Verbum Domini

During my Master's studies, our professors, especially our scripture professors, spoke of the Synod taking place regarding Holy Scripture. We studied the various methods of study, critiqued them, used them and learned from them, although, of course, we learned primarily from God Himself.

Our texts regarding Sacred Scripture came to us primarily through Dei Verbum (Vatican II), The Pontifical Biblical Commission, and Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger). We couldn't help but fall in love with our dear Papa's scriptural tutelage, and greatly lamented the state of scriptural "scholarship" which has been dominated by either near or outright heresy for the last 40 years or so.  Jesus of Nazareth was a breath of fresh air, a rock to cling to in an ocean of "scholarship" seeking to deny the divinity of Christ, or to at least separate His divinity from his humanity.

Although we did not study these dominant academic dissidents in our program, all of us had been exposed to them, and a few of my classmates had been trained under them and inflicted with their disassemble-ship of Christ through the scriptures.  They were sincerely traumatized and confused, having to see the study of the Bible through entirely different eyes. They were eyes they desired, but their confusion arose from the twisted "scholarship" that has so lead people astray and destroyed their faith (quite literally) for a very long time.

In scriptural studies, Redaction criticism may have a place, but not a dominant place. Historical-critical methods have a place, but not if used in isolation. As our Holy Father pointed out in Jesus of Nazareth, and now, again, more feverently in the Apostolic Exhortation, Verbum Domini, the methods of scriptural interpretation and research need to be taken in proper context of the WHOLE of scripture and Divine Revelation.

As I read the first section of Verbum Domini, I realized it was nearly a complete synthesis of my Master's program. I considered writing to ask Pope Benedict XVI if he had patterned our education after this introduction, but rather, I see it as the work of the Holy Spirit: it reveals that those who taught me were well within the mind, heart, and soul of the Church and formed us accordingly.

As I began the second section, I found myself deep within Ecclesiology and through all of it, deeply entrenched in our Catholic Theological Tradition.  Pope Benedict XVI operates through the hermeneutic of continuity, finding the foundation for us all and bringing it to light through the Church Fathers (Patristics). He knows he cannot speak of scriptural interpretation apart from St. Jerome.

Although I have not completed my study of the Exhortation, one of the passages that has affected me most deeply came from Pope Benedict XVI himself, and I hope it is a passage that fuels your own prayer as well.  I pray most deeply that you will read it and decide to enter into this Apostolic Exhortation. By definition this document is a re-presentation of known Catholic Doctrine, "exhorting" the faithful to follow what the Church in her wisdom has ALWAYS taught as Truth.  Take this document to heart, let it enter your soul, and let it draw you ever closer to Our Lord.

As the cross of Christ demonstrates, God also speaks by his silence. The silence of God, the experience of the distance of the almighty Father, is a decisive stage in the earthly journey of the Son of God, the incarnate Word. Hanging from the wood of the cross, he lamented the suffering caused by that silence: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mk 15:34; Mt 27:46). Advancing in obedience to his very last breath, in the obscurity of death, Jesus called upon the Father. He commended himself to him a the moment of passage, through death, to eternal life: "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit" (Lk 23:46). 

 This experience of Jesus reflects the situation of all those who, having heard and acknowledged God's word, must also confront his silence. This has been the experience of countless saints and mystics, and even today is part of the journey of many believers.  God's silence prolongues his earlier words. In these moments of darkness, he speaks through the mystery of his silence. Hence, in the dynamic of Christian revelation, silence appears as an important expression of the word of God. 

~ VERBUM DOMINI

DEO GRATIAS! 

Pilgrimage

It takes the entire Church to foster a single Vocation.

A lot has happened in the last couple weeks and I confess I'm absolutely amazed. I knew that coming into this summer, I was being asked to trust God...with everything. With my heart, with my soul...with everything that owns me (the house and bills and debt).

One of the difficulties I face is not wanting to ask for help, especially financial. Having grown up on welfare, I swore I'd never live like that again. I'm perfectly able to support myself. I have worked hard to get a degree, to become qualified (for many things now!) in hopes I'll never have to rely on others again.

