To all my Protestant and nondenominational brothers and sisters... As you know from my numerous posts, Catholics are immersed on a season of quiet, reflective, and internal prayer, penance and almsgiving during these 40 days which precede Resurrection Sunday.
During this time we undertake various fasts and try to walk with Jesus through the desert, in His passion, and along the Way of The Cross.
Particularly on Fridays, the day He died, we show repentance and love for Him by fasting and abstaining from eating meat. We also practice a centuries old tradition called "the Stations of the Cross." inside every Catholic Church is a series of numbered "stations" or paintings of particular incidents Jesus encountered on His way to the Cross. Some churches even do these "live action" during lent. At each station, you hear a brief reading depicting the scene at hand, and then you kneel in silence and meditate on whatever God gives you for that particular scene. The whole thing takes around twenty minutes... But they are some of the most powerful and spirit-filled moments you will spend all year.
Friday nights during lent at St Patrick's, we gather communally for a simple meal of bread and soup and walk the Stations of the Cross together. Children are welcome and on some nights there is childcare.
On Good Friday the Church also does various traditions like the veneration of the cross-- I have been to one of these where we could touch and kiss a cross that contained a piece of wood-- a relic-- of the true Cross on which He died- amazing!
During the service of Easter we read the crucifixion and resurrection narrative in Scripture out loud. It is a profoundly life-changing experience to be in a room with thousands of people hearing the Scriptures that tell the Story of His death and riding again, and to literally see every knee bend at the name if Jesus... Not to mention that the same thing is happening in every Catholic Church the world over at the same time!
Anyways, I'm writing to ask you to consider joining me at one of these events this year: either in observing lent, in joining me on a Friday night for soup and the Stations, or in the veneration of the cross on Good Friday, or in the celebration of His Resurrection on Sunday. If you don't live near me, you can do it in your own city, without me, at your local Catholic Church.
There are so many things that separate us from Unity of the faith. There is a rift between us in doctrinal matters that is often so great that we simply cannot worship together. But I know that many of you are curious about---even antagonistic towards-- the Catholic Faith. I cannot imagine a better way to work towards Unity and inclusion in the blessed Body of Christ than to walk alongside you as we demonstrate our love for Jesus by laying aside our flesh and seeking The Crucified One together in a common meditation on the Cross. Would you join me?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iTouch, forgive any mistakes :p
"Perhaps this is one of the secrets of life-- to know 'Glory' when we see it..." --Charlotte M. Mason
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Brilliant Dawn of Post-Modern Asexualism
Another one from my husband I thought was brilliant. He and I were DISGUSTED with the man-hating NFL commercials on Superbowl Sunday. This was the result of our musings on the loss of manhood in society:
Guys, it's time for us to wake up and see the daylight. In this brave new world where we aren't held back by glorified campfire stories of crazy, vindictive deities, we must make full use of all we have around us, as individuals and as communities.
With no abusive "sky person" to inhibit our decision making or scare us with superstitions, we can cast off with impunity these gender roles which have divided us for so long. In the previous century, we saw the rosy tipped fingers of this post-modern dawn extending across the plains of human existence. Women courageously armed themselves to the teeth with their sexuality and their wit and set off to blaze a trail of defiance for future generations against those who had for so long oppressed them. They shocked the world with the stunning speed wherewith they turned the tables on humanity. Like giants they dangled the meat of their liberated sexuality and pizazz over the ravenous masses of ignorant males who, like dogs, salivated in ignorance. They were all too eager to abandon their dignity and societal roles to get at the savory, sultry goods... and with the dogs distracted, the women hopped over the fence, over the social barriers into the realm of what had previously only been male roles. Little did they know that before their feet would hit the ground the dogs would have devoured the meat and turned to devour them. So greatly did they underestimate the voracious appetite of those pigs!
However, even after they had been used and abused for their meat in this new territory, the struggle went on, for life, for liberty! And the fight goes on today. They learned better how to use their femininity. As with all progress, it is a trial and error method, and the blows suffered could do no harm to their ardor and their august character. Great advances have been made! The sacred right to abortion, for one, is a huge advance. In a fore-time, misogynistic males would dictate what women would have to do with their bodies, but never again! Our society shall remember those brave women who exercised that sacred right to abort. Pornography is another gargantuan statement of liberty and independence, for the empowerment of women.
No more shall women be shackled to the family life, to being a mother. No more will they be relegated to the cheap and shameful status of "housewife."
Classical manliness, that bastardization of humanity, is all but extinct. The days where a man could say to himself," My family needs me, I will provide no matter what." are over, because they don't need him. Such sentiments are a crutch only for the most backward and ignorant males. Today's modern male knows that it is his obligation and reparation to women to remain ever vulnerable. The modern man strives to realize these things by only having jobs and differing the seeking of a career to their life mate. A real man would never seek to impregnate their life mate and ruin their partners opportunities. A real man wouldn't try force her to marry him, because marriage is a shackle and shackles are a symbol of punishment and distrust. A real man will make sure that his partner can have a career so that she can be independent and realize her potential. After all, that is a sign of trust... trust that she loves him and won't leave after she has a career he paid for, which is a great life lesson for the male.
Modern men aren't worried about having kids, hunting, playing sports, building, growing a beard, being involved in civics, or philosophizing to prove their manliness. In fact, many of them now regularly procure vasectomies, volunteer at animal shelters, hate beards and shun competitive sports. They're sure of their manliness, so much so, they have abandoned these antiquated and foolish "machismo" venues for more enjoyable venues... like video games, pornography/ masturbation, drinking what misogynists call "girl drinks", skateboarding, and dressing like teenagers. In previous generations, men would avoid most creature comforts to prove their manliness and to teach themselves morals, morals given by a prehistoric zombie god named Jesus. The modern man is beyond those ignorant and futile constructs, he is enlightened. He is an experientialist and an experimentalist, he believes in nothing and stands for nothing... he just lives and let's live. He's neither ashamed or afraid to indulge. He stands up only for everyone's right to be themselves and never judges anything.
The modern man isn't afraid to cry, even in public. He doesn't selfishly take upon himself the mantle of "provider and leader" like men throughout the ages have, rather he empowers the woman to take up those roles or does it together with her. The modern man isn't afraid to talk about his feelings, he shares his emotions. He isn't afraid to intimately vent his frustrations with people and just get it all out. He is polite, and never shares his opinions... especially on politics and religion. Unless, there is an opportunity for social norms to be changed and the old order brought down. He is a revolutionary in this new age! He is a gregarious sort! You've seen him, making himself the butt of jokes dealing with gender roles, because he is confident. He laughs along when old ideas about manliness are mocked, when male ineptitude and dependency on females is implied. He's not concerned with distinguishing himself as a man, he uses feminine slang and makes aesthetic attempts at androgyny. It's obvious that compared to pathetic examples of men we have from the past, that he is stronger than them, and more confident. We can see this in how frequently he berates his sex and himself, and how he minds not at all when men are given the short end.
He is not bound by ignorance in sex either. The modern man is proud of his wife's or life partners freedom. He's a wife sharer and a cuckold. As one song goes," The more you suffer, the more it shows you really care."
The modern man is heavily engaged in reparation to women through self-humiliation and abasement. The modern woman is a sexually charged, rebellious, diva who takes what she wants, doesn't have to rely on anyone, doesn't need to thank anyone, and doesn't need anyone to forgive her. More and more the lines have blurred. The sun has risen into a brilliant dawn of post-modern asexuality. A new age where men and women don't need each other, where there is no more gender or gender role... but only one human race! Isn't it beautiful!?? *crazy-care bear stare* *chuckling*
Seriously, though... pull your heads out of each others asses people. Take a look in the proverbial mirror and tighten up. There's a whole generation of idiots who are counting on you.
Guys, it's time for us to wake up and see the daylight. In this brave new world where we aren't held back by glorified campfire stories of crazy, vindictive deities, we must make full use of all we have around us, as individuals and as communities.
With no abusive "sky person" to inhibit our decision making or scare us with superstitions, we can cast off with impunity these gender roles which have divided us for so long. In the previous century, we saw the rosy tipped fingers of this post-modern dawn extending across the plains of human existence. Women courageously armed themselves to the teeth with their sexuality and their wit and set off to blaze a trail of defiance for future generations against those who had for so long oppressed them. They shocked the world with the stunning speed wherewith they turned the tables on humanity. Like giants they dangled the meat of their liberated sexuality and pizazz over the ravenous masses of ignorant males who, like dogs, salivated in ignorance. They were all too eager to abandon their dignity and societal roles to get at the savory, sultry goods... and with the dogs distracted, the women hopped over the fence, over the social barriers into the realm of what had previously only been male roles. Little did they know that before their feet would hit the ground the dogs would have devoured the meat and turned to devour them. So greatly did they underestimate the voracious appetite of those pigs!
However, even after they had been used and abused for their meat in this new territory, the struggle went on, for life, for liberty! And the fight goes on today. They learned better how to use their femininity. As with all progress, it is a trial and error method, and the blows suffered could do no harm to their ardor and their august character. Great advances have been made! The sacred right to abortion, for one, is a huge advance. In a fore-time, misogynistic males would dictate what women would have to do with their bodies, but never again! Our society shall remember those brave women who exercised that sacred right to abort. Pornography is another gargantuan statement of liberty and independence, for the empowerment of women.
