StellarCross - Faith | Space | Sci Fi

Major Changes Ahead

2009-10-17T18:55:00.000-04:00

As visitors may have recently noticed, I am significantly displeased with my Blogger template. Sadly, at the moment, I think there are a series of problems going back some ways (to when I migrated from a 3 column site to a 2 column site) that are adversely affecting site performance. Thus, I am going to start from scratch and transfer the StellarCross domain to a new blog in the coming days (or weeks, depending on how Clare affects the planning of said transfer). Please bear with me. This site and its contents will not disappear; it will remain available as a link on the new StellarCross.

My Take on Health Care Reform

2009-10-13T00:15:00.001-04:00

The way I see it, the viable options for health care reform are either Darwinian or Draconian. James T. Kirk, meet your no win scenario.

How the Confession of My Sins Kept me in the Church Part II

2009-09-23T11:02:00.001-04:00

How the Confession of My Sins Kept me in the Church Part II

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The Legacy of John Calvin

2009-09-15T14:25:00.001-04:00

The Legacy of John Calvin

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Evidence for Infant Baptism in the Early Church

2009-09-15T14:17:00.001-04:00

Evidence for Infant Baptism in the Early Church

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My New Assignment - Mission in Johnson County

2009-09-12T01:02:00.001-04:00

Effective September 4, 2009, I have accepted a call from Bishop Chuck Huckaby to formally establish a mission congregation of the Reformed Evangelical Synod of America in the Indianapolis metro area. We will be worshipping, for the time being, in my residence on Sunday mornings at 10:30 AM. For more information, to ask questions, or to let me know you are interested in joining us for worship this weekend, please drop me a line. Click here to send me a message.

You can also visit the mission website for more information.

Monnica of North Africa

2009-08-27T15:36:00.001-04:00

Monnica of North Africa

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What are you doing?

2009-08-26T20:59:00.003-04:00

I suppose it was inevitable. The question "What are you doing?" was finally brought up concerning my recent postings about the Diocese of Saint Andrew. So, to clear a few things up...

The Diocese of Saint Andrew is the formally adopted name for the episcopate of my bishop, +Chuck Huckaby of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. For some time, I served under him on my own, but as more clergy and postulants have drawn to his vision of ministry, it became appropriate to consider a more formal structure for those interactions. The past several months have been filled with preparing the path for formally launching our diocese for the benefit of the Church and the People of God.

Some will note that there seems to be something of a distinctly Protestant touch to the website, and might question my article on that site about being both Catholic and Protestant. I think the article speaks well for itself. I stand for the truth, the singular truth, which Christ has revealed to his people through Scripture in the Church.

Others might ask, "what about your primitive convictions?" Indeed, it has been a year filled with deep prayer on these matters. My identification as a Primitive Catholic remains strong, and I believe it is the most accurate way to describe my faith and the faith which I preach; but as several very difficult attempts to generate a 'critical mass' of Primitive Catholics found themselves torn apart very quickly, my spirit became convicted that this was not the right time to continue pursuing such an ideal. My bishop is a kind and caring servant, and he knows the convictions of my heart. He has never forced me to abandon them, and has been more than accommodating to my Primitivist views. I am certain that he will continue to be so.

And thus, it is with a mix of regret and excitement, that I move to fully embrace the work that the Diocese of Saint Andrew has embarked upon.

Please keep me in your prayers!

The Scriptures: God

2009-08-26T08:57:00.001-04:00

The Scriptures: God’s Word or Man’s

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Catholic and Protestant: Harmony and Coexistence

2009-08-25T09:38:00.002-04:00

Catholic and Protestant: Harmony and Coexistence

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The Quiet of Late

2009-08-25T00:36:00.003-04:00

I've had a few e-mails wondering about my quietitude of late. It stems from a recent vacation to Traverse City, Michigan and the preparations requisite to welcome a little one into the world; but it also relates to some exciting developments in the Synod of Saint Timothy.

The Diocese of Saint Andrew (which is a part of the Synod) has completed its work of revising the Book of Common Prayer in contemporary English, and the results have been published for interim use over the next three years. The new edition of the Book of Common Prayer can be purchased through a link at our diocesan website.

Speaking of diocesan websites, the Diocese of Saint Andrew now has its own website at www.dioceseofsaintandrew.org. It is in the building phases now, but some content has been uploaded. It's been a busy few months as we have prepared the 'full court press' for our diocese, but it is my hope and prayer that what we have set forth will be a blessing to church planters who hold to the ancient, orthodox Christian faith.

Finally, a small core group is coming together in the Indianapolis metro area in prayerful contemplation of formally moving forward with a new Church plant in the near future.

Please keep Kristen, Clare and I in your prayers.

Confessions of a Liturgical Schizophrenic

2009-07-09T13:09:00.003-04:00

Anyone who has visited my home and looked at my office knows that I am a liturgical geek. I love the Liturgy of the Church. I have so many books on Liturgy that it boggles my mind how I managed to find them… and, without attempting to sound too vain, I can usually find what I am looking for in them in just a few moments. (Go ahead, test me sometime!) I have altar and pew books of the west and the east… Maronite, Anglican, Roman, Ambrosian, Byzantine, Methodist, Armenian, Lutheran, Moravian… and probably several more. I have book upon book that gets into the history of the liturgies, their evolution, their textual sources. I just love the Liturgy.

Virtually every liturgical tradition in the Christian Church has something of appeal, something that speaks to my soul. Sometimes its the comprehensive view of salvation history provided in the Byzantine and Syriac Eucharistic prayers. At other times it is the noble simplicity of the liturgies of the Latin tradition. I’m hard pressed to find a liturgy in Christendom which I cannot find value and worth in.

And therein lay my problem...

From the time I picked up my first liturgical textbook, I have been a liturgy addict. Recently I was sharing with a friend the various liturgical rites I have celebrated in over the past 12+ years of presbyteral ministry. I present them here, in order:

The modern Roman Rite (June - October 1997)
The 1928 Book of Common Prayer (October 1997 - December 1997)
The Anglican Missal and The Anglican Breviary (December 1997 - January 1999)
The Anglican Missal and the 1928 BCP January 1999 - May 1998)
The 1929 Scottish Book of Common Prayer (May 1998 - May 1999)
The 1892 Book of Common Prayer (May 1999 - July 2001)
The 2001 Primitive Episcopal Book of Common Prayer (July 2001 - January 2003)
Various Local Use Liturgies based Western Rite sources (January 2003 - December 2004)
Western Rite Liturgy of the Synod of Saint Timothy (December 2004 - December 2005)
Eastern Rite (Syriac) Liturgy of the Synod of Saint Timothy (December 2005 - March 2007)
Divine Liturgy of the Evangelical Orthodox Church (March 2007 - June 2008)
Various Local Use Liturgies based on Eastern and Western Sources (June 2008 - Present)

These are the rites I have consistently celebrated during that time. This does not count the other rites I have celebrated, sometimes as a one-off or on occasional visits to congregations with other rites. The consistent tally, however, amounts to twelve different liturgical schemes. Granted, several have a family relation (from October 97 to January 03 I used variations on the classical BCP), but of late I have realized that I have never really firmly solidified my personal liturgical spirituality. Why?

First, while my Theology has become much more entrenched and rooted over that time, my ability to find liturgies that reflect my beliefs has expanded immensely. I see things in many liturgies that both serve to enhance and detract from my beliefs. This becomes a problem, however, because it approaches what could easily be identified as ‘cafeteria’ Christianity. Most who know me know that this doesn’t describe my beliefs, but looking at the listing of liturgical jaunts I have taken, I am not sure if you could tell that.

Second, being a liturgist, I find that it is in celebrating various rites that I truly come to understand their beauty, significance, and vitality. This is troublesome because this requires one to impose their own liturgical desires on a congregation (something I think I can be safely accused of having done in the past).

There is, however, a vital need for providing a spiritual foundation that is well rooted which consistent liturgy is key to. When one doesn’t consistently practice a specific liturgy (whatever liturgy it may be), one isn’t growing in a system - they are pool-hopping. While the occasional visit to a liturgy that differs from one’s own can be an outstanding thing, practicing a regular merry-go-round with the Liturgy is quite another thing indeed.

And so, it is with a heavy heart that I have to admit to myself and to many others that I am a liturgical schizophrenic. My mind and heart are touched by so many things that they haven’t really formed a particular attachment to anything. Further, such a practice has increased in me a discord when it comes to the rites and ceremonies of the Church, the Church Year’s composition, etc. I desperately want to see something better – the best Liturgy ever – and yet I realize each time I think I find something great, that something greater still lay just beyond the horizon, waiting to be discovered.

Myself, I know I need to settle down and embrace a specific liturgy and ritual, and I need to do it soon. It needs to be a liturgy and ritual that I share in common with others (even if it is only with my own diocese), and one that will allow me to focus not on how to make the Rite better, but on how to direct my energies to bring people to the Rite so that they may be brought into full communion with our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the Word.

(N.B.: I have also celebrated from, at least once: the 1979 BCP, the Celtic Episcopal Rite, the Antiochian Catholic Rite, the 1954 South African BCP, the 1549 BCP, the 1962 Canadian BCP, the Book of Common Worship of the Church of South India, the 1926 Irish BCP, the Maronite Rite, the Syro-Malabar Rite, a Trial Use Eucharist from Prayer Book Studies IV, the 1662 BCP, the Anglican Service Book, the Lutheran Book of Worship, Renewing Worship, Service Book and Hymnal, With One Voice, Hymnal Supplement 98, Christian Worship, Christian Worship: Supplement, An Australian Prayer Book, the Old Catholic Missal, and I could probably think of some more if I really tried. That alone is another 22!)

A Eucharistic Bread Recipe

2009-07-05T17:41:00.004-04:00

For many years I have struggled to find a manageable Eucharistic bread recipe that is unleavened, tastes halfway decent, and has an acceptable texture. I also have wanted to try to maintain a connection with the Semetic traditions that our faith came from, and so flatbreads seemed like a good place to start experimenting. The result isn't a wafer, nor does it look like most Eucharistic breads I have seen, but it is true to the Semitic traditions our Lord would have followed (well, except that I use T-Fal... I don't have the kind of cookware they did!) The following is, I hope, the fruit of my labors.

Father Rob's Eucharistic Bread

Ingredients

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 cup of whole wheat flour

1 to 1 1/2 cup of warm water

Sift together the two types of flour several times to get it as fine as possible.

Add 1 cup of warm water.

Stir mixture until the dough pulls away from the side of the mixing bowl. If necessary, add more warm water.

Stir until relatively smooth.

Knead by hand for 5 minutes.

Shape dough into a log, and cut into thin sections (usually 10-20, depending on what sized breads you are making).

Use your hands to form balls out of the dough sections.

Cover dough-balls with a damp towel and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

Heat a non-stick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat (you will need to experiment with your stove to determine the best setting for your cookware). Do not use oil!

Remove one dough-ball at a time and, by hand, strech and pinch the dough out as flat and thin as you can get it while keeping it relatively round.

Place formed loaf on to the skillet/griddle surface.

Watch carefully for lighter colored dry areas to emerge (approx. 30 seconds),

Flip the loaf with tongs and repeat.

Flip a third time, pressing lightly after the flip on areas that are still dark and shiny (indications of higher moisture content). Also, watch for puffing during this stage.

If you made your loaf too thick, you may require several flips. It is better to flip repeatedly in 30 second intervals for several minutes than to attempt to get them all done on one side before flipping.

When done, transfer to a wire cooling rack... do not set them on a plate, as they will absorb steam and get mushy.

Let set at least 15-20 minutes, then wrap in a paper towel and transport to Church.

I haven't tried freezing and reheating these yet, so I'll update this post when I do.

Let me know how these work if you try these!

Review: "Opening Prayers: Collects in Contemporay Language"

2009-06-19T23:23:00.005-04:00

In the past several years, many resources have become available to those desiring to provide a more thematic approach to the praying the Scriptures of the modern three-year Eucharistic lectionary (i.e., the modern Roman lectionary and its various cousins, including the Revised Common Lectionary). "Opening Prayers" from ICEL and the Canterbury Press fits the bill.

To be sure, there are a few collects that could still use some tweaking to make them more chant friendly or to allow them to flow a mite-bit-better in the American idiom (these prayers were originally drafted in the UK), but on the whole it provides a refreshing take on praying the Scriptures that is deeply rooted in the appointed readings of the day.

These collects are not mere reassignments of existent collects (not that there is anything wrong with such an approach) - the are all, each and every one of them, completely new. As such, they will probably not appeal to liturgical purists who want to tie the historic collects of the western liturgy into the new lectionary. (For such a resource, I would recommend a copy of the Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary which assigns the historical collects to the three year lectionary based on similarities of theme, or the "Propers of the Year" volume from the Lutheran Service Book (LCMS, Concordia Publishing).)

"Opening Prayers" manages to balance mild horizontal inclusive language (phrases like 'sons and daughters' and 'your children' are used and feel just right) with unswerving confessions of God in traditional idiom. It avoids issues that plague the collects of Revised Common Lectionary Prayers and Evangelical Lutheran Worship (Leaders Desk Edition), both of which suffer from (the former moreso than the latter), at times, vapid texts which carry little inspiration and bear utterly musical or repetitive qualities whatsoever. (ELW has some gems, 'diamonds in the rough' that need to be polished to shine brightly, but RCLP has nothing worthwile).

Several of the collects in particular stand out: the Easter Vigil and Trinity Sunday collect for Year C are the two best in the book, with Ordinary Time 27b coming in a close third. One outstanding feature is that, while a basic conclusion is used in Ordinary Time, one with thematic implications is generally used (with a few exceptions) throughout specific seasions. Thus, the doxological conclusion of collects in Advent have an emphasis on Christ 'whose coming is certain, whose day draws near'. In Paschaltide, Christ our 'Passover and peace' is praised... outstanding features that one might miss with a cursory glance.

If you are looking for a series with collects for the three-year lectionary, this is the volume for you. Laypersons will find it to be a stimulating way to prepare for the Sunday service, or to integrate the preceding Sunday's readings into one's daily prayer life during the subsequent days. Clergy will find it a rich treasure to enhance their experience in the modern lectionary, one which may help their own spirituality find new ways to comprehend what is the length, breadth, depth, and height of the love of God made manifest to us in Christ Jesus.

It's a girl...

2009-06-09T21:53:00.005-04:00

Kristen and I had the second ultrasound of the pregnancy today, and our little lady, Clare Adele, was staring back at us. We are officially at 20 weeks plus 1 day today, with our due date still holding at October 26th.

Looking at Clare's little fingers and toes, her spine, rib cage, her heart (pumping away like crazy)... seeing her hiccup (or cough, or whatever she was doing) is just an amazing witness to the glory of God and his love towards us.

We rejoice in all he has blessed us with, and I ask for you to continue to pray for Clare's safe keeping and delivery, for Kristen's continued good health and good spirits, and for the wisdom on both of our parts to be good, loving, and - most importantly- godly parents for our little one.

REVIEW: "Star Trek"

2009-05-07T23:24:00.003-04:00

The wait is over…

Star Trek roared onto movie and IMAX screens tonight as the film received it’s general release. While I am preparing an article for my column over at TrekMovie.com on the film’s adaptation by Alan Dean Foster, I wanted to present my review of the film here in greater detail. The following review is broken down on several levels, and will be spoiler-laden. Reader beware. All assessments are on a five point scale.

MAIN STORY – 1

If you’ve seen Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, you’ve seen a lot of this movie. Nero (Eric Bana) is a Romulan miner whose wife (among billions of others) is killed when a supernova wipes out Romulus. This sets in motion a desire for pure revenge that will only be quenched when Spock is made to equally suffer for his perceived sins. Just bare Bana’s chest and you have a near clone of Khan. Such a pity to rely on the ‘horrible baddy with personal vendetta’ line to bring about a new era in Trek.

ACTING – 3

Most of the acting in Star Trek is very good, though a few folks stand out. Karl Urban (McCoy) easily walks away with the best performance of the film, with Zoe Saldana (Uhura) coming in a close second. Both Chris Pine (Kirk) and Zachary Quinto (Spock) deliver good performances that bode well for the inevitable sequel. Chris Hemsworth (Kirk, Sr.) delivers an outstanding –if all too brief – performance as Kirk’s father, with Jennifer Morrison (Kirk’s mother) doing an equally amazing job. Their work together in the first major pivotal scene in the film is some of the best acting in the entire flick, and will almost certainly make any fan get misty-eyed. Ben Cross (Sarek) would be a very welcome retention in any future film. His work was very much his own, but also very much what one would expect from the father of Mr. Spock. Winona Ryder’s take on Spock’s mother was fair enough, though given the amount of her screen time that was cut out of the film, it’s hard to make a good judgment on her work in the role from what we see.

Bruce Greenwood’s portrayal of Captain Christopher Pike is something of a 50/50 proposition. While I accept that the movie’s function was to get people to accept a new cast and crew for a new series of Star Trek adventures, Pike really winds up with the short end of the stick. Greenwood plays well a role that comes across feeling very compromised due to the story’s service of Kirk and Spock. As a major fan of Christopher Pike, I was terribly disappointed with how he was used, but find myself immediately and instantly placing Greenwood’s Pike in place of Hunter’s (no disrespect intended to Jeffrey Hunter, as his Pike was excellent, but there was something a little extra about how Greenwood played the part.)

Simon Pegg's (Scotty) performance was acceptable, if not a bit over the top; and John Cho (Sulu) was also acceptable. While Sulu was given more to do this time out, I still feel more could be done with his part in the future. Turning Pegg and Cho into deeper characters will only help their roles in future films.

Leonard Nimoy’s (Spock ‘Prime’) was touching to see on screen, even if it suffers from the direction of the film. He still has the acting chops to pull off the most endearing role in Star Trek history, even after forty-five years (the first pilot, “The Cage” was shot in 1964).

Bana (Nero) and Ayel (Collins, Jr.) are simply cardboard cutout villain and henchman, who could easily have been played by anyone else. The fact that they won’t be in a sequel is no great loss. And, since continuity is now totally open to reformulation, I look forward to finding a way to jettison Anton Yelchin’s Chekov, mainly because he was basically a 1^st season TNG Wesley Crusher with a wery, wery bad Wussian accent. I like Yelchin. I hate his take on Chekov.

SCIENCE – 1

Besides getting some technical advice on Saturn’s moon, Titan, and reminding the special effects artists that space is a three-dimensional environment, what the heck did the filmmakers bother to hire a science advisor for? The science is awful. There are so many inconsistencies in the ‘science’ of this new Star Trek that it would make your heads spin to just think about it. How did Nero and Spock get thrown back in time? A black hole you say? Really? And what about this red matter business – one little syringe full and ‘poof’, you get a black hole? Warping from Earth to Vulcan in, what, an hour or two? Seeing Vulcan destroyed from light years away while standing on Delta Vega? Delta Vega (regardless of its location) back to earth in under ten minutes? ‘Transwarp Beaming”? Come on! This Star Trek outing isn’t Science Fiction, it’s just fiction.

THE LOOK – 3

I love the more formal (gray and red) academy uniforms, and even the Kelvin era uniforms look pretty good. I don’t care for the new take on the TOS uniforms, the Apple Store bridge, the Titanic-esque engine room, the fan blades everywhere, and the hideous outfits that the Admirals at the Academy were wearing (as well as that horrible TMP-esque business that Pike wore at the end of the film). Admittedly, however, the new uniforms tend to blend out in wide shots, only becoming truly annoying in close-ups. Oh, and the moon boots, they have to go. The Vulcans are well designed, and their planet is amazing. San Francisco appears to be a bit busy, but otherwise OK. Nero’s ship, the Narada, is just plain crazy looking, and the crew is all decked out in typical baddie attire.

