Conversation on Married Life

Denver Catholic Biblical School

In the spring of 2009 I heard Matthew Kelly speak when he came to Denver.  He convinced me to go to Biblical School.  Well, not explicitly, but he asked us to imagine a future conversation that might sound something like this:

God:  So how was your life?
You:  Oh it was really amazing, God.  Did a lot of great things.
God:  Read any good books?
You:  Oh yes, lots of good books.
God:  Did you read my book?
You:  Yeah, well, um, I read bits and pieces, you know, heard most of it while at Mass, but...
God:  But you didn't sit down and read the whole thing?
[Awkward silence.]
God:  In 76 years you didn't have a chance to read the whole thing?

...I enrolled in the Denver Catholic Biblical School the following Fall!  I didn't want to just read the whole thing, I wanted to study it, and this gave me the structure to do it in 4 years - all 73 books.

I graduated in May of 2013, and after 25 years of schooling, I can honestly say that this was the best four years of instruction I've ever received.  The DCBS provided an authentic education.  Educare, from the Latin, means to draw out; that is, to draw out of a student his natural desire for wisdom and virtue.

Check out the Biblical School's new promotional video, which I'm honored to be a part of.  (My 15 seconds of fame start at the 4:00 minute mark.)

Eucharist or Communion Debate Part 2

Here is Part 2 of a Baptist pastor's symbolic interpretation Holy Communion.  (Part 1 is here.)  My responses are in red.

I have not received a response from this pastor or my friend who sent it to me about a year ago.  All responses are most welcome!

The Eucharist or Communion - Part 2  --  body & blood or “in remembrance of”

Pastor [of a Baptist community in] OH

Now let’s go in the offense

The Last Supper was the Passover meal (Sader)       Passover in Exo 12

                The bread is Matzah bread and it’s eaten at the end of the meal as desert

                Then Jesus gives them the 3rd cup - the cup of redemption  --  He is our redeemer

                The meal is a lamb without spot or blemish.  So where was the lamb at the Last Supper?????  It wasn't there.  Or was it?  Jesus is the lamb!

Many times Jesus is called the Lamb of God

READ Jn 1:29,36

27 times in the Book of Revelation Jesus is referred to as the Lamb

The lamb in the Passover meal represents Jesus.

The breed and cup represent what he did for us on the cross to pay our sin debt in full.

 First, let’s look at the “cup”

READ  --  Mat 26:26-29

Catholics will stop after verse 28. Not quite.  V29 is very important, showing that Jesus purposely did not intend to drink the 4th cup of wine (cup of consummation) until the Kingdom is made new on the cross.  He asks his Father to let this "cup" pass from Him, but submits to His Father's will.  He asks for the 4th Cup from the cross:  "I thirst."  Then after he drinks it He says, "It is finished."  What is finished?  The Old Covenant is finished, and the New Covenant is established, sealed by His blood.  What else is finished?  The Passover meal he began the night before!

 Notice:  He didn’t put out his forearm and say “Take a bite”.  He gave them bread.  It’s obviously that he was not speaking literally because He still literal had His body and blood.  He was showing them the symbolism in the Passover meal.  If it's symbolism, why didn't he take a lamb and say "this represents me"?  Why bread?  Notably, there was no lamb present, because He is the lamb.... So you think Jesus couldn't be sitting there with his literal body and blood and at the same time give it to the Apostles under the appearance of bread and wine?  Really?  Kind of like he couldn't walk on water, he couldn't multiply loaves and fishes, he couldn't cure the sick, or he couldn't rise from the dead?  He's God!  Now you are saying some things are impossible for him to do?

Q: In verse 29 it’s still the “fruit of the vine” not his blood.  Where is Transubstantiation?  It already occurred at the 3rd Cup.  In verse 28 he says it IS His blood, then he even describes that blood (lest anyone doubt) as the blood which is "poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins".  So you tell me:  did he pour out His literal blood or His metaphorical blood?  If the Eucharist is figurative, then the Crucifixion was figurative.

The "fruit of the vine" refers to that 4th cup of wine that he skipped at that time.  They went to the garden to pray after singing the Great Hallel (Mk 14:26). 

