The Significance of Spelling Jerosolym vs. Jerusalem in the Bible

If you read Greek or the Latin Vulgate, you may have noticed various spellings of the word Jerusalem.

The spelling of Jerusalem with the y (Jerosolym) is found only in Greek texts of the Sacred Scriptures. The Hebrew texts preserve Jerusalem. In the Greek New Testament you'll notice both - same with the Vulgate New Testament. Also, in some of the Deuterocanical books in the Septuagint and Vulgate, you'll see Jerosolym.

Within the Deuterocanonical and New Testament Scriptures, both are used by the sacred authors. The y spelling (Jerosolym) derives from the Greek Hierosolym, which includes the Greek root for sacred cultic words. Hiereus is priest. Hieron is temple. The Greek writers made a Greek play-on-words to denote Jerusalem as a Hierosolym (a “temple” city). 

Here are the status for Jerusalem:

Here are Jerosolym variants:

I mocked up these charts with Logos Bible Software. If you'd like to purchase this software, you can receive a 15% discount by mentioning my name. Use MARSHALL as the code in your check out.

My suspicion is that Jerosolym refers to a geographical location of the Old Testament temple, but that Jerusalem has spiritual significance. In Christian literature, Jerosolym is slightly polemical. Jerusalem, on the other hand, can refer to Heaven itself.

Saint Paul, in Galatians, refers to meeting Peter in geographical Jerosolym (Gal 1:17); however, in the same epistle he uses Jerusalem when referring to “that Jerusalem which is above is free, which is our mother.” (Gal 4:26)

Likewise, Saint John uses only Jerosolym in his Gospel (13 times), and he uses only Jerusalem in the Apocalypse (3 times). In his Apocalypse, Jerusalem always refers to the Holy City, which is Heaven.

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Should Mentally Handicapped People and Children be Baptized?

In the painting above, Adoration of the Christ Child by an unknown Flemish painting, you will see that a child with Down syndrome is alongside the Blessed Virgin Mary adoring the Christ Child. This 16th century painting is the earliest clear depiction of Down syndrome - it is here recorded in paint over three centuries before the condition was defined by John Langdon Down in 1866.

The painting evokes a common question about the status of mentally handicapped people and their relationship to the Catholic Church. Should mentally handicapped people be baptized? This question was of a subject of debate in the early Church and a topic of great interest in the middle ages.

In his Confessions, Saint Augustine affirmed that mentally incapacitated people could and should be baptized. Regarding a friend who experienced a lapse in mental faculties, he wrote: "he was baptized when his recovery was despaired of" (Confessions 4).

Saint Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century also affirmed that mentally handicapped and incapacitated persons could be baptized. "For some are so from birth, and have no lucid intervals, and show no signs of the use of reason. And with regard to these it seems that we should come to the same decision as with regard to children who are baptized in the Faith of the Church."

Saint Thomas' argument was like that of Saint Augustine. Infant baptism is an obvious analogue since infants also do not have the ability to ask for baptism. We baptize infants who have not yet reached the age of reason. We do so with the conviction that these children will be rightfully catechized and embrace the Catholic Faith. This, however, is how infant baptism is different than the baptism of mentally handicapped children. With infants, we presume that they will grow up and embrace the faith with the will. A person with severe mental handicaps might never do this explicitly. (Of course, there are numerous examples of mentally handicapped children and adults who not only develop a rich interior life, but also excel in the virtues. Some have sought to to enter the religious life!)

Yet again, we baptize babies who are dying and in doing so we know that they will not grow up to embrace the faith explicitly. So then, it is necessary that we baptize those who do not have the use of reason and perhaps will never have the use of reason.

Saint Thomas Aquinas makes one qualifier in the case for those who were once fully sane but then fell insane: "If, on the other hand, while sane they showed no desire to receive Baptism, they must not be baptized."

I should add that baptized mentally incapacitated children and adults are 100% assured of Heaven. Without the use of reason, they cannot sin. Having been cleansed of original sin, they are perfectly ready to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven prepared for them by Christ their Lord. The painting above reveals the veneration Catholics hold for these special children.

Holy Innocents, pray for us.

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Should We Say Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit? Is there a difference?

Nowadays, the only English speakers using the term "Holy Ghost" are 1) Traditional Catholics; 2) Charismatics ("Holy Ghost Revival"); 3) King James only Fundamentalists; 4) Anglicans who use the older liturgies (which retain Holy Ghost throughout).

My first three children who were baptized in the Anglican tradition were each baptized, "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." Their baptismal certificates also read "the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost."

The historic reason for employing the language of "Holy Ghost" is that the Douay-Rheims Bible (used by traditional Catholics) and the King James Version (used by Anglicans and Fundamentalists) employ the term "Holy Ghost" for the Third Person of Holy Trinity over 90% of the time. "Holy Ghost" is not used exclusively, however. Both versions also employs "Holy Spirit." For example, the Douay Rheims uses "Holy Ghost" 95 times, and "Holy Spirit" 8 times. 

