Misconceptions About My Momma

Many of us know that we who are Catholics hold Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in a high regard. I also realize that many of my Christian brothers and sisters outside of the Catholic Chruch do not hold Mary in such high regard. This is a sensitive subject for me because I am a momma's boy. So what I am going to do here is work through some of the most difficult doctorines about Mary that may seem idolitrous and thus heretical, but what I hope to accomplish is to defend my Most Blessed Mother Mary and the view and respect that the Chruch as the Mystical Body of Christ has for her.

First, Mary, Mother of God. I bet this phrase makes many seperated bretheren shake and even cringe. MOTHER OF GOD!!! they might say, HOW DARE YOU!!! Ah, but wait, earlier when I refered to her as the Mother of Jesus, you didn't react in the same way. Simple equivication, Jesus is the Word of God (matter of fact the Word made flesh), He is the second person of the Trinity (The Son), thus Jesus is God (Jesus = God). If you doubt this then you may want to read the first chapter of the Gospel according to St. John. Okay moving forward, Mary, as stated before, is the Mother of Jesus, thus (if Jesus is God) Mary is the Mother of GOd. To deny this title of Mary is to deny the very Incarnation of Christ, that is why the Chruch calls her by that name, not for her sake but to show the divinity of Christ. Simple Logic.

"Why do you seek the living one among the dead?"

-- The Holy Gospel According to St. Luke 24:5

Quick question, who is the living person who has had the greatest impact on you life? Your mother, your father, sibling, or best friend? How about Jesus? If you don't think He qualifies then I pose to you the same question as above.

This is just a quick little tid bit to ponder, especially now that we have crossed from the season of Lent, to the season of Easter.

Lord, help us to see You in everyone that we encounter, and to be a mirrior to Your love so that others may see You in us, Amen.

Christ our Lord is risen, Alleluiah.

The Crucifixion

It is finished. Jesus, finally reaches His destination, His work is complete, He is humiliated, mortified, beaten, broken, and now is on display for all passers by to see. The Lord of the universe, who came into the world and glorified the dust by entering into human nature, is hung on the cross and breathes His last. The Deicide is completed, and our hands are red with His blood.

When Jesus died on the cross the sun refused to shine and the veil in the temple was torn. By His perfect act of Love God's relationship with us changes and with it the entire universe.

Lord, You suffered and died for us, it is our sin that is the weight of the cross, yet You embrace us and carry us with You. Only in You is our salvation complete. Help us to enter into Your Passion and Death, that we made be made new in You, my Lord, and my God.
We were at the foot of the cross, and looking up at You, with flowing tears, we exclaim, "Why Lord? You needn't do this for me" and You look down from Your cross and say, "Yes, I do. Don't you see now, how much I Love you. Fear not for 'It is finished'".

God Love You, I know He does, for He has proved it beyond all doubt.

The Carrying of the Cross

Jesus takes up His cross and marches towards His death. He carries the instrument of His death and humiliation on His back, and even though He falls three times, He gets back up to finish His Most Holy Work.

Even while carrying His cross, Jesus offers hope to all of us. He glorifies suffering into something more than pain and death. Unlike other religions where there is a claim to end suffering, Christ enters into suffering and death, even a death on a cross for us, to make ammends, to offer Himself as the Worthy Lamb of God. It is here where Jesus says "Behold, I make all things new", He transforms suffering into salvation, and death into life.

Loving Jesus, You carried Your cross to the end, in order to complete Your Most Holy Work of Salvation. You, Lord, who are the Way, the Truth, and the Life, help us to carry our crosses and when we fall help us to persevere as You did, with loving endurance, on the road to Calvary.
Lord, You carried Your cross to Calvary, but the weight of the cross was not the only weight that You carried, You carried all of our transgressions with You. We recognize this and we know that we are to blame, we come to You, each time that You fall and say to You, "Put down the cross, You don't have to do this, You've already done enough!!!" And again You look at us knowing what You are going to go through and You reply, "No, I must partake of this cup, because I love you, and you are worth it."

God Love You

The Crowning of Thorns

It wasn't enough for us to merely beat Jesus past a bloody pulp, that would have been too easy, so we add insult to injuy. The Lord of the universe, the Word by which all is in existence is mocked by those whom He came to save. The thorns pressed into His skull and that wasn't all, a royal cloak, and to top it off absolute mockery; the devil couldn't have done a better job.

