Friday, November 4, 2022

Why is there suffering?

One of the reasons atheists give for their belief that God does not exist is that if there were a God and God were good, he would never permit evil on the earth. Likewise, people who have fallen away from God after a tragic event happens in their life often say that they cannot believe in a God that would allow their suffering. We are a very myopic people who cannot see past ourselves. We remember the past, often times better or worse than it actually was. We cannot see the future.

In many ways we are like a person who is on the first chapter of the first book in a seven-book series. Something tragic happens to the protagonist and we read on in horror wondering why the author had the event happen in the first place. The author, having already written the entire series, knows why the event had to take place as written. It was part of a much bigger story and the story would not be the same without it.

God exists outside of time and space. More aptly put, time and space exist inside of God. Every moment, from the very first moment of time until the very last moment of time, is the same moment for God. There is no past, present, or future. There is only now. God has written the book. He knows how the story will end. Only he can see the bigger picture. No matter how tragic an event is in our lives, it is all part of God’s great and mysterious plan.

So why is suffering part of God’s plan? Suffering is the currency of love. Without suffering, love could not exist. It is said that God is love. God is not just any type of love. He is the greatest and highest form of love. God is sacrificial or agape love. Sacrificial love always puts the good of the other before self. Sacrificial love is a love freely given without condition or demand for return. There are three rules for love to exist that even God imposes open himself.

The first rule for love to exist is that there has to be a lover and an object to receive that love. This is one of the reasons why God manifests himself as the Trinity of the three persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God did not create us to be the object of his perfect love. If God were dependent upon his creation to exist then there would be something greater than God and he would cease to be God. The three persons of God love each other perfectly which allows for both lover and receiver of that love in the one entirety that is God.

The second rule for love to exist is that love has to be freely given. You cannot be forced to love someone. It is charity, an act done out of love, when I give money to a homeless person. It is not charity when the government forcibly takes money from me in taxes to give to a homeless person. One is done freely, the other by force.

The third rule for love to exist is that there has to be a choice. Just as someone cannot be forced to love, you also cannot be forced to be loved. There is a term for love forced upon another that comes with a jail term. God placed the tree of life in the Garden of Eden to give Adam and Eve a choice so that love could exist. They had a choice to walk with God in the garden for all eternity or they could eat of the fruit of the tree of life and live mortal lives. Like Adam and Eve, we have been given the choice to live in a state of grace or a state of death. We freely choose death when we sin. Sin is taking that which God does not freely give. Sin is what is taken. Grace is what is given.

Suffering is the proof of love. If love required nothing from us it would be easy to love. There really would be no choice in the matter. And without choice there is no love. The amount of love we have for another is measured in the amount we are willing to suffer for them. How much are you willing to suffer for God? Yet, there are things we suffer from that we get no choice over. How is that suffering about love when there is no choice?

When we suffer for something beyond our control, like from a disease or a natural disaster, we are presented with a choice. Do we continue to love God and put our trust in him or do we abandon God and put our trust in ourselves? The best proof of love is trust and someone who truly loves God keeps their trust in him regardless of the suffering they are made to endure.

Why does bad things happen in this world? We’ll just have to read the book to the end to find out. Until then we can trust that everything is part of a greater plan got does not choose to share with us now. We have a God of love who wants nothing but the best for us. If we are made to suffer for a time now it is so we can love him in perfection later.

Thursday, August 25, 2022

How May I Direct Your Call?

One thing social media does not lack for is lively discussion on the validity of the Roman Catholic Church. Saying discussion is a bit of a stretch seeing most of it is nothing more than hateful, misinformed, and ignorant statements made by people who have been brought up to believe that the Roman Catholic Church is the whore of Babylon. Many of these people cannot even accept historical facts that there should be no discussion on. I try my best not to engage in these discussions because the only fruit that can come from them is my anger and frustration. Yet, I still get baited into them on occasion.

As frustrating as it, reading some of the responses from Catholics trying to counter the misinformation is far worse. The RCC has done a poor job of catechizing her faithful for the past fifty or so years and it shows.

One common attack on the Church is that we pray to Mary and the Saints. Because we pray to them and adorn our sacred places with statues of them we are idolaters and therefore not real Christians. I saw this attack online recently, to which I just rolled my eyes. This again, sigh. Then I read the responses from Catholics and could only shake my head in disbelief. The basic response was, “We don’t pray to Mary or the Saints. We pray to God alone. We only ask Mary and the Saints to intercede for us.”

How exactly do we ask Mary and the Saints to pray for us? Oh yes, through our prayers to them.

Yes, Catholics pray to Mary and the Saints. Where the difference in understanding comes is what we believe prayer to be.

