Two thousand years ago, Christians emerged in the Roman empire and it is spread and flourished, and found its sense of identity within the Roman world. In the era of Christianity, peoples who believed and converted to Christianity were baptized and were properly instructed in the belief and practices of Christianity. As a result, today, approximately, a third of the world's population are Christians.
Christians had its origin, foretold by Christ Jesus, 'builds on' by the surviving apostles, disciples, followers and believers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time. - Matt. 28:18-20 -
When Pentecost day came round, they had all met in one room, when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and............
Brothers, no one can deny that the patriarch David himself is dead and buried: his tomb is still with us. But since he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn him an oath to make one of his descendants succeed him on the throne, what he foresaw and spoke about was the resurrection of the Christ: he is the one who was not abandoned to Hades, and whose body did not experience corruption. God raised this man Jesus to life, and all of us are witnesses to that. Now raised to the heights by God 's right hand, he has received from the Father the Holy Spirit, who was promised, and what you see and hear is the outpouring of that Spirit. For David himself never went up to heaven; and yet these words are his:
The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for you.
'For this reason the whole House of Israel can be certain that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.' Hearing this, they were cut to their heart and said to Peter and the apostles, 'What must we do, brothers?' 'You must repent' Peter answered 'and everyone of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise that was made is for you and your children, and all those who are far away, for all those whom the Lord our God will call to himself.' He spoke to them for a long time using many arguments, and he urged them, 'Save yourselves from this perverse generation.' They were convinced by his arguments, and they accepted what he said and were baptised. That very day about three thousand were added to their number.
These remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles, and to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.
The many miracles and signs worked through the apostles made a deep impression on everyone. The faithful all lived together and owned everything in common; they sold their goods and possessions and shared out the proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed.
They went as a body to the Temple everyday but met in their houses for the breaking of bread; they shared their food gladly and generously; they praised God and were looked up to by everyone. Day by day the Lord added to their community those destined to be saved. - Acts 2:1-47 -
The early Christians had their problems too. Very likely the Christian problem started when those in power and authorities were jealous and envious about them. The Christians were ridicule, insulted, scorn, and despised at their doctrines, especially the doctrine of Jesus Christ resurrection from the rich, educated classes and philosophers.
Platonist mocked this doctrine as a foolish misunderstanding of their own belief in the immortality of the soul. To them, Christianity was a 'barbarian philosophy' and it is for the fool and weak minded. A Platonic philosopher named Celsus wrote a sustained attack on Christianity called 'The true doctrine' in which he also tried to discredit the figure of Christ Jesus himself. Scornful though Celsus's attacks were.
But during A.D. 150-215, Christianity become more intellectually respected because of Justin Martyr and Clement of Alexandria, they were writing increasingly sophisticated defenses of their beliefs. Justin Martyr explained and argued that the authorities cannot ridiculed and condemned people simply because they are Christian, but instead, if they really committed any crimes or atrocities.
Next, came a Latin writer, Tertullian, who came from Carthage in the North Africa. He was a lawyer before his conversion to Christianity, it is because of his expert in interpreting of the official policy. If Christian really committed crimes or atrocities, he asked, why did the authorities adopt the 'do not ask ' 'do not tell' policy?
And in the third century, Origen was the most distinguished person because he was invited to meet the mother of the emperor and discuss, and shares Christianity with her. Origen was a raised Christian, highly educated and he dominated the Church and the intellectual world of his day. Finally, he was tortured and released to die in obscurity. Also, tortured were prominent Church leaders; in the hope of forcing them to renounced their faith in Christ, and the authorities deliberately tried to avoid murdering or killing them, recognizing that martyrs only encouraged the growth of Christianity. But, the persecutions failed. They had even proved counter productive.
Those who died were named and celebrated as 'Martyr' - a word meaning "witnesses" to the faith. These martyrs played an extremely important role in the spread of Christianity as Tertullian explicitly quotes: 'The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.'
Apostle Stephen is 'the first Christian martyr' he was stoned to death. - Acts chapter 6 & 7 -
Continue to love each other like brothers, and remember always to welcome strangers, for by doing this, some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Keep in mind those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; and those who are being badly treated, since you too are in the one body. Marriage is to be honoured by all, and marriages are to be kept undefiled, because fornicators and adulterers will come under God's judgment. Put greed out of your lives and be content with whatever you have; God himself has said: I will not fail you or desert you, and so we can say with confidence: With the Lord to help me, I fear nothing: what can man do to me?
Remember your leaders, who preached the word of God to you, and as you reflect on the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same today as he was yesterday and as he will be for ever. Do not let yourselves be led astray by all sorts of strange doctrines: it is better to rely on grace for inner strength than on dietary laws which have done no good to those who kept them. - Heb. 13:1-9 -
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
In addition to God's revelation of Himself through the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, God's Word also records the response of those to whom the revelation was given. Indeed, God has made Himself known in a variety ways. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead.
In the beginning was the Word:
the Word was with God
and the Word was God. - John 1:1 -
For what can be known about God is perfectly plain to them since God himself has made it plain. Ever since God created the world his everlasting power and deity - however invisible - have been for the mind to see in the things he has made. - Rom. 1:19-20 -
While God is revealed in His creation and through the inner voice of man's conscience, the other means by which He has made Himself known is through the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible by His mighty acts and in the words of His messengers and spokesperson. Either of these ways is incomplete without the other.
In the Old Testament record, none of the mighty acts of God is emphasized more than the 'Exodus' God's deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. As He delivered His people, God repeatedly identified Himself.
Then God spoke all these words. He said, "I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 'You shall have no gods except me.'" - Exodus 20:1-3 -
If they had been delivered with no explanation, the nation of Israel would have learned little about the God who redeemed His people. The Israelites might have guessed that in such events as the plagues of Egypt and the parting of the waters of the Red Sea, some supernatural power was at work on their behalf. But they would not have known the nature of this power or God's purpose for them as a people.
God also communicated with His people, the nation of Israel, through Moses, to whom He had already made Himself known in the vision of the burning bush. God instructed Moses to tell his fellow Israelites what had been revealed to him. This was no impersonal force at work, but the God of the ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In fulfillment of His promises to them, God was acting now on behalf of their descendants. In communicating with His people, God revealed both His identity and His purpose.
This pattern of God's mighty acts and the prophetic word interacting with each other continues throughout the course of scriptural/biblical history. The Babylonian Captivity is a good example of this process. A succession of prophets warned the people that if they did not mend their ways or repent their sinful ways of life. Captivity would come on them as judgment. But even during the years of the Captivity the prophets continued to speak, encouraging the captives and promising that God would deliver them from their plight. The prophets were God's primary spokesmen to the people of Israel in Old Testament times. But they were not His only messengers. Priest and sages, wise men, were other agents through whom God's will was made known. The teachings [Oral Tradition] of many of these are preserved in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. [Written Tradition]
Behind the writing lay periods of time when these messages were circulated in spoken form. [Oral Tradition] The phenomenon and stories of the patriarch were passed from generation to generation by word of mouth [Tradition] before they were written. The messages of the prophets were delivered orally before they were fixed in writing. Narratives of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ were repeated orally for two or three decades before they were given literary form. But the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible owes its preservation to the fact that all these oral narratives were eventually reduced to writing. Just as God originally inspired the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, He has used this means to preserve His Word for future generations.
The first person in Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible to write anything down was Moses. God instructed Moses to write as a permanent memorial the divine vow that the name of Amalek would be blotted out.
With the edge of the sword Joshua cut down Amalek and his people. Then Yahweh said to Moses, 'Write this action down in a book to keep the memory of it, and say in Joshua's hearing that I shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.' - Exodus 17:13-14 -
From that time until the end of the New Testament age, the writing of the many books and parts of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible continued.
Amazingly, none of the original scriptural/biblical documents - referred to by scholars as the "original autographs" - has survived. No scrap of parchment or papyrus bearing the handwriting of any of the scriptural/biblical authors has been discovered. But before the original documents disappeared, they were copied. These copied of the original writings are the texts on which current translations of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible are based. The process of copying and recopying the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible has continued to our time. Until the middle of the 15th century A.D. all the copying was done by hand. Then, with the invention of printing in Europe, copies could be made in greater quantities by using this new process. This made the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible available to many people, rather than just the few who could afford handmade copies.
The word of God is something alive and active: it cuts like any double-edged sword but more finely: it can slip through the place where soul is divided from the spirit, or joints from the marrow; it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts. No created thing can hide from him; everything is uncovered and open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give account of ourselves.
Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through the highest heaven, we must never let go of the faith that we have professed. For it is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin. Let us be confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help. - Hebrews 4:12-16 -
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
In the beginning was the Word:
the Word was with God
and the Word was God. - John 1:1 -
For what can be known about God is perfectly plain to them since God himself has made it plain. Ever since God created the world his everlasting power and deity - however invisible - have been for the mind to see in the things he has made. - Rom. 1:19-20 -
While God is revealed in His creation and through the inner voice of man's conscience, the other means by which He has made Himself known is through the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible by His mighty acts and in the words of His messengers and spokesperson. Either of these ways is incomplete without the other.
In the Old Testament record, none of the mighty acts of God is emphasized more than the 'Exodus' God's deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. As He delivered His people, God repeatedly identified Himself.
Then God spoke all these words. He said, "I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 'You shall have no gods except me.'" - Exodus 20:1-3 -
If they had been delivered with no explanation, the nation of Israel would have learned little about the God who redeemed His people. The Israelites might have guessed that in such events as the plagues of Egypt and the parting of the waters of the Red Sea, some supernatural power was at work on their behalf. But they would not have known the nature of this power or God's purpose for them as a people.
God also communicated with His people, the nation of Israel, through Moses, to whom He had already made Himself known in the vision of the burning bush. God instructed Moses to tell his fellow Israelites what had been revealed to him. This was no impersonal force at work, but the God of the ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In fulfillment of His promises to them, God was acting now on behalf of their descendants. In communicating with His people, God revealed both His identity and His purpose.
This pattern of God's mighty acts and the prophetic word interacting with each other continues throughout the course of scriptural/biblical history. The Babylonian Captivity is a good example of this process. A succession of prophets warned the people that if they did not mend their ways or repent their sinful ways of life. Captivity would come on them as judgment. But even during the years of the Captivity the prophets continued to speak, encouraging the captives and promising that God would deliver them from their plight. The prophets were God's primary spokesmen to the people of Israel in Old Testament times. But they were not His only messengers. Priest and sages, wise men, were other agents through whom God's will was made known. The teachings [Oral Tradition] of many of these are preserved in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. [Written Tradition]
Behind the writing lay periods of time when these messages were circulated in spoken form. [Oral Tradition] The phenomenon and stories of the patriarch were passed from generation to generation by word of mouth [Tradition] before they were written. The messages of the prophets were delivered orally before they were fixed in writing. Narratives of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ were repeated orally for two or three decades before they were given literary form. But the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible owes its preservation to the fact that all these oral narratives were eventually reduced to writing. Just as God originally inspired the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, He has used this means to preserve His Word for future generations.
The first person in Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible to write anything down was Moses. God instructed Moses to write as a permanent memorial the divine vow that the name of Amalek would be blotted out.