How many times have we gone to mass and not really paid propper respect to what was going on. How many times have we not focused on the one thing, nay, Person that is right in front of us, giving Himself to us. We still mock Christ and His work, and I think that we are more guilty than the Roman soldiers that crowned Him with thorns. For they mocked Him not know who He was, we know who He is, or atleast we say we do, and we still mock Him.

Lord, help us to recognize Your Holy presence in our lives, especially in the celebration of mass. Reveal Yourself to us and help us to give into Your Revelation, to surrender to ourselves so that we may except the gift of Your Love and Grace wholly, in complete selflessness.
Again, we come to You Lord and tell You that Your work is finished and we don't deserve the gift of Yourself, at least at this cost. And You turn to us with loving and affectionate eyes and say, "No, I must go on, my work is not finished, I will pay every price, because I Love you and you are worth it."

God Love You

The Scourging at the Pillar

This is a most unsettling scene. Jesus, the God-man, the second person of the Holy Trinity, being physically mutilated, His flesh beaten and torn, His body broken and mangled. He is beaten far past a bloody pulp, if one were to see Him that person may not even recognize that He is human. But even in His most destroyed body, He is still more perfectly human than we can ever hope to be here on the world.

The devil tempted Jesus verbally in the desert, with each temptation he tries to trick Jesus into undoing the Incarnation, but Jesus withstands, and sends Satan away. Since the devil failed in out-smarting Jesus, he is desperate and tries to undo the Incarnation his own way, by beating Jesus's humanity out of Him, and who better to help than the very people that Jesus came to save, and we do it gladly. Even though Satan succeeds in destroying Jesus's body and even though he gets us to do the dirty work, Jesus does what He did in the desert, He withstands and sends Satan away.

Lord, Jesus, we held the whip, yes Lord, the very people You came to save beat and mangled Your body, until it was not able to be recognized as human, yet You still looked upon us with love and compassion and completed Your Most Holy Work.
Again, Lord Jesus, we look at Your mangled body and we see the suffering that You have endured for us, and we, again come to You, pleading with You to stop, telling You that what You have done is enough. You look back at us and say, "No, I must go on, because you are worth it"

God Love You

Not too long ago, I received a comment asking how we can motivate ourselves to think of Calvary during the season of Lent. The comment goes on to talk about all the things that get in our way in not only thinking about the scene at Calvary, but God in general. Work, school, and all sorts of things get in our way and it's difficult to focus.

This is what I am doing to help re-focus on the saving work of our Lord. This week, being Holy Week, I will go through each of the five sorrowful mysteries with comments and prayers to not only help those of you who read my posts but to help re-focus myself. I would also like to add that most of what I will post is not original, but I will simply tell the truth the way that I see it without giving two-pence what anyone thinks about it (thank you C.S. Lewis).

The Agony in the Garden

This is quite possibly the most overlooked step in the Passion of our Lord. Jesus goes away with His best buds to pray and He is freaked out about what He has to do, and His friends fall asleep and He gets mad and then it happens. No, I would disagree whole-heatedly. I would say that this was most painful for Jesus.

Jesus goes away with the most trusted of His disciples, His inner-circle, His best friends, and when He needs them the most, they fall asleep on Him. He is in so much anguish about what He must do, that His sweat was like drops of blood. Think about this, Jesus is perfect in every way, for He is fully God and fully man. He's fully man and He has fear and sorrow, but He is also fully God and is omniscient. He KNEW what was going to happen to Him. He KNEW the pain and the hurt. He could feel the whips, the thorns, the weight of the cross, the nails, and the spear thrust right there in the garden. Yet, knowing all this He was still obedient to death, even a death on a cross.

Lord, You felt so much sorrow in the Garden of Gethsemane and Your friends could not even stay awake to be with You. Help us to stay awake and pray as You asked, to not be put to the test.
Lord, Your suffering in the garden was most intense and when we look at You there and come to You, and tell You that what You have done is enough, You look right back at us and tell us "No, I must go on, because you are worth it."

God Love You

"True loving affection cannot lie."

