Mama Mondays- Getting through church without losing a child, or your mind.

With another dear family and a dear priest, integrating! :o)

A long time ago, as a protestant, I started reading a lot of the books put out by those big homeschooling families many of you know-- the Duggars, the Phelps', the Bauchams, the Pearls etc. There is a whole movement, kind of an underground movement in many ways, within protestantism to turn hearts towards home. That's definitely something God did with me and continues to do with me, and reading lots of these books helped me to understand that I WANTED a family integrated church (and not a parents-go-one-place,kids-another-place church.) Later on, it helped me to see that the Catholic Church was the original "family integrated Church" and THE source for family unity and cohesiveness. In the Catholic Church, we want families to be strong, and that means that we want them to come TOGETHER to the altar.

Our kids NEED to be with us when we worship. It's when we teach them the most fundamental aspect of our lives-- that we love and obey God. Whether you're a Catholic, Protestant, or Messianic Reader, we will all agree on that point, I'm sure.

However, there's a reason why lots of conservative, fundamentalist protestant Churches are going towards integrating whole families together in their worship services, and a reason why progressive Catholic parishes are suddenly building nurseries!! Solid Christians, conservative people, understand the value of discipline, and know that the training of Children to behave in church is as beneficial for MOMMY and DADDY as it is for little Suzie or Benjamin! Whereas progressive, liberally-minded persons are all about letting kids and adults express themselves, feel out the world, etc and therefore have obnoxious kiddos who can't sit still for ten seconds, which means they disrupt church and drive their parents crazy. Which means that those parents either have the kids who are bugging everyone and not being disciplined for it, or the kids who go straight to the nursery and out of sight each time. God asks us to parent. And so parent we must, even if it's the one time of the week we REALLY want to be able to "focus." I guess what I'm saying is that if you're tempted to put your kids in the nursery (and believe me, I've been there) evaluate the real reasons behind your desire. Are you trying to escape having to care for your kids so you can pay attention in church? I did, until I realized that I was basically hiring a babysitter to watch my kids the only time during the week when it really mattered that they be watching ME.

Believe me, God's lessons are always funny! A classic example is that if I took my kids to the nursery, even just one, they would all get sick for weeks on end. But if I kept them with me, no one would be sick. Like, ever. Or I would drop them off, and then the lady in front of me would have ten kids and four of them would spend the whole mass climbing all over me and talking to me. Kinda like the time I went and got a pedicure with a friend to escape motherhood for a few hours, and the manicurists' son spent the entire time talking my ear off about origami and sitting in my massage chair. Hah. I hear you, God!
Ironically, at the peak of my struggle, God moved my husband to switch the Parish we attend, and our new parish does not have child care for the kiddos. Which means I have no choice but to keep them with me or spend the entire mass outside each week. And honestly? It's been the best thing for ALL of us, even though I've struggled every step of the way.

Our kids will never learn more about Jesus than they do when they watch us, their parents, worship Him. No amount of clever sing-songs and crafty moments with fun "teachers" will change a heart hardened by a parent's disbelief or a parent's poor attitudes towards God.

Further, if you are a Catholic reading this, you know somewhere inside you that the Holy Eucharist, God Himself, is in the Church where you are, but you are sending your kids away to sing songs with each other about Him. Jesus said: "Let the little children come to me." So let them come.

Alright, so you've decided you're going to try it. And that's all I'm saying! Try it-- bring your kids to church with you and try to get them to behave. Do this every Sunday for six months. If after six months nothing has changed, fine. But I'm SURE that you will see a HUGE difference, not just in your kids, but in yourself, in your marriage.
Now what?

Here are some tips to help you along the way.

1. Feed them.
This might seem obvious, but I'm just throwing it out there-- a hungry child is a grumpy child. Just before leaving for mass give them a healthy, sugar-free snack. Then let them run around, wrestle, whatever for a while and get good and tired. You might want to consider not over-tiring the very youn ones, though, so they don't fall asleep in the car on the way over, haha!

2. Pick a time that works.
If your kids are used to eating dinner at 5:30, don't take them to a mass that starts at 5:00. If your kids are up until 11 on Saturday nights (I hope they aren't, but all families are different, I've discovered. :P) then don't expect them to behave at a 7 AM mass. Pick a time that WORKS for the family, and if nothing in the area seems like it's perfect, go with the least problematic in terms of time and adjust your weekly schedule accordingly (ie. try to get them used to eating a snack at 4 pm and a dinner at 7:30 if you want them to go to a 5:30 mass each Sunday.)

3. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare
Back when Shabbat was Shabbat, the jews would prepare EVERYTHING in advance for the Sabbath, to ensure that they really did not work and were free to celebrate, enjoy each other, and worship God. Take a clue from them and prepare yourself for the Lord's Day. In our house, that means pre-making all the food we can make ahead of time, picking out clothes for the weekend (even PJs) ahead of time and laying them out, doing a REALLY thorough housecleaning and even setting out the diaper bag, the next days' activities (movies to watch? Games to play? Books to read?) out. You may not be as Monica-on-friends as I am, but a concerted effort to get things set up ahead of time, at least the basics, will help you to get everyone out the door in an orderly, happy fashion, which in turn, sets the mood for mass.

4. Training starts at home.
If your kids won't sit still in church for even ten minutes, I'd venture to bet they won't sit still at HOME for just ten minutes either. Spend a little bit of time each day training them to listen and obey, and they will begin to do so not just at home but in public too! A great place to practice training is during a meal when everyone is one place, or just make a game out of it ("Let's play church!") or even set up a specific training exercise for them. Don't just train them to obey-- train them to love to worship God! I guarantee that the kids who find prayer burdensome are the kids who are given prayers to recite at bedtime and that's it. Instead, teach them what they are seeing and experiencing at mass. Talk about it with great wonder and fondness. They love what you love. Teach them to love being in the presence of Jesus.

5. Accept.
Accept the fact that there is a period in EVERYchild's life, from about 12 months to about 2 1/2 yrs, when, as a dear friend of mine used to say, a child really should just be retired from public society.  Kids this age are squirmy, loud, and wild because they have not yet gained any mastery over themselves and don't fully understand everything going on around them yet. So accept that, and know that if you are with a child in that age group, it is just going to be tough for a while. It's not forever! In the meantime, that child is counting on you to teach them, so that when they DO hit three and four (and they will, fast.) they are perfectly capable of behaving themselves relatively well. During this period, it is inevitable that you will be spending a lot of time pacing the floor with them or whatever. Take advantage of the fact that they are still little and sleepy... in our family we keep them up until we get there and then I nurse them down and we put em to sleep in the pew, which saves us about 45 minutes out of the hour. We even bring them a special little pillow. True story. Other families bribe the youngun at this age with toys, books, or food. I think it's disrespectful and beside the point. I brought my kids to learn to love the mass, so I am going to teach them that. I let them sleep in church because kids always sleep when they're bored. They need it, anyways. But WE don't eat in Church, why should we let our kids eat? WE don't drink in church. WE don't read books and play games, why should they? However, I HAVE fallen asleep in church, during mass AND adoration.... even though I intended to stay awake and pray.
So, Instead of food or games, I spend the whole time animatedly singing when it's singing time, being EXTRA reverent in every part, and the kids naturally find it interesting and imitate me. Either that, or they pass out from sheer boredom or exhaustion. Both of which are acceptable options in my book, so long as they are learning, little by little.
I also do a lot of whispering and explaining-- telling them which parts to look for and narrating the mass as it goes. "look at Father. Do you see Jesus behind him? Oh, Jesus. We love you so much!" or "Pay very close attention to this part. Look! Your guardian angel is going up to present your offerings to God." etc.

