The Blessed Mother – Honor vs Worship

It’s time once again for us Catholics to celebrate a memorial honoring our Blessed Mother.  This coming Monday, May 13, is the day we celebrate Our Lady of Fatima each year.  You may know that my wife and I had the privilege of visiting the site of the Fatima apparitions this past November.  The photograph I took that is accompanying this post is of the Basilica of the Holy Rosary, which was built near the exact spot where the Mother of God, aka., Our Lady of Fatima, appeared to the three shepherd children in 1917.  You may also know that Pope Francis canonized two of the children on May 13, 2017.

If you are a Catholic reading this post, you are likely well aware of the story of Our Lady of Fatima (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_F%C3%A1tima), so I won’t repeat it here.  However, my thoughts this Thursday are about the practice of honoring the mother of Jesus in this and in other ways and some of the objections that non-Catholics have about it.

The most common objection is the belief that Catholics worship Mary and not just honor her.  The official Catholic teaching is that we do, in fact, honor her and not worship her.  Worship is something that is reserved only for God.  If a Catholic does, in fact, worship her, then that would be a serious error on the part of that Catholic.  Honor is something we do for men and women who have distinguished themselves in some particular way.  The Catholic Church honors people; the Protestant Churches honor people; the U.S government honors people; foreign governments honor people, etc.

These and many other organizations honor people by sculpting statues of them, by naming churches and other buildings after them, by hanging photographs of them in certain locations, etc.  We even honor family members by naming our children after them or hanging photographs of them in our homes.  There are many ways in which we honor our people.  Because the Blessed Mother played such an important role in salvation history, the Catholic Church honors her in these ways more than any other saint.  And, by the way, that is what she is … a saint, and not a god.  But that may also be why many people have mistaken impressions that Catholics worship her – because they hear about her so much.  Indeed, we honor her more than any other human being in our history.  Why?  Because she gave birth to the Savior of the world.  We believe she is in heaven, body and soul, and intercedes for us when we offer prayers to her.  But, even when we do that, we are honoring her. 

One final word … I would venture to say that no other organization honors women more that the Catholic Church honors women through their high regard for the Blessed Mother.  So the Catholic Church should be respected by all women because of this mind-blowing devotion to her.  But a discussion of this would be more appropriate for another edition of MTT.  Amen!

The Miracle of the Stigmata

Today I’m thinking about the miraculous condition known as a stigmata, a condition that certain Catholic saints have endured during their lifetime.  A stigmata is characterized by severe wounds in the hands, feet and side that resemble the five wounds that Jesus endured at his crucifixion.  I’m thinking about this today, because as we celebrated the memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena this week (Monday), I learned that she was one such saint.

Webster’s dictionary, as part of its definition of the word, states that the “marks” appear on some devout persons while “in a state of intense religious fervor.”  A devout Catholic like myself would consider it a miracle.  Non-believers might say that intense religious fervor can cause it, but that it is not a miracle.  I presume this means that they think that the power of the mind can somehow cause it.  How the wounds on Christ can appear on the body of any person and not be miraculous is beyond me.

In the Wikipedia discussion of this phenomenon, it is stated that some non-believers think that it may be fraudulent, meaning, I presume, that the wounds did not miraculously appear, but that the person may have intentionally harmed himself/herself or that someone else did so, or that the story is simply a lie.  Let’s take a look at some examples.

St. Paul seemed to be the first to report this.  Near the end of his Letter to the Galatians, he says this:  “From now on, let no one make troubles for me; for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.”  (Gal  6:17).  No one can say with certainty these marks refer to stigmata, since there is no other discussion about it.  But if they do, a non-believer would presumably rationalize this away and say that the statement is somehow fraudulent, that he either did not write this or that it does not refer to a stigmata.

The first to otherwise report it was St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226).  The photograph accompanying this post shows a painting I viewed in Florence, Italy, while on a pilgrimage there in 2016.  St. Francis is a highly respected saint by most Christians, not just Catholics, and was known for his humility and great sanctity.  I would seriously doubt that there was any fraud involved here.

