Sts. Peter & Paul of Rome

St. John Chrysostom, whose Divine Liturgy is used throughout most of the year in Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches, wrote something very interesting in his Homily 32 on Romans. Since this is the Feast of Saints Peter & Paul I though I'd pass it along:

"I love Rome even for this, although indeed one has other grounds for praising it, both for its greatness, and its antiquity, and its beauty, and its populousness, and for its power, and its wealth, and for its successes in war. But I let all this pass, and esteem it blessed on this account, that both in his lifetime he (St. Paul) wrote to them, and loved them so, and talked with them whiles he was with us, and brought his life to a close there. Wherefore the city is more notable upon this ground, than upon all others together. 

And as a body great and strong, it has as two glistening eyes the bodies of these Saints (Peter and Paul). Not so bright is the heaven, when the sun sends forth his rays, as is the city of Rome, sending out these two lights into all parts of the world. From thence will Paul be caught up, from thence Peter. Just bethink you, and shudder at the thought of what a sight Rome will see, when Paul arises suddenly from that deposit, together with Peter, and is lifted up to meet the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:17) What a rose will Rome send up to Christ! (Is. 35:1) what two crowns will the city have about it! What golden chains will she be girded with! What fountains possess! 

Therefore I admire the city, not for the much gold, not for the columns, not for the other display there, but for these pillars of the Church. (1 Cor. 15:38.)"

Kontakion, Tone 2

Today Christ the Rock glorifies with highest honor the rock of Faith and leader of the Apostles, together with Paul and the company of the twelve, whose memory we celebrate with eagerness of faith, giving glory to the one who gave glory to them!

St. Thomas & Divine Mercy

The Sunday after Pascha for Eastern Catholics and Orthodox is called Thomas Sunday and recalls the incredulity (unbelief) of the apostle when he heard that Jesus rose from the dead. Then Jesus appeared and St. Thomas thrust his hand into the wounds, convincing him of the resurrection.

For Roman Catholics today is Divine Mercy Sunday. Based on revelations given to St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun, the devotion called the Chaplet of Divine Mercy was established in the Church. Her diaries are a spiritual masterpiece and reveal conversations she had with our Lord.

The icon of Divine Mercy show two rays (the water and the blood) beaming from the side of Christ. "O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You"

Hannah Whitall Smith (what, he's quoting a Quaker!) said that to "grow in grace" the soul must be planted in the very heart of divine love, "enveloped by it, steeped in it. ' (The Christian's Secret to a Happy Life, 1875)

Now, I don't think Mrs. Smith had the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in front of her, but I sure did when I read what she said. St. Thomas planted his hand literally into the heart of Divine Love! And the two rays coming from the side of Christ in the Divine Mercy image are like vines growing from Christ's Heart--vines that we are grafted on to.

See how it all ties together?

St. Thomas shows us how a true mystic acts when he became a little child and stuck his hand in the wounds of Christ. St. Faustina, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, John Wesley, Smith Wigglesworth--any of these "mystics" were simply obedient children who did what God told them. They were rooted in the Heart of Jesus, nourished by the blood and water that poured from His side.

My prayer is that we can all do the same. Plant yourself in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and grow!

Lent & Holy Week recalled

What a glorious Lent and Holy Week I had. I took full advantage of East & West sharing the season.

Started out Lent with the all night vigil for the first Sunday of Lent. Went to the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts at Sacred Heart Byzantine Catholic parish. Attended a Lenten mission at a Roman parish in Ypsi that featured speakers from renewal Ministries. Went to Gorzkie Zale at St. Florian's Catholic church in Hamtramk.

Holy Week started out at my old Orthodox parish in Sylvania, Ohio for Bridegroom Matins. Holy Unction was at St. Joseph Melkite parish in lansing, MI. Holy Thursday at my home parish, Christ the King in Ann Arbor. On Holy Friday went to Greektown in Detroit for Lamentations at the tomb of Christ and the procession with the Epitaphios through the streets.

In 2011 East & West will again be celebrating at the same time. I suggest that Western Christians supplement their Lenten & Holy Week observances with some Eastern services. If you are Roman Catholic you can receive the Sacraments in any Eastern Catholic parish (Mewlkite, Ukrainian or Byzantine Greek Catholic).

Axios! Patriarch Irinej of Serbia

I wrote a post back in November about the death of Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Pavle and the Serbian selection process.

