Category Archives: Theology

The Good Shepherd and The End of the World

May 21

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By Fr. Thomas R. Harding, Th.D.

This homily has been posted with the direct and generous permission of the late Fr. Thomas Harding, Th.D. (1918-2005).

There are some great quotations in the readings today. In the First Reading, Isaiah 25:9-10:

This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in His Salvation.

In the Responsorial Psalm, Psalm XX111, the most familiar of all the 150 Psalms:

The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not want He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul.

In the Second Reading, the Epistle of Paul to the Philippians 4:19:

I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.

In the Gospel of Matthew 22:

when the invited guests did not come to the Wedding Feast of the King’s son, the King told his slaves to go out and invite everyone whom they met so the wedding hall was filled with guests” “And so it will be when Christ the King will invite everyone into the Kingdom.

Thank God we have the Good Shepherd, Christ the King as Our Saviour.

His Second Coming will mark the end of the world, as we know it. For some time now we have been threatened by terrorism and world-wide conflict. We can’t help but wonder if the “end of the world” is near. How and when will the world end?

There are many eventualities. We generally think of the end of the world as a Sidereal Cataclysm, a doomsday,¹ a day of wrath and so we do not look forward to it.

There are so many stars hurtling about and brushing past. There are so many exploding worlds on the horizon, so surely by the implacable laws of chance, our turn will come, and we shall be stricken and killed or at least we shall be left to face a slow and lingering death in our earth-bound prison.

Meanwhile, apart from this possibility, we are ever more threatened by internal dangers, by biological or chemical warfare, by weapons of mass destruction in the hands of evil people, by onslaughts of microbes, by organic counter-evolutions. Sterility, wars, revolutions, pollution of the earth and water, the atmosphere, the stratosphere; there are so many ways of coming to an end.

So to sum up, there are eventualities. We have turned them over in our minds. We have read descriptions of them in the novels of the Goncourts, Robert Hugh Benson, the works of H. G. Wells, modern science fiction,² Star Wars, or in the scientific treatises of famous men and women.

Each of them is perfectly feasible. We could at any moment be crushed by a gigantic comet, and equally true, tomorrow the earth might quake and collapse beneath our feet. Or some individual or group could trigger a nuclear war to annihilate us all. Or we could be the victim of global warming, of gas emissions or the toxic poisons of industry, while leaders of businesses and governments could drag their feet in facing up to the warning of Kyoto Protocols and postpone their action until the year 2010 or 2020 for the sake of profits. That may be too late.

However, we have higher reasons to be sure that these things will not happen. Surely the Lord, the Good Shepherd, the Mighty Watch Man will intervene and come rattling His keys to rescue us all. Surely this is in the hands of God and His plan for the end of the world will be fulfilled.

As a matter of fact, the End of the World will be a Triumph of Christ as it is identified with His Second Coming. Christ has already put His plan into place. The last days come in two stages.

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ marked the first stage. By these saving acts, Christ introduced into the world and into human history the final order of things. The new creation has begun. We already have eternal life.

The second stage will be the second coming of Christ. But I have good news for you. Before that there will be the “Golden Age of Peace”. Evil will have been reduced to a minimum and disease and hunger will have been conquered; the war on poverty will have been won and people will be living by the precepts of the Sermon on the Mount and there will be unanimity, love and peace among men, women and children on earth.

Then Christ will come on the clouds of heaven, accompanied by all the Angels in great power and majesty to judge the living and the dead.

For as lightning comes from the east and shines even to the west so will also the coming of the Son of Man be (Matthew 24:27).

By the way you can read the prophecy of the Golden Age of Peace in the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 11:6-9 and in Chapter 65. It is described metaphorically as follows:

Wolves and sheep will be together and leopards will lie down with young goats. Calves and lion cubs will feed together and little children will take care of them. Cows and bears will eat together and their calves and cubs will live in peace Lions will eat straw as cattle do. Even a baby will not be harmed if he or she plays near a poisonous snake. On Zion, God’s Holy Hill there will be nothing harmful or evil. The land will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the seas are full of water.

So cheer up. The Golden Age of Peace lies ahead. As Pope Paul VI said on one occasion: “No more war. War no more.” Everything is in the hands of God.

May George W. Bush, Tony Blair, the United Nations, Saddam Hussein and people of all nations join together in praying to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit for the “Golden Age of Peace” to come Amen! So Be It!


References in Sacred Scripture to the Golden Age of Peace

Isaiah 11:6-9, 65:25
Joel 3:10
Mica 4
Zechariah 3:10
Revelation 20:6
2 Corinthian 12:2-6
Revelation 9
Isaiah 4
Matthew
Ezechiel

Notes

¹ In the original manuscript: dooms day

² In the original manuscript: scientific fiction

This homily is not to be copied, duplicated, modified nor distributed in any way

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The spiritual and practical aspects of discernment

May 16

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Mysticism by gianluca.nastasi

Mysticism by gianluca.nastasi via Flickr

The following originally appeared as an entry at Earthpages.ca – Think Free.

One Aspect of Discernment

In Catholic thought one aspect of discernment is the use of reason and experience coupled with divine gifts to distinguish between true and false interior perception.

As Henri Martin P.S.S. puts it:

The charism of discernment is “a kind of supernatural instinct by which those who have it perceive intuitively the origin, either divine or not, of thoughts and inclinations submitted to them.” (J. de Guibert, Lecons, p. 306). It is to be distinguished from revelation of the secrets of hearts, properly so called, made directly by God. In such revelations, which is extremely rare, objective certitude is absolute. In the case of discernment the chances of error lie in the subjective interpretation and use of the supernatural light received. Lacking an infused charism, ordinarily “God will assist by special interior light a gift of discernment acquired by experience and prudence in the application of the traditional rules of discernment.” (ibidem). (Jacques Guillet, Gustave Bardy et. al. (trans.) Sister Innocentia Richards, Ph.D., Discernment of Spirits. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1970, p. 104.)

On the need for seekers to be sincere, humble and rational in the discernment process, the scholar of mysticism, Evelyn Underhill, says:

Ecstasies, no less than visions and voices, must, they declare, be subjected to unsparing criticism before they are recognized as divine: whilst some are undoubtedly “of God,” others are no less clearly “of the devil”(Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism, New York: New American Library, 1955, p. 361.)

Likewise, the Protestant William James in The Varieties of Religious Experience, suggests that some lower forms of mysticism may have “proceeded from the demon” (London: Penguin, 1985, p. 423).

