Irish Cathedral gutted by fire Christmas Day

All I wanted to say was to remember to thank God that no one was injured and I most especially want to thank the brave fire and police personnel. I know, having grown up in the snow belt in the USA, fighting a fire in sub freezing temperatures is one of the most difficult and dangerous challenges. A cathedral can be rebuilt, and the people's faith continues in their heart, but a fire fighter's life cannot be restored, so I thank them for all they have done and am glad that they are safe, while they strive to determine the cause.

My condolences to the Bishop and his diocese and parishes.

Article and photographs in the local paper:

www.longfordleader.ie

Thoughts about the altar in churches - part 1/2

I want to write a reflection about what an altar in a church means to me. I'm determined, however, not to stay up late tonight blogging! So I will write this in two parts, saving my reflection and some scripture references for the second part, and for context and background, copy here four paragraphs from the Catechism of the Catholic Church about altars.

1181 A church, "a house of prayer in which the Eucharist is celebrated and reserved, where the faithful assemble, and where is worshipped the presence of the Son of God our Savior, offered for us on the sacrificial altar for the help and consolation of the faithful-this house ought to be in good taste and a worthy place for prayer and sacred ceremonial." In this "house of God" the truth and the harmony of the signs that make it up should show Christ to be present and active in this place.

1182 The altar of the New Covenant is the Lord's Cross, from which the sacraments of the Paschal mystery flow. On the altar, which is the center of the church, the sacrifice of the Cross is made present under sacramental signs. The altar is also the table of the Lord, to which the People of God are invited. In certain Eastern liturgies, the altar is also the symbol of the tomb (Christ truly died and is truly risen).

1383 The altar, around which the Church is gathered in the celebration of the Eucharist, represents the two aspects of the same mystery: the altar of the sacrifice and the table of the Lord. This is all the more so since the Christian altar is the symbol of Christ himself, present in the midst of the assembly of his faithful, both as the victim offered for our reconciliation and as food from heaven who is giving himself to us. "For what is the altar of Christ if not the image of the Body of Christ?" asks St. Ambrose. He says elsewhere, "The altar represents the body [of Christ] and the Body of Christ is on the altar." The liturgy expresses this unity of sacrifice and communion in many prayers. Thus the Roman Church prays in its anaphora:

We entreat you, almighty God,
that by the hands of your holy Angel
this offering may be borne to your altar in heaven
in the sight of your divine majesty,
so that as we receive in communion at this altar
the most holy Body and Blood of your Son,
we may be filled with every heavenly blessing and grace.

2570 When God calls him, Abraham goes forth "as the Lord told him"; Abraham's heart is entirely submissive to the Word and so he obeys. Such attentiveness of the heart, whose decisions are made according to God's will, is essential to prayer, while the words used count only in relation to it. Abraham's prayer is expressed first by deeds: a man of silence, he constructs an altar to the Lord at each stage of his journey. Only later does Abraham's first prayer in words appear: a veiled complaint reminding God of his promises which seem unfulfilled. Thus one aspect of the drama of prayer appears from the beginning: the test of faith in the fidelity of God.

***

Just to reassure you of the scriptural basis, here are the references for the statement that Abraham built altars.

Genesis 12:7-9
The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So Abram build an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel, pitching his tent with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. He build an altar there to the Lord and invoked the Lord by name. Then Abram journeyed on by stages to the Negeb.

Genesis 13:18
Abram moved his tents and went on to settle near the terebinth of Mamre, which is at Hebron. There he built an altar to the Lord.

Here is an interesting aside. Abraham made a peace pact with Abimelech, king of Gerar (these were Philistines). You can read the reasons why they came to respect Abraham's God and to make peace in Genesis 20-21. The place where they made their peace pact was Beer-sheba. Read what Abraham did to mark that place.

Genesis 21:33-4
Abraham planted a tamarisk at Beer-sheba, and there he invoked by name the Lord, God the Eternal. Abraham resided in the land of the Philistines for many years.

A tamarisk is a tree.