The 15th, 16th and 17th century English translators used "ghost" to translate the Latin "spiritus," which in turn was a translation of the Greek "pneuma" (like pneumatic tools and catching pneumonia). 

Ghost derives from the Old English word gast which refers to personal immaterial being - a soul, an angel, or even a demon. It is directly related the German geist.

Today, "ghost" conjures up images of haunted houses. It is a shame that this is the case. Is it, however, a reason to abandon the term "Holy Ghost"?

I still know many Catholics who use "Holy Ghost." I still like to say the Glory be as "Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, etc." because: A) that's how I learned to say it as an Anglican; and B) it's sounds beautiful and dignified.

There is also two theological reasons for using "Holy Ghost" from time to time. 

1) First, we live in a culture where being "spiritual" is increasingly popular and increasingly vague. Just think about that horrid song "Spirit in the Sky," and you know what I mean. In neo-pagan parlance, "being spiritual" and "the spirit" have nothing to do with the personal God fo the Sacred Scriptures. This "spirit" is more like "the force" in Star Wars than it is the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. So when you say "Holy Ghost," you're clearly referring to traditional Trinitarian theology.

2) In English, "spirit" has always had a vague meaning and this is likely why the translators opted for "ghost." Spirt is not wrong. In fact, the Latin spiritus is almost identical to the Greek pneuma. But spirit in English can refer to abstractions or it can refer to a person. 

Examples: 

"We've got spirit, yes we do! We've got spirit how 'bout you?" 

Spirit, here, refers to vigor and enthusiasm. Nobody assumes that the cheerleaders are possessed by a "ghost" or "spiritual being."

"the spirit of Vatican 2"

I think every magisterial Catholic from Pope Benedict XVI on down knows that the so-called "spirit of Vatican 2" is certainly not the "Holy Spirit." Here, "spirit" refers to a way of interpretation or a movement.

"Play this song with spirit!"

Here again, this doesn't mean to invoke an immaterial person. It means to play a song with a certain tempo or feeling.

So then, "spirit" can be ambiguous. Ghost is not ambiguous. Ghost always refers to "immaterial person."

So when people speak of the Holy Ghost, the orthodox theology of His status as a Divine Person is highlighted. There are however a couple of drawbacks to "Holy Ghost." The most obvious is that "ghost" typically has a negative connotation. Ghosts are thought to dwell in haunted houses and most people assume that ghosts are the souls of dead people. We certainly don't mean this when we refer to the Holy Ghost who is uncreated, immortal, and omnipotent. Still, ghost does in fact refer to the souls of dead humans:

“And saying this, he gave up the ghost.” (Luke 23:46, D-R)

My opinion is that ghost captures the reality that the Holy Ghost is a Divine Person. You can know Him and talk to Him. And yes, He dwells in you. We can have a personal relationship with Him. So I like "ghost" because it reveals a personal agent. Spirit is also good because it hearkens back to the Latin Vulgate and corresponds to the Latin of the liturgy. However, it is more ambiguous in English - especially in our time with "being spiritual" is so popular.

In summary, there are positives and negatives to both terms. This is why I often use both "Holy Ghost" and "Holy Spirit" interchangeably on the blog, in lectures, and in conversations. The English/American Catholic tradition always used both terms, but gave "Holy Ghost" the privileged place. In around 1970, most English speaking Catholics retreated almost entirely from "Holy Ghost." (I think this is why "Holy Ghost" has become the secret handshake of traditional Catholics.) So why not use both terms?

Just one last thing. If you do begin to sprinkle your prayers and discourse with "Holy Ghost" and someone challenges you on it for being archaic, don't worry about it. We still all say archaic things every day: "Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name." We also still say, "blessed art thou amongst women." We don't have to update our prayers every decade with latest lingo. There is a blessed confidence in retaining the phrases of our grandfathers and their grandfathers.

A blessed Pentecost to you.

Godspeed,

Taylor

PS: The Holy Ghost Third Person of the Trinity, coequal and consubstantial with the Father and the Son (Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:34, 28:25, 261 Corinthians 12:4-6). Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas teach that he is the Gift of the Father to His people on earth to initiate and complete the building of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). The Holy Ghost personally convicts the world of sin, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ, and transforms the baptized into His image (John 16:7-9; Acts 1:5; 2:4; Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 2:22).

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The Spirit and the Bride: Mary's Role at Pentecost

While the Holy Apostles were generally ignorant of the Holy Ghost, the Immaculate Mary knew Him intimately. Mary had already experienced the descent of the Holy Ghost at her Immaculate Conception since at that moment she was not merely preserved from all sin, but also filled with grace and the Holy Spirit. She was perfectly possessed by the Holy Ghost from the first moment of her existence. This is why Saint Francis of Assisi and other great saints have called Mary "Spouse of the Holy Spirit." The analogy of matrimony is the strongest and best way to signify a union of two persons in their mission. Although not carnally married, the Holy Spirit and Mary are united perfectly in their mission. She never sins. She only desires the will of the Holy Spirit.

