On The First Day of 2021

In the first day of 2021, we pray for the grace to help us live without the fears and afflictions caused by the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic and the return of people and business to their work. Realistically, the government in Canada has purchased enough quantities of Pfizer vaccine which is already being distributed in Ontario to health care workers in hospitals, long-term care homes and retirement homes, which will be followed by vaccination of everyone in need. To glorify God in hymns, listen to Christmas hymns here. Byzantine chants can be found in the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of the Transfiguration in Toronto (Homsy choir) here. A most beautiful sermon of St. John Chrysostom on the Resurrection of Christ is sung or read by the choir in the Byzantine Churches every Easter (Listen here). Today, January 1, 2021, Pope Francis celebrated the Holy Mass on the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God. In his homily, he identified 3 words that characterized Mary's reception of the Word of God and her cooperation with Him: "To bless"; "To be born"; "To find" - The full homily can be read here. It was on December 30, 2011 that the soul of Bishop Paul Antaki of beloved memory departed to God. On that day I wrote a post here. Other friends who knew him commented too. Those who knew him may wish to read it again and reflect on the sacrifices that Paul Antaki made for the priests and parishioners that he served in so many parishes. The little baby that comes out of the womb of his mother cries for the comfort that he left when he was being nourished inside to the discomfort of having to find the nourishment gradually withdrawn as he stops sucking the milk from his mother's breast. In a similar fashion the Israelites complained to Moses that in order to follow him into the desert, they had to leave the comfort of their homes in Egypt where they ate and now are hardly able survive. The Passover is a reminder that Christ will also use to describe how his body and blood will be given up in order to save us and to lead humanity into the joy of heaven. This is the body that is normally consumed by the faithful in the Eucharist on Sunday - the "Real Presence of Christ" among us. But this raises the question of doubts about God that many in our materialistic world, particularly the younger generations educated in only the physical sciences, have come to experience. Every metaphysical question is being examined today as if the world has not gone through thousands of years of worship. On the scary problem of eternal damnation in hell, we recall that Pope Saint John Paul II declared "Damnation" in hell should not be attributed to God's initiative since in his merciful love, God does not desire other than the salvation of his created beings. Bishop Robert Barron (who published the massively popular "Catholicism" series) commented here on the possibility of damnation in hell but wisely observed that while the Church declared many souls in heaven, she has never made a declaration of any human in hell. Furthermore, the greatest Catholic theologian in the 20th century, Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote his book "Dare We Hope That All Men Be Saved?" In his book, von Balthasar explores the nature of damnation with sobering clarity. At the same time, he contends that a deep understanding of God's merciful love and human freedom, and a careful reading of the Catholic tradition, point to the possibility―not the certainty―that, in the end, all men will accept the salvation Christ won for all. For this all-embracing salvation, von Balthasar says, we may dare hope, we must pray, and with God’s help we must work.. In his book "Introduction to Christianity" Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) shows that God's love in Christ's Resurrection is stronger than death. His magnificent chapter may be read here. The Beautiful Psalm ! On the first day of 2021, I suggest we read the beautiful Psalm 103 which my spiritual director Fr. Daniel Callam; CSB recommended that I read it whenever I feel depressed due to my health situation. "Bless the LORD, my soul; all my being, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, my soul; and do not forget all his gifts, 3 Who pardons all your sins, and heals all your ills, 4 Who redeems your life from the pit,a and crowns you with mercy and compassion, 5 Who fills your days with good things, so your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.* II 6 The LORD does righteous deeds, brings justice to all the oppressed.b 7 He made known his ways to Moses, to the Israelites his deeds. 8 Merciful and gracious is the LORD, slow to anger, abounding in mercy.c 9 He will not always accuse, and nurses no lasting anger; 10 He has not dealt with us as our sins merit, nor requited us as our wrongs deserve. III 11 For as the heavens tower over the earth, so his mercy towers over those who fear him.d 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him. 14 For he knows how we are formed, remembers that we are dust.e 15 As for man, his days are like the grass; he blossoms like a flower in the field.f 16 A wind sweeps over it and it is gone; its place knows it no more. 17 But the LORD’s mercy is from age to age, toward those who fear him. His salvation is for the children’s children 18 of those who keep his covenant, and remember to carry out his precepts. IV 19 The LORD has set his throne in heaven; his dominion extends over all. 20 Bless the LORD, all you his angels,g mighty in strength, acting at his behest, obedient to his command. 