Surrounded by God's Beauty

It seems like I run across non-believers often in today's society.  More and more people my age (39) and younger are atheists and do not believe in a Creator.  I'm not going to get into any of the "proof" in this particular post, but I do wonder how someone can look around and not believe?  In the last several days I've taken a few snapshots with my iPhone showing some of the natural beauty in the world, and they show, to me, in a very simple way, the beauty of God's creation.  Yes, atheists could easily explain these things from a scientific standpoint, and that's okay.  But, what makes it possible in the first place?  Deep down, can someone really believe that all of "this" comes from nothing?  Of course not.  At the beginning, there was a trigger -- something that started everything.  It is scientifically impossible for something to come from nothing, but it is possible, if you believe in a Creator, to believe that something came from "nothing."  After all, even if you believe in the Big Bang Theory, something caused the Big Bang, right?  

On the flip side, some people will show pictures and talk about all of the pain and suffering in the world.  You'll hear non-believers say, "if there is a God, why does He allow all of this?"  Let's not forget that God did not create the world with pain and suffering in mind.  Pain and suffering exists as a result of sin, or separation from God.  The Fall in Genesis 3 is where  it all began.  There are four consequences of Original Sin:  1) A distorted idea of God 2) Fear 3) Unsound judgment 4) Death.  Thank God for sending Jesus to die on the cross and give us the chance for redemption.  If all the people in the world followed Jesus' teachings, wouldn't this world be a better place?  Hard to argue it wouldn't, even if you're an atheist.

Anyway, here's a few images of God's beauty that make me thankful.  Even with all of the pain and suffering in this world, there are reminders every day that God exists.  Give Him thanks and praise.  Amen.  

The Mourdock Controversy -- Weighing In

Two mornings ago, I woke up to a barrage of tweets by local and national media about the Richard Mourdock comments claiming he said rape is God's will.  If you haven't seen any of the reports, then simply do a search on Google, and you'll see plenty I'm sure.  I don't want to recap them here because I think some of the media took a comment out of context and twisted the meaning based on a poor ordering of words.  Mourdock has since, of course, clarified his comments, but we still see certain politicians and specific members of a certain party (with some of the media's help) trying to use it to their advantage which is plain sickening. 

Mourdock's point, and one that I happen to agree with, is simply that life is God's will.  Sometimes, we don't comprehend why bad things happen, and it is hard for people who don't have a good foundation or understanding of Christianity (or Judaism for that matter) to understand why we believe that good things can come out of bad things.  I found an OUTSTANDING article today that I recommend everyone (liberal or conservative, Christian or non-Christian) read about why the media is ill-equipped on these issues:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/getreligion/2012/10/media-embarrassingly-ill-equipped-to-discuss-rape-theodicy/

This article provides some of the theological foundations and references the parts of scripture that outline why some of us believe what we believe and are pro-life. 

As the next two weeks come to pass, I hope that voters will look deep inside themselves, reflect on what they believe and why, and pray about making the right decisions before visiting the polls.  Don't be swayed by biased media coverage.  Don't get distracted by issues that really aren't issues.  Focus on what matter's most. 

God Bless. 

Christianity in Today's Society. . .What can we do?

I read an article a week or so ago that has been just eating at my a bit.  It has caused me a great amount of sadness.  The core of the article was about the decline of Christianity overall and the rise of the portion of the population that identifies themselves as atheists, agnostics, or people with no particular religious beliefs.  In addition, there were quotes about how far fewer Christians are going to Church and only identify with certain parts of their faith.  For those of you that are Christian, regardless of the denomination, this has to be somewhat discouraging.  For me, as a Catholic who is working very hard to become a better version of myself every day, I am deeply bothered. 

What has caused this?  Is it a lack of evangelization on the part of believers?  Is it a poor upbringing of children who were "unchurched" and are now adults?  Is it the distractions of today's secular society that pull people in so many directions that they've stopped making time for God and Church?  I think it's perhaps these and much more.  If it were just one thing, all remaining Christians could ban together and fix it.  But, it isn't. 

