You Are Loved

I really hope this gets to you.  I had no idea how to reach you, so I put it here and prayed you would find it.

This is the most important thing I will ever tell you.  And it may be the only thing I ever get to tell you.

So, please stop what you are doing.  Please listen to what I am saying for 5 minutes.  I need you to really hear this...deep down...in your innermost being.


You are loved.


You are loved by God.
God!  The creator of the sun, the moon, and the stars, loves you.

He loves you like you can't believe.  With a love unlike anything you have ever experienced.  A love that is given freely, whether you ask for it or not....whether you return it or not...whether you want it or not.  God loves you.

And He knows you.  God knows your thoughts.  He knows your dreams.  He knows everything about you.  And He thinks you are beautiful.  He finds you fascinating.  To Him, you are so important.

He takes great joy in you and is with you wherever you go.  He laughs with you.  He cries with you.  He feels your joy and He feels your pain.  He hates it when you get hurt and He wants more for you...so He did something about it.

He came down to Earth.  To us.
God became man.  For us.

His name was Jesus.
And for thirty years He lived.
Eating, sleeping, working, and breathing like a normal person.

Then He started teaching because He wanted us to know the truth.
Then He started healing because He wanted us to know love.

And then, we killed Him.
We killed Him by nailing Him to a cross.

But He had a plan.
You see, He had experienced the hurt and the suffering in our lives.
He saw that our pain was caused by the bad things we did when we turned from God.
So he offered Himself as a sacrifice to pay for these sins.

He paid the price for every bad thing we would ever do.
He forgave while we were still sinning.
He did it because He loved us.
He freed us from slavery to sin.

And then, because he didn't want us to die, he rose from the dead.
He rose up and conquered death, so that when our bodies die our souls won't.
We can go to Heaven, and be with Him for all eternity.
Which is what He wants more than anything.

And to make sure you heard this, before He died He created a Church.
He gave the keys to heaven to Peter, the apostle.
He told Peter to spread the good news to all nations.
And for 2000 years, the Church has existed so you could hear the truth.

That truth is:
That God loves you, no matter what.
That He wants you to live forever with Him.
That He's already paid the price and set you free from sin, by dying for you.
That He is offering you the gift of eternal life and all you have to do is receive the gift.
That He is waiting to enter your life and all you have to do is welcome Him.
That even now, He is there.  Waiting lovingly.  To be loved back.

God loves you that much.


That's it.
That's what I needed to tell you.
I am alive today so I could tell you that.
I pray that you hear me.
Jesus I trust in you.



Keep Pursuing,

What is Just War Doctrine?

The Catholic Church is the first to testify to the evils and injustices that accompany all war.

However, the Church also recognizes that as long as the danger of war persists, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed.

As such, the Church crystallized thousands of years of learning into the "Just War" Doctrine to inform the decisions and actions of nations around the world.

CCC 2309 states:

The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time:

• The damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain 
• All other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective 
• There must be serious prospects of success 
• The use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. (The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.)

Almost every conflict in history fails to meet the conditions listed above. But the Catechism goes on to also discuss the limits for engaging once in a war:

The Church and human reason both assert the permanent validity of the moral law during armed conflict. "The mere fact that war has regrettably broken out does not mean that everything becomes licit between the warring parties."
Non-combatants, wounded soldiers, and prisoners must be respected and treated humanely. 

Actions deliberately contrary to the law of nations and to its universal principles are crimes, as are the orders that command such actions. Blind obedience does not suffice to excuse those who carry them out. Thus the extermination of a people, nation, or ethnic minority must be condemned as a mortal sin. One is morally bound to resist orders that command genocide. 

"Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and man, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation." A danger of modern warfare is that it provides the opportunity to those who possess modern scientific weapons especially atomic, biological, or chemical weapons - to commit such crimes. 

- CCC 2312-2314

And here, any remaining wars that might have passed the criteria for entering into war, lose their status for a "just war" in how they were carried out.

To be clear, not a single war in history could be labeled as a "just war".

Keep Pursuing,

Additional Resources

Catholic Answers explores the "Just War" Doctrine in more detail

The Rosary

The rosary a great prayer made of a collection of smaller prayers.  The rosary can be prayed on rosary beads like the ones shown below.

