Since the inception of 'Confessions,' I have received numerous emails asking me to comment on Islam, muslims, and the Church's relationship to muslims, specifically Vatican II's 'Nostra Aetate.' That being said, I have always felt that when I presented Islam, I wanted to make sure that I would not be accused of being unfair or biased, but instead render a balanced view of Islam celebrating its common points that it shares with Christianity, and then showing where it differs. At this point, I am reminded of a line Pope John Paul II used in his book, 'Crossing the Threshold of Hope.' To paraphrase, he wrote, -In the Qur'an, ninety-nine names are attributed to Allah (God), some of them very beautiful names. Not one of them is Father. He (God) is ultimately a God of majesty, never Emmanuel.- That line, has helped me understand that dialogue with muslims is almost always very difficult.
The following is from Nostra Aetate,...
- The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth,(5) who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.-
To begin, Islam. The very word, especially for a Westerner conjures up visions of September 11th 2001. It would seem that every left of center loony toon (probably on the payroll of the New York Times...)rushed to reassure the American public that this attack was in no way representative of Islam as a religion. Commentators came out of the wordwork to tell us quickly assuredly that Islam was a religion of peace, and that Islam meant 'peace.' Hmmm,..well not quite. I feel that definetely a 'primer' on from a purely metaphysical standpoint, the Islamic religion, and subsequently, the Islamic understanding of God,..(or lack thereof...)is needed to fully contextualize the muslim mind, in relationship to the natural law and finally the base philosophical concept of what is 'good.'
As it stands, Islam remains the last great heresy that arose out of Christianity(Aprocryphal)in the Arab world. At its beginning, Muhammed began to experience revelations from who he said was the angel Gabriel commanding him to 'Recite!' The revelations at first were pure and simple, only one God. To the arab mindset prevailing at the time, this was a truly shocking revelation especially in light of the pagan/polytheistic customs that were prevalent. Muhammed sincerely believed that his revelations were confirming the Christian message and later, he saught guidance from a Christian monk,..well a Nestorian one. Only later when the revelations did not square with the Christian dogma of the Trinity(which he misunderstood) the Incarnation(which he misunderstood) and the Redemption through the Cross(which he misunderstood) did tensions begin to arise. For right now this is an introduction, as my next posts will feature more of an academic exercise in showing the muslim view of God, Jesus and salvation through the muslim lenses. I pray to undertake this task with objectivity as well as sensitivity. I will make a case however. As you know I am a Catholic, and my position will be from the Catholic perspective.
Next post: The Islamic view of God.
St Thomas Aquinas.,,,,pray for us!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
A Farewell worth mentioning
This past Sunday I learned that the Pastor at my Church would be leaving on Sabbatical at the end of August. My parish has had the same Pastor for the last ten years and subsequently, he felt it was time to recharge his batteries. While the people who know me knew that he and I had many different theological disagreements, I never once questioned his integrity as a man. Without going into specifics, this man had a warm quality about him,.'approachable' was a word often used to describe his very character. Ecumenical relations and social justice was/is his specialty and he always used his popularity (as he is a local radio personality)to advance causes drawing a common good. From a social standpoint, he understood his priesthood within the context of the Church's preferential option for the poor and always put himself out for what he thought was the good of his flock. From a personal standpoint, I can remember as far back as 2003, my uncle lay dying with cancer and he never hesitated to annoint him despite the fact that my uncle was way out of his diocese. He even waited to celebrate his funeral Mass late, to accomodate my uncle's son.
Father, even though you and I understood the Second Vatican Council differently, I wish you well, and rest assured my prayers will be with you. May Our Lady of Fatima cover you with Her mantle so that when you return, you will as a faithful son of Holy Mother Church.
God Bless Father.
Father, even though you and I understood the Second Vatican Council differently, I wish you well, and rest assured my prayers will be with you. May Our Lady of Fatima cover you with Her mantle so that when you return, you will as a faithful son of Holy Mother Church.
God Bless Father.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Faith in Lord Stanley's Cup...
To begin this title is a little misleading, but it should grab the attention of my readership quickly. I'll begin with some reader's digest bulletpoints of who I am and a little of my personality. I am Canadian, fluently bilingual living in Quebec, a passionate Catholic, socially very conservative, and possess the temperament of a huge Montreal Canadiens fan/with a heavy accented WWE pro wrestling attitude. I do not pretend to be politically correct and if you have read my introductory blurb, you can surely see that I live that moniker.
