Summary
This is my personal blog (weB-LOG) about my life at seminary.
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Random Thoughts
Must-See Attractions
Monday, November 24, 2003, 11:01 PM
Sunday I had special guests visit me at seminary: my dad's aunt, her daughter, and her daughter's friend. I guess that would be my great aunt, my great cousin, and my new great friend. I showed them the chapel, my room, my pop can collection, and so forth, and answered all their questions about life here. Then we went to a fine mass and enjoyed a quality brunch with good conversation. I led a walk around the grounds to their car and we then said our goodbyes and well-wishes. It was a good time.
I spent early afternoon updating this website. Most notably, I converted some of my blog posts into web pages of their own and listed them as featured thoughts on the main page.
Later two friends and I went to see Master and Commander. It was very good. I came out of the theater feeling like I had finished a good book. Then, we walked our sea-legs next door for sushi. It was a most enjoyable meal.
The best line of the night: "Hollywood is running out of ideas. Now Disney is turning all their rides into movies; Pirates of the Caribbean, and now the Haunted Mansion is coming out. I can't wait to see Teacups: The Movie.
Dying is not the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning.
Saturday, November 22, 2003, 11:57 PM
I really wanted to get this post in before midnight because this marks a special date. It was not only J.F.K. who died 40 years ago this day, but also C.S. Lewis. A professor friend of mine reminded me of this by email and I'm very glad he did. I am very grateful to and for Lewis in my life.
November 22 is also the feast day of St. Cecilia; virgin, martyr, and patron of church music. I note this because she is the patron saint to my little sister as well. In today's Gospel reading Jesus declares that the Father "is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive". The communion of saints - It's a wonderful thing.
In honor of Lewis, I'll close with one of my favorite quotes.
"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one of these destinations." - C.S. Lewis
Atleast The Papers Are In English
Friday, November 21, 2003, 11:00 PM
I noticed I felt absolutely wonderful this morning and I had to wonder why. Then I remembered that I finished my Metaphysics rough draft last night. I first noticed this term-paper euphoria phenomenon in college. It's interesting that this provides a boost even when I'm not thinking about it. Now I'll wrap that one up for Monday and move on to the next one.
We had mass in Latin, as we always do on the third Friday of the month. I find it more difficult to get into, just like Spanish mass on Wednesdays, but I do all right.
Things are getting tenser around here these days. Paper due dates draw near and seminarians are drawing back, behind doors with homemade signs that say "Do Not Disturb". You have likely noticed that my posts have become rarer these days. I'm sure these times will make us better prepared for life as a priest. As they say, "Smooth waters do not make great sailors."
Vespers Audio
Wednesday, November 19, 2003, 7:36 PM
Listen to the canticle (Colossians 1:12-20) we chanted today in our evening group prayers (aka vespers). This is just a sample of the chant prayers that I enjoy every day.
Clouds
Tuesday, November 18, 2003, 1:56 AM
My apologies for the lack of posts. It has been a rough and busy past week. I'm currently 2.5 of 10 pages into my metaphysics term paper, but I know what I'm doing with a full head of steam. Maybe it's just hot air up there, but if I can somehow get that onto the paper...
Sunday I saw the new Matrix movie. I really did enjoy it and it is worth seeing, but I don't expect to watch it again for awhile. This was my favorite part: As the ship breaks through the clouds, Trinity sees the sun for the first time. She is awestruck. "Beautiful." The ship has peaked on its arc and is beginning to fall back downwards, into the dark clouds, to the horrible things that lie below. Her look changes, not to fear, but to a determination to do the difficult good. I recognized that expression.
A Correction
Friday, November 14, 2003, 2:11 AM
This evening, a friend sent me an email with valid criticisms about my previous post. The following was my reply to him.
Dear [friend],
You are right in correcting me. I was too loose in discussing a particular viewpoint that is labeled as relativism. My characterization of postmodernism was too quick to judge based on the negative reports that I have heard about it.
You are right in correcting me. I was too loose in discussing a particular viewpoint that is labeled as relativism. My characterization of postmodernism was too quick to judge based on the negative reports that I have heard about it.
