The Dangers of Small Worlds

We all know the song: "It's a Small World After All." It gets stuck in our heads every time we go on that ride in Disneyland. Chances are, the moment you step off the float, you'll be humming that song. It's a cute little song. Reminds us that we are all connected, regardless of our culture or geographical location.

But there are two versions of the "Small World." The first is that represented by the Disney ride, a world without borders where physical distance is meaningless. And that is all well and good. God made each and everyone of us. In our shared humanity, we have far more in common than we have differences, despite various languages and customs. The first meaning is quite Catholic in fact, "universal."

I worry about the second meaning of a "Small World." It is one I see far too often today. These small worlds are characterized, not by their openness, but by their walls. They are small worlds because there is not much in them. This is the "me, myself, and I" attitude that is so popular in our culture. This small world thinking reduces your interactions and love into a microcosm, whatever is within your reach and nothing more. Only showing kindness to those who think exactly like you do, who look exactly like you do, who act exactly like you do.

In a certain sense, this thinking reduces humanity to those that you "like." Anyone else is dangerous, even less human than those within your walls. And I am not just talking about physical borders. Within our own country, we see this in conflicts of controversy. For militant feminists, pro-choice radicals, and groups like Black Lives Matter, you are either with them or against them. Anything less than a full pledge of loyalty results in your ridicule, not in person, more often than not, but over the veiled channels of social media, for most of them are too cowardly to attack you face-to-face. You see this whenever anyone tries to say that there are differences between men and women which mean they ought to be treated differently in some respects (bigot!) or that all lives matter (racist!).

Small worlds tend to be kind of boring. You'll only hear the same things over and over and over. They consist in a silencing of all "offensive speech" or what I would call free discussion. Try to tell a denizen of these small worlds that the unborn have a right to live, that there is no difference between sex and gender, or that supporting the death-penalty is inconsistent with pro-life beliefs, and you will instantly be silenced, and probably insulted too.

That is because small worlds are the houses built upon the sand (Matthew 7:26). They lack a firm foundation. Any challenge to the creed of a small world is therefore existential. Any change to the status quo could be deadly.

Small worlds are cowardly. They are inhabited by people who are too scared to look beyond their own walls. We saw this the other day at a rally for presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump in San Diego. Crowds of his opponents hurled eggs and bottles, harassed, and assaulted his supporters as they left the rally. Now, I am not saying that I support or even like Donald Trump. His flip-flopping on abortion is unacceptable. But no one deserves to be attacked like his supporters were. Those protesters reacted so violently because they were confronted by a group of people living outside of their own small worlds. They discovered that someone held opinions that were not their own, and they could not deal with this reality.

And I am not saying that Catholics are immune to this kind of thinking. I see a somewhat dangerous trend of small worlds in our American parishes. We are the universal Church. Therefore, though we might only go to Mass at one parish, we cannot limit our outreach or efforts to that parish. It is not a competition. We need a greater awareness of the ways in which parishes can cooperate and coordinate activities for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

God does not want us to live in small worlds. I think Pope Francis captured this quite succinctly. In response to Donald Trump's plan to build a barrier separating Mexico from the United States, Pope Francis said that "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel." Though this was in the context of Donald Trump, Pope Francis' statement was universal.

We cannot simply build up walls around ourselves. Those walls separate us from those whom we should show love.

Jesus did not live in a gated community. He walked with tax collectors, prostitutes, and Pharisees alike. The message of the Gospel would not have spread if Jesus had remain hidden in the gentrified suburbs.

Therefore, we must engage in the construction of bridges. Do not avoid the people who hold opinions that differ from yours, engage them. Get in the thick of it. "Launch out into the deep" (Luke 5:4). We will not change lives with the message of the Gospel if we only preach within our own walls, within our small worlds.

Do not live in a small world. Cast down your walls. Open up your hearts to those that live beyond your borders, physical and otherwise. Love your family, but also love your universal family.

There are those suffering beyond your walls. Go to them. Bring the light of Christ into the darkness of their own small worlds.

Deus Vult!

The Church (The Creed)

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins,

and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead

and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Holy Spirit gave life to the Church on Pentecost. We began in this series on the Creed with Creation and God the Father. Then, we moved on to the birth, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. His Ascension lead into the coming of the Holy Spirit which breathed life into the Church.

