Vivificat!

ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END - MY LAST BLOG POST

2015-05-14T18:31:00.001-04:00

Brethren, Peace be with you.

Well, after 11 years and two months I've decided to call it quits. It's been a good run and we'd been together throughout many good and bad times and I'd appreciated your company all along this journey.

I think that it's time for me to refocus on various professional and personal goals, as well as retrain my attention upon the Lord and His will for me. This humble work has seen its heyday and there are others who are doing a better job than I anyway. That is as it should be.

I will leave the blog up for a time until the news sink in. I will be turning the lights off slowly, but steadily, as it were. Don't be surprised the day you tune in and don't see it any more.

This is not a good bye, this is more like a "see you later, elsewhere" kind of deal. Please know that there are no absences in God's Love. We're all present to each other in Him.

I thank you all, from the heart, for your patronage and company during all these years.

I finish this final post as I did the very first one over a decade ago: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the + Holy Spirit, Amen. May the Lord bless us all through the intercession of Blessed Mary, the Holy Theotokos. Amen.

Another Instance of Post-Resurrection Docetism in the Breviary

2015-05-13T12:45:00.003-04:00

Brethren, Peace be with you.

(Please, see the correction at the bottom. This essay has a substantive flaw).

I've been praying the Liturgy of the Hours (LOH) - Morning and Evening prayers, mostly - constantly since 2002. I have said it before and say again, the LOH form the "bookends" of my day. It's not that I haven't noted these little erroneous details before, but it seems that as I age, these blunders are beginning to grate a little bit. After all, I want to pray with the Church and pray things in conformity to the faith I have received. And I will continue to pray the LOH while I pine for a new translation.

I've pointed another discrepancy previously on my post titled Yes, the Liturgy of the Hours in English Needs Updating. It seems that whoever wrote those verses from 1 Peter 3: 18-22 wanted to retroject a belief in docetism (adj. "docetic") into the Bible, that is, the belief that Jesus lacked a physical body, if not during his lifetime and ministry, definitely he lacked a body after his resurrection. In other words, according to this interpretation - and mistranslation - of the central tenet of the Christian faith, Jesus' resurrection was "spiritual", with all the vagueness we ascribe to the word "spiritual" in our day and age.

Well, here's another example of "post-resurrection docetism" that crept into the LOH, this time, in the responsorial prayed during Evening Prayer for Tuesday of the second week of the Psalter:

Jesus, the new Adam and life-giving spirit, transform the dead into your own likeness, — that the fullness of your joy may be theirs. Lord Jesus, you live for ever; hear our prayer.

Referring to Jesus as "spirit" is very confusing, since this is an appellation normally given to the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Incarnate Word and He doesn't exist any more in an incorporeal state, but in a fully union with a human nature at the level of being, what we call "the Hypostatic Union". Besides, I can't find any reference to Jesus as "life-giving spirit" in any orthodox liturgical text or standard prayer and I emphasize orthodox because this appellation did occur some Gnostic texts and is more common among today's Gnostics of the New Age and Ascended Masters belief spectra.

It brings to mind an old memory of an argument I had with an otherwise kind and venerable priest-professor during my first - and so far, only - graduate class on Christology. He did, in fact, defended or at least held to a confused, vague, spiritualizing view of Christ's risen body. I wonder if during the heyday of liberal Christology from the 70's through the early 80's this docetic subcategory was being considered in all seriousness, to help prepare the faithful for the time that the Jesus Seminar and/or archeologists dug out Jesus' body somewhere in Jerusalem. If his body was found, no harm no foul because the Church could function very well with a docetic faith!

Well, the influence of the Jesus Seminar work has since waned and now passes only as a curiosity biblical scholarly circles. But their influence continued to be felt through the '90s and I posit the docetic idea was felt strongly in 1970, when the LOH in English were first edited. That's why I hope, now more than ever before that the new edition of the LOH in English for the US be published promptly, and that the editors do away with expressions which are, at best, close to heresy.

I leave you with these words from St. Ignatius of Antioch's Epistle to the Trallians:

Stop your ears, therefore, when any one speaks to you at variance with Jesus Christ, who was descended from David, and was also of Mary; who was truly born, and ate and drank. He was truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate; He was truly crucified, and [truly] died, in the sight of beings in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth. He was also truly raised from the dead, His Father quickening Him, even as after the same manner His Father will so raise up us who believe in Him by Christ Jesus, apart from whom we do not possess the true life.

*CORRECTION, 15:40 EDT

It's been brought to my attention by a studious reader that the expression "life-giving spirit" originates from1 Corinthians 15:45b. I've verified that "life-giving spirit" is the normative translation across English and Spanish versions, as well as in the Latin Vulgate.

So, I'm wiping the egg of my face and getting ready to dine on crow.

St. Paul threw me curve here. Good one, St. Paul.

Everything else I wrote is correct, though. :-D

Meme: What passes for common sense in our culture...

2015-05-11T12:32:00.001-04:00

The Holy Spirit: Dove and Water

2015-05-10T19:13:00.001-04:00

Fr. Nicolas Schwizer

The most appropriate language for speaking about the Holy Spirit – because of his mysterious nature – is that of symbols and images. The Holy Spirit escapes mathematical definition. It lends itself to the imagination, poetry and metaphor.

The Dove. It is the image most known and most traditional. Why did HE choose the dove as his symbol? The reasons of the theologians are not convincing. It seems to be more a matter of poetry than of theology.

“You are like a dove that hides in the crevice of a rock. Let me see your lovely face and hear your enchanting voice” (SGS 2, 14). The entire book of the Song of Songs is a poem of love, and love likes to express itself in metaphors. And thus the dove becomes tenderness, innocence, simplicity. It is easy to approach her, she is not frightened, she does no harm. Those same traits are spontaneously applied to the Holy Spirit. Thus we idealize the dove so that she may adjust more to the divine model she represents. There are fortunate animals!

The dove appears at the end of the flood. Noah sends her from the ark to see if the earth is dry. The first time she returns without finding a place to alit. On the second attempt, she returns with an olive branch in her beak. And on the third attempt, she no longer returns (GN 8, 8 – 12). The dove was loyal on returning with the green message, and was intelligent in not returning when she saw she could remain in the recovered land. That loyalty and intelligence of the dove applies well to the Holy Spirit. It knows when to come and when to leave.

Since then, the dove with the olive branch has been a symbol of peace between Heaven and earth, confirmed with the rainbow so that there may be no more floods and humanity will no longer be in danger.

Learned Rabbis also see the dove in creation: “the Spirit of God was moving over the water” (GN 1 , 2). They compare the dove which flies over the original waters of creation with the dove that flies over the conquered waters of the flood.

The dove, symbol of the creative Spirit, proclaims after the flood a second beginning, a second creation. And, finally, the dove over the waters of the Jordan (MT 3, 16). It represents the coming of the Spirit of God over Jesus, at the moment of his Baptism, at the beginning of his public life. It evokes the new creation, the new world which Jesus inaugurates in the power of the Divine Spirt. And thus, in humanity’s great moments, the dove is present, reflecting to us something of the Holy Spirit.

Water. Another symbol is water. “Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, ‘Whoever is thirsty should come to me and whoever believes in me should drink. As the scripture says, ‘Streams of life-giving water will pour out from his side.’ Jesus said this about the Spirit which those who believed in him were going to receive” (JN 7, 37- 39).

There can hardly be a most beautiful and most meaningful image for the Spirit of God than living water, clear, free, joyful. The Jewish community which had formed in the desert knew the value of water and considered it a true gift from Heaven. And it is not strange that rivers are sacred in many civilizations. And neither is it strange for the sea to speak to us of God, if we contemplate it in silence.

The Holy Spirit refreshes and gives life, cleans and sanctifies, it carries away and makes fruitful. And baptism is the sacramental sign of the new birth. In that sense, the letter to Titus says (TITUS 3, 5): “He saved us. It was not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of his own mercy that he saved us through the Holy Spirit who gives us new birth and new life by washing us.” The last book of the Bible, Revelation, ends with the call of the Spirit to the Spouse, summoning to the prophetic appointment: “Come, whoever is thirsty; accept the water of life as a gift, whoever wants it” (22, 17). The water of the Spirit who quenches the thirst of the soul and gives eternal life. Our daily appointment with the living water must become an appointment with the Spirit who moves the waters of creation and redemption.