6. Pick your seats.
In my experience, the kids who cannot see are the ones who will get bored and look for other things to do. The kids who CAN see and are beginning to understand what's happening will be riveted to their seats. Try to sit towards the front. And stay away from other families with ROWDY children. Stay close to families who have well-behaved children. Behavior rubs off. It also helps to pick a seat close to an aisle where you can escape and return without bugging people, even if you have to do it 8,000 times. It is probably best to be close to the end aisles and not the middle aisle. There's nothing quite so distracting as a kid racing up the aisle with his red-faced dad holding both hands over his bottom and shouting: "NO! I'll be GOOD NOW!" Haha.

7. Praise them.
I'm not saying you should bribe them with post-mass donuts or emphatically praise them for doing something they are supposed to do anyways, but I am saying that you should make it very clear that when they do a good job, you REALLY enjoy being around them! Don't be so caught up in being stern that you don't remember to smile or sweetly squeeze their hand to let them know you are having a nice time with them.
They will catch on quickly that family life goes really well and is lots of fun when they obey right away and behave appropriately.

8. Relax.
I stress out every single Sunday because of my kids. My husband and I finish mass convinced they were absolutely terrible and I can never take them in public again. I make internal commitments to go home and immediately re-read every parenting book on the planet.
And every, single, blessed Sunday, a hoard of little old ladies and knowing older moms come over to us and enthusiastically congratulate us on how GOOD, and QUIET our children were. :P

The key to parenting in the pews, like everywhere else, is consistency! Tape this to your bathroom mirror, it's useful for virtually EVERY aspect of parenting, but especially this one:

TRY. CRY. REPEAT.

Eventually, to your amazement, you will wake up one day and realize that the "cry" part has been taken out entirely and instead you actually LIKE having your kids there and don't feel right when they are gone.
That's when you can start learning to do this while wearing a complicated headcovering. :)

To the pews, mommy. You can do it!!!

TastyTuesdays- Fresh baked bread!

I've been baking, every two days, for some time now. It's really pretty fun! It's very intensive in the beginning as you learn the process, but once you get it down, you begin to relax into it and develop a habit. Habits turn into a comfort zone, you even get a little bored, so you experiment a bit more. Before you know it, you're making giant, amazing loaves, maybe even sprinkled with herbs or poppyseeds, When you first try these recipes, don't feel bad that your loaves come out totally uneven with crusts that look like gray human skin. It takes a while to get used to the technique! Just keep at it, no matter what, every two or three days, and eventually, you'll be turning out perfect, crispy loaves that will make all your friends go: "WOW!" Mine are still pretty pathetic looking for the most part, as you can see, but they taste GREAT!

I grew up with a loaf or two of fresh baguette on the breakfast table every morning. In fact, in France, the first person to get up, if they are feeling generous, usually sneaks out to the corner bakery to pick up some hot bread and a couple of croissants to serve the rest of the family for breakfast. Our bakers baked at night, which I only know because I would sneak out as a teenager to hang out with the other village kids. We would convene in the town square, usually on the steps of the Church, laughing and giggling together in the night as the sweet smell of rising dough and baking crusts filled the air and the sounds of life in the bakery kitchens below warmed us up.
Every French baker has his own recipe and his own techniques. As a baker, you will develop your own, turning again and again to the same bowls and the same dough scrapers, the same cabinets or shelves, and eventually, as I said, you will have altered this recipe and this technique to make it "yours."

The recipe is for a traditional "Pain au Levain," a French Sourdough, which I often make in the round "boule" shape (a ball loaf) but which works great as a torpedo loaf as well. These loaves cost around $3.26 to buy at the grocery store, but cost me about $.30 to make.  This is NOT an easy bread recipe, and there are many far easier and less time consuming bread recipes to choose from. However, this is my favorite, and I use it whenever I bake, which is every two days. You should also know that though the recipe calls for a specific type of flour, I have successfully used all types of flours-- I have substituted whole wheat for white wheat and vice versa and it has always come out fine and interesting and tasty. In our house, we try to avoid bleached out carbs, so we LIKE the whole wheat, but some of you may not. I leave it up to you to decide how best to meet your own nutrition goals. The recipe is adapted from the wonderful book "Bread Alone."

Equipment you will need:
a large mixing bowl - I use a cheapo plastic bowl I bought at the dollar store.
a large tupperware that holds a few quarts.- I use an ice tea pitcher made of plastic, lol.
a wooden cutting board
a good, sharp knife
a plastic or wooden mixing spoon.

Step One: Making the Chef (this is the "starter" of the "starter" (levain) you will use.)

DAY ONE
20% bran wheat or whole wheat flour 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp
Spring Water (not tap water, not purified water) 1/2 cup
Dry yeast a pinch

Combine everything into a 2-3 quart plastic container with a lid. Stir well enough to make a thick, soft dough. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, cover tightly with the lid, and let sit in a moderate (about 70) place for 24 hours.

DAY TWO

20% bran wheat or whole wheat flour 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp

Spring Water (not tap water, not purified water) 1/2 cup

The Chef should have doubled in volume. There will be tiny bubbles and a very distinct, musty smell. Add the flour and water and vigorously stir to oxygenate. Scrape down the sides, cover tightly as before, and let stand in a moderate place for 24 hours.

DAY THREE

20% bran wheat or whole wheat flour 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp

Spring Water (not tap water, not purified water) 1/2 cup

Today, the chef will have the consistency of thick batter (think pancakes) and will smell super "agressively vinaigary."  If you don't want to make the Levain immediately, you can refrigerate the chef for up to three days. Otherwise, see below.

THE LEVAIN

20% bran wheat or whole wheat flour 1 1/4 cups

Chef (full batch)

Dump the flour directly into the box with the chef and stir like crazy until it forms a stiffer dough.

(this is when the tang gets determined, so make sure it is stiff!)

Scrape down the sides, cover tightly, and let stand in a cool to moderate draft free place for 8 to 10 hours.

