Safe Haven

One of the wonderful things about being Catholic is that the work of theology changes. No longer must I scour the Bible in a frenzied ad hoc effort to construct a theology, a "Christianity" that makes sense. All I have to do is try to make what God has revealed through the Church accessible to people. It's still hard work, but it's not from scratch. It's like an open-book test. Still, this paragraph of the Catechism is a controversial one. We could split hairs, and begin an arcane discussion about levels of assent, and the authority of the Catechism, but we're not going to do that. Instead, here's my best shot at this paragraph, as a faithful Catholic: The Bible is a love story between God and his people. His love is creative, in that it created everything we see. When our father Abraham was called, there was still much we did not see or know explicitly. Suppose people who had come from Abraham and his faith parted ways with us over things that were re...

5. I hate "The Notebook." Yes, I know. But seriously, they committed ADULTERY. Nor do I recall a Declaration of Nullity proceeding happening as the music swelled. Don't even ask me. I won't watch it ever again. 4. If you lose your last game of an 82-game season to another playoff team, and fall from a 2 seed out of 8, to a 5 seed, while maintaining a record that merits the 4 or the 3, that is sick and wrong. 3. OK, I love "A Walk To Remember" slightly more than "The Notebook." But, just so we are clear, my daughter (if I have one) is not marrying an atheist while I'm alive. I don't care what her diagnosis is. A putative minister would have never let this go down in real life. And yes, Landon became someone we like, admire, and root for. Still, I call shenanigans. 2. Star Wars and Star Trek are 2 different worlds. I understand that the balance of you just see or hear "Nerd, nerd, nerd, nerd" at the mere mention of either one,...

I think a lot of our problems in the Christian life stem from self-conversations that start, "[Name], you idiot..." Sin is one thing, but sin is a deeply personal act of betrayal, and it's only seen in the light of perfect Love. Instead of seeing our lives as the joy-filled effort of experiencing God's pleasure in every moment, we think we have to please Him ourselves. God actually loves us. It's not abstract; it's the fundamental truth of being. St. John says, "Not that we loved God, but that he loved us..." Our faith has to have teeth. That is, rather than get hemmed in by interminable debates about faith and works, it is better to say that good works are the "therefore" in the sentence that begins, "Jesus is Lord; therefore..." Innumerable good deeds apart from him are worthless in God's sight, and the words alone aren't enough. God has never hated us. Even at our most distant, most self-involved, Christ died for ...

I think a lot about our socio-political culture, because I like politics, and more importantly, I like people. An important concept in politics is called "framing". One frames the issues or the opponent in such a way to make the political situation more favorable to one's own position. Your average Democrat knows that defending the senseless murder of innocent children in the womb is almost impossible, so she frames the issue with euphemisms. Euphemisms, recall, are words to obscure or soften the blow related to something morally unacceptable or otherwise unpleasant. Important people know that telling the truth about abortion would turn most sensible people against it and the Democrats faster than admitting they mostly agree with Bernie Sanders on economics. "The right to choose," "women's rights" "reproductive freedom," these are all euphemisms for abortion. One doesn't have to convince all the people, or even most of them, that ...

You finish it. I know that Dr. Murray has been telling us that class divisions are becoming more pronounced, and technology allows us to wall ourselves off from ideas and people we don't like. This is the reason our politics is so nasty: we lack a shared culture, and we are not motivated by reason, but by emotion. Each coalition looks over and says, "They aren't like us," and so no method or tool of destruction is off the table. One side thinks the president is a secret Muslim who hates all that we stand for, and the other side thinks their opponents are constructing gulags for racial minorities, gays, and poor people. That's what really bothers me: I don't have to exaggerate that much. I wish it were just a plea for civility, but it can't be. The Democratic Party is the abortion party. That's what they exist to defend. Democratic elected officials can compromise nearly every other tenet of progressive thinking, but not that one. This is why Republ...

I was enjoying the Facebook members' forum for Christ and Pop Culture, where someone mentioned the horror film, "It Follows." And it got me thinking: What would a horror movie I could relate to be like? [Creepy, Old Voice-Over Guy] This spring...one man [blood-curdling screams from D.G. Hart, Leithart, Mathison, etc.] takes your theology where it doesn't want to go! This absurdity...is a nightmare! [Bryan Cross laughs maniacally] "It Follows." Coming to theaters near you. And...scene!