While watching the NHL playoffs, I've made it a point to watch the pregame ceremonies which in Montreal, can have all the pageantry of a Papal High Mass. I don't mean to be blasphemous, I just want to hammer a point regarding not only its entertainment value, but also its beauty. The announcers on one of the pre game shows made references to certain quirks and rituals that players often engage in before hitting the ice. For instance, Patrick Roy used to speak to his goalposts, and later Jose Theodore and Mike Rebeiro would play soccer in the hallway. All little things that the announcers made light of,.but that I could not stop thinking about. Father Gabriel Amorth, the chief exorcist in Rome once remarked, that when Faith declines, superstition increases. Enter Josh Gorges.
Everytime Josh Gorges steps onto the ice, he makes the Sign of the Cross. Now the Lord asks us not to judge, but I still can't stop wondering. Why does he do it? As Catholics, no doubt we are used to getting dragged through the dirt on nearly every issue, stuff that other faiths would not tolerate, (Britney Spears' Rosary Necklace...)but is this an act of sincerety, not just another superstition? Everytime, a member of the Faithful makes the Sign of the Cross, we communicate by our body language a particular witness. We at once recall our Baptism, making us children of the Father, and affirming our belief in the Ressurection. Hopefully, this is what Mr. Gorges attests to. The danger of equating the Sign of the Cross with superstition, is that one can make of it a magic formula, instead of a living witness. Hopefully one day, Josh Gorges will be given the opportunity to articulate his Faith, so that sadly it will never be questioned, or equated with other forms of superstition.
Sacred Heart of Jesus,...Have mercy on us!
While watching the NHL playoffs, I've made it a point to watch the pregame ceremonies which in Montreal, can have all the pageantry of a Papal High Mass. I don't mean to be blasphemous, I just want to hammer a point regarding not only its entertainment value, but also its beauty. The announcers on one of the pre game shows made references to certain quirks and rituals that players often engage in before hitting the ice. For instance, Patrick Roy used to speak to his goalposts, and later Jose Theodore and Mike Rebeiro would play soccer in the hallway. All little things that the announcers made light of,.but that I could not stop thinking about. Father Gabriel Amorth, the chief exorcist in Rome once remarked, that when Faith declines, superstition increases. Enter Josh Gorges.
Everytime Josh Gorges steps onto the ice, he makes the Sign of the Cross. Now the Lord asks us not to judge, but I still can't stop wondering. Why does he do it? As Catholics, no doubt we are used to getting dragged through the dirt on nearly every issue, stuff that other faiths would not tolerate, (Britney Spears' Rosary Necklace...)but is this an act of sincerety, not just another superstition? Everytime, a member of the Faithful makes the Sign of the Cross, we communicate by our body language a particular witness. We at once recall our Baptism, making us children of the Father, and affirming our belief in the Ressurection. Hopefully, this is what Mr. Gorges attests to. The danger of equating the Sign of the Cross with superstition, is that one can make of it a magic formula, instead of a living witness. Hopefully one day, Josh Gorges will be given the opportunity to articulate his Faith, so that sadly it will never be questioned, or equated with other forms of superstition.
Sacred Heart of Jesus,...Have mercy on us!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Anger Management and the Wisdom of Optimus Prime
Every few posts or so, I get the opportunity to spolight my own insecurities, fears, aspirations and petpeeves. Well this is one of them. Please excuse the irratic nature of these blog posts, in a sense it becomes a spring cleaning of the mind.
'Freedom is the right of all sentient beings.' That quote belongs to eighties pop icon and cartoon father figure Optimus Prime. That being said, the next question comes to mind,..what is freedom? Well,.if you read this blog regularly and take notice of the theological undercurrent, you'll know that what is meant by freedom is in actuality the ability to will the intellect over the sense. (We can freely know that broccoli is good for us, but our senses prefer candy...)
Up until recently I had been training at the gym with a friend, who acted more as my psychologist than a training partner, and these types of questions kept surfacing. What attracted me to this person was the fact that here was another individual who over intellectualized nearly every decision in life. Our question remains,..is everybody really happy? And(Yes, I just began a sentence with 'and.')why can't the world just freakin get it?!?!? The answer comes back to Optimus. You see, our whole life can either be the sum total of sensual experiences, or we can be part of that four percent who actually make a free decision, complete and of the will. Other than that, we engage in license, with our smile being constantly sustained by whatever sense is appeased at that moment. Why did I reference this friend, because we were the only two without smiles,..all the while understanding the dark satire that is Family Guy!
