Our Cross

On Saturday September 14, 2019, I attended with my wife the Divine Liturgy in which the Greek Melkite Catholic community in Toronto celebrated the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Assisted by Fr. Michel Chalhoub, Fr Ibrahim El-Haddad, BSO was the main celebrant. In his homily he spoke of the history of the Feast. He explained the story of the conversion of the Roman emperor Constantine to Christianity. Fr. William Saunders wrote an article published in Catholic Education Resource Center (CERC) here where he explaiued how St. Helen, mother of Constantine found the true cross on which Christ was crucified. The reader may wish to read my post of the same feast on September 14, 2018 here.  The Gospel's reading reminded me by a lecture given in September 2008 by Fr. Georges Farah on the dialogue of Pilate with Jesus before his crucifixion. The comment by Fr. Farah applies to us today. The reader may wish to read the lecture here. The illumination of fire is a tradition which to-date is followed by the faithful in Lebanon. The reason of illuminating mountains with fire on this day is precisely that fire used to be the fastest way of communication between different locations and mountains in the empire. Horses, which were then the fastest method of communication, would take weeks or months to transport messages. Christian leaders understood the message since they had agreed on it generation after generation. 
On Sunday September 15, 2019, the 10 a.m. Mass at Holy Rosary Roman Catholic parish was celebrated by the community with Fr. Daniel Callam, CSB. Commenting on the Biblical reading in Exodus (here), Fr. Callam observed how God seemed to change his mind and stop his punishment of the Israelites at the request of his servant Moses. In a metaphoric language, God shows his love of weak humans. In the same way the Parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin uttered by Jesus express God's search for the lost ones (here).
On the Parable of the Prodigal Son (here), the Jesuit scholar Fr. Henri Boulad gave a daring homily in French  (here titled Je suis unique et irremplaçable ...). According to Fr. Boulad, what Christ is, by nature, the Son of God, I am also son of God by his grace in the faith that he helps me become his adopted child and so is everyone. God runs after everyone and embraces him/her while the person is coming back home but is still in mud...
In May 2018, I wrote a post on the Parable of the Prodigal Son based on the interpretation of Fr. Georges Farah (here).
The above interpretations are great to learn and apply Christian teachings in our lives. However, in life, there is more to work with. There is so much misery that we need to observe technological and scientific advances in order to apply remedies where possible. One such resource is found here on Magis Center founded by Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D.  Among the technological innovations that could help terminally-ill cancer patients is the one by Mary Lou Jepsen. To quote the Senior Writer on Magis Center,  "former MIT professor, Mary Lou Jepsen, is set to transform imaging technologies, making them both safer and less expensive. How? By using infrared light and components cheap enough that they are used in science fair projects. In her Ted talk presentation, Jepsen demonstrates the use of red light to see through a piece of chicken with a fake tumor embedded in it. The tumor is clearly visible. Demonstrating that a second piece of chicken blocks the view of the tumor, she explains that the scattering of light is an obstacle that needs to be overcome for the technique to work well."

More online resources are available. You may wish to sign up (and/or get your children and friends to sign up) for free on-line courses at https://www.coursera.org
When you access the website, a box is displayed for input: What do you want to learn? 

To choose free courses, select:
Full Course, No Certificate. 

Each course is given by a professor in one of the major universities (mainly American) or institutions of the world.

Courses are available in many fields of technology, medicine, engineering, mathematics, economics, modern physics, cosmology, quantum physics, political sciences, humanities, genetics, cognitive sciences, psychology, game theory, philosophy...  

Such courses help students and teachers in the fields of their interests.

Additionally, you may wish to: 

1. Donate what you can (on-line) for persecuted Christians in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia...

2. Listen on the Internet (YouTube) to some great stories of saints and theological insights by Bishop Robert Barron and others. You can also check out many saints in the "Catholic Encyclopedia" and on http://catholicsaints.info

3. There is much online information in Biblical scholarship that you can find here:

- Fr. Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D. Biblical Studies here: http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/index.html

