Why go to church? – The need for ritual

Two recent news stories raise the question of why go to church? The first was a Pew survey showing that many Americans believe in God, heaven and hell but don’t see the need to go to church.  Second was a quote of Pope Francis that “If one of us does not feel the need for the mercy of God, does not see himself as a sinner, it is better for him not got to Mass”. Some have taken that to mean that it is OK to skip Mass. However, as with many of his interviews he was not quoted within context where he was talking about how we are all sinners in need of mercy and forgiveness and that going to Mass (church) is necessary to experience Christ through the Eucharist and receive reconciliation.

These stories highlight a phenomenon that faith is viewed as just about believing without any need for formal worship. However, history tells us that formal ritual is necessary to keeping one’s faith. Just read the stories in Ezra and Nehemiah in the Old Testament about the problems of the Jews returning from the Babylonian exile. Those books clearly show that in order for the Jews to not be assimilated as a people and to protect their faith from being extinguished they had to be reoriented and reinstructed on the Torah to live a life according to the Law. Turning to a ritualistic lifestyle was the only way they could survive as a people and maintain their identify. It’s not that different today with the increasing secularization of our society where Christians are being marginalized and assimilated into the larger culture where faith is considered meaningless. To be sure, there are many more reasons for attending church such as it being the only vehicle for receiving the sacraments. However, the notion that it provides the ritualistic connection to the faith and faith community is paramount. It is a major defense against assimilation into our relativist secular culture that is becoming increasingly antagonistic against Christianity. Without the formal church experience we will lose our identity and with time our faith.

Another reason is analogous of the need to exercise to increase and maintain physical fitness. It’s a false notion to think that eating a good diet but not exercising or only doing it once in a while will keep oneself healthy and fit. The reality is that exercise is one of those factors that reflects the principle of “use it or lose it”.  The self discipline and ritual of regular exercise is what keeps one fit. The same could be said of going the church regularly. Whereas exercise aids our physical fitness, church attendance aids our spiritual fitness. It keeps our faith “fit”.

 

 

 

 

Having a visit with an old Paratrooper

For many years I have belonged to the 82^nd Airborne Association of veteran paratroopers. Today, six of us paid a visit the oldest member of our association. He is 103 years young, lucid and still has the Airborne spirit. He was a Major in the 307 Engineer battalion of the 82^nd Airborne in WWII and was in the Battle of the Bulge. He was a model example of what has come to be called the “Greatest Generation.”

When I walked into his room I said the classic paratrooper greeting “Airborne” and without flinching he replied with the expected response “All the Way”. We were able to get him to tell his stories and what great stories they were. He talked of how he was bullied into volunteering to go Airborne and how scared he was on his first jump. He had a great story about coming back to the states after the war on the Queen Mary and how he got chewed out by General “jumping” Jim Gavin for smiling too much while marching down 5^th Avenue in the victory parade. Throughout all of the conversation he reminisced about how proud was to be part of the 82^nd Airborne and how he still feels the camaraderie of his old unit. He had a great sense of humor and you could sense their might have been a bit of blarney in some of his stories.

We all felt very privileged to share some time with this old trooper. We were experiencing the historical tradition of our outfit.  For those who watched the movie “Band of Brothers” the story of Easy Company of the 101^st Airborne in WWII you might have gotten a little sense of what could be called the Airborne spirit and attitude. The seven of us including him were a mix of WWII, Korean, Viet Nam, Dominican Republic, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, still have our jump wings, jump boots and, as I found out, all have an airborne tattoo. There is special bond among units such as the 82^nd Airborne that crosses generations and I was fortunate to experience that once more.

As we left, we helped him up to stand with his walker, stood at attention and gave him a salute, which he smartly gave back. I could sense that the years had melted away (if just for an hour or so) and he was that young, cocky, and proud 82^nd Airborne Trooper as he will always be to us.

