Our Lady of the Rosary

Bible Study -1

A faithful reader has asked for a Bible study. I will do my best. Here is the first installment in which I hope to inch my way through the Epistle to the Ephesians.

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Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

St Paul constantly references himself as 'an apostle of Christ Jesus.' In doing so he audaciously establishes his authority as one of the twelve even though he was not one of those chosen by Jesus Christ during his lifetime. Nevertheless, St Paul makes his claim because he met the resurrected Lord on the road to Damascus and his authority was accepted and established by the apostolic church at Jerusalem under the leadership of Peter and James.
 
As "an apostle of Christ Jesus" St Paul is has been 'sent' by Christ because 'apostle' means 'sent one.' As such he fulfills Our Lord's words to his apostles, "as the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." His apostolic authority is therefore direct from Christ, who himself, has been given "all authority on heaven and earth" and before whom "every knee shall bow". That this great authority comes from God through Christ to St Paul is established when he says that he is 'an apostle of Christ Jesus'--'by the will of God.' This formal beginning to the letter establishes apostolic credentials of the writer and raises the letter from an ordinary personal letter to that of a formal apostolic encyclical.
 
He writes 'to the saints in  Ephesus. First of all the 'saints' are the 'holy ones' and he therefore refers to all the baptized members of the Church, not only those who are formally perfect in Christ. They reside at Ephesus, the great trading city on the coast of Asia Minor. The second largest city in the Roman Empire and a prosperous, bustling metropolis. Ephesus was known for the great temple of Artemis the goddess also called Diana of the Ephesians. She was the goddess of the hunt, a virgin and protector of Virgins. St Paul is therefore writing to Christians in a city swamped with paganism and the mysterious cult of the virgin Diana. These saints he calls 'the faithful in Christ Jesus' for he knows their devotion to Christ in the midst of misunderstanding and persecution. His own visit to Ephesians had caused riots because the new Christian faith was making converts from paganism and destroying a lucrative business. (Acts 19)

It is into this context that St Paul gives his apostolic greeting, "Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." This greeting was very probably a liturgical greeting even in Paul's day as it is in ours. It is possible that the early Christian liturgy began with a similar greeting as our does, and so in the first words of the Epistle we see established the divine authority of the apostle, the grandeur of his liturgical greeting and a glimpse of his audience--his brothers and sisters in Christ, the faithful ones in the midst of a pagan and prosperous city and empire.

As such he establishes in the first words of the epistle an alternative structure of authority and power. To the formerly pagan inhabitants of the second largest city in the Empire, a city where the great goddess was worshipped in a temple which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, he establishes himself instead as the apostle of the Great Lord Christ sent with Divine mandate to offer the gifts of Grace and Peace.

Chust for Nice

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Mass at the London Oratory for the blessing of the new chapel for Bl. John Henry Newman. Archbishop Nichols was there. Full gallery of splendid photos at New Liturgical Movement.

Caitlin O'Rourke on Pet Blessings

Guest blogger Caitlin O'Rourke is a member of St Bridget's, Church, High Dudgeon, New Jersey. Caitlin is eight years old.

