatory, and prayers of the Church on earth. This continues till the end of the world. The Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the angels and saints are praying God in heaven, and to their prayers are added those of souls in purgatory, and those on earth especially the Eucharistic prayer in every Mass in which calvary is re-presented through the offering of Christ himself. That is why Paul the great apostle was able to say that he completes what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ. The result if truly lived is the joy experienced in this "Christmas Wish" missionary band. The incarnation of God in Christ was nothing short of a new world - a new song of joy. In spite of being born silently in a manger, Christ was sought by Herod for fear that he will be overthrown. The king was fearful and in his vengeance he killed those children as we kill the unborn today. Yet Christ did not overthrow Herod. He escaped from the tyrant to give him a chance. And the chance is still available to us. The entire story of Christmas is here again. The invitation is open. God is with us. But would we risk our habits of indulging into every party and spending to remember the angelic hymn? Let's forget ourselves for a few days, listen to God's voice and shout: Joy to the world!

Does Hell Exist?

2009-11-22T13:11:00.000-08:00

In the past couple of weeks a few people following the news of CERN's Large Hadron Collider being recharged and running have been asking the question whether the earth will be absorbed by a huge black hole. Scientists were fast to reassure them and us that there is no worry of such catastrophe happening. What people and scientists could not figure out is the question: what would happen to us if the catastrophe eventually happened? Would dead people have a life? And if yes, what kind of life? Hell or Heaven, or neither? There is no other question on people's mind, if not consciously then subconsciously, that requires an assurance: Does hell exist? And if it exists who will be saved from damnation? The question is eschatological and beyond the reach of science. According to theologian Roch Kereszty, O. Cist "Hell in the sense of damnation or definitive spiritual dying is taught unequivocally only in Christianity." In this view "the possibility of final damnation in its frightening reality has appeared only where God's love has been most clearly and most unambiguously revealed, namely inthe cross of Christ." In his book, "Jesus of Nazareth" published in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI comments in detail about the Lord's Prayer. There, the Roman Pontiff who is not only a well-known theologian but also a Biblical scholar commenting on "Lead us not into temptation," writes these words: We are helped a further step along when we recall the words of the Gospel 'Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil' (Mt 4:1) Temptation comes from the devil, but part of Jesus messianic task is to withstand the great temptations that have lead man away from God and continue to do so. As we have seen, Jesus must suffer through these temptations to the point of dying on the Cross, which is how he opens the way of redemption for us. This is not only after his death but already by his death and during his whole life that Jesus "descends into hell," as it were into the domain of our temptations and defeats, in order to take us by the hand and carry us upward...A brief look at the Book of Job, which in many respects prefigures the mystery of Christ, can help us clarify things further. Satan derides man in order to deride God: God's creature, whom he has formed in his own image, is a pitiful creature. Everything that seems good about him is actually just a facade. The reality is that the only thing man - each man - ever cares about is his own well-being. This is the judgment of Satan, whom the Book of Revelation calls "the accuser of our brethren...who accuses them day and night before our God" (Rev 12: 10). There is more to Benedict's exegesis - I only cited his words above where he speaks of Christ's descent into hell. You see how Benedict applies it, not only to his physical death, but to his entire life. Benedict pictures clearly the reality of man: the only thing that each man ever cares about is his own well-being. Christ himself in his human nature was tempted to care for his own well-being in the night of his arrest. He made an existential decision to align his human will with his divine will and accepted it to the point of shedding his blood for the salvation of all. Hell is not a place but a state of the self. Its fire is more than only physical torment, although it includes it. The fire referred to by Christ as "Gehenna" is most likely a figure that references the valley of Hennom outside Jerusalem where idolatrous Jews and pagans sacrificed their children as an offering to their god Molech and by the time of Christ was a huge burning place of garbage. This is a figurative way of describing hell. However modern Biblical and psychological research reveals that hell according to the definition given by Pope John Paul the Great "is not a punishment imposed externally by God but a development of premises set by people in this life." C. S. Lewis, in his masterpiece "Mere Christianity," thinks that there are certain sins that have a sense of hell - these include hatred, envy, and, above all, betrayal. This leads me to think that the fire of hell reflects the inner hatred of the selfish person who cared about no one in his life but himself. He accumulated fortunes and benefited nothing because he cared only for himself (Luke 12: 16-21). In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, we ask what was the rich man's mortal sin? His negligence of his fellow people and mostly the needy around him was probably nothing serious compared to the individualism we live today. Yet because he lived the "good rich life" his attention was limited to his immediate brothers (Luke 16: 19-31). He was the only one who could judge how much he loved. This was only a parable - there was not likely any real Lazarus who suffered at the rich man's door, but the parable has a message for all generations. Here in this life, we make our own existential choice with regard to the relationship with the Other (God and fellow humans). Hell is directly related to salvation in the Christian Tradition. The Church has never infallibly declared anyone is in hell, yet she has canonized many saints. However, hell remains a reality that we cannot avoid its possibility. Richard John Neuhaus, in the footsteps of the great theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote that as Christians we must hope that all humans may be saved from eternal damnation in hell. Avery Cardinal Dulles, who was the greatest contemporary American theologian, wrote in 2008 on the development of the doctrine of salvation. In it Cardinal Dulles carefully traces the question of salvation in the history of the Catholic Church. Anyone versed in understanding the development of doctrine is strongly encouraged to read this eloquent masterpiece in the global age we live in. There are endless questions that each one's conscience asks. We live in a materialistic society, with relativistic moral laws, and atheistic post-modern mentality. What is morally unacceptable in the Christian Tradition has become legalized as if it is normally acceptable - We now make our own truth which Pilate asked Christ. Take for example abortion, same-sex union, premarital sex, and divorce. Today, pre-nuptial agreements are used to guarantee engaged men and women their share in distributive assets should their marriage end in divorce. That is how low the marital commitment has come to be judged and seen by a falling civilization. There is, however, ample opportunity in this generation for living a Christian life of love. In spite of the increasingly hard and fast-paced life, many people - young and old - continue to help others. I see it at work, in the street, and in Church. More young people are seeing the light of God in prayer and spiritual nourishment. More too are engaged in Christian movements regardless of how orthodox it is. The internet used by many to publish selfish stuff, is also used by many to encourage others and help them. Doctors without frontiers is just one example of organizations that help life. Knights of Columbus is another, and Birth Right, here in Toronto, supports unwed pregnant mothers to have their babies. This, I think, is what Blessed Pope John XXIII meant when he said that this generation is not lacking in saints. Even when the reality of hell exists, the power of Christ is much more powerful. Our prayer is that, in spite of hell, Christ will win many many many souls. The Book of Revelation itself gives us this hope with its emphasis that multitudes will be in heaven (Rev. 19: 1). God will wipe the tears of many (Rev. 21:4). It is not us who work but the Spirit of God who works in us and helps us in all ways to repent. It is astonishing that where sin increased, grace multiplied (Rom. 5: 20). It is astonishing that a thief stole heaven before anyone else went in, only because he asked the Lord in the last moment of his life (Luke 23: 42). To the Apostles Jesus said "Rejoice for your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10: 21). Rejoice for our God's name is Love. He who cost himself to descend into hell would not let any person perish in hell unless that person insists with full knowledge and consent that he wishes to be in hell. "God runs after you to find even a tear in your eyes to save you" said St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church and the greatest preacher of Christianity. References 1) Pope Benedict XVI. (2007). "Jesus of Nazareth," pp. 161, 162, Doubleday. 2) Kereszty, Roch. (2006). "Christianity Among Other Religions: Apologetics in a Contemporary Context," p. 127, Society of St. Paul/Alba House. 3) Pope John Paul II. (1999). Papal Audience on Heaven, Hell and Purgatory, L'Osservatore Romano http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/JPHEAVN.HTM#Note 4) Neuhaus, Richard John. (2001). "Will All be Saved?," First Things http://www.firsthings.com/article.php3?id_article=2216 5) Dulles, Avery. (2008). "Who Can be Saved?," First Things http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=6126 6) Lewis, C.S. (1960). Mere Christianity, HarperOne

The Devil's Plans?