21 Bless the LORD, all you his hosts, his ministers who carry out his will. 22 Bless the LORD, all his creatures, everywhere in his domain. Bless the LORD, my soul!" Jesus Christ said "A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly." (John 10:10). If the above is interpreted literally, I would say that it applies to my life here and today. Following a heart attack in May 1986, I was given an ultimatum by Dr. Michael Sole, at the time research director of cardiology at Toronto General Hospital, to expect to live only 2 years if I did not have a cardiac surgery that would involve the replacement of my aortic valve in the ascending aorta. Out of fear, I went through the surgery on January 25, 1987 - It lasted six hours rather than the expected 3 hours. The surgery was carried out by Dr. Hugh Sculley and involved the replacement of the aortic valve with a mechanical valve and a double bypass surgery. The surgery lasted so long because Dr. Sculley had to sew the enlarged aorta. Time passed-by as I had an echo-cardiogram every year but troubles started again when my family physician, Dr. Shields found I had an enlarged prostate in 2001, followed by 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. For the depression associated with stroke, I was given an anti-depressant. But throughout the period from 1986 to 2007, I had to take and change heart medication which I still take daily. In July 2008, I wrote an account of my suffering and new life in the post "A Living Miracle" on my blog here: http://todayquestions.blogspot.ca/2008/07/living-miracle.html The reader who wishes to know about the development of my health situation, can read it in the post. I continue to thank God for giving me life and giving it abundantly. I have to add that since early 2017, my life was again saved and extended through my current physician Dr. Michael Vecchio who is a Christian missionary too. He found a low level of Oxygen in my blood and sent me to Toronto General Hospital (TGH) where again I was cared for by specialists. In February and again in August 2017, specialists at TGH found out the real problem of poisonous Carbon Dioxide in my lungs. X Rays showed that the left lung was not functional as the Aortic Aneurysm has grown and covered it, leaving only the right lung for breathing. This caused me difficulty in breathing when going upstairs that requires some walking exercise to maintain the muscles of the body. Thank God again, I was seen by Dr. Ryan, a specialist in Respirology, while I was at TGH in August 2017. In an appointment on January 10, 2018, she ordered a BiPap machine that helps me daily at night to breath better and to reduce Carbon Dioxide in my system. I cannot stop thanking our God and Lord who offers me, my family and friends, and indeed the world, abundant life not only here but in eternal life through the Sacred Heart of the God-Man Jesus Christ. I pray the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God full of grace, that through her prayers humanity is helped in every way spiritually, physically, and psychologically; "for nothing will be impossible for God" (Luke 1: 37). The beauty of God has been seen in Jesus Christ "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). "Jesus is a revelation. Jesus is a revolution" says the Jesuit scholar Fr. 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." This was a homily by Fr. Boulad on Christmas in 2014. 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. In his beautiful "Introduction to Christianity" Joseph Ratzinger (currently Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) mentions the cosmos and the cosmic vision of the Jesuit Teilhard de Chardin...In his eschatological vision, the French Jesuit priest and scientist Teilhard de Chardin wrote his Mass of the Cosmos (see it here). Teilhard was a friend of the giant Jesuit Henri de Lubac whose "ressourcement" or "nouvelle théologie" gave rise to renewal in the Second Vatican Council and beyond it. In his "Introduction to Christianity" Joseph Ratzinger praised Teilhard. In July 2009, Pope Benedict XVI cited Teilhard's vision of the cosmos as a "living host" (reported by NCR here). Listen too to Bishop Robert Baron speaking about the Trinity here...He spoke about everything in the cosmos that mirrors the relational character of the Trinity in one God: The Father eternally loves the Son and the Son receives that love and returns to the Father, and the Holy Spirit of God binds the Father and the Son in their freedom and love - He goes on to surprise his listeners that, across the universe, subatomic particles communicate at long distances (The Quantum Entanglement) and great galaxies too gravitate to each other... I wish to finally share two contributions: First: In July 2019, Maggie Ciskanik, senior consultant associated with Jesuit Fr. Robert Spitzer President of Gonzaga University from 1998 to 2009, and quite active on EWTN, contacted me in order to publish some material that I had posted on my blog about the cosmos. In early September 2019, I received this message from her - I am sending it with humble heart as, in my opinion after reading Sir John Polkinghorne, it shows that the cosmos is stamped by the Trinity - The God of Christians: Great resources for learning more about quantum theory (and its relationship to a Trinitarian