Tag Archives: books

August 7, 2012 · 1:16 pm

Church History is World History

In his book Triumph: The Power and Glory of the Catholic Church, author H. W. Crocker writes:

The Roman conqueror Pompey, with the blood stench of battle behind him, greeted the Jews as a tribune of the Pax Romana and magnanimously allowed the ruling Hasmonean dynasty to remain.  The Hasmoneans returned Pompey’s trust by supporting his rival, Julius Caesar, in the Roman civil war, and the grateful Caesar gave the Jews a protected status within the empire.  That status ended, however, in the subsequent reign of Augustus, when Syria’s Roman governor Publius Quintilius Varus invaded Judea, putting down a nationalist uprising against the pro-Roman Jewish ruling class.  He laid waste to nationalist strongholds, executed 2,000 reported traitors, sold 30,000 rebellious Jews into slavery and annexed Judea as a province under a Roman governor, or procurator.  In the year A.D. 26 – though it was not yet called that – a new procurator was appointed.  His name was Pontius Pilate.

My eyes had just started to gloss over before that last sentence startled me back to reality.  It was about one in the morning and I had been up long past my bedtime engrossed in Church history.  As exhaustion started to creep over me, the names and places and battles of two-thousand years ago started to blend together on the page.  It was the name Pontius Pilate that caught my attention – a name I knew well from the gospel accounts.

For hours I had been reading this book, a history book, as though I was doing research for a college class.  The names, the dates, the geography all had me in a kind of scholarly mindset, a way of thinking that I haven’t really employed since I was a student.   When the name Pontius Pilate appeared, my research mindset was confronted with this other part of my brain that I apparently reserve for reading Scripture.  In a moment of mildly disorienting cognitive dissonance, I thought to myself, “Whoa, weird.  Pilate appears in the gospels, doesn’t he?”

Copy of inscription found at Caesarea Maritima mentioning Pontius Pilate as prefect of Judaea and connecting him with the reign of Tiberius.

Maybe it was the sleepiness (or maybe it was the glass of wine), but my metacognitive skills had obviously already gone to bed.   I’ve been dwelling on this moment ever since, though.  I’ve always understood the gospels to be true.  Most respected historians are in agreement that the accounts are, if nothing else, factual records of events that actually happened.  It should be no surprise to me then when key figures from the bible show up in world history records.  Pontius Pilate is right in there with Pompey and Julius Caesar.  History and scripture do not collide – they coincide.

I am a Catholic Christian because Catholic Christianity is true. How amazing to see history so beautifully synchronized with the chronicles of salvation we know from Sacred Scripture and Tradition.  May my faith remain as veritable as the God I serve.

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June 28, 2012 · 11:50 pm

7 Quick Takes Friday, Volume 6

— 1 —

Last week I was asked to be a Eucharistic minister at my church.  The proper term for this, of course, is “Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion” (EMHC), as the priest is the actual Eucharistic minister.  In case you’re unfamiliar with Catholic jargon, this means that I will be assisting with the distribution of the Eucharist at weekday and weekend masses.  In case you’re also unfamiliar with Catholic doctrine, this means that I’m charged with actually giving Jesus to my fellow church members.  How do you even describe something so incredible?  Pretty amazing.  It’s a real honor to even be asked.

I met with my priest yesterday to be trained for this new ministry.  It was the most fascinating thirty minutes of my life.  Catholic tradition (lower-case “t” this time) is so utterly awesome.  I could have spent all day there just repeatedly asking, “Okay, now tell me about this.”  Maybe I’ll do a full post on some of the interesting things I learned.  These takes are supposed to be quick, after all.

You know, this is ironic.  The Evangelical churches we used to attend would  distribute communion juice in little cups that nested inside this massive tray.  The tray was usually passed from row to row.  It looked like this:

I used to joke with Shannon that I had NIGHTMARES about dropping it.  The tray would come my way and I’d practically insist that the people on either side of me just pass it over my lap.  It was awkward, heavy, and full of disaster potential.  Such fear, and that was juice!  Oh man.  Thankfully now I’ll be handling a chalice, not a tray.  I will be fine.  My first turn is this morning at 8:30 AM mass.  I’m excited and humbled and amazed that I get to do this. [Edited to add: It went fine.  :)   ]

— 2 —

I’ve had my new smartphone for over a week now and I’ve been busy filling it up with apps that everyone else has already been using since 2009.  I feel like I’m catching up with technology (for a few seconds anyway).  One app you might not know about is called the Laudete app.  Its basically for Catholic geeks like me, but you might like it too.  It has the daily readings, the Liturgy of the Hours, an interactive Rosary, stations of the cross, prayers (English and Latin!), two bible translations and even a catechism.  Its the #1 free Catholic app.  Go download it!