Moreover, the Holy Ghost overshadowed her in a powerful way at the virginal conception of Christ our Lord. Her whole life, then, was a communication with the Holy Ghost and she profoundly understood the mystery of the Holy Trinity - far better than the Council Fathers of Nicea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon. She is the greatest theologian.

In the nine days between the Ascension and Pentecost (this was the first novena), Mary was praying that the Apostles might come to know Him whom she already knew. While the Apostles prayed and waited without knowledge, Mary prayed with knowledge of the Paraclete.

On Pentecost morning, there were 120 people including the 12 Apostles. This was the new Israel. Mary was the burning bush - burning but never consumed - through whom the Holy Trinity was revealed to the people of God. Although she remained silent, as she did at the cross, she earnestly prayed that her Divine Spouse would visit these 120 faithful who were the first fruits of the Catholic Church.

This was the birthday of the Catholic Church, which is the mystical Body of Christ. As the Holy Ghost overshadowed the Blessed Virgin at the Annunciation and conceived Christ the Head in the womb of Mary, so now the Holy Ghost mystically conceives the Body of Christ. The Litany of Loretto refers to Our Lady as the "Mother of the Church" and this is precisely why. The Holy Spirit inspired Saint Luke to include these details for our benefit. There is a textual parallel between the the union of Mary and the Holy Ghost at the Incarnation of Christ and Mary and the Holy Ghost at the Birth of the Church on Pentecost.

Could God the Son have become incarnate without Mary? Yes. 

Could God the Son have performed His first miracle at Cana without Mary? Yes.

Could God the Son have died on the cross for sins without Mary standing below in her desolation? Yes.

Could God the Son have sent the Holy Ghost on Pentecost without the present of Mary? Yes.

Yet God chose to accomplish these great redemptive mysteries with Mary. It was His free choice. He did not have to do things this way, but He did.

If God desires to include her, who are we to exclude her? 

The Father thinks of her first when He considers creation. She is the most perfect creature. The Son loves her perfectly as His mother. The Holy Spirit chose her as His Spouse - to be united to His mission on earth. What a mystery! How then can we not love this tender mother? Her union with God unites her to the tender mercies of God. She cares for us and thinks for us at every moment. 

Rejoice Queen of Heaven! O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; grant, we beseech Thee, that through His Mother, the Virgin Mary, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Do you know the proper name of the Holy Spirit? (Saint Augustine & St Thomas Aquinas)

As we approach the Feast of Pentecost, it's a good time to review our knowledge of the forgotten Person of the Most Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son and from the procession the Holy Spirit receives His proper name. Saint Augustine, that great Doctor of the Church, teaches

As "to be born" is, for the Son, to be from the Father, so, for the Holy Ghost, "to be the Gift of God" is to proceed from Father and Son. 

- Saint Augustine, De Trinitate 4, 20.

Quoting this passage from Saint Augustine, Saint Thomas Aquinas writes: 

The Holy Ghost receives His proper name from the fact that He proceeds from Father and Son. Therefore 'Gift' is the proper name of the Holy Ghost. I answer that, Gift, taken personally in God, is the proper name of the Holy Ghost. 

In proof of this we must know that a gift is properly an unreturnable giving, as Aristotle says (Topic. iv, 4)--i.e. a thing which is not given with the intention of a return--and it thus contains the idea of a gratuitous donation. Now, the reason of donation being gratuitous is love; since therefore do we give something to anyone gratuitously forasmuch as we wish him well. So what we first give him is the love whereby we wish him well. Hence it is manifest that love has the nature of a first gift, through which all free gifts are given. So since the Holy Ghost proceeds as love, as stated above (27, 4; 37, 1), He proceeds as the first gift. Hence Augustine says (De Trin. xv, 24): "By the gift, which is the Holy Ghost, many particular gifts are portioned out to the members of Christ."

So then, the proper name of the Holy Ghost is "Gift." He is the personified donation of the Father and the Son.

Come Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. 

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Ghost, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

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Did Judas Iscariot Receive the Holy Eucharist?

Did Our Lord give the Holy Eucharist to Judas Iscariot at the Last Supper and First Mass? Saint John Chrysostom explains the Apostolic Tradition that Christ did indeed give the Holy Eucharist to Judas Iscariot:

Judas was not converted while partaking of the sacred mysteries. Hence on both sides his crime becomes the more heinous, both because imbued with such a purpose he approached the mysteries, and because he became none the better for approaching, neither from fear, nor from the benefit received, nor from the honor conferred on him." 

- Saint John Chrysostom, Homily 82 on Matthew

Saint Dionysius* says (Eccl. Hier. iii) and Saint Augustine (Tract. lxii in Joan.) also confirm that Judas received the Holy Eucharist.

What is the theological significance? Saint Thomas Aquinas explains:

And this would have been quite proper [to refuse Judas the Eucharist], if the malice of Judas be considered. But since Christ was to serve us as a pattern of justice, it was not in keeping with His teaching authority to sever Judas, a hidden sinner, from Communion with the others without an accuser and evident proof. lest the Church's prelates might have an example for doing the like, and lest Judas himself being exasperated might take occasion of sinning. 

