Why the Beloved is Beautiful?

First: Discovering "The Beautiful Princess"
The intriguing story of the discovery of 'The Beautiful Princess" - an extraordinary painting by Leonardo da Vinci - prompted me to ask friends questions about the meaning of beauty especially since PBS published a documentary on the discovery under the title "Mystery of a Masterpiece" in 2009 which has been  repeatedly broadcasted since then and may still be found on the Web today at Canada's CBC program "The Passionate Eye" here. Many friends provided useful feedback and links which I gratefully use here

Why is it intriguing? First, you watch a painstakingly collaborative effort by top art scholars and scientists using the latest technology in order to authenticate the painting. In spite of competition and professional criticism, scholars from top European and American universities are helping each other complete the missing pieces in order to find the historical truth. Second, people love stories that reveal mysteries whether fiction or real especially if they include adventure and emotion, but more so, if the story is about beauty. We seem to be always in search of beauty. Third, seeing the untold physical suffering that old people go through, a nice-looking lady asked us recently: how can one regain her youth physically? How can she then cope with the gradual loss of her physical beauty? Cosmetic surgery does not really stop aging. Ads on TV target viewers to live a healthier life-style which may help in weight-loss but does not reverse the aging process. And in 2006, I had asked a friend who is research director in a big pharmaceutical firm whether regaining youth is possible, but he responded it was not possible.

Second: Scientific Findings
It was interesting to have recently watched Matt Ridley speak about the development of ideas through sex here. Is beauty about sexual desire? How about natural hormones that the brain releases to express bonding and love? We see this in Oxytocin the so-called "love hormone." Recent research in a number of disciplines seem to converge on the importance we assign to beauty.Why we embrace beauty will be discussed too.

1. Neurobiology
Dr. Irene Elia at Cambridge University found that in humans it is not enough to have beautiful bodies, but attributes such as fertility, health, social status and above all collaboration, and even temper quality. Delightful children are more loved by their mothers and are likely to find mates easier than less-attractive ones which eventually results in more offspring. The most intriguing finding is this: There seems to be an evolution of facial beauty to nicer-looking ones as humans mate and raise their children successfully - This immediately shows the importance of the family and the economy to survive and protect the vulnerable children; Correlate it to the pro-life stance of the Church to protect the unborn from abortion which if sustained would allow the fetus to grow as a child in a loving family; Correlate it too to the importance of global redistribution of wealth and resources especially to the poor and most needy nations (See The Economist here.).

2. Complex Systems
If beauty is indeed the result of a development in neurobiological complex collaborations of organisms, then we may as well describe another fundamental development in complex systems that may shed light on the mind's perception of beauty: The uniqueness of modern homosapiens (humans). In my Master's studies in information systems, I wrote about complex systems and projects such as those of NASA in space and the reason why they succeed in a collaborative team work. But the most complex system we know is the human mind with over 100 billion neurons and neurotransmitters. In 2009, Marc Hauser, at the time 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. Hauser shows the following characteristics of the human uniqueness:
a. 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
b. 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.
c. 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.
d. 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 a different mind in humans. It shows a profound gap between us and animals, or as the well-known paleontologist Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. 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.” This is true too if you look carefully at the layers of pictures of the "beautiful princess" drawn through laser technology.  Layers can be dissected to find harmony. (Cf. Scientific American article on the origins of the mind - September 2009 issue)

3. Mathematics: For scientists, beauty and elegance far surpass the physical appearance of organisms. In geometry, art, and architecture, symmetry is found in attractive human faces and  beauty can be generated in the so-called Golden Ratio present more precisely in the shape of the Golden Rectangle.


4. Chaos Theory: This magnificent beauty can be seen in complex systems as with computers now we can decipher the beauty of nature. Watch this brief clip.

5. Quantum Physics: See my post on "Quantum Synthesis" here but the elegance in the particles universe that scientists believe exists is more hidden. Watch this brief talk by Gian Giudice at CERN Lab about the elusive Higgs Boson after it has been discovered.

6. Mimetic Theory:
René Girard has written volumes on imitative or mimetic desire that may destroy entire nations because of rivalry for possessing the beautiful and attractive or build those nations if properly brought to light. In his research, Girard found the origin of victimization which he relates to the Christ event. You may wish to read my blogspot here; read here some of the most illuminating work in his research in anthropology, or simply watch this interview with him.

Third: What is beauty?