The Apostles, frightened and in hiding, were "all together in one place" (Acts 2:1). Jesus had just ascended into heaven. They'd drawn lots to chose Matthias as Judas's replacement in the Twelve. They were in recovery, shaken by the tumult of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. Their world had just been shattered and they were only beginning to put their lives back together.

And then the world changed forever. The Holy Spirit came down upon them with wind and fire. "They were all filled with the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:4). And so began the Church. Instead of the cries of an infant, Mother Church was heralded by fire and wind, elemental majesty.

Atheists like to say that all religions are the same, that they are merely expressions of subjective religious experience, a psychological longing for the divine that is merely primitive instinct. But the Church is not just another religion. It is Truth.

What other creed has spread so far and so wide? What other creed has so radically changed human history? The way we think? The way we live? Unlike Islam and Judaism, Buddhism and Paganism, Christianity  easily hurdled geographical, cultural, and ethnic boundaries.

The Church is revolutionary. Why else has the world tried so hard to silence her? The Church is always countercultural. "If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you" (John  15:20). The Church challenged the brutality and hedonism of the Romans just as she challenges our modern brutality and hedonism. Christ's message of love contradicts the hate of our flawed human sinfulness.

The Church is a rock. She is unchanging. The Catholic Church today is the same Church gathered together on Pentecost, despite what the Protestants would have you believe. She does not compromise dogma for whatever happens to be popular. The Commandments were written in stone tablets.

The Church is our foundation. We can cling to her and trust that no matter who is president, no matter what the law says, no matter what the world is screaming at us, we cling to truth. We can trust in the Church.

We enter into the Church through the Sacrament of Baptism. The Roman Catechism says that "by nature we were born from Adam children of wrath, but by Baptism we are regenerated in Christ, children of mercy." Baptism unites us to Christ. We become members of the Church who is the spouse of Christ.

Baptism changes our very nature. Though it does not make us invulnerable to sin, or even remove our sinful nature, Baptism frees us from our inherited bondage to sin and gives us new life. It is a rejection of the ways of the world and the first step on the way to salvation. It is THE first step on the way to salvation. Remember brothers and sisters, the uniqueness of Baptism. It is not merely a human creation. It cannot be imitated. Baptism is not merely the entry into a worldly organization, but rather initiation into the divine body of the Church. St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians: "one Lord, one faith, one Baptism" (Ephesians 4:5). There is but "one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins." There is  but one Church.

Through Baptism we become brothers and sisters. Regardless of where we come from, the color of our skin, the language that we speak, or even the sins that we have committed, we are all united in the Church. Baptism makes us greater than the sum of our faults. It gives us new identity. That is why a Baptism is as beautiful as the birth of a child, for we gain a new member in our universal family.

Our family has a lot of enemies. There are those who see the Church as a backwards and antiquated organization. There are those who says that she hates women or homosexuals. There are those who hate her because of the lies they have heard or the darkness within their own hearts. The Islamic State has promised the destruction of the Vatican. Even some Christians have declared themselves enemies of the Church. They decry her "corruption" or say that she has fallen away from the teachings of Jesus when they themselves are the ones who cannot fully accept His Word. 

But though every nation on earth were to declare war against the Church and persecute her members, we must not lose our faith. We must stand firm in our conviction. When Rome was falling under the influence of the Arian heresy, a companion of St. Athanasius told him that "The whole world is against you!" The saint responded that "Then it is Athanasius against the world." The Church is against the world too, and she will endure. How can man destroy that which God has made? Some worry that the Church will be destroyed by external aggression or by internal decay. Groups like the Church Militant take this too far and insist upon undermining the authority of those clergy who do not follow their definition of orthodoxy. I will not do so. I will call out heresy where I see it, whether it is inside or outside of the Church, but I will also respect the dignity of the Church and her members. I will trust that Jesus will guard His spouse far more ably than I ever could.

Remember that the Church is hope. The Church is Truth.

DEUS VOLT!

The Holy Spirit (The Creed)

"I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

who with the Father is adored and glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets."

After ascending into heaven, Christ did not leave us alone in this world of troubles. He did not allow us to remain bereft of His love. Before He returned to His Father, Jesus told His disciples "you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence" (Acts 1:5), "I will not leave you orphans: I will come to you" (John 14:18). In the hope of this promise, the disciples remained in Jerusalem, despite the persecution that they thus risked. And their hope was not in vain.

"And when the days of the Pentecost were accomplished, they were all together in one place: And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming.... And there appeared to them parted tongues as if of fire.... And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:1-3).

