Priesthood Sunday

How humbly Thou dost obey Thy priests! One word from their lips and Thou dost come down upon the altar in Holy Mass and renew the Sacrifice of Calvary in an unbloody manner. Thou dost permit Thy priests to give Thee as the Bread of Life to those who come to the Holy Table; Thou dost not shrink even from the unworthy. Thou dost allow Thyself to be carried wherever Thy priests bear Thee. Heaven and earth are subject to Thee, O King of Glory, and yet Thou dost lower Thyself before Thy sinful creatures, living with them in the Sacred Host--offering Thyself for them, coming to their hearts in Holy Communion.

~Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik, S.V.D.

For more on the vocation of the Priesthood, visit:

Serra International

USCB

The Seeds of God's Love

For it is God's love that warms me in the sun and God's love that sends the cold rain. It is God's love that feeds me in the bread that I eat and God that feeds me also by hunger and fasting. It is the love of God that sends the winter days when I am cold and sick, and the hot summer when I labor and my clothes are full of sweat: but it is God Who breathes on me with light winds off the river and in the breezes out of the wood. His love spreads the shade of the sycamore over my head and sends the water-boy along the edge of the wheat field with a bucket from the spring, while the laborers are resting and the mules stand under the tree.

It is God's love that speaks to me in the birds and streams; but also behind the clamor of the city God speaks to me of His judgements, and all these things are seeds sent out from His will.

If these seeds would take root in my liberty, and if His will would grow from my freedom, I would become the love that He is, and my harvest would be His glory and my own joy.

~Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation (1961)

Like Mary at Communion

O Jesus, I wish to imitate Thy dear Mother, especially in her devotion to Thee in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

It was the summary of her last years on earth. How fervently did she unite herself with Thee as St. John daily offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in his own home. She saw the Sacrifice of Calvary repeated before her very eyes, though now in an unbloody manner.

With what ardent love did she daily receive Thee into her heart in Holy Communion! It was the same Body she had conceived of the Holy Ghost at the Annunciation, the infant Body she had carried in her arms at Bethlehem, the bleeding Body she had seen hanging in torments upon the Cross on Calvary, the glorified Body which had ascended into Heaven.

What emotion she must have felt as she knealt in Thy Eucharistic presence and recalled all those happy and sorrowful events of her life with Thee! Her faith and love pierced the thin veil which seperated her from Thee.

Help me to love and imitate her as Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament because she gave Thee to me. From her, the most pure Virgin, Thou didst assume flesh and blood so that Thou mightest redeem me and become the Food of my soul in Holy Communion.

~ Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik, S.V.D.

"A Novena of Holy Communions", Day 2

A Pure Sacrifice

One attack against the Catholic belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is that Jesus was crucified "once and for all" (Hebrews 10:10 & 14) but we crucify Him again every Mass. I've tried to explain that we are actually returning to Calvary each Mass, not re-doing it, but they usually can't wrap their minds around that.

Jesus did similar "time travel" at the Last Supper when He brought His future sacrifice into the present moment.

Something interesting that is fun to show "Bible Christians" is that Our Lord desires incense and sacrifice to be offered continually:

For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations," Says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 1:11 NKJV)

The Hebrew for "a pure offering" is "minchah tahowr" which means a "sacrifice pure".

Did you know that at least four masses occur every hour in the world?

The prophecy of Malachi is fulfilled in the Catholic Church!!!

Roodscreen and Jumbo Screen

The image of Pope Benedict XVI reading the Bible on a live television feed is projected inside the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Rome Oct. 5. Pope Benedict XVI kicked off a Bible-reading marathon Oct. 5 on Italian television. The pope read for several minutes from the start of the Book of Genesis live from his apartment at the Vatican while other speakers read in the Basilica of Holy Cross. (CNS photo/Alessandro De Meo, Reuters)

I like the way they tried to make the jumbo screen TV fit in with the church architecture--notice the fancy gilded cross on the top. I think the Holy Father is on to something. Equip at least one parish in each diocese with a big screen and use it to simulcast homilies. Even better, the hours of prayer from world-wide monasteries--bring back Matins & Vespers to parish use via sattelite!

