The Lamb of God - Update

In the New Testament, John the Baptist calls Jesus "the Lamb of God" (John 1, 29); In Apocalypse written by St. John, the New Jerusalem is described with such symbolic majesty that according to the visionary the city needed no light "for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb" (Revelation: 21: 23).
Since the beginning of Christianity, the recognition of the risen Jesus Christ being one with God the Father was at the core of the Apostles preaching. Over so many centuries the Church kept the doctrine of the Mystery of God in all her Councils and this Mystery always inspired saints - Some of them had private revelations of Christ and/or his mother the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The month of June is dedicated in the Catholic Church to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The private revelations of our Lord Jesus Christ to St. Marguerite Marie Alacoque between 1673 and 1675 are the most authentic sources of the visions confirmed by her devotion, humility, and charity towards those opposed to her claims in the Visitation Convent at Paray, France. In the first revelation, our Lord made known to her his ardent desire to be loved by everyone and his design of manifesting his heart with all its treasures of love and mercy, of sanctification, and salvation. He asked that the Friday after the Octave of the feast of Corpus Christi be dedicated as the feast of the Sacred Heart. She was also inspired by Christ to establish a Holy Hour and to pray lying prostrate from eleven till midnight on the eve of the first Friday every month to share in the mortal sadness he endured when abandoned by his Apostles in his agony before his trial and crucifixion and to receive Holy Communion on the first Friday every month.  From that time on she was consumed by the fire of the love of the Sacred Heart until her death in 1690. In 1824, she was pronounced Venerable by Pope Leo XII; In 1864, Pope Blessed Pius IX beatified her; and in 1920 Pope Benedict XV canonized her (Cf. The Catholic Encyclopedia here or here). This beginning of frequently receiving Holy Communion was followed by Pope St. Pius X who admitted children as young as 7 to receive Holy Communion.

Historically, Christian humanism formed the civilization of Europe since the Renaissance which, for some historians, started with the Carolingian empire (Cf. G.W. Trompf; "The Concept of the Carolingian Renaissance"; Journal of the History of Ideas; 1973:3ff). A more detailed treatment of Christian humanism can be found in my post dated March 28, 2018 (here). It is within the second millennium in the Catholic Church that St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) is regarded as possibly the first to have venerated the shoulder wound of Jesus as he was dragged and hit by the Roman soldiers on his way to be crucified (see here); St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) promoted the worship of the humanity of Christ. In his contemplation, he called the Moon "brother"; and did not fear "death" for he called death a "sister" and composed his hymn to Christ: "Make me an instrument of your peace"(here and here); St. Gertrude the Great (1256-1302) too had private mystical revelations of Christ and experienced devotion to the Sacred Heart of the Lord.  St. Marguerite Marie Alacoque was not the first nor was she the last to experience devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. St. Jean-Baptiste Marie Vianney, Curé of Ars, (His life can be found here in French and here in English) used to sit in the parish and look to the Blessed Sacrament. When asked, why he looks to the Blessed Sacrament in the Tabernacle, he simply answered "I look to him and he looks to me" - It was a conversation with Jesus!

Since the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation and the Counter-Reformation produced much polemics which did not spare any disagreements in interpretation of the Biblical texts. Exegesis became problematic for the average Christian.

On the larger scale in secular Europe and the West in general, much doubt about the existence
of immaterial beings developed especially with the availability of printed material and philosophical discussions starting with the 18th century Enlightenment (e.g. Voltaire; Diderot; Montesquieu, Adam Smith; David Hume; G.E. Lessing; Emmanuel Kant; Hobbe; Locke; Descartes; Leibniz; Niesztche; Sartre...)

In the 20th century, the Second Vatican Council issued a number of declarations that marked a number of developments that affirm the faith, yet reformulate it in modern language (see particularly the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium" here; and the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes" here); See too the decrees of the Council on the Catholic Church's openness for dialogue with other Christian Churches and Christian Communions (here). For dialogue with followers of non-Christian religions, see this declaration here...

An expert advising the German Bishops in the Second Vatican Council, Joseph Ratzinger wrote his masterpiece "Introduction to Christianity in 1968. See this post for an excerpt on the truth of the Resurrection.