It is impossible to speak of the Church without mentioning the Holy Spirit. That is because, through Pentecost, the Church has been imbued with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the hardest Person of the Trinity to comprehend. We are familiar with the idea of a father and a son, but an incorporeal spirit? This is a hard teaching indeed. 

We must remember a few essential aspects of the Holy Spirit, in order to better understand this teaching of the Church. First, the Holy Spirit is distinct from but one with the Father and the Son. Secondly, the Spirit is the Author of Scripture: "who has spoken through the prophets." And finally, the Holy Spirit is "the giver of life."

The Holy Spirit is "distinct but inseparable" (CCC 689) from the Father and the Son. This is key to our understanding of the Spirit. The best way that I have ever heard this concept explained is that the Holy Spirit is the fruit of the love between the Father and the Son. Thus, though the Holy Spirit is unquestionably unique in the Trinity, he cannot be imagined outside of it.

Next, the Holy Spirit is the Author of the Word. The Catechism tells us that one of the places in which we know the Spirit is "in the Scriptures he inspired" (CCC 688). The Holy Spirit gave us the Word through the prophets. Isaiah wrote "the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me" (Isaiah 61:1). Even the early Church acknowledged this truth. Paul said to the Jews of Rome: "well did the Holy Spirit speak to our fathers by Isaiah the prophet" (Acts 28:25). Sacred Scripture is not the outdated work of  a few backward Jews and Christians. It is the LIVING work of God. It is not something merely to be studied, but listened to and lived. The Holy Spirit speaks to us through the Word.

And finally, the Holy Spirit is "the giver of life." He is active in our hearts. Once they received the Holy Spirit, the disciples immediately began speaking in tongues. They were granted the courage necessary to stand before the throng of Jerusalem and preach the Word, though it might have meant (and eventually did for all but John) their own deaths. I do not believe they could have spoken otherwise, for the Holy Spirit is "the spirit of truth" (John 14:17). They could not help but speak the Truth when filled with the "spirit of truth." We know of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, the boons we receive through grace. These fruits prepare us to live and spread the Word.

This discussion of the Holy Spirit would be remiss if I did not also write about the Sacrament of Confirmation. The Holy Spirit is of course involved in every Sacrament, but is featured especially prominent in the last Sacrament of Initiation. Confirmation has its origins in Pentecost when the Church first received the Holy Spirit. We see this Sacrament in action later in the book of Acts when after being baptized, the people of Samaria called upon Peter and John who came and "laid their hands upon them: and they received the Holy Ghost" (Acts 8:17). And indeed, another name for this Sacrament is the laying on of hands.

In the Early Church, the three Sacraments of Initiation were all celebrated simultaneously, a practice that continues in the Eastern Church. Baptism was separated during the reign of Constantine when he made Christianity the religion of Rome. Confirmation was likewise celebrated apart from the Eucharist beginning in the Middle Ages. And I think that during this time, we really solidified our understanding of the Sacrament.

The concepts of knighthood became intertwined with Confirmation. Confirmation was not influenced by the historical phenomenon of knighthood. Rather, chivalry was an expression of the values of Confirmation. Sometimes this expression was more worldly than spiritual. But we find the perfect expression of this in St. Bernard of Clairvaux. He wrote "In Praise of the New Knighthood" for Hugh de Paynes, the founding Grand Master of the Knights Templar. Now, the historical reality of the Templar Order has been distorted by popular culture. They were not a secret society or anti-Christian cult. In truth, they were a group of warrior monks sanctioned by the Pope and committed to defending Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land, a place that was equally if not more violent and hostile to Christians than the modern Middle East. They were the embodiment of Christian knighthood and thus St. Bernard's "Praise" is key to this discussion of Confirmation. These knights are disciplined and focused. They are fierce in battle, but "there is no distinction of persons among them." He extorted them to "go forth confidently then, you knights, and repel the foes of the Cross of Christ with a stalwart heart."

Of course Confirmation should not be seen as a preparation for a physical warfare, as was necessary in the times of the Templars. Today, we fight against "foes of the Cross" who instead of steel carry blogs and Twitter validations, signs and a false sense of advocacy. And this sense of Confirmation preparing us for spiritual warfare can be found throughout Tradition. Pope Melchiades, pontiff during the reign of Constantine, wrote that "in Baptism, man is enlisted into the service, in Confirmation, he is equipped for battle." The Roman Catechism, product of the Council of Trent during the Catholic Reformation, calls those who receive the Sacrament of Confirmation "a valiant combatant."

