Why Man Should Be Loved - You ask me, Why should Man be loved??
I answer: the reason for loving Man is Man himself. And why should Man be loved for his own sake? Simply because Man is created to reflect the majesty and love of God.
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 Others for Self's Sake
I cannot be happy alone, but in need for others for my own security. The first person that cares for me is my mother. I love her because she cares for me. Although I build my relationships around me, I learn that my parents love me unconditionally. In life, I reflect what I learned from them and/or sincere friends. Then, when I suffer some calamity, some storm in my life, I turn to friends and ask their help. In my relationship with them, I discover the value of true love implanted in Man by God.
The Third Degree of Love: Love of Man for Man's Sake
In the first degree of love we love ourselves for our own sake. In the second degree of love we love others for our own sake, chiefly because they have provided for us. But if trials and tribulations continue to come upon us, God sends us other people to brings us through. Even if our hearts were made of stone, we will begin to be softened because of the rescuer. Thus, we begin to love others not merely for our own sakes, but for themselves.
However, the truth is in God....
Without God who grants love, there is no true love because in my self-idolatry I die. This is why I hope that God will save me and save everyone else in his eternal love. Saints are examples that reflect God's love for us and everyone in Christ, because Christ willed and trusted his Father...(For more reflection see The Trinity here).
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Bringing Joy to Man?
In a distressed, polarized, and often violent world, is it possible to live in joy? We are threatened by extremists forcing themselves on the rest and vowing to replace civilization with their own government and law of Sharia. We are bombarded by consumerist-based media, surrounded by the politically-correct minds, wounded by materialism in the soul like the man wounded by thieves on his way to Jericho (Luke 10). and challenged by the racing computer machines of all sizes whose builders increasingly control our lives as if we too are robots.
In this divided world, is it possible to bring joy to myself, my family, and my friends? Do I need you in the individualism I learn everyday as already taught to our kids in schools and universities?
Is it true that joy is a product of love? Here we show:
1. How to enjoy a relationship with God and with others based on the four loves of St. Bernard;
2. The courage to step out of the self in two real stories: Oscar Romero, and Mother Teresa;
3. The heroic love of a wife and mother: Rita of Cascia in 15th century Italy - The tenderness of a woman's heart brings joy to her children and family that exudes joy to generations of the community;
4. The hero of all who brought joy - eternal joy - to so many : Jesus Christ; and the wonder his mother experienced in everything related to him;
5. How I learned to look for joy and why - If a smile on your face, that reduces your stress, makes me happy, how much happier would we be if we strive to listen to each other;
6. How science confirms the necessity of upbringing kids in places of virtue and joy and emphasizes positive relations;
7. The courage to be possessed by God's love - The way of Christian mysticism: Contemplation of Love;
Conclusion from Apocalypse - Surprise!
First: In the 11th century, the great mystic St. Bernard, wrote on the four loves (Read him here) while in the twenty-first century, as I try to love others, I am still tied at the very first love but I have hope that God will secure me and mine eternally in his love (Read me here). In this "hell" of passions and self-idolatry where I enclosed myself, do I have the inclination to bring joy to my fellow people? Do I have the courage to step up to the next level of love? Do I have the courage to step out of fear? Do I have the courage to remove my mask and live the life of true freedom?
Second: Heroism is not merely the share of military leaders but is a capacity found in ordinary persons who struggle with fear and insecurity but still make a difference in their own decisions. We have seen it in the life of Oscar Romero archbishop of San Salvador from 1977 to March 1980 when he was assassinated by pro-Government junta. Oscar Romero was embattled by two devils: the Church's hierarchy concerned for the support of a dictatorial regime, and a widespread assassination of his own people, friends and priests who sided with them. He found out that he could not tolerate the injustice against the many poor and soon organized large protests and prayers for their safety. His eloquence in defending human dignity was more than rhetoric speeches from his Cathedral but a deep reflection and continuous examination of conscience. His love of the people of El Salvador, with whom he shared his daily life, made him "ascend the mountain to meet God" as in Christ's transfiguration which transformed Romero's inner life as he sought to find God in everything...a renewal taken from St. Ignatius of Loyola. When Romero dared to rescue men he found Christ! (for more read his story here.)
A second hero is found in Mother Teresa. At the age of 18, she joined the sisters of Loreto as a missionary in India and became known as Mother Teresa. Like St. Teresa of Avila who questioned God, Mother Teresa was a woman of steel. She radiated joy and humility, but experienced the seemingly absence of God in her prayer. This did not deter her from following her unique vocation that she experienced as a "call within the call." On the contrary she trusted in the outpouring love of God, not only to the chosen but to every single human being. Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity with the Church's approval in 1950. The mission in her own words was "to care for the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone." When Teresa dared to care for the unwanted dying in the streets of India, she found Christ shining more in the needs of humanity.She died in 1997 and was beatified by St, John Paul II in 2003 (for more read her story here).
Third: Heroes are found everywhere and in all ages. St. Rita of Cascia was a wife and mother of twin boys in the 15th century.She also struggled but her struggle was to convert her unfaithful husband from his abusive behavior - a behavior we still see today in families that often ends in divorce, the compounded abuse of children or the insanity in murder and suicide. When her husband was murdered by another feuding family, Rita pleaded with her sons not to take revenge and asked God to spare them from committing such a crime. Her prayer was answered as both sons died a year later from dysentery. Her heroic prayer life culminated in accepting her request to become a nun in the convent of St.Mary Magdalene. As she asked the Crucified to share in his suffering, a miraculous thorn on her forehead was a sign found by her superiors. She was beatified in 1626 and canonized in 1900. Her incorrupt body is venerated today as millions of people visit it at the shrine that carries her name in Cascia (for more read her life here).
Fourth: The most heroic person was and remains Jesus Christ of selfless love. Out of love he healed the sick of his people and against the customs of Israel's teachers he healed the sick of the enemies of his people, visited the robbers, broke the Sabbath for the sake of Man, challenged the teachings of the masters of the Law, rejoiced with the outcast, forgave sinners and prostitutes, and while dying on the cross, instigated by the religious authorities and executed by the Romans, he forgave everyone entrusting himself to his Father and inaugurating by his death his own resurrection and victory over death, St Paul writes about Jesus being “the image of the invisible God” (Col 1, 15-20) and in the very nature of God “Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness” (Ph 2:6-7).