In the long pontificate of Pope Saint John Paul II that followed the departure to God of Pope Blessed Paul VI, John Paul II continued to uphold the decrees of the Council, initiated the World Youth Day (once every four years starting 1984); prayed with leaders of other religions at Assisi (1986); In March 2000, Pope John Paul II publicly apologized for wrongs by sons of the Catholic Church in the past centuries since the start of the Church - To the surprise of some cardinals and bishops he said at a service in St. Peter's that the New Evangelization (which he issued in an Apostolic Letter to Catholics at the close of the Jubilee Year 2000) requires purification of memory. He also made courageous steps toward Muslims in a number of addresses including one to Muslims in Morocco and another in his 2001 pilgrimage to holy places in the Middle East including Damascus where he prayed at the Umayyad Mosque fully respecting Muslim tradition. John Paul II called for mutual forgiveness of wrongs done by Christians in the past towards Muslims, and Muslims towards Christians.

Looking at the contemporary history of Christianity, probably the most enlightening declaration on the unicity and salvific universality of Jesus Christ and the Church was issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith headed at the time by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger in an audience granted by the Holy Father Saint John Paul II in which Saint John Paul II approved the publication of the "Declaration" on June 16, 2000 and the "Declaration" was officially published on the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, August 6, 2000. The reader may wish to read it here: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000806_dominus-iesus_en.html Of particular importance are three sections: # 16; #17; #18; as well as these eye-opening sections # 20; # 21; # 22 and the Conclusion section.

Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God - He sits on the throne in heaven together with the Father and the Holy Spirit (who is the eternal bond of love in the Trinity of one God).

But on September 11, 2001, two commercial-passenger-airplanes were hijacked by Islamic extremists that hit the two Trade Towers in New York causing the sudden death of thousands while they shouted words of hatred towards America, the symbol of Western power that influenced much of the Islamic world.

Radical Islam made itself known in America and Europe on that day. George W. Bush retaliated by invading Iraq claiming that Saddam Hussein who had planned to fight Israel was hiding weapons of mass destruction. Hatred begot hatred. When Saddam was found hiding and was taken to be tried by the court under the new Iraqi government, he used the words of Islam "Allahu Akbar..."

In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) gave his Lecture on faith, reason and the university at the University of Regensburg where he had taught earlier. Some of the professors at Munster included Fr. Adel Theodore Khouri, a Greek Melkite Catholic priest who studied history of Islam and experienced Islam in his earlier days in the Middle East. In the Lecture found here, Benedict XVI used references obtained from Khouri to show the truth of radical Islam. Here are the words quoted: "In the seventh conversation (διάλεξις - controversy) edited by Professor Khoury, the emperor touches on the theme of the holy war. The emperor must have known that surah 2, 256 reads: "There is no compulsion in religion". According to some of the experts, this is probably one of the suras of the early period, when Mohammed was still powerless and under threat. But naturally the emperor also knew the instructions, developed later and recorded in the Qur'an, concerning holy war. Without descending to details, such as the difference in treatment accorded to those who have the "Book" and the "infidels", he addresses his interlocutor with a startling brusqueness, a brusqueness that we find unacceptable, on the central question about the relationship between religion and violence in general, saying: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”[3] The emperor, after having expressed himself so forcefully, goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. "God", he says, "is not pleased by blood - and not acting reasonably (σὺν λόγω) is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death...".[4]

The above raised much protests in the Islamic world breaking any references to Christ and Christianity as Benedict XVI presented it. Turkey's Erdogan became reluctant to receive Pope Benedict XVI in his visit to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, and Al-Azhar cut off dialogue with the Vatican. Not only was Iran an Islamic Republic, but now Saudi Arabia and the countries in the Arabic Gulf felt it was necessary to react to the Vatican. In the same vein, as Saddam was executed, his supporters of the Sunni Iraqis soon started the so-called ISIS or the IS in the hope of restoring the Islamic caliphate.

Millions of dollars were spent on renewing the Muslim Brotherhood; and forcefully attacking innocents in the Middle East, Europe, and North America. Turkey always wanting to become a member of the European Union found itself isolated. However in more recent years, Germany (leader of the European Union) agreed with Turkey to return suspected fundamentalists in Europe for, in turn,  allowing Turkish Muslims to thrive in European industries.

Pope Francis was careful to seek cooperation and re-open dialogue with Al-Azhar and other Islamic institutions in his bid to help poor people. He received Dr. Altayeb of Al-Azhar and visited Egypt in 2017. See this report.

