Sorry I haven't been around for a while. I should be back within a month.
Aside from my regular job, I've been helping to build a barbed-wire fence around five acres of wooded area, I've been mowing a lot of grass for a mobile-home park, and, along with a friend of mine, I've been asked to teach a beginner's class on apologetics at church, which will go on for about four more weeks.
So I haven't been able to spend any quality "So Let It Be Written . . . " time.
A week from today I'm taking some days off, perhaps to go camping. It will be nice to relax, pull in some fish, take naps, go for walks, take naps, enjoy nature, read, and take naps.
I'll be back as soon as I can.
Monday, May 30, 2005
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Catholic Cast Podcast -- Discussion of Shroud of Turin
Catholic Cast Podcast
Check out the 5/09/05 broadcast (mp3). Contains a very interesting interview with an expert on the Shroud of Turin.
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Not All Repetitions Are "Vain"
Hank Hanegraaff is the voice of the Bible Answer Man radio broadcast. He always has something interesting to say, and always comes up with pithy, well-formulated quips and explanations in defense of the Christian faith.
But sometimes he is the Wrong-Answer Man.
I was listening to him as I drove home from work today, and he was broadcasting his audio book, The Prayer of Jesus, in commemoration of the national day of prayer. His book is based on the Lord's Prayer as found in the Sermon on the Mount.
He quotes the scripture about not praying in "vain repetitions," implying that repetitious use of the Lord's Prayer defeats its power and purpose. "You can put away your prayer beads," he says, which would certainly include the Rosary, because you can't "wear God down" through repetition; God knows what you need even before you ask Him.
Hanegraaff then addresses an anticipated objection: Why should we pray at all if God already knows what we need?
Good objection! I thought, if one follows Hanegraaff's logic.
The answer he gave was that we are mistaken if we believe supplication (or, asking God for stuff) is the only form and purpose of prayer. His answer here is correct, for prayer is also a means of thanksgiving, meditation and contemplation, and intercession for others.
My question, however, is: Who says that the intent of a repeated prayer must be to "wear God down" as you beg Him for stuff?
The Rosary, for example, includes repetitions of the Hail Mary and the Lord's Prayer (the "Our Father"), but anyone who knows how to pray it understands that the purpose of the Rosary is to meditate on the mysteries of the gospel -- to meditate on Jesus! It is not to wear Him down in order to get what you want.
These "mysteries" include:
I suppose one could argue that the Psalmist should not have repeated the phrase "His love endures forever" 26 times in 26 short verses (Psalm 136). "God already knows His mercy endures forever," one might say. "He doesn't need you to tell Him that 26 times in rapid succession! That's 'vain repetition'!"
But prayer, as Hanegraaff already understands and has taught, is not so much about changing God as it is about changing you, the pray-er.
So go ahead -- get out your "prayer beads" -- because sometimes repetition is the best teacher.
But sometimes he is the Wrong-Answer Man.
I was listening to him as I drove home from work today, and he was broadcasting his audio book, The Prayer of Jesus, in commemoration of the national day of prayer. His book is based on the Lord's Prayer as found in the Sermon on the Mount.
He quotes the scripture about not praying in "vain repetitions," implying that repetitious use of the Lord's Prayer defeats its power and purpose. "You can put away your prayer beads," he says, which would certainly include the Rosary, because you can't "wear God down" through repetition; God knows what you need even before you ask Him.
Hanegraaff then addresses an anticipated objection: Why should we pray at all if God already knows what we need?
Good objection! I thought, if one follows Hanegraaff's logic.
The answer he gave was that we are mistaken if we believe supplication (or, asking God for stuff) is the only form and purpose of prayer. His answer here is correct, for prayer is also a means of thanksgiving, meditation and contemplation, and intercession for others.
My question, however, is: Who says that the intent of a repeated prayer must be to "wear God down" as you beg Him for stuff?
The Rosary, for example, includes repetitions of the Hail Mary and the Lord's Prayer (the "Our Father"), but anyone who knows how to pray it understands that the purpose of the Rosary is to meditate on the mysteries of the gospel -- to meditate on Jesus! It is not to wear Him down in order to get what you want.
These "mysteries" include:
- The Annuncation of Our Lord
- The Visitation
- The Nativity of Jesus
- The Presentation in the Temple
- The Finding in the Temple
- The Baptism in the Jordan
- The Wedding at Cana
- The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
- The Transfiguration
- The Institution of the Eucharist
- The Agony in the Garden
- The Scourging at the Pillar
- The Crowning with Thorns
- The Carrying of the Cross
- The Crucifixion and Death
- The Resurrection of Our Lord
- The Ascension into Heaven
- The Decent of the Holy Spirit
- The Assumption of Mary
- The Coronation of Mary
I suppose one could argue that the Psalmist should not have repeated the phrase "His love endures forever" 26 times in 26 short verses (Psalm 136). "God already knows His mercy endures forever," one might say. "He doesn't need you to tell Him that 26 times in rapid succession! That's 'vain repetition'!"