PRODUCT PLACEMENT – 0

A Nokia car phone… A Budweiser at the bar… I don’t want product placement in my Star Trek. Epic Fail.

SPECIAL EFFECTS – 4

This is a summer action flick, it has to have great SFX. While I still hate the use of CGI, it is pretty good in this film (though, ironically, I prefer the CGI in “Nemesis” better). Some scenes are very obvious (long shots of the fighting on the drilling rig in painful particular), but for the most part, the CG is pretty seamless with the live action. The Narada was an overkill, future Spock’s ‘jellyfish’ was about the most annoying ship I have ever seen in a Star Trek film or episode, and the transporter effect was abysmal. My opinion of the new Enterprise softened a bit, though I still think improvements could have been made to the ship…

DIRECTION, EDITING, and PACING – 2.5

For the most part, director J.J. Abrams did a very good job, as long as you don’t mind lens flares. My main objection to his directing style centers around his use of Nimoy’s Spock, who seems constantly rushed in every scene. Is this a direction or editing issue? I can’t tell, but it limit’s Nimoy’s effectiveness in the role. A particularly bad decision is the mind-meld sequence between Nimoy and Pine that simply fell flat with me. The misuse of Nimoy's time on screen is a absolute disappointment.

OVERALL – 2.5

The movie is a fun action flick, and I’ll definitely go and see it again; but I, both as a fan and as a person who wanted to see a complete reboot, find the film to be a disappointment. That being said, the ending of the film aboard the Enterprise sets us up for an adventure that can be worthy of the Star Trek name in the future. I think that Orci, Kurtzman, and company can deliver such a film now that the business of re-establishing the Star Trek universe has been completed.

MY NEW RANKING OF TREK FILMS:

As it stands this morning, after seeing Trek XI once...

11. Nemesis (F)
10. Generations (D-)
09. Insurrection (D)
08. The Voyage Home (C)
07. First Contact (C)
06. "Star Trek" (The new film) (C+)
05. The Final Frontier (B)
04. The Search for Spock (B)
03. The Wrath of Khan (A)
02. The Motion Picture (A)
01. The Undiscovered Country (A+)

I am sure this will change in the future.

What do I have in common with the Discovery Channel's Wednesday Night Lineup?

2009-05-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

Well, while watching this week's DVR'ed episodes of Mythbusters and Pitchmen, I realized I have a deep connection the Discovery Channel on Wednesday nights...

I was born in Alameda County, California, where the bulk of Mythbusters is shot.

When I was six months old my grandmother took me in, and we lived in Pinellas County, Florida, where the bulk of Pitchmen is shot.

If any Discovery Channel executives are reading this blog, you are welcome to contact me for my guest appearances on these programs.

Homily for Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter

2009-04-28T00:00:00.000-04:00

Readings:

Acts 7:51 – 8:1
Portions of Psalm 31
John 6: 30-35

How often throughout human history have people felt more than free to reinterpret God’s own words to suit their purposes? In our own day we see such practices running rampant, but it is important to remember the old adage that I so often use when illustrating points in my homilies: “There is nothing new under the sun.”

Yesterday we heard the beginning of Stephen’s prosecution at the hands of the Jewish Sanhedrin. Today, Stephen speaks up and convicts the lot of them of opposing the Holy Spirit; effectively challenging and rewriting the teachings of Scripture to suit their desires. “They were stung to the heart,” records the Book of Acts, but being stung resulted not in repentance and contrition, but in “grinding their teeth in anger” at Stephen. Stephen would go on to witness to his Savior through the blood of martyrdom for his refusal to revise the Gospel to suit the prevailing opinions of powerful people.

And yet, it is not only the powerful whom we must exhibit a consistent witness before. In our Gospel reading today from the sixth chapter of John, we hear the beginning of the heart of the Bread of Life discourse, which finds its roots in response to the request of the people, “Sir, give us this bread always!” Jesus responds to them: “I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me shall ever be hungry, no one who believes in me shall thirst again.”

Though we won’t hear it in our setting this week since Friday’s readings will be pre-empted for the Feast of Saints Philip and James, Jesus goes on to tell the multitude that has followed him: “I am the living bread come down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he shall live forever; the bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” And then, even more clearly, “Let me solemnly assure you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” This seemed like a pretty nasty idea to at least some of Jesus’ followers. “This sort of talk is hard to endure” they said… their faith suddenly slacking off in the wake of Jesus’ words. “How can anyone take it seriously?” they ask.

For over fifteen hundred years, the vast majority of Christians took Jesus at his word… that he had given his true flesh and blood to us under the forms of bread and wine in the usage of the Lord’s Supper. And yet, in the sixteenth century, a new teaching began to surface. It was impossible, the purveyors of this new teaching claimed, for Christ to be present both on earth in the Eucharist and in heaven at the throne of God. Thus, the Eucharist was just a symbol, and there was no presence of Christ. “Besides,” some of them would argue, “that’s cannibalism… that’s nasty… that’s awful!” What a poverty! The very seal, the means of grace, in which the atoning death of our Lord Jesus Christ is communicated to us becomes a shell for those who would reject the plain words of Christ “This is my body… given for you” and “This is my blood… shed for the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus did not give us a symbol, he gave us his Body and Blood. To ignore his clear words in the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel, and in the various narratives of the Last Supper is tantamount to rejecting all of his work outright, for through the Sacramental means of grace that God pours out on us the grace and strength of his work.

And so we are left to wonder why so many other basic Christian doctrines are being denied today; why groups like the Jesus Seminar can find such an audience. We are so convinced that the Word has no authority that we freely renegotiate what it means. Sadly, this trend began five hundred years ago in the name of restoring the Church to what it once was. But when you attack the power of Baptism and the Eucharist, you must attack the authority and power of Scripture. Thus, if you can redefine the Sacraments, you can redefine the Scriptures which establish those sacraments… and then all hell breaks loose in the Church.

Today’s Church must accept the conviction of rejecting the plain word of Scripture, as was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and then must determine how the sting in the hearts of her leaders is going to affect them: do we recover the primal place of Word and Sacrament, purely preached and ministered, in our congregations and ministries, or do we continue to embrace a Gospel that denies the very basic beliefs and practices of the Christian faith in the name of inclusively and kindness?

Surely it is a question we will not be able to answer for anyone else, but you… what do you believe? How will you choose? Will you embrace God’s Word and Sacraments at face value with faith, or will you reject what Christ has spoken about his own creation and sacraments for the sake of substituting your own belief, one more palatable to you?

Those who refuse to accept Christ at face value, no matter how much they may like elements of his Gospel, will ultimately drift away (regardless of what they call themselves on the door of their building or what kind of clothing they wear). No number of fish stickers on the back of their cars will ever change the fact that when we reject the plain Word of God, we reject God.

May God have mercy on us, and strengthen us to confess the pure Gospel and receive the Sacraments in purity of belief and of heart… and when we falter, when we fear, when we find it impossible to believe, let us cry out to God, “Lord, I want to believe… help my unbelief!”

Homily for Monday of the Third Week of Easter

2009-04-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

Readings:

Acts 6: 8-15
Portions of Psalm 119
John 6: 22-29

Every good and perfect work flows out of faith. In a world where signs on public transportation state “You don’t have to believe in God to be good”, this concept stands as a strong counterbalance to what we read about in the closing words of our Gospel reading today.

Why did Stephen, the first Martyr of the Early Church, perform such great works? Our reading from Acts tells us that it is because he was ‘filled with grace and power” – a grace and power which he possessed not on his own account, but only on account of his faith in Christ.

Now, you would think that in our Gospel, which follows in the wake of the miracle of the loaves and the fishes, that the crowds would have had some measure of faith. And yet Jesus points out to them “You aren’t looking for me on account of the miracle, you are looking for me because you aren’t hungry anymore.”

What a stinging rebuke – and yet it is a rebuke that will go on to illustrate the power of the flesh of the Son of Man and of his blood. In the reading appointed tomorrow, we will get more deeply into this portion of John 6, but suffice it to say Jesus is setting his massive following up for a major decision, all stemming around the veracity of his words.

Do we today accept Jesus at his word? Do we side with him when confronted with a society and a race that is so far gone from its original righteousness, or do we conform and compromise our message for the sake of ease?

Over the centuries, the Church has had the chance time and time again to compromise her message, her proclamation of Christ… but even in the darkest hours of Church history, the Truth has always been proclaimed somewhere, somehow – for indeed, even when sinners proclaim the Gospel, it is the power of the Word and it retains the power to change people’s lives. This change effects faith in people, and faith brings us to performing the good works of God.

Homily for Friday of the Second Week of Easter

2009-04-24T11:48:00.002-04:00

Readings
Acts 5: 34-42
Portions of Psalm 27
John 6: 1-15

Fear is a constituent element in our lives. From the moment of our birth, the primal cry of the infant is one of fear: fear of the unknown, fear of going hungry, fear of being dropped, fear of being abandoned… fear often undergirds many elements of our day to day life, and, ultimately, for many, fear forms the basis for our relationship with God.

To be certain, the sins we commit should make us fearful when we consider our relationship with God… our sins are like scarlet when compared with the prefect righteousness of Jesus Christ. And yet today, the words of the Psalmist call us to a transform our fear through the simplicity of trust.

Look at our other readings:

In our passage from Acts, some of the Apostles have been brought before the Sanhedrin and, in spite of preaching the Gospel that Christ has handed them, the find themselves flogged and ordered to stop preaching the Gospel. What a miserable situation! And yet, as we are told by Luke, the author of Acts, “The apostles for their part left the Sanhedrin full of joy that they had been judged worthy of ill-treatment for the sake of the Name.” Here the leaders of the infant Church had been brought before what is, in essence, the Supreme Court of Israel… and they lost their case. Imagine the despair that they might have had – but no! Most certainly the words of the twenty-seventh psalm rung in their minds and hearts with every lash of the whip: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the refuge of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

Compare and contrast this with their reaction in our Gospel when, just a few years before, they were confronted with the impossible task of feeding over five thousand with five barley loaves and two dried fish. “What’s the use!” they cry, “Even with two-hundred days worth of wages, we couldn’t begin to even give them a bite!” Jesus works a wonder, feeds the multitude, and the people marvel – but soon enough things will be back to the way they were. Faith will falter, followers will doubt, and they most certainly won’t be willing to hang around for a flogging or worse.

So what compelled Jesus’ followers to transform from a rag-tag band of vagrants and vagabonds to the bold preachers of truth and witnesses of faith that we celebrate so often in the Scriptures and in the Church’s Calendar (as we will tomorrow on the Feast of Saint Mark)?

The Holy Spirit, cleansing the heart, strengthening the mind, and compelling the soul to follow where Christ has trod is the answer – for the Spirit inspires us to trust in the Gospel, and to sing with joy the words of today’s Psalm… the Holy Spirit further emboldens us to seek, in the wake of our reception of God’s mercy and reconciling love, a place in the eternal kingdom where we may contemplate the beauty of the Lord and sing his praise.

The final verse in today’s Psalm selection so wonderfully sums up how the Apostles and Disciples undoubtedly viewed their situation: “Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord.”

Are you courageous in waiting? Are you stout-hearted? Do you allow anything to draw you away from Christ? Do you trust in anything or anyone except Christ to rescue you from your sins and bring you to that dwelling-place secure?

If so, fear and trouble will surely follow you; but if you trust in the Lord, and embrace the indwelling Holy Spirit, you can grow, day by day, in the grace needed to transform adversity to joy – even in the face of persecution, hatred, and death.

May God give us this grace, now, always, and forever. Amen.

Still Not Happy...

2009-04-21T22:02:00.002-04:00

So I am still completely unhappy with the site setup, but having tooled around for a bit with WordPress, I am unimpressed with how complicated and un-intuitive the format over there is... so, anyone got:

A) Tips on a better template for this site?

B) Any idea why my Blog Post setup isn't taking hold?

Homily for Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter

2009-04-21T00:00:00.002-04:00

Readings:
· Acts 4: 32-37
· Portions of Psalm 93
· John 3: 7-15

Last Wednesday was tax day. Around the country, thousands of American citizens gathered at so-called “Tax Day Tea Parties”. While a broad range of grass-roots anger brought everyone out, one of the themes I kept seeing on signs and in the words of participants was an opposition to the adoption of Socialism in the United States.

Participants pointed at the failures of the European and Canadian systems, as well as the fall of the Soviet Union, the recent capitalist upsurge in China, and even the status of Cuba as proofs of the failures of socialism.

Imagine the shock they must feel if, today, they are sitting in Church and they heard this Scripture read. They find a place where Socialism did work. It was the Christian Church.

In our first reading today, drawn from the fourth chapter of Acts, we have just about the most perfect example of voluntary socialism that we have ever seen… complete with the amazing result “…nor was there anyone needy among them…” Stop for a second and consider that. There was not a single needy person in the Church at Jerusalem. Wealth was freely and joyfully redistributed! Can you fathom that? How could this possibly occur?

The answer is not a mystery, at least, not to those of us who have bothered to listen to the words of our Lord. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus speaks boldly to Nicodemus about how we can be transformed into the image and likeness of God – by the power of the Spirit.

We who believe that the Son of Man has been lifted up for our salvation know that when we conform our lives to his example – something that occurs when the Holy Spirit indwells within us and is allowed to transform us – great things can happen. Imagine a Christian Church today where no member goes without basic human needs and services… I’m not talking about some kind of Prosperity Gospel knock-off; I am talking about THE GOSPEL and the example of the Apostles and Church Fathers who found that their calling to proclaim the gospel included a calling to relieve not only suffering from sin but from worldly anxieties as well.

In stark contrast to the prosperity Gospel:

THE TRUE CHRISTIAN GOSPEL is one that says our sins are forgiven through the gracious work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

THE TRUE CHRISTIAN GOSPEL does not promise us perfect health in this life, a new Cadillac if we just pray the right way, or the exchange of a one-hundred dollar ‘seed offering’ for a one-thousand dollar ‘harvest return’. That is the Gospel of hucksters and cheats who seek to make the message of Jesus palatable to a perverse and materialistic generation.

THE TRUE CHRISTIAN GOSPEL is one that says that we are called to be transformed into the image and likeness of our Savior and Brother, a likeness that is filled with compassion and concern for those less fortunate than ourselves.

THE TRUE CHRISTIAN GOSPEL is one that requires us to live sacrificially – not because we are atoning for our own sins, but because living sacrificially is the first step to meeting the needs of our brothers and sisters who are less fortunate than ourselves.

The Tax Day protestors were right about one thing – Government sponsored socialism is a questionable (at best) proposition. But Socialism is not a questionable philosophy. It is the only one that has ever enabled the Church to be what it is called to be in response to the social end of her Gospel mandate. Christian Socialism must not be a political movement, as it has been in the past. Christian Socialism is a gospel lifestyle made manifest in the lives of believers – those who have been reborn by water and the Spirit.

May God give us the grace to accept this teaching, and the boldness to live it out; in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and by the power of his all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit.

A New Look to the Site

2009-04-20T00:00:00.000-04:00

You may notice a new view of the site... decided to change templates after nearly two years. Not sure if I like this one, but I think I'll stick with it for a while. I am still thinking of moving to WordPress, but I don't much care for the interface there. I also need to revise the header here on the site, but that will have to wait for another day.

An Update

2009-04-18T09:24:00.012-04:00

As my regular readers know, Kristen and I bought a house late last year in the midst of both a tumultious housing market and a bit of personal tumult (in the guise of our apartment building catching on fire in early November). During Advent and the Christmas season I was pretty good about keeping up on things around the blog, but when January hit I started getting a bit sporadic. So, I figure, it's time for a bit of an update for everyone...

THE NEW HOUSE - We have started to put our touches on the place, though Kristen and I have both discovered that we hate painting with a passion. Nevertheless, we have our bedroom and a guest bathroom completely painted, and a wonderful accent wall downstairs in our formal living/dining room (which we are both quite proud of!). I just got back from buying a lawn mower this morning, as well as grass seed for a second round of sewing (our front yard is sodded, but the sides and back were bare). Our first round of seeding took better than Kristen expected, but we definately need more. So, it's out back today to take care of that little chore, and then out front when Kristen gets back from her Supper Club Brunch to do the mowing bit.

COCO - Another late 2008 addition to the Lyons household was CoCo, a black lab mix puppy (she was 5 months old the day we got her). Now going on 9 months old, CoCo has blossomed into a Nylabone-chomping, fun-loving pooch. A lot of that is thanks to her puppy classes - from which she is just about to graduate (2 weeks!). As I blog, she is standing behind me on the second story, peering out the loft-office window at the world around us. She is wonderful in the car, has a sweetly-mischevous disposition, and seems to love kids, which is a good thing because...

BRENDAN or CLARE (we don't know the gender yet) is on his or her way into the world. Me and the Missus found out that we were expecting just as Lent began (making this a particularlly good Lent to work on patience and self-denial!), but we have not shared it too openly since there is always the chance of miscarriage or other issues coming up. We are now closing in on the 13 week mark of the pregnancy, the heartbeat is loud and clear, and Kristen and I have already had the awe-inspiring chance to see our baby (at less than 9 weeks) in the ultrasound. We saw its heart beating away (174 beats per minuite) and the ultrasound technician pointed out that the baby was moving! Talk about speechless! It was so amazing to see. I can't wait to meet our little one at the end of October... please keep his or her safe development in your prayers.

MINISTRY TRANSITIONS - Lent was also a time for other transitions, in particular a ministry transition. After consultation with my bishop, with a light to finding ways to minister and potentially establish a congregation in our new home-town, I am transitioning back to the Western Rite (actually started the transition on the Fifth Sunday in Lent). I am still in discernment on some other matters related to my ministry (though I definately plan to remain at the hospital), and Kristen and I are preparing to start a Bible Study (as a bit of a precursor to establishing a local ministry) sometime around Pentecost. I am currently using the LSB Three Year Lectionary at the recommendation of my bishop, together with the Daily Lectionary and Psalms as published in The Treasury of Daily Prayer.

I think that about catches everyone up for the moment... enjoy your weekend. It's gorgeous here today, and I hope that you have a wonderful day - even if the weather in your neck of the woods is on the crappy side.

Discovery Channel Season Premiers!

2009-04-17T23:49:00.007-04:00

I love The Discovery Channel. Some of my favorite TV shows are on this network, including Mythbusters and Deadliest Catch. Both shows have recently returned (Mythbusters last week and Deadliest Catch this week), and the network has added a new series, Pitchmen, to its Wednesday night lineup...

DEADLIEST CATCH - I hate crab. I won't eat them, and I have no idea why I like this show, but I am absolutely addicted to it. Every year when the Blessing of the Fleet is offered, it get a bit choked up... in the midst of such a rough and tumble occupation, God still gets a nod (even if it is, at times, somewhat prefunctory). Lots of drama appears in the works for this season, with Captain Keith whacking his head on 500 tons of crab boat, Captain Phil sitting out King Crab season, and the looming October date (next episode) when a distress call hits the fleet. I just can't get enough of this show, and Season 5 looks to be one to top all!

MYTHBUSTERS - This week Adam and Jamie built a boat out of a substance called Pykrete (basically a frozen blend of wood-pulp and water) while the Build Team tested the myth of a snow plow cleanly slicing a car in half (with the occupants walking away). Not quite as good as last week's premier, a two hour Demolition Derby special... but watching Adam and Jamie on the high seas in, basically, a paper mache boat was priceless!