This is what you say when praying the rosary:

• Start by making the sign of the cross
• On the cross (1) say the Apostle's Creed
• Then, on the next bead (2) say one Our Father
• On the next three beads (3) say one Hail Mary on each bead
• Then, on the next bead (4) say one Glory Be
• Now we start a decade on the next bead (5) by saying one Our Father
• On the next ten beads (6) say one Hail Mary for each bead
• And on the next bead (7) say one Glory Be to finish the first decade
• Use the same bead (7) to start the next decade by saying one Our Father
• Continue as you did for the first decade all the way around the rosary (five decades)
• Afteive decades you should be back at the beginning bead (5)
• Say one Hail Holy Queen
• And one Rosary Concluding Prayer 
• Finish by making the sign of the cross

Praying the Rosary

There is no wrong way to pray a rosary. Some people like to focus on the words of the prayers they are saying.

Personally, I like to meditate on the mysteries of Christ. There are four sets of mysteries.  Each set contains five mysteries to correspond to the five decades of the rosary.  The four sets of mysteries are:

• The Joyful Mysteries
• Focusing on Christ's birth
• The Luminous Mysteries
• Focusing on Christ's life
• The Sorrowful Mysteries
• Focusing on Christ's death
• The Glorious Mysteries 
• Focusing on Christ's resurrection

(If you go to the links above, you will see that each mystery has 10 "thoughts" associated with it that can be meditated upon while saying the 10 Hail Mary prayers in each decade.  These are not required, but are a nice addition.)

The mysteries are said on a schedule according to the day of the week.  The schedule is:

• Sunday: Glorious
• Monday: Joyful
• Tuesday: Sorrowful
• Wednesday: Glorious
• Thursday: Luminous
• Friday: Sorrowful
• Saturday: Joyful

The Origins of the Rosary

The origins of the Rosary are not confirmed, but it is believed the practice started around 800 AD in the efforts of lay people to imitate the practices of local monks.  

The monks were widely respected for being holy and sang all 150 Psalms each day.  The lay people wanted to imitate the practice, but most of them could not read and the Psalms were too long to memorize.  So the lay people began saying the Our Father 150 times.  

In order to avoid losing count, the lay people filled a leather pouch with 150 small stones and would throw one out each time they completed an Our Father.  

Eventually, a knotted rope with 150 knots replaced the bag of stones as it was much easier to carry around. Soon, the rope was simplified to 50 knots, to be repeated 3 times a day.  

When the monks began travelling and evangelizing, they took the practice of praying on these knots with them.  Soon, praying on knotted ropes was a common practice although the prayers said were not uniform.

Eventually, the prayers were recorded in three sets of five mysteries.  The initial three mysteries were the Glorious, Joyful, and Sorrowful.  Each mystery corresponded to one set of ten Hail Mary prayers, or one decade.  Thus, saying all three sets of mysteries resulted in 150 prayers!

Later, in 2002, Pope John Paul II added a fourth set of mysteries focusing on the public life of Christ, the Luminous mysteries.

Keep Pursuing

Additional Resources

This wonderful site is the most concise and ordered explanation of the rosary I have found:

http://www.rosary-center.org/howto.htm

It is the resource I used when learning the mysteries.

The Sermons We See

 "Sermons We See" by Edgar A. Guest:

I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day,
I'd rather one should walk with me than merely show the way.
The eye's a better pupil and more willing than the ear;
Fine counsel is confusing, but example's always clear;
And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds,
For to see the good in actions is what everybody needs.
I can soon learn how to do it if you'll let me see it done.
I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run.
And the lectures you deliver may be very wise and true;
But I'd rather get my lesson by observing what you do.
For I may understand you and the high advice you give,
But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.

This poem is from the book, "The Light of Faith," by Edgar A. Guest,
copyright 1926 by The Reilly & Lee Co., Chicago.

Keep Pursuing,

Tithing

Tithing is an important aspect of everyone's faith journey, yet it is woefully misunderstood.  Let's fix that!

What is tithing?

Tithing is a sacrificial gift of one's time, talent, and treasure to God.


Where did tithing come from?

Tithing is first mentioned in Genesis 14:18-20.  Abram attributes a victory in battle to God and offers a tenth of the spoils to the high priest Melchizedek in thanksgiving.

After that, tithing becomes frequent.  We see it in Jacob's promise in Genesis 28, in a command from God in Leviticus 27, in Mosaic Law in Deuteronomy 14 and many more times throughout the Old Testament.


Why should you tithe?

First and foremost, you should tithe because it is right and just to give thanks to God for the blessings he has bestowed upon you.

Second, you should tithe because you are required to by the precepts of the Catholic Church.

Third, you should tithe because it is good for you! Tithing accomplishes all of the following:

• SANCTIFIES you because "God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:6-7)
• FULFILLS you by investing you in Christ's mission on Earth to save souls
• WISENS you by preventing you from being overly attached to material things
• HUMBLES you by acknowledging that everything you have came from God
• CHEERS you up because science shows gratitude makes you happy

How should you tithe?