The Serbian Synod has selected a new Patriarch, IRINEJ. According to The Times of Malta, he is "...considered a moderate and has signalled his openness to improving relations with the Roman Catholic Church that have been strained for years. In a recent interview he said Pope Benedict XVI would be welcome to visit, something that would once have been unthinkable in Serbia."

The Pope might be welcome to visit Serbia in 2013, during ceremonies to mark the 1700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan, when Roman emperor Constantine established religious tolerance for Christianity in the Roman empire.

Patriarch IRINEJ is also in favor of replacing the Julian calendar with the Gregorian. This move, while promoting Church unity may lead to schism in the Serbian church, so I'm sure they will proceed with caution.

Pray for the continued warming of relations between East and West!

Selecting a Patriarch, Serbian Style

Patriarch PAVLE of the Serbian Orthodox church died today. May his memory be eternal. He led his flock through some tough times.

Now comes the process of finding a new Patriarch to serve the Serbian church. Here's how they do it:

~Candidates for patriarch must have five years of eparchy service.

~The names of the three bishops who receive the most votes are put into separate envelopes and placed inside the Holy Gospel.

~The Holy Gospel is then placed at the holy throne in the church.

~A monk, who is appointed by the Assembly, takes out the envelopes from the Holy Gospel and draws one of them.

~The monk then hands it to the chairman of the Election Assembly to read the name of the new head of Serbia's Orthodox Church.

This process was instituted in the 1960s to keep politics out of the Church and is the way Patriarch PAVLE was selected.

What do you think of this "vote to narrow it down then let God decide" approach?

The Church is One

The separation of Churches or, better said, the schism of Christianity is the greatest failure of the Christendom in history. This failure testifies, how much freedom the Providence of God has given to man, and how much man has misused this freedom.

In the Church there cannot be separation, because the Church is One, and it is homogeneous. Its oneness is determined through the fact that Christ is living in it, that it is mediating the gifts of Grace, and that in it are administered the sacraments.

It is not the Church that is divided, but rather Christian humanity. The separation happened within the kingdom of Caesar which became interweaved with the Kingdom of God, but it is not in the Kingdom of God, in which there cannot be separation.

~Nikolai Berdyaev

"Unifying Christians of the East and the West" (1926)

There is only one Church, not several Churches. And de facto the schism was not in the Church of Christ, but in sinful humankind, in the kingdom of this world, in the kingdom of Caesar. And the restoration of Christian unity does not consist in unifying the Churches, but rather in reunion of the splintered parts of Christian humankind. All parties are guilty of the schism between Christians.

Even when I am convinced that the dogmatic Truth is with Orthodoxy, I must still however feel the guilt which is on us, Christians of the Orthodox East. Also with us there was a lack of love, self-assertion, aloofness, an aversion to engage a spiritual world which seems to be something strange, also with us there was the ecclesiastical nationalism and particularism, there was the recoursing to the typical confessionalism.

Reunion and union of the Christian world must begin with community and unification of Christians of all Confessions, with mutual respect and love, with an inner universal spiritual attitude. All must begin with spiritual life, with spiritual unity, and it must work from inside outwards.

Unification of the Churches can only be a work of the Holy Spirit. But we can prepare this work spiritually in our human part, we can create a favorable spiritual soil. Christian unity must not begin with negotiation of Church governances, but with a spiritual unification of Christians, with forming a Christian friendly association, which is possible while also remaining true to one's own creed.

~Nicolai Berdyaev
"Orthodoxy & Ecumenism" (1927)

Need for the Holy Spirit

Without the Holy Spirit, God is far away, Christ stays in the past, the Gospel is a dead letter the Church is simply an organization, authority, a matter of domination, mission, a matter of propaganda, the Liturgy no more than an evocation Christian living a slave mentality.

But in the Holy Spirit, the cosmos groans with the birth pangs of the kingdom; the risen Christ is there, the Gospel is the source of life, the Church shows forth the life of the Trinity, authority is a liberating service, mission is a Pentecost, the Liturgy is both memorial and anticipation, human action is deified.

~Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch ATHENAGORAS (1948-1972)

Catholic Without Being Latin

"Dear brothers from Rome, one can be Catholic without being Latin. And we were attacked on two fronts, Catholic-Latin and Orthodox-Byzantine. And we said: No, dear brothers, one can be Ukrainian, one can be Byzantine, one can be at the same time Catholic. These different elements do not contradict one another. So this is why neither the Latin Church nor the Orthodox Church is very happy with us. "

~His Beatitude Lubomyr Husar,
Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Patriarch of Kviv-Halych

Renewal and Prelest

I remember talking with an Eastern Orthodox brother about the Charismatic Renewal and he referred to it as "Prelest". That there are no shortcuts in the spiritual life, so the idea of "baptism in the Holy Spirit" and speaking in tongues was delusion.

This Russian Orthodox word "Prelest" is often translated into English as spiritual deception, illusion, or delusion. It is the opposite of spiritual sobriety or watchfulness.

General Prelest is to think that you have no sin or need for forgiveness. Like the pharisee you see yourself as righteous before God based on your own efforts. The reality is that without Christ you are nothing. As you truly grow in holiness you become more aware of your sinfulness.

The Eastern fathers often speak of a particular Prelest that happens when you "live beyond your capabilities". This is someone who hasn't been cleansed of passions yet strives for a life of contemplation and desires the delights of spiritual grace. This spiritual "eagerness" leads to demonic exploitation of these desires. This person imagines that they are near to God and in a higher dimension of spirituality.

Seraphim of Sarov warned that "Surpassing their acquaintances in struggles of prayer and fasting, they imagine that they are seers of divine visions, or at least of dreams inspired by grace. In every event of their lives, they see special intentional directions from God or their guardian angel. And then they start imagining that they are God's elect, and often try to foretell the future."

The possibility of falling into Prelest is the leading cause of Eastern reluctance to the Charismatic Renewal. "The monks on Athos don't speak in tongues, so how could Nick the usher?"

I've been around the Charismatic movement since I was in diapers and will admit there were ups and downs in the last four decades. Mistakes and mis-steps have been made and some people do swim out over their heads and get into trouble.

The best safeguard against Prelest, according to Eastern writers, is to have a good spiritual director. If you are accountable to a priest or other elder in the Lord you are less likely to fall into error.

And that is exactly what the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church did. Those who had experienced this new outpouring of the Holy Spirit went to the Church hierarchy for guidance and clarification. In their wisdom the Pope along with many cardinals and bishops recognized the "new Pentecost" that they were praying for.

My experience in the Orthodox church showed me a different reaction. Suspicious bishops "disciplined" priests who encouraged Charismatic experience. Lay people who experienced an outpouring of the Holy Spirit had their enthusiasm "bridled".

Direct access to the Holy Spirit? That's something you earn by fleeing the world and living a life of strict asceticism--even then there are no guarantees. Illumination is a reward--no shortcuts!

This rigid thinking has led to a quenching of the Spirit. Like the pharisees they only expect God to act in a certain way according to established rules. Anything outside of those rules is suspicious, delusional, or even heresy.

It's all based on fear. Fear of prelest, fear of diluting or destroying tradition, fear of losing ethnic identity, fear of "ecumenism".

We are so fortunate in the Catholic Church to have a shepherd that encourages all the faithful to experience the baptism in the Holy Spirit (May 2008). We have a growing Charismatic presence that compliments and enhances our ancient rituals and devotions.

Pray for our brothers and sisters of the East that they would overcome fear and re-discover the joy and freedom found in the Holy Spirit.

St. Symeon the new Theologian

Let us be like those who knock patiently and to whom the Lord opens the doors of His kingdom, according to His promise, and like those who seek and are given the Holy Spirit. It is impossible for a man who seeks with all his soul not to find the Holy Spirit and be enriched by His Charismata. (Cateshesis 22)

A person who has within him the light of the most Holy Spirit, unable to endure it, falls prostrate upon the ground; and he cries out and shouts in terror and great fear, for he sees and experiences something that surpasses nature, thought and imagination. He becomes as one whose entrails have been set ablaze: devoured by fire and unable to bear the scorching flame, he is beside himself, and he cannot control himself at all. And though he sheds unceasing tears that bring him some relief, the fire of his longing is kindled to yet fiercer flames. Then he weeps more abundantly and, washed by the flood of his tears, he shines as lightning with an- ever-increasing brilliance. When he is entirely aflame and becomes as light, then is fulfilled the saying, ‘God is joined in unity with gods and is known by them. (Practical and Theological Chapters 3:21)

When someone suddenly lifts up his gaze and contemplates the nature of existing things in a way that he had never done before, then he is filled with amazement and sheds spontaneous tears without any sense of anguish. These tears purify him and wash him in a second baptism, that baptism of which our Lord speaks in the Gospels when He says, ‘if someone is not born through water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.’ Again He says, ‘If someone is not born from above’ (John 3:5,7). When He said ‘from above’, He signified being born from the Spirit.