My criticisms were not meant against those who believe it can be hard to find the truth, but those who say there is no truth to find. My heart goes out to those who are trying to discover and do what is good and right, but I can't accept a person's choice to say nothing is right or wrong. This is more like the way that I wish I had expressed myself.
I acted thoughtlessly and caused offense. It grieves me, I regret it, and I will post a correction in the near future.
Your friend,
[Signed]
Postmodern Generator
Thursday, November 13, 2003, 8:50 PM
Today in HN&E the good Dr. talked about relativism. Relativists say that we can never know the truth with certainty. However this view is self-contradicting because relativism makes an absolute statement about reality; that we can never know anything absolutely. Similarly, moral relativists make an absolute moral judgement when they say that there are no absolute truths in morality. Relativism defeats itself.
Our professor described how students would respond to this disproof when he would teach it in community college. Some would laugh to themselves and then reflect on this discovery with pleasure for awhile. But other students would get angry, especially when the argument was applied to morality. He would walk these students through the reasoning and show them the logical contradiction. Yet, they would rather accept nonsense than acknowledge the wrongness their worldview.
This reminded me of something I came across once upon the internet, the Postmodern Generator. Postmodernism may be described as the academic-sounding intellectualism of the relativist camp. This website generates fake, unique postmodernist essays. The works come complete with bibliographies and loaded full of faux-insights such as: "The main theme of the works of Madonna is not theory, but neotheory."
If you like this, you will also enjoy the story of a NYU physics professor whose postmodern parody article was accepted and published by a "critical" journal. Here is that phoney article and the later revealing article in which he unveiled the hoax and its implications.
Which do you want more?
Wednesday, November 12, 2003, 1:43 PM
I walked a mile with Happiness, we chattered all the way; but I was none the wiser for all she had to say. I walked a mile with Suffering, and not a word said she; but oh the things that I learned when Suffering walked with me.
Murphy's Law
Wednesday, November 12, 2003, 12:16 AM
The first week I arrived here at seminary was talking to one of the priests. He is very subdued and reportedly a very good teacher, though I have yet to have him for any classes myself. In small talk, Father mentioned that he had taught at Marquette. I asked him when and realized that he may have been a contemporary of arguably the best Catholic apologist in the country. "Did you ever have Scott Hahn as one of your students," I asked with evidently obvious interest. He answered affirmatively, though he seemed somewhat annoyed. It occurred to me that he might peeved that his student was more well known then he was. I let the matter go. A few minutes later I learned from others that Scott Hahn actually teaches classes here. "Ah." That filled in the rest of the picture. My pleasure at the news overwhelmed any possible feelings of embarrassment.
The reason I mention this story is because some seminarians were complaining about his Old Testament class today at lunch. I have yet to have his class myself. Everyone agrees that his lectures are fascinating. Unfortunately, they are commonly likened to putting your mouth around the end of a fire hose and having it turned onto full blast. Dr. Hahn goes at full power for two and a half hours. I replied with a grin to my tablemates' grumblings, "I can't wait until I get to complain about taking Scott Hahn's classes."
Why be Catholic?
Monday, November 10, 2003, 5:13 AM
What is so desirable in the Catholic faith that a Protestant believer would be drawn to it? Why should a person want to be Catholic?
"What does it matter? We all share a relationship with Christ. We each know, love, and serve Him. What difference does being Catholic make?"
These are understandable questions. Protestants and Catholic do share a common ground and a common truth. But I believe that the Catholic faith is Christianity in its fullness. I would say that everything that the Protestant believer loves is part of the Catholic faith as well. Conversion does not mean sacrificing those loves. But there is, I believe, more to love in Catholicism.
So what is this fullness? What more is there to love?
Dave Armstrong offers 150 reasons for favoring Catholicism on his valuable website Biblical Evidence for Catholicism, but I'll give just one big reason. Mine is the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, that is, in the Mass and Holy Communion.
I believe that in the Mass the whole of Christ (body, blood, soul, and divinity) becomes truly, really and substantially present as the bread and wine of Holy Communion. I was not convinced of this when I was younger, but after much research and for many good reasons, I came to embrace it as truth. As you will see, the reasons for belief in the Real Presence also represent reasons for belief in the faith of the Catholic Church.
