Unearned Luck

Working towards a more effective catechesis for native-born Catholics in the United States living in the first half of the 21st Century involves arriving at an understanding about the culture in which Catholics are living and participating and, therefore, the culture within which that catechesis takes place. At the same time many Catholics talk about establishing Catholic culture or re-establishing Catholic culture. Both discussions require a definition of culture and some idea of the purpose of culture. From understanding these then can come a broader discussion as to whether or not the current culture in which Catholics are participating is beneficial for them, whether a Catholic culture existed in the United States, and whether one could exist now and how does that develop. This conversation must begin, though, with an understanding of culture and the reasons for culture. Dr. Amos Wilson defines culture as the "...set of rules and procedures together with a supporting set of i...

     One of the most fascinating aspects of art is found in its ability to teach or reveal truth. Art, though, speaks its own language and ignorance of the language leaves the depth of the art, its true beauty, ignored and overlooked. The faith of the Catholic Church can be viewed similarly. Without knowing the language in which the Church expresses God's revelation of Himself, then what should be a vibrant, life-altering faith is reduced to a shopping list of doctrines and dogmas viewed once and quickly forgotten.      As with art, education is the key to understanding the language in which the Church speaks and the Church's worldview. In the Church, this education is known as catechesis. In the United States, catechesis started as the memorization of specific answers to specific questions, which served Catholics well within their Catholic neighborhoods and their Catholic parishes, but failed them once they got out into the larger world and they began to f...

Photo by  Andres Siimon  on  Unsplash “‘Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and do not sin again’” -John 8:10-11 “Maybe you missed some of the conversation. In talking about the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. If one is a so called Catholic but rejects that teaching, that one is a protestant or heretic, you choose. Read John Ch 6. Look up heresy.” -@DeaconWaugh on Twitter “Heresy is the obstinate denial or obstinate doubt after the reception of baptism of some truth which is to be believed by divine and Catholic faith; apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him” (Can 751). Heresy is “the obstinate denial or obstinate doubt.” If a Catholic does, in fact, deny or doubt the Church’s teaching on the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, then th...

Photo by Gavin Spear on Unsplash And the L ORD 's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander  in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation  that had done evil in the sight of the L ORD was consumed. -Numbers 32:13 Take care, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. Who were they that heard and yet were rebellious? Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses? And with whom was he provoked forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they should never enter his rest, but those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. -Hebrews 3:12, 16-19 The generation, "that had done evil in the sight of the L ORD ," had been the oldest generation and the one who had spent the most time in Egypt. Throughout Exodus and Numbers, the ...

Photo by Raphael Koh  on  Unsplash Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. -Matthew 18:5-6 Certain persons by swerving from these have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions. -1 Timothy 1:6-7 Then there's this bit of tripe from last Sunday's bulletin: "As Christians our ultimate goal is to be Christ-like, to reflect the dazzling glory of Christ in all of our interactions, and so bring honor to God. In pursuit of this goal, the more clearly we see the way to our own transformation in Christ." Obviously, this is supposed to tie in with Sunday's Gospel reading about Christ's transfiguration in Luke 9:28-3...

Photo by Veri Ivanova on Unsplash So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority." -Acts 1:6-7 He has made everything beautiful in its time; also he has put eternity into man’s mind, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. -Ecclesiastes 3:11 This afternoon at Mass, Father began his homily on the need for patience with God by relating his recent frustrations trying to return from his three-day vacation in Colorado. In the end, he and his traveling companions drove seventeen hours to get home in time for him to say his Masses today. Traveling seventeen hours in a vehicle with three other people does require patience of a kind. The boon patience receives in this scenario is knowing that there will be no need for patience in seventeen ...

In the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. -Romans 4:17 If you wish to read this with the footnotes in place, please click:  Is God's Being Love?        Love is understood to be many things: an emotion, a feeling, an action. There are many kinds of love: philio , caritas , and Minne . Yet, in the Bible, love is action. “Rebekah loved Jacob,” and so helped Jacob obtain the birthright from the elderly Isaac. Mary Magdalene loved Jesus, and so she washed his feet and perfumed his head. Jesus Christ loves all mankind, and so He died on the cross to release mankind from its slavery to sin and death. St. John the Evangelist, however, states simply, “God is love.” Since God is simply subsistent being, St. John is stating that being is love, since the source of all being is love. To begin, being and subsistent being need defining. Being is tha...

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides for ever. 1 John 2:15-17 Perspective is important. A perspective from which catechesis could be taught is that of God as our loving Father. The Ten Commandments, for example, are clearly moral proscriptions against specific thoughts, actions, mindsets, and understandings. Applicable to everyone everywhere and at all times, the Ten Commandments are the foundation of the Moral Law. Besides, you don't get much more direct and, arguably, negative than, "Thou shalt not..." And this is exactly how they are taught, too. So negative do catechists deem the Commandments' formulations, many at...

Photo by Yuvy Dhaliah on Unsplash Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went, and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there. -Joshua 2:1 Perspective is important. Even more important is knowing the others' perspective. I watched Zack Snyder's 2006 film, 300 , in the theatre and loved it, especially the reveal at the end. Everyone else, from critics to friends, lambasted the film for being unhistorical, fantastic, unrealistic,.... I couldn't understand their criticism of the movie, since I was assuming they had seen the same ending I had. It wasn't Clue . It seemed, though, they had missed the significance of the ending. The final scene of the movie provides the perspective for the entire rest of the movie. Nothing we had been watching was an historical reenactment of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae. It was, inste...

Photo by David Straight on Unsplash Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. -1 Corinthians 6:9-10 The body is not meant for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body....Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. -1 Corinthians 6:13b, 18-20 Most of us are familiar with the willfulness of a child, who has just begun to walk. Filled with the power of independent locomotion, the toddler suddenly loses all fear and any need for obedience. "No, Daddy'" becomes the fa...

Photo by Zhipeng Ya on Unsplash Do not wonder at the works of a sinner, but trust in the Lord and keep at your toil; for it is easy in the sight of the Lord to enrich a poor man quickly and suddenly. Sirach 11:21 While I have worked very hard to achieve success at various times in my life, I have never worked for success in my spiritual life. It's been my idea, that if I pray for it, then God should grant it. This has seemed only natural. If I want to be healthy and stay in shape, then I have to eat right and exercise. Obviously, God is not going to just make that happen for me. Since I can't see the spiritual side of my life, though I haven't done much more than pray to God to make good things happen. This strategy has proved very frustrating. God has not miraculously removed my habitual sins nor has he miraculously caused me to trust entirely in His Divine Providence. He has been surprisingly obtuse. Or so it has seemed. Rather, God has been teaching me,...