Questions for reflection

1. Which is my favorite symbol of the Holy Spirit? Why?
2. Do I relate water with the Holy Spirit?

3. How can I increase my relationship with the Holy Spirit?

A Prayer for Dawn

2015-05-07T08:33:00.001-04:00

O Lord Eternal and Creator of all things,

Who of Thine inscrutable goodness called me to this life;

Who bestowed on me the grace of Baptism and the Seal of the Holy Spirit; Who imbued me with the desire to seek Thee, the one true God: Hear my prayer. I have no life, no light, no joy or wisdom, no strength except in Thee, O God. Because of my unrighteousness, I dare not raise my eyes to Thee. But Thou said to Thy disciples, ‘Whatsoever you shall ask in prayer believing, you shall receive.’ and ‘Whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do.’ Wherefore I dare to invoke Thee. Purify me from all taint of flesh and spirit. Teach me to pray aright. Bless this day which Thou givest unto me, Thine unworthy servant. By the power of Thy blessing enable me at all times to speak and act to Thy glory with a pure spirit, with humility, patience, love, gentleness, peace, courage and wisdom, aware always of Thy presence.

Of Thine immense goodness, O Lord God, show me the path of Thy will,

and grant me to walk in Thy sight without sin.

O Lord, unto Whom all hearts be open, Thou knowest what things I have need of. Thou art acquainted with my blindness and my ignorance, Thou knowest mine infirmity and my soul’s corruption; But neither are my pain and anguish hid from Thee. Wherefore I beseech Thee, hear my prayer and by Thy Holy Spirit, teach me the way wherein I should walk; and when my perverted will would lead me down other paths, spare me not, O Lord, but force me back to Thee. By the power of Thy love, grant me to hold fast to that which is good. Preserve me from every word or deed that corrupts the soul; from every impulse unpleasing in Thy sight and hurtful to my brother-man. Teach me what I should say and how I should speak. If it be Thy will that I make no answer, inspire me to keep silent in a spirit of peace that causes neither sorrow nor hurt to my fellow man. Establish me in the path of Thy commandments and to my last breath let me not stray from the light of Thine ordinances, that Thy commandments may become the sole lawof my being on this earth and all eternity.

Yea, Lord, I pray to Thee, have pity on me.

Spare me in my affliction and my misery

and hide not the way of salvation from me.

In my foolishness, O God, I plead with Thee for many and great things.

Yet am I ever mindful of my wickedness, my baseness, my vileness.

Have mercy upon me. Cast me not away from your presence because of my presumption. Do Thou, rather, increase in me this presumption,and grant unto me, the worst of men, to love Thee as Thou hast commanded, with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my mind, and with all my strength: With my whole being.

Yea, O Lord, by Thy Holy Spirit, teach me good judgment and knowledge.

Grant me to know Thy truth before I go down into the grave.

Maintain my life in this world until I may offer unto Thee worthy repentance. Take me not away in the midst of my days, nor while my mind is still blind. When Thou shalt be pleased to bring my life to an end, forewarn me that I may prepare my soul to come before Thee. Be with me, O Lord, at that dread hour and grant me the joy of salvation.Cleanse me from secret faults, from all iniquity that is hidden in me;and give me a right answer before Thy judgment-seat—

Yea, Lord, of Thy great mercy and immeasurable love for mankind.

Elder Sophrony

Hat-tip to: Eclectic Orthodoxy

A Mathematical Proof for the Existence of the One God

2015-05-05T10:29:00.000-04:00

Brothers and Sisters: Peace be with you.

Frequently, Internet atheistic aces challenge me to provide evidence and/or proof for the existence of God. Almost all the time the proof they demand is, on its face, absurd because it is empirical in way or the other and God, if they only knew what the word "God" is, lies beyond any empirical proof. No matter, they keep insisting and the silence of the impossible experiment is proof enough for them.

This post is not address to those narrow, sterile minds because they've closed themselves within and become impermeable to any argument. Their minds already closed to reason present an insurmountable obstacle to sober argument. The only thing left to do for them is to pray.

Instead, this proof, proposed by the mathematician Kurt Gödel (1906–1978), is a mathematical expression of the ontological proof proposed by St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109) and should appeal to the open-minded and logic-bound. Now, St. Anselm's argument goes like this:

God, by definition, is that for which no greater can be conceived. God exists in the understanding. If God exists in the understanding, we could imagine Him to be greater by existing in reality. Therefore, God must exist.

It is an argument that really bothers people and has been persistently attacked ever since, yet it keeps surfacing.

The Proof

Gödel utilized modal logic and distinguished between necessary truths and contingent truths.It goes like this:

Definition 1: x is God-like if and only if x has as essential properties those and only those properties which are positive
Definition 2: A is an essence of x if and only if for every property B, x has B necessarily if and only if A entails B
Definition 3: x necessarily exists if and only if every essence of x is necessarily exemplified

Axiom 1: Any property entailed by—i.e., strictly implied by—a positive property is positive
Axiom 2: A property is positive if and only if its negation is not positive
Axiom 3: The property of being God-like is positive
Axiom 4: If a property is positive, then it is necessarily positive
Axiom 5: Necessary existence is a positive property

Axiom 4 assumes that it is possible to single out positive properties from among all properties. Gödel comments that "Positive means positive in the moral aesthetic sense (independently of the accidental structure of the world)... It may also mean pure attribution as opposed to privation (or containing privation)." (Gödel 1995). Axioms 1, 2 and 3 can be summarized by saying that positive properties form a principal ultrafilter.
From these axioms and definitions and a few other axioms from modal logic, the following theorems can be proved:

Theorem 1: If a property is positive, then it is consistent, i.e., possibly exemplified.
Theorem 2: The property of being God-like is consistent.
Theorem 3: If something is God-like, then the property of being God-like is an essence of that thing.
Theorem 4: Necessarily, the property of being God-like is exemplified.

Symbolically, it looks like this:

Now, in English

This is my blurb understanding of this proof in English:

If you understood what is meant by "God" you will instantly understand that he cannot not exist; God; objective, concrete existence is a mandatory predicate of the being "God".

Limitations

We need to be careful and hones regarding what this proof does and does not do. It would be intellectually dishonest to ascribe to Gödel's proof claims it doesn't make.

1. It does not prove the Triune nature of God as we Christians see Him;

2. It does not prove a Theistic (i.e. Christian, Jewish, or Islamic conceptions of God) conception of God; "God" can still be conceived in Deistic terms;

3. It makes no moral claims; it attaches no specific ethic or moral demands from God toward rational creatures.

4. It doesn't do away with panentheism ("'God' is in everything, but not everything is 'God'" type of belief)

5. It doesn't establish that the one God created the universe out of nothing.

What it does

What does Gödel's proof actually accomplishes?

1. It does away with theoretical atheism - the one embraced and screamed by today's "New Atheists". Atheist is proved to be an abstraction and not an accurate description of objective reality; the affirmation "There is No God" becomes meaningless in the real world, but perhaps meaningful in fictitious or imaginary worlds, confined there along with unicorns and the Flying Spaghetti Monster..

2. It rules out polytheism - belief in many gods.

3. It rules out pantheism.

In the end...

Look, for reasons I explained above, Gödel's elaboration of St. Anselm's ontological proof will mollify Internet atheists. They will keep living as if God didn't exist, as dwarf versions of Nietzsche's supermen. They will live thus because that's what how they wish to live and admitting the existence of God would be inconvenient. They will go on demanding their empirical evidence without even bothering to understand why, when it comes to God, such evidence can't be had.

Of course, if they would bring themselves to understand what "God" is in the hierarchy of beings, they would understand why, and they would stumble open St. Anselm's and Gödel's proof and start the circle of affirmation and denial again, without bothering to think.