The Evidence of Scripture
At the Last Supper, Jesus said of the bread and wine in their midst, "This is my body... This is my blood." Did he mean those words literally? Consider John 6, where Jesus insists that people must eat his flesh and drink his blood. (My personal study of John 6 revealed abundant evidence for a literal interpretation.) Look at St. Paul's words from his first letter to the Corinthians (10:14-22 and 11:23-34).
There are many additional evidences from Scripture to support the literal interpretation of Christ's words at the Last Supper (such as the significance of Jesus not drinking the fourth cup of Passover in the Upper Room), but they are too numerous and involved for me to list here. Like the Real Presence, my belief in the faith of the Catholic Church is based on my finding its consistency with Scripture.
The Constant Testimony of Christian History
From the time of the early church until the Protestant Reformation, there was virtual unanimity of belief in the Real Presence. Protestant historians agree that all who wrote about Christian beliefs in the early centuries of Christianity held to belief in the Real Presence. Prior to the 9th century, there is no record of any Christian of prominence denying this belief.
The Catholic Church, without fail, has always taught the Real Presence. The Church's structure, visibility, and consistent teaching (concerning this and all its other doctrines) in history support its claim to being the one, holy, catholic (universal), and apostolic church founded by the Apostles.
My Personal Experience
When I reflect upon my experiences, I must conclude that my closeness to the Eucharist makes me a better man. I am my best when I regularly attend Mass and receive Holy Communion.
This morning I received the consecrated bread and wine as the Son of God. This evening I spent a hour, mostly on my knees, in Eucharistic adoration, looking at the consecrated bread on display. Today I either experienced the most intimate experience and reception of Jesus Christ available to us on earth, or I committed idolotry.
Have I been an idolater all these years? I recognize my need for personal improvement, but I seem to have done far too well for the latter to be the case. I believed in the Real Presence all of my years at college. I'll let my college friends consider this question in my regard themselves. Just as with the Eucharist, I believe my experiences with other aspects of the Catholic Church (its morality, saints, devotions, etc.) have helped change me for the better as well.
In Conclusion
When I was a kid, going to Mass was a bore. But today, attending Mass is one of my favorite things to do. Even if the songs are bad, even if the sermon is weak, I can still enjoy it because He is always fully there.
But what is more, I believe that the Mass makes really present (not repeats) Christ's saving action. The Mass takes us to the foot of the cross, to witness his self-offering sacrifice, and to that first Easter Sunday, to experience his resurrection within us. The Mass bridges our distance from those events in time and space, allowing us to intimately participate in them ourselves. But we are not alone in that church. The Mass unites us with believers near and far, living and dead, in a foretaste of heaven, the marriage supper of the Lamb. Just like the Real Presence, the belief that the Mass makes present the Sacrifice of Christ is both Biblically consistent and historically established.
I do not know what more to say than to express my hope that these words will draw my Protestant brothers and sisters to experience these things too. Catholicism - There's just more to love. How's that for a motto?
Building a Window
Friday, November 7, 2003, 1:02 AM
I and another seminarian, a brother from Africa, worked with Habitat for Humanity today as part of our field education. We were working in the rain and my skill at wielding a hammer remains weak, but it was very rewarding. I constructed the frame section for a window. It felt great to build something useful. "Alas," said Chesterton, "My work is in words."
My friend Doug has put my mental gears into (a non-offended) motion with his most recent blog post. Other occupations prevent me from writing a full reply tonight. But for now, I will say that it made me realize a habit of mine when discussing the Catholic faith. When people ask me questions I solely give them what they ask for. I focus on explaining the belief's reasonableness without conveying its appeal. I believe that Catholicism is both fully reasonable and uniquely desirable. Sunday, I hope to express why every Christian's personal response to Catholicism ought to be a loving embrace.
Ashes From Ashes
Wednesday, November 5, 2003, 7:30 PM
I am happy to link you to a blog that I visit every day: my friend Doug's Dust Offering. That, at least, is the name that I always think of because of its fittingness in describing a part of man's orientation to God. There is nothing that we can give Him to increase his greatness, but that's ok.
Anyway, enjoy Doug's posts. Tonight I'm doing research for a paper. When the due date comes I'll hopefully have something more to offer the teacher than dust.