The headache of Islamism continued to invade Europe with no interruption. The American President Trump promised to support Israel against Iran's nuclear facilities although European countries objected as they have trade deals with Iran that benefit their exports.

At last, Europe seems to have awaken from its sleep while mosques erected in every city were a sign of the increased political power of political Islam and the forced conversions of inhabitants to Islam by the so-called Islamic State (Daech) funded by militant Islamic countries and possibly other powers with the ultimate goal to impose Islamic Sharia in all societies of the West. The good news were published on June 1st, 2018 by Gatestone Institute International Policy Council (here).

The Holy Father Francis

Regardless of his infrequent doctrinal errors and his liberal stances on inviting people of non-European cultures to Europe, the Jesuit Pope Francis did quite a few great things this year 2018 as well as in 2017. His most popular charisma lies in preaching Jesus to the poor and the outcast, his emphasis on reconciliation with other Christian bodies, and his open-minded dialogue with non-Christians which, however, does not deter him from condemning the use of force by any power over minority Christians.

Most impressive is how Pope Francis described God as a "father" to atheists too who died. This took place in mid April 2018 in response to an Italian child who was sad because his dad, who was an atheist, passed away and requested the Holy Father to give him a response - See the conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U4NqZjn4ZQ

In March, 2018 Pope Francis declared the addition of a memorial of "Mary Mother of the Church" to be celebrated on the Monday after Pentecost in the universal Church (see http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2018/03/03/pope-francis-adds-new-marian-celebration-to-church-calendar/. The title "Mary Mother of the Church" was pronounced by Pope Blessed Paul VI in 1965 at the end of the Second Vatican Council.

Three heroes of the Second Vatican Council, its reforms, and its implementation come to mind. Francis canonized the "Good" Pope John XXIII who convoked the Council, and the "Great" Pope John Paul II who implemented vigorously its constitutions and declarations. Francis beatified Pope Paul VI and in October he will canonize the same Pope "Giovanni Battista Montini."

When Montini was made a cardinal by John XXIII, the "Good" Pope told him "You know that if you were cardinal in 1958, I would not be Pope today" referring to his predecessor the great reformer Pope Pius XII who had chosen to keep Montini in his successful career as a diplomat and under-secretary of the Vatican without conferring on him the "red beretta."
But Montini as Pope Paul VI was very much a great scholar who continued the Second Vatican Council with the fathers of the reform Council, the first in 400 years, till the end and was the first pilgrim Pope to many countries in different continents. In a prophetic fiat, he also issued his encyclical "Humanae Vitae" in 1968 maintaining the validity of procreation along with love between married couples; a sign of continuity and development, yet commitment to Catholic Tradition. Over a hundred years ago John Henri Newman converted to Catholicism because he found the development of doctrine in the fathers of the Church and wrote his famous statement "On the Development of Christian Doctrine". In his waning years, an aged Paul VI minced to the philosopher Jean Guitton the disquieting passage from the Gospel according to St. Luke "When the Son of Man returns, will he still find faith upon the earth?" With John Paul the Great, the Church recovered from the liberal extremes and continued to uphold the fruits of Vatican II. Three experts who participated in Vatican II were made cardinals by John Paul II: The Jesuit Henri de Lubac; the Dominican Yves Congar, and the German Joseph Ratzinger who became his Prefect of the "Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith" and became Pope Benedict XVI after John Paul's long pontificate in which John Paul II masterfully shared his increasing sufferings with the millions in crowds that met him everywhere he went in 5 continents.

In the vein of seeking full unity of Christians, we need to go back to the reform by the Second Vatican Council with its declarations about separated brethren in the Christian faith: see http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/index.htm
Following the Council many meeting were held between heads of the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches and between heads of the Catholic Church and heads of the Oriental Ancient Orthodox Churches. In 2016 Pope Francis held a meeting with Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow - See: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/12/pope-francis-russian-orthodox-patriarch-kirill-make-history-cuba-first-meeting-in-1000-years
In 1999, the Catholic Church reached an agreement of a common declaration with the Lutheran Federation on the doctrine of  justification - See here: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_31101999_cath-luth-joint-declaration_en.html
In  2017, the Catholic Church together with heads of Protestant communions marked the 500-years anniversary of the Reformation - See this interview: https://cruxnow.com/interviews/2017/09/27/500-years-ago-wasnt-protestants-catholics-embracing-luther/
In 2017 too Pope Francis visited Egypt and held many meetings with Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II and other Orthodox leaders: See http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2017/april/documents/papa-francesco_20170428_egitto-tawadros-ii.html

Above all, let us Christians remember that Christ is the "Axis of History" - See http://todayquestions.blogspot.ca/2018/01/the-axis-of-history.html

Let us act in His Spirit for the world to see His light!