READ  --  Mk 14:22-25                      (Lk 22:14-20)

Q: In verse 25 again, it’s still the “fruit of the vine” not his blood.  Where is Transubstantiation?

Eucharist or Communion? A Debate (Part I)

Sticking with the Corpus Christi theme this week, I thought I'd post a bit of a debate I had regarding the Eucharist.  A Protestant friend I met while praying outside Planned Parenthood sent me this two-part "dissertation" by a Baptist pastor from Ohio.  In it, he uses Scripture in an attempt to discredit the Catholic belief in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

He claims his defense is unanswerable, but I gave it a shot anyway.  Below is Part 1.  My responses are in red.

The Eucharist or Communion Part 1 --  body & blood or “in remembrance of”

Pastor [of a Baptist community in] OH

The title of this message is “The Eucharist or Communion”  it can also be subtitled “Is it the body & blood of Christ or in remembrance of”

I’ll be showing you what God says in the Bible on this subject.  I’ll be giving you a lot of scripture references so you will need paper and pen or pencil.

So you believe the Bible is God-breathed?  Great, so do I!  But why?  Let's take the New Testament.  I assume you believe Scripture contains 27 books, no more, no less.  Why?  There were hundreds of early Christian writings/letters?  Why these 27?  I accept these books as Scriptural because the authority of the Catholic Church declared them so in AD 382.  You find yourself in a conundrum:  you accept these books as inspired, but then claim to reject the only authority that declared them so.  What gives?  

We obviously believe that we have communion in remembrance of what Jesus did on the cross to pay our full sin debt to God the Father

On the other side, you have the Roman Catholics, Episcopals (Anglican/Church of England), Eastern Orthodox religions (Greek, Russian, etc.)

                They believe in Transubstantiation - that the elements become the body & blood of Christ

                Transubstantiation was defined by Pope Innocent III in the year 1215

Now here's a typical anti-Catholic game of deception.  (Of course, perhaps this is an honest misconception of history on the part of Pastor -------- and the intent to deceive lies with his teacher(s), but either way, it calls into question his crediblity.)  You present a truth here regarding the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, but make it seem as if transubstantiation was invented at that point in time.  FALSE.  The belief in Christ's real presence in the Eucharist goes back to the beginning with the Apostles and Christ Himself (see below).  In 1215, it was seen that the doctrine needed more precise terminology.  Hence, "transubstantiation" was chosen.  The terminology was new, but certainly not the doctrine.  I know you twist and turn your way through a denial of the literal language in Scripture, but belief in the Eucharist by the men who learned from the Apostles and beyond in undeniable.  There are hundreds of quotes from hundreds of years, but I'll just give you one:  "Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God. . . . They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes" (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6:2–7:1 [A.D. 110]).  And by the way, from whom did Ignatius of Antioch, the author of this quote, learn the faith?  John the Apostle.  So the apostle closest to Jesus misunderstood him, and you and others over 1500 years later finally figured it out?

           Adoration of the Wafer (or the host as they put it) was decreed by Pope Honorius III in the year 1220

So the disciplinary practice of Eucharistic Adoration came about around this time, so what?  This says nothing about the Church "inventing" the Real Presence.   

           Notice that it does not go all the way back to Christ or the Apostles  Notice what, your slight of hand?

The Third Way

"There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be."
~Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Are all practicing Catholics "enemies of the human race" (as a majority United States Supreme Court opinion has declared them to be)?  Does that mean Mother Teresa was an "enemy of the human race"?

What does the Catholic Church and the Bible actually teach about homosexuality?  Does the Church "discriminate against gays"?  What would Jesus do?

The following documentary was recently released, and it must be watched often and spread far and wide.  In only 38 minutes it presents a critical and beautiful message of love.  It goes a long way in clearing up some confusion about Christian teaching on homosexuality and answering the questions above.


The Third Way from Blackstone Films on Vimeo.

The Tomb is Empty!

Pictures from our Lent and Easter (so far) in the DCM...

We mark the days of our Lenten journey.

For every sacrifice he made during Lent, John Paul removed a thorn from Jesus' crown.

