Word on Fire!!!

Greetings,

One of my favorite Catholic Speakers is Fr. Robert Baron.   He was my professor in the Seminary.   He does A LOT in you tube.   Here is short, but excellent talk:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZkPH1rOAG0&feature=player_embedded

This talk is about the importance of Liturgy, bringing your faith into your life, and Ends with a commentary on the DUMBING DOWN OF CATHOLICISM.   We expect great things from our youth in all areas of their life except faith.    I would encourage you to watch this video, and then follow the links to many of his other talks and commentaries.

Here is the link to his website and all his talks:

http://www.wordonfire.org/Home.aspx#yt_video

peace

Sacrament of Penance/Confession

11:00 Every Saturday Morning or by appointment:

All sin is an offense against God and a rejection of his perfect love and justice. Yet, Jesus makes a distinction between two types of sins. We call the most serious and grave sins, mortal sins. Mortal sins destroy the grace of God in the heart of the sinner. By their very grave nature, a mortal sin cuts our relationship off from God and turns man away from his creator. St. Paul’s letter to the Hebrews tell us that “if we sin willfully after having the knowledge of the truth, there is now left no sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26).

The second type of sin, venial sin, that of less grave matter, does not cut us off from Christ. However, venial sin does weaken grace in the soul and damages our relationship with God. A person who frequently indulges in venial sin is very likely to collapse into mortal sin if they persist in their evil ways.
In order for a sin to be mortal, it must meet three conditions:

     •Mortal sin is a sin of grave matter

     •Mortal sin is committed with full knowledge of the sinner

     •Mortal sin is committed with deliberate consent of the sinner

This means that mortal sins cannot be done “accidentally.” A person who commits a mortal sin is one who knows that their sin is wrong, but still deliberately commits the sin anyway. This means that mortal sins are “premeditated” by the sinner and thus are truly a rejection of God’s law and love.

How to make one’s Confession

Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.

I confess to God Almighty and to you, Father.

It has been ___________ (days, weeks, months, years) since my last confession.

I have received absolution and performed (not performed) my penance.

Then you tell your sins. All mortal sins must be confessed in order to make a good confession. Venial sins may be confessed, and it is a very beneficial to do so on a spiritual level. When you have finished, add:
For these and all the sins that I can’t remember, and all the sins of my past life (you can specify one or another), I ask pardon of God and penance and absolution of you, Father.

The priest then may give you some words of advise and he gives you a penance. Then you say your act of contrition.

An act of Contrition

(Traditional Version)

O my God,  I am heartily sorry for
having offended Thee,
and I detest all my sins,
because I dread the loss of heaven,
and the pains of hell;
but most of all because they offend Thee, my God,
Who are all good and deserving of all my love.
I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace,
to confess my sins, to do penance,
and to amend my life.
Amen.

(Contemporary Version)

My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.
In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good,
I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things.
I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more,
and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.
Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us.
In His name, my God, have mercy.
Amen.

The priest gives the absolution.   Your sins are forgiven, go in peace

What is different about CATHOLIC Worship?

If you go to some Non-Catholic churches they make look similar to a Catholic Mass.  If you go to other non-Catholic services it will look nothing like a Catholic Mass, but will include a sermon, and worship/praise music.  Normally, when we ask the 'What is different questions' we are talking about what the service looks like.   However, I would like to go even deeper:  What is the GOAL of the service.

If you go to a non-Catholic service, whether it is very liturgical or very loose, it has very similar goals.  The goal is to move the heart of the congregation to help them grow in faith.   The Music is to move the congregation.  The celebration of the Lord's supper or table fellowship is done to move people towards faith.  The goal of worship God is to help the individual grow in faith for their personal relationship with God.  This means that if there is NO congregation then they would NOT do the service.  The service only effects the congregation.  It also means that the congregation must be able to hear and see every part.

However, the goal of Mass is different.   Oviously the reading of scripture and the homily is to move people in faith, however, we are being moved in faith so that we can participate in the Eucharist.  The main goal of the Eucharist is NOT focused on the people.  In fact, for the first 2000 years(up until 50 years ago) the Eucharistic prayer was said silently, and in the Byzantine tradition the priest would go behind an icon screen for the Eucharistic prayer.   So what is happening in Catholic worship during this time?

The bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Christ.  Then we participate in the One perpetual offering of the Son to the Father for the Forgiveness of sins.   We are participating in the REDEMPTIVE Act of God.  This is an objective Reality of the internal working of God being made available in the world.   The main act of the congregation is to raise their hearts and mind to God offering themselves in  spiritual sacrifice along with Christ.   Since Mass is participation in the Objective work of God, then it even happens without a congregation.  The goals of Mass happen even if the congregation does NOT hear the prayers being said.   Worship is focused on God and the objective works of God.   Then the congregation participates again when God gives himself to his bride in the Eucharist.  The worship becomes ONE with Christ as they receive communion.

It is good to have uplifting music.  It is good to have a well prepared, meaningful sermon.  But it is redemptive, and bring salvation, to participate in the saving act of God that happens at the Mass.   This is the big difference in worship.   Comments welcome.

peace

Reason or Emotions

I have been reading about philosophy.  I have had some very interesting ideas.  During the middle ages scholars accross the board spoke about the emotions as being the most dangerous part of the human intellect.  The emotions tend to be very unstable, and lead to spontaneous and often selfish responses.  They held up REASON as the most important part of the human intellect.

However, in our American culture, if you look at pop culture, emotions are the most important, and reason is NOT very important at all.   Rather than telling a young person to use reason when making a decision, they are told to do what feels right, be yourself, follow your heart.  In other words, your emotions are much more important than your mind.  It is totally different from the medivel mindset.