And yet, here and there, things have come up that have made me have to depend on others, and in ways that I found most difficult to accept: financially. Those who have helped me in the last couple years will never see and don't know the interior struggle I had within me to accept their assistance.

I have to admit, I still feel guilty about it and in the back of my mind, that "debt" is there. Even if my paperwork-debts are erased, I will never consider myself free until they, too, are paid back.

Dependence

Then, with this summer fast approaching, I had to make a decision: place my trust in a temp agency or other to find me a job that will pay my bills? Or trust God and dedicate myself to finding Him, seeking the Kingdom of God? Could I do both?

I wanted to do both. I wanted to schedule my summer so that I could discern some of the time and work the other part of the time. As it is, I will have my 10 hours per week at my regular job (but for when I take a vacation day when out of town.) So truly, that is being fulfilled.

Yet no other jobs have been "appearing". I did decide to place my apples in one basket, so to speak. Even as my SD pointed out, God was asking me to trust Him. To keep my eyes on Him, and I knew it was time to take a step in His direction.

God has not let me fall; in fact, He is providing in ways I never could have expected, and in ways I refused to request. He has seen my own obstinance, yet in His mercy, has acted through others to provide for my financial needs this summer.

Just today, I received a contribution from someone I know well. I don't want to identify the person/family, but when I spoke to him yesterday and he verified that I haven't been irresponsible with my mortgage payments, he offered to cover it for the summer. Today the check arrived...enough to cover my mortgage for July and August. He asks only for prayers and that I call him and tell him what happens during my visits. And no, he isn't asking for anything but general information.

I nearly burst into tears while on the phone with him, realizing what God has done and how He is providing for me.

My plane ticket and Amtrak ticket are also being covered by a multitude of donors, and I think gas money for my car as I drive later this summer to visit the Cistercians will also be covered.

In doing the calculations, what I need is being covered. My actual, billable needs.

This entire summer, my trips to visit communities are being covered by the Mystical Body of Christ. Not just in prayer (which I need!), but the temporal needs of my life as well.

I have a ride to and from the airport in July. I have some dear friends, a family with small children, who are going to watch my dog. We visited them today with much hilarity and it seems as though it's going to work out well! (I just hope she isn't too much trouble for them!)

I have a Pastor and an SD who support me completely, and a family that maybe doesn't completely understand, but they're willing to help. And in fact, I'll be traveling with borrowed luggage - from my brother! (As brothers go, he's probably thinking, "Anything that will get my sister out of town is a good thing....) :-)

Pilgrim Making a Pilgrimage

Some time ago, one of my co-workers was criticizing (in a charitable way!) the fact that people go on pilgrimages and fund themselves. Never having been on a pilgrimage, I asked her honestly how they're supposed to GET to Rome or the Holy Land or Lourdes unless they fork over the money for the trip?

I can't remember everything, but she indicated that a true pilgrim doesn't arrive at his destination by his own means. Part of the spirit of a pilgrimage is being willing to be dependent upon others. Of leaving home with nothing, and arriving at the destination via the alms of those who saw a need and responded. It's about learning dependence upon God, of being willing to suffer for Him, and maybe in a way, it's a walk to Calvary even when the destination isn't physical Jerusalem.

What she said made sense. A pilgrimage is a spiritual quest, and maybe has different intents, but each of them has to do with finding God, following Him, prayer, and sacrifice.

When I leave next month to find out whether God may truly be calling me, and whether one of these communities is my home on earth, I go with nothing in my pocket. I go with the clothing on my back, and other necessary items in a suitcase borrowed from my brother. The money in my pocket for incidentals won't be the fruits of my labor, but of the labor of friends.

The flight to and from, and the train ticket between destinations comes to me largely compliments of people I haven't even met and may never meet in this life...may I meet them on the other side of the veil.

