Category Archives: Essays

God Is Absolute

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God is Absolute: which points to the greatest paradox of all; He is both infinite and finite. Infinite in terms of; God is the sum of infinity, again another paradox, one that is true because there is nothing greater than God and there is no situation in which there is God and something more. Finite because as in any absolute there must be limitations, because if it is absolute it can’t be something else, again another paradox and necessarily so. It’s important that both aspects of God, the infinite and finite be paradoxical, because both describe a condition which cannot be, but is. Now, we see on closer examination, that when two elements in the same thought or sentence are contradictory yet true, this is when paradox becomes analogy. G.K. Chesterton said, paradox is the truth standing on its head to get attention.  I am saying this in response to Father Albert’s homily concerning summoning God’s forgiveness after a confession.

On one hand, Father Albert is categorically correct, no one can invoke or provoke God into doing anything. On the other hand, you are correct again, because you as a priest do give His blessings at the time of confession. This make sense; that you can give something from God, when we just established you can’t invoke anything from Him; if we agree, that God is absolute. Consider this: by His word, He made what is. He said it would be and it is. So, when Jesus proclaimed by His word, by His oath (as in Matthew 18: 15-20); He established a covenant; definitive in its manifestation and infinite in its mercy. If this points to the truth and I think it does, then what follows are limitations God places on Himself, by His manifestation in this distinctive reality which He created. Let’s consider several conditions; God cannot create a God greater than Himself, if He could He wouldn’t be God. God cannot be evil; evil is the absence of God. God can not punish. He can heal, He can cure, He can re-align, He can rehabilitate, He can discipline, and He can put us through therapy however none of this is punishment. Our worldly father sent us to our room for what we did, our Heavenly Father sends us to our room for what we will become. God cannot lie. There are no circumstances, no contingencies in which God would misdirect or misinform us for our own good. Mercy, understanding and unconditional love demand honesty and sincerity. God did create a world where great tragedies both natural and manmade can and have occurred. Why He did this is another discussion, whether He intervenes during these times is His will. 

Form and Content

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   To understand the model Form and Content, we need to discern the foundational precepts of the Form and then recognize the shared content with other models. Perhaps the purest depiction would be to use the metaphor of the hourglass. Immediately recognizable in its structural form and full of a measured amount of sand for its content. The hourglass has one purpose, a unique form and a single content. However, Form and Content is not so straight forward in a world of men, women and ideas. 

   For example, some Eastern religions believe God is everything; Christians believe God made everything. Here we see two very different forms about the essence of God, yet both share lots of content. Both have monasteries, centers of learning based on written and oral traditions. Both have strong social justice standards, share many of the Ten Commandments and most importantly both believe in a higher power. Another example is Islam, Muslims believe in a God almighty, have reverence for Mary and believe individuals must follow the will of God. This is also true for Catholics, yet no one would say, if you want to be a good Muslim you would have to be Catholic. It’s obvious, Muslims would say it is blasphemy to call the Almighty our father, for Christians it is foundational. Two very different forms, lots of shared content.

The Baltimore Catechism

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The published catechism of the Catholic Church can easily be traced to the Council of Trent. This English version from the reformation era has been subsequently reprinted many many times through the work of councils, synods and popes. Although the language has changed over the years to appeal to the audience, the message and content has remained the same. Finding the roots of the Catholic Church from the time when Abram became Abraham, we can see the constant conversion of humanity’s world view growing from the fragmentation of a world dominated by many gods to this post-modern era. How different this world view is today from ancient times is a debate for another day. The Church knows the faithful of todays’ societies are certainly grateful for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is this gift which has led the laity and the Church in today’s continuing conversion.

The Baltimore Catechism of 1885 is certainly a product of the continuing conversion, a deepening of the faith and an ever-broadening scope of understanding in the cherished pages of the Catechism. Like Holy Scripture, the Catechism can be taken at face value. And like Holy Scripture, on each reading a deeper and more richly textured picture of love, meaning and understanding emerges. It is within this frame of reference that I offer you this continuing conversion.

The Catechism opens with “Lesson First” in which the questions and answers concerning God, who He is,  and how He relates to the world and the humanity He created are presented. And again, if we are to receive, accept and obey the Catechism on face value, it must be based on the objective dogma and doctrines of the Church as given in those pages. Broadly speaking exegesis is the process of drawing out the objective explanation from the text without the subjective bias of the reader. In the same manner, eisegesis would be bringing the readers bias into the text. Both of these situations, this author is painstakingly trying to avoid. It is my intention to show there are dual, reciprocal and complimentary interpretations. When the Catechism asks, “Why did God make you?”; the definitive answer is, “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.” From the created ones’ point of view, this certainly fulfills the purpose and function for each of us. I offer you this: God made us because He loves us.    