No more shall women be shackled to the family life, to being a mother. No more will they be relegated to the cheap and shameful status of "housewife."
Classical manliness, that bastardization of humanity, is all but extinct. The days where a man could say to himself," My family needs me, I will provide no matter what." are over, because they don't need him. Such sentiments are a crutch only for the most backward and ignorant males. Today's modern male knows that it is his obligation and reparation to women to remain ever vulnerable. The modern man strives to realize these things by only having jobs and differing the seeking of a career to their life mate. A real man would never seek to impregnate their life mate and ruin their partners opportunities. A real man wouldn't try force her to marry him, because marriage is a shackle and shackles are a symbol of punishment and distrust. A real man will make sure that his partner can have a career so that she can be independent and realize her potential. After all, that is a sign of trust... trust that she loves him and won't leave after she has a career he paid for, which is a great life lesson for the male.
Modern men aren't worried about having kids, hunting, playing sports, building, growing a beard, being involved in civics, or philosophizing to prove their manliness. In fact, many of them now regularly procure vasectomies, volunteer at animal shelters, hate beards and shun competitive sports. They're sure of their manliness, so much so, they have abandoned these antiquated and foolish "machismo" venues for more enjoyable venues... like video games, pornography/ masturbation, drinking what misogynists call "girl drinks", skateboarding, and dressing like teenagers. In previous generations, men would avoid most creature comforts to prove their manliness and to teach themselves morals, morals given by a prehistoric zombie god named Jesus. The modern man is beyond those ignorant and futile constructs, he is enlightened. He is an experientialist and an experimentalist, he believes in nothing and stands for nothing... he just lives and let's live. He's neither ashamed or afraid to indulge. He stands up only for everyone's right to be themselves and never judges anything.
The modern man isn't afraid to cry, even in public. He doesn't selfishly take upon himself the mantle of "provider and leader" like men throughout the ages have, rather he empowers the woman to take up those roles or does it together with her. The modern man isn't afraid to talk about his feelings, he shares his emotions. He isn't afraid to intimately vent his frustrations with people and just get it all out. He is polite, and never shares his opinions... especially on politics and religion. Unless, there is an opportunity for social norms to be changed and the old order brought down. He is a revolutionary in this new age! He is a gregarious sort! You've seen him, making himself the butt of jokes dealing with gender roles, because he is confident. He laughs along when old ideas about manliness are mocked, when male ineptitude and dependency on females is implied. He's not concerned with distinguishing himself as a man, he uses feminine slang and makes aesthetic attempts at androgyny. It's obvious that compared to pathetic examples of men we have from the past, that he is stronger than them, and more confident. We can see this in how frequently he berates his sex and himself, and how he minds not at all when men are given the short end.
He is not bound by ignorance in sex either. The modern man is proud of his wife's or life partners freedom. He's a wife sharer and a cuckold. As one song goes," The more you suffer, the more it shows you really care."
The modern man is heavily engaged in reparation to women through self-humiliation and abasement. The modern woman is a sexually charged, rebellious, diva who takes what she wants, doesn't have to rely on anyone, doesn't need to thank anyone, and doesn't need anyone to forgive her. More and more the lines have blurred. The sun has risen into a brilliant dawn of post-modern asexuality. A new age where men and women don't need each other, where there is no more gender or gender role... but only one human race! Isn't it beautiful!?? *crazy-care bear stare* *chuckling*
Seriously, though... pull your heads out of each others asses people. Take a look in the proverbial mirror and tighten up. There's a whole generation of idiots who are counting on you.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Confession
I had the opportunity to go to confession for the first time in quite a while the other day. I was so excited as I like to go frequently and haven't been able to. But when I arrived, the line was practically out the door! (aaaand in headcoverings, no less!) Now, this is rare and cause for rejoicing, but the selfish part if me was sad I would certainly not get confession that day.
I knelt in the front pew and quietly told God I accepted His will but hoped to be confessed. No sooner had I taken my place in line than a little old man carrying a worn Magnificat got up from the front and walked aaaalllll the way over to me. Stooping down to my height he very politely asked if I would please take his place at the front. Try as I might to decline, everyone in the line agreed that it was best, so off I went, amazed at how God had answered my prayer.
Further, my confessor happened to be one of my favorite priests, a Benedictine monk with contemplative tendencies and a thorough understanding of Carmelite spirituality. He heard my confession and then as pennance gave me to pray for three Carmelite convents he had had much contact with back in Germany. When the Nazis were executing people, they always read a decree that began: "in the name of the German people..."
These carmelite nuns at Auschwitz, Dachau and in Berlin pray and make sacrifices day and night in reparation for the sins of the German people!
Wow. I was so moved and couldn't wait to get home to find an address to write to them.
When I did, I was amazed to find that instead if being beloved these nuns were reviled for what they do and had suffered much violence against them because of it. It is hard for me to fathom that a person could give up all personal relationships and freedom to become cloistered and pray and still be asked to suffer so much!!
St Teresa says that Carmelites are chosen by God because he knows they can endure so much suffering.
Lately, my daughter has been really into the story of the Marian apparition at Fatima. The first thing that Mary asked the children was: God wants me to ask if you are you willing to suffer to save souls? The suffering will be great.
I noticed that the other two visionaries were taken to heaven quite early, but Lucia--- she grew to a very old age and became a Carmelite nun. Teresa must be right... And I'm coming to terms with that idea, that suffering is a gift and not a curse.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iTouch, forgive any mistakes :p
Pre-lent
The kids had a brief lesson on lent today in which I tried to instill some sense of why we do what we do. I told them that at lent we were going to Stop doing some things which keep us from God and start doing other things which bring us to God.
My daughter piped up that she was going to give up chocolate like her nursery teacher. This was exactly the kind of thing I wanted to Address: we don't give something up because it benefits us but because it serves the purpose of making reparation, of denying the flesh, and of sacrificing ourselves for others.
For example, this year I am giving up complaining and whining, which I love to do. And every time I am wronged I plan on turning the other cheek. Every time. As for what positive steps I am going to take... I plan on doing an examination of conscience every night and saying all 20 mysteries of the rosary every day (phew!)
The most incredible lent I ever had I fasted from reading anything but the Bible and the Catechism. I expect this year to be similar.
So I asked my three year old what SHE could give up for lent. She told me she wanted to give up complaining also, and to stop pushing her little brother. I was amazed at her quick grasp of the idea... In particular when she then told me that her brother was too young to choose, so she would choose for him: he was going to stop waking up the baby. (hah!) she decided she was going to also pray one rosary with me each day.
May God bless you and yours in this season of preparation!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iTouch, forgive any mistakes :p
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Can Catholics be saved?
A couple of protestant friends of mine wrote me this week to tell me they had had frustrating encounters with people who believed that Roman Catholics could simply NOT be saved. Try as they might, these women were not able to express in any kind of meaningful way that Catholics believed in the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, nailed to the wood of the cross for our eternal salvation.
Why? Because the people in question KNEW Catholics- since, at one point they had been one!
This is a pretty typical scenario- (guilty over here!!) and one that needs to be addressed, if only to demonstrate why that argument just isn't good enough, for the sake of clarity.
There is one Catholic faith, but like anything else there are many ways of living it out-- some more correct than others. There are yogis who take a yoga class at the gym 3x a week, and there are yogis who are vegan, visit ashrams, live by ayurvedic principles, and have a meditation practice. Same principle.
At it's core, the Catholic faith is a never-fail system to live out that coveted "personal relationship with Christ."
One must decide, however, if one Is actually interested in doing that--- that's the nature of Christianity.
Because of this, there are several different types of Catholics. Authentic Catholicism is lived out by a true faith in Christ... Adhesion to the principles set out in Holy Scripture and elaborated on by the Magesterium, unyielding surrender to the Lord in every area, service toward others, and an active prayerlife.
SOME Catholics live this out near- perfectly but refuse God's Lordship on one or two areas on which they maintain rebellious and hard hearts. This might be over an issue like abortion, or birth control, or female priesthood, or gay marriage.
Some Catholics are cultural Catholics, having been rAised Catholic but not having responded to Christ in their own hearts for various reasons. They love the traditions they grew up with but don't care about the reason behind the traditions. Though they are baptized, they do not respond to their baptismal promises with action.
Still others are well- intentioned Catholics who live in a culture where rampant Satanist activity has attempted to undermine the True faith. These Catholics might go to daily mass, but they also practice witchcraft, voodoo, and other folk magic. They are not catechized and believe they can combine what is evil with what is good-- although the Church says this is impossible.
In short, do not judge "Catholicism" by it's adherents. In doing so you are doing exactly what so many Protestants lament that one might do about "Christianity" as a whole.
If you grew up Catholic, got saved and left, or if you don't know anything about Catholicism but it sounds "unbiblical" make sure you are basing your ideas on what Scripture as interpreted by the Catechism of the Catholic Church says and not opinions and or choices of persons who are not formed Catholics.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iTouch, forgive any mistakes :p
Why? Because the people in question KNEW Catholics- since, at one point they had been one!
This is a pretty typical scenario- (guilty over here!!) and one that needs to be addressed, if only to demonstrate why that argument just isn't good enough, for the sake of clarity.