We've been arguing about cakes and conscience for a while now, and that's not an unworthy activity, but how I respond to the illiberal tendencies of some who don't really believe in any sort of freedom says a lot about who I really believe God is. Do I really believe that sexual sin, including homosexual practices, separates me and others from God? Do I really believe that to be with God in Heaven is the reason I live? Do I really believe that sinners are hiding from the God who loves them? If I believe this, then I must believe what I once wrote: "You don't stop existing, you know. And most people know that they want to like themselves, and even that they're supposed to. So they have to construct a reality where they are happy, and where they are good. That's why the public space is so absurd: some people are trying really hard, and they have a lot of shame." Tell you what, guys: If you are so wounded that you need to throw me in jail, or rui...

I think they could win the AL East. Everybody says they're too old, hurt, and thin in the starting rotation. Bupkus. In three months time, we'll be talking about breakout pitching star Nathan Eovaldi, along with Tanaka and Pineda. The Yankees offense doesn't terrify, but it's good enough. Really. And while much has been made of the decline of CC Sabathia--perhaps rightly so--if he posts 16-10, 4.20 ERA, you'd take it. And he can do that. They'll catch it well, too. Saving runs is as important as scoring them these days. They'll figure out who the closer is, also, and it will be fine. Most importantly, the manager isn't some fool. I have no idea how I'd order the top 5 managers in baseball, but Joe Girardi is one of them. If it's close, he'll push them over the top. Yes, I actually believe this.

Well, it's almost here: Easter Vigil. This marks 4 years (liturgically) for me. Wild times. If you are getting ready to come in, try not to barf; you'll be fine, I promise. Jesus brought you here. And are these not His words to you: "I will never leave you, or forsake you"? "He who comes to Me, I will never drive away"? What do you have to fear? No one. Nothing except sin, which is the only thing that separates people from God. Even then, it is an undying force, Love, which pounds relentlessly on our hearts. The most wicked sinners are proof of it, because they hate all that is good, in the end. Do not be like those ones; keep that broken and contrite spirit. You may have a burst of zeal. Good; turn it to prayer as fast as you can. Make a plan. Stick to it; the fire doesn't burn on its own. Please trust me on this. Please. We all love you. Some more than others. Some, in fact, may be the older brother in the parable. Pay no mind, except to love and...

I used to say that I hated Good Friday. I did this because I always struggled when the sacramental presence of Our Lord Jesus left the tabernacle. Ichabod, we might say, "the glory has departed." I no longer feel this, although there is likely a chilly emptiness in all the Latin Rite churches today. All of us carry around those things from life that make it hard for us to relate to God properly. We are wounded. We might instinctively feel that God is abandoning us, as have so many others. Faith teaches otherwise, but only if it's strong enough to give us the strength to disregard feelings when necessary. What am I today? Excited. Because in little more than a day, Karen, and Katie, and so many others will come into full communion with the Church! I won't promise that you won't suffer, because if you love, you will suffer. But you aren't even aware of the magnitude of the nuclear Love explosion that is going to take place. You may be ready, and eager, and a...

I was with some brothers in Christ this morning, praying the Divine Mercy chaplet, and I looked out the car, seeing all the other people on their way, wondering if somebody was really struggling. Maybe at that very moment, they feel totally alone, as if no one cares if they live or die. Cars are like sanctuaries. You might pick up a work colleague or two, but honestly, the people you ride in cars with are your people. Have you ever seen someone driving alone, and wondered? I'd like to think we are dropping Divine Mercy bombs on people when we pray for them. You know that person who would be most annoyed at the very thought of imploring Heaven on their behalf? Pray for that person. That disdain is the leading edge of this , and there's no worse outcome. The singer Jewel said she believed bathrooms were sanctuaries as well, and I think she's right. [This is totally random.--ed.] We need people, but we need quiet also, to hear God who loves us. Let's be intercessors ...

 Here's an idea: The GOP House and Senate will pass the "Land Of The Free Act", ostensibly to prevent foreigners and terrorists from having access to our ERs and things, by forcibly deporting all migrant Mexicans, no matter what. We'll trot out Boehner and McConnell to talk about how important it is. Smart, good people will say that it's going to be harmful, expensive, and at best, like dropping a nuclear bomb on an hill of fire-ants. The supporters will say, "Don't you care about keeping us safe?!" and Boehner will say,--after we've nearly forced it through both chambers at record speed--"We have to pass the bill to see what's in it." Also, a chemical tagging system we will use to track our targets, paid for by a new compulsory fee, has the unintended effect of killing spotted owls and other waterfowl. Numerous environmental, religious, and community groups protest, objecting to being compelled to participate. Boehner figures, ...