With the edge of the sword Joshua cut down Amalek and his people. Then Yahweh said to Moses, 'Write this action down in a book to keep the memory of it, and say in Joshua's hearing that I shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.' - Exodus 17:13-14 -
From that time until the end of the New Testament age, the writing of the many books and parts of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible continued.
Amazingly, none of the original scriptural/biblical documents - referred to by scholars as the "original autographs" - has survived. No scrap of parchment or papyrus bearing the handwriting of any of the scriptural/biblical authors has been discovered. But before the original documents disappeared, they were copied. These copied of the original writings are the texts on which current translations of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible are based. The process of copying and recopying the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible has continued to our time. Until the middle of the 15th century A.D. all the copying was done by hand. Then, with the invention of printing in Europe, copies could be made in greater quantities by using this new process. This made the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible available to many people, rather than just the few who could afford handmade copies.
The word of God is something alive and active: it cuts like any double-edged sword but more finely: it can slip through the place where soul is divided from the spirit, or joints from the marrow; it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts. No created thing can hide from him; everything is uncovered and open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give account of ourselves.
Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through the highest heaven, we must never let go of the faith that we have professed. For it is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin. Let us be confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help. - Hebrews 4:12-16 -
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Monday, October 15, 2012
The question of how to interpret the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible is not a minor issue. It is, in a sense, one of the battlegrounds for our souls. The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, or collection of books, contains two major sections known as the Old Testament and the New Testament, and accepted by the Christian Church as uniquely inspired by God.
Thus, integrity is a necessary element in all sacred scripture/ biblical interpretation. If we tell someone about what a friend said, we should try to be as accurate as possible. If we are not sure about a certain point, we should say, "In my opinion, or in my view, or simply said, I do not know." Perhaps, this is normally what we do with our friends. "I think this is what he said." So why then, when we interpret Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, do many of us lose that integrity? Why do we not read the text carefully? Did we read the whole of the Old Testament and the New Testament? Why do we read between the lines, make fanciful interpretations that are more a product of our imagination than reverent study, and then insist that this is the text actually says?
We must always remember, and never forget whose letters we are reading. They have come from the mouth of God Himself, and they demand respect. They demand to speak for themselves. They demand that we be honest and have integrity. We must not put our guesswork on the same level as the words of God. For example, how do we interpret Roman 14 and 1Corinthians 8? [briefly]
If a person's faith is not strong enough, welcome him all the same without starting an argument. People range from those who believe they may eat any sort of meat to those whose faith is so weak that they dare not eat anything except vegetables. Meat-eaters must not despise the scrupulous. On the other hand, the scrupulous must not condemn those who feel free to eat anything they choose, since God has welcomed them.
It is not for you to condemn someone else servant: whether he stands or falls it is his own master business; he will stand, you may be sure, because the Lord has power to make him stand. If one man keeps certain days as holier than others, and another considers all days to be equally holy, each must left free to hold his own opinion. The one who observes special days does so in honor of the Lord. The one who eats meat also does so in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; but then the man who abstains does that too in honor of the Lord, and so he also gives God thanks.
The life and death of each of us has its influence on others; if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, so that alive or dead we belong to the Lord. This explains why Christ both died and came to life, it was so that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. This is also why you should never pass judgment on a brother or treat him with contempt, as some of you have done. We shall have to stand before the judgment seat of God; as scripture says: But my life - it is the Lord who speaks - every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall praise God. It is to God, therefore, that each of us must give an account of himself.
Far from passing judgment on each other, therefore, you should make up your mind never to be the cause of your brother tripping or failing. Now I am perfectly well aware, of course, and I speak for the Lord Jesus Christ, that no food is unclean in itself; however, if someone thinks that a particular food is unclean, then it is unclean for him. And indeed if your attitude to food is upsetting your brother, then you are hardly being guided by charity. You are certainly not free to eat what you like if that means the downfall of someone for whom Christ died.
In short, you must not compromise your privilege, because the kingdom of God does not mean eating or drinking this or that, it means righteousness and peace and joy brought by the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ in this way you will please God and respected by men. So let us adopt any custom that leads to peace and our mutual improvement: do not wreck God's work over a question of food. Of course all food is clean, but it becomes evil if by eating it you make somebody else fall away. In such cases the best course is to abstain from meat and wine and anything else that would make your brother trip or fall or weaken in any way.
Hold on to your own belief, as between yourself and God - and consider the man fortunate who can make his decision without going against conscience. But anybody who eats in a state of doubt is condemned, because he is not in good faith; and every act done in bad faith is a sin. - Romans 14:1-23 -
Now about food sacrificed to idols. 'We all have knowledge'; yes, that is so, but knowledge gives self-importance - it is love that makes the building grow. A man may imagine he understands something, but still not understand anything in the way that he ought to. But any man who loves God is known by him. Well then, about eating food sacrificed to idols:....... By sinning in this way against your brothers, and injuring their weak consciences, it would be Christ against whom you sinned... - 1Cor. 8:1-13 -
Once we understand the facts and background of the passage, once we have asked what the passage actually is saying and what is its context, then we see that Saint Paul is teaching the principle of voluntarily refraining from a practice which, although it is not wrong in and of itself, or it is acceptable, might be harmful to a fellow Christian. We may also ask: What does the passage mean in today's context?
The vast majority of the New Testament doctrine can be applied directly to 21st century generation. If we love God, regardless of when or where we live, then we must obey His commandments: "If you love me you will keep my commandments." - John 14:15 - We may ask: Which is the first and greatest commandments? "This is the first: the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." The second is this: "You must love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." This teaching is true for all times.
Many people today do not believe that the sacred scripture/biblical accounts of miracles are true. For example, even some scholars argue that miracles were a part of 1st century generation and were believed by the people in Jesus' day. But this is the 21st century and people do not believe in miracles in this generation. But these scholars' views on the impossibility of the supernatural are likewise influenced by the materialistic, science-oriented generation in which they live. We must be careful about allowing our own generation to influence our view of Sacred Scripture/ Holy Bible.
Jesus gazed at them. 'For men' he said 'it is impossible, but not for God: because everything is possible for God.' - Mark 10:27 -
It is absolutely essential to recognize that the purpose and goal of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible study is a godly/eternal life. It is not complete until we put into practice what we have learned. The question to ask at this stage of interpretation is, "How can I apply what I have learned to how I live my life?" The academic and the practical are thus fused into a meaningful approach to the Sacred Scripture's/ Holy Bible's message.
Some people dismiss the academic as boring and trivial. Others reject the application as unnecessary. Both extremes are equally incorrect. The interpreter must walk the tightrope between these approaches. A three-act play is unsatisfying without the final act. The last act, without the first two, does not make sense. Sometimes it is necessary to emphasize the academic when the passage is difficult to understand, or to emphasize the application when the passage's practical relevance is confusing. But one of these approaches should never be used to the exclusion of the other. Thus, it must be interpreted as a whole.
No one can come to me
unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me,
and I will raise him up at the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They will all be taught by God.
and to hear the teaching of the Father,
and learn from it,
is to come to me. - John 6:44-45 -
Page 1
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
Thus, integrity is a necessary element in all sacred scripture/ biblical interpretation. If we tell someone about what a friend said, we should try to be as accurate as possible. If we are not sure about a certain point, we should say, "In my opinion, or in my view, or simply said, I do not know." Perhaps, this is normally what we do with our friends. "I think this is what he said." So why then, when we interpret Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, do many of us lose that integrity? Why do we not read the text carefully? Did we read the whole of the Old Testament and the New Testament? Why do we read between the lines, make fanciful interpretations that are more a product of our imagination than reverent study, and then insist that this is the text actually says?
We must always remember, and never forget whose letters we are reading. They have come from the mouth of God Himself, and they demand respect. They demand to speak for themselves. They demand that we be honest and have integrity. We must not put our guesswork on the same level as the words of God. For example, how do we interpret Roman 14 and 1Corinthians 8? [briefly]
If a person's faith is not strong enough, welcome him all the same without starting an argument. People range from those who believe they may eat any sort of meat to those whose faith is so weak that they dare not eat anything except vegetables. Meat-eaters must not despise the scrupulous. On the other hand, the scrupulous must not condemn those who feel free to eat anything they choose, since God has welcomed them.
It is not for you to condemn someone else servant: whether he stands or falls it is his own master business; he will stand, you may be sure, because the Lord has power to make him stand. If one man keeps certain days as holier than others, and another considers all days to be equally holy, each must left free to hold his own opinion. The one who observes special days does so in honor of the Lord. The one who eats meat also does so in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; but then the man who abstains does that too in honor of the Lord, and so he also gives God thanks.
The life and death of each of us has its influence on others; if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, so that alive or dead we belong to the Lord. This explains why Christ both died and came to life, it was so that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. This is also why you should never pass judgment on a brother or treat him with contempt, as some of you have done. We shall have to stand before the judgment seat of God; as scripture says: But my life - it is the Lord who speaks - every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall praise God. It is to God, therefore, that each of us must give an account of himself.
Far from passing judgment on each other, therefore, you should make up your mind never to be the cause of your brother tripping or failing. Now I am perfectly well aware, of course, and I speak for the Lord Jesus Christ, that no food is unclean in itself; however, if someone thinks that a particular food is unclean, then it is unclean for him. And indeed if your attitude to food is upsetting your brother, then you are hardly being guided by charity. You are certainly not free to eat what you like if that means the downfall of someone for whom Christ died.
In short, you must not compromise your privilege, because the kingdom of God does not mean eating or drinking this or that, it means righteousness and peace and joy brought by the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ in this way you will please God and respected by men. So let us adopt any custom that leads to peace and our mutual improvement: do not wreck God's work over a question of food. Of course all food is clean, but it becomes evil if by eating it you make somebody else fall away. In such cases the best course is to abstain from meat and wine and anything else that would make your brother trip or fall or weaken in any way.
Hold on to your own belief, as between yourself and God - and consider the man fortunate who can make his decision without going against conscience. But anybody who eats in a state of doubt is condemned, because he is not in good faith; and every act done in bad faith is a sin. - Romans 14:1-23 -
Now about food sacrificed to idols. 'We all have knowledge'; yes, that is so, but knowledge gives self-importance - it is love that makes the building grow. A man may imagine he understands something, but still not understand anything in the way that he ought to. But any man who loves God is known by him. Well then, about eating food sacrificed to idols:....... By sinning in this way against your brothers, and injuring their weak consciences, it would be Christ against whom you sinned... - 1Cor. 8:1-13 -
Once we understand the facts and background of the passage, once we have asked what the passage actually is saying and what is its context, then we see that Saint Paul is teaching the principle of voluntarily refraining from a practice which, although it is not wrong in and of itself, or it is acceptable, might be harmful to a fellow Christian. We may also ask: What does the passage mean in today's context?
The vast majority of the New Testament doctrine can be applied directly to 21st century generation. If we love God, regardless of when or where we live, then we must obey His commandments: "If you love me you will keep my commandments." - John 14:15 - We may ask: Which is the first and greatest commandments? "This is the first: the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." The second is this: "You must love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." This teaching is true for all times.
Many people today do not believe that the sacred scripture/biblical accounts of miracles are true. For example, even some scholars argue that miracles were a part of 1st century generation and were believed by the people in Jesus' day. But this is the 21st century and people do not believe in miracles in this generation. But these scholars' views on the impossibility of the supernatural are likewise influenced by the materialistic, science-oriented generation in which they live. We must be careful about allowing our own generation to influence our view of Sacred Scripture/ Holy Bible.
