Bill Harkins: Obadiah, a Model of Average Guy Heroics

Have you ever heard of Obadiah?  If so, you might be thinking of the prophet who is credited with writing one of the smallest books in the Bible.  That’s not who I am talking about.  I am talking about another Old Testament figure, who only shows up for 20 short verses in 1 Kings 18:1-20.

This Obadiah was a faithful servant of God, who worked as Chief of Staff for an evil King named Ahab.  In this story, Elijah, the great prophet is returning from hiding in order to be God’s instrument to end the terrible drought and famine brought on by Ahab and his wicked wife, Jezebel.  Among multiple bad behaviors, the royal couple worshiped Ba’al and other false Gods.

Obadiah’s role is that he ensures Elijah and Ahab meet face to face, starting an episode that leads to a great showdown between the Prophet and hundreds of Ba’al priests, a large dose of fire from above and all the prophets being killed.  When the smoke clears and the blood is cleaned up, Elijah invites the King to a covenant meal with God.

A thing for us to think about is that God used a regular guy, Obadiah (maybe his friends called him Obi for short?) to link the two key men in this scenario together.  Our Lord could have accomplished this in all kinds of ways, but he chose Obadiah, who is not heard from again after this event is over.  By the way, the big O is also described as saving a hundred of God’s prophets, hiding them in a cave and ensuring they were fed and had water – this during a drought and famine.  Not an easy task.

Obi shows his humanity by arguing with Elijah about being sent to announce the prophet to Ahab.  Read the story.  Our man, really, really, does not want to do this.  He does though, and the rest is truly history.

What I am getting to is this: we are like the big O, just regular guys with heroic tasks in front of us from time to time.  When you are placed in a situation like this, think of Obi and how his faith pulled him through some tough situations.  God placed him there for a purpose, he places you where you are for a reason too.  I challenge you to read through the Bible, looking for some of the regular folks.  What can you learn from them?  Why are they in our Scriptures?  Through them, God to speaks to us.

I am now a fan of Obadiah, I pray that I have his strength, even when I am fearful.  God Bless!!

About Bill Harkins Bill Harkins is a husband and father, retired Marine, theology student, and candidate for the permanent deaconate for the Archdiocese of Mobile. He is an active member of St. Ignatius Parish, Mobile, Alabama.

Martignoni: Where is Purgatory found in the Bible?

BY JOHN MARTIGNONI

Question:
I have an Evangelical friend at work who claims that the Catholic belief in Purgatory is not scriptural.  What should I say to him?

Answer:
2 Sam 12:13-18, “David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’  And Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.  Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child that is born to you shall die.’  And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became sick…On the seventh day the child died.”  Catholic Scriptural Principle #1 – there is punishment for sin even after one has received forgiveness.

Rev 21:27, “But nothing unclean shall enter it…”  The New Jerusalem – Heaven.  Catholic Scriptural Principle #2 – nothing unclean, nothing with the stain of sin, will enter Heaven.  

Mt 5:48, “You, therefore, must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  That’s because of Principle #2 – nothing unclean will get into Heaven.

Heb 12:22-23, “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living god, the heavenly Jerusalem...and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect…”   The spirits of just men, made perfect.  Catholic Scriptural Principle #3 – there is a way, a process, through which the spirits of the “just” are “made perfect.”

1 Cor 3:13-15, “…each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day [judgment day] will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.  If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.  If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”  Where is this place that a man, after he dies, suffers loss, as through fire, but is still saved.  Hell?  No, once you’re in Hell, you don’t get out.  Heaven?  No, you don’t suffer loss in Heaven.

Mt 12:32, “And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”  Implies forgiveness in the age to come.  Where can you go to be forgiven in the age to come?  Heaven?  You don’t need forgiveness.  Hell?  There is no forgiveness.  Catholic Scriptural Principle #4 – there is a place, or state of being, other than Heaven or Hell.  

Now, let’s summarize these four scriptural principles: There is punishment for sin even after one has received forgiveness.  We have to be perfect as the Father is perfect, because nothing unclean will enter Heaven.  There is some way, or process, by which the spirits of the just are made perfect.  There is a place besides Heaven or Hell where you can suffer loss, yet be saved, but only as through fire; and where you can be forgiven of sins from a previous age.  It all adds up to one inevitable conclusion - the Catholic teaching on Purgatory is indeed scriptural.