The Lutheran Rudolf Otto also talks about different types of mysticism. See, for instance, “An Outline of Rudolf Otto’s The Idea of the Holy,” Chapter XVI – The ‘Cruder’ Phases.

In Protestant and Catholic circles discernment is described as a gift and developed ability where a person learns to differentiate among (a) divine spiritual influences (b) evil spiritual influences and (c) one’s truest self.

But a problem arises in that many religious people claim to discern. And often different religious and New Age persons discern differently on the very same issue, citing the “Holy Spirit,” “Allah,” “Angels” or “Objective Truth” as their source of authority.

Discernment often seems to mean taking an alarmist, knee-jerk view of issues that one doesn’t understand, projecting bad habits and transferring the unsavory contents of the unconscious onto scapegoats. This can happen on an individual level or through a kind of institutionally reinforced hypocrisy, as we’ve seen time and again in the history of religions, cults and spiritual movements.

Indeed, unconscious anger, resentment and unresolved psychological complexes may color discernment. And it seems that psychological pain, immaturity and the potential influence of fantasy or evil influences are closely intertwined.

Another Aspect

Another related meaning of the term discernment is to discover what God wants a person to do in life. This relates to the former meaning because one cannot “do the right thing” if one is following imaginary voices, fantasy desires or the promptings of an evil power.

Thomas H. Green S. J. notes that in Catholicism this second kind of discernment – that is, finding out one’s calling – was once premised on sheer authority. A spiritual director would simply tell a religious what to do. Today, however, the relationship between discernment and spiritual directors has evolved. Emphasis is now given on “co-discernment” and in the larger sense, communal discernment. Authority figures only provide general guidelines, as plainly evident in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Ultimately it’s up to each individual to flesh out God’s will for his or her life (Thomas H. Green S. J., Weeds Among the Wheat – Discernment: Where Prayer and Action Meet, Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 1984, pp. 11-17).

A Synthesis

Father Edward Malatesta, S. J. defines discernment so as to combine the two previous aspects:

By the discernment of spirits is meant the process by which we examine, in the light of faith and in the connaturality of love, the nature of the spiritual states we experience in ourselves and in others. The purpose of such examination is to decide, as far as possible, which of the movements we experience lead us to the Lord and to a more perfect service of Him and our brothers, and which deflect us from this goal (cited in Green, p. 41).

Some believe that a higher power overrides personal biases and a spiritual gift enables an imperfect person to make perfect discernments. This dynamic may indeed occur from time to time but for the most part it seems that the development of accurate discernment is a life-long process. And, for all we know, we may continue to sharpen our powers of discernment in the afterlife.

© Michael Clark 2012.

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The ABC’S of The Basic Theological Teachings: The Meaning of God and His Creatures

May 14

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By Fr. Thomas R. Harding, Th.D.

This homily has been posted with the direct and generous permission of the late Fr. Thomas Harding, Th.D. (1918-2005).

As we celebrate the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, the Feasts of the Liturgical Year have taken on a deeper meaning now we are approaching some important ones, the Ascension of the Lord into Heaven, the Coming of the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Trinity. It is time to consider again the Meaning of God and His Creatures.

Before time began, there was a point when there was only one Being in existence, God the Father; God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, omnipotent, omniscient, uncaused, eternal, infinite. God was perfectly happy and did not need anything else, but good tends to diffuse itself and so God created Angels, meaning messengers, the universe, human beings and all the other animate and inanimate beings. Let us consider these beings briefly.

In the whole realm of being, there is, first and foremost, the Supreme Being, God. How is it that there is such a Being? St. Augustine says that theology is faith seeking understanding. In doing the theology of the Unity and Trinity of God, the theologians begin with the basic revealed truth that there is One God in Three Divine Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and they go on to consider the Divine Processions, Missions and Relations.

To put it simply, it goes something like this. From all eternity God the Father knows himself and thus God the Son proceeds from the Father by an intellectual act of generation for the Son is the Image of the Father or the Knowledge of God Personified or the Word of God. Again from all eternity, the Father and the Son are united in a bond of love and thus the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son by a Divine Act of spiration as the Love of God Personified. The Three Persons are all truly God and perfectly equal in all things. There are only three members by nature in the Family of God.

There are four Divine Relations in the Blessed Trinity, Paternity or Fatherhood, Sonship or Filiation, Active Spiration or the Love of the Father and the Son and Passive Spiration or the Holy Spirit who is the Love of God.

Let us consider briefly the attributes of God. There are two kinds of Divine attributes, entitative, pertaining to His Being and operative, pertaining to His operations.

The entitative attributes are necessity, transcendence, immanence, infinity, perfection, unity, goodness, truth, beauty, simplicity, omnipotence, omnipresence, eternity, immutability, pure act, and God alone is a pure and simple spirit. We know some of these by analogy, that is by way of excellence, by affirming created qualities in creatures to infinity, and we know others by way of negation, that is, by denying to God some created qualifies by using negative terms such as infinite which means not finite.

The Operative attributes of God are His Divine intelligence, that is, He knows everything in one idea and His divine volition, that is, His will is perfectly free.

We can know about the Existence of God, that He exists, by reason, by the things that He has made, as St. Paul says in Romans I :20. But we can know much more about God by Faith in Divine Revelation in Scripture and Tradition.

First, Almighty God alone is a pure and simple spirit, that is, He is uncaused and not complex in any way.

Second, the angels are pure spirits but not simple spirits because they are created and complex. However they are created in the state of maturity, with all their infused ideas. They do not have to grow up and go to school. Each angel is a different species which determines their degree of knowledge and love. In the hierarchy of spirits, God has only one idea with which He knows everything actual and possible. Then the highest angel needs many ideas with which to understand his more limited capacity. In a descending order, each angel needs more ideas than the one just above him. Even the lowest angel is far smarter than the most intelligent humans.

Angels have such a superior knowledge and will that they were only given one chance when they were tested. Apparently, they would not have repented and changed their minds. Thus Lucifer said “I will not serve” (Isaiah 14:12) and he and the other fallen angels were cast into hell by St. Michael the Archangel (Apoc. 12:7). They are allowed to roam through the world seeking the ruin of souls. But the name of Jesus is stronger than hell.

The good angels continue to serve before the throne of God and they also act as guardian angels. They also have other functions as messengers, defenders and directors of the two hundred billion galaxies in the universe. Sacred Scripture tells us there are nine choirs of angels: (Col. 1:16) Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominations, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels and Angels. Beings spirits, they can travel through the world and the universe instantaneously by a simple act of the will. St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor has a great tract on angels in his Summa Theologica.