Jesus gazed at them. 'For men' he said 'it is impossible, but not for God: because everything is possible for God.' - Mark 10:27 -
It is absolutely essential to recognize that the purpose and goal of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible study is a godly/eternal life. It is not complete until we put into practice what we have learned. The question to ask at this stage of interpretation is, "How can I apply what I have learned to how I live my life?" The academic and the practical are thus fused into a meaningful approach to the Sacred Scripture's/ Holy Bible's message.
Some people dismiss the academic as boring and trivial. Others reject the application as unnecessary. Both extremes are equally incorrect. The interpreter must walk the tightrope between these approaches. A three-act play is unsatisfying without the final act. The last act, without the first two, does not make sense. Sometimes it is necessary to emphasize the academic when the passage is difficult to understand, or to emphasize the application when the passage's practical relevance is confusing. But one of these approaches should never be used to the exclusion of the other. Thus, it must be interpreted as a whole.
No one can come to me
unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me,
and I will raise him up at the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They will all be taught by God.
and to hear the teaching of the Father,
and learn from it,
is to come to me. - John 6:44-45 -
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Not every soul that is instructed remains faithful to the grace. Our Blessed Lord Jesus said in the parable about the seed falling in among stones on the roadway: "sometimes the grace does not fructify unto perseverance." One who came very close to it, and I hope someday finds grace, was a Mr. G. in Paris - a diamond merchant. I had gone from Louvain to Paris to preach on the first Sunday of February. I stayed in a small hotel near the Opera Comique. In the parlor an Englishman was playing the piano. I invited him to dinner that evening. He admitted: "I have never met a priest in my life." "Well, we are just like anyone else" I told him. "If you prick me with a pin, I will jump too." We went to a restaurant near the hotel, and during the dinner he asked me if we priests ever had to answer moral questions.
His moral problem was this: "I have never met one good man or one good woman in my life." I thanked him for the compliment, and he then continued: "This past eleventh of January over at that table there, a woman was trying to break a lump of sugar into a cup of coffee. As she could not do it, I broke the lump of sugar for her. She told me how cruel her husband was to her. I asked her to come and live with me, which she did." Continuing his story, he said: "I get tired of these women in about a year, so this morning I bundled up all of her clothes and left them with the concierge. She anticipated my move and left me this note" which he proceeded to hand to me. It read: "Dear Puppy: If you refuse to continue to live with me until the eleventh of February I shall throw myself into the Seine." He asked: "May I continue living with her to prevent her suicide?" "No, you may not do evil that good may come from it; and secondly, she will not commit suicide."
After dinner, he offered to walk me back to the hotel, but I told him: "I am not going back to the hotel; I am going to Montmartre." He said: "I was just beginning to think you are all right, and now you tell me you are going up to that hellhole of Paris." "Yes, but there is something on the hill of Montmartre besides 'dives.' On that hill is the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, where for night and day over fifty years there has been continuous adoration of the Blessed Sacrament." I begged him to go with me. He refused at first, and then relented - probably out of curiosity.
On the way up to Montmartre on the subway, I told him: "I have a thousand and one reasons for believing Jesus Christ is present on that altar tonight. You have only one: because I tell you so. Here will be at least a thousand men in adoration during the night. They are good men and if they have wives, they are good women and if they have children, they are good people in the world." As a matter of fact, when we entered, I recognized in the front row Jacques Maritain, the philosopher, and also the Romanian Prince Vladimir. "What shall I do - stand, sit, kneel?" Do just as you please." "How long?" Well, I intend to stay until the sun comes up over Paris tomorrow morning. But, "I added, I will leave whenever you care to go." He made no move to go and the next morning I offered Mass in the basilica.
As we descended the hill of Montmartre, he asked me if I would stay in Paris for a few days to teach him to be good. I promised to meet him that night at his apartment. At the appointed hour he came into the courtyard with another woman, not the woman he had mentioned the previous night. She could speak no English and he could speak little French. He said to me: "The three of us will go out for dinner." And I said: "No." Punning on the French word for crowd, which is foule, I said: "Two is company and three is foule. Furthermore, I have made an appointment with Mr.G. and I want to see him alone." I took Mr. G. aside and said: "Tonight you are either going out with that woman, or you are going out with me." He walked up and down the yard a few times and then came up to me saying: "Well, Father, I think I will go out with her." Two years later I saw him on the streets of Brussels. He did not recognize me. He was with another woman still - not the woman in the courtyard that evening. I have always had hopes that the good inspiration that he received during the night he spent with the men of prayer will eventually save his soul.
I was giving a Lenten course in the Paulist Church in New York City. After the talk, a young woman came into the rectory with a challenge: "I am an atheist; what are you going to do about it?" I answered: "I'll bet you a dime you cannot give me three good arguments for atheism; if you do, I will find three answers in a book that was written seven hundred years ago. She was not able to give three arguments, and so I collected the dime. "You ought to be ashamed not knowing them." I then began instructing her. The instructions lasted for almost a year.
On Easter I gave her First Holy Communion in St. Patrick's. About six weeks after her First Holy Communion, I phoned her: "Are you going to Mass every Sunday?" She replied: "Yes, I go to Mass everyday." "Do you go to Communion?" "No." "There is a reason for that. Are you going with a married man?" "Yes" she admitted. That particular evening I bumped into her and this man in the Waldorf-Astoria. He walked on ahead. She said: "I am marrying him before a justice of the peace, for he is not free to marry. He is a Jew and very well known in the theater. Tomorrow we will leave on our honeymoon, which will take us around the world." I said: "L., you will never be happy." Her last words were: "Well, maybe not."
"Every Good Friday as I preached the Three Hours in St. Patrick's Cathedral this girl would be under the pulpit, standing the entire three hours. One day I said to her: "Happy?" She said: "Yes, I would be - pointing to the crucifix - if it were not for Him." A year or so later, she asked me to give her husband instructions. The husband had been married to a Jewess. If he came into the Church he would be eligible for the Pauline Privilege. I was reluctant at first to give him instructions, but I finally entered upon them, and he proved to be one of the truest friends of my life. The chapel in my apartment was designed by this celebrated designer - a memorial to his skill and faith.
We made application to Rome for the validation of the marriage because of the Pauline Privilege. In due time it was received. He phoned her, for she was on a ranch in Wyoming, telling her the news to come home and be married in the Church. She said: "Sorry, I am divorcing you; I am marrying a cowboy." She married a cowboy who worked on a summer reach three or four months a year, and lived three or four miles off the nearest passable road. He was heartbroken and gave up hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of contracts in the theater and went to Arizona to ride horses and forget his troubles. As I gave him Holy Communion one Christmas night in the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in New York City, tears were streaming down his cheeks. After Mass he brought me a small golden crucifix. He said: "This was the wedding ring L. gave me when she married me; I told her I would never take it off. But when I phoned her in Wyoming and she told me she was divorcing me, I found the ring in the palm of my hand. I had it made into a cross. This was her gift to me - the gift of Faith and the cross of Christ."
This was his second marriage and a failure. I said to him: "You are still free to marry. Since you have had such a failure in picking a woman, I think you should allow me to court the woman and then you marry her." However, he did not pursue the courtship of the young woman I proposed, but married an actress who was received into the Church and I witnessed their marriage in Washington. His wife became an alcoholic and he spent the rest of his life alone, always loving, faithful and devoted to the Church. God gave me the grace to assist at his funeral.
A few years later, I received a telephone call from L., who told me that she was leaving the cowboy and wished to be received back into the Church, to which she is faithful to this day. As Saint Augustine observed" "Late have I loved Thee, O Beauty, so ancient and so new. Late have I loved Thee."
A Jewish jeweler in New York whom I known for twenty-five years or more was always very kind to me. When I would ask him the price of anything, he would always say: "It cost me. .." Then he would check through his filing cabinet and be sure of the cost price; that would be the price for me. One year he went to Europe and during the trip at sea, as he was seated at the captain's table, I sent him a cablegram which read: "This cost me $7.87." He said he lost his soup in the reading of that cablegram.
One day he phoned me and said: "Would you like a large number of silver crucifixes?" I went down to see him, and in a little brown bag he had many dozens of silver crucifixes about four inches high. I said: "Where did you get these?" He said: "From Sisters. They brought them in to me and said they were not going to use them anymore - wearing the crucifixes separated them from the world. They wanted to know how much I would give them for the silver." What is wrong with your Church?" I answered: "Just that! The contempt of Christ and His Cross which makes it worldly." Those words became the channel of the Spirit working in his soul. I explained to him the cost of Redemption, the blood of Christ; he embraced the Faith and died in it.
In the parish where I worked in the early days of my priesthood, I took a census. Instead of knocking only at the doors of Catholics, I went to every single house in the poor parish. In a rather poor and tumbledown house, I was met by an elderly woman who told me that she had been a Catholic when she was a young girl. She invited me in while I was urging her to return to the Church, her son, who was evidently an automobile mechanic (which I gathered from the way he was dressed. and which I later learned was true) came in the back door. He was carrying a monkey wrench in his hand. He saw me in the chair and let the monkey wrench fly at my head. I had to dodge quickly to escape it.
He then went to the stairs and called his wife. The two of them standing over me, he said: "Look what the cat brought in." I said: "I would like to ask you a question or two about how much it cost to put a new carburetor into a Hudson." He said: "A Hudson is no good, and it is not being made anymore." Nevertheless, I insisted upon talking about prices, installation and service. After fifteen or twenty minutes he became rather normal. I said: "My good man, I do not have a Hudson; I am not interested in fixing up an old car." "Why, then, did you tell me you had a Hudson?" "I did not tell you I had a Hudson; I merely asked you how much it would cost to put a carburetor into a Hudson. I got on this particular subject just to prove that you could be kind." All of them afterward became devout members of our parish.
The pastor told me that he was given a gift of $10,000 to build a shrine altar to Our Lady. I expressed amazement that there was $10,000 in the entire parish. He said: "Well, it was given to me by such and such a woman." My eye ran down that street, and it seemed that none of the houses could be sold for $10,000. I inquired where she could possibly have gotten the money. He said: "Her brother was a bank robber, and I think that she probably was given this money, and is now returning it to the Church in reparation for his soul." I asked if he had ever tried to retrieve the robber, but he said he had not.
That afternoon, I called on the woman and her brother. He sat in an armchair, a very handsome, benign old man with a full head of white hair. I said: "How long has it been since you have been to Confession?" He said: "Seventy years." I said: "Would you not like to make your peace with God?" "No. That would be cowardice. Do you know my record? I have robbed banks and post offices to the tune of a quarter of a million dollars. I have spent over thirty years of my life in jail, and have killed two men. Why should I now, at the end of my life, be a coward and ask God to forgive me?" "Well" I said, "let us see how brave you are tomorrow morning. I will come here to your door at eight o'clock. I will not be alone; I will bring the Good Lord with me in the Blessed Sacrament. I am sure that you will not turn us both away." When I returned in the morning, he opened the door. I heard his confession and gave him Communion - which proved to be Viaticum because he died the next day. He was not the first thief the Lord saved on his last day.