2009-11-17T17:43:00.000-08:00

An anecdote that I read years ago in the Catholic Register goes like this: Satan was making a grand plan to deceive humanity so he gathered all his troops and asked them: What lie shall we tell the world to fall into our traps. One of the little devils came to him and said: Tell them there is no God! Satan thought and answered him: This is not hard - Every thoughtful person knows that there is God. Another devil came to him and said: Tell them there is no right or wrong! Satan thought a little and answered him: But everyone who goes back to his conscience knows that there is indeed right and wrong - It depends on what you make of it. A third devil jumped up and down and said: I found it - Tell them there is time! There is ample time to do as you please. And Satan praised this devil for he found the lie that people would fall for... This lie is particularly widespread in our world today. Let me count a few examples: 1. Advances in medicine have made it possible for humans to live longer than they lived 50 years ago. The average life expectancy is between 80 and 85 years, when 50 years ago it was 60! 2. Today's technology has allowed us to have fun all the time when we can have fun. If not TV, then internet. If not internet, then iphones. If not iphones then facebook. We do not need to bother with visiting friends if we can "text" them our messages or email them. In fact, our kids are more used now to playing electronic games individually rather than playing soccer in teams. Individualism is the rule of a digital society. In fact so pervasive digital technology is today that Alan Kirby of Oxford considers postmodernism to be already dead (Digimodernism, 2009). Digimodernism requires a lecture by itself to analyze the trend in "global" culture. 3. We have no time for each other, although the lie says that we have time! Parents know that it is very hard for them to be together more than one hour everyday, and probably not everyday. Both work and come home late. When parents come home they come to their chores whether cooking, doing laundry, or home-repairs. Meanwhile their children, if there is any, are left since the morning with strangers and are left at home with computers that run violent games. Everyone is busy. And funtime is being choked - If it exists, it is mainly using technological gadgets. 4. Our youth are the most vulnerable and confused. Running between school/university and a new job that has no permanent status, they are divided. In many cases they are suffering loneliness from divorced/estranged parents or carrying too much debt from loans. They hardly find time to have fun. And when they want to have it they end up in night clubs. Some are on drugs or in intimate premarital sex only to find that they wasted their youth. Some get married if they have been blessed and the rest stay unmarried until they eventually wither. In this drama it is important to realize that with no or little offspring, there will hardly be any future generation particularly in Europe and North America. It is called the fertility dilemma! This is our life - our lie! We live a lie that we have time. However life can be extended it will still come to an end! In spite of the goodness we carry, we live a lie that we can make our own life the way we want it, and we still do not understand that life is more than pleasure and more than survival. We live a lie that the most important person in my life is an individual, me. We live a lie that our children can be educated on their own through the new technology - the least calculation is done today by the calculator, handy on computer, rather than through human memory. With the availability of so many things today, we have come to be a bit lazy or probably too tired! Why cook if we can order food? Why sew if we can buy cloth? Why go to work if we can work from home? The digital technology has allowed us much material comfort. Yet we are psychologically too stressed. Although we have time, we are so busy that we feel we have no time. There is hardly time for the family together. There is hardly time for prayer. There is hardly time for God! On the subway, people are either talking on the cell, playing games by themselves, reading a newspaper, or asleep. The little time we have for ourselves is misused. Has Satan succeeded in seducing us, or some of us? Do we really have time? What kind of time? This is a phenomenon about how matter influences the mind and spirit. Eight centuries ago Thomas Aquinas wrote that the proper hierarchy follows from the spirit leading the mind and the mind leading the body senses. He did not know much medicine but his ideas opened the horizon for man to explore natural sciences, and discover the universe in his body and outside of his body. This Angelic Doctor of the Church developed the synthesis between nature and man. If man is to live, he needs to give priority to the spirit without abandoning the needs of the body. Time is not lost if we live it the way it should be lived - the way of true love in the spirit which is the Spirit of Christ. Long ago, our ancestors were wiser for they knew that life is meant to be eternal, and for it to be eternal they listened and clinged to the Master who said "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14: 6). The question to this generation is what John the Baptist put to the Jews of his time "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance" (Matthew 3: 7, 8). Will we heed the call?

Be moderate in everything except in love

2009-11-12T10:05:00.000-08:00

I always think of St. Augustine's words "Be moderate in everything except in love." Being moderate has its consequences of not being too liberal nor too conservative - This is the middle road. I attempt to join in my thought the conservative outlook of Ratzinger and the liberal outlook of Rahner, so that in the end I can retrieve from both the truth in as much as it conforms to the Christian tradition as I see it. In the same way, I attempt to join the zeal of conservative Eastern Orthodox Churches (which are real Churches) and Evangelical Communions (who belong to Christ in their unflinching faith) with the more liberal approach of inculturation, openness to the human needs, and Biblical criticism recognized by the Catholic Church done without compromizing the essence of the Creed. This is partly only why I believe in the Catholic Church who alone enjoys the fullness of truth, and still recognizes the goodness found anywhere and in any tradition. Her openness is so great that it encompasses the universe of humanity. God is the source of everything. Since God is Love, the essence of everything is love. Even when I believe that the essence of everything is love, it does not blow me into a radical non-Christian belief because I believe too that non-Christian religions have a share in the ray that its fullness exists in Christ alone. The good elements in these religions belong to Christ and so every good there is in the end oriented towards Christ who alone saves - He is the mediator between God and man (every man). This flows in Christ through the Sanctifier agent - the Holy Spirit who sanctifies all in as much as they receive His urges and grace. As the Creed states, Christ is God from God. He is perfect in his divinity and in his humanity which remain united in his person. The sacrament of Christ on earth is manifested in the Catholic Church who, by God's grace, develops in the fullness of truth and grace (Development of doctrine as expounded by John Henry Newman). Development itself is part and parcel of how Christians perceive the truth - It is not corruption of dogma since it does not alter the organic unity of the sacred deposit of faith, only how it is perceived. This is also in accord with development in all branches of knowledge (natural, psychological, spiritual, philosophical and otherwise) both objective and subjective. In a way, we know more today than our ancestors. It also points to the fact that unity of knowledge has its source in the one God we worship. Knowledge includes experience - Knowledge in the ancient traditions meant subjective experience of the other. In this sense, it is written that Joseph did not know Mary since he did not know her in her inner depth which man and woman naturally communicate through intercourse. In this sense too we never encompass or comprehend God in his essence. The apophatic theology in the Eastern Christian tradition tells us that God is unknowable in his essence. Our knowlegde is limited to what we sense transmitted to us through the mind - which uses the brain as its physical channel. You see from the above the important movement - Rather than focusing on what divides, the focus is on what unites which is the work of the Holy Spirit in us. I think that prayer is that form of dialogue with God and his saints - never exhausted, through the Spirit. As God is a communion of three persons, so we too are created and exist as a communion. The Church, Catholic and one, embraces all people of good will. She is the guiding star par excellence who is always in need of renewal (Vatican II). In the end, the Alpha and Omega, Christ, will unite to his Father all who are saved in Him so God will be all in all (Revelation).

Who is Catholic?

2009-11-07T22:08:00.000-08:00

To be Catholic is not synonym with being formally an adherent to the Catholic Church, for the Catholic Church is much more than how it is shown in the world. All people of good will, Christian and non-Christian, are related in a way unknown to us, to the Catholic Church. Even atheists who do good, belong to the Catholic Church. On the other hand, it is not enough to be formally attached to the Catholic Church. The Holy Spirit works in every human person open to His deep and incomprehensible love. Is not God free to give His love to everyone? Then why do we question Him? Even death cannot stand in God's utter pouring love. John Chrysostom the great Eastern saint of the 4th century said that God runs after everyone in order to only find a tear in his eyes so that He can save him. If a fallible man, however saintly he is, can describe God's love in this way, how beautiful is the ultimate reality in itself? And the Catholic Church who is the sign of God's salvific history with man, how can it not be the instrument through which everyone is invited in Christ to the eternal kingdom? Everyone means every human person on earth of any race, of any religion, of any faith and of any culture. "I knock on the door" says the saviour of all. Those who come to receive Him in their hearts and work with His grace are Catholic. This does not mean, however, that all non-Catholics are able to receive the same as Catholics who practice their faith for in the Catholic Church alone exist the dimensions of full unity through the ministry of the Bishop of Rome, all sacraments, Tradition from which the Bible was born, and Apostolic succession. Looking at the big picture, we recall that Christ said "Who is not against you is with you."

