Do You Want to Come Home?

"We are all sinners." It's a Christian cliche that's worn to tatters. When it is proclaimed, eyes roll, shoulders shrug, and ears close. It's reflexively dismissed as religious gobblety-gook.

Yet understanding this fact is the essential first step toward reconciling with the Creator of your soul. In other words, you need to accept that you're at odds with your heavenly Father before you can begin your journey "home."

The proverb condemns the "adulteress" for her denial:

This is the way of an adulteress: she eats, and wipes her mouth, and says, "I have done no wrong" (Proverbs 30:20, RSV-CE).

The imagery here is almost obscene if you let your mind wander, but it illustrates how there are some who, whether because of poor moral formation or force of habit, have no sense of remorse or even acknowledgement of their sins. You know people like that. Perhaps you feel you are a people like that sometimes.

Searing one's conscience is dangerous; it is evil. A person who persists in sin disposes himself toward eating, wiping his mouth, and saying, "I have done no wrong." This very denial of sin is flirting with true human evil.

Christian psychologist M. Scott Peck says that

it is necessary that we first draw the distinction between evil and ordinary sin. It is not their sins per se that characterize evil people, rather it is the subtlety and persistence and consistency of their sins. This is because the central defect of the evil is not the sin but the refusal to acknowledge it. (People of the Lie, p. 69; emphasis mine).

The prodigal in Jesus' parable of the lost son (Luke 15:11-32), after disregarding his father's inheritance through wild and sinful living, was finally able to see himself for what he was: a sinner.

"Father," he said, "I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son."

It was only after the prodigal was willing to be honest and confess his sinfulness that he could return home to the open arms of his father.

Our heavenly Father is always awaiting our return with open arms, for "[i]f we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

Do you want to come "home"? Do you want to finally harmonize your life with God's will? Do you want to fulfill your incredible human potential?

Stop playing games, and admit your faults. Don't cover your sins -- that is God's job. And be willing to let God not only "blot your sins" from a legal record book, but cleanse you from the inside out.

It will cost you your pride, your passions, your wants, and your will. Maybe even your life. Confronting and confessing your sins will hurt, but if you can search your soul and find it within you to surrender your all to Him, God will heal you. He will welcome you home with open arms.

On Front Page of The National Catholic Register

Tim Drake, staff writer of The National Catholic Register, did a story on Catholic podcasting. As part of his story, he wanted to pull a few quotes from a regular listener, so he interviewed me by telephone.

Yes, I'm shamelessly showing off my name. Click here to see a close-up of this issue's front page of The Register. Click here to read the entire article online.

I happen to think it's cool to be quoted in this newspaper, but what is cooler is the podcast phenomenon, my favorite podcast being "The Catholic Cast." Check it out and enjoy each week.

It's Hard to Be Pope

I don't think it's easy being infallible in matters of faith and morals.

I find the Papa Ratzi Post to be a good source for news on Pope Benedict XVI, and sometimes I wonder how he handles the "stuff" that is thrown at him.

A professor of Feminist Theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, has reportedly announced that the Pope is "not our pope" because, I'm guessing, he upholds the consistent Catholic teachings about the all-male priesthood, about contraception, and about abortion. I didn't read much into the story because I have no interest in it. But I have to wonder: Based on these issues, have any popes been "our pope"?

Others have problems with his stance on evolution. Pope Benedict XVI said,

The purpose of our lives is to reveal God to men. And only where God is seen does life truly begin. ... We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.

Benedict simply believes that God is "maker of heaven and earth," but does not attempt to scientifically explain Creation. Whether God created all things as they are in six 24-hour periods, whether He guided an evolutionary process to bring us about, whether He used a huge stork to fly a diapered Adam to this earth -- it doesn't matter. The fact remains that God willed each of us into existence.

A critic, however -- a liberal Catholic named Andrew Sullivan -- wrote,

Now we have Benedict in charge and the rush back to the Middle Ages, already seen in fundamentalist Islam and fundamentalist Protestantism, looks as if it is going to be endorsed in the Vatican. I expected reactionary radicalism from Benedict. But this kind of stupidity? ... And so we return to the 19th century.

I don't understand such reactions, other than to say they surely come from the unfaithful. What sound-minded Christian believes Benedict's view on Creation is "reactionary radicalism"? How is that "radical" coming from a pope? Does it contradict the Church's constant teaching? Would it be more in keeping with Catholicism to say, "Who knows how we got here? It's probly all just a big accident an' stuff"?

Should it surprise us if the pope is Catholic? Absurd!