There is one Catholic faith, but like anything else there are many ways of living it out-- some more correct than others. There are yogis who take a yoga class at the gym 3x a week, and there are yogis who are vegan, visit ashrams, live by ayurvedic principles, and have a meditation practice. Same principle.
At it's core, the Catholic faith is a never-fail system to live out that coveted "personal relationship with Christ."
One must decide, however, if one Is actually interested in doing that--- that's the nature of Christianity.
Because of this, there are several different types of Catholics. Authentic Catholicism is lived out by a true faith in Christ... Adhesion to the principles set out in Holy Scripture and elaborated on by the Magesterium, unyielding surrender to the Lord in every area, service toward others, and an active prayerlife.
SOME Catholics live this out near- perfectly but refuse God's Lordship on one or two areas on which they maintain rebellious and hard hearts. This might be over an issue like abortion, or birth control, or female priesthood, or gay marriage.
Some Catholics are cultural Catholics, having been rAised Catholic but not having responded to Christ in their own hearts for various reasons. They love the traditions they grew up with but don't care about the reason behind the traditions. Though they are baptized, they do not respond to their baptismal promises with action.
Still others are well- intentioned Catholics who live in a culture where rampant Satanist activity has attempted to undermine the True faith. These Catholics might go to daily mass, but they also practice witchcraft, voodoo, and other folk magic. They are not catechized and believe they can combine what is evil with what is good-- although the Church says this is impossible.
In short, do not judge "Catholicism" by it's adherents. In doing so you are doing exactly what so many Protestants lament that one might do about "Christianity" as a whole.
If you grew up Catholic, got saved and left, or if you don't know anything about Catholicism but it sounds "unbiblical" make sure you are basing your ideas on what Scripture as interpreted by the Catechism of the Catholic Church says and not opinions and or choices of persons who are not formed Catholics.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iTouch, forgive any mistakes :p
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Ghost Radar Review
I will be doing a "day with my iTouch" blog in the near future as I received one for Christmas and I'm totally amazed by how productive I have become with one. But for today, I thought I would do a review of one particular app which has kept our interest for the past several months and which, quite honestly, we are rather amazed by.
It's called the Ghost Radar, and it's the best .99 cents we ever spent.
Alright, so first, the premise-- (and this is from the app's website:)
"Ghost Radar employs a proprietary algorithm to analyze the quantum flux. This application does NOT detect EMF nor gravity. Readings for various sensors on iPhone/iPod are analyzed to detect QUANTUM Fluctuations. Interpretations of the sensor readings are displayed graphically as blips on the radar along with numeric and textual readouts. (...)
Ghost Radar attempts to translate the quantum flux readings into a spoken word. Hopefully the entities you are trying to interact with can manipulate the flux and have Ghost Radar speak their words. Supported language localizations are available in English, Italian, German, French, Japenese, and Spanish.
Please visit the Ghost Radar support web site http://www.spudpickles.com/GhostRadar/ to learn how to tune into your environment. "
I admit I'm a HUGE skeptic when it comes to stuff like this, but I'm also strangely intregued... the idea that the spirits around us could learn to manipulate the itouch like they do the K2 is interesting, but I don't know enough about how the iTouch works to know what, if anything, is actually happening.
If indeed it actually IS detecting manipulations/changes in the "quantum flux" (what the heck is that? Because my mother in law, who is head over heels in love with "The Secret" and all manner of "Law of Attraction" stuff is perpetually telling me that the Spirits that talk to the people who write these books are teaching them to manipulate the quantum flux with their minds. No idea if there is a connection, I'm just saying.... creepy demonic idea, meet paranormal app that speaks your language. Or something.)
That being said, I have an iTouch and not an iPhone-- and there is no mic on mine. In fact, I need to use an external mic to use two of my apps.
After trying it a few times, my initial skepticism led me to believe the app was picking up words we were using and bringing up associated or similar words. But the no mic thing basically threw that idea out. Then I thought that the words must just be selected at random, but I find that it is truly uncanny how "connected" the words that come up are in context of our conversations, situations, even things I'm reading quietly!
He and I believe that there are angels, demons, and human spirits roaming about. We believe that most of the spirits who are looking to communicate BACK with humans are demons. Thus, we believe that most, if not all, of what the Ghost Radar would pick up if it was indeed communicating with us would be demonic. That being said, there is a very real possibility that something it picks up could be a human soul in need of prayer. Keep that in mind when you read some of these examples. This app truly gives some fascinating readings.
To give you a few examples:
The first two days my husband disappeared with my iTouch and was gone for hours, doing this and that experiment to try to figure out how it works. He discovered that when he sits in a certain chair by the fireplace he gets pretty good readings. (this is one of the strange things about the app. Sometimes you get a flurry of activity, and other times you get absolutely NOTHING for hours!)
Anyways, he was sitting in the glider with the iTouch on his knee watching television. Simultaneously, the radar said: "TV." "Wooden." Our entertainment center is a gigantic, heavy wooden contraption his dad made years ago.
The Baby started crying and I got up to go see how she was doing. The app said: "Follow."
On the mantle by the fireplace sit two pottery goblets we use as wine glasses. We heat our house with wood. "Fire." "Vessels." "Goblet." it said.
A few days later I turned it on and left it on the counter while I was cooking. "Dish." "Wet." "Hot." "Spoon." It said.
The third or fourth time, my husband turned it on and it said "North." He walked north to the kids' room, where the children were fast asleep.
"Book."
My daughter had a book laid across her chest.
"Chicken."
The book had a chicken on the cover.
After that things get really interesting.
Sometimes, as I said, you get nothing for long periods of time. Other times, the readings seem to be totally random or make no sense. Still other times, the readings make perfect sense in context of each other but not of the situation you are in... for example, I could be sitting at the table having a cup of tea and it might say: "Grass." "Wet." "Dark." "Well." "Fall." "Pain." etc.
One day I was praying after a particularly challenging day with the Irish triplets. I asked God for the strength to continue and begging Him to let me know when it would all just END. The Radar happened to be turned on and sitting on the bed. "There's." "Remain." "Season." it piped up.
My daughter, in the adjoining room was cooing over our youngest baby. "You're such a sweet little lovey lover, aren't you?" She asked the baby.
"Love."
"Lover." said the Radar. hmmmm.
A few days later I was typing up a blog and my husband walked by, leaving it on the table. I went to hit the "edit" button. The Radar came to life, saying "Eddy." "Date." I couldn't help but notice the similarity between the two words combined and "edit." Or was I really just looking for coincidences? It's hard to say.
Sometimes it says the same words in a particular room, over and over at different intervals and on totally different days. For instance, three times now it has said: "Greece" in the living room. And "Mighty" in the upstairs office twice.
An upstairs which, btw, has a haunted history and was recently blessed by a priest.
One of the most amazing ones happened there.
My husband happened to be at the foot of said stairs one day and it said "stairs." He asked it: "Is there someone there who needs prayer? I will pray for you."
The Ghost Radar said: "William." a few seconds later: "Talmage." then a few other words. We went straight to the computer and googled different combinations of the words we had gotten. Turns out that there was an obituary for a man in Henderson, NC (just a few hours from here) who had worked in our town and who had the name (first and last) the Radar had given us. He had died the previous week. Now THAT gave us something to think about. And of course, pray about. The Ghost Radar rarely gives names as readings for us. But often, if my husband asks if someone out there needs prayer for release from purgatory, it will give a name: "Louis." "Beverly."
I pray and offer sacrifices for priests. A lot. Sometimes all day. And on one particular day when I had had quite a bit to offer up, I had decided to pray in particular for one priest I know who suffers from depression. As I prayed, it said: "tired. "Father." "life." "directly." A few minutes later I got an email from said priest. He said he had been thinking about a friend of his who had just committed suicide.
Another priest I know has had a hard time during mass. As a joke, I told a friend over the phone I would use the Ghost Radar to track and keep away demons around him.
"Carefully."
"Enemy."
"Trace." it said.
One day I turned it on and forgot about it while I answered a rather long phone call. I promised the person I would pray a rosary for them, hung up, and went into the kitchen to do the dishes and pray the rosary as promised. I returned directly afterwards to look for the iTouch and realized I had left it on. I went back to read the words. there had been a long silence and then, at the time i had begun my rosary:
"Fact."
"Never."
"below"
"Mary."
Then a dead silence again. I got chills on that one.
Late one night my husband was using it next to me while I watched a video on the 15 promises of the rosary in gregorian chant, which we believe to be very powerful against demons. It didn't say anything the whole time the video was on but this: "Bound."
I often get creepy "feelings" or start noticing my environment a little too much when I think there is "something" in my spiritual atmosphere.
I had the Ghost Radar on once when it started to happen and I got goosebumps on the backs of my arms and neck. I prayed to St Michael, the prayer I'm sure you've heard many times before.
"Leaving." Said the app. And then it was silent.
