May the Peace of Christ be with You....

When the risen Jesus came to the Apostles in the upper room, note that he did not say, “When I was on the Cross, where were you?” Instead, he said, “Peace be with you.”  This can be considered as a greeting, as referencing a gift of peace, or as a command.  One way to follow that command, make the Sign of the Cross while taking a deep breath.

In Christ, Ken.

For Reflection...

Evangelization: 

Saying the right truths, in the right way, at the right moment.

In Christ, Ken.

Trinity (1)

“I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…” (John 16:12-13).

The authority of the Church was necessary for us to know the truth of the Trinity. This most distinctively Christian doctrine of all, the one that reveals the nature of God himself, the nature of ultimate reality, was revealed by God clearly only to the Church. It was not clearly revealed to his chosen people, the Jews. It is not clearly defined in the New Testament. God waited to reveal it to the Church.

Scripture contains the data for the doctrine of the Trinity; but that is not enough, for every heretic, too, throughout history has appealed to Scripture. As a matter of historical fact, it has proved impossible for men to know the nature of the true God without the true Church. The dogmas of the Trinity and the Incarnation (and the two natures of Christ) were in fact derived from the Catholic Church.

In Christ, Ken.

More on Faith and Reason

The Catholic dogma on God as Triune provides insight into the differences and the complementarity of faith and reason.

The First Vatican Council taught that while mankind can, by reason alone, come to know God exists, we cannot reason to the conclusion that God is a Trinity of three persons. The doctrine of the Trinity is God’s profoundest secret. If God had not revealed this truth to us, we would still be ignorant of it.Even when He has told us, we may yet feel that it is altogether beyond us.  Nonetheless, it is reasonable to have faith – that is, believe in – this revelation.

As previously discussed here there are good reasons to believe there is a creator, that this creator reveals himself to mankind, that this creator became incarnate in Jesus the Christ, and that Jesus founded the Catholic Church.  Thus, there are good reasons to place trust in, i.e. have faith in, the teachings of the Catholic Church.  Therefore, it can be said that there are good reasons to have faith that God is a Trinity - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit - because He revealed it through His Church.

While the doctrine of the Trinity surpasses human reason, it does not contradict human reason. More on this next time.

In Christ, Ken.

Faith AND Reason

“Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.” Words written by St. John Paul II in the opening lines of Fides et Ratio.

“Faith” means to “trust in” and alone it is insufficient.  Adherents of Islam have faith.  So do Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses.  And many today have faith in scientism trusting science as the only source of truth. Thus, it is clear that having faith, while necessary, is not sufficient for finding truth.  One can put their trust in that which is not trustworthy. That said, it may well be that one can, just happen to put their faith in that which is trustworthy.  But when it comes to our ultimate destiny it warrants having an assurance that our “faith” is well placed.

That is why reason is the other wing that St. John Paul II wrote about.  Catholicism, as has been demonstrated previously in this column, is the most reasonable articulation of our ultimate destiny being union with God.  And that ultimate union, begins here with our life on earth.  Reason leads us to conclude that we were created, that our Creator makes himself known to us through his creation and through his Word.  Reason leads us to conclude that our Creator became incarnate in the persons of Jesus the Christ, and that he founded the Catholic Church.  And it is reason that leads us to conclude that it is wisdom to place our trust in (i.e. have faith in) God the Father, in Jesus, in the Holy Spirit, and in the Catholic Church.

One might say: The Catholic Church is found on the corner of Faith and Reason.

In Christ, Ken.

Life in the Spirit (14)

While Inspiration cannot, indeed, will not conflict with revealed truth it is important to realize that the Holy Spirit can provide each of us seemingly contrary guidance.  We see this specifically played out in Scripture in the life of St. Paul.

 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem. (Acts 19:21)

 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, bound in the Spirit, not knowing what shall befall me there; ²³ except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. (Acts 20:22,23)

Through the Spirit they told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem (Acts 21:4)

In conclusion, to live life in the Spirit: Pray, Listen, and Discern.

Remember that God works with you according to the uniqueness in which he created you, that God is a gradualist, and an Uber-teacher.

Lastly, keep these principles in mind:

·      Crack open the door and God will do the rest.

·      Learn by doing.

·      Inspiration never contradicts truth.

I close with these words from our Lord: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:12, 13)

In Christ, Ken.

Life in the Spirit (13)

Given that discernment is for the purpose of choosing to do God’s will as against all other choices, let’s turn to Guiding Principle 3: Inspiration will not contradict truth.

