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| I'm a morning person by nature. It's a wonderful time of day;
before the break of dawn, the world is empty, almost, and I almost have
it to myself. I'm not sure I'd want to be utterly alone, so this is
perfect.
Our parish is beginning to organize what's called in the Catholic world
"Perpetual Adoration." The Catholic Church teaches and has always
taught that when the priest says Christ's Words of Institution over the
bread and wine they become the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of
Jesus. And they don't ever stop being that. To a non-Catholic mind this
might sound a little nutty, but the priest can set one of the wafers
which is Christ into a monstrance and place it where people can come
and be with Jesus. Literally.
Perpetual Adoration won't begin until December, but I've signed up for
the Monday 6-7 AM slot and wanted to start getting into the routine
early. I left home at 5:45 AM and drove the 5 miles or so over to St.
Mary's Church. On the way over, as the sky was barely lightening, very
few people were about. I saw men in their well-lit offices, already at
the computer. One was straightening the clock, or, now that I think
about it, more likely turning the time back one hour. A Mexican lady
walked along a dark stretch of Main St., over by the Courthouse,
probably on her way to work. A young student looked to be headed for
Redwood High. So early?
Downtown was quiet, though a few cars were parked at Starbucks and one
man sat outside in the chill smoking a cigarette. The street sweeper
wove in and out ahead of me and I turned left behind it and headed
toward the Lord.
Because our world is what it is these days, a code is needed to open
the door to the Adoration Chapel. At this hour, I thought I might be
alone inside, but I found 3 people already seated, eyes intent on what
is, for now, a tabernacle which encloses the Lord. It was quiet except
for the hum of a fan. A spotlight was focused on the tabernacle,
providing the small room's only light. A Pope's crucifix hung above the
tabernacle and a few flower arrangements were set about.
I took my seat and quieted my heart and began to pray. I prayed for my
family, for my friends, and for my country. I prayed the Rosary, slowly
and silently. Three more people came in and silently pondered the
presence of Jesus, substantially present in the room. It was very
peaceful and very reverent.
At 7:00, I left the Chapel and entered the Sanctuary for Mass. Perhaps
people are anxious about events unfolding this week as it seemed more
were there than I've seen before. Fr. John celebrated Mass, the organ
led us in the Great Amen, my friend, Dee, sat beside me, and I was
comforted and refreshed and filled with grace by the Eucharist.
After Mass, I had some time before I needed to go over to Holy Family,
my home parish, to help count the Sunday offering so I went downtown to
Starbucks. The city was beginning to wake up and many had entered this
coffee shop to find assistance in that task. I recognized the "kid"
behind the counter as someone who had been in our life fora time, Chris
K. We exchanged small talk. As I waited for my mocha, he loudly asked
me if I was ready for some "change." It was too early and I didn't get
it at first. Think Obama. He was being a tad sarcastic. Only in a
Visalia Starbucks can you joke around that way and have the rest of the
folks waiting nod in agreement.
Sat down and drank my mocha and read my missalette. Just as I was
getting up to leave, about 25 high school girls came in. I pray Chris
and company got them to class on time.
And then the morning took on its more normal flow. We gathered the
weekend offering and the ladies came together for a few hours of
straightening and stacking hundreds of bills and totaling checks and
hoping it all came out right. We always have a fun time of it. One of
the ladies is actually one of the undecided voters. We reminded her of
the babies. If it weren't for the babies, I wouldn't be nearly as
concerned. Money comes and goes, but life, once lost, is gone for good.
So, that was my first Monday morning with Adoration worked into the
schedule. I'm looking forward to the 10th. I see that that is Martin
Luther's birthday, the man who shattered the Church. I'll try to
remember to pray for him, too.
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| After the cheering crowds left the Democrat convention, thousands of American flags were found on the ground along with all the other trash left behind. A worker collected them and they will be RECYCLED and used at a McCain rally. Note the similarity between these pictures, both courtesy of Democrat politics:
 
If you can't tell, that's a bag of aborted babies, found in a dumpster behind an abortion mill. Note the little one in the bottom left corner. A "mass of tissue"?? I hardly think so.....
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| One of the bolder claims the Catholic Church makes about itself is the gift of infallibility - not that the Pope and the Magisterium (the Church's teaching body), as individuals, never make an error, but that in matters of faith and morals, the Holy Spirit protects the Church from error. Consider just these 2 instances of God's clear protection of the teaching of the Church:
Sheldon Vanauken is the author of a very well-known book, "A Severe Mercy," and a lesser-known book, "Under the Mercy." The latter book is not so much a story as the evolution of his thoughts on various topics: the writing of "A Severe Mercy," feminism, the four loves (a la CS Lewis and done in a more understandable way, frankly), and his conversion to the Catholic Church. Among the reasons for his conversion is the logical evidence of the Church's protection from doctrinal error throughout the centuries.
