A Golden Age of Apologetics

For many traditional Catholics, the last 40 years has been a catechetical and liturgical wasteland. Since the decline of the teaching religious orders and the rise of laity directed religious education, most Catholic adults ceased their faith formation after Confirmation. Most adult Catholics could not list the Holydays of Obligation and could not tell you what is meant by the Incarnation or Immaculate Conception.
Although the numbers of those calling themselves Catholic have increased since the 1970’s, Catholics since the Second Vatican Council have been poorly catechized and are ill equipped to pass on the Faith.
Since the early ‘90’s, we have seen the rise of a new generation of apologists, led by the likes of Father Benedict Groeschel and Dr. Scott Hahn. Catholic media, pioneered by Mother Angelica’s EWTN has catapulted Catholic teaching and apologetics into the world of Cyberspace.
Now, into the Twenty-first century, we are witnessing an explosion of Catholic websites and Blogs providing new and exciting ways to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to new tech savvy Catholics. Even Pope Benedict himself calls on his priests and bishops to utilize the new technology to educate, inform and catechize a new generation of Catholics. After years in the desert, this is indeed a ‘golden age” for spreading the Gospel and Catholic apologetics

Benedict XVI - His Own Man

Pope John Paul II, soon to be Saint and mystic was a spiritual icon and pillar in these late post-Vatican II days. The shadow he cast on the Church is certainly a large one. His successor to the Throne of St. Peter, Pope Benedict XVI, however, is fashioning a very interesting papacy in his own right. Benedict, as Cardinal Ratzinger has always been his own man and as Holy Father is not caught up at all in the shadow of his predecessor.

Beginning with his Motu Proprio, Sacrosanctum Consilium in July of 2007, Benedict has tried to move the Church away from the failed reforms of Vatican II. By restoring the Tridentine Rite Mass to it’s rightful place in the Church’ liturgical life, Benedict is signaling once again that the Church’s liturgical development is organic. This is a beak, albeit unofficial with the artificial constructs of Vatican II, when the reform of the Mass was mandated by a Committee, rather than bearing the fruits of natural growth and development. Other changes are coming to the present Mass, including the dialogue parts of the Mass, that will reflect more faithfully the translations of the Original Latin

. On the ecumenical front, Benedict has reached out to the disaffected Pius X Society and most recently opened his arms to Anglicans, struggling with conflicts within their own faith.

Yes, he is his own man. Pope Benedict shows us that the Church is eternal. It is about continuity, not breaking with the past but incorporating the past into who and what we are today.

Relating To The Trinity

My sense of Trinity has changed and evolved over the years. As my “sense” of Trinity has fluctuated, so has my relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
God the Father has always been my greatest comfort and the One whom I address most of my prayer. As long as I can remember, I have been awed by the creation event and the order of the universe. Two of the scriptures that I use frequently in my mental prayer are the first chapter of Genesis (Gn 1: 1-31) and the prologue to the Gospel of John (Jn 1:1-15). Both of these passages speak to me of the timelessness and eternity of God, the God who loved us so much that he created us in his image and likeness. John’s Gospel speaks to me of the love between the Father and the Son that existed before all time. Reflecting on the immensity and greatness of God helps me, as Saint Therese says, “in my own littleness”. I take great comfort in the fact that God, “is, always was and will be forever.” It helps me to know that God has and always had a plan of salvation, which began before I did and will continue long after I leave this earth.
My relationship with Jesus probably fell prey to my upbringing and the very high Christology that developed from it. I could never relate to Jesus as a person. When I first learned about him in the 1950’s it was always with the backdrop of the Eucharist. I worshiped and adored Him as my Eucharistic Lord. Because of this view, I believe, that it has always been difficult for me to relate to Jesus as a person. Jesus was too hard to emulate, too perfect. He set a standard that was impossible to follow. I always felt deeply about Jesus’ love for us and am greatly affected by His passion yet I never felt like I could measure up to his example. I know that this is wrong but it is a feeling that is difficult to shake. I feel closest to Jesus during Lent, knowing that he suffered so much and that His Divinity did nothing to mitigate it – He did it all for us. Much of this attitude is beginning to change, as I see Jesus in a much more human light. My Carmelite spirituality has also given me a greater closeness to Jesus as well as an abiding love of the Cross.
Of all of the changes in my view of the Trinity that is probably the most striking, is my greater awareness of the Holy Spirit. As a child, I had no concept of the Holy Spirit, it developed very slowly. Probably from my reflections on Genesis, where “the spirit of God” moved over the waters, etc, to Jesus’ promise that His Father would send the Holy Spirit. From the Hebrew word “ruah” (breath) , I saw God the Father’s “breath” of life that He breathed into man at creation and Jesus’ breathing on the disciples in John 20 :22, “Receive the Holy Spirit” as one and the same. I have come to understand how that same Spirit has worked in and through the Church from the first Pentecost. I see the Holy Spirit as the animating force behind
all that is good. Any charitable or prayerful inclination that I may have, I attribute to the Holy Spirit.
It does seem odd that I seem to relate more to two pure spirits, God the Father and the Holy Spirit, more than the Incarnate God at times. However, I feel that I am gradually moving more towards viewing Jesus less as an unattainable role model, and more as God who empathizes and shares my burdens. Burdens which He, too experienced on earth.