Hallowed be Thy Name

2009-11-01T11:05:00.000-08:00

The Lord's prayer has this beautiful phrase "Hallowed be Thy Name" which traditionally has been interpreted as the Christian call for giving glory to God. But what is God's glory? In Christianity, it is understood that God is glorified in his creatures. If ancient religions understood glorifying God as an act of slave worship constantly fearful of a distant deity and always in need of the master's favour, the development of Christian tradition understands it as loving God with all our hearts, not out of fear but in awe of His presence. His ineffable love of creation cannot and can never be matched by any love, however deep, given to Him by any creature. And the base of this thought is that God loved us first. In fact, our existence is due to his free love. This is why saints are saints. It is not because they gave God anything he lacked. It is not because they performed great deeds. It is not because they contributed to the growth of justice and peace. It is only because in their humility they loved God as the moon reflects the light of the Sun. Saints realize that their love to God and everyone around them is only a reflection of God's first love. The words of Christ about the sinner who annointed his feet with ointment still ring in our ears today "Therefore I tell you her sins which are many are forgiven for she loved much" (Luke 7: 47). What did this sinner give God? She was embroiled in adultery. But because she loved much , she is forgiven. Love is the language of God. He cares about every single creature but never imposes himself. His justice is mercy. And his mercy is love to the end. What the saints do is nothing but love. And, contrary to popular belief, they are not lacking today. Blessed Pope John XXIII (1958-1963) known for his big heart said that in our age there are as many saints as there ever was in any generation in history. The great John Paul II canonized as many saints as all his predecessors did in many centuries. His motto was "Do not be afraid. Open your doors to Christ." And in these days, when the entire Catholic Church celebrates All Saints, and All Souls, it is an opportunity for us to hope that many will be saints, including this generation. The Church always hopes against hope. Albert Camus wrote in his philosophy about the Absurd the myth of sisyphus who was sent to the underworld because he angered the Greek gods and challenged death. His fate was to push a stone up a mountain then watch it fall back to the bottom. His punishment was to go down everytime from the top of the mountain to its bottom to roll the stone back to the top. I see in sisyphus the sign of hope. Sisyphus will eventually overcome his fate - Even if he has to watch the stone falling back he will not yield! Saints are of the same perseverence. God only knows no limit to perseverence in his love that overflows in spite of a sinful world. He surely cares to give it to us. Hallowed be His Name.

The Language of Angels

2009-10-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

Last night we had the privilege of listening to music performed by some professionals in the field. Amazingly the power of music has always been linked to angels who sing to the Lord God. Praising God through prayer is only another form of the angelic worship. Choirs and musicians enter, and with them the entire Church, into the heavenly thanksgiving that all creatures owe to the creator and sustainer of everything. We simply respond on behalf of all created things to this eternal Love, God, who created us out of love. How long can we sing to God? It would take us, I think, an eternity because, in singing from the heart, eternity becomes a second, a moment in time. Now I understand that eternity in heaven is not a boring act of mental contemplation but an experience of utter joy far beyond only the mental understanding, although it does not suppress it. In heaven, we enjoy God.

Music is a higher form of language. The language of angels.

Perceiving The Truth: Why Christians should be Catholic

2009-10-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

After having a close study of the political, cultural & economic situation in the globe today, I can only propose one proposal for the survival of Christians: All Christian Churches and Communions should be in full communion with the successor of Peter, the pope of Rome. There are a few simple reasons for this:

1) Morally: The only voice that can be listened to in the world is that of the pope.

2) Economically: All Eastern Churches are suffering an Islamic revival against Christianity (Middle East?). The only Church that has enough power to rescue them is the "Roman" Catholic Church. Union agendas between Eastern Catholics and Orthodox have failed (e.g. Balamand declaration, the Zoghby project...etc.)

3) Population: The largest Church in the world that is still expanding is the Catholic Church (Over a billion faithful). Recent statistics suggest that Africa is being won by Catholic missionaries.

4) Although Western Europe is losing its formal Christian affiliation, there is now more than ever an awareness in modern Europe that they need to face down Islam.

5) The only other force consists of thousands of fragmented Protestant Christian communities in Europe and the Bible Belt in America. However they compete with each other. No unity exists among Protestant or Orthodox churches.

6) Anthropologically, based on Girard's work, selfishness seems to be the rule of humans in the world although goodness is the root of their nature. Only saints are able to conform to God's grace and will. It follows that unity under one man (the pope) is practically more feasible than puritan dogmatic speculation. Although Christian unity efforts have been tried for half a century, no one Church has made real steps for rapproachment with other churches except Rome. The rest is bogus! As an example the Eastern Orthodox Churches agreed with the Ancient Oriental Churches on all doctrines of faith since 1988. Twenty one years later, none of them has really reunited with any of its sisters!

7) All churches except for the Catholic Church suffer from a nationalist cultural imprint on their current reality be it in the East or in the West. On the contrary the Catholic Church expanded through inculturalization (adapting, for example, to the cultures in Africa & Asia.)

8) The Old Oriental Churches recognize only the first three Ecumenical Councils up to 431 AD, the Eastern Orthodox Churches recognize 7 Ecumenical Councils up to 787 AD. Only the Catholic Church confesses continuity until today - It held 21 Ecumenical Councils, the most recent was held from 1962 to 1965. It is simple: Each Church recognizes Councils until its separation from the universal Catholic Church. And only the Catholic Church continues to hold Ecumenical Councils.

9) Only in the Catholic Church there is a development of doctrine: The Old Oriental Churches still celebrate the same liturgy as they had it in the 5th century. The Eastern Orthodox Churches still celebrate the same liturgy as they had it in the 10th century. Tradition cannot be static, otherwise it dies. According to Cardinal Newman (19th century) there is a development of doctrine based on tradition. One example: icons were not known in Christ's time, but were adopted in the Eastern & Western Churches since the 3rd-4th century; Statues were used in both Christian East & West until Islam in the 7th century attacked the East. Since then the Eastern Church has kept icons only. The Western Church continued the tradition of both icons and statues.The idea is simple: A picture does not change but human perception of the picture develops as humans come closer to the picture. No change in dogma - only development in understanding them. This is not limited to thought. It involves experience which develops as we grow in faith. It can be represented by artistic works such as music and paintings. As much as arts developed in the West, they were hindered in the East due to the presence of Islam.

10) Only the Catholic Church recognizes formally the advances made by modern Biblical scholarship. Catholic Biblical scholars use historical criticism and other tools to decipher more fully the meaning of Scriptures in the context of the cultures in which they were written under God's inspiration.

11) In the Catholic Church there is recognition that scientific advances can lead to a limited understanding of the truth since the author of both Revelation and science is God. Since 1988, there has been 6 international conferences on science & religion sponsored by the Vatican.

12) The Catholic Church is the only Church that recognizes the validity of Orthodox Churches. On the other hand, Orthodox Churches do not recognize the validity of the Catholic Church. Of course we can do nothing without Christ. We need Christ's Spirit who is already working in so many Christian commmunities for the unity of all Christians. It is only obvious to me - and I may be wrong - that full unity will require more than prayers and theological dialogue. It requires, to borrow a word from Islam, submission to God. If all heads of Christian Churches & Communions agree to meet, pray and dialogue, it may be a first step, but there must be a spirit of commitment to unity. The only Church that enjoys full unity is the Catholic Church. Based on the above, it follows that the unique approach for Christian survival is to unite under the leadership of the pope of Rome. Pope Benedict XVI predicted in 1999 (when he was still a cardinal) that Christians will become small communities. He thinks that Christianity will revive and live in its own apparent defeat! In fact, it is in persecution more than in good times that the body of Christ grows.