GOOD FRIDAY:  Soldiers nail Jesus to the cross.

Our Fallen Soldier

It was a busy winter.  Over Christmas vacation we were blessed to visit 5 grandparents, and we've since lost 3 of them.  First, Sarah's beloved grandparents incredibly passed away on the same day after 70+ years of marriage.  Then in February, my maternal grandmother lost her 4-year battle with cancer at the age of 92.

I just wanted to share a few thoughts on Grandma Lee D.

Number one, Grandma D. has friends in high places.  And I'm talking much, much higher than Colorado.  She sat in the pews of St. Martin of Tours for years and years reciting the Creed from the early Christians, which includes, “I believe in the Communion of Saints.”  And she meant it.  She not only believed in the communion of all saints-in-the-making on earth, members of the Bride of Christ, the Church, through the Holy Eucharist.  She also knew Christ's Kingdom stretches well beyond this world.  She knew the Communion of Saints includes the Church Suffering, in Purgatory, and she knew the Communion of Saints includes the Church Triumphant, the saints in heaven.  These are her friends in high places.   

One of her friends in this great cloud of witnesses (Heb. 12:1) was St. Frances Cabrini.  Sadly, I was not aware of this devotion until she died.  Our frequent trips to pray at Mother Cabrini's shrine near Denver will never be the same.  

For big prayer intentions, Grandma didn't hesitate to call on the big guns.  One of her closest companions was St. Jude the Apostle, patron of impossible causes... which perhaps reveals what she thought of all of us!

A Novena for Life

Thankful for Kolbe

Finally!  It took me too long (20 months) to make a video of Kolbe's pre-birth and re-birth.  John Paul's video was done within 5 months.  Typical second-child syndrome I guess.  Making and watching this video made us sad for our Vianney, but it also deepened our joyful thanksgiving for the gifts of John Paul and Kolbe.  My favorite part is watching John Paul visit his little brother in the hospital.

Below, you can also watch some outtakes.  Be sure to watch them to the end, the funniest one is last!


Making Me New from Domestic Church Militant on Vimeo.



Outtakes from Domestic Church Militant on Vimeo.

Blessed Be Your Name

As a follow-up to Ryan's post A Tale of Three Ultrasounds, I never really worried about a miscarriage with this 3rd pregnancy.  I did a lot with the first and plenty with the second, but this time my excitement and we've-done-this-before attitude took over.  

I was humbled.  We haven't done this before.  We had not parented this child, and there were plenty of new lessons to learn and graces to be received through this tiny child - even if they weren't the ones we were hoping for.

There was a long wait between when we found out that the baby was no longer living to when I actually "miscarried" - almost as long as we'd known I was pregnant.  This was a difficult time because it felt like we were simply stuck.  Praying for a miracle and hoping to "move on" left us with an incredible flood of emotions.

At some point during this time I was driving in the van with the boys and a song started playing on the CD player.  [A side note:  Ryan vaguely remembers randomly adding this song to the end of a Gregorian Chant CD he burned for our 6-CD changer before leaving for our road trip to the Midwest earlier in the summer.  He has no idea why he added it, other than a prompting of the Holy Spirit.]  

The song was "Blessed be Your Name" by Matt Redman, sung by Tree 63, and it opened the floodgates and I opened my eyes.  It is beautiful, and if you haven't heard it, stop reading and go listen now.  As I listened to the lyrics, I could feel my eyes begin to sting and then when the chorus began it was over.

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be your name

You give and take away

You give and take away

Yet in my heart I choose to say

Blessed be your name

That was it.  God does give and take away.  We don't have to understand it or even like it, but He does the best by us, on His terms, not ours.  All we can do is be firm in our faith, whether "streams of abundance flow" or "I'm found in the desert place".  It came to me at this moment that I had a choice, but it wasn't really a choice at all.

I believe in God.  I truly believe His plan is the best one for me and in the end His name is blessed and I am so grateful for that.  It still isn't easy.  Our desire for more children is strong and emotions are hard to fight back  We pray daily for the blessing of another child and hope this will be God's plan for us as well.  He calls the shots, but it's okay to provide some input.  :)

Yet, regardless of what happens, we have received a wonderful grace through our Vianney Marie.  That is the ability to say, "Blessed be your name, Lord, now and forever."