See what happened was that Sister Mary Albert said Father Florsheim could have a St Francis pet blessing if he wanted to but we weren't allowed to bring in any of our pets because it was a school day and where would we put all the animals when we had to be in class so Father Florsheim said we could anyway and we would have Mass at the end of of the day instead of just before lunch and the parents could bring our pets in and if we couldn't have some fun in church from time to time what was the point and besides he told us at Mass last week that he was thinking of coming on horseback and we should all be there because he had a nice surprise for us and so Sister had to do what he says because he's a priest even though he is much younger than Sister and we could tell Sister was mad even though she smiled and said yes Father and Flora whispered to me that she looked like she had just drunk some vinegar by mistake so we did get to bring our pets in except our Moms had to bring them and then take them home with us after school and Bridget was very good and didn't bite any of the other dogs but she did drop a whoopsie on the church lawn which Mom picked up with a rubber glove and put it in a little bag what was really bad though was that Jimmy Pochowski's boxer dog named Bruno started to jump on the back of another dog and they were just playing a game but Sister tried to stop them from doing that and both dogs turned around and bit her and she screamed and I had never heard a nun scream before and I had to pinch Flora to get her to stop laughing then we were all waiting and I think there was a snake there too which Jimmy Pochowski said was a rattlesnake and that it had escaped but I never believed him anyway because he is such a liar and then we couldn't believe it because suddenly we heard lots of trumpets and drums and around the corner came a marching band with men wearing red jackets and hats with feathers on the top and we couldn't believe it but it was really true that Fr Florsheim came around the corner riding on top of an elephant because I forgot but the circus is in town and he told the circus people we were having a St Francis animal blessing and they all came and there was a white horse with a pretty lady wearing sparkly clothes and a camel behind the white horse and you wouldn't believe it a jeep was behind the camel and behind that was a tiger in a cage he was sleeping but then Jimmy's dog Bruno started barking and running around in circles and the other dogs started barking too so the tiger woke up and roared and Sister was amazed and her mouth was open so wide that Flora said she might catch some flies in it and Father could bless them too and finally Father got down from the elephant he stepped right down on the elephant's knee like they always do to get down and he was wearing his cassock and robes and biretta and everything and Dominic my cousin was altar server and carried the water bucket and Father Florsheim went around and blessed all the animals one by one and gave every person a St Francis prayer card and said that God loved all the animals even the mosquitos and leeches because he made them all and said they were good and he loves us even more and he can't help loving everything because he is love and that's the way he's made and he couldn't not love everything even if he wanted to so there are some things God can't do he can't hate everything and so we were supposed to love everything too if we could even Jimmy Pochowski and the circus people and everyone else looked very happy and it was the best day I have ever had in school ever and I think Father Florsheim is really the best priest I have ever known and I think all the boys want to be priests now and he should be pope he really should and Flora thinks so too and when it was all over even Sister Mary Albert seemed happy because she was smiling and talking to everyone even Jimmy and his dog Bruno who bit her.

Preached to by the Birds

I never preached to the birds, but once the birds preached to me. I was an Anglican priest, and I had been invited to take part in a healing service for a woman who was very ill. I was dubious. Who was I to heal anyone? I worried that I would pray for her and nothing would happen. I was nervous that she would expect healing and that the lack of healing would weaken her faith and it would be my fault. I was full of doubt.

So I was walking over to the church for Evening Prayer and I was praying my rosary saying the Jesus Prayer and sort of contemplating as I walked along, and suddenly I heard the birds singing. To be specific I heard one particular bird call. The bird was cheeping a repetitive and rhythmic chant, and in my head I heard as it chirped, "Matthew 9.22. Matthew 9.22. Matthew 9.22" Of course the bird didn't say, "Matthew 9:22" but the rhythm and sound was like that and that is what I heard in my head. It was very persistent and the bird seemed to fly along beside me as I walked.

So when I got to church I got a Bible and looked up Matthew 9:22. It said, "Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment."

I went to the healing service, took part and the woman received healing.

True story.

Pro Life Month

Yesterday we took part in our annual pro life chain in Greenville. The first three children pictured here are (r-l) Elias Longenecker, Madeleine Longenecker and Theo Longenecker. We all turn out each year, and in a town like Greenville the number of people who turn up is impressive, and the response from the public along the crowded Woodruff Rd. is, for the most part positive. Many people honk horns and give us the thumbs up. A few people exercise other digits in our direction, but whenever we promote life in a silent witness it reveals the rage and fury of those who kill the unborn.

Remember October is pro life month. We're winning the war against abortion bit by bit. We just have to keep on going!

Are You One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic?

Week by week in the creed we say we believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, but too often the assent to the creed is for us simply a routine part of the liturgy or, if we even stop to think about it at all, it becomes a kind of assent to a series of mental propositions and intellectual statements.