PITCHMEN - New from Thom Beers (creator/producer of Deadliest Catch) is Pitchmen, which sounds absolutely insane but which was absolutely hilarious! Pitchmen follows Billy Mays (of OxyClean fame) and Anthony Sullivan (Stick-up Bulb, anyone?) as they work with inventors who think they have the next great invention that can be stocked at $19.99 or less.

But wait! There's more!

Pitchmen goes behind the scenes as the pair film 'direct response' ads, interview potential clients, and share their secrets to invention success. I have to admit, when I first heard about this show, I thought it was going to be completely worthless, but one whack of the hammer with Impact Gel and I was sold on the show. I wonder what "AS SEEN ON TV" item I'll get if I order the inevitable DVD set...

All in all, a great week for The Discovery Channel... looking forward to more as this season goes on.

Homily for Friday of Easter Week

2009-04-17T00:00:00.000-04:00

Readings-
Acts 4: 13-21
Portions of Psalm 118
Mark 16: 9-15

In 1937, as the Nazi movement was on the rise in Germany, a Lutheran pastor named Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a book entitled “The Cost of Discipleship”. This book, focuses on how grace is lived out in the midst of the Christian Church today.

One of the most important parts of the book, considered a Christian literary classic of the twentieth century across denominational lines, deals with the distinction which Bonhoeffer makes between "cheap" and "costly" grace.

Bonhoeffer writes: “…cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.”

To put it even more clearly, cheap grace reduces the Gospel to: “Of course you have sinned, but now everything is forgiven, so you can stay as you are and enjoy the consolations of forgiveness." The main defect of such a proclamation is that it contains no demand for discipleship.

In contrast to this is costly grace, of which Bonhoeffer writes: “…costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. It is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: ‘My yoke is easy and my burden is light.’”

In our Gospel reading today, we are given an overview of the events that followed the Resurrection of Christ. In it, we are reminded of the Resurrection proclamations of both Mary and the Disciples who were on the Road to Emmaus… proclamations that were ignored, rationalized, or otherwise disregarded by the others; that is, until our Lord shows up himself and replaces rationalization with realization, and begins the process of conforming his followers to his image by the working of the Holy Spirit. (We will hear a more detailed account of some of these events in our Gospel reading this coming Sunday.)

When Christ appears to his disciples in the Upper Room on that first Easter evening, he offers them, in Bonhoeffer’s words, “a gracious call to follow Jesus… a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit.” Here is a cadre of men who ran at the moment of Jesus’ greatest trial, whose guilt and pain must have been overwhelming. They were totally unworthy on the basis of their own merits to receive such a gracious calling on their lives – it is only on account of the love of their Master that they did, indeed, receive the calling; one that was destined to utterly transform their lives.

Compare the response, particularly of Peter… poor Peter!... in our Reading today from Acts with his response when our Lord was facing immanent arrest: instead of striking out with a weapon of this world, Peter abides in the embrace of God, accepting reproach for the sake of the Gospel. Peter, John, and the rest of Jesus’ followers – in the wake of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit – transition from skeptics to convicted preachers who call all of us to embrace, not cheap grace, but costly grace – grace that may, eventually, require of us the ultimate price in this world.

That is uncomfortable to think about these days. Bonhoeffer realized that. He argues that as Christianity spread, the Church became more “secular”, accommodating the demands of obedience to Jesus to the requirements of society. In this way, he writes, “the world was Christianized, and grace became its common property.” The problem is, there is nothing common about grace. At times and in places throughout Christian history, the gospel has been cheapened, and obedience to the living Christ was gradually lost beneath formula and ritual, so that –in the darkest days of the Church’s history - grace was literally being sold for worldly gain.

The example of Peter and John in today’s reading from Acts, reminds us that the Gospel often will result in little earthly gain – save gaining a mantle of suffering or a crown of Martyrdom. This isn’t a result of cheap grace; a grace that can be bought or sold with ease… it is a result of costly grace, the grace of God won for us on the cross, and poured out upon us by the Holy Spirit – a grace that is intended to conform us more and more to the image and likeness of God revealed to us in the life and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily for Tuesday of Easter Week

2009-04-14T00:00:00.001-04:00

Readings-

Acts 2: 36-41
Portions of Psalm 33
John 20: 11-18

In our Gospel reading today, Mary Magdalene falls down at the feet of her master when he reveals himself to her. “Rabboni!” she cries out… “Teacher!” Mary falls down before the creator of heaven and earth, seeking to follow him ever-more-deeply. But a question is posed – to Mary and to us: by what means do we draw closer to Christ? The plain answer is: by the working of the Holy Spirit.

It is the power of the Spirit, poured out upon all flesh, that makes possible our conversion to Christ, for us to come to the Waters of Baptism, and for us to – if I may paraphrase Peter - “save ourselves from this generation which has gone astray.”

During this Easter Season, as we reflect on both the Resurrection of our Savior and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we will hear many bold and noble accounts of how the power of the Holy Spirit filled the first Christians with courage, strength, conviction, and faith. We too can experience those same benefits today in our own lives when we trust the Holy Spirit to be our guide, our keeper, and our strength.

We do this first and foremost by being ever-conscious of our sins and failings, and by trusting completely in Christ, whom we know to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Revealing our sins to us and placing our entire life into God’s hands is not a simple matter however, and they are both things that, left to our own devices, we could never do alone.

In the book of the prophet Jeremiah (17:9), we are taught “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick…” In the same passage, we are taught that we will be rewarded according to our deeds. If our hearts are desperately wicked, though, of what good will our deeds be? The answer, left to our own strength and abilities, is: absolutely no good whatsoever.

But thanks be to God that we, the people of God, who confess Jesus Christ and trust in him for our salvation are inheritors of the promised indwelling of the Holy Spirit, strengthened against sin and for all good works, so that we may gather together and sit at the feet of our Lord, truly listening to the teaching that is able to save our souls. To Christ our Teacher, our merciful Savior and Risen Lord, be glory, as is justly due, now and forever. Amen!

The Audacity of Idealism

2009-03-02T20:43:00.004-05:00

An ex-Anglican friend of mine who recently elected to go the way of Independent Catholicism, has - at times - refered to my viewpoints on certain matters as being 'Anabaptism clothed in a Chasuble'. He has noted before that I need to be a realist about certain things.

Of late, his admonition has continued to touch my conscience... but probably not in the way he intended. To this un-named priest, I ask this question: "What's so wrong with being idealistic?"

For so very, very long the Church has comprimised time and time again with society, the government, and other powers that be in order to secure for herself a more, shall we say, secure future. In the process, the Church has lost her sense of apart-ness. She has lost her idealism. In losing these key distinctives, the Church Visible has, sadly, lost her edge.

The Church desperately needs to reclaim her original idealism in ways that are clearly expressive of the hope that is in us in Christ Jesus. This means we don't embrace society willy-nilly, or scholasticism as all-knowing. We refrain from responding in kind when threatened, and we turn the other cheek for the sake of our Christian integrity. It means bearing witness to the truth, even if our precious tax-exempt status will get revoked. It means speaking the truth about life issues, civics, and the all-around obligation of the believer to live a transformed life.

During this Lenten season, we are called time and time again to return to the Gospel in new and powerful ways. We are called to grab hold of the optimism and idealism that so compelled the Apostles in their audacious mission to evangelize the peoples. Today, nothing less than a return to the message of Jesus Christ - unencumbered by seventeen hundred years of developmental disarray - can bring about a genuine renewal of Christianity.

(At the same time, we must be cautious not to reject everyone who has come before us from some specific pre-determined date as being less than Christian. The Church today can critically reapprobate her original message while still valuing the input of centuries of blesseds and not despising them or rejecting them outright!)

Let us pray for the Church - that she would be renewed by the power of the Spirit, and that, as members of Christ's body, each of us make take our place in manning the ark of our salvation, God's one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church - cleansing her from stem to stern as we continue our voyage to our heavenly harbor.

In closing, if my strong contention for the Primitive Catholic faith makes me an Anabaptist in a Chasuble, than will somebody kindly direct me to the nearest sacristy.

A Reflection on Faith and Science on Darwin's Birthday

2009-02-12T20:30:00.003-05:00

Celebrate the Eucharist, then give some of the consecrated elements to a scientist. They will tell you that there is nothing there, save bread and wine. Yet we believe that Christ is truly present. We do not rely on science to prove it; we accept it on faith.

Take a human being, then give him over to a scientist with a goal of finding a soul. They will look at you puzzled, do what they need to do, and will determine that the individual has a physical body and a mind that works it and comprehends the world around it. They will not find a soul. Yet we believe that the soul is a reality. We do not rely on science to prove it; we accept it on faith.

Take the story of Joshua stopping the Sun and Moon in its tracks, and give it to a scientist. They will ask you if you are just trying to get them to parrot that e-mail from a few years back that said that NASA proved it occured when, in fact, they had not. They will then do a bit of research and will let you know that if it had happened, we'd all be dead due to tidal forces and gravitational issues. They will declare it impossible. Yet we believe that it happened. We do not rely on science to prove it; we accept it on faith.

Go back even further to the Exodus. Give the basic parameters to a scientist. They will spend forever trying to determine where it happened, will proclaim that -if it happened at all- it was a crossing of a shallow lake, and they will go on to tell you all kinds of things about how Israel wasn't in Egypt, that there weren't enough Israelites to make the kind of journey the story tells, etc. They will declare it either improbable or impossible. Yet we believe that it happened. We do not rely on science to prove it; we accept it on faith.

How about the Tower of Babel. Take it to a scientist. They'll tell you that the societies of the earth split apart far too long ago for the Tower of Babel to account for the world's many and varied cultures and ethnicities. Yet we believe that it happened. We do not rely on science to prove it; we accept it on faith.

Yet again, the Flood. It was, at best, a local flood... that's what most scientists will tell you, because they contend that there isn't enough water on the earth to result in a flood of the magnitude that the Bible describes. They will declare a global flood impossible. Yet we believe that it happened. We do not rely on science to prove it; we accept it on faith.

So why is it that we can accept all these things on faith, but when it comes to the age of the earth, we have to compromise with modern scientific theories that have changed again and again over hundreds of years. If we cannot accept the Creation account on faith, than we must disregard every other belief we hold fast to until we have concrete proof...

And yet, even if we had proof of creation, many would still not believe.

Even if we had proof of a global flood, many would still not believe.

Even if we had proof of the Tower at Babel, many would still not believe.

Even if we had proof of the Sun and Moon standing still, many would still not believe.

Even if we had proof of the existence of a soul, many would still not believe.

And yes, even if we had proof of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, many would still not believe.

A Missionary Vision

2009-01-26T19:13:00.002-05:00

Pastor William Weedon, a LCMS pastor, has put up an interesting post on his blog concerning his 'dream' mission Church. It's worth a look. You can click HERE to read it.

Which Church Father are You?

2009-01-22T01:46:00.001-05:00

Just found a neat little quiz, and while I am not much for these things usually, I couldn't resist comparing myself to a Church Father...

You’re St. Justin Martyr!

You have a positive and hopeful attitude toward the world. You think that nature, history, and even the pagan philosophers were often guided by God in preparation for the Advent of the Christ. You find “seeds of the Word” in unexpected places. You’re patient and willing to explain the faith to unbelievers.

Find out which Church Father you are at The Way of the Fathers!

January 2 - Office of Readings

2009-01-02T10:46:00.003-05:00

From time to time I'll continue posting reflections drawn from the Office of Readings for visitors to the site. Today, reflecting on the opening passage of the Book of Genesis, I present portions of Gregory of Nyssa's treatise "On Baptism".

Scriptural Reading: Genesis 1:1 - 3:24

Patristic Reading: From the treatise "On Baptism" by Gregory of Nyssa.

Too long have you rolled in the mire; hasten - not at the voice of John, but of Christ - to Jerusalem. For indeed the river of grace flows everywhere.

Jerusalem does not rise in Palestine to disappear in some nearby sea. It spreads over the whole earth and flows into paradise, flowing in the opposite direction to those four rivers which come from paradise and bringing in things far more precious than those which come forth.

Those rivers carry perfumes, the fruit of the culture and germination of the earth. This river brings in men and women, begotten of the Holy Spirit.

Wherever you draw water, you will find this river flowing; it is diverted throughout the earth, and it does not consume its water in those places into which it is divided. For it has a rich source, Christ, and flowing out from him it inundates the enitre world.

This river is delightful and drinkable, attracting nothing that is salty or unpleasant. It is rendered sweet by the Spirit's coming, like the fount of Marah by the touch of wood.

It can easily be crossed by those who are devout, but it is too deep for those who are focused on this world and it cannot even be approached by them.

Imitate Jesus, bear the Gospel as he bore the ark. Leave behind the desert of sin. Cross the Jordan, and hasten to life according to the commands of Christ.

Hurry to that land which brings forth fruits of joy; where, as promised, milk and honey flow.

Overturn Jericho, your former way of life; and do not allow it to be rebuilt.

All these things constitute types for us; and they all prefigure the truths that have now been revealed.

Ordinary Time - Year B

2009-01-02T00:00:00.001-05:00

Today we enter into Ordinary Time on our calendar, having completed the Octave of the Nativity yesterday with our celebration of the Theophany (Baptism) of our Lord. In the coming year, at least in this little portion of Christendom, we'll be looking at Mark's Gospel in depth, as well as doing a spiritual study in Saint John Climacus' "The Ladder of Divine Ascent".

For most Christians, 'ordinary time' doesn't resume for a week or two, but, in the meantime, I would like to take a moment to challenge you to delve more deeply into some form of spiritual study that can be, for you, a spur to a deeper, more intimate life with our extraordinary God.

The Solemnity of the Baptism of our Lord

2009-01-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today concludes the Nativity Octave with the Solemnity of the Baptism of our Lord. Today we hear from Gregory of Nazianzen on the deep and rich meaning of this capstone to our Christmas celebration.

From a Sermon of Gregory of Nazianzen.

Christ is bathed in light; let us also be bathed in light. Christ is baptized; let us also go down with him, and rise with him.

John is baptizing when Jesus draws near. Perhaps he comes to sanctify his baptiser; certainly he comes to bury sinful humanity in the waters. He comes to sanctify the Jordan for our sake and in readiness for us; he who is spirit and flesh comes to begin a new creation through the Spirit and water.

The Baptist protests; Jesus insists. Then John says: I ought to be baptised by you. He is the lamp in the presence of the sun, the voice in the presence of the Word, the friend in the presence of the Bridegroom, the greatest of all born of woman in the presence of the firstborn of all creation, the one who leapt in his mother’s womb in the presence of him who was adored in the womb, the forerunner and future forerunner in the presence of him who has already come and is to come again. I ought to be baptized by you: we should also add, “and for you”, for John is to be baptized in blood, washed clean like Peter, not only by the washing of his feet.

Jesus rises from the waters; the world rises with him. The heavens like Paradise with its flaming sword, closed by Adam for himself and his descendants, are rent open. The Spirit comes to him as to an equal, bearing witness to his Godhead. A voice bears witness to him from heaven, his place of origin. The Spirit descends in bodily form like the dove that so long ago announced the ending of the flood and so gives honor to the body that is one with God.

Today let us do honor to Christ’s baptism and celebrate this feast in holiness. Be cleansed entirely and continue to be cleansed. Nothing gives such pleasure to God as the conversion and salvation of men, for whom his every word and every revelation exist. He wants you to become a living force for all mankind, lights shining in the world. You are to be radiant lights as you stand beside Christ, the great light, bathed in the glory of him who is the light of heaven. You are to enjoy more and more the pure and dazzling light of the Trinity, as now you have received - though not in its fullness - a ray of its splendor, proceeding from the one God, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

The Feast of the Ministry of the Forerunner

2008-12-31T07:21:00.006-05:00

Today, December 31st, marks the next to last day of the Nativity Octave. Today's focus is on the ministry of John the Forerunner. In the Office of Readings today, Bede shared with us a timeless reflection on the nature of John's ministry.

From a Homily by Bede of Jarrow.

As forerunner of our Lord’s birth, preaching and death, the blessed John showed in his struggle a goodness worthy of the sight of heaven. In the words of Scripture: Though in the sight of men he suffered torments, his hope is full of immortality. We justly commemorate the day of his birth with a joyful celebration, a day which he himself made festive for us through his suffering and which he adorned with the crimson splendor of his own blood. We do rightly revere his memory with joyful hearts, for he stamped with the seal of martyrdom the testimony which he delivered on behalf of our Lord.

There is no doubt that blessed John suffered imprisonment and chains as a witness to our Redeemer, whose forerunner he was, and gave his life for him. His persecutor had demanded not that he should deny Christ, but only that he should keep silent about the truth. Nevertheless, he died for Christ. Does Christ not say: I am the truth? Therefore, because John shed his blood for the truth, he surely died for Christ.

Through his birth, preaching and baptizing, he bore witness to the coming birth, preaching and baptism of Christ, and by his own suffering he showed that Christ also would suffer.

Such was the quality and strength of the man who accepted the end of this present life by shedding his blood after the long imprisonment. He preached the freedom of heavenly peace, yet was thrown into irons by ungodly men; he was locked away in the darkness of prison, though he came bearing witness to the Light of life and deserved to be called a bright and shining lamp by that Light itself, which is Christ. John was baptized in his own blood, though he had been privileged to baptize the Redeemer of the world, to hear the voice of the Father above him, and to see the grace of the Holy Spirit descending upon him. But to endure temporal agonies for the sake of the truth was not a heavy burden for such men as John; rather it was easily borne and even desirable, for he knew eternal joy would be his reward.

Since death was ever near at hand through the inescapable necessity of nature, such men considered it a blessing to embrace it and thus gain the reward of eternal life by acknowledging Christ’s name. Hence the apostle Paul rightly says: You have been granted the privilege not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for his sake. He tells us why it is Christ’s gift that his chosen ones should suffer for him: The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us.

Exciting News: New Addition to our Family

2008-12-30T12:32:00.004-05:00

Taking a momentary break from reflections on the Nativity Octave, I'd like to invite all of our readers to say hello to Coco, the newest addition to the Lyons household. She was born at the end of July, so she is getting ready for her 5 month mark. She is a black lab mix (though we have no idea what the other part of her might be). More on her later, together with a fuller story about how Coco came to be with us... but for now, a photograph will have to suffice.

The Feast of our Lord in the Temple

2008-12-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

Just a few days to go in the Octave of Christmas, and today our Liturgy and Readings focus on the finding of our Lord in the Temple.

From a Sermon of Bernard of Clairvaux.

"The goodness and humanity of God our Savior have appeared in our midst." We thank God for the many consolations he has given us during our pilgrimage here on earth. Before the Son of God became man his goodness was hidden, for God's mercy is eternal, but how could such goodness be recognized? It was promised, but it was not experienced, and as a result few believed in it. "Often and in many ways the Lord used to speak through the prophets." Among other things, God said: "I think thoughts of peace and not of affliction." But how did men respond, thinking thoughts of affliction and knowing nothing of peace? They said: "Peace, peace, there is no peace." This response made the angels of peace weep bitterly, saying "Lord, who has believed our message?" But now men believe because they see with their own eyes, and because God's testimony has now become even more credible. He has gone so far as to "pitch his tent in the sun" so even the dimmest eyes see him.

