View from the Watchtower - JW and the Catholic Church

For near is the day of the LORD                 

in the valley of decision.
Sun and moon are darkened,
and the stars withhold their brightness.
The LORD roars from Zion,
and from Jerusalem raises his voice;
The heavens and the earth quake,
but the LORD is a refuge to his people,
a stronghold to the children of Israel.

You have to admire their pluck.  I mean the way that they stick to their spiel when time and time again they have been proven wrong just because the sun rose and set as it had done so many times over the many millenniums.  Of course, I am speaking about the Jehovah's Witnesses (JW), an organization that specializes in predicting the end of the world.  Each time they predict a date, they have been wrong. They are not a  Christian religion as they deny the divinity of Christ stating that Jesus, in reality, is St. Michael the Archangel. You have to admire them in some respects.  The believers commit a lot of time to pursuing converts.   They go out in pairs and go door to door looking for people ripe for conversion into their strange doctrine.  They come prepared with Biblical proof of all they say, of course, the Bible they use, The New World edition has been edited so that their beliefs are proven.  They rope in the innocent and uneducated, namely Catholics.  While an educated Catholic can point out very easily where the Watchtower Society, based in the religious heart of the world, Brooklyn New York, goes off of the rails. most of the JW converts come from parishes like yours and mine.

The problem we have in the Catholic Church is that we have a lack of Catholics that are able to see through the poorly thought out theology of the Watchtower people or any of the Protestant sects for that matter. Can you imagine that some Catholics who have gone on to get advanced degrees in nuclear engineering or doctorates in any one of a thousand subjects have no more than a seventh-grade education in the most important subject of all, their religion?  Why is that?  It is a sad but true fact that many Catholics are easy prey to the whiles of the Witness team or Mormon missionaries, or Bible Thumping Evangelists that comes to their door because they left the study of their religion after they were confirmed usually in middle school or high school.  

I imagine each of us can come up with a reason or two why it is not possible for us to learn more about our Catholic faith.  First and foremost, there isn't enough time in the day for me to get all of the things done that I need to.  That's a load of bull droppings.  If you had time to watch TV in the evening, you had time to spend learning something new about your religion. The Witnesses, the Mormons,  spend hours each week with their door to door ministry and for the JW's  each Kingdom Hall reports the hours spent tilling the soil for converts each week. Those that don't spend enough time going door to door or who do not have enough results to show are given a good talking to.    And some of us Catholics say we are too busy, right...hand me the potato chips and could you turn on the Notre Dame game?

Okay, here is what I really want to say to you on this Saturday.  If a seventh grader knows more than you about being a Catholic, how does that make you feel?  Our young people today take their religion more seriously than you might expect.  In our parish, every year, we see a class of teens come back from a week-long mission trip, helping the less fortunate and they come back energized with zeal for the Lord and they have seen for themselves how good it feels to follow the ways of God and to help those that need it most.  They experience a closeness with the Lord that fills them with the desire to have more and to help more.  Then, what happens, they start hanging around the older Catholics, the ones that just put in their appearance, the ones that come late to mass and leave early and they determine by watching you that being a Catholic doesn't really make much of a difference and they slowly either drift away from the church or they are snared by Protestant evangelizers who know how to reel in a healthy catch of Catholic youth and save them from Rome and get them to believe in Sola Scriptura and Once Saved Always Saved, two indefensible doctrines that lull people into a way of life where sin doesn't play a part anymore. 

Look, you just have to get up off of your dead sit upon and become more knowledgeable about Christianity, the Church and its history and why it matters that you are a Catholic and not a Baptist or Presbyterian or God forbid a Jehovah's Witness.  

Do you understand, have you any idea what-so-ever what a great gift you have been given by being born or converting to be a Catholic?  We are part of the Church that was built by Christ to last until He returns for us on the last day when in God's eyes the time of harvest is nigh.  There is nothing better on this whole earth than to be part of God's kingdom and that Kingdom is not owned by the Watchtower Society, it is owned by the people of God in the Catholic Church. 