Beyond the simple attraction of faces and bodies there are the mature attributes of moderate behaviour, love, thoughtful care, and compassion that mature intellectuals suggest. Defining attractive beauty can vary slightly from generation to generation and culture to culture. Beauty is also linked to family, local culture, and the global village of today: The first one who I see after I am born and who carries me and feeds me is my mother. First looks influence my attraction to beautiful women (or handsome men) as I grow. My parents who love me, and indeed my cultural surroundings, have a hand in shaping how I see beauty. Connecting with others via social networks may also influence my ideas about who is beautiful.

Beauty is found too in the mother's love of her children both born and unborn. Research by Dr. Alfred Tomatis and his team showed that listening exists in the womb of a pregnant mother. See, for example, St. Gianna Beretta Molla who was a physician in the 20th century. Her love of her beautiful children did not prevent her from loving her God but on the contrary illuminated it. Add to her St. Rita of Cascia; a greatly popular saint who was a mother and spouse in the 15th century but her devotion made her beautiful; and in the 19th century a Melkite Catholic Palestinian Arab woman Mariam Bouardy, a mystic who experienced God's beauty, has been beatified by the Church. 

Beauty is more than physical attractiveness, meeting of similar minds, or sexual harmony. We seek the limitless beauty which we can never possess here on earth. Its mystery lies in the beloved which surpasses simple definitions and reaches out to the depth of spiritual union with God, "the Beautiful One." Since we are humans, I move from the senses to the abstract of the mind and simultaneously communicate with the other who shares with me the hope of a better life. Since we humans need protection in life, we must worship a god or gods. Money, fame, knowledge, and sexual pleasure can be gods but they do not last. Eventually everyone dies. Beauty must be rescued in an eternal relationship of love whose ultimate goal is union with God; a true God who can protect us in his love for us as children. It is why true love and true beauty are always related. St. Bernard, a Doctor of the Church who was a mystic too in the 12th century, wrote about the four degrees of love:

"The First Degree of Love: Love of Self for Self's Sake
Love is a natural human affection. It comes from God. Hence the first and greatest commandment is, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God." But human nature is weak and therefore compelled to love itself and serve itself first. In the human realm people love themselves for their own sake. This is planted within us for who ever hated his own self?
The Second Degree of Love: Love of God for Self's Sake 
God, therefore, who makes everything that is good, makes himself to be loved. He does it as follows: first, God blesses us with his protection. When we live free from trouble we are happy, but in our pride we may conclude that we are responsible for our security. Then, when we suffer some calamity, some storm in our lives, we turn to God and ask his help, calling upon him in times of trouble. This is how we who only love ourselves first begin to love God. We will begin to love God even if it is for our own sake. We love God because we have learned that we can do all things through him, and without him we can do nothing.
The Third Degree of Love: Love of God for God's Sake
In the first degree of love we love ourselves for our own sake. In the second degree of love we love God for our own sake, chiefly because he has provided for us and rescued us. But if trials and tribulations continue to come upon us, every time God brings us through, even if our hearts were made of stone, we will begin to be softened because of the grace of the Rescuer. Thus, we begin to love God not merely for our own sakes, but for himself.
The Fourth Degree of Love: Love of Self for God's Sake
Blessed are we who experience the fourth degree of love wherein we love ourselves for God's sake. Such experiences are rare and come only for a moment. In a manner of speaking, we lose ourselves as though we did not exist, utterly unconscious of ourselves and emptied of ourselves.If for even a moment we experience this kind of love, we will then know the pain of having to return to this world and its obligations as we are recalled from the state of contemplation. In turning back to ourselves we will feel as if we are suffering as we return into the mortal state in which we were called to live.
Can We Attain the Fourth Degree of Love?I am not certain that the fourth degree of love in which we love ourselves only for the sake of God may be perfectly attained in this life. But, when it does happen, we will experience the joy of the Lord and be forgetful of ourselves in a wonderful way. We are, for those moments, one mind and one spirit with God.I am of the opinion that this is what the prophet meant when he said: "I will enter into the power of the Lord: O Lord I will be mindful of Thy justice alone." He felt, certainly, that when he entered into the spiritual powers of the Lord he would have laid aside self and his whole being would, in the spirit, be mindful of the justice of the Lord alone."

The leap from matter to spirit In the 20th century, the great theologian and scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin connected matter to the spirit in his outstanding research from cosmogenesis to Christogenesis and particularly in his evolutionary thought in which the end in Revelation is crowned by Christ the Omega Point in presenting saved humanity to his Father . Much has been written about his work including the writings of such giants as Henri de Lubac, S.J., Karl Rahner, S.J. and our much-beloved missionary Henri Boulad, S.J. who visited us in Toronto in June 2013.

