Walking across Fr. James Martin's LGBT bridge

Over on Father heretic James Martin's Facebook page, he is promoting his new book "Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity", as if the Catholic Church wasn't already respectful, compassionate and sensitive to people who are suffering with homosexuality. 

2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

Father Martin says all that, all over this social media outlets and now again with his latest book on the subject. Great! 

The Catholic catechism is also perfectly clear that homosexual "acts" are intrinsically disordered and of grave depravity.

2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, 141 tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered." 142 They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

What Father Martin NEVER says is the issue here. He overlooks all the Catholic catechism has to say on the matter of homosexual acts being a sin and the need to repent of sin.

2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.  

2396 Among the sins gravely contrary to chastity are masturbation, fornication, pornography, and homosexual practices.

Currently there is an on going discussion on Martin's Facebook page over his neglect to mention the Church's complete teaching on homosexuality.

Comments from Fr. James Martin's Facebook page:

Matt Beard writes:  Fr. James Martin, what is your aim here? If your argument is that the Church built by Jesus Christ should welcome all people in His spirit of charity, then you are absolutely right. That is fairly obvious and should be uncontroversial. Looking down this thread, however, I see lots of comments suggesting that the Church should essentially redefine the entire theology of marriage. Both Scripture and Tradition - the joint deposit of our Catholic Faith- prohibit such a move. It should be noted that heterosexuals are by no means immune to sexual sin. Pornography, masturbation, contraception, and fornication are all mortal sins that would strip a straight person of the right to receive Holy Communion without first going to Confession. The Church has long taught that a person's sexual orientation is morally neutral, but his sexual behavior is not. Helping people identify and avoid their sins is at the very heart of the Church's mission to save souls. It is not compassionate, pastoral, or acceptable for the Church to abdicate its mission, even with the best of intentions. Christ Himself loved and welcomed sinners, but He always admonished them not to sin any more. The Church, too, must speak the truth in love.

Fr. James Martin responds:



Upon seeing this, the question came to my mind "Then what?" 

What happens after the "encounter"? Jesus told people to "go and sin no more" does Father Martin say that?

I decided to find out, so I purchased Fr. Martin's "Building a Bridge" book today and downloaded it on my Kindle for $12.99 from Amazon. Then I sat down and began to read. The book is short, made up of 'Why I am Writing" and the "A Two-Way Bridge" chapters divided into "Respect: The Church and others TO LGBT people", "Compassion: The Church and others TO LGBT people", "Sensitivity: The Church and others TO LGBT people" and then the same chapters flip now going from LBGT people TO the Church, ending with meditations and scriptures and finally a prayer. 

Let's start at the beginning. 

"Why I am Writing" by Fr. James Martin 

Quote: "So when New Ways Ministry, a group that ministers to and advocates for LGBT Catholics, asked just a few weeks after the Orlando tragedy if I would accept their "Bridge Building Award" and give a talk at the time of the award ceremony, I agreed." 

First, New Ways Ministry has been constantly condemned by the Holy Catholic Church ( http://www.usccb.org/news/2010/10-028.cfm ) and Fr. Martin knows it. Promoting them in public and in his book is just outrageous. 

USCCB writes: New Ways Ministry is an organization based in Mount Rainier, Maryland, that describes itself as "a gay-positive ministry of advocacy and justice for lesbian and gay Catholics and reconciliation within the larger Christian and civil communities." From the time of the organization's founding in 1977, serious questions have been raised about the group’s adherence to Church teaching on homosexuality. In 1984, the archbishop of Washington denied New Ways Ministry any official authorization or approval of its activities. At that time, he forbade the two co-founders of New Ways Ministry, Sr. Jeannine Gramick, SSND, and Fr. Robert Nugent, to continue their activities in the Archdiocese of Washington. In the same year, Sr. Gramick and Fr. Nugent were ordered by their superiors to separate themselves from New Ways Ministry. Although they resigned from leadership posts, they continued their involvement in New Ways Ministry activities until 1999, when the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith declared that because of errors and ambiguities in the approach of Sr. Gramick and Fr. Nugent they are permanently prohibited from any pastoral work involving homosexual persons.
         In reference to his decision not to grant any approval or authorization to New Ways Ministry in the 1980s, Archbishop James Hickey of Washington cited the organization's lack of adherence to Church teaching on the morality of homosexual acts. This was the central issue in the subsequent investigation and censure of the founders of New Ways Ministry, Sr. Jeannine Gramick and Fr. Robert Nugent. This continues to be the crucial defect in the approach of New Ways Ministry, which has not changed its position after the departure of the cofounders.