Why the difference???   Here is my hypothesis.  I would love to hear your ideas and comments.   In the middle ages, life was much closer to the animal world.  Almost EVERYONE lived on a farm.  Animals would have been part of every persons life for food, for travel, and other areas.   Since animals were always present(Wild animals and domestic animals) people wanted to separate themselves from animals.  Animals appeared to just fulfill all their whims.    REASON separated us from the animals.

Today, we are no longer close to animals so we do NOT have to make that distinction.  Today we are surrounded by machines and computer.   Machines and computers are always present, and the thing that distinquishes us from machines is NOT our reason, but our emotions.    Our emotions separate us from computers.   Our emotions make us human (As Spock and Data both showed in the Star Trek programs.)

Emotions or Reason???  It seems to depend on how we want to define ourselves in our environment.   We are made up of EMOTIONS, REASON, and the WILL.   Perhaps it is the WILL that is really important.

peace

What Bible Should I get?

It has been awhile.  We are long overdue for a new blog post.  I would like to answer the common question:   What bible should I use?  This is an excellent question.

My answer is:  New American Bible (NAB).  I have a number of reasons why this is the best translastion.

1.  It is very easy to read.  It is not choppy or clumsy.  It flows very well.

2.  This is the translation we use at Mass.  If you are going to memorize scripture and pray with scripture, it would be good to learn with the translation we use at Mass.  This will connect your private prayer and study with our liturgy.

3.  Excellent footnotes:  On each page there are good footnotes which help to understand what the scripture says.

4.  Cross References:  This is my favorite feature.  If a passage is connected to another passage in scripture it is Marked. 

5.  The NAB Bible can be VERY inexpensive.   The cheaper versions only costs $6.95.  I would be careful with the cheaper versions because they may have very small print.   Although, all versions(even the cheaper ones) have the same footnotes and cross references.   You could get a full sized version for only $9.99.


6.   There is also a very good STUDY VERSION.   This is what I use for a Bible.   It includes a summary of the each book in the bible including the theology and an outline.  There is an index, and also includes all the readings which are read at Mass so you can prepare for Sunday Mass with this bible.  It includes many other great features for study and prayer.

www.amazon.com/Catholic-Study-Bible-Donald-Senior/dp/0195282787/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271644753&sr=8-4

So there is my answer.  I would encourage people to read the New American Bible, and If you are going to do bible study, you may want the Study Edition.

Here are so other translations and my comments:

NIV:  New International Version-- This is currently one of the most popular Protestant versions of the bible.  It is very easy to read, and that makes it very desireable.  It does have some translation errors from ideology.  Example:  The word tradition is often used in the bible.  Some Protestants do not like tradition.  Where the Greek word for tradition is used NEGATIVELY it is translated "tradition", when the same word is used Postively it is translated "teachings".  In that way the word tradition is NEVER positive.  Also, the footnotes are often flawed.

Douay Rhiems translation:  This was an English Catholic Translation of scriptures done BEFORE the King James Version.   It is a very beautiful translation in Shakespearean English.  It can be very difficult for modern readers.  If you love the English languagen and beauty, and are not worried about "thee" and "thy", you will enjoy this translation.

RSV- Revised Standard Version:   Often professors will encourage their students to use  this translation.  It is very accurate which makes it good for Bible study.  However, because it is closer to the ancient language, the English translation can be a little choppy and difficult to read.  This would be good for study, but not for prayer.  Also, it does not have as many footnotes as I would like.  Remember to get the Catholic Edition so that you will have the Deuterocanonical books.

Holy Thursday 17 years ago

17 years ago I had the privilege to  spend Holy Week in Jerusalem.  We celebrated the Mass of the Lord's Supper near the Cenacle where Jesus would have had that Last Supper almost 2000 years ago.   What was even more power than that was what happened next.

We went to the Mount of Olives to pray.   The site where Jesus would have prayed is now a church.  It is the church of "All Nations".   It is a very beautiful 20th century church.

 As I entered the church I looked around and it was full of people, but there was not a single sound.   People were gathered at the stone where Jesus would have prayed in the garden.  This is the place where he would have sweat blood, and prayed to his father to take the cup from him, but out of PERFECT obedience to the Father accepted his mission.

I prayed a long time that night.  I didn't want to leave.   Was in the place where Jesus prayed.  I was in the Place where Jesus was arrested.  I was in the place where the disciples fled.   I was left asking myself:   Would I flee today?

Tonight we are given that same challenge.  WE are called to wash each other's feet.  We are called to spend that one hour with Jesus.   We are invited to LOVE.   How do we respond.

Here is a video about the church:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR7MEUm9Sno&feature=player_embedded

Scripture and the News

Greetings,

The sex scandal has been in the new constantly.   It seems that the media is doing everything at their disposal to try to bring Pope Benedict down.  They are trying to make connections to him that don't exist.  Any abuse is a tragedy, but it seems certain groups are using this abuse in a concentrated attack.  It made me reflect on this scripture:

Zechariah 13:7    "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me," says the LORD of hosts. "Strike the shepherd, that the sheep may be scattered..""

They want to scatter the sheep by attacking the shepherd.  Let us pray for the Pope.   In the Pope's inargaral address he asked for our prayers.    Here is the prayer the Poped asked for:

My dear friends
at this moment I can only say:
pray for me,
that I may learn to love the Lord more and more.
Pray for me, that I may learn to love his flock more and more
– in other words, you, the holy Church,
each one of you and all of you together.
Pray for me,
that I may not flee for fear of the wolves.
Let us pray for one another,
that the Lord will carry us
and that we will learn to carry one another.
[Pope Benedict XVI, 24 April, 2005]


peace