The app's makers recommend that you try to communicate with the Spirits and tell them that they can manipulate the device to speak directly to you. I don't do that, because I believe that invoking spirit communication is a direct opening to whatever spirit happens to be floating around. While I believe that people can (and have-- even, or should I say especially, Saints-- receive information/guidance/requests from "beyond,") I think that it's safe to say that if God wants you to have that experience YOU should not be the one initiating it, as tempting as it may be. This is the very danger of the Ouija Board (which my protestant brother in law keeps comparing the Ghost Radar to) that we always tell people to repent of... in spirit communication we are asking spirits to give us mysterious knowledge that God has not willed for us to know / have. I can qualify that statement with a lot of previous experience praying with people who had demonic problems as a direct result of attempting spirit communication. At the same time, the Ouija Board, without a "user" is just a piece of cardboard. the K2 and other EMF readers are devices designed to do something totally different. The itouch is an itouch. The Ghost Radar "detects fluctuations in the quantum flux." What paranormal activity happens to them is up for grabs as far as "gathering information" goes... but engaging them is another story. When I have done investigations in the past to substantiate claims of hauntings etc, I have not asked for EVPs. But I have placed microphones in the area and gotten interesting results nonetheless.
That being said: it is VERY, VERY, VERY important not to get hung up on stuff like these. The Ghost Radar app is fascinating and by and large will be an interesting tool to use in research in the paranormal field IF -- the big if-- this thing actually is legit, but everyone needs to understand that I'm not promoting the use of this app by the masses. DO NOT go out and get this app, unless you are a seasoned paranormal investigator and/or solid Christian. I know of people who became so obsessed with EVP capture, for example, that they literally withered away as human beings and became unrecognizable shells of themselves. I can see how the Ghost Radar app could be useful in my prayer life and in my work. At the same time, I can see how it could get out of hand quickly.
That's exactly what happened to me the first week I got it-- I was up nursing in my pitch black living room at 3 am and thought I'd give the ghost radar a try instead of checking facebook and twitter for the umpteenth time. I started pondering whether that was actually a bad idea and text messaged a friend of mine who I admire and respect in the field of Catholic demonology. He basically confirmed my position and reminded me not to attempt any kind of communication on my end. I then quickly went to check another mentor's website for a quick read-up on his "official" position on spirit communication. (I HIGHLY recommend everyone who buys the app read Adam's position, as he is an expert in the field and a very wise, humble soul.)
Feeling certain that casual use of the app not intended for research etc but just for fun was a bad idea, I went to go shut it down.
"but." it told me. And then, immediately after: "Search." Just then, a red dot appeared on the radar, which is the strongest "bleep" you can get.
I got nervous and shut it down immediately.
Immediately as I turned it off, my eldest, the one who is a bit sensitive, began to wail and shriek. I ran into her room, and discovered that she was screaming because she thought there were bugs all over her.
Bugs which she hadn't "seen" since my husband and I had been assisting a couple on a serious demonic case a year or so ago. At that time she had woken up every single night, multiple times a night, with "bugs on her" or "bugs that were trying to talk to her" or "bugs that were pulling on her." Bugs that she hadn't seen or heard from since we had somewhat resolved the situation with that couple. I was not happy the bugs were back, and was downright fearful a couple hours later when, snuggled calmly between us sleeping, she began to scream that there were bugs inside the sippy cup she was snuggled up with. Since that day, I've decided that if the Ghost Radar is a prank, it's a darn good one, and if it's actually picking stuff up, it's going to be very effective in paranormal research and I look forward to hearing more about how other friends in the Paranormal field are using it.
In short: Ghost Radar. Most interesting Iphone App, for sure. Handle with care.
It's called the Ghost Radar, and it's the best .99 cents we ever spent.
Alright, so first, the premise-- (and this is from the app's website:)
"Ghost Radar employs a proprietary algorithm to analyze the quantum flux. This application does NOT detect EMF nor gravity. Readings for various sensors on iPhone/iPod are analyzed to detect QUANTUM Fluctuations. Interpretations of the sensor readings are displayed graphically as blips on the radar along with numeric and textual readouts. (...)
Ghost Radar attempts to translate the quantum flux readings into a spoken word. Hopefully the entities you are trying to interact with can manipulate the flux and have Ghost Radar speak their words. Supported language localizations are available in English, Italian, German, French, Japenese, and Spanish.
Please visit the Ghost Radar support web site http://www.spudpickles.com/GhostRadar/ to learn how to tune into your environment. "
I admit I'm a HUGE skeptic when it comes to stuff like this, but I'm also strangely intregued... the idea that the spirits around us could learn to manipulate the itouch like they do the K2 is interesting, but I don't know enough about how the iTouch works to know what, if anything, is actually happening.
If indeed it actually IS detecting manipulations/changes in the "quantum flux" (what the heck is that? Because my mother in law, who is head over heels in love with "The Secret" and all manner of "Law of Attraction" stuff is perpetually telling me that the Spirits that talk to the people who write these books are teaching them to manipulate the quantum flux with their minds. No idea if there is a connection, I'm just saying.... creepy demonic idea, meet paranormal app that speaks your language. Or something.)
That being said, I have an iTouch and not an iPhone-- and there is no mic on mine. In fact, I need to use an external mic to use two of my apps.
After trying it a few times, my initial skepticism led me to believe the app was picking up words we were using and bringing up associated or similar words. But the no mic thing basically threw that idea out. Then I thought that the words must just be selected at random, but I find that it is truly uncanny how "connected" the words that come up are in context of our conversations, situations, even things I'm reading quietly!
He and I believe that there are angels, demons, and human spirits roaming about. We believe that most of the spirits who are looking to communicate BACK with humans are demons. Thus, we believe that most, if not all, of what the Ghost Radar would pick up if it was indeed communicating with us would be demonic. That being said, there is a very real possibility that something it picks up could be a human soul in need of prayer. Keep that in mind when you read some of these examples. This app truly gives some fascinating readings.
To give you a few examples:
The first two days my husband disappeared with my iTouch and was gone for hours, doing this and that experiment to try to figure out how it works. He discovered that when he sits in a certain chair by the fireplace he gets pretty good readings. (this is one of the strange things about the app. Sometimes you get a flurry of activity, and other times you get absolutely NOTHING for hours!)
Anyways, he was sitting in the glider with the iTouch on his knee watching television. Simultaneously, the radar said: "TV." "Wooden." Our entertainment center is a gigantic, heavy wooden contraption his dad made years ago.
The Baby started crying and I got up to go see how she was doing. The app said: "Follow."
On the mantle by the fireplace sit two pottery goblets we use as wine glasses. We heat our house with wood. "Fire." "Vessels." "Goblet." it said.
A few days later I turned it on and left it on the counter while I was cooking. "Dish." "Wet." "Hot." "Spoon." It said.
The third or fourth time, my husband turned it on and it said "North." He walked north to the kids' room, where the children were fast asleep.
"Book."
My daughter had a book laid across her chest.
"Chicken."
The book had a chicken on the cover.
After that things get really interesting.
Sometimes, as I said, you get nothing for long periods of time. Other times, the readings seem to be totally random or make no sense. Still other times, the readings make perfect sense in context of each other but not of the situation you are in... for example, I could be sitting at the table having a cup of tea and it might say: "Grass." "Wet." "Dark." "Well." "Fall." "Pain." etc.
One day I was praying after a particularly challenging day with the Irish triplets. I asked God for the strength to continue and begging Him to let me know when it would all just END. The Radar happened to be turned on and sitting on the bed. "There's." "Remain." "Season." it piped up.
My daughter, in the adjoining room was cooing over our youngest baby. "You're such a sweet little lovey lover, aren't you?" She asked the baby.
"Love."
"Lover." said the Radar. hmmmm.
A few days later I was typing up a blog and my husband walked by, leaving it on the table. I went to hit the "edit" button. The Radar came to life, saying "Eddy." "Date." I couldn't help but notice the similarity between the two words combined and "edit." Or was I really just looking for coincidences? It's hard to say.
Sometimes it says the same words in a particular room, over and over at different intervals and on totally different days. For instance, three times now it has said: "Greece" in the living room. And "Mighty" in the upstairs office twice.
An upstairs which, btw, has a haunted history and was recently blessed by a priest.
One of the most amazing ones happened there.
My husband happened to be at the foot of said stairs one day and it said "stairs." He asked it: "Is there someone there who needs prayer? I will pray for you."
The Ghost Radar said: "William." a few seconds later: "Talmage." then a few other words. We went straight to the computer and googled different combinations of the words we had gotten. Turns out that there was an obituary for a man in Henderson, NC (just a few hours from here) who had worked in our town and who had the name (first and last) the Radar had given us. He had died the previous week. Now THAT gave us something to think about. And of course, pray about. The Ghost Radar rarely gives names as readings for us. But often, if my husband asks if someone out there needs prayer for release from purgatory, it will give a name: "Louis." "Beverly."
I pray and offer sacrifices for priests. A lot. Sometimes all day. And on one particular day when I had had quite a bit to offer up, I had decided to pray in particular for one priest I know who suffers from depression. As I prayed, it said: "tired. "Father." "life." "directly." A few minutes later I got an email from said priest. He said he had been thinking about a friend of his who had just committed suicide.
Another priest I know has had a hard time during mass. As a joke, I told a friend over the phone I would use the Ghost Radar to track and keep away demons around him.
"Carefully."
"Enemy."
"Trace." it said.
One day I turned it on and forgot about it while I answered a rather long phone call. I promised the person I would pray a rosary for them, hung up, and went into the kitchen to do the dishes and pray the rosary as promised. I returned directly afterwards to look for the iTouch and realized I had left it on. I went back to read the words. there had been a long silence and then, at the time i had begun my rosary:
"Fact."
"Never."
"below"
"Mary."
Then a dead silence again. I got chills on that one.