AND NOW: THE FINAL DOUGH

MAKE THE FINAL DOUGH

Measure out two cups of the levain but DO NOT DISCARD or REMOVE THE REST and combine with 2 1/4 cups spring water in a large bowl. Break it up until it is frothy, even working it with your fingers if necessary. Add 1 cup of  flour and stir until well ocmbined. Add 1 tblsp fine sea salt and enough dough so that it becomes difficult to stir. Turn out onto a well floured board and knead, adding more flour as needed until dough is soft and smooth (total flour will end up being about 5 cups) Knead. The dough is ready when a little dough pulled from the mass springs back quickly. Shape it into a ball and let it sit while you scrape and clean the bowl, then LIGHTLY oil it and put the ball of dough in. Turn it once to coat the ball, and then cover with some plastic wrap and place in a moderately warm place for 2 hours.

FEED THE NEW BATCH OF CHEF:

Take the remainder of the Levain in the same 2 quart box and add 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp spring water and 1/2 cup 20% Bran wheat or whole wheat flour to the box. Stir vigorously, and place in your refrigerator. This will be the chef you use next time-- in a few days-- to create Levain again. Chef MUST be "fed" every week, so once a week make sure to stir in 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp flour and 1/2 cup springwater.

DIVIDE AND REST

Deflate it, transfer to a lightly floured working surface and knead briefly. Cut it into two equal pieces and shape each piece into a little round ball.  Cover with plastic wrap or a clean, damp towel and place in a moderately warm place for 30 mins.

SHAPE THE LOAVES

Flatten the balls with the heel of your hand and shape them into torpedoes.

PROOF THE LOAVES

Place the loaves seam side up on a well-floured couche (this is the part where I just flour the baking stone and  place the shaped loaves on them) Cover with a clean damp cloth or plastic wrap and place in a moderately warm spot for a couple hours until an indentation remains when you press the dough with your fingertip.

Preheat the oven to 450.

SCORE AND BAKE THE LOAVES

Using a super sharp knife, score the loaves by making quick, shallow cuts 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep along the surface. Slide the loaves from the peel to the baking stone OR stick the pans or stones with the loaves already on them in the oven. :P

Spray the inner walls of the oven with water (you can use a spritzer but I use my fingers and a glass of water.) QUICKLY close the door again to trap the steam it creates. Repeat several times throughout the baking process.

DO NOT spray the lightbulb, as it can shatter.

Bake 25-30 minutes. Remove and hold the loaves upside down. STrike the bottoms firmly with your finger. If the sound is hollow, the breads are done. if not, bake 5 mins longer. Cool on a wire rack and DEVOUR.

You can bake at night or bake in the morning, just work backwards from the time you want fresh baked loaves to figure when to start making the levain.

Enjoy!!! Let me know how it goes or if you have questions.

Mama Mondays- worried about the storm?

There's a lot of apprehension today as we await another potentially devastating storm. Seems like these days, that's all we hear about. Whether you believe that an out-of-control hidden government is able to create these storms, earthquakes, and other disasters, or that we are simply experiencing a very difficult year full of perfectly natural disasters, I encourage you to remember the following whenever questions of bad weather come up:

Our Lord Jesus Christ rebuked the wind and storms and amazed His disciples in the following passage:

Mark 4:35-40


³⁵ On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” ³⁶ Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. ³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. ³⁸ But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 
³⁹ Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?


The following is a very old Catholic prayer called the "Blessing against Storms." Pray this prayer tomorrow over your house and family, making the mighty and powerful sign of the cross at each "+" and watch Our Lord work. Remember His words to His disciples: "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?"

Pray with me:


Jesus Christ a King of Glory has come in Peace. † God became man, † and the Word was made flesh. † Christ was born of a Virgin. † Christ suffered. † Christ was crucified. † Christ died. † Christ rose from the dead. † Christ ascended into Heaven. † Christ conquers. † Christ reigns. † Christ orders. † May Christ protect us from all storms and lightning † Christ went through their midst in Peace, † and the word was made flesh. † Christ is with us with Mary. † Flee you enemy spirits because the Lion of the Generation of Judah, the Root David, has won. † Holy God! † Holy Powerful God! † Holy Immortal God! † Have mercy on us. Amen!

The Rite shines forth the light of truth from the darkness of Hollywood

WARNING: SPOILERS!

The Rite is the movie I've been praying and waiting for my whole life.

Disguised as a horror flick, The Rite recreates the drama of the human soul, exposing the reality of death, the beauty of a life well-lived, and the true battle between good and evil.

All my life, I've watched a parade of exorcism movies go by, hoping, with each one, for a glimmer of truth and reality-- a film that might reflect some of my own experiences with demonology and deliverance- the inner turmoil between doubt and faith, terror and wonder, that scratches away at the soul.

The Exorcist, and the Exorcism of Emily Rose, are certainly excellent films in their genre. Succeeding both at the horrifying of the viewer in the presence of evil and at the dissemination of the light of truth, in that they describe the very real dangers of demonic possession and the need for God's truth to overcome. However, the focus of those two films is entirely too much on the phenomenon of demonic possession (which, lets face it, is what people always want to see and talk about) and not enough on the inner battle, which is the whole point. Often the priest is seen as the "fix-all" solution to the problem, by intoning the Rite of Exorcism over the possessed, he alone can save her. The reality is much more complex--- for faith is required. Further, although the phenomena described  in those movies is not entirely implausible (particularly in the Exorcism of Emily Rose) it is certainly not common, and thus not a "full picture" of what Satanic activity looks like.

The Rite is full of the same type of phenomena: crosses turning themselves upside down, doors moving without hands touching them, growls that come from thin air, voices in the patient's head, swelling of limbs and apendages, visions, a darkening of the eyes and appearance, supernatural strength, repulsion under the power of the applied cross of Christ, etc.

But the focus of the movie is not on these events--- it's on the hearts of the people experiencing them.
For many years, Hollywood has succeeded, through cinematic expression about the presence of evil-- in completely demolishing any shred of credibility in the process of good vs evil in the minds of people who, although superstitiously "aware" of evil, think of it as something to be concerned with on a dark night in a storm and not in the ins and outs of every day decisions.

Most of the people I talk to- perhaps you're one of them--say that they wont watch horror movies about exorcism because they are scary, and yet they have no problem watching a show like "Toddlers and Tiaras," "Skins" or "Oprah," which in reality is far scarier-- since these shows depict people making awful decisions that will impact the life of their soul and the souls in their care in the future. Possessions occur, and this is a fact of life. But this is the extraordinary work of the Devil. The ordinary work of the Devil, which is FAR more terrifying, in a sense, because it is hidden, is to support people in their desire to sin, and thus stray from God, which condemns them to an eternity of Hell.

The reality is stark and simple: the presence of evil comes in when we choose to give that extra glance at a person we cannot have, when we make little lies, or listen to that nagging thought in our head that says "this responsibility isn't important enough to be on time for," or "I'll just use this to help me get out of here and then tell them I've changed my mind." Evil is in the day-to-day decisions we make, and it is relentless. The Rite demonstrates that clearly. The beauty of the message is not only that extraordinary evil exists, but that extraordinary evil exists to remind us that every single evil choice is extraordinarily dangerous.... to choose a life of sin-- indeed to choose even ONE sin--  is a certain death.