Among the souls who have been treated during my days of "retreading" it just happened that two of them were associated with opera. One of them was a singer; and the other one, a vocal coach. When the coach first came to see me, she said that she was not sure that she would enter the Church. She began by laying down a condition. She said: "There is one thing that you must not talk about because if you do, you would prejudice me against the Church, and that is the crucifix." I said: "Very well, we will now begin with the crucifix because you do not understand it; otherwise you would love it."
When she was received into the Church, she would go backstage at the Metropolitan always holding a crucifix in her hand, reaching it out to singers who were a bit frightened to walk onto the stage, fearful of not fully playing their part. He encouraged them, and now some of them are also carrying the crucifix.
In conclusion, let no one make a false estimate of me and give me undue credit for being a convert-maker. As I said before, just as the tin soldier that a little boy plays with on a carpet before Christmas cannot with a touch of the hand be made into a flesh-and-blood soldier, so neither can I by myself make a Christian. I am only a porter who opens the door; it is the Lord Jesus Who walks in and does the carpentry and the masonry and the rebuilding on the inside. I have merely narrated cases where for the most part I had some success as a porter. I did not mention many in which I failed nor those who came into the Church and fell away, nor the occasions I had for bringing others closer to the Light when I failed to take advantage of the opportunity.
Years ago souls were brought to a belief in God by the order in the universe. Today souls are brought to God by disorder within themselves. It is less the beauty of creation and more the coiling serpents within the human breast which bring then to seek repose in Christ. Often times what appears to be a doctrinal objection against the Faith turns out to be a moral objection. Most people basically do not have trouble with the Creed, but with the commandments; not so much with what the Church teaches, as with how the Church asks us to behave.
I remember a stewardess on an international airline who began instructions. When we came to the subject of confession and sin, she said that she could not continue. I begged her to take one more hour of instruction, and then if she did not like what was said, she could leave. At the end of the second hour on that subject, she became almost violent and shouted: "Now I'll never join the Church after what I have heard about confessing sin." I said to her: "There is no proportion whatever between what you have heard and the way you are acting...Have you ever had an abortion?" She hung her head in shame and admitted that she had. That was the difficulty; it was not the sacrament of Penance. Later on I received her into the Church and baptized her first child. From my experience it is always well never to pay attention to what people say, but rather why they say it. So often there is a rationalization of the way they live.
BY ARCHBISHOP FULTON J. SHEEN ( 1895 to 1979 )
Page 3
Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
His moral problem was this: "I have never met one good man or one good woman in my life." I thanked him for the compliment, and he then continued: "This past eleventh of January over at that table there, a woman was trying to break a lump of sugar into a cup of coffee. As she could not do it, I broke the lump of sugar for her. She told me how cruel her husband was to her. I asked her to come and live with me, which she did." Continuing his story, he said: "I get tired of these women in about a year, so this morning I bundled up all of her clothes and left them with the concierge. She anticipated my move and left me this note" which he proceeded to hand to me. It read: "Dear Puppy: If you refuse to continue to live with me until the eleventh of February I shall throw myself into the Seine." He asked: "May I continue living with her to prevent her suicide?" "No, you may not do evil that good may come from it; and secondly, she will not commit suicide."
After dinner, he offered to walk me back to the hotel, but I told him: "I am not going back to the hotel; I am going to Montmartre." He said: "I was just beginning to think you are all right, and now you tell me you are going up to that hellhole of Paris." "Yes, but there is something on the hill of Montmartre besides 'dives.' On that hill is the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, where for night and day over fifty years there has been continuous adoration of the Blessed Sacrament." I begged him to go with me. He refused at first, and then relented - probably out of curiosity.
On the way up to Montmartre on the subway, I told him: "I have a thousand and one reasons for believing Jesus Christ is present on that altar tonight. You have only one: because I tell you so. Here will be at least a thousand men in adoration during the night. They are good men and if they have wives, they are good women and if they have children, they are good people in the world." As a matter of fact, when we entered, I recognized in the front row Jacques Maritain, the philosopher, and also the Romanian Prince Vladimir. "What shall I do - stand, sit, kneel?" Do just as you please." "How long?" Well, I intend to stay until the sun comes up over Paris tomorrow morning. But, "I added, I will leave whenever you care to go." He made no move to go and the next morning I offered Mass in the basilica.
As we descended the hill of Montmartre, he asked me if I would stay in Paris for a few days to teach him to be good. I promised to meet him that night at his apartment. At the appointed hour he came into the courtyard with another woman, not the woman he had mentioned the previous night. She could speak no English and he could speak little French. He said to me: "The three of us will go out for dinner." And I said: "No." Punning on the French word for crowd, which is foule, I said: "Two is company and three is foule. Furthermore, I have made an appointment with Mr.G. and I want to see him alone." I took Mr. G. aside and said: "Tonight you are either going out with that woman, or you are going out with me." He walked up and down the yard a few times and then came up to me saying: "Well, Father, I think I will go out with her." Two years later I saw him on the streets of Brussels. He did not recognize me. He was with another woman still - not the woman in the courtyard that evening. I have always had hopes that the good inspiration that he received during the night he spent with the men of prayer will eventually save his soul.
I was giving a Lenten course in the Paulist Church in New York City. After the talk, a young woman came into the rectory with a challenge: "I am an atheist; what are you going to do about it?" I answered: "I'll bet you a dime you cannot give me three good arguments for atheism; if you do, I will find three answers in a book that was written seven hundred years ago. She was not able to give three arguments, and so I collected the dime. "You ought to be ashamed not knowing them." I then began instructing her. The instructions lasted for almost a year.
On Easter I gave her First Holy Communion in St. Patrick's. About six weeks after her First Holy Communion, I phoned her: "Are you going to Mass every Sunday?" She replied: "Yes, I go to Mass everyday." "Do you go to Communion?" "No." "There is a reason for that. Are you going with a married man?" "Yes" she admitted. That particular evening I bumped into her and this man in the Waldorf-Astoria. He walked on ahead. She said: "I am marrying him before a justice of the peace, for he is not free to marry. He is a Jew and very well known in the theater. Tomorrow we will leave on our honeymoon, which will take us around the world." I said: "L., you will never be happy." Her last words were: "Well, maybe not."
"Every Good Friday as I preached the Three Hours in St. Patrick's Cathedral this girl would be under the pulpit, standing the entire three hours. One day I said to her: "Happy?" She said: "Yes, I would be - pointing to the crucifix - if it were not for Him." A year or so later, she asked me to give her husband instructions. The husband had been married to a Jewess. If he came into the Church he would be eligible for the Pauline Privilege. I was reluctant at first to give him instructions, but I finally entered upon them, and he proved to be one of the truest friends of my life. The chapel in my apartment was designed by this celebrated designer - a memorial to his skill and faith.
We made application to Rome for the validation of the marriage because of the Pauline Privilege. In due time it was received. He phoned her, for she was on a ranch in Wyoming, telling her the news to come home and be married in the Church. She said: "Sorry, I am divorcing you; I am marrying a cowboy." She married a cowboy who worked on a summer reach three or four months a year, and lived three or four miles off the nearest passable road. He was heartbroken and gave up hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of contracts in the theater and went to Arizona to ride horses and forget his troubles. As I gave him Holy Communion one Christmas night in the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in New York City, tears were streaming down his cheeks. After Mass he brought me a small golden crucifix. He said: "This was the wedding ring L. gave me when she married me; I told her I would never take it off. But when I phoned her in Wyoming and she told me she was divorcing me, I found the ring in the palm of my hand. I had it made into a cross. This was her gift to me - the gift of Faith and the cross of Christ."
This was his second marriage and a failure. I said to him: "You are still free to marry. Since you have had such a failure in picking a woman, I think you should allow me to court the woman and then you marry her." However, he did not pursue the courtship of the young woman I proposed, but married an actress who was received into the Church and I witnessed their marriage in Washington. His wife became an alcoholic and he spent the rest of his life alone, always loving, faithful and devoted to the Church. God gave me the grace to assist at his funeral.
A few years later, I received a telephone call from L., who told me that she was leaving the cowboy and wished to be received back into the Church, to which she is faithful to this day. As Saint Augustine observed" "Late have I loved Thee, O Beauty, so ancient and so new. Late have I loved Thee."
A Jewish jeweler in New York whom I known for twenty-five years or more was always very kind to me. When I would ask him the price of anything, he would always say: "It cost me. .." Then he would check through his filing cabinet and be sure of the cost price; that would be the price for me. One year he went to Europe and during the trip at sea, as he was seated at the captain's table, I sent him a cablegram which read: "This cost me $7.87." He said he lost his soup in the reading of that cablegram.
One day he phoned me and said: "Would you like a large number of silver crucifixes?" I went down to see him, and in a little brown bag he had many dozens of silver crucifixes about four inches high. I said: "Where did you get these?" He said: "From Sisters. They brought them in to me and said they were not going to use them anymore - wearing the crucifixes separated them from the world. They wanted to know how much I would give them for the silver." What is wrong with your Church?" I answered: "Just that! The contempt of Christ and His Cross which makes it worldly." Those words became the channel of the Spirit working in his soul. I explained to him the cost of Redemption, the blood of Christ; he embraced the Faith and died in it.
In the parish where I worked in the early days of my priesthood, I took a census. Instead of knocking only at the doors of Catholics, I went to every single house in the poor parish. In a rather poor and tumbledown house, I was met by an elderly woman who told me that she had been a Catholic when she was a young girl. She invited me in while I was urging her to return to the Church, her son, who was evidently an automobile mechanic (which I gathered from the way he was dressed. and which I later learned was true) came in the back door. He was carrying a monkey wrench in his hand. He saw me in the chair and let the monkey wrench fly at my head. I had to dodge quickly to escape it.
He then went to the stairs and called his wife. The two of them standing over me, he said: "Look what the cat brought in." I said: "I would like to ask you a question or two about how much it cost to put a new carburetor into a Hudson." He said: "A Hudson is no good, and it is not being made anymore." Nevertheless, I insisted upon talking about prices, installation and service. After fifteen or twenty minutes he became rather normal. I said: "My good man, I do not have a Hudson; I am not interested in fixing up an old car." "Why, then, did you tell me you had a Hudson?" "I did not tell you I had a Hudson; I merely asked you how much it would cost to put a carburetor into a Hudson. I got on this particular subject just to prove that you could be kind." All of them afterward became devout members of our parish.
The pastor told me that he was given a gift of $10,000 to build a shrine altar to Our Lady. I expressed amazement that there was $10,000 in the entire parish. He said: "Well, it was given to me by such and such a woman." My eye ran down that street, and it seemed that none of the houses could be sold for $10,000. I inquired where she could possibly have gotten the money. He said: "Her brother was a bank robber, and I think that she probably was given this money, and is now returning it to the Church in reparation for his soul." I asked if he had ever tried to retrieve the robber, but he said he had not.
That afternoon, I called on the woman and her brother. He sat in an armchair, a very handsome, benign old man with a full head of white hair. I said: "How long has it been since you have been to Confession?" He said: "Seventy years." I said: "Would you not like to make your peace with God?" "No. That would be cowardice. Do you know my record? I have robbed banks and post offices to the tune of a quarter of a million dollars. I have spent over thirty years of my life in jail, and have killed two men. Why should I now, at the end of my life, be a coward and ask God to forgive me?" "Well" I said, "let us see how brave you are tomorrow morning. I will come here to your door at eight o'clock. I will not be alone; I will bring the Good Lord with me in the Blessed Sacrament. I am sure that you will not turn us both away." When I returned in the morning, he opened the door. I heard his confession and gave him Communion - which proved to be Viaticum because he died the next day. He was not the first thief the Lord saved on his last day.
