To Rebuild The Kingdom Of God

The world was stunned this past week as it watched Notre Dame Cathedral burn. The Cathedral is of great religious, historical and national significance, and the world watched as the fire gutted the inside and brought down its distinguished spire.

A huge sum of money had already been collected even before the church finished burning in order to rebuild the relic. And I know that it will be rebuilt. Following from this, one item that is popular in the news and social media is the question (or frustration): We shouldn’t spend money to rebuild Notre Dame while there are poor and needy who need to be fed, Christ didn’t care about big churches, He cared about the poor. 

This is a common error in the 21st century, and a general criticism which Atheists and “Catholics” alike have for the Catholic Church. Atheists justify their anti-religious position making out a Church who does not practice what it preaches; a bunch of religious hypocrites. While the liberal, left-leaning, Catholic backwash from the 70’s does not really have anything to justify. They just hate and fear anything that is beautiful or remotely reminiscent of the “Old Rite”.

Let us make one clarification before we begin. The fact of the matter is, when effort is made to glorify God with the work of our hands, we are not simply trying to offer a burnt sacrifice to expiate our sins like Moses did. We create art not for God, but for ourselves. We are trying to know God, love God and serve God by using the ingenuity and talents He gave us. What is more noble than this?

Case #1 We build beautiful churches to remember God.

Since the New Covenant, mankind is close to God. We are married to God. As Christians, we aren’t reaching for something beyond our grasp, an almost faint memory. We are living and breathing a relationship with God.

In the Old Law there was a certain distance. God was our Creator and the One who promised us Salvation by nuptually binding Himself to us in a marriage feast which will happen someday. 

But now it has happened, and we know firsthand the depth of God’s Love for us. We know the savagery with which He was murdered for our sins and how He gives Himself to us everyday. For us today, God is our Creator, AND our Redeemer AND our Spouse.  However, we can only hear, and see our spouse with the eyes and ears of Faith.

How many people do we know who carry pictures of loved ones in their wallet? Many. Why? Because they long to be with them. They want to spend time with them, enjoy their company, laugh with them, joke with them…And not forget them. Let us not forget God.

Case #2 Man was made for the beautiful

Why is it that the most expensive homes are on secluded tropical isles, high in the mountain ranges or down by the lake? Because there is something in the view which is alluring to humans. Man is craving for the beautiful constantly. Let man use this hunger to praise God. God hardwired man to use the beautiful to experience the Divine. And so it is not wrong, but rather natural that man should build the most beautiful thing he can imagine to assist in knowing God.

Case #3 It catches our attention: This place is unearthly splendor!

Imagine walking down a clear brook. You are watching the sandy bottom get swirled by the rushing water, suddenly you spot the sunlight glinting off the scales of a Rainbow Trout as it swims gracefully by. Are you more likely going to be rooted in that spot intent on watching it, or, are you going to be distracted by the beetle floating on top?

Which is more imposing, a gothic cathedral with massive stained glass or a low dark brick church with an A Frame roof and tinted windows? I guarantee that the Cathedral would be noticed at once.

If you listen to the stories of former atheists, quite often you will notice that the final step in their conversions, was experiencing out of the ordinary fervor, peace, and collective attitude existing in these gothic settings. Granted, walking into a nice church doesn’t convert someone, but when it is injected along with the potion of a strong rational argument, the pull towards the Divine becomes a world of a lot harder to resist. Notre Dame has probably gained more souls for Heaven than the whole Church in the US did during the 70’s.

Case#4 The poor will always be with you

Christ said, “For the poor you have always with you: and whensoever you will, you may do them good: but me you have not always” (Mk 14,7). Christ was setting a standard for His impulsive disciples. Saying that the poor are important however, there is more to being a Christian than just feeding the hungry. I am not in any way saying that we should forget about the poor and instead build churches. No, of course not. What I am saying is that the one doesn’t necessarily negate the other.

