Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts

Thomas Aquinas on Nature/Grace and Faith/Reason (Videos)

Yesterday was the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas (awesome dude!), and so I thought it would be apropos to post some videos on him and his thinking.  The first one, from Taylor Marshall, speaks about Thomas's insight into human nature regarding how grace builds on nature - we're good, but fallen, and grace is what transforms, perfects, and strengthens us.  Yesterday I posted about serving for Pope Francis and how the experience made me realize - you know - the humanness of our Holy Father, and thus that we need to pray for him, and so the video seemed to be especially fitting.  The second one is from Fr. Barron and shows why Thomas's thought still is hugely important today because: (1) he shows that all truth is one - that thus faith and revelation are not only compatible with reason and science, but that they work together, and strengthen each other, (2) his proof of God based on contingency - that things rely on other things for their existence, but that at some point we have to reach some non-contingent, non-created, non-limited "thing" (which is God) or else nothing would exist at all, and (3) Thomas's explanation of us as human - and how that humanity was transformed by the incarnation of Christ, and thus makes Christian humanism, our view of the goodness of man, above that of any secular thinker.  This also goes along with stuff happening in my life - especially the material I'm studying in fundamental theology regarding faith, reason, revelation, the church (and other such important things...), as well as a fascinating conversation I had yesterday with some guys about what Christ would have known  (being both fully human and fully divine), and how that might "work" now that he has a glorified body (a topic that then went into the existence of matter outside of time and quantum states and stuff - it was great, science and faith together!) 

Enjoy!  And keep me in your prayers!
 
Back to paper writing (on modern biblical scholarship: specifically the last 200 years or so of work on understanding the formation of the Pentateuch) and studying (for Fundamental Theology)  It's so cool, I'm studying theology!
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The End of the Semester and Trusting God with the Future

Well folks, I just finished college!  I managed to survive Monday (which entailed finishing a paper at 2 AM, and knocking out two tough philosophy tests), and then must of us went to the funeral for Joe's brother on Tuesday (hopefully, I can get together a post entirely on that day), so I then had to make up the New Testament test (not too hard because I studied enough for it) and logic (also easier than expected) on Wednesday.  After that, the only final I had remaining was the take-home essay for modern and contemporary philosophy, which was pretty easy (only a few pages long) and only took an hour or two.  

Of course, the difficulties, successes, and completion of finals week isn't enough of a topic for a post regarding the end of the semester and the end of my college career, so I guess I'll spend the rest of this post talking a bit more about the whole experience so far.

To be honest, I've thoroughly, completely, utterly loved seminary over these past two years.  I was scared out of my wits when I showed up, but within hours I had begun to feel the vibe, the energy, the joy, and the intensity of seminary - and I fell in love.  I can't begin to express how wonderful of an experience it has been.  I have learned more than I thought possible - about philosophy, about life, about friendships, about discernment, about faith, about love - and I've enjoyed every moment - including the hard ones, like tests, and dry periods in prayer, and situations that forced me out of my comfort zone, and the awesome ones, like playing in the soccer tournament, those beautiful moments in Mass where everything clicks and it really feels like heaven, going out to eat with some of your best friends, watching countless great movies, spending hours of supreme peace in front of the Blessed Sacrament, study groups.  Yeah, every moment has been phenomenal!  
And now it's all about to change...  On the one hand, I'm excited.  Not only to graduate and enjoy the feeling of completing college, but also to head home (spend some quality time with the family), and then in July to head over to Italy to begin a new (and awesome) chapter in my seminary "career".  Yeah, I'm looking forward to all of it.  But on the other hand, I'm going to miss Brute.  I love the fact that I have a genuine friend in everybody here - something that is going to be much harder when I'm at the PNAC with 250 other guys.  I love the laughter, and music, and singing, and craziness that echos down the halls - this truly is a fun place!  But, on the third hand (whatever that is...), moving on is a bit scary.  Studying in Rome will be fantastic, but it will also be a struggle.  I'll be a long way away from all the great friends I have (here at Brute as well as at home), and my wonderful family - that's hard, it's a sacrifice I wish I didn't have to make...  Most of the guys here at Brute have been moving out yesterday and today and it finally hit me that I won't be seeing a lot of these guys in the near future - it's a happy moment (the semester is over!), but it's also sad.  In 2 months (almost exactly) I'll be doing the same thing with my family and friends back home, and that will be an even more exciting, and even more difficult, moment.  

Still, I'm putting it all in God's hands.  Lord, lead me where you want me, give me the strength to endure the hardships that your vocation entails for me, and grant me the true joy that comes with following You.

The second half of my New Testament final was an exegesis essay on Luke 2:25-35 (the presentation in the temple and Simeon's canticle).  I talked about how Luke's Gospel, all the way through, is looking at how true joy (from God) only comes through a certain amount of suffering, often in self-sacrifice and trusting Him.  Zechariah and Elizabeth experience the pain of not having a child before God gives them one.  Mary is asked to trust God completely, but receives the incarnate joy of Jesus Christ.  Then, arriving at the temple, they are required to offer Jesus back to God, and not only that, but Simeon prophesies that a sword will pierce Mary's heart.  Following God isn't always easy, it isn't always fun; actually it requires sacrifice - only through sacrificing ourselves to Him can He transform us with His joy.  Only through less reliance on ourselves, and more trust in Him, can he replace our pitiable joys with His own.  It's tough to learn - I for sure want to rely on myself, not Him - but ironically, going to Rome - something that I am super excited for - will also end up helping me grow in the trust of God.  God brings good out of evil, but He also bring supernatural good out of our own natural goods (at least, if we let Him).  