Complex Projects versus Complex Mind!

2009-09-08T09:46:00.000-07:00

I would like to offer a glimpse to the reality of the interconnectedness of projects in different sciences only because they all have in common the uniqueness of the human person. Quantum physics which I studied in my Engineering undergraduate studies further confirms new understandings of relatedness. I will mainly base my post on: 1) The article by Mizell and Malone published in Engineering Management Journal on cost estimation used at NASA (December 2007) 2) Scientific American article on the origins of the mind (September 2009 issue) 3) Quantum physics, explained in numerous works by great contemporary physicists Marc Hauser, professor of psychology, human evolutionary biology, and organismic and evolutionary biology at Harvard University, proposes what he calls “humaniqueness” as properties of the distinctive mind of humans that sets it apart from the minds of other creatures. Professor Hauser shows the following characteristics of the human uniqueness (My post here has to be limited to only mentioning them in brief): 1. Generative computation: the ability to create a virtually limitless variety of “expressions,” be they arrangements of words, sequences of notes, combinations of actions, or strings of mathematical symbols 2. The capacity for the promiscuous combination of ideas. We routinely connect thoughts from different domains of knowledge, allowing our understanding of art, sex, space, causality and friendship to combine. From this mingling, new laws, social relationships and technologies can result. 3. The use of mental symbols. We can spontaneously convert any sensory experience—real or imagined— into a symbol that we can keep to ourselves or express to others through language, art, music or computer code. 4. Only humans engage in abstract thought. Unlike animal thoughts, which are largely anchored in sensory and perceptual experiences, many of ours have no clear connection to such events. We alone ponder the likes of unicorns and aliens, nouns and verbs, infinity and God. “Indeed, mounting evidence indicates that, in contrast to Darwin’s theory of a continuity of mind between humans and other species, a profound gap separates our intellect from the animal kind. This is not to say that our mental faculties sprang fully formed out of nowhere. Researchers have found some of the building blocks of human cognition in other species. But these building blocks make up only the cement footprint of the skyscraper that is the human mind. The evolutionary origins of our cognitive abilities thus remain rather hazy. Clarity is emerging from novel insights and experimental technologies, however.” Hauser thus establishes the basis of different mind in humans. It shows, in contrast to Darwin’s theory, a profound gap between us and animals, or as the well-known paleontologist Teilhard de Chardin put it, there is a leap from the biosphere to the noosphere which is the sphere of the human mind that can ask himself about himself. The complexity of the human mind, unmatched by that of any other creature has been confirmed by much recent research. Hauser gives this example: “One of our most basic tools, the No. 2 pencil, used by every test taker, illustrates the exceptional freedom of the human mind as compared with the limited scope of animal cognition. You hold the painted wood, write with the lead, and erase with the pink rubber held in place by a metal ring. Four different materials, each with a particular function, all wrapped up into a single tool. And although that tool was made for writing, it can also pin hair up into a bun, bookmark a page or stab an annoying insect. Animal tools, in contrast—such as the sticks chimps use to fish termites out from their mounds—are composed of a single material, designed for a single function and never used for other functions. None have the combinatorial properties of the pencil.” Let’s now compare the above with some of the findings & conclusions proposed by Mizell & Malone for complex projects at NASA: First: The cost estimating process becomes harder as the complexity and size of projects increase. This is particularly clear from the fact that key variables are not known at the start of large projects – for example staffing requirements are unknown with certainty at that point while client management requires a budget estimate before sign off. Moreover, software development activities are labor intensive. They are affected by and affect HUMAN PERFORMANCE. This shows that complex projects for the most complex creature require an understanding of subtle cognitive functions at least in human relationships e.g. human resources staffing and the effect human performance has on delivering a project which in turn affect human performance in next projects. Even these relationships cannot be understood in isolation – See below. Second: Human nature prefers a single number for an estimate as opposed to a range of numbers even though a range estimate will have a much higher probability of including an accurate value (Boehm and Fairly, 2000). This is why a range is recommended.This shows that humans have to deal with ranges of numbers rather than single numbers for their complex projects. Here is a hint about quantum physics which we ought to deal with. Quantum physics stipulates that every process-result is probable until it is measured. According to the Uncertainty Principle, only at the time of measurement is there certainty. Furthermore, John Polkinghorne, retired professor of mathematical physics at Cambridge University, wrote, in one of his latest books: Quantum Physics and Theology, about relationship as science is attempting to discover it 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” Third: Expert judgment relies on experience of past projects and industry average which fail to tell the entire story. On the contrary, every project is unique in its environment and organization factors. This is true since we know that no one human can subsist in isolation – The environment, the tribe, society or whatever makes up a human organization is vital for human action. This has been shown also in apes. Moreover, subjective experience counts. This is what has been missing in the Newtonian world. This is why Mizell and Malone propose a simulation model as follows: 1. Use a software development process model: A graphical representation is useful to educate decision-makers on the inherent complexity of large software projects 2. Capture uncertainty for key parameters by using probability distributions: Three are most important: a. Size of project/product; b. Productivity of project team; c. Defect rates. This will allow us to develop range estimates that consider the uncertainty that exists before the start of a project. 3. Run Model and Obtain Confidence Intervals for Effort and Schedule: Calculate confidence intervals and focus on the top half of the confidence interval to dissuade managers from accepting the lower part in order to meet the lowest possible cost and schedule. 4. Compare Model Results with Other Estimating Techniques. 5. Use model results to debate unrealistic budgets: Run it with animation so that decision-makers can visualize the process and its complexity. 6. Update Model with Actual project data as project evolves (Experience): This can be very useful in analyzing problem areas and effort based on actual project data to-date. We can therefore safely conclude that: 1. The human mind is the most complex in all creatures on earth 2. However, this mind requires complex computer tools to realize its complex projects today. 3. Which requires this mind to use quantum physics probabilities 4. Which then (according to the EPR Experiment) shows that this mind cannot stay in isolation of other creatures – Relationship is of the essence to cultivate – How more important would it be to cultivate it in business and social life? 5. That gets us, in my opinion, into the most fundamental of all principles: Communication, collaboration and, if possible, love. (Comment for this blog: This was a post in my Master studies of Information Systems. Christian teaching is referenced multiple times particularly in the work of John Polkinghorne, and in the final conclusion on love as the epitome of the Christian way of life.) References: Mizell, C., Malone, L. (2007), A Project Management Approach to Using Simulation for Cost Estimation on Large, Complex Software Development Projects, Engineering Management Journal, Retrieved on September 3, 2009 from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=1&hid=3&sid=1d33c98f-9e1e-4296-bb45-fbbbb64b33ef%40sessionmgr11 Hauser, M. (2009), Origin of the Mind, Scientific America, Retrieved on September 5, 2009 from http://www.sciamdigital.com/ Polkinghorne, J. (2008), Quantum Physics and Theology, Oxford University Press.

The Holy Spirit

2009-08-27T12:54:00.000-07:00

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. It is only how it was perceived by people. The Divinity of the Holy Spirit was challenged by Macedonius in the 4th century. The entire Church condemned his teaching at the Second Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople in 381 AD. 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. 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 (extacy) 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. According to Rahner, God's self-revelation is given to every individual regardless of their heritage, religion or culture in as much as they can perceive his light. Those who act in good conscience on the urges of the Spirit will eventually become Christian. Saints are people who respond to the Spirit even if they are not explicitly Christian. Those, according to Rahner, are anonymous Christians. But how do they find God? It is only in Christ that anyone can be saved. The Catholic Church firmly believes that Christ is the sole mediator between God and Man. And the Holy Spirit is the agent who actualizes Christ in the redeemed human race. It is the Holy Spirit who acts in the sacraments of the Church to make us holy. When Christ instructed the apostles to preach the Gospel, he said to them "Go, teach the nations, and baptize them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit." One of the signs of the Holy Spirit is unity. We find full unity only in the Catholic Church. Although the Eastern Orthodox Churches and Protestant communions have much in common with the Catholic Church, they lack this unity, found in the Petrine office, which is essential to the one catholic Church defined in the Creed. May the Holy Spirit lead all Christians to unity.