Frailty and Hope
Wednesday, November 5, 2003, 12:28 AM
In Psychology, we learned that people tend to commit Fundamental Attribution Errors. If something goes wrong in our life we will blame it on the circumstances of the situation. But when a bad outcomes occurs in another person's life we often blame that person as the main cause. Curiously, depressed people tend to flip these responses. Every bad thing that happens in the depressed person's life is regarded as their own fault but they give others the benefit of the doubt.
Few studies are more disturbing or better reveal human weakness than the Milgram Obedience Study. Participants believed they were administering increasingly severe shocks to a person in another room as part of an learning experiment. When the other person (who was actually an actor) would scream in pain, pound on the wall, complain of heart trouble, and eventually go silent, most people would continue sending high-voltage shocks at the insistent prompting of the scientist-supervisor.
In response to this, my conclusion is that we must hold to moral absolutes, clear lines that we will not cross. If we allow our ends to justify our means, then we can justify anything to ourselves when the difficult moment comes. This includes giving others life-threatening electric shocks (or manipulating people and putting them through a psychological hell in the name of scientific discovery, like Stanley Milgram did).
On a lighter note, today in HN&E we learned about happiness and the true meaning of freedom. Most people think that freedom is the ability to do whatever you want, whenever you want, without hindrance. But according to St. Augustine, the freedom that leads to happiness is the freedom that limits itself. The person who conforms their will to the good and their intellect to the truth (to God, to others, and to all things in their proper proportions) will be happy. But the person who acts wrongly and embraces falsehoods to indulge their appetites will remain unhappy, even after obtaining their desires. Using your freedom, rather than abusing it, leads to happiness.
In other news:
Our new Rector was officially installed this evening with much fanfare and ceremony. I filmed the choir from the side loft and enjoyed the cocktail party that followed.
The new Knights of Columbus Columbia magazine has a full-page vocations ad on the back featuring one of our very own seminarians. My first reaction upon seeing it on the day board was, "Booya," and then, "They picked well." It reminds me to look around for the goodness (and even greatness) in the people in my life.
The Gender Genie
Monday, November 3, 2003, 2:11 PM
Today I found an online gadget called the Gender Genie. You give it a text and it will analyze the word usage to predict the author's gender. It is rather effective too. In analyzing 136,000 submissions it has guessed correctly 71% of the time.
A great article from Nature reports, "The program's success seems to confirm the stereotypical perception of differences in male and female language use. Crudely put, men talk more about objects, and women more about relationships. ... Female writers use more pronouns (I, you, she, their, myself), say the program's developers. ... Males prefer words that identify or determine nouns (a, the, that) and words that quantify them (one, two, more)."
Fascinated, I had it analyze all of my blog posts to date, totaling 19,000 words. My Masculine to Feminine ratio was a satisfactory 1.79. With my manhood assured, I showed it to my little sister and she suggested a great idea. What would happen if you did this with the Bible?
Using the New American Bible (NAB) I ran several tests. I had it process the Creation story (Genesis 1-2), the Book of Ruth (entire), and Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Before looking at the results below, predict what you suspect the results were in each case. It is quite likely that the results are affected by the translation process, but it is still an neat experiment.
Genesis' story of Creation registers as masculine (1.87). The Book of Ruth comes out as feminine (with a feminine to masculine ratio of 1.50). And, most interestingly of all, Jesus' Sermon on the Mount rates as strongly feminine (2.29). I suppose that this last result makes sense because his sermon is all about morality. Since morality boils down to loving relationships, Jesus' expressions tend to be feminine.
On the Saints and Mary
Sunday, November 2, 2003, 7:59 PM
Today was apologetics Sunday. While replying on these particular issues for a friend I once again noted a distinctive trait of Catholicism. The Catholic faith is not "either/or", it is "both/and".
Why does the Catholic Church canonize saints?
In Catholic usage, the word saint refers to one who is perfectly united with God in Heaven. The saints have been fully sanctified, purified of any remaining attachment to (or consequence of) sin. They experience God's unveiled glory and love, seeing Him as he is, face to face.
When the Catholic Church canonizes a saint, it is a declaration that this person is in heaven. Canonization does not cause people to go to heaven, it is an official recognition that they are there. A person does not need to be declared a saint by the Church to go to heaven. There are surely countless saints in heaven who will remain unknown by the world and whose stories we will not hear told until the end of time.