Notice that peace is not promised but sent to us; it is no longer deferred, it is given; peacae is not prophesied but achieved. It is as if God the Father sent upon the earth a purse full of him mercy. This purse was burst open during the Lord's passion to pour forth its hidden contents-the price of our redemption. It was only a small purse, but it was very full. As Scripture says, "A little child has been given us us, but in him dwells all the fullness of the divine nature." The fullness of time brought with it the fullness of divinity. God's Son came in the flesh so that mortal men could see and recognize God's kindness. When God reveals his humanity, his goodness cannot possibly remain hidden. To show his kindness what more could he do beyond taking my human form? My humanity, I say, not Adam's-that is, not such as he had before the fall.

How could he have shown his mercy more clearly than by taking on himself our condition? For our sake the Word of God becamae as grass. What better proof could he have given of his love? Scripture says, "Lord, what is man that you are mindful of him; why does your heart go out to him? The incarnation teaches us how much God cares for us and what he thinks and feels about us. We shoud stop thinking of our own sufferings and remember what he has suffered. Let us think of all the Lord has done for us, and then we shall realize how his goodness apppears through his humanity. The lesser he became through his human nature the greater was his goodness; the more he lowered himself for me, the dearer he is to me. "The goodness and humanity of God our Savior have appeared" says the Apostle.

Truly great and manifest are the goodness and humanity of God. He has given us a most wonderful proof of his goodness by adding humanity to his own divine nature.

The Feast of the Holy Innocents

2008-12-29T21:27:00.003-05:00

With apologies for the late posting... today is the Feast of the Holy Innocents, and as a devotional aid, the following excerpt from today's Office of Readings is provided for your enjoyment.

From a Sermon by Quodvultdeus.

A tiny child is born, who is a great king. Wise men are led to him from afar. They come to adore one who lies in a manger and yet reigns in heaven and on earth. When they tell of one who is born a king, Herod is disturbed. To save his kingdom he resolves to kill him, though if he would have faith in the child, he himself would reign in peace in this life and for ever in the life to come.

Why are you afraid, Herod, when you hear of the birth of a king? He does not come to drive you out, but to conquer the devil. But because you do not understand this you are disturbed and in a rage, and to destroy one child whom you seek, you show your cruelty in the death of so many children.

You are not restrained by the love of weeping mothers or fathers mourning the deaths of their sons, nor by the cries and sobs of the children. You destroy those who are tiny in body because fear is destroying your heart. You imagine that if you accomplish your desire you can prolong your own life, though you are seeking to kill Life himself.

Yet your throne is threatened by the source of grace, so small, yet so great, who is lying in the manger. He is using you, all unaware of it, to work out his own purposes freeing souls from captivity to the devil. He has taken up the sons of the enemy into the ranks of God’s adopted children.

The children die for Christ, though they do not know it. The parents mourn for the death of martyrs. The child makes of those as yet unable to speak fit witnesses to himself. See the kind of kingdom that is his, coming as he did in order to be this kind of king. See how the deliverer is already working deliverance, the savior already working salvation.

But you, Herod, do not know this and are disturbed and furious. While you vent your fury against the child, you are already paying him homage, and do not know it.

How great a gift of grace is here! To what merits of their own do the children owe this kind of victory? They cannot speak, yet they bear witness to Christ. They cannot use their limbs to engage in battle, yet already they bear off the palm of victory.

The Feast of the Visitation of the Magi

2008-12-28T00:00:00.003-05:00

Today, on the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas, we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation of the Magi, one of our Lord's first manifestations to the Gentile world.

From a Sermon of Leo of Rome.

The loving providence of God determined that in the last days he would aid the world, set on its course to destruction. He decreed that all nations should be saved in Christ.

A promise had been made to the holy patriarch Abraham in regard to these nations. He was to have a countless progeny, born not from his body but from the seed of faith. His descendants are therefore compared with the array of the stars. The father of all nations was to hope not in an earthly progeny but in a progeny from above.

Let the full number of the nations now take their place in the family of the patriarchs. Let the children of the promise now receive the blessing in the seed of Abraham, the blessing renounced by the children of his flesh. In the persons of the Magi let all people adore the Creator of the universe; let God be known, not in Judaea only, but in the whole world, so that his name may be great in all Israel.

Dear friends, now that we have received instruction in this revelation of God’s grace, let us celebrate with spiritual joy the day of our first harvesting, of the first calling of the Gentiles. Let us give thanks to the merciful God, who has made us worthy, in the words of the Apostle, to share the position of the saints in light, who has rescued us from the power of darkness, and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. As Isaiah prophesied: the people of the Gentiles, who sat in darkness, have seen a great light, and for those who dwelt in the region of the shadow of death a light has dawned. He spoke of them to the Lord: The Gentiles, who do not know you, will invoke you, and the peoples, who knew you not, will take refuge in you.

This is the day that Abraham saw, and rejoiced to see, when he knew that the sons born of his faith would be blessed in his seed, that is, in Christ. Believing that he would be the father of the nations, he looked into the future, giving glory to God, in full awareness that God is able to do what he has promised.

This is the day that David prophesied in the psalms, when he said: All the nations that you have brought into being will come and fall down in adoration in your presence, Lord, and glorify your name. Again, the Lord has made known his salvation; in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.

This came to be fulfilled, as we know, from the time when the star beckoned the three wise men out of their distant country and led them to recognise and adore the King of heaven and earth. The obedience of the star calls us to imitate its humble service: to be servants, as best we can, of the grace that invites all men to find Christ.

Dear friends, you must have the same zeal to be of help to one another; then, in the kingdom of God, to which faith and good works are the way, you will shine as children of the light: through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with God the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

The Feast of the Presentation of our Lord

2008-12-27T07:10:00.003-05:00

Three days now into the Octave of Christmas, we recall the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple at Jerusalem, together with the Purification of his Mother, Mary. Traditionally, this feast was/is celebrated on February 2nd, but in our rite it is celebrated as a part of the Christmas feast, which culminates on January 1st in the celebration of the Theophany of our Lord - his Baptism. This is done to provide a feastal time during this week that is focused on God, as opposed to the many other emphases in this time that can draw us away from the Lord.

From a Sermon of Sophronius of Jerusalem.

Our lighted candles are a sign of the divine splendor of the one who comes to expel the dark shadows of evil and to make the whole universe radiant with the brilliance of his eternal light. Our candles also show how bright our souls should be when we go to meet Christ.

The Mother of God, the most pure Virgin, carried the true light in her arms and brought him to those who lay in darkness. We too should carry a light for all to see and reflect the radiance of the true light as we hasten to meet him.

The light has come and has shone upon a world enveloped in shadows;the Dayspring from on high has visited us and given light to those who lived in darkness. This, then, is our feast, and we join in procession with lighted candles to reveal the light that has shone upon us and the glory that is yet to come to us through him. So let us hasten all together to meet our God.

The true light has come, the light that enlightens every man who is born into this world. Let all of us, my brethren, be enlightened and made radiant by this light. Let all of us share in its splendor, and be so filled with it that no one remains in the darkness. Let us be shining ourselves as we go together to meet and to receive with the aged Simeon the light whose brilliance is eternal. Rejoicing with Simeon, let us sing a hymn of thanksgiving to God, the Father of the light, who sent the true light to dispel the darkness and to give us all a share in his splendor.

Through Simeon’s eyes we too have seen the salvation of God which he prepared for all the nations and revealed as the glory of the new Israel, which is ourselves. As Simeon was released from the bonds of this life when he had seen Christ, so we too were at once freed from our old state of sinfulness.

By faith we too embraced Christ, the salvation of God the Father, as he came to us from Bethlehem. Gentiles before, we have now become the people of God. Our eyes have seen God incarnate, and because we have seen him present among us and have mentally received him into our arms, we are called the new Israel. Never shall we forget this presence; every year we keep a feast in his honor.

The Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord

2008-12-26T10:29:00.003-05:00

Today is the second day of our Nativity Octave in the Primitive Catholic rite, with a celebration of the Circumcision of our Lord. Of course, it was on this day that the Messiah recieved his name, Jesus, the name spoken by the angel in Joseph's dream. As a part of the feast, I share with you a selection from today's Office of Readings.

From a Sermon by Leo, Bishop of Rome.

God’s Son did not disdain to become a baby. Although with the passing of the years he moved from infancy to maturity, and although with the triumph of his passion and resurrection all the actions of humility which he undertook for us were finished, still today’s festival renews for us the holy childhood of Jesus born of the Virgin Mary. In adoring the birth of our Saviour, we find we are celebrating the commencement of our own life, for the birth of Christ is the source of life for Christian folk, and the birthday of the Head is the birthday of the body.

Every individual that is called has his own place, and all the sons of the Church are separated from one another by intervals of time. Nevertheless, just as the entire body of the faithful is born in the font of baptism, crucified with Christ in his passion, raised again in his resurrection, and placed at the Father’s right hand in his ascension, so with Him are they born in this nativity.

For this is true of any believer in whatever part of the world, that once he is reborn in Christ he abandons the old paths of his original nature and passes into a new man by being reborn. He is no longer counted as part of his earthly father’s stock but among the seed of the Saviour, who became the Son of man in order that we might have the power to be the sons of God.

For unless He came down to us in this humiliation, no one could reach his presence by any merits of his own.

The very greatness of the gift conferred demands of us reverence worthy of its splendour. For, as the blessed Apostle teaches, We have received not the spirit of this world but the Spirit which is of God, that we may know the things which are given us by God. That Spirit can in no other way be rightly worshipped, except by offering him that which we received from him.

But in the treasures of the Lord’s bounty what can we find so suitable to the honour of the present feast as the peace which at the Lord’s nativity was first proclaimed by the angel-choir?

For it is that peace which brings forth the sons of God. That peace is the nurse of love and the mother of unity, the rest of the blessed and our eternal home. That peace has the special task of joining to God those whom it removes from the world.

So those who are born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God must offer to the Father the unanimity of peace-loving sons, and all of them, adopted parts of the mystical Body of Christ, must meet in the First-begotten of the new creation. He came to do not his own will but the will of the one who sent him; and so too the Father in his gracious favour has adopted as his heirs not those that are discordant nor those that are unlike him, but those that are one with him in feeling and in affection. Those who are re-modelled after one pattern must have a spirit like the model.

The birthday of the Lord is the birthday of peace: for thus says the Apostle, He is our peace, who made both one; because whether we are Jew or Gentile, through Him we have access in one Spirit to the Father.

The Solemnity of the Nativity of our Lord

2008-12-25T06:48:00.002-05:00

To all of the readers here at StellarCross, I wish you and yours a Merry and Joyful Christmas feast. Today, as we celebrate that day on the Church's calendar that has been traditionally associated with Christ's birth, I share with you a selection from today's Office of Readings.

From a Sermon by Leo, Bishop of Rome.

Dearly beloved, today our Savior is born; let us rejoice. Sadness should have no place on the birthday of life. The fear of death has been swallowed up; life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness. No one is shut out from this joy; all share the same reason for rejoicing. Our Lord, victor over sin and death, finding no man free from sin, came to free us all. Let the saint rejoice as he sees the palm of victory at hand. Let the sinner be glad as he receives the offer of forgiveness. Let the pagan take courage as he is summoned to life.

In the fullness of time, chosen in the unfathomable depths of God’s wisdom, the Son of God took for himself our common humanity in order to reconcile it with its creator. He came to overthrow the devil, the origin of death, in that very nature by which he had overthrown mankind. And so at the birth of our Lord the angels sing in joy: Glory to God in the highest, and they proclaim peace to men of good will as they see the heavenly Jerusalem being built from all the nations of the world. When the angels on high are so exultant at this marvellous work of God’s goodness, what joy should it not bring to the lowly hearts of men?

Beloved, let us give thanks to God the Father, through his Son, in the Holy Spirit, because in his great love for us he took pity on us, and when we were dead in our sins he brought us to life with Christ, so that in him we might be a new creation. Let us throw off our old nature and all its ways and, as we have come to birth in Christ, let us renounce the works of the flesh.

Christian, remember your dignity, and now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition. Bear in mind who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of God’s kingdom. Through the sacrament of baptism you have become a temple of the Holy Spirit. Do not drive away so great a guest by evil conduct and become again a slave to the devil, for your liberty was bought by the blood of Christ.

Advent 6: The Annunciation of our Lord to Joseph

2008-12-21T00:00:00.003-05:00

Today is the final Sunday of the Advent season, marked by the story of Joseph's encounter with an angel who announces to him the impending birth of the Messiah. In today's Office of Readings, we hear from Sermon 2 on Saint Joseph, composed by Bernadine of Siena, a Franciscian friar. In this work, Bernadine casts Joseph in a similar light with John the Forerunner - as the turning point between the Old and New Covenants of God.

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From a Sermon of Bernardine of Siena.

A general rule that applies to all individual graces given to a rational creature is that whenever divine grace selects someone to receive a particular grace or elevated state, all the gifts for his state are given to that person.

This was verified in a particular way in the case of Joseph, a great and holy man, foster-father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and true husband of Mary. He was chosen by the eternal Father to be a faithful provider and guardian of the most precious treasures of God – his Son and his spouse – and Joseph carried out this task with great fidelity.

A comparison can be made between Joseph and the whole Church of Christ. Joseph was the specially chosen man through whom and under whom Christ entered the world fittingly and in an appropriate way. So, if the whole Church is in the debt of the Virgin Mary, since, through her, it was able to receive the Christ, surely after her, it also owes to Joseph a particular gratitude and reverence.

Joseph is the terminus of the Old Testament in whom the dignity of the prophets and patriarchs achieves its promised fulfillment. Moreover; he alone possessed in the flesh what God in his goodness promised to them over and again.

It is beyond doubt that Christ did not deny to Joseph in heaven that intimacy, respect, and high honor which he showed to him as to a father during his own earthly life, but rather completed and perfected it. Justifiably the words of the Lord should be applied to him, “Enter into the joy of your Lord.” Although it is the joy of eternal happiness that comes into the heart of man, the Lord prefers to say to him “enter into joy’ to indicate mystically that this joy is not only within him, but that it surrounds him everywhere and absorbs him, as if he were plunged into an infinite depth.

Advent 5: The Ancestors of our Lord

2008-12-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today is the Fifth Sunday of Advent. "Fifth Sunday, you say?" Fret not. The calendar of the Syriac Churches (and of the Ambrosian rite, as well as some other historical western rites) feature a longer Advent season.

Today's readings pose an interesting look at the nature of faith and how justification by faith through grace truly operates. We are reminded in our Lord's genealogy (from the Gospel at today's Divine Liturgy) of the many sinner-saints who stand in our Lord's worldly lineage.

In the Office of Readings today, we once again hear from Augustine of Hippo (Sermon 185) who reminds us that it is God's grace that the Ancestors of our Lord needed for salvation, just as we do as well.

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From a Sermon of Augustine of Hippo.
(Sermon 185)

Awake! For your sake God has taken on our flesh. “Awake, you who sleep, rise from the dead, and Christ will bring you new light.” I reiterate, for your sake, God became man!

You would have suffered eternal death if he had not been born among us in time. You would have never found freedom from sinful flesh if he had not taken upon himself our nature. You would have suffered everlasting unhappiness if it had not been for his great mercy. You would never have been reborn if he had not shared your death. You would have been lost had he not come to your aid. Likewise, if he had not come, you would have perished.

So, let us joyfully celebrate the coming of our salvation and redemption! “He has become our righteousness, our sanctification, our redemption.” Thus, as it is written, “All you who glory, glory in the Lord.”

“Truth, then, has arisen from the earth”: Christ himself, who said, “I am the truth” was born of a virgin. “And righteousness looked down from heaven”: because believing in this newborn child, we are justified not by ourselves but by God.

“Truth has arisen from the earth”: because “the Word was made flesh. And righteousness looked down from heaven”: because “every good and perfect gift comes from above.”

“Truth has arisen from the earth”: flesh from Mary. “And righteousness looked down from heaven”: for “you can receive nothing unless it has been given to you from heaven.”

“Justified by faith, let us be at peace with God”: for “righteousness and peace have embraced one another. Through our Lord Jesus Christ”: for “Truth has arisen from the earth. Through whom we have access to that grace in which we stand, and our boast is in our hope of God’s glory.” He does not say, “of our glory,” but “of God’s glory”: for “righteousness” has not proceeded from us but has “looked down from heaven.” Therefore let those who glory, glory not in themselves but “in the Lord.”

For this reason, when our Lord was born of the Virgin, the message of the angels was “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.” How could peace reign on earth unless “Truth has arisen from the earth,” that is, unless Christ was born of our flesh?

Let us rejoice in this grace, so that our glorying may bear witness to our good conscience by which we glory, not in ourselves, but in the Lord. That is why Scripture says, “He is my glory, the one who lifts up my head.” For what greater grace could God have made to dawn on us than to make his only Son become the Son of Man, so that we might in turn become children and heirs of God?

Ask if this were merited.
Ask for its reason and justification.
Behold, your only answer is grace.

Advent 4: The Birth of John the Forerunner

2008-12-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today the Church celebrates the Fourth Sunday of Advent, which marks (in the Syriac tradition) the Birth of our Lord's Forerunner - John. Today's Office of Readings features a reading on the Forerunner, taken from Sermon 293 of Augustine of Hippo.

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From a Sermon of Augustine of Hippo.

The Church observes the birth of John as in a holy event. We do not celebrate the birth of any of the other fathers, but we do celebrate the birthdays of both both John and Christ. This point cannot be passed over silently. Perhaps I may not be able to explain it in the way that such an important matter deserves, but it is still worth thinking about it a little more deeply and fruitfully than usual.

John was born of an old, barren woman; Christ was born of a youthful virgin. The news of John’s impending birth was met with incredulity, and his father is dumb-struck; Christ’s birth was believed, and he was conceived by faith.

Such is the topic, as I have presented it, for our discussion and study. I have introduced these points even if we are not capable of examining all the twists and turns of such a great mystery, either for lack of capacity or for lack of time. You will be taught much better by the Holy Spirit, the One who speaks in you even when I am not here. (It is the Spirit whom you contemplate with devotion, whom you have taken into your hearts, and whose temple you have become.)

John, it seems, has been inserted as a kind of boundary between the two Testaments, the Old and the New. Our Lord indicates as much when he says, “The law and the prophets were until John.” Thus, John represents the old and heralds the new. Because he represents the old, he is born of an elderly couple; because he represents the new, he is revealed as a prophet in his mother’s womb. You will remember that, before he was born, at Mary’s arrival he leapt in his mother’s womb. Already he had been marked out, designated before he was born; it was already shown whose forerunner he would be, even before he saw him (with his eyes). These are divine matters, and exceed the measure of human frailty. Eventually, he is born, he receives a name, and his father’s tongue is loosed.

Zechariah is struck dumb and loses his voice, until John, the Lord’s forerunner, is born and releases his voice for him. What does Zechariah’s silence mean? The silence of Zechariah is nothing but the age of prophecy laying hidden – obscured, as it were – and concealed before the preaching of Christ. At John’s arrival his voice is released, and it becomes clear when the one who was being prophesied is about to come. The releasing of Zechariah’s voice at John’s birth has the same significance as the tearing of the veil of the Temple at the crucifixion of Christ. If John were meant to proclaim himself, he would not be opening Zechariah’s mouth. The tongue is released because a voice is being born – for when John was already heralding the Lord, he was asked, “Who are you” and he replied “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness.”

John was a voice that lasted only for a time.

Christ, who is the Word from before all time, is eternal.

Advent 3: The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth

2008-11-30T00:00:00.003-05:00

Today we celebrate the Third Sunday of the Advent season, commemorating the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, and of Christ Jesus to his Forerunner, John. Often times the latter portion of this great mystery remains unspoken, but in today's Office of Readings, Ambrose of Milan's words from his Commentary on Luke speak eloquently of the double visitation that occured on that day in the Judean highlands.