I would be tired of all the crazy criticisms if I were Pope Darren. I'd be tired, oh so tired. No wonder popes -- when they aren't sitting down -- have to walk around using that "pope pole," that sceptre or staff with a crucifix on top. They would never get anywhere without leaning on the cross of Christ.

What Is the Point of Prayer?

This is a message from Msgr. Zacharias Kunnakkattuthara, pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Palestine, Texas, for July 17, 2005 (sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time). Republished with permission.

Dear Friends,

Prayers are used (and misused) for every conceivable purpose. A prayer is sometimes a perfunctory ritual before civic and social affairs . . . or a sporting event. Often, even in religious settings, prayer takes on a promotional or informational function: "Lord, bless the meeting of our officers at seven o'clock this evening." We may also forget to whom we are praying. A newspaper once reported that a certain prayer was "the finest prayer ever addressed to a Boston audience." What is the point of prayer?

Some see the point of prayer as [moving] an otherwise inactive God into action in the world. It is like calling God on stage from somewhere in the wings. Something in the world about us needs to be changed, so we pray. A little girl, saying her bedtime prayers, asked, "Dear God, make Dallas the capital of Texas." When she had finished, her mother asked why she had made such a request. She answered, "Because that's what I put on my test paper today in school." If the point of prayer is some rearrangement of the objective world, then we must say that, at least most of the time, it is ineffective. In a culture that is mistaken about the point of prayer, it is no wonder that so many complain about the futility of prayer. Any day you may hear, "I tried prayer. It didn't work." This kind of experience is not an argument against prayer but against superstition and magic. The point of prayer is not simply the rearrangement of the physical world.

Prayer is a form of communication. Communication is an expression of a relationship. Prayer is not mechanical, but relational. The point of prayer, then, is communion with God. Communion with God is more than one-way communication. No relationship can survive long when all the communication is from only one side. Communion with God involves at least as much listening as speaking. Prayer as communion means offering ourselves as we are to God, and it also means being open to God's presence, power, and purpose in our lives.

If you feel you don't know how to pray, there is good news for you. St. Paul's letter to the Romans tells us that God offers us help in a most remarkable way. He acknowledges that, in our weakness, "we do not know how to pray as we ought." But God's own Spirit intercedes for us. God's own Spirit carries our inarticulate yearnings to God's ears. When we don't know how to pray, we can trust God's own Spirit to come to our aid. God does not just hear our words, but listens to our "inexpressible groans," too.

Praying "in Jesus' name" will help us remember the point of prayer. To ask in Christ's name is to ask in the Spirit of Christ, to ask with something of Jesus' insight into the nature of God. For Jesus, prayer was intimate communion with God. Study the prayers of the saints. Rarely do they ask God for anything more than a clearer understanding of His will.

Your friend in Jesus,
Msgr. Zach

Magisterial Man

From Curt Jester.

July 4 in Palestine, TX

My wife and I just returned home from the local fireworks display, which was synchronized with music from the local radio station. It was a blast.

Pictured below-right: After the show, on our way out of the parking lot (from which we viewed the fireworks), a minority driver was cutting people off in a most obnoxious fashion. As we predicted, the local rednecks didn't take kindly to the blatant disrespect, so one redneck from the right-hand side lunged his own vehicle in front of the offender, rolled down the window, and had some choice words to share that were punctuated with spirited hand gestures.

Then, as if performing a synchronized redneckian stunt, redneck number 2 (pictured to the left of the offending gold-colored car directly in front of us) followed by cutting off the offender from the left, forcing him over to be trapped behind a parked car to the right. Several vehicles kept up the flow of traffic so the offender's exit would be delayed.

It's wise advice offered on street signs throughout our state: "Don't Mess With Texas!"

Checking Out Glimpses of the Devil

I'm not sure what possessed me to go to the library that day on my way home from work last week, but during my book browsing I was delighted to see M. Scott Peck's new book, Glimpses of the Devil. I didn't even know he had written it, but I knew I wanted to read it.

I checked it out and read it in two sittings. A well-respected psychiatrist and Christian, Peck is an extraordinarily insightful writer. Not only are his words profound, they are easy to read, as I had already learned from reading his previous books People of the Lie and The Road Less Traveled. That's my favorite kind of writing: profound and readable.

Peck writes two credible accounts of real-life exorcisms that he led. And he believes, in both cases, that he encountered not just lower-rank demons, but also their commander-in-chief: Satan himself.

He was skeptical of the existence of demons until he came across his first case of possession about twenty years ago. It made a believer out of him.