-- Fr. William Pahram a.k.a. Papa P

This morning the RICA candidates made their first confession. It's always awesome to see people enter into the loving forgiveness that is God. And on that I must confess that I that this morning I didn't give up to that loving grace. I had felt like saying something to another person and I didn't give into the love and affection that I was feeling. And then, of course, I hear Fr. Pahram say what he said at the penance service, "True loving affection cannot lie."

To understand what happend this morning I have to let you into my relationship with Fr. Pahram. He has this ability to speak directly to me and spark my intellect and focus on parts of my life that I'm not doing so well in. I don't know if he has ever spoken something that doesn't blow my mind. The man is such a conduit of Christ, that when you look up "in Persona Christi" you see Papa P there. The man is just, well, THE MAN!

So, any who, back to my story. Papa P was breaking down the first part of "The Loving Father" or "The man with two sons" parable (a.k.a. "The Prodigal Son"). And he focused in on how the father didn't even let his returning son finish his speech, he just called for a robe and a ring, and for the fatted calf to be prepared. It's here that he said the quote above. He explained that the fater didn't need to hear the speech that his son had prepared because he knew the love that his son was returning with and no amount of words could have expressed it, but his showing up expressed all that he could have wished to say. I think it's Woody Allen in one of his movies that says "90% of life is just showing up", there's great wisdom there.

Lord, words cannot express what You have done for us, for we are all constantly turn from You and wish that You would just leave us alone and to ourselves, but You, O God, know us better than we know ourselves and continue to persue us and call us home to You. Thank You, Lord for Your supreme act of Love to us who couldn't deserve it less.

God Love You.

"These, then, are the two points I wanted to make. First, that human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it. Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way. They know the Law of Nature; they break it. These two facts are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in"

-- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

I said yesterday that I had completed The Brothers Karamazov and so now I'm reading Mere Christianity and I was pleased to see that Lewis touches on what I had talked about in yesterday's post, absolute moral truths.

Lewis makes it abundantly clear in the first chapter of this book the same point that I tried to make yesterday, I thought that quite encouraging.

Another aspect that Lewis points out is the idea that we "ought" to do something; we feel obligated. Dr. Kreeft expounds on this idea in his lecture on relativism. He gives a case of one who promises a friend to help move in the morning, and when his alarm goes off, he has two feelings, one to stay in bed and sleep, and the other to get up and go help. He has the desire to stay in bed and the obligation to help his friend. Each feeling is mutally exclusive, he has no desire to get up and no obligation to sleep. What does he do? If he is a good friend he gets up and goes. Notice that I used the word "good", the right thing to do would be to help his friend because he promised, and he knows this and has the feeling that he "ought" to help, and this out weights his desire to stay in bed and sleep.

Another aspect of obligation is that no one feels an obligation to do bad things. people feel they "ought" to fulfill their promises, or tell the truth, etc., but no one feels that they "ought" to murder, or rape.

I will end the same way that I began, quoting Lewis. "Whenever you find a man who says he does not believe in a real Right and Wrong, you will find the same man going back on this a moment later. He may break his promise to you, but if you try breaking one to him he will be complaing 'It's not fair' before you can say Jack Robinson"

God Love You

"If there is no God, everything is permissible."

-- Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

This statement is overlooked by most of today's atheists. Those who would have us believe that God is no more than a bedtime story; some one who is no more real that Santa Clause. But most of these people also wish us to be moral and noble in our actions, to have honor and good hearts. The best way to describe what these people want is, as C.S. Lewis puts in his lecture The Abolition of Man, to remove the organ and demand the function, to cut off the geldings and bid them bare fruit. God is the source of such moral actions and truths, to remove God from the picture would be to deny these things even exist.

Just think about it for a moment, what could be called "right" or "true" without God? The atheist would have us believe that what ever the majority or the powerful says is "right" for any particular society would be the correct answer. If this were true then Friedrich Nietzsche's idea of a "trans valuation of values" would not be so radical and ridiculous. The simple fact is that every society that has sustained itself has had similar rules and laws that govern it, and when the leaders of past societies fail to abide by these rules and laws long enough their people revolt against them in the name of justice and morals. Moreover, these rebels are "right", not because they are a majority and now have enough power to combat the unjust ruler, but because there is an absolute moral truth that judges right and wrong not just as ideas, but as truths. And these truths are rooted in God.

