Come, Follow Me

In the Roman Catholic Church Gospel's reading on November 30, the Lord says to St. Peter and St. Andrew "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4: 19). They both followed him, and testified to their faith in him which cost them their lives on crosses by order of the Roman authorities: St. Peter was crucified upside down in Rome by Emperor Nero ca 64 while St. Andrew was crucified on an X-shaped cross in Patras (cf. Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiae, 4th century). 
I do mention the above to only thank God that, in his providential care, he helped me be baptized and brought up Christian by devout parents. I thank God for the many graces that he abundantly continues to give me through my wife, children, brothers and sisters-in-law as well as great physicians and many friends including their charitable work and prayers for me and others.
I am grateful to God for having known many spiritual directors and scholars from whom I learned much (including the great followers of Christ who departed to God such as Monseigneur Paul Antaki the Great who was Melkite Catholic Patriarchal Vicar on the See of Alexandria; and the Lebanese Catholic scholar Fr. Ignatius Sarkis Naggar who was pastor of St. Cyril's Melkite Catholic parish in Heliopolis, Cairo).
I continue to learn from Christ's disciples and other knowledgeable scientists and scholars.
Recently, I browsed some of the lectures given by the Nobel-Prize Laureate Professor Richard Feynman on quantum physics and the universe. The interested reader may wish to read them on the website of the California  Institute of Technology (Caltech) here and compare them to the quite impressive 2015 TEDx-Talk by Professor Leo Kouwenhoven on quantum technology here and to the equally impressive 2017 lecture by Professor David Tong on quantum fields as the building blocks of the universe given at Cambridge University here or the recent commentaries on quantum mechanics by associates of Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D. on his Magis Center website here and here. You may also wish to read my post on "The Quantum Universe" written in October 2017 here.

The most recent words I received include an on-line link from Msgr. Robert Nusca that opens up a treasure of Catholic teachings in several fields of today's life and helps leaders in discussions included in the RCIA programs.
I also received beautiful commentaries by Fr. Henri Boulad, S.J. on my post "Complex Projects versus Complex Mind" written in 2009 here as well as my recent response to a fellow friend re a documentary on individual and societal threat by pornography published by CNA here - My response was summarized in two lectures that I gave years ago - They partially respond to today's permissive society which Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) described in terms of "moral relativism" here - "Why Our Youths Are Not Getting Married Today" here and "Is Abortion Justified in Case of Rape ?" here. I wish to thank Msgr. Nusca and Fr. Boulad for their prayers and support.
But we cannot rest assured of where the world is going especially when huge amounts of money are spent on spreading "Radical Islam" by fundamentalists and by political governments. In this regard, the reader may wish to listen to Fr. Boulad in October 2017 during his visit to France (here in French).

To the above we should add the tragedy of Christ and his followers as Christmas becomes closer.
Christmas is not only a great social event where we meet beloved people but also a reminder to me of Jesus Christ, the Word of God, who was incarnate by the power of the holy Spirit from the Virgin Mary for our salvation as we recite in the Creed. The "Lamb of God" had to face much rejection since his birth in Bethlehem. Kings and Governors could not tolerate his presence nor can they or their allies today. King Herod the Great was furious when he knew of Christ's birth "The King of the Jews" that the Prophets spoke about and the village where he would be born. Pilate too questioned him and sarcastically asked him "Are you King?" He also sarcastically asked him "What is Truth?" as if the world should always be enslaved to the power of emperors!
On September 14, 2008 at the celebration of the Exaltation of the Cross, Fr. Georges Farah gave a very eloquent homily about Jesus the King and the way Pilate treated him. The reader may wish to read it here. In December 2014, I wrote a post here about the joy that Fr. Farah made us feel as Christmas becomes close. On Sunday September 7, 2014, the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was celebrated at Jesus the King Melkite Catholic parish in Toronto where Fr. Farah spoke about the meaning of her title "Batoul" here.
In December 2014, Fr. Henri Boulad spoke about the birth of Christ - Here:

"Jesus is a revelation. Jesus is a revolution" says the Jesuit scholar Henri Boulad. But what kind of revolution? "Jesus empties heaven and moves the [Divine presence] to be among us: Emmanuel." and continues "Is it possible that God makes such a radical move? I have a response here to our Muslim brothers who think it is impossible. For them God cannot descend from heaven without losing his honor and dignity."

Now listen carefully because here Henri Boulad summarizes the Christian Mystery in as simple language as possible "If Jesus Christ is an illusion...If Christianity is a sheer mystification...If God did not come to us and did not descend from his heaven...If he did not take the radical and seemingly impossible leap of the incarnation, then he ceases being credible - he ceases being love - he ceases being God."