Yeah, so I'm excited, and scared, and happy, and unsure - and life continues to spin along.  The future is bright, but a bit unknown at the same time.  Jesus, I trust in You!
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Lectio Divina - The Woman at the Well

A few weeks ago another one of the seniors here got some guys together who wanted to do Lectio Divina [latin for "divine reading"].  I had no knowledge of what this all entailed, but my strategy so far in seminary has been to sign up for everything, so I put my name down.  I guess I did know it involved reading Scripture, something that I wanted to do more for Lent, so that was also a motivation for joining...  Anyway, as I have found out, Lectio Divina basically involves spending an hour with a short snippet of Scripture.  This seems really intimidating at first - and it certainly isn't easy - but the hour is divided up into four periods, lectio [reading], meditatio [meditating], contemplatio [contemplating], and oratio [praying].  If you're going to do this, definitely read a better introduction, but basically these steps involve: 

  1. Reading the passage slowly, really thinking about each word and phrase, and letting it kind of settle into you.
  2. Meditating on what you have read, allowing Christ to speak to you through what was said, and letting the message move from your mind to your heart, putting yourself in the scene.
  3. Contemplating what God is telling you, where in your life is the message in this passage applying, what does it mean for you?
  4. Praying about the passage, for guidance, in thanksgiving, asking for the grace and strength to change your life.

The three times I have done it have all been really efficacious, not only bringing me to a better understanding of the Scriptures, but also bringing me to a realization of things that I need to work on.  For whatever reason, it always seems to come around when I am really busy, but it's always been worth it.  Now, I could go into how fruitful and beautiful and difficult doing Lectio has been, but I won't.  Instead, I just want to share with you the prayer that I wrote down during the 10 minutes of Oratio on Thursday (something that is a bit more personal than my usual post, I suppose).  Again, our passage was from John 4:7-15 - The Woman at the Well  (this prayer will make a lot more sense if you read the Scripture passage first).


Dear Jesus, Thank You for so generously offering to give me Your living water.  I am sorry that all too often I am like Your disciples, wandering off into the village, looking for something to fill my hunger, when I know that I can only truly be filled by You.  Like the Samaritan woman, I am scared to give You my jar - my life.  I want to keep filling it from the same old well that I keep coming.  I am scared of You being in control of my life, of You seeing the water that I keep filling myself with.  Yet, despite my ignorance and stubbornness, You remain there, now giving me the opportunity to ask to be filled with Your living water, still loving me despite me being a Samaritan, a sinner.  You shouldn't be talking to me, much less offering me anything, yet You love me immensely - more than anybody else - and remain there despite my infidelity and emptiness.  Still though, I often remain stubborn - like the woman - I still don't want to hand over my pitiful jug, and worse, I doubt You, I wonder if You can give me this living water.  The well is deep, my life is complicated, how could You possibly fill it.  But then, like the woman, I realize that you are greater than my ancestors, friends, family, hobbies, desires, and failures.  You can give water that truly fills and truly cleanses.  And there You remain, despite my hesitation, now upping the ante once again, saying that You are willing to give me this water so that I will never thirst again.  I will never, You say, have to come back to these old wells - these old desires that keep me away from you.  Lord, I beg you, give me this water, fill me with Yourself, increase my faith, enliven my hope, en-kindle my love.  Finally, Lord, if it be Your Will, let that pot of mine become a spring, let it not only carry me to eternal life with You, but also well up for others.  Allow me, Your unworthy servant, to bring Your living water to them as well.  Lord, I love You, I entrust myself to You.  Amen.
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Faith - Part 2, After a little more experience

This semester, like all my previous ones here, is absolutely flying past.  The days are blurring into weeks and the weeks are quickly becoming months.  It's awesome, because the reason for this "warp-speed" semester is that I am constantly doing something, and, to be quite honest, I'm enjoying every bit of it.  But, it is also scary because this is my last semester in college (and college-seminary) and that means that next semester I'll be moving onto the next stage of seminary - theology - and it also means that I am quite possibly only 4 years away from ordination.  Is that exciting? - for sure!  But it is also scary.  I've come a long way since entering seminary (an incredibly long way), but I am nowhere near ready - humanly, spiritually, pastorally, or academically - to be a priest.  Yeah, I'm 4 years off - I still have time - but the more I'm in seminary the more I realize that this is not about me.  Everything I am experiencing is making me better, more balanced, more educated, more confident, more loving, and more self-knowledgeable.  I am having a blast with everything - every day brings new challenges, new adventures, and new knowledge - all things that aid me in the process of self-growth.  However, the more important thing that I am learning is total reliance on God - completely giving myself to Him.  The thing is that being a priest isn't about being a great version of myself, but conforming myself more and more to Christ.  Obviously, becoming more like Christ means becoming better myself (because He is the epitome and perfection of what it means to be a man), and being a priest doesn't mean losing one's specific, unique, personality, traits, talents, and what-not.  But it does mean directing oneself completely to Christ and for Christ.  It means trusting Him completely in everything, in having that childlike faith.

When I first entered seminary, I think I was under the impression that I was pretty good.  I mean, I knew that I had things to learn, places that I could grow, areas that I needed to work on, but I almost always thought about it as me working on these things - if I put in enough effort in all these areas I'd eventually make myself capable of being a priest.  Well, long story, that's something that seminary quickly made me rethink.  Philosophy is great, it allows you to explain things and understand things that I had no conception of before studying it.  It also makes you think about things more logically, more reasonably, more completely, but one thing it can't do is replace faith.  This is something that I have been especially struggling with over the last semester or two, but haven't been able to put into words really.  About a year ago I did a post about faith (part one) and skimming back through it I think I did a pretty good job of explaining the virtue.  But looking back, at the time I had never struggled with faith, it was just something that I had been blessed to have.  Now, for whatever reason, it isn't nearly as easy.  

