"In the first book [the Gospel of Luke], O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. To them he presented himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from me, for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit." So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth." And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away..." (Acts 1:1-12, RSV)The Ascension, then, sets the stage for Pentecost. It also completes the Incarnation, the process by which humanity is united with Deity, the Deity of God the Son; God and humanity are forever joined. It but remains for that unity to be actualized in the lives of Jesus' followers by the "baptism in the Holy Spirit".
Thursday, May 21, 2009
The Ascension of our Lord, God, and Savior, Jesus Christ
As recorded in the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles:
Friday, May 15, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Death of a Reporter
Growing up in NE Montana, the Billings Gazette was a daily read. Now, I read it online (especially the obituaries). Today's edition brings news of the passing of a legend in Montana print journalism: Addison Bragg, who for many years wrote a daily column for the paper. He was 90.
"Addison Bragg"
"Addison Bragg"
Another Great Post from Fr. Stephen
Everything that OCA priest Fr. Stephen Freeman writes is good; however, some of his posts are especially worthy of mention. In this category of superb writing from Fr. Stephen is the following, concerning the relationship between the Saints and those of us who remain on earth. Truly, the Church is one!
"The Communion of Saints"
"Through the prayers of our Most Holy, Most Pure,Most Glorious and Blessed Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, and of all the Saints, have mercy on us and save us, for Thou, O Lord, art good and lovest humanity".
"The Communion of Saints"
"Through the prayers of our Most Holy, Most Pure,Most Glorious and Blessed Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, and of all the Saints, have mercy on us and save us, for Thou, O Lord, art good and lovest humanity".
Saturday, May 2, 2009
May 2: A modern "Mother of the Faith"
"WE OFFER this incense unto Thee [O Lord] as did Aaron the priest, who burned incense before Thee in the tabernacle and thus withheld the plague from Thy people, Israel. Thus do we commemorate Mary, the Holy Ever-Virgin Mother of God, the prophets and apostles, the righteous and just, the martyrs and confessors and all the Orthodox fathers and mothers of the Faith, the orphans and widows, the distressed and afflicted, the sick and oppressed and all who have asked for our prayers unto Thee, O Lord, and to † Thy Father and Thy Living Holy Spirit in both worlds unto the Aeon of aeons. Amen." (Offering of Incense, Holy Qurbana, West Syriac Rite, ACCA use)
"Blessed Matrona of Moscow" ora pro nobis
Friday, May 1, 2009
For One College Student, Finals are Over...(Updated)
And that student is our dear daughter. One year down, two years to go! (Before graduate school.)
"On a slightly more personal, and longer, note"
(Even though she is a Junior, Cary will apparently have to spend two more academic years at Loyola in order to complete her Environmental Science major and English Literature minor.)
"On a slightly more personal, and longer, note"
(Even though she is a Junior, Cary will apparently have to spend two more academic years at Loyola in order to complete her Environmental Science major and English Literature minor.)
May 1: St. Joseph the Worker, International Workers' Day
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days.
Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have killed the righteous man; he does not resist you. (James 5:1-6, RSV)
Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have killed the righteous man; he does not resist you. (James 5:1-6, RSV)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
A Mormon College Student converts to Roman Catholicism
Following a link from the blogroll on "StellarCross", the blog of my friend, Fr. Rob Lyons, I first read about Levi Checketts in Robert King’s "Thou Shalt Blog" at the website of the Indianapolis Star.
Checketts, 21, is a Junior at the University of Notre Dame, majoring in Arabic and Theology. Although he grew up in a Mormon family in the small town of Vernal, in northeastern Utah, he was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil, less than two weeks ago, at Notre Dame.