The film is an epic display of the glory and necessity of the priesthood. Although it is about a priest who doubts, it shows that it is when we are most unsure of ourselves that God is able to work mightily-- that a calling is a calling even when we refuse to cooperate with it, and that one cannot leave the priesthood without leaving behind the people who need the priesthood.

In the beginning of the movie, as Fr. Michael is handing in his resignation, a woman is hit by a truck in front of him. Dazed, he stands over her,and she asks for his blessing. It is a powerful moment... when death comes, and it will come to all of us, we will all be like this woman, begging for the mercy of God. Catholics who do are so fortunate to have a priest to absolve them and bless them, which Michael does despite his uncertainty, with a tenderness and fatherly disposition that melts the heart. In that moment of doubt, God works in him and the soul of the woman finds peace, along with his own. But the audience- and the world-- assumes that this action is nothing to a priest. It's his job, a routine. No... every time a priest is called to a deathbed, it is as much a moment of grace for HIM as it is for the person in need. A priest is not a "magic man." He is a cooperator with God's grace, which He himself needs to live.

Later on, when faced with the prospect of performing his first exorcism, amidst the ugliness of the tangible presence of evil,  a beautiful dance of faith is depicted-- the priest doubts, the possessed mocks and scoffs. The layperson present, herself unsure of what she believes in, is strengthened in a moment and her faith and belief in HIS faith strengthens the priest for the exorcism. When her faith, a few minutes later, seems drained, it is the PRIEST who is able to sustain her and remind her to draw on God's grace for the task at hand. Finally, when both seem incapable of going on, it is the possessed himself, begging for the help of God, who gives them the push they need to believe they MUST act by believing.  Isn't that the way it always works?

Father Michael's doubts and the gradual building of his faith is subtle and deep besides the obvious connotations of struggle we see on the surface.  When God and the Devil speak to us, it is, as the Prophet Elijah has said: "In the still, small voice." We must quiet ourselves and our thoughts and then choose Life and reject Sin and Death. These points are constantly being played through the plotline, giving the movie a very accurate sense of the need for recollection and self-reflection in the human life. It is beautiful!

Another element which The Rite contains and which is so sorely missing from other Exorcism movies is a depiction of the pain of the exorcist. This is something dear to me. The exorcists I have known have been deeply joyful, but also tired, men. The burden of the world is literally on their backs, and this handful of incredible priests is often abused, mocked, and scorned. Modern America -- even within the Church herself--- often believes it has little use for these men, and the depiction of the exorcist as the lonely man living in the decrepit house in a back alley surrounded by cats and scorned by the community is not all that innaccurate-- the fight against the Devil is indeed a very lonely work. The movies was powerful in it's depiction of the Priesthood in every way, especially when it demonstrated the "set-apartness" of the priest who seeks holiness, as well as the absolutely enormous burden for souls which is placed squarely on the shoulders of the person, priest or layperson, who earnestly seeks to "find the Kingdom of God" and "expose every dark corner" here below. As a person who prays a rosary daily for Priest exorcists, the possessed, and lay deliverance workers, I can tell you that it brought me to tears to see the very real dangers to the souls of these precious people which exist outside of the fear of supernatural (and even natural) phenomena. These persons risk depression, despair, physical pain, constant sorrow, and even death.... all for the battle. All for the Lord. And yet they are rejected, scorned and mocked. Like Christ himself.

Protestant viewers will no doubt be outraged or at the very least indifferent to The Rite. Having been a protestant deliverance minister myself, I can hear in my head the objections I would have given at that time: We need only look at the headlines of recent Christian reviews of the film to get an idea of what they may be thinking:
"The Rite only gets some things Right."
"The Right way to view The Rite."
etc. etc.
Perhaps they will say that The Rite focuses too much on "religion" and not enough on "faith," or that too much emphasis is placed on the Ritual of Exorcism itself and not enough on the acceptance of Christ by the person possessed. These same questions plagued me as I returned to the Catholic Church several years ago-- I wanted to know WHY only priests were allowed to offer exorcisms when I myself had successfully exorcised demons, and why such a hullaballoo was made over something EVERY lay person had the authority to do in Christ.
The priest who walked me through these events and that time in my life, a very special, very holy priest, told me that "while anyone could exorcise someone, not everyone should." This made sense to me, that the Church would restrict the activity of exorcism to those persons whose faith and training  ensured the best possible outcome... I had, as a protestant, seen and prayed with many other protestant deliverance ministers who used methods and had ideas I thought were totally wacky. When it comes to exorcism, quite honestly, there is a lot of mystery and confusion. We are dealing with the supernatural-- no one has all the answers and God and the Devil will always surprise and amaze us.
Anyone who asserts otherwise is suffering from a serious pride problem.

Thus, I could accept that priests were best "trained" to pray for deliverance, but I was irked by the idea that priests were special people who had special powers-- this was very "unbiblical" in my eyes.
Over time, God has adjusted my view.... I see that there is a class of people called to the priesthood not by anything special they have done or been but rather because God has called them. I see that this class of people certainly struggles in all of the same ways and experiences grace in all the same ways as we do. I see also our great need for them because I see our great need for the sacraments. I see the biblical, historical, and spiritual reasons and explanations for the priesthood, for the sacraments, and especially for the Church as the arm of God on earth.

This is not a place for an apology for the priesthood or the sacraments, but it is the place to share that in my personal experience (and believe me, I have STRUGGLED!) with demonology, it has become clear to me that as a protestant deliverance minister I relied entirely on my own person and ability to "Stir up faith," and receive grace,  even though I was under the illusion that I was relying entirely on Christ, and that as a Catholic deliverance minister, I have relied entirely on the mercy of God and His sacraments.

For example, I have experienced  paralyzing fear in deliverance prayer as a Catholic, and never as a protestant, and while a protestant reader my say that that is a sign that I was going about it the wrong way, I would say that it is a sign that I finally began to use God's strength and not my own.

This is perfectly depicted in the movie in the "final battle" between Father Michael and the demon possessing Father Lucas... which is actually the beginning of Father Michael's war. It is only when he has reached the end of himself that He finds God. And isn't that always the case?

Further, the importance of being "One" with God's Church, in full communion, and the spiritual authority and power that comes from being under that covering is perfectly depicted, for the faith of the characters is only as strong as their union with the Church and her teachings.

Finally, the film does a wonderful job of explaining the importance of family, of parenthood, of handing on the faith. The mother in the film has passed down her hope in Christ, and the Father has cast doubt and depression into Father Michael's life. We are powerfully reminded of our duty as parents to teach our children how to differentiate right from wrong, good from bad, and light from darkness.

This is the work of The Rite: to show the drama of the human soul. If this film exists, it is by pure miracle, On par with miracle of the success of The Passion. In these dark days, God has allowed a great grace to shine forth through the dark fog of Hollywood, and those who will receive the message will be changed and strengthened for the days ahead. Take everyone you know to see this film. It will change lives.