In the first instance, the Catholic Church is charged with saving souls. In most cases that mission takes the form of Corporal Works of Mercy, sanctifying ourselves while showing the poverty stricken the mercy of God. In other cases, saving souls consists in feeding the spiritual hungry. Those who do NOT need food and shelter but who need to experience God in a surreal way i.e. something more than the mundane grind in order to become the saint they need to be, or to simply believe.

Summary:

One way to reclaim lost territory for Christ is to restore the Sacred. The Sacred is attractive, the Beautiful is attractive. Brick by brick, stone by stone, we have the opportunity to rebuild the Kingdom of God!

A New Book!

There have been many times when I have tried to put pen in hand to write a book, but alas! Not a single chapter have I been able to write!

It’s a fact that 1. I oftentimes have lost interest and 2. that I have been lazy. And so, amid my other blog posts I have decided to write an installment of this book every week. I know it will keep me motivated and it also  will give the public (as many that read these pages) the chance to commentate on it and give CONSTRUCTIVE (if you please) criticism.

And so without further ado, I present my first installment:

PROLOGUE

Time is a curious sequence, as it marches forward. In each age it is renewed again in the succeeding generation. Each new birth brings with it a breath of freshness to lighten the heart of those whose best days are behind them. Time is ever renewed and ever refreshed. The world does not feel old in these modern times, though it is ancient.

The feeling of time then is relative, a happy life sees new youth when growing old and the heart does not die. It rejoices. A hard life may never rejoice in the new generation, being reminded of its own hard times which in due time will be inflicted upon our new unwitting. Though in a very many (and fortunate) circumstances it does get a fresh breath and so it too is renewed.

This is the story of one such life. The life of one who became old before his time, who felt keenly the effects of hatred, shame, courage, instability and mortality.

In perspective, the period of which I am writing was very much a hard time. Mass confusion had struck like lightning through Europe as different ideologies tried to claim sovereignty among the common people. The continent was torn apart through political struggles which in necessity was linked to the religion struggles. Those who took sides were punished by the opposite. War was taking its toll on the frailty of human life, as monarchs waged war in the spirit of survival.
Woe to those who could not decide which battle they had to fight! The order of the day was to perish bravely for a professed and noble cause, or to perish as a disgraced coward, shunned by both sides and hailed by none…

 

Towards the Dawn (A Reflection)

The day is done, night has come. As light fails, darkness prevails.

What has been spoke, shall be wrote-in the Book of Him that reigns.

The deeds which were done, cannot be undone, bound forever unto the end of the age.

 

 

As I pondered, the day became numbered. Closer to the end of the game.

The deeds which I wrought “what reward has been bought“? It is too late to turn away.

This day has been sealed, the contents concealed until the Judgment Day.

 

 

Will my face show, with happiness or woe when I face the Chair of Judgment?

When this box of today, the contents are spilt, will it glow with goodness or guilt?

 

 

As I thought and I thought, unsure of my lot, a glimmer of hope gleamed bright.

“For tomorrow is new, I will try to be true. In order to restore my passage.”

To redeem my soul, I must pay the toll. Tomorrow will be the new trial.

 

 

And up comes the dawn! Filled with the song, of hope which springs eternal!

“God, help my task, make it acceptable I ask. For with Thee alone do I belong”

                          

“An Inspiration Unlooked For”

I have a great weakness for Folk Rock, specifically Credence Clearwater Revival and the Avett Brothers. Normally in the pursuit of my hobbies, I tend to put all my attention on having fun and relaxing (perhaps I shouldn’t) without acknowledging anything outside of my present happy domain. However, the other day while listening to the Avett Brothers’ beautiful work of art “The Once And Future Carpenter” I was shocked by some of the all too real and toxic lines, which I felt I needed to share.

The Once And Future Carpenter is the story of a young man who forsook his manly trade to pursue other interests eventually to lose all responsibility, respectability and most importantly, purpose. At least this is the meaning which I glean from it.

The refrain is thus:

Forever I will move like the world that turns beneath me
And when I lose my direction I’ll look up to the sky
And when the black cloak drags upon the ground
I’ll be ready to surrender, and remember: we’re all in this together
An’ if I live the life I’m given…I won’t be scared to die.