Now for us Christians, Gödel and St. Anselm created a threshold or vestibule to a temple inside which, in its sanctuary, we may find the one God and, in its Holy of Holies, we find God revealed in Jesus Christ.

The Holy of Holies is open for all of us. We must decide if we walk from the lobby into the sanctuary and then, into the Holy of Holies to meet Him in Person. He calls us to Himself, in fact. Will we heed His voice?

Future considerations

I think it might be possible to use this proof as a starting point for expressing St. Thomas Aquinas Five Arguments for the Existence of God, utilizing modal logic . However, that's beyond my capabilities for the moment. Perhaps some of you could do it?

Source of Gödel's proof: Wikipedia. Read also Gödel's bio here.

Plan B on Marriage: A Proposal to Remove the State from Celebrating Marriages

2015-05-03T10:45:00.000-04:00

Brethren, Peace be with you.

Back in 2011 I wrote Do We Need to Use a Different Word for Marriage in the Church? and, Should Catholic Clergy Cease Signing Civil “Marriage” Licenses? I say Aye!, in which I supported the idea of getting the Church out of the business of issuing marriage licenses, an idea originally put forward by Monsignor Charles Pope of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC. Today, Father (Protopresbyter) John Whiteford, an Orthodox priest from Houston, TX formulated on his blog a slightly different proposal which has the state, not the churches, get out of the business of licensing marriages altogether and make marriage solely an individual's religious choice. Fr. Whiteford's post is worthy of being quoted in toto:

If, as seems likely, the Supreme Court will shred the Constitution and impose Gay "Marriage" on all 50 states, here is what states could do to nullify that decision.

I have often argued that the state can't "get out of the marriage business" because the state has an interest in it, but I think I have come up with a way that the state could deal with what it has as a legitimate interest, change some labels, legally, and not have to deal with the question of gay marriage, all in one fell swoop.

Granted, it is ridiculous that the Supreme Court would force us into this position, but if they want to pretend that their is no difference between a gay relationship and a marriage, we can break it down in the law in a way that would not be able to call discriminatory:

1. Pass a law that says that going forward, marriage will be treated as a private religious matter, that the state will no longer either license or concern itself with.

2. Create a state-wide "potential birth registry," that would have the same restrictions that current laws have regarding who can get married: which would include prohibited relationship (incest), age requirements, and limit this to one man and one woman. Children born from a woman in this registry would be presumed to be the children of the man registered with her, just as it works now in a real marriage.

3. Create a state-wide "community property partnership registry," that any 2 people, regardless of their sex, or regardless of whether or not they are in any sexual relationship can enter into.

4. When people registry for the potential birth registry, given them the option of also checking a box to be included in the community property partnership registry.

5. Instead of divorce, you would terminate your registration from from the above registries; but if you could not agree on the division of property, you would have a court case to decide that matter. And if you had any children, you would have to get a child support order (which would address custody, visitation, etc.).

6. Any heterosexual marriages prior to these new laws going into effect would automatically be listed in both registries. Any homosexuals that might have happened because the courts forced the state to allow them prior to this law would automatically be added to the community property registry.

Basically, what Monsignor Pope and Fr. Whiteford are proposing, each in his own way, that marriage be privatized while permitting the state to exercise its responsibility in the disposition of private estates and the rearing of children through registries created for that purpose. "Marriage" will then be a thing left to the private conscience of those who seek it.

I like it! This solution can be implemented immediately on those jurisdictions that have recognized same-sex "marriage." The state will become completely neutral before "marriage" however it is defined.

I finish by restating my firm, unwavering conviction that true marriage can only take place between a man and a woman, and that no executive, legislature, or judiciary can redefine it. Nor will I submit to the will of celebrities, academics, even clergymen and women, as well as many others who are intent on convincing me of the reality or desirability of same-sex "marriage", or failing that, expel me from the public arena by means of hatred and vitriol. I will not submit, surrender, or capitulate to them. In God's name, let us go forward.

Blogfast in effect

2015-04-30T08:13:00.001-04:00

Brethren, Peace be with you.

A spike in my workload that pays for my livelihood necessitates a blogfast at this time. I invite you all to read the contents already online, search through the blog, or read regular content updates on my Twitter feed and in other creative outlets you can find at http://www.vivificat.org . Thank you kindly for your continuing patronage. May the Good Lord bless us all.

No, @HillaryClinton, I will not change my pro-life values nor will I surrender my views to suit yours

2015-04-27T08:46:00.002-04:00

Brethren, Peace be with you:

This, according to The Hill:

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Thursday said "deep-seated … religious beliefs" have to be changed before the world's women will get full access to abortion.

“Far too many women are still denied critical access to reproductive health care and safe childbirth. All the laws we've passed don’t count for much if they’re not enforced,” Clinton said.
“Rights have to exist in practice — not just on paper,” Clinton argued. “Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will."

“And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed,” Clinton added.Clinton’s remarks came during the sixth annual Women in The World Summit in New York. She also called on world leaders to speed up progress on women’s rights across the globe.

“As I have said and as I believe, the advancement of the full participation of women and girls in every aspect of their societies is the great unfinished business of the 21st century,” Clinton claimed.

“Not just for women but for everyone,” she added. “And not just in far away countries but right here in the United States.”

Clinton additionally tied the struggle for feminine equality to amnesty for illegal immigrants. She hinted that her GOP foes next election cycle did not understand the implications of their stance opposing amnesty.

“There are those who offer themselves as leaders who would deport mothers working to give their children a better life, rather than risk the ire of talk radio,” Clinton said.

Clinton is thus far the only declared presidential option for Democratic voters in 2016. She came under fire on Thursday amid allegations the Clinton Foundation accepted donations from foreign entities in exchange for political favors from State during her tenure.

Author Peter Schweizer raised questions about the donations in his upcoming book, Clinton Cash, due out May 5.

Commentary. Uh, no Mrs. Clinton. Who'd died and made you queen?

Let me tell you exactly why I will not be voting for your: human life begins at conception and since its very beginning, human life is endowed with an intrinsic, inalienable, inviolable dignity. So much so that no other human will can deny in word and in deed this intrinsic dignity that doing so is a sin against God and against humanity. Since God is the lawgiver, neither you nor your cronies can dismiss the fundamental human right to life without engaging at the same time in the ultimate tyranny and despotism.

From this fundamental right to life all other rights flow. Deny the first the right and the other ones become mere "permissions" held by the breathing and more powerful men and women whose morality will consist in suffering that those who are lesser in the eyes of the elites enjoy the rights the mighty and powerful are willing to grant them. And Mrs. Clinton, you are a member and give voice that elite.

It is not you before Whom I genuflect when I enter a Catholic Church. I don't worship Caesar - or Jezebel, in your case. I will not submit, capitulate, or surrender to your antivalues. That's why I will never vote for you.

Brief Bible Study of Revelation 14:1-5: On the Qualifications of the "144,000" Elect Ones

2015-04-24T14:33:00.001-04:00

Brethren, Peace be with you.

Today, as I reflected upon Revelation 14: 1-4 (NAB) during lectio divina, I noticed something I'd never noticed before. Read the highlighted portion by yourselves:

The Lamb’s Companions.^*1Then I looked and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion,^* and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.^a2I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of rushing water or a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3They were singing [what seemed to be] a new hymn before the throne, before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn this hymn except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been ransomed from the earth.^b4These are they who were not defiled with women; they are virgins^* and these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been ransomed as the firstfruits of the human race for God and the Lamb.^c5On their lips no deceit^* has been found; they are unblemished.^d

That brought to mind the Jehovah's Witnesses' (JWs) insistence that this number of 144,000 elect ones, whom they insist are to reign with Jesus as "spiritual" creatures and whose ranks are filled solely by JWs, and whose Governing Body are assured members of the 144,000 elect ones.