Joy is at the center of the Gospel. In one night, the disciples were in their boat in a stormy sea. Having spent his night in prayer away from them, Jesus walked to them on the sea. "But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, 'It is a ghost!' And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying, 'Take heart, it is I; have no fear.' And Peter answered him, 'Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.' He said, 'Come.' So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, 'Lord, save me.' Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, 'O man of little faith, why did you doubt?' And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God.'" (Matthew 14: 25-33). Fr. Georges Farah says that the story has a deeper meaning for it reminds the listeners of Jesus' victory over the waters of the sea considered the abode of death. He is the One who takes Peter by the hand to deliver him from death. Jesus not only says the word "have no fear" he also removes fear from the hearts and delivers us from death! The message of joy is to everyone who listens and follows Jesus!
Luke writes that the Archangel Gabriel greeted the Blessed Virgin Mary with "Hail, full of grace. The Lord is with you" and Mary greatly amazed and troubled "pondered in her heart" what she was to make of such greeting (Luke 1: 28-30). This translates into wonder, and amazement mixed with joy. Do we make it our own and greet each other with that blessing? Here with Mary we find the key to God in our midst as she already pointed us to him at the wedding of Cana “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:5). In bringing him up, she pondered and knew the heart of her son Jesus, trusted what he would do for her and us. And today in our relationships, families, cultures, sciences, and nature we will find him if we seek his truth and train our consciences according to the teachings he gave the Church and still guides her through his Spirit to renew herself in him.
Fifth: In the 20th century, in reference to Jesus washing the feet of the Apostles on the night he was betrayed, Maurice Zundel wrote "God knelt before Man." That is one contemporary statement about God's love in Christ for his creation...Can we really betray the Triune God whose love created and redeemed us? If there is still love in the world can we find love? Can I find joy away from love? Can I find joy in my loneliness? Can I find joy in my selfishness? Can I find joy if the entire things around me do not fully satisfy my thirst for the infinite?
But I learned that joy is the product of love. In 1973, Fr. Henri Boulad, S.J. taught us in a retreat that, for lovers, time is a moment. The joy they have in their encounter makes time go fast. This is why children enjoy time with what they love and for them there is no time. Henri Boulad has been a missionary for over 50 years. He worked for many years as a missionary in the Sudan and Egypt, organized retreats and was invited to others in many countries around the world. A scholar he also authored some 30 books, some of them translated to 16 languages. In June, 2013 I wrote a little reflection on his thought here, and in 2014, I wrote a little hymn in gratitude to God for his birthday here. As far as I understand, he preaches and lives the joy found in the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Jesuits) articulated in his Spiritual Exercises for the discernment of spirits and thus finding God in everything around us.
I recall the days when my parents, of blessed memory, cared for everyone of us, I recall the days when my wife and I sacrificed many hours at work in order to raise our kids in good schools. I recall the night a few years ago when, in darkness, I did not see the side-walk, fell, and broke my eye-glasses but a woman I did not know hurried to lift me up and cared for me. All these events are still alive in my memory, and surely other events of care by relatives and strangers alike can be recalled by many more people. The world is full of goodness by ordinary people but we have to see it and thank God for it.
Sixth: What do scientists think? Contemporary psychology demands finding happiness through others in my life to love and be loved by. Positive psychology scientists, such as Professor Martin Seligman, emphasize the importance of values, virtues, and talents. Positive experience and relationships that provide a meaning and purpose in life greater than oneself are studied methodically. This is too the basis of today's social networks that attempt to create small talks between friends across geographic boundaries on the Internet such as Facebook. They do not satisfy the search for meaning but can be used by Churches to connect people virtually at a starting level then direct them to in-depth discussions and reflections. Since I do not exist by myself, it makes sense that I need the other to exist as a person. I am really only a potential person until I find and love God in the other.This is not only contemporary psychology but is also found in St. Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century. My joy is in the other. Heaven is not an illusion, but, as is written in the Bible, it is where God lives. But God is not somewhere out there. The infinite love that is God is here, and wishes that we receive him. The Spirit of Christ thus 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. I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne." (Revelation 3: 20-21). We do not pretend that any human person is God, but Christ is God who is also a human person that loves us to the end. In his judgment Christ, the Alpha and the Omega, grants eternal joy to the persons who find him in the needy and help them with the gifts that are always freely given to us (Matthew 25: 34-40).
On November 1st, 2014, The Economist published a report on genes and behavior that summarizes the latest scientific findings in genetics. An experimental study by Dr. Tiihonen and his team on violent persons shows the importance of interactions between someone's upbringing and his genes which, if not controlled, can trigger violence as manifested in high levels of alcohol drinking. You may be able to access the full report here. Although more study is needed for a useful medical conclusion, the results confirm what St. Augustine had already written in the 5th century: Be moderate in everything except in love.
Seventh: In Christian mysticism we find joy in God. Here is a little text from the mystical theology of the 20th century evolutionary scientist Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. which fascinates our wonder: “Lord Christ, you who are divine energy and living irresistible might: since of the two of us it is you who are infinitely the stronger, it is you who must set me ablaze and transmute me into fire that we may be welded together and made one. Grant me, then, something even more precious than that grace for which all your faithful followers pray: to receive communion as I die is not sufficient: teach me to make a communion of death itself.” (Hymn of the Universe by Teilhard de Chardin, NY: Harper and Row, 1965.)
Conclusion: In spite of continuing threats by materialism and extremism, the Church, following her founder Christ, continues to open herself and welcome humanity in her bosom. As the ages advance so does the kingdom of Christ spread in the entire human race. The development of civilization itself is rooted in Christianity for eternal life starts on earth.