The truth and Pope Francis – I

Lying has become the topic of the times – Obamacare, Bengazi, Fast and Furious, IRS, NSA and on and on. Since I have spoken many times about lying and the failure of the media and Obama to tell the truth, I have been taking a break from this blog because it seems that I will just be repeating myself over and over again. But, the lies and untruths being reported about Pope Francis are so pervasive, they must be addressed. But, first some background.

The mainline media and secular culture has a view of Christianity and Catholicism in particular that it is archaic, intolerant and too rigid with absolute norms of right and wrong. It doesn’t reflect the modern relativist mindset so it must be attacked at worst or degraded and rendered irrelevant at best. The truth of that is well documented especially over the last 30 years. Enter Pope Francis. To read the introductory remarks to the Pope being named Person of the Year, the various media headlines that the Pope is for gay marriage, abortion, women cardinals and that all people will go to heaven and it appears as if they finally got a Catholic Pope that thinks like them. There is a real “love fest” with him and the media claims he will completely reform the Church with a revolutionary agenda that will make the Church fit better in our modern secular society. Even Obama likes him. However, it is all wishful thinking and a blatant attempt at propaganda to serve their own purposes.

As is always the case, you should go to the source if you want to know the truth. That is not always easy so we rely on the media. In this case even the media has not gone to the source – But I have and actually read what the Pope has been saying in interviews, encyclicals and papal addresses by searching Vatican websites. I can honestly say that what the media concludes about what he says and what is his intent are out and out lies. It doesn’t matter whether it is the mainline liberal media projecting upon the Pope’s words their agenda or conservative talk show pundits like Limbaugh and Coulter who brand Pope Francis as a Marxist and liberal because they fail to actually read what he says and means. They are all disingenuous by taking his quotes out of context or putting false conclusions in his mouth to make points for their agenda.

I would suggest they actually read what the Pope says and read the Catechism and see what the Church really teaches but that would require study and thinking. The media from Rush Limbaugh, to NBC, to the New York Times and their liberal brethren are just too lazy for that. The next post will detail the lies and what I believe the Pope is clearly communicating.

Administration disrespects our military

After a hiatus because of being in the middle of the Colorado flooding without internet etc. its time to respond to certain aspects of the government shutdown. One particular area that has gained little media attention is the total disrespect Obama and his administration is showing the military. The Pentagon says that as long as the budget impasse lasts, it will not be able to pay death benefits to the families of troops killed in combat nor provide family transportation to attend services for their loved ones. This is appalling and shows how the administration is playing politics over what it chooses to defund. I would not be surprised if both the President and Secretary of Defense Hagel have the discretionary power to fund this immediately but they refuse to do so. So it gets left up to private charities and Congress to “step up”.

This is just the latest affront to our military by the Obama administration and is another demonstration of how little respect and concern this administration shows for our troops and their families. It is a “slap in the face” to our military showing a gross indifference at best to disgusting negligence at worst. From the debacle of closing the WWII Memorial to veterans, to not allowing contract clergy to go on a military base to conduct services, to ordering Catholic chaplains not to read Bishop’s letters confronting the HHS mandate; this administration is not living up to its obligations to service men and women. As a veteran I am furious and am tired of this administration political ploys at the expense of our military.

Why isn’t this story getting more coverage by the mainline media? It is very apparent the press wants to paint the GOP as the bad guys. While there is enough blame to go around it is very clear that the decisions the administration made and is making as to what to fund and not fund has one purpose – make the people hurt and blame Republicans. That is the story but no one is reporting it. The administration can fund public television but not death benefits for our serviceman. While I suppose all this can be considered “political hardball” it should not be played at the expense of those serving in the military.  Obama and his administration have clearly shown that they do not understand the definition of honor by their actions toward those who practice it daily, placing themselves in harm’s way.

Drug legalization – what reality says!

