Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Lenten reflections...
If you're looking for something to help you make it through Lent, then you should check out this site. This Benedictine-Cistercian monk writes really interesting reflections on the daily and Sunday Mass readings.
Jimmy's Post on the Jesus Tomb
Jimmy Akin has posted his response/debunking of the Jesus tomb movie. Here's the link as promised.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
How Crunchy Are You?
Thursday, March 1, 2007
More on the (phony) tomb of Jesus
I was just over at Jimmy Akin's site and found this link in the comments section. Since Jimmy is going to put together a post on the subject soon I'll sit back and wait for it, rather than trying to explain/debunk the 'documentary' myself.
I will say this however, on the site (the only part that I read so far) they claim that their film in no way contradicts Jesus' resurrection or ascension. They use spurious theology to defend themselves, saying for example that if they have found Jesus' physical remains, then it only contradicts a physical ascension, but not a spiritual one. However, Jesus' physical resurrection and ascension are non-negotiable tenets of the Christian faith. Just look at the Nicene Creed, "I believe in... the resurrection of the body." Serious Christians would not be swayed by such "logic", but I worry what effect it will have on those whose faith is not as strong or reasoned.
I can only pray that this "documentary" does not gain enough popularity to draw people away from the faith.
I will say this however, on the site (the only part that I read so far) they claim that their film in no way contradicts Jesus' resurrection or ascension. They use spurious theology to defend themselves, saying for example that if they have found Jesus' physical remains, then it only contradicts a physical ascension, but not a spiritual one. However, Jesus' physical resurrection and ascension are non-negotiable tenets of the Christian faith. Just look at the Nicene Creed, "I believe in... the resurrection of the body." Serious Christians would not be swayed by such "logic", but I worry what effect it will have on those whose faith is not as strong or reasoned.
I can only pray that this "documentary" does not gain enough popularity to draw people away from the faith.
Alphabet and the Alpha and Omega
Recently Maria has been learning her alphabet. She loves the letter W and is very happy to pick it out on the pages of various story books. She also likes M, which she generally calls "upside down W," since I explained M as looking like an upside down W. Last night however she looked and an M and said M leaving me hopeful that my teaching tactics aren't totally wrong.
She likes to sing the Alphabet Song as well. Her version goes something like this: "abcd...xoy...w..xoy...z...now I know...abcd's...sing with me!" One day as she was singing this it struck me..."she knows the beginning and the end of the song! ...the beginning and the end of the alphabet!" This was a principal we learned in one of my psychology classes...people tend to pay more attention to/remember the first and last things in a list (or in a speech or series of events). I know this principal has some fancy name, but I recall it right now. Must be something I learned in the middle of my schooling.
In any case, this human bias towards attending only to the beginning and the ending seems to me to play out in our spiritual lives as well. Even one of our names for God reflects this bias... Alpha and Omega. Not that there is anything wrong with this name for God, for He is the beginning and the end of all things. But some people focus only on these extremes.
Some focus on God as the beginning... as the Great Author of All Creation, who sets the world in motion and then sits back and watches it turn, without becoming involved in the daily lives of the people that He has created. For others the end of all things takes precedence and they end up with a morbid focus on the end times, studying prophecy, building stockpiles, etc. They see God only as the Supreme Judge who will return at the end of time to punish the wicked and reward the good.
But I think that it's important to remember, especially now at the beginning of Lent that God is not just the Alpha and the Omega, but He is also everything in between. He didn't just come down at the beginning to start things up and then leave until the end of time. He is intimately involved in every moment of every day for every person on this earth. All we have to do is tune in to His presence with us.
Lent is the perfect time for us to shift our focus. As we pray and fast and sacrifice, let us keep in mind the God who is with us... the one who walked this earth and calls us to follow Him into the desert to be purified. To once again repent of our sins and come into an ever closer and deeper relationship with Jesus, the one who gave His life so that we might always know His presence. For God is not just the Alpha and Omega, He also Emmanuel, God with us, and He wants us to turn and follow Him once again.
She likes to sing the Alphabet Song as well. Her version goes something like this: "abcd...xoy...w..xoy...z...now I know...abcd's...sing with me!" One day as she was singing this it struck me..."she knows the beginning and the end of the song! ...the beginning and the end of the alphabet!" This was a principal we learned in one of my psychology classes...people tend to pay more attention to/remember the first and last things in a list (or in a speech or series of events). I know this principal has some fancy name, but I recall it right now. Must be something I learned in the middle of my schooling.
