North Of The Shire

Here is a passage of Scripture that I came upon today which I had never considered before. From a Catholic apologetics point of view it is quite interesting.

Father Thomas Dubay points this out in his second last chapter of the book “Fire Within”, in the context of discussing the necessity of spiritual direction. Here is the Scriptural backdrop from Acts 9;

[1]But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest
[2] and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
[3] Now as he journeyed he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him.
[4] And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
[5] And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting;
[6] but rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
-RSV

I have highlighted the pertinent passage. Read the rest of this entry »

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I have been absorbed with a writing project and other changes have made it virtually impossible to make any posts here. Today I have a moment.

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmsa0sg4Od4&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Philosophical Argument

I have heard Father’s analogy of the party before, and the one that doesn’t want to join the party. Near the end he gives us the philosophical, logical conclusion that if we accept the two statements;

God is love.

Human beings are free.

We must also then accept Hell. In other words, it is simply a logical necessity. Now, that seems to me odd that this would be the conclusion when earlier he mentions that Jesus spends some time talking about Hell and warning against it. Jesus wasn’t making a philosophical argument. He is God and he was issuing a warning.

No Need To Downplay

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My apologies. I have been busy with taxes and another writing project. The limited time I have available had to be directed away from blogging for awhile.

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Father Mitch here gives one of the best explanations of what we as Catholics are doing in the celebration of the mass, or at least what we should be doing spiritually in the process of our own ongoing conversion and progress in holiness.

At the end he gives a quick explanation of something that I have heard many times mis-applied but rarely ever explicated. That is, our three fold character as baptized persons; prophet, priest and king. What does that mean in any practical sense. He doesn’t unpack it here because it is not the central theme, other than to connect our priestly function as individual Christians, with the main theme of sacrifice.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dx76UbmDXg[/youtube]

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An interesting article in Christianity Today from Jason B. Hood;

Heresy Is Heresy, Not the Litmus Test of Gospel Preaching

Antinomianism is not hostility to gnomes, and it’s not fear of people from Nome, Alaska. Antinomianism is lawlessness, believing and teaching an obligation-free version of Christianity. In certain quarters of the evangelical world, being accused of antinomianism is increasingly considered to be a symptom of a healthy ministry. This belief has a long pedigree; no less an authority than Martyn Lloyd-Jones believed there was “no better test” of gospel fidelity than the accusation of antinomianism.

(my emphasis)

Read the rest of the article here;
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/januaryweb-only/heresyisheresy.html

For a convert to the Catholic Church such as I am, and having come from the Evangelical side of Protestantism, this is an interesting subject. The relationship of grace and works in salvation is a key point of discussion in that argument between Catholics and the descendants of the Reformers. (In the general category of “works” I include any effort to live a life of holiness) Personally, I believe that the antinomianism that is found particularly in America is at least partially a result of the American freedom culture.

Note, I did not say the result of “freedom” but the result, in part, of the “freedom culture.” In fact, a lot of the wacky and perhaps heretical ideas that have blossomed in the non-Catholic world of Christianity and even occasionally within the Catholic Church can be sourced in America or in American thinking.

“Antinomianism is lawlessness.”

If this is true, and I think it is, there is a verse of two from Scripture that might be quite relevant.

This is from Matthew chapter 7 of the New King James Version;

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!‘

Be careful who you listen to.

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This is from a recent Q&A with Billy Graham in Christianity Today;

But the most important issue we face today is the same the church has faced in every century: Will we reach our world for Christ? In other words, will we give priority to Christ’s command to go into all the world and preach the gospel? Or will we turn increasingly inward, caught up in our own internal affairs or controversies, or simply becoming more and more comfortable with the status quo? Will we become inner-directed or outer-directed? The central issues of our time aren’t economic or political or social, important as these are. The central issues of our time are moral and spiritual in nature, and our calling is to declare Christ’s forgiveness and hope and transforming power to a world that does not know him or follow him. May we never forget this.

We, as Catholics, might well ask the same questions of ourselves and come to the same conclusions. John Paul II spoke of the New Evangelization and I am certain would agree with everything Billy Graham had to say in this quote. If there ever was common ground between Evangelicals and Catholics I think it is on this point, that the world needs Christ as much as ever and it is our responsibility to bring Christ to the world.

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-VTooIkEGc&feature=related[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArkWOuBOYhs&feature=related[/youtube]

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw6TCu6LwAE&feature=related[/youtube]

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This homily needs no explanation;
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdowkreUl3c&feature=channel[/youtube]

Here are the scripture readings for this homily; Read the rest of this entry »

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