I spoke with Checketts on the phone earlier this evening because I wanted to learn more about his journey from the LDS Church to Roman Catholicism. Checketts says he comes from a deeply devout and committed multi-generational LDS family, one in which the family prays together daily, attends church weekly, and which sent its sons and daughters to both Sunday school and “seminary”, a religious education program for elementary and high school students which takes place during the week, usually before school. He says his two older brothers went on their expected missions. Checketts says he has always been keenly interested in religion, in religious texts, and for that reason chose to study both Theology and Arabic at Notre Dame, even before deciding to become Roman Catholic. He says he always did well in the religious education programs in which he participated while growing up in the LDS Church.
He says he began questioning his Mormon faith largely because no one was willing to pin down a time for what is called the Great Apostacy, the idea that the original, apostolic Church completely abandoned the faith and lost the priesthood, only to have it restored by Joseph Smith. Checketts says he was always taught, growing up, that this apostacy coincided with the death of the Apostles but that now, the LDS Church is teaching that it occurred later, but is not specific on the question. He says that the LDS Church lays great stress on certainty in all matters religious, but that it seemed unable to answer the questions, such as this one, he was beginning to ask. He says he also found it impossible to conceive of a god who would abandon his people, his Church, entirely because some members, even some leaders, were losing fervor.
Finally, Checketts says, he decided to follow the instructions found in the Book of Mormon. He prayed, he says, “The most important prayer of my life.”
Moroni 10:4-5, in the Book of Mormon, reads: “And when ye shall receive these things [the teachings of the LDS Church], I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”
Checketts says he had been taught that if he did this, and waited, the truth of Mormonism would be confirmed for him by a physical sensation, sometimes called “the burning in the bosom”. Nothing happened; however, he was not yet ready to become Roman Catholic. This did not come until about a year ago, when he says he attended a Roman Catholic silent retreat over Spring Break. Those directing the retreat suggested that the retreatants use the time to pray for discernment over anything that was bothering them, that they felt they needed “to clear up”. So, Checketts says, he prayed about whether or not he should become Roman Catholic, and by the time the retreat had ended, he had a clear answer.
Last September, as a new academic year began, he entered the RCIA program at Notre Dame, and was baptized a little more than a week ago.
One commenter on King’s blog post asserts that Checketts’ conversion was probably a matter of peer pressure, that one could not “party” at Notre Dame while holding to “Mormon values”. Checketts denies he is a partier, says he found the comment "offensive," and he wonders if the commenter himself may be, on some level, questioning his own Mormon faith. He says that other Mormons, not related to him, have responded with "more charity" and have been "more ecumenical" about his conversion, even if his own family is still coming to terms with his decision.
Checketts says he is, for the second year running, President of a group of Notre Dame students that tutors neighborhood children in South Bend, Indiana, where Notre Dame is located. He says he is also involved with various international cultural programs for students. “I am trying to make the most of my educational opportunities,” he says. He also says no one at Notre Dame ever tried to convert him, that everyone he encountered there had been respectful of his previous Mormon faith.
As far as the future is concerned, Checketts says he plans to get a Ph.D. in Theology and then, to teach. When asked about the possibility of the Roman Catholic priesthood, Checketts chuckles. “I don’t think my girlfriend would like that very much,” he says.
Checketts, 21, is a Junior at the University of Notre Dame, majoring in Arabic and Theology. Although he grew up in a Mormon family in the small town of Vernal, in northeastern Utah, he was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil, less than two weeks ago, at Notre Dame.
I spoke with Checketts on the phone earlier this evening because I wanted to learn more about his journey from the LDS Church to Roman Catholicism. Checketts says he comes from a deeply devout and committed multi-generational LDS family, one in which the family prays together daily, attends church weekly, and which sent its sons and daughters to both Sunday school and “seminary”, a religious education program for elementary and high school students which takes place during the week, usually before school. He says his two older brothers went on their expected missions. Checketts says he has always been keenly interested in religion, in religious texts, and for that reason chose to study both Theology and Arabic at Notre Dame, even before deciding to become Roman Catholic. He says he always did well in the religious education programs in which he participated while growing up in the LDS Church.
