A Christmas Reflection by St. Padre Pio

"Glittering were the palaces of the proud Hebrews. Yet, the light of the world did not appear in one of them. Ostentatious with worldly grandeur, swimming in gold and in delights, were the great ones of the Hebrew nation; filled with vain knowledge and pride were the priests of the sanctuary. In opposition to the true meaning of Divine revelation, they awaited an officious savoir, who would come into the world with human renown and power.  

But God, always ready to confound the wisdom of the world, shatters their plans. Contrary to the expectations of those lacking in Divine wisdom, he appears among us in the greatest abjection, renouncing even birth in St. Joseph’s humble home, denying himself a modest abode among relatives and friends in a city of Palestine. Refused lodging among men, he seeks refuge and comfort among mere animals, choosing their habitation as the place of his birth, allowing their breath to give warmth to his tender body. He permits simple and rustic shepherds to be the first to pay their respects to him, after he himself informed them, by means of his angels, of the wonderful mystery.

Oh wisdom and power of God, we are constrained to exclaim – enraptured along with your Apostle – how incomprehensible are your judgments and unsearchable your ways! Poverty, humility, abjection, contempt, all surround the Word made flesh. But we, out of the darkness that envelops the incarnate Word, understand one thing, hear one voice, perceive one sublime truth: you have done everything out of love, you invite us to nothing else but love, speak of nothing except love, give us naught except proofs of love.

The heavenly babe suffers and cries in the crib so that for us suffering would be sweet, meritorious and accepted. He deprives himself of everything, in order that we may learn from him the renunciation of worldly goods and comforts. He is satisfied with humble and poor adorers, to encourage us to love poverty, and to prefer the company of the little and simple rather than the great ones of the world.

This celestial child, all meekness and sweetness, wishes to impress in our hearts by his example these sublime virtues, so that from a world that is torn and devastated an era of peace and love may spring forth. Even from the moment of his birth he reveals to us our mission, which is to scorn that which the world loves and seeks.

Oh let us prostrate ourselves before the manger, and along with the great St. Jerome, who was enflamed with the love of the infant Jesus, let us offer him all our hearts without reserve. Let us promise to follow the precepts which come to us from the grotto of Bethlehem, which teach us that everything here below is vanity of vanities, nothing but vanity."

-St. Padre Pio

The Persecution of Asia Bibi

A Pakistani mother of five awaits the death penalty in her native country. Not for a violent crime, but for blasphemy—for being a Christian and speaking in defense of her faith. Today we've assembled a collection of news stories and blog posts about Asia Bibi to raise awareness of the continued persecution of Christians throughout the world. 

"Over these days the international community is, with great concern, following the situation of Christians in Pakistan, who are often victims of violence or discrimination. In particular, I today express my spiritual closeness to Ms Asia Bibi and her family while asking that, as soon as possible, she may be restored to complete freedom. I also pray for people who find themselves in similar situations, that their human dignity and fundamental rights may be fully respected" 

-Pope Benedict XVI

For more info on Asia Bibi:  http://www.wordonfire.org/WoF-Blog/WoF-Blog/December-2011/News-The-persecution-of-Asia-Bibi.aspx

Please visit: http://www.callformercy.com/

The Christmas Story

A children's Christmas pageant goes hipster.  Seriously cute and funny.  Enjoy!

R.I.P. Christopher Hitchens

I was upset to hear that people who call themselves Christians were long praying for the death of renowned atheist, Christopher Hitchens.  I can only sadly assume that such people would now be overjoyed at his demise.  Nothing could be more hypocritical.  The recent passing of Hitchens, reminded me of the quote the Vatican put out after the assassination of Osama Bin Laden.  I think it fits this occasion perfectly.  Here is the excerpt of that statement that came to mind:

"In the face of a man's death, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibilities of each person before God and before men, and hopes and works so that every event may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred."

Literary provocateur, Christopher Hitchens

Though Mr. Hitchens was by no means a friend of religion and I found his treatment of Mother Teresa's struggles at the end of her life despicable, he nevertheless applies to this statement.  I do credit him for taking on Islam in the same manner he took on Christianity, showing no partiality and pulling no punches.  He was a bitter, sharp witted man, with a sincere passion for writing.  He was bitter no doubt in part from his own mother's suicide and his brother who died in the same manner.  He was noted in an interview as feeling partly responsible for his mother's death because he missed several calls from his mother right before she killed herself.  Something undoubtedly would haunt any human being for the remainder of their lives.  Hitchens battled at length with alcoholism and was a heavy smoker, which led to his demise at the age of 62 from esophageal cancer.