May His glory shine in us.

Thomas Collins on The Assumption of Mary

2009-08-17T10:24:00.001-07:00

This is the 100th post in this blog. It is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary Mother of God. The post contains excerpts* from the homily of Most Rev. Archbishop Thomas Collins** in the Mass of the Solemnity of the Assumption which took place at St. Michael's Cathedral this past Saturday - It was also the ordination Mass of our friend Mounir El-Rassi to the priesthood.

[God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth. She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne.The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God....Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed One.”] (Revelation 11: 19a; 12: 1-6a; 10 ab) This reading from Apocalypse is a reference to the sign of the woman whose son was destined to rule the nations. She, like any other human, had to escape into the desert in order to deliver her son. She has to suffer like the Israelites suffered in the desert before the glory of her Son should shine. This is Mary the mother of Jesus Christ, crowned with twelve stars referring to the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles of her Son and God. She is clothed with the sun and the moon is under her feet. That is how the Second Eve brought us salvation after the First Eve brought us the curse. The dragon, that is Satan, lured the First Eve into disobedience, and wanted to lead the Second Eve into disobedience too. But Mary, reminds us Luke, said “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Mary, like her Son, was assumed to heaven because she surrendered all her life to the will of God. It is because she was willing to give her life to God that he was born of her. This is our mission too: To surrender ourselves, as Mary did, to God. Today, when we are faced with challenges to our faith, let us follow Mary in her path for we want to hear the angel in our midst “Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed One.”

* The excerpts are my own paraphrasing of parts of the homily.

** Archbishop Thomas Collins is a well-known Biblical Scholar.

The Transfiguration of Christ

2009-08-05T13:17:00.000-07:00

[Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them. As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant.] (Mark 9: 2-10) The story of the Transfiguration sets before our eyes a number of challenges. What is the mountain that we have to climb in order to see Christ in his Divine dazzling white clothes? What is the significance of Moses and Elijah conversing with Jesus? Then Peter dared to tell Jesus of his own terrifying joy “Rabbi, it is good that we are here!” Note how the Gospel mixes joy with terror in man’s heart! And to add to the glory of the Divine transfigured Christ, a voice from a cloud announces “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” At the end, the Apostles are not to tell anyone until the Son rises from the dead. Here is a simple interpretation: 1. We have to climb the mountain of selfishness every day. This is what we must do to really see Christ in his glory. Although he pulls us, it is up to us too to get there! We are not fully his disciples until we are free from our selfishness – a freedom that can be realized only through self-sacrificing love. 2. Moses and Elijah represented the Law and Prophets which confirmed to the Jews that Christ was the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets. However, even those great figures had their own shortcomings. Elijah killed the priests of Baal, and Moses wanted to enter the promised land by force! But again God as always works through their own thinking and culture and slowly opens their and our hearts to the Son. In this glimpse of God, both Moses and Elijah are already freed from their sins. This is why they can stand and talk to the Divine face-to-face. 3. Peter was overjoyed with this moment of glory that he, James and John experienced. The experience of God is not only joy but also an experience of awe. They were surrounded by a cloud which signifies the Divine presence. And the voice coming from within is to confirm the truth of the Divinity of Christ testified to by the Father. “Listen to him” – The only one that all generations from now on must listen to is Christ – This connects it to Peter’s earlier question “Rabbi.” But why listen to him? Because he will teach love, and will show it to the point of death. He is the lamb or the scapegoat whose sacrifice will be unlimited and eternal – the sacrifice that will fully reveal God’s love and Satan’s lies. 4. Why did Christ ask the 3 Apostles to hide what they experienced until his Resurrection? Because no one can understand the Messiah until he has experienced His Resurrection. The Apostles were scared after Christ’s death, and only after they experienced his Resurrection, have they started to preach the gospel of salvation first in the Temple to the Jews then to the gentiles all over the world. 5. And today, when Christ is being killed again, in the persons of innocent victims, by the “Satanic” powers everywhere, how should Christians react? No. Not by retaliation for He did not retaliate. When he was on the cross he loved and forgave his enemies. Our God and Christ is not a vengeful God – He will not strike the unfaithful as some fundamentalists think. In our everyday life, we can think more of the people we meet, and give them a smile and encouragement; think of our families and friends, and give them a hug; think of our spouses and give them a kiss; think of the strangers and give them a little of what we have; think of people who do not share our faith and show them the real Christ. The glory of Christ is here because heaven came to us in Christ. But we hardly see it. “Maran Atha” says the Book of Revelation which means Come O Lord. Come O Lord in our hearts and make us real Christians for we want to see your glory as your 3 disciples experienced it in the Transfiguration.

Apocalypse Now!

2009-07-29T10:17:00.000-07:00

René Girard’s latest work on “War and Apocalypse” (First Things, August/September) stirred much-needed debate in the intellectual realm. The Stanford professor (whose theory of mimetic rivalry was a pioneer in contemporary anthropological and psychological research) has come back. But before we discuss his latest article, we need to explore his thought. In his theory of mimetic rivalry, Girard shows how we are born with a tendency for selfishness. Mimetic rivalry, that is imitative rivalry, exists in human natural relationships. According to him, I desire what "the other" has, not only because it is good, but more importantly because he also desires it. Thus, in effect, by desiring what he has, I want to fulfill myself by “raping” and destroying him. I am my god, and will expand my family, my tribe, my nation, my religion, and my culture only because they are mine! When people fight because of violence, it becomes contagious, and society descends into chaos and disorder. The only Satanic remedy to restore order found in the early cultures was the scapegoat. In pagan cultures, men would collaborate and kill a person they accuse of not following them. The act of killing unites them again and order is restored. This is the ritual of sacrifice in archaic religions. Following the killing act of the “innocent” person, the band starts feeling guilty as they see the victim not moving anymore. They then attempt to reintroduce him in their memory by making him divine, and celebrating his feast with dance and festivities. This remembrance accomplishes again what Satan wants: a lie. Order is re-established based on a lie (killing an innocent person), and a person is now divine based on another lie. This powerful chain was only broken by the death of Christ. This is the Satanic power that Christ reversed by his death, not because he was innocent but because being innocent he did not retaliate. On the cross he forgave his accusers. In his research, Girard found that the story of killing an innocent person violently goes back to the earliest human people. Archaic religious texts and mythology are based on the same theme. The exception is the Bible. Contrary to the mythic stories of other religions, in the Genesis story of Cain killing his brother Abel, the author does not condemn the victim but the killer. The victim is also justified in many other Biblical events such as the story of Joseph who resisted Egypt’s queen’s invitation to intercourse and ended up being imprisoned for his innocence. Joseph was released and eventually became the prime minister of Egypt. As the people of God become more responsive to the Spirit of God, God reveals himself more fully in terms of relationships to His people (e.g. the victim husband Hosea to his people). The full self-revelation of God becomes actualized in Jesus Christ, His Only Son. Only in Christ, the truth is fully revealed and Satan’s lie is revealed. Girard became Catholic when he discovered the truth. The only way out of the vicious circle of violence is to not retaliate which means becoming like Christ. It is because Christ died voluntarily that he lived again in glory (the Resurrection). It is true that since Christianity came into the world, a great development of morality has taken place moving entire cultures from the more violent to the less violent and accomplishing great deeds for the dignity of humanity. However, in Girard’s thought, the Spirit of Christ is working in cultures and time. The development of moral values has taken time. For example, although it was always pronounced by the Church, only in the 18th century has slavery started to be recognized and eliminated in Christian societies and the rest of the world. Girard says that Christians are not fully Christian until they have renounced violence in all its forms, not only in their culture but also in their individual hearts. Now we can talk about Apocalypse. Since 9/11, Girard says, an abhorrent phenomenon has appeared. Fundamentalist Muslims use new technology to force America and the free world into embracing Islam. Islam is spreading everywhere in Europe, a dying continent. The religion that initially grew by the sword in the 7th century is growing again through violence. Since primitive culture and religion grew by violence, there is a renewed concern that humanity will succumb to violence again. What makes it worse is the experience of the 20th & 21st centuries – two World Wars, followed by a Cold War, followed by more struggles and wars that took place recently in Islamic countries. In my view 9/11 is not the beginning of Islamic fundamentalism. Since the mid 1970s, there has been a violent revival of Islamic fundamentalism (in fact, the Wahabi movement in Arabia started fundamentalist Islam in the 19th century and eventually they were given the entire Arabian desert by the British upon the end of World War I). This includes Iran, Saudi Arabia, Palestine/Israel, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. But we cannot blame Muslims alone for the disasters of the world. In spite of a development in moral values because of the Christian influence all over the Western world, we are still self-destructive because, as humans, we have the power to think violently and act violently. In spite of the Spirit of Christ, Christians were killing each other in Northern Ireland until a few years ago. Who invaded Iraq in 2003 but Christians? Who was following his own self-interest but a Christian President of America? That is why we are not yet Christians in the full sense. By invading the "other" we are still not fully Christians - the act of true self-giving is missing not only at the cultural level but also at the individual level. There are probably more people of good will in other religions than those self-proclaimed evangelizers in North America. Satan is still going around like a lion seeking who he can swallow as St. Paul said. Satan is called the divider and destroyer and he lives victorious in our civilizations, bringing us closer every day to destroy each other. This is the epitome of self-annihilation - Hell. Another phenomenon is intriguing today. Contrary to the martyrs who died for their faith, Muslim fundamentalists die to bring death to "the other" (Christians and Jews). How would hell look like if we add to the equation the great emerging economies and military powers? China, Russia, and India are among the leading military and economic powers today. They are trying hard to get ahead of themselves. They may be a threat to the superior West. Girard thinks that the military powers have been studying the military theory of Carl von Clausewitz (19th century) for decades! Should we be concerned? Will America & Europe succumb to the new might? We cannot predict the end yet, for Christ himself warned us that no one knows the hour except God. Apocalypse was meant for hope and support to Christians when John wrote it at the end of the first century, but is it also meant for the last days? As Christians we cannot fail to hope, for the saviour is with us till the end of the world. John Henry Newman in the 19th century brought hope and faith - His words of the development of doctrine and faith. There is a development in our understanding of everything Christian, not only because the Second Vatican Council affirmed it in the 20th century, but precisely because it is guided by the God of Love.