This reveals that secret sinners continue to receive the Holy Eucharist. But this begs the question. What about public sinners? The Chruch Fathers and Saint Thomas Aquinas say that public sinners should not be allowed to receive the Holy Eucharist. For Saint Augustine's take, see Summa theologiae III q. 80, a. 6.

This post was gleaned from passages in Saint Thomas' Summa theologiae.

PS: And remember: Judas Iscariot was the first person to leave Mass early. Don't be a Judas. Stay through to the end of Holy Mass.

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* Those that read Canterbury Tales Blog have probably noticed that I don't affix the annoying "Pseudo-" to Dionysius the Areopagite. Join our Facebook group for people who agree.

10 Questions Your 7-Year-Old Catholic Should be Able to Answer

Ten Questions your seven-year-old should be able to answer (besides 'Why did God make you?'):

1. What are the two kinds of sin (original and actual)
2. What are the two kinds of actual sin (mortal and venial)? What's the difference?
3. Name the three Persons of the Holy Trinity
4. Is there one God or three Gods?
5. Name the 7 Sacraments
6. Name the 10 Commandments
7. Name the 6 Precepts of the Catholic Church
8. What happens if you die with original sin or mortal sin?
9. What happens at the consecration during Holy Mass
10. Please recite the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, Apostles Creed, and Act of Contrition.

Any others that I missed?

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The 500 Year Old Attack on Holy Matrimony...

How did we get to the point where matrimony, an institution founded by God with our first parents Adam and Eve, became so misunderstood and perverted? The Church will never abandon the sacrament of holy matrimony, but natural matrimony and its recognition by the State is almost entirely lost.

Here's the historical progression:

In AD 30, the infallible Son of God declared:

“For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be in one flesh. Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.” (Matthew 19:5–6, D-R)

Yet for the first time in 1500 years, marriage was declared non-sacramental and determined by the State and not the Church? Check. (Thank you Martin Luther, John Calvin, Thomas Cranmer)

Divorce accepted as "just fine"? Check. (Thank you Henry VIII)

Contraception accepted as "morally responsible"? Check (Thank you 1930s Anglican Communion)

Homosexual "marriage" declare an inalienable human right given to us by the Creator? Almost there.

Notice that the destruction of marriage is an "inside job." It was almost always baptized people who worked it over. Satan finds it much more amusing to accomplish his deeds in this way.

Blessed Louis and Marie-Azelie Martin, pray for us.

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Special Coronation of Pope on Ascension Thursday in Medieval Times

In ancient days, when the liturgy of Roman Church was regal and glorious, a pious custom was observed on Ascension Thursday.

In Rome, Ascension Thursday was always celebrated at the Basilica of Saint Peter (the Vatican). The Holy Father the Pope would celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on the high altar over the tomb of Saint Peter.

After Holy Mass, the Cardinals would gather around the Pope for a coronation ceremony. The cardinals would solemnly crown the Pope as the Vicar of Christ on earth. Then the Pope and the cardinals would go to Saint John Lateran, the Cathedral Church of Rome, the Mother and Mistress of all Churches.

What does all this mean?

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the true King and High Priest of Heaven and Earth. He is the King of Glory. Now Our Lord appointed Saint Peter and gave him a divine name used for God in the Psalms: Rock or Petrus. He also committed to Peter the Keys of the Kingdom and gave to him universal jurisdiction of the entire earth: "whatever you bind on earth." I would like to remind the separated Easterns that Peter was not merely the Patriarch of the West (Christ did not say, "whatever you bind in Europe") but was the Supreme Pontiff over the entire earth.

So then, Ascension Thursday marks the earthly reign of the Saint Peter. When Christ leaves the earth by ascending to the right hand of God the Father, Saint Peter at that moment officially became the "Vicar of Christ on earth." Vicar, of course, means "in the place of," as in "Vice-President."

So Peter is not God. He is not Jesus Christ. He is not even an angel. He is certainly not sinless. However, Peter is the divinely appointed chief of the Church of Christ on earth. He reigns for his Lord in Heaven. This is true for all the Popes who have succeeded Saint Peter in this office.

So then, the cardinals symbolically crowned the Successor of Saint Peter on this day to signify this profoundly biblical truth of Saint Peter's office and role.

Let us pray that our rich liturgical tradition is resurrected to the greater glory of God.

ad Jesum per Mariam

Taylor

PS: There is nothing pompous or audacious about the Pope wearing a crown or papal tri-regnum. The Pope always wears a ceremonial hat (the mitre). It might as well be a hat that properly identifies his authority.

Here's a video of the inaugural coronation of His Holiness Pius XII:

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Did Christ Experience an Ascension or an Assumption or Both? Checking the Greek and Latin

Catholics sometimes make the claim that while Christ "ascended" into Heaven, our Blessed Mother was "assumed" into Heaven. The difference, they say, is that Christ ascended by His own divine power; but that Mary was raised by the power of God. The apologist using this argument usually seeks to show Protestant objectors that Mary's assumption is categorically different than Christ's ascension.