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From a Commentary on the Gospel of Luke by Ambrose of Milan.

When the angel revealed his message to the Virgin Mary he gave her a sign to win her trust. He told her of the motherhood of an old and barren woman to show that God is able to do all that he wills.

When Mary hears this, she sets out for the hill country. She does not disbelieve God’s word; she feels no uncertainty over the message or doubt about the sign. She goes forth, eager in purpose, dutiful in conscience, hastening for joy.

Filled with God, where would she rush but to the heights? The Holy Spirit does not proceed by slow, laborious efforts. Quickly, too, the blessings of her coming and the Lord’s presence are made clear: as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting the child leapt in her womb, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Notice the contrast and the choice of words. Elizabeth is the first to hear Mary’s voice, but John is the first to be aware of grace. She hears with the ears of the body, but he leaps for joy at the meaning of the mystery. She is aware of Mary’s presence, but he is aware of the Lord’s: a woman aware of a woman’s presence, the forerunner aware of the pledge of our salvation. The women speak of the grace they have received while the children are active in secret, unfolding the mystery of love with the help of their mothers, who prophesy by the spirit of their sons.

The child leaps in the womb; the mother is filled with the Holy Spirit, but not before her son. Once the son has been filled with the Holy Spirit, he fills his mother with the same Spirit. John leaps for joy, and the spirit of Mary rejoices in turn. When John leaps for joy Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit, but we know that though Mary’s spirit rejoices, she does not need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Her son, who is beyond our understanding, is active in his mother in a way beyond our understanding. Elizabeth is filled with the Holly Spirit after conceiving John, while Mary is filled with the Holy Spirit before conceiving the Lord. Elizabeth says: Blessed are you because you have believed.

You also are blessed because you have heard and believed. A soul that believes both conceives and brings forth the Word of God and acknowledges his works.

Let Mary’s soul be in each of you to proclaim the greatness of the Lord. Let her spirit be in each of you to rejoice in the Lord. Christ has only one mother in the flesh, but we all bring forth Christ in faith. Every soul receives the Word of God if only it keeps chaste, remaining pure and free from sin, its modesty undefiled. The soul that succeeds in this proclaims the greatness of the Lord, just as Mary’s soul magnified the Lord; just as her spirit rejoiced in God her Savior.

Elsewhere in Scripture we hear the words “Magnify the Lord with me”. The Lord is magnified, not because our voice can add anything to God, but because he is magnified within us. Christ is the image of God, and if the soul does what is right and holy, it magnifies that image of God, in whose likeness it was created and, in magnifying the image of God, the soul has a share in its greatness and is exalted.

Advent 2: The Annunciation of our Lord to Mary

2008-11-23T00:00:00.003-05:00

Today is the second of six Advent Sundays in the calendar of the Church year of many Syriac Churches, and in our own local calendar. Our readings retell the marvelous day of the Incarnation, when Christ Jesus was made flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary.

Instead of giving you my own words today, I would like to share words that are far wiser and more ancient than anything I could come up with on my own. These words are taken from today's Office of Readings, and come from a letter penned by Leo of Rome (i.e., Leo the Great) to Flavian.

***

Majesty took on humility, strength weakness, eternity mortality; and for the paying off of the debt belonging to our condition a nature that is incapable of suffering was joined to one that could. Thus, in keeping with the needs of our case , one and the same Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, was able to die in one nature, and unable to die in the other.

Thus in the whole and perfect nature of true man was true God born, complete in what was his own, complete in what was ours. And by ours we mean what the Creator formed in us from the beginning and what he undertook to repair. For what the Deceiver brought in and man, being misled, committed, had no trace in the Savior. Though he partook of man’s weaknesses, he did not share our faults.

He took the form of a slave without stain of sin, increasing the human and not diminishing the divine. He emptied himself; though invisible he made himself visible, though Creator and Lord of all things he chose to share our mortality. This was the condescension of pity, not the loss of omnipotence. Accordingly he who while remaining in the form of God made man, was also made man in the form of a slave. Both natures retain their own proper character without loss: and as the form of God did not do away with the form of a slave, so the form of a slave did not impair the form of God. Thus the Son of God enters into our lowly world, descending from his heavenly home and yet not relinquishing his Father's glory. He is born in a new condition, by a new birth.

He was born in a new condition, for, invisible in his own nature, he became visible in ours. He whom nothing could contain was content to be contained. Existing before all time, he began to exist at a moment in time. Lord of the cosmos, he obscured his immeasurable majesty and took upon himself the form of a servant. Incapable, as God, of suffering, he did not disdain our humanity which is capable of suffering. Immortal, he chose to be subject to the laws of death.

The Lord Jesus assumed his mother’s nature without her faults; and, in spite of his wonderous virgin birth, his human nature is not unlike our own. He who is true God is also true man. There is no falsehood in this unity as long as the humility of manhood and the loftiness of the Godhead co-exist together.

As God is not changed by the showing of pity, man is not swallowed up by God’s dignity. Both natures exercises its own activity, in unity with the other. The Word performs what is proper to the Word, and the flesh performs what is proper to the flesh. One nature shines forth with miracles, while the other succumbs to injuries. And as the Word does not loose equality with the Father’s glory, so the flesh does not leave behind the nature of our race. It must again and again be repeated: one and the same is truly Son of God and truly Son of Man.

God in that “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”; man in that “the Word became flesh and dwelt in us.” God in that “all things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made”; man in that “He was made of a woman, made under law.”

The nativity of the flesh was the manifestation of human nature: the childbearing of a virgin is the proof of Divine power.

New Review at TrekMovie.com

2008-11-21T13:54:00.002-05:00

Delayed by fire and a need to reship the book, my review of the final installment of the Destiny trilogy, "Lost Souls" hit the web yesterday over at TrekMovie.com. Enjoy!

Because Some Things Just Won't Die

2008-11-17T15:01:00.001-05:00

TrekMovie.com has just posted a new promo that will begin running in December for the 're-mastered' Star Trek: Original Series episodes that are now avaliable in syndication.

I'll definately keep my original discs, but this promo is just too funny to pass up.

Advent 1: The Annunciation of John the Forerunner

2008-11-16T00:00:00.003-05:00

Today, those of us who are beginning Advent are celebrating the Annunciation and Conception of John the Forerunner. I wanted to draw your attention to an outstanding and timely homily on the topic at the website of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral in Wichita, Kansas.

You can read the homily at this link.

Over the next several weeks, we will be hearing about the unfolding of our Lord's first Advent on the Sundays of the season, while recalling that his second Advent is immanent throughout the weekdays that follow.

May God bless you and your families during this Advent Season.

Things Come, Things Go, but God Stays the Same

2008-11-03T18:07:00.005-05:00

It's been one heck of a day. I was planning to blog about the Colts beating my Patriots last night, but a local television station can tell you more about why that post is not being made today... CLICK HERE

I was at home when the fire started, but was given warning by the Fire Department and evacuated. Our apartment suffered extensive smoke damage (read: everything stinks!) but we have been moved to a temporary residence tonight, and have already had a washer installed (with furniture on its way).

My hats off to the firefighters who responded from Franklin Township and the Beech Grove Fire Department (I thought I may have seen one other department there... but I am not sure). Nobody was hurt. God was watching out for us today, and while our couch may stink, and our main work for the next week will be washing clothes, we have our lives and our health... and in the end, that's enough for me.

To that end, please pardon me if, for the next several days I am somewhat quiet... but we have a lot of work to get done. We are planning on moving our closing date up a few days (as much as we can) and we actually have a place to go. Please be in prayer for those who do not.

Update

2008-10-30T23:22:00.004-04:00

Regular readers of the blog will note that I have been quite quiet as of late. In fact, it's been more than a month since my last posting. It has been a busy month, so I do beg your pardon and indulgence. A lot has been happening.

During October I travelled to Nashville, Tennessee to attend the fourth annual National Learning Congress for Organ Donation and Transplantation. This was my second trip to the event, and I found it to be even better than last year. I visited a few friends and my bishop while I was in Tennessee, and I hope to head back that way again soon.

We have also learned in the past month that our closing date on the house has to move up... about three weeks. We are now closing on the day before Thanksgiving, with Kristen and I slated to paint our way through the holiday (with a break for a turkey cold cut, or some other dinner... it would be kinda neat to have my first cooking experience in the new house be on Thanksgiving Day!). As you can imagine, our nice schedule is now wrecked, so we will be very busy making up for three weeks of lost time... and trying to figure out exactly what we can live without so we can get stuff boxed up ASAP. The photo accompanying this post is the house as it existed a few weeks ago. As of tonight, the heating and air, plumbing, flooring, painting, siding, electricity, and even garage door are substantially complete. It's time for touchups inside, and we have a pre-settlement meeting in less than two weeks. About all that remains is installing our appliances, fixing some paint issues, and some drywall repairs. Our yard has even been sodded (well, the front...) and trees planted. Amazing!

My latest review was posted last week over at TrekMovie.com. This time, it was for the second book of the Star Trek Destiny trilogy, "Mere Mortals". I am now reading the third book and prepping for that review to run in early November.

So, all in all, it has been a busy month. The next month will be even busier still, though I hope to have time to put together some new content in the coming weeks. After the first of the year, I should have substantially more time free to blog and write, as the house construction phase will be ended and things will have calmed down.

Some Railings on the RCL

2008-09-29T11:40:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, my wife and I visited a Church in our neighborhood (relatively speaking).

But this post isn’t about the congregation, or the pastor, or the way they conducted the service. While I could choose to write on those topics, I won’t.

This post is, instead, focused on the contemporary western Lectionary, the Revised Common Lectionary… and my continued contempt for it.

The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) is the Protestant version of the western Lectionary that was prepared in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council. As a result, with amendments here and there, the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran world (together with a smattering of Presbyterians, Methodists, United Church of Christ folks, and others) use, essentially, the same readings every week. (Within the RCL itself, two varying tracks -unlike the Roman lectionary- which allow for either loosely thematic or semi-continuous readings from the Old Testament during most of Ordinary Time.)

During the Sunday service I attended, the second reading (the Epistle) was utterly ignored. It wasn’t given a second thought or mention in the homily, and probably by the congregation. The first reading didn’t fare much better. Only the Gospel got any real substantial face time in the homily.

Scripture scholars and liturgists have, over the years, decried placing the Scriptures into ‘artificial’ thematic constructs, but I have to ask the question… Why?

As we look around the Christian world today and assess the landscape, what do we see? Large numbers of people falling away from essential truths, truths that often get glossed over because of our rush to focus on the Gospel in the homily (or at least the predominant theme) because of a duty to the words of Jesus (or the overarching theme). The moral teachings of Paul, Peter, James, and Jude often get overlooked as the ‘third-wheel reading’ that they are (and heaven forbid that the Psalm get a mention!).

Consider this a plea for, at least in the west, returning to thematic pericopes for the proclamation of Scripture in the midst of the assembly. I understand and embrace the desire for a more comprehensive lectionary in the Church (personally, I prefer a 4 year cycle), but the RCL and modern Roman Lectionaries fail... the only redeemable version of the so-called Common Lectionary that I can even come close to endorsing is the one from the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod's new Christian Worship Supplement, which does radical surgery on the three year lectionary and ensures that more themes are present.

The Trinity...

2008-09-26T16:38:00.003-04:00

Someone recently asked a question in an online forum about where the Word of God teaches the word of the Trinity. I thought I would share my answer.

The Trinity, as others have shared, has a long and storied (and perhaps sordid) history. The term Trinity does not begin to appear until the latter part of the third century, though the writers are clearly struggling to understand the concepts revealed in Scripture, for better or for worse.

One of the key supports for the concept of Jesus' divinity is found in the Gospels. The prologue of John's Gospel specifically tells us:"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." and later "...the Word became flesh and lived among us..." (see John 1). John 1:1 literally teaches that God took on flesh and pitched his tent (tabernacled, dwelt) among us in the person of Jesus Christ. This can and has been interpreted in many different ways over the centuries.

No matter how you interpret it, it clearly teaches that in some fashion, in the person of Jesus Christ, God and man have been united. To the Trinitarian, it is inconceivable that the Father ceased to exist when Christ was made incarnate, as witnessed by the fact that Jesus prayed to the Father often during his earthly ministry.

Trinitarians will also point out the nature of the word Elohim, present in Genesis 1:1, as being plural and singular at the same time, as well as the mention of the Spirit in the creation narrative. As a result, the best explanation is that God is one, while possessing three different persons. (Sidenote: If Elohim is properly understood as singular and plural at the same time, than does not the choice of words teach us the concept of the Trinity? It is not an insinuation if, in fact, Elohim is as Biblical scholars accept it to be.)

Is this the best or most adequate explanation? Surely not. In fact, no explanation we offer can be perfect. Modalism fails us... Arianism fails us... every attempt to define the nature of the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit fail us as Christians, because our limited human comprehension and language simply cannot get wrapped around the true majesty of God and his nature.

So in the end, while Councils and Creeds have mandated the Trinitarian belief in the mainline Church, those of us on the margins who who accept the Trinity accept it because it is the best explanation we can come up with for what we see in the Scriptures. At the same time, we must admit that we fall short in even this description and acknowledge that the true nature and depth of God is a mystery far too great for us to understand or comprehend on this side of eternity.

What an Embarassment

2008-09-24T07:58:00.005-04:00

In his Tuesday Morning Quarterback column over at ESPN, Gregg Easterbrook displayed his obviously irritated view on the state of the American economy, and the Federal Government's role in wrecking it. Of all of his comments, I found the following words to be the most telling (and damning) of all:

"And about that $700 billion about to the shoveled to the Wall Street elite -- in 2007, George W. Bush vetoed an increase of $7 billion per year in health care spending for the poor, saying the country couldn't afford it."

You can read the entire article at this link.

We can't afford to provide health care to the poor, but we can afford to continue to dole out money to financial fat-cats who live lives that, essentially, thrive on charging absurd levels of usury for the privilige of borrowing money for basic needs like shelter and transportation. I don't ever want to hear someone extolling the virtues of either George Bush or the American Congress again. EVER.

Will I continue to pray for our civil leaders? Of course. They obviously need it. But once again, the current mindset in power in Washington, one that believes that $7 Billion dollars is too much to spend on health care for the poor, but believes that $700 Billion (or more!) is the least we can do for the financial sector, is obviously pure evil. If we aren't going to bail out the poor who can't afford health care, then we shouldn't be bailing out the financial sector either.

Sure, failing to bail them out will affect us all... and in a bad way. But you know what... most of the classic modes of stimulating the economy have failed dismally of late. Bush and Congress have sent us extra tax rebates (or, more recently, cash advance against next year's taxes) from time to time. Fail. Bush managed to start a war... that usually works. Fail. The pair of em' have poured boatloads of money into various financial bailout plans. Fail. Fail. Fail

George Bush: You fail.

Congress: You fail.

American People: You fail too.

Yes, that's right. It's not just the government to blame however. Did you all really believe it when you got those stupid door hangers on your apartment that claimed you could own your home cheaper than what you were paying for apartment rent? Sure, if you were paying between $900 and $1200 in rent (at least around here) you could have owned a home... but those stupid hangers were on HUD and other lower-income housing doorknobs. And people fell for it; hook, line, and sinker. Instead of stopping to think for two minutes about the real cost of owning a home, people went out and made several bottom barrel homebuilders a quick buck, only to turn around three or for years later and face foreclosure because their property taxes went up, utilities were too high, or because they had to choose between paying for their new Plasma TV or their house.

We've all failed. In what is supposed to be the most prosperous nation on the face of the earth, we have all failed horribly. We have been terrible stewards of the fiscal gifts that God has given us... and, to be honest, if the bottom tanks out, as disappointed as I would be that it might affect my plans to buy a house, I think we only deserve it.

Christmas in... Tishrei?

2008-09-22T13:34:00.005-04:00

Late last year, I shared an article about recomputing the Christian calendar based on a more plausible sequence of events - specifically as it surrounds the celebration of Christ's birth. As I noted then:

When was Christ born? It is my belief that the best avaliable evidence tells us
that it was 29 September 2 BC (15 Tishrei 3760), which was the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles that year. What a magnificent day for our Savior to Tabernacle among us (as John 1 teaches)! An alternate date, especially if adopting an earlier Crucifixion date, would be 29 September 5 BC (15 Tishrei 3763).

I am not so much worried about the date on our civil calendar as I am the date on the Hebrew Calendar. This year, 15 Tishrei falls in October (sunset on the 13th to sunset on the 14th according to our civil calendar) and thus that would give us Christmas in October.

Theologically, the connection with Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles) is striking (as noted in the above quote), so this year, in my home, I will be celebrating the Nativity of our Lord in October. I'll still (begrudgingly) celebrate a public service at the hospital in December, but for me, it's Christmas in Tishrei... ur... October... at least this year.

Would you... Diatesseron?

2008-09-18T13:43:00.010-04:00

Sounds weird, eigh? Actually, the Diatesseron, written by a chap named Tatian, is the earliest Gospel Harmony for which we have an account. It consists of pretty much the entire text of the four Gospels harmonized in what was, at the time, believed to be the correct chronological order. All four texts are melded into a single account.

What was the Diatesseron used for? Well, as best we can tell, it was the liturgical Gospel text for the Syriac Church well into the fifth century. Later, the Peshitta version began to take hold, and the Gospels were separated in the Christian far east, but the memory of the Diatesseron was long... and it is, in its way, still with us today.

The question, though, is... would you Diatesseron. In other words, would you, dear reader, elect to proclaim the Gospels in the Sunday liturgy of your own congregation in a Diatesseron-like format? To be honest, I would.

One of the most common arguments against such a practice today is the notion that each of the four Gospels was written to a particular audience. Such is a true statement. However, if we are realistic, we - you and I - are not the audience that the Gospels were written to, at least not in the linguistic and contextual sense. With a properly prepared Diatesseron in clear, modern English, we could provide an outstanding Gospel text that would shine through for the contemporary reader.

Such a text would have to be well footnoted, to ensure that differences in the Gospels were not lost, and that readers could easily locate them in a regular Bible. But my concern is more for the regular reading of the Gospels in the Church than it is the personal study undertaken by the Christian at home. And I, for one, would be more than comfortable adopting a Diatesseron-like Book of the Gospels for use in Christian worship.

So... would you Diatesseron?

Don't ask... I don't know why

2008-09-18T13:43:00.002-04:00

Truly, I have no clue why I decided to join Facebook last night. (I must have been bored.) But since I did... well... if you are a fellow Facebooker (is that what we are supposed to call ourselves?) feel free to hunt me down, link up, and subscribe to my site!

Humility in Worship does not Irreverence Make

2008-09-17T23:19:00.004-04:00

I am sick to death of people trying to tell me that humility and simplicity in Christian Worship is the equivalent of irreverence.

In some recent comments, Pope Benedict XVI, speaking about the traditional Latin Mass, said, "Everyone, without exception, must be able to feel at home, and never (must he feel) rejected." I find this to be a very interesting thing for him to have said. In context, he is trying to preserve the unity of the Latin Rite of the Roman Church, but his words show a problem in the Church (Roman and others) today that it seems fundamentally impossible to resolve...

Let me give you an example. Lets say, as a priest, that I gather a group of fifteen or twenty people together in a large circle around an altar. I sit to preach. We all hold hands for the Lord's Prayer. I use a pottery chalice and paten (properly glazed!), and I administer the Eucharist in the hands of the individuals gathered together at the Altar. Many will say that these carachterisics show me to be a liberal... or just utterly irreverent.