St Jude,..patron saint of hopeless causes,...pray for us!
'Freedom is the right of all sentient beings.' That quote belongs to eighties pop icon and cartoon father figure Optimus Prime. That being said, the next question comes to mind,..what is freedom? Well,.if you read this blog regularly and take notice of the theological undercurrent, you'll know that what is meant by freedom is in actuality the ability to will the intellect over the sense. (We can freely know that broccoli is good for us, but our senses prefer candy...)
Up until recently I had been training at the gym with a friend, who acted more as my psychologist than a training partner, and these types of questions kept surfacing. What attracted me to this person was the fact that here was another individual who over intellectualized nearly every decision in life. Our question remains,..is everybody really happy? And(Yes, I just began a sentence with 'and.')why can't the world just freakin get it?!?!? The answer comes back to Optimus. You see, our whole life can either be the sum total of sensual experiences, or we can be part of that four percent who actually make a free decision, complete and of the will. Other than that, we engage in license, with our smile being constantly sustained by whatever sense is appeased at that moment. Why did I reference this friend, because we were the only two without smiles,..all the while understanding the dark satire that is Family Guy!
St Jude,..patron saint of hopeless causes,...pray for us!
Friday, April 16, 2010
The Media, the Church,..Les Separatisssssssssssss
I'm sure when you were young, you at one time played the game 'connect the dots.' Lo and behold, you came up with various animals, vehicals or any other character found within the mosaic of child-like interest. As an adult, however, we seem to have forgotten that game and sometimes leave our intellectual acumen within the hands of an elite,..or so they think. What am I getting at? The Media.
First off, let me dispel some invertabrate rumours, I am not a conspiracy theorist! There I said it,..so you cute little lefty tree huggers can either find jobs or continue milking our system until you crash our economy. Now,..wheww! (glad I got that off my chest!) That being said I found myself reflecting upon the timing that the so-called truth police, otherwise known as mass media use to advance an agenda reeks of a certain odor. SOCIALISM..!
First off the Catholic Church. In 2005, John Paul II passed and throngs of heterodox 'catholics' led by such luminaries as Richard McBrien and Sr Joan Chittister salivated at the mouth awaiting a new Pope who would advance their cause, opening up to the 'pro-choice'(BTW what are they choosing? Death?) pro-homosexual, pro-women's ordination agendas which they advance through their access to the pulpits. The Church needs to 'rethink' everything, (including gravity, some of them probably believe they can fly...)and create only a horizontal social movement with man saving himself. Well,..the Holy Spirit had other plans, on the balcony of St Peter's stood Joseph Cadinal Ratzinger now Benedict XVI and groans from the liberal elite could be heard from all over the planet. It would seem, their agenda would have to wait, if not undergo a second inquisition! The liberal agenda was crushed! Or was it? Enter mass media and a sloppy campaign filled with lies and half truths, and lo and behold, another scandal! This time implicating the Pope! Thank God, numbers don't lie, because teachers as well as protestant ministers far greater outnumber priest when it comes to abuse cases. (CNN, MSNBC, etc..won't report that though...) Next up, calling it a 'pedophile crisis.' Amazing, though when the facts are in, an overwhelming majority of victims happen to be post-pubescant boys! Why won't the media call it what it is? A HOMOSEXUAL CRISIS!!! Please repeat that, because, that my friends is the fact!
Next up,..les separatisss. First off living in this province allows me to come into contact with a most unusual breed of person....The Quebec Separatist. These people live off Orwellian media concepts and teach in their history classes about what an oppressive regime Canada is, and that because of the defeat on the battle of the Plains of Abraham, they were subjected to 400yrs of 'humiliation.' Most by and large have never heard of Maurice Duplessis, who it could be argued backed-up(not in a good way) the Quebec 'nation' more than any historical event. Two referendums later,(we call them 'Neverendums, 'A Louer Season')still sees the province as part of Confederation. Being the democrats that they are, however, they most always try to stir the pot. Who helps them? Why mass media of course! Canadians experienced a renewed patriotism after the Olympics, and this didn't sit too well with them. So what do you do? For one, report on a cross Canada trip that the leader of the Bloc Quebecois takes to talk about Separation. Next, cover up the fact that Jacques Parizeau (one of the firebrands of separatism) gets admitted to an anglo-Jewish hospital, and now break the story about former justice minister Marc Bellemare allegations against the premier. He is charging that Charest, the premier was directly implicated in dirty business (No!!??). What has conveniantly been left out, or downplayed is that Charest is suing Bellemare and,..oh yeah,..Bellemare was himself in a scandal when it was revealed that his stripper daughter has ties to the Hells Angels.