We have so many things that other denominations do not have.  We have most of all the Real Presence in the Eucharist that we can receive daily in many places.  Can you imagine what a JW would do if he or she had that same closeness to Jesus as we have available to us?  They would be unstoppable!  They would go door to door armed with the love of Jesus and not leave a house until they either converted the person or were physically kicked down the stairs with their New World edition Bible hitting them in the head as they bounced off the curb at the side of the street. If such power would be available to a JW, why does it not manifest itself in us, the heirs and true adopted sons and daughters of the Great King?  Light the fire in yourself and watch it spread to those around you.  Do it NOW. 

To do today:  Pray for the poor souls in Purgatory. 

Going On A Journey

This summer, in the middle of July, I am planning to go on a trip to a place I've always wanted to go to, Arizona.  I am very excited about the trip and I am already planning what I am going to bring along with me.  I am going to pack my goose down jacket, a heavy sweater, a pair of gloves, a warm hat with fur ear flaps, snow boots, and of course a bunch of those chemical hand warming packs. I am going to need my bowling ball, a dozen dead batteries, a paper cup with a hole in the bottom of it and a fistful of pens that don't write.  With all of these things, I will be ready for my trip. I can hardly wait to go! What do you mean that the stuff I am going to take is not appropriate or useful for the journey? Oh, I know it is hot in Arizona in July but these are my favorite things, the things I feel comfortable with, I want to take them all with me!  

Okay, so I am not really going to Arizona this July and I certainly would not be taking that ridiculous list of things with me if I were going there in one of the hottest months of the year. The point I am trying to make is that very often when it comes to packing for our heavenly journey, we pack the wrong things. 

Our life is a journey from the day of our birth to the day of our death.  Along the way, we pick up things to sustain us on the journey.  Some of the things we choose to carry are things that will help us while other things will most definitely hinder us.  Most of us plan more carefully for our retirement, an event that may last twenty years or so but we fail to plan carefully for our journey to heaven which will last forever.  

The problem all of us face is how to determine what to bring with us.  First of all, we have to consider the amount of luggage space we will have.  For the sake of argument, I quantify that space as the size of your heart. So, immediately we have a problem.  That is not a whole lot of space so we will have to fill it carefully.  If we place prejudice in our heart, there will be no room for love.  If we attempt to place a bit of retribution in, the forgiveness won't fit. Stuff in some anger and the joy will have to be left out for want of room.  You see where this is going I assume. 

Sometimes, the secular world can give us a hint about the eternal world.  The song The Gambler by Kenny Rogers is an example of this.  In the song, the gambler states, "Every gambler knows, that the secret to surviving is knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep."  This is true for us in the spiritual realm and is probably more important for us because a gambler is vying for something that will soon crumble into dust.  We, on the other hand, are looking for things that will be useful for the journey to our eternal destination. 

We need to be very selective in what we pack. The things we put in our suitcase should be able to pass one test.  Does the item help or hinder us in following the instructions of Jesus "to love one another as I loved you?"  The wonderful thing about our spiritual suitcase is that it will expand to accommodate all of the things that will help us.  So, this week, as you go through the mundane tasks of your life, tend to your packing for your eternal journey by placing a lot of joy, peace, and love into your suitcase by looking for ways to serve others even in the smallest of ways.  Mother Teresa gives us a hint on how to do this; Do small things with great love. 

How To Become A Canonized Saint

Sainthood - is it for me?

What is it that God wants of us? What is closest to His heart? What dream does he dream for us?  

God's fondest wish for us is to be with Him in heaven forever. He wants to share the perfect happiness that we mortals cannot even begin to understand how very wonderful it is!  That is why we are on earth.  Okay, then the question becomes if God is so gungho for us to be with Him in heaven then why did He place us on earth?  Well, go back to the very beginning. Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Paradise, which I've always thought of as kind of an earthly type of heaven where everything was perfect. He put us there because he wanted to see if we would want to be in relationship with Him by our own free will.  Well, we know how that turned out.  Using our free will we turned away from Him and he immediately planned and began to implement our return to relationship through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. 