Another example. I gather the same fifteen or twenty people. They kneel through most of the service on the other side of an Altar rail. I face east with them for almost all of the Liturgy. I use a sterling silver chalice and paten that have been plated in gold, and I administer the Eucharist on the tongue of the communicants with a chin paten. Many will say that these carachteristics show me to be a conservative... or deeply reverent.

I think it's time to challenge such notions. I think it is perfectly possible to be reverent with a group assembled around a table in a home celebrating the Eucharist with guitar music and the work of a potter's hands holding the Body and Blood of Christ. I believe it is equally possible to be absolutely irreverent, no matter how much you attempt to dress up the Liturgy.

Sadly, far too many people think that the only way to ensure reverence is to mandate a specific interpretation of the historic worship of the Church. The Tridentine Mass, 1928 Book of Common Prayer, 1941 Lutheran Hymnal... none of them will ensure reverence or instruction in the truth on their own. They are living liturgical rites, and the reverence and content is as much determined by those who participate in the worship as it is by those who clamor for their restoration (at times to the exclusion of other forms).

Scripture and the Church Fathers give us a pretty strong outline of the weekly worship of the Church, centered on Word and Sacrament. How we execute it in heart and how it manifests itself in our lives is far more telling of the validity of the celebration and its content than if we use a gold or pottery chalice to celebrate.

Shot Glass Jesus

2008-09-13T07:03:00.004-04:00

"Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf."

1 Corinthians 10: 16-17 (NLT)

I remember the old game of 'cooties'.

To be honest, I am not sure it was so much a game as it was an excuse to run around and scream, but be that as it may. The object was to avoid the fictional 'cooties' germ that, in my case, girls carried. (Girls, of course, maintained that us boys had the germ. So be it.) By the time everyone got around the age of eight or ten, cooties became a tease. I recall being at the house of a friend one muggy afternoon and being offered a sip from his glass of water. Ick! Why would I want to do that? It was disgusting, right? Yea, well... ten minutes later it wasn't so disgusting (or, perhaps, the muggy air was more disgusting). Most of us, faced with a similar situation, would take a drink from someone elses' cup or can... so why is it that we find it so abhorrent to drink from the one cup of the Lord?

Now, to be sure, I am not talking about on the occassion when the bird flu is running rampant, or when half the parish has strep throat... but I am talking about the regular fear that many Christians have of drinking from the cup at the celebration of Communion.

The common cup is a sign of the unity of the Church, the Body of Christ. (I could get into a discussion here about the use of individual wafers, but I'll leave that for another time.) In this day and age, our faith is becoming so personal that we almost loose a connection with the sense of community that is present in the Sacrament. In the Eucharist, we are united with Jesus Christ in a deep, intimate way. We share his true Body and Blood and are nourished with, as Ignatius put it, the 'medicine of immortality'. All of us share the common illness (sin), and stand in need of the common cure (Christ's redemption).

While I am loathe to get too deep into discussing the symbology of the Eucharist (for fear that you, dear reader, may think that I am trying to dismiss the Divine aspects of the Eucharist in favor of a mere symbolic view of it... I am not!), I feel that, in this particular entry, it must be done. For far too long, our discomfort with drinking from the common cup has resulted in the curious phenemonon that I refer to as 'shot glass Jesus'... the use of either pre-filled or filled-in-service single-servings of the wine or juice in Communion. While this may be a Protestant phenemenon, I have been to a few Catholic churches that have at least made an attempt of it... usually with either comical or sorrowful results.

Shot glass Jesus is, first and foremost, destructive of the sign value of the Eucharist. For that matter, so is using have a bazillion chalices at mega-Masses in sports stadiums. The powerful visual of one cup being shared among the people is difficult to replace, and that symbol serves to drive home a far more important reality: we are a unified people. One bread, one cup... one Lord. Why are we so afraid of drinking after one another at the table of the Lord? Is it because we don't really care all that much about the concept of the unity of the body? Is it because our society has taught us that religion is so personal that we don't want to run the risk of ingesting a drip of spittle from a brother or sister in Christ (what I call the cootie factor)?

Let's look at this in a different way. If you brother and you were sitting at a table and you had a new and unique flavor of soda in your glass, would you not let him have a sip to try it? Yes, I went there... the family angle. The Church is supposed to be a family - brothers and sisters in Christ. If we would let our worldly family share backwash, why not do the same with our spiritual family? In part, it's because we don't actually know our spiritual family all that well, and, I fear, we often don't want to get to know them well enough to set aside our fears... either socially or eucharistically.

So, instead, we remain content on Sunday after Sunday, when we are all in perfectly good health, to pass on the chalice, or dip the Body into the Blood, or even to use single-serving (and at times pre-filled and vacuum sealed!) Jesus kits in order to avoid becoming one with the Body of Christ... all because we just can't get over that stupid game of cooties that we still remember all to well from when we were five.

Speaking for myself, I want my spiritual maturity to get a little bit more in depth than a five year old, so I'll keep on drinking from the cup. You, of course, are invited to join me... but please leave your cooties at the door.

Powerful Message on Common and Christian Grace

2008-09-08T20:46:00.003-04:00

John Roop+ of Trinity Church, Knoxville, Tennessee, has posted an outstanding sermon on the goodness of God revealed throughout history across every religious expression, and the true goodness and grace of God that brings us to salvation in Jesus Christ. I can't recommend it enough.

You can read his sermon, preached this past Sunday, at this link.

It is definately worth your time.

Ugh! Adding Insult to Injury - NFL Week 1

2008-09-07T21:30:00.006-04:00

Week 1 of the 2008 NFL season has been a mixed bag for this fan, with victories for my favorite teams, but the lost of one of the biggest difference-makers in the League.

New England defeated Kansas City today, and the balance of the game was engineered by Matt Cassel. Yea, Matt Cassel, also known as Tom Brady's shadow. Brady, about halfway through the first quarter, went down... hard. News reports are saying that he has a torn ACL, and that his season, most likely, is done. Chris Simms (son of Giants great Phil Simms, most recently of Tampa Bay) is supposed to be on his way to Foxborough tomorrow for a workout and physical. The question becomes, would Simms (or, as others have suggested, Daunte Culpepper) displace Cassel as the starting QB for the Pats? It's hard to tell at this point. Cassel played a respectable game today, so we'll have to wait to see what happens during the next week. Needless to say, loosing Brady only serves to add insult to the injury perpetuated back in February when the Perfect Pats blew it in Glendale and handed Lil' Manning the Lombardi Trophy.

In the meantime, the New Orleans saints looked OK in their home debut as they held off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Not much else to say about this game... Reggie Bush had a good day, as did Drew Brees, and Jeremy Shockey got to make a face or two after some good plays. I am still not convinced that they are quite all that many analysts are making them out to be, but I am definately willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

As I write, the Colts are behind the Bears (Bears 12, Colts 6) at the two-minute warning (2nd quarter)... and somehow I don't expect myself to care all that much about tomorrow night's games.

A Letter to the U.S. Department of State

2008-09-05T23:30:00.002-04:00

(Editor's Note: This letter has been slightly edited to protect confidential information that could lead to identity theft.)

To whom it may concern:

I apologize, as this might get a bit long.

I was born in California. Today, I am a Primitive Catholic priest, and consider myself to be solely a citizen of the Kingdom of God. While I am willing to follow the just laws of the country in which I reside, I am unwilling to consider myself an American... or any other nationality for that matter. Currently, I live in Indianapolis, Indiana. This leaves me with several problems, however, that I am unsure of how to approach.

My most immediate problem is that I have family who reside in Canada. Soon, I will be required to present a Passport when I travel to Canada by car. I am concerned because I do not consider myself an American, and believe that, to bear an American passport would constitute the bearing of false witness against my God. Heretofore, I have been able to get across the border with my driver's license and birth certificate. When asked about my residence, I tell the border agent where I live (Indianapolis). I need to try to figure out a way to maintain my freedom to travel, to maintain contact with my family, while, at the same time, preserving my conscience's freedom to refuse to claim citizenship in a nation-state on earth.

My second concern is in restrictions on travel, specifically on the restriction that is placed upon me with regards to traveling to Cuba. I don't have any personal ties to Cuba, but I have always wanted to visit there, experience their life and culture, meet other Christian believers, and see the place for myself. I have long considered visiting Cuba, but then I found out that (in addition to the passport issue) if I did go, I would not be permitted to return to the United States for violating the Cuban Embargo. What right does the American government have to impede my God-given right to freely travel throughout the world?

Finally, I am curious about alternatives to being considered a United States Citizen. As I noted earlier, I do not believe in considering myself a citizen of any nation-state, as I cannot pledge any kind of allegiance to any nation on the planet. I have no objection to paying my taxes (though I am considering joining a group to promote an alternative to war taxes) and obeying just laws, but I cannot, in conscience, vote, serve in the military or any form of alternative service, serve on a jury, or serve in elected office. I consider myself a resident alien in this nation, as I was never given the chance to claim citizenship for myself. Is there any means in American law for me to 'downgrade' my status (best term I can think of) to that of a legally resident alien?

I know that this may seem a bit, frankly, kooky... at one time I truly believed in nationalism, patriotism, and all that... but the New Testament teaches me that, while I have an obligation to pray for all civil leaders and to obey just laws, I cannot have divided loyalties. I must be a citizen of this world, or a citizen of God's kingdom. I choose the latter, and I seek to find a way to allow myself, in conscience, to live out this conviction.

Thank you for your kind attention in this matter.

Father Robert Lyons

A Voice for Peace in the Carolinas

2008-09-04T13:25:00.003-04:00

CNN today ran the story of Sally Ferrell from Wilkes County, North Carolina, a woman who has dedicated her life to peace and non-violence, and the response she has gotten when trying to share alternatives to military service in High Schools.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/09/03/woman.battles.military.recruiters.ap/index.html

The Jury is still out on Google Chrome

2008-09-03T17:10:00.006-04:00

So, like millions of other computer users, I hopped over to Google yesterday evening to download Chrome, their new web browser. I am going to reserve my final verdict for a more complete form of the browser, because it is obvious they have more work to do.

While Chrome's interface is user-friendly, and the system isn't much of a resource hog (compared with Internet Explorer, that is), I have had a lot of problems getting pages to load... even pages on Google. Several times I have started opening pages with Chrome, only to have them bog down. For comparison, I went and opened IE7, and they almost always loaded faster.

Some pages would load without their proper frames and others would load without pictures. I have had trouble with common sites like Wikipedia and CNN, and with obscure ones, like JesusManifesto.com

So, I'll keep it around, update when the final version comes out... and continue to evaluate it. We shall, indeed, see...

Two New Pieces...

2008-09-02T16:23:00.003-04:00

Well, I've not been feeling all that well today, so I have had some time to sit around and hit the 'net. I'm happy to direct you to two pieces I have wrote:

The first, "Confessions of a Recovering Nationalist" is avaliable at www.JesusManifesto.com, and shares a bit of my conversion story from being an American Patriot to being a Jesus Patriot. This is my first post over at the site, and I hope that I'll be invited back for some more.

The second is my interview with David Mack, author of the upcoming Star Trek: Destiny trilogy from Pocket Books. It is avaliable today as a part of my regular Library Computer feature at www.trekmovie.com.

Identifying an Acceptable Alternative to American Citizenship

2008-08-31T04:08:00.006-04:00

Regular readers of the site will know that I am fiercely against patriotism, nationalism, and the idea that Christians would make double allegiances - to God and to a nation-state. As many of you have privately shared with me by e-mail, and as I myself recognize, while I can babble on all I want about my views, there really isn't anything I can do about it.

I was thinking about this again tonight, and have done some research. I was born in Oakland, California, and so, by default, I am an American citizen. The fact that I refuse to claim it by profession or allegiance anymore doesn't change the fact that I am one when it comes to the law. I have no way to formally give up said citizenship without leaving the United States, possibly never to return.

Of course, this could launch me into a tirade (which I will spare you, dear reader, from having to digest in this post) on the rank fury that the travel process on this planet involves (i.e., passports and visas used to curtail the individual freedoms of people to visit where they please), but at the moment I want to focus on a subportion of this issue. I have had several people ask me why, if I am so determined to refuse to claim myself as an American, I don't just leave the country and be done with it. Simply put, I don't have a problem with America, per se... I have a problem with the concept of pledging allegiance to any nation-state. I like my community, am willing to pay my taxes, and obey all just laws. I have a good life, and I wouldn't trade that in for anything. It is a blessing from God.

So it got me thinking... and perhaps this gets a bit too "Starship Troopers" (anyone who has ever read the Heinlein classic or seen the first movie in the series will know to what I refer), but I have to ask aloud why anyone deserves 'citizenship' from birth anyway.

As an adult, I have made a conscious decision to separate myself from association with a nation. Yet, because I was born here, the choice was made for me. Interestingly enough, some people born on (technically) American soil aren't citizens, only nationals. Now, in practical application I don't know how this works out for them, but citizenship carries with it a level of expectation. A citizen should be willing to serve the state through jury duties, voting, military service (or alternative public service if they are physically unable to serve in the military), etc. Some of us don't want that; we simply want to be able to live our lives as either nationals (non-citizen, of course) or as legally-resident aliens. The latter would probably be my preference.

I have investigated several alternatives to American citizenship - none of them appear to amount to much more than a money-making scam.

There is the "Embassy of Heaven" (website) who will gladly invalidate all of your state-issued identification and documentation and send you (for a modest fee) everything from license plates to passports. (A Kingdom of Heaven Passport runs $50.00.)

On the other end of the spectrum, there is the "World Government of World Citizens" (website) who issue an equally dizzying number of "World Citizen" documents (I can't find their prices, though).

Other groups exist to help you with tax evasion and the like (under the guise of Global Citizenship of one form or another), and I am definately not interested in such groups.

So, what is a Christian to do when he feels compelled to forsake the nationalism that causes so much needless violence, squanders resources, and squelches the freedom of conscience, travel, and thought of those residing in their borders. I fear that there is no acceptable alternative that would actually do what I am seeking...

But if you have any leads, I'd be happy if you'd let me know.

Construction Update

2008-08-28T20:27:00.005-04:00

Big update on the house, as it has been a few weeks since I have last posted pictures...

The first picture is from a few weeks ago when the cement footer and slab were poured... yesterday they delivered our lumber. Today we have pretty darned close to an entire house. Enjoy!

Mythbusting the Moon

2008-08-28T09:07:00.004-04:00

Regular readers of the site know that I am a huge fan of the show Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel. Last night, as most of the United States probably watched Bill Clinton woo the crowds in Denver, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman (together with the Build Team) set out to prove that the moon landings were not faked.

It was a fun episode, with some unique twists. I am sure it will be re-airing this week, so if you get a chance to check it out, take the time out to give it a look-see.

Country First? Excuse me... what about God?

2008-08-27T16:40:00.003-04:00

Just in case you thought this was a biased website with a axe to grind against the Democrats, well, you were wrong.

The Republican National Convention begins next week. The theme? Country First.

Really?

I thought the Republican Party was the party of faith, family, and freedom. Somehow, they seemed to miss this when planning their big party up in Minnesota. What the Republicans are positing to the American public is the notion that duty to the nation trumps anything else. Oh, I am sure they won't admit it, they may even vehemently deny it, but their own words (and logos) speak against them.

It now boggles my mind even further when I try to figure out why Christians even bother to associate with the Republican party. Aside from their pro-life stance, the Democratic party has cornered the market on the compassion side of policy in Washington. So, please, remind me again, fellow Christians, why we should be staining our hands with this hipocracy?

Sure, I suppose this comes across to many as extremist nut-jobbery... but at least I am not alone. I encourage you, if you are considering abstaining from voting, to read this article by Mark Van Steenwyk at JesusManifesto.com. You may not agree, but you will find it through provoking.

Pelosi, Biden, Need to Get Their Facts Straight on Abortion

2008-08-26T19:32:00.005-04:00

Fox News is reporting (link) that the Roman Catholic archbishops of Denver (+Chaput) and Washington D.C. (+Wurel) have railed on two American legislators, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi of California, and the presumptive vice-presidential nominee for the Democratic party, Senator Joe Biden.

First, let me applaud the two bishops for standing up - to the point of +Chaput telling Biden not to recieve the Eucharist in the Denver Archdiocese.

Now, let's factually disprove their allegations that the Church, in her earliest years, did not have a firm belief regarding abortion...

"You shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill one who has been born." The Didache (80 AD)

"We say that those women who use drugs to bring on abortion commit murder. And we also say they will have to give an account to God for the abortion." Athenogoras (175 AD)

"(Among Christians) murder is once for all forbidden. Therefore, we may not destroy even the fetus in the womb... To hinder a birth is merely a speedier way to kill a human. It does not matter wether you take away a life that has been born, or destory one that has not yet been born." Tertullian (197 AD)

"There are some women who, by drinking medical preparations, extinguish the fetus within the womb. So they commit murder before they give birth." Mark Minucius Felix (200 AD)

"Among surgeon's tools ther is a certain instrument that is formed with a nicely-adjusted flexible frame for, first of all, opening the uterus and then keeping it open. It also has a circular blade, by means of which the limbs within the womb are dissected with careful, but unflinching care. Its last appendage is a blunted or covered hook, by which the entire fetus is extracted by a violent delivery. There is also a copper needle or spike, by which the actual death is brought about in this treacherous robbery of life." Tertullian (210 AD)

"Are you to dissolve the conception by aid of drugs? It is no more lawful to hurt a child in the womb than to hurt one who is already born." Tertullian (212 AD)

"You shall not slay your child by causing abortion, nor kill the baby that is born. For 'everything that is shaped and has recieved a soul from God, if it is slain, shall be avenged, as being unjustly destroyed'" Apostolic Constitutions, citing Ezekiel (390 AD)

So, Senator Biden and Representative Pelosi, don't just read your Catechism or quote Thomas Aquinas as your ancient source of authority... go back to the heart of the Church, and actually read what the Scriptures and the Church Fathers have to say. If you disagree with what your Church teaches, that is your business... but don't go around pretending to be good Roman Catholics.

If you want to be a Catholic who can freely disregard the Pope whenever you please, there are several Independent Catholic churches out there that don't require you to forsake your abortion policies... in fact, they'll gladly welcome you and the publicity you bring them.

Lying or, at least, mis-informed believers serving the state. Remind me again why Christians serving in elected office is a good idea?

Yahweh No More

2008-08-25T09:15:00.007-04:00

While I was on vacation a few weeks back, several stories began to run in cyberspace about a ruling from Rome concerning the use of the name Yahweh in Roman Catholic liturgical circles. You can read an article from CNS at this link.

COMMENTARY

How pathetic.

Before you begin sending along the notes about how it is foreign to both Jewish and Christian tradition to actually speak the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) aloud, let me just say this: Jesus Christ has come to bring us to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That relationship is so personal, so tender, that we can address God as Abba (Father). God, in Christ, has revealed his inmost self, the depths of his heart, to his people. That love, expressed in blood, abides with us today.

God is truly near to us, he embraces us intimately and opens to us the mysteries of the Kingdom. He is Yahweh! If we are to claim that Christ has come to reconcile us to the Father, then there is no legitimate reason for us to avoid proclaiming God's glory by using his holy name... for we, who have been marked with his holiness, are reflections of his love in the world!

Removing Yahweh from the sacred language of Catholic Christians is a huge step back to the insane fear-mongering that the Christian Church has, for far too long, used to coddle its people into a psudeo-relationship with Christ. We should follow Jesus not out of fear, but out of a sense of awe and wonder for what he has done for us. To quote the oft-repeated Protestant praise chorus, "Our God is an awesome God!"