I know that when I go, I don't go alone. This IS a pilgrimage of sorts, for althoughI'm not going to visit a shrine, but rather, to meet the Bridegroom in a special way. I may find "home" on this earthly pilgrimage, or I may find that my "home" is where I am now. I may find that the life of a religious is where I belong, but that those particular communities are not the right place.

In any case, I go to follow where God is leading, and because all of this is happening, and with the help of so many people, it must be what God wills in this moment.

Yes, it's a bit scary, but at the same time, it's a whirlwind of excitement, and truly, I have that "peace that surpasses understanding."

I truly don't understand how all of this has happened, yet I go, gratefully, and as I seek my Vocation, no matter where it leads, I know that all those who have helped go with me in a special way. The pilgrimage I make is theirs as well.

A few times I've written of going to Holy Communion with the recognition that of myself, I can offer nothing. I am a sinful creature, indebted to the Mercy of Our Lord, and can never merit such an act of salvation. In that, I've recognized my interior poverty and learned that the best way to receive Him was through that very poverty.

And now, I go to meet Him in another way, again, through poverty, knowing I don't merit what I possess, grateful for such a gift.

Thank you, Jesus, for your generosity and for revealing how trust in You is never in vain.

Thank you all, for your own ongoing prayers and other contributions.

Trust is NEVER in vain.

Sacred Heart of Jesus...we place all our trust in Thee.

*

Loving Our Enemies

From today's Office of Readings from a homily written in the second century:

(Note that the bold is my emphasis, as well as some of the italics):

My name is constantly blasphemed by unbelievers, says the Lord. Woe to the man who causes my name to be blasphemed. Why is the Lord’s name blasphemed? Because we say one thing and do another. When they hear the words of God on our lips, unbelievers are amazed at their beauty and power, but when they see that those words have no effect in our lives, their admiration turns to scorn, and they dismiss such words as myths and fairy tales.

They listen, for example, when we tell them that God has said: It is no credit to you if you love those who love you, but only if you love your enemies, and those who
hate you. They are full of admiration at such extraordinary virtue, but when they observe that we not only fail to love people who hate us, but even those who love us, they laugh us to scorn, and the Name is blasphemed.

Therefore, brothers, if we do the will of God the Father, we shall be members of the first spiritual Church that was created before the sun and the moon; but if we fail to do the will of the Lord, we shall be among those to whom it is said in Scripture: My house has been made into a robbers’ den. We must choose then, if we want to be saved, to be members of the Church of life.

You surely cannot be ignorant of the fact that the living Church is the body of Christ; for Scripture says: God made man male and female. Now the male signifies Christ, and the female signifies the Church, which, according to both the Old and New Testament, is no recent creation, but has existed from the beginning. At first the Church was purely spiritual, even as our Jesus was spiritual, but it appeared in the last days to save us.

For the spiritual Church was made manifest in the body of Christ, in order to show us that if we uphold its honour in the outward, visible form, and do not defile it, we shall, through the Holy Spirit, be made its members in the true, spiritual sense. For the body of the Church is a copy of the Spirit, and no one who defaces the copy can have any part in what the copy represents. In other words, brothers, you must preserve the honour of the body in order to share in the Spirit. For if we say that the body is the Church and the Spirit is Christ, it follows that anyone who dishonours his body, dishonours the Church. Such a man will have no part in the Spirit, which is Christ. But if the Holy Spirit is joined to it, this body can receive an immortal life that is wonderful beyond words, for the blessings that God has made ready for his chosen ones surpass all human powers of description.

***
The message is clear. If we are not living our lives with reference to God, remaining aloof from the temptations of popular culture, choosing instead to be like others in hatred of our enemies, then we are blaspheming the name of the Lord.

We claim to love, and then fail to even try.

We criticize our enemies with ad hominim attacks, just as those who hate us do to us. We sometimes join into these attacks, justifying our actions by saying, "Well, they deserved it."

Whether they deserve spite or verbal retribution is a moot point; if we aren't holding up the command of Christ to love our enemies, and instead we take on the methods of common culture in literary, verbal, or technological discourse, then we are not only disobedient, but we are blasphemous through our actions at the very least.