About John Martignoni John Martignoni is the Director of the Office of Evangelization for the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama and also the President of the Bible Christian Society. John's column, Apologetics 101, appears regularly in the diocesan newspaper, the One Voice.  If you have a question about the Catholic Faith, please send an email to: jmartignoni@bhmdiocese.org.  And check out John's free audio and written apologetics materials at: www.biblechristiansociety.com.

Fr. Barron on "dumbed down" Catholicism

Is God With Us? A Christmas Story

BY DAVID O’BRIEN

Christmas serves as a concrete reminder that God is with us and God is active, not just on December 25 but every moment of every day. Often God’s work goes unnoticed like when he slipped in behind enemy lines on that first Christmas morning.

The task is to stay attentive to the signs, to sit with the unknowns and allow God to lead us to the Christ child.

We won’t always know where God is working in our lives or in human history. But the Christmas account is proof positive that God is among us. The question is: are we open and available?

Some years ago, a couple, Sara and Joe, took a pilgrimage. Not an ordinary pilgrimage, mind you. This would be a journey completely dependent upon God.

The plan was to start in China where Sara had worked as a Catholic missionary in the underground Church. From there they would go where the Spirit led them. The only other contact they had was a priest in India.

With an openness to God that would seem reckless to most, they began. In each village, they introduced themselves as missionaries and servants of Christ. If they were welcomed, they stayed. If not, they moved on. (Lk 9:4-5) They ate what they were offered and slept where they could lay their heads.

Often, the people of the village would invite them into their homes or their churches, asking them to share a message with them. They spoke of their journey, their adventures and how God miraculously provided for them. Mostly though, they witnessed to the love of God, available for all people through Christ.

Sometimes, after hearing their witness, someone would say "I must introduce you to my brother". Joe and Sara took that as a sign that the Spirit was directing their next step. So they went. Little did they know that "the brother" lived 14 hours away in Tibet, Nepal or Bangladesh.

Country to country, village to village, church to church they followed God’s lead for over six months. Without a car or much money, they relied on God to direct their steps and provide for their needs.

When Christmas arrived, they were in a remote Muslim area of Turkey without access to a Christian church of any sort. Despite all the ways God had taken care of them and the incredible opportunities they were given to share Christ’s love, they felt alone and cut off that Christmas Eve.

They knew God was everywhere. After all, the central message of Christmas is that God is with us (Emmanuel). Still, they longed for a Christian community with which to celebrate the savior’s birth. They desired to receive the Eucharist and experience that holy communion between God and humanity, a communion incarnated on that first Christmas morning.

Disheartened, they turned to prayer, reading the stories of Joseph and Mary, the shepherds and the angels, the donkeys and the sheep. They imagined them all gathered in that dusty, remote outpost of the Roman Empire. They pictured the glow of awe and wonder on their faces as they welcomed the Christ child.

Noticing the similarities between their rugged reality and the cave that housed the baby Jesus, Sara suggested to Joe: "Let’s go off by ourselves for an hour to listen to the Lord speak to us of Christmas. When we return, we will know how to celebrate and worship the newborn king."

An hour passed and they both returned with the same idea. "Let’s create a manger scene right here".

With single-hearted devotion, they whittled branches, gathered rocks, collected moss, grass and twigs until, as the sun set, they knelt before a hand carved Christmas crèche, complete with animals, angels and the Holy Family.

There, they spontaneously praised the great gift of God, who held nothing back to show His love. There, in the hills of Turkey with only stars for light and roaming animals to keep them company, they heard God speak: "The people in darkness have seen a great light...For unto us a child is born, a son is given...They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace." (Is 9)

Years have passed and Sara and Joe now have four children of their own. Each Christmas they pull out that sacred homemade crèche set, still lovingly preserved. Now, however, there are four new pieces, equally handcarved in a spirit of reverence and praise. The children love to see themselves as little fi gurines kneeling in front of the baby Jesus. Joe says, "it makes them feel like they were there. We like it because it reminds us that God is with our children."

Christmas comes once a year, but Christ is born again and again to those who are not too busy to notice.

About David O’Brien David O’Brien is the Associate Director of Religious Education for Lay Ministry for the Archdiocese of Mobile. His column, Everyday Faith, appears regularly in the archdiocesan newspaper, the Catholic Week. Email David at dobrien@mobilearchdiocese.org.

Heavyweight Fight: Santa Claus vs. Saint Nicholas Should there be a battle to see who is the best symbol of Christmas spirit?