The Rite opens with a quote from Pope John Paul II on the reality of the existence of the Devil and hell. The film closes with a renewed, faithful priest hearing a woman's confession. The Message of this film is crystal clear:


"The whole of man's history has been the story of dour combat with the powers of evil, stretching, so our Lord tells us, from the dawn of history until the last day. This dramatic situation of the whole world, which is in the power of the evil one, makes man's life a battle."

--Catechism of the Catholic Church: 409


Amen, Amen, and AMEN!!!

When you want to go deeper but don't know where to start.

I get a lot of emails from people who want to go deeper with God but don't really know where to start. These people, for the most part, are not looking to build on a relationship with Jesus that they already experience. Rather, they are -- sometimes painfully -- aware that "there is something more." And whatever that something, that spark, might be... they want to connect with it... and for good reason, too.



That divine spark is  FROM God. It's created in us to propel us towards him with increasing joy and confidence, illuminating our consciences little by little and bringing us to true repentance until at last we experience pure faith and eventually union with God.
This is the goal, the "end all, be all" of our salvation. We are not called to simply "have a relationship" with God. We are called to perfection, we are called to union... we are called to be saints. The goal of religion is the establishment of peace: peace between God and man and peace between man and neighbor.
For most of us, this begins with an earnest attempt to "participate" in Church more. There are prayer meetings to attend and worship services to go to and personal practices to engage in at home.
Some of us have this desire because we are depressed or have hit the proverbial "rock bottom." Others because, conversely, we have hit the "highest" point in our lives and STILL recognize that something is missing. And others still, because we have seen or experienced some event, often supernatural, that has changed  our world view.
I distinctly remember in my own life, once that spark of recognition had been ignited that God was "REAL," having a huge desire to do something about it. I began two practices which have since changed my life: prayer and bible study. I did other things, of course, things like pulling out an old rosary I had been given and carrying it around... but these things did not contribute to the life of grace. They were superstitions.
The TRUE spiritual life is based on a handful of "things we do" which are actually a response to God's grace.
A Marian Apparition, which has not been approved by the Church yet at this time, at Medjugorje, refers to these as the "5 Stones" we can use, like the rocks in David's pouch, with which to hit our giants square in the head.

They are:

• Daily Prayer (Especially of the Rosary)
• Fasting
• Daily Reading of the Bible
• Monthly Confession
• Holy Communion

When I began to pray, I began to communicate with God. To build a relationship with him and to learn to hear Him and in some way, share my life with Him. There are many ways to pray, but none more simple and yet profound enough to change hearts and move mountains than the Holy Rosary, in which meditation on the life of Christ is combined with vocal prayer. If you want to "go deeper," and find peace... there is no greater place to begin than to truly meditate on the events of the life of the One who IS peace. If you want to pray, begin with the rosary, both alone and with others, and you will be amazed at the depth of the relationship with God you begin to build and the peace you begin to experience with others when you realize that only by having recourse to the Holy Spirit can they be saved from sin.

Fasting is an imposed penance. We do penance because we have sinned, and because others have sinned. We do penance because we recognize how much harm has been done in the right relationship with God our world must have in order not just to survive but to thrive. Fasting-- the abstention from food-- is certainly an excellent way to bring the body into subjection. But we can also fast from other things... television, alcohol, or a particular activity we enjoy a little too much...When we fast and do penance, it shows that we "mean business" and has a purifying effect. God's grace is able to work on the soul which is pliable, willing to change, and experiencing true contrition (sorrow) for our sins.

Bible reading is a systematic listening to the Word of God. The Bible contains the very words of our faith...the inspired Word of God to mankind. Because bible study can be confusing to the inexperienced reader, I recommend the following: Begin with the Book of John, and work your way through the New Testament up until Revelation, then back around to Genesis all the way up to John again, reading Revelation last. This will form a foundation and give you some deeper context for when you read the more difficult passages (Leviticus, Ezekiel, etc) To help you to understand, I highly recommend a copy of Scott Hahn's Catholic Bible Dictionary, which explains all of the people, places and events you will encounter in Scripture very well. We should always pray before we begin reading the Bible and after, as we finish, asking the HOLY Spirit to give us a lively faith and a spirit of understanding as we read. The Church has written many, many aids and encylicals to help us "hear" the Word of God. Read them, and make a special effort to read the Catechism, which is a wonderful biblical aid.

Confession. In the economy of grace, God grants us grace in proportion to our responding to its availablity. Confession is the place where heaven meets earth. In confession, we acknowledge our wrongs and experience healing which lasts. There is a movie in my blog sidebar which depicts the proper way to go to confession for those for whom it has been a while. So many people are afraid of Confession. They believe that it is OK to simply "say" they are sorry to God in their hearts. The reality is that it is only in confession that we can take the action required by God that shows that we really BELIEVE, really experience contrition. Further, it is only in confession that we can experience lasting healing and lasting conversion and LASTING deliverance from evil. Who doesn't want that? Also, by following the directions of our confessors, we will experience progress, some of us for the first time, in our spiritual lives. This is so encouraging, as it builds our faith in the reality of God.


Holy Communion. There are no words to describe to you adequately why receiving the Bread of Angels is a lifegiving practice which ensures spiritual progress. First, because of the sheer grace available to us not only from receiving but also from contemplating the lessons available to us from the doctrine of the Holy Eucharist. Second, because the "legal" reception of the Eucharist requires you to do things which again, give your soul great benefit.... you will have been baptized, gone to confession, and striven to live without sinning. You will have become a member of the Church, Christ's mystical body. You will have also meditated on and become aware of the presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist... His REAL presence therein, that in the wafer and the wine are actually His whole person: His body, blood, soul and divinity. You will have understood that when you receive Holy Communion you are receiving the LORD into yourself for the salvation of your soul, and this very action is the "source and summit" of the life of mankind. This is a real altar call, the original altar call. If you are not able to recieve communion because you have not met the requirements explained by the Church and set forth in scripture (check with your priest at confession), what better way to stir up in yourself a desire and hunger for Jesus than to frequently attend Holy Mass and/or Adoration? There is a mass in your local Catholic parish daily.... and attending it prayerfully will help you to place this last "stone" in your arsenal against a life devoid of meaning.

Begin by incorporating these "five stones" into your daily life, and see what progress you will make. The riches of God are truly limitless, and the journey.... profound. There is no more life-changing decision than to draw nearer to God, for as the scriptures say: "Draw close to God, and He will draw close to you." (James 4:8)

Message to the People of God from the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops.

I just wanted to share this wonderful text with those of you who have not before read it. It offers hope for peace in the middle east and ultimately, in the world-- a beautiful message in which Truth resounds, and a perfect reminder that for the human family, the only hope of salvation is in Christ alone.

May God, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant us peace.