On beauty too and influenced by his mystic friend Adrienne von Spyer, the great Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote masterpieces on beauty. In his writings von Balthasar relates beauty to the crucified Christ carried by his blessed mother in his death. It seems that not only in the Resurrection but also in death Christ's beauty is revealed to his lovers. Read this recent article by John Cihak here.

Fourth: Closing Thoughts

The "New Atheist" and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins shares the same concerns and hopes that we have for a better and more humane global civilization. No single rational person can deny the necessity of love for our thoughts and actions to shape civilization. Beauty is a gift to help us love and return love regardless of the malicious will of anyone. I see beauty in the innocent looks and smiles of children, in the serene sight on mountains, and in the far horizon of the sea and the Sunset. Yet beauty is a glimpse into the eyes of a person giving something that is dear and precious out of love to another person. Beauty was seen by three Apostles in the transfiguration of Christ when his face shone like the Sun and his clothes became as dazzling white as the light (Matt. 17: 2). The painting here was painted by Raphael around 1519.
Beautiful is the act of the Crucified whose trust in his Father is stronger than death. This is, to a limited imagination like mine, a form of beauty that reflects utter selfless love; the love of the holy Trinity in one God. How will we learn to love takes much good will and patience.

I can find nothing more beautiful to end with other than the words of St. Gertrude the Great, a mystic who talked with the Beautiful One Jesus Christ in her 13th-century revelations as recorded by her followers:
"Then I understood the meaning contained in those sweet and ineffable words: 'God will be all in all' (1 Cor. 15:28); and my soul, which was enriched by the presence of my Beloved, soon knew, by its transports of joy, that it possessed the presence of her Spouse. Then she received these words with exceeding avidity which were presented as a delicious beverage to satisfy the ardor of its thirst: 'As I am the figure of the substance of God, My Father, in His Divinity, so also you shall be the figure of My substance in My Humanity, receiving in your deified soul the infusion of My Divinity, as the air receives the brightness of the solar rays, that these rays may penetrate you so intimately as to prepare you for the closest union with Me'" (Cf. The Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude the Great, Translated by The Poor Clares of Kenmare, TAN Books, 2002. P. 83).

And then the words of our God and Saviour Christ himself:
"Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they who testify of me." (John 5: 39).

Jesus, The Healer of Man

Jesus Christ is The Alpha and The Omega in Revelation (Revelation 21: 6). He is the Lamb who will be on the Throne for eternity and will make all things new.  He is also the healer of humanity...I recall when, in 2005, I was recovering at Toronto General Hospital, after the surgery of partial nephrectomy performed by Dr. Michael Jewett, Professor at the University of Toronto, and the highest authority in Canada in treating Prostate and Urology illnesses in which he removed the cancerous tissues from my left kidney. At that time I opened the Bible and stopped at the Gospel according to St. Mark Chapter 1 where a leper asks Jesus whether he wishes to heal him of his leprosy and Jesus answers "I do will it. Be made clean" (here). He was moved by pity, tells us the Gospel's writer. And the leper was immediately healed.  How Christ our God loves humanity...It is a matter of love even if God allows temporary suffering or death. God still loves you and me. God is the lover for eternity because that is his Being as a Trinity in One. Saints say to the Lord: "Amen! Come Lord Jesus" or in Syriac, it starts with "Maran Atha" (Revelation 22: 20).
In the first half of the 20th century, the Jesuit scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin developed the evolution paradigm of creation in which the cosmos is evolving/expanding, and the human person leaps from the biosphere to the noosphere (the mind) and finally saved humanity will meet Christ the Omega Point! The ideas of Teilhard to Chardin have been favourably considered by recent Popes since Blessed Paul VI and St. John Paul II as well as Benedict XVI and Francis (see America here).
If the above tells us anything, it is probably better\to summarize it that God always sees what is the eternal "good" for everyone (cf. an article on "the Good" in the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas here) because God loves everyone. Christ loves everyone.
Christ healed me so many times - He gave me life that I do not deserve - See my lecture "A Living Miracle" here.
Can I at least attempt to respond to his outpouring love with the possible love I have towards Him, my family , friends, and the people I know ?...

The Threat of Radicals

I wrote much of what is here in March 2017. Almost a year later in February 2018, I see much the same but there are major differences too...