Lord, help our atheist brothers and sisters come to know You who love them even though they do not love You back directly. Help them to see You through us, help us to believe in You for their sake, help us to have faith in You for them that they may be converted and transformed with through and in You. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father, Amen.

God Love You.

PS.
Last night I completed The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and I couldn't be more impressed by his work. I strongly recommend reading this novel. I have heard it called "the greatest Christian novel ever written". But do beware, if you are feeble in your faith, do not read this novel, because one of the brilliant aspects of the novels is the flip side that Dosoyevsky presents in his characters, these sympathetic characters can shake the foundations of faith. I found myself challenged by the novel and its characters, but I made it through and I feel better for having read it.

"There are two kinds of people in the world,
Sinners who think they're saints,
And saints who know they're sinners."
-- Dr. Peter Kreeft

This is the first step to repentance, admitting and recognizing what you are and what you've done. St. Thomas Aquinas knew that and he formed the 12 step program which still is used today to help people with addictions.

We are all addicted to sin and the sooner we recognize our faults we can help to mend the wound. Think about this, in exorcisms the priest gets the name of the demon first before he casts the demon out. The point is this, if we know what we are up against we can cast these things out and we can avoid circumstances that will lead to more sinful activities. I try to categorize my sin, and name them in confession, this way afterwards I can pray to avoid them and defeat them and even loose my passion for them.
So I guess you can ask, what's in a name? Well Moses asked that same question at the burning bush and and God replied "I AM". In the name of Jesus demons are cast out, the penitent is absolved, bread and wine become His body and His blood.

Lord, help us all to know, love, and serve You with all of our heart, mind, body, and soul, so that we may live with You forever in heaven. We ask this in the name of Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father, Amen.

God love you

"If do right, no can defense"
-- Mr. Miyagi

It's crazy how things like, lines from The Karate Kid can inspire and teach, because most frequently such quotes are hilarious when applied properly. My good friend Andy McNutt and I were conversing after RCIA this past Thursday when he dropped this line from The Karate Kid and I just about died laughing, but afterwards I thought about it and I remembered what another good friend had told me about his favorite movie, which just so happens to be The Karate Kid. This particular person is seminarian and he told me that The Karate Kid was very catachetical, and slowly but surely I'm seeing it.

So as I was contemplating (cause that's what I do) this quote I incorporated it to Christianity and it fits perfectly. Just think of Calvary (which is always good to do, especially during lent), Christ did everything right and the devil had no defense for it, and now we as the the followers of Christ have to enter into Christ, the cross was a divine "Crane Style". Just like Daniel-San and his hurt leg, our hurt leg is sin, it hurts to accomplish but "If done right, no can defense".

Lord Jesus, guide us with your most Holy Spirit to enter into your life and to truly be Your mystical body so that all may know You in us and see that You are living and working in us and with us. I ask all this and so much more in the name of Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father, Amen.

God Love You.

"Stay with me, Lord"

Prayer of St. Pio of Peitrelcina

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You. You know how easily I abandon You.

Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so often.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life and without You, I am without meaning and hope.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light and without You, I am in darkness.

Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.

Stay with me, Lord, so that I can hear Your voice and follow You.

Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You ever more, and to be always in Your company.

Stay with me, Lord, if you wish me to be always faithful to You.

Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I wish it to be a place of consolation for You, a dwelling of Your love.

Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late; the days are coming to a close and life is passing. Death, judgement and enternity are drawing near. It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way, and for that I need You. It is getting late and death approaches. I fear the darkness, the temptatoins, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how i need You, my Jesus, in this exile!

Stay with me, Jesus, because in the darkness of this life, with all its dangers, I need You.

Help me to recognize You as Your disciples did at the Breaking of the Bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the light which disperses the darkness, the power whicih sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.

Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death I want to be one with You, and if not by Communion, at least by Your grace and love.

Stay with me, Jesus. I do not ask for divine consolations beacuse I do not deserve them, but I only ask for the gift of Your Presence. Oh yes! I ask this of You!

Stay with me, Lord, for I seek You alone, Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You and I ask for no other reward but to love You more and more, with a strong and active love.

Grant that I may love You with all my heart while on earth, so that I can continue to love You perfectly throughtout all eternity, dear Jesus.