Third, human beings, in comparison with God and Angels, are relatively imperfect spirits. Because of the relative dimness of their intellects they have to inform a body and they have infra-intellectual faculties, as well as spiritual faculties, an intellect and will; that is, they also have faculties of the vegetative and animal stages of life. Thus, man is a spirit informing a body. He needs a body in order to function or to get started in the process of knowing and willing. Therefore there would be no use giving humans infused ideas at the moment of creation. We would not understand them anyway: e.g. E=mc².

What’s that?

Who cares?

We have to learn laboriously by abstracting ideas from our sense knowledge, verifying ideas by judgments and using these ideas and judgments in syllogisms to reason and to move from the known to the unknown. There are five operations we go through in knowing and willing: experiencing, understanding, judging, reasoning and deciding. What a tough life! We have to grow up, go to school for years and spend the rest of our lives in continuing to learn. I was a slow learner. I went to school for twenty one years and I still know only the ABC’s.

Because we need bodies, God created a material universe. How extravagant He was to make a universe with 200 billion galaxies and it is expanding! We share the world with other animate and inanimate beings. Is there human life on other planets? We have not the time or the knowledge to answer that. We have not yet communicated with people on other planets. Some have seen UFO’s, they say.

I have always wanted to know what God looks like but was running into a brick wall trying to understand Him and describe Him until I discovered that a finite person cannot comprehend an Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, Infinite Being. To visualize Him, to reduce him to our comprehension, to describe Him in our language is impossible in the present order.

But cheer up. St. John says in his first Epistle, Chapter 3, Verse 2: “Beloved now we are the children of God and it has not yet appeared what we shall be. We know that when He appears we shall be like to Him for we shall see Him just as He is.” So we look forward to the Beatific Vision.

Oh pardon me, I forgot a few important things.

First, God has only three members in His family by nature, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, but he has billions of children by adoption because He created angels and humans and raised them to the supernatural level so that they share His life by sanctifying grace, i.e., God living in us as a friend.

Second, God is immanent in that He is with us and within us. He is Transcendent in that He is infinitely beyond us as the God of all glory. Never separate His Immanence and Transcendence. Never forget that the Immanent God is also the Transcendent God.

Third, we are so earth bound that we cannot imagine anyone without a body but the pure spirits don’t need bodies. For our benefit they may sometimes appear as though they had bodies, e.g. angels with wings.

Fourth, Scripture says “God made men just a little less than the angels.” There are two exceptions: Jesus Christ is a Divine Person and infinitely superior to them. Our Lady is Queen of the Angels because she is the daughter of God the Father, the spouse of the Holy Spirit and the Mother of God the Son and She is superior to the Angels.

No Wonder the Fallen Angels were Mad.

Fifth, The hypostatic union means that Jesus is One Person (the Divine Person) and He has two natures, Human and Divine.

This homily is not to be copied, duplicated, modified nor distributed in any way.

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The Dislike of Catholicism: Understanding the Holy in the Catholic Tradition, 3 – Theological reasons

Apr 16

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Soufrière Catholic Church

Soufrière Catholic Church (Photo credit: waywuwei)

1 – Introduction
2 – Theory and method
3 – Theological reasons
4 – Social and political reasons
5 – Psychological reasons
6 – Philosophical and historical reasons and conclusion

Sociologists and philosophers, alike, say the Catholic religion generates ‘truth claims.’ The idea of a truth claim gives us a convenient way to talk about a given set of beliefs without necessarily advocating or dismissing them. Non-Catholics often say that Catholic truth claims are not eternally given but, rather, culturally and politically motivated truths—that is, relative truths.

Infallibility

The notion of Papal infallibility is probably one of the biggest reasons why people dislike Catholicism. But educated Catholics realize that only two Catholic truth claims are deemed infallible while most others are less authoritative, and merely disseminated as general guidelines for good moral behavior. Many lay-critics of Catholicism don’t realize that not every Catholic teaching is forwarded as an eternal, unchangeable truth. Instead, Catholic theologians say the Church’s teachings have various levels of certainty. And Papal infallibility only applies to these two dogmas:

  1. The Blessed Virgin Mary’s sinless birth (Dogma of the Immaculate Conception)
  2. Her bodily assumption into heaven (Dogma of The Assumption)

All other Catholic teachings are not infallible.¹ So it’s just wrong to say that all Catholic teachings are infallible when they’re not. True, some Catholics say that infallibility includes all of the Church’s teachings. But these fanatics – and that’s what they are – are a vocal minority that the majority of sober scholars, Catholic or not, would readily dismiss.

Papal Authority

Some non-Catholics say that even two (allegedly) infallible declarations are good reason to dislike Catholicism, a religion that endorses Popes who, from the critics’ perspective,  are mere pretenders to the throne of truth. This is variation on the above reason why people dislike Catholicism. Some just don’t believe in any kind of Papal infallibility whatsoever. And the fact that only two dogmas are deemed infallible makes no difference. These people want none of it.

Christianity as a Stereotype

A third theological reason why people dislike Catholicism is based on a misunderstanding and, arguably, unclear thinking.

Many use ‘Christianity’ as  a blanket term for all different types of Churches, organizations and individuals calling themselves as Christians. If I say “I’m a Catholic,” sometimes it’s like waving a red flag in front of people who dislike Evangelicals, Fundamentalists and Televangelists, and who really don’t know the difference between these forms of Christianity and Catholicism. It’s just one big amorphous dislike for all things Christian.

However, differences among Christian denominations (and even among individual believers within each denomination) are tremendous. In Ireland, for instance, Protestant and Catholic youth gangs engage in violent clashes. And as CNN’s Anderson Cooper once pointed out, some Christians align themselves with the Green movement while others are out to make greenbacks.

Falling Short of the Ideal

People also dislike Catholicism because of churchgoers who inevitably fall short of the Christian ideal. Some Catholics sharply criticize and even denounce one another. Mean-minded gossip and talking behind another person’s back is not unheard of in Catholicism, even though Jesus tells us to love one another. As in most spheres of humanity, pettiness and hypocrisy are alive and unwell in Catholicism, which is a turn-off for many.