In spite of its many gloomy warnings, the Book of Apocalypse remains open to hope. The number of the eternally happy elect is so great that the visionary in Apocalypse could not count it. He had to give it a symbolic number of one hundred and forty four thousand (Revelation 4: 7) which reflects 12 (a symbol for the complete tribes of Israel) multiplied by 12 (the complete number of the Apostles) multiplied by one thousand (the perfect number 10 times ten times ten) indicating the New Israel of Christ.Why is 10 a perfect number as a symbol? In modern physics, 1 and zero are binary numbers in computer native language. They complement each other and together they become perfect. Thus 144,000 is a symbolic number of the outpouring love of God enjoyed by the multitudes. This is the glory that St. Irenaeus referred to in his writing "The glory of God is man fully alive and the life of Man is the vision of God". (AH IV, 20, 7).
If the above interpretation is true, then we can hope against all hope that all nations may come to share in the joy and glory of Christ.
In this divided world, is it possible to bring joy to myself, my family, and my friends? Do I need you in the individualism I learn everyday as already taught to our kids in schools and universities?
Is it true that joy is a product of love? Here we show:
1. How to enjoy a relationship with God and with others based on the four loves of St. Bernard;
2. The courage to step out of the self in two real stories: Oscar Romero, and Mother Teresa;
3. The heroic love of a wife and mother: Rita of Cascia in 15th century Italy - The tenderness of a woman's heart brings joy to her children and family that exudes joy to generations of the community;
4. The hero of all who brought joy - eternal joy - to so many : Jesus Christ; and the wonder his mother experienced in everything related to him;
5. How I learned to look for joy and why - If a smile on your face, that reduces your stress, makes me happy, how much happier would we be if we strive to listen to each other;
6. How science confirms the necessity of upbringing kids in places of virtue and joy and emphasizes positive relations;
7. The courage to be possessed by God's love - The way of Christian mysticism: Contemplation of Love;
Conclusion from Apocalypse - Surprise!
First: In the 11th century, the great mystic St. Bernard, wrote on the four loves (Read him here) while in the twenty-first century, as I try to love others, I am still tied at the very first love but I have hope that God will secure me and mine eternally in his love (Read me here). In this "hell" of passions and self-idolatry where I enclosed myself, do I have the inclination to bring joy to my fellow people? Do I have the courage to step up to the next level of love? Do I have the courage to step out of fear? Do I have the courage to remove my mask and live the life of true freedom?
Second: Heroism is not merely the share of military leaders but is a capacity found in ordinary persons who struggle with fear and insecurity but still make a difference in their own decisions. We have seen it in the life of Oscar Romero archbishop of San Salvador from 1977 to March 1980 when he was assassinated by pro-Government junta. Oscar Romero was embattled by two devils: the Church's hierarchy concerned for the support of a dictatorial regime, and a widespread assassination of his own people, friends and priests who sided with them. He found out that he could not tolerate the injustice against the many poor and soon organized large protests and prayers for their safety. His eloquence in defending human dignity was more than rhetoric speeches from his Cathedral but a deep reflection and continuous examination of conscience. His love of the people of El Salvador, with whom he shared his daily life, made him "ascend the mountain to meet God" as in Christ's transfiguration which transformed Romero's inner life as he sought to find God in everything...a renewal taken from St. Ignatius of Loyola. When Romero dared to rescue men he found Christ! (for more read his story here.)
A second hero is found in Mother Teresa. At the age of 18, she joined the sisters of Loreto as a missionary in India and became known as Mother Teresa. Like St. Teresa of Avila who questioned God, Mother Teresa was a woman of steel. She radiated joy and humility, but experienced the seemingly absence of God in her prayer. This did not deter her from following her unique vocation that she experienced as a "call within the call." On the contrary she trusted in the outpouring love of God, not only to the chosen but to every single human being. Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity with the Church's approval in 1950. The mission in her own words was "to care for the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone." When Teresa dared to care for the unwanted dying in the streets of India, she found Christ shining more in the needs of humanity.She died in 1997 and was beatified by St, John Paul II in 2003 (for more read her story here).
Third: Heroes are found everywhere and in all ages. St. Rita of Cascia was a wife and mother of twin boys in the 15th century.She also struggled but her struggle was to convert her unfaithful husband from his abusive behavior - a behavior we still see today in families that often ends in divorce, the compounded abuse of children or the insanity in murder and suicide. When her husband was murdered by another feuding family, Rita pleaded with her sons not to take revenge and asked God to spare them from committing such a crime. Her prayer was answered as both sons died a year later from dysentery. Her heroic prayer life culminated in accepting her request to become a nun in the convent of St.Mary Magdalene. As she asked the Crucified to share in his suffering, a miraculous thorn on her forehead was a sign found by her superiors. She was beatified in 1626 and canonized in 1900. Her incorrupt body is venerated today as millions of people visit it at the shrine that carries her name in Cascia (for more read her life here).
Fourth: The most heroic person was and remains Jesus Christ of selfless love. Out of love he healed the sick of his people and against the customs of Israel's teachers he healed the sick of the enemies of his people, visited the robbers, broke the Sabbath for the sake of Man, challenged the teachings of the masters of the Law, rejoiced with the outcast, forgave sinners and prostitutes, and while dying on the cross, instigated by the religious authorities and executed by the Romans, he forgave everyone entrusting himself to his Father and inaugurating by his death his own resurrection and victory over death, St Paul writes about Jesus being “the image of the invisible God” (Col 1, 15-20) and in the very nature of God “Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness” (Ph 2:6-7).
Joy is at the center of the Gospel. In one night, the disciples were in their boat in a stormy sea. Having spent his night in prayer away from them, Jesus walked to them on the sea. "But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, 'It is a ghost!' And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying, 'Take heart, it is I; have no fear.' And Peter answered him, 'Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.' He said, 'Come.' So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, 'Lord, save me.' Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, 'O man of little faith, why did you doubt?' And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God.'" (Matthew 14: 25-33). Fr. Georges Farah says that the story has a deeper meaning for it reminds the listeners of Jesus' victory over the waters of the sea considered the abode of death. He is the One who takes Peter by the hand to deliver him from death. Jesus not only says the word "have no fear" he also removes fear from the hearts and delivers us from death! The message of joy is to everyone who listens and follows Jesus!
Luke writes that the Archangel Gabriel greeted the Blessed Virgin Mary with "Hail, full of grace. The Lord is with you" and Mary greatly amazed and troubled "pondered in her heart" what she was to make of such greeting (Luke 1: 28-30). This translates into wonder, and amazement mixed with joy. Do we make it our own and greet each other with that blessing? Here with Mary we find the key to God in our midst as she already pointed us to him at the wedding of Cana “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:5). In bringing him up, she pondered and knew the heart of her son Jesus, trusted what he would do for her and us. And today in our relationships, families, cultures, sciences, and nature we will find him if we seek his truth and train our consciences according to the teachings he gave the Church and still guides her through his Spirit to renew herself in him.
Fifth: In the 20th century, in reference to Jesus washing the feet of the Apostles on the night he was betrayed, Maurice Zundel wrote "God knelt before Man." That is one contemporary statement about God's love in Christ for his creation...Can we really betray the Triune God whose love created and redeemed us? If there is still love in the world can we find love? Can I find joy away from love? Can I find joy in my loneliness? Can I find joy in my selfishness? Can I find joy if the entire things around me do not fully satisfy my thirst for the infinite?
But I learned that joy is the product of love. In 1973, Fr. Henri Boulad, S.J. taught us in a retreat that, for lovers, time is a moment. The joy they have in their encounter makes time go fast. This is why children enjoy time with what they love and for them there is no time. Henri Boulad has been a missionary for over 50 years. He worked for many years as a missionary in the Sudan and Egypt, organized retreats and was invited to others in many countries around the world. A scholar he also authored some 30 books, some of them translated to 16 languages. In June, 2013 I wrote a little reflection on his thought here, and in 2014, I wrote a little hymn in gratitude to God for his birthday here. As far as I understand, he preaches and lives the joy found in the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Jesuits) articulated in his Spiritual Exercises for the discernment of spirits and thus finding God in everything around us.
I recall the days when my parents, of blessed memory, cared for everyone of us, I recall the days when my wife and I sacrificed many hours at work in order to raise our kids in good schools. I recall the night a few years ago when, in darkness, I did not see the side-walk, fell, and broke my eye-glasses but a woman I did not know hurried to lift me up and cared for me. All these events are still alive in my memory, and surely other events of care by relatives and strangers alike can be recalled by many more people. The world is full of goodness by ordinary people but we have to see it and thank God for it.
Sixth: What do scientists think? Contemporary psychology demands finding happiness through others in my life to love and be loved by. Positive psychology scientists, such as Professor Martin Seligman, emphasize the importance of values, virtues, and talents. Positive experience and relationships that provide a meaning and purpose in life greater than oneself are studied methodically. This is too the basis of today's social networks that attempt to create small talks between friends across geographic boundaries on the Internet such as Facebook. They do not satisfy the search for meaning but can be used by Churches to connect people virtually at a starting level then direct them to in-depth discussions and reflections. Since I do not exist by myself, it makes sense that I need the other to exist as a person. I am really only a potential person until I find and love God in the other.This is not only contemporary psychology but is also found in St. Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century. My joy is in the other. Heaven is not an illusion, but, as is written in the Bible, it is where God lives. But God is not somewhere out there. The infinite love that is God is here, and wishes that we receive him. The Spirit of Christ thus 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. I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne." (Revelation 3: 20-21). We do not pretend that any human person is God, but Christ is God who is also a human person that loves us to the end. In his judgment Christ, the Alpha and the Omega, grants eternal joy to the persons who find him in the needy and help them with the gifts that are always freely given to us (Matthew 25: 34-40).
On November 1st, 2014, The Economist published a report on genes and behavior that summarizes the latest scientific findings in genetics. An experimental study by Dr. Tiihonen and his team on violent persons shows the importance of interactions between someone's upbringing and his genes which, if not controlled, can trigger violence as manifested in high levels of alcohol drinking. You may be able to access the full report here. Although more study is needed for a useful medical conclusion, the results confirm what St. Augustine had already written in the 5th century: Be moderate in everything except in love.
Seventh: In Christian mysticism we find joy in God. Here is a little text from the mystical theology of the 20th century evolutionary scientist Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. which fascinates our wonder: “Lord Christ, you who are divine energy and living irresistible might: since of the two of us it is you who are infinitely the stronger, it is you who must set me ablaze and transmute me into fire that we may be welded together and made one. Grant me, then, something even more precious than that grace for which all your faithful followers pray: to receive communion as I die is not sufficient: teach me to make a communion of death itself.” (Hymn of the Universe by Teilhard de Chardin, NY: Harper and Row, 1965.)
Conclusion: In spite of continuing threats by materialism and extremism, the Church, following her founder Christ, continues to open herself and welcome humanity in her bosom. As the ages advance so does the kingdom of Christ spread in the entire human race. The development of civilization itself is rooted in Christianity for eternal life starts on earth.
In spite of its many gloomy warnings, the Book of Apocalypse remains open to hope. The number of the eternally happy elect is so great that the visionary in Apocalypse could not count it. He had to give it a symbolic number of one hundred and forty four thousand (Revelation 4: 7) which reflects 12 (a symbol for the complete tribes of Israel) multiplied by 12 (the complete number of the Apostles) multiplied by one thousand (the perfect number 10 times ten times ten) indicating the New Israel of Christ.Why is 10 a perfect number as a symbol? In modern physics, 1 and zero are binary numbers in computer native language. They complement each other and together they become perfect. Thus 144,000 is a symbolic number of the outpouring love of God enjoyed by the multitudes. This is the glory that St. Irenaeus referred to in his writing "The glory of God is man fully alive and the life of Man is the vision of God". (AH IV, 20, 7).
If the above interpretation is true, then we can hope against all hope that all nations may come to share in the joy and glory of Christ.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Halloween?
Why do Canadians celebrate Halloween? "Halloween" comes from the Scottish "Hallowed Evening" i.e. The eve of celebrating saints and remembering the dead in prayers.
The Lord's Prayer to the Father starts with "Our Father Who Art in heaven - Hallowed be Thy Name..." The Father is the Father of all of us who gives life to every person and loves all humans...
On this day, we ask the saints to intercede for every person on earth, and ask God to forgive all, and have his abundant mercy on all the departed souls.
However, Halloween is important to Christians, not only to remember the dead but also to live with the joy that God brought to humanity in his abundant love fully manifested in the incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection of Christ and present in the Church through the sacraments by the power of the Holy Spirit. Why would we care about this festival of Dracula and "evil spirits"? Let us think a bit of history.
The Church does not live a separate life from humanity. She is the seed of the kingdom of God on earth and must always strive to reflect in her members the eternal love that is the Triune God. The act of creation is an act of love in which God wishes to reflect the joy and love of Father and Son in the Holy Spirit by abundantly bringing life and letting the entire creation develop from nothing. The start of the Big Bang is what scientists today call a singularity. In the 2nd century AD, St. Irenaeus of Lyon wrote "For with Him were always present the Word and Wisdom - the Son and the Spirit...to whom also He speaks saying 'Let Us make Man after Our image and likeness' (Genesis 1: 26)," (Adversus Haereses - Cf. also Ecclesiastical History, Book V by Eusabius of of Caesarea (260-340)). This is the eternal Trinity outpouring love brought to our attention in the earliest canonical Biblical book. It was manifested in Christ's life on earth, his humanity that he shared with all is fully united to his divinity. St. Irenaeus wrote too against Gnostics who denied the intrinsic value of Man. He wrote "The glory of God is man fully alive and the life of Man is the vision of God". (AH IV, 20, 7) The more we become human the more we become one with God. According to the Eastern Fathers of the Church, God became man so as to restore us to him. This love of God endures and continues to expand in the entire world thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit in Christian missions.
It is in that vision that St. Pope John Paul II teaches the Church based on Christian personalism. Since its beginning and throughout its history, the Catholic Church has always penetrated and renewed the lives and civilizations of humanity sometimes with suffering but always with the hope that as many souls as possible will find the joy of living eternally in Christ and with him. This is found in the humanism of St. Francis of Assisi who not only had the first Stigmata recorded in history, but also spoke to birds and animals, called the Sun a sister and the Moon a brother, wrote hymns to celebrate the peace of Christ (Listen to Make Me a Channel of Your Peace here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gcxg4XQgaGg)
This is also found in St. Thomas Aquinas whose spiritual insight and philosophical inquiry opened the way for humanity to explore nature on its own. The same openness is found in St. Teresa of Avila among many mystics whose dialogue with God inspired untold number of faithful. The retrieval of classics from the ancient Roman and Greek literature found expression in the Renaissance which started with Pepin and Charlemagne and flourished in the 15th century and beyond and in the polyphony in sacred music by the 15th century which added to the majestic expressions of faith in the music of Mozart, Bach, Handel and others in the so-called Baroque Age. From the 16th century on, the Counter-Reformation insisted on reforming the Catholic Church. St. Thomas More, a great humanist, encouraged generations to follow his example. St. Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus whose champions made great inroads in all the way to the Far East, Asia, Africa, North America and South America. In the 20th century, St. Pope John XXIII convoked the Second Vatican Council which sought Christian unity and made it possible for the Church to have dialogues with other religions and ideologies. On this basis, the Christian-inspired human dignity is the at the center of the Western civilization even when materialism claims new powers. Humanity is looking to the Church for guidance. In a recent homily, Fr. Henri Boulad, S.J., described the situation in the West. It is true that radical Islam is increasing in Europe, but, he said, Catholic schools in Europe are full of Muslim students.The evangelization of the world may well be carried out by Muslims converted to Christianity...
If the above is of any significance to us, it is that Christ penetrates, through his Spirit, the entire globe and is the only answer to today's mixed and polarizing ideologies.
Here is again today's celebration of Halloween. What good is there in it? May be we can learn from the past.
An example may be sufficient. The early Church used to celebrate Christmas or the Nativity of Jesus Christ on the 6th of January, a custom still followed by a few Eastern Churches while other Eastern Christians celebrate it on January 7th. However, the date to celebrate Christmas was moved to December 25 as early as the year 336 AD by St. Pope Julius I. The reason for this decision was to attract as many people as possible in the Roman empire and beyond to the Christian faith since pagans (Polytheists) used to celebrate, on the same day or close to it, the feast of the unconquered Sun in Mithraism (a god of the military widely worshiped at the time in the empire), December 22 or 25 was found to be the day where there is the shortest time between Sunset and Sunrise. the ancient pagans celebrated in it the end of Winter and the coming of Spring which brings flowering to sleepy nature. Christ is the unconquered Sun. It was therefore found fitting to move Christmas to December 25.
Let us now consider celebrating Halloween. How can we transform a day of fun for children into a holy day for them and us? First, it is not about us versus them. It is about the entire Church. They are the future. How can we attract them? They do not listen to boring lectures. They love to share an innocent toy or get a treat. This is why parents love to go trick or treat with their kids. They simply want them to have innocent joy by knocking on doors in the neighborhood. Other parents or grandparents who open the door to them play with them and give them anyway a little treat - chocolate or candy. Everyone is aware of a few mentally-ill persons who in the past gave them poisonous treats. If parents are careful they will bring joy to their kids.
Second, click this link and watch the meaning beyond Dracula and Halloween:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRbubeF8w7M
Have you listened to the video? The presenter Dr. Taylor Marshall speaks of the historical events that made this festival popular in the West. Pope Pius II (1405-1464) subsidized a Romanian prince by the name of Vlad III or Vlad Dracula. In 1453 the Turkish Muslims conquered Constantinople. This opened the gateway for the Muslims to begin to move west, invade Europe and take over St. Peter's. This alarmed Pope Pius II who sent funds to Prince Vlad Dracula in order to defend Europe against Muslim conquest. Now a myth developed around the personality of Dracula that made him sell his soul to the Devil in order to get superpowers to fight and defeat the Turks. The myth of Dracula the vampire is born. He is the person who bites human flesh and drinks human blood. In the Gospel Jesus said "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." (John 6:53-56). This is why the Eucharist or the Blessed Sacrament is central to Catholics and Orthodox Christians. Now note how Christ in the Eucharist is at the center of this liberal custom. While Dracula and the Vampire bite human flesh and drink human blood and mock the resurrection by going down in the coffin and faking the resurrection, Christ offers his flesh and blood to Christians for their resurrection and eternal life. Jesus in the Eucharist repels Dracula who is possessed by the Devil. Christ and the saints conquer the Devil who "possessed Dracula".
We could find the good things that God implants in everything in the world and carry them as insufficient as they are, to Christ'grace, for in Christ everything can be redeemed. More to come on this.
Third, we need to learn and help others to become like saints. The meaning of Halloween is to become hallowed like saints. In the recent wars of the Middle East, let us remember how many Christians chose to be killed rather than renounce their faith. The Church is strong because of the martyrs whose blood was shed following Jesus in spite of threats by ISIS and other Islamic extremists. This is a celebration in heaven.
The Lord's Prayer to the Father starts with "Our Father Who Art in heaven - Hallowed be Thy Name..." The Father is the Father of all of us who gives life to every person and loves all humans...
On this day, we ask the saints to intercede for every person on earth, and ask God to forgive all, and have his abundant mercy on all the departed souls.
However, Halloween is important to Christians, not only to remember the dead but also to live with the joy that God brought to humanity in his abundant love fully manifested in the incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection of Christ and present in the Church through the sacraments by the power of the Holy Spirit. Why would we care about this festival of Dracula and "evil spirits"? Let us think a bit of history.
The Church does not live a separate life from humanity. She is the seed of the kingdom of God on earth and must always strive to reflect in her members the eternal love that is the Triune God. The act of creation is an act of love in which God wishes to reflect the joy and love of Father and Son in the Holy Spirit by abundantly bringing life and letting the entire creation develop from nothing. The start of the Big Bang is what scientists today call a singularity. In the 2nd century AD, St. Irenaeus of Lyon wrote "For with Him were always present the Word and Wisdom - the Son and the Spirit...to whom also He speaks saying 'Let Us make Man after Our image and likeness' (Genesis 1: 26)," (Adversus Haereses - Cf. also Ecclesiastical History, Book V by Eusabius of of Caesarea (260-340)). This is the eternal Trinity outpouring love brought to our attention in the earliest canonical Biblical book. It was manifested in Christ's life on earth, his humanity that he shared with all is fully united to his divinity. St. Irenaeus wrote too against Gnostics who denied the intrinsic value of Man. He wrote "The glory of God is man fully alive and the life of Man is the vision of God". (AH IV, 20, 7) The more we become human the more we become one with God. According to the Eastern Fathers of the Church, God became man so as to restore us to him. This love of God endures and continues to expand in the entire world thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit in Christian missions.
It is in that vision that St. Pope John Paul II teaches the Church based on Christian personalism. Since its beginning and throughout its history, the Catholic Church has always penetrated and renewed the lives and civilizations of humanity sometimes with suffering but always with the hope that as many souls as possible will find the joy of living eternally in Christ and with him. This is found in the humanism of St. Francis of Assisi who not only had the first Stigmata recorded in history, but also spoke to birds and animals, called the Sun a sister and the Moon a brother, wrote hymns to celebrate the peace of Christ (Listen to Make Me a Channel of Your Peace here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gcxg4XQgaGg)
This is also found in St. Thomas Aquinas whose spiritual insight and philosophical inquiry opened the way for humanity to explore nature on its own. The same openness is found in St. Teresa of Avila among many mystics whose dialogue with God inspired untold number of faithful. The retrieval of classics from the ancient Roman and Greek literature found expression in the Renaissance which started with Pepin and Charlemagne and flourished in the 15th century and beyond and in the polyphony in sacred music by the 15th century which added to the majestic expressions of faith in the music of Mozart, Bach, Handel and others in the so-called Baroque Age. From the 16th century on, the Counter-Reformation insisted on reforming the Catholic Church. St. Thomas More, a great humanist, encouraged generations to follow his example. St. Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus whose champions made great inroads in all the way to the Far East, Asia, Africa, North America and South America. In the 20th century, St. Pope John XXIII convoked the Second Vatican Council which sought Christian unity and made it possible for the Church to have dialogues with other religions and ideologies. On this basis, the Christian-inspired human dignity is the at the center of the Western civilization even when materialism claims new powers. Humanity is looking to the Church for guidance. In a recent homily, Fr. Henri Boulad, S.J., described the situation in the West. It is true that radical Islam is increasing in Europe, but, he said, Catholic schools in Europe are full of Muslim students.The evangelization of the world may well be carried out by Muslims converted to Christianity...
If the above is of any significance to us, it is that Christ penetrates, through his Spirit, the entire globe and is the only answer to today's mixed and polarizing ideologies.
Here is again today's celebration of Halloween. What good is there in it? May be we can learn from the past.
An example may be sufficient. The early Church used to celebrate Christmas or the Nativity of Jesus Christ on the 6th of January, a custom still followed by a few Eastern Churches while other Eastern Christians celebrate it on January 7th. However, the date to celebrate Christmas was moved to December 25 as early as the year 336 AD by St. Pope Julius I. The reason for this decision was to attract as many people as possible in the Roman empire and beyond to the Christian faith since pagans (Polytheists) used to celebrate, on the same day or close to it, the feast of the unconquered Sun in Mithraism (a god of the military widely worshiped at the time in the empire), December 22 or 25 was found to be the day where there is the shortest time between Sunset and Sunrise. the ancient pagans celebrated in it the end of Winter and the coming of Spring which brings flowering to sleepy nature. Christ is the unconquered Sun. It was therefore found fitting to move Christmas to December 25.
Let us now consider celebrating Halloween. How can we transform a day of fun for children into a holy day for them and us? First, it is not about us versus them. It is about the entire Church. They are the future. How can we attract them? They do not listen to boring lectures. They love to share an innocent toy or get a treat. This is why parents love to go trick or treat with their kids. They simply want them to have innocent joy by knocking on doors in the neighborhood. Other parents or grandparents who open the door to them play with them and give them anyway a little treat - chocolate or candy. Everyone is aware of a few mentally-ill persons who in the past gave them poisonous treats. If parents are careful they will bring joy to their kids.
Second, click this link and watch the meaning beyond Dracula and Halloween:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRbubeF8w7M
Have you listened to the video? The presenter Dr. Taylor Marshall speaks of the historical events that made this festival popular in the West. Pope Pius II (1405-1464) subsidized a Romanian prince by the name of Vlad III or Vlad Dracula. In 1453 the Turkish Muslims conquered Constantinople. This opened the gateway for the Muslims to begin to move west, invade Europe and take over St. Peter's. This alarmed Pope Pius II who sent funds to Prince Vlad Dracula in order to defend Europe against Muslim conquest. Now a myth developed around the personality of Dracula that made him sell his soul to the Devil in order to get superpowers to fight and defeat the Turks. The myth of Dracula the vampire is born. He is the person who bites human flesh and drinks human blood. In the Gospel Jesus said "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." (John 6:53-56). This is why the Eucharist or the Blessed Sacrament is central to Catholics and Orthodox Christians. Now note how Christ in the Eucharist is at the center of this liberal custom. While Dracula and the Vampire bite human flesh and drink human blood and mock the resurrection by going down in the coffin and faking the resurrection, Christ offers his flesh and blood to Christians for their resurrection and eternal life. Jesus in the Eucharist repels Dracula who is possessed by the Devil. Christ and the saints conquer the Devil who "possessed Dracula".
We could find the good things that God implants in everything in the world and carry them as insufficient as they are, to Christ'grace, for in Christ everything can be redeemed. More to come on this.
Third, we need to learn and help others to become like saints. The meaning of Halloween is to become hallowed like saints. In the recent wars of the Middle East, let us remember how many Christians chose to be killed rather than renounce their faith. The Church is strong because of the martyrs whose blood was shed following Jesus in spite of threats by ISIS and other Islamic extremists. This is a celebration in heaven.
Friday, October 24, 2014
Who Will Triumph?
The terrorism events that took place in Quebec and Ottawa this week on October 20 and October October 22, 2014 have left an indelible mark on Canadians 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. This 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 recession, never seen in its scope before. 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 (Professor Thomas Edsall wrote about this issue in a New York Times June 2014 column here);
2. A global political crisis, where America and the European Union have hardly been able to contain the claims of Russia in Ukraine while Russia and the Far East are bringing back memories of the Cold War and a dictatorial regime in North Korea is again playing with nuclear weapons;
3. Israel and radical Muslims are making every effort to escalate the situation in the Middle East to a violent war - The Arab Spring (over 3 years now) supported by the 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 ISIS over the entire free world;
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, Pope Francis, is challenged by conservative prelates in the Church over his pastoral reforms to attract the lost young generation and broken families back to Church - In his closing address to the Synod of Bishops on the Family, October 18, 2014, Francis wisely noted the temptation "to hostile inflexibility" of "traditionalists" but cautioned too against the temptation to a destructive tendency to goodness that, in the name of a deceptive mercy, "treats the symptoms and not the causes and the roots" attempted by "progressives and liberals" (Read speech here).
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. Fr. Henri Boulad, S.J. who lives in Egypt explained in 2002 that Christians there were being forced to convert to Islam and up to 20,000 conversions have been taking place according to the late Pope Shenouda of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Fundamentalist Islam today, spreading in Europe at a huge rate of 230%, 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, Qatar and Libya. 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. Add to this 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 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, Derrida, Michel Foucault and many others. 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? Small business, and 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. The radical feminist ideology 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 in dignity as known in traditional Christianity, but in all aspects of roles in business as well as at home was furiously demanded. 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 1900). 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 vast 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).
Thursday, October 16, 2014
The Historical Development and Eradication of Christianity in Iraq
The dire situation of Christians in Iraq is not something that happened overnight. It took many centuries of persecution and displacement by force as the price of division among Christians themselves.
Apostolic Roots
The Christian movement grew out of Jerusalem after the Ascension of Christ and the reception of the Holy Spirit by the Apostles and their companions at Pentecost. The first task the Apostles undertook was to preach the good news of Christ to their fellow Jews in the Temple and in other cities in Judea.
In the first, second and third centuries AD Christians became involved in a life-and-death struggle with the Roman empire's pagan culture. They were required to sacrifice to the pagan idols and if they refused they often had to be thrown to hungry lions for the crowds to enjoy them being eaten alive in the Colosseum theaters. Ignatius, martyr and the third Bishop of Antioch, experienced this end around 107 AD under order by Trajan, the Roman emperor (98-117 AD), because he was Christian ...Nero had crucified Christians accusing them of burning Rome in 64 AD. He is remembered in Apocalypse (attributed to John the Apostle) as the "Beast" who will come back and his mark is 666, a transliteration of Nero's name in Greek (Revelation 13:18). According to Christopher Dawson, the main achievement of the Church was "the successful domination of the urban Roman-Hellenistic culture." In spite of intermittent persecutions, the Church, nevertheless, became the greatest creative force in the second and third centuries culture.
This is the age of Clement and Origen in the East and Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Cyprian in the West. On theologians of the 2nd and third centuries, Jaroslav Pelikan wrote that they could take the Apocalypse of John as their model and repudiate pagan thought just as they repudiated the imperial cult; or they could seek out, within classicism, analogies to the continuity-discontinuity which all of them found in Judaism. According to him, the most comprehensive of apologetic treatises was "Against Celsus" by Origen (Cf. Pelikan: "The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine: Vol. 1 - The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition" P. 27). From a sociological perspective Christianity proved to be not a mere sectarian cult but a real society with a high sense of citizenship.
Thomas and Thaddaeus sent to India
There is evidence that the ancient Church in the East expanded through the Apostles Thomas and Thaddaeus as far as India. The Assyrian Church of the East, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in India, and the Chaldean Catholic Church claim historical presence in the lands by the lineage of their patriarchs, but especially that the Eucharistic prayer in the Divine liturgy of Addai (Thaddaeus) and Mari dates back to 3rd-century Edessa near Cappadocia (See map).
Large-scale Divisions
Yet, Christian leaders failed to maintain unity. In the 5th century, Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, understood (or rather misunderstood) the true nature of the incarnation of the Word. He preached that in Christ there were not only two natures but also two persons: one from God (the Word) and one created like men who was born of the Virgin Mary. If this is followed, then the Virgin Mary could not be called Theotokos (Mother/bearer of God). For this understanding, Nestorius was excommunicated at the Council of Ephesus under the leadership of St. Cyril in 431 AD, after securing the support of the Pope of Rome. Nestorius was exiled and his followers escaped to Persia and Assyria, the enemies of the Byzantine Christians. It was an opportunity to preach Christ to pagans. Assyria became the center of Christianity in the East. The Nestorians went as far as India. But their numbers dwindled over time.
The Islamic Conquests
In the 7th century. Muslim invaders from Arabia conquered Assyria and ruled it, but for a few centuries Assyrian Christians, including scholars and doctors, played a significant role in Iraq. By the 8th century Muslims were already divided and each sect attacked the other to regain power of the Islamic Caliphate. Numerous Christians who were not rich enough to pay the Gezya tax as Dhimmis lost their lives unless they accepted to convert to Islam.
The Abbasid Caliphate centered its government in Kufa, but in 762 AD the Caliph Al-Mansour founded, and moved his capital to, the city of Baghdad close to the Persian capital of Ctesiphon. Baghdad became a center of learning in science and philosophy that included a large library. The growing dominance of Islam expanded throughout the Middle East and threatened the Christian dominance in Europe when Muslims invaded Spain. To reduce tensions with the Islamic Caliphate and secure trade with the East, the Catholic Frankish Pepin entered into negotiations with the Abbasid Caliph in 762 AD. In 800, as the Roman Emperor Charlemagne was crowned, ambassadors from the Abbasid Caliph Haroun al-Rashid arrived in Rome and delivered the keys of the Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem to the new Emperor (Einhard, "Annales", ad an. 800 in "Mon. Germ. Hist.: Script.", I, 187).
More Massacres
In 1258, Baghdad was sacked by the Mongols under Hulago Khan. The Mongol Empire, founded by Genghis Khan in Central Asia, spread over most of Eurasia, Russia, China, and the Middle East. In their conquests, large-scale slaughters of local populations took place. Many Christians in Iraq and Syria were massacred, but their remnants managed to survive. Northern Iraq remained predominantly Assyrian Christians who maintained the Aramaic language in their liturgy. By the 14th century, the Assyrian Church of the East existed in the so-called Assuristan (Sassanid), and twelve Nestorian dioceses extended from Peking (Beijing) to Samarkand. However near the end of the 14th century, the Muslim Mongol warlord Tamerlane (Timur) conquered Persia, Mesopotamia, and Syria. Timur had 70,000 Assyrian Christians beheaded in Tikrit and another 90,000 in Baghdad. Following the massacres of Tamerlane, the episcopal see of Ancient Assyria was moved to Alqosh in the Mosul region and Patriarch Mar Shimun IV Basidi (1437-1493) made the office of the patriarch hereditary.
Reunion with Rome?
In 1552, a group of Assyrian bishops from the Northern regions of Amid and Salmas challenged the hereditary c laim of the office of the patriarch and elected Mar Yohanan Suluqa as a rival patriarch. Suluqa was received by the Pope in Rome who in 1553 consecrated him Mar Shimun VIII, Patriarch of the Chaldeans. The link with the Roman Church proved providential as missionaries increased and churches were opened. In the 20th century, the Catholic Church opened a dialogue with the Assyrian Church of the East. In 1994 Saint Pope John Paul II and Mar Dinkha IV Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East signed a common Christological Declaration in which both recognize the legitimate different expressions of Christian dogma on the incarnation of the Word of God and recognize the attribution of Theotokos (Mother of God) to the mother of Jesus.
The New Massacres
The 20th century Iraq was also dominated by political rivalries between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. Under the Baath Party, dictators governed Iraq for the 2nd half of the century but Christians were mostly secure. In a prolonged war between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran that started in 1980 and ended in 1988, Iraq sought to protect its territories especially because of fear of Shia insurgency in Iraq after the establishment of a Shiite Islamic government in Iran but each lost significant military forces and each withdrew to its territorial boundaries.
In 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait under the pretext that Kuwait was stealing Iraqi petroleum through slant drilling when Iraq needed to pay creditors for money borrowed to finance the Iran-Iraq war. Kuwait's over-production of petroleum kept Iraqi revenues low. In 1991, the United States led a coalition of nations to liberate Kuwait by armed forces and was able to liberate Kuwait and destroy much of Iraq's forces. In 2003, against the moral voice of Saint Pope John Paul II, the Unites States and allies invaded Iraq stating that it was bringing in democracy to Iraq. The Baathist regime was overthrown and over a few years new governments were formed which were never able to establish security of minorities the country against violent insurgents. Due to continuing threats to their survival, many Iraqi Christians were displaced, settled in other more tolerant countries or became refugees in the West.
In October 2010, Catholics attending Mass in Our Lady of Salvation Syriac Catholic Church near Baghdad were shot dead by Islamic fundamentalists. And since January 2011, the so-called Arab Spring, supported by the United States government of Barack Obama and Western European powers, caused more violence and divisions along sectarian lines where radical Islamists attacked the religious minorities of Christians and their churches in much of the Arab world. By 2012, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, and Egypt had fallen to the Muslim radicals known as the Muslim Brotherhood but Egypt alone was restored to civil government with the help of its army in July 2013. For some 4 years, a sectarian war has been raging in Syria between the government's army (Muslim Alawites) supported by Shiite Hizbullah and armed by Russia against Sunni Muslim radicals supported and financed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
The Islamic State (also known as ISIS) is an extremist group of Islamists supported by some Muslim organizations across the globe. It is the latest threat yet to global civilization and security. The IS cruel killing of its opponents started to grow in Iraq in 2013 under the pretext that Sunni Muslims were not given a fair treatment by a majority Shiite government. A splinter group of al Qaeda, its ambitious strategy is to demolish civilizations and cultures that do not implement a strict interpretation of Islamic Sunni Sharia as their laws. While IS targets all nations, its command is to destroy Christianity and Judaism since the are considered infidels
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