Did Eastern Fathers Pray in the Spirit?

In the Spiritual writings of the Christian East, specifically the Philokalia, many types of prayer are described: psalmody, the Jesus Prayer, contemplation, singing hymns, and vigils. One type of prayer that is often mentioned but not explained is "formless prayer" that, according to St. Peter of Damaskos, exchanges human words for "the divine words of the Spirit".

Ilias the Presbyter calls this free-form prayer, "sweet smelling wine," and "those who drink deep of this wine are rapt out of themselves." (Gnomic Anthology, 72)

If you've been following my recent posts then you can guess where I'm going with this. When I read words like this through a Charismatic lens I can't help but connect it to the spontaneous prayer in the Spirit associated with the Renewal. I naturally associate praying with "divine words of the Spirit" with praying in tongues. And the resulting rapture and ecstasy is that sweet consolation one feels when caught up in Spirit-filled worship.

I'll admit that I could be totally off-base here and simply projecting my experience onto ancient words. Even so, what I have discovered in my recent survey of Eastern Christian spirituality is a vocabulary for understanding contemporary Charismatic experience in an Eastern context.

My prayer is that Eastern Christians find joy and "sober-minded drunkenness" as they transcend the words of prayer, psalms, and Liturgy into communion with the Holy Spirit.

Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, everywhere present and filling all things, Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life, come and dwell within us, cleanse us of all stain and save our souls, o gracious One.

~Eastern Prayer to the Holy Spirit, Tone 6

Fire Divided for Sharing Gifts

O Lord, the Spirit of Your salvation, which formerly was received by the prophets in fear, now creates a pure heart in Your apostles and renews in our hearts an upright Spirit; for your commandments, O Lord, bring us light and peace.

~Pentecost Matins Canon, Ode 5

From Pentecost Matins arranged by the
Metropolitan Cantor Institute of the
Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh

Getting Drunk with St. Macarius

The Makarian Homilies were attributed to St. Macarius of Egypt, a fourth-century desert father. In the eleventh century they were paraphrased by St. Symeon Metaphrastis. It is this text that appears in the Philokalia.

Like much of Eastern Christian spirituality he considers individual effort (heroic virtue) essential to spiritual perfection: We receive salvation by grace and as a divine gift of the Spirit. But to attain the full measure of virtue we need also to possess faith and love, and to struggle to excercise our free will with integrity. (1)

But, St. Macarius adds that through much prayer and faith, and by turning completely to God, we are able, with the help of the Spirit, to conquer the passions and root out sin (3). This is what distinguishes him from most Eastern Fathers. He emphasizes communion with the Holy Spirit and the need for more than human effort. In fact, he considers asceticism without the joy of the Holy Spirit to be empty:

[The Christian] may have fasted, kept vigils, chanted the Psalms, carried out every ascetic practice and acquired every virtue; but if the mystic working of the Spirit has not been consummated by grace with full consciousness and spiritual peace on the altar of his heart, all his ascetic practice is ineffectual and virtually fruitless, for the joy of the Spirit is not mystically active in his heart. (113)

To bear fruit, according to Macarius, requires participation in the Holy Spirit. He calls the Spirit a heavenly treasure and admonishes his reader to aquire it (87). For those who experience this release of the joy and love of the Holy Spirit, "Sometimes it seems they are in some realm greatly rejoicing and drunk with the inexpressible drunkenness of the mysteries of the Spirit, and then at other times they are full of grief, weeping and lamenting as they intercede for men's salvation." (89)

His descriptions of communion with the Holy Spirit sound very much like my experience in the Charismatic Renewal. I've seen similar emotional and physical reactions to the Spirit at prayer meetings. So, what we see is that such experience is not foreign to Eastern spiritual life. Of course, St. Macarius lived during the golden age of Church history before spontanaety succumbed to institutionalism.

