casual theology

Humanae Vitae was promulgated 45 years ago this week by Pope Paul VI. Without a doubt if has become the most controversial Catholic document of our time. Reaction to this encyclical has amounted to an open revolt on a scale unseen since the Reformation. The Church has been ridiculed and derided for its position on artificial contraception. She has been accused of being stuck in the middle ages, out of touch with the times, and hostile to women. For all those who cast stones at the Church, few have taken the time to read Humanae Vitae or to understand the reasons behind the Church’s teaching. Birth control is not new. Egyptian papyruses dating more than 1,500 years before the birth of Christ describe various methods of birth control from using honey, acacia leaves and lint to form a primitive diaphragm-like barrier to utilizing crocodile dung as a spermicide. The ancient Greeks utilized the siliphium plant to concoct a contraceptive potion. It was so popular it was harvested to ext...

Deuteronomy 30:10-14   //  Colossians 1:15-20   //  Luke 10:25-37    Christianity has not been tried and found wanting;  it has been found difficult and not tried. - G.K. Chesterton With all respect to the good people at Nike, today’s first reading and Gospel share a common theme: Just Do It! Moses points out to the Israelites that God’s commands are “something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.” Jesus echoes this sentiment after sharing the story of the Good Samaritan by imploring any who would follow him to “Go and do likewise.” We love to rationalize and qualify God’s word to us. We can build up complicated theologies and interpretations to make the Gospel more manageable and less threatening. That’s not to say that we don’t need theology, but we can’t allow ourselves to hide behind our intellectual constructs and avoid the call to GO. We’re called to show mercy a...

“Are we there yet?” Anyone who’s ever traveled anywhere with children knows firsthand how impatient they become on the journey, and the farther the journey the harder the wait for the little ones. This is especially true when they have an idea of where they’re headed. Tell the kids they're going to the dentist and they never ask when they’ll get there, but tell them you’re going to Disney World and you start getting “Are we there yet?” before you get to the end of the block. Two things compel kids to ask that question; excitement about the destination and ignorance of the details of the trip. All they can think about is how much joy awaits them at the destination. Their minds race thinking about what they’ll do and what they’ll see when they get there. Little children have poor concepts of time and even worse concepts of distance. They don’t understand, nor do they care about traffic patterns, construction delays, or refueling needs. How often are we just like a little ...

Pope Benedict’s decision to  retire   resign  abdicate was a surprise, and it has shifted the world’s attention to the Church and its future. Some are lamenting that we were likely to get another conservative pope who will not bring any radical changes. Recent reports of declining participation among the faithful and the impacts of recent scandals in the Church have weakened the ability of some of the faithful to trust the hierarchy.    In the face of these challenges many hope that the cardinals will elect someone who can engage the world. I've even heard it said that failing to elect the right pope will result in the Church continuing to answer questions nobody is asking anymore and thereby spiraling into irrelevance in the eyes of the world. In Douglas Adams’ comedic sci-fi novel (and subsequent movie),  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,  the main characters seek out the planet Magrethea where an ancient civilization created a ...

Brothers and sisters: May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you, so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen. (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 – Second Reading of First Sunday of advent 2012) Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia recently wrote a very insightful article for First Things about the challenges facing the Church in America today.  He was reflecting on the troubling trends, especially among youth and young adults and their attitudes towards religion in general and Catholicism in particular. Indeed there are many issues and obstacles the Church must face as we move forward in the years to come. We are still reeling from the sex abuse scandals of the clergy while the laity continues to ignore the Church’s teachings about sexuality and the human person. As secular humanism grows the Church is finding...

Last night I had the opportunity to attend Eucharistic adoration with a small group of friends. While we were worshiping the Lord I had a vision.  It was like we were at the seashore only in place of the sea was the monstrance and each of us in attendance were like buckets with small holes in them. Angels were going going back and forth from the monstrance to each of us. They would gather up grace that was flowing from the Body of our Lord like water pouring forth from the monstrance then bring that grace to each of us and pour it into our buckets. As we received the grace it flowed out through the holes and over the tops of the buckets wetting the sand around us. The angels kept going back & forth and were so full of joy in their task as if they were competing with each other to see who could fill their person's bucket the most. Tonight I was reading from Benedict XVI's Apostolic Exhortation, Sacramentum caritatas, on the Eucharist. He writes: "Indeed, on...

“The LORD God gave the man this order: You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die.” “But the snake said to the woman: “You certainly will not die! God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil.” Genesis 2:16-17; 3:4-5 _____________________ “I believe that my position on choice is one that is consistent with my Catholic upbringing, which said that every person has a free will and has the responsibility to live their own lives in a way that they would have to account for in the end.” Nancy Pelosi _____________________ As we enter into the Lenten season we look ahead to the sacrificial gift of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection. We are called to remember that it was our sins that made the cross necessary. We look back to the Garden and the Original Sin of our first parents and we...