The people who have died in God's friendship and live with Him in heaven are called saints. The media latches on to the Church's formal recognition of certain people as having lived heroic Christian lives through canonization. The last one you may have heard of was the canonization of Father Junipero Serra, the missionary that helped bring Christianity to California. There are literally thousands of canonized saints that have been enrolled by the Church.  But does that mean that only those that the Church recognizes and has canonized are in heaven? Certainly not!  Besides the thousands of canonized saints there are untold millions of people, men and women just like you and I that have lived holy lives and are with God in heaven. The point here is that there is nothing more glorious than a soul entering heaven to be with God forever and nothing so sad and forlorn as a soul that through a life wasted on rejecting the Father's friendship ending up in a place without God.   I believe that we will be welcomed with great joy into heaven by Jesus and the Saints, all of them!  

Okay, let's say you are the type of person that only wants the best/ None of this anonymous sainthood for you. You want the full treatment and full recognition of the Church that you lived a life worthy of being emulated by the faithful.  How do you go about it? Well, I could spend some time discussing canon law but I won't. Here in layman's terms is a rather whimsical view of how get your life recognized as being saintly.

The Canonization Process – Very Simplified

So, you want to be a canonized saint.  Make 

sure you put this document with your will so that your heirs will know what to do.  The most important thing is that you be dead, so take care of that first.  Then make sure your heirs do the following:

1.       WAIT FIVE YEARS.  Candidate has to have been dead for five years.  This is to allow time for “cooler heads to prevail. It allows more objectivity. 

.       GET YOUR FRIENDS TOGETHER. The cause is started in the diocese where the candidate lived.  A promoter group, for example the parish, religious congregation, or pious association asks the bishop to open an investigation. The bishop asks Rome who sends a letter of “nulla osta” or “no impediment” and a tribunal is formed.

.      PRESENT THE FACTS and WRITE ‘EM UP and GET ‘EM TO ROME. The tribunal calls witnesses to recount the facts of the candidates life and how the candidate exercised Christian virtue especially; prudence, justice, temperance, faith, hope and charity. Documents are gathered and sent to Rome, to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.  If the Candidate has made it this far, he (she) is entitled to the title “Servant of God.”

       WIN THE ELECTION. The documents and evidence are examined in Rome by nine theologians. If the Servant of God gets at least five votes the congregation presents the results of the Pope who will give his approval (or not) and authorizes a public decree which is publicly read and distributed.

.       PERFORM A MIRACLE. For beatification a miracle, verified after his (her) death is necessary. This miracle is investigated and if it is shown to be a miracle, a decree is read. The candidate is now called “Blessed.”

   PERFORM AN ENCORE. For final canonization another miracle occurring AFTER his beatification.  It is investigated as was the virtues and first miracle were and the matter is sent to the Pope who can make the final decision if the Blessed candidate is to acquire the title of Saint.  

There you have it!  It is a simple and straight forward process and you will really get to  know who your friends are if they stick it out.  Oh, I almost forgot - you should make some provision to pay the expenses involved in the process.  Here is what you should allow for:  

For decoration of the Basilica, lights, architectural designs, labor, and superintendence — 

Lire 152,840.58 

Procession, Pontifical Mass, preparation of altars in Basilica —  Lire 8,114.58 

Cost of gifts presented to Holy Father —  

Lire 1,438.87 

Hangings, Sacred Vestments, etc.

Lire 12,990.60 

Recompense for services and money loaned — 

Lire  3,525.07 

To the Vatican Chapter as perquisites for decorations and candles Lire 18,000.00 

Propine and Competenza    (unforeseen expenses)                            Lire 16,936.00      

Other incidental and unforeseen expenses —  

Lire   4,468,40 

Total Lire 221,601.05

Total US 1913 Dollars        $42,816.87

Lawyers and Documents     $20,000.00

Total US$                            $62,816.87                                                                                               

Grand total in 1913 US$    $62,816.87   which is approximately 

$209,601.05 in 2010 dollars.