Later, St. Macarius describes that the spirit-filled person at prayer, "...experiences an ineffible and measureless delight; his intellect wholly suspended and ravished, is overwhelmed, and during the time he is in this state he is mindless of every worldly concern. For his thoughts are filled with numberless incomprehensible realities and are taken captive by them. In that hour his soul through prayer becomes one with his prayer and is carried away with it." (91)

Those who have experienced the release of the Holy Spirit in their life know this delight and feeling of being carried away by love. The Charismatic Renewal did not invent this kind of prayer and worship, nor did we borrow it from Protestant Pentecostals--it was part of the undivided Church in the East and West.

What we see today is a rediscovery of refreshing, dynamic, active life in Communion with God the Holy Spirit. To my brothers and sisters in the Eastern Rite, I invite you to enter into joyful communion with the Holy Spirit by following the admonision of St. Macarius of Egypt:

We should eagerly drink spiritual wine and become drunk with a sober-minded drunkenness so that, just as those glutted with ordinary wine become more talkative, we too, brim-full with this spiritual wine, may speak of the divine mysteries. (99)

~David Samuel Thomas

*Quotations from "The Philokalia, Vol III". Palmer, Sherrard, & Ware, ed. trans. London: Faber & Faber, 1984

Spontaneous Prayer in Eastern Spirituality

St. Peter of Damaskos was an Eastern bishop of the eighth century. His writings appear in the Philokalia, an influential compendium of spiritual writings revered in the Orthodox church. In his work on the eight stages of contemplation he mentions yielding to the Holy Spirit when He "interrupts" your normal prayer routine:

When, however, God's grace kindles a sense of deep penitence in the heart, you should allow your intellect to be bathed in tears of compunction, even if this means that your mouth stops reciting psalms and your mind is made captive to what St. Isaac the Syrian calls 'blessed captivity'. For now is the time to harvest, not plant.

He also quotes St. Isaac's description of someone in a state of pure prayer:

Often it happens that a person so concentrates his intellect during prayer that, like Daniel the prophet, he falls unbidden to his knees, his hands outstretched and his eyes gazing at Christ's Cross; his thoughts are changed and his limbs are made weak because of the new thoughts that arise spontaneously in his intellect. (from the Mystic Treatises)

St. Peter adds that "the more habitual these thoughts become, the more the longing for God draws us on to understand and worship the Father ' in Spirit and in truth', as the Lord said. St. Paul also indicates this when he says: 'I would rather speak five words whose meaning I understand than ten thousand words in a strange tongue' (1 Cor. 14:19); and again: 'I wish that men would pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without anger and quarrelling' (1 Tim 2:8)."

He concludes that singing hymns is a remedy for weakness, but "the experiences of rapture mark the perfection of the intellect."

Here is an example of the charismatic and liturgical working together in the spiritual life of the Eastern church. If you are sensitive to the action of the Holy Spirit, then don't be surprised if He interrupts your regularly scheduled prayer rule. Don't be afraid to fall on your knees, lift holy hands, and even pray in tongues. Here are two eastern saints, Peter of Damaskos and Isaac the Syrian, who testify to this reality.

*Quotations from "The Philokalia, Vol III". Palmer, Sherrard, & Ware, ed. trans. London: Faber & Faber, 1984

Spontaneous Vocal Worship in the Eastern Rite?

As long-time readers know I spent 12 years in the Eastern Orthodox church and was a tonsured Reader in the Antiochian Arrchdiocese.

I still frequent Eastern Rite Catholic parishes now that I am in communion with St. Peter's successor in Rome. My home parish in the Latin Rite is officially Charismatic and encourages spontaneous vocal worship, and yes, "speaking in tongues", during Mass. There are liturgically appropriate times for such expression, known among the Church Fathers as "jubilatio".

Today I was musing about how such expression would work in the Byzantine Rite.

The Divine Liturgy in the Eastern churches has less flexibility and is treated as a museum treasure that should never be altered. Of course, one finds variations between Russians, Greeks, Antiochians, Serbs, and Romanians but nothing to convene a council about. Then you get the ultra-orthodox who only do the Liturgy in Church Slavonic or Greek and consider English as an inferior language for worship. But I digress...

There are two parts of the Divine Liturgy where I most often feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. So, maybe I'm biased about where He would inspire the faithful to break out in spontanous worship and glossolalia.

The first place is during the Trisagion. Right after the Little Entrance, when the priest comes out with the Gospel and declares "Wisdom, be attentive" the faithful sing "Come let us worship and fall down before Christ..." But where is the worship? Where is the falling down? Sounds like an invitation to DO something.

Next is the Trisagion hymn: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times). Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen. Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.