It really is different for every person.  This is  evidenced by stories like "The Widow's Mite" in Luke 21:1-4.  However, I do have four universal guidelines that I believe will help you.

1. You should give of your TIME, TALENT, and TREASURE. (Not just treasure.) God gave you all three, so offer all three up.
2. You should give 'til it hurts. I don't mean agony, but it should affect your life. You should be aware of how much you are giving.  
3. God desires mercy more than sacrifice. (Matthew 9:13) The pain of the sacrifice is not what is important. It is the love behind the giving that really matters.
4. On a logistical note, when planning financials set aside your tithe first. And set aside savings second. Then take care of everything else.  If it isn't a priority it won't happen.

Follow those guidelines and you can't go wrong!  (And if you really need more concrete direction, see the bottom of the Additional Resources below.)

Conclusion

As with all things, God reveals His wisdom and love in tithing.
For it is in sacrificing that we better understand Christ's sacrifice.
And it is in giving what we have, that we receive more than we could ask for.


Keep Pursuing

Additional Resources

Below are three articles by Father Rocky at Relevant Radio saying it better than I ever could:

What does the Church believe about tithing? 

Stewardship and the Three T's  

Thou shalt give ten percent?

And here is Catholic Answers, again, doing a better job than I:

What is the Church's position on tithing?

Here is a link to the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the need to tithe:

"The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his abilities."

Here is a link to what Canon Law has to say about tithing:

"The Christian faithful are obliged to assist with the needs of the Church so that the Church has what is necessary for divine worship, for the works of the apostolate and of charity, and for the decent support of ministers. They are also obliged to promote social justice and, mindful of the precept of the Lord, to assist the poor from their own resources." ~ Can 222_1

There are TONS of Bible verses on tithing.  Check out a lot of them at this link.

Seriously though, how much?

Are you still reading this?!

Well, I meant what I said, it depends on the person.  God gave everyone different blessings to use accordingly. However, if you need some concrete help starting out, consider the following:

Tithing is almost universally understood to mean 10% because that is how much the patriarchs of the Old Testament gave.  Most people should try and start at tithing 10%.

And of that 10%, you don't have to give it all to the Church. I believe a good approach is to give half of your tithe to the Church and the other half to charitable organizations and people in need.

That being said, don't get comfortable!  I have friends whose goal in life is to achieve a "reverse tithe"...giving 90% of their income to charity and only keeping 10% to live on!

Lastly, if Catholics gave just 1% of their income to the Church, the Church would be able to resolve all of its debts and achieve financial freedom.

It may be difficult at first.  It may cause pain re-prioritizing your financials.  But at the end of the day, if Christ's mission (the Church) isn't worth 1% of your time, talent, and treasure.  Can you really say it's important to you?

Are you storing up treasure on Earth?  Or in Heaven?

Bible Verses on Tithing

This is a growing list of Bible verses about tithing:

"Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine, and being a priest of God Most High, he blessed Abram with these words: 'Blessed be Abram by God Most High, the creator of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your foes into your hand.' Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything." ~ Genesis 14:18-20 

"All tithes of the land, whether in grain from the fields or in fruit from the trees, belong to the LORD, as sacred to him. ~ Leviticus 29:30 

The tithes of the herd and the flock shall be determined by ceding to the LORD as sacred every tenth animal as they are counted by the herdsman's rod." ~ Leviticus 29:32 

"Honor the LORD with your wealth, with first fruits of all your produce" ~ Proverbs 3:9 

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.  But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." ~ Matthew 6:19-21

(But) take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.  When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. ~ Matthew 6:1-4

"Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.  For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." ~ Luke 12:33-34

When he looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, "I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood." ~ Luke 21:1-4

There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need. ~ Acts 4:34-35 

"We want you to know, brothers, of the grace of God that has been given to the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their profound poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For according to their means, I can testify, and beyond their means, spontaneously," ~ 2 Corinthians 8:1-3

"Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." ~ 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

Keep Pursuing

Additional Resources

This is part of a mini-series on tithing

Bible Cross Reference Infographic

Chris Harrison has created a series of info graphics on the Bible.  Here is my favorite:

"The bar graph that runs along the bottom represents all of the chapters in the Bible. Books alternate in color between white and light gray. The length of each bar denotes the number of verses in the chapter. Each of the 63,779 cross references found in the Bible is depicted by a single arc - the color corresponds to the distance between the two chapters, creating a rainbow-like effect." ~ Harrison

Isn't that gorgeous?!  But you know what is also pretty neat?  This only maps a fraction of the cross references in the Bible.  There are literally hundreds of thousands more!  What an amazing work the Word of God is!