Mea culpa, Domine, Mea culpa.

Oh, Goodness, Catholics Please Step Up!

I was just browsing looking for how to bake a potato (I know how, but sometimes I need direction on the oven temp.), and found a really interesting web site:

How To Do Things.com

It seems to be a fairly new site as it doesn't have a lot in the way of archives, especially under Christianity.

There are a few articles, but I see that Catholicism, the ORIGINAL and ONGOING Christian religion is not represented AT ALL. And I have a problem with that. Why is there an article in how to join the Baptist religion, but no article about how to enter the Church founded by Christ Himself?

Now, I love our Baptist brothers and sisters...and in fact, a few of them helped me come home to the Catholic Church, God Bless them! But really, we should step up to the plate and get in on this.

The site is looking for writers, and has a big APPLY NOW! button on their homepage. Many of my readers, whether they have blogs or not, love to write, love the Church, especially love Jesus, and could contribute a great deal. Please, for the love of God (really!), will some of you please apply and start posting your work?

Currently, there is a "How to understand who wrote the books of the Bible." Which is all well and good...she got most of it right (As a Protestant, though, she is missing 7 books, to include Tobit, which is referenced in a dialoge with Jesus, the Sadducees and the Pharisees, and Maccabees 1 & 2, among others), although the article could use more infomation, such as: HOW do we know this? And WHO put the canon of scripture together? And HOW did they know what to include and what not to include? The Bible didn't just drop from the sky, you know. It was handed down, and we know the canon through Apostolic Tradition, which is still intact in the Church today. But how is the author of the linked article to know that if no one tells her?

I'm honestly curious...I know there are converts who read this blog. Can you tell me what your teachers and professors and parents told you about the origin of the canon of Holy Scripture? OK, I digress.

Websites are great for a synopsis of things, so if you're good at being brief (I'm not!), and you can convey snippets of info in a powerful manner...well, you have a gift you should use for the good of the unity of the Church. Get out there!

I am drawn to this, of course, but do I REALLY need to add something on to my plate? But you, especially those of you without blogs, those of you who love to write...you know who you are....go!

And just as an FYI, a fun site I learned about when I worked in Insurance is:
How Stuff Works.com

Great site for a lot of things. I often used it professionally to assist me in understanding engines and cars and anti-theft systems.

Who's Got an Axe to Grind?

Back when I was in training for the Fire Department, having gone through mostly academics for four months, we were then subjected to the last six weeks of training. At "The Tower".

The dreaded Tower.

I had worked hard in the academics and rivaled another guy (whose Dad was a Chief) for the top spot in the class. But being a woman, I knew that I could not maintain that position, and this reality was brought home in our first week at the Tower.

They had a setup to include a six story building attached to a two-story "residential" building with a typical Minnesota roof. There was also a specially-built training building which allowed for different floor plans, smoke machines, and propane-fueled flames.

And they had the chopping simulator. This was a one-story building with four cutouts fit for wooden pallets. I remember my first experience and training evolution involving this; we had to climb a ground ladder, step onto a roof ladder, climb it, step out onto the peak, move along it to the far side and climb down the ariel ladder (from the ladder truck) which was extended up to the peak. Then we went to the chopping simulator.

Most of we women just didn't have the strength to grab a pallet, which was more unweildy than it was heavy (although some were very heavy!) and carry it up a ladder, so some of the guys helped with this. It was put in place, and when we could chop through it (by breaking ALL the boards, leaving only the frame, and then chop the frame and push it through the holes to "clear" it from the roof), we'd be done.

I was given a pallet, thrilled it seemed to be very weak. So I swung the ax, which had a dull blade - they all did - and it bounced back at me without a result. Surprised, I swung again, harder. It bounced higher.