Confirmation is rightly a Sacrament of Initiation, for it girds Christians with abundant grace and prepares them for living in the world. In the book of Revelation, we read about the "mark" of the beast which identifies his slaves in sin. Confirmation is the counter to that sign. Pope Pius X wrote that "Confirmation is a sacrament which gives us the Holy Ghost, imprints on our souls the mark of a soldier of Christ, and makes us perfect Christians," perfect of course, not in immunity from sin, but rather in fulfillment of grace.

The mark of Confirmation is divisive. The bishop marks the heads of the Confirmandi with chrism as a proud standard for them to wear as they venture out into the battlefield of life. It is a sign of our soldier-hood for Christ. In Confirmation, we are strengthened by the Holy Spirit. We receive the graces and gifts of the Spirit. The Spirit is thus our Paraclete, our Advocate, "the giver of life."

If you want to learn more about the Holy Spirit and the Sacrament of Confirmation, go here and watch this excellent podcast by Rise Up Jerusalem on how Protestant baptism relates to the Sacrament of Confirmation. The host of Rise Up Jerusalem, happens to be, not just my cousin, but a close friend and an excellent voice of young Catholicism. Check out the rest of his videos to be inspired by his ministry and passion for Christ.

I leave you with these words from the advocate of Christian knighthood. Truly we have cause for joy for we are visited with the graces of the Holy Spirit, our comfort.

"Rejoice Jerusalem, and recognize now the time in which you are visited! Be glad and give praise together, wastes of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people." - St. Bernard of Clairvaux

DEUS VOLT!

The Second Coming (The Creed)

As I emphasized in my last post, our faith is not dead or stagnant. It is effective and alive. Christianity did not end with the Resurrection any more than it ends with the Passion. After Christ revealed Himself to His disciples on multiple occasions, He ascended into Heaven. Unlike the false prophets of paganism or even the Jewish prophets appointed by God, Jesus did not succumb to the decay of a final death. Instead, he rose into the Heavens after rising from the grave. God-made-Man returned to the bosom of His Heavenly Father.

This must have been difficult for the disciples. They were scattered and in hiding when they saw the proofs of the Resurrection. And now Jesus was gone again. Many men might have simply returned to the comfort of the shadows and anonymity. The Roman sword still hung over their heads and the Pharisees wanted to tear them apart. I think that it would have been understandable if, even with the hope of the Resurrection, the disciples had gone back into hiding and spread the message of the Gospel in secret to a chosen and trusted few.

But this is not what happened. In fact, the disciples did quite the opposite. They went out among the throng of Jerusalem. They did not speak in whispers. "Peter standing up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice and spoke to them: 'Ye men of Judea, and all you that dwell in Jerusalem, be this known to you and with your ears receive my words" (Acts 2:14). These are not the words of a fearful man. These are the words filled with the courage and strength of the Lord.

And yet let us remember who this is that speaks so boldly. This is Peter, the same disciple who during the Last Supper rashly proclaimed that "although I should die together with thee, I will not deny thee" (Mark 14:31), only to deny the Lord not once, not twice, but three times on Good Friday. The question we must ask ourselves is what changed? What happened to the disciples so that instead of running away, they proclaimed the Gospel to the nations?

There are two answers to this question. The first is the descent of the Holy Spirit which is the subject of my next post. The other reason for their courage is found in the promise that came with the Ascension. After Jesus was raised up into the clouds, two angels appeared to the disciples and said to them "Ye men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come as you have seen him going into heaven" (Acts 1:11). Shall so come as you have seen him going into heaven. The disciples received the promise of the Second Coming of Christ.

The Ascension was not Jesus' last farewell to Earth. He is coming back.

We read extensively of this promise in the New Testament. In the Gospels, Jesus warns us of the tribulation and confusion that will abound in the end times, for truly the Second Coming represents the end of the world as we know it. In those times, "many false prophets will rise and shall seduce many" (Matthew 24:11). The Ancient Fathers of the Church long believed this to mean that the antichrist would present himself, the great deceiver and servant of Satan. It is said that he will "make war with the saints" and "all that dwell upon the earth adored him, whose names are not written in the book of life" (Revelation 13:7-8).