Late one night my husband was using it next to me while I watched a video on the 15 promises of the rosary in gregorian chant, which we believe to be very powerful against demons. It didn't say anything the whole time the video was on but this: "Bound."
I often get creepy "feelings" or start noticing my environment a little too much when I think there is "something" in my spiritual atmosphere.
I had the Ghost Radar on once when it started to happen and I got goosebumps on the backs of my arms and neck. I prayed to St Michael, the prayer I'm sure you've heard many times before.
"Leaving." Said the app. And then it was silent.
The app's makers recommend that you try to communicate with the Spirits and tell them that they can manipulate the device to speak directly to you. I don't do that, because I believe that invoking spirit communication is a direct opening to whatever spirit happens to be floating around. While I believe that people can (and have-- even, or should I say especially, Saints-- receive information/guidance/requests from "beyond,") I think that it's safe to say that if God wants you to have that experience YOU should not be the one initiating it, as tempting as it may be. This is the very danger of the Ouija Board (which my protestant brother in law keeps comparing the Ghost Radar to) that we always tell people to repent of... in spirit communication we are asking spirits to give us mysterious knowledge that God has not willed for us to know / have. I can qualify that statement with a lot of previous experience praying with people who had demonic problems as a direct result of attempting spirit communication. At the same time, the Ouija Board, without a "user" is just a piece of cardboard. the K2 and other EMF readers are devices designed to do something totally different. The itouch is an itouch. The Ghost Radar "detects fluctuations in the quantum flux." What paranormal activity happens to them is up for grabs as far as "gathering information" goes... but engaging them is another story. When I have done investigations in the past to substantiate claims of hauntings etc, I have not asked for EVPs. But I have placed microphones in the area and gotten interesting results nonetheless.
That being said: it is VERY, VERY, VERY important not to get hung up on stuff like these. The Ghost Radar app is fascinating and by and large will be an interesting tool to use in research in the paranormal field IF -- the big if-- this thing actually is legit, but everyone needs to understand that I'm not promoting the use of this app by the masses. DO NOT go out and get this app, unless you are a seasoned paranormal investigator and/or solid Christian. I know of people who became so obsessed with EVP capture, for example, that they literally withered away as human beings and became unrecognizable shells of themselves. I can see how the Ghost Radar app could be useful in my prayer life and in my work. At the same time, I can see how it could get out of hand quickly.
That's exactly what happened to me the first week I got it-- I was up nursing in my pitch black living room at 3 am and thought I'd give the ghost radar a try instead of checking facebook and twitter for the umpteenth time. I started pondering whether that was actually a bad idea and text messaged a friend of mine who I admire and respect in the field of Catholic demonology. He basically confirmed my position and reminded me not to attempt any kind of communication on my end. I then quickly went to check another mentor's website for a quick read-up on his "official" position on spirit communication. (I HIGHLY recommend everyone who buys the app read Adam's position, as he is an expert in the field and a very wise, humble soul.)
Feeling certain that casual use of the app not intended for research etc but just for fun was a bad idea, I went to go shut it down.
"but." it told me. And then, immediately after: "Search." Just then, a red dot appeared on the radar, which is the strongest "bleep" you can get.
I got nervous and shut it down immediately.
Immediately as I turned it off, my eldest, the one who is a bit sensitive, began to wail and shriek. I ran into her room, and discovered that she was screaming because she thought there were bugs all over her.
Bugs which she hadn't "seen" since my husband and I had been assisting a couple on a serious demonic case a year or so ago. At that time she had woken up every single night, multiple times a night, with "bugs on her" or "bugs that were trying to talk to her" or "bugs that were pulling on her." Bugs that she hadn't seen or heard from since we had somewhat resolved the situation with that couple. I was not happy the bugs were back, and was downright fearful a couple hours later when, snuggled calmly between us sleeping, she began to scream that there were bugs inside the sippy cup she was snuggled up with. Since that day, I've decided that if the Ghost Radar is a prank, it's a darn good one, and if it's actually picking stuff up, it's going to be very effective in paranormal research and I look forward to hearing more about how other friends in the Paranormal field are using it.
In short: Ghost Radar. Most interesting Iphone App, for sure. Handle with care.
The worst kind of evil is the hidden kind.
I think I have Bible OCD.
I am obsessed with buying new bibles. Every time Christmas or my birthday comes around, I already have a bible that I can't wait to get my hands on all picked out on my amazon wishlist. It's a sickness.
Then I get it, I use it for like, six months, furiously take notes in it and decorate it to my standards--- and then, all of a sudden, drop it and move on to the next Bible I can't wait to get my hands on.
I do this because I have yet to find the perfect one, one that actually fulfills all of the requirements that I have IN a bible. I really think that in order for this insanity to stop, I'm going to have to just make my own. Sigh.
Alright, first, the outside: I fluctuate between wanting a bible that has black leather (real leather) exterior and one that has brown duotone leather. I like them both. I have no idea why. While I LIKE pocket bibles (cause I always carry one around) I find that they lack some of the awesome extras that study-sized bibles have. I also like the weighty feel of HEAVY bibles with lots of pages. So, yeah. Conundrum. Usually the best choice is something pretty biggish but not giant that I can still carry around in my huge bag. :P
Then comes the meat: the translation. I used to be a NKJV or NASB girl. Those were my two faithful bibles. I can't stand the NIV (No offense to NIV lovers out there) because of it's similarity to the NWT (the Jehova's Witnessess translation) The KJV is good but I am not too excited about the archaic language. I don't hate the HCS.
Then I came back to the Church and found there were all these great books missing from my bible that were just amazing. I don't know how I went without Sirach for so long. :P So now I've got a very limited choice when it comes to translations...I need to have a catholic bible or I'm missing out!
The first and most natural selection is, of course, the trusty Douay Rheims, the "only bible you will ever need." (in my case, unless you can't find one that's bound the way you like it...I told you! Bible OCD.) Obviously, the Douay Rheims is the most trusty translation, for protestants AND Catholics, and an absolutely fabulous, thorough, Bible. Plus it is truly amazing to be led into Scripture by a man God specifically raised up to bring it to us, St Jerome. I love the Douay Rheims but the different numbering and book names make it harder to use during bible studies, and there are really only three editions out there, none of which satisfy my wierd binding issues.
The NAB, the official American Catholic Bible comes in lots of incredible formats-- two of my favorite bibles in this house are editions of the NAB. They have lots of "notes and study helps," are beautifully bound, and have lasted two years of heavy underlining and crunching into a tight diaper bag. When I first came "home to Rome" I bought a study edition and a pocket version, and read them through.I did this because it was the official Catholic version of the Bible, used in the lectionary, and promoted on the Bishops' Conference website.
Sadly, I find the NAB to be the most heretical, horrific garbage of a translation because of the inseperable commentary that goes with it. The translation itself isn't TOO bad, it's actually ok. But the commentary. Oh. The Commentary. This commentary, quite honestly, is shocking. And this is coming from a scholarly Bible translation loving girl... I LOVE me some Bible.
If you're interested in a blow by blow reason why the NAB commentary is an unreadable wolf in calfskin please click the link, which is one of many traditional Catholic articles describing the unusability of the "Scholarship" present in the NAB commentary.
I will spare you the lengthy breakdown, but let me just say that the entire commentary is virtually discouraging and faithless, a moral relativist mishmash of pop theology and "scientific" method which essentially questions everything and accepts or at least presents the opposite of tradition on the basis that tradition hasn't adequately been proved, even though neither has the opposite hypothesis. For instance, we read in the NAB commentary that the Israelites USED God as an excuse to enslave nations, or that Nebuchadnezzar couldn't possibly have gone a little bonkers and acted like a goat, or that Jesus may have been walking on the seashore and not the water, and on and on it goes. It's not so much that it flat-out LIES as that it passes off these "half-truth" hypotheses as fact and if the subject is entirely "miraculous sounding" it assumes that it is a fable or myth rather than an actual, literal story. In other words, it uses historical criticism out of context of other approved-by-the-Church methods to use in CONJUNCTION with historical criticism.
Honestly, I have been SO puzzled as to why and how on earth the USCCB would promote this particular version of the Bible, since it can certainly lead someone who DOESNT have a solid biblical foundation to work from into error. Those of us who are already familiar with our bibles, certainly need not fear, but those who begin their expedition into the Word of God through something like this are really in danger of accepting heresy as Truth! (and that , quite frankly explains how things like the RCIA we were forced to sit through in our parish happen-- it leads EVERYONE astray, even those seeking truth.)