Among the souls who have been treated during my days of "retreading" it just happened that two of them were associated with opera. One of them was a singer; and the other one, a vocal coach. When the coach first came to see me, she said that she was not sure that she would enter the Church. She began by laying down a condition. She said: "There is one thing that you must not talk about because if you do, you would prejudice me against the Church, and that is the crucifix." I said: "Very well, we will now begin with the crucifix because you do not understand it; otherwise you would love it."
When she was received into the Church, she would go backstage at the Metropolitan always holding a crucifix in her hand, reaching it out to singers who were a bit frightened to walk onto the stage, fearful of not fully playing their part. He encouraged them, and now some of them are also carrying the crucifix.
In conclusion, let no one make a false estimate of me and give me undue credit for being a convert-maker. As I said before, just as the tin soldier that a little boy plays with on a carpet before Christmas cannot with a touch of the hand be made into a flesh-and-blood soldier, so neither can I by myself make a Christian. I am only a porter who opens the door; it is the Lord Jesus Who walks in and does the carpentry and the masonry and the rebuilding on the inside. I have merely narrated cases where for the most part I had some success as a porter. I did not mention many in which I failed nor those who came into the Church and fell away, nor the occasions I had for bringing others closer to the Light when I failed to take advantage of the opportunity.
Years ago souls were brought to a belief in God by the order in the universe. Today souls are brought to God by disorder within themselves. It is less the beauty of creation and more the coiling serpents within the human breast which bring then to seek repose in Christ. Often times what appears to be a doctrinal objection against the Faith turns out to be a moral objection. Most people basically do not have trouble with the Creed, but with the commandments; not so much with what the Church teaches, as with how the Church asks us to behave.
I remember a stewardess on an international airline who began instructions. When we came to the subject of confession and sin, she said that she could not continue. I begged her to take one more hour of instruction, and then if she did not like what was said, she could leave. At the end of the second hour on that subject, she became almost violent and shouted: "Now I'll never join the Church after what I have heard about confessing sin." I said to her: "There is no proportion whatever between what you have heard and the way you are acting...Have you ever had an abortion?" She hung her head in shame and admitted that she had. That was the difficulty; it was not the sacrament of Penance. Later on I received her into the Church and baptized her first child. From my experience it is always well never to pay attention to what people say, but rather why they say it. So often there is a rationalization of the way they live.
BY ARCHBISHOP FULTON J. SHEEN ( 1895 to 1979 )
Page 3
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By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
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Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Heywood Broun was one of the most distinguished newspapermen in America. Often he had been described as "Looking like an unmade bed" or a "one man slum." One Sunday I was passing the Plaza Hotel in New York with Fulton Oursler. In the main dining room of the Plaza Hotel we could see Heywood Broun. Fulton Oursler said: "Did you ever try to make a convert of Heywood?" When I answered in the negative, he said: "Try it."
The next weekend when I came to New York from Washington, I phoned Mr. Broun: "I should like to see you." He said: "About what?" "Your soul." "When?" "Three o'clock Saturday at the Navarro Hotel on Fifty-ninth Street." Mr. Broun explained: "Yes, I am interested in the Church for the the following reasons: I am convinced that the only moral authority left in the world is the Holy Father; second, I made a visit to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico and was deeply impressed by the devotion to the Mother of Christ. Finally, and most important, I do not want to die in my sins."
While I was instructing Mr. Broun he would often said: "Do not go into detail; I am not going to live long, just long enough to be absolved from my sins." Incidentally, he was the first person to receive Confirmation from Archbishop Spellman when he came to New York from Boston. About a month after I received him into the Church, I phoned him and said: "Heywood, you have run about a thousand miles; you had better come in and let me service you." He came in for Confession and a short time after that, he died. I preached his eulogy at Saint Patrick's Cathedral, and in the course of the sermon told the reasons he gave for wanting to become a Catholic. The next day the Communist Daily Worker carried the headline: "Monsignor Sheen reveals the secrets of the confessional." What were given, of course, were the reasons Mr. Broun gave me when I first met him.
Herbert Hoover and Al Smith were the principal candidates in the 1928 campaign for President. The Hoover campaign was directed by Horace Mann. Bigots during the campaign warned Americans that if Catholic were elected President, the Pope would sit in the White House. Al Smith answered the bigotry, when he attributed to Mann, in a famous speech delivered in Oklahoma City. In the meantime I was very friendly with Al Smith, and for years took dinner with him every Sunday night. Sometime after the election, I called on Horace Mann and proposed instructions. He said that he could not accept the authority of the Church, for his authority was the Holy Bible.
I told him the Holy Bible is not a book, but a collection of books. Someone had to gather them together and authenticate their authorship as inspiration. As the Supreme Court interprets the Constitution, so the Church safeguards the Holy Bible. Furthermore, the Church was established throughout the Roman Empire before any book of the New Testament was written. Later on, Horace Mann and Mrs. Mann were both received into the fullness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Al Smith sent them both a telegram of congratulations on the day of their First Communion. Horace Mann told me that he was in no way responsible for the anti-Catholic side of the Hoover campaign.
Many letters were received in the course of one week asking me to visit friends and relatives in various hospitals in New York. I spent one afternoon and evening making the visitations. The last patient whom I saw this day was on the eleventh floor of Memorial Hospital. I was very happy that the evening was over, for I was hungry and tired. When I descended to the first floor, the elevator man said: "Oh, I forgot to tell you, there was a nurse on the eleventh floor who wanted to meet you." It was one of those moments when you wonder whether or not you should trouble yourself.
But I went back. the nurse said: "Oh, I saw you on television, and I just wanted to meet you." "Are you a Catholic?" I asked. "No." "Are you engaged?" "Yes." "Is he a Catholic?" "Yes." I said: "What does he do?" "He is a doctor studying a specialist." I said: "Very well, you and the doctor come to my home tomorrow night for dinner, and begin instructions." I finished instructions for the nurse and later went to Canada to witness their marriage, and in the course of the years, baptized their six sons: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, and Paul.
I was told about a leper in New York City. Being interested in that work, on account of visiting leper colonies and because of my association with the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, I spent about six months searching for him. He was put out of his home by his parents when they discovered the disease. His hands and feet were badly twisted and his face bore the marks of the disease. It took several months to drive hatred out of his soul, but then, under the inspiration of grace, he was received into the Church and it has been the happiness of my life to help support him ever since. I had him to my table very frequently and we became close friends.
One evening a well-dressed woman with a rather affected accent called on me. She explained: "I would like to become a Catholic, but I would not want any ordinary priest to instruct me, for I am an intellectual. Knowing your background, would you intellectualize your faith for me?" "Madam" I am willing to instruct anyone who comes to me. As a matter of fact, a young man with leprosy who just finished instructions sat in that very chair on which you are seated now." She literally flew out of the house and I never heard from her again.
I put in a telephone call one day to Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce and invited her to dinner. After dinner, as we got into the subject of religion, I said: "Give me five minutes to talk to you about God, and then I will give an hour to state your own views." About the third minutes, when I mentioned the goodness of God, she immediately bounded out of the chair, stuck her finger under my nose and said: "If God is good, why did he take my daughter?" Her young daughter, a short time before, had been killed in an automobile accident. I answered: "In order through the sorrow, you might be here now starting instructions to know Christ and His Church."
Never in my life have I been privileged to instruct anyone who was an brilliant and who was so scintillating in conversation as Mrs. Luce. She had a mind like a rapier.
If I added up all the summers I spent in Saint Patrick's Church, Soho Square, in London, they would amount to six or seven years. Being an American, I opened the church in the morning, for the Americans rose earlier than the English did. This particular Epiphany morning in January, a limp figure fell in - that of a young woman about twenty-four or twenty-five years of age. "How do you happen to be here?" "Well, where am I, Father?" "Oh, 'Father'?" She said: "Yes, I used to be a Catholic, but not anymore." I said: "Were you drunk?" She admitted she was. I added: "Men drink because they like the stuff; women drink because they do not like something else. Who are you running from?" She said: "Three men - and they they are beginning to find out, so I got drunk."
It was one of those typically cold January mornings in London; she had been exposed to the cold all night long; I made a cup of tea and asked her name. I pointed to a billboard across the street, asking: "Is that your picture over there on the billboard?" "Yes, I am the leading lady in that musical comedy." I invited her to come back that afternoon before the matinee. She agreed on one condition: "that you do not ask me to go to Confession." I said: "I promise not to ask you to go to Confession." She said: "I want you to promise me faithfully not to ask me to go to Confession." I said: "I promise you faithfully not to ask you to go to Confession." That afternoon before the matinee, she returned. I then told her that we had a Rembrandt and a Vick Dyck in the church: "Would you like to see them?" As we walked down the side aisle, we passed a confessional. I push her in. I did not ask her to go, for I had promised not to ask her to go. Two years later I gave her veil in a convent in London, where she is to this very hour.
Mr. Louis Budenz was the editor of the Communist Daily Worker in New York City. He had written a series of articles in the paper attacking me. Many of the articles asked rhetorical questions. I answered all of them in a booklet entitled "Communism answered the Questions of a Communist" - but not in my own words, only by quotations from Marx or Lenin. When Budenz would lecture in Union Square, New York, many would use my pamphlet to refute him. But a short time after the publication of the pamphlet, he asked to see me. I did not know until years later that the Central Committee of the Communists asked him to contact me in the hope that they could win me over to their cause.
The conversation at dinner opened by his saying: "I tell you what we have against you; you do not believe that Russia is a democracy." I answered: "How can you say that Russia is a democracy in light of Article 118 to 124 in the Soviet Constitution?" He retorted: "What are those articles?" I told him I was not interested in discussing communism; I wanted to talk about his soul. Six or seven years passed. Then he wrote and asked to see me again, and returned to the Faith. Only recently did I learn from Mrs. Budenz that he would not allow any radio in the house to be turned on to me while I spoke - so much did he detest me. Later she asked him why he chose to contact me since he bore such animosity. His answer was: "He told me that he was interested in my soul."
Instructions had to be conducted by stealth. I would drive at night to his home in Westchester and sit around the table with him and his wife. She was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and also was willing to take instructions. The instructions went on for several months and were held in the greatest secrecy. Then came the night of his reception into the Church and the eve of his Communion. About seven o'clock that night, I sent word to the Associated Press that Louis Budenz had been received into the Church. A short time afterward, one of the members of the Communist party called me and asked: "Is it true you have received Louis Budenz into the Catholic Church?"
I said: "Don't tell me that the Communist Daily Worker is at last interested in the truth?" His retort cannot be found in any manual of prayer. The following morning, Budenz and his wife and children were received into the Church at Saint Patrick's Cathedral. It might be added that the conversion of Louis Budenz took the Communist party so much by surprise that the masthead of their Daily Worker had his name as editor in chief the day of his coming to Christ.