The song is an expression of a man’s loneliness and loss of aim. Any aim. He is drifting from one place and purpose to another, in rapid succession. The man’s attitude is one of passivity and acceptance taking everything as it comes, not having the courage to actually turn his worthless life around and “Go get a life”. Hoping (And almost expecting) that an urge for stability and resolution will magically fall into his lap.

If it wasn’t for the sweet tune and rhythm of the melody, a person could almost get mad at the young rascal in the song. Despite this, a lesson can be learned for everyone, not only for those who shirk their duty. The one line that rings clear and true universally is the refrain’s ending: “An’ if I live the life I’m given…I won’t be scared to die.”

Well, isn’t this true for everyone? Many a time I am distracted from my ultimate goal and vocation by lesser things and I become negligent in fulfilling my day-to-day duties, and through this, forgetting my ultimate vocation at this stage of my life.

I fade away from living the life I’m given. I start living a life I have given TO MYSELF. If I proceed in this manner, I will sin and separate myself from God. In a sinful state I will be in a great quandary, for I will be afraid to pass on to Eternal Life while not united with God and being a living Temple of the Holy Spirit.

One great secret that Jacinta of Fatima propagated by both word of mouth and most importantly, by her actions, was to constantly live in the Presence of God. No matter what she did, in play, in conversation, in eating, in sleeping, all was done for God, as a prayer to God. Every one of us are called to this mode of life. Never ever being more than one thought away from God.

In this sense every object that seems to distract us from our course will be seen in a different light: “Am I doing this to give a little more of myself to God? Or a little more of myself to myself?”. Our vocation will ever be present in our minds, we will not drift off course.

As children of God, we need to constantly live the life that God has given us, not only by actions but in spirit and attitude. Only then, will we be not scared to die. 

Fatima: Debunking the Debunk

Agnostics are of the opinion that If they can prove a widely acclaimed miracle as false, they can prove all religion wrong. The Miracle of the Sun is one of these “special” miracles.

If a person takes a look at the reasons an agnostic gives for the cause and result of the Miracle of the Sun you will find that they do not ACTUALLY prove that a supernatural phenomenon did not happen. They have natural reasons to explain away MOST of the phenomena which happened at Fatima, but there is nothing evidential. Arguably all these natural causes COULD have happened  in the way  put forward by them, however, what are the chances that natural phenomena happened in such a chronological sequence, and in such precise timing, unless it all came from a supernatural force?

If a person is a confirmed Agnostic, then they are in a sense “required” to believe this theoretical progression of natural phenomena, to them it’s only logic. Christians on the other hand, are aware that something miraculous like this can indeed happen and so, if an agnostical argument is not very coherent or is unsatisfactorily explanatory, then it is worthy of believing that the occurrence came from God. (As long as it is recognized as “Worthy of Belief” by Rome”.)

The two foremost arguments atheists come up with are: A solar phenomenon happened which people under the influence of pious enthusiasm took for a sun, dancing and diving into the earth. And also, the crowd under the influence of said factor, stared at the sun until it looked to them like it was dancing. Following this are the more far-fetched theories: Conspiracy theory (against the government, who in reality very much wanted the crowds to witness “The” fraud at the Cova), Lucia was a spoiled brat who brought two small children under an impression, everybody were liars (THAT one really convinces me…), the Bible has verses which forbid Christians to believe in any miracles, the entire earth would have felt some serious jolting if the sun was careening off its axis (Little do they realize that the definition of a miracle is something which BREAKS the laws of nature), and a great many other lightweight arguments. Sometimes people just try too hard and it doesn’t work. I think the skeptics realize this and that is why they put the most emphasis on the two former arguments.

The first argument is easy to depose. The unbelievers say that the people in a trance saw a solar phenomenon called a Sundog. A certain agnostic I read stated: “Thankfully a Catholic priest wrote in his book that many saw nothing”, if “many saw nothing” then it certainly couldn’t have been a natural solar phenomenon because every person would HAVE to see it. Enough said.