In one of my philosophy classes, the professor has reiterated again and again that humans are unique in that we have intellect and will.  Some really basic definitions: intellect is our capacity for reason, will our capacity to choose.   He keeps teaching that becoming excellent (virtuous) means perfecting both of these powers of ourselves.  Intellect is perfected through learning and reasoning - in other words, everything I am learning in school plus the common sense and practical wisdom that I learn in everyday life.  Will, however, isn't nearly as easy to perfect.  It requires not only choosing to do good and avoid evil (hard enough, right), but also to choose to accept those things that are beyond our intellect.  We have to consciously choose to accept, for instance, the Incarnation, the Trinity, the Resurrection.  These kinds of things, what Aquinas calls the articles of faith, can't be proven by reason.  Certainly, they aren't irrational (contrary to our intelligence), but we can't rationally show that God became man, or that God is three persons.  We can think about them in such a way to know that they aren't impossible - as in, we can know that God is loving and all powerful, so He is certainly capable (and it makes some sense) that He would become a man to redeem us.  But, there is always some sense that these truths of faith are beyond our reason.  Without God revealing these truths we would never have known them.  

Alright, back to where I was going originally.  Rationally, I understand that there are certain things, Aquinas calls them the preambles of faith, that we can figure out about God using only our reason - thing like God being perfect, good, simple, eternal, etc. - and rationally, I know that the mysteries of faith aren't irrational, they make some sense.  However, it isn't easy to connect these rational arguments in my intellect to my will, to believe them out of faith, to hold them in my heart.  I have relied on myself - my ability to grow, my ability to know, my ability to overcome - so much that I have, to some extent, forgotten just how important it is to rely on God, to just accept some things on faith.  In class, when we're talking about the will, it seems so easy to choose to accept the truths of the faith.  To decide that I will believe.  But then I get to Mass and it's so hard to believe, so hard to just accept, so hard to not rely on my reason, my knowledge, my senses, and just accept, just trust, just abandon myself completely to God.

 Thankfully, there are a bunch of saints who have struggled with the same sort of thing.  Peter doesn't just waver in His commitment to Christ (like most of the other apostles) he denies Him.   Thomas the Apostle doesn't believe that Jesus rose from the dead until he saw it with his own eyes.  Blessed Mother Theresa, famously, struggled to feel God's presence throughout most of her "career", while living one of the greatest witnesses of Christianity that the modern world has seen (of course there are other great such witnesses, but her's always seems to stick out).  Now, by bringing up these examples, don't think I'm experiencing some huge crisis of faith but, I do think they are inspiring examples of how faith sometimes is tough, but sticking with it leads to even greater sanctity later on.  Our Lord offers St. Peter the chance at reconciliation - which he accepts - and keeps him as head of His church.  Jesus comes directly to St. Thomas, offering proof that He did rise from the dead and this apostle goes on to preach the Gospel as far as India.  Blessed Mother Theresa, as mentioned, despite her doubts, lived one of the saintliest lives of the last few centuries.

 One more Biblical example, then onto a conclusion for this post!  A few weeks back, and again recently, the ending of the Gospel of Matthew jumped out at me:
"Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.  And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.  And Jesus came and said to them, "all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." [Matthew 28:16-20]
Here are the apostles, all having already met Jesus after His resurrection, and yet in what would be their last meeting with Him (on earth), they still doubted.  And despite their doubt, despite their reservations about worshiping Jesus, He still gives them the mission to found His church, proclaim His message.  I heard a talk once in which it was mentioned that Jesus didn't have a plan B, He entrusted the gospel of salvation, and the grace that He had just won on the cross, to 11 bumbling, arguing, doubting, guys.  Doesn't look like it will work does it?  Yet it does, and the Church continues to this day.

 Back onto topic: I just got an email from Ignatius Press which had a quote from G.K. Chesterton: "A Catholic is a person who has plucked up courage to face the incredible and inconceivable idea that something else may be wiser than he is." [The Well and the Shallows]  That, precisely, is the idea that I have been trying to outline in this post.  It hit me at Mass a few days ago - I was serving (something that I usually get to do when I am home on break) and right at the Consecration I just prayed that I have the faith and trust in God to submit my intellect, my reason, to His.  Seriously, there is no way I will ever be able to prove the Eucharist.  There is no test - scientific, philosophical, whatever - through which I can prove that Our Lord is present - Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity - in the Blessed Sacrament.  Still, this lack of evidence isn't proof that He is present there, just that He is beyond me, and all my empirical abilities.  This realization isn't easy, and it isn't easy to carry it into the rest of my faith life, because - as humans - we really want to rely on ourselves, our rationality, our abilities, our technology, but the message of Christianity is precisely the call to go beyond that - to believe in God becoming man, to believe that God loves us so much that He is willing to die for us, to believe that He wants to give Himself to us so much that He becomes present in what looks, and tastes, and feels like bread.  That's tough!  That's faith!

 Now, of course I don't want to just end on this note saying that faith is hard, that just isn't very helpful...  This Sunday we hear of the Transfiguration, which in Mark's gospel is immediately followed by the story of Jesus healing the boy with the evil spirit (we'll hear the story from St. Matthew's Gospel, but it turned out to be a great segue into what I wanted to say):
"and someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”  And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me. And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.  And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.  And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”  And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”  Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”  And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”  And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.”  But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.  And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”  And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” [Mark 9:17-29]
Sorry, that is a pretty long passage, but it makes precisely the point that I wanted to conclude with.  Faith, as you know, is a theological virtue, it's something that we receive from God at Baptism; we can't acquire it on our own.  This is exactly the thing that I am finally realizing in seminary - that I can't do it all on my own, that I can't prove everything with my own reason - and this is exactly what the distraught father in this Gospel has realized in his prayer: "I believe, help my unbelief!"   This prayer is what I have been especially praying this Lent, that I can become more reliant on God and less on myself, that He might increase and I decrease.  As I began this post, this is exactly what being in seminary is all about, but now I have realized that the all-important bit here is prayer.  The increase of faith, the greater trust and reliance in God, all comes along with prayer.  The man in this story, by his very prayer - "I believe, help my unbelief!" - indicates his humility, his willingness, to completely abandon himself to Jesus.  Of course, prayer isn't magic, it doesn't just increase faith spontaneously, but it is precisely through prayer that we make ourselves open to receiving the grace of faith.   