Enough for Now,..but the Truth hurts!,..Doesn't it?
Peace
First off, let me dispel some invertabrate rumours, I am not a conspiracy theorist! There I said it,..so you cute little lefty tree huggers can either find jobs or continue milking our system until you crash our economy. Now,..wheww! (glad I got that off my chest!) That being said I found myself reflecting upon the timing that the so-called truth police, otherwise known as mass media use to advance an agenda reeks of a certain odor. SOCIALISM..!
First off the Catholic Church. In 2005, John Paul II passed and throngs of heterodox 'catholics' led by such luminaries as Richard McBrien and Sr Joan Chittister salivated at the mouth awaiting a new Pope who would advance their cause, opening up to the 'pro-choice'(BTW what are they choosing? Death?) pro-homosexual, pro-women's ordination agendas which they advance through their access to the pulpits. The Church needs to 'rethink' everything, (including gravity, some of them probably believe they can fly...)and create only a horizontal social movement with man saving himself. Well,..the Holy Spirit had other plans, on the balcony of St Peter's stood Joseph Cadinal Ratzinger now Benedict XVI and groans from the liberal elite could be heard from all over the planet. It would seem, their agenda would have to wait, if not undergo a second inquisition! The liberal agenda was crushed! Or was it? Enter mass media and a sloppy campaign filled with lies and half truths, and lo and behold, another scandal! This time implicating the Pope! Thank God, numbers don't lie, because teachers as well as protestant ministers far greater outnumber priest when it comes to abuse cases. (CNN, MSNBC, etc..won't report that though...) Next up, calling it a 'pedophile crisis.' Amazing, though when the facts are in, an overwhelming majority of victims happen to be post-pubescant boys! Why won't the media call it what it is? A HOMOSEXUAL CRISIS!!! Please repeat that, because, that my friends is the fact!
Next up,..les separatisss. First off living in this province allows me to come into contact with a most unusual breed of person....The Quebec Separatist. These people live off Orwellian media concepts and teach in their history classes about what an oppressive regime Canada is, and that because of the defeat on the battle of the Plains of Abraham, they were subjected to 400yrs of 'humiliation.' Most by and large have never heard of Maurice Duplessis, who it could be argued backed-up(not in a good way) the Quebec 'nation' more than any historical event. Two referendums later,(we call them 'Neverendums, 'A Louer Season')still sees the province as part of Confederation. Being the democrats that they are, however, they most always try to stir the pot. Who helps them? Why mass media of course! Canadians experienced a renewed patriotism after the Olympics, and this didn't sit too well with them. So what do you do? For one, report on a cross Canada trip that the leader of the Bloc Quebecois takes to talk about Separation. Next, cover up the fact that Jacques Parizeau (one of the firebrands of separatism) gets admitted to an anglo-Jewish hospital, and now break the story about former justice minister Marc Bellemare allegations against the premier. He is charging that Charest, the premier was directly implicated in dirty business (No!!??). What has conveniantly been left out, or downplayed is that Charest is suing Bellemare and,..oh yeah,..Bellemare was himself in a scandal when it was revealed that his stripper daughter has ties to the Hells Angels.
Enough for Now,..but the Truth hurts!,..Doesn't it?
Peace
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Liberalism Metastisised
Alright kiddies time for another blog filled with opinion, venom and vitriol(is that a word?). This past week I found myself contemplating our Western mindset within the greater context of liberalism, the agenda and its eventual results. What I am concluding is that this very notion within the Church, society(especially where I live) and philosophy has tremendous consequences especially in light of its 'rethinking' of certain norms. I think anyone with half a brain can easily conclude that this experiment in the absurd has gone perilously off its tracks.