Amen. 

A Tale of Three Ultrasounds

We showed you some highlights from our summer, but we left out the most eventful week, full of extreme highs and lows.

In fact, July 9, 2013 was one of the worst days of our lives.

The day started with a triple doctor's appointment.  It was a 3-year check-up for John Paul, a vaccination for Kolbe, and an OB appointment for Sarah and Baby #3.  Kolbe's appointment went fine - the other two did not.

First, the doctor discovered a large mass in John Paul's lower abdomen.  It obviously caused immediate alarm, as he quickly scheduled a radiology appointment for the next morning.  Doc was pretty certain it would have to be surgically removed asap.  No need to describe our instant spike in anxiety levels, you can imagine.

Next, the doctor could not find the baby's heartbeat with his doppler.  At 8 weeks, this was not unusual for this machine.  However, we decided to seek out an ultrasound to check in and make sure everything was ok.  Our doctor doesn't have a machine, and the doctor we've used in the past for ultrasounds has now retired, so we made a few phone calls to other places recommended by our doctor.  By Divine Providence, the only place that could get us in soon was a Catholic pregnancy center.  They could fit us in right away - ultrasound number 1.

Ador-able

John Paul joined me this week for my holy hour in the Adoration Chapel.
I couldn't help sneaking this pic of him kneeling before the Real Presence of the God of the universe.

Buddies

Over the summer we were setting up this new blog, and I was working on the Our Patrons tab above.  At first I just put Blessed Pope John Paul II as John Paul's obvious patron, but then it hit me:  he's already starting to adopt other favorite saints and develop a simple devotion to them.  I noted that he loves St. Michael and St. George.  They have swords, of course!  He also loves St. Juan Diego.

So just to confirm, I asked John Paul who his favorite saints were.  He said Michael, George, and Juan Diego, as expected.  Then he surprised me with "St. Joseph."  I asked "why?"  He said, "I ask him to pray for Joseph," in a very duh-Dad-it's-obvious tone of voice.

Joseph is his best little buddy who you've seen in previous posts processing around the yard with John Paul pretending to be altar boys.  Beautiful.  I've always taught my students that a true friend is one who helps lead you to holiness.  Pretty sure Joseph qualifies.


I'll share one other moment regarding this friendship.  This summer we visited the Carmelite Monastery in Littleton.  In the chapel, John Paul wanted to light a candle to represent a prayer intention.  I asked him what his intention was and he said, "For Joseph."  I then helped him say his prayer.  After saying "...help him become...", I expected John Paul to finish the sentence with "...a saint."  But instead. we got this:  "...a strong man who will lay down his life as a priest or a husband."

Before you're too impressed with his theological prowess, no, he didn't come up with that on his own.  It's from a prayer I've been praying with him every night.  "Dear God, thank you for making John Paul a strong boy.  I pray that you help him become a strong man who will lay down his life as a priest or husband."  I got the idea from this blog post by Matt Fradd, in which he encourages parents to "affirm the value of their [kids'] sexuality" even at a young age:

"Sometimes Catholic parents, especially when they themselves were brought up with a standard of chastity that focused on a list of sins and temptations to be avoided, may feel unprepared to provide their kids with an affirmative view of sex and the body.  But raising them to value their sexuality as something good and holy is essential to protecting them from exposure to porn and to inculcating in them a positive desire for purity generally...Even when our children are very young, my wife and I make it a priority to affirm their sexuality daily—teaching them that God created them male or female so that they can become a gift in self-donating love."

Raising kids in this era of mass confusion and outright assaults on authentic masculinity and femininity is challenging.  We must start early in affirming their natural hard-wiring and sense of order.  The first time I prayed that prayer, he asked me to say it again about 7 times, and when I forget, he always reminds me.  He loves it!

And I think it was pretty cool that he was able to apply its message to his prayer for his best little buddy.

St. Joseph and Bl. John Paul II, pray for us.

A Superhero's Weapon of Choice

Praying the Rosary with Batman and... Sheep?... man?