Such an argument is fundamentally correct and in accordance with orthodox theology, but the vocabulary isn't correct. As a result the argument can be a little confusing. 

The Language of Ascension and Assumption

The Greek and Latin used in the Gospels (and Acts) employ terminology of "assumption" for the ascension of Christ. First let us examine three verses that describe Our Lord's ascension in terms of assumption, and then describe the theological significance.

“Et Dominus quidem Jesus postquam locutus est eis, assumptus est in cælum (He was assumed into Heaven), et sedet a dextris Dei.” (Mark 16:19, VGCLEM)


“usque in diem qua præcipiens Apostolis per Spiritum Sanctum, quos elegit, assumptus est (He was assumed)” (Acts 1:2, VGCLEM)

“qui et dixerunt : Viri Galilæi, quid statis aspicientes in cælum ? Hic Jesus, qui assumptus est (Who was assumed) a vobis in cælum, sic veniet quemadmodum vidistis eum euntem in cælum.” (Acts 1:11, VGCLEM)

For our Greek scholars, the Greek word here in Mark and Acts is the aorist passive form of ἀναλαμβάνω. It corresponds to "taken up" or "assumed."

The conclusion is that Scripture uses the language of ascension and assumption for Our Lord's transition into Heaven. (Saint John's Gospel frequently uses the language of ascension.)

The Theology of Ascension and Assumption

The obvious difference between the terms is that to ascend is active and to be assumed or to be taken up is passive. Ascension denotes an agent going up by his own power. He ascended the mountain. Assumption denotes that an object was moved by an agent. It's passive. The office was assumed by soldier.

Now Our Lady's body did not go to Heaven by its own natural power. Hence, we usually refer to her transition to Heaven as an assumption. Christ actively raised her to His right hand. However, Christ's bodily transition was both an ascension (active) and an assumption (passive).

With regard to the activity of His divinity, Christ's body ascended. With regard to humble obedience of His human soul, He was assumed into Heaven. 

According to the Sixth Ecumenical Council, Christ possesses two wills - the divine will of the Holy Trinity and His created human will corresponding to His created human soul. When we remind ourselves of this mystery, we can see more clearly how Christ both ascended with divine power and willed to be received and elevated by the Father. Hence, both Saint Mark and Saint Luke use the language of assumptus est to describe the ascension of Christ.

Happy Feast of the Ascension! We have a High Priest in Heaven who intercedes for us from His Sacred Heart at every second of the day. 

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Is Christ Literally Sitting on God's Right Hand? - Saint Augustine Explains

Tomorrow is the Ascension of Christ and this holy day sometimes prompts the question, "When Christ ascended to the Father how exactly did He sit at His right hand if God the Father doesn't have a hand?"

Saint Augustine of Hippo answers this question for us in his homily on the Creed. He explains first how sedit need not literally mean sit down. This is important since St Stephen saw Christ "standing" at the right hand of the Father. Sitting refers to His habitation, not His position. 

Regarding whether God the Father has a fleshly hand - well this is clearly anthropomorphic metaphor. Saint Augustine explains:

He ascended into heaven: believe. He sits at the right hand of the Father: believe. By sitting, understand dwelling: as [in Latin] we say of any person, In that country he dwelt (sedit) three years. The Scripture also has that expression, that such an one dwelt (sedisse) in a city for such a time. Not meaning that he sat and never rose up? On this account the dwellings of men are called seats (sedes). Where people are seated (in this sense), are they always sitting? Is there no rising, no walking, no lying down? And yet they are called seats (sedes). In this way, then, believe an inhabiting of Christ on the right hand of God the Father: He is there. And let not your heart say to you, What is He doing? Do not want to seek what is not permitted to find: He is there; it suffices you. He is blessed, and from blessedness which is called the right hand of the Father, of very blessedness the name is, right hand of the Father. For if we shall take it carnally, then because He sits on the right hand of the Father, the Father will be on His left hand. Is it consistent with piety so to put Them together, the Son on the right, the Father on the left? There it is all right-hand, because no misery is there.

from Saint Augustine's "A Sermon to Catechumens on the Creed"

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How Will the Catholic Faith Change Your Marriage?

Most adult Protestants are married and value marriage. Nevertheless, Protestants are adamant that marriage is not a sacrament. Hence, Protestants and Catholics have a fundamental disagreement over the nature of marriage. So then, one of the most neglected considerations regarding a conversion to the Catholic Faith is how it will affect your marriage. How?

I will say with 100% certainty that every convert that I know (perhaps up to 100 of them) have each said that Catholicism has enriched their marriage. The difference of course is that Protestantism sees matrimony as regulated by the State as a rite situated in the created order, but the Catholic Church teaches that matrimony was raised to the dignity of sacrament and that it pertains to the supernatural order. This places holy matrimony under the watch of the Church just like baptism or the Holy Eucharist.

This also entails that there is explicit theology about marriage and explicit rules about marriage in canon law. It’s not up to the local pastor to use his view of the Bible to decide if a couple can marry. Instead, canon law is used to determine everything – just like the other sacraments.