Frustrated, I really went to town on this thing, determined that it would not win. And finally a board broke. I rejoiced and continued until the axe flew out of my had from an especially surprising rebound. While a fellow classmate retrieved the tool for me, one of the other guys stopped what he was doing long enough to make a few suggestions, which, at the time, I thought made no sense. The boards were clearly the weakest in the center. I could jump on it and break it...why wouldn't the axe cut through? So I initially ignored his advice, decided I just wasn't swinging hard enough, and redoubled my efforts, resulting only in futile swings, much sweat, much frustration...and a "failure". My coworker just shook his head as I descended the ladder in exhaustion and defeat.

I had to try again later as we went through other training evolutions. And the situation repeated itself. I exhausted myself trying to break the pallet at it's strongest point, which, in my mind, was the weakest point. And no matter how hard I tried, I could not get through the springy wood. It continued to repel my axe. All around me, the guys were turning their pallets into toothpicks...and I couldn't even get through ONE!

Finally the Captain ordered me down, and after taking off the SCBA, the coat, and my helmet so I could wipe off the sweat and pour water on my head in the ninety-degree September heat, one of the guys pulled me aside. Another joined him. They explained to me why my pallet wasn't breaking; it had nothing to do with a lack of strength, but was completely about technique. They explained how the weaker points were really up against the frame, how to hit it so it would break, and that I wouldn't have to work so hard. They gave the same instruction to a couple other of the women, because this wasn't an issue of men versus women; we were a unified group, and where one was failing, all were failing. If not individually, then at least as a team. It literally hurt all of us to see one person struggling, and of course, there was the practical concern; we had to be able to depend on each other. One day, our lives may be in that person's hands, and the trust factor was greatly needed. We had to build each other up and help them overcome their own weaknesses.

I recieved a similar lesson when fighting with the hose one day...I simply could not hold it, advance it while on my knees, and control a straight stream. When I had to hold my position, even on my knees, without someone to support me from the back, the water pressure literally pushed me backwards. It was exhausting.

I wasn't the only person with this problem, and one female coworker provided a tip she got from another firefighter who'd gone through this training the year prior. As it was, I never got the opportunity to test that particular technique, but I have no doubt it worked as others did try it and were able to maintain and advance as they needed.

Does anyone else see a metaphor for "fraternal correction"?

When another member of the mystical Body of Christ is suffering, we all suffer in some way. When that person is struggling, engaging in a futile and self-destructive act, which also may affect us all, we MUST speak up and offer constructive correction. They are destroying themselves and putting everyone else at risk.

In training, we had to focus on saving lives.

In the Church, we focus on saving souls. Can we trust one another with our souls?

If we are not willing to speak up in correction or guidance, we are helping to sever any unity that might exist. If we are the ones in error, we NEED that correction before the axe we're using to beat through our agenda goes flying out of our hands and into an innocent person's back. We NEED to be brought to bear, or we'll go so far off course that the rest of the Body is brought down. Conversely, if we recognize that someone is doing something wrong, we are obligated to step in and provide some instruction.

Ultimately, the decision to listen to truth or to disregard is in the hands of the one in error, yet, when the error is chosen over truth, it hurts everyone, it affects everyone, and we are wounded greviously.

I'll never forget the willingness of my class to come to my aid when I was in error, and I'll never forget how much it hurt when someone failed. Part of our training involved building and recognizing that special unity we had as a team, that special bond between us all, and the understanding the reality that we had to depend upon one another.

It is no different in the Church, whether we are considering our own personal conduct or public conduct when claiming to represent the Church as a Catholic. None of us is perfect; we all struggle with something, perhaps many things. So it is that we are responsible for knowing our faith and doing our best to live it, go to Confession when needed, and accept legitimate correction when we are wrong. Beating a pulpit in futility destroys us, causes schrapnel to fly, and wounds the rest of the Body. And when we see that someone else is engaging in such behavior, be it subtle and known only to us as a close friend, or be it publicly and loudly, we must intervene and attempt to put a stop to the damage being done.

And just to sum it up with another metaphor:

A properly sharpened axe, when used correctly, even though sweat and muscle are a part of the process, makes short work of big obstacles.

Thanks, guys, for taking the time to teach me how to do it right.