Here is a simple anecdote to demonstrate this guiding principle:

A young unmarried couple who have been hanging out together for several months now find themselves alone in the guy’s apartment.  They are both practicing Catholics and decide to say the following prayer together, “Lord, you know we want to do your will.  You also know that we are in love and are looking forward to living as a married couple.  If it is your will that we refrain from physical intimacy this evening, reveal your will to us by having someone come and knock on the door within the next 20 minutes.”

What’s wrong with this discernment tactic?

Again, the Guiding Principle here is that The Holy Spirit’s inspiration will not contradict his revealed truth.

The Holy Spirit will not, cannot, ask us for anything that contradicts His will as expressed by the more normal means and to the larger Catholic community: the Word of God, the teaching of the Church, and the demands of our vocation. “When God puts inspirations into a heart, the first he gives is obedience,” says St. Francis de Sales. Furthermore, inspirations generally flow in the same direction as duties applicable to our state and do not divert us from them but help us to fulfill them.

In Christ, Ken.

Life in the Spirit (12)

Continuing with the notion of Discernment (Third of the 3 Activities), Luke tells us of Martha and Mary where Jesus tells Martha, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part…”

It is not that Martha chose the bad part, hospitality is a good, but, in that moment, it may not have been what Jesus was calling her to – certainly, he was not calling her to be critical of Mary.  So, Mary was able to discern what it was she should do at that moment, Martha was not.

As an aside, note that Jesus uses the phrase “there is need of only one thing” which should call to mind St. Faustina’s remark that “one thing alone is necessary”.  Here, more specifically, it is sitting at Jesus feet. Prayer too, is spiritually sitting at His feet.

And consider this, it may be that in that moment Martha was learning.  It is very likely that being a gradualist, God did not consider it urgent that Martha be in the same place spiritually as Mary, and as uber-teacher, God knew this was the best way and the opportune time for Martha to gain this insight and thus advance in the life in the spirit.

In Christ, Ken.

Life in the Spirit (11)

“Life in the Spirit” consists of three primary Activities.  Two have been discussed so far: Prayerand Listening. Subsequent to listing is Discernment, the third activity.

Discernment is doing your utmost to ensure that you are indeed getting guidance from the Holy Spirit and not from one or more of three other possible sources: yourself, the world, the enemy – Satan or his minions.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

The Holy Spirit makes us discernbetween trials, which are necessary for the growth of the inner man, and temptation, which leads to sin and death.¹⁵³We must also discern between being tempted and consenting to temptation. Finally, discernment unmasks the lie of temptation, whose object appears to be good, a “delight to the eyes” and desirable, when in reality its fruit is death. (ccc 2847

Consider that as one grows spiritually the challenge is not choosing between good and evil, but between good and God.  

Genesis 3:6 tells us that Eve, “saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise.”  All good things, but it was not what God was asking of Eve – or Adam.

In Christ, Ken.

Life in the spirit (10)

Knowing that God is a gradualist, I’d like you to now think of the best teacher you have ever had.

Now imagine that this teacher has undergone hyper-insight-teacher-development and has run advanced, high-tech tests on you and now has incredible insight into how you learn best, knowing exactly what type of learning experience will work best for you, precisely when you are physiologically and psychologically ready to absorb it, and knows exactly how to present it to you for your optimum learning. 

God is that teacher. I previously referred to God as the “uber-teacher.”[No, I’m not saying that God teaches how to drive for Uber.]Uber is a German word “denoting a supremeexample of a particular kind of person or thing.” 

Not surprisingly, it is often the case that the learning experience will not be how or what we think it ought to be.  We may even feel that we have been blindsided, challenged beyond our capacity, or not given the tools we need.  But here the Father really does Know Best.  

I will only add that He welcomes your feedback in whatever tone of voice you feel is appropriate. Mindful, that He will still deal with us as He knows is “supremely” best and uniquely appropriate.

In Christ, Ken.

Life in the Spirit (9)

Now consider the second of the three key attributes of God.  The first key attribute is that God works with us as individuals.

The second is that God is a gradualist.  

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read the following:

CCC 53: God communicates himself to man gradually.

CCC 66: Yet even if Revelation is already complete, it has not been made completely explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance over the course of the centuries.

CCC 69: God has revealed himself to man by gradually communicatinghis own mystery in deeds and in words.