Keep Pursuing,

The Gospel Spectrum Infographic

The Gospel Spectrum hosted by Thirteen Squares presents a unique view of every single verse in the Gospels in an interactive chart shown below.

• Each of the bars (almost 250) represents a major event in life of Christ.  
• The length of each segment indicates the number of verses dedicated to that life event.  
• The color of each segment represents which Gospel the verses being counted came from.

That by itself would be cool.  But then it has tools to splice the data at the bottom!

• The four colored boxes on the left let you toggle which Gospels are being displayed.  
• The thirteen gray boxes in the middle group the near 250 life events into general categories.
• The four blue boxes on the right show how many Gospel's versions are in harmony.

A summary of the creator's thoughts can be found in this PDF.  And an introduction to the tool can be found at this link.

Keep pursuing

Why Yes, Rape is a Big Deal

The Situation

A judge in Montana recently gave a man a 30 day jail sentence for raping a 14 year old girl.  The Blaze reports:

"A former high school teacher in Montana will only serve 30 days in jail, despite being convicted of raping a 14-year-old girl who later committed suicide. 

The sentence was handed down on Monday by Judge G. Todd Baugh to Stacey Dean Rambold, 54, who admitted to having sexual relations with Cherice Morales, a then 14-year-old student. 

Baugh reportedly sentenced Rambold to 15 years in prison for nonconsensual sexual intercourse, but suspended all except 31 days. The judge then gave the former teacher credit for one day served, reducing his total jail sentence to just 30 days." ...Full Article Here

The Reaction

Every person who hears the story is outraged by the judge's decision.  How on earth is it possible for a judge to treat a raping, adultering pedophile who caused suicide so flippantly?!?!

I agree with everyone.  I find this situation repulsive and the decision heinous.

However, I also have to admit that I am surprised that everyone shares my outrage.  Given our society's norms, isn't this expected to happen?  Given our culture's values, shouldn't we expect people behave this way in the future?


The Question

We live in a "modern" culture that champions casual sex.  "Sex is no big deal."

From the time we are in kindergarten we are taught we can't control ourselves when it comes to sex.  Television is flooded with casual sex between strangers.   And ads use sex to sell.  Sex is everywhere.  Sex is no big deal.

Taking this position, I am forced to ask the following question:

If sex is no big deal, then why is rape a big deal?

Logically, if sex is no big deal, then rape is just forcing something that is no big deal.  Where's the problem?

And while some may find this reasoning outlandish, many proponents of the secular progressive movement are already advocating exactly this position!

Earlier this year CNN reporters sympathized for the poor rapists who gang-banged an unconscious girl at a high school party and then bragged about it online.  Just this past week, Richard Dawkins suggested that mild pedophilia is not that bad.  And even this story we are discussing, this mockery of justice, this 30 day sentence for rape, is not being picked up by mainstream media.

So can you really fault these "leaders" for taking the hookup culture to its logical end?  Rape is more akin to a prank than a crime, right?


The Answer

Wrong.

Far from being "no big deal", sex is, in fact, holy.  Sex is not solely a physical act, it is spiritual, touching the innermost being of a person. (CCC 2361) It is a is gift given to man by God Himself. (CCC 2362)

Further human life has inherent value (CCC 2258) and human dignity is sacred (CCC 1929). Each one of us is loved infinitely by an infinite God.  And any act that treats a human being as a means, rather than an ends, is contrary to the will of God.  Thus rape, using a human as a means to your own pleasure, is evil.

So yes, rape is a big deal because sex is a big deal. 

Rape is a horrendous sin because sex is a holy gift.

Rape is a terrible evil because human dignity is sacred. 

Keep Pursuing

Additional Materials

Here is a horrifying story of a second person traumatized by pedophilia and her opinion on this case:

http://www.xojane.com/issues/stacey-rambold-cherice-morales

The Saint Patrick's Breastplate Prayer

This is how you say Saint Patrick's Breastplate Prayer:

I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
+
I bind this day to me for ever.
By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan river;
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;*
I bind unto myself today.
+
I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the cherubim;
The sweet 'well done' in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.
+
I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.
+
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.
+
Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.
+
Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.
+
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
+
I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

What a warrior's prayer!  Saint Patrick said this prayer every day when he went out to convert the druid tribes of Ireland to Catholicism.  Saint Patrick succeeded in this endeavor and lived on to found the monasteries of Ireland.

Keep Pursuing