Let us reflect. Here is the message: 

"The scandal of the Incarnation, which means that we cannot believe that God could debase himself , becomes the key and the supreme proof  that this is the truth"

"But a God in heaven well served who looks to me and says 'You suffer. Have courage. Perhaps one day you will be with me in my heaven' is not God. A God who says 'Patience. I am fine here but you over there can suffer' is not God. This is the false God that we, often, figure that he sends us prophets from time to time to console us' . NO, NO. NO. This God who looks to me with a telescope is not my God. I do not want him."

"If there is a phenomenon of atheism today in the West as well as in Egypt, it is precisely because men say we are in fact better than God. The walk that I walk to help when I see a hungry person or a thirsty one or a person without faith, can't God do it? Has he no choice regarding his honor?"

"No. He did it. This is the supreme proof of the Christian Mystery. Do not look somewhere else. 'Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down...' He descended. No more seventh heaven..."

"The only God I can believe, love and worship is the God Jesus Christ because he descended to me."

"'Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down...' "

And the great preacher and Jesuit scholar Henri Boulad finished here his homily.

"Come, Follow Me" Jesus continues to say to everyone who has ears to listen...

NOTES:
1) Msgr. Robert Nusca, Pastor of Holy Rosary Catholic parish in Toronto, is a renowned Biblical scholar, Senior Fellow at St. Paul's Center. He holds a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and is Professor of Biblical Studies at St. Augustine's Seminary; a member College of the Toronto School of Theology affiliated with the University of Toronto.
2) Fr. Henri Boulad, S.J. is a Jesuit scholar whose homilies in French are uploaded weekly on YouTube. Fluent in French, English and Arabic, he is a missionary who went to The Sudan in the 1980s, and tours Europe and Canada every year where he gives homilies and retreats as he does also in Egypt where he is resident. He taught theology at the High Institute of Theology in Cairo and visited Lebanon where he gave retreats.
3) Fluent in Arabic, French, and English, Fr. Georges Farah is a Lebanese Melkite Catholic scholar whose credentials include a doctorate in philosophy and another in theology from the renowned Sorbonne University in Paris.

True Beauty

"Late have I loved you O Ancient Beauty and New" Wrote St. Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century AD. How can we compare love of the "Ancient Beauty and New" to our own seemingly shallow love of God ? With materialism creeping-in since the Enlightenment and scientific discoveries, the world has turned its attention to man rather than to God. However, we do not need to be pessimistic with regard to science. Most recent scientific discoveries point to the Triune God. The reader may wish to read my post on the quantum universe in October 2017 here. Recently I shared a post from CalTech (The California Institute of Technology) about lectures given by Richard Feynman on the development of physical sciences (see here). At CERN, reports on discussions of scientists were released as recent as November 15 this year on exploring quantum computing for high energy physics (see  here and here). Technology has made it possible to share more valuable information and increase the knowledge of human species which I consider a blessing from God. 
In "Why The Beloved is Beautiful" (here) I attempted four years ago to reflect on beauty today and true beauty found in the lives and writings of a few mystics and saints including St. Rita of Cascia, St. Gianna Beretta Molla, St. Mariam Bouardy, and the reformer St. Bernard of Clairvaux. I experienced true love in the silent suffering yet the smiling and peaceful face of an old lady who departed to God last Sunday and who for years we knew here in Toronto at Jesus the King Melkite Catholic parish. In the funeral home, this past Thursday, two of her nephews - who are leaders of the renowned Homsy choir - reminded me of another saintly man, the late Patriarchal Vicar over the See of Alexandria Archbishop Paul Antaki the Great (see here, and here). Our family has been blessed in knowing her and her family as well as in knowing Archbishop Paul Antaki.
The utterly beautiful face is that of the Word of God who by the power of the Holy Spirit was incarnate from the Blessed Virgin Mary (The Theotokos). According to early tradition, Jesus' face sweating with blood was miraculously impressed on a veil given to him on his way to the Golgotha by St. Veronica (i.e. bearer of victory). In the 20th century, Jesus appeared in a vision to St. Faustina Kowalska canonized by Pope Saint John Paul II in 2000. The picture of Divine Marcy shows our Lord Jesus Christ with rays coming out of his hands in calling people to repent. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is also printed here in which Jesus calls us to his heart. The vision is attributed to St. Marguerite- Marie Alacoque of the 17th century canonized by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. Related to Jesus' suffering and death on the cross for our salvation, we recall the celebration of the Exaltation of the Cross (see here a homily by Fr. Georges Farah in September 2008). But who was the closest to Christ in the joys and sorrows except his mother? Who rejoiced in Christ's Resurrection and Ascension more than his mother? (see here a talk by Fr. Georges Farah in 2008 on the Dormition and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and here a talk by Fr. Ibrahim El-Haddad in 2018 on the same occasion). Probably the most beautiful talk on the Blessed Virgin Mary is this one given by Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen in 1979 which can be found on YouTube here. I also registered a homily by the Thomas Cardinal Collins Archbishop of Toronto given when Fr. Mounir El-Rassy was ordained on August 15, 2009. It is titled "Thomas Collins on The Assumption of Mary" and can be found here. Today, however, politicians and society, at least in the West, have moved away from Christian faith. Many married adults no longer comply with the moral fidelity to spouses. Younger generations have, in many cases, stopped marrying or postponed marriage. I lectured about it here and here.
In addition, politicians and society, at least in the West, have moved away from Christian faith to atheism or negligence of their Christian roots in favour of Radical Islam. It is important to recall and relive Christianity based on a good understanding of history (written here in March 2018).
In 2005, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) warned the West about self-destruction and immorality that can lead to wars and terrorism (here). The reader may wish to also listen to this homily given in French by the Jesuit scholar Fr. Henri Boulad in October 2017 in France where he calls upon Christians in Europe to rediscover their Christian roots and reject Islam as a political solution. In November this year, we received published work in French that shows how provinces in Canada are embracing Islam and Arabic (here in French). In addition, a conference on atheism and Islamic invasion of Canada and the West has been published in Arabic as well as scholarly work in several European languages here. The most likely causes of these invasions are Salafism and the Muslim Brotherhood funded in colleges and universities as well as Islamic Centers by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey. Others of the Islamic Shiite sect are funded by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Today Hizbullah has a say in political changes in both Syria and Lebanon. In 2010, I lectured in a Shiite Islamic Center in Toronto (see here).  The recent massacre of Jamal Khashoggi in the Turkish capital is a sign of the thrust of competition between Sunni Islamic regional countries to impose their own interests on other countries in the world. This is only a part of the larger scheme of evil which tempts us everywhere.
May the Lord, the Beautiful One, help all to rediscover Him.