And "No one should be misled by the claim that New Ways Ministry provides an authentic interpretation of Catholic teaching and an authentic Catholic pastoral practice. Their claim to be Catholic only confuses the faithful regarding the authentic teaching and ministry of the Church with respect to persons with a homosexual inclination. Accordingly, I wish to make it clear that, like other groups that claim to be Catholic but deny central aspects of Church teaching, New Ways Ministry has no approval or recognition from the Catholic Church and that they cannot speak on behalf of the Catholic faithful in the United States."[clipped for length]

Fr. Martin is very clearly in this book promoting New Ways Ministry, even giving them kudos for their help. Also, his award from New Ways Ministry is what inspired his book title. New Ways Ministry is giddy with Fr. Martin who attempts to give them credit that Christ's Holy Catholic Church has been denying them for years because they are spreading heresy and confusion among the LBGT communities. This should be a red flag to any knowledgeable Catholic- most certainly the clergy who put their stamp of approval on this book- scandalous! Talk about giving the laity mixed signals! 

"Respect" (Chapter One) 

Quote: "Respect also means acknowledging that LGBT Catholics bring unique gifts to the church- both as individuals and as a community. These gifts build up the church in special ways, as St. Paul wrote when compared the People of God to a human body (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). Every body part is important: the hand, the eye, the foot. In fact, as Paul said, it is the parts of the body that "we think less honorable" that deserve even greater respect. Many LGBT people have indeed felt "less honorable" in the church. So, following St. Paul, it is to these members and to their gifts that we should pay even greater respect. "Those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor," he writes.Just consider for a moment the many gifts brought by LGBT Catholics who work in parishes, schools, chanceries, retreat centers, hospitals, and social service agencies. Let us "honor" them, as St. Paul says." [clipped] 

So we are to "honor" people who are called by God "abominations" for the acts they are committing? Clearly, I am not speaking of chaste and celibate people, but rather homosexuals engaging in homosexual acts- which the catechism clearly states is sinful. I bring this up, because Martin has continually praised homosexual unions (I wrote about it in my post "Fr. Martin another Pied-Piper of Hell" back in 2015) over the years. 

Martin then goes on to bemoan the handful of times LBGT have been fired from positions in the Church because they have caused scandal by their homosexual unions (he declares this is "a sign of unjust discrimination" #2358 in the catechism). 

He worries about the hurt feelings of the LBGT people, but not the scandal homosexual unions cause the rest of the laity. He goes on to ask the question "Do we give pink slips to those who practice birth control?" How would anyone know who is or isn't using birth control? A "married" (as if!) homosexual couple are PUBLIC sinners, flaunting their immoral grave sin for all to see. The Church has a moral duty to correct them and NOT allow them to scandalize the faithful. Martin doesn't like correction, in fact, not once in his entire book does he call homosexual acts sinful nor does he tell the LBGT community that they must repent of homosexual acts because it is a mortal sin. 

Martin twists so many scriptures by leaving out the obvious point...Jesus accepts sinners in love...blah, blah, blah. Jesus of course loves sinners, we are all sinners, but what Jesus said was "go and sin no more". That phrase is never mentioned in Martin's book, or from what I can see on any of his social media outlets. 

Martin wants to "encounter" the sinner and leave them in their sin! I can think of nothing more cruel! It's like spitting in Jesus' face. Jesus loves us all and he wants us to enter Heaven, to do that we must ALL repent of all our sins, whatever they may be. If not, we have only one destination to look forward to. Hell. 

Fr. Martin talks about being "sensitive" to LBGT people by changing our language. 

Quote: "One way to be more sensitive is to consider the language we use. Some bishops have already called for the church to set aside the phrase "objectively disordered" when it comes to describing the homosexual inclination (as it is in the Catechism #2358)."

That is ridiculous! Homosexual acts ARE disordered. The natural order which God made man and woman is for each other- to procreate. That is what is natural to God's creation of man and woman. To be "inclined" to same sex acts is by definition disordered to the natural order! 

It doesn't matter that Fr. Martin says this is "...needlessly hurtful. Saying that one of the deepest parts of a person-the part that gives and receives love is "disordered" in itself is needless cruelty".