One reason that the Church canonizes saints is to promote their Christian lives as models for us here on earth. Hopefully we all have people in our lives whose goodness and virtue we emulate. In canonizing saints, the Church offers them as role models in the faith for the entire world.
But isn't Jesus sufficient as our role model?
All Christians are called to imitate Christ, but we also benefit by imitating others as they imitate Christ. As Paul urges, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." (1 Cor 11:1) Another reason saints are canonized is so that they may be honored by the Church.
But shouldn't we honor God alone?
The greatness of the saints is due to their relationship with God. In honoring them, we honor Him, and this is pleasing to God. Jesus teaches, "Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man's reward." (Matthew 10:41) Will not those who similarly honor the saints because they are saints will be rewarded by God? Another reason the Church canonizes saints is to encourage the faithful to ask for their help through prayer.
But shouldn't we pray to God alone?
Christians consider it good and right to ask other Christians to pray for them. That is exactly is what prayers to the saints are all about. It is not looking for help apart from God; it is requesting that the saints pray with us, to God, on our behalf. "The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful." (James 5:16b) So imagine how powerful the prayers of the saints must be; the fervent prayers of those whose love has been perfected.
Do Catholics believe that the saints are "better than" or "above the standard" of all other people, as if God loves them more?
When measuring greatness by how much God loves us, all of us are equal. When measuring greatness by how much we love God and our neighbors, then the saints in heaven definitely have us beat. It all depends on how you look at it.
What is the "Hail Mary" prayer about?
The Hail Mary is a fine example of a prayer to a saint. It honors Mary by recounting some of what God has done through, with, and in her. Then the prayer asks Mary to pray to God for our good.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen
The first two sentences of the prayer are greetings to Mary found in Luke 1. The first is said by the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:28). The second greeting comes from Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. (Luke 1:42)
Do Catholics hold Mary in the same level of reverence as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
No. Mary is not a goddess. We especially honor her as the greatest of the saints.
Why is so much emphasis placed on Mary because she was the vessel that God chose to use to deliver Jesus?
Of all women, God chose Mary to be the mother of His Son, but the role of Mary in the life of Christ cannot be reduced merely to biological origin. Mary was there for it all.
At the beginning, she consented to God the Father's will, and Jesus was conceived within her. Jesus received his flesh from her flesh, his bone from her bone. Through her and from her he entered into the world. She raised him and loved him with a mother's love all her life. She was there at the beginning of his ministry. Jesus performed the miracle at Cana at her prompting. She was there until the end. She witnessed Jesus' Passion standing at the foot of the cross. And she was there after the end, at the new beginning, when the Holy Spirit descended on her and the other disciples at Pentecost.
Mary plays a unique part in our salvation story. Mary is Jesus' first disciple. "Do whatever he tells you." She is the ark of the new covenant, who carried the divine Word within her. She is the queen mother of the Davidic reign, who intercedes on other's behalf with the King, her son. As Jesus is the new Adam, Mary is the new Eve. Through their disobedience, Adam and Eve brought sin and death into the world. But through Jesus and Mary's submission to the will of the Father, our redemption was achieved and our salvation was made possible. Because she said, "May it be done to me according to your word," he can come to say, "Not my will but yours be done."
I will not get into Mary's Immaculate Conception and Assumption here, but even without these elements of the Catholic faith, the role of Mary is still a huge deal; both in Jesus' life and in ours. From the cross, Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved. He said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." The beloved disciple stands for all Christians. We are entrusted to her, and she is given to us as our mother. The Catholic devotion and honor shown to Mary is not excessive. To God's glory, it matches what is due.
Humility Training
Saturday, November 1, 2003, 7:59 PM
Theology beat the college in the Mud Bowl today, 34-6. It was a great game to watch, from the theology perspective at least. The pope turned out to be a DB of mine and he perfectly suited to the role. President Bush was also on hand (another DB in a mask), amusing us all when he kissed the pope's ring.
As for my performance, I have to say it was a bit disappointing. I was in for one kick return and three offensive plays. One of those plays was a pass to me, alone in the endzone, but it was too low for me to catch. When teammates tell me, "Good game," I smile and subtlety shake my head. Well, there's always next year.
The 2003 Mud Bowl Champions
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