What am I talking about? Well last week I wrote a piece about the theology of priesthood. Now as I've mentioned before, the hatemail started coming in, flooding my junk 'inbox' as a ship taking on water. To recap, I've mentioned that a blog has a comments section in order to induce dialogue, yet no one seems to try to put forward their opinion especially if they disagree. So that being said, the cowards put forth accusations such as pedophile protector, abuse cover up defender, so on and so forth, you get the picture. Welllll, never at a loss for words, I will once again try to diagnose the reality we are living. So-called catholics, the social justice variety called me 'closed minded' regarding the ordination of women. I returned there illogical argument calling them closed minded regarding the pregnancy/motherhood of men. 'Priests should be married!', they shouted. I answered that if they were called to marriage they would be, and that issue is a discipline, not a dogma! Finally if these issues were settled the way they 'feel' they should be, there would be no pedophile problem. Hmmm, really? Not taking anything away from the victims, but they are overwhelmingly male and post pubescant. That's not pedophilia. period. exclamation mark.
The final kicker in their warped view of reality was this quote,..'I was Catholic but I couldn't remain in a Church that was so corrupted.' To that I responded,.'I agree! I used to believe in mathematics, but my teachers were all selling drugs, so I don't believe in math anymore!' I think you understand my sarcasm. To conclude this rant, cause well, that is what it turned into,..I am not going to put forth any numbers, instead I'm gonna let my readership do their own homework, but I will make the following claims
- Not that it matters, because all sin is evil. But there are more pedophile cases among protestant clergy than Catholic priests. My question,.Why is only the Catholic Church singled out?
-Not that it matters, but there are more pedophile teachers and people in the educational system abusing children than there are priest cases. Again why is only the Catholic Church singled out? Does the person who stopped being Catholic not send the kids to school?
-Not that it matters, there are more coaches in amateur sports abusing children than than priest abuse cases.
Do you get my point? The attack is upon orthodox Catholicism. The perpetrators are heterodox catholics masquering marxism under the guise of 'social justice.' Don't believe me? Then ask yourself the question, why do most abuse cases happen in the most dangerously liberal dioceses.(Los Angeles) But why did Cardinal Law occupy more media time than Cardinal Mahoney? The answer is because the latter agrees with heterodoxy, so 'Call to Action' and the rest of the communists give him a pass.
I've ranted enough,..my ADD kicked in way too early this time.
God Bless
What am I talking about? Well last week I wrote a piece about the theology of priesthood. Now as I've mentioned before, the hatemail started coming in, flooding my junk 'inbox' as a ship taking on water. To recap, I've mentioned that a blog has a comments section in order to induce dialogue, yet no one seems to try to put forward their opinion especially if they disagree. So that being said, the cowards put forth accusations such as pedophile protector, abuse cover up defender, so on and so forth, you get the picture. Welllll, never at a loss for words, I will once again try to diagnose the reality we are living. So-called catholics, the social justice variety called me 'closed minded' regarding the ordination of women. I returned there illogical argument calling them closed minded regarding the pregnancy/motherhood of men. 'Priests should be married!', they shouted. I answered that if they were called to marriage they would be, and that issue is a discipline, not a dogma! Finally if these issues were settled the way they 'feel' they should be, there would be no pedophile problem. Hmmm, really? Not taking anything away from the victims, but they are overwhelmingly male and post pubescant. That's not pedophilia. period. exclamation mark.
The final kicker in their warped view of reality was this quote,..'I was Catholic but I couldn't remain in a Church that was so corrupted.' To that I responded,.'I agree! I used to believe in mathematics, but my teachers were all selling drugs, so I don't believe in math anymore!' I think you understand my sarcasm. To conclude this rant, cause well, that is what it turned into,..I am not going to put forth any numbers, instead I'm gonna let my readership do their own homework, but I will make the following claims
- Not that it matters, because all sin is evil. But there are more pedophile cases among protestant clergy than Catholic priests. My question,.Why is only the Catholic Church singled out?
-Not that it matters, but there are more pedophile teachers and people in the educational system abusing children than there are priest cases. Again why is only the Catholic Church singled out? Does the person who stopped being Catholic not send the kids to school?
-Not that it matters, there are more coaches in amateur sports abusing children than than priest abuse cases.
Do you get my point? The attack is upon orthodox Catholicism. The perpetrators are heterodox catholics masquering marxism under the guise of 'social justice.' Don't believe me? Then ask yourself the question, why do most abuse cases happen in the most dangerously liberal dioceses.(Los Angeles) But why did Cardinal Law occupy more media time than Cardinal Mahoney? The answer is because the latter agrees with heterodoxy, so 'Call to Action' and the rest of the communists give him a pass.
I've ranted enough,..my ADD kicked in way too early this time.
God Bless
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