Now, in my view this poses a hermeneutical conundrum, because, an interpreter cannot declare a fragment of a statement as literally true and judge the rest of the verse as "symbolic" and still expect the statement to make sense. In this instance. if the number 144,000 elect-ones is to be interpreted literally, and not as a symbolic gematria of 12x12x1,000 - which carries its own meaning - then the other contextual verses are to be considered literal also. What this means is that in order to qualify for the 144,000 chaste, the individual JW, whether rank-and-file or member of its governing body must be a male virgins. However, if this virginity requirement is to be understood symbolically, then the 144,000 number should also be seen as symbolic. The interpreter, in this case the JWs, can't split the difference and solve the problem unless they are bending the text to their own theological agenda, which they are.

Not that there isn't any kind of writing that allows the mixing of symbols, metaphors, similes, and realistic description in a single texts. We usually call those kinds of texts poetry and poetry comes with its own rules and styles, of which the author always gives to the reader a clue. I got news for you: Revelation 15:1-5 isn't poetry either.

Do you get the point? I mean, the requirement of a life of consecrated virginity probably comes as bad news to any JW claiming to be a member of the 144,000 but that's what Scripture says, if interpreted in a literal-grammatical way, as the JWs often do, without consistency and coherence. Moreover, in Revelation 7 we see that these 144,000 elect-ones were gathered from the 12 tribes of Israel. In other words, to be a member of the 144,000 one has to be of Jewish descent.

To conclude: a member of the 144,000 will have to be literally Jewish, or descended from Jews; always a male; who's never told a lie; and who's never ever engaged in sexual intercourse. Goyim like you, me, all women, and most of the JWs who ever lived need not apply!

Oops.

Read also:

• What is the significance of the number 144,000 to Jehovah's Witnesses?

• How do I refute the Jehovah's Witness claim about the 144,000?

• More Stumpers for the Jehovah's Witnesses

Courtesy of Catholic Answers.com

Welcome 1,000th Google+ Vivificat Follower!

2015-04-23T11:30:00.001-04:00

Brethren, Peace be with you.

Today this blog reached a milestone: its 1,000th follower!. I want to thank you all for allowing this humble work to inform you every so often. It is my honor and privilege. You are one of the 4,254 readers who access Vivificat Media Ministry through eight Internet social media platforms. May the Lord richly bless you!

Below, I provide you with an Infographic depicting where this blog stands in terms of its social media presence:

Vivificat Followers by Platform | Create infographics

A Quote from St. Anselm of Canterbury

2015-04-21T09:02:00.002-04:00

Brethren, Peace be with you.

Today we remember St. Anselm of Canterbury, monk, theologian, archbishop, and Doctor of the Church. He is also known as "the Father of Scholasticism." Here's a quote from one of his works, the Monologion:

If any man, either from ignorance or unbelief, has no knowledge of the existence of one Nature which is highest of all existing beings, which is also sufficient to itself in its eternal blessedness, and which confers upon and effects in all other beings, through its omnipotent goodness, the very fact of their existence, and the fact that in any way their existence is good; and if he has no knowledge of many other things, which we necessarily believe regarding God and his creatures, he still believes that he can at least convince himself of these truths in great part, even if his mental powers are very ordinary, by the force of reason alone.

I wonder what St. Anselm would've thought of our age when most intellectuals refuse to use their powers to recognize the obvious despite the force of reason alone. He would have been disappointed at the stupidity that passes for wisdom these days. Yet, as a true son of God and brother of Jesus, St. Anselm would have found a way to communicate the Truth anew.

My response to the "your Church is a nest of pedophiles" or the "you support pedophiles" slanders

2015-04-20T12:08:00.002-04:00

Brethren, Peace be to all in Jesus' Name and to those who visit this blog and read this post with the animus of insult me and share your invectives: may the Lord truly and richly bless you.

^*Blessed be the LORD, my rock,

who trains my hands for battle,

my fingers for war;

2My safeguard and my fortress,

my stronghold, my deliverer,

My shield, in whom I take refuge,

who subdues peoples under me.
~ Psalm 144: 1-2 (NAB)

How many times have I had to stand the accusation that my Church is a nest of pederasts, that it is crammed with pedophiles, their protectors, and their enablers, or that I myself support them or even applaud them? Well, the answer is: many times.

More often than not, those level these accusations are not interested in either the truth or justice for the victims of clerical sex abuse, much less are they advocating for a truly fair and just process to obtain rightful support and compensation to the victims. In fact, more often than not, the accusation and invective comes from people with an established Anti-Catholic agenda and animus for which this sad scandal came hell-sent. Their primary purpose is to silence observant Catholics by shaming them, and to continue to erode the moral authority of the Catholic Church and in this way, deny us the right to bring our consciences to bear upon matters of public interest. Their secondary purpose is to sack the Church 's patrimony and thus pauperize her materially, so that if the shaming doesn't effect silence, the pauperized Church will at least be rendered ineffective.

The reality of the scandal, its facilitation, and cover-up are a matter of record. To our perpetual shame, lots of people in position of responsibility handed this weapon freely to the enemies of the Church. I can't deny it and I don't. I have repeated as a mantra throughout my coverage of the clerical sex-abuse scandal something like the following statement:

Sexual abuse by anyone having a position of trust or authority in the Catholic Church is intolerable to me. Any such individual engaging in sexual abuse should be promptly identified to civil authorities and be subject to dismissal from his of her position after administrative or canonical due process concurrent with the criminal investigation carried out by civil authorities, or shortly after the findings by the civil authorities take place. Bishops, or those subordinated administrators who shuffle clergy or consecrated religious about from parish to parish, or to other jurisdictions in order to cover-up the abuse, should be held responsible before both civil and canon law. Finally, true victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy or other personnel in positions of trust should be fair and justly compensated and afforded all the pastoral and medical care they need.

This is my stance and always has been. Any other stance attributed to me contrary to my statement above is false, malicious, and libelous. If your care enough, such libels break the VIII Commandment.

I know the underlying causes of clerical sexual abuse pretty well, and I am aware of the uneven application of the solutions to this egregious problem across the Church in the United States and elsewhere. Also, I will oppose any proposed solution of the clerical sex abuse scandal that violates the constitution of the Catholic Church granted by the Lord himself such as the monarchical episcopate, the Church's hierarchical structure, and the reservation of the priesthood only to qualified males.

What those who level the accusation at me - or at the Church, I'm certain - will never achieve is to silence me. Despite our collective (mine, and the Church's) shortcomings, I will witness to the power and the glory of the Church of Christ and the Gospel He entrusted to Her until He calls me to His presence to account for my words and deeds. I advice anyone interested that there's no adverse power on this earth or under the earth who can stop me from the missionary vocation my baptism and confirmation conferred upon me and upon every Catholic Christian alive in the world today .

May all Glory be given to the Father, the Son, + and the Holy Spirit unto the ages of ages, the Triune God from whom I ask every grace and every strength in my weakness to carry out my task, Amen.

Yes, the Liturgy of the Hours in English Needs Updating

2015-04-18T03:00:00.000-04:00

Also, a short Bible Study on 1 Peter 3:18-22

Brethren, Peace be with you.

The Resurrection of Christ,
by Carl Bloch

As you know, I pray Morning and Evening Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, as well as the Office of Readings and Night Prayer, frequently. I've been doing so for more than a decade, thanks be to God.

In all that time I've developed preferences for certain psalms and canticles, and objections to certain readings and prayers. One of the readings I dislike is the New Testament reading of the Evening Prayer for the Thursday of the Second Week of the Psalter. Mind you, it's not the reading that disturbs me, but it's the translation and redaction that grates on me:

READING 1 Peter 3:18, 22

The reason why Christ died for sins once for all, the just man for the sake of the unjust, was that he might lead you to God. He was put to death insofar as fleshly existence goes, but was given life in the realm of the spirit. He went to heaven and is at God’s right hand, with angelic rulers and powers subjected to him.

The highlighted portion and the skipping of verses 19-21 makes this selection sound as a text-proof for a kind of Docetism - similar to what the Jehovah Witnesses (JWs) teach regarding the bodily Resurrection of Jesus, which, they maintain, was realized in his spirit but not in his body. (A teaching which the JWs may have moved away from but which still remains vague, since in their most current teaching regarding the resurrection of Jesus available online, the JWs don't tell us what was resurrected in the Lord's resurrection. But I digress).

