St. Annes Young Adult Group

Thanks again for the suprise birthday party! And a special thanks to my fiance Melissa for all the work she put into it. You guys are great! And with that in mind, here something from John Paul 'The Great'

Young people, the church asks you to go, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to those who are near and to those who are very far away. Share with them the freedom that you have found in Christ. People thirst for genuine inner freedom. They yearn for the life which Christ came to give in abundance.

– John Paul II

The Blessed Sacrament

I've recently created a video entitled, 'The Blessed Sacrament,' and I just learned that I'm able to upload video's to my blogsite. Another cool feature on Blogger! Here's the video in case you don't feel like browsing through youtube or Godtube.com

Christ and His Mother

To know a little more about the relationship between Christ and his mother we have to fully understand who Christ is. It’s very important that we do not see Christ as something changeable or inferior. As Christians, we believe that Christ was not created because if he had been created, something (which created him) was superior, thus the Church has always taught us that Christ was uncreated –‘begotten, not made.’ We should all recognize that The Creator became a creature. As St. Augustine says, “He whom the world could not contain was contained in a mother’s womb.”

With all this said I would like to ask, ‘What would you do if you were able to choose your own mother, and how would you create her?’ Catholic Author F.J. Sheed couldn’t have explained it any better:
__________________________________________________________________

“. . . In seeing what the difference is, a good starting point is the simple fact that this son existed before his mother. So that he is the only Son who was in a position to choose who his mother should be; he could choose therefore what every son would choose if he could, the mother who would suit him best. Further, it goes with the very heart of sonship that a son wants to give his mother gifts; and Christ, being God, could give her all that she would want. To his giving power there was no limit. And what above all she wanted was union with God, the completest union possible to a human being of her will with God’s will, grace therefore in her soul.

He was her Son, and he gave it lavishly. She responded totally, so that she was sinless. It was her response to the grace of God that made her supreme in holiness – higher even that the highest angel, the Church tells us. We may pause for a moment to look at this truth. . .”

[1] Theology for Beginners. F. J. Sheed. Servant Books. Chapter 15, pg. 128.

St. Augustine on Sin

There was very little that the mind of St. Augustine did not touch upon during his career as bishop of Hippo. Indeed Augustine had an intimate knowledge not only of the actions and results of sin, but of the motivations that were behind a sin. His approach of always being more patient and forgiving toward the sinner is all that much more remarkable.

Fr. John Vidmar shares with us some of St. Augustine’s thoughts on sin:

“No one, perhaps, understood the psychology of sin better than St. Augustine. He knew intimately the forces that played on people and the need to have compassion on the sinner. Hence, he instinctively hesitated to condemn those who did not measure up. He wrote: “Many sins are committed through pride, but not all happen proudly . . . They happen so often by ignorance, by human weakness; many are committed by men weeping and groaning in their distress.”

This sympathy for the sinner presented the church with a legacy of Christian forgiveness and a greater awareness of its mission in distinguishing hatred for sin from love for the sinner. Had St. Augustine done nothing else, this alone would have earned him the gratitude of future generations.”

[1] Father John Vidmar, OP. The Catholic Church Through the Ages. History. P. 72

40 Days of Lent

There is no question that ‘40’ is a very significant number in the Bible. As Catholics, we have the liturgical season of Lent for forty days which begins with Ash Wednesday and ends with Easter. Lent is the primary penitential season in the Church’s liturgical year, reflecting and uniting ourselves each year to the mystery of Jesus in the Desert. (CCC 540)

The period of forty days or years is an important one in Scripture and in Jewish tradition. As the church fathers observed, it is most often associated with hardship, affliction, suffering, purification, fasting and punishment. Catholic author Steve Ray has recognized the following significant uses of the number 40 in Scripture below.

*The flood judgment in Noah’s day lasts 40 days (Gen 7:4).
*The fasting of Moses for 40 days on Mount Sinai (Ex 24:18; Deut 9:9).
*Elijah 40 days of fasting while running to Mount Sinai (1 Kings 19:8).
*The Israelites wandered for 40 years in the wilderness (Ex 16:35; Ps 95:10).
*Israel is in the hand of the Philistines for 40 years (Judg 13:1).
*40 days Ezekiel lies on his side to symbolize the punishment of Judah (Ezek 4:6).
*Jonah prophesies that Nineveh will be destroyed in 40 days—unless they fast and repent (Jonah 3:4).
*Punishment limited to 40 stripes —lashes (Deut 25:3; cf. 2 Cor 11:24).
*There were 40 days before purification in the Temple
*40 days for Mary’s purification (Lk 2:22-24; Lev. 12:1-8, CCC 583).
*Jesus’ temptation for 40 days and nights in the Wilderness (Mt 4:1-2).
*Jesus on earth 40 days between resurrection and ascension (Acts 1:3).
*We have 40 years between Christ's death and resurrection and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. (Tip to Mr. Cox)
*We have 40 days of Lent to prepare for Easter week.