In a sense, dogma is a series of mental propositions or intellectual statements, but it is really much, much more. It is a statement of life, not only a statement of intellectually formulated beliefs. The question therefore is not so much do I believe in the Church being One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic, but whether my life is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. I sometimes like to break down the word 'believe'--drop the second 'e' and divide the word so it is not 'believe' but 'be live'. Not so much do you 'believe' in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, but do you 'be live' the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

In order for this to be true I have to ask in what sense am I, as an individual, One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic, for if the Church as a whole is to be One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic, then it should follow that each of her members ought, also, in their own way, and according to their own vocation and calling, to be One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.

If I am One, therefore I am unified. I am not divided. I am not torn between the flesh and the Spirit. I am not serving two masters. I am not serving God and mammon. I am unified also in Body, Mind and Spirit. The three parts of me, like a little Holy Trinity, are functioning together as an inseparable unity. If I am One then my body is not warring against my soul and my mind is not warring against my body and soul and my soul is not warring against my body and mind. If I am One, then I am unified in motive, in purpose and in destiny. I am functioning at my optimum. I am becoming the simple, unified and whole person God created me to be.

If I am Holy, then in my life I am not just pious or prayerful or full of good deed. There is more to 'Holy' than that. Holiness, for me more and more, means being aware of the supernatural in life. It means that I live within the increasingly constant awareness of God's abundant and prosperous providence. I am aware that 'the World is charged with the grandeur of God..' To be Holy means I am increasingly aware that all is gift. All is grace. God's power and goodness and might and beauty are everywhere present. To be Holy is to live in that higher state of awareness where not one blade of grass, not one birdsong, not one grain of sand, not one child or old person or moment of life is empty of God's life. So am I Holy in that sense--that I am full of the awareness of the supernatural goodness of God at every moment in every way?

What about Catholic? If I am Catholic in my own life, then my perspectives and understandings are increasingly universal. My understanding of God and life and wisdom and knowledge and insight are becoming vast and wide and deep. If I am Catholic then my vision transcends my own narrow sectarianism, my own ideologies, my own tastes, my own national or ethnic identity. My sharing in God means that my vision and my life transcend my narrow bigotries, my selfishness, my limited education and especially my liturgical or spiritual expressions. Instead of a narrow and pinched view of all things I am widening out to embrace all things and to love all things according to their worth.

Am I Apostolic? If I am Apostolic as an individual, then my life is bound up and determined by the wisdom of the Church. I live and move and breathe within the hermeneutic of continuity. In other words, I am operating within the Apostolic vision, the Apostolic teaching, the Apostolic martyrdom, the Apostolic charism, the Apostolic contact with Christ himself. To be dynamically Apostolic, is to be in touch with the Apostles. It is to thank God in the Eucharistic prayer for 'the faith that comes to us from the Apostles.' This is a living faith and a moment by moment experience. Being enlightened by the past so we can live positively in the present and move forward with faith and confidence into the future.

If more of us actually lived lives that were One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic the Church herself would radiate the reality that exists and would bear witness to the whole world that the Catholic Church was the One Church founded by Jesus Christ to bear his salvation to the world.