 Of course, this grace is most profoundly received in the Eucharist.  Here, though appearing like bread, we receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  This is the fount of all grace, the greatest gift that Jesus died to give us, and this must be the source of our faith.  I guess I previously kind of forgot that the Eucharist, while, of course, being the Body of Christ, is also the food for our journey, the sustenance that supports us on throughout this life.  I was like, gosh Lord, I'm sorry that I am struggling to believe, help my unbelief...  But then I realized that thinking of the Eucharist only in terms of how difficult it was to believe at times was missing the point.  The Eucharist is not only the true presence of Our Lord, but it is also the source of that Faith for which I was longing.  The Faith is not only about the Eucharist, but is also supplied by the Eucharist.  With that realization, I have found myself making progress, my faith is strengthening, I am finding it easier to place my trust, and my future, in the Lord.  His call to "be not afraid!" continues to ring true despite the times when I doubt it.  Am I ready to finish this semester, to move onto major seminary, to become a priest? - of course not.  But with His strength, courage, grace, love, commitment, hope, and everything else, I am confident that all will be well. 

 Like the Apostles at the Transfiguration, it is good that we are here, it is good to have those moments when our Faith is strengthened so that we can remain strong when things aren't going as well, when the world distracts or discourages us.  

 Stay strong folks!  
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Take Up Your Cross! (This means loving God and neighbor)

Aaron, the cantor at Mass this morning, picked as the opening song Take Up Your Cross.  I thought it was an appropriate song because it was Friday, a day that we all should remember Our Lord's offering of Himself on the cross on Good Friday (and, of course, our calling to do the same).  What I didn't know was that the Gospel, Mark 8:34-9:1, was where we find Jesus telling us exactly that (good job Aaron!).  Now, onto what this post is really about, Fr. Joe commented at the beginning of Mass that we must align our cross with Christ's.  I had hear before that we must carry our cross, but the way that Fr. Joe noted that we must align our cross with the cross of Jesus, made me think about this in a much deeper way.  I always thought of picking up one's cross as in accepting all of life's difficulties, losses, struggles, and fears, offering them up to Christ, and growing closer to Him (becoming more like Him) by carrying our cross.  However, as Fr. Joe expounded in the homily (I'm paraphrasing) we must also carry more than just our personal crosses.  Jesus carried His cross for others.  He carried His cross out of love for humanity.  The cross isn't just about enduring through suffering, it is also about love.  Enduring through suffering can lead us to love of God, but ideally our crosses should also lead us to love of neighbor.  The cross is hard because it doesn't mean just accepting those things that we can't control and offering them up, it also means seriously living out our faith (it involve denying oneself).  As James told us this morning: "If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?  So also faith of itself if it does not have works, is dead." [James 2:14-17]  

Huston Smith, in his book, Why Religion Matters, talked about the image of the cross and how we are connected both with God (vertical beam) and our neighbor (horizontal beam).  I disagreed with many of his conclusions, but this, I think, is a helpful analogy.  Our connection with God is all-important, thus, accepting crosses for love of God, to obey Jesus, and to model our lives after His is extremely important (which is why it is the longer beam), but, we must not forget that Jesus's cross wasn't just an offering to His Father, it was also an offering for us, and it was how Our Lord showed God's immense love for us.  Using Smith's picture, we have to have the horizontal beam as well (even if it is shorter) in order to have the complete cross.  This, I think, is what Pope Francis is trying to say to us.  He isn't throwing out the vertical beam - our relationship with God involving morality, sacraments, etc. (the spiritual works of mercy) - but he is emphasizing that we don't forget the horizontal.  Our faith, our relationship with God, must lead to works, especially those that James mentioned (the corporal works of mercy).

St. Maximilian Kolbe is a fantastic example of the extremes that Christ calls us to show love for others. 
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Rejoice! God Transforms our Crosses!

Today was the first day of classes, but, instead of just running through the day as I usually do, I want to connect the day with faith.  I mean, I'm in seminary, but often my posts, at least when I don't have a lot of time, just tell you what happened and leave it at that.  That, I think, isn't enough.  The point of this blog is to show seminary life, but seminary life is so much more than what happens to me each day, it also involves what God does to me each day.  It is learning to depend on God, and that is the topic of this post.

In my last class today, the mission and history of Catholic schools, which is the only evening class that I have taken at Marian (it goes from 6:30 to 9:30), the teacher ended class with a prayer from Thomas Merton.  The rest of the prayer is at the end of this post, but for now I just want to concentrate on one line: I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.  

Now, having said that, lets look at the rest of the day.  I woke up tired because I went to bed late last night (after midnight).  I was trying to get things ready for today - order books, figure out my schedule, write a blog post, etc.  However, while it isn't a big deal when I would go to bed at midnight at home because I could sleep until 8 or so, here I am getting up at 5:45, which means I only had about 5 hours of sleep.  (Side note: I'm the type of person that really wants 8 hours of sleep, maybe 9, so 5 is not cool at all...)  

