Exponential Catechesis

For over a year, I have been attending a weekly Apologetics study class by a group of Catholics who are blessed to have one of the finest and most articulate DRE's in the Country. Mind you, from the time I started, I could not participate as the class is in Virginia and I was in Florida, so I could only listen in on this group via podcast and wish I was there.

Last night, that changed.

I relocated to Maryland a week ago and last night set out to Stafford Va. to attend my weekly class this time in person. Dr. Jim Dobbins and his group felt like old friends and at the same time, I was excited to explore new territory with them. Dr. Jim and his class have been ongoing weekly for a few years now, while posting the audio of whatever happened, whatever was said, whatever was questioned during each outlined series of discussions on aspects of Catholicism. If you are interested in real dialogue by everyday Catholics who are authentic in discovering and practicing the most penetrating virtues of the Faith, listen and subscribe to Dr. James Dobbins Catholic Apologetics Podcast.

A series on Revelation is just beginning.

Anew

Ever have to step back and rethink your whole approach to a particular thing? Thats what I've been doing with the Catholic Journeyman podcast (since 08 apparently). I initially barreled into narrating the discovery of Conscience as the map to my heart (in a broad view), and what stopped production was studying and living this new perspective, new constant insight, new ongoing reality of the Conscience effect.

It became confusing at times tracking a coherent path that I could fit into a narrative, that is, my conscience became such an active driver of all the human levels of living. This way of thinking continued evolving. This led down several different, but individually critical means of living out the new internal reality of the rightly forming conscience.

Upon discernment of the aspect that the conscience, motives and behaviors were under a consistent right formation, my outlines for future podcast episodes had to be put aside. They went too quickly into the intellectual and theological areas of study, at the expense of that which is more personal, meaningful and revealing. There was an overwhelming amount of Grace evidence to be mined, organized into narratives and then shared.

It is here that I begin back to the Cast Anew. Retracing the meaningful changes and endless affects of rightly forming Conscience. Brushing against it without sufficient depth would diminish the intimate for the theological and intellectual.

The Altar Call fails

If all Christians, Protestant, Catholic or Orthodox believe that Salvation is purely due to Gods Grace alone, isnt the human act of "accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior" a work in itself...contradicting this core biblical understanding?

An Essay on a Path to Christian Unity

I have been blessed to participate in the vigorous work over at Called To Communion, where they have chosen my Essay as considerable. While the challenge to unite remains elusive, the steep climb is being made by both sides. This excerpt provides the size of the slope and why it is critical that real efforts like CTC are mandated:

"In an interview in 2003, Fr. Richard John Neuhaus said the following:
“The Catholic Church preserves itself as the most fully and rightly ordered through time and this in no way means that the Church is the totality of Jesus Christ. Vat II says everyone who is baptized and accepts Christ as their Savior is truly, but, imperfectly in union with the Catholic Church (sic). A lot of Conservative and Orthodox Catholics are nervous about Unity and Ecumenism and they view Ecumenism as a liberal project and a very suspect one riddled with people who want to water down the Catholic Faith in order to agree on doctrines. But In fact, JP II had one of the most striking and persistent and strongest efforts in Ut Unum Sint. The quest for Christian Unity is not a program of The Catholic Church, it is inherent in being the Catholic Church. If we have this deeply biblical Christ centered understanding of what “The Church” is, then we have the key to that door. (Neuhaus continues his take further): We should say to our Protestant friends ” Look, we’re not engaged in this quest for Christian unity because it is something we have to create, we have already a unity in Christ which is the gift of God. The reason ecumenism is necessary is not that we are not Brothers and Sisters in Christ, it is rather because we are Brothers and Sisters in Christ , but live as though we are not.”

We Interupt this Blogcast....

...to say Louie Giglio has a powerful message. We played this video during a recent RCIA session for the Catechumens. If you havent seen it, IMO you would benefit surely to do so.



Watch Part 2 on "laminin" as well for the complete message.

Richard Dawkins supports Religion

Its true. Just click on the title and see that Dawkins' recent talk @ TED, a CNN.com OP-Ed, marking the 150th anniversary of Darwins "Origin..." - spawns more published and credible counter points via believers, than atheists. Even Dr. Scott Hahn has a Dawkins counterpoint book published. Dawkins articulates "the elegance of atheism" as corroding religion as well as calmly stating that militant atheism should keep rocking the boat of religion.

The interesting observation of his efforts is...where are the Dawkins Enthusiasts? I can't hear them and none of their writings are linked or displayed whenever Dawkins comes out with another crafted performance. (Thats a compliment...he really performs well publically) It becomes even more interesting when out of convenience, one reads a linked counterpoint by a Creationist or Intelligent Design proponent and the sad state of Dawkins framework is amplified.

How I feel empathy for Dawkins while reading or listening to him, that his entirety of life satisfaction comes from what he "intellectually understands". He talks directly about feeling that he lived "triumphal by having understood why he was here in the first place."

Thats it. Mere understanding.