Call it boasting, and maybe it is, but I'd rather endure a thousand Hells than corrupt these little ones!  I just can't even take it. I think I met Fr. Gerber once. Thank you, Fr. [Sigh]

I took your survey; let's see if you can tell which one is me! I suppose I would rank as a "critic," although that sounds absurd in my ears. Christ and Pop Culture is better than Christianity Today. I believe in your mission, and I like your tone, although my main criticism is that I know you don't want that tone to be an end in itself. If this magazine had a genesis as a cultural counter-reaction to the rise of the Religious Right--even if not consciously from the Left--this would explain the criticism from the Right, some of which I share, when I'm in the mood. I think the most important thing to say is that the Religious Right can't be faulted for being involved; they can be faulted (maybe) for losing the message of Christ while they became involved. Art makes culture, and culture makes politics. As I think about it, it's not only the political Right that lost the true Christian anthropology; the Left did, too. You're not only speaking into a cu...

5. I really like Steve Nash. Doesn't his retirement announcement feel about 2 years too late? Is it harsh to say that? 4. I love Charles Barkley. I think he might be the frankest, funniest guy on TV. 3. Does CBS really think "The Late, Late Show" still matters without Craig Ferguson? Contrary to the thinking of TV executives, we will not laugh at any British person. Ferguson was legitimately hilarious. 2. Yes, I will cop to having the maturity level of a 12-year-old. Quit kidding yourself; you laughed at him. 1. I was once fond of saying that I was from the Republican wing of the Republican Party. With apologies to Mr. Reagan though, if I have to live in a political world where I have to take Ted Cruz (or Rand Paul) seriously, then perhaps I am "The Establishment," and I'm OK with this. It's not that he never says things I agree with; it's that he follows those things with either: (1) moonbat crazy things, or (2) the worst political optics o...

Call me a hippie, but I seriously don't think we talk about this enough. Some people think the problem in the American Catholic Church is that we talk too much about it, that we should talk about sin more. Well, that's true also. The reason we don't talk about sin is that we don't talk about God's love. God is Love. God is immutable--that is, unchanging--and what He unchangingly is, is Love. When the Sacred Scriptures say, "For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God," what they mean is that we do not love as God does. There are a million different ways to botch it up, but at the end of the day, that's the story. In another way, we can't love the way God does, because He is supernatural Love, and we are but creatures; we're just people. That's why we need grace. Grace is the favor of God, and the presence of God living in us to do what we cannot do: love supernaturally. We cannot love God in the way we are supposed to, unless ...

I see Confirmation Sponsor Guy in my daydreams (day-mares?) yelling stuff like, "A popular argument doesn't mean it's a good one!" when I read stuff like this .

There has been a dust-up since that editorial against the death penalty co-authored by the editors of the 4 Catholic newspapers. And maybe Bruenig is getting too big for her britches, in other contexts. But the Left is right on this one. Capital punishment has never, and is not now, forbidden in the abstract by the Catholic Church. And since I agree that murderers deserve death, we don't need all this whining from the Catholic Right about their motives being impugned. I trust that your motive is the same as mine: justice. Does the capital punishment system in the United States further justice? No. It systemically ignores its own safeguards; it is arbitrarily enforced; it gives political rewards to those who trample on the rights of defendants. It is both agonizingly slow, and not slow enough. The guy in Ohio who waited 39 years to die for a crime he didn't commit can tell you all about it. There is nothing symbolic about this penalty; if you can't make sure you've...

I have to believe--on nothing more than the promises of God--that God is deluging the world with grace. Frankly, we're not just missing the mark these days; that's a cutesy evangelical sermon staple. We've missed the target, the hay bale, and we hit the judge right in the eye. Whether it's us or someone else we know, we're actually wondering, "Is your grace this big?" We need not only forgiveness; we need someone to bind up our wounds. We are the walking wounded. If it doesn't come with transforming power, the news isn't good enough. Blessedly, Our Savior knows this. Behold him there on the cross; I wonder if He understands?

I don't think that it's a terribly big jump to say that I had to deny Scripture's formal sufficiency, (Sola Scriptura) because if it were true, we would not see all these earnest Christians debating each other  about what it says. I was ready to listen to an alternate accounting of the rule of faith, precisely because it would be unreasonable to believe my invocation of the Holy Spirit had been any more dispositive than the guy next to me, who would go to another church, profess other doctrines, all the while believing Sola Scriptura and inerrancy, et cetera. You can't hector the Catholic Church from "Scripture" without knowing, or at least asserting, that the interpretation you have is divine. But recall, even with the window-dressing of "derivative authority"--which is actually the mechanism which admits creeds, confessions, and the like--there is no mechanism within the system that makes the interpretation I hold more true than any other one. Yo...