Then, we have St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380).  I visited the St. Catherine sites in Siena, Italy while in the same pilgrimage, and I don’t remember anyone mentioning her stigmata.  But she was also the epitome of humility and respectability.  She is known for her religious writings (The Dialogue of Divine Providence) and her adamant defense of the Catholic Church during a very stressful period in our history when the papacy was divided between two popes, one in Avignon, France, and one in Rome.  Also, she is a doctor of the Church, the ultimate in respect by the Catholic Church.

The third example is that of St. Pio of Pietrelcina (1877-1968).  Since he lived more recently, we have actual photographs of him showing his bloodied and bandaged hands.  Once again, we have a person of great sanctity and respect.  He was known for his skill in the confessional, often spending hours and hours with long lines of penitents waiting for their chance.

All of these examples were highly respected Catholic saints, not fraud specialists.  Yes, the miraculous wounds of Christ crucified.  What a Church we have!  Amen!

The Resurrection: A Bible Study

When you meditate on the first glorious mystery of the Rosary, the Resurrection, what comes to your mind?  There are several accounts in Scripture to study for ideas. 

Matthew’s gospel tells us that there was an earthquake and that an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, opened the tomb, spoke to Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary,” and told them what had happened.  The soldier-guards “were shaken and became like dead men.”  Jesus appeared to the women and gave them instructions to tell the disciples what had happened.  Meanwhile, the guards went to the Jewish authorities who directed them to lie and say that the disciples stole the body while they were sleeping.  (Matt 28:1-15).

Mark’s gospel tells a similar story, but does not mention the lie that the Jewish authorities had concocted.  Mark also states that the disciples did not believe the story the women told nor the story that two other disciples told regarding an encounter that they had on the road with the risen Jesus.  (Mark 16:1-13).

Luke’s account states that after the women spoke to the disciples, Peter went to the tomb and saw that it was empty.  Luke also provides a great deal of detail of the encounter mentioned in Mark above between the two disciples and the risen Jesus, the story of the encounter on the road to Emmaus.  In addition, Luke tells of the first encounter between the risen Jesus and the apostles, convincing them that he was not a ghost by asking them to come forward and touch him and by eating with them.  (Luke 24:1-43).

Perhaps the most stirring account is given in John’s gospel.  Mary Magdalene went alone to visit the tomb and then returned to the apostles to tell them of the empty tomb.  Peter and another disciple ran to the tomb and, bewildered, returned home.  Mary Magdalene returned to the tomb, encountered the angels (dressed in white), and initially mistook Jesus for a gardener.  Jesus gave her instructions and she subsequently returned to the disciples to tell them everything.  Jesus later stood in the midst of the disciples (despite locked doors), instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and spoke to Thomas, who had doubted.  There were other encounters with the apostles, including one in which surprising number of fish were caught after Jesus had instructed them as to where to drop their nets.  There was also a dialogue with Peter in which Jesus told Peter repeatedly to “feed” (or “tend to”) my sheep, seemingly a direct command for Peter (and his successors, the popes) to be the leader of his Church.  (John 20:1-23).

Matthew is the only one to mention an earthquake and the descent of an angel.  It seems to me that the event warranted a host of angels from heaven (as in the Christmas story) giving glory to God and a spotlight shining on the tomb while trumpets blared.  But, alas, perhaps an earthquake and one angel dressed in white was deemed sufficient by God the Father.  But what was it that caused the guards to become like dead men?
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There is much to meditate on here for just one mystery of the Rosary, so much that it makes my heart pound!  May God bless you during this most holy and glorious season.  Amen!

Was It Real, or a Myth?

Was there a real person who was called Jesus Christ, or are the stories in Scripture describing his birth, life, death, Resurrection, and Ascension totally made-up stories, pure legend, a total myth?  Made-up stories and a total myth would be how modern atheists and Secular Humanists would describe Christ.  One such person, one Lee Strobel, who, in 1981, was a graduate of Yale Law School and an award-winning legal editor of the Chicago Tribune newspaper, was such a spiritual skeptic … until 1981.  What happened?  It was then that he began to research and write a series of books that attempt to answer that very question … real or myth? 