Then, I read the encyclical, Providentissimus Deus, last night. WOW. Talk about getting a shiver down my spine. Though you can read the full text of it at the link above, I will just share one snippet with you:
10. But first it must be clearly understood whom we have to oppose and contend against, and what are their tactics and their arms. In earlier times the contest was chiefly with those who, relying on private judgment and repudiating the divine traditions and teaching office of the Church, held the Scriptures to be the one source of revelation and the final appeal in matters of Faith. Now, we have to meet the Rationalists, true children and inheritors of the older heretics, who, trusting in their turn to their own way of thinking, have rejected even the scraps and remnants of Christian belief which had been handed down to them. They deny that there is any such thing as revelation or inspiration, or Holy Scripture at all; they see, instead, only the forgeries and the falsehoods of men; they set down the Scripture narratives as stupid fables and Iying stories: the prophecies and the oracles of God are to them either predictions made up after the event or forecasts formed by the light of nature; the miracles and the wonders of God's power are not what they are said to be, but the startling effects of natural law, or else mere tricks and myths; and the Apostolic Gospels and writings are not the work of the Apostles at all. These detestable errors, whereby they think they destroy the truth of the divine Books, are obtruded on the world as the peremptory pronouncements of a certain newly-invented "free science;" a science, however, which is so far from final that they are perpetually modifying and supplementing it. And there are some of them who, notwithstanding their impious opinions and utterances about God, and Christ, the Gospels and the rest of Holy Scripture, would fain be considered both theologians and Christians and men of the Gospel, and who attempt to disguise by such honorable names their rashness and their pride. To them we must add not a few professors of other sciences who approve their views and give them assistance, and are urged to attack the Bible by a similar intolerance of revelation. And it is deplorable to see these attacks growing every day more numerous and more severe. It is sometimes men of learning and judgment who are assailed; but these have little difficulty in defending themselves from evil consequences. The efforts and the arts of the enemy are chiefly directed against the more ignorant masses of the people. They diffuse their deadly poison by means of books, pamphlets, and newspapers; they spread it by addresses and by conversation; they are found everywhere; and they are in possession of numerous schools, taken by violence from the Church, in which, by ridicule and scurrilous jesting, they pervert the credulous and unformed minds of the young to the contempt of Holy Scripture. Should not these things, Venerable Brethren, stir up and set on fire the heart of every Pastor, so that to this "knowledge, falsely so called,"28 may be opposed the ancient and true science which the Church, through the Apostles, has received from Christ, and that Holy Scripture may find the champions that are needed in so momentous a battle?
WOW. So in other words, POPE LEO XIII, on NOVEMBER 18, 1893 warned us against translations like the NAB and bade us take care to avoid them like the plague. And yet this is the translation that we are expected to hear proclaimed and use???
In my frustration, I began reading from my trusty old NKJV Spirit Filled Life Bible, wondering if I could just go ahead and miss out on those beautiful canonical books which were missing from my bible in favor of a better commentary. You Catholics out there will laugh at me, but I'm telling you right now, the Jack Hayford Bible Commentary in my Charismatic Protestant Bible is almost entirely "Catholic" in it's explanations, whereas my Catholic bible persistently puts me in a fury over the sheer faithlessness of false intellectualism of it all.
So, here I sit, wondering what the hey. If I win the lottery, I'm going to see to it that Scott Hahn's RSV2CE gets published with a quickness, because it's the only hope for Catholics who aren't able to, for reasons of archaic language, (or poor binding options) read the Douay Rheims. No wonder there is so much garbage parading around as Catholicism these days-- no one is being filled with the PURE Word of God, but getting it filtered through the most evil of commentaries.
I've got to hand it to Satan on this one. He's a step ahead of the game. Fortunately, I'm not the only one who is onto him.
St Jerome, pray for us.
I am obsessed with buying new bibles. Every time Christmas or my birthday comes around, I already have a bible that I can't wait to get my hands on all picked out on my amazon wishlist. It's a sickness.
Then I get it, I use it for like, six months, furiously take notes in it and decorate it to my standards--- and then, all of a sudden, drop it and move on to the next Bible I can't wait to get my hands on.
I do this because I have yet to find the perfect one, one that actually fulfills all of the requirements that I have IN a bible. I really think that in order for this insanity to stop, I'm going to have to just make my own. Sigh.
Alright, first, the outside: I fluctuate between wanting a bible that has black leather (real leather) exterior and one that has brown duotone leather. I like them both. I have no idea why. While I LIKE pocket bibles (cause I always carry one around) I find that they lack some of the awesome extras that study-sized bibles have. I also like the weighty feel of HEAVY bibles with lots of pages. So, yeah. Conundrum. Usually the best choice is something pretty biggish but not giant that I can still carry around in my huge bag. :P
Then comes the meat: the translation. I used to be a NKJV or NASB girl. Those were my two faithful bibles. I can't stand the NIV (No offense to NIV lovers out there) because of it's similarity to the NWT (the Jehova's Witnessess translation) The KJV is good but I am not too excited about the archaic language. I don't hate the HCS.
Then I came back to the Church and found there were all these great books missing from my bible that were just amazing. I don't know how I went without Sirach for so long. :P So now I've got a very limited choice when it comes to translations...I need to have a catholic bible or I'm missing out!
The first and most natural selection is, of course, the trusty Douay Rheims, the "only bible you will ever need." (in my case, unless you can't find one that's bound the way you like it...I told you! Bible OCD.) Obviously, the Douay Rheims is the most trusty translation, for protestants AND Catholics, and an absolutely fabulous, thorough, Bible. Plus it is truly amazing to be led into Scripture by a man God specifically raised up to bring it to us, St Jerome. I love the Douay Rheims but the different numbering and book names make it harder to use during bible studies, and there are really only three editions out there, none of which satisfy my wierd binding issues.
The NAB, the official American Catholic Bible comes in lots of incredible formats-- two of my favorite bibles in this house are editions of the NAB. They have lots of "notes and study helps," are beautifully bound, and have lasted two years of heavy underlining and crunching into a tight diaper bag. When I first came "home to Rome" I bought a study edition and a pocket version, and read them through.I did this because it was the official Catholic version of the Bible, used in the lectionary, and promoted on the Bishops' Conference website.
Sadly, I find the NAB to be the most heretical, horrific garbage of a translation because of the inseperable commentary that goes with it. The translation itself isn't TOO bad, it's actually ok. But the commentary. Oh. The Commentary. This commentary, quite honestly, is shocking. And this is coming from a scholarly Bible translation loving girl... I LOVE me some Bible.
If you're interested in a blow by blow reason why the NAB commentary is an unreadable wolf in calfskin please click the link, which is one of many traditional Catholic articles describing the unusability of the "Scholarship" present in the NAB commentary.
I will spare you the lengthy breakdown, but let me just say that the entire commentary is virtually discouraging and faithless, a moral relativist mishmash of pop theology and "scientific" method which essentially questions everything and accepts or at least presents the opposite of tradition on the basis that tradition hasn't adequately been proved, even though neither has the opposite hypothesis. For instance, we read in the NAB commentary that the Israelites USED God as an excuse to enslave nations, or that Nebuchadnezzar couldn't possibly have gone a little bonkers and acted like a goat, or that Jesus may have been walking on the seashore and not the water, and on and on it goes. It's not so much that it flat-out LIES as that it passes off these "half-truth" hypotheses as fact and if the subject is entirely "miraculous sounding" it assumes that it is a fable or myth rather than an actual, literal story. In other words, it uses historical criticism out of context of other approved-by-the-Church methods to use in CONJUNCTION with historical criticism.
Honestly, I have been SO puzzled as to why and how on earth the USCCB would promote this particular version of the Bible, since it can certainly lead someone who DOESNT have a solid biblical foundation to work from into error. Those of us who are already familiar with our bibles, certainly need not fear, but those who begin their expedition into the Word of God through something like this are really in danger of accepting heresy as Truth! (and that , quite frankly explains how things like the RCIA we were forced to sit through in our parish happen-- it leads EVERYONE astray, even those seeking truth.)
Then, I read the encyclical, Providentissimus Deus, last night. WOW. Talk about getting a shiver down my spine. Though you can read the full text of it at the link above, I will just share one snippet with you:
10. But first it must be clearly understood whom we have to oppose and contend against, and what are their tactics and their arms. In earlier times the contest was chiefly with those who, relying on private judgment and repudiating the divine traditions and teaching office of the Church, held the Scriptures to be the one source of revelation and the final appeal in matters of Faith. Now, we have to meet the Rationalists, true children and inheritors of the older heretics, who, trusting in their turn to their own way of thinking, have rejected even the scraps and remnants of Christian belief which had been handed down to them. They deny that there is any such thing as revelation or inspiration, or Holy Scripture at all; they see, instead, only the forgeries and the falsehoods of men; they set down the Scripture narratives as stupid fables and Iying stories: the prophecies and the oracles of God are to them either predictions made up after the event or forecasts formed by the light of nature; the miracles and the wonders of God's power are not what they are said to be, but the startling effects of natural law, or else mere tricks and myths; and the Apostolic Gospels and writings are not the work of the Apostles at all. These detestable errors, whereby they think they destroy the truth of the divine Books, are obtruded on the world as the peremptory pronouncements of a certain newly-invented "free science;" a science, however, which is so far from final that they are perpetually modifying and supplementing it. And there are some of them who, notwithstanding their impious opinions and utterances about God, and Christ, the Gospels and the rest of Holy Scripture, would fain be considered both theologians and Christians and men of the Gospel, and who attempt to disguise by such honorable names their rashness and their pride. To them we must add not a few professors of other sciences who approve their views and give them assistance, and are urged to attack the Bible by a similar intolerance of revelation. And it is deplorable to see these attacks growing every day more numerous and more severe. It is sometimes men of learning and judgment who are assailed; but these have little difficulty in defending themselves from evil consequences. The efforts and the arts of the enemy are chiefly directed against the more ignorant masses of the people. They diffuse their deadly poison by means of books, pamphlets, and newspapers; they spread it by addresses and by conversation; they are found everywhere; and they are in possession of numerous schools, taken by violence from the Church, in which, by ridicule and scurrilous jesting, they pervert the credulous and unformed minds of the young to the contempt of Holy Scripture. Should not these things, Venerable Brethren, stir up and set on fire the heart of every Pastor, so that to this "knowledge, falsely so called,"28 may be opposed the ancient and true science which the Church, through the Apostles, has received from Christ, and that Holy Scripture may find the champions that are needed in so momentous a battle?