- St. Paul Center: https://stpaulcenter.com

4. Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D. and his associates on many topics of concern to Christians today:

https://www.magiscenter.com/

5. Pope Benedict XVI (one of the most profound contemporary Christian scholars) here: http://www.ratzingerfanclub.com/

6. St. Thomas Aquinas: http://www.aquinasonline.com/Topics/

7. Ignatius Insight: http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/index.asp

8. Zenit: https://zenit.org/

9. Evangile Au Quotidien (Today's Gospel and Saints in many languages including English, French, and Arabic...) https://evangelizo.org/evangelizo.php

10. Television catholique (KTO) - France: http://www.ktotv.com/

11. P. Henri Boulad, S.J. (French): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvZ0TcjA7jCdRe5VS6dWjdQ

12. Today's Questions (English): http://todayquestions.blogspot.com/

13. Jean Vanier - L'Arche (English/French): https://www.larche.org/welcome

14. Vatican (The Apostolic See - in many languages): http://w2.vatican.va/content/vatican/it.html

15. Catechism of the Catholic Church: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm

Let us pray to the Lord that he may heal humanity wounded by spiritual and physical illnesses since these are our crosses!

Heralding joy to the whole universe

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father." (John 1:14)
"Our Father Who Art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name" (Matthew 6:9-13)

Sunday September 8 was the feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God celebrated with much veneration in the Eastern Byzantine parishes. In the Troparion of the feast, the choir sang in the Divine Liturgy: "Your nativity, O Mother of God, heralded joy to the whole universe, for from you rose the Sun of Justice, Christ our God. Taking away the curse, he imparted blessings. And by abolishing death, he gave us everlasting life." The choir also chanted the hymn "Mothers cannot be virgins, nor virgins mothers and yet in you, O Theotokos, both virginity and motherhood were planned and fulfilled. Wherefore all the peoples of the earth unceasingly extol you. Amen." My twin brother, together with my second brother and his wife attended the celebration of the Divine Liturgy at St. Simeon Melkite Catholic parish in Windsor headed by Fr. Gerard Abi Saab where "The inexhaustible Chalice Icon" has continuously exuded oil since August 6, 2019. The church has since been visited by many of the faithful from different cities in Ontario, Canada. In his homily in the 11 am Sunday Divine Liturgy, Fr. Gerard Abi Saab commented on the Gospel's reading "God so loved the world that he gave His only-begotten Son, that those who believe in Him may not perish, but may have life everlasting.” (John 3:16). The young charismatic pastor indicated that we often forget our commitment to Christ and spend much of our time busy with much worldly concerns; yet we want to be in heaven as soon as our spirits leave this world. The feast became widely celebrated in both East and West after the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD officially proclaimed the Virgin Mary mother of Jesus "Theotokos" i.e. Mother of God (for more on the feast, see The Catholic Encyclopedia here). At Holy Rosary Roman Catholic parish in Toronto, the priest celebrating the 10 a.m. Mass prayed with the faithful "Hail Mary Full of Grace..." before giving the blessing at the end of the Mass. In his homily, Msgr. Robert Nusca, a well-known Biblical scholar, commented on the "wisdom" of the world compared to the wisdom proposed by Christ and followed by the saints according to Jesus words "anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” Biblical scholars agree that the author of the Book of Wisdom presents his version of Solomon’s prayer (1 Kgs 3:6–9; 2 Chr 1:8–10). The author identifies Wisdom with the word of God just as he again identifies Wisdom with the spirit of God in v. 17. All three are alternate ways of expressing God’s activity in relationship with the world and its inhabitants. Although the expressions draw on the language of Plato concerning the human condition, the conclusion is very biblical: God remains a mystery (Jb 38–39; Eccl 8:17; Is 40:12–14; Rom 11:33–34). The plight of humankind is clearly one of ignorance, unless the “holy spirit” is sent from God (Cf. USCCB Biblical Commentary on "Wisdom" here).