His research involved extensive travel to the offices of a host of experts in order to get their answers to some hard-hitting questions that would get to the heart of the matter.  The series of books he then wrote as a result are titled “The Case for a Creator,” “The Case for Christ,” The Case for Faith,” and “The Case for Easter.”  I purchased and read all of these over the years.  Fascinating!  Since we are so close to Easter, 2019, I picked up and re-read “The Case for Easter,” a 90-page account of his interviews with three such experts that get to the heart of the matter – the miracle of the Resurrection.  First was a prominent physician who had extensively studied the historical, archaeological, and medical data relevant to the death of Jesus.  Second was a well-known Scripture scholar with impressive credentials as a theologian with two PhDs and extensive writings on the subject of the Resurrection and the existence of God.  The third was another PhD who had written his dissertation on the subject of the Resurrection and also wrote seven books and over one hundred articles on the subject.

Here are some conclusions drawn following his three interviews.  First, after interviewing the physician, there was no doubt that Jesus died on the cross.  There is simply no way that Jesus could have survived the brutal treatment of his body by the soldiers.  Before He even got on the cross, his body was in such a weakened state from the flogging and the march to Calvary.  Then, while hanging on the cross, he would have had trouble breathing due to the weight of his body not being supported and, before long, would have succumbed to asphyxiation.  Finally, the piercing of his lungs and heart with the soldier’s lance would have been the final death blow. 

Second, after interviewing the theologian, there can be no doubt that Jesus body was not found in the tomb.  The tomb was found to be empty, the body missing.  While there exists several theories as to how the body could have gone missing, all of them were clearly and convincingly debunked.  There could be no doubt now that Jesus was dead and his body was laid in the tomb late in the day on that first Good Friday and was found missing on the first Easter morning.  A miracle of staggering proportions had occurred – Jesus had risen from the dead.

Third, after interviewing the expert on the Resurrection, once again there were convincing arguments in favor of this miracle.  Simply put, dead people simply do not rise up, walk away from the tomb and be seen by, converse with, and eat with former friends.  Passages from Scripture were used as evidence.  St. Paul had personally spoken to Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-5) and mentioned it in his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).  It was not a second-hand account.

Today, Lee Strobel is a Christian, having converted from his atheism as a result of his extensive research and writing.  Have a Happy Easter everyone!

Disgusting, Filthy People

The passion of Jesus Christ includes two very cruel actions:  a flogging, or scourging, and a crowning with thorns.  Very little detail of each of these is actually found in Scripture.  St. Matthew’s Gospel says this about the flogging:  “Then he [Pilate] released Barabbas to them, but after he had Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.”  (Matt 27:26).  St. John’s Gospel states it this way:  “Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.”  (John 19:1).  St. Luke’s Gospel has Pilate threatening to flog Jesus, but that is all. 

Similarly, the crowning with thorns is mentioned in three gospels (Matthew, Mark, and John) as part of a mocking of Jesus because He had been identified as a king by His followers.  The most detail is probably given in St. John’s Gospel:  “And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on His head, and clothed Him in a purple cloak, and they came to Him and said, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’  And they struck Him repeatedly.”  (John 19:2-3). 

These passages leave much to the imagination, so, as I often try to do, let us try to fill in the blanks.  I’m thinking that it was the soldiers under Pilate’s command that actually performed these deeds.  So I think that they were not Jews but Roman soldiers who had contempt for the Jewish religion.  As such, they would have wanted to inflict as much physical and emotional pain as they possibly could, while laughing and mocking, proud of the ideas of the crown made of thorns and using whips that had hooks on the tips of leather straps as shown in the photo of the painting that accompanies this post. 

They likely were strong, muscular, uneducated men who must have cared very little about the Jewish people, perhaps were even pagans themselves.  I picture them as having dirty, sweaty faces, only a few yellow teeth and unkempt hair and beards.  In other words, disgusting, filthy people.  And here they are, whips and branches of bushes with very long and sharp thorns in their hands, pounding the crown into the top of Jesus’s head and flogging Him, while tied to a granite pillar, causing pieces of flesh to be torn from the skin on His back.  The loss of blood would have been astounding, not to mention extreme weakness inflicted on the sacred Victim.