It is not 'needlessly hurtful' nor 'needless cruelty'! And too bad if the truth hurts! Lies that lead to Hell will be a whole lot more painful! Martin is clueless as to what true love is. Love is not the lust of sex, love is about wanting to get yourself and others to Heaven because that is what Jesus wants for each of us. Eternity with him. There is only one way that can happen- repenting of all our sins, not wallowing in them and crying about hurt feelings because the Church won't condone your sins.

I could go on and on, but I am going to end with what screamed off the pages of this book to me from the first introduction pages to the end of the book. 

It's when Martin brings up the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) which he rightly points to as a story of true compassion. 

Unfortunately, he twists it the wrong way and completely overlooks the point. The Good Samaritan didn't merely "encounter" the poor beaten and robbed man, he helped heal him of his wounds by biding up his wounds and seeing to his care until he was healed. He didn't leave him in the near death state he found him in. 

The Church has always done this for Her wounded. To cure the wound, the Church must tell the person what is sin, so the person can confess the sin and turn from it. Repentance is what we are called to, each one of us! If the person continues in the sin, the wound is never healed. 

Homosexual relationships are one-way tickets to Hell if not repented of, the exact same way fornication and adultery for a heterosexual is.

Fr. James Martin's book spouts about "encountering one another" and "accompanying one another", again I ask to where?  His book never answers, you just keep walking back and forth over this bridge to no where, because sin and the need to repent are never mentioned. 

Just keep on "encountering" each other until Judgement day, see where that bridge leads you.



In Christ, 

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 


Links: 

USBBC on New Ways Ministry: http://www.usccb.org/news/2010/10-028.cfm

Review: Bill O'Reilly's "The Last Days of Jesus" book

A few weeks ago Allison Verost, Director of Publicity at Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group contacted me  to ask if I would review Bill O’Reilly’s soon to be released book “The Last Days of Jesus: His Life and Times”.  This is an adaptation of O’Reilly’s “Killing Jesus” book and is written for children 10 years and up.  I agreed to read and review the book. 

I should mention here that I  have never read any books by Mr. O’Reilly and don’t watch his Fox News programs (though I did many years ago so I am familiar with who he is), so I had no idea what to expect.

**According to O’Reilly’s Bibliography he used the Protestant NIV Bible, so I will quote that Bible in this review**

*********WARNING SPOILERS*********

I am no theologian but I am pretty well studied in the Scriptures and because of that fact found I had several "issues" with the book. Some people will probably disagree with me, but here is my take on the book...

First up, the book tells a completely fictional story of Jesus as a young boy who along with Mary and Joseph run for their lives from Roman soldiers who are slaughtering Jews in the market place.  I don’t know where exactly O’Reilly got this story from, but its not in any Bible I can find. 

Some people might like a fictional Jesus story, I don’t so right of the bat I was offended.

Next up an example of one of many times O’Reilly CHANGES Sacred Scripture to tell a different story (he does this often in the book and if you don’t know the scriptures you will not know it is altered).

In this example O’Reilly says that the disciples John and James were “jockeying for position” in Jesus’ “new regime” and requested that they each get to sit to Jesus’ left and right in positions of power.  

The Bible tells the story a bit differently…the NIV titles the passage “A Mother’s Request” yet O’Reilly makes no mention of a mother at all.

Matthew 20 [NIV Bible]- A Mother’s Request  ²⁰ Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.²¹ “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”²² “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”“We can,” they answered.²³ Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

[source: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2020&version=NIV]

No big deal?

OK, lets move on.

Catholics (like me) might take exception to O’Reilly’s version of Simon Peter and Jesus.  The Bible shows in Matthew 16 that Jesus gives Peter the keys to the Church (authority) and tells the disciples he (Jesus) was creating a real Church on earth – O’Reilly ignores most of this in his own chapter circling these events without mentioning the focal points to talk about other things.

The NIV Bible: Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

 ¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Now O’Reilly’s version:

No keys, no Church, no authority, no papacy…its been gutted. If you are going to write a chapter about this exchange between Jesus and Peter then why leave out the most important parts?  O’Reilly rips out the 18^th and 19^th verses which his own faith (I believe he claims to be Catholic) highlights as the foundation of Jesus Christ building His Church on earth.  Hardly a trivial matter to Christianity.