The Path

Christian faith is not a system. It cannot be portrayed as a complete, finished intellectual construction. It is a path, and it is characteristic of a path that it only becomes recognizable if you enter on it and start following it.

They [religions] do not save people, so to speak, as closed systems and through faithfulness to the system; rather, they bring redemption only when they bring men to the point of "asking after God" (as the Old Testament puts it), "seeking His face", "seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness".

~Pope Benedict XVI "The Truth of Christianity?"

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.

October: Month of the Rosary

Last year, as each of you is aware, We decreed by an Encyclical Letter that, to win the help of Heaven for the Church in her trials, the great Mother of God should be honored by the means of the most holy Rosary during the whole of the month of October. In this we followed both Our own impulse and the example of Our predecessors, who in times of difficulty were wont to have recourse with increased fervor to the Blessed Virgin, and to seek her aid with special prayers. . .

Pope Pius XIII, Superiore Anno, 1884

Protection of the Theotokos

Today is the patronal feast day of this blog: Holy Protection of the Theotokos. Over the years, and especially recently, I have developed a strong devotion to this image of the Blessed Virgin. You may have noticed her at the top of this page

On October 1, 911, during the reign of emperor Leo the Wise, there was an all-night vigil in the Blachernae church of the Theotokos in Constantinople. Standing near the rear of the church was St. Andrew the Fool for Christ, and his disciple Epiphanius. At four o’clock in the morning, the Theotokos appeared above the people with a veil spread over her outstretched hands, as if to protect them. She was surrounded by angels and saints. Seeing this, Andrew asked his disicple, “Do you see the Queen and Lady of all is praying for the whole world?”

My first step into the Catholic Church began at Holy Protection Byzantine Catholic Church in Denver, CO.

I continually place my life under her protective mantle.

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")

The Tetragrammaton

Even as a Protestant I was uncomfortable with the name "Yahweh" as a transliteration of the Tetragrammaton (YHVH - the Hebrew Name of God). Not even the rabbis know how to pronounce the sacred name the Lord gave to Moses. It has always been translated as "Lord", even in the Catholic Church until recently.

In fact, there is no "W" in Hebrew, thus the name "Jehovah", which I have equal distaste for. But there was this trend, especially among Charismatcis and Pentecostals, for spicing up worship services with some Jewish flavor. I do enjoy the modal quartertone scales and upbeat style of "Messianic" music, and don't mind calling Jesus by His given name "Yesh'ua" or even to refer to the Father as "Adonai". But it never made sense to borrow someone's music then offend them by using a name for God that is sacrelige to use.

I bring this up after hearing a discussion today on Al Kresta's radio show about the two-page letter from the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, dated June 29 and addressed to episcopal conferences around the world:

"By directive of the Holy Father, in accord with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, this congregation... deems it convenient to communicate to the bishops' conferences... as regards the translation and the pronunciation, in a liturgical setting, of the divine name signified in the sacred Tetragrammaton," declared the letter signed by Cardinal Francis Arinze and Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, congregation prefect and secretary, respectively.

"As an expression of the infinite greatness and majesty of God, it was held to be unpronounceable and hence was replaced during the reading of sacred Scripture by means of the use of an alternate name: 'Adonai,' which means 'Lord,'" the Vatican letter said. Similarly, Greek translations of the Bible used the word "Kyrios" and Latin scholars translated it to "Dominus"; both also mean Lord."

That means that in the reading of Biblical texts taken from the Lectionary, as well as in prayers and hymns, "Yahweh", "Jahweh" and "Jehovah" must not be used. I guess this is another blow to the New American Bible not being used liturgically, and backs up why I use my trusty old RSV Catholic Edition.

Now, if we could only stop using the songs where the congregation sings the "God" parts (think of the popular, "I am the Bread of Life"--I'm still a huge JMT fan)... but that's another discussion...

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?