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Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones

Never in my memory can I recall a time when the political atmosphere was so poisoned. This country has become so splintered into racial groups, interest groups, lobbies and special interest, that it is difficult for Americans to come to a consensus about almost anything. The era of political correctness and multiculturalism is reaping its' own consequences - The United States is losing it's own culture and our unity. Practically the only thing that Americans can speak with any civility about is sports probably because we know that the stakes are not really that high. We have become a nation of little communities of self interest; Liberals, Conservatives, Blue Dog Democrats, Pro-Lifers, Afro-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Women, Men, Gays, Veterans, Women's Rights Advocates and so on.
At this point in our history, Americans are more concerned with what benefits their particular group or interest than they are about being just Americans.
And the rhetoric is getting sharper -like dry tinder waiting to be set ablaze by a small spark. That spark is waiting to ignite and who knows what will set it off. The Health Care debate in this country highlights the difficulty that this country faces in coming to a consensus about anything.
When speaking about another generation that faced this difficulty; the generation before the Civil War, author Shelby Foote said that one of the reasons for the Civil War in this country was the failure of our politicians and leaders to do the thing we do best: Compromise. "Our whole government was founded on it", he said. The same patterns can be seen now. Former President Jimmy Carter recently stated that much opposition to President Obama was based on racial bigotry. Now, everyone is taking sides and the hostile talk begins anew.
In this era of political correctness, we are so afraid of offending someone or some group with words that we avoid dealing in Truth. The result of it is that we talk around all of our problems and don't confront the core issue. Our culture is dying due to divisions among us. Wasn't it President Abraham Lincoln who warned that "a house divided against itself cannot stand"? We should also remember that old adage that "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." We better take this to heart before it's too late.

Kennedy Equals "Katholic Konfusion"

The recent funeral of Senator Ted Kennedy was a goal line stand opportunity for Church leaders in this country to stand up and say "NO". No to pandering to a man who blatantly opposed the Church's teaching on abortion and the sanctity of human life. I'm not suggesting that Senator Kennedy should have been denied a Catholic burial. For all we know, he could have made a last minute death bed Confession to Father Mark Hession.
But for the institutional hierarchy of the Church to participate in the secular canonization of the Senator, most certainly sends mixed signals to many Catholics of good standing and muddies the waters of just what we as Catholics must do in the public arena in the face of politicians who deliberately ignore Church teachings.
It was fourth and goal on the one yard line - a time for the American Bishops to say "Enough" but they caved in as this weak generation of Bishops and priests have since 1968.
"Katholic Konfusion" still reigns in the pews of the average Catholic parish. Priests will not tackle the tough subjects such as abortion and stand up for what is right. They are too timid to call right "right" and wrong, "wrong". Instead we get vanilla homilies which avoid all controversy.Bishops refuse to call out apostate Catholic politicians.
And another generation of Catholics leave Sunday Mass uninspired, confused and angry.

Walter Cronkite

Growing up as a boy in Baltimore in the late '50's and through the sixties, CBS News was a constant in our lives. CBS meant integrity, dependability and quality. Someone once compared the CBS News staff of the 1960's as the broadcasting equivalent of the 1929 Yankees. There they were, Robert Trout, Eric Sevareid, Harry Reasoner, Marvin Kalb and Dan Rather. At the head of them all of course was Walter Cronkite, whose kind, grandfatherly, yet serious delivery of the day's top stories drew you to the set. I remember many eveings during crises like JFK's assasination, the 1968 riots, the Walk on the Moon in July of 1969, when we would gather in front of the tv to listen to Walter Cronkite. On many occassions, we ate from tv trays, so as not to miss a word. He brought history into our homes and we believed him like a trusted father. His sonorous voice bringing the gravity of the day's events into perspective. If Walter reported it, it must be true.
He was a role model to me, in the days when journalism was an honorable profession. It was because of Walter Cronkite that I set out to major in journalism in school. I'll miss you Uncle Walter - the voice of the story of my formative years. I will never forget you. "And that's the way it is. This is Walter Cronkite, CBS News. Good Night."

From A Catholic Point of View

The purpose of this Blog is to look at events happening in the Roman Catholic Church and the world through the eyes of a Traditionalist Catholic.