Next he guts the Last Supper – no Eucharist.  The focus of this chapter for O’Reilly is that Jesus washed someone’s feet.  For O’Reilly this is the most important part of the Last Supper, yet in the Scriptures the foot washing is not mentioned in Matthew, Mark or Luke, only in the Gospel of John and the reason it is mentioned is to show that Jesus knew Judas was going to betray him (verse 11). Judas was the "unclean" one among the disciples. The significance of the Last Supper- the Eucharist being instituted is simply not shown in this book at all.   

Here is O’Reilly’s version…

Now here is what the Sacred Scriptures says about the foot washing…

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet  13 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.² The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”⁷ Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”¹⁰ Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.¹² When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. –end-

And here is what Scripture says about the Last Supper…

Luke 22 (NIV Bible) - Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus 1 Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, ² and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. ³ Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. ⁴ And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. ⁵ They were delighted and agreed to give him money. ⁶ He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.The Last Supper⁷ Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. ⁸ Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”⁹ “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.¹⁰ He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, ¹¹ and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹² He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.”¹³ They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.¹⁴ When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”¹⁷ After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. ¹⁸ For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”¹⁹ And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”²⁰ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. ²¹ But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. ²² The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” ²³ They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.-end-

Other issues I had… in chapter one, O’Reilly claims Joseph only had a bad dream that terrified him so much he woke up Mary and Jesus and bolted out of Bethlehem.  No mention of the “angel of the Lord” telling Joseph to take his family and leave (Matthew 2:13). 

In chapter two, O’Reilly talks about Jesus sleeping on roof tops and how rare red meat and fish are to Jesus’ diet as a child.  Could he have slept on roof tops and rarely eaten red meat or fish, sure, but that’s not in the Bible. According to Isaiah 7, Jesus ate curds and honey as a child.

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. ¹⁵ He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, ¹⁶ for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.

In chapter five, O’Reilly portrays Mary and Joseph as “shocked” by Jesus’ knowledge of God because never before has Jesus nor anything else in their life given them the impression that their son was anyone special. Yet the Bible clearly shows both Mary and Joseph were well informed by God that this was no ordinary son. Luke 1:31-35

³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God."

In chapter seven, O’Reilly has John the Baptist proclaim he [John the Baptist alone] “saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him” before Jesus even got to the water to be baptized.  According to the Bible, Jesus was baptized THEN Heaven opened up and dove came down… (Matthew 3:16).

O’Reilly goes on to write that “John the Baptist says “I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One” in chapter seven, but later in chapter thirty O’Reilly claims that John the Baptist “is beginning to doubt his initial faith in Jesus as the Messiah”. 

In chapter twenty-eight (the Crucifixion scene) O’Reilly doesn’t mention the Disciple John being with Mary at the cross or Jesus giving Mary to John to care for (John 19:25-27) now that Jesus is going to die on the cross and soon ascend into Heaven (after he comes out of the tomb and walks the earth for 40 days).  Also left out of this chapter is Christ's words: “Into your hands Father I commend my Spirit” (Luke 23:46), the earthquake when Christ dies on the cross (Matthew 27:51), the temple curtain torn at the moment of Christ's death on the cross (Matthew 27:51) and the people raised from the dead (Matthew 27:52-53).  No mention of any of those major events.

Most chapters (in my opinion) show Mary, Joseph, the disciples and others as completely clueless about who Jesus is and what he is doing most of the time. I didn't care for O'Reilly's view or depiction of these Saints. 

And the final BIG issue for me… the very last sentence in the last chapter of the book… "To this day, the body of Jesus of Nazareth has never been found.”  No mention that Jesus was seen after the Crucifixion for 40 days (Acts 1:3) or that people watched him ascend into Heaven (Acts 1:9).

The book ends with an “Afterword” that includes assorted religion’s varying views of Jesus (Muslims, Jews, Pagans, Hindus etc).  This also includes what some writings and history say happened to the Apostles and other biblical characters (Pontius Pilate, Mary Magadalene etc).

Because I found too many alterations of Sacred Scripture and missing key Scriptural points I could not recommend this book to ANY parent to give to their child. Better they learn about Jesus from a child's Bible than this fictional portrayal of Jesus.

I am sure this is not the review Bill O’Reilly or his publisher were hoping for, but I have to be honest. I am sorry to say I simply did not like this book and cannot recommend it.

In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner

Source: http://us.macmillan.com/author/billoreilly

Source: http://us.macmillan.com/thelastdaysofjesus/BillOReilly

Book Review: The Evangelization Equation

Book review: The Evangelization Equation= The Who, What, and How

By Father James A. Wehner, S.T.D.