Saints

2009-07-19T15:24:00.000-07:00

Who are saints? Saints are people like us, who live or lived a life full of love for God and others. In brief, they cared for the "Other." This "Other" is Christ who lives in the needy, the sick, and the oppressed. Saints are the ones who do the Father's will in their lives and forget their own will. Saints rejoice in others who repent by the power of the Holy Spirit. Saints are known by their humility. As greed was the origin of sin, humility is the crown of holiness. But above all, saints are open to God's grace in their everyday life. They labour in the Lord's vineyard without regard to their entitlement. We find many saints in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. The Church commemorates them and many more. Above all the Blessed Virgin Mary was and is the humble and silent servant of God. For this, the Lord wished to be born of her and she foretold that "all generations shall call me blessed." She was silent so that Christ speaks. The Gospels hardly speak of her, yet we know from Tradition that she is the most pure of all creatures. The 3rd Ecumenical Council proclaimed Mary "Theotokos" (i.e. bearer of God) in 431 A.D. John the Baptist is alslo highly commemorated since he prepared the way for Christ by his austere life and obedience to God. From the Old Testament, we see many people who listened to God and followed him. One of them is Samuel who said to God "Speak O Lord for your servant is listening." Another silent servant of God is St. Joseph, Mary's fiance, who was a simple carpenter. In spite of his doubts about Mary's virginity, he was humble enough to accept what the angel told him in a dream. There are many saints in the history of God's people. Think of Stephen the first martyr who was stoned to death by his fellow Jews and yet he asked God to forgive them as did his Master. From the early Church, in addition to the apostles and disciples of Christ, we recall St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Basil, St. Athanasius, St. John Chrysostom, St. Gregory, St. Augustine, St. John of Damascus, St. Benedict, St. Barbara, St. George, St. Damiane, St. Anthony, St. Polycarp, St. Cyril, St. Methodius and many more. From the more recent history we recall St. Francis, St. Rita, St. Charbel, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Thomas More, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Ignatius Loyola, St. Jean Vianne Cure d'Ars, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, St Edith Stein, St. Faustina, and St. Rafka. Some of the recent Beatified are Blessed Marie Bawardi of Jesus Crucified (a Melkite nun who lived in Egypt & Palestine in the 19th century) and Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The cause for the beatification of Pope John Paul II is almost complete. The Church has proclaimed some 4,000-5,000 saints to-date but heaven has a lot more saints. Many unknown saints have never been noticed. In order to avoid abuse, since the 15th century the Catholic Church established rules for declaring saints. There are three important steps that must be examined and completed for a person (candidate) to be beatified and canonized. These are: 1) Heroic life of virtue must be established based on testimonials by people who knew the candidate. 2) The candidate's faith must be in accordance with the teaching of the Catholic Church based on documents written by him/her and/or certification by authorities. 3) At least 2 miracles (that cannot be explained by scientific investigation) are attributed to the candidate's intercession. These are established through a medical committee. Following the cause for beatification, the Congregation for sainthood must approve the above findings before they go to the Pope for approval and proclamation. Saints point us to Christ. They pray for our salvation. And they rejoice when one sinner repents. The essence of sainthood is nothing else than love - true love.

Why do Catholics and Orthodox Christians have icons and statues in their churches?

2009-07-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

There are two important events in the life of Christians that illustrate why we have icons and statues in our churches. The first is the event of the Incarnation itself. When the Word became man, he took on our flesh – Picturing him is not forbidden. On the contrary, it is venerating to the One who, being fully Divine, shared our humanity. This tradition is as early as the painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St. Luke according to ancient tradition. St. Veronica is said to have wiped Christ’s face on his way to the cross by her handkerchief. His face was immediately imprinted on it. In Christianity, the Jewish tradition was married to Greek thought. And with this, the magnificent arts of Rome and Greece were developed into Christian art (music, painting, sculpture, architecture...etc.) The second event was the advent of Islam into the Byzantine empire by the 7th century which caused a heresy in the East. The heresy “destruction of icons” lasted almost a century until in 787 A.D. the seventh Ecumenical Council proclaimed the truth about the Christian faith. At the Council, icons were restored to churches and peace to the empire. Why the Eastern Church no longer has statues of Christ and saints can be explained as an effect of the aftermath of Islam. It is interesting that Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformer in Europe's 16th century, never intended to eliminate statues from churches. As St. John Damascene, the Arab theologian explained in the 8th century, people who could not read the Bible and the liturgy could still worship by looking at icons. In the early and Medieval Church and up to the printing industry in the 16th century, the Bible was copied by hand in monasteries. Ordinary people infrequently read it outside the church. Thanks, however, to the Greek culture, schools of theology and philosophy flourished and thanks to Christian thinkers in both East and West they became centres of learning. By the 12th century the university of Paris was already shining with many great minds. There is a third event which we tend to neglect - it is peculiar to the West as Islam was already in most of the Medieterranean countries. This was Renaissance. Renaissance developed humanism from the classic literature and influenced the Christian West in many ways. We see that in St. Francis' emphasis on the nativity and humanity of Christ. The West developed a culture open to life. Polyphony in sacred music was born in the 11th century. Gothic cathedrals are also a characteristic of Christian churches. The great painters such as Michael Angelo and Raphael brought more beauty into the Christian tradition. Think of this panorama and think how Christ has been pictured in abundant ways and colours, and you will see a sea of imagination. He has brown eyes in the East, blue eyes in the North, yellow hair in the West, and black one in Africa. Christ has the most beautiful face - and he points us to the Father! Why not paint him who dared to be visible to us? Why not paint his mother who participated in his mission and carried him in his life and death and is now with him? Why not paint saints who were heroically transformed to his "image"? The Church carries Christ in all the earth and till the end of times.