He says he began questioning his Mormon faith largely because no one was willing to pin down a time for what is called the Great Apostacy, the idea that the original, apostolic Church completely abandoned the faith and lost the priesthood, only to have it restored by Joseph Smith. Checketts says he was always taught, growing up, that this apostacy coincided with the death of the Apostles but that now, the LDS Church is teaching that it occurred later, but is not specific on the question. He says that the LDS Church lays great stress on certainty in all matters religious, but that it seemed unable to answer the questions, such as this one, he was beginning to ask. He says he also found it impossible to conceive of a god who would abandon his people, his Church, entirely because some members, even some leaders, were losing fervor.
Finally, Checketts says, he decided to follow the instructions found in the Book of Mormon. He prayed, he says, “The most important prayer of my life.”
Moroni 10:4-5, in the Book of Mormon, reads: “And when ye shall receive these things [the teachings of the LDS Church], I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”
Checketts says he had been taught that if he did this, and waited, the truth of Mormonism would be confirmed for him by a physical sensation, sometimes called “the burning in the bosom”. Nothing happened; however, he was not yet ready to become Roman Catholic. This did not come until about a year ago, when he says he attended a Roman Catholic silent retreat over Spring Break. Those directing the retreat suggested that the retreatants use the time to pray for discernment over anything that was bothering them, that they felt they needed “to clear up”. So, Checketts says, he prayed about whether or not he should become Roman Catholic, and by the time the retreat had ended, he had a clear answer.
Last September, as a new academic year began, he entered the RCIA program at Notre Dame, and was baptized a little more than a week ago.
One commenter on King’s blog post asserts that Checketts’ conversion was probably a matter of peer pressure, that one could not “party” at Notre Dame while holding to “Mormon values”. Checketts denies he is a partier, says he found the comment "offensive," and he wonders if the commenter himself may be, on some level, questioning his own Mormon faith. He says that other Mormons, not related to him, have responded with "more charity" and have been "more ecumenical" about his conversion, even if his own family is still coming to terms with his decision.
Checketts says he is, for the second year running, President of a group of Notre Dame students that tutors neighborhood children in South Bend, Indiana, where Notre Dame is located. He says he is also involved with various international cultural programs for students. “I am trying to make the most of my educational opportunities,” he says. He also says no one at Notre Dame ever tried to convert him, that everyone he encountered there had been respectful of his previous Mormon faith.
As far as the future is concerned, Checketts says he plans to get a Ph.D. in Theology and then, to teach. When asked about the possibility of the Roman Catholic priesthood, Checketts chuckles. “I don’t think my girlfriend would like that very much,” he says.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
As I was saying...
"Intransigent Historical Claims"
And will be saying again: fully authentic apostolic Christianity - embodied in the Church of the New Testament, the "one holy catholic and apostolic Church" - is visible, historical, and continuous, right up until this very moment, and beyond, until the glorious Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ:
And will be saying again: fully authentic apostolic Christianity - embodied in the Church of the New Testament, the "one holy catholic and apostolic Church" - is visible, historical, and continuous, right up until this very moment, and beyond, until the glorious Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ:
"Thomas and the other disciples who spread the faith to the East left churches in their wake (or at least, nascent Christian communities that would, just as they did in Rome, turn homes into churches and then build basilicas over them). These churches, rooted in the apostolic proclamation but developing within the cultures in which they took root, [became] the churches of the East, in Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, Asia Minor, Armenia, Syria, Persia, and India.They indeed have remained faithful, as have the Churches related to the ancient Patriarchate of Constantinople, and we can use the consensus - despite all "doctrinal dispute"- in faith and practice which exists between these Churches -and the Roman Catholic Church-to elucidate the ancient faith of the Apostles.
"There were doctrinal disputes among them, and between them and the West, but, as joint statements from those churches and the [Roman] Catholic Church during the pontificate of John Paul II proclaimed, they remained faithful witnesses to Christ. And their faithfulness was costly, especially once the East was overrun by Islam."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)