HERE is the place where I imagine singing in tongues, shouting praises to God, vocal declarations of worship like I find in my Charismatic parish. What happens after? The priest declares "Dynamis" or "Again with fervor" and the faithful sing one more time "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us."

Okay, I can hear a collective groan from the Byzantine liturgists, but if you consider this seriously, it appropriately enhances what is happening at that point in the Divine Liturgy. What if people are distracted? Well, the next thing said is "Let us be attentive", so everything is brought back into order. Did the Holy Spirit set it up that way?

At the beginning of the Anaphora, right after the priest tells the faithful to lift up their hearts,"We lift them up unto the Lord" is the reply, then the celebrant commands "Let us give thanks to the Lord", with the response "It is proper and right".

Here we go again! More time to worship in the Spirit. Hearts (and for some, hands) are already lifted, why not praise the Lord with angelic tongues. This naturally leads to the next part of the Liturgy, what the Latins call the Sanctus, where we join the angels in singing "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabbaoth..." Totally appropriate in timing and order.

I don't claim any historic precedent for these musings. We know that spontanous expression did happen in the early Church, but with the establishment of organized Liturgy the freedom faded. I am not proposing that Orthodox and Eastern Catholics modify their Liturgies to accomodate such innovations.

My point is that IF spontaneous worship and speaking in tongues were to happen in a Byzantine Divine Liturgy, this is where I imagine it.

Being Catholic Matters

In our pluralistic society a common attitude is that it doesn't matter what church you belong to as long as you love Jesus. I will agree that one's eternal salvation is a mystery and I treat everyone who follows after Jesus as a Christian brother or sister whether they are Catholic or not. Many evangelical and protestant authors have written books that I've benefited from. The prayers of my non-Catholic family and friends are always welcome.

Yet, the Body of Christ is not some fragmented nebulous conglomeration of conflicting interpretations of Scripture (1 Corinthians 12:13). The Church is the pillar and ground of truth (1 Timothy 3:15) built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets (Ephesians 2:20). The authority given to the Apostles was passed on to faithful men (2 Timothy 2:2) who hold the traditions they were taught orally and in writing (2 Thessalonians 2:15).

Who fulfills all of these criteria? Only the Catholic Church (and I include the Eastern Orthodox under this umbrella) can claim Apostolic succession and uninterrupted faithfulness to Apostolic doctrine. The Church is living and breathing, it adjusts and grows over time, but it's roots and fruits remain the same.

Here's why it matters: Jesus promised that He would preserve the Church and gave it authority (Matthew 16:18-19). As part of the Catholic Church I come under this protection. I have the assurance that the Fathers and the Magisterium are guided by the Holy Spirit to keep me from error (John 16:13). I can receive the divine presence of Christ through Communion (John 6:53-54) and the removal of sin and renewal of my relationship with God through Reconciliation (1 John 1:9). I am part of a 2000 year old, world-wide spiritual family!

I'm sorry if my triumphalism makes you uncomfortable, but these are the facts. As Catholics we have so many resources to assist us as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). Other "ecclesial communities" might have zeal (Romans 10:2), heartfelt worship (John 4:24), and television ministries (Luke 9:49-50)--but they can't claim the authority and protection that exists in the Catholic Church.

It does matter!

St. John of Damascus: Theotokos

Moreover we proclaim the holy Virgin to be in strict truth the Mother of God. For inasmuch as He who was born of her was true God, she who bare the true God incarnate is the true mother of God.

For we hold that God was born of her, not implying that the divinity of the Word received from her the beginning of its being, but meaning that God the Word Himself, Who was begotten of the Father timelessly before the ages, and was with the Father and the Spirit without beginning and through eternity, took up His abode in these last days for the sake of our salvation in the Virgin’s womb, and was without change made flesh and born of her.

For the holy Virgin did not bare mere man but true God: and not mere God but God incarnate, Who did not bring down His body from Heaven, nor simply passed through the Virgin as channel, but received from her flesh of like essence to our own and subsisting in Himself. For if the body had come down from heaven and had not partaken of our nature, what would have been the use of His becoming man? For the purpose of God the Word becoming man was that the very same nature, which had sinned and fallen and become corrupted, should triumph over the deceiving tyrant and so be freed from corruption, just as the divine apostle puts it, For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead (1 Cor. 15:21). If the first is true the second must also be true.