— 3 —

I ran across an interesting quote/poem this week on a random blog I was perusing.  It’s called the Litany of Gendlin and I thought it was worth sharing here.  It really spoke to me in terms of my recent reversion and the whole process that entailed (especially that first stanza!):

What is true is already so.
Owning up to it doesn’t make it worse.
Not being open about it doesn’t make it go away.

And because it’s true, it is what is there to be interacted with.
Anything untrue isn’t there to be lived.
People can stand what is true,
for they are already enduring it.

— 4 —

Yesterday the Supreme Court declared Obamacare to be Constitutional.  I don’t plan to exhaust the issue further by providing my personal feelings on the subject.  Instead, I’ll link you to a posting on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.  If you’re wondering my opinion, it aligns with theirs.  If ever this changes, so will the name of this blog.

It was a wild morning on Facebook when the news broke, to say the least.  My pick for best meme image of the day goes to the creator of this:

— 5 —

Last summer I had the privilege of helping plan my best friend’s bridal shower.  This summer, I’m helping to plan her baby shower!  This September I become an honorary Auntie to a beautiful baby girl.  The planning for the shower just got underway this week and we’re shooting for a mid-August party.  I’m so excited to share the joys of parenthood with someone I grew up with.  From passing notes to planning playdates…life is surreal.

— 6 —

I’m struggling to strike a balance in the kind of reading I like to do.  Generally speaking, I have no time for fiction.  There are so many theology-related books on my “to read” list that it actually causes me anxiety.  I’m just not into reading fiction when there is so much to learn (and since I know fiction is worthwhile and awesome, I do hope I come to embrace it someday).  As a busy mother of two toddlers, my reading time is seriously limited which makes my “to read” list seem even more insurmountable.

The problem gets more specific.  What kind of Christian theology should I prioritize?  Within this vast genre, I like to read books from the Catholic perspective but also from the non-Catholic perspective.  I’m a firm believer in being well-rounded in study.  I guess I’m wondering this: If I am decidedly and forever Catholic (yes), how much importance should I place on reading the works of dissenting thought?  On the one hand, I’ll disagree with much of what I read and also potentially take time away from studying the many great works that await me in Catholic literature.  On the other hand, the study of God is never wasted.  Whether I agree with a concept or not, its helpful to understand the theological workings of other faith doctrines.  I personally feel that you don’t really “know” a topic until you can understand why one understanding is correct to the exclusion of the others.  I’m speaking of matters of absolute truth here, obviously.  Arg.  So much to read, so little time.

And don’t even get me started on my list of blogs!  My google reader is giving me a panic attack tonight.

— 7 —

This week’s Blog Better Than Mine is by LT Horton and is aptly titled Look!  A Black Catholic!  LT’s blog really did make me stop for a second and say, “Huh…I really don’t know any black Catholics!  I wonder why that is?”  She has a beautiful conversion story and a really unique perspective on the universality of our awesome Church.  I love her posts and hope you will too.  :)

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

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June 5, 2012 · 1:09 am

Every Day a …Sunday?

I just sent my husband a text at work.  His job is thirty minutes away and he really wants to go to mass in the morning when his shift ends.  Were there any churches nearby that had mass around that time?  I did a quick googling and found that the parish nearest his work holds daily mass at 7 AM.  He now plans to go and also offered to take over the child-rearing tomorrow evening so I can go to mass at our local parish.  This is a typical, wonderful Tuesday in our home these days.