Foreword by Cardinal Donald Wuerl

*This is a book review for The Catholic Company*

Description: The Evangelization Equation: The Who, What, and How by Father James A. Wehner, STD is a crash course in the “New Evangelization” to which both Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI have called all Catholics. Father Wehner explores the challenges and the opportunities in American culture for spreading the Gospel. While giving a full presentation of the cultural, historical, pastoral, and theological background of his topic, he also communicates the very practical implications of the call.Father Wehner, who made the New Evangelization his area of specialization at the Pontifical Gregorian University, has been educating seminarians since 2002. He also has pastoral experience in a large and vibrant parish and has worked with the Catholic Men’s Fellowship in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Thus, he is uniquely qualified on the topic of this book.,p> The reader, upon finishing this book, will be equipped with the intellectual and practical tools to move forward as an effective evangelist. Also, most readers will be infected by Father Wehner’s enthusiasm and commitment to spread the Good News to individuals and, by so doing, effect change in our culture. The last sentence of the book expresses both the sure hope and the charge of the New Evangelization for Catholics: “We are the Body of Christ and the gates of hell shall not prevail!”

I picked up and put this book down several times.  When I hear “new evangelization” coming from the Catholic Church (and her clergy) my skin crawls because instantly I want to defend the “old” evangelization.  After all, it was the OLD evangelization worked for well over a thousand years and since Vatican II the Church has seen a horrible (in my opinion) decline- on all fronts.  So you see, I don’t think very highly of “the new evangelization”.

That said, I am still happy… perhaps that’s not the right term… I am grateful for having chosen “The Evangelization Equation” to review for The Catholic Company.  The book gave me a deeper insight into this “new evangelization”- it didn’t make me like it any better, but I had a more rounded understanding of it.

The book is written in three parts; The Who, The What and The How.  Beginning in part one, I felt as though I had climbed onto a roller coaster.  The foreword had me feeling a little uneasy (remember I nearly break out in hives over the term “new evangelization”) but hopeful when I began reading statements like “Only the Church possesses the whole truth about man, God, and the God-Man who redeemed the world.  For only in the Church has that truth been passed down infallibly from generation to generation through the teaching power of the Magisterium.”  [Introduction xvi]

Yeah!  I totally agree!  No wishy-washy protestant sounding “evangelization” there.  The roller coaster climbed higher and I wasn’t turning green or feeling ill. 

Part one begins by explaining what is wrong with ‘modernization’ in society -not medical help and things that save lives, but rather things that make us more secular.  Material things that take the place of God in our lives.  I totally agree with Fr. Wehner on this.  Father goes on to tell how modernization has led to society rejecting absolute truth and Catholics who have decided abortion is OK and gay marriage and birth control and a list of other things.  The absolute truth taught by the Church from the Holy Spirit has been rejected by many Catholics because of the secular modernization of our society.

The roller coaster is climbing higher and higher and I am still feeling good.  No worries in sight!

I am thrilled to see Father admit that this destructive modernization has found its way into the Church among the clergy who are afraid to speak in absolute truths on any number of issues (contraception, homosexuality, divorce, the need for Confession etc).

  

Father goes on to write “One of the challenges in evangelization is our need for the Church.  The independent mindset of so many leaves people with a spiritual crisis of wanting to believe in God without the Church. ‘Me and my Jesus’ is often the mantra of those who are convinced they can be Christians without the burden of belonging to the Church.”

'Right on Father!' I shout as the roller coaster climbs to its highest point yet!

I turn the page to chapter three, and the roller coaster does a nose dive as I shrill “NO!” after reading:

“The phrase, ‘new in its ardor, method, and expression’ is crucial to understanding the new evangelization.  The new evangelization seeks newness in its methods, not in its message.  It looks at the world and says, ‘This place isn’t what it used to be.’  It recognizes what modernity has post-modernity have done to men, and admits that if the Church wants to reach people, it has to do things a bit differently.”

ACKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!

No, no, no, no NO!  I completely disagree with this last part.  If anything, we see the FAILURE of this “new evangelization” since Vatican II.  Is there seriously ANY Catholic who FULLY believes ALL official Catholic teaching (abortion is ALWAYS wrong, gay marriage can NEVER be condoned, birth control is a sin etc) who also thinks that Vatican II has HELPED to “evangelize” anyone of the True Faith?