Yet this is a rather stuffy explanation. What you probably want to know is how will Catholicism change your life. Right?

Here are five ways in which it will change your marriage for the better:

1. You will be going to confession regularly and so will your spouse. Guess what? Your spouse will be confessing all the sins that they commit against you: losing tempers, complaining, not taking care of the children, fighting in front of the children, complaining about money, arguing over budgets . . . you get the picture. Meanwhile, you’ll be doing the same. The priest will be in your grill (and your spouse’s grill) all the time about it. He will know the details you reveal and he will begin challenging you (and your spouse) about it. Suddenly you have secret referees that are challenging you to be a better parent and spouse. Whenever I go to confession, I usually come out thinking, “I need to go apologize to Joy about that last week.” And my wife does the same when she goes to confession.

2. You will cease from contraception and other illicit actions. You marriage will be rightfully ordered to the procreative act. Intimacy will not be just for pleasure. This may strike you as a negative, but trust me, it will radically improve your marriage. Just ask anyone on CtC or any convert who lives the Faith.

3. You may start having more children. The old adage that you cannot take anything to heaven isn’t entirely true. You can, by the grace of God, take your children with you. Your portfolio, your house, your car, your boat, your everything will cease to be. But children are forever. Their souls will never be snuffed out. The procreative power is very powerful!

4. You marriage will become your vocation. I don’t want to make a caricature here, but my experience is that Protestants are usually very interested in their vocation being related to a role at Church – Sunday school teacher, women’s ministry coordinator, small group leader, music minister, pastor’s wife, youth minister, deacon, elder, etc. For Catholics, it is commonly understood that your vocation is marriage, which is to say, your vocation is to your spouse and children. I really do think the Catholic way expresses the Biblical notion of matrimony. Take this verse as an example:

“Yet she shall be saved through child bearing; if she continue in faith and love and sanctification with sobriety.” (1 Timothy 2:15, D-R)

As a Protestant, I didn’t know what that meant. Yet if our salvation depends on faith and works, and a married woman’s vocation (the way she primarily expresses her good works) is through being a wife and mother – then this verse makes perfect sense. On judgment day, Christ will judge a mother primarily on her work as a mother, not on her small group Bible study. The same goes for husbands.

5. Fifth and last, your children will be united to your devotion as parents. Catholicism doesn’t have the divide of “Big Church” and “Children’s Church.” The Holy Mass is for everyone. This means that babies, toddlers, children, and teens sit with their parents. They have years of seeing dad kneel, fold his hands, pray, genuflect, receive Communion, etc. It makes for a strong family.

Godspeed,

Taylor Marshall, Ph.D.

PS: This is the last one for the “Becoming Catholic Series.” Please take time to look at the other posts: click here and scroll down.

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Live FSSP Ordinations to the Priesthood on LiveMass.net

Blogging has been lighter lately. One reason for this is that I was visiting the FSSP's Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary with Michael King, President of Fisher More College. It was a great trip and an honor to meet Fr. Bisig, the Rector of the Seminary. Fr. Lee was a kind and gracious host.

Here is some interesting news related to the seminary.

Dear Friends of LiveMass.net and iMass

The broadcast of the Pontifical Solemn Mass for Candlemas from Miami was a tremendous success for LiveMass.net. We had thousands of viewers watching as it was streamed live on the web and on iMass. 

In a few weeks LiveMass.net will broadcast its second remote event. Please put it on your calendar, tell your friends, spread the word!

The Priestly Ordinations for Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary will broadcast LIVE from the Cathedral of the Risen Christ, Lincoln Nebraska, on Saturday May 19th 2012 at 10:00 AM Central Time, (11:00 AM Eastern, 8:00 AM Pacific), on www.LiveMass.net and iMass.
The Priestly Ordinations will be administered by His Excellency Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz, Bishop of Lincoln Nebraska.

The following candidates will be ordained priests for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter:

Rev. Mr. Gregory Eichman FSSP
Rev. Mr. Karl Marsolle FSSP
Rev. Mr. Brian McDonnell FSSP
Rev. Mr. Kevin O'Neil FSSP
Rev. Mr. Kenneth Walker FSSP

Commentary will be given during the broadcast by Rev. Fr. Calvin Goodwin FSSP.
This is an opportunity for many people who have never seen an Ordination (nor may likely ever attend one), to be able to view and unite their hearts to this Holy Sacrament and view this breathtaking ceremony from their homes or mobile devices. Please join me in prayers of gratitude for the benefactors of LiveMass.net who are making this possible!

For other news - we have begun a channel on YouTube.com called: "LiveMass Channel"
Sermons etc., will be posted on the channel little by little.

God bless you always,
Fr Fryar

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Bible Verses on Eating Too Much Food

Here are some good verses to tape up on the refrigerator.

Proverbs 23:20-21 “Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.”

Proverbs 28:7 “He who keeps the law is a discerning son, but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.”

Proverbs 23:2 “Put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.”