This is an example where careful readers can discern information about what is appropriate in the worship of God, and what is not, not only by what is stated, but also observing the role modeling of the Patriarchs and the Prophets. Abraham demonstrated faith to God by building altars and invoking God's name as Abraham traveled and relocated. Abraham also showed that one can commemorate a profound occasion (such as the pact with the Philistines) through a mundane object (such as planting a tree) and the invocation of God's name to bless the event. This is much as we do today, when we build a building, plant a garden, erect a plaque or some other commemorative device, and then bless it with the name of God.

Another comment and then I will wait until writing part two for my commentary about altars. Just to further mutual Christian and Muslim understanding, this is for Christians. The Muslims understand that Abraham created altars and other commemorative locations throughout the region, and one of the early endeavors by the Muslim people was to determine which of those locations still existed in their place and could be identified as such. This is the origin of some of the locations that Muslims consider very holy.

Poorest of the poor build a wonderful church

This is a must read article. Thank you LA Times for its prominent placement.

These parishoners are truly role models for Christ.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mecca7-2008dec07,0,6802947.story

Congratulations on advent of Ramadan

Thinking of all the faithful with friendship and prayers for a blessed time.

http://www.spa.gov.sa/English/details.php?id=586139

snip


Chairman of Supreme Judiciary Council congratulates Muslim nation on holy month of Ramadan

Taif, Saudi Arabia, , August 30, SPA--The Chairman of Supreme Judiciary Council Sheikh Saleh bin Mohammad Allehaidan has congratulated the Muslim nation on the holy month of Ramadan, praying to Almighty Allah for all success for the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Saudi people and Muslims.

In a speech on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan on Monday, Sheikh Saleh praised Almighty Allah for making the starts and ends of worships connected with matters and cosmic signs obvious to everyone, pointing out that a lunar crescent can be seen by all people to determine the start of fasting and at the end of the month to break fasting. In conclusion, he prayed to Almighty Allah for glory for Islam and Muslims and for their protection from the evils of their enemies.

***
I echo the words and sentiments of Sheikh Saheh.

I also want to point out that he explains that the lunar crescent is used so that all people have a way to determine Allah's will for starting and ending worship. This is because all people, rich or poor, learned or illiterate, could look at the sky and share the same clock, provided by God.

This is one reason that the Catholic Church developed the art of stained glass windows in churches to tell the story of Jesus. Rich or poor, learned or illiterate, all could gaze on the windows and understand, knowing the story of Jesus, of Mary, of all the saints, and of God's works on earth. Churches used to be unlocked and open all the time so any, no matter how poor, could come in and learn and pray.

This is quite different from the idolatry of astrology and other occult and arcane arts, who seek to undermine the will of God by claiming manipulation of the "signs" by the few, wealthy and powerful. That is an abomination to God.

Interesting St. Augustine sermon quote re belief

Still researching my original topic. Anyway, I wanted to share this quote from the great St. Augustine (354-430) from one of his sermons. I want to use it as a way to illustrate some of the faith and reason interpretive skills I've been teaching. He said:

The Church is spread throughout the whole world: all nations have the Church. Let no one deceive you; it is true, it is the Catholic Church. Christ we have not seen, but we have her; let us believe as regards Him. The Apostles, on the contrary, saw Him, but they believed as regards her. (Sermon 238).

Rather than just gliding over these sentences and thinking, "Well, that's a nice statement of faith," analyze it like a scholar. You can glean these observations by doing so:

1. During the 4Th century every nation (that is, all the nations that were known of at that time in history) had at least a few Catholic present.
2. Therefore, people who state that the faith does not exist are incorrect, because obviously there is a shared belief that has penetrated every nation, whether it be a small presence or a large one, the point is that the common belief is unified through all nations in some degree.
3. The basic premise of faith is the ability to believe what one has not physically seen, so he reiterates that the Catholic Church is the "see-able" part of the faith, since obviously they cannot see Jesus Christ, who passed from the earth several hundred years previously.
4. The Apostles had the ability to see Jesus Christ in person, while they had to "have faith" in the future Catholic Church.

See, from a few sentences you can get solid facts about Church and societal conditions at this time in faith history plus a very interesting observation about faith. I'm not sure many people have thought about the fact that the Apostles "had" Jesus right in front of them; they had to have "faith" in the future Catholic Church. People today have the Catholic Church, and have to have "faith" in Jesus, who they do not have physically present in their midst (and will not until the End of Days).