Today, the Scourging at the Pillar and the Crowning with Thorns are two Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary in the Catholic Church.  The Rosary is a meditation prayer, so I think, with so little to go on from Scripture, we have to use our imagination as I have done here as part of our meditation so that the blanks can be filled.  It works for me.  God bless my faithful readers as we come into Holy Week next week!  Have a blessed ending to your season of Lent.  Amen!   

That Word "Hope"

For those who believe in Jesus Christ, there is much hope because of what the Scriptures say He promised.  Consider the following words of Jesus from the Gospel of St. John:  “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed to life.”  (John 5:24). 

One might ask what is meant by “the one who sent me?”  We take this to mean God the Father, the first person of the Blessed Trinity.  In other words, God.  One might also ask what is meant by “eternal life?”  Christians believe that this refers to the afterlife and that it is a place called “heaven.”  Heaven is a place where both soul and body will eventually be for all eternity if a person is “saved.”  On the other hand, if a person is not saved, they will “come to condemnation,” which means the body and soul will go to a place we call “hell,” sometimes referred to in Scripture as “Gehenna,” a place of torment, for all eternity.

The following Scripture passage is found a few lines later in John’s Gospel, again words of Jesus:  “Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.”  (John 5:28-29).  This makes it clear to me that simple belief (faith by itself, or “faith alone”) is not sufficient, but one must also perform “good deeds.”  This is a point of contention between Protestant Christians and Catholics Christians.  Faith alone, or “Sola Fide,” is a Protestant doctrine, and not a Catholic doctrine.  Catholics believe that true faith will be accompanied by good deeds (Sacraments, assistance to the marginalized, etc.).

But whatever your interpretation of Scripture entails, even if you are an atheist, that word “hope” that I used in the first sentence of this post is a key to our happiness in our earthly existence.  Hope is the virtue that says that extreme happiness is in our future.  We will one day escape the confines of this wicked world and come to a place that is free from all that is evil.  What great joy and love is ahead of us if we would only “repent and believe in the Gospels.”  That is why I believe.  I delight in this great hope we call eternal life and it makes for a beautiful and blissful time on earth despite the evil.  Think tulips everyone!  Happy spring!

The Conversation With God

Have you ever felt abandoned by the people you love?  Think back to a time when you had a dire need for love and understanding.  Perhaps it was a time when a friend became angry and belittled you because of something you did.  Or maybe it was a time when a family member falsely accused you of some serious transgression and yelled and screamed at you.  Or maybe it was a serious argument over some political issue that could not be immediately resolved.  Or perhaps you really did do something seriously wrong and it weighed heavily on your psyche.  Yes, you felt abandoned and alone.  What do you do?

One solution would be to seek consolation with a family member who always seems to understand, or a friend who had a knack for comforting you – someone you could trust.  Perhaps it was a counselor, or a therapist.  But what if this person was not immediately available and you needed help NOW?

Well, I’ve been in this position many times in my life.  I’m a sensitive guy who can get to feeling unloved seemingly at the drop of a hat.  My solution?  Rush to a place where I can have a conversation with God.  I’ve been known to run to the nearest Catholic church or chapel where I can kneel before the Blessed Sacrament and lay it all out there for God to see and have Him say to me “don’t worry, I love you and will never abandon you.”

Recently I was reminded of this when I heard this passage from Scripture that sounded like God was speaking to me:  “I will be your God and you will be my people.”  I googled this quote this morning and discovered that there are forty-three different Scripture passages that express some form of this sentiment, both in the Old Testament and the New. 

Think about this and what a comfort in can be.  The Supreme Being who created all things, who keeps this universe humming, who performs His miracles every second of every day on your behalf – He is there for you, because you are among his people and He is your God.  What a simple, but hope-filled expression of His love.  It gives me hope in these times of trial.  May God bless you and may He keep you in the palm of his hand through all eternity.  Amen!