On the same Sunday, the Jesuit scholar Fr. Henri Boulad commented on the theme of "wisdom" (in French "La philosophie, chemin de sagesse ..." here). Fr. Boulad first asked the question "Does the Holy Spirit breathe outside of the Church?" to which the answer is "Yes". However, what makes this answer reasonable? Fr. Boulad responds that about 100 years before Christ, the "Book of Wisdom" was written by an author that follows Solomon's prayer and is inspired by the Greek philosophy of Plato. In fact, Plato's philosophy was the tool used by Christian apologists, scholars, and philosophers for many centuries after the Resurrection and the Ascension of Jesus Christ. The original meaning of the word philosophy comes from the Greek roots philo- meaning "love" and sophia, or "wisdom." ... In other words, they want to know the meaning of life. Human wisdom is sometimes considered wisdom opposed to the Divine...But a profound look shows that the Divine is the crowning of the human wisdom that searches for the truth. St. Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Romans "We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." (Romans 8:22-25). If we open up to the reality of the one God, we will experience and taste the Lord -  "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8). In receiving the Eucharist, the faithful, in the state of grace, tastes the Lord Jesus Christ and eats him; for "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 6:54-56).
You may wish to share a few developments that may help us open our eyes to the wisdom of God; for God works through everyone and everything according to his providential care...
First, In a series of mind-bending demos, inventor Mary Lou Jepsen shows how we can use red light to see and potentially stimulate what's inside our bodies and brains. Taking us to the edge of optical physics, Jepsen unveils new technologies that utilize light and sound to track tumors, measure neural activity and could possibly replace the MRI machine with a cheaper, more efficient and wearable system (Watch it here in this fascinating TED Talk in April 2018)...This is certainly a source of hope for patients with cancer and other types of tumor...
Second, you may wish to share this report here titled "Can computers have a soul ?" about artificial intelligence from Magis Center founded by the Jesuit scholar Fr. Robert Spitzer. This year, in the same vein,  Quanta Magazine published a report here titled "Curious About Consciousness? Ask the Self-Aware Machines".
Third, NASA scientists continue their research for future landing by humans on Mars - See this report "NASA Tests Space Concrete for Future Mars Habitats" here published by Extreme Tech...
And in early September Quanta Magazine published a report titled "Are We All Wrong About Black Holes?" (see it here).
Indeed, in conceiving the Word of God in her womb, the Virgin Mary heralded joy to the whole universe...
And finally, Bishop Robert Barron asked today "Have you read this literary masterpiece?". It is a book titled "Life of Christ" by Venerable Fulton Sheen  - A PDF formatted file of this great book can be found here:https://www.sacredheartshrine.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Life-of-Christ-Fulton-J.-Sheen.pdf
In the introduction to the book, these words are found
"Widely proclaimed a classic work of Christian faith, Life of Christ has been hailed as the most eloquent of Fulton J. Sheen's many books. The fruit of many years of reflection, prayer, and research, it is a dramatic and moving recounting of the birth, life, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Christ, and a passionate portrait of the God-Man, the teacher, the healer, and, most of all, the Savior, whose promise has sustained humanity for two millenia.
With his customary insight and reverence, Sheen interprets the Scripture and describes Christ not only in historical perspective but also in exciting and contemporary terms -- seeing in Christ's life both modern parallels and timeless lessons. His thoughtful, probing analysis provides new insight into well-known Gospel events.
An appealing blend of philosophy, history, and biblical exegesis, from the best-known and most-loved American Catholic leader of the twentieth century, Life of Christ has long been a source of inspiration and guidance. For those seeking to better understand the message of Jesus Christ, this vivid retelling of the greatest story ever lived is a must-read."

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly

In the Gospel, Jesus tells us that "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John  10:10). Jesus gives us abundant life.  He said "Truly, I say to you, there is no man who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive manifold more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life." (Luke 18:29-30). In Genesis, it is written "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And God said, 'let there be light'; and there was light." (Genesis 1:1-3). In the Hebrew Tradition, water indicates drowning or loss of life...It is why, in their crossing from Egypt to Sinai, the Israelites followed Moses in crossing the Red Sea and could only survive because the water of the Sea was not allowed to touch them while following them the Egyptians and their armies drowned since the water was returned to its normal level. In the Creed completed at the First Council of  Constantinople; 381 AD, the Church proclaims her faith in "The Holy Spirit the Lord and Giver of life". He is the eternal power of God who sanctifies the offerings and transforms them into the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharistic prayers of the Church. Eucharist means "Thanksgiving"; In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it is clarified "Eucharist, because it is an action of thanksgiving to God. The Greek words eucharistein and eulogein recall the Jewish blessings that proclaim — especially during a meal — God’s works: creation, redemption, and sanctification. (CCC 1328).