BY CHRIS TEAGUE

It would be great to see the spiritual foundations of Santa Claus….Sankt Niklaus…Saint Nicholas make a comeback in the United States.   Obviously Santa Claus has been high jacked by the commercial interests in this country and therefore he is almost seen as evil in some fundamentalist circles.   But, I think Catholics families should want to help “devolve” Santa back to who he really is.  We need to bring out the REALITY of Santa Claus, and maybe Santa could once again become a symbol of Christ not just a symbol of Christmas commercialism.    At his core Santa Claus is still St. Nicholas however we simply fail to recognize the patron saint of children beneath all the layers of commercialism our culture has placed on him.

One article on www.stnicholascenter.org put the situation nicely,

“It's been a long journey from the Fourth Century Bishop of Myra, St. Nicholas, who showed his devotion to God in extraordinary kindness and generosity to those in need, to America's jolly Santa Claus, whose largesse often supplies luxuries to the affluent. However, if you peel back the accretions, he (Santa Claus) is still Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, whose caring surprises continue to model true giving and faithfulness.”

From a practical standpoint, I don’t know if it’s possible to truly purge Santa Claus from American Culture (or if we want to) however, I do think it is possible to restore his saintly heart….give Santa Claus a much needed spiritual makeover.   Use that symbol to promote Christ and His Church, not just to promote Coke and Wal-Mart. 

Below is another gem from www.stnicholascenter.org and was written by J. Rosenthal & C. Myer.

Santa Claus belongs to childhood;
St. Nicholas models for all of life.
Santa Claus, as we know him, developed to boost Christmas sales—the commercial Christmas message;
St. Nicholas told the story of Christ and peace, goodwill toward all—the hope-filled Christmas message.Santa Claus encourages consumption;St. Nicholas encourages compassion.

Santa Claus appears each year to be seen and heard for a short time;
St. Nicholas is part of the communion of saints, surrounding us always with prayer and example.
Santa Claus flies through the air—from the North Pole;
St. Nicholas walked the earth—caring for those in need.
Santa Claus, for some, replaces the Babe of Bethlehem;
St. Nicholas, for all, points to the Babe of Bethlehem.
Santa Claus isn't bad;
St. Nicholas is just better.

Chris Teague

Chris is the Evangelization Director for the Men of St. Joseph.

An Advent Spiritual Exercise: Lord, This Is The People Who Long To See Your Face! The Face Of Christ by Joe Castillo, SandStory® Artist

BY FR. JAMES J.M. REYNOLDS, S.T.L.

With the death of King David, whom many Israelites presumed to be the promised Messiah, God's People, Israel, waited 1,037 years for the advent, the coming of the Christ. 
   
During all that time, a small remnant of God's holy and devout People continued praying, fasting, doing penance, and expecting God's promised Messiah to come during their lifetime.  The Psalms express their yearning and prayers for a Savior: 

"Who shall ascend the mountain of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false, and does not swear deceitfully.  He will receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of his salvation.  Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob." (Psalm 24:3-6)

Psalm 105:4-6 also captures this yearning as it advises God's people to seek Him:

"Seek out the LORD and his might; constantly seek His Face. Recall the wondrous deeds he has done, his wonders and words of judgment, You descendants of Abraham his servant, offspring of Jacob the chosen one!"

Here's the story of a man who longs to help others to seek and recognize the Face of God, in Jesus Christ.  The man's name is Joe Castillo.

 Joe Castillo grew up in Mexico.  His love for art and storytelling was strongly influenced by his mother, who taught painting, and his father, who owned a graphic design company.   By age five he was enrolled in his mom’s art class for the neighborhood children. By eight his father was teaching him to hand letter brush script. 

Then, at fourteen, he attended an artist’s chalk talk at a Christian youth camp in Mexico. He was so moved by the drawing and the powerful message that he accepted Christ that night. For the next forty years his love of art and his passion for God would inspire and guide his life. 

After his father’s death in 1963, the Castillo Family moved back to the US. 
Joe finished high school, studied at the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota and enrolled at Florida Bible College, where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Bible. 

Joe developed a love for writing, teaching and using his artwork for telling stories.  He became a regular speaker at youth camps and churches. 

Joe created his own advertising firm, and worked in that field for twenty years.  But, during the entire time, Joe entertained and captivated thousands of audiences -- in both English and Spanish -- by telling and drawing stories that inspire, motivate and touch the heart. 