God) There is an enormous corpus of talks, articles, commentaries, and youtube presentations focusing on one of the strangest discoveries of the 20th century: quantum mechanics and its startling attendant features, the principles of uncertainty and superposition. When you consult the resources identified in this post by Mr. George Farahat, be prepared to increase your understanding of how quantum mechanics has changed our understanding of reality, and how it relates to theology. Two phenomenal lectures by two outstanding professors in two countries have enlightened research about the vast cosmos we live in and its quantum fields that penetrate every creature on earth. The first is a lecture given by Professor Leo Kowenhoven at Delft University in the Netherlands, 2015 (here). In his talk, Professor Kowenhoven shows how nature itself works through quantum processes. He uses the example of a plant leaf which takes the light of the Sun. Through quantum superposition, electrons find a way to efficiently bind to the oxygen molecule, a process essential for human life since we need oxygen to live. He goes on to explain how “qbits” are necessary in building quantum computers and reveals that he and his team have already made these “quantum bits” in the lab. Some of the most interesting ideas come near the end of the talk (starting around the 11th minute) when he lists the big challenges that super quantum computers can help solve, such as: more efficient energy use and storage, better airplane design, optimization for robotics, machine learning, and the use of nanotechnology in healthcare. The second lecture, “The Real Building Blocks of the Universe” was given by Professor David Tong at Cambridge University in 2017. In a brilliant summary of quantum theory, he reveals that there are 16 “fields” that interact in a “harmonious dance.” Along the way, Tong also discusses Einstein's Theory of General Relativity (space-time flow), J. J. Thomson's discovery of the electron, Ernest Rutherford's model of the atom (a nucleus made of protons and neutrons with the lighter electrons moving around it), Faraday's discovery of electromagnetism, James Clerk Maxwell's work, Schrodinger's Wave-Particle Equation, Heisenberg's Principle of Uncertainty, and the thought-experiments of Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky, and Nathan Rosen. Black holes and quantum theory A great explanation of black holes, by a panel of experts found in this 2015 World Science Festival presentation, was delivered in the presence of the late British physicist and black hole expert, Professor Stephen Hawking. The presentation also explains the relationship between black holes and quantum theory. Astonishment at quantum behaviour In 1982, Alain Aspect and his team were able to experimentally prove that two photons emitted from the same atom will still be in contact tens of thousands miles away. The reader may wish to listen to his lecture here, animated by his love for and “astonishment at” quantum behaviour. Quantum theory and its relationship to a Trinitarian God In the printed word, much of the material written by Sir John Polkinghorne, retired professor of mathematical physics at Cambridge University, is very informative and insightful. In one of his latest books, “Quantum Physics and Theology” (2008), he comments on how “relationship” is being discovered even at the subnuclear level: “Quantum theory brought to light a remarkable form of entanglement between subatomic particles that have once interacted with each other (the so-called EPR effect), which implies that they remain effectively a single system however far they may subsequently separate spatially—a counterintuitive togetherness-in-separation that has been abundantly confirmed experimentally as a property of nature. The physical world looks more and more like a universe that would be the fitting creation of the trinitarian God, the One whose deepest reality is relational.” -Sir John Polkinghorne Dr. Stephen Barr has written extensively on the relationship of quantum physics and theology as well. (See, for example, his article in First Things here). What can we conclude? The above resources reveal and help explain the 2 most important observations in quantum physics: 1. The probabilistic nature of particles which yields the Uncertainty Principle 2. The communication between particles at long distances (quantum entanglement) From 2 above, we can say that everything must be in a relationship. In Christianity, the concept that God is relatedness or relational is found not only in Holy Scriptures (see for example 1 John 4:8; John 10:30; Col 1:15-19; Phil 2: 6-11; John 15), but also in doctors of the Church like St. Thomas Aquinas and, in our days, Bishop of Rome Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. If this is true, then we can say that the cosmos is signed by the stamp of the Triune God of Christians. George Farahat holds a Masters degree in Information Systems and a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Engineering. He is a retired business systems analyst who now uses his time to pursue numerous interests which include Biblical theology, anthropology, history of civilizations, and information technology. He regularly shares his insights on his blogspot Today’s Questions. The original post can be found here. Second: You may wish to read/download the attached PDF file of my book titled "The Mystery beyond Human Development - A Christian Perspective"