In his seminal book "The Historic Reality of Christian Culture" the historian Christopher Dawson wrote that Renaissance started when Charlemagne was made emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (Referred to by the name: the Carolingian Empire). And with Renaissance calculated since then in the 9th century AD, it follows that humanism which St. Francis of Assisi demonstrated grew gradually in the West, while at the same time the Christian East suffered at the hands of Islamic military conquests.  In the 13th century, the reform ushered by St. Thomas Aquinas, and supported by the popes, used Aristotle's philosophy to shed a deeper light on the inquiring philosophical mind that developed in the West into scientific inquiries.  According to this great view that is supported by quantum physics, God in creating everything let it be and grow on its own. i.e. God does not predetermine things but let them exist and grow. Philosophy continues to be the way humans ask about their intelligence. In the 17th century, the father of classic physics, Isaac Newton, called his writings philosophia. Contemporary to him Blaise Pascal was another genius from France who excelled at mathematics, physics, and philosophy. Descartes, considered "Father" of modern philosophy, formulated the modern version of the mind–body problem. In metaphysics, he provided arguments for the existence of God, to show that the essence of matter is extension, and that the essence of mind is thought. For more on philosophy the reader may wish to read "The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy" (see the link at Today's Questions blog here.) 

At the end of the 19th century, physicists were unable to explain why the observed spectrum of black body radiation, which is still considered to have been accurately measured, diverged significantly at higher frequencies from that predicted by existing theories. In 1900, Max Planck empirically derived a formula for the observed spectrum. He assumed that a hypothetical electrically-charged oscillator that contained black-body radiation could only change its energy in a minimal increment, E, that was proportional to the frequency of its associated electromagnetic wave. He was able to calculate the proportionality constant, h, from the experimental measurements, and that constant is named in his honor. In 1905, the value E was associated by Albert Einstein with a "quantum" or minimal element of the energy of the electromagnetic wave itself. The light quantum behaved in some respects as an electrically neutral particle, as opposed to an electromagnetic wave. It was eventually called a photon. Much of the above scientific findings can be traced in my posts here,  here and here. According to the late physicist Stephen Hawking, the universe expanded from a very tiny 'singularity' starting with an inflationary period at the Big Bang (the beginning of creation). Robert Jastrow received his PhD. in theoretical physics from Columbia University in 1948 and was the first chairman of NASA’s Lunar Exploration Committee, which established the scientific goals for the exploration of the moon during the Apollo Lunar Landing in 1969. In an interview reported in Time Magazine and in New York Times in 1978, Jastrow indicated that the achievements in NASA's space program were like men climbing a huge mountain only to find theologians who preceded them waiting at the top.
According to the Anthropic Principle (regardless of whether it is Weak or Strong), the universe is fine tuned for life to a very accurate degree. There are some 30 constants that govern the laws of physics (such as Pi, Planck’s constant…etc). If one constant is slightly changed, the universe would end or collapse. Stephen Hawking said that if the rate of expansion one second after the Big Bang had been smaller by even one part in a hundred thousand million million, the universe would have recollapsed before life could have formed. Freeman Dyson draws the following conclusion “I conclude from the existence of these accidents that the universe is unexpectedly hospitable place for living creatures to make their home in. Being a scientist, trained in the habits of thought and language of the twentieth century rather than the eighteenth, I do not claim that the architecture of the universe proves the existence of God. I claim only that the architecture of the universe is consistent with the hypothesis that mind plays an essential role in its functioning” (Ian Barbour, When Science Meets Religion, 2000 - See also Paul Davies, Cosmic Jackpot, 2007).

In the natural world of biology, Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution with his book "On The Origin of Species by Natural Selection" which he further refined in "The Descent of Man". His theory has been since challenged - see "The Punctuated equilibrium" by S.J. Gould at Harvard University in which he explained the Cambrian Explosion which confirms that, contrary to Darwin's hypothesis, most evolution is characterized by long periods of evolutionary stability, which is infrequently punctuated by swift periods of branching speciation. With a PhD. in Philosophy from Princeton University, Professor David Berlinski was interviewed in June 2019 by Hoover Institution's Research Fellow Peter Robinson on his book “The Deniable Darwin” in which Berlinski mounts criticism of Darwin's theory based on the Cambrian Explosion (the interview can be watched here). In yet a more recent article published on August 29, 2019 in Quanta Magazine, explorers show that modern humans and more ancient hominins interbred many times throughout Eurasia and Africa, and the genetic flow went both ways. It brings our attention to Yuval Noah Harari's book "A Brief History of Humankind" in which he outlines the stages of human development in 4 sections: The Cognitive Revolution; The Agricultural Revolution; The Unification of Humankind; and The Scientific Revolution...
Here is also a little thesis that I wrote in my studies for a Master's degree in Information Systems at the University of Phoenix (which I obtained in May 2010):
Complex Projects versus Complex Mind!https://todayquestions.blogspot.com/2009/09/complex-projects-versus-complex-mind.html