Even those that identify and call themselves Christians aren't always living their faith.  In the Catholic Church, it disturbs me to no end to hear prominent Catholics voice their support for abortion rights.  How can you be a good Catholic (or a Christian at all) and not believe in protecting the sanctity of life?  Forget all other dividing political views.  If you are Catholic, then nothing else should matter when you go to place your vote if a candidate supports abortion.  This is just one example though.  Protecting the sanctity of marriage is another.  As Christians, we are called to love all of our neighbors, but the sacrament of marriage is sacred and was designed between a man and a woman -- who are we to change it?  The laws of man do not override the laws of God.  We do not get to pick and chose which parts of our Faith we want to believe.  I saw one person quoted as saying, "I'm spiritual, but I'm not religious."  What does that mean?  Someone else says, "I don't believe everything the Church teaches, but I have my beliefs and that's good enough."  No, actually, it isn't.  The Church's teachings aren't made up.  They are based on the Bible and Sacred Tradition.  To not follow all of them is to stray away from not just the Church, but God as well. 

What can be done about all of this?  Many say, "I'm just one person.  What can I do?"  If all of the individuals and families band together, we can have a large impact.  Here is what I think we can do:

1)  Pray -- Don't underestimate the power of prayer.  Pray for the conversion of non-believers, pray that non-Catholic Christians may come to understand the fullness of Truth, pray that believers may live their faith, and pray that we all may have the courage and conviction to live a good, Christian life. 

2)  Evangelize -- The Catholic Church recently kicked off the Year of Faith and a key component is the call for all Catholics to Evangelize.  We all need to talk about our Faith, learn more about our Faith so we can explain it better, and be proud of who we are and what we believe.  Passion in our beliefs will pierce the hearts of those that don't believe or don't understand.  God will help us in our efforts.  We have to be proud and find our voice again.

3)  Live by Example -- Be good.  Simple, right?  Easier said than done, but live good, act good, and be good.  Teach your children about the Lord.  Volunteer at Church, feed the hungry, visit the sick and homebound, do charitable work, and comfort the lonely.  Be a good husband/wife, father/mother, and live a life of holiness.  You don't have to be a priest, monk, or sister to live a holy life.  If you live a life of holiness, others will be drawn to you -- believers and non-believers.  As others ask questions, it provides an opportunity to evangelize and bring them back to the Church and back to God.  Leverage your time, talent, and treasure for the glory of God.

We are all called to share our Faith.  We cannot sit by and just watch as our society strays further and further away from God.  Pray, Evangelize, and Live by Example.  Let's start there. 

God Bless you all and may the Peace of Christ be with you as you start this journey. 

Surprised by Truth -- A book worth reading for all Christians and non-Christians

As I renew my faith and devotion to the Catholic Church, I'm trying to immerse myself in its teachings.  One way of doing this is obviously by reading the Bible as much as possible which I believe I've done every day for the last couple of weeks (I started at the New Testament Gospels and have now made it all the way through Matthew and am on Mark).  Another way of enhancing my understanding is by reading other spiritual books/papers.  I just finished a great book titled Surprised by Truth by Patrick Madrid, a renowned Catholic Apologist.

This book was just outstanding.  It contains several stories of  people who either were Protestant and converted to Catholicism, Catholics who left the Church and came back, and even a story of someone practicing Judaism that converted to Catholicism.  In all cases, these people did a tremendous amount of personal research into the Church's teachings and deep discernment to come to the same conclusion -- to experience Catholicism is to experience the fullness of the Church's teachings.  These readings helped me to understand more deeply some of the Catholic Church's teachings including papal infallibility, Communion of Saints, purgatory, the value of Sacred Tradition, and the importance of Mary.  These are often subjects misunderstood by others outside, and even inside, of the Catholic Faith for all of the wrong reasons.  Once understood, it is tough to deny that Catholicism is the truest and fullest form of Christianity.  It's not that other forms of Christianity are bad -- they are just incomplete.

If you are Catholic, I recommend this book to help better understand why we believe what we believe.  If you aren't Catholic, I recommend this book to help you understand what Catholics believe and why we believe, and, just perhaps, you'll start asking yourself some of the same questions that others in this book asked of themselves at one time.

God Bless you all.