Today’s Paradox

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Today’s paradox is an examination of receiving what we already have. Take for instance, God’s love for us. We know He has given us a full measure of His love. We know as His children He could not love us any less or any more than He already loves us. Yet, there are those overwhelming moments of gratitude and thankfulness, when His presence, His providence and His love come streaming into our lives, surrounding us and our circumstances with His radiance. Perhaps, for some of us, this can be understood as an awakening. When in our worldly realm, we recognize and encounter what we know we have held in our hearts; what He has already given us.

  There is another aspect of receiving which is not paradoxical; it is an addition, a gift from Grace. Not a deepening of faith and understanding of His glory, something new, something which strengthens our reflection of His image and likeness in our creation. This is the gift of the Holy Spirit.  

  I have long struggled with the biblical reconciliation of what appears to be the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. Realizing that God has never changed, could not change; how is it that the God of the Old Testament seems to be caught up in a world of cause and effect, stuck in an endless world of narrative discourse and dialog, entangled in fear and punishment? I explained this to myself, using the rationalization that I could not really understand the mindset, the mentality of the first century Zionist. I am not from an era of tribal  identity. I have never lived in a community of extended family. I do not know famine or the fear of famine, never witnessed war in my homeland, never watched my wife draw water from the well or trimmed my lamp at twilight. This leads me to the simple observation that the Bible was not written to us we are not the audience. The Bible was written for us; it is up to us to read, study and understand what is being taught to us through Holy Scripture.

  What also seems to be a reasonable observation, is how crucial to the process is the lens one looks through when considering Holy Scripture. Am I an anthropologist studying human behavior, looking for clues to why the civil constructs were formed the way they were, how the buildings reflected the ideas of the time, discovering how the priorities of the society shaped its goals? Am I a historian, tracing the dates and events, finding the key components which led up to the events and then evaluating the results? Am I a person of faith, looking up to the cross as our Lord looked down on us? Is it through His words that I search all the possibilities, looking for what is beyond my thinking, freeing myself from my frames of reference, striking out in a new direction into unexplored arenas and beyond the near horizon? And now I realize what all these options have in common; they are all about me, and in this lies the fatal flaw. None of it is about me and where I am in it. It is all about Him and the gift He brings, the Holy Spirit.

  Christ Jesus came into this world and  changed everything. As a Catholic, I realize through transubstantiation, substance is changed to essence. Beyond this sacramental process, every bit of the material world is affected by His coming which brought about a deeper reflection of God’s creation.  His baptism served as a model for all of humanity and His divinity changed the Jordan River into holy water. His ministry ushered in a new era of understanding, social justice, beauty and kindness which had never been witnessed in this worldly realm. His miracles showed the world the true glory of the Father Almighty, a glimpse of what lies beyond the unimaginable. His life fulfilled the prophecy of old and foretold of a coming age, a victory of peace and love. Christ Jesus is the bridge between death to life; all His promises are true, He will stand between us and the Father, not as our judge, as our Savior. He is the bread of life. We can share the body, blood, soul and divinity, in all times, in all places throughout the world,  and for all times. Through this sacrament, the Eucharist, Christ gifts us a portion of His union with the Father. Yet through all this majesty, the blessings, and the gifts, nothing is greater than the gift of the Holy Spirit. My peace I leave you, My peace I give you. His love written in our hearts, His presence forever with us, in every instance of every second.

   In His presence the Apostles received the Holy Spirit. He breathed on them, into them and through them, into a waiting world. A world suspended in the lifelessness of empty time. A world steeped in the identity of self. A world conceived in and of a man and woman, humanity without divinity. Christ Jesus changes all of this. It is this missing component, the Holy Spirit, in their lives and in my thinking, which is the obstacle. The Bible, written to an audience who could not understand God without His presence in their lives. It isn’t God who differs from one age to the next, it is His people, now fully alive, endowed with the Presence of their Maker, who are now ready to embrace His goodness. To see Him as He is, not as they made Him out to be. I see now that I was asking the first century Christians to witness and testify to what they had not seen or known. I see now that I was expecting the impossible. They like us, have to be shown the way; no one gets there on their own. Those who have eyes to see, should see and those who have ears to hear should hear.