I feel very sorry for those who will no longer be able to sing, with confidence, the words of songs like "Yahweh, I know you are near..." I was reared on these songs, and they introduced me to a loving, personal, immanent God. Rest assured that I will go on singing them, even if my Roman Catholic brothers and sisters are no longer allowed to do so.

I suppose this also means that Rome will soon ban the Alleluia from the liturgy, as the Alleluia is derived from Hallelujah, meaning "Praise to Yahweh!" Too bad. I thought that was an ancient part of Christian tradition. Oh well, I suppose we'll just have to come up with something else before the Gospel.

The Primitive Catholic Call

2008-08-20T20:40:00.009-04:00

Our world changes every day. We do not know, in spite of the signs and portents, what tomorrow will bring us. The only surety that we, as Christian brothers and sisters have, is that the love of Christ will enfold us and embolden us for mission and ministry, no matter the circumstances we face. We have been promised, boldly, the presence of the Spirit today, tomorrow, and until the day when our Lord returns. We daily do well to thank God for these gifts; gifts that are priceless and of unquestionable beauty.

This does not mean, however, that discouragement and sorrow has no impact upon the believer. All of us, particularly those of us in ministry, have –from time to time- experienced the pain and sorrow of falling short in our calling, either on a personal or professional basis. For so many of us, it is the unchanging faith that we profess that buoys our spirits in the midst of those trials. Among those who have chosen to follow the Primitive Catholic way, many stories can be told of sorrow, fear, exhaustion, and pain. Anyone who elects to take the ‘path less traveled’ is bound to hit some bumps in the road, and find themselves alone in the midst of the darkness when the proverbial tire blows in the rainstorm.

For the past decade, I have been a vocal proponent of the concept of a Primitive Catholic movement. It has been, and often is, a very lonely and demoralizing place to be. Fellowship opportunities are limited, congregations are practically non-existent, and at times the boundaries of what can be called ‘Primitive Catholic’ are blurred or obscured… sometimes by the uncertainty that texts may suggest, at other times by our tendency to embrace what is safe, and often by our own hubris.

This must change, or the dreams of those who seek to live out a personal commitment to the ancient, patristic, and biblical Christian faith will find themselves not only homeless, but quite probably hopeless, in the face of what passes for Christianity in most of the western world today.

And so, this is a call… a summons to action, not talk, among those who strive and seek to follow the path of the Fathers in the Primitive Catholic way.

It is not a call to revolt from and leave our jurisdictions and congregations, forming some idealistic Primitive Catholic Church which, most probably would be doomed – at this point – to a quick death. This is a call, instead, to flower and bloom where planted. To peacefully and peaceably be beacons for the love, compassion, and theology of the Primitive Church. It is a call to conform ourselves to Christ (as opposed to conforming him –and his message- to our desires) in obedience, imitating his obedience to the divine plan of redemption and sanctification. It is a call to come together, regardless of denominational affiliation or individual rank, so that we may stand together humbly before God, seeking his will for the future of our vision of the faith, and his guidance in where we go from here.

It is a call to a radical and revolutionary commitment to discipleship in Jesus Christ, one that will see us, as our patristic forefathers, as parts of local Christian bodies that will make the kind of changes that we desperately want to see in the midst of our society.

It is a call to you.

The call, which is in essence a reflection of the call of the Scriptures, demands much. We must conform ourselves to Christ. We must obediently follow him without dissembling or demanding our own way or understanding. We manifest that obedience when we, faithful to Scripture and the ancient, undivided, and unquestionably uniform tradition of the Church, submit ourselves to God’s Word and Will, and make ourselves truly his hands and feet.

The call, in part a spiritual and mental assent to a new way of thinking, is also a personal commitment to encourage and uplift our Primitive Catholic brothers and sisters. How so?

First, through a daily commitment to prayer for the Church Universal, particularly her unity; a unity which I am convinced will only be found in a joyful surrender to the beliefs, practices, and love of the ancient Church.

Second, through personal commitment to stand as a beacon for the belief, practice, and love of the ancient Church… wherever you find yourself planted today.

Third, through regular communication and prayer with, and encouragement of, other Christians, particularly those who, in the Primitive Catholic movement, may feel isolated, lonely, or un-served.

Fourth, by actively supporting an annual or bi-annual physical gathering of Primitive Catholics for mutual edification, dialogue, and consideration of how God wishes to use us and our convictions to bring a new vitality and energy to the Church, and to renew the visage of the Church in the eyes of a world that is becoming more and more hostile on a daily basis to the concept of surrender to God in Christ… a surrender that even many of our Christian brothers and sisters cannot see the truth of… a surrender that ultimately sets us free.

Would you, my friends, who consider yourself a Primitive Catholic, accept the call? If so, please, join me… let us gather together in fellowship, encouragement, and praise to God who has spoken so tenderly to our hearts. Let us give him glory, and let us come together… and together let us forge a future for our parishes, our denominations… and our world.

(A Contact Me button can be found near the top of the left-hand column of this webpage. Please use it to e-mail me with your support, questions, or thoughts.)

Father Robert Lyons
Indianapolis, Indiana
August 20, 2008

Gentle Giants of Ganymede, Chapter 14

2008-08-20T19:41:00.005-04:00

Before starting in on my next assignment for TrekMovie.com (the forthcoming Destiny Trilogy) I've been taking a few weeks to do some pleasure reading outside of the Trek realm. Tonight I happen to be reading "The Gentle Giants of Ganymede" by James P. Hogan. The book is the sequel to Hogan's first novel, "Inherit the Stars" (see my Amazon review here.)

A few minutes ago, I finished Chapter 14. It was short, only a page and a half, but I don't think I have ever read such a touching chapter in the nearly twenty years I have been reading fiction (with the possible exception of reading the climactic chapters of "Where the Red Fern Grows" when I was in seventh grade.)

I don't know if Hogan ever tools around the 'net looking for comments on his thirty-year-old books, but, Mr. Hogan, if you happen to be stopping by... thank you for such a wonderfully written and meaningful chapter!

Recent Reading

2008-08-19T13:35:00.006-04:00

Some flash reviews of a few novels I have recently read:

The Gripping Hand

Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

The sequel to "The Mote in God's Eye", released nearly twenty years after the original. "The Gripping Hand" is a fascinating look into the Moties lives, exploring how, over a quarter century, they prepared for the day when they would look to leave their system and move into the stars. It was an interesting read, but it ended with something of a sputter. It feels like something is missing, though the story's resolution is satisfying enough. A good read, but not quite as good as the original work by the duo.

The Eternity Artifact

L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

An outstanding premise - tantalizing evidence of past intelligent life in the universe that isn't around anymore, and the adventures and challenges of the mission that sets to discover the truth. Lousy execution. Set over a milennia from now, it fails to inspire, suprise, or even make one think. The writing style is so cryptically casual as to make the book unreadable (it took me two years of off and on reading to plow through this sucker...), and the ending doesn't redeem the story at all.

Blah. Yea, that's the best word. Blah!

Construction, Day 4

2008-08-07T21:18:00.004-04:00

Updating our building process, the forms have come off the footers. It's amazing how small the place looks at this point, but we've been through the same floor plan at various stages of construction and know its final size. Two photos are here from this evening, one from the back yard looking at the breakfast nook (the bump out that you see), the second looking at the front from the street.

Pictures of the New House (Construction Update)

2008-08-07T16:01:00.005-04:00

As noted the other day, our new house got started on Monday morning. Her are some pictures from the worksite.

On Monday, the temporary driveway was put in place (gravel) and the house-plot was graded. We are building a two story house with no basement. The house will build out to the left of the driveway.

By Wednesday, (it's hard to see here, but trust me!) the footers for the walls had been set up and poured. As you can see, we have a basic treeline (that could stand some filling in) behind the property.

Construction - Day 1

2008-08-04T23:55:00.002-04:00

Well, today was the day, our first house has begun. Kristen and I are building with Centex Homes near Bargersville, Indiana, and plan to move in mid-December (what a nice Christmas present!).

We had our preconstruction meeting this afternoon, but at lunchtime Kristen drove past the house and saw that they had laid the temporary gravel driveway and had graded the peak of the property for foundation work. She got a few pictures, and I'll post them in a few days as an addendum.

Over the coming months, I'll be blogging about the construction process, including pictures.

Windows Vista Sucks... BADLY

2008-07-31T19:25:00.005-04:00

Okay, let me just come right out and say it. I hate Windows Vista. I hate everything about it. From the resource-hog that is the Aero visual format (just why did we need that?) to the horrible response time for the System Manager, to the fact that it is constantly missing important files... and let's not forget that it won't run ANY of the programs I have from earlier versions of Windows... even in compatability mode....

Of course, Gateway hasn't done me any favors either, seeing as the only option for reinstalling Vista is a total wipe of the hard disk... no freshen-up installation for Gateway users... that would be too easy.

So now I have to figure out how to save all my files... wedding pictures, liturgy books, fiction pieces, bill summaries, etc.... and make sure they don't get zapped into eHell when I totally wipe my system and reinstall this worthless operating system.

Oh, and of course, the only copy of XP I have is proprietary to an older computer (which makes it illegal to install on this one) and I don't have the money to go out and buy a copy of XP to replace the piece of garbage that is Vista with.

So, Microsoft, please, don't take this personally, but your OS sucks!

Kristen's sister will, at least, be happy... if I can't get Windows Vista to work pretty soon, trust me, I'll be switching to a Mac when I buy my next computer.

Did you hear that, Microsoft? I just might switch to a Mac. (Of course, if you would send me a free copy of Windows XP SP2, I might reconsider, provided your next OS is worth anything.)

~End Rant

Farewell to Frankie

2008-07-26T15:03:00.003-04:00

I am sad to announce that today, July 26, 2008, Kristen and I made the decision to put our little pug, Frankie, to sleep. At best guess, he was about 15 years old.

Kristen got Frankie as a rescue dog in February of 2006, just months before we met. At that time he could climb stairs, jump off the couch, and do just about anything... but his favorite activity was to lay his chin on your leg (especially near a laptop computer, for some reason) and just stare at you. By the time Kristen moved from her one bedroom upstairs apartment to the two bedroom ground floor unit that we currently share, he could no longer navigate the stairs or make it off the couch without a serious face plant.

In the year since our marriage, he has been deathly sick twice, and his condition was continuing to deteriorate to the point where nothing we were doing could really make him feel any better. To be sure, there were tears shed as we went to the Vet's office, and while, selfishly, we'd both rather have him with his now, we know in our minds and hearts that we did what was best for him.

And so, this afternoon, we have come home to a home that is a little emptier, but the love of our little guy will be with us forever. We are so thankful to God for the blessing that Frankie was to both of us.

Kristen told me that someone once told her, "Dogs sleep so much because they love so hard." Frankie, having loved us so much, has earned his rest.

We love you, Frankie... and we will miss you always.

Contraception in Today's Christian Landscape

2008-07-21T01:52:00.008-04:00

"Life begins at conception."

So writes "S" on a message board I frequent.

I agree.

When the contraceptive debates began in the 1960's in the Church, it was a time of great social and scientific upheval. Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical on contraception (Humanae Viate) outlined the teaching of the Roman Church, which was that all sexual activity had to have no human-imposed barrier to concieving children, and that to reduce sexuality to only one of its components (sexual gratification) weakened the marital bond, and resulted in a growing trend towards lack of faithfulness in marriage, and the growing number of divorces he was witnessing in his own back yard at the time.

The problem is, Paul VI based his appeal to avoid contraception on the wrong premise. Instead of going on about the teritary effects of chemical contraceptives (i.e., the abortifacent effect), he chose to take the theological tack. Noble, from an ecclesial perspective, but very, very lousy from a public relations (and, ultimately, from the faithful's) perspective. I believe that if Paul VI had done two things, he could have nipped Roman Catholic usage of chemical birth control and IUD's in the bud before they got anywhere near what they are today:

1) Accept barrier birth control methods that do not result in the possibility of an abortifacent effect on a concieved child. (Edit: I am not saying hand them out or encourage their use, as NFP should remain the norm. See my follow-up disclaimer for more on this...)

2) Explain the objection to the Pill and the IUD based on the abortifacent effect, without trying to solely appeal to the masses on the basis of flawed Augustinian logic and theology.

Unfortunately, Paul VI chose what is, in my opinion, the wrong tack... and Roman Catholics now are on par with their non-Catholic neighbors in usage of the Pill and the IUD... and most of them aren't aware of the abortifacent objection that should really be far more of a concern.

Don't get me wrong, Natural Family Planning is great, and my wife and I took it before we got married. But even there, in our very Roman NFP class (all we could find in our area), they never mentioned the distinction between barrier contraceptive and chemical contraceptives. I felt they did a disservice to the engaged couples there, most of whom one could hear walking out the door laughing about the class and how they were only there to get their 'card punched' so they could have a church wedding.

The Roman Catholic Church (and other Churches and clergy who, like me, object to abortifacent birth control) need to start explaining their objection in this fashion, and should consider some level of tolerance for those who make their own concientious determination to emply non-abortifacent methods of birth control; allowing them to use their God-given wisdom to decide on family size.

FOLLOW-UP DISCLAIMER: Lest anyone get the idea that I am calling for an opening of the floodgates when it comes to barrier contraceptives, let me note that I believe that NFP is the best route to go if a couple is choosing to delay pregnancy. That being said, I know that NFP can lead to other issues in the sexual lives of couples, especially if one or the other party is less than convinced about NFP. Couples who marry must be open to life, or else it is not a valid Sacramental marriage. Couples who are incapable of having children biologically should be moved by pastors to consider adoption or other involvement with children (foster parenting, teaching, etc.) to display that openness to life. The use of any form of birth control should, however, always be a last resort, and should only be undertaken by Christians after serious consultation with their pastor.

Classic SciFi - "The Outer Limits"

2008-07-18T02:51:00.005-04:00

I remember growing up a Star Trek fan, and going to conventions, and hearing of this show called "The Outer Limits". It wasn't until I was about thirteen that I actually managed to catch an episode, and I was absolutely hooked.

TNT began airing Saturday night marathons of the show (usually starting at about 7 PM and running through sunrise the following morning), and I religiously (pun intended) taped the episodes and watched them again and again. There are still episodes I haven't seen, and I only have the first season on DVD... but "The Outer Limits" is a most enjoyable show... one I wish would have went on further in the sixties, as opposed to its modern revival in the last decade.

Remembering "The Outer Limits" reminds me of just how unique such marathons were in the day. Today, nearly every show can get a marathon... on just about every cable network. It's not the same today.

Organs...

2008-07-15T12:44:00.003-04:00

No, not human organs (though I have been known to blog on said subject). Today I am taking a moment out to write about my intensifying distaste for organs in liturgical worship.

I used to love the organ. Nothing quite got me going like "Alleluia! Alleluia! Let the Holy Anthem Rise" on Pascha. I can think of setting after setting of the Gloria in excelsis that I loved on organ (Old Scottish Chant, anyone!). I never had anything against other instruments, I just loved the organ.

As I have grown older, though, I have found the 'organ experience' to be less than satisfying. It is rare that I can hear anyone singing over the organ, and more often than not (in my experience!) organists in the Church tend to dominate the assembly, choir, and other instruments - even when they are amplified.

In contrast, I have come to a strong love of piano and guitar in liturgical worship, as well as woodwinds. I'm still not much a fan of drums, but there is something about gentle, reflective music and joyful bursts of praise with such, well... such noble instruments.

Certainly guitars and pianos and such can be overdone (and over-amplified), but if I ever have to hear the Gloria in excelsis sung like a funeral dirge again, it will be way too soon.

"Antiquarianism" or "The Faith Once Delivered"...

2008-07-14T07:03:00.006-04:00

Let's face it, Christianity has jumped leaps and bounds in two thousand years. I think that everyone will agree that not everything Christian that has evolved in the past two milennia have been good, holy, and positive... and we would be fools if we denied that Christianity has, indeed, evolved over time (or, for those with a negative view of evolution in this context, feel free to substitute develop and its myriad of permutations).

In reading about liturgical and theological discussions afoot in the world (particularlly the Western Christian world) today, the desire to return to the most ancient forms is often referred to in an unfavorable manner as antiquarianism. Pope Pius XII, in his encyclical letter "Mediator Dei" wrote: "The desire to restore everything indiscriminately to its ancient condition is neither wise nor praiseworthy. It would be wrong, for example, to want the altar restored to its ancient form of table; to want black eliminated from the liturgical colors, and pictures and statues excluded from our churches; to require crucifixes that do not represent the bitter sufferings of the divine Redeemer."

Pius XII's writing is, of course, concerned about the erosion of the doctrines and dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church in a time of great upheval and change in the life of the world and the Church. However, I have to ask (admittedly in a rhetorical fashion), "Why?"

What Pius XII (and others) are quick to call and condem as antiquarian was the faith that sustained our ancient brothers and sisters who, in spite of threat and pain of death, held fast to their faith - the faith that was 'once delivered' to the saints. If that faith could sustain three centuries worth of martyrs, than surely that faith can once again sustain us today. If that faith could hold relative unity in those trying years (for, to be truthful, the Church has known schism and heresy from nearly the beginning of her existence, but she has not known division on the order that we do today) then why not restore those basic expressions of the faith and invite all of our separated brethren together to celebrate and live in the grace of God's mercy and in the embrace of that ancient faith?

I, for one, would never deny that there are many things of beauty that flow from the post-Nicene Church. Many liturgical and hymnodic works of great spirit and fervor have flowed from the pens of writers of various centuries, and I certainly am not a Donatist - even the unworthy can be inspired by God... but why the hostility to a general restoration of the primitive Catholic faith?

Could it be because we fear stepping outside our personal comfort zones? Could it be because we fear that it would upset our place in the Church as we percieve it? Is it possible that we have allowed ourselves to become so comfortable in our faith that we have not stopped to consider the dogmas and practices that have been handed down to us in the light of the Scriptures and the practices of the martyrs...

Do we really want to maintain that God cares if our altar is a stone monolith or a wooden table, if we use black or white vestments for funerals, or if we recieve communion on the tongue or in the hand? Is God truly that petty? If he is, I fear we all have a lot to reform about ourselves... and quickly.

Myself, while I believe that God is a just judge, and that he has laid down a clear, concise, and precise moral code, I believe he has given us great freedom to worship and proclaim his glory in ways that meet the needs of the people we serve. We must remain united to the moral and spiritual truths of the Scriptures, and we must then find ways to speak those truths to today's people so that they may understand, by God's grace, the depths of God's love and his calling to them through the Spirit.

By definintion, however, that will require some level of reversion to more primitive (antiquated) practices. Difficult, yes. None of us who have grown up in any well-established Church tradition will ever be able to fully divest ourselves of what we learned in our formative years... but going back one hundred, or five hundred years... that too is antiquarianism. Today we see a move in the Latin Rite of the Roman Communion to return to the use of the so-called Tridentine Mass. Anglicans and Lutherans also are not immune to this tendency. This is nothing more than antiquarianism (it simply goes back to the 1950's instead of the 250's), and to condem a more ancient antiquarianism (i.e., a reversion to the ancient practices of the Church) is nothing more than a hypocritical barb tossed in the direction of those who would seek to find unity in the faith based on the ancient Church of the pre-Nicene era.

Reverting the Church back to its practice in 1950 (or even 1850) won't solve a darned thing, because the genesis of much of what we find objectionable in the life of the Church today has its roots in the post-Enlightenment world. If we are to revert, let us revert (in spirit if not in exact verbage - which we have only a smattering of) to the practices of our ancient Fathers and Martyrs... let them show us the way they followed to Christ, who is the source of the faith that was (and is!) once and for all times handed down to us.