Private and Public

With a little probing it sometimes becomes clear that a given Catholic’s private beliefs are quite different from his or her apparent beliefs as publicly expressed at the Mass. After all, human beings are social animals and usually don’t want to rock the boat. But arguably just as important, most Catholics believe in the necessity of liturgical structure. Structure affords unity and continuity amidst inevitable points of disagreement.

So Catholics with their own private beliefs are not necessarily just toeing the line at the Mass. They could very well be respecting the need for structure while perhaps secretly believing in (and doing) their own thing—e.g. using birth control, engaging in homosexual relations, having affairs or premarital sex.

On the need for structure, learned Catholics point out that even the very first Christian disciples disagreed on certain issues (Acts 15: 1-21; Galatians 2: 11-14; 1 Corinthians 3: 1-23). So there’s a need, they believe, to outline a clear set of teachings to carry the Catholic ship of salvation through all storms of disagreement.

Judging a Book by its Cover

Another reason people dislike Catholicism has to do with their perception of what it means to be ‘alive in the spirit.’ Some non-Catholics say the Catholic Mass looks or feels quite dead. Catholic parishioners apparently behave like robotic victims of a Roman cult, just going through the motions, not really thinking nor believing in what they profess during the Mass.

With few outward signs of ecstatic joviality or other emotional displays, critics wrongly assume that apparently wooden Catholics are spiritually dry and unhappy. These critics really have no appreciation for the possibility that Catholics may experience a very high and delicate kind of interior sweetness, healing and joy.

By way of contrast, Catholics, especially contemplative ones, may see non-Catholic forms of easily recognizable joy as commendable and perhaps even of Christ. But these manifestations of the spirit are usually subjected to the analysis of discernment, which tries to determine if they’re possibly of a different interior quality than the sacramental graces afforded through the Catholic Church.

Catholics are instructed to respect other religions. And the late Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said that she “loved” all religions while being “in love” with her own. Along these lines, the existence of worldwide Catholic Missions speaks volumes. Why would Catholic missions exist if the majority of Catholics did not believe that their religion was best? And would not many of these Catholics base that belief on how their religion made them feel?

Jesus as another teacher

Another theological reason many non-Catholics dislike Catholicism is that Christ is taken as just another teacher, not unlike the Buddha or the Hindu god Krishna. This critique often comes from contemporary Gnostics. For them it’s a mistake to insist on Jesus’ uniqueness. And the highly structured Catholic liturgy just gets in the way of their supposedly genuine, gnostic spiritual experiences.

In response, the Vatican recognizes any partial truths in non-Christian religious figures and their associated teachings but firmly disagrees with the belief that Buddha or Krishna, for example, are equal to Christ. It’s as simple as that and no politically correct or sugar-coated interfaith dialogue will change this fundamental point of disagreement. From a Catholic standpoint, it’s possible that some non-Catholic critics have yet to reach a point in their spiritual formation to appreciate the fullness of Christ as experienced through the sacraments.

Mary and the Saints

Another theological reason why people dislike Catholicism relates to Saint Mary and the rest of the Catholic saints. Misinformed Christians often dispute the supposed Catholic ‘paganism’ of praying for the saints’ intercession.

As outlined at earthpages.ca:

Some Protestants and Fundamentalists complain that Catholics have got it all wrong because, so they say, Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and Man. But these very same people freely ask their friends and associates to “pray for them” which to any thinking person is clearly a request for intercession.

The Catholic reply to this contradictory Protestant and Fundamentalist charge is that if you can ask souls on Earth to pray for you, why not souls in heaven?²

Catholicism clearly outlines its stand on intercession. Asking the saints to pray for us does not elevate them to the status of gods and goddesses, as so many non-Catholic detractors will say. This is just theologically wrong and represents another groundless reason for disliking Catholicism.

—

¹ Dr. Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, Rockford, Illinois: 1974 [1960], Tan Books, pp. 8-10 » See online discussion at socrates58.blogspot.com

² See in context.

Copyright © Michael W. Clark, 2012.

4 – Social and political reasons

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The Holy Spirit – Fr. Thomas R. Harding, Th.D.

Apr 8

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Alfa et omega. The beginning & the end by Sint-Katelijne-Waver via Flickr

This homily has been posted with the direct and generous permission of the late Fr. Thomas Harding, Th.D. (1918-2005).

Because 1998 was the year of the Holy Spirit it is important that we emphasize the role of the Holy Spirit in the PLAN OF GOD and in this period of the history of the Church from the First Pentecost until the end of time and for all eternity.

In the Apostles’ Creed we say: “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen.”

In the Nicene Creed we say: “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son, He is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.”

The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament

There are Biblical texts dealing with the Spirit of God from the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament. We will mention a few of the familiar ones.

In Genesis 1:1-2a:4a we read “In the beginning, God created heaven and earth and the earth was void and empty and darkness was on the face of the deep and the Spirit of God moved over the waters. Then God said ‘Let there be light’, and there was light God saw how good the light was.” This is actually the second account of creation by the Priestly author of a later date.

The first account by the author known as YAHWIST because he referred to God as YAHWEH is in Genesis 2:4-7 where we read: “At the time when God made the earth and the heavens while as yet there was no field shrub on the earth and no grass of the field had sprouted, for the Lord God had sent no rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the soil but a stream was welling up out of the earth and was watering all the suiface of the ground The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life and so man became a living being.”

The YAHWIST has no interest in the formation of cosmic light or the sun, moon and stars as Father George Montague says in his book entitled The Holy Spirit: Growth of a Biblical Tradition, because his interest is restricted to the earth and the things that immediately touch human life: water, earth, the sown land, animals, woman. His interest is centred in man who is ADAM for the ADAMAH, earthman from the earth.

Other popular texts from the Old Testament referring to the Holy Spirit or adaptable to His action are as follows:

In Isaiah 11:2-3. we read: “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him; a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength. a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.” There is no explicit mention of piety in this text but it may be included in the opening words of the quotation. At any rate these Isaiah gifts are the general characteristics of the Messiah who is to come and, we hope. of his future followers who receive the Holy Spirit and His gifts in Baptism and Confirmation.

In Jeremiah 31:31-33, we read: “I will make a new covenant… I will put my law within them and I will write it upon their hearts.”

In the prophet Ezekiel 36:26, we read, “I will give you a new heart and place a new Spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts.”

In the prophet Joel 3:1-2, we read: “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. Even upon the servants and handmaids, I will pour out my Spirit.”

As we say in the Nicene Creed: “He” that is, “the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets.” He truly spoke through all the prophets of the Old Testament and through Jesus Christ, the Priest, Prophet and King of the New Testament!

