In the venacular, the dail liturgy at the Dominican House in Krakow is one of the most beautiful Reform of the Reform liturgies I have ever been to. The Celebrant chants his prayers, and a schola answers them in Polish but using melodies derived straight from the Latin tradition. The Mass parts are sung in Latin, using a ussual setting. True there is a little flare of Eastern Catholic tradition that slips in here and there, but this is fitting for Polish Catholicism, located at the center of Europe and at the Latin Churches borders with the East. All in all it is a beautiful liturgy.
What Recompense can I give to the Lord?
Ordination to the Diaconate
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Chalice
While in Poland I picked up my chalice. It is a gift from my mom and dad to me on the occasion of my First Mass, which God willing, we be celebrated June 29th 2008. The Chalice is Silver, plated in Gold. Around the cup are the words of the famous 116th Psalm written into an enamel band. The base of the Chalice has an intricate series of filigree work with blue stones set into it.
There are a whole series of photos of this on Flickr.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Back from Vacation
I have been delayed in posting this since I came down with a bad stomach bug that is going around Rome:
I just got back from a nice two week vacation in Germany and Poland. It wasn't all fun and games; I spent a good portion visiting my family and friends, including my sick Aunt, Veshia, for whom I ask prayers. Since I was traveling alone though I had a lot of time for rest and prayer and to think, and so I have a few thoughts that came to my mind over the past weeks that I want to share.
However, before I do that I want to announce that the Pontifical North American College has recommended that Bishop Coleman call me to Holy Orders!! Its almost surreal!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Das ist Berlin
The first few days of my trip were spent in Berlin. Berlin is a great city; it is very spread out, not too congested. Much to my liking there are lots of parks and green spaces throughout the city. This is possible because Berlin only really became a city 200 years ago with the rise of Prussian power in the Holy Roman Empire. After the fall of the Hapsburgs as Emperors of Germany, Germany reorganized itself under Prussian princes, creating the German Empire under Wilhelm I. It’s a quite interesting story which I didn't know much about. Anyway, Berlin is really a conglomerate of two dozen towns that where pieced together to form a city. Even today there are twenty or so town halls (or Rathauses) in Berlin. The effect is a quaint feeling of being in a very large town, rather than a city. A town with one of the best public transport systems I have seen! The various neighborhoods all have there own town hall, but also shops, churches and character. In the midst of these town centers a capital city was built, which like Washington DC, is obviously a city that was created to be a political capital, thus it is dominated by many government buildings and palaces.
Sadly, not happy with a good thing, Berlin seems quite pretentious, wanting badly to be what it is not: a cultural center of Europe akin to Vienna, Paris or Rome. Since the fall of the wall the German Republic and the city of Berlin have spent billions to make Berlin a metropolis. In fact, I understand that the city is almost bankrupt because of government efforts to build up the city. Sadly this is a bad time in history to build a cultural capital, if that is possible at all. It seems to me that culture is a living thing and grows where the hearts of people provide rich soil. Sadly our day and age is a time of banal low culture, and so Berlins attempt to make itself what it is not results in many post-modern glass and steel cathedrals of materialism, as well as many museums, but not much else. One sad note is the large number of Churches that have been converted into art galleries and concert halls. Of course the Prussian rulers of Berlin were protestant and so according to the grotesque dictum cius regnum eius religio many ancient Catholic Churches today stand in protestant hands.
