"You will be like gods!"

And with those words, it went from "very good" to suffering and death...

Today, I was reminded of those words in a context that caused me to recall one of the theological arguments for the existence of One God.  And it struck as worth discussing...

HHS Mandate and Employment Law

I was reading a completely not related article on sexual harassment in the workplace and was suddenly struck by a thought...

The President has crafted an exemption to the HHS mandate that allows institutions that involves criteria of serving or employing people of a single faith.  Does this mean that if an employer has exempted their health insurance coverage, or in an effort to exempt their coverage, they will be permitted to ask about the religion of potential employees and base their hiring on the religious beliefs of the applicant?

I'm certainly not in favor of that.  However, the contrary of saying you can only be exempt if you discriminate but you are not permitted to discriminate so you must violate your religious beliefs is even more intolerable.

Why don't Catholics flock to the Eucharist, smiling and happy?

If you're Catholic, you're surely quite familiar with our deeply held beliefs regarding the Eucharist.  That it IS the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ. It's not a symbol.  It's not just bread and wine.  It is the Real Presence of Our Lord and Our God.  Receiving Communion is touching the Son of God and incorporating our flesh and His.

And odds are, if you are a Catholic, you have heard a priest talk about how excited and happy we should be when we step forward to receive the Eucharist.

Talking Sola Fide...

I was engaged in a conversation with a fellow that believes in Sola Fide, salvation by faith alone.  He is certain that, as a Catholic, I am in very dire risk of eternal damnation because I believe I can earn my salvation through works.  Sadly, he doesn't actually understand what the Church teaches, nor do I think he
really wanted to hear the truth that the Church does teach.  But, here's what I attempted to witness to him...

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.