According to the standard theory, our universe sprang into existence as singularity around 13.7 billion years ago, the earth is estimated to be 4.5 billion years old, humans have been on earth for 200,000 years, andGod worked with the Israelites for at least 1,500 yearsto educate them about himself. In short, God is a gradualist.

As a gradualist, then, God will gradually, slowly, and deliberately guide us as we engage in the three key activities associated with life in the spirit: prayer, listening and discernment.

Life in the Spirit (8)

First a recap. Life in the Spirit consist of three Activities, involves three of God’s Attributes, and three Guiding Principles. We have previously talked about the first of these:

• The first Guiding Principle: Crack open the door (pray) and God will do the rest.
• The first Activity: Prayer.
• The first Attribute: God relates to us as the unique individuals we are.

We turn now to the second Activity: Listening. The Catechism tells us: 

We learn... by hearing the Word of the Lord and sharing in his Paschal mystery, but his Spirit is offered us at all times, in the events of each day… it is in the present that we encounter him, not yesterday nor tomorrow, but today: “O that today you would hearken to his voice!” (CCC 2659)

From Psalm 85:8 

Let me hear what God the Lordwill speak, for he will speak peace… to those who turn to him in their hearts

In the School of the Holy Spirit by Jacques Philippe

The motions of the Spirit are delicate touches that… penetrate our spiritual consciousness only if we have within ourselves a sort of calm zone of silence and peace. If our inner world is noisy and agitated, the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit will find it very difficult to be heard. 

In the final analysis listening is a matter of the heart, a desire. If you desire to listen to God, to hear the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, let Him know that in your prayer. Open the door a crack, and God will do the rest.

Life In The Spirit (7)

A conservative estimate is that 860 people have been declared to be saints, while the Oxford Dictionary of Saints currently has 1,700 entries. Regardless of the number, it is the case that the saints, when you examine their lives and their writings were each unique in their relationship with God, yet each is now known to be in heaven with Him. The point being: our personal prayer is unique to us and our relationship with the Trinity.

Although I don’t know who said it, I like this quote: The best way to pray is the way you pray best.

Then there is this story told about a priest, a minister and a guru discussing the best positions for praying while a telephone repairman was working nearby.

"Kneeling is definitely the best way to pray," the priest said.

"No," said the minister. "I get the best results standing with my hands outstretched to Heaven."

"You're both wrong," the guru said. "The most effective prayer position is lying prostrate face down on the floor."

The repairman could contain himself no longer. "Hey, fellas," he interrupted. "The best prayin' I ever did was when I was hangin' upside down from a telephone pole.”

Life in the Spirit (6)

Given that God interacts with us as individuals as well as Community, there is one very important implication of this attribute of God. 

As community, God calls all of us to the Mass as prayer, as worship. AND as individuals, He calls us uniquely to personal prayer; just as he calls each of us to our own specific vocation.

 As St. Paul tells us: 

“there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.(1 Corinthians 12: 5,6) 

Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? (1 Corinthians 12: 29,30) 

Even as clergy the Catholic Church recognizes Dominicans, Jesuits, Carmelites, Franciscans, and so on.  In section 2699the Catechism says,

The Lord leads all persons by paths and in ways pleasing to him, and each believer responds according to his heart’s resolve and the personal expressions of his prayer. (emphasis added)

Consequently, the way I pray privately is most likely not the way you pray.  

So just as your life is similar in some ways yet decidedly different from everyone else, so your prayer life may be similar is some ways to that of others, and yet it too will be decidedly different.

In Christ, Ken.

Life in the Spirit (5)

No matter how simple, how humble, prayer is how one initiates life in the spirit.

That said, there are other important considerations that are not “necessary” only because by engaging in prayer, and with God “doing the rest,” he will bring you round to these other insights.  So even if you read no more articles in this series – which I’m not advocating – and you pray consistently – again, no matter how simply – God will bring persons and experiences into your life that will, with time, guide you to understand other valuable lessons applicable to life in the spirit.

God’s Attribute 1


The first thing to understand about God regarding life in the spirit is that he connects to us as Community, that is as Catholics, and as individuals.




Psalm 139: 
O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.

And as individuals, God wants to collaborate with us. God doesn't want to have a monologue with us; he wants to have a dialoguewith us. God wants to be in dynamic relationshipwith us, personally.