Though 40 is often associated with suffering, we can also see it is as blessing for those who persevere to the end. Look at each of the examples above and think of the blessing that arrived at the end of the event. With Noah, after the flood there was new life and a rainbow as the sign of the Covenant. After Elijah's 40 days of fasting while running to Mount Sinai he met God, after the wandering in the wilderness for 40 years the Israelites entered the Promise Land, and after 40 days and 40 nights in the desert, Jesus gave us a 3 fold victory over sin. What will be at the end of your 40 days of Lent?

I hope you are all having a great Lent, and try to remember that you are not alone or the first to suffer through the number "40".

Please Visit: St. Annes Youth Ministries. Lent 2008

The Donatist Controversy

A few months ago, while browsing through our local library (specifically in the theology section), an elder man happened to approach me to discuss a little about my religious background. As soon as I advised him that I was Catholic, you could easily tell that our discussion began to, ‘pick up.’ Of course, The Pope was brought up, then questions about Mary arose, however, these were nothing new to me. It wasn't until he brought up a concern about the Sacraments, specifically the Eucharist, that I felt unprepared. His concern about the Eucharist wasn’t about transfiguration and the Real Presence, but about those who administer the Sacrament and whether or not a notorious sinner could validly administer the sacraments. This man informed me that, according to scripture, only those that are pure and free from sin are eligible to administer the sacraments, and that all the other sacraments that are being administered by everybody else, are tainted.

Now I have to be honest, I didn’t have an answer for him that day. In fact, I didn’t have an answer at all until last week. But I did find someone who did have an answer for him. And he happens to be one of my favorite early church fathers, St. Augustine. One of the greatest theologians who ever lived had an answer for him sixteen hundred years ago! This issue was known early in the 3rd Century as Donatism, and Augustine had just a few words to say about it. .

“Augustine saw the danger of elitism in this (Donatism), . . Augustine taught that the church is holy, not because its members are holy but because its founder and its purposes are holy. Sacraments are valid because of their inner purity and sanctity, not because of the sanctity of the Minster. Thus baptism, if administered according to the proper form and intention (however minimal that intention might be), is valid whether the minister is “worthy” or not. Its is not Peter who baptizes, it is Christ. Sacraments, as a result, are available to all, and not merely to an elect group.”

[1] The Catholic Church Through the Ages. John Vidmar, OP. Paulist Press. pg. 69-70

Walk For Life 2008

Hi everyone, I'm Melissa and I just thought I'de use Art's blog to share a little bit about my wonderful experience this past weekend. I attended my first Walk For Life in San Francisco! This years Walk For Life was a great out come with over 25,000 people showing up to show their support for life. The day also included prayers for those who have been killed through abortion and also to pray for the women who have been hurt through abortion. This is a spiritual battle that we are fighting against everyday, along with abortion genocide. Please continue to pray for the rights of the unborn and for the healing of all women who have suffered from their abortion.

For more information about this year's Walk for Life event, please visit their website by clicking on the link below.

Walk for Life

Rapture: David B. Currie

Lately, my family has found it pretty easy to shop for me when it comes to birthday’s and holidays. Its come down to books or amazon gift cards to buy more ‘books’. Either way I’m content because everything results in me getting a new book(s). So this Christmas, with much thanks to my aunt Pearl for my amazon gift card, I was able to pick up three new books! However, one of them had a little more excitement to it than the others because it was sitting on my amazon-shopping list for about 4 months. The book is titled, “Rapture: The End-Times Error That Leaves the Bible Behind” written by David B. Currie."

I remember hearing about this book when I was listening to Dr. Brant Pitre’s talk on ‘The End Times.’ Dr. Pitre highly recommended this book for anybody doing any type of study on the ‘Last Things.’ And of course, little did I know, that not only had one of my favorite Catholic Theologians highly recoommend this book, but another favorite Catholic Scholar of mine, Dr. Scott Hahn, provided the foreword for it! . . I KNOW!!