Since Vatican II we have clueless Catholics sitting in the pews that reject MOST of Catholic teaching, refuse to confess their sins and yet march up for Holy Communion on the rare occasions they even attend Mass.

Today’s Catholics are a FAR cry different than the majority of Catholic’s pre-Vatican II.

Just before I think the roller coaster is going to crash and burn into the ground below, it whips me to the right and begins to climb again when I read:

“Now we also see how Pope Benedict XVI is asking the Church to reclaim the mystery and awe of our faith as a direct way to evangelize the culture.  An important component of the success of the new evangelization is indeed to reclaim the wonderful traditions that have directly influenced music, art, literature, science, architecture…” [Page 47]

Yes!!  All those things LOST because of Vatican II (my opinion).  I was once again in agreement with Father.  The BEAUTY of the Church, not just her doctrines but also the liturgy, the music, the architecture of the parish buildings themselves all help evangelize people.

We are called to WORSHIP God at Mass.   Our surroundings often influence the mood we are in.  Look at World Youth Day for a moment… sun shining, waves crashing, flags flying and people swaying.  Now compare that to an “old” (pre-Vatican II) High Mass.  Which one looks more like worship to you?

Apparently Father and I differ here because he says [page 50] 

“Just as the new evangelization doesn’t seek to present a new Gospel, it also doesn’t seek to restore some past Catholic Golden age.”

If it was a “Golden Age” doesn’t that mean it was good?  What age are we in now?  The Catholic Iron Age?  Is this better than the Catholic Golden Age of the past when Catholic families attended Mass together, when Catholic parents were actually married to each other, had their babies baptized and practiced the Faith?

Roller coaster plunges again then soars to another peak.

Father goes on to discuss humanism and the call to Holiness and then to the Church being “more effective” in teaching against the evils of communism, Marxism and materialism.   Part three goes on to discuss “inculturation and interculturation” (thanks to JPII).  Basically (if I understand it correctly) it means making the Gospel flesh- yeah, I know that is Jesus- God Incarnate.  But this is the MESSAGE incarnate- brought to life in things like symbols, and how we talk (this changes with time and cultures). 

Father writes: “An inculturated catechesis seeks to transform hearts as well as minds.  It helps people see the connection between what they profess in the Creed on Sunday and how they act Monday through Saturday.”

Honestly, this chapter took me two times to even vaguely grasp because it sounded like nothing new at all, only someone got tired of the old terms and decided to use new ones.  So clearly I missed something vital here because I don’t see most of the Catholics I know personally putting what is said/taught at Mass into effect when they walk out the doors.  I know they still practice birth control (they tell me) and I know they still support gay marriage (they tell me that too) and I know they still think abortion is a woman’s choice so it should remain legal (they tell me that).  Either they don’t know their Faith or they reject it.  The “new evangelization” methods are not working on most of them.

The highest point of the book for me is found in chapter five [page 90-93].  This part is about Father Derek Lappe (in 2002) at St. Thomas Aquinas in Camas, Washington.  When Fr. Lappe first arrived, the parish was small, the people had a “bad understanding” of their faith and there was “incessant chattering before Mass” (BOY CAN I RELATE TO THAT ISSUE!).  Anyway, Fr. Lappe sets out to correct the things he found “problematic” by (get this) RESTORING the things that had been lost over the years!  He put the Tabernacle back to front and center (yeah!), he remodeled the building removing the modern look with a traditional frescoes (YEAH!), he walked into the sanctuary early before Mass and knelt down before the altar to pray giving a visible WITNESS to HOW people should behave before Mass (YEAH! No more chattering), he also brought back the REVERENCE with the “smells and bells’ that have marked the Church liturgy for centuries.”

WAY TO GO FATHER!  Now that is a GREAT way to evangelize people!  It worked!  People changed how they behaved at Mass.   The parish increased its members and more than doubled its daily Mass attendance.  Adults and children learned HOW to be Catholic.  Wonderful stuff!

I particularly loved this part:

“Lessons learned?  First, beauty matters.  A beautiful Church, with beautiful liturgy and beautiful music, communicates the faith.  It shows people, makes it visible, in a way that mere words cannot.  If the parishioners, when they go to Church, only experience what they experience every else in culture,  and if they have no experience of the transcendent when they enter the church and participate in the Mass, one of the more important catechetical tools we have at our disposal is wasted.”