Mrs Brady Catholic Old Lady

How very nice of you dear! It is so sweet of you to invite me to your church for Brittany and Harrison's choral concert. What did you say it was called? "Rockin' on the Rock?" How interesting! It sounds very lively. I must say, I've never heard of a church called 'WellSpring' before, but it does sound attractive. Do the young people like that sort of thing? I suppose they do. How nice. You know, I think I'm going to pass on your invitation. I hope you won't be offended dear, but to tell you the truth I think I'm just too old to change my ways. You'll have to forgive me. I'm sure it's very nice going to church with large screens and young people dancing to lively music, but goodness gracious, don't you think it gets them all too excited? At my stage in life I'm just looking for a little peace and quiet. I'm sure you'll understand. They have a seniors group do they! How marvelous. Aren't they thoughtful! Would I like to go one Wednesday evening to the Bible Study? Oh my dear, those nice old people don't want a crotchety old granny like me in their group. I'm sure they're all spending their retirement doing wonderful things like going on cruises and learning to play the saxophone and learning to speak Russian. They'd think I'm a terrible old stick in the mud. All I want to do is potter in the garden and sit on the porch and read books and go to Mass every morning. That's right. Mass is what we call going to church, you don't have Mass every day at WellSpring? Why ever not? Isn't that what church is for? Oh, I'm sorry. I just don't understand. Yes, that's right. I used to be Baptist, but it was all a very long time ago, and I'm sure I've forgotten most of it except for the lovely old hymns like, "There is wonder working power in the blood of the Lamb." Do you still sing that one? You see when I married Henry I thought it would be nice to go over to his church, and I've never regretted it, not for one moment. I know it's hard to understand why a Baptist would become Catholic. What's that? I'm sorry I'm a little bit hard of hearing. What did you say? "It really doesn't matter what denomination we are. What really matters is how much we love Jesus?" Bless you dear! That's what so many people say to me when they learn I'm a Catholic, and I know it's a bit naughty of me and maybe I shouldn't say it, but I always say to them, "Well, then, if it really doesn't matter what denomination you are, why not come along and join the Catholic Church?" For some reason that always seems to make them a little bit cross, but you see dear, that means that they think it really does matter what denomination you are after all, and that's what we Catholics have always said. Fr O'Keefe once told me that only the Catholic Church is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic, and that these are the marks of the true Church. Goodness gracious, don't misunderstand me. I don't for a moment think that the Catholic Church is the perfect Church. I didn't join it because I thought it was the perfect church. I joined it because I thought it was the true Church. There is a difference you know dear.  Is WellSpring Church One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic? It's an interesting question don't you think? Oh gracious! Now I've offended you! You mustn't misunderstand. Of course I think you're a Christian too. I daresay you're a much better Christian than I am! I sometimes feel like I'm just limping along, leaning on Jesus if you know what I mean! It all makes me rather confused sometimes; but I'm sorry dear. I've been talking much too much about religion again, and all I've done is make a mess of it.  There. Let's forget all about it. Why not have one of these nice lemon muffins? They're fresh out of the oven and I think I hear the kettle boiling for a nice cup of tea.

Druids Now Bona Fide

The Daily Telegraph reports here that the Druid religion has now been officially recognized by the British authorities. This will should please Anglicans of a liberal stripe and give them another religion with which they can 'demonstrate Unity'.

I can just hear old Archdeacon Huffington-Post..."I mean, one would want to say that in some sort of way it's a good thing isn't it? We can't really exclude Druids can we, after all, while they may not wish to be baptized or express faith in Christ can we say that these things are so vitally important? Might a Druid, in many ways, not be a better 'Christian' than many of those who call themselves 'CofE' but never give it a moment's thought? There is, after all, no objective theology, and are not all religions simply a different cultural construct which offers, as it were, a metaphor for certain metaphysical concepts which cannot be objectified? If this is so, and without being exclusive or dogmatic in any way of course, I would propose that if it is not true (as such) then it is certainly a workable suggestion which, in its own way, might offer a way forward to a new understanding and a fresh co operation between Druids and Anglicans for are we not both ancient religions of these same British Isles, and do we not, in our own particular ways have the same vision? When I sing 'All Things Bright and Beautiful' am I not one with the ancient Druid who worships the sacred oak and when I worship the Son of God am I not closely aligned with he who worships the Sun God?"

Victor or Wrecker?

When I was an Anglican priest I had the cure of souls in two country parishes. In one I was the Vicar. In the other I was the Rector. When first appointed they asked which I should be called and I said, "I think we will combine the two titles into one and I shall be called 'Victor'." At which a quick witted parishioner replied, "They might combine the two and call you Wrecker."

Our local Rector in the combox has given a long response to my plea for an Anglican model for unity and ended up by asking: "Do we better demonstrate Christian unity by seeking to bring Christ himself, visible in his followers, into the lives of those who do not know him, or by squabbling over who is a 'real' Christian and who isn't?"