The recent decision by Attorney General Eric Holder that the Justice Department will not go after those states legalizing marijuana or prosecute many drug cases is an example of a total lack of understanding of the reality of drugs on the street. I agree with libertarians on many concerns but on this one I definitely dispute their support for legalization. I also disagree with Charlie Rangel (the Democratic Congressman from New York City) on most issues but in terms of drug legalization; I fully agree with his statement that “it is a death sentence for youth in the inner city”.

My conclusions are not based on some intellectual philosophy or theory but from the real world experience of working with at-risk youth to prevent drug abuse. I have seen the affect of marijuana as a ‘gateway drug” and the affect of thousands of youth not undergoing normal adolescence by being high during the teenage years.

My view is the same as that expressed by many law enforcement associations such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Sheriffs Association (who recently wrote a letter to the Justice Department chastising it for not even asking for their input) and by those working in community service programs that deal with drug abuse especially among youth. All are warning that legalization will make things worse because of one simple and plain reality – More access to drugs (legal or illegal) leads to more drugs on the street that, in turn, equates to more drug use and abuse.

This is a “well dah” reality. It’s interesting that many of the proponents of legalization are the well educated elites and academics who have the mistaken belief we can all use drugs just like alcohol in moderation and without serious consequences. That may well be true for some, especially in upper middle class environments. However, in environments with little family or social structures that practice and teach self- discipline and responsibility it is a simple consumer reality. By making more stuff available (whether legal or illegal) leads to using more stuff.

The argument that legalization will get crime out of the drug business is bogus on its face. Did legalizing alcohol reduce crime, the influence of the mob and alcoholism? Those same law enforcement organizations confront the premise that legalization will lower the crime associated with the drug trade as the elites contend, but instead, they maintain, will provide the opposite effect with increased violent drug induced crime and driving under the influence.

In the substance abuse prevention and rehabilitation world, stress is placed on the importance of modeling – having positive role models that practice self-discipline and responsibility. What kind of role model example is Attorney General Holder demonstrating by choosing to not prosecute existing laws and to, in essence, support drug use? Supporters of legalization also use the argument that by controlling the growing and selling of marijuana the states can gain needed revenue. It’s bad enough that the federal government and some states support the killing of children in the womb by providing abortion funding. All this just further shows the immoral expediency of this current administration’s policies.

Living with wildlife – Bear with me you turkey

In our mountain town of Estes Park, Colorado bear encounters are not uncommon but recently there seems to be more than usual. Last year, a YouTube video went viral of a “chocoholic” bear breaking into a candy shop. Recently a bear walked into the back of a local pub and hung out for awhile and nobody noticed. Maybe he was seen as just a big black promotional can of Guinness Beer. Last week a bear was seen strolling around our parish’s outdoor Stations of the Cross apparently stopping at most of the stations. He must have been a devout Catholic bear.

We’ve had several visits by bears this summer into our garage to drag out the garbage and even had a mother bear and two cubs try to break into our kitchen window. Just the other morning a bear climbed onto or deck to get the bird feeder hanging from a tree. The usual reaction is to quickly get the camera and get out of its way. But it’s important to remember that a bear encounter is always on the bear’s terms.

Yesterday I got chased a couple of hundred yards by a turkey on my morning walk up the Forest Service road. He was a big “tom” and I have to admit was embarrassed to have to retreat from such a lowly bird. But, once I read up about how aggressive wild turkeys can be and discovered that my wife was chased by him in her car and a neighbor was chased by him last winter while snow blowing his driveway; I will not question my macho masculinity anymore. However, we may just have wild turkey for Thanksgiving.

I have been privileged to encounter mountain lions, bull moose, elk and the like and while experiencing creatures in the wild is exhilarating, there is a downside to these nature encounters. Recently, a bear broke into a neighbor’s house, ransacked it and critically injured their dog. Unfortunately, that bear and the momma bear and her cubs will probably have to be put down since she is teaching her cubs foraging behavior in human habitats. They have already learned that lifestyle. For many years there was a 2 or 3 strike rule. A bear that started foraging around homes would be relocated and only if they came back would be put down. That has changed as more people have moved into bear and other wildlife habitat and their natural food sources are shrinking.