The problem, of course, is the version of the New American Bible (NAB), the official Catholic translation used in the English liturgy in the U.S. Yet, again, the problem is not the NAB itself, but the year of the NAB version from which the readings in the Psalter originate: 1970.

On the other hand, Today's revised NAB reads thus for all verses in 1 Peter 3:18-22:

For Christ also suffered ^* for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit.^g 19In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison,^*20who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water.^h 21This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God ^* for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,ⁱ 22who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.^j

Gone is this "given life in the realm of the spirit" phrase in which the qualifier in the realm of is a product of the translator, absent from original Greek and official Latin versions - check it out yourself here, and see also how the Douay-Rheims translators rendered the verse.

You can see, then, that a better rendition and selection of the verses in question are free from Docetism or the wrong tendency to spiritualize the Resurrection of Christ.

There are other examples of grating which the current version of the Hours vexes me with, but I'll discuss those later.

I know that the U.S. Bishops are working on a new revision of the Liturgy of the Hours in English for use in the United States. This revision will revamp the whole language of the Hours, including the Psalter, and for what I've read of the Psalter, the work is beautiful and reverential. I can hardly wait! And, boy, the guys at DivineOffice.org, whose recordings I use daily for prayer, will have their work cut out for them when the new revision is published.

Tidbits from Hither and Thither - @LCWR_US, #PatriciaJanuzzi, #ArchbishopCordileone, #CINOs

2015-04-17T09:35:00.000-04:00

Brethren, Peace be with you.

Welcome to another iteration of my irregular, quick-draw, short news commentary. Let's get going.

The canonical visitation of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), a national, canonically-erected umbrella group of Catholic women religious congregations, has come to an end, with the LCWR making the necessary concessions in order to maintain their canonical status. The LCWR has been recalcitrant in its self-avowed "prophetic" stance, often obstructing the work of the U.S. Catholic bishops by disconnecting the Church's prolife stance from their general - and often commended - social justice work, as well as engaging in, or favoring radical feminist critiques of theology and church discipline. Their stance has a deleterious effect in the consecrated lives in their congregations whose members tend to be aging, and the number of new vocations in sharp decrease. I have followed the LCWR's travails on this blog thread. I hope and pray that the LCWR sticks to the letter and the spirit of the agreement, and not stick it to the rest of the Church by the passive-aggressive resistance which often characterizes the LCWR. Oh, and I'll be watching them.

New Jersey Catholic School teacher Patricia Jannuzzi has been reinstated in her job and the hanging threat of firing her from her job, rescinded, Deo gratias. You may remember me talking about this sad case and about the vestment-renting in triggered in many different quarters. The local authorities consider the matter closed and so will I, although I agree with this writer at CatholicCulture.org that we ought not to see Patricia's reinstatement as a complete victory or vindication. Besides, as I explained on my post on the subject, there are many ways in which "they" can still force her to leave. I pray for her and for all involved so that they avoid that temptation. Of course, I'll be watching.

One hundred "Catholics" in name only (CINOs) are lobbying hard to have the Pope fire San Francisco's Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. The list is a "who's who" among generous donors to far-left causes. These poor souls object to Archbishop Cordileone's principled stance in favor of natural marriage between one man, and one woman, a notion now anathema on the Left and also encroaching on the Right. Even corporations are now an enemy on this matter and ally of the very same progressives that waste no chance to berate them. The CINOs also take exception at Archbishop Cordileone's clear stance regarding the duty of Catholic teachers to live and exemplify the faith they are supposed to teach in Catholic schools. Needless to say, I support Archbishop Cordileone in his struggle to preach and live the Gospel specially now that it's out of season. The San Francisco CINOs don't speak for Catholics there, or elsewhere.

That's it for now! Please consider bookmarking or subscribing to the Flipboard e-magazines and Paper.li newsletters I curate. That's where I store most of the news I find interesting and worth preserving in various repositories. You may see list of these publications and other Vivificat points of presence, here.

May the Lord richly bless us all.

Turkey should accept the truth about her role in the #ArmenianGenocide

2015-04-16T09:41:00.000-04:00

Brethren, Peace be with you.

My apologies for my extended silence. My wife and I have been recovering from a bout of influenza. She's almost recovered, but I'm spent still. All for the Glory of God and in acceptance of his Sovereign Will.

Pope Francis (L) with The Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians,
Karekin II (R), during the Mass for the centenary of the Armenian 'martyrdom' .

As you know, the Holy Father has chosen to speak openly about the Armenian Genocide, which began 100 years ago under the auspices of the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor state of the modern Turkish Republic. The genocide cost the life of about 1.5 million Armenians, most of them Christian. Those who converted to Islam were spared. It also cost the life of 1 million Syrians and other nationalities. The Holy Father made this recognition in the presence of the President of Armenia and the Armenian Orthodox Patriarch, as well as of Armenian Catholic prelates.

The reaction from Turkey has ranged from outrage to indifference. The official position has been fierce in its condemnation of the Holy Father's words, and the word on the street has been "let's get over this and look toward the future." Sort of like "forgive and forget" without the forgiving part.

To me, in Twitter, in a post re-echoed by others, the charge has been leveled against the Holy Father for being "divisive" and, implicitly, ignorant of history - the history written by the winners, that is, with a link kindly provided to their version of history:

@vivificat @Pontifex is a religious leader not Historian.he needs to keep people together not tearing them a part http://t.co/3nX0p4cENv
— HTG (@TGHarry) April 14, 2015

My stance coincides with that of the Holy Father and the more than 20 countries who have recognized the Armenian Genocide as what it was: the first systematic ethnic and religious cleansing worthy of the neologism "genocide". Forgetting is not an option. Whitewashing is not an option. I'm pretty sure that if the roles have been reversed and the Turks had been the victims of genocide, they would wish for the world to acknowledge their experience and their pain.

The desperate effort to destroy the Armenian people's historical memory under legalisms reminiscent of Bill Clinton's "it depends on what 'is" is" brings increasing shame and dishonor to Turkey and her apologists in the face of wanton tragedy. I also question why Turkey, despite progress made on recognizing Armenian suffering, is now circling the wagons around its Ottoman identity, specially since the founding of the Turkish Republic represented a rejection of its Ottoman past. Why is Turkey so invested with its Ottoman past is a question that can only be answered in terms of its increasing Islamization. The more secular Turkey of yore would have found it easier to blame the Ottoman Empire for the genocide while affirming that in the "new Turkey" such things would be impossible. That's not what I am hearing, though.

I close by saying that if the Turkish leaders want us to learn from "history", I must point to the four minarets surrounding the Church of Holy Wisdom in Istanbul, and the constant persecution and vexation of its Christian minority since 1453. That's a history I know, and that I'm not liable to forget either.

Divine Mercy Sunday, A.D. 2015

2015-04-12T00:00:00.000-04:00

Among all of the elements of devotion to The Divine Mercy requested by our Lord through Sr. Faustina, the Feast of Mercy holds first place. The Lord's will with regard to its establishment was already made known in His first revelation to the saint. In all, there were 14 revelations concerning the desired feast.

In fact, Jesus Himself dictated the intentions for each day of the novena which he desired to be celebrated as a preparation for the solemn observance of this feast. Once after insisting, "Do all you possibly can for this work of mercy," Jesus added: "My Heart rejoices on account of this feast." Sister Faustina concluded: "After these words, I understood that nothing can dispense me from the obligation which the Lord demands of me" (Diary, 998).

Our Lord's explicit desire is that this feast be celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. He joins the feast to the designated Sunday in eight revelations: Diary, 49, 88, 280, 299, 341, 570, 699, and 742. He also implies a connection between the feast and that Sunday on some other occasions recorded in the saint's Diary (see Diary, 420, 89).

The "First Sunday after Easter" ? which is designated in "The Liturgy of the Hours and the Celebration of the Eucharist" as the "Octave Day of Easter" ? was officially called the Second Sunday of Easter after the liturgical reform of Vatican II. Now, by the Decree of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the name of this liturgical day has been changed to: "Second Sunday of Easter, or of Divine Mercy."