Continuing other historical incidents of the spirit of God in souls, I recall a surprise visit made one day from a German who told me that he had been with his country's Army in World War I. During a heavy bombardment he said that he jumped from shell hole to shell hole to escape. Immediately after leaving one, a shell exploded in the hole he had left. Most of his companions in the shell hole were Catholics who recited the Rosary. He heard them recite the Rosary so often that he knew the prayers by heart. He promised God that he would become a Catholic if he were preserved safe from the war. That was the reason for his visit to me. Later on we gave him instructions, and he became a professor in one of our American universities.
When I was hearing confessions in a church on the eve of the first Friday each month, a young woman entered and began: "I am not here to go to Confession; I am here to kill time." I asked: "How much time would you like to kill?" She said: About five minutes." Again I inquired about whom she was trying to fool besides God. "My mother" she said; "she thinks I am going to Confession. She is waiting outside for me." I asked her if she were afraid to go to Confession and she said that she was. I said: "Well, if I could see you, I could probably make your confession for you. Will you let me take down this veil between us and turn on the light?" She agreed. I said to her: "You are a streetwalker." "Yes" she answered. "Well, that is your confession, is it not?" "No" she said, "there is something else." I begged and pleaded with her for twenty minutes or more to tell me - but to no avail. I then asked her to kneel at the Communion rail for a few minutes before leaving church. She said that she would think it over.
On leaving the Church, I met her on the steps. I pleaded with her again for a half hour to tell me why she would not go to the Sacraments. "I will tell you" she said, "and then I will leave. Because I was arrested for street walking, I was put into the home of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. I promised the devil that I would make nine sacrilegious Communions if he would get me out of the home. On the ninth day I escaped." With that she ran away. When I went back that evening for confessions, I asked every penitent to recite the Rosary for the conversion of a sinner. All agreed except one. I finished hearing confessions about nine o'clock, went to the Communion rail and knelt there from nine until twelve-thirty praying for her. At twelve-thirty the front door opened. I was almost afraid to look, thinking it might be a policeman worried about lights in the church after midnight. It was the girl, who walked immediately into the confessional, to make her peace with God.
While I was teaching at Catholic University, I used to receive letters almost every few weeks from a baroness in New York. The name was in big letters on the outside of the envelope. Each letter invited me to dinner. I had made it a rule practically never to accept social engagements. The more you become known in the world, the more you have to stay away from it. In any case, having despaired of the invitations that were not accepted, she wrote stating that she was interested in becoming Catholic.
Each weekend I would go up from Washington to instruct her. About the fifth visit, she inquired: "Are you always going to give me instructions?" I said: "Yes" "You know, I have no money." "I am not giving you instructions because of money; I am only interested in your soul." She pointed to a bracelet around her wrist: "This is not gold; it is made out of thorns that are gilded. You see this necklace about my neck; it is not gold, it is made out of seashells that are gilded." It was probably her intent to convince me that she had no money that prompted her to show me the trinkets. I finished the instructions and received her into the Church. That summer she invited me to visit her in Paris. Another priest friend and I went over to visit her. She was living in a chateau that once belonged to Louis XV, located about fifteen miles outside Paris. It was a tremendous edifice with a moat around it and white deer grazing in the park. She was quite elderly when I received her into the Church, and I had the pleasure of supporting her soul with sacraments and prayers at her death.
Page 2
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
The next weekend when I came to New York from Washington, I phoned Mr. Broun: "I should like to see you." He said: "About what?" "Your soul." "When?" "Three o'clock Saturday at the Navarro Hotel on Fifty-ninth Street." Mr. Broun explained: "Yes, I am interested in the Church for the the following reasons: I am convinced that the only moral authority left in the world is the Holy Father; second, I made a visit to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico and was deeply impressed by the devotion to the Mother of Christ. Finally, and most important, I do not want to die in my sins."
While I was instructing Mr. Broun he would often said: "Do not go into detail; I am not going to live long, just long enough to be absolved from my sins." Incidentally, he was the first person to receive Confirmation from Archbishop Spellman when he came to New York from Boston. About a month after I received him into the Church, I phoned him and said: "Heywood, you have run about a thousand miles; you had better come in and let me service you." He came in for Confession and a short time after that, he died. I preached his eulogy at Saint Patrick's Cathedral, and in the course of the sermon told the reasons he gave for wanting to become a Catholic. The next day the Communist Daily Worker carried the headline: "Monsignor Sheen reveals the secrets of the confessional." What were given, of course, were the reasons Mr. Broun gave me when I first met him.
Herbert Hoover and Al Smith were the principal candidates in the 1928 campaign for President. The Hoover campaign was directed by Horace Mann. Bigots during the campaign warned Americans that if Catholic were elected President, the Pope would sit in the White House. Al Smith answered the bigotry, when he attributed to Mann, in a famous speech delivered in Oklahoma City. In the meantime I was very friendly with Al Smith, and for years took dinner with him every Sunday night. Sometime after the election, I called on Horace Mann and proposed instructions. He said that he could not accept the authority of the Church, for his authority was the Holy Bible.
I told him the Holy Bible is not a book, but a collection of books. Someone had to gather them together and authenticate their authorship as inspiration. As the Supreme Court interprets the Constitution, so the Church safeguards the Holy Bible. Furthermore, the Church was established throughout the Roman Empire before any book of the New Testament was written. Later on, Horace Mann and Mrs. Mann were both received into the fullness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Al Smith sent them both a telegram of congratulations on the day of their First Communion. Horace Mann told me that he was in no way responsible for the anti-Catholic side of the Hoover campaign.
Many letters were received in the course of one week asking me to visit friends and relatives in various hospitals in New York. I spent one afternoon and evening making the visitations. The last patient whom I saw this day was on the eleventh floor of Memorial Hospital. I was very happy that the evening was over, for I was hungry and tired. When I descended to the first floor, the elevator man said: "Oh, I forgot to tell you, there was a nurse on the eleventh floor who wanted to meet you." It was one of those moments when you wonder whether or not you should trouble yourself.
But I went back. the nurse said: "Oh, I saw you on television, and I just wanted to meet you." "Are you a Catholic?" I asked. "No." "Are you engaged?" "Yes." "Is he a Catholic?" "Yes." I said: "What does he do?" "He is a doctor studying a specialist." I said: "Very well, you and the doctor come to my home tomorrow night for dinner, and begin instructions." I finished instructions for the nurse and later went to Canada to witness their marriage, and in the course of the years, baptized their six sons: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, and Paul.
I was told about a leper in New York City. Being interested in that work, on account of visiting leper colonies and because of my association with the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, I spent about six months searching for him. He was put out of his home by his parents when they discovered the disease. His hands and feet were badly twisted and his face bore the marks of the disease. It took several months to drive hatred out of his soul, but then, under the inspiration of grace, he was received into the Church and it has been the happiness of my life to help support him ever since. I had him to my table very frequently and we became close friends.
One evening a well-dressed woman with a rather affected accent called on me. She explained: "I would like to become a Catholic, but I would not want any ordinary priest to instruct me, for I am an intellectual. Knowing your background, would you intellectualize your faith for me?" "Madam" I am willing to instruct anyone who comes to me. As a matter of fact, a young man with leprosy who just finished instructions sat in that very chair on which you are seated now." She literally flew out of the house and I never heard from her again.
I put in a telephone call one day to Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce and invited her to dinner. After dinner, as we got into the subject of religion, I said: "Give me five minutes to talk to you about God, and then I will give an hour to state your own views." About the third minutes, when I mentioned the goodness of God, she immediately bounded out of the chair, stuck her finger under my nose and said: "If God is good, why did he take my daughter?" Her young daughter, a short time before, had been killed in an automobile accident. I answered: "In order through the sorrow, you might be here now starting instructions to know Christ and His Church."
Never in my life have I been privileged to instruct anyone who was an brilliant and who was so scintillating in conversation as Mrs. Luce. She had a mind like a rapier.
If I added up all the summers I spent in Saint Patrick's Church, Soho Square, in London, they would amount to six or seven years. Being an American, I opened the church in the morning, for the Americans rose earlier than the English did. This particular Epiphany morning in January, a limp figure fell in - that of a young woman about twenty-four or twenty-five years of age. "How do you happen to be here?" "Well, where am I, Father?" "Oh, 'Father'?" She said: "Yes, I used to be a Catholic, but not anymore." I said: "Were you drunk?" She admitted she was. I added: "Men drink because they like the stuff; women drink because they do not like something else. Who are you running from?" She said: "Three men - and they they are beginning to find out, so I got drunk."
It was one of those typically cold January mornings in London; she had been exposed to the cold all night long; I made a cup of tea and asked her name. I pointed to a billboard across the street, asking: "Is that your picture over there on the billboard?" "Yes, I am the leading lady in that musical comedy." I invited her to come back that afternoon before the matinee. She agreed on one condition: "that you do not ask me to go to Confession." I said: "I promise not to ask you to go to Confession." She said: "I want you to promise me faithfully not to ask me to go to Confession." I said: "I promise you faithfully not to ask you to go to Confession." That afternoon before the matinee, she returned. I then told her that we had a Rembrandt and a Vick Dyck in the church: "Would you like to see them?" As we walked down the side aisle, we passed a confessional. I push her in. I did not ask her to go, for I had promised not to ask her to go. Two years later I gave her veil in a convent in London, where she is to this very hour.
Mr. Louis Budenz was the editor of the Communist Daily Worker in New York City. He had written a series of articles in the paper attacking me. Many of the articles asked rhetorical questions. I answered all of them in a booklet entitled "Communism answered the Questions of a Communist" - but not in my own words, only by quotations from Marx or Lenin. When Budenz would lecture in Union Square, New York, many would use my pamphlet to refute him. But a short time after the publication of the pamphlet, he asked to see me. I did not know until years later that the Central Committee of the Communists asked him to contact me in the hope that they could win me over to their cause.
The conversation at dinner opened by his saying: "I tell you what we have against you; you do not believe that Russia is a democracy." I answered: "How can you say that Russia is a democracy in light of Article 118 to 124 in the Soviet Constitution?" He retorted: "What are those articles?" I told him I was not interested in discussing communism; I wanted to talk about his soul. Six or seven years passed. Then he wrote and asked to see me again, and returned to the Faith. Only recently did I learn from Mrs. Budenz that he would not allow any radio in the house to be turned on to me while I spoke - so much did he detest me. Later she asked him why he chose to contact me since he bore such animosity. His answer was: "He told me that he was interested in my soul."
Instructions had to be conducted by stealth. I would drive at night to his home in Westchester and sit around the table with him and his wife. She was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and also was willing to take instructions. The instructions went on for several months and were held in the greatest secrecy. Then came the night of his reception into the Church and the eve of his Communion. About seven o'clock that night, I sent word to the Associated Press that Louis Budenz had been received into the Church. A short time afterward, one of the members of the Communist party called me and asked: "Is it true you have received Louis Budenz into the Catholic Church?"
I said: "Don't tell me that the Communist Daily Worker is at last interested in the truth?" His retort cannot be found in any manual of prayer. The following morning, Budenz and his wife and children were received into the Church at Saint Patrick's Cathedral. It might be added that the conversion of Louis Budenz took the Communist party so much by surprise that the masthead of their Daily Worker had his name as editor in chief the day of his coming to Christ.
Continuing other historical incidents of the spirit of God in souls, I recall a surprise visit made one day from a German who told me that he had been with his country's Army in World War I. During a heavy bombardment he said that he jumped from shell hole to shell hole to escape. Immediately after leaving one, a shell exploded in the hole he had left. Most of his companions in the shell hole were Catholics who recited the Rosary. He heard them recite the Rosary so often that he knew the prayers by heart. He promised God that he would become a Catholic if he were preserved safe from the war. That was the reason for his visit to me. Later on we gave him instructions, and he became a professor in one of our American universities.
When I was hearing confessions in a church on the eve of the first Friday each month, a young woman entered and began: "I am not here to go to Confession; I am here to kill time." I asked: "How much time would you like to kill?" She said: About five minutes." Again I inquired about whom she was trying to fool besides God. "My mother" she said; "she thinks I am going to Confession. She is waiting outside for me." I asked her if she were afraid to go to Confession and she said that she was. I said: "Well, if I could see you, I could probably make your confession for you. Will you let me take down this veil between us and turn on the light?" She agreed. I said to her: "You are a streetwalker." "Yes" she answered. "Well, that is your confession, is it not?" "No" she said, "there is something else." I begged and pleaded with her for twenty minutes or more to tell me - but to no avail. I then asked her to kneel at the Communion rail for a few minutes before leaving church. She said that she would think it over.
On leaving the Church, I met her on the steps. I pleaded with her again for a half hour to tell me why she would not go to the Sacraments. "I will tell you" she said, "and then I will leave. Because I was arrested for street walking, I was put into the home of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. I promised the devil that I would make nine sacrilegious Communions if he would get me out of the home. On the ninth day I escaped." With that she ran away. When I went back that evening for confessions, I asked every penitent to recite the Rosary for the conversion of a sinner. All agreed except one. I finished hearing confessions about nine o'clock, went to the Communion rail and knelt there from nine until twelve-thirty praying for her. At twelve-thirty the front door opened. I was almost afraid to look, thinking it might be a policeman worried about lights in the church after midnight. It was the girl, who walked immediately into the confessional, to make her peace with God.
While I was teaching at Catholic University, I used to receive letters almost every few weeks from a baroness in New York. The name was in big letters on the outside of the envelope. Each letter invited me to dinner. I had made it a rule practically never to accept social engagements. The more you become known in the world, the more you have to stay away from it. In any case, having despaired of the invitations that were not accepted, she wrote stating that she was interested in becoming Catholic.
Each weekend I would go up from Washington to instruct her. About the fifth visit, she inquired: "Are you always going to give me instructions?" I said: "Yes" "You know, I have no money." "I am not giving you instructions because of money; I am only interested in your soul." She pointed to a bracelet around her wrist: "This is not gold; it is made out of thorns that are gilded. You see this necklace about my neck; it is not gold, it is made out of seashells that are gilded." It was probably her intent to convince me that she had no money that prompted her to show me the trinkets. I finished the instructions and received her into the Church. That summer she invited me to visit her in Paris. Another priest friend and I went over to visit her. She was living in a chateau that once belonged to Louis XV, located about fifteen miles outside Paris. It was a tremendous edifice with a moat around it and white deer grazing in the park. She was quite elderly when I received her into the Church, and I had the pleasure of supporting her soul with sacraments and prayers at her death.
Page 2
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Friday, October 5, 2012
A bishop or a priest never touches reality until he touches a soul. The Lord balanced the universe against a soul and the soul won: "What will a man gain by winning the whole world, at the cost of his true self?" Or: "What can he give that will buy that self back?" Saint James assures us that "any person who brings a person back from his crooked ways will be rescuing his souls from death and canceling innumerable sins." - My brothers, if one of you strays away from the truth, and another brings him back to it, he may be sure that anyone who can bring back a sinner from the wrong way that he has taken will be saving a soul from death and covering up a great number of sins. - James 5:19-20 - Saint Paul pronounced a woe against himself if he did not save souls. "It would be misery for me not to preach." The world is in a tragic state when salesmen do not believe in their products and soldiers are not on fire with their cause.
But the subject of making converts and saving souls is a very difficult one, for it is easy to believe that we are the agents who cause the results, when actually all we are at best are instruments of God. As it has been said - He can write straight with a crooked lines. Pope Pius XII once asked me: "How many converts have you made in your life?" I answered: "Your Holiness, I have never counted them. I am afraid if I did count them. I might think I made them, instead of the Lord Jesus Christ."
"Conversion" in Greek is metanoia, or a complete turning around from the direction which we are facing. Talking once to a group of drug addicts in Harlem, I gave this example: Suppose I took a ball and rolled it down the center of this hall; it would evidently go in a straight line, unless it was diverted by some outside force. When we are living our lives in the direction of selfishness and lust and pride, there will be a continuity in that way of life unless some superior force intervenes from the outside, and that is grace - to know things which we did not know before.
It is possible for a human being to live on anyone of three levels - the first level is the senate, in which one cares for the flesh and its pleasures. Peoples can live also on a second or higher floor, and that is the rational, Here he will pursue the good pagan life and practice natural virtues with enthusiasm. Under the inspiration of reason he may be tolerant, contribute to the needy and to community enterprises, but he refuses to believe that there is a Knowledge above that which he possesses and a Power above that which he experiences.
To invite a person who lives on the second floor of reason to the third floor above is often to invite ridicule of what is called supernatural order. These critics are willing to admit an evolutionary process on a horizontal plane until man is produced but they refuse to mount to the third floor, sometimes denying its possibility. Two tadpoles were discussing the possibility of any kingdom above their own. One little tadpole said to the other" "I think I will stick my head above the water to see what the rest of the world looks like." The other tadpole answered: "Don't be stupid; don't try to tell me that there is anything in the world besides water!"
Conversion is an experience in no way related to the upsurge of the subconscious into consciousness; it is a gift of God, an invasion of a new Power, the inner penetration of our spirit by the Spirit and the turning over of a whole personality to Christ. If I begin to recall some instances of conversion during the course of my life, it will not be to shed any glory upon myself, for I could no more make someone else a Christian by my own influence than I could turn a sawdust doll into a pretty little child of six. I am, nonetheless, grateful that God used me to bring others to Himself. I have always had a deep passion for helping others to find faith.
When I was stationed in Washington I would go to New York almost every weekend to instruct converts on Saturday and preach on Sunday, in either the Paulist Church or St. Patrick's Cathedral. Because I was on national radio at this particular time, many wrote asking for instructions. These classes were first held in the rectory if the cathedral, in Saint Patrick's Cathedral and later on a small auditorium. I was constantly warned by my fellow professors at the university that I was shortening my life. It was universally agreed that I would never live to reach the age of forty-five. During holidays I would accept engagements throughout the country. I once spent seven consecutive nights on "sleepers" and I can testify that those were the only moments I ever doubted that a man was made to the image and likeness of God-for that resemblance is forfeited as he tries to take off his trousers in an upper berth!
During this period When I would hold two convert classes annually (one in New York City, and the other in Washington) there would be an average attendance of between fifty and one hundred who would eventually become members of the Mystical Body of Christ. The period of instruction either for an individual or for a group would be at least twenty to twenty-five hours. A very noticeable change would come over a group as the instructions developed. At the first meetings, each would seek out the best seat and was reluctant to allow another to take his place. But once an instruction was given on Christ, the group immediately changed - offering a place to one another, helping each other with coats and accepting everyone in the group as all bent on a common purpose: an encounter with Christ.
Though I give here a few examples of metanoia, I must remind you that there were hundreds of others besides these whom I recall: housekeepers, flight attendants, ministers, beggars at the door, businessmen, housewives, alcoholics and college students. Some few cases, however, will illustrate the following three points:
First, many are seeking God without being aware of it. As Newman said: "I knew the Church was the true Church, but I did not know that I knew." Pascal noted: "Console thyself, thou wouldst not seek Me if thou had not found Me."
Second, some may acknowledge the existence of God, but He is on the circumference of their lives. As Voltaire said of God: "We nod, but we do not speak." Though a convert may be described in the last stages as a rose that bloomed, it must ever be kept in mind that the one who explains the Creed and commandments is nothing more than the gardener with a hoe and a rake.
Third, the one who receives enlightenment always experiences in his soul a sense of repentance or a discovery that life as lived until now was not right in the sight of God. I recall with what Tertullian said: "Penitence is a certain passion of the mind which comes from disgust at some previous feeling." Christ becomes not just the agent of repentance to the convert, but also the agent of forgiveness. I have never known a convert who did not say two things: "I am a sinner" and "I am forgiven."
The following recollections about those who embraced Christ in His Church prove the truth of the above statements.
Bella Dodd was the lawyer of the Communist party, and had considerable influence in the labor unions of New York City. She was testifying one day before the Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, and Senator McGrath of Rhode Island asked her to pay me a visit. "What has he to give me?" Senator McGrath answered: "He teaches communism at the Catholic University, that is to say, he knows the philosophy of Marx and Lenin." The senator then asked her if she was afraid to visit me. She accepted the challenge and telephoned me that she was on the way. We met in a small outer room at my residence and exchanged generalities, after which I observed: "Dr. Dodd, you look unhappy." She said: "Why do you say that?" I said: "Oh, I suppose, in some way, we priests are like doctors who can diagnose a patient by looking at him." When the conversation came to a dead end, I suggested that she come into the chapel and say a prayer. While we knelt, silently, she began to cry. She was touched by grace. Later on, I instructed her and received her into the Church. With Marx behind her, she began teaching law first in Texas and later at Saint John's University in Brooklyn.
My first convert as a young priest was in Washington, D.C. and it illustrates how much Divine Light in the soul, rather than the efforts of the evangelist, produce the harvest. When I went to the Catholic University to begin graduate studies, an aunt of mine asked me to visit a relative of hers who was ill. She was a fairly young, married woman with two children. I had been warned, however, that she was not well disposed to Catholics. When I introduced myself at the front door, she spit in my face and told me to leave. That was in the month of September. Every single morning in Holy Mass I begged God to give her the grace of conversion. In February I received a telephone call from her. I asked: "Why did you send for me?" She said: "I do not know. I went to the doctor yesterday and he told me that i would be dead in two weeks." She drew her two young children to herself and wondered who would care for them. I assured her that she was not going to die in two weeks and told her of the prayers I offered for her conversion. "The Lord, I believe, is frightening you into the Church." The next day I began explaining the teachings of the Church, baptized her in May and continued to keep in touch with her for many years.
I remember the first convert I made in France, after two years of graduate study in Europe. In preparation for the University of Louvain in the autumn, I spent the summer at the University of Paris to train my ear to French boardinghouse in the Latin Quarter: rue Jules Chaplain. There were about five or six other boarders in the pension, most of whom were American. After a week, Madame Citroen, who managed the boardinghouse, knocked at my door and said something in French which I could not understand. I called two schoolteachers from Boston who were residents in the pension, and asked them to interpret. Madame had said that she was baptized a Catholic, married in the Church, but after marriage and World War I, her husband left her. One daughter, who was born to them, became a woman of the streets. She added that the boardinghouse was a financial failure, and she felt no reason to live. Then, pulling a small bottle out of her pocket, she said: "This is poison; I intend to take it and do away with my life. Can you do anything for me?" I said, through the interpreter, "Madame, I cannot do anything for you if you intend to take that stuff." I asked her, however, to postpone her suicide for nine days.