Joel Osteen has a new book out called Every Day A Friday.  I won’t use this post to detail my opinion of Mr. Osteen’s ministry but suffice it to say that I’m skeptical of his message.  This new book’s premise is that a Christian should be happy seven days a week, “just like Friday at 5 o’clock!”  Apparently a study was done which suggested that people were most happy at this time each week.  Fair enough; Pastor Osteen gets points for creativity.  But here’s the problem with the title: virtually every devout Christian I know found it to be confusing.  Friday?  Okay, so the typical nine-to-fiver gets to hang up his hat for the weekend.  I guess that’s pretty happy, TGIF and whatnot.  But what about the day that is set aside by God Himself for worship, for praise, for thanksgiving and fellowship?  What about the one day of each week that we are commanded to gather as a body of believers to break bread and remember all that the Lord has done for us and rest?  What about Sunday?!

When I was given the gift of faith from God, I lived for Sunday mornings.  Oh, if only every day could be a Sunday!  There was simply no greater day of the week.  Our church held two Sunday morning services.  I’d often attend the earlier one and then stay for the worship segment of the later service which followed.  I’d bring my bible and take notes and sing and pray and leave feeling on fire for the Lord, refreshed, refocused, and ready to meet the week ahead.  Depending on the time of year, Sundays would also include an evening bible study at six o’clock, a real bonus for those of us who couldn’t get enough Sunday.  A close runner-up to Sunday was Wednesday night youth group during which we would also sing praise to God, hear a powerful sermon and have fellowship with other Christians.  I’m sorry Mr. Osteen, but many Christians just cannot relate to the title of your book.  Friday?  That’s two days after Wednesday and two days from Sunday.  Friday is average.  Friday is a day to endure before Sunday. Friday is not known as the high point of spiritual satisfaction each week – that’s always been the purpose of Sundays.

As a reverted Catholic, I am experiencing the newfound joy of Sundays once again.  Absolutely everything about my Catholic faith can be described as “like before, only better,” and Sunday mass is a prime example of this.  On Sunday mornings I gather together with my church family for the same purposes I always have: for worship, for praise, for thanksgiving, for fellowship.  But there’s more.  We gather to break bread and celebrate the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Christ’s substantial body, blood, soul, and divinity.  We gather for union with Christ that cannot be experienced elsewhere.  The Mystical Body of Christ is found here and only here, for it is only within the Catholic Church that the literal presence of God can be found.  As Saint John Vianney once said of the Eucharist: “When we receive Holy Communion, we experience something extraordinary – a joy, a fragrance, a well being that thrills the whole body and causes it to exalt.“  Sunday mass is a foretaste of heaven on earth and beyond a doubt the “source and summit” of our lives.  Who could stay away?

And oh, it gets even better.  We don’t have to wait for Sunday.  Something this awesome is not reserved for just one day a week but is instead celebrated every single day.  After years of wishing for “every day a Sunday,” I can now experience the joy of communion with God on a daily basis.  For my husband and me, this means we can take turns going to mass on most weekdays; one of us goes and the other stays home with the children.  It is unbelievably peaceful to sneak out of the house, make the short trip to the church (about a one minute drive for us), and spend the first moments of the day in the presence of Jesus.  Its always silent when I slip into the pew.  The frustrations of a long night with two toddlers and the stress of the day to come fade away.  For a precious thirty minutes, heaven meets earth and we enjoy oneness with God.  It is the ultimate way to begin a day.

(I think back to my college years.  There was an incredible Catholic Church on campus with a thriving student ministry.  I walked by it every day.  Daily mass was at 12:05 PM.  If I knew then what I know now, I’d have lived there.)

As a new week begins, I look forward to the fact that I’ll probably attend mass at least twice more before Sunday rolls around again.  My husband and I look forward to the day when we can go together, but with young children at home our alternate schedule is most realistic.  It’s also a way we can make sacrifices for one another in our marriage.  The best gift my husband can give me is time to go to mass.  Not all busy mothers are afforded such a blessing and I’m so thankful.  Likewise, it is my joy to enable my husband to go.  We make a pretty good team.  :)

As a Protestant, something in my innermost being wished that every day could be like a Sunday.  After realizing the mind-blowing truths of Catholic teaching, I was almost unsurprised to learn that the Church had been celebrating daily mass for centuries.  Of course!  Communion with God is the source and summit of our lives.  And for the Church founded by Christ, Sundays alone are not enough.

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