Pope John Paul II made the surprise announcement of this change in his homily at the canonization of Sr. Faustina on April 30, 2000. There, he declared: "It is important then that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church, will be called 'Divine Mercy Sunday.' "

By the words "the whole message," the Holy Father was referring to the strict connection between the "Easter Mystery of the Redemption" ? the suffering, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, followed by the sending of the Holy Spirit ? and this Feast of Divine Mercy, the Octave Day of Easter.

In this regard, the Holy Father also said, citing the Responsorial Psalm of the Liturgy, "The Church sings ... , as if receiving from Christ's lips these words of the Psalm" [that is, Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His steadfast love (=mercy) endures forever, Ps 118:1]. And then, the Holy Father developed the connection further: "[This comes] from the lips of the risen Christ, who bears the great message of Divine Mercy and entrusts its ministry to the Apostles in the Upper Room: 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I send you. ... Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained' " (Jn 20:21?23).

By what the Holy Father continued to say, it becomes clear why Jesus insisted that the sacred image of Himself as The Divine Mercy is to be venerated throughout the world in connection with the observance of this Sunday (see Diary, 49, 88, 299, 341, 570, 742). The Holy Father said: "Before speaking these words, Jesus shows His hands and His side. He points, that is, to the wounds of the Passion, especially the wound in His Heart, the source from which flows the great wave of mercy poured out on humanity.

"From that Heart, Sr. Faustina Kowalska, the blessed whom from now on we will call a saint, will see two rays of light shining from that Heart and illuminating the world: 'The two rays,' Jesus Himself explained to her one day, 'represent blood and water' (Diary, 299).

"Blood and water! We immediately think of the testimony given by the Evangelist John, who, when a soldier on Calvary pierced Christ's side with his spear, sees blood and water flowing from it (cf. Jn 19:34). Moreover, if the blood recalls the sacrifice of the Cross and the gift of the Eucharist, the water, in Johannine symbolism, represents not only Baptism but also the gift of the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 3:5; 4:14; 7:37?39).

"Divine Mercy reaches human beings through the Heart of Christ crucified: 'Tell, My daughter, [all people] that I am Love and Mercy itself [personified]' Jesus will ask of Sr. Faustina (Diary, 1074). Christ pours out this mercy on humanity through the sending of the Spirit who, in the Trinity, is the Person?Love. And is not mercy love's 'second name' (cf. Rich in Mercy, n.7), understood in its deepest and most tender aspect, in its ability to take upon itself the burden of any need and, especially, in its most immense capacity for forgiveness?"

From this teaching of the Holy Father on that most solemn occasion of his "presenting the life and witness of Sr. Faustina Kowalska. to the whole Church as a gift of God to our time," it can be deduced that the most opportune time, the most proper one, for the solemn honoring of The Divine Mercy falls immediately after the Paschal Feast of Easter, recalling the attaining of our Redemption.

St. Augustine called the eight days of Easter (which the Church liturgically considers as constituting a single day ? the day of the new creation) "days of mercy and pardon." He calls the Sunday of this Paschal Octave (which our Lord insisted with St. Faustina is the Feast of Mercy [Diary, 88]) "the summary of the days of mercy" (Sermon 156, Dom. In Albis). It is no wonder, then, that already during his pilgrimage to Blessed Faustina's tomb on June 7, 1997, Pope John Paul 11 declared: "I give thanks to Divine Providence that I have been enabled to contribute personally to the fulfillment of Christ's will through the institution of the Feast of Divine Mercy."

Veneration of the Image

The image of Jesus, The Divine Mercy, is to have a special place of honor on the Feast of Mercy, a visual reminder of all that Jesus did for us through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection ... and a reminder, too, of what He asks of us in return ? to trust Him and be merciful to others:

"I want the image to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it" (341).

A Special Promise of Mercy

Our Lord's promise to grant complete forgiveness of sins and punishment on the Feast of Mercy is recorded three times in the Diary of Saint Faustina, each time in a slightly different way:

"I want to grant a complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My mercy" (1109).

"Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment" (300).

"The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion will obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment" (699).

Extraordinary Graces

Our Lord is emphasizing, through this promise, the infinite value of Confession and Communion as miracles of mercy. He wants us to realize that since the Eucharist is His own Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, it is the "Fountain of Life" (300). The Eucharist is Jesus, Himself, the Living God, longing to pour Himself as Mercy into our hearts.

Why would Our Lord feel the need to emphasize this? Because so many people do not really understand it. They either see no need to receive Holy Communion, or they receive it simply out of habit. As St. Paul explains in his letter to the Corinthians, they eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord unworthily, "without recognizing the body of the Lord" (I Cor 11:27?29).

In His revelations to Saint Faustina Our Lord makes it very clear what He is offering us in Holy Communion and how much it hurts Him when we treat His presence with indifference:

"My great delight is to unite Myself with souls ... When I come to a human heart in Holy Communion, My hands are full of all kinds of graces which I want to give to the soul. But souls do not even pay any attention to Me; they leave Me to Myself and busy themselves with other things. Oh, how sad I am that souls do not recognize Love! They treat Me as a dead object" (1385) ...

"It pains Me very much when religious souls receive the Sacrament of Love merely out of habit, as if they did not distinguish this food. I rind neither faith nor love in their hearts. I go to such souls with great reluctance. It would be better if they did not receive Me" (1288) ...

"How painful it is to Me that souls so seldom unite themselves to Me in Holy Communion. I wait for souls, and they are indifferent toward Me. I want to lavish My graces on them, and they do not want to accept them. They treat me as a dead object, whereas My Heart is full of love and mercy. In order that you may know at least some of My pain imagine the most tender of mothers who has great love for her children, while those children spurn her love. Consider her pain. No one is in a position to console her. This is but a feeble image and likeness of My love" (1447).

So, Our Lord's promise of complete forgiveness is both a reminder and a call. It is a reminder that He is truly present and truly alive in the Eucharist, filled with love for us and waiting for us to turn to Him with trust. And it is a call for us all to be washed clean in His Love through Confession and Holy Communion ? no matter how terrible our sins ? and begin our lives again. He is offering us a new start.

Prepare Yourself Properly

Going to Confession is not the only way we should prepare ourselves for Divine Mercy Sunday. As Cardinal Francis Macharski, Archbishop of Krakow, Poland explains in a 1985 pastoral letter, we are not simply called to ask for God's mercy with trust. We are also called to be merciful:

"Our own merciful attitude is likewise a preparation. Without deeds of mercy our devotion would not be real. For Christ does not only reveal the mercy of God, but at the same time He places before people the demand that they conduct themselves in life with love and mercy. The Holy Father states that this requirement constitutes the very heart of the Gospel ethos (Rich in Mercy, 3) ? it is the commandment of love and the promise: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy' (Mt 5:7). Let it be a mercy that is forgiving and true, and universal, with good words, deeds, and prayer for others!"

Our Lord's words to Saint Faustina about this requirement to be merciful are very strong and leave no room for misinterpretation:

"Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be acts of mercy ... I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it" (742).Thus, to fittingly observe the Feast of Mercy, we should:

1. Celebrate the Feast on the Sunday after Easter;

2. Sincerely repent of all our sins;

3. Place our complete trust in Jesus;

4. Go to Confession, preferably before that Sunday;

5. Receive Holy Communion on the day of the Feast;

6. Venerate* the Image of The Divine Mercy;

7. Be merciful to others, through our actions, words, and prayers on their behalf.

*To venerate a sacred image or statue simply means to perform some act or make some gesture of deep religious respect toward it because of the person whom it represents ? in this case, our Most Merciful Savior.

- Source: DivineMercySunday.com

Jesus' Family Tomb Identified "Unequivocally" Near Jerusalem

2015-04-08T13:10:00.000-04:00

Brethren, Peace be with you. This, according to Catholic.org:

Jerusalem geologist Dr. Aryeh Shimron claims he has "virtually unequivocal evidence" that could solve the mystery of Christ's remains. It's not entirely a done deal - as according to Dr. Shimron, the evidence also points out to the fact that Jesus married and had a son.

