Psalms of God's Tenderness - Psalm 37

                   Psalm 37

Do not be provoked by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong.

Like grass they wither quickly; like green plants they wilt away.

Trust in the LORD and do good that you may dwell in the land and live secure. Find your delight in the LORD who will give you your heart’s desire.

Commit your way to the LORD; trust that God will act And make your integrity shine like the dawn, your vindication like noonday.

Be still before the LORD; wait for God. Do not be provoked by the prosperous, nor by malicious schemers.

Give up your anger, abandon your wrath; do not be provoked; it brings only harm.

The LORD watches over the days of the blameless; their heritage lasts forever. They will not be disgraced when times are hard; in days of famine they will have plenty.

Those whose steps are guided by the LORD; whose way God approves, may stumble, but they will never fall, for the LORD holds their hand.

Neither in my youth, nor now in old age have I ever seen the just abandoned or their children begging bread.

The just always lend generously, and their children become a blessing.  Turn from evil and do good, that you may inhabit the land forever.

For the LORD loves justice and does not abandon the faithful. When the unjust are destroyed, and the children of the wicked cut off, the just will possess the land and live in it forever.

The mouths of the just utter wisdom; their tongues speak what is right. God’s teaching is in their hearts; their steps do not falter. The wicked spy on the just and seek to kill them.

Observe the honest, mark the upright; those at peace with God have a future.

But all sinners will be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off. The salvation of the just is from the LORD, their refuge in time of distress.

The LORD helps and rescues them, rescues and saves them from the wicked, because in God they take refuge.

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Trust in the LORD and do good that you may dwell in the land and live secure.

For the ancient Israelites, as well as modern citizens of the Jewish state, the land is an important factor in their history. Throughout history they have had to defend their land against history’s great empires. To live securely in the State of Israel today must be the dream of the Jewish citizen. Today, in the United States, there is worry about whether Social Security will be there for the upcoming retiring generations. If thoughtful politicians today in Israel would be “making peace” rather than war, perhaps the Palestinian suicide bombings would cease… I say, perhaps, because terrorism and “suicide bombers” have become so much a part of the culture there that there are no political guarantees. To all who fear for the future about the land or possessions they hold, the psalmist offers God’s simple command: TRUST.

Find your delight in the LORD who will give you your heart’s desire.

I guess there are many ways to read scripture. One can follow the Liturgy of the Hours, the daily readings at Mass, or a daily guide to the scriptures. One can begin at the beginning of a book of the Bible and read to its conclusion… or one can open the Bible at random to see what the Lord chooses. I use more than one approach.

However, in my twelve years commuting to teach downstate, I missed my family, home, and land especially. So, I would read Psalm 37 to give me comfort. It became my favorite psalm, because, in retirement, my heart’s desire was to remain on the farm my parents had left me. I delighted in the Lord and he gave me my heart’s desire.

Be still before the LORD; wait for God.

There is a story about a group of nuns who took care of the poor and the elderly in their nursing home. They needed to have the interior rooms of their facility painted, but the sisters had no money. So, they prayed to St. Joseph for help. Nothing happened. Not giving up on their confidence, they pulled a little trick on the great saint. They turned his statue around, so it had to face the wall. That afternoon, an anonymous donor stopped and rang the doorbell of the home. Answering the bell, the visitor handed them a check for $10,000 for the nuns to do with as they wished. Naturally, the home was painted with the money. Not too long after that they thought a piano would be a source of enjoyment to their residents. Again they petitioned St. Joseph. This time there was no delay. Someone offered them a piano. Often, in our world of haste, we are impatient with God. However, if we wait for God’s time, he will answer our prayers. St. Monica waited many years for her son to find God. When he did, he not only became a saint, but one of the greatest theologians the Catholic Church has known. “Be still and wait for God.” Three times in the Last Supper discourse, Jesus says simply: “Ask and you shall receive.”

Give up your anger, abandon your wrath; do not be provoked; it brings only harm.

It is said that the author of the Vulgate, St. Jerome, had quite a temper. I suppose anyone who translates a Bible by hand might develop a characteristic for impatience. Perhaps if Jerome had done some jogging, or had a treadmill or a punching bag, that characteristic of his personality   would   have   been   ameliorated. However,   anger  often   springs   from   being insulted or put down by someone else. The desire to get even boils over until the perfect plan for getting even is planned. Yet there is an emptiness in the soul that remains, even if the plan for revenge is perfectly executed. On the other hand, psychologists tell us that holding things in is not healthy either. Some of the saints of the past endured events that had to do more than ruffle feathers. Can you imagine Barnabas’ reaction to Paul when Paul argued with him about taking John Mark on their missionary journey? Both are saints, yet both had a falling out. Or what about Peter being scolded by Paul over following the Mosaic Law? There has to be a release for anger. We can abandon our wrath in many ways, but exercise, a hobby, or a vacation might be the modern method that best suits today’s pressures. God is tenderness in its entirety and he understands how we are made, just as he understood the frustrations of his own Son in dealing with the Pharisees.

The LORD watches over the days of the blameless; their heritage lasts forever.

St. Gregory of Nazianzen wrote a beautiful sermon on giving God his due. “Recognize to whom you owe the fact that you exist; that you breathe, that you understand, that you are wise, and, above all, that you know God and hope for the kingdom of heaven and the vision of glory, now darkly and as in a mirror, but then with a greater fullness and purity. You have been made a son (and daughter) of God, coheir with Christ.” Taking a breath is something one takes for granted, unless one is afflicted with asthma or emphysema. He watches over our days, one after the other, with no second, or fraction of a second, unnoticed in his loving care for us. He further promises us that if we remain faithful, our heritage, our eternal life with him, will last forever.

Neither in my youth, nor now in old age have I ever seen the just abandoned or their children begging bread.

This verse seems a bit overstated on first reading. History records many instances of just the contrary, especially in countries where famine occurs. Yet if one reads this in the context of the society in which it was written, it holds an important truth. I was listening to a well-educated woman from Ethiopia on radio the other day, and she was commenting on the famine in America, the famine of the soul. She said that in Ethiopia, when a family is without food, other neighbors make sure that the impoverished family has food. The woman suggested that there should be no homeless or hungry people in America, because of its great wealth. She related that in one American city out west, she tracked down 600 organizations that ostensibly had as their main objective, assistance to the poor. She went to some of them, requesting donations for the hungry in Ethiopia, and received much sympathy but no money. In the United States, some of us live lives of isolation from our neighbors. We can be generous as a nation… there is none more so. However, when it comes to our own personal pocketbook, there often is a stuck zipper that we can’t seem to loosen.

Observe the honest, mark the upright; those at peace with God have a future.

St. Ephrem, of the fourth century AD, was ordained a deacon late in life. He was called to the diaconate at around the age of 65 and died but three years later. Yet, he was a prolific apologist for his faith most of his life in Syria… and, we might add, quite a musician, composing countless hymns. This humble man who did not feel worthy to be ordained to the priesthood is today honored as a Doctor of the church.

(To be continued from my book, Psalms of God’sTenderness, ISBN-13: 978-14208212)

Psalms of God's Tenderness - Psalm 27

       Psalm 27

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom do I fear? The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom am I afraid?

One thing I ask of the LORD; this I seek: To dwell inthe LORD’S house all the days of my life, To gaze onthe LORD’S beauty, to visit his temple. For God will hide me in his shelter in time of trouble, Will conceal me in the cover of his tent; and set me high upon a rock.

Even now my head is held high above my enemies on every side! I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and chant praise to the LORD. Hear my voice, LORD, when I call; have mercy on me and answerme.

“Come” says my heart, “seek God’s face”; your face, LORD, do I seek!

Do not hide your face from me; do not repel your

servant in anger. You are my help; do not cast me

off, do not forsake me, God my savior!

Even if my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will take me in.

LORD, show me your way; lead me on a level path

because of my enemies.

Do not abandon me to the will of my foes; malicious

and lying witnesses have risen against me.

But I believe / shall enjoy the LORD’S goodness in the land of the living.

Wait for the LORD, take courage; be stouthearted,

wait for the LORD!

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The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom do I fear? The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom am I afraid?

The fears we humans experience today… fear of cancer or debilitating diseases, fear of terrorism, fear of dying… all real fears. Some drown those fears in alcohol or drugs. Science is looking for the “happy pill,” that will be tailored to our genetic makeup, so we will never have to worry again. Well, fear will always be a part of human existence. Medical science has legitimate medicines for depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders, panic attacks, and phobias of all sorts. We are living in a miracle age. Perhaps if Martin Luther, a victim of scrupulosity, which is a form of OCD, had access to modern counseling or appropriate medication, there would have been no Protestant Reformation. He was a brilliant man, afflicted with an obsessive-compulsive disorder… as were several saints… a priest who began the Mass over from the beginning to “get it right.” He went to confession often, sometimes daily, fearing he was seriously unworthy for his actions. His only reprieve was to turn to God. St. Therese of Lisieux compared herself to Luther and wrote that they were not that much unlike… except she trusted in the Lord in her childlike way. I have great sympathy for the sufferings Luther endured. Like every victim of scrupulosity he saw nothing in himself but wickedness and corruption. God was the minister of wrath and vengeance. Uncontrollable fears and phobias, especially in the area of morality where one’s eternal salvation is thought to be at stake, are a kind of hellish existence one cannot appreciate unless one has experienced it. Therese’s answer is the same as is found in Caussade’s classic work, Abandonment to Divine Providence… TRUST. I think Luther, after his trip to Rome where he saw the abuses the building of St. Peter’s generated through the selling of indulgences, where he saw priests who were ill-trained, and his subsequent teaching of Romans at the University of Wittenburg, thrust him into a mindset that the human solutions to his problems were not working and that the Church was playing with corrupt practices. His “A Mighty Fortress is our God,” is his breakthrough theme song. However, Luther went too far and trusted in his own intellectual prowess, instead of a simple trust in God’s guidance. We need the Church because it has the guarantee of the Holy Spirit’s guidance. The Spirit is our light and our salvation in the doubts about our actions and the fears we have in whether we are doing the right thing. We cannot, however, rule out what counseling and the assistance medicine can provide. That may just be what the Spirit ordered.

One thing I ask of the LORD; this I seek: To dwell in the LORD’S house all the days of my life, To gaze on the LORD’S beauty, to visit his temple.

In the beauty of a Christian home, there are moments when love radiates from parents to children and from children to parents. We are all made in the image and likeness of God, so it is natural that God’s beauty radiates in parents and their children. On a different plane, our attraction to Jesus should translate into the quiet presence before Him in the Blessed Sacrament. How often do we go to Church to greet the Lord… sit down… and enjoy the comfort of being in his presence. The beauty of the Lord is all around us… in the stained glass windows, the design of the church, the gold of the candle holders… even the flickering of the sanctuary lamp. I guess I prefer the solemnity of a cathedral, or a basilica like Sacred Heart at Notre Dame. However, whatever place of worship we choose, it’s important to spend time in silence with the Lord. The liturgical celebrations are the most important acts of worship in which we can participate. However, liturgy can have its human distractions. The one-on-one drop-in visits are devoid of these distractions and provide a special opportunity to enter that region of the soul where the Lord delights in being with us and we with him. No words have to be said. Just gazing on his beauty in his temple.

For God will hide me in his shelter in time of trouble, Will conceal me in the cover of his tent; and set me high upon a rock.

A thunderstorm with lightning and rain pelting the roof of one’s house can be either a frightening experience or a comforting one, depending on one’s view of life. I love the words of the psalmist in this verse… “God will hide me…in times of trouble.” As a youth, I remember one of the most vicious storms of my life.  I was perhaps 6 or 7. My mother tried to phone my father to come home. It seemed like we were going to be washed away, because gullies were forming where the road to our home was. The storm was upon us and persisted for what seemed hours. Torrential rain, flashing lightning, cracking thunder…  I wanted to hide under the bed and make it all go away. This is the comfort our tender God offers us in the storms of life. He will hide us and cover us in the tent of his care. We really do have nothing to fear. Our reward? He will raise us up on the rock of his security where the sun of his love will make us forget the storm that so frightened us.

“Come,” says my heart, “seek God’s face”; your face, LORD, do I seek!

What a blessed time we live in… the contrast between today and the fear the Israelites had of seeing Yahweh on Mt. Sinai. For the psalmist to express the notion that he wanted to see the face of the Lord, when the Mosaic generation was taught that no one except Moses saw the face of God and lived… this is a significant breakthrough of man’s relationship to his God. The Holy Spirit, no doubt, was at work in the writer’s heart… “Come… seek God’s face.” To paraphrase: God is so wonderful, I want to see him face to face, as son or daughter to father. God, even in the Old Testament’s psalms, shows us not only his willingness to manifest himself to us, but his desire. Jesus’ incarnation is proof of his loving impatience to have us see him as he really is. Death will provide that glorious opportunity. I look forward to heaven… because I know I will see him, not as in St. Paul’s “mirror,” but as he really is. Paul’s dilemma of remaining on earth or being with Christ should be ours.

Even if my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will take me in.

Two-thirds of children today have a stepparent. A third of young people have one parent. We are not here to pass judgment on the situations which have made these statistics a reality. However, there are many cases of child abuse… some statistics suggest a third of all children are subjects…and there are many abusive situations that are not reported. Abortion is the ultimate abuse, but that’s another issue. The psalmist must have had knowledge of a family where abuse, neglect, or abandonment had left the child or children forsaken. Perhaps it was himself. What is important in this verse, is the confidence expressed that the Lord will take the forsaken child into his home. Are we forsaken by others? Parents are singled out here, but we can feel forsaken if our boss finds fault with us… at times like this, we should flee to the home of the Holy Family. Mary, Joseph, and the young Jesus are there… ready to receive us into their lives. They can offer sympathy, friendship, love, understanding… everything that matters in life. All we have to do is knock on their door.

But I believe I shall enjoy the LORD’S goodness in the land of the living.

The great St. Augustine wrote in his Sermon on John’s Gospel: “Real love of God will not be in you if the love of the world prevails in you. Hold fast rather to the love of God, so that as God is eternal you too will live forever. For each of us is such as our love is.” Holding fast to the love of God conjures up the tender picture of a child walking with his parent in a large city. Traffic is noisy, the streets are bustling, and, if you happen to have spent a couple of weeks living in Times Square, New York, as I have, the world seems in perpetual motion. To a young child, the city can be a frightening place. I remember getting lost from my mother in a small city… I guess I was about five. It wasn’t her fault really. I somehow got away from her as I was waiting for her to use the public restroom. Anyway, it wasn’t long before I was terrified. I couldn’t see my mother anywhere. Thanks to her quick search, I was found. I learned to hold fast to the one who could give me security and direction. I guess God taught me an important spiritual lesson at that early age. If we hold fast to the Lord in faith, we shall enjoy his goodness… his secure hand in ours… even in this life.

(To be continued from my book, Psalms of God’s Tenderness, ISBN-13: 978-1420821253)

The Psalms of God's Tenderness

There are passages in scripture that give insights into the heart of God and his tender love for mankind. Some that come to mind include the covenantal stories of the Pentateuch, the book of Isaiah, The Song of Songs, and the Last Supper Discourse of John’s gospel. However, in the Book of Psalms, composed by many writers throughout a millennium of evolutionary characterizations of Yahweh, we find unique revelations of the intimate love God had for his people. I choose to use the word “tenderness” to characterize this love.

In the Old Testament we find the God of Creation, all-powerful, all-knowing, and the ultimate victor of good over evil. We also find in scripture a God portrayed as changeable, willing to give mankind a second chance, agreeable to lessen punishment, and even willing to send his son to die a shameful death on a cross.

Every human being who believes in God must, at some time, fear the judgment God will pass on our lives. There is some merit in that type of fear. It can deter us from sin. However, when approaching God in prayer, fear should never be present. Only the relationship of a child to its parent… filled with confidence that everything will be okay.

The Church has moved over time to a more compassionate treatment of some subjects found in the Psalms. The psalmist often calls for revenge and God’s destruction of his enemies. It is interesting that the Church today excludes verses or psalms from the Liturgy of the Word if they speak of vengeance.

In the following weeks, I will focus on seventeen psalms which speak dynamically and powerfully of the tenderness of God toward his faithful ones. These are prayers that Jesus no doubt prayed … which, perhaps, were his favorites, because he truly was one of us in his human nature. He, like us, needed constant intimacy with his Father. These psalms clearly provided that…and for us, in the twenty-first century, can do the same.

Those highlighted verses from the NAB follow, with meditations for each verse.

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Psalm 16

Keep me safe, O Cod; in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, you are my Lord, you are my only good.

Worthless are all the false gods of the land. Accursed are all who delight in them. They multiply their sorrows who court other gods. Blood libations to them I will not pour out, nor will I take their names upon my lips.

LORD, my allotted portion and my cup, you have made my destiny secure. Pleasant places were measured out for me; fair to me indeed is my inheritance.

I bless the LORD who counsels me; even at night my heart exhorts me.

I keep the LORD always before me; with the Lord at my right, Ishall never be shaken.

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Keep me safe, O God; in you I take refuge.

Throughout this day, your tenderness will keep me safe. I believe it. I walk on the bridge of faith to shore of your refuge. Let me keep your presence beside me as I drive to work, as I greet those whom I meet, as I eat my dinner, as I answer the phone…

LORD, my allotted portion and my cup…

Lord, I am privileged to inherit you for all eternity. I will drink from your tenderness and love, always satisfied, but ever thirsting for more of you. I pray that you, whose presence is everywhere, will today open the eyes of the spiritually blind to see the chalice of your infinite love, filled with drink that will satisfy.

I bless the LORD who counsels me; even at night my heart exhortsme.

You have given your Holy Spirit to guide me today… not just in the momentous decisions of life, but in the hour to hour thread of my existence. I stand ignorant of the future. I know not what lies ahead this next sixty minutes. I don’t even know what is being said about me in the next room. I see what is in front of me, but know not what is behind me, above me, or below me. It’s amazing that we live on a planet, a ball in your infinite universe, and yet how many of us know what lies 10 feet, 100 feet, a 100 miles, a 1000 miles below us. How ignorant man is! I lie awake at night worrying about tomorrow. Why? You are always there to guide me, day or night.

I keep the LORD always before me; with the Lord at my right, I shall never be shaken.

What is my mental picture of the Lord? How do I visualize a spirit? We in the Christian era have the advantage of knowing the Lord who took on a human form. We can picture him as a shepherd, a teacher, a healer, or even as a man in a business suit or jeans. Visualization of the Lord in his human form is an important spiritual exercise to keep the Lord “always before me.” Picture him “at your right” in your automobile or on the bus. Talk with him, out loud, if possible. Share with him your grocery list, your friend’s problem, your marriage. Pour out your heart to him, right there in your car or in the empty seat next to you in the ballpark. If you do that habitually, you will never be shaken by what life throws at you.

(To be continued from my book, Psalms of God’s Tenderness, ISBN-13: 978-1420821253)

Marian Apparitions

The twentieth century has been rich in reported apparitions of the mother of Jesus Christ. Apparitions of Christ’s mother have been reported on every continent on our globe.  The seers have been people from many walks of life: men, women, and children.  The locations where Marian apparitions have occurred are numerous: large cities, remote areas, caves, churches, fields, homes, monasteries, and other places.

The Catholic Church has prudently been cautious to approve, disapprove or condemn reported apparitions.  In general, studied apparitions are classed as “not worthy of belief,” “not contrary to the Faith,” or “worthy of belief.”  The message of an approved apparition cannot have any content that is contrary to the teachings of the Church. The Church takes Marian (and other) apparitions quite seriously, and only after great care and study deems a particular apparition as “worthy of belief.”

It is also important to note that a Catholic is free to dismiss those apparitions that have been approved by the church, since they all fall into the category of  “private” revelation. Scripture and Tradition are the only two sources of religious truth required for assent by the believing Catholic.

The University of Dayton, administered by the Marist religious order, has assembled a list of apparitions entitled “Marian Apparitions of the Twentieth Century” giving the year, place, number of people involved, approval (or disapproval) of prayers and devotions at the site, and world-wide approval. The list begins in 1900 and ends in 2011. Several hundred reported apparitions are listed. Go tohttp://campus.udayton.edu/mary/resources/aprtable.html and scroll down below the introductory remarks to the list. The list does not indicate that the Vatican studies all reported cases.  Of the 295 reported apparitions studied by the Holy See through the centuries only 12 have been approved.

An authentic apparition is believed not to be a subjective experience, but a real and objective intervention of divine power. The purpose of such apparitions is to recall and emphasize some aspect of the Christian message. The Church states that cures and other miraculous events that often are the aftermath of the apparitions are not the purpose of them, but exist primarily to validate and draw attention to the messages of prayer, repentance, reparation for sin, and conversion of sinners.

There are a few famous sites where the Church has given its blessing to apparitions as “worthy of belief.” Perhaps the most famous is Lourdes, France. In 1858, at age 14, the poverty-stricken, asthmatic Bernadette Soubirous saw a vision of a beautiful Lady in a grotto on the banks of the Gave River near Lourdes, France. Though Bernadette was despised, disbelieved, and harrassed by local French authorities, crowds began to gather when news spread and when she wouldn’t recant the story of her vision.

On 25 February, Bernadette was told to dig in in the earth, which she did (see picture below of the pool), but there, the healing waters of the now-famous Lourdes shrine were discovered where the Lady had appeared, and on 25 March, the Lady of the vision announced that she was the Immaculate Conception and that a church should be built at the site. Bernadette became a nun at Nevers, France and, suffering much from physical ailments, died young. Her body remains incorrupt at her convent to this day.  My wife and I visited Lourdes a few years ago. It was a cool April morning. We arrived at the grotto well before sunrise. There were only a couple of others there.  Below are pictures of the pool, the grotto area, and my wife filling up a container with Lourdes water.

Another famous series of apparitions deemed by the Church as “worthy of belief” were those given to Sr. Catherine Labouré in her Parisian convent in 1830, before the apparitions at Lourdes. On 27 November of that year, Catherine saw a vision of Mary holding a globe that, Mary told her, represented the world. The vision changed to Mary standing on a globe, rays of light streaming from her fingers, enframed in an oval frame inscribed with the words, “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” The whole vision “turned” showing the back of the oval inscribed with the letter “M” entwined with a Cross, and the hearts of Jesus and Mary, the former surrounded with thorns, the latter pierced with a sword. 12 stars circled this oval frame. Mary told her to strike a medal in this form, and that all who wore it after having it blessed would receive graces. This medal, seen below, has become one of the most commonly worn sacramentals in the Western Church and is known as the “Miraculous Medal.” At the time Our Lady appeared to Catherine in 1830, the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, although widely believed, was not a dogma required to be believed. Pope Pius IX is thought to have been influenced by the apparitions to Catherine in the rue du Bac when he decided to consult with the Church if the Immaculate Conception of Mary should be declared a dogma. He received overwhelming support and on December 8^th 1854 declared Mary to have been free of sin from the moment of her conception. Four years later in 1858 Mary appeared to Bernadette at Lourdes and when asked who she was she replied, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

If you know French, the words surrounding the image translate to “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” The words “conceived without sin” describes the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

In the document Ineffabilis Deus of 8 December, 1854, Pope Pius IX pronounced and infallibly defined, according to Catholic teaching, that Mary ”in the first instance of her conception…was preserved exempt from all stain of Original Sin”.

St. Catherine Labouré’s body remains incorrupt to this day. My picture, taken a few feet away, is that of the saint.

Another famous series of apparitions “worthy of belief” occurred in Fatima, Portugal, in 1916.

In the Spring of 1916, on the back edge of WWI, before the Russian Revolution and when the world was beginning to spin even more wildly out of control, an angel appeared to 3 shepherd children at Fatima, Portugal. The angel, who called himself the Angel of Portugal, appeared three times, taught the children various prayers and entreated them to penance and to offering sacrifices to the Lord.

After these 3 appearances, a lull of 8 months went by. Then, in 1917, when Lucia was 10, Francisco was 9, and Jacinta was 7, Our Lady appeared to the children, asking them to return to that site on the 13th day of each month for the next 6 months. (She would come 6 times to all the children, and also later  to Lucia alone.)

During the first apparition (13 May), Our Lady answered questions from the children about their fates. She said that they would all go to heaven.

During the second apparition, she told the children to pray what has become known as the “Fatima Prayer” during their Rosaries. When asked, she said that Francisco and Jacinta would be in Heaven soon, but that Lucia would stay to help bring people to Christ.

During the third apparition, three secrets were given to the children.

• First, they were shown a vision of Hell.
• Second, they were told of the “errors of Russia” and how they would spread throughout the world unless the world mended its ways. To that end, she called for penance and said that Russia should be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart by the Pope and the Bishops in union with him, and that the faithful should receive Communion of reparation in atonement for the sins of the world on the first Saturday of each month (the “First Saturdays” devotion). If these things aren’t done, Russia’s errors would spread, the Church will be persecuted, various nations will be annihilated, and the Holy Father will have much to suffer. She said, though, that in the end, her Immaculate Heart would triumph.
• The third secret was given to Lucia alone. There is some controversy about the secret. In a 1980 interview for the German magazine Stimme des Glaubens published in October 1981, John Paul II was asked explicitly to speak about the third secret. He said:

“Because of the seriousness of its contents, in order not to encourage the world wide power of Communism to carry out certain coups, my predecessors in the chair of Peter have diplomatically preferred to withhold its publication. On the other hand, it should be sufficient for all Christians to know this much: if there is a message in which it is said that the oceans will flood entire sections of the earth; that, from one moment to the other, millions of people will perish… there is no longer any point in really wanting to publish this secret message. Many want to know merely out of curiosity, or because of their taste for sensationalism, but they forget that ‘to know’ implies for them a responsibility. It is dangerous to want to satisfy one’s curiosity only, if one is convinced that we can do nothing against a catastrophe that has been predicted.” He held up his rosary and stated “Here is the remedy against this evil. Pray, pray and ask for nothing else. Put everything in the hands of the Mother of God.” Asked what would happen in the Church, he said: “We must be prepared to undergo great trials in the not-too-distant future; trials that will require us to be ready to give up even our lives, and a total gift of self to Christ and for Christ. Through your prayers and mine, it is possible to alleviate this tribulation, but it is no longer possible to avert it, because it is only in this way that the Church can be effectively renewed. How many times, indeed, has the renewal of the Church been effected in blood? This time, again, it will not be otherwise.” 

Back to the Fatima apparitions…

Lucia, warned by her Bishop that the apparitions could be demonic, asked the Lady if she would tell them who she was and if she would perform a miracle to help prove to others that the visions were real. The Lady said she would.

During the 4th apparition, Our Lady gave the children instructions concerning the chapel which was to be built and reassured them of the miracle that would take place.

During the 5th apparition, she said that the promised miracle that all could see would take place during her next visit (on 13 October).

During the last apparition common to all the children, crowds gathered; around 70,000 people sloshed through the mud caused by the heavy rains that had fallen all night to see the promise fulfilled. Mary referred to herself as the “Lady of the Rosary,” mentioned again the chapel that would be built, and said the war would end soon. Suddenly, the dark clouds that obscured the sky parted, revealing the sun as a softly lit disk of spinning silver or an opalescent pearl shade. Thousands and thousands saw the sun spin, dance, throw off many different rays of color — red, yellow, purple, blue light coloring all they saw. Some swore they saw the sun crashing toward the earth. Even secular newspapers reported what happened with the sun and that one could witness the phenomenon without hurting one’s eyes. People who’d gone to the site to mock the children and the faithful found themselves in tears, staring at the sky in amazement, converted to Christ. Then Our Lady disappeared, and St. Joseph, holding the child Jesus, appeared to the children, blessing the world by signing the Cross in the air. This apparition went away, and then Christ and Mary (as Our Lady of Sorrows) appeared, Christ blessing the world as his step-father had done. Then Our Lady appeared alone again, only to Lucia’s eyes, as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. After the miracle of the sun, the crowds saw that the muddy, wet fields and their clothing had dried.

Francisco and Jacinta died very young, as Our Lady said. They were beatified in 2000. Lucia joined the Carmelite Order as a nun. Sister Lucia died on February 13, 2005 at the age of 97 at her Carmelite convent in Coimbra, Portugal, after a long illness.

On a personal note, I believe hundreds of miracles, both physical and spiritual, have occurred at the many Marian sites around the world. For those who doubt or those who dismiss miracles, the Church, from which miracles spring, will stand despite attacks from the gates of Hell as Christ promised until his Second Coming. However, if one is a Catholic, miracles are part of one’s faith and the countless private testimonies, as well as Church approval, of them reinforces that belief.

Eco-Religion

On my way back from purchasing flats of tomatoes and other vegetables today, I got to thinking about a topic that has surfaced in various essays and blogs recently. The gist of the discussion is how one, as a Christian, should view the earth and its resources.

We have the biblical command of God to Adam and Eve in Genesis  1:28 “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’” In other words, propagation of the human race and subjugation of plant and animal life for the use of human beings are central to God’s message.

On the other hand, we have environmentalists who are adamant about preservation of every species of plant and animal life and insist on regulations to protect the earth from intrusions of humankind into their habitat. Each year, Earth Day — April 22 — marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

I decided to call my blog Eco-Religion. Googling the word up, several articles popped up. One article in Miranda Global by Robert Deinhammer, S.J., vice president of the International Theologian-Graduate College Canisianum in Innsbruck, Austria, caught my attention.  Deinhammer holds a doctoral degree in law and philosophy and worked as a lecturer at the Paris Lodron Universität of Salzburg. He is the author of numerous works in the areas of law and social philosophy, ethics and philosophy of religion.

According to Deinhammer,  “Nature,” or “Mother Earth,” are good and even in some way “holy,” whereas human beings are evil, since they try to dominate nature and wish to exploit it. According to this line of thought, the natural course of the world should be disturbed as little as possible. On the contrary, human beings ought to adapt to nature, should “respect” it and even “reconcile” themselves with “her.”

Now, I’m not a worshiper of Mother Earth, but I do realize that we cannot let this planet run amok by its abuse. Somewhere there has to be a happy medium.

Deinhammer concludes his article with that balance:

“The Christian proclamation of faith appeals to critical reason, for only the dynamic of a critical reason can distinguish faith from superstition. Therefore, the proclamation of faith must simultaneously critically review all irrational beliefs. It is a witness to faith to criticize the devastating exploitation and abuse of the environment, but at the same time, we are called to oppose an ecoreligion that offers no genuine service either to humanity or to nature itself.”

So, the logic for a happy medium I find to be on target. It is in the implementation of it that problems arise. When confronted by the question put to Christ as to the role of religion and civil government, Jesus’ response was astute: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s;  give to God what is God’s.” The Teacher didn’t tell us how to do this. He gave the principle.

The two situations are similar. Respect the earth and maintain it for future generations, but use its resources for the benefit of humankind. Give, in taxes, to government what it needs to provide for the common welfare, but give also to God and his children voluntarily and, if possible, equally.

In Eco-Religion, the difference between humans and animals practically vanishes in areas such as the animal rights movement and the advocacy of veganism or vegetarianism. Make no mistake about it. Today in our society within the environmental arena there are two radically different religious world-views contending against each other for the control of men’s minds.

According to an article from the Chico Enterprise-Record, July 31, 1993, by Dave Workman of the Grace Community Church, in one corner you have Christian Monotheism, the belief in one personal God Who as the Creator has given man the stewardship of earth; in the other corner you have Eastern World Pantheism which views Nature as a divine entity with rights equal or superior to man.

As this pantheistic eco-religion labors to remake man in earth’s image we can already see it flex its religious muscles in several normal ways: in its establishment of new holy days (e.g. Earth Day); in its demand for new ritual performances (e.g. recycling, carpooling); in its identification of new religious taboos (e.g. fur coats, aerosol sprays, fossil fuels); and in its writing of new moral laws (human dominion over nature, once a religious mandate, now becomes a religious crime).

What should be our response? While we should be appreciative of the reminder this movement has given us to be better stewards in safeguarding our world against human greed, we should also be aware of the need to safeguard our own minds against replacing our Father God with their Mother Nature and thus “exchange the truth of God for a lie, and worship and serve created things rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever” (Romans 1:25).

As G.K. Chesterton once pointed out, “When a man ceases to believe in God, he does not believe in nothing, he believes in anything."