I’ve provided a small text from the foreward to give you an idea of some of Dr. Hahn’s thoughts on Currie’s remarkable work.

“Rapture is much more than its title suggests. It’s more than a topical treatment of a Fundamentalist fad. It’s more than a book of apologetics. Its more thana refuation of an interpretive error.
I’m tempted to describe it as a virtual summa of apocalyptic texts and prophetic positions. In Rapture, Currie gives us a comprehensive collection of the biblical texts that Fundamentalist Protestants have commonly interpreted as end time predictions. He subjects each passage to sane and sober analysis, correcting errors along the way, and establishing a range of reasonable intrepretations, all in harmony with the Catholic Church’s living Tradition.”


[1] “Rapture: The End-Times Error That Leaves the Bible Behind” written by David B. Currie.

Protecting Life

Government mandated population control has a long, terrible history associated with racism, sexism, and genocide. In Communist China, couples are allowed only one child and there is forced abortion. The state that attempts to dictate birth control places itself in direct opposition to God’s command to multiply and fill the earth.

The killing of an innocent child is the most heinous form of homicide. The murder of an adult is the wrongful end of life partially lived, but the murder of a child prevents a life that could and would have been. The Jewish Talmund states: “One how saves a life saves the universe.” The Koran quotes that verse with approval. So, Jews, Christians, and Muslims should all be affirming and protecting life.

Now lets turn to Sacred Scripture. . .

The Book of Exodus 1:22
Then Pharaoh commanded all the people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

The Gospel of Matthew 2:16
He sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time had ascertained from the wise men.

The devil wanted to prevent Moses, and later, Jesus from appearing on the face of the earth. So, the devil influenced governments to subject an entire population to infanticide in the vain attempt to thwart God’s plan. A similar disregard for innocent human life that was present in the mind of Pharaoh, though many centuries ago, continues in the minds of some people today, who hold certain lives to be inconvenient and expendable.

Pope John Paul II On Protecting Life. . .

“. . Careful consideration should be given to the danger of this power (of population control) passing into the hands of those public authorities who care little for the precepts of moral law.”
Humanae Vitae (1968), 17.

“No human lawgiver can assert: it is permissible for you to kill, you have the right to kill, or you should kill. Tragically, in the history of our century this has occurred when political forces have come to power, even by democratic means, and have passed laws contrary to the right to life of every human being.”
Letter to Families ( 1994), 21.

[1] Come and See. Moses and the Torah. Catholic Bible Study. Fr. Joseph Ponessa. Laurie Watson Manhardt. Chapter 1, Pgs 22-23. Emmaus Road Publishing

Noah as a New Adam

Michael Barber has provided an interesting post on Noah as a New Adam

Read it here, Noah as a New Adam

December 25 - "The Feast of Lights"

With Advent season at hand, I picked up a book recently released by Pope Benedict XVI entitled, “The Blessing of Christmas.” Throughout the book Pope Benedict helps us understand Christmas as the most profoundly human feast of faith, because it allows us to feel most deeply the humanity of God. I’ve provided the text below that may help some of us fully understand what Jesus accomplished in his birth.

Pope Benedict XVI on December 25th. . .

“From the very beginning, this was made clear by the date of this feast. In the Jewish calendar, December 25 was and remains the feast of Hanukkah, the feast of lights, which recalls how on this day in 165 B.C., Judas Maccabeus removed the altar of Zeus-which tradition called the ‘abomination of desolation in the holy place’ – from the Temple in Jerusalem. It was on the same date that the Syrian King Antiochus, who was worshipped as ‘Zeus’, had set up the pagan idol in the temple, designating December 25 as his own feast day. Now it became the date of the cleansing of the Temple, and day on which the glory of God, which had been trampled underfoot, was reestablished and God began to be honored anew in the proper manner. It was from this day on that Israel dated its own rebirth: as soon as it was once again able to serve God in the appropriate way, Israel itself was restored.

Since the week from December 25 to 31 was also the week before the New Year, this restoration took on an even deper significance. It portrayed the new beginning of creation, the new time of freedom from which men hoped. This is why, as early as around 100 B.C., the birth of the messianic child was expected on this date. During Jesus’ own lifetime, this feast was already celebrated as the feast of lights, in keeping with the prophet Isaiah’s words: “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Is 9:2)

In his infancy narrative, Luke unfolds a chronology with a profound symbolic meaning, dating it in such a way that the birth of Jesus occurs during the feast of Hanukkah, “on the night of lights”, which thus became the Christian feast of Christmas. We should also note that Bo Reicke, formerly professor of exegesis in Basel, has also pointed to the festal calendar that lies behind the chronological link made in the Gospel of Luke between the birth of John the Baptist and the birth of Jesus. This would mean that Luke himself assumes that Jesus was born on December 25, the day of which the feast of dedication of the Temple (introduced by Judas Maccabeus in 164 B.C.) was celebrated.