Slowing down and reading what someone writes, whether clerical or a layperson, from a point in time and not just glossing over it as just another thing to say gives real insights about not only that person's beliefs and assertions, but actually kind of a spyglass back into that point of time in human and faith history. This is similar to what I wrote two postings ago about St. Jerome's letter suggesting the making of alphabet blocks. Reading a saint's letters tell you something valuable about 1) his idea for a child's instruction and 2) this was a girl child he was advising, so it's not like the stereotype that no one cared about teaching and educating young girls at all. Without having an agenda he wrote this letter giving kindly advice to family friends, and thus modern readers get a glimpse into the much more nuanced behavior and attitudes of the 4Th century than people often assume.

First Catholic Church in Arab Muslim emirate

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11944

snip

The first Catholic Church in an Arab Muslim emirate will be dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, during a ceremony that will be celebrated by Cardinal Ivan Dias, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

On March 14, Cardinal Dias will officiate at the ceremony in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The Apostolic Vicar of Arabia, Archbishop Paul Hinder, will join the cardinal for the dedication of the new church.

***
I'd love to visit there.

Mother Angelica and OLAN's Broken Cross

While I admire the many decades of faithful service by Mother Angelica, her sisters, and the Franciscan Brothers of the Eternal Word, I am deeply scandalized by the condition of the church at the "OLAM Shrine." The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament & Our Lady of Angels was built north of Birmingham, Alabama in the countryside of Hanceville. It is beautiful and imposing, lavishly funded by five families of anonymous donors, and others. It is beautiful and peaceful. But it is scarred. The cross over the church is broken by a lightening strike during its building, and for an incredible to believe reason, has not been repaired. Mother Angelica explains in a sign that it was "God's will" and that the defaced cross should actually be viewed as the Greek "tau" sign "worn by early Christians who had to hide their faith." So the cross sits over the church, basically decapitated of its upright beam. You can see where the cross upright should be because the metal support piping inside the concrete cross remains. It looks like a war wound and a slap at the crucified Christ, because it sits unrepaired on top of a lavish church, because of a superstitious belief in how God "communicates."

Um, well, let me think. On September 26, 1997 the St. Francis of Assisi Basilica in Italy was seriously damaged by an earthquake. In fact, four people died within the Basilica, including two Franciscan friars. Part of the vault was lost along with a precious fresco by Cimabue (one of my personal favorite artists, by the way.) I guess by this logic, God was sending a message. I guess the Fransciscan friars should have disbanded. I guess the Basilica should have remained a ruined sore. And I guess to be really sure we understand "God's will" we should have shrouded any Cimabue frescos. But instead, faith and reason pervailed. The Basilica was beautifully restored over a period of two years. It remains the mother church of the Fransiscan Order, and is a world heritage site.

I do not understand why Mother Angelica did not understand that, well, lightening tends to strike high up manses on hills, in a countryside prone to warm weather storms. Maybe investing in less gold and more lightening protective devices would have helped. Did she understand back then that churches, to this day, sustain damage in natural disasters (look at the recent tornados in Florida.) And that rather than sending some mumbo-jumbo New Age message, if there is any message, it is to be grateful when there is not a loss of human life (praise God) AND that God is with all the people through all the storms, and does not exempt God's own temples from the cycles of nature. I have beautiful pictures of OLAM and cannot look at them because of the wound of the unrepaired cross over the church. And I gag knowing that "tau crosses" are sold in the gift shop. By the way, it is not confirmed that it was tau crosses per se that are the one time worn symbols mentioned in the bible. Do we need New Age Greek symbolism when Christ on the Cross is real? I think not. But worse, after so many years of faithful hearing and obedience to God, I do not understand what, back in 1999 or whenever this lightening strike occurred, made Mother Angelica (and those supporting her) believe such a bizarre interpretation of God. A guilty conscience about something? Confess and repair the cross, then. After all, the Basilica recovered from actual deaths in their earthquake, and they praised God and rebuilt. They did not make the earthquake "all about them."