But prayer, as Hanegraaff already understands and has taught, is not so much about changing God as it is about changing you, the pray-er.
So go ahead -- get out your "prayer beads" -- because sometimes repetition is the best teacher.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
The Two Sides of Peace
This is written for the Sixth Sunday of Easter by Monsignor Zacharias Kunnakkattuthara, pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Palestine, Texas. Republished with permission.
Dear Friends,
In what has become a famous phrase, the prophet Jeremiah condemns leaders who promise, "'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace" (6:14). Why is peace so hard to find and, when found, so hard to keep? Isn't it true that our concerns about peace can be divided into an inside dimension and an outside dimension?
There is what we call inner peace. We speak of peace "in the heart." We all want peace within. God wants it for us, too. However, there are things that are clearly more important to God than mere peace of mind. We have almost forgotten this. There is also the outside dimension of peace. This is peace between people, peace within families, peace between races, peace among nations. God wants this kind of peace for us, too. However, we never find God promoting peace at any price. Jesus spoke of how doing the will of God would create conflict for his followers, Having said this, we must remember that the biblical revelation points to an ultimate vision of the peace of God that will triumph.
The peace of God within us and the peace of God among us represent the inside and outside of peace. What may be difficult to see, however, is how inseparably these two dimensions are related. In John 14, Jesus prepares the disciples for his departure. After assuring them of the Holy Spirit he speaks to them of peace: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives."
What Jesus says is that we cannot make peace in the world without having something of Christ's peace in our hearts. Conversely, we cannot have his peace in our hearts without making his peace in the world. The inside and outside of peace are connected. Making Christ's peace with the neighbor may be the only way of genuinely having Christ's peace within.
Is it any wonder, then, while we spend billions of dollars building the weapons of warfare, that there is so little peace of mind in our world? Is it any wonder that there is so little peace of mind among us when, in the name of love, we use other people for our own gratification? -- when, in our play winning is everything? -- when we live to be happy? -- when we can't keep commitments, can't deal in truth, can't live by faith, can't love? Is it any wonder that, after all these centuries, it is still neighbor against neighbor, nation against nation, religion against religion?
So long as there is conflict within our souls, there will be conflict in our external worlds. Jesus fully embodies the two sides of peace -- the inside and the outside. He has come to offer us his life, his spirit, his peace. But who has tried his way? He has been seldom followed. When Jesus is followed, people both make peace and find peace.
Your friend in Jesus,
Msgr. Zach
Dear Friends,
In what has become a famous phrase, the prophet Jeremiah condemns leaders who promise, "'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace" (6:14). Why is peace so hard to find and, when found, so hard to keep? Isn't it true that our concerns about peace can be divided into an inside dimension and an outside dimension?
There is what we call inner peace. We speak of peace "in the heart." We all want peace within. God wants it for us, too. However, there are things that are clearly more important to God than mere peace of mind. We have almost forgotten this. There is also the outside dimension of peace. This is peace between people, peace within families, peace between races, peace among nations. God wants this kind of peace for us, too. However, we never find God promoting peace at any price. Jesus spoke of how doing the will of God would create conflict for his followers, Having said this, we must remember that the biblical revelation points to an ultimate vision of the peace of God that will triumph.
The peace of God within us and the peace of God among us represent the inside and outside of peace. What may be difficult to see, however, is how inseparably these two dimensions are related. In John 14, Jesus prepares the disciples for his departure. After assuring them of the Holy Spirit he speaks to them of peace: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives."
What Jesus says is that we cannot make peace in the world without having something of Christ's peace in our hearts. Conversely, we cannot have his peace in our hearts without making his peace in the world. The inside and outside of peace are connected. Making Christ's peace with the neighbor may be the only way of genuinely having Christ's peace within.
Is it any wonder, then, while we spend billions of dollars building the weapons of warfare, that there is so little peace of mind in our world? Is it any wonder that there is so little peace of mind among us when, in the name of love, we use other people for our own gratification? -- when, in our play winning is everything? -- when we live to be happy? -- when we can't keep commitments, can't deal in truth, can't live by faith, can't love? Is it any wonder that, after all these centuries, it is still neighbor against neighbor, nation against nation, religion against religion?
So long as there is conflict within our souls, there will be conflict in our external worlds. Jesus fully embodies the two sides of peace -- the inside and the outside. He has come to offer us his life, his spirit, his peace. But who has tried his way? He has been seldom followed. When Jesus is followed, people both make peace and find peace.
Your friend in Jesus,
Msgr. Zach
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