These are fine sentiments, but I must say they do remind me of the sweet Methodist lady who, on hearing that I was converting to Catholicism said with tears welling up, "But Vicar, surely all that matters is how much we love Jesus!!" While her sentiments and the Rector's noble words about sharing Christ seem to make someone like me seem hard hearted, they do beg several very large questions. It is very fine to say that we must 'bring Christ into the lives of those who do not know him,' and it is moving to cry, "Surely all that matters is how much we love Jesus!" but how do we know that it is Christ we are bringing to people and that it is Jesus we are loving?

This is where some definitions and dogma are required. Who is the Jesus the Methodist lady loves and who is the Christ the Anglican Rector is sharing? It should seem obvious to any thinking Christian that such definitions must be required at some point along the way for all sorts of people claim to 'love Jesus' or that they are 'sharing Christ' while many other followers of Christ would be alarmed to think that such people are Christians and they would reject them from the fellowship.

The Rector wishes us to focus on 'sharing Christ' as a way to demonstrate Christian unity' but where are the Rector's boundaries? This is where living in the United States begins to make 'Christian unity' seem not only an elusive dream but a crazy nightmare. Just  'shares Christ' alongside us to 'demonstrate Christian unity' and how do I determine just who is 'loving Jesus' and 'sharing Christ'. Here in the USA where Christianity takes increasingly wild and wonderful expressions the question is live.

For sake of argument we may accept that the Catholic and the Anglican and the Methodist and the Presbyterian all 'love Jesus' and 'share Christ' and that they all enjoy a certain kind of 'Christian unity' but shall we include the Baptists? If we do, shall we include just the Southern Baptists who are quite sensible, or may we invite the independent Bible fundamentalist Baptists? If they 'love Jesus' and 'share Christ' may we include the snake handling, rootin' tootin' poison drinking Baptists? If not, why not?

Let us go further. The Seventh Day Adventists claim to 'love Jesus' and 'share Christ'. Shall we admit them to Christian Unity and overlook their heresies as mere eccentricities or 'differences of opinion'? If the Seventh Day Adventists, then surely the Worldwide Church of God and the Christian Scientists, and if the Christian Scientists and Worldwide Church of God, then why not the Jehovah's Witnesses, for they too claim with all sincerity and seriousness that they 'love Jesus' and 'share Christ.' For that matter, the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints claim to 'love Jesus' and 'share Christ', and if the Mormons, then why not the Moonies, for the members of the Unification Church who follow Reverend Moon also claim to 'love Jesus' and 'share Christ'.

The Rector and my Methodist lady friend are guilty of sentimentalism. They have put lofty and sweet emotions above the need for real definitions and dogma. It is complained that 'dogma divides'. Indeed it does--just as any declaration of truth does. In fact, Catholics, who point out the need for definitions and delineations are simply doing what all Christians do, for even the most bland and liberal of Anglicans will turn up his nose at the Mormons and Jehovah's Witness and Snake Handlers and attempt to exclude them from being 'real Christians'--and he is right to do so for they are not 'real Christians' and they are not because they are heretics. That is to say, they have held to some truths to the exclusion of others or they have distorted truths by the addition of falsehoods.

This is why I am a Catholic--because definitions are necessary and if definitions are necessary, then one must have an infallible authority to make the definitions--otherwise one drifts into individualism.  sentimentalism, and the rampant sectarianism that Protestantism has become. The Catholic Church draws boundaries and says, "Here is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Join us if you like, but don't complain when you choose not to join us and then we point out to you that you are not one with us. Don't come to us and say, 'Oh we really are Catholic you know...' Why do you want to be 'Catholic' but you don't become Catholic, and why do you protest when we simply point out the fact that you are not actually Catholic when that has been your clear choice?"

Catholics are also accused of being black and white and saying that everyone else isn't 'a real Christian'. Not so. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that all who are baptized and have faith in Christ are truly our brothers and sisters in Christ, and are to be treated as brothers and sisters. However, we can go on to explain a hierarchy of relationship to the Catholic Church which illustrates how some of the separated brethren are close to full communion with the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church than others, and why this is so.

I will attempt to post more on this later.