Turkey's Erdogan has dared to challenge Russia's President Vladimir Putin by digging a channel in the Black Sea in the hope of ruling the connection and, therefore, the trade between Russia and China on one hand and Europe on the other hand. He calls it a safe channel although this Islamist and Qatar's Tamim remain responsible for activities of the Muslim Brothers and other terrorist organizations in much of the world's countries notably the latest in Egypt's Sinai. Turkey has also launched an attack by troops in North Syria claiming that the Kurds, who live there, are responsible for terrorist activities within it thus bringing a warning from Washington to refrain from this attack. This is also seen as a struggle with Shiite Iran which together with Russia helped Syria's Assad win a 7-years war. Russia and Iran may get involved. It could be catastrophic for Lebanon too.

The terrorism events that took place in North America and Europe in the past few months have left an indelible mark on Christians that they have entered a decisive moment of fight against global terrorism linked to the tragic massacres of innocents by Radical Islam whether in the Middle East or outside its geographic boundaries in Europe and Africa. In 2016 the popular Bishop Robert Barron wrote about the massacres of the Islamic State here.

In his address to Congress on Tuesday February 28, 2017 the American President Trump vowed to protect Christians from Islamic terrorism while allying America with Israel and most Muslim countries against Radical Islam. He is also increasing the military capacity of the American military global system in order to defeat any power that challenges the Superpower. It seems that if there is a Third World War, it will be launched in space since America's NASA has been working with Google scientists to deliver quantum computers, the fastest and most efficient in any space war. China too has released information that it is researching the capacity of going to the Moon. Russia, without doubt, has a strong capacity of nuclear weapons in space. Scientists from many countries have been working tirelessly at "The Large Hadron Collider" in Switzerland to find the little sub-particles that constitute the atoms which in turn open the  capacity to more dangerous nuclear  weapons. And North Korea too has launched a number of nuclear missiles. Iran has been trying to create the first Islamic Shiite nuclear power especially since the Obama administration agreed to help their scientists. In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is a pro-abortionist and his programs deny assistance to pro-life organizations (e.g. Birth Right; Knights of Columbus). This is is only the beginning of calamities if people of good will do not recognize the signs of times and act decisively to turn things around. 

If you look at our world today this is what you will see:

1. A global economic change with the fast advance of systems technology. Millions have lost their jobs or are going to lose them - This is particularly critical for young adults who have just graduated from university or college but cannot find a permanent job in their careers AND requires Churches/Christian organizations to help ours where possible ;

2. A global political crisis, where the European Union is disintegrating after the British Exit due to an unbalanced welcome of refugees into Europe from the Arab world and North Africa especially by Germany's Angela Merkel who leads the European Union into an economic disaster. Powers from the Far East especially China challenge the Western powers through their "Silk Road" economic entrance in North America, Europe and Africa while the leader of North Korea dares to play with nuclear missiles and challenges the Superpower of America;

3. Israel and radical Muslims are making every effort to escalate the situation in the Middle East to a violent war - Hizbullah and Iran are considered a threat by Israel's leaders. On the other hand the American President Trump vowed to protect America's allies in the Middle East, notably Israel. Trump toured the Middle East major allied countries starting with Saudi Arabia and finishing with Israel. He sold American advanced weapons to America's allies thus strengthening both Saudi Arabia and Israel against Iran. In December 2017, Trump vowed to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel in moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Palestinian Fatah condemned this move and carried their cause to the United Nations General Assembly which duly supported Fatah. 

The Arab Spring (over 6 years now) supported by the past Obama government has failed to improve the lives of people it promised and was hijacked by Muslim extremists which in turn started wars of divisions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Syria and Iraq, killed many innocent Muslims and minority Christians (the scapegoat in Girardian language) and are now attempting to recreate an Islamic Caliphate which threatens to raise the black flag of Daech/ISIS over the entire free world -  Al-Azhar Muslim University and its Imam in Egypt  adhere to the same doctrine of ISIS but unjustly claim that Christians and Jews are the ones who cause terrorism;

4. A global food crisis continues to rage in Africa, South America and the underdeveloped countries caused in part by insufficient resources that are already controlled by local dictators and an increasing imbalance between the wealth of the North and that of the South caused in part by an imperialistic American and Western European free-market monopoly;

5. The most influential moral voice in the world, that of Pope Francis, is attempting to be moderate in his exhortations and homilies but demands European governments to open their countries boundaries to the above-mentioned refugees thus unknowingly exposing European countries to the possibility of receiving terrorists among those refugees in the name of compassion. This requires more screening of refugees who land in Europe usually through Greece and Italy. Turkey on the other hand claimed that the European Union failed to repay Turkey for the many refugees it held in order not to cross to Europe.