True believers and followers of the word "shall be hated by all for my name's sake" (Matthew 24:9). "And you shall be betrayed by your parents and brethren and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death" (Luke 21:16). In the book of Revelation, we read of the "great harlot" of idolatry "with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication," and that she is "drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus" (Revelation 17:1-2,6).

Truly these will not be tame times. These will be days marked by chaos and persecution.

It is important to remember, however, that it is vain to try to predict when the last days will come. Christ tells us that "of that day and hour no one knoweth: no, not the angels in heaven, but the Father alone" (Matthew 24:36).

These signs and predictions might seem disheartening. Why did it fill the apostles with such strength?

It is because of what follows these sufferings which are merely "the sign of thy coming and the consummation of the world" (Matthew 24:3). The Enemy will not prevail. He has already been defeated. Our ultimate victory is in the Cross. These times will merely be the last "hurrah," the vain though potent charge of Satan's Light Brigade. There is no question about the outcome. When these slight afflictions pass away, "then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven" (Matthew 24:30), "then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds, with great power and glory" (Mark 13:26). Christ shall return from His Heavenly throne to establish His new Kingdom. He "shall judge the living and the dead, by his coming and his kingdom" (2 Timothy 4:1). And though the beast should rise from the abyss to devour true Christians, "the Lamb shall overcome them because he is the Lord of lords and King of kings" (Revelation 17:14).

All of this around you, all of the kingdoms of the earth, the laws of men, the institutions of sin, all of this shall pass away and be forgotten. "Vanities of vanity, and all is vanity" (Ecclesiastes 1:2). "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer" (Revelation 2:10) for they will be washed away in the blood of the Lamb.

This is why the apostles were able to disregard the threat of death at the hands of the Jews and the Romans. They stood before the crowds of Jerusalem and proclaimed the glory of the Resurrection and message of the Gospel. The apostles suffered torture and martyrdom in the expectation and hope of the Second Coming in Christ, knowing that "he that shall endure unto the end, he shall be saved" (Mark 13:13), "he that shall overcome shall not be hurt by the second death" (Revelation 2:11).

We must try to live in the hope of the Second Coming. Christians must toil upon the earth so that when He comes, the Lord might say to us "well done, good and faithful servant.... Enter thou into the joy of thy lord" (Matthew 25:21). The Lord amply rewards those who follow his word: "be thou faithful unto death: and I will give thee the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10). It is impossible for us even to imagine a fraction of the joy that is waiting for us in heaven. Therefore, live with the love of God as the disciples so that when you meet the Lord, whether in death or in His coming, "your redemption is at hand" (Luke 21:28).

"Take ye heed, watch and pray. For ye know not when the time is" (Mark 13:13).


DEUS VULT!

The Glory of the Resurrection (The Creed)

And rose again on the third day

in accordance with the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

Ours would be a grim faith indeed if the Gospels ended with the Crucifixion. We might be as grave as the Muslims or as morbid as the Stoics. And I think that it can be all to easy to do just that - to end with the Passion, to end with the suffering of Christ while neglecting what happened three days later. It can be all too easy to focus on the magnitude of sin and suffering in the world and forget the significance of the Passion which was made manifest in the rolling away of the stone. It is easy to hold up a sign saying that "The End is Nigh" or to complain about the state of the world. It is much harder to embrace your brother with love.

Jesus died and rose again!

The God-made man has conquered the grave!

"He is not here, for He is risen" (Matthew 28:6).

Brothers and sisters, how can we not rise up with joy in the truth of our faith? How can we keep from singing? The depths of the grave have no power over our Lord, "O death, where is thy sting?" (1 Corinthians 15:55). The Resurrection is the validation of the Cross. The Cross would not make sense without the glory of Easter. We can have confidence in the necessity of our own suffering because the story did not end on Calvary.

How many false prophets have been silenced by death? When Socrates was poisoned with hemlock, did he teach beyond the grave? Did Mohammed share his revelations after death? Was Buddha able to share his message post-mortem? Who else has a Lord who rose from the grave?

The world hates this Truth. It tries to tell us that it is impossible, that no man can conquer death. Our age fears the grave because it has rejected and spat upon what lies beyond it. The world turns to its fatalistic hedonism, the danse macabre, the self-deluding, insane, urgent dance of those yet untouched by death. It drinks to forget its own mortality, seeks meaningless lusts in a desperate frenzy, masks its age in layer upon layer of beauty products. All to stave off the cold embrace of the grave for one moment longer.