The highest form of worship for a Catholic is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass where the unbloodied sacrifice of Jesus on the cross at Calvary is made present to us. It is a sacrifice of thanksgiving. One of the first things Martin Luther did in founding his church was to remove this sacrifice turning it into nothing more than a service for the instruction of the faithful. Without valid orders, non-Catholic ministers cannot offer a sacrifice so all non-Catholic services are just that, services, regardless of how much they resemble a Catholic Mass.

To non-Catholics, the highest form of worship is prayer. If prayer is worship then only God deserves our prayers. With this perspective it is easy to see why they believe Catholics to be idolaters. But to Catholics, prayer is something very different. Prayer is communication. First and foremost it is communication with God. Through God it is also of way of communicating with those are with God.

There are four basic types of prayer.

• Prayers of Blessing and Adoration. We praise God for his great glory. We praise God because he alone is worthy of all praise and adoration. The word ‘bless’ from the Latin ‘bene decire’ means to speak well of.

• Prayers of Petition. Asking God for what we need, including forgiveness.

• Prayers of Intercession. Asking God for what others need.

• Prayers of Thanksgiving. We give God thanks for the many gifts he has given to us and for the things he has done.

Prayers can be mental or verbal. They can be formal or informal. Prayer can be one directional or a dialog. They are our conversations with our creator. All prayers are answered by God in accordance to his Holy Will.

So, if prayer is between us and God what about praying to Mary and the Saints?

To understand this you have to first understand the Catholic understanding of death. Death is not an end, it is a doorway. It is the passing from this life into the next. Souls are immortal. Death does not destroy them. When someone dies they do not disappear. They change zip codes. The ultimate resting place for all of us is either heaven or hell. Most of us destined for heaven will spend time in purgatory first.

We are all one family through God. Our family on earth is referred to as the Church Militant. We are still fighting the good fight. Those in purgatory are called the Church Suffering. They are being purified or purged of their earthly attachments so they can enjoy an eternity in heaven with God and the Church Triumphant, our family who are in heaven with God.

If I were facing a particularly difficult trial I could ask any of my family in the Church Militant to pray for me. This is asking for intercessory prayer. The Church Militant are not the only ones who can pray for me. The Church Triumphant can do so as well. Their intercession is very powerful and effective because they are in heaven with God. They love us perfectly and they wish for nothing more than for us to be with them in heaven.

So how can we ask the Church Triumphant to intercede for us? We pray to them of course. This prayer is not worship. It is communication. Can the Saints hear our prayers to them? Yes, if God permits it. All prayers go through God. He is much like the old time telephone operators. “How can I direct your call?” “I’d like to ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to intercede for me because I need…” If our prayers are in line with God’s will and for our good he will allow the Saint prayed to to hear our prayer.

But why? Why can’t I just pray to God? Scripture tells us that there is only one intercessor and that is Jesus. How can Mary of the Saints intercede for us when Jesus is the only intercessor to God? Any parent with more than one child knows how this type of intercession works. The first child asks for something he wants. He then gets his brothers and sisters to also petition mom and dad to get him that thing. The combined coercion results in the first child getting what he asked for.

Jesus is the only intercessor to God, the Father. He is our greatest advocate. Mary and the Saints intercede for us by interceding to Jesus. They are in heaven with Jesus. They have his ear. What do you think will have more pull – someone asking Jesus for something or his Mother asking him something on someone’s behalf? Jesus would refuse his mother nothing and his mother would never ask him for anything that is not in accord with God’s will. God would not allow Mary to hear a prayer that is not in accord with his will.

In the end, what it all comes down to is that true prayer is always offered in love. Love is never wasted with God. Love only grows the more it is shared. Love is multiplied like the loaves and the fishes every time we pray for each other. This is not limited to just the Church Militant. The love we share through prayer binds us together with our family who is in heaven. Praying to Mary, the Saints, and even the angels is not an idolatress action but one that multiplies the love of God’s family.

Saturday, July 9, 2022

Weapons of War

Why do you need a military style weapon with a high capacity magazine?

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” – The Declaration of Independence

Regardless of what militant feminist philosophy wishes us to believe about the role of the male in our society today, a man has three primary duties in life. We have a duty to God, first and foremost. We also have a duty to our country and a duty to our family. One of the duties we owe both our country and our family is that of protection. Man holds the responsibility to protect this country and our families against anyone or anything that intends to harm either. This is not some macho, misogynistic idea from a bygone era. Nor is it to say that women are incapable of playing the role of protector. Indeed, women are called to this role to even a greater degree than man, but only at the appropriate time. If the male fails in this duty, either by choice or by ability, the woman becomes the last defense of the innocent. She holds within herself a fury unmatched by any male. It is a power that is meant to be unleashed only as last resort when no other options are available.

God defined the gender roles when he created both male and female. Man had two primary jobs, to till the ground and to protect creation with the primary emphasis on protecting his wife. Woman was made to be a helpmate to man. She was created to nurture. Death entered the world when man failed to protect his wife. When evil came he did not confront it. He did not attempt to stop it. He allowed the devil to tempt woman and then he blamed the woman for his sin and God for placing woman with him to begin with. The original sin was not when woman ate of the tree of life. It was when man allowed it to happen.