One thing that Berlin has a lot of is museums. History being a longtime interest of mine, I visited the key historical sites and the Museum of German History, while in Berlin. I was saddened though by what I perceived to be a state of denial about the reality of the Second World War. This view was confirmed by my cousin, who lives in Berlin and is a professor of History. Much of the material I read at the various exhibits about the rise of Nazism seems an apologia pro vitae nostrae. I was quite concerned that the focus of every exhibit, without exception, seemed to be on how Germans were victims of the Nazis. This of course is certainly true, once in power the average German had to live in a climate of ever increasing oppression, constant war, food shortages, horrible bombings, and finally urban warfare and occupation. However, the fact of the matter is that Germany was a democracy before 1930, and the Nazis came to power through popular support and a general acceptance of ideological warfare--that in truth covered the entire political spectrum. Before Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, communists and Socialists on the far left, contended with Nazis in the center and Conservatives on the Right, and these power struggles were often violent. Germans tolerated this climate, and were willing to do anything to relieve there economic suffering. This is a reality that profoundly interests me and should interest the free world, least we be doomed to repeat this lesson of history. Yet in Berlin, the center of Hitler’s Germany the pain of the cold war and the Berlin wall, the pain of the occupation, any years of air raids, the pain of the destruction of Berlin, seems to overshadow the reality of the Nazism that took root there. Halters bunker, sits in ruins, with the German's unwilling to open it to the public, the ruins of the Gestapo HQ, form an outdoor historical exhibit called the Topography of Terror, but a permanent museum on this location, as well as the extant exhibit itself, are highly controversial. In the newly restore Reichstag one plaque proudly proclaims: Hitler never set foot in the Reichstag as chancellor, and another notes that the farce parliaments of the Nazi government never ruled from the Reichstag. While the Reichstag may have been burned by arsonists before Nazi ascendancy the fact of the matter is that the very act of arson that preserved the Reichstag’s "purity" from Nazi governments is highly symbolic of the political climate that Germans allowed to exist before the Nazi takeover. In a democracy, or democratic republic, it is easy to fall into an us versus them mindset, but if this happens we are just steps away from violence. Aristotle noted that Democracy was the least desirable form of government because it most quickly and covertly descends into mob rule. At the same time he concedes that most often its perversion is the mildest form of perverse government. This is born out by the fact that although Germans democratically turned to Nazism, its worst offenses occurred when all pretense of Democracy was cast aside. Democracy, in one of its several forms, for better or for worse is the predominant form of government in the Western world at the moment, and so it is very important to note how easily democracy changed to mob rule, which transformed into dictatorship. As free citizens of democratic states we are not just responsible for our own candidate, but for the level of divisiveness we tolerate. As citizens we are responsible for the common good and not just for our own agenda--and responsible for the defense of the rights of others possibly even before the assertion of our own rights. On this account, I think the American candidate for the presidency; Sen. Barrack Obama has it right. The level of divisiveness if Washington, and around the world, must change. Berlin seems an ideal place for a reflection on these themes, sadly honest reflection seems quite lacking.
Sadly, not happy with a good thing, Berlin seems quite pretentious, wanting badly to be what it is not: a cultural center of Europe akin to Vienna, Paris or Rome. Since the fall of the wall the German Republic and the city of Berlin have spent billions to make Berlin a metropolis. In fact, I understand that the city is almost bankrupt because of government efforts to build up the city. Sadly this is a bad time in history to build a cultural capital, if that is possible at all. It seems to me that culture is a living thing and grows where the hearts of people provide rich soil. Sadly our day and age is a time of banal low culture, and so Berlins attempt to make itself what it is not results in many post-modern glass and steel cathedrals of materialism, as well as many museums, but not much else. One sad note is the large number of Churches that have been converted into art galleries and concert halls. Of course the Prussian rulers of Berlin were protestant and so according to the grotesque dictum cius regnum eius religio many ancient Catholic Churches today stand in protestant hands.
One thing that Berlin has a lot of is museums. History being a longtime interest of mine, I visited the key historical sites and the Museum of German History, while in Berlin. I was saddened though by what I perceived to be a state of denial about the reality of the Second World War. This view was confirmed by my cousin, who lives in Berlin and is a professor of History. Much of the material I read at the various exhibits about the rise of Nazism seems an apologia pro vitae nostrae. I was quite concerned that the focus of every exhibit, without exception, seemed to be on how Germans were victims of the Nazis. This of course is certainly true, once in power the average German had to live in a climate of ever increasing oppression, constant war, food shortages, horrible bombings, and finally urban warfare and occupation. However, the fact of the matter is that Germany was a democracy before 1930, and the Nazis came to power through popular support and a general acceptance of ideological warfare--that in truth covered the entire political spectrum. Before Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, communists and Socialists on the far left, contended with Nazis in the center and Conservatives on the Right, and these power struggles were often violent. Germans tolerated this climate, and were willing to do anything to relieve there economic suffering. This is a reality that profoundly interests me and should interest the free world, least we be doomed to repeat this lesson of history. Yet in Berlin, the center of Hitler’s Germany the pain of the cold war and the Berlin wall, the pain of the occupation, any years of air raids, the pain of the destruction of Berlin, seems to overshadow the reality of the Nazism that took root there. Halters bunker, sits in ruins, with the German's unwilling to open it to the public, the ruins of the Gestapo HQ, form an outdoor historical exhibit called the Topography of Terror, but a permanent museum on this location, as well as the extant exhibit itself, are highly controversial. In the newly restore Reichstag one plaque proudly proclaims: Hitler never set foot in the Reichstag as chancellor, and another notes that the farce parliaments of the Nazi government never ruled from the Reichstag. While the Reichstag may have been burned by arsonists before Nazi ascendancy the fact of the matter is that the very act of arson that preserved the Reichstag’s "purity" from Nazi governments is highly symbolic of the political climate that Germans allowed to exist before the Nazi takeover. In a democracy, or democratic republic, it is easy to fall into an us versus them mindset, but if this happens we are just steps away from violence. Aristotle noted that Democracy was the least desirable form of government because it most quickly and covertly descends into mob rule. At the same time he concedes that most often its perversion is the mildest form of perverse government. This is born out by the fact that although Germans democratically turned to Nazism, its worst offenses occurred when all pretense of Democracy was cast aside. Democracy, in one of its several forms, for better or for worse is the predominant form of government in the Western world at the moment, and so it is very important to note how easily democracy changed to mob rule, which transformed into dictatorship. As free citizens of democratic states we are not just responsible for our own candidate, but for the level of divisiveness we tolerate. As citizens we are responsible for the common good and not just for our own agenda--and responsible for the defense of the rights of others possibly even before the assertion of our own rights. On this account, I think the American candidate for the presidency; Sen. Barrack Obama has it right. The level of divisiveness if Washington, and around the world, must change. Berlin seems an ideal place for a reflection on these themes, sadly honest reflection seems quite lacking.
Poland and the Faith
Next on my trip was Poland a land which I have visited so many times before. I truly love Poland, and in the words of GK Chesterton this means that I hate its evils all the more. Poland has transformed itself over the past 14 years since I first visited in 1993. Although street side Bazaars still abound, new shopping malls are beginning to compete with them, and with the Church for the hearts and minds of Poles. Materialism of Western proportions is quickly infecting Poles who are quickly gaining on Western Europeans in terms of wages and standards of living. One evidence of this is the fact that in the last few months alone the PLN Zloty has been constantly gaining not just against the weak dollar but also against the relatively strong Euro.
During my trip I was reading Joseph Piepers book on Faith, Hope, and Love--and the section on faith gave me a profound insight into the reality of the faith in Poland. True, the Church is still strong in Poland, but as Pieper suggest, this does not necessarily mean that the faith is strong. The Church in Poland is a cultural phenomenon. It is closely associated with Polish culture, that is Polishness, national identity, is highly linked to Catholicism. The Polish are quite proud of the fact that while the Church is in decline elsewhere it is still strong in Poland. This is clearly true--on the first Friday of Lent I attended a Lenten recollection, penance service, and Mass. I was astounded, it was a Friday morning at 9am, during winter break for Polish students, and the Church was packed with young people, mostly teenagers (13-19). The service lasted three hours, which I found out from my cousin afterwards was unexpected by most of the young people, but few if any of the young left the Church in frustration with the length of the service. This being said however, while all the young people new how to act in Church--I was touched by the profound silence at the Consecration--during most of the service, and Mass the young chatted quietly to themselves. And during the penance service many did not avail themselves of the sacrament, and latter chose not to receive communion. It seems to me that many Poles assent to the Faith, because culturally, politically, and socially they agree with what the Church is in secular terms; however I worry that too few accept the faith by means of the virtue of faith and the act of faith. Do most poles understand the Church to be Christ's mystical body and the only sure way to eternal salvation? Nominally surely so, but in re I am not quite so sure. It seems to me that the Polish church (institutional) rests too securely on its lauds and cultural ties to Poland--as we in Western Europe see quite clearly, in the face of materialism and tolerance such cultural ties will not long support the faith. Polish priests and bishops have a unique opportunity at this moment, to re-evangelize the culture while the Church is still strong and people’s hearts are still open to it. Sadly I am not sure they realize the opportunity they have. Speaking with some seminarian friends they note that many people think of the Church as a laudable institution, much like the fire department, however laudable institutions are not the foundations of community life, they are note schools of love, and hope, and faith. Rather they are just tools, which like the postal service can be displaced by new technologies and institutions. Polish people often do not come to priests with problems and polish parishes are often only cultic sites and not centers of community life--if this is the case, as many of my experiences in Poland suggest, the without the clear enemy the Poles had in Communism, the usefulness of the institutional Church one day in the future may be judged to be at an end. However, while the Church may not always be politically useful--it is always and everywhere the ordinary means of salvation, offered by Christ, to the whole world now and until the end of the world. And more than this triumphalistic view, it is a community of love where humans can maximize their human potential for love--and thus become truely happy. Unless the Church is promoted in this light, I fear for its future.
During my trip I was reading Joseph Piepers book on Faith, Hope, and Love--and the section on faith gave me a profound insight into the reality of the faith in Poland. True, the Church is still strong in Poland, but as Pieper suggest, this does not necessarily mean that the faith is strong. The Church in Poland is a cultural phenomenon. It is closely associated with Polish culture, that is Polishness, national identity, is highly linked to Catholicism. The Polish are quite proud of the fact that while the Church is in decline elsewhere it is still strong in Poland. This is clearly true--on the first Friday of Lent I attended a Lenten recollection, penance service, and Mass. I was astounded, it was a Friday morning at 9am, during winter break for Polish students, and the Church was packed with young people, mostly teenagers (13-19). The service lasted three hours, which I found out from my cousin afterwards was unexpected by most of the young people, but few if any of the young left the Church in frustration with the length of the service. This being said however, while all the young people new how to act in Church--I was touched by the profound silence at the Consecration--during most of the service, and Mass the young chatted quietly to themselves. And during the penance service many did not avail themselves of the sacrament, and latter chose not to receive communion. It seems to me that many Poles assent to the Faith, because culturally, politically, and socially they agree with what the Church is in secular terms; however I worry that too few accept the faith by means of the virtue of faith and the act of faith. Do most poles understand the Church to be Christ's mystical body and the only sure way to eternal salvation? Nominally surely so, but in re I am not quite so sure. It seems to me that the Polish church (institutional) rests too securely on its lauds and cultural ties to Poland--as we in Western Europe see quite clearly, in the face of materialism and tolerance such cultural ties will not long support the faith. Polish priests and bishops have a unique opportunity at this moment, to re-evangelize the culture while the Church is still strong and people’s hearts are still open to it. Sadly I am not sure they realize the opportunity they have. Speaking with some seminarian friends they note that many people think of the Church as a laudable institution, much like the fire department, however laudable institutions are not the foundations of community life, they are note schools of love, and hope, and faith. Rather they are just tools, which like the postal service can be displaced by new technologies and institutions. Polish people often do not come to priests with problems and polish parishes are often only cultic sites and not centers of community life--if this is the case, as many of my experiences in Poland suggest, the without the clear enemy the Poles had in Communism, the usefulness of the institutional Church one day in the future may be judged to be at an end. However, while the Church may not always be politically useful--it is always and everywhere the ordinary means of salvation, offered by Christ, to the whole world now and until the end of the world. And more than this triumphalistic view, it is a community of love where humans can maximize their human potential for love--and thus become truely happy. Unless the Church is promoted in this light, I fear for its future.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
FISHERS OF MEN
Homily to the Catholic Community at the US Navy Base, NSA Naples
On the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time
By: Rev. Deacon Ronnie P. Floyd
On Friday the Church Celebrated the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. St. Paul, a man who persecuted the Church Who participated in the murder of St. Steven, and who was on his way to Damasacus to have Christians thrown in jail. On the very day that he meets Jesus on the way… and that moment encounter changes his life.
As we read in Friday’s Gospel, the mission of the Apostles: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature,” becomes Paul’s vocation, despite who he was, just days earlier.
Today, we hear a similar message in the Gospel, this time to Peter and Andrew. Jesus says to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” As Christians we are all called to go out and fish To be a fisher of men,
The Apostles knew a little bit about fishing, as did Jesus,
So this image that Jesus suggests—is not simply a metaphor but a profound analogy of the reality of the Christian life and witness.
Think about where fish live, deep below the surface of the water, far from the light and warmth of the sun. Fish live deep below the water: because they feel secure in the dark, because they are afraid of what exists above the water, because they think they need the water to survive. And the fish are right, they may take a peak above water but if they leave the water they will die. Without Christ, we are the same way. We might occasionally glance at the light, like a fish jumping momentarily above the water but we quickly retreat into the darkness of the world, afraid to enter this new world fully Afraid to die…
I am the Light of the World, says the Lord. The Light and the sun, are of course symbols of warmth, life, goodness ultimately they are symbols of God, and of Jesus Christ.
As Christians, we have been pulled from the waters. If you remember my homily from a few weeks ago: at our baptism we went down into the waters and died with Christ, so that we could be pulled from the waters, a new creation, born to new life—children of the Light
Our response therefore must be to try to save as many:
who remain in the darkness of the world.
Who remain in the land of death and destruction.
We who have receive the gift of God’s Light and allowed it to enlighten our minds and hearts are asked by our God to share that light and joy with those around us.
This doesn’t mean going door to door, bible in hand. No—the early Christians didn’t knock on doors or pound people over the head with the Gospel rather, they made a point of living it. By doing this they made the example of their very life. The bait that others would cautiously approach. And be so attracted too, that they would sample it and once they had nibbled on the bait, they would swallow it whole, hook, line, and sinker
Just as a fish can’t imaging life above water, in the Light, so people, in the darkness of this world, can’t imagine the joy of the Christian life. They can’t stomach the whole thing yet and so we offer them what they can understand: the sweetness of our happiness, peace, and contentment as bait, to catch them, and to draw them, through the painful process of death to self, into the new life—offered by Christ, at his death!
Jesus tells us: He who would save his life, must loose it. Fish pulled from the water, die! BUT SO DID CHRIST! He died in order that he might rise to new life. As Christians we are all called to be fishers of men, but we can’t do this until we embrace the death to self, which we began when we were pulled from the waters of baptism, until our lives become sweet bait for those around us.
-----------
Though we all are called to be fishers of men, today, Jesus calls Peter and Andrew, Paul, and the other Apostles, in a special way.
The vocation to be an Apostle—to be a priest is not a rank, that allows you to wear vestments sit in the place of honor, and preside at the liturgy. It is a vocation that gives you a new identity. An identity that is intimately tied to the identity of Jesus. The priest is called to be the Fisherman par excellence. Like the crusty captain of a charter fishing boat, he is called to steer the ship of the church to good waters, where the fish are plentiful, and to teach and help the other fisherman: to bait their rods with the best bait available; to be disciplined and attentive to the lines; to be aware of and to help each other —to fish well—and so bring in a big catch.
The priest is called to be a Minister of Joy, in the words of Pope Benedict.
Joy, that’s our bait! and that is the Priestly vocation.
And it’s the best bait we could ask for: because everybody wants it!
It doesn’t matter who we were yesterday, if you yourself were a fish, living in darkness: a murder like St. Paul or a coward and liar like St. Peter in the water and blood that flows from Jesus on the Cross
TODAY… Jesus wants to fill our hearts with Joy and Peace and to make us fishermen, after his own heart.
Let’s recommit ourselves today to becoming good fishermen and to praying for and supporting young men, as they consider how God is calling them to fish. Because the world needs more fishermen, more joyful Catholics and more joyful priests
If we had them, can you imagine how many fish we would have in our boat, the Church? The nets would be bursting!
GO OUT AND FISH…
On the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time
By: Rev. Deacon Ronnie P. Floyd
On Friday the Church Celebrated the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. St. Paul, a man who persecuted the Church Who participated in the murder of St. Steven, and who was on his way to Damasacus to have Christians thrown in jail. On the very day that he meets Jesus on the way… and that moment encounter changes his life.
As we read in Friday’s Gospel, the mission of the Apostles: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature,” becomes Paul’s vocation, despite who he was, just days earlier.
Today, we hear a similar message in the Gospel, this time to Peter and Andrew. Jesus says to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” As Christians we are all called to go out and fish To be a fisher of men,
The Apostles knew a little bit about fishing, as did Jesus,
So this image that Jesus suggests—is not simply a metaphor but a profound analogy of the reality of the Christian life and witness.
Think about where fish live, deep below the surface of the water, far from the light and warmth of the sun. Fish live deep below the water: because they feel secure in the dark, because they are afraid of what exists above the water, because they think they need the water to survive. And the fish are right, they may take a peak above water but if they leave the water they will die. Without Christ, we are the same way. We might occasionally glance at the light, like a fish jumping momentarily above the water but we quickly retreat into the darkness of the world, afraid to enter this new world fully Afraid to die…
I am the Light of the World, says the Lord. The Light and the sun, are of course symbols of warmth, life, goodness ultimately they are symbols of God, and of Jesus Christ.
As Christians, we have been pulled from the waters. If you remember my homily from a few weeks ago: at our baptism we went down into the waters and died with Christ, so that we could be pulled from the waters, a new creation, born to new life—children of the Light
Our response therefore must be to try to save as many:
who remain in the darkness of the world.
Who remain in the land of death and destruction.
We who have receive the gift of God’s Light and allowed it to enlighten our minds and hearts are asked by our God to share that light and joy with those around us.
This doesn’t mean going door to door, bible in hand. No—the early Christians didn’t knock on doors or pound people over the head with the Gospel rather, they made a point of living it. By doing this they made the example of their very life. The bait that others would cautiously approach. And be so attracted too, that they would sample it and once they had nibbled on the bait, they would swallow it whole, hook, line, and sinker
Just as a fish can’t imaging life above water, in the Light, so people, in the darkness of this world, can’t imagine the joy of the Christian life. They can’t stomach the whole thing yet and so we offer them what they can understand: the sweetness of our happiness, peace, and contentment as bait, to catch them, and to draw them, through the painful process of death to self, into the new life—offered by Christ, at his death!
Jesus tells us: He who would save his life, must loose it. Fish pulled from the water, die! BUT SO DID CHRIST! He died in order that he might rise to new life. As Christians we are all called to be fishers of men, but we can’t do this until we embrace the death to self, which we began when we were pulled from the waters of baptism, until our lives become sweet bait for those around us.
-----------
Though we all are called to be fishers of men, today, Jesus calls Peter and Andrew, Paul, and the other Apostles, in a special way.
The vocation to be an Apostle—to be a priest is not a rank, that allows you to wear vestments sit in the place of honor, and preside at the liturgy. It is a vocation that gives you a new identity. An identity that is intimately tied to the identity of Jesus. The priest is called to be the Fisherman par excellence. Like the crusty captain of a charter fishing boat, he is called to steer the ship of the church to good waters, where the fish are plentiful, and to teach and help the other fisherman: to bait their rods with the best bait available; to be disciplined and attentive to the lines; to be aware of and to help each other —to fish well—and so bring in a big catch.
The priest is called to be a Minister of Joy, in the words of Pope Benedict.
Joy, that’s our bait! and that is the Priestly vocation.
And it’s the best bait we could ask for: because everybody wants it!
It doesn’t matter who we were yesterday, if you yourself were a fish, living in darkness: a murder like St. Paul or a coward and liar like St. Peter in the water and blood that flows from Jesus on the Cross
TODAY… Jesus wants to fill our hearts with Joy and Peace and to make us fishermen, after his own heart.
Let’s recommit ourselves today to becoming good fishermen and to praying for and supporting young men, as they consider how God is calling them to fish. Because the world needs more fishermen, more joyful Catholics and more joyful priests
If we had them, can you imagine how many fish we would have in our boat, the Church? The nets would be bursting!
GO OUT AND FISH…
Friday, January 25, 2008
Call to conversion
Given to the Sisters of the Domus S. Maria del Guadalupe
On the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul
By: Rev. Deacon Ronnie P. Floyd
A professor of mine at Mt. St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg
tells the story of the conversion of Scott Hahn.
After many years of honestly searching for a greater understanding of the Truth as a protestant minister
Scott Hahn discovered the Catholic faith,
and with it the Mass;
and as he recounts in his book the Supper of the Lamb
being an honest intellectual,
and what’s more an authentic human being,
Hahn knew he had to respond to the truth
that he had found in the Catholic Faith.
But being a conservative protestant
And what’s more a protestant minister
This was easier said than done.
Hahn had many relationships and friendships
tied to his identity as a protestant and his role as a pastor
that would change overnight, if he became a Catholic
a Papist, not the least of which was his marriage.
But he knew what he had to do
and so he began to seek instruction,
and he spoke to his wife Kimberly about his discernment.
Kimberly, being a good protestant woman
did what any protestant woman would do in that situation.
She went to speak to a minister,
in this case not her husband but a family friend.
This Pastor told Kimberly that her husbands actions
Provided the moral grounds for a DIVORCE,
And he encouraged this course of action!!
In the end, Kimberly’s love for her husband
Kept her by his side, and eventually ushered her into the Church and with her many others, including the neighboring pastor who is now a professor of Biblical Theology at the Mount and who humbly told me this story.
Hahn’s conversion, like St. Paul’s was not a real conversion. Paul didn’t leave one faith and join another
Rather, it was a fulfillment, a culmination of what was already believed.
Paul, like Hahn, was a lover of the True God, the God of Truth and Love— and both were zealous for the Lord. And so their conversion, was rather an arriving at, and discovery of, a fuller truth.
Each one of us, as Catholic’s have a duty to be zealous for the Lord, in this way.
To passionately long for the Truth; so much so, that we are willing to humbly admit we are wrong, and to radically change our lives—when we are knocked off our horse by the Truth;
I am a Catholic,… as a priest you hear this used a defense of bad behavior so often.
I am a Catholic... so what? Paul was a Jew, a member of the chosen people. Salvation is not found in wearing a name, but in living in the Holy Name.
To Jew and gentile alike, Jesus says, repent and believe in the Gospel. A message which he repeats to us each day!
In Acts we read that Paul went to persecute not Christians, but the followers of the way. This early name of the Christian faith reminds us that our Catholic faith is never a rest stop a place where we come to find refreshment, rather it is a highway to truth, that requires constant forward motion constant effort, to follow the Way, which is Christ
We are pilgrims on this earth, ever seeking to become more like our Savior and God.
When we do this, we encourage others to do it, and by the grace of the bonds of friendship and love, which unite us with others,
We help lead others to the Truth, who might not be able to find it on their own. Or should I say who might not be able to find Him.
Today on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul lets demand greater authenticity, which is to say greater holiness, from ourselves, ingoring the cost of this authenticity, as we approach the symbol of true Love, the Cross of Jesus Christ
and the life changing Sacrament of the Altar.
Today we celebrate the Feast of Paul’s Conversion, but as Catholics, each and every day of our life SHOULD be the feast of OUR conversion.
On the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul
By: Rev. Deacon Ronnie P. Floyd
A professor of mine at Mt. St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg
tells the story of the conversion of Scott Hahn.
After many years of honestly searching for a greater understanding of the Truth as a protestant minister
Scott Hahn discovered the Catholic faith,
and with it the Mass;
and as he recounts in his book the Supper of the Lamb
being an honest intellectual,
and what’s more an authentic human being,
Hahn knew he had to respond to the truth
that he had found in the Catholic Faith.
But being a conservative protestant
And what’s more a protestant minister
This was easier said than done.
Hahn had many relationships and friendships
tied to his identity as a protestant and his role as a pastor
that would change overnight, if he became a Catholic
a Papist, not the least of which was his marriage.
But he knew what he had to do
and so he began to seek instruction,
and he spoke to his wife Kimberly about his discernment.
Kimberly, being a good protestant woman
did what any protestant woman would do in that situation.
She went to speak to a minister,
in this case not her husband but a family friend.
This Pastor told Kimberly that her husbands actions
Provided the moral grounds for a DIVORCE,
And he encouraged this course of action!!
In the end, Kimberly’s love for her husband
Kept her by his side, and eventually ushered her into the Church and with her many others, including the neighboring pastor who is now a professor of Biblical Theology at the Mount and who humbly told me this story.
Hahn’s conversion, like St. Paul’s was not a real conversion. Paul didn’t leave one faith and join another
Rather, it was a fulfillment, a culmination of what was already believed.
Paul, like Hahn, was a lover of the True God, the God of Truth and Love— and both were zealous for the Lord. And so their conversion, was rather an arriving at, and discovery of, a fuller truth.
Each one of us, as Catholic’s have a duty to be zealous for the Lord, in this way.
To passionately long for the Truth; so much so, that we are willing to humbly admit we are wrong, and to radically change our lives—when we are knocked off our horse by the Truth;
I am a Catholic,… as a priest you hear this used a defense of bad behavior so often.
I am a Catholic... so what? Paul was a Jew, a member of the chosen people. Salvation is not found in wearing a name, but in living in the Holy Name.
To Jew and gentile alike, Jesus says, repent and believe in the Gospel. A message which he repeats to us each day!
In Acts we read that Paul went to persecute not Christians, but the followers of the way. This early name of the Christian faith reminds us that our Catholic faith is never a rest stop a place where we come to find refreshment, rather it is a highway to truth, that requires constant forward motion constant effort, to follow the Way, which is Christ
We are pilgrims on this earth, ever seeking to become more like our Savior and God.
When we do this, we encourage others to do it, and by the grace of the bonds of friendship and love, which unite us with others,
We help lead others to the Truth, who might not be able to find it on their own. Or should I say who might not be able to find Him.
Today on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul lets demand greater authenticity, which is to say greater holiness, from ourselves, ingoring the cost of this authenticity, as we approach the symbol of true Love, the Cross of Jesus Christ
and the life changing Sacrament of the Altar.
Today we celebrate the Feast of Paul’s Conversion, but as Catholics, each and every day of our life SHOULD be the feast of OUR conversion.
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