Life in the Spirit (4)

Regarding the significance of prayer, we also have the example of Jesus:

In the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house and went off to a lonely place and prayed there. (Mark 1:35)

…he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to Bethsaida, while he himself sent the crowd away. After saying goodbye to them he went off into the hills to pray. (Mark 6:45-46)

Now it was about this time that he went out into the hills to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12)

Fr. Jacques Philippe also makes this profound assessment:

Without a life of prayer even the sacraments will have only a limited effect... because the “good soil” it needs is missing. Why, for instance, are so many people who receive Communion frequently not more holy?  Because it is not being received with an attitude of faith, love, adoration, and total receptivity—an attitude that can only be created by fidelity to mental prayer. 

So, if you only get one insight from this series, let it be this, which St. Faustina says came from our Lord: “one thing alone is necessary, to set ajar the door of our heart.”  We do that with prayer.

Again, prayer is the “one thing necessary” for Life in the Spirit.

In Christ, Ken

Life in the Spirit (3)

St. Faustina tells us We only need to crack open the door and “then God will do the rest.

Spiritual Director, Fr. Jacques Philippein his book,Time for God elaborates this same point:

Beginners in the spiritual life, on reading the lives of saints or their writings, may sometimes feel downhearted in the face of the burning expressions of love for God they find there, so far beyond anything they themselves feel. They tell themselves they will never attain these heights. Let us persevere in goodwill and trust: God himself will give us the love with which we can love him. Strong, burning love for God does not come naturally. It is infused in our hearts by the Holy Spirit

The Catechism of the Catholic Church emphasizes prayer as key to Life in the Spirit:

Prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part. It always presupposes effort… We pray as we live, becausewe live as we pray.  (2725)

Prayer and Christian lifeare inseparable… (2745)

Prayer is a vital necessity.  (2744)

Paragraph 2744 then includes this stunning quote from St. Alphonsus Liguori:

"Those who pray are certainly saved; those who do not pray are certainly damned."

Conclusion: Prayer is the "one thing necessary" for Life in the Spirit.

In Christ, Ken.

Life in the Spirit (2)

Here is an overview of what I hope to cover in this series on Life in the Spirit- though not necessarily in this order.

      I.        There are three key Activitiesfor living life in the Spirit: 

Pray, Listen, Discern

    II.        There are three specific Qualitiesin God that relate to all three activities:

·      God relates to us as Community and as individuals.

·      God is a gradualist.

·      God is an Uber-Teacher, 

  III.        Lastly there are three Guiding Principlesthat are relevant:

·      Crack open the door and God will do the rest.

·      Learn by doing.

·     Inspiration never contradicts truth.

Recall St. Faustina writing that “one thing alone is necessary… set ajar the door of [your] heart, and God will do the rest.”(Diary, 1507). Here is the first of three Guiding Principles. We only need to crack open the door and “then God will do the rest.”  This Guiding Principle, I suggest, refers to the primary Activity of Life in the Spirit: Prayer.

In Christ, Ken.

Life In The Spirit (1)

It has been said about evangelizing that, “You can’t share what you don’t have.”  And with this being Pentecost Sunday (2019) as I write, this column will shift focus and consider the fundamentals of “Life in the Spirit.” 

As a starting point, we consider a keen insight from St. Faustina Kowalska to whom our Lord’s Image of Divine Mercywas revealed.

Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix, in an introduction to a book on St. Faustina writes:

The secret for St. Faustina was constant prayer. We learn from her Diary that she brought everything to the Lord in prayer, then listened to Him and received all that He wanted to tell her. (Pray, Listen, Discern) In this way, St. Faustina was led day by day and even moment by moment into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, the source of her happiness. By example, she teaches us to do the same. Jesus tells us through St. Faustina that “one thing alone is necessary: that the sinnerset ajar the door of his heart, be it ever so little, to let in a ray of God’s merciful grace, and then God will do the rest” (Diary, 1507).  (Emphasis added).

Next time we’ll unpack St. Faustina’s statement to better understand this “one thing” and how one can have what is supremely worth sharing - using our Catholic voice.

In Christ, Ken.

Being Present

The following anecdote from Alton Lee (with Dynamic Catholic) is a great example of being present to another:

A few years ago, I got a collect call from a jail. The lady calling said her name was Laura, and I had never met her before in my life. When she realized it was the wrong person, she halfheartedly asked me if I would bail her out.  Now, it would have been really easy for me to hang up, but I felt the Holy Spirit prompting, and instead asked her to tell me about her life. Over the next few weeks I would get these five-minute collect phone calls from Laura where I would learn about her life.