I would like to offer a glimpse to the reality of the interconnectedness of projects in different sciences only because they all have in common the uniqueness of the human person. Quantum physics which I studied in my Engineering undergraduate studies further confirms new understandings of relatedness. I will mainly base my post on:

1) The article by Mizell and Malone published in Engineering Management Journal on cost estimation used at NASA (December 2007)
2) Scientific American article on the origins of the mind (September 2009 issue)
3) Quantum physics, explained in numerous works by great contemporary physicists

Marc Hauser, past professor of psychology, human evolutionary biology, and organismic and evolutionary biology at Harvard University, proposes what he calls “humaniqueness” as properties of the distinctive mind of humans that sets it apart from the minds of other creatures. Professor Hauser shows the following characteristics of the human uniqueness (My post here has to be limited to only mentioning them in brief):
1. Generative computation: the ability to create a virtually limitless variety of “expressions,” be they arrangements of words, sequences of notes, combinations of actions, or strings of mathematical symbols
2. The capacity for the promiscuous combination of ideas. We routinely connect thoughts from different domains of knowledge, allowing our understanding of art, sex, space, causality and friendship to combine. From this mingling, new laws, social relationships and technologies can result.
3. The use of mental symbols. We can spontaneously convert any sensory experience—real or imagined— into a symbol that we can keep to ourselves or express to others through language, art, music or computer code.
4. Only humans engage in abstract thought. Unlike animal thoughts, which are largely anchored in sensory and perceptual experiences, many of ours have no clear connection to such events.
We alone ponder the likes of unicorns and aliens, nouns and verbs, infinity and God. “Indeed, mounting evidence indicates that, in contrast to Darwin’s theory of a continuity of mind between humans and other species, a profound gap separates our intellect from the animal kind. This is not to say that our mental faculties sprang fully formed out of nowhere. Researchers have found some of the building blocks of human cognition in other species. But these building blocks make up only the cement footprint of the skyscraper that is the human mind. The evolutionary origins of our cognitive abilities thus remain rather hazy. Clarity is emerging from novel insights and experimental technologies, however.”

Hauser thus establishes the basis of different mind in humans. It shows, in contrast to Darwin’s theory, a profound gap between us and animals, or as the well-known paleontologist Teilhard de Chardin put it, there is a leap from the biosphere to the noosphere which is the sphere of the human mind that can ask himself about himself. The complexity of the human mind, unmatched by that of any other creature has been confirmed by much recent research. Hauser gives this example: “One of our most basic tools, the No. 2 pencil, used by every test taker, illustrates the exceptional freedom of the human mind as compared with the limited scope of animal cognition. You hold the painted wood, write with the lead, and erase with the pink rubber held in place by a metal ring. Four different materials, each with a particular function, all wrapped up into a single tool. And although that tool was made for writing, it can also pin hair up into a bun, bookmark a page or stab an annoying insect. Animal tools, in contrast—such as the sticks chimps use to fish termites out from their mounds—are composed of a single material, designed for a single function and never used for other functions. None have the combinatorial properties of the pencil.”

Let’s now compare the above with some of the findings & conclusions proposed by Mizell & Malone for complex projects at NASA:

First: The cost estimating process becomes harder as the complexity and size of projects increase. This is particularly clear from the fact that key variables are not known at the start of large projects – for example staffing requirements are unknown with certainty at that point while client management requires a budget estimate before sign off. Moreover, software development activities are labor intensive. They are affected by and affect HUMAN PERFORMANCE. This shows that complex projects for the most complex creature require an understanding of subtle cognitive functions at least in human relationships e.g. human resources staffing and the effect human performance has on delivering a project which in turn affect human performance in next projects. Even these relationships cannot be understood in isolation – See below.