Let's remember, too, that prices may have gone up since 1913!

This whole process can and in some cases has literally taken hundreds of years.  The church is very careful who she canonizes as a saint.  There are a lot of rules that are not mentioned here, for example a "devil's advocate is appointed who brings out the less savory incidents of your life, if he can find any. 

This may be irreverent but I think of canonized saints as those that made the All Star team, and are people we should imitate and respect.  Remember too, that for every canonized saint there are thousands of millions of saints that for whatever reason did not go through this process.  The total number of saints in heaven is known to God alone.  I hope you will be the first human to count them all when you get to heaven.

Angels

Do you remember the TV series "Touched By An Angel?"  I was a big fan of that series.  If you never had the chance to watch it the show depicted four angels doing their work on earth at the behest of the Father.  It was a great show and it dealt with a lot of different human issues. The show included the angel of death. Angels are real.  We know this because they are mentioned in the Bible.  Mary, the Blessed Virgin Mother of God, was visited by an angel and it was then that she accepted the mission that God had planned for her.  She became the mother of Jesus, a person worthy of the greatest respect.  We also have an angel appearing to Jesus during His agony in the garden where he prayed the all too human prayer asking for the approaching suffering to be taken away. The angel was there, says Jim Bishop in his wonderful book "The Day Christ Died" to offer comfort and to confirm to Jesus that he had to undergo the coming trials. Angels are mentioned in the Book of Revelation. They are the constant servants of God. The a Seraphim are the closest to God, they guard the throne of God. They burn with love for God. 

Angels are superior to us in every way yet there are two classes of angels. The good angels and the evil angels. At one time there was only one class of angels and all served God.  The brightest among these was Lucifer. He was so puffed up with his greatness that he fermented a rebellion in heaven.  He fought against the angels who were loyal to God and lost. The leader that threw Lucifer down to hell was the Archangel Michael, the strongest warrior in heaven. With Lucifer went all of the rebellious angels who form the cadre of devils and they will remain in hell forever.  They proudly proclaim that it is better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven. They spend their time tempting us to sin.  They want nothing more than the ruin of our soul so we can join them in eternal darkness, grief, and punishment. 

God has made provision for each of us in the form of a personal angel called our guardian angel. Our guardian angel is there and tries to guide us in the path of right but he is not allowed to interfere with our God given free will. Mother Angelica relates her encounter with her guardian angel when she was young.  A truck was heading right for her. She was unable to get out of the way. She closed her eyes and when she opened them she was out of harms way on the side of the road, safe.  She did not walk herself, she gave credit to her guardian angel. 

The website I clipped the above from included a long prayer to St. Michael the Archangel.  We Catholics are more familiar with with the shorter version: 

Angels and especially guardian angels are just another way that God shows His care and his love for us.  

Feeding Frenzy

The past week all over America there was a feeding frenzy of sorts. You know what I mean of course, we all got caught up in it, the Powerball Lottery. Now I never play the lottery, except this time I did, yes this straight laced Catholic Christian boy plunked down four hard earned US of A greenback dollars for the privilege of dreaming and dreaming big!  For a couple of days I was thinking how I would outfit my new Gulf Stream jet and who I would invite for the initial ride. I thought what my parish would do with the ten percent of the winnings that they would get right off of the top.  I envisioned a five story PADS shelter. I would have funded research into finding cures for cancer.  I would have funded a food bank that would wipe out hunger in my state.  There would have been scholarships galore for those whose grades like mine were average or slightly above. I was planning to do so much good.  That is what my four dollars bought me as I joined the feeding frenzy that captured the minds of my fellow citizens.  I have to tell you that it was kind of fun and all in all was worth the four George Washington's I plunked down to the man of mid-eastern extraction behind the counter at the Peacock Mobil Station who pushed a button that caused a machine to spit out two lines of random numbers.  