The second argument is for some, very believable. However it does take a little stretch of the imagination. The entire miracle took place in a total period of about ten minutes. Skeptics say that staring straight at the sun can make it look like the sun is dancing. Still, staring for ten solid minutes!? If a person stares at the sun for only a few minutes they will have at least some temporary damage. But staring for ten solid minutes? If they don’t go blind they at least will have some visual impairment for a couple of weeks or months!

In response, agnostics put forward the argument that there was some cloud covering (Due to the recent rain) and therefore the sun’s rays were lessened. Still, the numbers watching this miracle range from 30,000-100,000 people I find it hard to believe that such a large crowd of people staring at a partially obscure sun (Which according to eyewitness accounts was NOT obscured) could do this without at least ONE case of eye damage!

In addition to this, all witnesses (including those who did not see anything impressive) agreed that the sun came out after a torrential downpour at exactly noon. Nobody disagrees here. I doubt very much that the sun came out just by sheer coincidence.

Accordingly, there were some agnostic, communistic, and freemason skeptics who saw and believed. They were the same people who came to laugh at a crowd whom they expected to be embarrassed when nothing happened. Therefore, Since there couldn’t have been a visible natural solar occurrence then it would have to be the eyes playing tricks on the piously impressed minds. The skeptics who assembled at the Cova da Iria, were undeniably in a self possessed sane state when they fell to the ground in stark fear.

Following from this argument is the misinterpreted account that many people reported seeing different things. And here is the fact that agnostics just cannot grasp because Faith is a stumbling block to them: God permits people to see the thing which He wants them to see, that which will help them reach Heaven. Some people saw the sun spiraling into the earth making them quake with fear as they realized that morals ARE real and absolutely HAVE to be followed and not thrown on the wayside. Others saw Mary, the Mother of God, smiling and blessing the earth, encouraging those who were already their journey of faith. Others saw nothing, perhaps these people did not NEED to see anything.

Agnostics since they do not believe in God, do not know God. One can not judge a person’s actions when they do not know the person and the circumstances in which they exist. Therefore, an Agnostic cannot say or put limits to the things God can do and why He does them. They want God to come on His knees to them to tell them He exists, they are afraid of uncertainty, and because of this fear they continually live in it.

There is a story of Saint Louis who was working in his study when a servant ran up to him and said “Sire, the Infant Jesus is appearing in the Host upon the altar!” the saint calmly continued his writing, and replied, “I could not believe more firmly in Christ’s presence in the Eucharist if I were to behold a miracle.” Catholics especially make huge mistakes, partly with poor understanding about the basis of the Church’s foundations of Faith on Scripture and Tradition, by trying to prove God’s existence through a miracle which was not meant to prove anything.

There is enough evidence for the miracle at Fatima to make Catholics realize the importance of the Rosary and praying for the conversion of sinners. And certainly enough to change a person’s thought proccess about how he reflects on his life. It has for me. THIS WAS THE PURPOSE OF THE MIRACLE! Not to prove to the world, but to save the church which was (is) full of sinners.

In conclusion, nobody has disproved the miracle at Fatima, if evidence becomes apparent to support this, my faith in God will not be shattered because it is based on Faith and Reason, not some “superstitious” happenings. On the flip side, Christians can believe a supernatural cause of these happenings because it is not contrary to their knowledge but, they cannot necessarily give indisputable proof that the happenings at Fatima were supernatural.

Given the proofs which have been put forward, together with the refutations. I can honestly say that I believe in these happenings. It makes the most sense when approached with a Christian perspective than with an Agnostic’s.

Perhaps the film “The Song of Bernadette” (1943) stated it best in the opening scene: “For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe in God, no explanation is possible”.                                                              

Is this ANOTHER article on choosing the right survival knife?

All over the internet you can find “checklists” on what makes a good survival knife. Most of them are pretty inclusive and pretty good. This short post takes a secondary look at the typical checklist and gives a broader perspective on these checklists which people tend to take as gospel truth.