Equipped with insights from the late Malachi Martin's book (Hostage to the Devil) and numerous personal conversations with Martin, he decided to be the lead exorcist in a team he assembled. In this his latest work, Peck finally describes what he witnessed (and videotaped) and offers his commentary, much of which comes from his background as a science-minded psychoanalyst. Not only does he describe his successes, he notes what he believes were his mistakes and glaring oversights -- all in the interest of helping others who are interested in studying demonology and possession.

Some things stood out to me:

1. Unlike the accounts of the popular case behind The Exorcist movie, his accounts were not filled with sensational paranormal events such as bodily levitation or untouched objects being slung across the room. The supernatural evil he saw was more subtle, though no less real. Interestingly, he criticized the Catholic Church's guidelines which recommend delaying an exorcism until more sensational demonic signs are witnessed.
2. Peck believes that the 33-day exorcism that inspired the movie The Exorcist could've been reduced to three days had the exorcist known to separate the demon from the demoniac. In the early state of "Pretense," it is easy to confuse the demon with the victim: you're not quite sure who's speaking, and it can cause great confusion. Once the demon is forced to shed its pretense -- when it is clearly distinguishable from the victim -- then the hardest part of the battle is won.
   
3. Peck seems to pride himself in being nondenominational. He mentions that when he converted to Christianity, he didn't know if he should be Orthodox, Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopalian, or "even Southern Baptist," because it would take so long to sort out all the issues. This was disappointing coming from such a good thinker. Also, he mentions having occasionally celebrated the Eucharist with someone, "consecrating" the elements himself. As someone who is looking to join the Catholic Church, I winced at this, but I understand Peck is acting in good faith.
4. Finally, as did Malachi Martin, Dr. Peck believes that the victim of possession plays the most important role in his or her own exorcism. It's a matter of the will, wherein the victim must choose between darkness and light, between lies and truth.
   

I wondered whether my fascination with reading accounts of the demonic and exorcisms was symptomatic of an unhealthy curiosity, but I believe it has helped me more clearly see the reality that there is indeed a "dark side," an invisible realm in which powerful and truly evil spirits are working toward our destruction.

All the more reason to "put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand" (Ephesians 6:13).

Modern Apostle Claims to Lead Bullet-Proof Churchgoers

Every so often -- that is to say, once a week -- David C. Pack, leader of the Restored Church of God and self-acclaimed "apostle" of these last days, gives us another glimpse into his bizarre world of religious deception.

In a sermon he delivered one week after the event, Pack spoke about the now three-month-old Milwaukee, Wisconsin, tragedy in which a gunman killed seven members of the Living Church of God during worship services.

And now, Apostle Pack is gracious enough to share his wise words of discernment with us all by posting his taped message online, "because many said it benefited them; it made things clear; it made events on that Sabbath [Saturday] become clear to them."

Leaders of other churches have commented on the tragedy, "but I want to give you what God has to say about this event," Pack says.

The Apostle, in his 36-minute message, goes on to talk about the actual event, but we are left with important lessons:

A demon or a deranged person cannot murder one under God's protection on the street, let alone in church.

Now when he speaks of "one under God's protection," the Apostle means a member in good standing of his exclusivist Restored Church of God, headquartered in Wadsworth, Ohio. This protection, however, does not cover members of other churches whose teachings are nearly identical to his own (note that Pack's own church splintered from the Living Church of God!).

Explaining God's protection further, the Apostle says,

You don't have to sit here wondering if that door is gonna burst open. Now let's, let's talk about this. I'm not saying that someone with a demon couldn't get into the church. But I'm telling you the gun jams. An angel pushes his arm and he pumps 21 bullets into the wall before he's subdued, you understand? Or he trips on his briefcase and shoots himself or has a flat tire on the way to church. You don't die in God's church; it doesn't happen. There's protection promised to those who are buckled with truth, who understand God is their refuge.

I've heard pastors try to energize their congregations with more youth activities, more lively worship music, more potlucks -- but isn't this pushing the envelope?

I can get angry with a man like this because of how he affects his followers, but at the same time I am saddened. And I am curious how he would be diagnosed by a psychoanalyst. What is the name of his mental illness and that of his devoted followers? They need our prayers.

Rather than cling to a gospel of physical safety, we as Catholics can entrust our eternal lives to Jesus Christ as we share in His sufferings -- even unto death. Deacon Stephen was killed by stoning. The great apostles, Saints Peter and Paul, were martyred gruesomely in Rome. We understand that the Church's countless saints, whose lives were characterized by extraordinary holiness, were rewarded in heaven even though first met with persecution and death (cf. Revelation 6:9).

Thank God we know that Jesus is come not to save our hides, but to save our souls.