Anyway, today my classes started at 10 AM with Philosophical Themes in Catholic Authors, then at noon Logic, at 1 God and Philosophy, and the one on Catholic education at 6:30.  Don't get me wrong, philosophy isn't easy, but I still have been learning a ton in my philosophy classes and have started to look forward to them.  Well, this morning I wasn't quite as enthusiastic (I'll blame it on the lack of sleep), and so I went to class hoping that whatever the professor said would get me interested.  

Well, in the first class, Philosophical Themes in Catholic Authors, the professor opened class by lambasting students who don't read everything from the works they are assigned, and proceeded to explain that we would have a quiz every day so that he could ascertain that we had read everything and had thought about it.  Now, again, don't get me wrong, I always intend to read what I am assigned, but I was really hoping that this class wouldn't be the hard kind - I know, it's philosophy, how would it be easy? - but still, I was really hoping that despite my taking 19 credit hours this semester it would turn out easier.  On top of this, the teacher explained that we would have a 7-9 page paper due at the end of the semester, which I really did expect, but for whatever reason was really hoping I wouldn't hear this morning.

I had a break of 1 hour before my second class which I spent in the library, mostly just wasting time (I had nothing I could do just yet in class and I didn't force myself to do something else productive - you know, finish my application to the NAC, or write a blog post, or something).  Then I grabbed a bite to eat and headed over to logic.  Now, this is the same professor as Metaphysics last year - and his classes are always rock solid and just plain fantastic, so I was really hoping he could get me fired up for this semester.  Well, as you might guess, it didn't quite happen.  The little things, like the fact that the room was packed, or I wasn't concentrating too well, or the joking around that would normally have been a lot of fun, but instead was distracting, just annoyed me I guess.  I mean, I wasn't mad, I just wasn't very happy...

Alright, well the same pattern continued into my third class, again, one I was sure I would enjoy, God and Philosophy.  This was the topic that finally got me interested in philosophy last semester - how we can understand something about God, how faith and reason can overlap - and it was a teacher who I had only heard stellar things about.  Guess what, again, I failed to get enthused.  I guess I was just a bit tired or something, but for whatever reason I was only concentrating on how difficult the class could be - all that reading, the quizzes, the paper, whatever - and not how awesome, or fun, or educational it could be.

So, back to my final class, the dreaded Mission and History of Catholic Schools.  It is a 5 week class that meets on Monday evenings - so I was thinking it couldn't be too hard - but it was still in the evening, I was still tired (despite a short nap this afternoon), and I was still a bit glum from not having a great first day.  So, basically, I was pretty unexcited.  I didn't even want to offer the difficulties up - it was just an off day.  Anyway, I sit down around 6:30 and a few minutes later the teacher walks in and proceeds to spend the next hour introducing the topic (which I was happily surprised, looked to be pretty solidly Catholic) and then having the rest of us introduce ourselves (myself and another seminarian are in the class along with 5 young ladies, all of whom seem to be pretty strong Catholics, and most of whom are planning on becoming teachers).  I was starting, in the class I least expected to, to become interested.  We continued to run through some basics, she outlined how the 2 fundamental differences of Catholic schools are the fact that it is meant for the furthering of the Church and the faith (seems pretty solid) and is funded by the Church, not the state (which is partially accurate, but certainly still a big differentiator).  Finally, she ended with that prayer.
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Amen.
Bam, it hit me.  I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.  I went back to Brute and got to catch the last 10 minutes of Adoration, after which I prayed a rosary, and what kept running through my head was the fact that anything, even if it is tough, not what I want, or not what I expected, can be offered up to Christ and transformed by Him so that it brings me - if only because I have to pray more to get through it - closer to Him.  Just wanting to do something for Christ is doing something for Him.  While praying about this, I started thinking about all this and I was trying to see how I could say that joy could be found, even in things you don't like, just by doing them for God, or maybe even seeing them as part of His plan.  I settled on the fact that doing anything for God brings us closer to Him, where true joy and peace and love is found, and so, wham, you are better off (even if you didn't like whatever you were gonna have to do).  

But, the amazing thing is that as I write this post I have become more and more excited about all these classes.  I, right now, can't wait until Wednesday to dive back into this stuff.  You know that rush of adrenaline that happens when you are excited - yeah, that just hit me!  Oh man, this is going to be a great semester.  Those Catholic Authors - come on, it's Flannery O'Connor and C.S. Lewis, bring it on, quizzes or not!  Those dry logical arguments - forget the boring stuff, I'm in a class with 20 other seminarians and one of my favorite teachers, this is going to be a blast!  That work-intensive God and Philosophy class - this stuff is the absolute epitome of philosophy, it's what I loved so much about last semester, it's going to be fantastic!   That Catholic education class - its full of excited, young Catholics, ready to dedicate their lives to the church and to their God, talk about enthusiasm!

Yeah, so God managed to not only get me to offer up the struggles to Him but also completely transform my way of looking at them.  Thank you God!  This semester is going to be great!  And with that, I'm going to bed... Huzzah!  As always, there is so much more to say on this topic, but I really do want to post more often, so I think I may just stick to a big point or two and try to show how seminary life connects up to them.  We'll see if it works out.
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Faith - it's tough, but it transform our lives (video)

This is a fantastic talk on faith, how it is necessary, how it is only from God, how it isn't always easy.  Actually, I met Fr. Romke when he was a seminarian 5 years ago or so - great guy!  The year of faith has finished, but growing in faith is a constant process.  Keep praying for faith!  Enjoy!  The talk is about 20 minutes long, but worth every minute. 
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The Immaculate Conception

This morning, the alternative prayer for morning prayer (December 8th, The solemnity of the Immaculate Conception) is splendid:


Father,
the image of the virgin is found in the Church
Mary had a faith that your spirit prepared
and a love that never knew sin,
for you kept her sinless from the first moment of her conception
Trace in our actions the lines of her love,
in our hearts her readiness of faith.
Prepare once again a world for your Son
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
 