Can we read the beginning of the end in today's events? We know that, according to modern Biblical scholarship, the book of Revelation was written in the late 90s, as Apocalyptic literature to warn Christians and give them hope in the persecutions of the 1st century. Having said that, let's look afresh at Revelation and see whether there can be any interpretation for our world today as well. Sometimes the same text can reflect a myth and a literal event too. Can this be the case here? The New American Bible Revised Edition (approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) in the introduction to the Book of Revelation says "The Book of Revelation had its origin in a time of crisis, but it remains valid and meaningful for Christians of all time. In the face of apparently insuperable evil, either from within or from without, all Christians are called to trust in Jesus' promise, 'Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age' (Matthew 28:20)"

Revelation is a complex book, so I intend only to show similarities from the Book to what we are seeing today. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, there are 5 important symbolic figures: The Lamb, the woman, and her seed; and opposed to them, the dragon, the beast from the sea, and the beast from the land.

Scholars dig deep into the Old Testament: The main idea is taken from Genesis 3:15. "I will put enmities between you (the serpent) and the woman, and your seed and her seed". The woman is arrayed in heavenly splendour; a crown of twelve stars on her head and the sun and the moon under her feet (cf. Genesis 37:9-10). She is in travail. Her first-born is destined to rule all the nation (Psalms 2:8, 9). She herself, and her other seed, are persecuted for three and a half years by the great dragon who tries to kill them. The great dragon is Satan (Genesis 3:1). He is cast out of heaven. With his tail he drags after him one-third of the stars. Taken from Daniel 8:10. The fallen stars are the fallen angels. The beast from the sea is in great part taken from Daniel's description of the four beasts (Daniel 7). It arises from the sea; has seven heads marked all over with blasphemies (probably a reference to Rome - City of the Seven Hills, called also Babylon or the Harlot in the New Testament since at the time it was the center of evil and idolatry for Christians). It had also ten horns, like the fourth beast of Daniel; it resembled a leopard, the third beast of Daniel, it had feet like a bear, the second beast of Daniel; and teeth like a lion, the first beast of Daniel. The great dragon gives full power to the beast, where all the world will worship it. The followers of the beast have its mark on their head and hand. The beast from the land has two horns like a ram. Its power lies in its art of deceiving by means of tokens and miracles. Throughout the remainder of the book it is called the false prophet. Its office is to assist the beast from the sea, and to induce people to adore its image.

The first act of the drama concludes with a promise of victory over the beast by the Lamb of God. We can safely see in the woman Mary immaculate whose seed is Jesus the Lamb of God. Other interpretations think of it as a symbol of the Church in her suffering and ultimate glory. The drama completes when the "New Jerusalem" is founded. She will need no light because the Father and the Lamb will be her light - the light of the Holy Spirit. A great number of people; thousands over thousands will be in the triumphant city. Meanwhile let's attempt to follow the visionary.

We can see in the Dragon the Devil. But who are the Beast and the False Prophet? The New Jerome Biblical Commentary in 1990 gives a contemporary interpretation pointing out that the beast from the sea and the beast from the earth have both mythic and historical references. Sea in the Old Testament is an opponent of God (Cf. Ps. 74:13). In Revelation, the beast from the sea is a mythical symbol of chaos and rebellion. The beast from the earth (13:11-18) is also a counter image to the Lamb. The beast from the earth is described as a false prophet, probably an agent of the Roman empire who promoted the cult of the emperor and the goddess Roma.

The following is my own interpretation based on my readings, but mostly based on what we are seeing today. I think, and I stand to be corrected, that the False Prophet is Radical Islam and the Beast is the materialist postmodern world of the West. We can consult the "Clash of Civilizations" that Samuel Huntington wrote in the 1990s, although this is not necessary.