During the Fourteenth General Congregation held on Friday 22th October 2010, the Synod Fathers approved the Nuntius, the Message to the People of God, at the conclusion of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops. The full text of the English version is published below:

Introduction

1.May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you.

The Synod of Bishops for the Middle East was for us a new Pentecost. “Pentecost is the original event but also a permanent dynamism, and the Synod of Bishops is a privileged moment in which the grace of Pentecost may be renewed in the Church’s journey” (Pope Benedict XVI, Homily at the Opening Liturgy, 10 October 2010).

We have come to Rome, We the Patriarchs and Bishops of the Catholic Churches in the Middle East with all our spiritual, liturgical, cultural and canonical patrimonies, carrying in our hearts the concerns of our people.

For the very first time, we have come together in a Synod, gathered around His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, with both cardinals and archbishops, who are heads of the various offices in the Roman Curia, presidents of episcopal conferences around the world, who are concerned with the issues of the Middle East, representatives from the Orthodox Churches and ecclesial communi¬ties and Jewish and Muslim guests.

We express our gratitude to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI for his care and for his teachings, which guide the journey of the Church in general and that of our Eastern Churches in particular, especially in the areas of justice and peace. We thank the episcopal conferences for their solidarity, their presence in our midst during their pilgrimages to the holy sites and their visits to our communities. We thank them for guiding our Churches in the various aspects of our life. We thank the different ecclesial organisations for their effective assistance.

Guided by the Holy Scriptures and the living Tradition, we have reflected together on the present and the future of Christians and all peoples of the Middle East. We have meditated on the issues of this region of the world which God willed, in the mystery of his love, to be the birthplace of his universal plan of salvation. From there, Abraham’s vocation was initiated. There, the Word of God, Jesus Christ, took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. There, Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of life and the kingdom. There, he died to redeem humanity and free us from sin. There, he rose from the dead to give new life to all. There, the Church was formed and went forth to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to the world.

The primary aim of the Synod is pastoral. Thus, we have carried in our hearts the life, the pains and the hopes of our people as well as the challenges they need to confront each day “because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Rm 5:5). Dear sisters and brothers, we therefore address this message to you. We wish it to be an appeal to safeguard the faith, based on the Word of God, to collaboration in unity and to communion in the witness of love in every aspect of life.

I. The Church in the Middle East: Communion and Witness throughout History

The Journey of Faith in the Middle East

2. In the Middle East, the first Christian community was born. From there, the apostles after Pentecost went evangelising the whole world. There, the early Christian community lived amid tensions and persecutions, “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42), and no one of them was in need. There, the first martyrs, with their blood, fortified the foundations of the nascent Church. After them, the hermits filled the deserts with the perfume of their holiness and their faith. There, the Fathers of the Eastern Church lived and continued to nourish the Church in both the East and West through their teachings. In the early centuries and later, missionaries from our Churches departed for the Far East and the West, bringing with them the light of Christ. We are the heirs of that heritage. We need to continue to transmit their message to future generations.

In the past, Our Churches provided saints, priests and consecrated persons; they still do in the present. Our Churches have also sponsored many institutions which contributed - and still do - to the well being of our societies and countries, sacrificing self for the sake of the human person, who is created to the image of God and is the bearer of his likeness. Some of our Churches continue to send out missionaries who carry the Word of God to many places in the world. The pastoral, apostolic and missionary needs mandate us to put together a pastoral master-plan to promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life in order to ensure the Church of tomorrow.

We are now at a turning point in our history: The God who has given us the faith in our Eastern lands 2000 years ago, calls us today to persevere with courage, strength and steadfastness in bearing the message of Christ and witnessing to his Gospel, the Gospel of love and peace.

Challenges and Aspirations

3.1. Today, we face many challenges. The first comes from within ourselves and our Churches. We are asked by Christ to accept our faith and to apply it to all situations in our lives. What he asks from our Churches is to strengthen the communion within every Church sui iuris and that of the Catholic Churches of various traditions, and to exert every effort in prayer and charitable acts in order to attain the full unity of all Christians so as to fulfil the prayer of Christ: “that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (Jn 17:21).

3.2. The second challenge comes from the outside, namely, political conditions, security in our countries and religious pluralism.

We have evaluated the social situation and the public security in all our countries in the Middle East. We have taken account of the impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the whole region, especially on the Palestinians who are suffering the consequences of the Israeli occupation: the lack of freedom of movement, the wall of separation and the military checkpoints, the political prisoners, the demolition of homes, the disturbance of socio-economic life and the thousands of refugees. We have reflected on the suffering and insecurity in which Israelis live. We have meditated on the situation of the holy city of Jerusalem. We are anxious about the unilateral initiatives that threaten its composition and risk to change its demographic balance. With all this in mind, we see that a just and lasting peace is the only salvation for everyone and for the good of the region and its peoples.

3.3. We have reflected in our meetings and in our prayers the keen sufferings of the Iraqi people. We have recalled the Christians assassinated in Iraq, the continued suffering of the Church in Iraq and her sons who have been displaced and dispersed throughout the world, bringing with them the concerns for their land and their fatherland. The synod fathers have expressed their solidarity with the people and the Churches in Iraq and have expressed their desire that the emigrants, forced to leave their country, might find in the welcoming countries the necessary support to be able to return to their homeland and live in security.

3.4. We have extensively treated relations between Christians and Muslims. All of us share a common citizenship in our countries. Here we want to affirm, according to our Christian vision, a fundamental principle which ought to govern our relations, namely, God wants us to be Christians in and for our Middle Eastern societies. This is God’s plan for us. This is our mission and vocation - to live as Christians and Muslims together. Our actions in this area will be guided by the commandment of love and by the power of the Spirit within us.

The second principle which governs our relations is the fact that we are an integral part of our societies. Our mission, based on our faith and our duty to our home countries, obliges us to contribute to the construction of our countries as fellow-citizens, Muslims, Jews and Christians alike.

II. Communion and Witness Within the Catholic Churches of the Middle East

To the Faithful of Our Churches

4.1. Jesus says to us: “You are the salt of the earth, the light of the world” (Mt 5:13.14). Your mission in our societies, beloved faithful, through faith, hope and love, is to be like “salt” which gives savour and meaning to life; to be like “light” by proclaiming the truth which scatters the darkness; and to be like the “leaven” which transforms hearts and minds. The first Christians of Jerusalem were few in number, yet they were able to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth because of the grace of “the Lord who acted with them and confirmed their Word by signs” (Mk 16:20).

4.2. We want to greet you, Christians of the Middle East, and we thank you for all you have achieved in your families and societies, in your Churches and nations. We commend you for your perseverance in times of adversity, suffering and anguish.