How to Describe Confession to Protestants (Part 5 of Becoming Catholic)

For Protestants, the most unknown aspect of Catholic devotional life is confession. Unless you’re Catholic, you cannot experience it. A Protestant can attend a Catholic baptism, confirmation, wedding, ordination, and Holy Mass; however, he cannot attend a confession or know what it’s like until he actually makes one for the first time.

Now most Protestants have seen it in movies. You go into the wooden box, a door slides behind a screen, and the Catholic says, “Bless me Father for I have sinned, etc.”

Okay, that’s pretty much how it begins, but let’s look at it from a devotional point of view – how it really goes for a Catholic.

Ideally, a Catholic makes a nightly examination of conscience every evening. This means that he prays to the Holy Spirit in order to remember his faults during the past day. He then prays an act of contrition at this moment with the intent of confessing these faults in confession.

Before entering the confessional (that is, the box), he prays to the Holy Spirit (and to Mary and other saints) that he might make a good confession and be given the gift of true repentance and contrition. My practice is to ask the Holy Spirit for the light to see all my sins. Then I ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to obtain for me the grace to be truly sorry for my sins. You see, confession isn’t just about forgiveness of sins, it’s also about growing in sacramental grace.

In the confessional, there is sometimes the option to go behind the screen or face to face (I always choose the screen). The priest will recite a prayer and then you say, “Bless me Father for I have sinned, it has been # weeks since my last confession and I accuse myself of the following sins.”

Next you list all your sins in kind and number. If the priest cannot hear you or understand you, he’ll stop and ask questions. When you get to the end, you say, “For these sins and all those that I cannot remember, I humbly repent and ask for absolution, counsel, and penance.”

The priest will then give you some advice or encouragement. He may make a general judgment that your struggles are related to a common vice. If you cry, he will comfort you. If you are scared to confess a sin, you say, “Father, I’m afraid to confess something.” He’ll walk you through it. If you are unsure if something was a sin or not, you ask him and talk it out. It’s very pastoral and safe. Then the priest gives you your penance. The penance is the sign that you wish to start a new life in Christ – that you’re going to make a change. The penance also shows a willingness to make reparation for the harm you’ve caused (for example, to return stolen money or apologize to a wounded spouse). A common penance is “Three Hail Mary’s” or “a decade of the Rosary” or “Three Our Fathers so that you’ll grow in the virtue of temperance.”

Then the priest says, “Now please make an Act of Contrition.” This is a prayer you say to God out loud and the priest listens to you say it. It’s proof to him that you really are sorry for your sins and not just playing “pinball Catholicism” (click here to see what I mean by that).

The Act of Contrition goes like this:

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love.
I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.

Then the priest gives you absolution: “I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father and of Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

The priest then tells you to go in peace and usually asks you to say a prayer for him.

After that, you leave the confessional and go into the church where you pray your penance quietly and pray about anything else that is on your heart.

That’s confession. It is certainly one of my top three favorite things about Catholicism.

Godspeed,

Taylor Marshall, Ph.D.

PS: If you would like to read Parts 1-4 of “Becoming Catholic” please click here and scroll down a little to see the previous posts.

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Salvation Pinball & the Devotional Life of Catholics (Part 4 of Becoming Catholic)

Last week, we examined difficulties that Catholic converts experience in the context of family life. Today we look at how how your devotional might change when you become a Catholic. What would change?

For a Protestant looking in from the outside, it might appear that Catholics are mechanical about their devotional life. I remember seeing Catholicism as a giant machine with handles and levers. Catholics scurried around it pulling levers and pulling knobs hoping that grace would come out. As a Protestant, I thought that being a “good Catholic” was like working a soft-serve ice cream machine or a soda fountain. If you learned how to use the system, you can get grace and hopefully earn salvation.

More accurately, I suspected that the Catholic salvation was more like a pinball machine. The ball was grace and Catholics were constantly mashing the buttons to keep the flippers moving and the ball in play. However, all pinball players know that eventually the ball gets past you and your game is over. How could Catholics honestly believe that human effort could keep the ball in play for decades and decades of human life? Why can’t they just trust in the finished work of Christ and relax…?

So now that I’m Catholic, am I playing salvation pinball?

I don’t think so. Salvation only appears mechanistic to Protestants because they haven’t experienced it. For example, the sacrament of Penance is not at all like getting your time card punched. There is a real human being behind that screen! He asks questions. He challenges you. He loves Christ. You love Christ. You’re both praying that you will grow in Christ. It’s extremely intimate and the opposite of mechanical.

Take the Holy Mass. Most Protestants are not familiar with liturgical worship. What they see seems robotic. But when you know it, it’s like an elegant waltz. You can even do it with your eyes closed. If you don’t know how to waltz and you’ve never seen it, one might look at people waltzing and say: “This is so hard and those people are slaves to this music. How could they be enjoying this?”

Yet the couple might be having the dance of their lives…the formal aspect makes it all the more intimate.

All important things in our lives are ritualized – Sunday dinner, weddings, sports, and anniversaries come to mind. The repetition makes them more important and more intimate.