What about Dawkins heart, spirit and will...you know...what the Bible describes as our "Soul". Where is Dawkins on a scale of spirit and soul? Sadly those aspects are veiled well out of our (and apparently his) view. When the whole of your life is valued at a measurement of intellectual comprehension, and not much more, it is then that a heart needs touching.

The problem with Prayer

Those hands at the top of this site, bear evidence to the definition..."to pray". The problem with prayer is that its definition according to Webster, (as an intransitive verb), means " to address God or a god with adoration, confession, supplication, or thanksgiving." The problem with this definition is it incorrectly assumes a specific target (God or a god) of the act of praying in order to elaborate its incorrect definition.

The Latin origin...precari, prec- and prex means to ask, entreat, implore...humbly. To elaborate correctly would be to say it is a form of communication without implying a target. By implying a single target such as God or a god defines prayer in the eyes of the student as worship.

Praying is not worship.

As is Mark Shea...I am up to my eye teeth with Protestants who, believe it or not, rely on Websters 20th century definition of Praying as Worship as an attempt to educate me that praying to Mary and the Saints is idolatry.

and now...back to our regularly scheduled life....

Upcoming Changes to the Mass

The USCCB has confirmed changes to the GIRM, again, and they are anticipated to approve them for use this November. The link in this post title leads you to the USCCB page where all Assembly and Priest Mass Parts Revisions (current and proposed) are shown word for word.

I submit for your consideration that some of the professions we make as revised appear rather serious, if you are one who A) attends an Orthodox Parish and B) have grown fond of every syllable of the current Mass profession and response parts.

I am both.

Take the Assembly Revision to the "Nicene Creed" for example. The current profession begins with "We believe in one God,..." while the revised Roman Missal proposes "I believe in one God,...".

It would appear by simple logic that the latter is now not the Nicene Creed but something other than the Nicene Creed. Think I'm splitting hairs? Check it:

As an RCIA Catechist, I have taught adults from the Catechism that traditionally, historically, and scripturally the Nicene Creed was written starting with the word "We" to amplify, confirm and profess in Liturgical Plurality (IE The Church, The Body) and that is consistent with Christs teaching on Unity. Changing this first word to "I", even when spoken audibly with other fellow Catholics/Christians, is now a singular statement. No Unity, no Community, no Church profession by more than one or two gathered in His name. This is only one example of the possible mental conflicts which may occur to some of us by these changes.

Don't get me wrong, I can adapt and will...the Bishops are our guide (ahem) in Liturgy, however, one hopes they have considered that we who teach or share the Faith might rightly request the intellectual back story to these changes, so we can convince ourselves that they in fact deepen the Mass experience. We will then be better equipped to teach those confused Faithful that don't see this coming at Christmas.

We Interupt this Blogcast #8 - Jazz Mass

You gotta love this:

On Seeking God's Will

I'm really absorbed in Merton's "No Man is an Island"(NMIAI), that's why the superficial and thin posting here lately. The study of one's own conscience and developing an intensely personal prayer life contained in this work, while some of it is well beyond my absolute comprehension, (Merton's language and writing style, not his vocabulary, goes to the heavy side of philosophy and introspection with frequent breaks using normal conversation) there is self-revelation on the first pass through. I have posted in similar ways that doing God's will, obedience, commandment keeping... leads to inner peace and why. From NMIAI Ch. 4 "Pure Intention":

"Our happiness consists of doing the will of God. But the essence of this happiness does not lie merely in an agreement of wills. It consists in a union with God. And the union of wills which makes us happy in God must be ultimately something deeper than an agreement.


Shall I be content to do God's will for my own advantage? It is better to do His will with a weak, but deliberate co-operation than to do His will unconsciously, unwillingly, and in spite of myself. But let me not confine my idea of perfection to the selfish obedience that does God's will merely for the sake of my own profit. True happiness is not found in any other reward than that of being united with God. If I seek some other reward besides God Himself, I may get my reward but I cannot be happy.


The secret of pure intention is not to be sought in the renunciation of all advantage to ourselves. Our intentions are pure when we identify our advantage with God's glory, and see that our happiness consists of doing His will because His will is right and good. In order to make our intentions pure, we do not give up all idea of seeking our own good, we simply seek it where it can really be found, in a good that is above and beyond ourselves...


...When we speak of God's will, we are usually speaking only of some recognizable sign of His will...it is one thing to see a sign and another thing to interpret that sign correctly...Nevertheless there are some signs that everyone must know. They must be easily read and seen and are indeed very simple...

For in the course of each day the duties of our state, the claims made on us by those around us, the demands on our energy, our patience, and our time all make known to us the will of God and show us the way to realize ourselves in Him by losing ourselves in charity. But the pharisee who splits hairs and rationalizes his way out of these chances for self-dedication, although he may theorize and dogmatize about the will of God, never fully does that will for he never really abandons himself to the influence of divine charity."

Sounds like the 2nd Commandment to me. As I have explained here and here, its tough territory for this journeyman. Yet, its yields are infinitely larger than me.