So true!  For example when people walk into an old parish, full of enormous stained glass windows, statues, ornate wood carving and a gorgeous marble altar they often behave differently than walking into a plain concrete block building that might resemble their work place rather than a place of worship.  If the music is Gregorian chant or Ave Maria coming out of a pipe organ people will behave one way.  Silent and reverent.  Now take those same people and walk into a parish where someone is strumming a guitar while his back up is bongo drums.

You’re just NOT going to get the same behavior or reverence.  What is around us, what we see, what we hear all effect our mood and how we behave.  That’s just how it is. A beautiful Church with beautiful music has much more to offer in the way of “new evangelization” than a modern plain Church with modern music.

Father Wehner admits to the failings of Vatican II while at the same time saying this “new evangelization” will work. 

I don’t know how he comes to that conclusion, but I admire his optimism.

So while this book had the ups and downs of a roller coaster ride for this Catholic, I am grateful that I read it and have a better understanding of where our clergy and Church are coming from when I hear the term “new evangelization”- even if I don’t think it is working.

Overall, I would recommend this book for other Catholics who want to learn what is meant by “new evangelization”- especially now that Pope Francis is speaking so much about reaching out to the world with the Gospel message, this book will help Catholics understand what the Church is referring to.

In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner

Link: http://www.catholiccompany.com/evangelization-equation-who-what-how-p1004897/?

Review: Catholic Update guide to The Mass

Book: Catholic Update Guide to the Mass
By: St. Anthony Messenger Press, Series Editor: Mary Carol Kendzia
Reviewed for: The Catholic Company

I received this 48 page paperback book for review from The Catholic Company. This was a delightful quick read that prompted some deep thought about the mass.

It asks questions like "How has the mass changed?" and "What has happened to my Eucharistic devotion?". At the end of each chapter there are questions for "Reflection" which I found wonderful. As an RCIA instructor I found myself excited by these reflections as something to share with catechumens on their journey into the Church. As such, I'd recommend it to not just Catholics, but those who will one day become Catholic and for Confirmation students as well.

I particularly liked Chapter Two's "Five Reasons for Going to Mass", with the fifth reason being my favorite. The fifth reason "The Mass helps me finds the sacred in the ordinary". Don't we all need to find the sacred in the ordinary times of our lives? We of course see the sacred during Holy Days, but what about your normal ordinary Monday morning or Wednesday evening? God's plan for us is not just made up of special days, but what we do with our ordinary days. Daily mass makes each day more than ordinary and if we allow ourselves a few moments to reflect on that, we can find the sacred in each day.

Wonderful little book with thought provoking reflections!

"Catholic Reluctantly: John Paul 2 High" Book Review

I have just finished reading "Catholic Reluctantly: John Paul 2 High" by Christian M. Frank (pen name- see below). This is Book #1 in a series for young adult (teen) readers. The book is about Catholic teens and the founding of a new Catholic school called "John Paul 2 High School". The school is set up in a dilapidated building that is in dire need of numerous repairs and more volunteer teachers. There are only seven teens attending the school in the first book of the series and each teen is a distinct individual. This was very refreshing to see in a young adult book. They each had their clear strengths and weaknesses and we get to see them in action through out the book as the characters deal with being teens- especially being Catholic teens that don't always feel like they fit in with secular society. Some of the issues these teens deal with are dating, being valued as a person in God rather than an object, doing the right thing and how to deal with locker room porn and peer pressure. And when you screw up (as we all do on occasion) owning up to it and apologizing and doing what you can to make things right. Great lessons not only for young adults reading the series but people of all ages. If you like to be left hanging at the end of a book waiting on pins and needles for the next book in the series to come out, 'Catholic Reluctantly: John Paul 2 High' will not disappoint you. The suspense to find out "who done it" is really getting me!
I got my copy of this book from: http://www.catholiccompany.com/
On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give this young adult book a 9. And I look forward to reading other books in this series and handing it on to my teenage daughter to read.
This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Catholic, Reluctantly.

Add on:

I forgot to mention a bit about the authors of this book. There is no "Christian M. Frank", it's a pen name for a team/group of Catholics who worked together to create this series. The "Christian" comes from some of them attending Christendom College and the "Frank" in honor of those who attended the Franciscan University of Steubenville and the "M" is in honor of our Holy Mother Mary. I thought that was neat and should be shared.

Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" Series Book Review

I have recently just finished Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” young adult series of books about a teenage girl “Isabella” and a forever teenage vampire boy “Edward” and stamped it “NOT for anyone under 17”. You might be asking, why I am reading books geared for teens. Because I have two daughters, one is thirteen and an avid reader of just about anything she can get her hands on. Specifically she prefers fantasy and mythological fiction. But I am a parent who insists on reading anything and everything that might even slightly be considered controversial before the books end up in my children’s hands.

So after hearing the hoopla about the final book in this series that is taking teens by storm (or so the reports said), I set out to see what the stir was. If you do not want to know what is in these books, stop reading now.
The first book in the series is called “Twilight”. In this book we are introduced to Isabella who moves to live with her father in Washington State. As soon as vampire Edward lays eyes on her he has to fight off the almost overpowering urge to drink her blood and kill her. Of course Isabella doesn’t know this, but she’s a smart cookie and begins to put things together and finally figures out he’s a vampire, but she doesn’t care because she has already fallen for his pale flawless good looks. Edward can’t seem to stay away from her either even though he puts up a few verbal protests and warns her about him not being safe. She learns that Edward and his coven (family) have learned to live with people by drinking the blood of animals in the woods and not humans. This accounts for the vampires all having golden eyes, instead of the blood red of the other vampires who drink human blood. Edward isn’t like most vampires, he has an added gift of being able to read every ones mind- everyone but Isabella, which causes him much frustration. But not to worry, when he can’t locate her with his mind, he can sniff her out because her scent is so strong and desirable to him. Because Edward is a vampire he never sleeps. Instead he sneaks into Isabella’s bedroom each night to lay in bed with her and watch her sleep. Isabella wants to have an intimate relationship with Edward, but he refuses telling her he could kill her if he did because of the immense strength vampires have and how fragile humans are against them. Isabella also wants Edward to make her a vampire, but he refuses. He wants her to have a human life and experience all the things he never got to. This battle of wills goes on through all the books in the series (‘Twilight’, ‘New Moon’, ‘Eclipse’ and ‘Breaking Dawn’).
In the second book of the series ‘New Moon’, Edward is so worried about killing Isabella or her being killed because of him, that he dumps her and leaves the area so she can’t find him. This sends her spiraling into a very deep depression that lasts for months. At her father’s insistence she strengthens a friendship with Jacob, a family friend who ends up falling in love with Isabella. The problem with Jacob is, he’s a werewolf and Isabella figures it out (in the last book, we are told he’s not a werewolf but a shape-shifter). Can she pick them or what?
The next two books in the series “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn” are the most graphic and offensive of the four in my opinion. Here we find Isabella constantly after Edward for sex and to turn her into a vampire. He finally says he will turn her into a vampire, but not yet. Not till she’s older and has lived as a human more. She doesn’t accept this and tries to get another vampire to turn her. While this is happening there are other ‘bad’ vampires whom Edward and his coven have to deal with, along with Jacob the Wolf and his pack of wolf friends who are the enemies of vampires and protectors of humans. In the final book, vampire Edward marries human Isabella and they finally have vampire/human sex. Edward’s strength doesn’t kill her but she is roughed up during the honeymoon. She very quickly ends up pregnant with a mutant hybrid vampire/human baby that is growing at a rapid pace inside her and slowly killing her. The monster baby is killing Isabella slowly and painfully, while Edward is frantic to get rid of it- he wants it aborted. She refuses. Edward even goes so far as to go to Jacob, his jealous rival and ask Jacob if he will father a new child with Edward’s wife Isabella and talk her out of giving birth to the monster vampire/human baby. He will do anything to keep Isabella alive, even if it means giving his wife to someone else to father a child with. This doesn’t happen because Isabella begins to drink blood even though she’s still a human, but this satisfies the monster baby and helps Isabella regain some of her strength. The moment of the child’s birth, is graphic and horrid, it’s also the moment Isabella dies and Edward injects her with his vampire venom to turn her into a vampire. Isabella is now an undead and thirsty for blood. She has to be kept away from her part human baby because she could go into a blood thirsty feeding frenzy and kill it.
Of course there is much more to this four book series, but let me warn parents out there, PLEASE read this before you hand it over to your child to read. This has a lot of intense sexual situations, killing, blood and graphic scenes that in my opinion are not appropriate for young teens. The first book is the mildest of the four; each subsequent book grows more graphic. So be warned and know what your kids are reading.

Updated Second Review: Connecticut Catholic Corner: More on "Twilight"