The False Prophet: From a historic perspective, I do note that the human race was warned in 1917 by Our Lady at Fatima and that the "Third Secret of Fatima" was officially interpreted as the assassination attempt on the life of Saint Pope John Paul the Great. But may be that attempt was only the first of calamities that humanity will have to suffer as the sons and daughters of Abraham, Jews and Muslims, fight to death. Recall also that for 60 years now, Israel is back as one Jewish nation, and since 1967 it has reoccupied Jerusalem thus fulfilling the prophecy of the end of time attributed to Christ "and Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." (Luke 21: 24). Furthermore, we can go back to the early 1930s and find the established "Muslim Brotherhood" which claims support from Muslims worldwide. But two centuries earlier Mohammed Ibn Abdel-Wahhab had preached a puritan form of Islam that forbids devotional customs such as shrines for saints and visitation of tombs. He and his followers made a pact with Mohammed bin Saud whose successors prevailed in Arabia and were given the land by the British after World War I.  Today Saudi Arabia, a rich Arab Sunni Muslim country, exports the Wahabbi/Salafist thought (with oil from its oil reserves) to other countries in the world and has its own agenda as a regional power. In addition since 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been tirelessly exporting its strict Shiite doctrine to the entire Islamic world. In 1972, President Sadat released Muslim extremists from jail and was subsequently assassinated by one of their groups in 1981. By 1982, the motto "Islam is the Solution" had appeared in Egypt. It is no accident that the revival of fundamentalist Islam has spread in all the Arab world and the Muslim nations in spite of persecution by governments loyal to the West. From Sudan, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India there is a huge following of fundamentalist Muslims. There have been incidents of fundamentalist rebellion in the Philippines (Abu Sayyaf).

This is only a general picture. Now, I would like to give some details: Although many people are driven to think that this is a Western propaganda and political conflict, I believe that the Vatican would not have protested repeatedly in recent years against persecution and killing of Christians in Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, India, Algeria, and Egypt unless there was ground for such violation of human freedom and dignity. The Jesuit scholar Fr. Henri Boulad, S.J. who lives in Egypt said in October 2017 that persecution of Christians continues in Egypt while condemning the atheist Europe that forgot its Christian roots (here in French). Fundamentalist Islam today, spreading in Europe at a huge rate is one of the major forces that Western Europe had to deal with since 9/11 and is still unable to contain. The late Libyan leader Qaddafi was quoted to have said in 2007 that by 2050 Europe will be completely Muslim. Huge money is spent on building mosques and Islamic schools and supporting Muslim organizations in the entire world. Financing is coming from Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Qatar. In Ontario, Canada, the Muslim community attempted, in 2007, to have its own Sharia legalized for Muslims living in Ontario, but their attempt was declined – Muslims today have their own quarters and villas north of Toronto the industrial capital of Canada, and a Muslim politician is today the Minister of Immigration in the Trudeau Liberal Government of Canada. The Trudeau Government is bringing some 45,000 refugees (mostly Muslims that may include terrorists) thus exposing Canadians to terrorism. The exception is probably the new American Conservative administration under Donald Trump that promised to fight radical Islamic terrorism. Add to the above the violent character of such organizations as Hamas, governing Gaza in Palestine and until now refusing to recognize the right of Israel to exist, and Hizbullah which has a majority support in Lebanon since its victory over Israel in 2006. Iran, another regional power hopeful and opposed to Turkey and Saudi Arabia, is attempting to build its nuclear power and its leaders have vowed to extinguish Israel. Is this enough for describing a false prophet?

The Beast: This is the great desolation of Western civilization. If I have to explain it in detail it will take me a full week. Just briefly: It started with the Reformation in the 16th century. Martin Luther thought that every individual Christian is free to interpret Scriptures according to what he feels the Holy Spirit is telling him. This idea created "individualism." Individualism is rampant today, thanks to other modern philosophers such as the existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre - Only me counts -"The other is my hell." It is interesting to note how this has been applied successfully in contemporary thought and technology too. Nothing is done in a vacuum. One thing you must understand is that we are all related in this cosmos. Following Luther in interpreting St. Paul, Calvin thought that God predestined people as he willed to heaven or hell so if they were destined to heaven they will also be blessed here on earth. John Courtney Murray, S.J. who was the main contributor to Vatican II's "Declaration on Freedom of Religion" wrote how Calvinism re-emerged in North-America. Calvinism was brought by the early Europeans to America.  Soon enough the idea of individualism combined with the idea of blessedness on earth and produced the idea of Capitalism long before Adam Smith thought of it in economic terms. In simple terms, if I am blessed here as a Christian, I would rather use all the resources available to me to realize this blessing on earth as much and as wide as possible. This is greed in the form of Capitalism. Sure I will help the needy but I will also help myself much more from what they have. The earth is mine and I will explore its richness to the end! Today, Capitalism rules the earth. Free market enslaves people. Recall the political and economic pressure by the IMF on the underdeveloped countries to free their economy in the 1980s and 1990s. What is the global crisis but the result of that greed globally? Why is the globe in economic recession today but because of the powerful wanting more power and meanwhile robbing the nations of Africa and Asia from their resources? It is part of the nationalist movements' claims in the underdeveloped world. The entire U.N. charter is only ink on paper...Along with Capitalism a twin ideology was born: materialism.