Well, I am back in the real world again.  The next lottery drawing will come and go without capturing my attention. My dollar bills will stay comfortably inside my wallet until they are called upon to purchase some pedestrian need. But I take solace in the fact that although I cannot fund my large dreams, I can fund smaller ones. I can look out for opportunities to be kind, to be generous, to let the light of Christ shine through me. If I do this without expecting any reward or payback, my example may be what brings a sinner home like the prodigal son, home to God the Father who loves him without end. My example, my love expressed can be the difference between heaven and hell for someone I do not know. 

So yes, I proved my humanity and jumped into the middle of the feeding frenzy.  It was fun and it allowed me the opportunity to think once the announcement of where the winning tickets were sold and my town was not mentioned, that I was luckier than the winners because I have Christ in my life.

Peace to you today and may the light of Christ flood your soul. Act on your good intentions today. Spread a random act of kindness wherever you go.  God bless you and yours. 

The Convert-a-Catholic Challenge is still waiting it's first daring Protestant to take up the cause. Convince this cradle Catholic that the Catholic Church has got it all wrong and that your denomination has got it all right.  Chick to start the debate rolling.  Click here/

Catholic Resources for your use: 

Catechism of the Catholic Church   (Click Here)  don't live in ignorance. If you are going to criticize or even condemn her, use her own words against her.  This free resource tells what we believe in an easy to read format.

Catholics Come Home  (Click Here)  If you are a Catholic and have been away from the Church for awhile, well, we have missed you and consider this an invitation to come home. 

Headquarters - The Vatican - (Click Here)  Nose around at the Vatican. Get to know Pope Francis a little bit better. Find out the inside story right from the horse's mouth. 

Destiny

Okay, Lorne Green was great on Bonanza but I have to say that as a singer he probably not make it on "The Voice."  But aside from entertainment value I chose this song to introduce the topic of destiny.  Please note that I do not agree with the principles put forth in this song.  For me the principle it espouses sounds too much like John Calvin to me.  But aside from that I do have to agree that we have a destiny but it is not set in stone as Lorne would have us believe. 

In the distant past God decided he would like Michael The Lesser to be born.  He loved the very idea of Michael and when the time was right He moved His hand and I was conceived.  After a stay in the womb, in my case only seven months, I was born kicking and crying into the world. I was a tiny thing and the fourth attempt my mother had at having a child, the other three ended in two miscarriages and one still birth. I survived two months in an incubator at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago and was brought home on Christmas Eve in nine-teen hundred and fifty two.  

I have seen sixty-two summers in my life and I am not sure if I will see another because we are never sure we are going to even take another breath, it is not guaranteed.  As I have gone through life I have come to forks in the road and have made conscious decisions as to which road to take. Sometimes my choice was good, in my eyes anyway, other times things didn't turn out so good.  But no matter which road I took, no matter the results of my decisions, I was propelled towards my ultimate destiny. 

As a human being I have an ultimate destiny but unlike Mr. Calvin says it is not written in stone.  This is because I have been given free will to choose my destiny.  I can live a life worthy of the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross and my ultimate destiny will be heaven.  I can live a life of unrepentant dissolution, caring only for myself and my ultimate destiny will be hell. The point I am trying to make here is that our destiny, unlike the destiny portrayed in the song, is in our hands. We make the choices in life in accordance with the free will that God gave us.  He does not want puppets to be with Him in heaven, He wants people who have decided that they want His friendship.  

So, what do you think of destiny?  Is it something that is written in granite and can never be changed?  Or is it something that we can design as a sculptor changes a square piece of marble and through work and dedication changes it into a beautiful statue? 

CONVERT A CATHOLIC challenge is still open. I am inviting my Protestant brothers and sisters to prove to me that I should abandon the Catholic Church and join their denomination.  33,000 different versions of the truth against the Catholic Church...what are you waiting for?  The challenge has been made.  Click on the link below to send me an email.

Michael, my denomination has got it all together - you just gotta join it and here is why 

 (Click Here)