In any case, this human bias towards attending only to the beginning and the ending seems to me to play out in our spiritual lives as well. Even one of our names for God reflects this bias... Alpha and Omega. Not that there is anything wrong with this name for God, for He is the beginning and the end of all things. But some people focus only on these extremes.
Some focus on God as the beginning... as the Great Author of All Creation, who sets the world in motion and then sits back and watches it turn, without becoming involved in the daily lives of the people that He has created. For others the end of all things takes precedence and they end up with a morbid focus on the end times, studying prophecy, building stockpiles, etc. They see God only as the Supreme Judge who will return at the end of time to punish the wicked and reward the good.
But I think that it's important to remember, especially now at the beginning of Lent that God is not just the Alpha and the Omega, but He is also everything in between. He didn't just come down at the beginning to start things up and then leave until the end of time. He is intimately involved in every moment of every day for every person on this earth. All we have to do is tune in to His presence with us.
Lent is the perfect time for us to shift our focus. As we pray and fast and sacrifice, let us keep in mind the God who is with us... the one who walked this earth and calls us to follow Him into the desert to be purified. To once again repent of our sins and come into an ever closer and deeper relationship with Jesus, the one who gave His life so that we might always know His presence. For God is not just the Alpha and Omega, He also Emmanuel, God with us, and He wants us to turn and follow Him once again.
Monday, February 26, 2007
News?
I was watching the noon news today and heard a story about how some archaeologists found Jesus', Mary's and Joseph's bodies in a tomb outside of Jerusalem. So, I decided to check out some blogs for the real scoop. But it took my a while to find anything anywhere. Then I found this.
So it turns out the real story is 26 years old, and it's just now being made into a documentary which will air today. Hmm.... that's really relevant news for you. Sometimes I wonder why I bother with watching the news at all.
So it turns out the real story is 26 years old, and it's just now being made into a documentary which will air today. Hmm.... that's really relevant news for you. Sometimes I wonder why I bother with watching the news at all.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Ash Wednesday
At our Ash Wednesday Mass yesterday I couldn't help but notice that some children were given ashes and others were not. Neither Maria nor Amelia received them, but a little girl Amelia's age who was sitting in a different section of the church did. I saw one mom take her children back through the line in one of the wings of the church after her three year old twins did not receive ashes from the center line.
Now I've consulted with a few people (and the EWTN Q & A page) and it seems that anyone, even the unbaptized can receive ashes. So this left me wondering if maybe I should have done as that other mother and taken Maria and Amelia back through to receive ashes. Then I went to the Vatican Website and found this:
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, Part Two, Chapter IV:
125. In the Roman Rite, the beginning of the forty days of penance is marked with the austere symbol of ashes which are used in the Liturgy of Ash Wednesday. The use of ashes is a survival from an ancient rite according to which converted sinners submitted themselves to canonical penance. The act of putting on ashes symbolizes fragility and mortality, and the need to be redeemed by the mercy of God. Far from being a merely external act, the Church has retained the use of ashes to symbolize that attitude of internal penance to which all the baptized are called during Lent. The faithful who come to receive ashes should be assisted in perceiving the implicit internal significance of this act, which disposes them towards conversion and renewed Easter commitment. (italics added)
That last sentence struck me. While I think that I might be able to bring Maria to some understanding of what the ashes mean, Amelia would have no clue. So now my question is this, while children can receive ashes should they and if so at what age? Should you wait until they reach the age of reason? Or just until they have some basic understanding of what the ashes mean?
Anyone have any thoughts on the matter?
Now I've consulted with a few people (and the EWTN Q & A page) and it seems that anyone, even the unbaptized can receive ashes. So this left me wondering if maybe I should have done as that other mother and taken Maria and Amelia back through to receive ashes. Then I went to the Vatican Website and found this:
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, Part Two, Chapter IV:
125. In the Roman Rite, the beginning of the forty days of penance is marked with the austere symbol of ashes which are used in the Liturgy of Ash Wednesday. The use of ashes is a survival from an ancient rite according to which converted sinners submitted themselves to canonical penance. The act of putting on ashes symbolizes fragility and mortality, and the need to be redeemed by the mercy of God. Far from being a merely external act, the Church has retained the use of ashes to symbolize that attitude of internal penance to which all the baptized are called during Lent. The faithful who come to receive ashes should be assisted in perceiving the implicit internal significance of this act, which disposes them towards conversion and renewed Easter commitment. (italics added)
That last sentence struck me. While I think that I might be able to bring Maria to some understanding of what the ashes mean, Amelia would have no clue. So now my question is this, while children can receive ashes should they and if so at what age? Should you wait until they reach the age of reason? Or just until they have some basic understanding of what the ashes mean?
Anyone have any thoughts on the matter?
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