 
In other news: finals start in 1 hour, yay!
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All Downhill From Here!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
 
lots of sources!
Well, after staying up until (almost) 4AM yesterday, I finally got my metaphysics paper done and turned it in yesterday afternoon (it was a great feeling!).  I think the paper turned out pretty good in the end.  Earlier this week I was spending pretty much all my free time on that paper and it just wasn't coming together how I wanted it to.  I was talking about teleology (that things, particularly humans, have ends, in our case, happiness in God) and this allows morality/ethics to exist.  Basically, without teleology, everybody has to figure out their own end (power, money, pleasure, work, whatever), and for this reason (along with some other logical/metaphysical reasons) teleology must exist and ethics must be based on it.  It was a really cool paper and unfortunately this summary doesn't do the topic justice (my paper didn't either I imagine), but I am really glad that I finally found the sources that I needed to finish the paper off. 
 
I still have to finish up the senior seminar paper, something that I will work on for the next hour or so before meeting with Dr. Denz (the professor for that class).  Hopefully he's happy with my (very) rough draft that I gave him a few weeks back. 
 
Next week I have all the typical finals - Monday: calculus and moral issues (neither will be easy, but shouldn't be impossible either), Tuesday: Augustine and Aquinas (again, it'll take studying, but I'll be ready), Wednesday: senior seminar and psychology (senior sem. is a take-home, but will probably be one of my hardest finals, psychology is a presentation and should be easy), and Thursday: metaphysics (tough, but should go alright).  I am very glad that my finals are spaced out over the week - usually I'd want to get them done as quickly as possible, but all my classes are tough this semester, so I am glad that I should have enough time to study before each one.
 
the holly tree in Brute's courtyard
Of course, the fun doesn't stop just because everybody is getting ready for finals!  This afternoon we are going to play some football (in the snow!), and (recap from the previous post) this evening we have the first-ever Brute talent show.  The Springfield guys will be doing something, and there are a bunch of other guys who will be showing off as well.  It should be awesome!  Tomorrow there are a bunch of us going caroling at a Catholic nursing home (actually the same one that Ray and I have for our ministry) - it was a blast last year, and this year, I'm sure, won't be any different.   On Sunday evening I'm going with some guys to Cincinnati for "lessons and carols", which is some sort of Advent/Christmas concert put on by the seminary up there.
 
Fr. Joe said something quite profound in his homily this morning.  He said that Advent is a time to deepen our faith and, like the blind men in the Gospel this morning, ask Jesus to heal the places within our soul that are broken, hurt, warped, or suffering.  This same faith must then give us the insight to see our life (physically and spiritually) as it really is, a gift from God, and then give our lives back to God.  To cultivate those talents, abilities, and blessings that we have been given, and use them for the greater glory of God and the good of all His creation.  Obviously, my summary is lacking the awesomeness and persuasion that father included in his homily, but my brain is a bit fried from the past few days...
 
I hope you have all had a good (almost) first week of Advent.  I hope to get back to blogging more frequently once I knock out these finals.  May the mercy and love of the Sacred Heart enflame you with His joy, peace, love, and energy on this first Friday, especially in this beautiful season of Advent.

Oh, happy feast of St. Nicholas!

Also, I'm going to post some videos that I've found during this week (they're cool and I won't have time to post something more substantial...)
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Happy Thanksgiving!

We're about to take off up north to celebrate Thanksgiving with mom's side of the family, and I wanted to extend a "Happy Thanksgiving!" to everybody out there today.  Father, in his homily this morning, (summarizing and paraphrasing to an extreme) said we need to not only be thankful for the things, families, values, and country we have, but also our faith.  He reiterated that our faith must be the foundation of our lives, and that the absolutely best way to thank God for His gift of blessings, life, families, country, and especially faith, is through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  Eucharist, in Greek, means thanksgiving, and it certainly is the greatest way we can possibly say thank you to God for creating, loving, and saving us.  With that deeper meaning in mind, Happy Thanksgiving!
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Bishop Paprocki's Homily on Same-Sex Marriage

Today my state of Illinois became the 16th state to legalize same sex marriage.  Below is the homily given by my bishop.  Read it!  He forcefully and charitably (yes, those adjectives can go together) explains the Church's teaching on the matter, and offers prayers for those who support this evil.  Trust me, it is an absolutely phenomenal homily!  Keep prayers going up for all our bishops, standing up for the truth is hard.


Homily for Prayers of Supplication and Exorcism in Reparation for the Sin of Same-Sex Marriage 
November 20, 2013
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Springfield, Illinois
† Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki
Bishop of Springfield in Illinois




My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
We are gathered here today in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for a special Holy Hour before the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament to participate in “Prayers of Supplication and Exorcism in Reparation for the Sin of Same-Sex Marriage.” I wish to preface my reflections by saying that I am conducting this prayer service and am speaking to you now with great reluctance. I did not seek to enter any controversy and I don’t relish being part of one. But I have given this matter a great deal of thought and prayer, which has led me to the conviction that God is calling me to speak out and conduct these prayers.

In our prayers, we must be open to hear where God is leading us and to embrace the path that He offers. That is a much different starting point than beginning with our own wants, desires, and conclusions. That is why we pray every day, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”


Our prayers at this time are prompted by the fact that the Governor of Illinois today is signing into Illinois law the redefinition of civil marriage, introducing not only an unprecedented novelty into our state law, but also institutionalizing an objectively sinful reality.


 It is not hateful to say that an immoral action is sinful. On the contrary, the most compassionate thing we can do is help people to turn away from sin. To ignore another person’s wrongful actions is a sign of apathy or indifference, while fraternal correction is motivated by love for that person’s well-being, as can be seen by the fact that our Lord Jesus himself urged such correction.1 Indeed, the call to repentance is at the heart of the Gospel, as Jesus proclaimed, “The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the Good News”(Mark 1:15). 