After eighteen years in advertising and the loss of his wife of twenty-six years to breast cancer, he sold his ad agency, went back to school and graduated from Asbury Seminary. 

His profound love of teaching the scriptures inspired him to illustrate what he was learning in a new way. These illustrations attempted to present the Bible in an intricate story-form that grew out of the Biblical passages.  


His latest adventure in storytelling is something Joe calls SandStory®.  

Drawing in sand on a light table, he is able to create powerful, fluid illustrations for large audiences with an overhead video camera projected on a large screen. 

His presentations have been seen by thousands of people leaving them with a sense of awe. 

He has created performances for CBS, NBC, BBC, TED, over thirty Fortune Five hundred companies, Kings, presidents and dignitaries in more than 18 countries around the globe. 


Joe Castillo without question is the top SandStory artist in the world today! 

Here is an excerpt from a blog for and about illustrators, called Mark Armstrong, Illustration.   In this excerpt, entitled, Joe Castillo’s Face Of Christ, Mark Armstrong tells us:

A friend of mine sent me a copy of  The Face of Christ by Joe Castillo. I was enormously impressed. As you can see, the artist has incorporated major events from Christ’s life and ministry into the drawing, mostly in the beard and hair.

The rolled away stone of the empty tomb corresponds nicely to where the ear would be, and the stars in the eyes provide a sense of scale for the Star of Bethlehem, which is tucked into the shadow of the nose. I think my favorite touch is using the Sea of Galilee and its mountain backdrop for the right eyebrow.   

    

Here is Joe’s portrait of Our Lord, called, The Face Of Christ.  Look closely.  
    

There are several smaller drawings which comprise the portrait of the Lord’s Face. 
    

These smaller drawings tell the whole story of Our Lord Jesus’ life.
    

In case you have trouble recognizing them, here’s the portrait done up with the references to the events of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection (taken from Mark Armstrong, Illustration, who based it on the references given at this tribute site: http://jerryjeffries.net/FaceOfChrist.html):

Here's an easy and profitable Advent spiritual exercise, using Joe's The Face Of Christ:  

Print out the Face above.  Sit and look into this Face for a little while.  It can help you focus on "The Reason" for the Christmas Season. And it can help you to make the connections between all of the major events in Our Lord Jesus Christ's thirty-three years on earth with us.  


In The Book Of Exodus (33:18-33), God reveals to us through Moses, that no mere mortal may see God's Face directly. We would not be able to survive the experience of seeing absolute goodness, absolute truth, and absolute holiness.  Not understanding this yet, Moses presses God for a glimpse of Him:

Then Moses said, “Please let me see your glory!”  The LORD answered: I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim my name, “LORD,” before you; I who show favor to whom I will, I who grant mercy to whom I will.  But you cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live."  "Here," continued the LORD, "is a place near me where you shall station yourself on the rock.  When my glory passes I will set you in the cleft of the rock and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.  Then I will remove my hand, so that you may see my back; but my face may not be seen."

With the coming of God's Son, God-in-Human-Flesh, Jesus, mortal men have finally seen the Face of God!  And lived!  And even more than simply surviving it, we see Christ's Face and He leads us into eternal life with Him!

As you study Joe Castillo's  The Face Of Christ above, remember:

Every event depicted in this Face was accomplished for you personally -- and for all of us!  

Try reading the Scripture Passages indicated for each event. And allow yourself to pray to Our Lord, and ask Him to return, to come again, and to eternally establish His Heavenly Kingdom here on earth.

God bless you!

Fr. James J.M. Reynolds

Reverend Father James J.M. Reynolds, STL, serves as the chaplain of the Men of St. Joseph chapter, Diocese of Rockville Centre. He writes his own blog at www.catholicjediacademy.com.

David O'Brien: You Can Come Home for Christmas

BY DAVID O'BRIEN

I once spoke at a parish about God’s loving mercy. My main point was that there is no sin too heinous, no fault too great as to permanently cut you off from God’s inexhaustible compassion and forgiveness.

After the talk, a disheveled man in his 50’s approached me to talk. I noticed his ratty clothes and his unkempt appearance. But what leapt out at me more than anything was the pungent odor emitting from him, a sickening combination of sweat, bad breath, booze and urine.

He explained that he had been brought up Catholic but that his addiction to alcohol left him in his current state. He admitted, "I rarely come here because I don’t belong with these good people." Then he pointed to the Deacon in the front of the church and told me: "That is my brother."