WOW. So in other words, POPE LEO XIII, on NOVEMBER 18, 1893 warned us against translations like the NAB and bade us take care to avoid them like the plague. And yet this is the translation that we are expected to hear proclaimed and use???
In my frustration, I began reading from my trusty old NKJV Spirit Filled Life Bible, wondering if I could just go ahead and miss out on those beautiful canonical books which were missing from my bible in favor of a better commentary. You Catholics out there will laugh at me, but I'm telling you right now, the Jack Hayford Bible Commentary in my Charismatic Protestant Bible is almost entirely "Catholic" in it's explanations, whereas my Catholic bible persistently puts me in a fury over the sheer faithlessness of false intellectualism of it all.
So, here I sit, wondering what the hey. If I win the lottery, I'm going to see to it that Scott Hahn's RSV2CE gets published with a quickness, because it's the only hope for Catholics who aren't able to, for reasons of archaic language, (or poor binding options) read the Douay Rheims. No wonder there is so much garbage parading around as Catholicism these days-- no one is being filled with the PURE Word of God, but getting it filtered through the most evil of commentaries.
I've got to hand it to Satan on this one. He's a step ahead of the game. Fortunately, I'm not the only one who is onto him.
St Jerome, pray for us.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
A last word on Christian Unity.
To close the week of Christian unity, I thought I would talk a little bit about those things which we DO have in common,(and Jenny, if you're out there, this one's for you!) and in large quantities. But in order to do that, I have to qualify what I'm about to say with a statement.
When I came back to the Church, I was so thankful for the mass, so thankful for the sacraments, for the structure of the Church, for the spiritual authority, etc that I (obviously) plunged heavily into my Catholic identity right off the bat. That meant that I clung with vehemence to those traditions which I had grown up with that represented "The Faith" to me and that were rapidly disappearing in our modernistic, relatavist society.
Parishes were unrecognizable to me as "catholic" in all of their modernistic, muted decor. Priests droned on and on about "social justice" but never spoke of the reality of God and the devil, of the importance of the sacraments. It was a very, very frustrating thing to be so in love with the Catholic Faith and to find the Church you had left in shambles. I had been away a little under thirteen years, and it never occurred to me that so much could change in so little time.
Because of this yearning for more "Catholicism" (ie tradition) I thoroughly rejected any "protestantizing" of the Catholic experience-- I still do. Which is why I'm a borderline trad...I prefer the latin mass, and the TLM at that. I cover my head. I know that I'm genuflecting towards the tabernacle, not the altar. I like my altar boys to be boys and my priests to be all fire and brimstone. I pray the rosary, every day, in latin. If I had more money my kids would wear "church clothes" every Sunday. It's just that simple.
However, over the first year of our returning, Wayne and I became rapidly frustrated with how much of an anomaly we were. It was like a few hundred old folks were staring at us, amazed, whenever we told our story. They all agreed we were an answer to prayer, but they certainly weren't sure what to make of such ZEAL. While we increased their faith, I think we also confounded them a bit too. And understandably so-- we were AMPED to be Catholic, and around our Parish, orthodoxy is a rare gem. At the same time, we weren't enamored with tradition for the sake of tradition, but rather because the Holy Spirit, and the Living Word of God had led us there. So we found ourselves (and still do) in the uncomfortable situation of being both Charismatic AND Traditionalist. And I think, honestly, that that's a pretty "Catholic" place to be, since we seem to always take the "and" approach to "or" questions, like evolution/creationism, mental/vocal prayer, bible/tradition etc.
I started teaching bible studies, and leading prayer groups, and as time went on I began to REALLY miss (and I mean REALLY miss) the fellowship I enjoyed with protestant women. Why? Quite simply because for many Catholics, faith is a personal thing. It isn't lived out loud but in the quiet of the heart, and so for someone like me, who had been an ultra-charismatic used to friends calling to "declare the Word of the Lord" to me and people unashamed to Worship the King out loud, it became challenging to find spiritual closeness with many of my Catholic friends.
Don't get me wrong-- these were (and are!) women who are VERY interested in holiness. But I guess the best way to describe the difference is to say that while I was used to women who prayed (And I mean, like, PRAYED.... we prayed all the time. In English, In tongues, wherever we were and however we were connecting-- on the phone, on the bus, in the parking lot, in our kitchens....)I was suddenly surrounded by women who SAID their prayers. Which doesn't mean I'm against reading prayers-- (although it took some MAJOR getting used to when I returned to the Church!) nor that I thought/think they were doing so in an empty, meaningless fashion. To the contrary, these were deeply prayerful women.
However, I just couldn't connect on a spiritual level with them in complete unity because I sensed a lack of "freedom of movement" for the Holy Spirit in their faith lives.. they were not trained to let God do His thing in their prayer lives... and for sure were not baptized in the Holy Spirit.
I knew there were Charismatic Catholics "out there" in a general kind of way, and I was even prophesied to by one of them that I would be used to breathe the Parish's charismatic group back to life but I had my doubts. It seemed so contrived to me, that a bunch of Catholic women would get together to pray "in the Spirit," opening in worship and praise, etc. It seemed so... protestant. I was really unsure about the whole thing and did NOT want to be associated with the group, particularly because it went against everything I knew about authentic, traditional, "Catholic" worship.
Along the way, I heard the call to Carmel and began the process of aspirancy into the Order. It was amazing to me that the Saints I discovered and read about were actually saints who lived among both tradition and total openness to the Holy Spirit-- an openness which was kept in the realm of Truth and accurate discernment by obedience to the Church. Thank God for my rocky road to Carmel!! I knew I was home.
So I haven't given much thought to any of this until last week, when we were called to a week of prayer for Christian Unity. And I thought about what things we had in common, and of course I knew that the one thing we can share in is a firm faith in the Word of God, which stands forever, amen? ;)
So I started, in earnest, making my daily bible reading a priority again over anything else, (reading the saints, reading the catechism, etc) and I found that in doing so I was opening up a whole can of worms I had never given much thought to... the whole "which Bible?" question. Now, I'm not going to go into my thoughts on that here-- I'll save it for another blog-- but I will say that in the course of answering that question I discovered that the NAB, the standard, promoted-by-the USCCB-bible, is absolutely overflowing with heretical content in the commentary. (the translation itself isn't too bad.) But the two best bibles to read (Douay Rheims and RSV 2 CE) don't contain many, if any, footnotes or cross references, which are some of my favorite features in a bible. At one point I even went back to my trusty "Spirit Filled Life" Bible and pondered if I could live with missing out on all the Deuterocanonical books that weren't in it for the sake of a good translation and an excellent, Spirit-filled commentary. And what I found was amazing! While my NAB, official Catholic bible was absolutely full of heresy, relativism, and nonsensical historical criticism that totally removed any element of faith or spirituality, my PROTESTANT SPIRIT FILLED BIBLE was full of "Catholic" commentary, that certainly built up my Catholic faith. Wierd. Super wierd.
So it got me thinking-- that same Holy Spirit that animated me as a protestant still animates me today as a Catholic. And too often, as a Catholic, I have ignored Him or failed to call Him "friend" in favor of a more "structured" approach to my prayer. Thinking on it now, it's not that I ignored Him. I heard Him and knew He was there. It's that I failed to put Him first. Many times in prayer I "felt" Him urging me to one thing or another but I didn't always respond. Which led me to a sort of spiritual dryness that I blamed on not having other people to pray with.
The thing is, as I examine closer the so-called "Charismatic Renewal" in the Catholic church, it's not that they are "trying to be protestant," (although in some cases, let's face it, they are!) it's that the SAME Spirit is animating those in the Catholic Church who, like pentacostals and Charismatics everywhere, are begging God to show up in power. The entire renewal began with a move of the Holy Spirit when a group of people in the North Eastern US begged God to show them the grace of baptism and confirmation (Baptism and "Sealing in the Spirit!") At which point the Spirit fell and they began to speak in tongues. Having experienced baptism in the Holy Spirit myself, I can tell you that it was not an emotional or "made up" response on my part but rather a total and complete release of myself into God. He literally "took over."
Because of that, I can say that I am certain that this prayer group's prayer was answered in power, and that the movement appears to me to be authentic and definitely "Of God." I notice also that many parishes where the Renewal is alive and well are not only overflowing with orthodoxy in a Novus Ordo kind of a way, but are also completely filled with the types of things I would like to see more of around me: healing and deliverance ministries, for example. One Church in St Louis even has a prayer room where parishioners can stop by and just pray with someone AT ANY TIME OF THE DAY OR NIGHT! What a relief to the priest of that parish, and what a blessing that they have taken upon themselves to respond to God's call to be good and do good in their community! Would that we had something as awesome here in my Parish-- I would LOVE to be a part of something like that and think it's SHAMEFUL that we don't pray over/ with people more. We are supposed to be God's hands and feet!