The Good News is that God’s mercy and forgiveness extend to those who repent. Mercy does not mean approving of something that is sinful, but does absolve the wrongdoer after a change of heart takes place in the sinner through the gift of God’s grace. It is not the Church that must change to conform its teachings to the views of the world, but it is each individual who is called to be configured to Christ.

As we heard in the Gospel passage that was just read, Jesus tells His disciples, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation. . . . Signs like these will accompany those who have professed their faith: they will use my name to expel demons” (Mark 16:15-17). Thus it is through the power of Jesus that evil is displaced from our hearts and is replaced by divine love. This change of heart involves a spiritual battle that is not easily won, but in which we receive the assistance of angels, under the leadership of Saint Michael the Archangel (cf. Daniel 12:1-3). We need not fear this battle, for Christ has conquered sin and death, and in Christ rests our hope of final victory.

As such, I do not stand here before you as a self-righteous saint who has achieved spiritual perfection, but as a sinner who has received Jesus into his heart as his Lord and Savior. To acknowledge one’s sinfulness is indeed the starting point of what it means to be a Christian. However, our Christian identity does not end with this admission of sin, but finds its salvation in accepting the saving grace of our Most Holy Redeemer, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who died on the cross to forgive our sins and rose from the dead to lead us to the reward of eternal life in His Kingdom. Our second reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians affirms this: “It is in Christ and through His blood that we have been redeemed and our sins forgiven, so immeasurably generous is God’s favor to us” (Ephesians 1:7).

Pope Francis expressed this essential message in his recent interview published in various Jesuits publications in these words: “The most important thing is the first proclamation: Jesus Christ has saved you. And the ministers of the church must be ministers of mercy above all. The confessor, for example, is always in danger of being either too much of a rigorist or too lax. Neither is merciful, because neither of them really takes responsibility for the person. The rigorist washes his hands so that he leaves it to the commandment. The loose minister washes his hands by simply saying, ‘This is not a sin’ or something like that. In pastoral ministry we must accompany people, and we must heal their wounds.”2 

This is a key point which the secularists are missing: they think that stressing God’s mercy means that sins are no longer sins. On the contrary, God’s mercy is a great gift of grace precisely because sins are sins and they call for repentance and forgiveness. 

Note from the interview, when he was asked to describe himself, Pope Francis said simply, “I am a sinner.” After a brief pause, he amplifies this self-identity in the understanding of a Christian who has been saved by Christ, saying, “I am a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon.”3 

This is not the first time that I have offered prayers of repentance here in our Cathedral. On December 12, 2011, I offered a service of “Repentance and Prayer for those Harmed in the Church,” at which I said, “I express repentance for the sins of the members of the Church who have harmed others. Sometimes these harms were evil in themselves, such as the sins of racism and the sexual abuse of minors, as well as other forms of unchastity. At other times, the harms may have been done in the context of actions that were in themselves not sinful and may even have been necessary for pastoral or economic reasons, such as the closing of a church or school, but nevertheless were done in a way that was insensitive to the feelings of those who would be affected. Therefore we pray for all those who have been harmed.” This prayer service was modeled along the lines of Pope John Paul II's “Day of Pardon” held on the First Sunday of Lent, March 12, 2000, as part of the observation of the Great Jubilee of the new millennium, in which Pope John Paul II said that the Church “should kneel before God and implore forgiveness for the past and present sins of her sons and daughters.”

While prayers of supplication in reparation for sin may be easily understood as our pleas and entreaties to God for forgiveness of sins and deliverance from temptation, the meaning of the term “exorcism” in the title of this prayer service is not so readily apparent and requires some explanation. Indeed, some have ridiculed our Church’s use of this ancient religious practice.4 We must remember the encouragement of Pope Saint Leo the Great, who said over 1,500 years ago, “The Church is not diminished by persecutions, but rather increased.”5 It should also be noted that the bill that the Governor is signing today is called the “Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act,” which purportedly provides that “the Act does not interfere with any religious beliefs about marriage.”6 

Perhaps a large part of the negative reaction is because most people don’t know what the Church teaches about exorcism, since they get their misleading information and sensational ideas on this mainly from Hollywood. The fact is that a “minor exorcism” takes place in every Baptism and Confirmation ceremony when we renounce Satan and all his works and empty promises. This prayer service will be along those lines. I’m not saying that anyone involved in the redefinition of marriage is possessed by the devil, which, if that were the case, would require the remedy of a “Major Exorcism,” but all of us are certainly subject to the devil’s evil influences and in need of protection and deliverance from evil.  


Our prayer service today and my words are not meant to demonize anyone, but are intended to call attention to the diabolical influences of the devil that have penetrated our culture, both in the state and in the Church. These demonic influences are not readily apparent to the undiscerning eye, which is why they are so deceptive. A helpful resource in this regard is a recent book by Father Louis J. Cameli, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago, called The Devil You Don’t Know: Recognizing and Resisting Evil in Everyday Life. While the popular tendency may be to identify the devil only with his extraordinary activity, which is diabolical possession, Father Cameli writes about the ordinary work of the devil: deception, division, diversion and discouragement.7


The deception of the Devil in same-sex marriage may be understood by recalling the words of Pope Francis when he faced a similar situation as Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 2010. Regarding the proposed redefinition of civil marriage in Argentina, then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio wrote on June 22, 2010, “The Argentine people must face, in the next few weeks, a situation whose result may gravely harm the family. It is the bill on matrimony of persons of the same sex. The identity of the family, and its survival, are in jeopardy here: father, mother, and children. The life of so many children who will be discriminated beforehand due to the lack of human maturity that God willed them to have with a father and a mother is in jeopardy. A clear rejection of the law of God, engraved in our hearts, is in jeopardy. . . . Let us not be naive: it is not a simple political struggle; it is an intention [which is] destructive of the plan of God. It is not a mere legislative project (this is a mere instrument), but rather a ‘move’ of the father of lies who wishes to confuse and deceive the children of God.”8


The Pope’s reference to the “father of lies” comes from the Gospel of John (8:44), where Jesus refers to the devil as “a liar and the father of lies.” So Pope Francis is saying that same-sex “marriage” comes from the devil and should be condemned as such.