I think a new nature imperative is required. It is not so much about protecting us but about protecting wildlife by disciplining our actions if we live in bear country. For example, keeping garage doors closed and garbage in bear proof cans. We have to do extra things like not leaving bird feeders out at night and cleaning out grills because bears can smell any kind of food miles away. The old Forest Service promotional saying from Smokey the Bear was “Only you can prevent forest fires”. Maybe we need a new saying like “Only you can prevent the premature death of your local wildlife”.

 

 

 

From reality to Alice in Wonderland

The recent news about transgender accommodations in California has quickly brought me down from the high of World Youth Day in Rio to the utter dismay of what is going on in our culture. The Rio experience was grounded in the reality of God and Christ and what our place in the world of today should be.  The new “reality” expressed now in our culture is one based on distorted feelings and perceptions not on truth. The so called “gender equality” movement would have us discard the truth that gender is a God given condition of nature. Instead they profess that we have the freedom to create ourselves in whatever image we want to be.

The gender identify movement wants a recognition supported by law that there is a newfound right to choose your gender.  Now, California is using the power of the state to recognize this vision as politically correct speech has morphed into politically correct law. Kids can choose their bathroom at school and which sports to play – male or female. On the other coast, a group of transgender parents are suing New York City for the right to change gender status on birth certificates. They contend that they have the right and their children have the right to choose their gender. Give me a break.

I scratch my head trying to figure out what is going on. All kinds of so called “rights” are being defined from this issue to gay marriage that trumps religious rights and freedom of speech by both public acceptance and by government that we must go along to be enlightened, politically correct and not be intolerant. This crazy reasoning goes against God, history, philosophy and common sense. However, there is a most basic reason that confronts such bizarre thinking– simple reality.

Boys are boys and girls are girls physically and anatomically. We are created male and female and this has been accepted from the beginning of time. Our eyes tell us, our experience tells us and our reason tells us this simple truth that there are two sexes – period. Anything else is fiction and an Alice in Wonderland reality. I hope and pray that as a culture we recognize this and confront these distortions of reality.

World Youth Day – Jesus and Nature

In the previous blog I gave impressions of World Youth Day (WYD). As part of the WYD activities various faith based theme conferences were offered and I was privileged to be invited to speak at one such conference titled “Jesus and Nature”.  It was sponsored by CREATIO an apostolate of the Christian Life Movement which I have been involved in for several years which offers retreats, seminars and mission trips with the theme of “creation stewardship”. The aim of the conference was to present a Catholic perspective on environmental issues and to reflect on the Church’s contribution to our common responsibility to creation.

There were 12 of us who spoke from around the world including a farmer, climatologists, theologians, a historian, communications expert, clergy, as well as a representative of one of the Vatican Pontifical Councils that was responsible for Church initiatives for dealing with ecological issues. They were a great group of folks and I learned a lot from them. All the presentations focused on a variety of themes but with a common denominator. That the world was created by God who made both nature and the human person. Consequently, we have a responsibility to care for all of creation. The keynote speaker Cardinal Turkson of Ghana echoed the past comments by Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI that it requires a balance of caring both for the environment and for human persons. In other words, it is about both nature ecology and human ecology and is part of a larger effort to reconcile the ruptures in our world between us and God, our true selves, others and finally creation.

As the lone nature interpreter and exercise psychologist (or as I put it –“an old gym rat that gets outside a lot”), my topic was “Developing a Stewardship of Creation and of the Body (fitness)” that explored why and how we should develop a stewardship lifestyle to overcome two deficit disorders. The first is overcoming “nature deficit disorder” to be more familiar with and care for nature and the second is overcoming “exercise deficit disorder” to get outside and exercise to develop the energy to be a steward. By focusing our efforts on developing a stewardship ethic with nature and with ourselves (through physical fitness) a lifestyle can be developed to take personal and collective actions to counteract major environmental problems.