One of the evidences he offers is the bad popes. Out of 266 popes over the last 2 millenia, there have been about a dozen bad ones. But as Vanauken points out, "not a one of them altered the doctrine of the Church." He writes, "In the very year that Henry VIII's obedient Parliament named him head of the English church, Pope Paul III went through the streets of Rome in sackcloth and ashes for the sins of his predecessors -- but not for their errors in doctrine. That is the significant fact: not what the good popes did, but what the bad ones didn't do."
And today I heard a second evidence presented that can only be the work of the Holy Spirit in the teaching of the Church. Prior to 1930, every Christian denomination taught that artificial contraception was a grave moral evil. Beginning with the Anglican church, one by one, Christian denominations have caved on this issue, allowing for couples to use contraception if they feel it is the right thing to do.
The Pill came along. Scientists believed that the Pill worked by blocking ovulation: no egg, no baby. In the turbulent 1960's, tremendous pressure was brought to bear on the Catholic Church to change its teaching on contraception, to "get with the times." The pressure came both from within and without the Church.
Imagine the shock and dismay among many Catholics, religious and lay, when, in 1968, Pope Paul VI produced the encyclical "Humanae Vitae." Everyone expected him to cave in, but he did not. He held that the Church's teaching has always been and would always be that sexuality must be open to life and to do otherwise is to thwart the intent of God.
What an uproar ensued! And to this day, many Catholics simply ignore the teaching of the Church to their own moral peril.
The very interesting fact is this: The Church has always taught that life begins at conception. Scientists taught that the Pill prevented conception, so what's the big deal?? The Holy Spirit, though, knew that not only does the Pill usually prevent ovulation, but that it sometimes fails to do so. That means that a woman on the Pill can still get pregnant! A new life can be created. BUT, the Pill also makes the lining of the uterus unable to sustain life and so the new life is spontaneously ABORTED. This bit of scientific fact has only recently been discovered.
Pope Paul VI, protected by the Holy Spirit, prevented the Church from teaching error. Once again, the gates of hell did not prevail. | | |
| Is God like government? Are his laws as arbitrary and fickle as the
government's? You would say NO, but most people behave as if it is YES.
The law says the speed limit is 40 miles per hour, but we push it a
bit. 45 is OK, isn't it? Business write-offs? Most anything that might
work is made to work. Rules in schools (hey I'm a poet) are the most
unenforced and unenforceable, relying as they do on the co-operation of
children who have NOTHING to fear. What we do in the dark, what
government can't see, we try to get away with constantly.
What is the purpose of government laws? If you said "to restrain evil,"
I would say you are correct. Gov't doesn't try to get us to do good.
That in itself is a good thing. Would you want gov't defining what is
"good"? Given today's liberal abortion laws, I would say "Absolutely
not!"
But God's laws? Yes, for the most part, the Big 10 do restrain evil,
but to what end? So that we might have life, an abundant life. Read the
Sermon on the Mount which includes the beautiful Beatitudes in Matthew
chapters 5-7. These are lofty goals for living a very good life.
So, why do we treat God's laws as if they were gov't laws, written by
some ignorant bureaucrat, out for his own aggrandizment, trying to
control an evil population? God's laws are for our good. We ought not
try to skirt them, get around them, or rationalize them, as we are only
hurting ourselves and our society.
One of the many reasons I believe that the Catholic Church is the
church founded in the beginning by Jesus Christ is its unwavering
stance on these particular moral evils: contraception, abortion, and
divorce. In 1930, EVERY Christian church declared these behaviors to be
evil. Today, to the best of my knowledge, every church except the
Catholic Church has folded on one or more of these issues. Does truth
change? Do God's laws change?
If a cop's not in sight, you can get away with going 45 in a 40, but
you are always in God's sight and His laws are good and right and
life-giving. You do yourself no good to disobey Him. Give thanks that
He cares so much for us that He has given us guidelines that lead to an
abundant life.
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| It's hard to get started describing the Easter Vigil Mass because what I received and how it felt is somewhat beyond words. Bottom line is that I have ceased to be a part of the Protestant churches, all 30,000 of them, and have been received into the Church founded by Christ on Peter, the Rock, and which has existed continuously for 2000 years, the visible Church of Christ on earth with a visible head, Benedict, and a visible structure. I received the Sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Communion. I received the True Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ and all the grace that attaches to these Sacraments. I have been given power from on high, and graces to which I had imperfect access before. And as strength is needed, the Body of Christ is now available to me every day of the week. Heavenly food. I have a system of Christian doctrine which has been perfected for 2000 years which I no longer need to figure out on my own. (I tried that. Scripture alone is simply not enough information. If it were, there would be one Protestant church - not 30,000. That's simply logic.) It's no longer just 'me 'n Jesus,' but I recognize that I have the host of Heaven, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the saints, and the angels in my life. I participate in a beautiful, reverent time of worship, the Mass, in which the focus is on Christ and not my emotions. I have a full Bible, all 73 books in the original, not missing the 7 books removed by Martin Luther. What more could I want?
I thank God for bringing me home at last!
"This is My Body; this is My Blood..."
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