The Fourth of July - Oh no, not again...

2008-07-04T10:26:00.001-04:00

In the United States, today is Independence Day, a day where almost everyone cowtows to Civil Religion - manifest in sparkly entertainment form.

Let use use this day - and every day - to declare our total dependence on our Lord Jesus Christ, and not on the state; for the state is not our source of freedom or liberation; only Christ can truly accomplish that.

Today, and every day, is a day to stand up and declare ourselves to be Citizens of the Kingdom of God. On paper, we may be citizens of a nation-state, and, Scripturally we must be obedient to the just laws of government, but in this day and age - especially in America - we spend far too much time worshipping the state, and giving it credit for freedom, justice, and peace. Neither the United States, nor any other nation, gives us such gifts. Only our Lord Jesus Christ can give us freedom and liberation.

It is time for the Church to be single minded... to focus on Christ.

It is time to remember that this coming Sunday is the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, or the whatever Sunday in Whatever Liturgical Season you are celebrating, not Independence Sunday. America the Beautiful is NOT an appropriate Eucharistic hymn, an American flag is not an appropriate adornment for the house of God, and and honoring parishoners who, following orders, have taken the lives of other Christians (who, after all, were just following orders) has no place in the Embassy of our Lord Jesus Christ that is the Church.

It's time to liberate the Church from Civil Religion once and for all.

Pity it probably won't happen any time soon.

:sigh:

End Rant.

Flash Review: When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions

2008-06-22T21:41:00.006-04:00

"When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions" is a six part documentary of the United States' manned spaceflight program. Billed as the definitive High Definition chronicle of the space program, the program doesn't even come close to living up to the billing.

Far from being an authoritative review of the space program, "When We Left Earth" is little more than NASA-porn: quite pretty, but lacking in depth and substance, and - at times - featuring some glaring errors or omissions.

Part of the problem is due to the fact that the series is attempting to chronicle over forty-five years of history in six televised hours (less, in fact, when you count out the commercials). There is no real way to chronicle the space program in such a short period of time, but to make matters worse (at least for a nitpicker like me) footage is played fast and loose, and key events in the life of the space program are essentially ignored.

I was shocked when the overview of the maiden flight of the Columbia (STS-1) was dismissed in under two minutes with no mention of the fact that mission controllers were concerned about re-entry from the missing tiles on the ship. Other glaring omissions include the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, Sally Ride's first mission, and the first Return to Flight of the shuttle era.

Sound clips and video footage was also featured from wrong missions (for example, External Tank, SRB, and vehicle footage from the post-Columbia era of retrn to flight shown in the early days of the shuttle).

Far from being a substantial history of the space program, it is little more than a titillating sketchbook-type overview of the space program, "When We Left Earth" is easily overshadowed by even older (outdated) series such as PBS' "Spaceflight".

Dorotheos of Tyre

2008-06-06T00:00:00.000-04:00

Bishop and Martyr

Dorotheos was the bishop of Tyre in Lebanon during the reign of the Roman emperors Diocletian and Lichinos; he endured many various sufferings and was exiled from his cathedral to the city of Odisopolis in Trakia, because of his faith in Christ.

When Lichinos was killed in the year 324, and Constantine succeeded him on the throne of Rome, the Church was free again, and Dorotheos returned to his people in Tyre. He was a prudent intellectual person, knew Greek and Latin very well, and left some valuable writings that reflect his love for God and his Church and his vast knowledge. He was killed during the persecutions of Julian the apostate in the year 362, and thus ended his life with the crown of martyrdom.

Prayer of the Day
Father,
you call your people to stand fast in the faith
in spite of the hostility of the world.
As we recall the example of Dorotheos of Tyre,
grant your Church the strength of conviction
to always speak the truth,
live by the imperatives of the Gospel,
and advocate for justice and peace in the world.
We make our prayer through your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God,
now and ever,
and unto ages of ages.

Boniface of Mainz

2008-06-05T00:00:00.000-04:00

Bishop and Martyr

Boniface, whose name means ‘good deeds’, was born in Britain. He was a Benedictine monk who, at the age of thirty, was called to missionary work among the Vandal tribes of Germany. He led large numbers of his fellow Benedictines –men and women alike – in establishing churches, schools, and seminaries. Boniface was also a reformer. He was instrumental in calling two Synods that put an end to the practice of selling Church offices to the highest bidder. Following in the footsteps of Willibrord, he was preaching in the lands of the Frisians as his life drew to an end. While preparing a group of Frisians for confirmation on the eve of Pentecost in the year 754, he and his companions were killed by Vandal warriors.

Prayer of the Day
Almighty God,
you called your bishop Boniface
to be a witness among the Germans and the Frisians,
raising up though his life a people for your own possession,
and through his death an example of selfless service.
Pour forth your Holy Spirit upon the Church in every land,
that by the service and sacrifice of many
your holy Name may be glorified
and your kingdom enlarged.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God,
now and ever,
and unto ages of ages.

Martyrs of Uganda

2008-06-03T00:00:00.000-04:00

On 3 June 1886, thirty-two young men, pages of the court of King Mwanga of Buganda, were burned to death at Namugongo for their refusal to renounce Christianity. In the following months many other Christians throughout the country died by spear or fire for their faith.

These martyrdoms totally changed the dynamic of Christian growth in Uganda. Introduced by a handful of Anglican and Roman missionaries after 1877, the Christian faith had been preached only to the immediate members of the court, by order of King Mutesa. His successor, Mwanga, became increasingly angry as he realized that the first converts put loyalty to Christ above the traditional loyalty to the king. Martyrdoms began in 1885. Mwanga first forbade anyone to go near a Christian mission on pain of death, but finding himself unable to cool the ardor of the converts, resolved to wipe out Christianity.

The Namugongo martyrdoms produced a result entirely opposite to Mwanga's intentions. The example of these martyrs, who walked to their deaths singing hymns and praying for their enemies, so inspired many of the bystanders that they began to seek instruction from the remaining Christians. Within a few years the original handful of converts had multiplied many times and spread far beyond the court. The martyrs had left the indelible impression that Christianity was truly African, not simply a white man's religion. Most of the missionary work was carried out by Africans rather than by white missionaries, and Christianity spread steadily. Uganda now has the largest percentage of professed Christians of any nation in Africa.

One African clergyman, born of pagan parents, tell of his conversion. He said: “One afternoon I was bicycling along a road and met a young man about my own age bicycling in the opposite direction. He promptly turned about and began to ride beside me and to talk. He spoke with great enthusiasm about Jesus, whom I had never heard of before, and how He had destroyed the power of death and evil by dying and rising again, and how He was God become man to reconcile man with God. I heard what my companion had to say, and before we parted I had accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Now, the young man who preached the Good News of Jesus Christ to me that afternoon had himself heard of Jesus for the first time that morning.”

Renewed persecution of Christians in the 1970's by the military dictatorship of Idi Amin proved the vitality of the example of the Namugongo martyrs. Among the thousands of new martyrs, both Anglican and Roman, was Janani Luwum, Archbishop of the Church of Uganda

Prayer of the Day
Good and gracious God,
as we celebrate today the faith and sacrifice of the Martyrs of Uganda,
grant that we may,
at all times and in all places,
be constant in our witness to your Son,
regardless of the cost.
We make our prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God,
now and ever,
and unto ages of ages.

Martyrs of Lyons

2008-06-02T00:00:00.003-04:00

In Gaul, there were missionary centers which had drawn many Christians from Asia and Greece. Persecution began in 177.

At first, Christians were excluded from the public baths, the market place, and from social and public life. They were subject to attack when they appeared in public, and many Christian homes were vandalized. At this point the government became involved, and began to take Christians into custody for questioning. Some slaves from Christian households were tortured to obtain confessions, and were induced to say that Christians practiced cannibalism and incest. These charges were used to arouse the whole city against the Christians, particularly against Pothinus, the aged bishop of Lyons; Sanctus, a deacon; Attalus; Maturus, a recent convert; and Blandina, a slave. Pothinus was beaten and then released, to die of his wounds a few days later. Sanctus was tormented with red-hot irons. Blandina, tortured all day long, would say nothing except, "I am a Christian, and nothing vile is done among us." Finally, the survivors were put to death in the public arena.

Prayer of the Day
Lord,
hear the prayers we offer today
on the feast of the martyrs of Lyons.
May we, like them,
be rooted and grounded in our love for you and one another,
so that we may endure the sufferings of this life
with confidence in the glory of the life to come.
We ask this through your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God,
now and ever,
and unto ages of ages.

Justin and his Companions

2008-06-01T00:00:00.001-04:00

Martyrs

Justin was the son of pagan parents. While living at Ephesus, he was touched by the stories of the Christian martyrs, and eventually came under the influence of an elderly Christian man he had met there. Justin described his conversion thusly: “Straightaway a flame was kindled in my soul and a love of the prophets and those who are friends of Christ possessed me.” Justin was a teacher of philosophy and engaged in debates about the truth of the Christian faith. He was arrested and jailed for practicing an unauthorized religion. When he refused to renounce his faith he was beheaded, together with six of his students.

Prayer of the Day
Almighty and everlasting God,
your servant Justin began his search for you
by wandering from teacher to teacher,
and through the faith of one of those teachers
you revealed to him the sublime wisdom of your eternal Word.
Not squandering the precious gift he had received,
he in turn shared it with a world in desperate need of your love,
and was, together with his students,
willing to die rather than deny you,
the source of true love and peace.
As we celebrate the martyrdom of Justin and his companions,
hear our prayers,
and grant that all who seek you,
or a deeper knowledge of you,
may find and be found by you.
We make our prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God,
now and ever,
and unto ages of ages.

Vincent of Lerins

2008-05-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

Presbyter and Monk

Vincent of Lerins was born into a noble family of Gaul (which is located in what is now France). He began his life as a soldier, but gave up that profession and instead elected to dedicate his life to God as a monk at a monastery on the island of Lerins. He was ordained there and in about 434 authored his famous work the Commonitorium. This work offered a guide to orthodox teaching and included his famous maxim, the Vincentian Canon, by which he hoped to be able to differentiate between true and false tradition. In it he states that the true Catholic faith consists of “what has been believed everywhere, always, and by all”. He believed that the ultimate source of Christian truth was Holy Scripture and that the authority of the Church was only to be invoked to guarantee the correct interpretation of Scripture.

In addition to his defense of the primitive Catholic faith, Vincent opposed the definition of Original Sin that Augustine of Hippo was developing. Vincent, instead, supported what became known in theological circles as Semi-Pelagianism. Where Augustine taught that mankind was unable to seek God at all, Vincent and the other monks of Southern Gaul taught that it is necessary for humans to make the first step toward God and then God will complete salvation.

Vincent is considered, by many, the patron of the Primitive Catholic movement.

Prayer of the Day
Almighty God,
your Holy Spirit gives to one the word of knowledge,
and to another the insight of wisdom,
and to another the steadfastness of faith.
Today, as we celebrate the feast of your servant Vincent,
we praise you for the grace that led him
to a fuller knowledge of the truth.
Grant that we, who today live out our faith,
may cling to what has been believed always, everywhere, by all
who have followed the path of your Son,
our Savior Jesus Christ.
To him, to you, and to the Spirit
be glory, honor, and praise,
now and ever,
and unto ages of ages.

Martyrs of Mesopotamia

2008-05-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

Today the Church commemorates the Martyrs of Mesopotamia. In the year 303, in the midst of a mass persecution orchestrated by Galerius, Christians from throughout Mesopotamia (located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern-day Iraq) were rounded up and sentenced to death. They were hung upside down from rods as slow-burning fires were kindled under them, choking them with smoke. After their deaths, the fires were stoked and their bodies were burned away by fire.

Prayer of the Day
Loving God,
the fire of your truth and compassion
blazed in the hearts of the Martyrs of Mesopotamia,
kindling fear and murder in the hearts of the civil rulers of their day.
May we, like them,
always be found constant in our love for you,
and stedfast in our faith and convictions,
even when faced with difficult trials or a painful death.
We make our prayer through your Son,
Christ Jesus our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God,
now and ever,
and unto ages of ages.

Martyrs of Cappadocia

2008-05-21T00:00:00.000-04:00

Mesopotamia wasn’t the only part of the Christian world impacted by the persecutions of Galerius in the year 303. In Cappadocia (located in what is now west-central Turkey), a group of faithful Christians who were forced to endure torture before finally being murdered on account of Christ.

Prayer of the Day

Good and Gracious God,

you nourish the Church through the witness of her martyrs.

May we, who today celebrate the Martyrs of Cappadocia,

be ever faithful to the Gospel:

clinging to the knowledge of your truth,

enduring all persecutions and hardships,

and coming at the last great day to eternal life.

We make our prayer through your Son,

Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God,

now and ever,

and unto ages of ages.

Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time

2008-05-18T00:00:00.002-04:00

Prayer of the Day
Almighty and ever-living God,
it is truly good and right for us to give you thanks for your kindness,
and to praise you day and night.
Grant that we may always hold fast to the faith that is able to save,
and, in proclaiming the healing name of Jesus,
allow us to triumph over every pain
of body, mind, and spirit,
and draw ever closer to you and to one another
by the working of the Holy Spirit.
To you, O Holy Triune God, be glory,
now, always, and forever.

Readings
Acts 5: 12-16
Psalm 92: 1-2, 4-5
John 14: 1-14

Martyrs of Sudan

2008-05-17T00:00:00.000-04:00

The Christian bishops, chiefs, commanders, clergy and people of southern Sudan declared, on May 16, 1983, that they would not abandon God as God had revealed himself to them through the Scriptures, even though they were under threat of Shariah Law imposed by the fundamentalist Islamic government in Khartoum. The Christians of the Sudan suffered from persecution and devastation through twenty-two years of civil war. Two and a half million people were killed. Many clergy and lay leaders were singled out because of their religious leadership in their communities. No buildings, including churches and schools, were left standing in an area the size of Alaska. God, however, always has a plan when his people endure persecution. When the Martyrdoms began, only five percent of the population of southern Sudan was Christian. Today, more than eighty percent of the same area has converted to the Christian faith. This faith in Jesus, rooted deeply in the message of God’s mercy and love, has renewed their spirits through out the years of strife and sorrow.

Prayer of the Day
Lord God,
you who will not be defeated
and who is steadfast in the midst of persecution,
by your providence the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.
Grant that we
who remember before you the blessed martyrs of the Sudan,
may, like them, be steadfast in our faith in Jesus Christ,
whom they refused to abandon,
even in the face of death.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God,
now and ever,
and unto ages of ages.

Me and Liberation Theology

2008-05-16T10:49:00.004-04:00

"I would like to appeal in a special way to the men of the army, and in particular to the troops of the National Guard, the Police, and the garrisons. Brothers, you belong to our own people. You kill your own brother peasants; and in the face of an order to kill that is given by a man, the law of God should prevail that says: Do not kill! No soldier is obliged to obey an order counter to the law of God. No one has to comply with an immoral law. It is time now that you recover your conscience and obey its dictates rather than the command of sin. The Church, defender of the rights of God, of the law of God, of the dignity of the human person, cannot remain silent before so much abomination.

"We want the government to seriously consider that reforms
mean nothing when they come bathed in so much blood. Therefore, in the name of God, and in the name of this long-suffering people, whose laments rise to heaven every day more tumultuous, I beseech you, I beg you, I command you in the name of God: Cease the repression!"

+Oscar Romero

Archbishop of San Salvador

Many of my faithful readers know that I have a fairly strong position against the Church getting involved in the state through means like elections, jury duty, holding public office, etc. So why, oh why, would I post these words from the final homily of Archbishop Romero - words so politically charged, if I didn't agree with the notion of Christians interfering in secular matters.

Well, I suppose that the reason is that I believe that the Church should interfere in secular matters all the time, just not using the means of this world to do it.

Okay... wipe the "huh" look off your face.

One of the most powerful means of communication in the world is the sermon. Words spoken with the power of God's own word, and with a passion of conviction, can truly change the world. Look at the ancient Church; her pastors preached with great confidence in God and great love for the world around them - pagan and Christian - and would often preach against the horrific treatment that their brothers and sisters (of whatever persuasion) went through. We are called to do the same.

Do I support every element of liberation theology? No. I can't say that I do. I can say, however, that +Romero's words and his courage to stand up for the people committed to his care, a people who were being slaughtered by the government because of their identity, should inspire us, today, to speak openly and vocally from our pulpits and ambos about the muffling of the faith in America, and the constant degradation of religious liberty (for all faiths!) that we are experiencing in North America.

The Church must excite her members to holiness, and must serve as a vocal conscience for the human community... even when those outside her walls do not wish to hear what she has to say.

Just some offhanded thoughts on this Friday morning.

Martyrs of Kaskhar

2008-05-16T08:06:00.002-04:00

Today the Church commemorates the Martyrs of Kaskhar, who died on May 16, 366 in the midst of a severe persecution orchestrated by the Persian ruler Shapur II. Two bishops, Abda and Abdjesus, together with sixteen presbyters, nine deacons, six monks, and seven sisters were placed between heavy slabs to crush their bones and were later beheaded. These forty martyrs are among the many generated by the Syriac Church well after the major persecutions had stopped in the west.

Prayer of the Day
Almighty God,
you have given to your Church
the example of the Martyrs of Kaskhar
so that we might be encouraged to cling to our faith
even in moments of great trial and pain.
Grant that we may find
in the presence of the Spirit
the strength to endure the changes and chances of this mortal life,
so that, together with all your chosen ones,
we may complete our journey through this life
and arrive at the last in everlasting joy.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Brendan of Ardfert and Clonfert

2008-05-15T11:39:00.003-04:00

Presbyter and Monk

Brendan of Ardfert and Clonfert is better known by his popular title “the Navigator”. Brendan, was the son of a noble family, but elected to give his life to God through service to the Church as a monk and a presbyter. Together with a group of monks, Brendan set out to share the Gospel message far and wide, and a traditional tale of his journey out into the Atlantic was told for centuries. These tales were generally believed to be fanciful legend, that is until Celtic Ogam writings were discovered in various parts of North America. These Ogams include very clear and direct statements about Christ and Mary. A tale, once thought legend, now has much more credibility. It is entirely possible Brendan and his band of monks were the first from the European continent to visit North America. Upon his return from his voyage of seven years, Brendan founded more monasteries and may have been consecrated as a bishop (though the evidence to support this is spotty). Brendan died peacefully in the year 577.

Prayer of the Day

God of land and sea,

you endowed your servant Brendan

with a bold and adventurous spirit,

to occupy himself for your business on the great waters,

and revealed to him your wonders in the deep.

Make us,

who recall with thanksgiving his life and ministry,

zealous to be pioneers and pilgrims for the faith.

We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Matthias

2008-05-14T10:36:00.004-04:00

Apostle

We know little about Matthias, the 'replacement apostle', though his selection to replace Judas is one of the foundations of the belief among Catholic Christians in the doctine of apostolic succession.

With the exception of the details of his election, the New Testament is otherwise silent about his life and work. Some legends claim that he went on to Ethiopia and was martyred there, while others state that he died peacefully at an old age after engaging in ministry in Cappadocia and near the Caspian Sea.

Prayer of the Day
Father,
you chose your faithful servant Matthias
to be numbered among the twelve.
Grant that your church may always be taught and guided by faithful and true pastors,
whose hearts and minds are set on you.
We make our prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God,
now and ever,
and unto ages of ages.

Readings
Acts 1: 12-26
Psalm 56
Luke 24: 44-49