Since the Enlightenment in the 19th century West, philosophers and scientists have been asking whether there is indeed any reality beyond matter. Some great materialist/atheist philosophers include Hume, Voltaire, Marx, Carnap, Wittgenstein of the Vienna Club, Derrida, more recently Michel Foucault and many others such as the late atheist author Christopher Hitchens and Harvard's Steven Pinker. The "New Atheists" of today such as Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss are scientists who devote much time attacking religion because they constrain their research to what is observable in the cosmos. In schools today, our children learn mostly what constitutes physics but very little, if any, about metaphysics (i.e. beyond physics).

Today we see how our consumerist society has invested in this ideology. Businesses flourish based on selling products to consumers. The more we consume the more business flourishes. This is the child of materialism married to capitalism. With globalization in the 1980s-1990s and beyond, large businesses and huge investors were able to reach the entire globe. Europe and the Far East imitated America and did the same. Who paid the price? Ordinary people like you and me.  Materialism also bore the ideology of Communism which was carried out in Russia and persecuted religion from 1917 to 1989 in the USSR and Eastern Europe. Today Communism still lives in political pockets in Europe and is widely known under a more moderate name as socialism. Communism robbed people of their rights to private property. People became enslaved to the government of their land. It engulfed a whole generation of thinkers, even within the Church particularly in Latin America where people remain quite poor. Capitalist America supported dictatorial regimes in Latin America in order to suppress these movements.

Another twist of the moral order took place in the two World Wars. Because many men were sent to the battlefield women were forced to work in order to support their families. Understandably feminism was born  in the early 1920s and grew quickly in the 1940s and 1950s. Women started building their own career like men. Equality with men, not only in dignity but in all aspects of roles in business as well as at home was demanded. However, Radical Feminism and business competition required more business roles for women.  This started the collapse of the family as we know it. Today we know many men and women who are, contrary to the moral Law, legally divorced. The feminist movement also produced legalization of abortion as the right of woman according to the land's law has a priority over the existence of the fetus in her womb. The Western civilization lost millions of unborn babies in this genocide. By the 1960s the sexual revolution was in the making, this time freeing people from the sex complex as defined by Freud. Soon afterwards, it became common that young people practice their intimate sexual "love" in the public with no shame. Today we know of couples who live together a life of sexual promiscuity and adultery without marriage or within marriage by prior agreement.

The last evil came under the influence of the philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (died a patient in a psychiatric hospital; 1900) who is known by his proclamation of the "the death of God". The ideology is known as Moral Relativism: Nietzsche sees the slave-morality as a social illness that has overtaken Europe — a derivative and resentful value which can only work by condemning others as evil. In Nietzsche's eyes, Christianity exists in a hypocritical state wherein people preach love and kindness but find their joy in condemning and punishing others for pursuing those ends which the slave-morality does not allow them to act upon publicly. Nietzsche calls for the strong in the world to break their self-imposed chains and assert their own power, health, and vitality upon the world. In Relativism (called also Postmodernism), everyone is right. There is no absolute right and absolute wrong. This helps political correctness in the pluralistic world of today.

In my humble opinion, we need to pay attention to the present, learn lessons from the past, and pray for the future. We seem to have lost our way between the False Prophet (Radical Islam) and the Beast (Western Civilization).

There is a tremendous thirst in the young generations for spiritual nourishment that gives meaning to their lives. Let us focus on those ones for their deprivation of spiritual nourishment leads them to emptiness and depression which in turn cause suicide or worse they could join the extremist Jihadists (as we already see in Europe and North America) and we end up having a crazy army of terrorists killing themselves and us in the name of God as prophesied "children will rise against parents and have them put to death"(Matthew 10:21). Churches are "not museums" according to Saint Pope John XXIII. They must be the light for nourishment of Christians, notably the young and (almost) lost generations, in everything that they need to learn to live spiritually and survive materially i.e. to develop in their knowledge and love of God and of others.Virtual websites for Church activities and online social networking need to be developed for those who are far.