I could see the sadness and self-hatred in his eyes. "I don’t even feel worthy to be in this church. I’m not like my brother and all these people," he confessed.

"You said up there that God loves everyone and will forgive anything," he recounted to me, leading up to the heart wrenching question I knew was coming. "Do you think He still loves me? I mean, after everything I’ve done. Do you think He could still forgive me?"

Fighting back my tears, for I knew this man was one of Jesus’ lost sheep (Lk 15:4-7), I told him that God loved him more than ever and always would. "You are still that little baby boy that He held in His arms the day you were born. You will always be His precious child," I assured him.

I could tell that this man doubted my words and despaired of God’s love, so I prayed with him and encouraged him to unload his guilt in confession. I hope he found his way back to the Lord and that the people in his parish welcomed him home with open arms.

A few months ago I heard from another searching person who had been inactive in her Catholic faith for some 25 years. Although she hadn’t read The Catholic Week in a while, something caused her to open a recent issue and she read my column. Whatever she read inspired her to email me and ask me how she might begin her return to the Church.

I found out where she lived and connected her to Becky Goff, a parishioner near her who had a heart for returning Catholics.

On October 28 this email popped up: "It started with you and your column. Thank you. I went to confession this week and asked Becky to come with me. Fr. McKenna was nice and very patient. This has been very emotional for me but I know I am on the right path. Becky met me at Mass the following day and we had communion together. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart."

In both these cases, it didn’t take much for me to extend an invitation to these people to reconnect with God and the Church. Likewise, for the people in your life who are struggling to find where they fi t with our Catholic community. Could you extend an invitation to them as we approach Christmas?

To make it easier, just pass along this website www.catholicscomehome.org. It includes some commercials that will air on TV across the country during Advent. They are excellent.

Last night I visited my neighbors and told them about the commercials. This morning I opened my email to find that they had sent the website to all their contacts and posted it on their Facebook pages. Easy. Invitational. Helpful. People already responded to my neighbors about how great the commercials are and how they will be sending them to other Catholics they know.

St. Paul told us that our job is to plant seeds and allow God to do the rest. (1 Cor 3:6) We never know what is going on in the hearts of other people. Maybe they are waiting for a simple invitation to come home to the Catholic Church this Christmas.

Remember, Jesus said that there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one lost sheep who is found than over the 99 who never left. (Lk 15:7) Why not give God a reason to throw a party this Christmas?

About David O’Brien David O’Brien is the Associate Director of Religious Education for Lay Ministry for the Archdiocese of Mobile. His column, Everyday Faith, appears regularly in the archdiocesan newspaper, the Catholic Week. Email David at dobrien@mobilearchdiocese.org.

Allen Hunt: A Christmas reminder from my friend, Albert.

BY ALLEN HUNT


Merry Christmas! For my final blog post of 2011, allow me to give you a Christmas reminder from my special friend, Albert, who shared his favorite memory of Christmas past, as part of a tradition we had. Albert was a leader, solid in every way. I loved that man. 

He grew up poor, not different from anyone else at the time. His parents were sharecroppers, and hard work defined their existence. As the youngest child, Albert's older siblings cared for him a lot. He got 5 cents each Saturday to walk to town, see a movie or to get ice cream. He could not afford both. 

Each year at Christmas, he wished for the same gift - a bicycle. Each year it did not come. Instead, he always received the same gift - 2 oranges, a banana and an apple. When Albert was 9, he again wished to Santa for a bike. Albert asked his mother, and prayed to God, "Please bring me a bike." That Christmas, he woke up - and discovered, yet again, no bike had arrived. Just the same basket of 2 oranges, a banana, and an apple.

As lunch approached, his older sister, Ruth, a mill worker in the cotton mill in town came walking in the house. She worked hard to scrounge together enough to feed her own three kids. 

After Christmas lunch, Ruth said, "Albert, I brought you my present." Albert quickly ran outside to see - and there it was - a new red bicycle - salvation had come to a 9 year old boy! 

That bike meant something to Albert. It meant he had finally received what he had been hoping for for years. It also meant he had a sister who loved him immensely. Best of all, it meant someone really, really cared. So Albert did what any boy would do, he slept with his bike. For a whole year! 

May one of your gifts remind you that there is Someone who loves you immensely. Someone who really, really cares. 