The Talpiot tomb was declared "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" in a 2007 documentary movie of the same name. The tomb's chamber contains nine burial boxes or "ossuaries" inscribed with the names "Jesus son of Joseph," "Mary" and other names associated with the New Testament.

The inscriptions in addition to the dates of burial have led some to suspect that the tomb implies that Jesus married, that he fathered a child, and that the existence of bodily remains means the Resurrection could never have happened.

Refuted on a variety of grounds at the time of the film's broadcast, many of the arguments presented were the names were all relatively common at the time.

Shimron, speaking to reporters has said that geochemical tests on a 10th ossuary make it highly likely the box was recently removed from among the others in the Talpiot Tomb.

"The evidence is beyond what I expected," Shimron said. "I think I've got really powerful, virtually unequivocal evidence that the James ossuary spent most of its lifetime, or death time, in the Talpiot Tomb."

Carried out under Dr. Shimron's supervision largely by the Israel Antiquities Authority, the geochemical tests worked on the basis that the ossuaries in the Talpiot Tomb were all once covered by the same clay with a very distinctive mineral make-up.

The results are likely to rekindle the debate surrounding the possible remains of Jesus. They finding are not accepted in all scientific circles. The collector who owns the James ossuary told reported Shimron's work determines nothing "conclusively," while other Jerusalem archaeologists say they await its publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Commentary. Really? We should expect the existence and general knowledge of this "tomb of Jesus" to have been the principal argument against Christian claims back in the first century and yet, we find no such argument on early anti-Christian Jewish or Pagan polemics. The Talmud itself makes several direct and indirect references to Jesus, most of them negative and a few that are neutral - though never a positive one. Why, this "tomb of Jesus" should've made the front news in the Talmud as the best argument against the Resurrection but we don't find any references in the Talmud.

Such a reference could have been: "Hey Christians! This Jesus person didn't rise from the dead. Why, I can see his family tomb from here!

Yes, I know mine is an argument from silence but, gee whiz! The omission from Talmud begs the question "why'? If you knew what kind of literature is the Talmud you would understand why such omission would be glaring and demand an explanation.

The simplest answer is that Dr. Shimron's tomb is not the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth, but of some other Jew named Jesus and his family. The other hypothetical answers range from complete ignorance about the ownership of a very conspicuous tomb just outside of Jerusalem on the part of Jewish authorities, to conspiracies or collusion between early Jesus followers to keep the secret, or between them and Jewish authorities to keep the lid on. What's the simplest answer? That this is not the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth.

Mark my words, whatever comes out in scholarly literature regarding Dr. Shimron's findings will lack the claims connecting this tomb to Jesus of Nazareth because there is no factual evidence to make this claim.

Pascha Sunday of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, A.D. 2015

2015-04-05T00:00:00.000-04:00

Easter Proclamation

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God's throne!
Jesus Christ, our King is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor,
radiant in the brightness of your King!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
Darkness vanishes forever!

Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory!
The risen Savior shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God's people!

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give him thanks and praise.

It is truly right
that with full hearts and minds and voices
we should praise the unseen God,
the all-powerful Father,
and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

For Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
and paid for us the price of Adam's sin
to our eternal Father!

This is our passover feast,
when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,
whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.

This is the night when first you saved our fathers:
you free the people of Israel from their slavery
and led them dry-shod through the sea.

This is the night when Christians everywhere,
washed clean of sin
and freed from all defilement,
are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night when Jesus Christ
broke the chains of death
and rose triumphant from the grave.

What good would life have been to us,
had Christ not come as our Redeemer?

Father, how wonderful your care for us!
How boundless your merciful love!
To ransom a slave
you gave away your Son.

O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam,
which gained for us so great a Redeemer!

Most blessed of all nights, chosen by God
to see Christ rising from the dead!

Of this night scripture says:
"The night will be as clear as day;
it will become my light, my joy."

The power of this holy night
dispels all evil, washes guilt away,
restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy;
it casts out hatred, brings us peace,
and humbles earthly pride.

Night truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth
and we are reconciled with God!

Therefore, heavenly Father, in the joy of this night,
receive our evening sacrifice of praise,
your Church's solemn offering.

Accept this Easter candle,
a flame divided but undimmed,
a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God.

Let it mingle with the lights of heaven
and continue bravely burning
to dispel the darkness of this night!

May the morning Star which never sets
find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on us all,
your Son who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!

Death shall not have the last word.

Mourner's Kadish at the Hour of Great Mercy

2015-04-03T15:00:00.000-04:00

Transliteration:

Yitgadal v'yitkadash sh'mei raba b'alma di-v'ra

chirutei, v'yamlich malchutei b'chayeichon

uvyomeichon uvchayei d'chol beit yisrael, ba'agala

uvizman kariv, v'im'ru: "amen."

Y'hei sh'mei raba m'varach l'alam ul'almei almaya.

Yitbarach v'yishtabach, v'yitpa'ar v'yitromam

v'yitnaseh, v'yithadar v'yit'aleh v'yit'halal sh'mei

d'kud'sha, b'rich hu,

l'eila min-kol-birchata v'shirata, tushb'chata

v'nechemata da'amiran b'alma, v'im'ru: "amen."

Y'hei shlama raba min-sh'maya v'chayim aleinu

v'al-kol-yisrael, v'im'ru: "amen."

Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya'aseh shalom aleinu

v'al kol-yisrael, v'imru: "amen."

Translation:

Glorified and sanctified be God's great name throughout the world
which He has created according to His will.

May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days,
and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon;
and say, Amen.

May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity.

Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored,
adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He,
beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that
are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.

May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us
and for all Israel; and say, Amen.

He who creates peace in His celestial heights,
may He create peace for us and for all Israel;
and say, Amen.

Good Friday of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, A.D. 2015

2015-04-03T07:46:00.000-04:00

From today's Office of Readings.

From the Catecheses by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop

The power of Christ's blood

If we wish to understand the power of Christ’s blood, we should go back to the ancient account of its prefiguration in Egypt. “Sacrifice a lamb without blemish”, commanded Moses, “and sprinkle its blood on your doors”. If we were to ask him what he meant, and how the blood of an irrational beast could possibly save men endowed with reason, his answer would be that the saving power lies not in the blood itself, but in the fact that it is a sign of the Lord’s blood. In those days, when the destroying angel saw the blood on the doors he did not dare to enter, so how much less will the devil approach now when he sees, not that figurative blood on the doors, but the true blood on the lips of believers, the doors of the temple of Christ.

If you desire further proof of the power of this blood, remember where it came from, how it ran down from the cross, flowing from the Master’s side. The gospel records that when Christ was dead, but still hung on the cross, a soldier came and pierced his side with a lance and immediately there poured out water and blood. Now the water was a symbol of baptism and the blood, of the Holy Eucharist. The soldier pierced the Lord’s side, he breached the wall of the sacred temple, and I have found the treasure and made it my own. So also with the lamb: the Jews sacrificed the victim and I have been saved by it.

“There flowed from his side water and blood”. Beloved, do not pass over this mystery without thought; it has yet another hidden meaning, which I will explain to you. I said that water and blood symbolised baptism and the Holy Eucharist. From these two sacraments the Church is born: from baptism, “the cleansing water that gives rebirth and renewal through the Holy Spirit”, and from the Holy Eucharist. Since the symbols of baptism and the Eucharist flowed from his side, it was from his side that Christ fashioned the Church, as he had fashioned Eve from the side of Adam Moses gives a hint of this when he tells the story of the first man and makes him exclaim: “Bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh!” As God then took a rib from Adam’s side to fashion a woman, so Christ has given us blood and water from his side to fashion the Church. God took the rib when Adam was in a deep sleep, and in the same way Christ gave us the blood and the water after his own death.

Do you understand, then, how Christ has united his bride to himself and what food he gives us all to eat? By one and the same food we are both brought into being and nourished. As a woman nourishes her child with her own blood and milk, so does Christ unceasingly nourish with his own blood those to whom he himself has given life.