Second: Human nature prefers a single number for an estimate as opposed to a range of numbers even though a range estimate will have a much higher probability of including an accurate value (Boehm and Fairly, 2000). This is why a range is recommended.

This shows that humans have to deal with ranges of numbers rather than single numbers for their complex projects. Here is a hint about quantum physics which we ought to deal with. Quantum physics stipulates that every process-result is probable until it is measured. According to the Uncertainty Principle, only at the time of measurement is there certainty. Furthermore, John Polkinghorne, retired professor of mathematical physics at Cambridge University, wrote, in one of his latest books: Quantum Physics and Theology, about relationship as science is attempting to discover it at the subnuclear level: “Quantum theory brought to light a remarkable form of entanglement between subatomic particles that have once interacted with each other (the so-called EPR effect), which implies that they remain effectively a single system however far they may subsequently separate spatially- a counterintuitive togetherness-in-separation that has been abundantly confirmed experimentally as a property of nature. The physical world looks more and more like a universe that would be the fitting creation of the trinitarian God, the One whose deepest reality is relational”

Third: Expert judgment relies on experience of past projects and industry average which fail to tell the entire story. On the contrary, every project is unique in its environment and organization factors. This is true since we know that no one human can subsist in isolation – The environment, the tribe, society or whatever makes up a human organization is vital for human action. This has been shown also in apes. Moreover, subjective experience counts. This is what has been missing in the Newtonian world.

This is why Mizell and Malone propose a simulation model as follows:
1. Use a software development process model: A graphical representation is useful to educate decision-makers on the inherent complexity of large software projects
2. Capture uncertainty for key parameters by using probability distributions: Three are most important: a. Size of project/product; b. Productivity of project team; c. Defect rates. This will allow us to develop range estimates that consider the uncertainty that exists before the start of a project.
3. Run Model and Obtain Confidence Intervals for Effort and Schedule: Calculate confidence intervals and focus on the top half of the confidence interval to dissuade managers from accepting the lower part in order to meet the lowest possible cost and schedule.
4. Compare Model Results with Other Estimating Techniques.
5. Use model results to debate unrealistic budgets: Run it with animation so that decision-makers can visualize the process and its complexity.
6. Update Model with Actual project data as project evolves (Experience): This can be very useful in analyzing problem areas and effort based on actual project data to-date.

We can therefore safely conclude that:
1. The human mind is the most complex in all creatures on earth
2. However, this mind requires complex computer tools to realize its complex projects today.
3. Which requires this mind to use quantum physics probabilities 4.
Which then (according to the EPR Experiment) shows that this mind cannot stay in isolation of other creatures – Relationship is of the essence to cultivate – How more important would it be to cultivate it in business and social life?
5. That gets us, in my opinion, into the most fundamental of all principles: Communication, collaboration and, if possible, love. (Comment for this blog: This was a post in my Master studies of Information Systems. Christian teaching is referenced multiple times particularly in the work of John Polkinghorne, and in the final conclusion on love as the epitome of the Christian way of life.)

References: Mizell, C., Malone, L. (2007), A Project Management Approach to Using Simulation for Cost Estimation on Large, Complex Software Development Projects, Engineering Management Journal, Retrieved on September 3, 2009 from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=1&hid=3&sid=1d33c98f-9e1e-4296-bb45-fbbbb64b33ef%40sessionmgr11
 Hauser, M. (2009), Origin of the Mind, Scientific America, Retrieved on September 5, 2009 from http://www.sciamdigital.com/
Polkinghorne, J. (2008), Quantum Physics and Theology, Oxford University Press.

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On Sunday the 1st of September 2019, the Jesuit scholar Fr. Henri Boulad pronounced a homily (Titled: Moi, moi, MOI... centre du monde ...Readers may wish to watch it in French here; Cathédrale Marie Reine du Monde - Montréal). In his charismatic approach, he commented on the Gospel's reading where the Lord utters the words "For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (The reading on the theme of humility can be found here: Luke 14:1; 7-14). Fr. Boulad explains how little is a person in space and time compared to the 7 billion persons who live on planet Earth, and in turn how Earth is only a little planet in the solar system; yet the solar system itself is only a tiny fraction in a vast galaxy called "The Milky Way" that is part of some 100 billion galaxies in the universe.

I had corresponded with Fr. Boulad on the quantum universe for years since 2013. I also sent him more information in congratulating him on publishing his book "ONENESS, WHOLENESS AND HOLINESS - The social and sacred dimension of the mouth and the meal" and, on that occasion, his lecture in Budapest on August 29, 2019.

I made updates to my post in June 2018 here:

Black Holes in the Cosmic Inflation, Quantum Physics, and New Technology

https://todayquestions.blogspot.com/2018/06/black-holes-in-cosmic-inflation-and.html  

You will also find more info related to quantum emergence of the cosmos in my post published on January 29, 2019 here:

The Sacred Cosmos of God

https://todayquestions.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-sacred-cosmos-of-god.html  

In early January 2019, NOVA published a documentary titled:

Einstein's Quantum Riddle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RWGEMouXJM  

Other earlier posts that may be of interest (including the Anthropic Principle for life) are found here:

Has Science Discovered God?

https://todayquestions.blogspot.com/2008/06/has-science-discovered-god.html

The Jesuit scientist Teilhard de Chardin is highly appreciated. His most distinct thought is the complexification of matter into the biosphere which would be encompassed in the leap from the animal realm to the noosphere or human mind which, while still biologically animal, can ask himself about himself and raise questions about his origin and future. This is the step where Man starts to worship a divinity that, in his research, Marcea Eliade categorizes as the "Sky God." Revelation in the Judaic-Christian Tradition is a response by God to man's fearful questions that progressively reveal the merciful and faithful God. In Jesus Christ, God is fully revealed as eternal Love.

In his book "Introduction to Christianity" the young Joseph Ratzinger (later {Pope Benedict XVI) wrote in 1968 about Teilhard de Chardin as part of his excellent exposition on the Resurrection of Christ:
"We can start again from the dictum about love and death and say: Only where someone values love more highly than life, that is, only where someone is ready to put life second to love, for the sake of love, can love be stronger and more than death. If it is to be more than death, it must first be more than mere life. But if it could be this, not just in intention but in reality, then that would mean at the same time that the power of love had risen superior to the power of the merely biological and taken it into its service. To use Teilhard de Chardin's terminology; where that took place, the decisive complexity or "complexification" would have occurred; bios, too, would be encompassed by and incorporated in the power of love. It would cross the boundary--death--and create unity where death divides. If the power of love for another were so strong somewhere that it could keep alive not just his memory, the shadow of his "I", but that person himself, then a new stage in life would have been reached. This would mean that the realm of biological evolutions and mutations had been left behind and the leap made to a quite different plane, on which love was no longer subject to bios but made use of it. Such a final stage of "mutation" and "evolution" would itself no longer be a biological stage; it would signify the end of the sovereignty of bios, which is at the same time the sovereignty of death; it would open up the realm that the Greek Bible calls zoe, that is, definitive life, which has left behind the rule of death. The last stage of evolution needed by the world to reach its goal would then no longer be achieved within the realm of biology but by the spirit, by freedom, by love. It would no longer be evolution but decision and gift in one." The full exposition can be found here:
http://todayquestions.blogspot.ca/2012/04/joseph-ratzinger-truth-of-resurrection.html  

More here: Thoughts of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.

https://todayquestions.blogspot.com/2013/07/thoughts-of-pierre-teilhard-de-chardin.html 

Since the end of July 2019, I had correspondence with Mrs. Maggie Ciskanik, the senior writer at the Magis Center (here), founded by Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D. retired President of Gonzaga University, Washington. They have been interested in using some of the posts on quantum physics from my blog. On Monday September 2, I received from them a document titled 

Great resources for learning more about quantum theory

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. 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 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 Engineering. He is a retired 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. 

Of course, I can only thank God for having used my writings for the missionaries of Christ today...

Proposed Prayer

Many faithful do pray to God using the Holy Rosary - For praying the entire Holy Rosary check out this website here...
In my prayers, I seek the assistance of the Virgin Mary - usually by saying one decade of the Holy Rosary...

The Lord's Prayer: Our Father Who Art in heaven...

One decade of the Holy Rosary...

First, I pray for myself and many other sick people who need the healing of Jesus Christ...