I remember a day not so long ago that I went to mass thinking just that and when God confirmed in me that it was "still happening" in His Church-- a woman leaned across the pew before mass and asked if she could pray for me, then layed hands on my baby-filled belly and did. In tongues. I remember that I wept with joy that someone was taking it upon themselves to minister to me-- not because THEY wanted to but because they KNEW that God wanted them to. It was awesome.
Anyways, in the commentary of my Spirit filled believers' bible I found nothing but faith-building, awesome, uplifting and powerful commentary that made me want to get out there and LIVE the Spirit-filled life. And it's the same bible that my protestant friends are reading. Because it's the same Holy Spirit... that lives in them, that lives in me, that brings us all to life, and life abundant.
The more I think on it, the more I am ashamed that I do so much to denigrate protestantism in here, when I could be doing so much to show that the Truth with a Capital T is alive and well in the Catholic Church, which exists by the power of the Holy Spirit, a perfect combination of both Sacred Tradition and Organic movement by the God who IS Spirit and Truth.
When I came back to the Church, I was so thankful for the mass, so thankful for the sacraments, for the structure of the Church, for the spiritual authority, etc that I (obviously) plunged heavily into my Catholic identity right off the bat. That meant that I clung with vehemence to those traditions which I had grown up with that represented "The Faith" to me and that were rapidly disappearing in our modernistic, relatavist society.
Parishes were unrecognizable to me as "catholic" in all of their modernistic, muted decor. Priests droned on and on about "social justice" but never spoke of the reality of God and the devil, of the importance of the sacraments. It was a very, very frustrating thing to be so in love with the Catholic Faith and to find the Church you had left in shambles. I had been away a little under thirteen years, and it never occurred to me that so much could change in so little time.
Because of this yearning for more "Catholicism" (ie tradition) I thoroughly rejected any "protestantizing" of the Catholic experience-- I still do. Which is why I'm a borderline trad...I prefer the latin mass, and the TLM at that. I cover my head. I know that I'm genuflecting towards the tabernacle, not the altar. I like my altar boys to be boys and my priests to be all fire and brimstone. I pray the rosary, every day, in latin. If I had more money my kids would wear "church clothes" every Sunday. It's just that simple.
However, over the first year of our returning, Wayne and I became rapidly frustrated with how much of an anomaly we were. It was like a few hundred old folks were staring at us, amazed, whenever we told our story. They all agreed we were an answer to prayer, but they certainly weren't sure what to make of such ZEAL. While we increased their faith, I think we also confounded them a bit too. And understandably so-- we were AMPED to be Catholic, and around our Parish, orthodoxy is a rare gem. At the same time, we weren't enamored with tradition for the sake of tradition, but rather because the Holy Spirit, and the Living Word of God had led us there. So we found ourselves (and still do) in the uncomfortable situation of being both Charismatic AND Traditionalist. And I think, honestly, that that's a pretty "Catholic" place to be, since we seem to always take the "and" approach to "or" questions, like evolution/creationism, mental/vocal prayer, bible/tradition etc.
I started teaching bible studies, and leading prayer groups, and as time went on I began to REALLY miss (and I mean REALLY miss) the fellowship I enjoyed with protestant women. Why? Quite simply because for many Catholics, faith is a personal thing. It isn't lived out loud but in the quiet of the heart, and so for someone like me, who had been an ultra-charismatic used to friends calling to "declare the Word of the Lord" to me and people unashamed to Worship the King out loud, it became challenging to find spiritual closeness with many of my Catholic friends.
Don't get me wrong-- these were (and are!) women who are VERY interested in holiness. But I guess the best way to describe the difference is to say that while I was used to women who prayed (And I mean, like, PRAYED.... we prayed all the time. In English, In tongues, wherever we were and however we were connecting-- on the phone, on the bus, in the parking lot, in our kitchens....)I was suddenly surrounded by women who SAID their prayers. Which doesn't mean I'm against reading prayers-- (although it took some MAJOR getting used to when I returned to the Church!) nor that I thought/think they were doing so in an empty, meaningless fashion. To the contrary, these were deeply prayerful women.
However, I just couldn't connect on a spiritual level with them in complete unity because I sensed a lack of "freedom of movement" for the Holy Spirit in their faith lives.. they were not trained to let God do His thing in their prayer lives... and for sure were not baptized in the Holy Spirit.
I knew there were Charismatic Catholics "out there" in a general kind of way, and I was even prophesied to by one of them that I would be used to breathe the Parish's charismatic group back to life but I had my doubts. It seemed so contrived to me, that a bunch of Catholic women would get together to pray "in the Spirit," opening in worship and praise, etc. It seemed so... protestant. I was really unsure about the whole thing and did NOT want to be associated with the group, particularly because it went against everything I knew about authentic, traditional, "Catholic" worship.
Along the way, I heard the call to Carmel and began the process of aspirancy into the Order. It was amazing to me that the Saints I discovered and read about were actually saints who lived among both tradition and total openness to the Holy Spirit-- an openness which was kept in the realm of Truth and accurate discernment by obedience to the Church. Thank God for my rocky road to Carmel!! I knew I was home.
So I haven't given much thought to any of this until last week, when we were called to a week of prayer for Christian Unity. And I thought about what things we had in common, and of course I knew that the one thing we can share in is a firm faith in the Word of God, which stands forever, amen? ;)
So I started, in earnest, making my daily bible reading a priority again over anything else, (reading the saints, reading the catechism, etc) and I found that in doing so I was opening up a whole can of worms I had never given much thought to... the whole "which Bible?" question. Now, I'm not going to go into my thoughts on that here-- I'll save it for another blog-- but I will say that in the course of answering that question I discovered that the NAB, the standard, promoted-by-the USCCB-bible, is absolutely overflowing with heretical content in the commentary. (the translation itself isn't too bad.) But the two best bibles to read (Douay Rheims and RSV 2 CE) don't contain many, if any, footnotes or cross references, which are some of my favorite features in a bible. At one point I even went back to my trusty "Spirit Filled Life" Bible and pondered if I could live with missing out on all the Deuterocanonical books that weren't in it for the sake of a good translation and an excellent, Spirit-filled commentary. And what I found was amazing! While my NAB, official Catholic bible was absolutely full of heresy, relativism, and nonsensical historical criticism that totally removed any element of faith or spirituality, my PROTESTANT SPIRIT FILLED BIBLE was full of "Catholic" commentary, that certainly built up my Catholic faith. Wierd. Super wierd.
So it got me thinking-- that same Holy Spirit that animated me as a protestant still animates me today as a Catholic. And too often, as a Catholic, I have ignored Him or failed to call Him "friend" in favor of a more "structured" approach to my prayer. Thinking on it now, it's not that I ignored Him. I heard Him and knew He was there. It's that I failed to put Him first. Many times in prayer I "felt" Him urging me to one thing or another but I didn't always respond. Which led me to a sort of spiritual dryness that I blamed on not having other people to pray with.
The thing is, as I examine closer the so-called "Charismatic Renewal" in the Catholic church, it's not that they are "trying to be protestant," (although in some cases, let's face it, they are!) it's that the SAME Spirit is animating those in the Catholic Church who, like pentacostals and Charismatics everywhere, are begging God to show up in power. The entire renewal began with a move of the Holy Spirit when a group of people in the North Eastern US begged God to show them the grace of baptism and confirmation (Baptism and "Sealing in the Spirit!") At which point the Spirit fell and they began to speak in tongues. Having experienced baptism in the Holy Spirit myself, I can tell you that it was not an emotional or "made up" response on my part but rather a total and complete release of myself into God. He literally "took over."
Because of that, I can say that I am certain that this prayer group's prayer was answered in power, and that the movement appears to me to be authentic and definitely "Of God." I notice also that many parishes where the Renewal is alive and well are not only overflowing with orthodoxy in a Novus Ordo kind of a way, but are also completely filled with the types of things I would like to see more of around me: healing and deliverance ministries, for example. One Church in St Louis even has a prayer room where parishioners can stop by and just pray with someone AT ANY TIME OF THE DAY OR NIGHT! What a relief to the priest of that parish, and what a blessing that they have taken upon themselves to respond to God's call to be good and do good in their community! Would that we had something as awesome here in my Parish-- I would LOVE to be a part of something like that and think it's SHAMEFUL that we don't pray over/ with people more. We are supposed to be God's hands and feet!
I remember a day not so long ago that I went to mass thinking just that and when God confirmed in me that it was "still happening" in His Church-- a woman leaned across the pew before mass and asked if she could pray for me, then layed hands on my baby-filled belly and did. In tongues. I remember that I wept with joy that someone was taking it upon themselves to minister to me-- not because THEY wanted to but because they KNEW that God wanted them to. It was awesome.
Anyways, in the commentary of my Spirit filled believers' bible I found nothing but faith-building, awesome, uplifting and powerful commentary that made me want to get out there and LIVE the Spirit-filled life. And it's the same bible that my protestant friends are reading. Because it's the same Holy Spirit... that lives in them, that lives in me, that brings us all to life, and life abundant.
The more I think on it, the more I am ashamed that I do so much to denigrate protestantism in here, when I could be doing so much to show that the Truth with a Capital T is alive and well in the Catholic Church, which exists by the power of the Holy Spirit, a perfect combination of both Sacred Tradition and Organic movement by the God who IS Spirit and Truth.
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