Advent-What The Heck Is That?

Before I became Catholic I am uncertain if I had even heard of Advent. Yes, I knew of the other winter celebrations such as Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Ramadan and of course, I celebrated Christmas. I was even aware that some pagans consider the Winter Solstice a holiday. But Advent? I suppose that I could blame my ignorance on being brought up in North Carolina which is predominately Protestant, mainly Baptist. What ever my reason, I had no idea when I became Catholic what Advent was.

I am going to guess that I wasn't the only Non-Catholic who had never heard of Advent.

So, what is Advent?Advent is the beginning of the Church year. It is a period of four weeks in which Catholics contemplate the coming of our Saviour's birth. Our secular society has turned Christmas into a gross commercialized spectacle. But Advent helps focus us back onto the true meaning of December 25th, the coming of the light into the world.

For me, this period of reflection is helpful and comforting.

I try to put off Christmas decorations and baking until the first week of Advent. This helps me to tie the religious meaning into the holiday.

Advent starts this Sunday and I will try and post something each week about how my family ties this into our everyday life. Remember though, I am a convert, so some of this is still new to me. LOL

Why Do Catholics Keep Jesus On The Cross?

Twice, I've had close friends inform me that Catholics do not believe that Jesus rose again from the dead. Despite my assurances that we do indeed believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, my friends were certain that I was wrong. Where they got such incorrect information I do not know.

So for the record, yes, Catholics believe Jesus rose from the dead. I promise you, I wouldn't get up early on Sunday morning to attend mass if I didn't believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead! I'm far to lazy to attend a weekly memorial for a nice human(which is all Jesus would be if he hadn't risen from the dead)

More often I get asked by non Catholic Christians, "Why do you, Catholics, keep Jesus up on the cross?" The perception, among some Protestants is that we Catholics spend too much time thinking about Jesus' death and not enough time contemplating his resurrection. If this is true then Catholics are in good company.

In 1st Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 23. Paul says, "...but we preach Christ crucified..." But Jesus is risen, what is Paul speaking about? Doesn't he know that we shouldn't be concentrating on Jesus's death? Again in Cor 2:2 Paul writes, "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."

Some have expressed distaste at the thought of depicting Jesus at his most vulnerable. Guess what? This should make you uncomfortable. Every lash that he took, every blow that drove the nail into his hands was caused by you and me. Our sins hung Jesus on that cross. The crucifix is the ultimate expression of the lengths that a loving God will go to reach us. For me, gazing at a crucifix is a humbling experience.

There are some Protestants who take offense at the crucifix because they view it as idolatry. In order for a crucifix to be an idol then Catholics would have to honestly believe that Jesus Was the crucifix. We don't. The crucifix is merely a representation of his death and suffering. Catholics don't view the crucifix as Jesus himself. Ironically those who get upset over the crucifix being an idol don't worry about carrying pictures of their loved ones. Photos are representations just like the crucifix. If the crucifix bothers you then to be honest you should empty your wallet and albums of all photos.

Just for the record, I take no offense at the bare cross itself. I understand that it as a symbol of Christian faith and I own a couple of bare crosses myself. I personally, though, think that the bare cross is a very empty symbol for Christ's resurrection. After all, Jesus came down dead from the cross. So, if one got nit picky, then the empty cross would actually symbolize defeat. Jesus rose from the tomb, not the cross. In order to represent his victory over death(which is what some Protestants claim the empty cross does) one would have to wear a little copy of the tomb or a tiny rock.

All Christians, both non Catholic and Catholic, exist in a world that is not always friendly to our faith. Instead of tearing apart one another's symbols maybe we should just be happy to meet a fellow believer.

Missing Baby-Sad Outcome

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1951731/

According to the local news the mother confessed to storing her deceased infant in the attic of her house. What a horrible outcome, especially when you consider that she reported the baby missing the day that the child's father returned from the Middle East!

The 25-year old mother finally confessed that she found her baby dead one morning and became frightened. Neighbors reported smelling something rancid for several weeks but couldn't find the source.

This is a small community so gossip does get around. My son works with some people who live close to the deceased infant's house. They told him(again this is second hand) that the grandmother had been sick several weeks and had stopped visiting the house. Apparently up to that point the grandmother had been assisting in the care of the children. According to my son's co employees, the grandmother took and passed a lie detector test, so it appears that only the mother carried out this crime.

What a sad outcome for this little baby, our community and everyone who loved this child.

The Eucharist

WARNING: UNASHAMEDLY CATHOLIC VIEW OF SCRIPTURES .

Have you ever read either the bible or a book written by a Christian author and had one of those ah-ha moments? Well, this certainly happened to me this afternoon. In fact, I sat straight up in the bed that I was reclining with my youngest daughter and hubby as they were watching football and shouted, "Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!" Now they are both pretty used to me being a bit crazy but this struck even them as strange. My husband asked what was wrong. I informed him that nothing was wrong, but a bible verse had just been made clear to me.

I was reading David Currie's book, Born Again, Born Fundamentalist. David Curie, like me, is a convert from Protestantism. Unlike me, he is much better educated, having received a degree from Trinity International University and studied in the Masters of Divinity Program at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

From the very beginning of the book he is respectful of Protestants, a point that wins him accolades from me. Curie writes of his fundamentalist parents: I had no doubts that my parents were following the truth of God in the best way they knew. They taught me that commitment to the truth is always worth the effort, regardless of the sacrifice. Later he writes about the Theologians that were often invited to eat dinner at his childhood home: I found these men to be Christians of the highest character, intense and earnest in the commitment to God. Curie is not embittered by his fundamentalist background or education.

So what had he written that gave me such a jolt? Well, it started with his quoting John 6:26-59 To save room in this post, I will put the exact biblical quote in the next post but you can certainly look it up yourselves. Remember as you read that many of Jesus' students(Not the original 12 disciples) left him over this teaching.

This is what Curie writes about the passage:Let's review the passage. First, Jesus defines what we must do for God: we must believe in Jesus. The Jews then ask for a sign from Jesus to prove he is worthy of belief. Jesus responds by claiming that he is 'the bread of life'. This is an analogy just like "I am the door' or "I am the vine." It could be understood in a multitude of ways, unless Jesus goes on to explain his analogy. He does exactly that: "This bread is my flesh, which I give for the life of the world." Jesus says the bread of life is his flesh. Lest we not understand whether he means flesh in the real, physical, touchable way, he tells us next that it is the same flesh that will be given up on the Cross! He goes on to say that this flesh must be eaten by his followers.This analogy has been clearly explained. There is no doubt about its meaning.If the flesh that we eat for eternal life is meant in only a 'figurative way' or 'spiritually speaking' then so is the flesh of the crucifixion! Jesus equates the two. Either they are both literal, or they are both figurative.


I'll put the biblical passage up in a separate post, Monday. I have to get ready to go to Mass tonight and tomorrow is Sunday. But here is the one verse that you should pay special attention to:John 6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.

My own view is that in order to make this whole passage figurative, one must ignore the verse in red, in which case you are doubting that Jesus is predicting his death!