- Reading courtesy of Universalis.com

Open Letter to Dr. Neil DeGrass Tyson (@neiltyson)

2015-04-02T13:19:00.003-04:00

Dear Dr. Tyson:

I want to communicate to you my horror and displeasure at your response to a Daily Beast interview, which has been widely reported statement in which you compared the Catholic belief in the Eucharist to Scientology's beliefs, to wit:

So, you have people who are certain that a man in a robe transforms a cracker into the literal body of Jesus saying that what goes on in Scientology is crazy?

I don't think you realize the sad history behind the man in a robe transforming a cracker into the literal body of Jesus trope. The expression has a long and regrettable history in American Protestantism which has always retained a certain anti-Catholic posture to this day, principally among its more Fundamentalist believers. Some debauched types even make their livelihoods at trafficking in this hatred (for example, go here and here). Others tune-up their hate-speech in order to grandstand and call attention to themselves - like this scientific colleague of yours did seven years ago.

I realize, sir, that in your interview you were focusing on freedom of expression, but by dropping the unfortunate words I quoted above, you abandoned all pretense at objectivity and fell into the well-trod ground traveled by anti-Catholic bigots before you.

Sure, you are free to keep and entertain your anti-Catholic beliefs as you see fit, and even publish them under the guise of historical analysis as you did in your recent updating of Carl Sagan's Cosmos. That's not the issue.

The issue is, Dr. Tyson, that you, of all people, should've known that derisive, Catholic-baiting references such as man in a robe transforming a cracker into the literal body of Jesus were very common in the lexicon of anti-Catholic circles, particularly in the American South, and that they helped fuel a toxic atmosphere of hatred against Catholics nationwide. Perhaps you weren't aware that this kind of rhetoric was tossed about within Ku Klux Klan circles, followed by the inevitable cross burning on church grounds or on the yards of Catholic believers' homes?

Did you know all that? Did you ever stop to consider the effect your words would have? Did the thought even cross your mind that mockery isn't polite and that it degrades not only the targets of the mockery, but also those who engage in it?

Think about this, sir: would you borrow the language of hatred from bigots an apply it to, say, a practice or belief you would find risible in an African Methodist Episcopal Church? I bet you wouldn't knowingly. Why are Catholics fair game, then?

Historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr. once characterized prejudice against the Catholics as "the deepest bias in the history of the American people" whereas writer Peter Viereck once observed in 1960 that "Catholic baiting is the anti-Semitism of the liberals." I've reconciled myself to the fact that what passes as the enlightened, intellectual types in our country and in the world have been unable to transcend their bias and their tendency for Catholic baiting. However, it still hurts me when someone I used to respect engages in it in such a cavalier manner and without the slightest awareness of the obscenity hiding behind the man in a robe transforming a cracker into the literal body of Jesus trope.

Dr. Tyson, you disappoint me. I thought you were a better man and more careful thinker. Incredibly, you have contributed to the atmosphere of anti-Catholic, anti-Christian hatred and chicanery blanketing our country. Now, we are all the poorer for it.

Holy and Great Thursday of the Passion of Our Lord, A.D. 2015

2015-04-02T08:05:00.002-04:00

Tonight, Lent comes to an end and the Triduum commences

Second Reading from Today's Office of Readings
From an Easter homily by Saint Melito of Sardis, bishop

The Lamb that was slain has delivered us from death and given us life
There was much proclaimed by the prophets about the mystery of the Passover: that mystery is Christ, and to him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

For the sake of suffering humanity he came down from heaven to earth, clothed himself in that humanity in the Virgin’s womb, and was born a man. Having then a body capable of suffering, he took the pain of fallen man upon himself; he triumphed over the diseases of soul and body that were its cause, and by his Spirit, which was incapable of dying, he dealt man’s destroyer, death, a fatal blow.

He was led forth like a lamb; he was slaughtered like a sheep. He ransomed us from our servitude to the world, as he had ransomed Israel from the hand of Egypt; he freed us from our slavery to the devil, as he had freed Israel from the hand of Pharaoh. He sealed our souls with his own Spirit, and the members of our body with his own blood.

He is the One who covered death with shame and cast the devil into mourning, as Moses cast Pharaoh into mourning. He is the One who smote sin and robbed iniquity of offspring, as Moses robbed the Egyptians of their offspring. He is the One who brought us out of slavery into freedom, out of darkness into light, out of death into life, out of tyranny into an eternal kingdom; who made us a new priesthood, a people chosen to be his own for ever. He is the Passover that is our salvation.

It is he who endured every kind of suffering in all those who foreshadowed him. In Abel he was slain, in Isaac bound, in Jacob exiled, in Joseph sold, in Moses exposed to die. He was sacrificed in the Passover lamb, persecuted in David, dishonoured in the prophets.

It is he who was made man of the Virgin, he who was hung on the tree; it is he who was buried in the earth, raised from the dead, and taken up to the heights of heaven. He is the mute lamb, the slain lamb, the lamb born of Mary, the fair ewe. He was seized from the flock, dragged off to be slaughtered, sacrificed in the evening, and buried at night. On the tree no bone of his was broken; in the earth his body knew no decay He is the One who rose from the dead, and who raised man from the depths of the tomb.

Source: Universalis.com

The absurdity of redefining reality - a reality such as natural marriage

2015-03-31T09:18:00.000-04:00

Brethren, Peace be with you.

Over at Crisis Magazine you'll find this great piece by James Jacobs, PhD, titled On Redefining Reality: A Dialogue, in which he tells us about how he engaged a shop owner who displayed the "equality symbol" in favor of same-sex "marriage." Whether the dialogue ever took place or it's just an instructive fable, it's worth a read. Here's an excerpt:

Regardless, it also struck me how utterly debased the notion of human rights had become if an entire genus of moral claims could be reduced to a grotesque assertion made on behalf of one-percent of the population. Yet, I also saw that it is the epitome of the contemporary zeitgeist in which a “right” is nothing other than a sentimental imperative, as Alasdair MacIntyre has put it: on the one hand, it is nothing other than a bold and impulsive desire; yet, this is compounded with the tyrannical demand that others submit to your insistence that that desire be satisfied. This meretricious notion of rights debases them by placing individual desire ahead of objective value, a move which ineluctably reduces to nonsense any and all claims to have rights. I thought I might make a test to determine just how dedicated the shop owner really was to this notion of human rights: did he in fact agree that subjective desire implied the sort of right he seemed to claim for himself? In other words, would he allow me to redefine reality to conform to my own desires?

Read it all here.

This kind of high-level reasoning accessible to us it's the more urgent today as the State of Indiana is under fire by the sophistic classes and talking heads for its new Religious Freedom Law - which, btw, I categorically support. Read a discussion the law actually says here, and do plan your next family vacation in Indiana, please. Ignore the boycott proposed by the chattering classes.

Palm Sunday of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, A.D. 2015

2015-03-29T12:37:00.000-04:00

“The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord— the King of Israel!’” (Jn 12:12-13)[1]

Today is Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion and the beginning of Holy Week. We remember the day Jesus descended from the Mount of Olives and entered into Jerusalem. He proceeded into the holy city to offer himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

As he rode in on a borrowed donkey, making public his claim as the Messiah, the crowds shouted in cries of joy and praise. These words have inspired the Church for centuries. Known as the Sanctus, a part of the Eucharist Prayer, Christians have sung the end of this verse since before the fourth century.

The Sanctus, listed below, hints at a juxtaposition innate in the mystery of the Incarnation: Jesus as divine as expressed in the first stanza and Jesus as man, riding on a donkey, in the second. [2]

“Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts
Heaven and earth are full of your glory
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest” [3]

Like in the Sanctus, greatness and human frailty often co-exist in our life. However, Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension sanctified the human form and opened a path to eternal life for all who chose to follow his way. As we embark on Holy Week, may we enter into the final days of Jesus’ life and emerge joyous and renewed at Easter.

Written by Sarah Ciotti
Reviewed by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB, STD

[1] New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[2] Michael G. Powell, “An Introduction to the History of Christian Liturgy in the West. s.v. ‘sanctus,’” http://www.yale.edu/adhoc/research_resources/liturgy/d_sanctus.html
[3] Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation.