Becoming Catholic

Recently, I watched a clip of Neil deGrasse Tyson answering the question, “Do you believe in [the Christian] God?” His answer is a good one and well articulated, as you might expect of him.

In it, he makes many points, but I wanted to note two of them. The first is that he cannot reconcile a God who allows natural disaster with a God who is all-powerful and all good.

In the video above, and also this one, and this one, Fr. Barron addresses "the problem of suffering" with typical nuance and sophistication. The conclusion is this: yes, this is a tough problem. Ultimately, in this life, it's largely a mystery, but to therefore surmise that there is no God or that He's not worth knowing is a mistake-- it is to take one piece of evidence and ignore any counter-evidence (say, certain well documented miracles, exorcisms, or what have you). Fr. Barron makes the point that if you can imagine there is a God and that this life is not "the ultimate horizon of existence" then it might be worth pondering the question: "Is it possible that suffering is a route of access to a much deeper life?"

The second point from Neil deGrasse Tyson that I wanted to mention is this: "It is unstable to build a government on a belief system." This statement is justified by pointing out:

There are many religions in the world

Varying religions disagree with each other at least as often as they agree

You can't build a government on such belief systems or it will be chaos.

OK. Well, I tend to agree. But on the other hand you can't really found anything without a belief-system of some kind undergirding your actions. If you say, "I want to live in a country where all religions have equal rights..." You are really saying, "I have a belief-system that says all religions should have equal-rights."

Here's a letter from a certain Catholic I love:

Believe it or not, I learned all about Copernicus in school, and not ONE WORD was said about his being a Catholic priest. Just found that out this week. Turns out Nicholas Copernicus was asked by the Pope to fix the calendar, which the educated clergy knew was wrong due to incorrect astronomical calculations. Same pope who excommunicated Martin Luther. Copernicus was afraid of ridicule for his heliocentric theory, but his uncle, Bishop of Heilsberg, encouraged him. It was the Church that taught Copernicus- he went to five different universities, all founded by the Church, and excelled. One of his students presented the theory to another pope, Clement VII, who rewarded him with a rare Greek manuscript. Same pope who put his foot down with Henry VIII.

The article goes on to say:

"These were not flat-footed peasants staring at the ground to watch it move. Nor were they Lutherans, who disparaged philosophy and said that Scripture alone, in its most obvious sense, teaches men all they need to know...."

Just heard this quoted:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

Recently, a friend criticized the Catholic Church for being led by a wealthy, powerful man. To illustrate, he pointed to the Pope's fancy clothes and the big, ornate Cathedrals. "Jesus was poor," he added.

I often hear this critique. It usually is couched in some sort of pious pretext, such as, "Why doesn't the Church sell all of that fancy stuff and solve world hunger?"

My first response is to point out how similar this reasoning is to that of Judas:

John 12:5 (Judas' response to costly perfume being poured on Jesus' feet) “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.”

Secondly, no organization does more to help the poor of this world than the charities of the Catholic Church. It's the biggest charitable organization in the world.

Thirdly, no one lives Gospel poverty as clearly as Catholic saints like Mother Theresa, Benedict, Francis of Assisi, and so on.

Fourthly, spending money on places of worship (and liturgical garb) is Biblical:

1 Kings 6 (Temple, as decreed by God) 23 For the inner sanctuary he made a pair of cherubim out of olive wood, each ten cubits high. ... 28 He overlaid the cherubim with gold. 29 On the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms, he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. 30 He also covered the floors of both the inner and outer rooms of the temple with gold.

(This is also, incidentally, a good text to refer people to when they criticize the Church for her statuary.)

Exodus 28 (Priestly garb, as decreed by God) 6 Make the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen—the work of skilled hands. ... 17 Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. The first row shall be carnelian, chrysolite and beryl; 18 the second row shall be turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; 19 the third row shall be jacinth, agate and amethyst; 20 the fourth row shall be topaz, onyx and jasper.[b] Mount them in gold filigree settings.

The full thing can be read here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2028&version=NIV

And finally, money spent on big fancy Cathedrals is not wasted money. Imagine if, instead of building the Sistine Chapel, the Church had donated that money to the poor. It would have long ago been spent and forgotten. How much poorer we would all be for it! But instead, generations of people have stepped into that breathtaking space and been drawn into worship, or at least they've been inspired. Such spaces are of inestimable value and are a *far* better investment than spending millions on some megachurch gymnasium-style building that has about as much lasting inspirational value as a cardboard box.

(For all of us trying to peel off our old vices, and for those days when putting on Christ is like putting on a wet suit that’s one size too small, I offer the following anecdote...) In 1999, the r...

Great, humorous read (3-part series) from Dan Lord on how God threw a wrench in his musical career.

If you haven't read Mother Teresa's speech, I highly recommend it. There were two themes that particularly struck home. The first was the importance of thinking of missions, of loving Christ, as something that must begin and be strong in our closest relationships.

On the neglect of our elders:

I never forget an opportunity I had in visiting a home where they had all these old parents of sons and daughters who had just put them in an institution and forgotten maybe. And I went there, and I saw in that home they had everything, beautiful things, but everybody was looking towards the door. And I did not see a single one with their smile on their face. And I turned to the Sister and I asked: How is that? How is it that the people they have everything here, why are they all looking towards the door, why are they not smiling? I am so used to see the smile on our people, even the dying one smile, and she said: This is nearly every day, they are expecting, they are hoping that a son or daughter will come to visit them.

On the neglect of our children:

I was surprised in the West to see so many young boys and girls given into drugs, and I tried to find out why - why is it like that, and the answer was: Because there is no one in the family to receive them. Father and mother are so busy they have no time.

Or on their outright murder:

...if a mother can kill her own child - what is left for me to kill you and you kill me - there is nothing between.

On reversing the tide:

I found the poverty of the West so much more difficult to remove. When I pick up a person from the street, hungry, I give him a plate of rice, a piece of bread, I have satisfied. I have removed that hunger. But a person that is shut out, that feels unwanted, unloved, terrified, the person that has been thrown out from society - that poverty is so hurtable and so much, and I find that very difficult... I think that if we all look into our own homes, how difficult we find it sometimes to smile at each, other, and that the smile is the beginning of love... Smile at each other, make time for each other in your family. Smile at each other.