4.3. Dear priests, our co-workers in the mission of catechesis, liturgy and pastoral work, we renew our friendship and our trust in you. Continue to transmit to your faithful with zeal and perseverance the Gospel of life and Church’s tradition through your preaching, catechesis, spiritual direction and the good example of your lives. Build up the faith of the People of God to make of it a civilisation of love. Provide the sacraments to the People of God so that this People might aspire to be renewed. Gather them together in the union of love by the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Dear consecrated men and women in the world, we express to you our gratitude and with you we thank God for the gift of the evangelical counsels – of consecrated chastity, of poverty and obedience – through which you have made the gift of yourselves as you follow Christ, the special love to whom you long to witness. It is thanks to your diverse apostolic initiatives that you are the true treasure and wealth of our Churches and a spiritual oasis in our parishes, dioceses and missions.

We unite ourselves spiritually to hermits, to monks and nuns who have dedicated their lives to prayer in contemplative monasteries, sanctifying the hours of day and night, carrying the Church’s concerns and needs to God in their prayers. You offer the world a sign of hope through the witness of your life.

4.4. We express to you, faithful lay people, our esteem and our friendship. We appreciate everything you do for your families and societies, your Churches and home countries. Remain steadfast amidst trials and difficulties. We are filled with gratitude to the Lord for the charisms and talents which he has showered you and which equip you to participate, through the power of your baptism and chrismations, in the Church’s mission and her apostolic work to permeate the temporal world with the spirit and values of the Gospel. We invite you to give the witness of an authentic Christian life, of a conscientious religious practice and of good morals. Have the courage objectively to proclaim the truth.

Those of you who suffer in body, in soul and spirit, the oppressed, those forced from your homes, the persecuted, prisoners and detainees, we carry you all in our prayers. Unite your suffering to that of Christ the Redeemer and seek in his cross patience and strength. By the merit of your sufferings, you gain God’s merciful love.

We greet each of our Christian families and we look upon your vocation and mission with esteem as a living cell of society and a natural school of virtue and ethical and human values, the “domestic Church” which transmits the practices of prayer and of faith from one generation to the next. We thank parents and grandparents for the education of their children and grandchil¬dren, who, like Jesus grow “in wisdom, in stature and grace in the sight of God and men” (Lk 2:52). We commit ourselves to the defence of the family through our pastoral programmes on its behalf, through marriage preparation courses and centres, open to all but mainly to couples in difficulty, where they can be welcomed and obtain counseling, and by defending the fundamental rights of the family.

We now wish to speak to the women of our Churches in a special way. We express to you our appreciation for what you are in the various states of life: girls, mothers, educators, consecrated women and those who engaged in public life. We revere you, because you harbour human life within you from its very beginnings, giving it care and tenderness. God has given you a special sensitivity for everything that pertains to education, humanitarian work and the apostolic life. We give thanks to God for your activities and we hope that you will be able to exercise greater responsibility in public life.

Young women and men, we look to you with the same love which Christ had for the young man in the Gospel (cf. Mk 10:21). You are the potential and renewing force for the future of our Churches, our communities and our countries. Plan your life under the loving gaze of Christ. Be responsible citizens and sincere believers. The Church joins you in your desire to find work commensurate with your talents, work which will help to stimulate your creativity, providing for your future and making possible the formation of a family of believers. Overcome the temptation of materialism and consumerism. Be strong in your Christian values.

We greet the heads of Catholic institutions of education. Pursue excellence and the Christian spirit in your teaching and education. Aim at the consolidation of a culture of harmonious living and concern for the poor and disabled. In spite of the challenges which confront your institutions, we invite you to maintain them, so as to further the Church’s educative mission and to promote the development and common good of our societies.

We address with great esteem those who work in the social sector. In your institutions you are at the service of charity. We encourage and support you in this mission of development, guided by the rich social teaching of the Church. Through your work, you strengthen the bonds of fellowship between people and serve the poor, the marginalised, the sick, refugees and prisoners without discrimination. You are guided by the words of the Lord Jesus: “Everything you do to one of these little ones, you do it to me!” (Mt 25:40).

We look with hope to prayer groups and apostolic movements. They are schools where our faith can mature and we can be given the strength to live that faith in family and society. We appreciate their activities in parishes and dioceses and their support for pastors, in accordance with the Church’s directives. We thank God for these groups and movements which are active cells in the parish and seed-beds for vocations to both the priesthood and the consecrated life.

We appreciate the role of the means of social communication, both printed and audio-visual. We thank you journalists for your collaboration with the Church in broadcasting her teachings and activities and, over the course of these days, for having given global news coverage to the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod.

We are pleased with the contribution of the media, both international and Catholic. With regard to the Middle East, Télé Lumiere-Noursat merits a special mention. We hope it will be able to continue its service of providing information and forming the faith, of working on behalf of Christian unity, of consolidating the Christian presence in the Middle East, of strengthening interreligious dialogue and the communion of all peoples of Middle Eastern origin, presently in every part of the globe.

To Our Faithful in the Diaspora

5. Emigration has become a generalised phenomenon by Christians, Muslims and Jews alike. All emigrate for reasons arising from political and economic instability. However, Christians also emigrate from a sense of insecurity, in varying degrees, in many Middle Eastern countries. May Christians have trust in the future and continue to live in their dear countries.

We send our greetings to you, members of our Churches in the various countries of the Diaspora. We ask you to keep alive in your hearts and concerns the memory of your countries and your Churches. You can contribute to their development and their growth by your prayers, your thoughts, your visits and by various other means, despite the fact that you are far from the Middle East.

Look at your goods and your properties in your home country; do not abandon and sell them too quickly. Keep them as your patrimony and as a piece of the homeland to which you remain attached, a homeland which you love and support. The land is part of a person's identity and his mission. It is a vital aspect of the lives of those who remain there and for those who one day will return there. The land is a public good, a good of the community and a common patrimony. It should not be reduced to a question of individual interests on the part of those who own it and who alone decide, according to their desires, to keep or abandon it.

We accompany you with our prayers, you the children of our Churches and of our countries, forced to emigrate. Bear with you your faith, your culture and your patrimony, so as to enrich your new countries which provide you with peace, freedom and work. Look towards the future with confidence and joy. Hold fast to your spiritual values, to your cultural traditions and to your national patrimony, in order to offer to the countries which welcome you the best of yourselves and the best of that which you have. We thank the Churches of the countries of the Diaspora which have received our faithful and unceasingly collaborate with us to ensure the necessary pastoral services for them.

To the Migrants in Our Countries and Our Churches

6. We send our greetings to all immigrants of varying nationalities, who have come to our countries seeking employment.

We welcome you, beloved faithful, and we see your faith as a source of enrichment and a support for the faithful of our Churches. We joyously provide you with every spiritual assistance you might need.

We ask our Churches to pay special attention to these brothers and sisters and their difficulties, whatever may be their religion, especially when their rights and dignity are subject to abuse. They come to us not simply to seek the means for living but offer the services which our countries need. Their dignity comes from God. Like every human person, they have rights which must be respected. No one should violate those rights. That is why we call upon the various governments which receive them to respect and defend their rights.