One day that I was praying about Laura, trying to discern if I should bail her out or not, she called me while I was praying, and I agreed to bail her out for $720. I never met Laura in real life, but I could tell that her life changed in a genuine way. She moved in with her sister, reconnected with her daughter, and she wrote this lovely note to my wife and I thanking us for bailing her out.  In the letter, she said, “That $720 cash was priceless. You've given me my life back. I was so lost and now I'm found.”

In Christ, Ken.

He or She?

"If God Is Gender-Fluid, Why Not Call Her a ‘She’?" is the title of an online article by Elizabeth Childs Kelly in Medium.

Following is the comment I posted in reply:

If you are of no particular religious persuasion, you can certainly refer to whatever you imagine as god in whatever way you wish. If professing to be Christian, not so. It is not a matter of God’s gender — as spirit, God has no gender and thus is not a matter of being both or even being “transgender” [as Kelly suggests].

However, Christians have God’s own revelation of himself as male, i.e. Father. (Though He can be spoken of as having qualities considered by humans to be masculine or feminine.) Per C. S Lewis: “…Christians think that God himself has taught us how to speak of him. To say that it does not matter is to say either that all the masculine imagery is not inspired, is merely human in origin, or else that, though inspired, it is quite arbitrary and unessential. And this is surely intolerable: or, if tolerable, it is an argument… against Christianity.” 

And there is this thought from Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI): “Christianity is not a philosophical speculation; it is not a construction of our mind. Christianity is not ‘our’ work; it is a Revelation; it is a message that has been consigned to us, and we have no right to reconstruct it as we like or choose. Consequently, we are not authorized to change the Our Father into an Our Mother: the symbolism employed by Jesus is irreversible; it is based on the same Man-God relationship he came to reveal to us.”

In Christ, Ken.

"Too Many Rules!"

“The Catholic Church has too many rules!”

Really?

The Church has a billion members, the large majority of whom belong to its Latin rite. The main legislation governing the Latin rite is the Code of Canon Law, which is one volume that runs a little over 500 pages in a standard English edition.

By comparison, the United States has around 300 million citizens. According to CCH Standard Federal Tax Reporter, the current U.S. Federal Tax code is 73,954 pages long.

Most laws the Catholic Church has deal with situations a lay person only rarely encounters. Such situations happen so infrequently that ordinary Catholics are not expected to know the details of the laws dealing with them. They can be briefed if and when the situations arise (e.g., what to do for confirmation, a once-in-a-lifetime experience).

There is a total of 71 rules for major league baseball, not counting definitions, exceptions, and clarifications which are very much a part of the Ruleset.  The Little League Baseball Rulebook has 111 rules. 

There are comparatively few rules an ordinary Catholic is expected to know: the Ten Commandments and the five precepts of the Church (CCC 2041-43). And how to prepare for the sacraments they regularly receive (primarily confession and the Eucharist). This doesn’t include everything a Catholic should know, but it does indicate the relative number of the rules that apply to a lay person’s experience.

Major league baseball games average a little over two hours. Little league games will generally go about an hour and fifteen minutes.  The “game of life” – to which Catholic rules apply averages somewhat longer.

In Christ, Ken.

Compliance? Or Surrender?

From a recent post by Matthew Kelly:

“I've done a lot of work over the past twenty years or so in addiction recovery centers... Very often these people are compliant. They do everything they need to do so that, at the end of the twenty-one days or the fourteen days or the thirty days, the judge will let them out. They're compliant, but they're unlikely to really deal with their addiction. Because in order to really deal with addiction, we have to go way beyond compliance to surrender.  The people who successfully recover from addiction, the people who successfully and sustainably deal with addiction in their lives… surrender.”

Matthew then suggests that, similarly, as Catholics, we can be compliant. Going to church on Sunday, giving generously, helping the poor, helping those in need, but it may be just compliance. Instead, he counsels, God is calling me to surrender; to discern what God is inviting me to do; to say “yes” to his invitation to go deeper in my relationship with him.

In Christ, Ken.

That a human being’s life begins at conception isn’t religious dogma. It’s scientific fact.

Three facts about tell us human life begins at conception: The unborn child:

1.   Takes in nutrients and grows via cellular reproduction.

2.   Is the offspring of human parents and has human DNA.

3.   Is a human organism like you or me whereas sperm, egg, and body cells are merely human tissue and do not have any rights.

You, me, infants, and the unborn are all human organisms because we all have an intrinsic capacity to develop as organisms - a capacity that mere body cells don’t have.

In Christ, Ken.