The Holy Spirit by His Inspiration is the Principal Author of the books of both Testaments. And yet it is difficult to find a direct quotation from the Holy Spirit Himself in the Scriptures. There are many indications of the Holy Spirit speaking in the New Testament:

MATTHEW 10:19-21 “When they hand you over, do not worry about what you will say or how you will say it. When the hour comes you will be given what you are to say. You yourselves will not be the speakers; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you..” This is commonly referred to as “the Dabitur Vobis” which translated into English means: “It will be given to you.”

Another oft-quoted text in this regard is JOHN 3-8: “The wind blows where it will you hear the sound it makes but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone begotten by the Spirit.”

The text of Paul to the Romans 8:26-27 is very comforting for all of us: “The Spirit too helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in speech. He who searches hearts knows what the Spirit means, for the Spirit intercedes for the saints as God Himself wills.” Again St. Paul says in I Corinthians 12:3 just before he lists the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit: “And no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Spirit.” So when you pray, be open to the Holy Spirit and He will take over. Invite Him to take over and your prayer life will improve immensely.

Thus the Holy Spirit is constantly in communication with the Church and with her members from within. We are Temples of the Holy Spirit and since He is dwelling within us, we receive His messages directly in our minds and hearts and it is our obligation to accept them and act upon them.

The Holy Spirit in The New Testament

In his constitution on Confirmation in 1971, Pope Paul VI said the New Testament shows how the Holy Spirit assisted Jesus Christ throughout His whole Messianic Mission:

1) At the Annunciation the Angel Gabriel said to Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and that which you conceive will be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:35

2) On receiving the Baptism of John the Baptist, St. John the Evangelist said: “I beheld the Holy Spirit descending upon Him like a dove and it stayed upon Him!” John 1:32

3) After His Baptism, St. Mark said: “He was led by the Spirit into the desert and He was in the desertforforty days and forty nights, being tempted the while by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts and the angels came and ministered to Him.” Mark 1:12-13

4) Teaching the people of Nazareth, He showed by what he said that the words of Isaiah referred to Himself: “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” Luke 4: 17-21

5) He later promised before He suffered that “the Holy Spirit would help them to bear fearless witness to their faith before persecutors.” Luke 12:12

6) The night before He died, He assured His Apostles that “He would send the Spirit of Truth upon them from the Father.” John 15:26

7) After His Resurrection, He promised the coming descent of the Holy Spirit: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes down upon you and you Will be my witness in Jerusalem in all Judea and in Samaria and even to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8. He had told them: “not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father.” Acts 1:4

8 ) After praying for nine days in the upper room: “the Apostles and the disciples with Mary, the mother of Jesus and the women and the brothers were ready to receive the Spirit ” Acts 1:13-14

9) On the tenth day it is reported: “When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place. Suddenly, there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there. They were all filled with the Iioij’ Spirit and began to talk in other languages as the Holy Spirit enable them to speak.” Acts 2:1-4

10) The Church was born and the believers began to preach the Good News: “There were Jews living in Jerusalem, religious people who had come from every country in the world. When they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered. They were all excited because they heard the believers talking in their own languages. In amazement and wonder they exclaimed: “These people who are talking like this are Galileans! How is it then, that all of us hear them speaking in our own native languages? We are from Parthia, Media and Elam from Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia; from Pontus and Asis, from Phrygia and Pamphylia, from Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene. Some of us are from Rome, but Jews and Gentiles converted to Judaism and some of us are from Crete and Arabia -yet all of us hear them speaking in our own languages about the great things God has done.“ Acts 2:5-11

Titles of the Holy Spirit

1) Advocate: “These things I have spoken to you while yet dwelling with you. But the Advocate, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and will bring to mind whatever I have said to you.” John 14:26 Advocate means lawyer, one who pleads our case.

2) Paraclete: “But I speak the truth to you; it is expedient for you that I depart For if I do not go, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” John 16:7-8 Paraclete means “Comforter”, one who gives strength.

3) The Spirit of Truth: “But when the Advocate has come, the Spirit of Truth who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness concerning me.” John 15:26

4) The Love of God Personified: “And hope does not disappoint because the Love of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:5

Father Bernard J. F. Lonergan, S.J., the great Canadian Theologian uses this text to contrast the Apostles’ love of God before and after the coming of the Holy Spirit on the First Pentecost. For example, Peter loved the Lord with a human love on the first Good Friday and he denied Him three times during the Passion. However, after the descent of the Holy Spirit, he loved the Lord with the love of God, or with divine love and thus he was able to face persecution and he even asked that he be crucified upside down because he was unworthy to die like the Lord.

There are other titles for the Holy Spirit such as: Comforter, Sanctifier, the promised One of the Father, and the Inner Teacher, the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit of the Son.

Symbols of the Holy Spirit

1) A Dove: The dove has long been a sign of peace, gentleness and hope. “And the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form, like a dove. A voice came from Heaven: ‘You are my Son, the Beloved with whom I am well pleased” Luke 3:22

2) Wind: The word SPIRIT is etymologically from the word BREATH or WIND. Invisible and formless, the wind can caress us or overwhelm us with its power. “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8

“And when the days of Pentecost were drawing to a close, they were altogether in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a mighty wind blowing and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” Acts 2:1-2

3) Fire: Fire consumes and purifies, warms us and lights our path. “Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them and a tongue settled upon each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.” Acts, 2:3-4

4) Water: Water cleanses and refreshes, yet its power can carve a mountainside. “Those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty; but the water that I will give shall become a fountain of water springing up unto life everlasting.” John 4:13-15

“On the last and most important day of the festival Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, ‘Whoever is thirsty should come to me and drink As the scripture says, ‘Whoever believes in me, streams of life-giving water will pour out from his heart Jesus said this about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were going to receive. At that time the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not been raised to glory. John 7:37-39

This text is used to illustrate the growth in the Spirit in those who are living The life in the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit and the Church

God the Father’s plan was to raise all the members of the human race to a participation of the divine life. When Adam sinned, He did not abandon human beings but sent His son Jesus Christ into the world as the Saviour and Redeemer. Christ inaugurated the Church, the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. He is the HEAD OF THE CHURCH.

When the work of redemption was completed, God the Father and God the Son sent God the Holy Spirit into the world that He might continually sanctify the Church and guide her until the end of time to preserve her from error and all dangers. The Holy Spirit, who is the Soul and the Life of the Church, gives her infallibility and indefectibility. He makes sure that the Church is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic for all time to come.