Marriage Today

Marriage Today

Thinking of You

In March 2018, I wrote a slightly-long article on the history of Christianity...
Revised and Expanded - History of Christianity in a Post-Modern Age
You may wish to read it and review it here:https://todayquestions.blogspot.com/2018/03/revised-and-expanded-history-of.html
However, my emphasis today is two fold:
1) the 3rd anniversary of the passing away of a great Christian philosopher
American Bishop Robert Barron wrote also about the influential Christian philosopher René Girard when the latter passed away in November 2015 - Here: https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/article/ren-girard-church-father/4982/ 
Girard wrote volumes on mimetic desire; Things hidden since the foundation of the world; violence and the Sacred; and The Scapegoat. His most significant book is probably "I See Satan Fall Like Lightning". He was interviewed by Robert Peterson here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNkSBy5wWDk&t=190s

2) The continuing, and sometimes confusing, rise of Islam against Christianity in much of today's world which has not escaped the observation of a number of scholars especially in the land that produced the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Arabic Sahara that produced Salafism - On the latest problems, Fr. Rafic Greiche, Pastor of St. Cyril Melkite Catholic parish in Cairo and a great pastor who attracted the youth to church was interviewed by KTO French TV here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8igMw62ytQ&t=849s Fr. Greiche said that some 80 churches were burned in Egypt and some 2 million Muslims became atheists after being under the illusion given by the Muslim Brotherhood - These represent an opportunity for attracting them to the Truth of Christ and helping them as well as other Egyptians with moderate education...We can also discern a regional struggle on the leadership of Sunni Muslims in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi; a U.S.-based journalist thought to be a member of the Muslim Brotherhood by Saudi Prince Mohamed bin Salman and his followers in their embassy in Istanbul; an instance that Recep Tayyip Erdogan the Islamist leader of Turkey (a base of the international Muslim Brotherhood) could not ignore in order to publish Turkey's condemnation of the Salafist Mohamed bin Salman as both Turkey and Saudi Arabia vie for the regional leadership of the world's Islamic Sunnis...It comes as Trump has increased sanctions imposed on Iran that also affected European countries in trades they have had with Iran and caused much late disruption in the Islamic Republic of Shiite Iran; the long-endured enemy of Saudi Arabia and Sunni Islam.  To complicate things, on November 11, Trump, Putin and Erdogan will meet in Paris to mark 100 years since the end of World War I...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/05/trump-to-meet-putin-and-erdogan-during-first-world-war-ceremonies
Back to the topic, please read me here:In September 2006, Pope Benedict XVI gave a lecture at the University of Regensburg on reason and modernity (see the text here: https://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2006/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20060912_university-regensburg.html). There, Professor Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) exposed militant Islam. Speaking about reason and modernity, he gives the historical debate between the Christian Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus and an educated Muslim Persian around 1393 on the subject of Christianity and Islam. Edited by Professor Adel Theodore Khoury, a Melkite Catholic priest and professor at Munster University, the seventh conversation cites the emperor's point: "Show me just what Mohammed brought, and there you will find only things evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."  Professor Ratzinger continues quoting the emperor "God is not pleased by blood - and not acting reasonably (according to reason) is contrary to God's nature." This was one courageous move by Benedict XVI as he sensed the increasing Islamic terrorism after 9/11.  