In his birth, Christ has truly done what Judas Maccabeus sought in vain to do. Christ has banished the pagan idols from the world. He has constructed the temple of his body. He has reestablished the glory of God.”

1) Pope Benedict XVI. The Blessing of Christmas. Ignatius. 2007

Temptation of Jesus: Part 2 of 4

As we continue our study on, The Temptation of Jesus (Edward Sri's study on the Gospel of Matthew, Mystery of the Kingdom), we are now going to take a closer look at His first temptation in the desert.

Israel's first test. The first of Israel's trials involved hunger. In the Book of Exodus we can all recall when Moses parted the Red Sea and led all the Israelites away from bondage and into the desert. The Israelites celebrated their new found freedom as they were no longer slaves of Pharaoh. However, they soon faced their first problem: Where would they find food in the desert? How were they going to eat? Their rejoicing quickly turned into panic. We might of expected Israel to trust in God to provide, instead we see the people turned against Moses, saying "You have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger" (Ex 16:3). Israel's failure: Not trusting the Father.

Sri now looks at Jesus' first test. Similarly, we all know that Jesus also faced hunger in His first temptation with the devil. The devil wanted Jesus to use His power as the Son of God to break His forty days of fasting. You see, the Father sent the Spirit to lead Jesus into the desert to pray and fast for forty days, for Jesus to turn the stones into bread would be to exercise His messianic authority for His own self interest and thus depart from the Father's will. Now, remember Israel's failure of not trusting the Father, well Jesus does not waver from trusting the Father. In fact, He quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 (a passage that brings to mind the story of Israel's first test), saying "Man shall not live by bread alone" (Mt. 4:4). Jesus overcomes the first major fall of Israel in the desert.

[1] Exodus 16:3

[2] Deuteronomy 8:3

[3] Matthew 4:4

[4] Mystery of the Kingdom. Edward Sri

Coming to America: Pope Benedict, 2008

As many of you already know, Pope Benedict is coming to the U.S. in Spring '08.' (The Week of Our Wedding!) FN contributor Father Jonathan Morris discusses some of the places that the pope will visit during his stay.
Click on the link below to view the clip. .

Coming to America: Pope Benedict, April of 2008

The Temptation of Jesus (Part 1 of 4)

In the following post I will share a multi-part study on Jesus overcoming the three temptations of the devil (Mt 4:1-11). , taken from Edward Sri's study on the Gospel of Matthew entitled, Mystery of the Kingdom. By taking a closer look at how the three temptations of Jesus relate to the first three major trials of Israel in the Exodus, we’ll be able to identify that the failings of Israel are symbolically overcome by Jesus’ victory over the devil. Finally, we’ll recognize how Jesus’ victory over the devil sets the tone for the rest of His public ministry, and how the Church’s annual celebration of Lent helps us experience the victory of Jesus in our own lives today.

The Real Enemy
Jesus’ battle in the desert was not a fight that many of the people around Him expected. Instead of confronting the Romans, who were the evil oppressors of the Jews in Jesus’ day, Jesus marched into the desert to combat a much fiercer opponent; the devil. Jesus shows all of us that the real enemy was much bigger than the Roman Empire or any other pagan nation. The true enemy was the power of sin and Satan. To focus on driving out the Romans would be to miss the point. Thus, Jesus did not come to fight the Romans, but to treat the root of the problem; the sin of Israel and the sin of all humanity. If sin were conquered, Israel and all of us truly would be free.

‘In the Destert’
The fact that Jesus spent forty days in the desert shows how He symbolically relived the story of Israel’s forty years in the wilderness during the Exodus. We shall see in the following posts that Jesus faced the same trials Israel faced in the desert, but instead of failing like the ancient people of God did, He proved Himself to be a faithful Israelite. Jesus remained faithful precisely where Israel had been unfaithful.

Part 2 of this study to follow. .

[1] Mt 4:1-11. New American Bible
[2] Mystery of the Kingdom. Edward Sri. Publsiher, Immaus Road