Moreover, each member of the Church receives the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation along with His Gifts and Fruits and all the other wonderful effects of these sacraments. (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Vatican II, Numbers 2-8 )

This homily is not to be copied, duplicated, modified nor distributed in any way

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Summa Theologica in Chart Form by Fr. Thomas Harding, Th.D.

Mar 13

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St. Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225-1274), the eponym ...

St. Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225-1274), the eponym of Thomism. Picture by Fra Angelico (c. 1395-1455) via Wikipedia

The renowned Italian writer Umberto Eco once likened St. Thomas Aquinas to a “medieval computer, ” which is a fitting analogy.

Even from just a quick glance of Aquinas’ work, you can’t help but be struck by his arguments. They seem so logical and orderly, set up in the popular medieval form of question, objection, reply and solution. In fact, looking over Aquinas’ work does remind me of those early computer programs that we had to learn in high school.

However, I say that his arguments “seem” logical and orderly because thinking has progressed since Aquinas’ time. In the 21st-century we’ve learned to question the once hallowed notions of logic and order.

Although some churches, governments and even scientists may want us to, we no longer have to passively or, perhaps, apprehensively accept and socially reproduce reified ideologies and their apparently ‘legitimate’ approaches to knowledge. Sane and innocuous individuals are free to actively evaluate ideas with the analytical tools, insights and accumulated knowledge available today.

With this in mind, it seems that much of Aquinas’ work is strongly influenced by preexisting assumptions, categories and modes of reasoning, a point that he, himself, doesn’t overlook by making frequent reference to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, whom he respectfully calls “The Philosopher.” While drawing upon Aristotle’s work, Aquinas modifies the ancient Greek’s pre-Christian arguments to conform to the Christian faith as understood in medieval times.

A final point to consider with regard to the Summa Theologica is that near the close of his life Aquinas apparently received some kind of transforming vision that lead him to tell a certain Brother Reginald:

All my works seem like straw after what I have seen.†

We cannot, however, really know if this legend is true. And even if it is, Aquinas’ elaborate synthesis of ancient Greek and medieval Christian paradigms remains impressive and should be of interest to those hooked on the history of ideas.

I am happy to present this outstanding summary of the Summa Theologica, arguably one of the great intellectual achievements not only from the medieval period, but of any time or place.

—MC

This work has been posted with the direct and generous permission of the late Fr. Thomas Harding, Th.D. (1918-2005). It is not to be copied, duplicated, modified nor distributed in any way.

—

† For slightly different versions of this quote, Google using these keywords: All my works seem like straw after what I have seen

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The Inner Nature of Faith: A Mysterious Knowledge Coming Through the Heart

Mar 3

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English: Jesus and the Samaritan woman. A mini...

Jesus and the Samaritan woman. A miniature from the 12th-century Jruchi Gospels II MSS from Georgia via Wikipedia

Copyright © 1988, 2012 James Arraj. All rights reserved.

The following excerpts have been reprinted with kind permission from the author
» read or purchase entire book at innerexplorations.com


From Chapter Eight: The Act of Faith

If we imagine ourselves living at the time of Jesus we can suppose that we would have had an easier time believing in Him. After all, He was visible, a warm, breathing person, and we could have walked with Him and talked with Him and shared a meal. We would have lost no time sorting through the various arguments about whether Jesus existed or what He said and did, and in addition to His words we would have seen His deeds when he healed the sick and gave other signs, like at the wedding feast at Cana. And thus, it would have been easy to believe, or so we suppose.

But if we read the Gospels it becomes evident that the people around Jesus had just as hard a time believing in Him as we do today. What they gained by the immediacy of His presence they tended to lose by their expectations for an earthly messiah, and their inability to get the whole picture of Jesus that comes to us through the Gospels. But the problem went beyond this. Even the words of Jesus and His deeds did not necessarily convince or compel them to believe. No matter how many reasons to believe they had, these reasons in themselves did not add up to faith. Even though the people of his time heard the same words and saw the same deeds, they came to radically different conclusions. Some thought He was possessed by the devil, or a rabble rouser or a revolutionary. Others ignored Him and some felt He was sent by God. How could such different judgments be based on the same facts, or put in another way, what is the ultimate principle by which these judgments were made? The Gospels make the answer clear. There is a direct relationship between our interior dispositions and the way we see Jesus. We need an inner attitude of love if we are going to look at His words and actions and see in them the hand of God. And this inner attitude is not simply something we generate out of our own interior resources, but it is a gift of God. And here we return to the notion of knowledge by connaturality. Like is known by like. Sense knowledge cannot comprehend intellectual things, nor can intellectual knowledge grasp by itself the spiritual realities that St. Paul describes when he distinguishes the spiritual man from the psychic man. Reason is unable to grasp God in Himself, but only in the prism of creatures, and so there must be another principle of knowledge for the kind of knowledge that faith is. By nature we can know and love God, but in a somewhat remote fashion as an intelligent creature would love his creator. But the message of the Gospels is that God desires us to share His own inner life. He wants to establish a relationship of love and this relationship is meant to be not only the natural love with which we aspire to return to the source of all Being from which we have come, but a higher love that goes beyond the exigencies of our own nature. We have seen that on the human plane that love centers itself on the inmost reality of the other person precisely as other. It draws the lover to become the beloved in his own subjectivity. Love becomes a sharing in consciousness, and a sharing in love and knowledge.

And this is the kind of relationship that the Gospels describe. God is drawing us to Himself so we can share His inner life and consciousness. He is setting up a relationship of indwelling or intersubjectivity…

From Chapter Eight: Epilogue

…All this [the entire chapter eight-ed.] can leave us with the impression that faith is a complex matter best left to the deliberations of theologians. This is not true. In fact, faith resists our intricately woven nets of concepts because of its simplicity and depth. And in virtue of this simplicity it permeates our lives like the air we breathe, but too seldom take notice of. We think God is absent because we do not find him like one object among all the others, when all the time He is there within us as our deepest goal. We are continually being drawn by this mysterious, powerful, silent call to union with Him, and it is faith which is our response to this hidden presence. At any moment, in any place, we can go on the journey of faith, for it is that tiny, quiet reaching out with our heart to God.

The above excerpts have been reprinted with kind permission from the author
» read or purchase entire book at innerexplorations.com

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Intelligent Design On Another Planet?