One Muslim author, Aref Ali Nayed, recorded a reply to the pope and critiqued not only Pope Benedict but Arab Christian specialists on Islam such as the Jesuit professor Fr. Samir Khalil Samir (see it here: http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/commentary_on_benedict.php). It is clear from recent reports that:1) Muslims are multiplying much faster than Christians - especially in Islamic countries where there is much ignorance and low health standards (particularly for women and children) to receive adequate care.2) Europe and the West in general have lost or are on the verge of losing their Christian roots due to increased atheism, two World Wars, and the Sexual Revolution while Muslims there increasingly identify with their Islamic Sharia or at least pray their prayers in streets if need be. In October 2017, the Jesuit scholar Fr. Henri Boulad gave a homily in France in which he denounces the silence and fear of Christian French people and reminds Europeans of the Christian roots of Europe (here in French: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kukeX4kkHxE&t=104s) 
To avoid much blood-spilling, prayers are needed and good deeds too for the needy. I am reminded here by the Epistle of St. James "For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." (James 2: 26)...

On Christ, Christianity, Saints and Souls

Today is the commemoration of "All Souls" in the Church. It follows the great day of the "Solemnity of All Saints" on November 1st, and "Halloween"on October 31st which developed in the West since the early Renaissance. In October, 2014, I wrote a post on "Halloween"and its Christian significance especially today with the invasion of the West by radical Islam, which can be read here.  Today, many Christians in the West have forgotten their Christian roots and, under the influence of materialism and two World Wars with existential philosophies since The Enlightenment, became atheists or at least fell away from their Christian baptism. However, I recall with devotion the souls of persons I know that departed to God especially my mother of blessed memory and my mother-in-law of blessed memory. They both suffered for me since my heart problems started in 1986. I thank God for their care and the care given to me by great persons including physicians, bishops, priests (here and here) and, above all, God's own blessings through His Son Jesus Christ who merits by His continuing love, cross, and Resurrection the eternal joy given to saints. In the Book of Revelation Christ says "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me" (Rev. 3: 20). In the Last Judgment, Christ will judge everyone according to what that person did to those in need (Matt. 25: 31-46). In the 20th century, Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote with the same spirit his book "Dare we hope that all men be saved?" in which he and many Christians pray that the merciful love of God may save every one in His judgment of mankind. The selfless loving God who created every person in His image is "Our Father" who runs after the "Prodigal Son" and meets him (see here and here).
The Solemnity of All Saints is an opportunity for Christians to think of saints and, above all, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God who is the 'Woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet" in Revelation (12: 1-18) - See also "The Queen Spouse and The Dragon" here as this post refers to interpretations of the Blessed Virgin in salvation and eternal joy by great theologians. Of particular importance is this talk by Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen on Mary "The Woman I love" here. She always points us to Christ - See also "Who Will Triumph" here. After the humble and pure Virgin Mary, come many saints since ancient times - St. George the Great is my patron saint too (see his story here) and so are St. Rita of Cascia (see here) and the Little Flower of Lisieux St. Thérèse of the Infant Jesus proclaimed the greatest saint in modern times by Pope Pius XI in her canonization in 1925. Other beloved saints include the Curé of Ars, St. Jean Vianney, St. Athanasius the Great who dared to challenge the Arian heresy in the 4th century (see here) and the first humanist St. Francis of Assisi called the Alter Christus (see here).
May the Lord help each and every one to discover His love and attempt to do as much as he can with deeds of love towards those in need and become a Christian in following Christ who is the only way to heaven.