Hence it is with justice and truth that we call the holy Mary the Mother of God. For this name embraces the whole mystery of the dispensation. For if she who bore Him is the Mother of God, assuredly He Who was born of her is God and likewise also man.

~St. John of Damascus (645-749) whose feast is celebrated today

(from "An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith" 3:12)

Papal Authority Essay - Part 1: The Bible

In my introduction I told of my journey from Evangelical to Orthodox to Catholic and how my biggest hurdle was the question of Papal authority. In this post I will discuss how the Bible helped me understand the importance of the Holy Father as successor to St. Peter.

Matthew 16:13-20 is the essential text to begin this discussion:

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

One who holds the "keys of the kingdom" carries the authority of the king and acts on behalf of the king when he is absent. (Compare Isaiah 22: 19-22 where Eliakim, the master of the palace of King Hezekiah is given the keys to the kingdom.) By passing down these "keys" the successors to St. Peter empowered by the Holy Spirit are able to safeguard the Church from attack. Without this authority the truth would be up for grabs.

Also notice:

-St. Peter is always listed first (Mt. 10:14; Mk. 3:16-19; Lk. 6:14-1 5; Acts 1:13)

-Is sometimes the only one mentioned (Lk. 9:32).

-He speaks for the Apostles (Mt. 18:21; Mk. 8:28; Lk. 12:41; Jn. 6:69).
-When our Lord selects a group of three for some special event, such as the Transfiguration, St. Peter is in the first position.

-Our Lord chose to teach from St. Peter's boat.

-At Pentecost St. Peter preached to the crowds and told of the mission of the Church (Acts 2;14-40).

-He performed the first miraculous healing (Acts 3:6-7).

-St. Peter also received the revelation that the Gentiles were to be baptized (Acts 10:9-48)

-He sided with St. Paul against the need for circumcision (Acts 15).

As an Orthodox Christian I was taught that even though he was the leader of the Apostles, he was simply "first among equals". So, I went next to Church History to consider what the Fathers and the Councils have to say. And that, dear reader, is where we will go in our next installment.

Officially Catholic!

For the last year and a half my heart has been in the Catholic Church. As you've seen throughout my posts, the lastest part of my journey took me from the Eastern Orthodox church into the Roman Catholic Church. Well, today it was made official.

During the Divine Liturgy at Holy Ascension Eastern Catholic parish in my home town of Plymouth, Michigan I made the Profession of the Faith and was received into the Holy Catholic Church.

I almost cried when Fr. Wayne asked "David, do you desire to be united into the Catholic Church?" and I replied, "I desire it with all my heart."

I didn't know when this day would ever come. What a joy to be part of the Universal Church and receive the Body and Bllod of Christ again.

This true faith of the Catholic Church, which I now voluntarily confess and unconditionally hold, I will firmlymaintain and confess whole and in its fullness and integrity, until my last breath, God being my helper. And I will teach it and proclaim it, so far as in me is possible and will strive to fulfill its obligations cheerfully and with joy, preserving my heart in purity and virtue. And in confirmation of this, my true and sincere profession of faith, I now kiss the word and cross of my savior. Amen. (From the "Solemn Reception into the Church")

Papal Authority Essay - Introduction

Here begins a series of articles explaining how I became convinced that the Pope of Rome IS the universal head of the Church and successor to St. Peter, the Vicar of Christ, and the Shepherd of God's flock here on earth. Previously I explained my journey from the Antiochian Orthodox church to Rome, but this particular issue was the biggest one to overcome.

Eastern Orthodox Christians continue their schism from the Holy Catholic Church for many reasons. When I was Orthodox the main points of contention were the "double procession" of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son, the doctrine of original sin, purgatory, and the immaculate conception of Mary. It wasn't difficult for me as a thinking Christian to jump these hurdles, especially since they are mostly artificial barriers.

The REAL issue that seperates Orthodox from Catholic is that of Papal authority. Orthodox love their independence and autonomy. Maybe that's why many protestants end up in the east first? If you don't like the liberal Greeks, then go to the stricter Russians, or take the middle ground with some Antiochians. Jurisdiction jumping is very common for converts looking for the right fit.

In contrast, Melkites, Ukranians, Ruthenians, Chaldeans, and other Eastern Catholics celebrate their unique identities within the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. They don't drift in and out of "communion" with each other based on intrigue or politics. Their unity comes from connection to the Holy See.

Next time: What does the Bible say?