Feb 8

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Micah's DNA

Micah's DNA by micahb37 via Flickr

by: Babu G. Ranganathan

Imagine finding a planet where robots are programmed so that they can make other robots just like themselves from raw materials.

Now, imagine an alien visitor coming to the planet and, after many years of studying these robots, coming to the conclusion that since science can explain how these robots work and function there’s no reason to believe that there was an ultimate intelligent designer behind them.

The analogy above certainly is not perfect but it is sufficient to reveal the fallacious thinking of those who attack intelligent design behind life and the universe.

Chance physical processes can produce some level of order but it is not rational to believe that the highest levels of order in life and the universe are by chance. For example, amino acids have been shown to be able to come into existence by chance but not more complex structures such as proteins which require that the various amino acids be in a precise sequence, just like the letters in a sentence. A single cell has millions of proteins.

There is no innate chemical tendency for amino acids to bond with one another in a sequence. Any one amino acid can just as easily bond with any other. The only reason at all for why the various amino acids bond with one another in a precise sequence in the cells of our bodies is because they’re directed to do so by an already existing sequence of molecules in our genetic code. Without being in a proper sequence protein molecules will not function.

The sequence of molecules in DNA (the genetic code) determines the sequence of molecules in proteins. Furthermore, without DNA there cannot be RNA, but without RNA there cannot be DNA. And without eiether DNA and RNA there cannot be proteins, and without proteins there cannot be either DNA or RNA. They’re all mutually dependent upon each other for existence!

If humans must use intelligence to perform genetic engineering, to meaningfully manipulate the genetic code, then what does that say about the origin of the genetic code itself!

If the cell had evolved it would have had to be all at once. A partially evolved cell cannot wait millions of years to become complete because it would be highly unstable and quickly disintegrate in the open environment.

The great British scientist Sir Frederick Hoyle has said that the probability of the sequence of molecules in the simplest cell coming into existence by chance is equivalent to a tornado going through a junk yard of airplane parts and assembling a 747 Jumbo Jet!

Considering the enormous complexity of life, it is much more logical to believe that the genetic and biological similarities between all species is due to a common Designer rather than common biological ancestry. It is only logical that the great Designer would design similar functions for similar purposes and different functions for different purposes in all of the various forms of life.

What if we should find evidence of life on Mars? Wouldn’t that prove evolution? No. It wouldn’t be proof that such life had evolved from non-living matter by chance natural processes. And even if we did find evidence of life on Mars it would have most likely have come from our very own planet – Earth! In the Earth’s past there was powerful volcanic activity which could have easily spewed dirt containing microbes into outer space which eventually could have reached Mars. A Newsweek article of September 21, 1998, p.12 mentions exactly this possibility.

Contrary to popular belief, scientists have never created life in the laboratory. What scientists have done is genetically alter or engineer already existing forms of life, and by doing this scientists have been able to produce new forms of life. However, they did not produce these new life forms from non-living matter. Even if scientists ever do produce life from non-living matter it won’t be by chance so it still wouldn’t help support any argument for evolution.

We also know from the law of entropy in science that the universe does not have the ability to have sustained itself from eternity. The existence and complexity of the universe point to a Supreme Designer and Creator!

Those advocating the teaching of intelligent design are not demanding that Darwinian theory no longer be taught. Rather, the advocates of intelligent design want the merits of both theories taught side by side when the issue of origins is covered in science classes and textbooks. This is only fair.

Science cannot prove we are here by either design (creation) or by chance (evolution), but students should have full information available to decide which position science best supports.

What we believe about life’s origins does influence our philosophy and value of life as well as our view of ourselves and others. This is no small issue!

Just because the laws of science can explain how life and the universe operate and work doesn’t mean there is no Maker. Would it be rational to believe that there’s no designer behind airplanes because the laws of science can explain how airplanes operate and work?

Natural laws are adequate to explain how the order in life, the universe, and even a microwave oven operates, but mere undirected natural laws cannot fully explain the origin of such order.

An organization of highly qualified scientists, known as the Institute for Creation Research (www.icr.org), has published some excellent books and material supporting faith in intelligent design for life and the universe.

Books published by ICR cover various issues such as the origin of life, genetic and biological similarities between species, the limits to biological variation and natural selection in nature, the fossil record, the age of the earth, etc.

Sincerely,
Babu G. Ranganathan
(B.A. Bible/Biology)
www.religionscience.com

Other helpful resources: www.creationscience.com | www.ChristianAnswers.Net | www.religionscience.com

Scientific Evidence for a Young World: http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=1842

About The Author

Babu G. Ranganathan is an experienced Christian writer. He has his B.A. with academic concentrations in Bible and Biology. As a religion and science writer he has been recognized in the 24th edition of Marquis Who’s Who In The East. The author has a website at: www.religionscience.com

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The Resurrection of the Body and Life Everlasting

Jan 11

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English: Resurrection of Christ

Resurrection of Christ by Noel Coypel via Wikipedia

By Fr. Thomas R. Harding, Th.D.

This homily has been posted with the direct and generous permission of the late Fr. Thomas Harding, Th.D. (1918-2005).

It is good at this time of the year to read the accounts of the Resurrection of the Lord in the four Gospels and in the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. He appeared over a period of 40 days and then ascended into Heaven. St. Matthew describes four apparitions, St. Mark six, St. Luke five, St. John seven and St. Paul six. That makes a total of twenty eight.

I like the account of St. Paul, 1 Cor. 15:1-12, he wrote: “For I delivered to you what I also received, that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead and that He appeared

  1. To Cephas
  2. After that to the Eleven
  3. Then He was seen by 500 brothers and sisters at one time, many of whom are with us still but some have fallen asleep
  4. After that He was seen by James
  5. Then by all of the Apostles
  6. And last of all He was seen by me as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the Apostles and am not worthy to be called an Apostle because I persecuted the Church of God. But by the Grace of God I am what I am and His Grace in me has not been in vain.”

He was chosen by God as the Apostle to the Gentiles.

Jesus Christ raised other people from the dead in His lifetime. In the cases of His friend Lazarus, the Son of the widow of Naim and the daughter of Jairus, resurrection was a kind of resurgence or a return to the same kind of life which they had just left.

The Resurrection of Jesus is different. It is a breaking through to a new life in God, living in a glorified body which is no longer vulnerable or mortal. Jesus, who died and rose, now lives on for us in the Divine Sphere. As St. Paul in 1 Cor. 15:45 says: “Scripture has it that Adam, the first man, became a living soul, the last Adam, Jesus Christ has become a life-giving spirit.” For He promised that we too will rise.