So called atheists should ponder for a moment Christianity, in which God incarnate did not for at least a moment declare himself an atheist, believing that God had abandoned him at the very moment when God's love is so fully expressed in Christ on the cross.  Chesterton sums it up simply saying that, "if there was no God, there would be no atheists."


Was Christopher Hitchens an enemy of Christianity?  Absolutely, which is all the more reason to pray for him and his family.  RIP Christopher Hitchens.  


For some great commentary videos regarding Hitchen's life and work check this out:
http://www.wordonfire.org/WoF-Blog/WoF-Blog/December-2011/News-Father-Barrons-commentaries-on-Christopher-Hi.aspx

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

St. John of the Cross

"Do not seek Christ without the cross"  

“If a man wishes to be sure of the road he treads on, he must close his eyes and 

walk in the dark.”

-St. John of the Cross, Mystic and Doctor of the Church

The Birth

 

When the time had come

For Him to be Born

He went forth like the bridegroom

From his bridal chamber,

 

Embracing His bride,

Holding her in His arms,

Whom the gracious Mother

Laid in a manger

 

Among some animals

That were there at that time.

Men sang songs

And angels melodies

 

Celebrating the marriage

Of Two such as these.

But God there in the manger

Cried and moaned;

 

And these tears were jewels

The bride brought to the wedding.

The Mother gazed in sheer wonder

On such an exchange:

 

In God, man’s weeping,

And in man, gladness,

To the one and the other

Things usually so strange.

  -St. John of the Cross

"Proving God" on the History Channel

"Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself—so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves."  -Bl. John Paul the Great

"Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself—so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves."  -Bl. John Paul the Great 

The History Channel recently aired a special, just before Christmas ('tis the season), entitled Proving God.  Here’s the description from History Channel:

"Proving God For centuries, science and faith have been polarized on some of the most fundamental questions in the universe, sometimes with deadly consequences. But as mankind seeks to answer the ultimate question--whether God exists--religion and science have joined in an unlikely alliance. Can new scientific discoveries and digital age technology reveal tangible proof of God? From the far reaches of the cosmos to the inner working of the human mind, scientists and believers around the world are using science to open new frontiers in this ultimate quest."

Monsignor Georges Henri Joseph Édouard Lemaître

The special starts off by talking about the relationship between faith and reason, exacerbating the violent opposition that has always existed between the two.  Focusing solely on the Catholic Church, the presupposition that the Church has always been dead against science and basic reason.  We then move onto Copernicus (a Catholic priest), the conceiver of the heliocentric theory of the universe.  The Galileo controversy which has always been extremely overplayed and just as easily dismissed as the Church's ignorance of science (For a more accurate description of the Galileo/Church Affair please visit http://www.catholic.com/tracts/the-galileo-controversy).  We then move onto the Big Bang theory of the universe (also conceived of by a Catholic priest, Monsignor Georges Henri Joseph Édouard Lemaître, although this is also not mentioned) and how this in some way explains for existence with no need for a God.  The program paints the Church as an institute that has always been against reason and science, but only in very recent times has decided to make a 180 turn in its stance.  


What surprised me most though was not the sadly usual jump over the actual history of these issues by the History Channel (the network that also hosts Ancient Aliens, UFO Hunters and my personal favorite Swamp Hunters) but the manner by which the logic of the show followed.  The program sets out that it will, through modern science, prove/disprove empirically the existence of God.  In the language of the show itself, to quantitatively show God and find Him. This philosophy sadly leads to nowhere.  In saying that everything (God included) can be proven/disproven scientifically is in itself not scientifically verifiable therefore it is invalid.  The sciences rest on the faith of scientists that the empirical world is to our limited ability, intelligible.  It rests on the preconceived notion that the universe is ordered and based on laws that are to some small degree measurable by our intellect.


The program shows the natural tendency of man, constantly trying to reduce God to something among things rather then the Transcendent force through which all things exist.  It is the futile attempt to find God and neatly put Him in a box.  The episode ended with scientists trying to find the God particle and from the God particle be able to create the theory of everything.  While science is a great progress of man in so many regards I can hardly imagine anything more laughable then the idea that a finite being (i.e. man) can somehow comprehend all of existence and indeed the Infinite.


Science should indeed grow as much as it can in order to authentically grasp the truth, however it cannot do this when sacrificing reason.