Another major deception or distortion of marriage is the view that it is not ultimately about generating life, but rather is mainly about a romantic relationship designed for individual (not even mutual) fulfillment. That distorted understanding cuts across opposite-sex marriage and same-sex marriage proponents in our culture. We are all summoned to reflect more deeply on the truth of marriage.


It is also a deception to say that there will be no adverse effects on children being brought up in the household of a same-sex couple.9


The division brought about by the Devil due to same-sex marriage may be seen in the way our society, our families and our friendships have become so divided and polarized over this issue.

The diversion of the Devil in same-sex marriage may be seen in the fact that so much of our time, energy and resources are being spent in addressing this issue, when there are more pressing needs facing our state and our Church.

The work of discouragement by the Devil in same-sex marriage is apparent in the message being conveyed to defenders of traditional marriage that the universal redefinition of marriage is unstoppable, so we might as well just stop trying. But the legalization of abortion on demand forty years ago did not silence those who believe that abortion is contrary to God’s law. On the contrary, Roe v. Wade only heightened the need for more concerted efforts to protect all human life from conception to natural death. So, too, the legal redefinition of civil marriage does not put an end to the need for discourse and action to defend natural marriage in accord with God’s plan, but only serves to heighten the need for greater efforts in this regard.

The Prayers for “Supplication and Exorcism Which May Be Used in Particular Circumstances of the Church” are taken from the Appendices to the 2004 Latin edition of the Rite of Exorcism, the introduction to which explains, “The presence of the Devil and other demons appears and exists not only in the tempting or tormenting of persons, but also in the penetration of things and places in a certain manner by their activity, and in various forms of opposition to and persecution of the Church. If the Diocesan Bishop, in particular situations, judges it appropriate to announce gatherings of the faithful for prayer, under the leadership and direction of a Priest, elements for arranging a rite of supplication may be taken from [the texts provided in these appendices].”

Same-sex marriage is contrary to the plan of God, as described in the Bible, when Jesus cites the Book of Genesis in asking the Pharisees, “Have you not read that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female and declared, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and cling to his wife, and the two shall become as one?’ Thus they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, let no man separate what God has joined.”10

Since the legal redefinition of marriage is contrary to God’s plan, those who contract civil same-sex marriage are culpable of serious sin. Politicians responsible for enacting civil same-sex marriage legislation are morally complicit as co-operators in facilitating this grave sin. We must pray for forgiveness of these sins and deliverance from this evil which has penetrated our state and our Church. The Church stands ready to extend God’s mercy to those who confess their sins with true repentance and a firm purpose of amendment in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.11

We must also affirm the teaching of the Catholic Church that homosexual persons “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.”12 The Church loves homosexual persons and looks upon them with compassion, offering assistance through support groups such as the Courage Apostolate to live in accord with the virtue of chastity.13 Indeed, all people all called to chastity, which for a man and woman united in matrimony means for the husband and wife to be faithful to each other.

In conclusion, I quote from a homily given in the second century: “Let me say also that when we are given a warning and corrected for doing something wrong, we should not be so foolish as to take offense and be angry. There are times when we are unconscious of the sins we commit because our hearts are fickle, lacking in faith. Futile desires becloud our minds. We need to pull ourselves up, therefore, because our very salvation is at stake. Those who keep God’s commandments will have reason to rejoice. For a short time in this world they may have to suffer, but they will rise again and their reward will endure for ever. No one who holds God in reverence should grieve over the hardships of this present time, for a time of blessedness awaits him. He will live again in heaven in the company of all those who have gone before him; for all eternity he will rejoice, never to know sorrow again.”14 


May God give us this grace. Amen.





NOTES
1            Gospel of St. Matthew 18:15: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault.”
2            http://www.americamagazine.org/pope-interview.
3            http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20130919_1.htm.
4        http://voices.suntimes.com/early-and-often/politics/calling-calvin-kleinwhat-to-wear-to-an-exorcism/.
5     From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, Pope, Liturgy of the Hours, Office of
Readings for the Memorial of the Dedication of the Baslicas of Saints Peter and Paul.
6        http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=178&GAID=10&Doc TypeID=HB&LegId=40195&SessionID=76. 
7            Father Louis J. Cameli, The Devil You Don’t Know: Recognizing and Resisting Evil in Everyday Life (Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Maria Press, 2011.
8            http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2013/03/letter-of-cardinal-bergoglio-to.html.
9            See the New Family Structures Study of the University of Texas, 2011, http://www.familystructurestudies.com/.
10        Matthew 19:4-6, citing Genesis 1:27 and 2:24; cf. Mark 10:6-9.
11        Pope John Paul II, “Confession must be Humble, Complete, and Accompanied by a Firm Purpose of Amendment,” letter to Cardinal William W. Baum, Major Penitentiary, dated March 22, 1996, published in L'Osservatore Romano, Weekly Edition in English, April 10 1996, available online at:  http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/JP960322.HTM. 
12        Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2358.
13        http://www.couragerc.net/. 
14        From a homily written in the second century, Liturgy of the Hours, Office of
Readings, Saturday of the Thirty-Second Week i
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