Not only did God raise Jesus, the man from the dead, but He let Him be seen by many witnesses over a period of forty days and it is on the evidence of these witnesses that our Faith and our Church depend. The accounts of His appearances indicate that His Resurrection is that of an embodied Being, living now in a Glorified Body. In today’s Gospel it is encouraging to note that “They gave Him a piece of broiled fish and He took it and ate it in their presence.”

St. Paul describes a Christian as one who believes in the Resurrection of the flesh. St. John describes a Christian as one who believes that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. The two mysteries are related. The Resurrection is the Incarnation perpetuated but in flesh that is incorruptible, life-giving and universally extended to all.

Regarding the age-old questions of life, death and resurrection, I have often wondered just what happened at the moment of death. What happens to the soul? Is it asleep or awake? If asleep does it stay that way until the Angel Gabriel’s call and the sound of the trumpet of God on the last day? Does the soul then wake up to rejoin it’s body wherever it may be and then hurry off to the valley of Jehosaphat for the General Judgment?

I would like to think that when the soul leaves the body, it is awake and that it is fitted with a glorified body for after all, man is by nature a spirit informing a body, not a ghost or a disembodied spirit.

The Dutch Catechism reports that the departed soul is awake and this is logical because we pray to the Saints. On the question of the time when we are reunited to the body, the Dutch Catechism says we imagine Heaven to be a vast Assembly Hall, full of spiritual souls where only two places are bodily occupied, those of Jesus and May, for Jesus ascended into Heaven and Mary was assumed into Heaven. However, the Dutch Catechism does not reject the opinion that God can supply newly arriving souls with bodies.

Ladislaus Boros, S.J. has written a great deal about the questions of death, resurrection, the risen body and heaven. On the question as to when our resurrection takes place, he says we have to take into account two questions.

First, Revelation states that the resurrection is an event coming at the end of time (1 Thess. 4:16). Second, the severance of the soul from the body is utterly unnatural for the soul. The soul is meant to inform a body in order to function naturally. Is God supposed to hold back the soul artificially until the resurrection of the body at the end of time?

Ladislaus Boros, S.J. shows how Karl Rahner, S.J. tries to unite these two factors in an hypothesis which is very attractive, if not entirely satisfying. Rahner comes to the conclusion that the separation of the soul from the body in death is not a complete break from matter. On the contrary, at the moment of death there arises for the soul a new and essential closeness to matter. The human soul in death does not become A-COSMIC, that is, out of this world, but it becomes ALL-COSMIC, that is, everywhere present in the world and in the universe. We profess our faith in the Apostles’ Creed that Jesus Christ descended to the dead to announce the Good News of Redemption to the souls of the just waiting there and then He ascended into heaven and brought them with Him.

The Resurrection of Christ (Kinnaird Resurrection)

The Resurrection of Christ by Raphael via Wikipedia

Rahner says that the resurrection of the body may take place at the moment of death, but it is not yet perfect. The risen body needs the transformed, glorified universe as its sphere of being. We can experience our bodily resurrection in its full perfection when the world and the universe have entered into the state of glory at the end of time.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin says that God by His Almighty Power can destroy the whole universe and immediately restore it in its state of Glory at the end of time. Thus the glorious transformation of the universe at the end of time would also be the final perfection of the resurrection of the body which already occurred at the moment of death.

Traditionally, Theology has listed the qualities of the Risen Body as splendour or radiance, subtlety or the ability to pass through walls, the doors being closed as Jesus did after the Resurrection, agility or the ability to travel instantaneously from one place to another in space and outer space, and impassability or being free from injury, suffering and death.

We will leave these questions with God for the time being, but it is interesting to think of the possibilities. Remember St. Augustine said: “We are Resurrection people. We are Alleluia people.” And St. Paul says: “We have not here a lasting city. Our conversation is in heaven.” And we profess our faith in the Apostles Creed: “I believe in the resurrection of the body and Life Everlasting.”

Praise and Thank the Lord!

* * * * *

This homily is not to be copied, duplicated, modified nor distributed in any way.

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2 Reasons Why God Tests Us

Jan 4

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1881 theatre programme for Patience

Image via Wikipedia

By Daniel N. Brown

We all know that athletes need endurance training for physical stamina and mental toughness. When game time arrives, he or she will be ready to do battle and will have a greater chance at victory. If the athlete does not go through the necessary preparedness, he or she may not even be allowed into the game.

It’s the same in our walk with God. We really shouldn’t expect that we can just ask God for some great position in life with out any preparation. It’s the tests and trials that He allows us to go through that are what prepare us for the greater things He has in store in the future.

There are two reasons why God tests us. The first reason is:

1. To Produce Patience

James 1:2-3 tells us, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

There is a huge misunderstanding of what the word “patience” actually means. Most people will say that it means to “wait.” But, that’s not true. If you look up the word “patient” in Webster’s Dictionary it actually means to bear trials without complaining.

God doesn’t want to hear someone complain anymore than you want to hear someone complain. Not only that, but complaining only reinforces your situation. Whatever you talk about and focus on becomes magnified.

God uses tests and trials to bring patience into our lives because He wants us to develop a good attitude. A good attitude then, will make us the kind of person God can use. We will become perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

The second reason God tests us is:

2. To Make You Perfect, Complete, and Lacking Nothing

James 1:4 says, “Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

God sometimes allows storms into our lives to test us so that He may accomplish a purpose in us. And, that purpose is to prepare us for greater things (Psalm 107).

If you’re facing some challenges in your life today, just ask God to hold you up, strengthen you, and help you learn what He is trying to teach you.

Keep in mind that not all storms in your life are from God. Many times, you can create your own storms by making poor decisions. The best thing to do in these cases is to ask God to help you learn from your mistakes.

God can use your own storms to teach you things and use them to bring you increase. Always remember Romans 8:28, “All things work together for good to them who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.”

Be encouraged if things are not what you think they should be. God has a wonderful plan for your life and He may just be working on the inside of you right now. Maybe you’re just learning patience. If you’ve already learned patience, maybe patience is having it’s perfect work, making you perfect and complete, to where you will lack nothing.

About The Author

Daniel N. Brown is an entrepreneur and teacher of biblical success principles. Get his FREE report, “How to Receive from God” when you sign up for his FREE weekly newsletter. http://www.SecretPlaceOnline.com.

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