Drink his blood?

 The Sacred Page has a good reflection on the readings for the 21st Sunday of Ordinary time in Cycle B.  I particularly liked this part on the Gospel:

"Many wonder how Jesus can command his flesh and blood to be eaten, when the Old Testament forbid the consumption of blood.  Brant Pitre points out that the blood of animals was forbidden because "the life is in the blood" (Lev 17:11).  God did not want his people to share in animal life.  But now, the same principle is the reason for the command to consume Christ's blood: "the life is in the blood."  The life that is in Christ's blood is divine life, and God does want us to share in that!"

It so elegantly encapsulates one of the many mysteries of the Eucharist...  To share in the divine life of our God!  What else is there?

Understanding the Bible, Part 1

I've had an ongoing dialogue with a friend of mine that is somewhere between atheist and agnostic, he can't seem to make up his mind if there is or is not a god.  He certainly doesn't accept any organized religion or religious text.  One of the frequent topics of discussion is the Bible.  He "just can't accept it or understand anyone that does, because it is just filled with things that show [our] God to be evil."

Talking to him, it's obvious that his problem is simultaneously a matter of 1) he has never actually read the Bible, 2) he has simply accepted the claims and interpretation of others that claim to have read it and understand it, and 3) that supposed understanding completely misses what the Bible is and is not.

Shelves of books have been written covering just one of those problems, but I want to briefly touch on that final part of the equation.  What is the Bible?

Regarding The Daily Beast, Paul Ryan, and Abortion, Part 2

In my previous post I discussed my general view on abortion and how it is far more considerate of individual autonomy than the pro-abortion stance is.  And how this makes the pro-life view far more considerate of women than does the view that is supportive of abortion.  But, at the end of that post, I recognized there are some special circumstances that challenge a pro-life view.  Specifically, cases of rape, incest and threat to the mother's life complicate the situation.  In this post, I wish to give these challenges the consideration and response they deserve.

Regarding The Daily Beast, Paul Ryan, and Abortion, Part 1

I was reading a piece from The Daily Beast critiquing Paul Ryan's view on abortion and came across this bit of "insight":

"To him, a woman’s claim to bodily autonomy or self-determination doesn't merit even cursory consideration." 
That strikes me as a superficial understanding of the matter.  This point-of-view is so limited and shallow and is so commonly held, one marvels at how little thought has gone into it.  But, it is critical to understand, so I thought I'd take some time to point out the fallacies and present a fuller understanding of the matter...

Sin. Mine vs. Yours

Unintentionally many of my posts have ended up being about abortion, contraception, or gay marriage.  Some take offense, believing that I am forcing my faith on them or being judgmental and failing to live up to own belief system. I offer this post to explain...

Pilgrimage to West Bend

Earlier this summer my kids found my old Viewmaster and reels tucked away on a shelf in our basement.  As they looked through the slides, they came across a set of reels from West Bend's Grotto of the Redemption, a souvenir of  a family trip we took when I was a child.  All three kids thought it was pretty cool looking and my son suggested, "We should go there some time."

Well, we looked at the calendar, saw that the weekend right before school started back up looked open and made plans.It was about a 3 and a half hour drive there, so we got a room at the Park View Inn.  Drove over Saturday after football practice ended.  Spent some time walking through the Grotto marveling at the intricate work, discussing how powerful Fr. Dobberstein's faith and devotion was, and letting the message of Redemption sink in before attending Mass in the suitably gorgeous Church of Sts. Peter and Paul.  After Mass we went to dinner, had some fun family time and returned to the Grotto just before bedtime to say our family night time prayers in some of the most inspiring parts of the Grotto.

If you live within a day's drive of West Bend, I can't think of a better family outing than to make a trip to visit the Grotto.  My kids would agree.  It is such a beautiful, inspiring and peaceful place for prayer, meditation, and devotion.

Enjoy a few other photos I took.

America and our inability to think beyond self

Over the past two weeks I've watched more than my share of Olympic basketball with my daughter.  Several times during the men's games the commentators would start criticizing the officiating.  As NBA players, former NBA players, or commentators accustomed to covering the NBA covering and commenting on teams largely comprised of NBA players, most of their criticism was rooted in comparing the Olympic officials' enforcement of the rules to the NBA officials' tendency to "let them play."

Traditional marriage and some lessons we need to learn

Tom Hoopes does a great job presenting a view of traditional marriage that I agree with.  And he outlines a few key things we need to keep in mind as Catholics that are standing up for Our Faith, Our God, and His Truth.

I've written much longer to communicate what he succinctly says in his third point.  And the other three points are spot on and equally succinct.

And, most importantly, he ends on a very important lesson that we must always keep in mind as disciples of Christ:

"Christ’s answer to the world’s problems is always the same: Suffer the opposition of the world in order to bring it the truth that will set it free from sin."

Amen.

My meditation for this afternoon

Thanks to St. Josemaria Escriva and his thoughts compiled in The Forge I spent a few minutes meditating on this thought:

"God is my Father! If you meditate on it, you will never let go of this consoling consideration.
Jesus is my intimate friend (another rediscovery) who loves me with all the divine madness of his Heart.
The Holy Spirit is my Consoler, who guides my every step along the road.
Consider this often: you are God's... and God is yours."

A truly amazing thought.  I'm sure I'll keep coming back to it time and time again as I wrap up my workday.

What more is there?

Father Z's article gives  five amazing points for daily prayer .  I'll be keeping these close at hand and if I can but cooperate with God's grace, one day I may live them fully.

Born Gay? Valid argument?

I have family members and friends that range from faithful Catholics to angry atheists and everything in between.  (To be clear, this means that I have some friends that would fit in with the Westboro Baptist crowd as well as atheist and agnostic friends that are calm, rational and tolerant.)  What this means in practicality, is that some days my Facebook stream is littered with some hateful and ignorant stuff.  Today started out with a few of the more militant atheist and agnostic friends passing around a photo of a man holding a sign that reads, "I was born gay.  You were taught religion."

Those posting this think it is a great argument for homosexuality and against religion.  But, is it ?  Let's examine that...