Why do we need to pray?

2009-07-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

In every religion and culture, people pray. Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and atheists do. You and I pray everyday even though we do not really know. Before we speak of the great prayers of holy people, let’s explore the little ones…Our own prayers. When my son asks me for a favour, he does not say “I pray” but “Please.” When at work your colleague asks you for a service she says “please.” Your boss sends you a request for a task that must be done and still he says “please.” When some stranger lets me get off the bus ahead of her, I say “thank you” When my wife cooks a meal I like, I say “thank you” to her. Yesterday my eldest son bought me a nice shirt – I wanted to kiss him because he thought of me. Prayer does not have to be explicitly defined. It is innate in everyone from the little baby who needs the affection of his mother to the oldest living person who needs the care and love of his/her family. The little baby cannot say “please” yet his mother responds with giving him her affection and love. The same with everyone. It is not only private but also communal. When someone excels at his services whether at work, in the community, or in Church, people gather around him and praise him. They celebrate his services and give him a gift to recognize his contribution. We see all the above forms of prayer in every place. Prayer of supplication, thanksgiving, and praise. Yet this is only the beginning. Here is the important message: Every one of us is imperfect. He/she needs the other. Psychological studies show that a person cannot live by himself alone. People have to be in communion. Some people do this more intensely than others. They reflect on what they pray. They spend time by themselves at home to meditate. They even call on God. They talk to God even if for one minute everyday. All this is done out of need. Did you know that recent scientific research was able to find the origin of language but is unable to find the origin of worship? All humans need to worship. From the stone age to this day man worships. Prayer is only a form of worship. The development of prayer over the ages included deep meditation. In Christianity, this started with the Desert Fathers in Egypt and was brought to other parts of the world by imitating the first Fathers. .St. Anthony of Egypt is believed to be the first in a tradition that spanned the entire Christian civilization for many centuries. Many orders developed out of this deep connection to God who are still serving the world in prayer, thought, and service including the Benedictines, the Franciscans, the Jesuits, the Basilians, and many more. To-date, there are many monasteries in the world. At a deep spiritual level, monks have the courage to spend months and years praying to God. Again their prayer is meant to submit to the Father their supplications for the human needs both material and spiritual, their thanksgiving for everything we receive, their praise of God for his outpouring love that in spite of our shortcomings and sinfulness he continues to provide. The greatest miracle of all is that God loves us to the point that he came to us. He created us out of love, He became one of us and dwelt among us in Christ and he continues to dwell among us in the Holy Spirit. This is what all Christians believe. However the most enriching prayer is that of the Eucharist where the community offers thanksgiving to the Triune God. Furthermore it is the sacrificial act of God himself (who empties himself continuously in eternity by that eternal love of the Father and the Son through the Spirit). God the Son himself offers thanksgiving and sacrifice on our behalf to the Father and at the same time He is the One offered through his body and blood by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Mass, the entire Church prays the prayer of supplications, the prayer of thanksgiving and the prayer of praise. She is united to her head Christ and with him offers the gifts to the Father through the Holy Spirit. This is why we are encouraged to take the body and blood of Christ since it is really present on the altar. We need however to be careful that we receive it only when we are in the state of grace (i.e. not in the state of mortal sin). When we receive the body and blood of Christ it is there that we partake of the Divine (Theosis). Do we need to pray? Yes we do – We already do it everyday, albeit at beginners level, but we need to recognize, and deepen it in our souls through the one who said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.” (John 14: 6)

The New Elijah

2009-06-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

I met Archbishop Elias Chacour a couple of weeks ago in Toronto, together with a number of Melkite Catholics, the parish council, and above all Fr. Georges Farah and Fr. Michel Chalhoub. Archbishop Elias Chacour, Melkite Catholic archbishop of Galilee in Patestine/Israel was in Toronto to open a conference of the Presbyterian communion. He is frequently invited to speak to Christian denominations in the U.S. and is venerated as the voice of Eastern Christians who endured much suffering in the land of Christ at the hands of both the state of Israel and more recently the Muslim extremist government of Hamas.

Elias Michael Chacour was born in 1939 in Upper Galilee in Palestine to an Arab Christian family, members of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. At the age of eight he was evicted along with his whole village of Biram by Zionist forces and became a deportee and a refugee but remained in the region. Because he remained in his homeland, he was granted Israeli citizenship when the state was created in 1948. Completing his schooling in Nazareth, he studied theology at St. Sulpice Seminary in Paris, returning home in 1965. He was ordained a priest by Archbishop George Hakim of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and all Galilee, who became Patriarch Maximos V. He later studied the Hebrew Scripture at the Hebrew University. Chacour is vice president of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre. Seeing the lack of educational opportunities beyond grade 8 for his Palestinian fellows, he started his project of creating schools, that today number 10 schools, in his Mar Elias Educational Institutions. Chacour is the author of two best selling books, "Blood Brothers" and "We Belong to the Land." "Blood Brothers" covers his childhood growing up in the town of Biram, his development into a young man, and his early years as a priest in Ibillin. This book has been translated into 28 languages. His second book, "We Belong to the Land," recounts his work in the development of Mar Elias Educational Institutions, from humble beginnings to major schools for educating Palestinian young people and for helping to bring about reconciliation in a land of strife. This book has been translated into 11 languages.

Appointed by the Melkite Catholic synod to the bishopric service, Chacour currently serves as Archbishop of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and all Galilee. His most recent educational work includes the building of a university in Ibillin. His diocese, the largest Christian in Israel, counts 76,000 faithful in 65 parishes. He speaks 11 languages, and has been twice nominated for the Nobel Prize for Peace. For years Archbishop Chacour has been invited to lecture in conferences and to "Mega church" audiences in the U.S. and Europe. His ecumenical service that started in Palestine is bearing fruits worldwide.

His message echoes that of his Master, Jesus Christ, "Be Not Afraid" uttered almost 2000 years ago in the same place where he serves now. He reminds me first of Patriarch Maximos IV Sayegh who was called "The Lion of the Council" at the Second Vatican Council in 1965. Above all, he reminds me of Elijah, the great prophet of Israel, who in the time of the great apostasy of the people of God, dared to stand alone at Carmel and call back Israel to God. This calling (in this 21st century) is as needed as ever. When today's Christianity is facing annihilation in the Middle East at the hands of fundasmentalists, both Jewish and Islamic, Christians must be encouraged to hope against hope and continue to live, albeit being persecuted, in the holy land. This is what Chacour says. But how can this "New Elijah" preach the Gospel to a hostile surrounding? Without a moment of doubt he answers "by defending peace based on justice." Is not that what Pope Benedict XVI indicated in his visit to the holy land this past May? Let us hope that this prelate of ours will succeed in his worldwide mission.

References:

For more info please refer to the many sites about Archbishop Elias Chacour using Google.

Reference used in this article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elias_Chacour

Why we need to learn every day

2009-06-12T16:27:00.000-07:00

Never stop learning. As long as you live, there is always an opportunity to learn. Because if you do not learn you will not be able to give back. Have an open mind like John of Damascus in the 8th century, Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century, and Karl Rahner in the 20th century. They not only brought new ideas but developed existing ideas. Have a commitment to Tradition because it carries the experience of the people of God. It is our responsibility to be open to others and to love others. This is the way of Christ. But how can we love them if we do not know them? In the ancient traditions, knowledge was not meant only for the objective intellectual mind but also for the subjective experience of my fellow people to the point that the marital sexual act was referred to as knowledge. For example, Joseph's committment to the virginity of Mary the Mother of God was referred to in the Gospel as "He did not know her." It meant he did not have sex with her (i.e. did not know her deepest experience). We know that Mary was fully in love with God that with her obedient cooperation she considered herself only a servant and He became flesh of her flesh by the power of the Holy Spirit. Do we learn through our ideas only? No. Read again. We learn from experience more than we learn from intellectual ideas. Keep this in mind and heart.