III.  Communion and Witness Together with the Orthodox and Protestant Communities in the Middle East

7. We send our greetings to the Orthodox and Protestant Communities in our countries. Together we work for the good of all Christians, that they may remain, grow and prosper. We share the same journey. Our challenges are the same and our future is the same. We wish to bear witness together as disciples of Christ. Only through our unity can we accomplish the mission that God has entrusted to us, despite the differences among our Churches. The prayer of Christ is our support; the commandment of love unites us, even if the road towards full communion is still distant for us.

We have walked together in the Middle East Council of Churches and we wish, with God’s grace, to continue on this path and to promote its activity, having as an ultimate goal a common testimony to our faith, the service of our faithful and of all our countries. We acknowledge and encourage all initiatives for ecumenical dialogue in each of our countries.

We express our gratitude to the World Council of Churches and to the different ecumenical organisations which work for the unity of the Churches and for their support.

IV. Cooperation and Dialogue with Our Fellow-Citizens, the Jews

8. The same Scriptures unite us; the Old Testament, the Word of God is for both you and us. We believe all that God revealed there, since he called Abraham, our common father in the faith, Father of Jews, of Christians and of Muslims. We believe in the promises of God and his covenant given to Abraham and to you. We believe that the Word of God is eternal.

The Second Vatican Council published the document Nostra aetate which treats interreligious dialogue with Judaism, Islam and the other religions. Other documents have subsequently clarified and developed the relationship with Judaism. On-going dialogue is taking place between the Church and the representatives of Judaism. We hope that this dialogue can bring us to work together to press those in authority to put and end to the political conflict which results in separating us and disrupting everyday life in our countries.

It is time for us to commit ourselves together to a sincere, just and permanent peace. Both Christians and Jews are called to this task by the Word of God. In his Word, we are invited us to listen to the voice of God “who speaks of peace”: “Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his holy ones” (Ps 85:9). Recourse to theological and biblical positions which use the Word of God to wrongly justify injustices is not acceptable. On the contrary, recourse to religion must lead every person to see the face of God in others and to treat them according to their God-given prerogatives and God’s commandments, namely, according to God's bountiful goodness, mercy, justice and love for us.

V. Cooperation and Dialogue with Our Fellow-Citizens, the Muslims

9. We are united by the faith in one God and by the commandment that says: do good and avoid evil. The words of the Second Vatican Council on the relations with other religions offer the basis for the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Muslims: “The Church regards with esteem also the Muslims. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men” (Nostra aetate 3).

We say to our Muslim fellow-citizens: we are brothers and sisters; God wishes us to be together, united by one faith in God and by the dual commandment of love of God and neighbour. Together we will construct our civil societies on the basis of citizenship, religious freedom and freedom of conscience. Together we will work for the promotion of justice, peace, the rights of persons and the values of life and of the family. The construction of our countries is our common responsibility. We wish to offer to the East and to the West a model of coexistence between different religions and of positive collaboration between different civilisations for the good of our countries and that of all humanity.

Since the appearance of Islam in the seventh century and to the present, we have lived together and we have collaborated in the creation of our common civilisation. As in the past and still existent today, some imbalances are present in our relations. Through dialogue we must avoid all imbalances and misunderstandings. Pope Benedict XVI tells us that our dialogue must not be a passing reality. It is rather a vital necessity on which our future depends (Pope Benedict XVI, Meeting with Representatives from the Muslim Communities, Cologne, 20 August 2005). Our duty then is to educate believers concerning interreligious dialogue, the acceptance of pluralism and mutual esteem.

VI. Our Participation in Public Life: An Appeal to the Governments and to the Political Leadership in Our Countries

10. We appreciate the efforts which have been expended for the common good and the service to our societies. You are in our prayers and we ask God to guide your steps. We address you regarding the importance of equality among all citizens. Christians are original and authentic citizens who are loyal to their fatherland and assume their duties towards their country. It is natural that they should enjoy all the rights of citizenship, freedom of conscience, freedom of worship and freedom in education, teaching and the use of the mass media.

We appeal to you to redouble your efforts to establish a just and lasting peace throughout the region and to stop the arms race, which will lead to security and economic prosperity and stop the hemorrhage of emigration which empties our countries of its vital forces. Peace is a precious gift entrusted by God to human family, whose members are to be “peacemakers who will be called children of God” (Mt 5:9).

VII. Appeal to the International Community

11. The citizens of the countries of the Middle East call upon the international community, particularly the United Nations conscientiously to work to find a peaceful, just and definitive solution in the region, through the application of the Security Council’s resolutions and taking the necessary legal steps to put an end to the occupation of the different Arab territories.

The Palestinian people will thus have an independent and sovereign homeland where they can live with dignity and security. The State of Israel will be able to enjoy peace and security within their internationally recognized borders. The Holy City of Jerusalem will be able to acquire its proper status, which respects its particular character, its holiness and the religious patrimony of the three religions: Jewish, Christian and Muslim. We hope that the two-State-solution might become a reality and not a dream only.

Iraq will be able to put an end to the consequences of its deadly war and re-establish a secure way of life which will protect all its citizens with all their social structures, both religious and national.

Lebanon will be able to enjoy sovereignty over its entire territory, strengthen its national unity and carry on in its vocation to be the model of coexistence between Christians and Muslims, of dialogue between different cultures and religions, and of the promotion of basic public freedoms.

We condemn violence and terrorism from wherever it may proceed as well as all religious extremism. We condemn all forms of racism, anti-Semitism, anti-Christianism and Islamophobia and we call upon the religions to assume their responsibility to promote dialogue between cultures and civilisations in our region and in the entire world.

Conclusion: Continue to Bear Witness to the Divine Path That Has Been Shown to Us in the Person of Jesus

12. Brothers and sisters, in closing, we say with the St. John the Apostle: “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life for the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible to us what we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; for our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”(1 Jn 1:1-3).

This Divine Life which has appeared to the apostles over 2000 years ago in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ and to which the Church has witnessed throughout the course of her history will always remain the life of our Churches in the Middle East and the object of our witness, sustained by the promise of the Lord:“Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the time” (Mt 28:20). Together we proceed on our journey with hope,“and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Rm 5:5).

We confess that, until now, we have not done what is possible to better live communion in our communities. We have not done enough to better live communion among our communities. We have not done everything possible to confirm you in your faith and to give you the spiritual nourishment you need in your difficulties. The Lord invites us to a conversion as individuals and communities.

Today we return to you full of hope, strength and resolution, bearing with us the message of the Synod and its recommendations in order to study them together and to put them into practice in our Churches, each one according to the Church’s states of life. We hope also that this new effort might be ecumenical.

We make a humble and sincere appeal to you, that together we might embark on the road of conversion, allowing ourselves to be renewed through the grace of the Holy Spirit and again draw close to God.

To the Most Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church and Queen of Peace, under whose protection we have accomplished our Synodal task, we entrust our journey towards new, Christian horizons in the faith of Christ and through the power of his word: “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev 21:5).