Amen!

This is a prayer that I found in my Bible years ago and it helps to bring things into focus espeacially in times of repentence like the upcoming Lenten season.
Enjoy, and God Bless,
Matt

Prayer of Manasseh

Lord Almighty, God of our ancestors,
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
God of their righteous descendants,
You created the universe and all the splendor that fills it.
The sea obeys your command and never overflows its bounds.
The power of your wonderful, glorious name
Keeps the ocean depths in their place.
When you show your power, all creation trembles.
Your glorious splendor is overwhelming,
And your anger is more than sinners can endure.
But the mercy you promise is also greater
Than we can understand or measure.
For you are the Lord Most High;
You are patient and show mercy and compassion.
You make our punishment easier to bear when we suffer for our sins.
O Lord, in your great goodness and mercy
You promise forgiveness and salvation
To those who repent of their sin against you.
You Lord are God of the righteous people.
Repentance was not necessary for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
For they did not sin against you.
But for sinners like me you have made repentance possible.
I have committed more sins than there are grains of sand along the seashore.
They are so many, Lord, they are so many.
I have done so much that is wrong that I am not worthy to turn my face toward heaven.
I am crushed beneath the weight of my sin;
I am bowed down by its heavy iron chain.
I can find no relief, for I have made you angry.
I have set up idols everywhere;
I have done what you hate.
But now I bow in deep humility, praying for your mercy.
I have sinned, Lord, I have sinned, I confess the wicked things I have done.
I beg you, Lord, I earnestly pray; forgive me, forgive me.
Do not destroy me because of my sins;
Do not stay angry with me forever
Or store up punishment for me.
Do not condemn me to the world of the dead,
For you, O Lord, forgive those who repent.
Show me all your mercy and kindness and save me,
Even though I do not deserve it.
Then I will go on praising you as long as I live.
All the heavenly powers sing your praises,
And your glory endures forever.
Amen.

"To deny our impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human"
-- Mouse, The Matrix (1999)

This is truly a sad saying. I was watching the first Matrix movie and I heard this line and was taken aback. Our understanding of moral right and wrong and our rationality is what seperates man from beast. To give into our natural impulses would make us no more than merely animals, but we are of higher dignity than that of animals, for we are made in the image and likeness of God.

I felt that this image above was intirely appropriate for the quote, because the one who would have us believe such pschy-babble is the one often depicted living in the fire. To further refute the quotation above I offer the perfect human, the witness to all humanity to what being human really is, Jesus Christ. I wonder when he was on the cross if he was giving into his impulses, or was he just denying the very thing that made him human.

"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit"

The Gospel According to Luke 23:46

"Christianity is a condition of complete simplicity costing not less than everything."
-- T.S. Eliot

This is an aswer to my previous post, how do I become a saint? Well, here it is, give everything. That's all I've got for now, just ponder this and take it in, contemplate how and what you are giving, and even who are you giving to. And most especially are you giving ALL.

This is where I struggle, so pray for me and I promise I will pray for you, God bless and good luck.

Your's in Christ,

Matt Hudson, member of the body of Christ

"If you look into your own heart, in utter honesty, you must admit that there is one, and only one, reason why you are not, even now, a saint... You do not wholly want to be."

-- William Law

I was listening to some Dr. Peter Kreeft lectures last night while delivering some pizzas and this quote came up and it hit me all at once the truth to it. I have heard this quote several times, because I am a Kreeft nut, and had wished to memorize it but I never got to it.

I like this quote because of its dimensions, it is very shallow when read one way and quite deep when read another way. On first look, Mr. Law seems to be judging people and one's reaction is that of defense, "who are you to tell me that I'm not doing what I need to do to be a saint?" Beyond that the quote is terrifying, "he's right, I'm not sure if I really want to be a saint, and maybe there's no hope for me." And the quote is seen as negative and even terrifying when looked only at the surface.

The reason this quote is deep when reexamined is the hope that it gives. Yes, hope, completely contradictory to the surface interpretation. When seeing the deeper meaning of the quote, Mr. Law is giving us hope. Hope that we can be saints, we only have to do it. There is no process, no "how to," no "Saints for Dummies" we just have to take Nike's slogan and apply it.

May God bless you and love you.

Matt Hudson