In order to understand Catholic devotion, don’t think of it as a machine…think of it as a mother. Mothers and babies seem to have a mechanical relationship. Baby sucks milk from breast. Spits up. Mommy cleans it. Baby cries. Mommy bounces. Baby poops. Mommy changes the diaper. Repeat cycle, non-stop, for nine months. But that is not all there is. They are the cues. There are the moments when the mommy gazes with love on the nursing baby. The nursing baby caresses the hair of the mother. The mother smiles and talks to the baby during the diaper change. It’s all very loving and intimate. To an outsider looking in from the outside, it could appear like an endless hell. But ask any old lady and she will tell you that those were great days. And all of us are grateful for the maternal care. None of us think of mom as “mechanical.”

Of course, you won’t ever experience this if you don’t become Catholic so you won’t ever really understand. I hope that if you’re reading this, you’ll take a moment and pray to Christ and ask Him to give you special gifts of the Holy Spirit. You have to deal with the Catholic question, so you be sure that you pray to Christ at every step of the way.

Please read Taylor’s Parts 1, 2, and 3 on “Becoming Catholic” by clicking here and scrolling down.

ad Jesum per Mariam,

Taylor Marshall, PhD

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What Would Your Family Say…If You Became Catholic? (Part 3 on Becoming Catholic)

In the last two posts, I’ve shared personal aspects of becoming Catholic. Today I move to one of the most difficult parts of that decision, the judgment of your family. For most people, this is the largest obstacle to becoming Catholic.

For others the most difficult part of Catholicism is losing their job or their career if they are employed by a Protestant congregation. I’ve been there, too. Perhaps I’ll share some personal thoughts on that in the days to come. Today, I want to focus on family. I get emails and phone calls from Protestants considering conversion. I’d say that most of them experience difficulties with their families and usually with their spouses.

I’ve also noticed that some people have difficulty with how their parents will perceive them if they are Catholics. Cradle Catholics (those raised as Catholics from the cradle) might find this odd. What they do not understand is that Protestant denominations have their own customs and expectations when it comes to holidays, meals, and important life events like marriage…and the Catholic Church has her own customs.

Let me give just ten examples that will likely come up. If you have others, please share them in the comments:

1. At Christmas and other holidays, you will have to go Holy Mass with your family. This creates problems with scheduling wider family events on Christmas.
2. When you pray at meals, your family and children will make the sign of the cross. This will startle your extended family.
3. When the grandparents pray with your children, your children will at some point innocently and rightly start praying to Mary or to some saints. That might cause grandma to go into a conniption.
4. You won’t contracept. This means you’ll start having lots of babies. This means your family will constantly say things like, “Aren’t you finished?” or hurtful things to your wife, “Don’t you want to do something more important than have children and pack lunches?”
5. You will have a crucifix in your house which will draw comments.
6. Marriages will be Catholic and Catholic only. That means no weddings at the family’s favorite chapel.
7. You won’t be able to attend a family wedding if Catholics are getting married in Protestant chapels and in sometimes in difficult situations where there is divorce.
8. If you’re practicing, you’ll be praying the Rosary daily. I invite Protestant family to join us, but that may not be comfortable for everyone.
9. On Fridays, especially on Fridays during Lent you’ll have to ask questions about dinner before accepting an invitation, because you cannot eat flesh meat (beef, pork, chicken, etc.)
10. You’ll have one family member who is very aggressive and challenging. They’ll be playing Johnny Apologetics every time you gather as a family. There will the be uncomfortable debates about sola fide, sola scriptura, Mary, the Pope, Catholic history, and more.

And there’s more. So why be Catholic? Well, it’s the true Church of Jesus Christ and it is a cross to be a member of Christ’s visible and historic body: “And he said to all: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23, D-R).

Many Catholics have even had to abandon their family altogether – even wives and children – for the sake of Christ. Saints Felicity and Perpetua come to mind. Saint Peter is another:

Then Peter said: Behold, we have left all things and have followed thee. Who said to them: Amen, I say to you, there is no man that hath left home or parents or brethren or wife or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, Who shall not receive much more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting. (Luke 18:28–30, D-R)

Hard words, I know. Yet when we consider the gift of the beatific vision of God’s essence and our union with Him for ever, all created happiness and goods fail to compare. Everything is worth it. Catholicism is the pearl of great price. Also, think of it this way. Early Catholics struggled with becoming martyrs. When they were martyred they offered their deaths for the conversion of their accusers and enemies (St Stephen martyrdom and St Paul’s conversion is an example).

Today we do not worry about martyrdom (yet), but we do worry about the disgrace we will experience from our families. That is a small price when you think of it. Moreover, whenever your family ridicules your mocks your for being a Catholic, you can offer that pain for their conversion. It might be the trigger that releases graces upon their souls.

To read the two previous posts about becoming Catholic, click here and scroll down.

ad Jesum per Mariam,

Taylor Marshall

PS: If you have personal experience with conversion and family, please helpful advice below in the comments.

Do you enjoy reading Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive daily posts. It's free. Please click here to sign up by Feed or here to sign up by Email. Please also explore Taylor's books about Catholicism at amazon.com.