Samuel Bianco: Why We Need the Holy Spirit Today !

On Sunday May 20, at the 9:30 Mass at Holy Rosary parish in Toronto, the charismatic Msgr. Samuel Bianco gave a sermon on the need of nations today for the Holy Spirit.  He said that research shows the spending on nuclear arms has increased to over 1.6 trillion dollars. The recent nuclear missiles by North Korea's leader that fell on Japan and his threats for the same to America, followed by more threats from the American president Donald Trump to annihilate the population of North Korea were only resolved thanks to last-minute diplomatic negotiations. The same could be said of Israeli's hawks when their military carried out massive 'deterrent' aggression in Gaza against the Palestinians. We know that  Hamas terrorist organization had vowed to return Palestine to Islamic Arab control. But why kill innocent and poor Palestinians while Hamas leaders are enjoying their lives far away in Qatar ?
Msgr. Bianco said that at least two Catholic organizations have been helping Iraqi citizens in their settlement after the Americans under George W. Bush sent their military forces to regain control over Iraq.  I could add the continued Russian military involvement in Syria. This is a nuclear threat that was also lately faced by America's missiles in an attempt to regain control over the Middle East. In  the political game of leaders in which many lose their lives, Russia decided in the last minute to withdraw from Syria.  Indeed Turkey sent its troops to North Syria in an attempt to face up to Shiite Iran whose Hizbullah has been helping the Syrian government troops advance and contain the Sunni IS fundamentalists. Hizbullah has power too in Lebanon. Trump sold weapons to Saudi Arabia's military leaders, the Sunni kingdom that has always sought to destabilize  Shiite Iran. In his promises during presidential elections, he said he wanted to face up to Iran and control the Iranian nuclear energy program which he does not trust. In December 2017, he decided to move the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem raising objections by Arab nations in the United Nations. Israel is already a nuclear power in the region. The hawkish leaders of Israel are concerned that Iran could launch a war to wipe out Israel especially if Iran possesses means to generate nuclear weapons. With the help of the Kurds,America was able to fight ISIS  in Iraq and now penetrate Iran with the CIA operations destabilizing it from within. In his meeting with the European leaders, Trump too
Again on North Korea, the Chinese leader Xi Jinping promised Trump not to sell weapons to North Korea and to make it difficult for North Korea to have a life until they come back to negotiations with a victorious America. It is part of America's globalization strategy...
With all of the above, our concern is for the millions of people who suffer and die because of leaders of the powerful nuclear countries go around threatening each other.
However, some of Donald Trump's good initiatives are his promise since day one to stop by all means the increasing Islamic terrorism. He repeated the same stand when he met with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia and urged them to stop supporting terrorist activities then in Brussels with the European leaders where they agreed on paying their share in continuing to fight Islamic terrorism together. It was just after the savage attack and raping of girls in Manchester in May 2017(see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_KrwW1Knms). Islamic terrorism started in the infamous attack on 3000 civilians on 9/11 2001.
We need to ask God's mercy upon everyone who lost their way and chose to destroy rather than help lives, and for Christians who are still persecuted in many countries...