Second, I pray for my family and those that I know to live in joy and love, and hope in God's mercy who through his Spirit urges us to repent...

Third, I pray for those that departed to God especially for his mercy upon my beloved parents and relatives...

Fourth, I pray for persecuted Christians that they may be set free from their oppressors and be witnesses to the truth of Christ through whom alone salvation is possible.

Fifth, I pray for the Catholic Church and her servants of God including Pope Francis, and her other servants of God, and the entire Christian people to be strengthened in faith and to taste the Lord in the sacraments of the Church.

Sixth, I pray for Christian missionaries that through the grace of God they may help non-Christians see the light of Christ, be baptized, and, if possible, come to partake in the sacraments of the Church.

Seventh, I pray for the civilization of truth, love and life to be followed by everyone in raising their consciences to listen to the will of God and abide by him who forbids immoral actions, pray too for the laws of countries of the world and their governments to ban abortion, divorce and assisted-suicide and pray also for assisting atheists, terrorists and criminals to return to God...

Eighth, I pray for the needy that Christian organizations may help them - The Knights of Columbus, Caritas, The Sisters of Charity founded by St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and St. Vincent de Paul are good examples...

Nineth, I pray that God, in his mercy, may rescue people from natural disasters, and help through his Spirit the leaders of nations to stop blood shedding in wars...

And finally, I pray that we may have repentance as urged by the Holy Spirit; and that we may recognize the Christian God who loves everyone, adore the Triune-in-One God, and help - through good Christian conduct - everyone else to see the light of Christ who loves mankind to imitate him.

A Life - Can We Perceive the Blessings of God ?

Today is the memorial of St. Augustine of Hippo. His Confessions alone enriched the lives of many Christians - He is mentioned in this website of saints here.The Catholic Encyclopedia wrote about him here.  Years ago I wrote how St. Augustine interpreted the Parable of the Good Samaritan here...A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho;  Adam himself is meant; Jerusalem is the heavenly city of peace, from whose blessedness Adam fell; Jericho means the moon, and signifies our mortality, because it is born, waxes, wanes, an dies; Thieves are the devil and his angels who stripped him, namely; of his immortality; and beat him, by persuading him to sin; and left him half-dead, because in so far as man can understand and know God, he lives, but in so far as he is wasted and oppressed by sin, he is dead; he is therefore called half-dead.  The priest and the Levite who saw him and passed by, signify the priesthood and ministry of the Old Testament which could profit nothing for salvation. Samaritan means Guardian, and therefore the Lord Himself is signified by this name. The binding of the wounds is the restraint of sin. Oil is the comfort of good hope; wine the exhortation to work with fervent spirit. The beast is the flesh in which He deigned to come to us. The being set upon the beast is belief in the incarnation of Christ. The inn is the Church, where travelers returning to their heavenly country are refreshed after pilgrimage. 


Probably the most cherished words on the degrees of love of God come from St. Bernard of Clairvaux; the great French abbot who lived in the 12th century and was a leader in the reform of the Church. St.Bernard wrote his much-loved "The Four Types of Love" that Christians experience as they grow in their relationship with God - They can be read here.

In the Gospel, Jesus tells us that "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John  10:10). Can we interpret these words of the Lord for us weak humans of today?
It is not up to me to judge anyone. However, I know that I have been blessed by God since I was in the womb of my mother. In her first heavy pregnancy my mother made a vow to Saint George that she would name her first son after him while my dad who wanted to bring the memory of his dad, as per tradition, decided to name his first son after his dad. Surprisingly God brought a twin to the home: the first was called after his dad "Chaker" - "Shaker" in English and the second was named George (me). 
For my health problems that started in 1986, I wrote a post in July 2008 here, followed by another post on June 16, 2019 here. 

Today, I recognize the miracles that the Lord my saviour has been carrying me through. He knows that as we get older, we need Him more. In fact I believe that my health problems helped three close persons suffer for me in my life: my mother of blessed memory; my mother-in-law of blessed memory; and my wife...Suffering is not limited to them but it is the way that I believe God gets us to be close to each other as we are inter-related, and through His love "May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature." (2 Peter 1:2-4). The above is possibly applied to every person that seriously seeks to know God the Merciful and Generous Father of all (here)...