But no Christian need fear death. We need not live under the shadow of the tomb. "Now we are loosed from the law of death" (Romans 7:6). Christ "hath destroyed death and hath brought to light life and incorruption by the gospel" (2 Timothy 1:10). "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall not fear" (Psalm 23:4). Having full confidence in God's mercy and the absolution of our sins through sacramental Confession, the sting of death is nullified by the love of Christ. Death means nothing to the saints and the martyrs of God.

We believe that Jesus rose from the death, that he invaded the pit of hell and thrust open the gates of heaven. That is why Easter is a time for rejoicing and feasting. Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote: "there are only two philosophies of life: the Christian, which says first the fast, then the feast; and the pagan, which says first the feast, then the headache." Our fasting should not be tainted with sorrow for we know what lies at the end of the road. Sadness profits us nothing, "for of sadness cometh death, and it overwhelmeth the strength" (Sirach 38:19).

On Good Friday, the Temple veil was torn. On Easter Sunday, the tombstone was cast aside and the vice-hold of death broken.

Do not weep, rejoice! Christ is no longer dead but alive!

DEUS VULT!

The Passion (The Creed)

For our sake, he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,

he suffered death and was buried.

Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote that Jesus Christ was the only man born to die.  The beauty of his birth was marred by the massacre of the infants by Herod. The happiness of his mother was overshadowed by Simeon's prophecy, "and thy own soul a sword shall pierce." (Luke 2:35)

The Son was not made Incarnate to establish an earthly kingdom or simply add to the work of the prophets. He was not merely another Elijah or John the Baptist. Jesus came to fulfill the law and establish a new and lasting covenant - "and this is to them my covenant: when I shall take away their sins." (Romans 11:27) This was not an impersonal contract. The Passion established a relationship built upon love between God and His people.

After coming down from Mount Sinai, Moses had his priests sacrifice to the Lord. He took a bowl of the blood from the victims "and sprinkled it upon the people, and he said 'This is the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.'" (Exodus 24:8) Then Moses ascended Sinai once more and received the Ten Commandments, the Law.

The covenant of the Old Testament required the blood of sacrificial victims. Therefore it is fitting that the new covenant require the same. But this time, instead of calves, the victim is the Son of God Himself. A strong King might be able to sacrifice his servants for the good of the Kingdom. He might even be able to sacrifice his friends. But what King would be able to give up his only son, his own blood, for his people? For our sake?

For our sake, Christ yielded Himself to a humiliating death. He died in the most painful way the brutal Romans could devise. Isaiah the prophet describes Christ's noble sacrifice most beautifully.

"Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity, and his look was as if it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not.... He was offered because it was his own will, and he opened not his mouth: he shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not open his mouth."  - Isaiah 53:4,7

Why? Why would the God who made heaven and earth die such an inglorious death? Why would He submit Himself so humbly to the whip and the jeering and the nails?

Because He loves us. Because He wanted to save us from our sins. When He came before the chief priests and the council, they shouted "He deserves to die!" (Matthew 26:66)

But that is not true. He did not deserve to die. As He was without the blemish of sin, there was nothing that justified His execution, no crime He could be convicted of. The truth of it is, we deserve to die. How many times have we fallen? Again and again we succumb to the easy lure of sin and its wages. Look at the world. Look at your own heart. The weight of sin is immense. But Jesus bore that weight on the Cross for us as He struggled for every breath. The blood of the Lamb stormed the pit of hell and thrust open the gates of heaven so that we might be saved. By His passion, though our "sins be as scarlet, they will be made as white as snow." (Isaiah 1:18)

In dying, Christ showed us how to live. With love. In "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ," Anna Catherine Emmerich wrote that in the Garden, Christ could see the sum of human sinfulness, past, present, and future. He gazed upon every blasphemy, every infidelity, and every act of hatred. And yet His love is so great that He nevertheless accepted the slow and tortuous death on a Cross.

In these days leading up to the Passion, meditate upon this. The outstretched and pierced arms of Christ embraced humanity in our dirty, ugly sinfulness. Remember that the Truth was not meant to fall upon the idle and inactive! Make this Truth a part of your life. Jesus showed us how to love unconditionally, to love without counting the cost. He forgave those men who were even then mocking him and hurting His most blessed Body. Ask yourselves, how can I live out this same love?