When I was seventeen I took the following oath when I enlisted in the United States Navy –

“I, Robert Glenn Collins, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

This was the oath I took to this country before God. It was my pledge that I would give my life in defense of this land, her people, and the principles and ideals on which she was founded. I was not relieved of this oath when my contract of service was fulfilled. I took a similar oath when I became a husband, and later, a father. As such, I am obligated to give my life in defense of my wife and children. These are not just empty words for me. They are founding principles on which I live my life.

A militia, rightly understood, is every able bodied person living within this country. We have been afforded the luxury of living in a country that has not had the threat of invasion from a foreign nation in hundreds of years. The most recent war fought within our borders was the civil war that ended over one hundred and fifty years ago. We have lost the concept, but not the need, for a militia. Our founding fathers understood this better than any. The militia was indispensable during the Revolutionary War and the early days of our country while the proper military defenses were being created. The militia is just as indispensable today as it was during this country’s founding, regardless of how many people no longer believe it is necessary to have one.

Case in point –

In May of 2020 the United States had nation-wide rioting after the death of George Floyd. What was meant to be peaceful protests at what people believed was police brutality were stirred into violent riots by militants who wanted to go to war with the police. Over two billion dollars worth of damage was done to private, public, and government property. At least twenty-five people were killed and thousands were injured on both sides of the line. The police were greatly outnumbered. The governors of the states have use of the National Guard to deal with domestic emergencies such as hurricanes, wild fires, and protests. They were not activated to protect the people during the height of the violence but would later be brought in to surround the White House to protect the President-elect during his inauguration. The people were abandoned in their greatest hour of need and were told to flee and let insurance pay them for what was lost.

We had the same type of event happen during the Rodney King riots in 1991. Like what happened in the George Floyd riots, violent protesters rioted, looted and destroyed personal and public property in Los Angeles. A group of Korean business owners came together to defend their property armed with their personally owned weapons. Their businesses went largely undamaged during the riots.

Because of events like the Boston Massacre, our founding fathers understood the importance of personal defense. The right to keep and bear arms was not originally written into the Constitution. It was assumed by some that people would know and understand that as a free person they had the right to do and own anything they wanted that was not specifically made illegal by law. Some worried that the day would come that people would begin to believe their rights are granted to them by the state and then many of the rights given to us by our Creator would be infringed upon or taken away. The Constitution of the United States could not be ratified until some protection was given to these rights. The first ten amendments, or the Bill of Rights, were added to the Constitution. The amendments are listed in an order of importance.

The First Amendment recognized the right to practice one’s religion first and foremost. Then it recognized the right to free speech, the right of the press, the right to peacefully assemble, and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Without these rights you cease to be a free and sovereign citizen and you become a slave subject to the ruling body.

The Second Amendment recognizes that without the ability to defend one’s self any and all other rights can be stripped away from the individual. This is exactly what King George did to the colonists. When they began to protest he stripped them of their ability to defend themselves. When they continued to protest he forcibly imprisoned them and eventually had them killed. The new government of the United States was to be held in check by citizens who were able to overthrow it if it became tyranical. The Second Amendment is ignorantly and intentionally misread and misunderstood by those who want to disarm the population.

Amendment II

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

The people who wish to ignore this Amendment focus on the words, “A well regulated Militia” and believe that it applies to our military. By literary rule, everything that comes before the second comma is a qualifier and can be excluded from the sentence. The sentence stands alone without these words. The amendment is quite simply, “The right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

Our founders knew that for a state to remain free it had to be protected and the ultimate responsibility for protecting it fell to the people who lived there. The first qualifier, “A well regulated Militia”, does not mean a well controlled militia. In this sense it is meant to mean a well supervised militia. The government has the responsibility to train the people on the proper use of weapons. It also has the responsibility to arm those who wish to be armed. A militia of properly trained and armed citizens can then be called to the defense of the nation in the time of crisis or need.

Instead of embracing this responsibility our government has tried to get the population to believe that they are not responsible for the defense of their nation or even their own protection. Many governments, both local and federal, have done everything they can to disarm the population. They want us to believe that we are all safer if lawful citizens did not possess firearms. If only we could rid the country of weapons people of evil intent would have no call to do evil actions. The lions will lay down with the lambs and we would have a utopia of peace and prosperity. We can look to all of human history to see that this has never happened and an unarmed, docile population is always preyed upon and cast into slavery by people who hunger for power over the powerless.

Why do you need a military style weapon with a high capacity magazine?

Because I am a free and responsible citizen who has sworn an oath to defend and protect this country, my family, and myself against all who intend to do us harm. I cannot do that with my charm alone.