About Allen Hunt Allen Hunt is a former Senior Pastor of an evangelical mega-church. He became Catholic in 2008 and now partners with Matthew Kelly to serve as the Vice-President for Strategy and Content at the Dynamic Catholic Institute. Allen is a speaker, writer, and radio host on News Talk WSB in Atlanta. He is the author of Confessions of a Mega-Church Pastor: How I Discovered the Hidden Treasures of the Catholic Church.

Martignoni: Should Priests Face the Altar at Mass?

BY JOHN MARTIGNONI

Question:
You seem to be saying in your last few articles that the Church got it wrong when it turned the altars around to face the people.  I do not, however, wish to make an unwarranted assumption and so I’ll just ask: Do you believe the Church was wrong to turn the altars to face the people and are you advocating for a return to the old way with the altar facing the tabernacle?

Answer:
Not trying to be elusive here, but those are the wrong questions.  The main point of these articles has not been what I believe or what I would or would not like to see.  The whole reason for these articles was because of the question I received from someone who was feeling a bit put out by the use of Latin in the liturgy and the new life given to the Traditional Latin Mass.  Her question seemed to indicate a fear of, and even anger towards, anything Latin.  I have to be honest and say that I am always somewhat stunned when I see that kind of visceral reaction directed towards the liturgy – any authentic liturgy - whether it be directed toward the Traditional Latin liturgy, or it be directed to the new liturgy (the Novus Ordo).  So, what I attempted to do with my articles was to educate folks as to why we are seeing and hearing more about Latin and the Latin Mass these days.  

And, the reason why we are seeing and hearing more about Latin and the Latin Mass, is because Pope Benedict is making a deliberate attempt to bring about what he believes is a much needed reconciliation between the pre- and post-Vatican II liturgies.  As he said in a letter to the Bishops regarding his reasoning for wanting the Traditional Latin Mass to be more available, “I now come to the positive reason which motivated my decision to issue this Motu Proprio…It is a matter of coming to an interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church.”

The reason we are in need of a liturgical reconciliation, according to Pope Benedict, is that there was a bit of a disconnect between the intent of Vatican II and the implementation of Vatican II, “Many people who clearly accepted the binding character of the Second Vatican Council, and were faithful to the Pope and the Bishops, nonetheless also desired to recover the form of the sacred liturgy that was dear to them. This occurred above all because in many places celebrations were not faithful to the prescriptions of the new Missal, but the latter actually was understood as authorizing or even requiring creativity, which frequently led to deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear.”

These deformations of the liturgy that the Pope speaks of, caused great wounds within the Church.  The Pope is trying to heal those wounds by slowly bringing the liturgy back to what he believes was intended after Vatican II.  He is moving slowly, it seems, in order to first educate the faithful and to allow for reasoned dialogue on these matters.  Too often in the past, discussion of all things liturgical has resulted in passionate and sometimes heated exchanges, with each side putting labels on the other, that tended to deepen the wounds rather than heal them.  

Our Holy Father is calling for a new paradigm for the discussion of such matters: “The Congregation's response should thus make for a new, more relaxed discussion, in which we can search for the best ways of putting into practice the mystery of salvation. The quest is to be achieved, not by condemning one another, but by carefully listening to each other and, even more importantly, listening to the internal guidance of the liturgy itself. The labelling of positions as 'preconciliar', 'reactionary', and 'conservative', or as 'progressive' and 'alien to the faith' achieves nothing; what is needed is a new mutual openness in the search for the best realization of the memorial of Christ."

So, my last few articles have, I hope in at least some small way, served to educate the faithful as to what is going on in regards to the liturgy of late, and why. I also hope that they will help to stimulate more discussion, in a reasoned and respectful manner, regarding the liturgy, so that the reconciliation Pope Benedict desires can continue to progress.  The more educated we are on the liturgy, which is the source and summit of all that we are as Catholics, the better it will be for each of us individually, for our parishes, and for the Church as a whole.  

Am I advocating for the altar to be turned back around to face the tabernacle rather than the people?  Let’s just say that I am advocating for what Pope Benedict is advocating for – interior reconciliation within the heart of the Church.

About John Martignoni John Martignoni is the Director of the Office of Evangelization for the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama and also the President of the Bible Christian Society. John's column, Apologetics 101, appears regularly in the diocesan newspaper, the One Voice.  If you have a question about the Catholic Faith, please send an email to: jmartignoni@bhmdiocese.org.  And check out John's free audio and written apologetics materials at: www.biblechristiansociety.com.