Accountability before the Judge of Man

2009-05-23T14:12:00.000-07:00

This past Friday, we watched a documentary interview with a contemporary priest, Fr. Steven Scheier, who lived an ordinary life of a priest, until he was near death in an accident. In the interview with Mother Angelica a few years ago, Scheier recounts his extraordinary story. On October 18, 1985, he was traveling from Wichita to his parish in Kansas. According to Fr. Tommy Lane, Fr. Scheier was involved in a terrible accident: a head-on collision with a pickup truck. Fr. Scheier was thrown from his vehicle. His entire scalp was cut off on the right side. He had suffered a broken neck, and the second cervical vertebra was broken. One of his parishioners who happened to be in the hospital was told he was being given a 15% chance to live. But he recovered unexpectedly and was able to return to his parish. He was saying Mass, and started reading the Gospel of Jesus' parable of the fig tree "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, `Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?' And he answered him, `Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'" (Luke 13: 6-9). While reading it in the Church, the page became illuminated, enlarged and came off the lectionary towards him. After Mass, Fr. Scheier remembered a conversation that had taken place shortly after the accident. In that conversation Fr Scheier found himself standing before the judgment of Christ. He says the Lord took him through his entire life, and showed him how he had failed in his priestly service. Fr Scheier said “yes” to everything Jesus said about his life. Now before Christ he was talking to Truth and when you are talking to Truth you can’t give excuses. At the end of his judgment his sentence from Jesus was hell. Fr. Scheier said “yes” as that was the only logical thing he deserved. At that moment, however, he heard a woman say, “Son, will you please spare his life and his eternal soul?” The Lord replied, “Mother, he’s been a priest for twelve years for himself and not for me, let him reap the punishment he deserves.” “But Son,” she said, “if we give him special graces and strengths then let’s see if he bears fruit; if not, your will be done.” There was very short pause, after which Jesus said, “Mother, he’s yours.” Fr. Scheier experienced Jesus’ mercy but Mary was the one who interceded for him.

That was the interview which reminded everyone of the truth of our lives. Our eternal life depends on how we live our present life in this world. Although we know that God is all-loving and merciful, it does not free us from responding to the calls of the Spirit of Jesus who knocks on our doors relentlessly. The experience of Fr. Scheier is particularly relevant to our way of modern life. Especially when the beast is here to swallow every faithful, who can guarantee his eternal life? We are all, very likely, the fig tree and Mary, our mother, continues to implore her unique son as the vinedresser did in the parable. How long will the Master be patient? Our three years are not forever. This was a priest who performed his regular duties as required, but he himself confessed in the interview that he thought with his mind only and not with his heart. It is a mystery how God uses all things, even near-death experiences, to save souls. We know for sure from recent scientific research that the subjective element in Man's experience, in this case near-death experience, cannot be discounted as mere illusions. Here is a possible miracle but the real miracle is surely the transformation of this brother who "was dead and now is alive" (Luke 15: 32). This is the work of God who saves. He is our hope.

References:

http://www.ewtn.com/

http://www.frtommylane.com/homilies/year_c/lent3.htm

Mere Christianity!

2009-05-17T14:36:00.001-07:00

The title of this post is that of a great book written by C. S. Lewis whose conversion from atheism to Christianity brought many fruits in the 20th century. The book was published and translated into many languages, not the least Arabic. That is how I learned about it. I read it first in Arabic some 30 years ago when it was published in Cairo, Egypt. My lecture here is about mere Christianity, but unlike Lewis, it is only a few lines long. In the Christian faith, God not only makes history and is beyond history, but also enters into it. He becomes a creature with all its limitation, even though he remains perfectly Divine with limitless power. In his humility, He was born in a manger, raised as a son of a carpenter, died on a cross as a criminal, and rose to eternal life when everyone was asleep. If Mary Magdalene did not tell his disciples, no one would have ever known! Mary herself thought he was the gardiner. The disciples traveling to Emmaus did not recognize him. A few days after his cruel death, he was walking and talking with them. When he appeared to the 10 apostles who were hiding for fear of the Jews, they first thought they were seeing a ghost! And when Thomas joined them, he also doubted that the Master was real until he touched the Master's wounds! For fourty days he spoke with them reassuring and confirming. For fourty days he showed them himself, now in his glorified body, ate with them and, before his ascension, blessed them. What transformed these fearful disciples? What made them go in the synagogues to preach and teach? What power made Stephen the first martyr utter the words "Forgive them" when the elders of the Jews were stoning him to death? I do not think this story can be brushed off as a fiction. The "enlightened" liberal Biblical scholars of the Enlightenment down to Bultmann in the 20th century sought to "demythologize" it. But more evidence shows otherwise. No one thinker now doubts the truth of the Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. By all accounts, the empty tomb and the testimony of so many people, from the apostles including Paul in his early epistles to the 500 who saw Christ at once plus the many writings of early Christians are only the beginning. St. Paul himself described it in his first letter to the Corinthians written in th early 50s " But if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then empty is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. Then we are also false witnesses to God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead came also through a man." (1 Cor. 15: 12-21). According to contemporary Biblical scholars the firstfruits represent the portion of the harvest offered in thanksgiving to God which implies the consecration of the entire harvest to come. Christ's resurrection is not an end in itself; its finality lies in the whole harvest, ourselves. What is the meaning of the Resurrection for us TODAY. What does Christ recall to your memory? The young adults who attended the lecture gave beautiful testimonials from their own experience. Let's just go over one. One said that when she ignored a beggar her younger sister reminded her "What would Jesus do today if he were you?" Her answer was a person who felt and experienced solidarity with the beggar. She acted on it immediately, apologized to him and gave him food. You may act differently. However following her conscience, she did act. Christ was hidden in this beggar. He was in need as surely he is in many hungry people in the world. It does not matter how many times we worship in Church or how many times we take the Eucharist as long as we fill ourselves and ignore the other. She acted - Not only prayer but also action. We do not need to be scholars to follow Christ. In the simple things we can also become saints.

Source of Revelation: Tradition or Scripture?

2009-05-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

My lecture last Friday was the first attempt to re-express the Catholic faith in as simple way as possible to my audience. Following the format of the RCIA, we looked at the Christian revelation. The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches believe that revelation is expressed not only in Scripture but also and more importantly in Tradition. Tradition includes the liturgy, sacraments and unwritten doctrines of the Christian faith. The books of the Bible were not dictated by God, like some fundamentalists believe, but they were inspired by God in the community of His people. Furthermore, the sacred authors of the different books of the Bible wrote the books under God's inspiration using their own understanding, in the context of their culture at the time of writing. There are different literary forms and different styles in the books of the Bible. Look, for example, at Genesis and compare it with Song of Songs. One is a narration in figurative language about the origin of the human race and the other is poetry about God's relationship with his people. God does not force people. He always requires the cooperation of the human mind with the divine gift (grace).

To give you one example about the importance of Tradition, have a look at the last chapter of the Gospel of John. The author wrote "But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. " (John 21: 25). It is an expression that tells Christians two things: First, Jesus did many other things that are not written. Second, implicitly the reader needs to inquire the author about those other things. Note that the author is one of the apostles or a close companion. Note also the expression. It is not a scientific account because "the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." If the author refers the reader to the apostles, this means that he wants the reader to listen to the apostles, their close companions and successors.

How was the New Testament written? There are 3 phases. First, the disciples of Christ listened to his words and witnessed his miracles. Second, they preached what they experienced to the world around them. Third, when they were being martyred or getting older, the Christian community asked them to commit to writing what they were preaching.

Based on contemporary historical research, the first written accounts were some of the Letters of St. Paul around 49 C.A. The historical gap between the death and Resurrection of Christ around 30 C.A. and the letters of Paul is less than one generation. Many contemporary Biblical scholars and researchers using archeological evidence are boldly saying that there is very minimal chance of corruption of the text. But it is important to note that Tradition is recognized by almost all Biblical scholars to be the source of the written material in the Bible. Without the Church there is no Bible. The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) authoritatively declares that the source of both Tradition and Scripture is God himself in his revelation (1). Since this lecture is meant to address the basic teaching of the Church, only this official reference is mentioned below.

Reference:

(1) http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html