Our Generous Father

Every time I recite the Lord's Prayer "Our Father...", I think of the old father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. We find it in Luke 15, 11: 32 here:
11 Then he said, There was a certain man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of these said to his father, Father, give me that portion of the estate which falls to me. So he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days afterwards, the younger son put together all that he had, and went on his travels to a far country, where he wasted his fortune in riotous living. 14 Then, when all was spent, a great famine arose in that country, and he found himself in want; 15 whereupon he went and attached himself to a citizen of that country, who put him on his farm, to feed swine. 16 He would have been glad to fill his belly with husks, such as the swine used to eat; but none was ready to give them to him. 17 Then he came to himself, and said, How many hired servants there are in my father’s house, who have more bread than they can eat, and here am I perishing with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee; 19 I am not worthy, now, to be called thy son; treat me as one  thy hired servants.20 And he arose, and went on his way to his father. But, while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, and took pity on him; running up, he threw his arms round his neck and kissed him. 21 And when the son said, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee; I am not worthy, now, to be called thy son, 22 the father gave orders to his servants, Bring out the best robe, and clothe him in it; put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.23 Then bring out the calf that has been fattened, and kill it; let us eat, and make merry; 24 for my son here was dead, and has come to life again, was lost, and is found. And so they began their merry-making. 25 The elder son, meanwhile, was away on the farm; and on his way home, as he drew near the house, he heard music and dancing;26 whereupon he called one of the servants and asked what all this meant. 27 He told him, Thy brother has come back, and thy father has killed the fattened calf, glad to have him restored safe and sound. 28 At this he fell into a rage, and would not go in. When his father came out and tried to win him over, 29 he answered his father thus, Think how many years I have lived as thy servant, never transgressing thy commands, and thou hast never made me a present of a kid, to make merry with my friends; 30 and now, when this son of thine has come home, one that has swallowed up his patrimony in the company of harlots, thou hast killed the fattened calf in his honour. 31 He said to him, My son, thou art always at my side, and everything that I have is already thine;32 but for this merry-making and rejoicing there was good reason; thy brother here was dead, and has come to life again; was lost, and is found.

The above Parable may well be named after the Generous Father. He is our Father whose heaven has come down to us since the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ and his promise to the disciples (with his mother; the Mother of God) that they would receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Every time, we receive the Eucharist in the state of grace, we are enriched by the Real Presence of Christ; His body and soul united to his Divinity by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Again, the Generous Father pictured in the Parable is real... He let his younger son take his portion of the property and travel to a far country where he wasted his fortune in pleasures. When a famine struck him, he had no choice but to survive by eating from the farm of a man and feeding pigs - a sign of uncleanness in Jewish tradition/symbolism. He would have enjoyed the husks that the swine ate but none was ready to give them to him. His state of hunger was taking a toll on his life so he asked himself  the existential question: How can I survive? I will go back to my father's home and ask him to make me one of his servants! The old man was looking out everyday for his younger son - He missed his younger son .When the old man saw his younger son, he ran to meet him and did not bother with the dignity of the old persons. His force to run came back to him. He threw himself upon his son, and embraced him not waiting for his lost son to complete his apology. He immediately called his servants and said to them "Bring out the best robe, and clothe him in it; put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.23 Then bring out the calf that has been fattened, and kill it; let us eat, and make merry; 24 for my son here was dead, and has come to life again, was lost, and is found." The rest of the story is also a good lesson for us when we are jealous of others whom we think do not deserve the Lord's care - But the Lord himself said that he came to call sinners and the outcast to repent, and to heal the sick!  
I am grateful to God for the above interpretation given to us through Fr. Georges Farah, MSSP...

Sing to the LORD

"Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth" (Psalms 96: 1)
I thank you "my Lord and my God" (John 20: 28) for the life you gave me since my conception in the womb of my mother for her vow to St. George. I thank you for protecting me with your hand when medical experts diagnosed my heart problems in 1986 and in early 2017 when they found my aortic aneurysm dangerously squeezing my lungs as well as low level of oxygen in my blood, but your hand still extended my life. I thank you for the follow-up of top sleep-disorder physician during my hospitalization last August. I thank you for using the same expert this January to order for me the BiPap advanced technology machine which my wife (and children) assist me in using every night to sleep in peace. My God, You have used every expert to extend my life that I am now twice as old as when my heart problems (and cancer in the kidney too) started.
I thank you particularly for my wife, and children who continuously care for me. I thank you too for my brothers and their families and her sisters and brother and their families, and for our relatives who constantly ask about me. I thank you for our many friends who call or email me to ask about me; one of them calls me every day in spite of her busy time. I thank you particularly for the prayers that many priests offer for me and for the visits they make to my home when they can; Here I particularly thank you my Lord and God for the Jesuit scholar Fr. Henri Boulad and the equally Jesuit scholar Fr. Samir Khalil Samir for their constant prayers and encouragement, and Fr. Georges Farah for promptly asking about my health as well as my confessor Fr. Dr. Daniel Callam, CSB who constantly gives me sound advice.
Note: Readers who wish to read my long experience with health problems are advised to read me here: http://todayquestions.blogspot.ca/2018/04/jesus-christ-said-thief-comes-only-to.html AND A Living Miracle http://todayquestions.blogspot.ca/2008/07/living-miracle.html