The usual list looks something like this:

1. Fixed Blade- Enough said

2. Tang- The survival knife absolutely HAS to have a full tang.

3. Blade Thickness- 5/32″-1/8″

4. Blade Material- High Carbon Steel (1095)  or Stainless steel containing carbon (like 440C)

5. Blade Length- 3.5-6 in.

6. Blade Design- Clip point, Drop point, Trailing point, or Gut Hook.

7. Blade Tip- Needs to be sharp for piercing.

8. Grind- Generally any grind that allows a combination of stout strength (For batoning) and delicate carving, Saber Grind or Flat/Scandi Grind.

9. Handle Material- Some kind of synthetic handle that doesn’t conduct temperature or slip out of your hand. Can vary.

10. Sheath- One that holds the knife without fear of losing it.

This is the list (Give or take a few) that probably everyone would agree with. However, very rarely is a subject in pure black and white, mostly there is some gray area….Like ALOT of gray area.

If the average knife layman were to follow this list exclusively he very well might end up with a very poor knife which could have a great range of disastrous results. For example, someone might buy the right steel on a knife just to find out that it was not tempered correctly and dulls the moment he tries to cut a shoelace with it, or he might find that the blade shatters and bystanders get critically injured.

It is of grave importance that you know your particular knife. One way to do this is to know the manufacturer’s reputation and your knife’s reputation. Be wary of the knife that looks “Perfect” when you have no idea what kind of maker it had!

Let us take another look at the “Survival Knife Checklist” and mention a few details that a person might overlook:

1.Fixed Blade- I agree

2.Full Tang- There are many people who take this as unwavering truth.  In reality however, any knife is only as good as its construction. There are many sloppily built full tang knives which pale in comparison to a well made partial tang. One example is a fixed blade MTech knife and the partial tang Mora knife. The former is generally horrible, the latter is always good. Look for reputable brands and then, as long as it feels good, it should be good.

3. Blade Thickness of 5/32- 1/8″- Generally I agree

4. Blade material of Carbon Steel or Stainless Steel- Humidity wreaks havoc on many unprotected carbon steel blades. If you live in a high humidity area be careful about which carbon steel blade you get. The Mora Companion HD is a knife not suited for the wet, the moment it comes in contact with a drop of water, oxidation sets in. If you do NOT live in a humid climate though, carbon steel is the way to go!

There are only a few types of good stainless steel, the most common one is 440C. 440C can either be extremely good or bad, it is very easy to not process this steel properly. A general rule of thumb is: If the prospective knife is made by an unknown maker or it is very low priced, the knife is probably junk. Again, always look for manufacturers you (or other people) trust.

5. Blade Length 3.5-6″- Depends on usage. A light knife you want for camping is 3-5″ blade. A knife you want for self-defense, bear wrestling, coolness and whatnot, get 6″ or excess. By the way, you probably will not ever need one for self defense so make it convenient for you and tote a light knife 🙂

6. Blade Design-Unless you do a lot of hunting with your knife do not bother with a gut hook. Usually a gut hook gets in the way, plus if you are careful, you can use a regular knife for “That” particular task.

My personal preference is a Drop Point because if something happens to the tip I know how to repoint it. Also, it feels very stout.

7. Blade Tip- Falls under blade design.

8. Grind- Many people prefer the Flat Grind or the Saber Grind and give the Semi-Hollow Grind a bad rap. The Semi-Hollow isn’t a bad kind, not even a poor grind. I have seen Semi-Hollows do some extremely heavy work i.e. prying things, digging holes, being used as a hammer etc. Do not be afraid of the Semi-Hollow it is good just like the others.

My personal favorite grind is the saber, only because my favorite knives only come with the saber grind….

9. Handle Material- Something that’s comfortable and won’t slip when wet.

On carbon steel knives I do not like the leather washer handles because I imagine water seeping into the cracks between the washers…perhaps with water proofing it would work…

10. Sheath- If you like the sheath the knife comes in keep it! If you don’t, learn to make a Kydex sheath. It will be one of the most worthwhile things you ever imagined!

Without further ado,

Viva Cristo Rey!