Building the City of God

I was perusing the lectionary readings for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King this morning. As my eyes scanned the final sentences from the Gospel passage (Luke 23:35-43), I became keenly aware of my need to beg the mercy of my Lord. So many times in my life, I have fallen into patterns of sin and deserve to be “condemned justly;” to be given a sentence that corresponds to my crimes (cf. Romans 6:23).

As this liturgical year comes to a close and we prepare for the advent of Our Lord, let us all take stock of our sinfulness. After that honest evaluation, let us all exclaim, as the good thief did, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Let us receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and have hope in the infinite mercy of our God!

…This will be my final post before Thanksgiving, so I pray that all of you are blessed and well-fed! Enjoy the holiday, and give someone else a reason to be thankful!

And…Pope Benedict XVI gave an Angelus address yesterday that was quite similar to my own post from Friday (see below).

God Bless.

The idea of “the end” is not something that is easily pondered or explained because it is many-faceted. It includes our preparations for “the end” and eternity; it includes death (which is never an easy topic to discuss); it includes the transient (Purgatory) and final destinations (Heaven or Hell) after death. Nonetheless, it is a concept that must be dealt with, and it is a subject that has been front-and-center in my spiritual life throughout the past week.

Several circumstances have created and sustained the recent focus: conversations with my wife, philosophical reading, and the current stage of the Church’s liturgical cycle (which encompasses Mass readings and the Office of Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours). Every day, God has revealed to me new things about Himself, about me, and about what He expects of me. Thus, the acute presence of such subjects and the revelations from God have created a need for me to write.

When it comes to this subject, several things are certain, and they are not pleasant concepts. First, death is certain; we cannot escape the end of our earthly lives, our human history. Second, each of us will be judged by our Creator at the time of our own death and receive “eternal retribution” for the manner in which we lived our lives. Third, there is a possibility (based on the second certainty) that we will be sent away from God for all eternity, to “immediate and everlasting damnation” (CCC 1022).

The preceding paragraph, although it is real and authentic, does not contain the most important and hopeful expressions on this subject. Indeed, there is Hope as the end of human history and each person’s particular judgment approaches! (That is not to say that I know when either of those things will happen.) We have the opportunity to strengthen our case for reception into the “blessedness of heaven” (CCC 1022).

In the present, we have not just one, but countless opportunities to accept the “divine grace manifested in Christ” (CCC 1021) that our loving Father pours out to us! Throughout each day, week, month, or year, God will give us innumerable situations in which we can choose to do His divine will. If we recognize, and act, on those opportunities, we will gain favor in His sight; and, the likelihood that we will be sent away (Matthew 7:23) from Him will be lessened. (Clarification: this is not to say that God will let us into Heaven simply because we did a sufficient amount of “good works.” Rather, it is to say that when we recognize His will, we fall more in love with Him and want to continue doing His will evermore.)

I pray that all of us will take the opportunities that are presented to us: today, tomorrow, and for the rest of our human history. I pray that I will be joyful rather than scared at my judgment, and I pray the same for you!

God bless.

Fr. Tom Euteneuer is an amazing witness (and lightning rod) in the midst of our present culture war (see book review below). This week’s Spirit and Life Newsletter proves just that. Fr. Tom is willing to stand for Truth in the face of mediocrity and malformed consciences. He deserves our applause and appreciation. More importantly, though, he needs our prayers as he attempts to preach the Gospel to many who are unwilling to hear it and change their lives.

God Bless.

In 2002, Peter Kreeft wrote a book entitled How to Win the Culture War: A Christian Battle Plan for a Society in Crisis. After having completed the book in a span of about four-and-a-half hours, this reviewer was quite surprised that this book has not received more acclaim among Christians (or maybe it has and he was oblivious). The author’s premise was insightful; his arguments were sound; and his writing style was crisp and clean.

In the introduction, Kreeft put aside all labels and claimed, “There is one this that almost everybody in America agrees about.” That one thing, he said, was that our country, our society, our culture, “is in…’deep doo-doo.’” Thus, most of the text, which encompassed a total of 120 pages, was devoted to explaining the “doo-doo,” and clarifying the reasons for its existence.

Through six chapters, Kreeft argued that there is indeed a culture war, who the enemy is in such a war, and what the enemy’s battle plan is. In painfully logical and clear verbiage, the book revealed to the reader just what is at stake in the present culture war: nothing less than our eternal destiny and happiness! Further, he reminded the Christian (and quasi-Christian) audience of the things that are most able to keep us from finding that eternal happiness.

The story, however, was not without hope! In the final chapters, the author announced the plan that Christians must espouse, the path that they must travel, in order to win the culture war. That plan, he boldly claimed, is for all Christians to seek sanctity, because it is the “strongest weapon in the world,” and nothing “can defeat it.”

So, this dandy little book must be read by all Christians in order to provide clarity and motivation in the face of impending chaos. (This reviewer even tried to devise a plan to get Deists, atheists, and agnostics to read it without knowing exactly what they were reading.) It is necessary because our Western world, and America in particular, is teetering on the edge of nothingness, and only the peace, hope, and love of Christ can keep us from falling into eternal darkness.

To purchase the book, click here.

The Saginaw Seminarians have produced several videos meant to inform people about the benefits of Natural Family Planning while revealing more of the hidden dangers of artificial contraceptives. Click here to view the first video (then watch the others afterward).

Great job guys! I pray that God will speak through you to a Church and a nation much damaged by the lies about contraception.

God Bless.

Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of All Saints. It is a wonderful solemnity on which we get to celebrate the lives of the non-canonized saints of the Church, the people who are in Heaven without any official recognition. These saints, though acclaimed less than the likes of St. Augustine, St. Thomas, St. Francis, or Mother Teresa, are not less holy or less a part of the Eternal Celebration. Indeed, they have reached the same final glory to which all of us aspire! So let us celebrate their holy lives!

God Bless.