The program was in English so our audience was primarily from the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Over the course of the 6 hour conference our audience stuck with us even though the tent leaked from the rains and the outdoor venue was extremely cold. The youth were really enthusiastic and in discussions during and after our conference the questions and comments from these high school and college kids had more depth than many I ever heard from some graduate students. They showed a willingness to accept Pope Francis’ challenge to get out and go out to make a difference. In this case it will be a difference in our environment.

World Youth Day Reflections

We just got back from World Youth Day (WYD) in Rio. It was a real experience in Christian/Catholic  witness and fellowship. I was invited to give a presentation at one of the Conferences associated with WYD titled “Jesus and Nature”. In a succeeding blog I will discuss that conference and what all transpired but for now I want to share what I call the “chemistry” of WYD.

The day before the conference we went up to the large Christ the Redeemer statue by train with hundreds of youth where you can see the entire Rio area. As we got up we got fogged in and could barely see the statue itself. I did not hear one “peep” of disappointment but instead they sung and gave cheers. There was a small chapel with the Eucharist in a tabernacle at the base of the statue that you could go in and say a prayer. The kids were reverently quiet and several knelt down to say a decade of the rosary. Of note is that the chapel had no guards or security.

The two days of the Conference were the coldest days in Rio’s history (50 degrees F) with a steady cold rain all day and night. The youth (mostly high school and college) were predominately in nothing but shorts and “t’ shirts. They were awesome. Imagine a million kids soaked to the bone singing, cheering and praying. In speaking to many of them they expressed an upbeat “whatever” attitude about the weather and had an enthusiasm that was catching.  There were thousands of youth volunteers to assist that showed a reverence and maturity I haven’t seen in many adults. When talking to them they talked about God, Jesus, the Pope and their faith. It was surrealistic. Teenagers and young adults are supposed to be frivolous, irreverent and uncaring.

There were many messages put forth by Pope Francis that resonated not only with the youth but with me.  At one level the Holy Father gave us laity our marching orders to get out and go out to make a difference. In short, it was an experience of reverent Christian/Catholic witness that made an old codger like me think there is hope. Sure, the youth represent a minority but what I saw and heard was a strong committed minority that loves God and the Church. John Paul II’s  vision is bearing fruit and will continue to do so.

 

Attention paid to St. Michael

Last week, Pope Francis and Benedict XVI jointly consecrated the Vatican to St. Michael the Archangel’s protection. Needless to say it was not covered by the mainstream media. However, given the namesake of this blog a comment is warranted.

Pope Francis regularly reminds us that evil is real and the devil exists. All one has to do is look at world events and I think that reality is seen at many levels. The Archangel Michael is projected in both the Old and New Testament as the warrior who stands up for God, his Church and confronts and does combat with the forces of evil. As mentioned in previous blogs this explains why he is the patron saint of both paratroopers and policeman. Having been both, I have a natural kinship with St. Michael.

Our modern culture doesn’t accept the reality of evil or the devil which I think is an example of what a successful job he has done to affect our minds to disregard his reality. Evil creeps into all our lives and unfortunately even our churches, so I think it is very fitting that he be consecrated as the protector of the Vatican. The prayer to St. Michael (which used to be said at the end of each Mass) was to protect us and the Church “from the snares of the devil”.

Examples of current “snares” of our day and age is the mistaken notion of “rights’ seen in the pro abortion and gay marriage movements. In both cases the projection that they are human rights has been accepted and propagated by many in the media, academia, our current government and the celebrity culture .It is an example of falsehoods being accepted as the truth. One can ask where do these faulty perceptions come from?

Scriptural references to St. Michael all address his role in “spiritual warfare”. Again, in this day and in this culture to even think about such warfare (of good versus evil) let alone talk about it is considered medieval old fashioned thinking. But, if we honestly look at and reflect on all that is going on around us it sure seems to provide an insight into many conflicts and controversies in our world. I think we really really do need St. Michael’s protection.