The world is mired in sinfulness and injustice. As Christians, doers and hearers of the Word, we are called to bring the light of love to this culture of darkness. May the Body of Christ save us and the Blood of Christ sanctify us as we strive to follow the bloodied footsteps of our Lord as He mounted Cavalry and saved the world.


DEUS VOLT!

The Incarnation (The Creed)

For us men and for our salvation

he came down from heaven,

and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,

and became man.

The Incarnation is the second most beautiful moment in history, only surpassed by the Passion. How wondrous a moment! In the words of one of my favorite songs, "heaven meets earth like a passionate kiss." The seen and the unseen collided when God "became man." This is the truth: Jesus Christ, while fully God, became fully man. "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." (John 1:14)

It is all too easy to overlook this Mystery and simply accept it. This is a revolutionary Truth! God condescended to our human nature. The God who made the Universe, who is the source of all light and grace, assumed the weakness of human flesh. For Jesus was indeed "tempted in all things like we are, without sin." (Hebrews 4:15)

The reality is not just counter-intuitive, it is scandalous. Who would believe that God would become man? The Greeks let their false gods masquerade as men, but they never accepted the weakness of humanity. Even in the Old Testament, God appeared to His chosen people, but always in a supernatural way. He was manifest in a burning bush, a pillar of cloud and flame. He sent messengers to Abraham, Jacob, Joshua, and Tobit. But He never appeared to the Jews in the incarnate form of man.

Then everything changed. The Angel Gabriel appeared to a lowly maiden in Nazareth who was betrothed to a man named Joseph. He said to her "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." (Luke  1:28) Angels are superior in nature to mortal men. But Gabriel did not begin by trumpeting his own greatness or even the greatness of the One who sent him. Gabriel greeted Mary as one who is humbled in the presence of grace.

And this was rightly so. For Mary is indeed blessed among women. The only human being besides Christ to be born without the blemish of original sin was Mary. She was perfected to bear the Perfect One. "New wine must be put into new bottles." (Luke 5:38) That is why Mary deserves so much laud and honor, deserves to have angels hail her, because of her Divine Son.

Jesus came into the world. The King of Creation came down to earth and assumed flesh, not in the manner of one changing clothes or putting on a disguise, but fundamentally so. The Lord took on our weakness to temptation, our capacity for pain, confusion, anger, and sadness.

And Jesus did not enter the world as we would think a king ought to have. He was not born in a palace. He did not have servants fulfilling his every need or soldiers watching over him. We would expect God to come down to earth as He did in the Old Testament, with fire and thunder. We would expect Him to be borne down on a chariot of flame, flanked by a celestial retinue. He "should" have been born in the company of "great" men: Alexander or Aristotle, Shakespeare or Socrates or Confucius. He "should" have been born into an "advanced" age like our own, where He could have used radio and television and the Internet to spread His message across the seas, around the globe.

But that didn't happen. Christ entered the world in a way that was just as humble as the nature that he condescended to take. Instead of a palace, a manger. Instead of servants, cows. Instead of royalty and philosophers, dirty shepherds. Instead of protecting Him, soldiers tried to kill Him.

Jesus was born in an age before even the printing press. He was born in a remote corner of the world, Bethlehem in the modern day West Bank, far from the gilded halls of Rome.

God does not make mistakes. Jesus was not born in so lowly a time and so lowly a place on accident, just as His Passion was not a fluke. Jesus came into the world "for us men and for our salvation." Intentionally.

What is more beautiful? What is more humbling? For love of us, the God who created the universe became fully man. The Son became the child of a virgin. He spent thirty three years during which he felt pain, loss, anger, and joy. God-made-man was scourged and killed. He was brought to wrath by the defilers of His temple. His heart was consoled by the sight of the children who came to him. One of the most poignant lines in the Gospels comes when Lazarus died. Our Lord came to the tomb, "and Jesus wept." (John 35:11)

True God and True man. Jesus loves us so much that he endured the ignominy of an anonymous life. He was born in the most humble of circumstances. His surrogate father, St. Joseph, nearly divorced His Most Blessed Mother because she conceived by the Holy Spirit without knowing man.

Christ came to Earth to save us from sin. He is the only man born to die. (Fulton Sheen) The Word-made-flesh lived among men and in so doing, gives us "a concrete vision of triune life." (Hans Urs von Balthasar, Prayer)

This is our belief. Our God is not a cruel God. He does not hide His face from the ranks of men, He gave His face human likeness. Blessed be the Incarnate Son of God, True God and True Man!

Deus Vult!