The world needs a lot of prayer and intelligent collaboration in good faith to avoid a clash of civilizations and a third World War, something that Pope Francis warned about. Christians need to respect and love their fellow Muslims who worship the same God - The crimes of extremists cannot be counted against the majority of Muslims. We hope that the warnings of Fatima will be avoided. Mary is the mother of both Christians and Muslims, and as Bishop Fulton sheen said, Mary will bring them all to her Son.

But more prayers are needed to save the civilization of the West from destroying itself internally. This is the harder one. We believe in what the Saviour said 'Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age' (Matthew 28:20).

The Axis of History

He is the Alpha and the Omega - The First and  the Last (Revelation 1, 8; 1, 17). This is how St. John the Apostle described the eternal Jesus Christ, the One who took our nature and became man to save humanity and re-open the door for the seekers of the Truth (himself) to be at last one with him in the everlasting new Jerusalem. "Behold I make all things new" (Revelation 21, 5). He is the Axis of History. The prophets who came before him pointed to him and the apostles and saints who followed him are now with him. Bishop Robert Barron and Jesuit scholar Fr. Henri Boulad frequently spoke about Christ being the Axis of history and the object of saints. According to Fr. Boulad, Christ is present here through acts of love. Ordinary and simple people have the hope of being with him. Christ said "Fear not little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12, 32). Furthermore philosophers and thinkers in history found the meaning of life in Christ. As examples, refer to St. Augustine's philosophical work in the 5th century AD where he manifested the Christian values in his "Confessions" and works in neo-Platonism, and to the immensely influential work of the Dominican St. Thomas Aquinas in philosophy and theology. St. Thomas 'baptized' the philosophy of Aristotle and expanded the inquiry of the "Good" based on reason. Thomism is still taught in colleges and universities for its in-depth synthesis of philosophy and theology. In the 16th century St. Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus based on his "Exercises" which inspired generations of missionaries and educators in the world. In the 17th century St. Marguerite-Marie Alacoque fostered the veneration of the "Sacred Heart of Jesus" in Europe and the New World. Other mystics such as St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross inspired worship of Christ in their respective convents. In the 20th century, St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta went around in India helping the dying persons, then her sisters "of Charity" have been active in most countries where there is a need for Christ's hands such as in Africa and Asia.
Scientists today continue to discover the relational character of the universe that reflects the stamp of the Trinity. John Polkinghorne (retired professor of mathematical physics at Cambridge University has written and lectured extensively on the relational character of the universe based on quantum physics which reflects the stamp of the Trinity, the God of Christians. So too has Stephen Barr, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Delaware. For readers interested in the "Quantum Universe", see The Quantum Universe here: http://todayquestions.blogspot.ca/2017/10/the-quantum-universe.html

Henri Boulad: I am His Child

The Jesuit scholar Fr. Henri Boulad gave a homily on Jesus' Baptism and connected it to the Magi who came from the East to worship him. The homily can be found here in French. In those days, the astrologers believed in the power of stars - When they found a star leading them to the manger in Bethlehem, they followed it and worshiped the infant just born in the manger. The Baptism of Jesus' showed the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus and a voice (of the Father) from Heaven said "This is my son in whom I am pleased". "I am His child too" proclaimed Boulad; for there is nothing that can separate us from Him or rather as found in St. Paul's "Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love?" (Romans 8: 35).
It was the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus Christ that caused a revolution as Christ not only said "Love your enemies", but also went all the way to the Golgotha, and in spite of Satanic temptations, He trusted in the full love of His Father that raised Him from the dead . Christ's Resurrection is not only the hope that Christians have after they depart from this life, but the proof that He is God who ascended to heaven by His power of love.
The greatest theologian in the 20th century according to Fergus Kerr (a British highly-regarded theologian), Hans Urs von Balthasar, the man whom Fr. Boulad talked about earlier, is another priest that was made a cardinal by Saint John Paul II  but did not live to receive the "red hat." Han Urs von Balthasar wrote 15 large volumes: The Glory of the Lord (7); Theo-Drama (5); Theo-logic (3)  inspired by the mystic Adrienne von Speyer. His most eloquent work is undoubtedly "On a Friday afternoon" in which he gazes on Christ's redemption of mankind and hopes in the mercy of Him who is love eternal that He may save all creation in the Last Judgment - It is a hope, nevertheless and not Origen's theory of universalism although the great Alexandrian Origen of the 3rd century AD has been rehabilitated by yet another great Jesuit and cardinal Henri de Lubac...
Trust in God as Henri Boulad follows St. Paul in his trust in Christ - Nothing else matters!