I the began a novena to the Sacred Heart at the Church of the Notre Dame des Champs. Kneeling before the statue of the Sacred Heart, I pleaded: "If you really love souls - and you do - then save this one." Every evening of the novena, I would take a dictionary on my left hand, thumb it with my right, and with a contemptuous disregard for tenses, would attempt to stammer out some simple, elementary Christian truth in French. However, knowing that she could not be brought back to the Faith by my poor instructions in French, I had recourse to the confessional. I reasoned that if she would humble herself, and go to Confession, the Good Lord Jesus would give her grace.
Two nights before the novena ended, I took her to the Saint Joseph Church near the Etoile and asked one of the Irish priests there who spoke French to hear her confession. But she did not receive the gift of Faith. In the meantime, I asked one of the servant girls in the house how long she had been away from the sacraments. I then begged her to go to Confession the final day of the novena with Madame. During the confession, the night before the novena ended, she received the gift of Faith, and the following day I gave her Communion; the French maid also received Communion.
In the fall, I went to the University of Louvain. Madame wrote to me, telling me that her daughter was seriously ill in Chartres. She was willing to give up anything, provided God would spare her daughter. I asked her to make an offering of her daughter; it might be a means of reconciling her and her husband. So it happened. Her husband, whom she had not heard from in years, came to visit the sick daughter. The husband and wife were reconciled at the sickbed. The daughter recovered. In the end, grace triumphed as the mother and daughter restored the husband to the Church. The following summer on my way to Lourdes, I stopped at Dax and was driven away to a beautiful chateau in the mountains where, for three days, I enjoyed the hospitality of Monsieur and Madame and Mademoiselle Citroen. When I visited the village priest I asked if the Citroens were practicing the Faith. He did not know the story but answered: "They are the most wonderful Catholics in the Pyrenees. Isn't it beautiful when people keep the Faith all during their lives!"
Then there is the beautiful story of the conversion of Fritz Kreisler and his wife. I received a letter from a stranger who asked me to call on her uncle. His wife had committed suicide a short time before by throwing herself out of the window. The writer asked that I try to bring some consolation to the uncle. The apartment house in Manhattan alongside the East River was the type that had only two apartments to a floor. I went to the apartment where I expected to visit the man in question, but he was not at home. I asked the elevator man who lived in the other apartment, and he told me - Fritz Kreisler.
I rang the bell, introduced myself to Fritz and Mrs. Kreisler, and after a short conversation, asked them if they would like to take instructions for the Church. Fritz Kreisler was one of the finest and noblest men I ever met in my entire life. When I would quote a text from the Old Testament, he would read it in Hebrew; when I would quote a text from the New Testament, Fritz would read it in Greek. One evening during an auto trip together, I observed: "Fritz, tomorrow you are playing your violin on 'The Telephone Hour.' "Yes." "Will you practice?" "No." "Will you practice before the concert?" "No." With that, Mrs. Kreisler said: "I always contended that if Fritz had practiced, he would have been a great violinist."
When I began mu television series, I asked Fritz to write me a theme song for my programs. He gave me about forty or fifty manuscripts that had never been copyrighted. He told me to choose from anyone of these, and he would give me the copyright. The one that I chose, as I remembered it, was the "Vienna March." I took it back to Fritz. "This is the one that I like, but I cannot march on stage. Can you change it to waltz time?" Fritz said: "It cannot be put in waltz time." I said: "Fritz, you can transpose anything; please sit down at the piano and try it." "No" he said, "It can't be done." I begged him and he sat down at the piano, played one measure and said: "See, I told you; it cannot be done." With that, Mrs. Kreisler said: "Fritz is in his 'no' mood tonight." She then took him by the hand, walked him down the corridor to another studio at the other end of the apartment. A short time later I heard the strains of my theme song coming from the piano in waltz time. It later became my theme song on television.
I was a very close friend of the Kreislers from the time of their reception into the Church, and it was tragic to see Fritz in his last days, blind and deaf from an automobile accident, but radiating a gentleness and refinement not unlike his music. I visited them every week for some years until the Lord called them from the Church Militant to the Church Triumphant, where I am sure the music of Fritz Kreisler is in repertoire of Heaven.
Page 1
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
But the subject of making converts and saving souls is a very difficult one, for it is easy to believe that we are the agents who cause the results, when actually all we are at best are instruments of God. As it has been said - He can write straight with a crooked lines. Pope Pius XII once asked me: "How many converts have you made in your life?" I answered: "Your Holiness, I have never counted them. I am afraid if I did count them. I might think I made them, instead of the Lord Jesus Christ."
"Conversion" in Greek is metanoia, or a complete turning around from the direction which we are facing. Talking once to a group of drug addicts in Harlem, I gave this example: Suppose I took a ball and rolled it down the center of this hall; it would evidently go in a straight line, unless it was diverted by some outside force. When we are living our lives in the direction of selfishness and lust and pride, there will be a continuity in that way of life unless some superior force intervenes from the outside, and that is grace - to know things which we did not know before.
It is possible for a human being to live on anyone of three levels - the first level is the senate, in which one cares for the flesh and its pleasures. Peoples can live also on a second or higher floor, and that is the rational, Here he will pursue the good pagan life and practice natural virtues with enthusiasm. Under the inspiration of reason he may be tolerant, contribute to the needy and to community enterprises, but he refuses to believe that there is a Knowledge above that which he possesses and a Power above that which he experiences.
To invite a person who lives on the second floor of reason to the third floor above is often to invite ridicule of what is called supernatural order. These critics are willing to admit an evolutionary process on a horizontal plane until man is produced but they refuse to mount to the third floor, sometimes denying its possibility. Two tadpoles were discussing the possibility of any kingdom above their own. One little tadpole said to the other" "I think I will stick my head above the water to see what the rest of the world looks like." The other tadpole answered: "Don't be stupid; don't try to tell me that there is anything in the world besides water!"
Conversion is an experience in no way related to the upsurge of the subconscious into consciousness; it is a gift of God, an invasion of a new Power, the inner penetration of our spirit by the Spirit and the turning over of a whole personality to Christ. If I begin to recall some instances of conversion during the course of my life, it will not be to shed any glory upon myself, for I could no more make someone else a Christian by my own influence than I could turn a sawdust doll into a pretty little child of six. I am, nonetheless, grateful that God used me to bring others to Himself. I have always had a deep passion for helping others to find faith.
When I was stationed in Washington I would go to New York almost every weekend to instruct converts on Saturday and preach on Sunday, in either the Paulist Church or St. Patrick's Cathedral. Because I was on national radio at this particular time, many wrote asking for instructions. These classes were first held in the rectory if the cathedral, in Saint Patrick's Cathedral and later on a small auditorium. I was constantly warned by my fellow professors at the university that I was shortening my life. It was universally agreed that I would never live to reach the age of forty-five. During holidays I would accept engagements throughout the country. I once spent seven consecutive nights on "sleepers" and I can testify that those were the only moments I ever doubted that a man was made to the image and likeness of God-for that resemblance is forfeited as he tries to take off his trousers in an upper berth!
During this period When I would hold two convert classes annually (one in New York City, and the other in Washington) there would be an average attendance of between fifty and one hundred who would eventually become members of the Mystical Body of Christ. The period of instruction either for an individual or for a group would be at least twenty to twenty-five hours. A very noticeable change would come over a group as the instructions developed. At the first meetings, each would seek out the best seat and was reluctant to allow another to take his place. But once an instruction was given on Christ, the group immediately changed - offering a place to one another, helping each other with coats and accepting everyone in the group as all bent on a common purpose: an encounter with Christ.
Though I give here a few examples of metanoia, I must remind you that there were hundreds of others besides these whom I recall: housekeepers, flight attendants, ministers, beggars at the door, businessmen, housewives, alcoholics and college students. Some few cases, however, will illustrate the following three points:
First, many are seeking God without being aware of it. As Newman said: "I knew the Church was the true Church, but I did not know that I knew." Pascal noted: "Console thyself, thou wouldst not seek Me if thou had not found Me."
Second, some may acknowledge the existence of God, but He is on the circumference of their lives. As Voltaire said of God: "We nod, but we do not speak." Though a convert may be described in the last stages as a rose that bloomed, it must ever be kept in mind that the one who explains the Creed and commandments is nothing more than the gardener with a hoe and a rake.
Third, the one who receives enlightenment always experiences in his soul a sense of repentance or a discovery that life as lived until now was not right in the sight of God. I recall with what Tertullian said: "Penitence is a certain passion of the mind which comes from disgust at some previous feeling." Christ becomes not just the agent of repentance to the convert, but also the agent of forgiveness. I have never known a convert who did not say two things: "I am a sinner" and "I am forgiven."
The following recollections about those who embraced Christ in His Church prove the truth of the above statements.
Bella Dodd was the lawyer of the Communist party, and had considerable influence in the labor unions of New York City. She was testifying one day before the Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, and Senator McGrath of Rhode Island asked her to pay me a visit. "What has he to give me?" Senator McGrath answered: "He teaches communism at the Catholic University, that is to say, he knows the philosophy of Marx and Lenin." The senator then asked her if she was afraid to visit me. She accepted the challenge and telephoned me that she was on the way. We met in a small outer room at my residence and exchanged generalities, after which I observed: "Dr. Dodd, you look unhappy." She said: "Why do you say that?" I said: "Oh, I suppose, in some way, we priests are like doctors who can diagnose a patient by looking at him." When the conversation came to a dead end, I suggested that she come into the chapel and say a prayer. While we knelt, silently, she began to cry. She was touched by grace. Later on, I instructed her and received her into the Church. With Marx behind her, she began teaching law first in Texas and later at Saint John's University in Brooklyn.
My first convert as a young priest was in Washington, D.C. and it illustrates how much Divine Light in the soul, rather than the efforts of the evangelist, produce the harvest. When I went to the Catholic University to begin graduate studies, an aunt of mine asked me to visit a relative of hers who was ill. She was a fairly young, married woman with two children. I had been warned, however, that she was not well disposed to Catholics. When I introduced myself at the front door, she spit in my face and told me to leave. That was in the month of September. Every single morning in Holy Mass I begged God to give her the grace of conversion. In February I received a telephone call from her. I asked: "Why did you send for me?" She said: "I do not know. I went to the doctor yesterday and he told me that i would be dead in two weeks." She drew her two young children to herself and wondered who would care for them. I assured her that she was not going to die in two weeks and told her of the prayers I offered for her conversion. "The Lord, I believe, is frightening you into the Church." The next day I began explaining the teachings of the Church, baptized her in May and continued to keep in touch with her for many years.
I remember the first convert I made in France, after two years of graduate study in Europe. In preparation for the University of Louvain in the autumn, I spent the summer at the University of Paris to train my ear to French boardinghouse in the Latin Quarter: rue Jules Chaplain. There were about five or six other boarders in the pension, most of whom were American. After a week, Madame Citroen, who managed the boardinghouse, knocked at my door and said something in French which I could not understand. I called two schoolteachers from Boston who were residents in the pension, and asked them to interpret. Madame had said that she was baptized a Catholic, married in the Church, but after marriage and World War I, her husband left her. One daughter, who was born to them, became a woman of the streets. She added that the boardinghouse was a financial failure, and she felt no reason to live. Then, pulling a small bottle out of her pocket, she said: "This is poison; I intend to take it and do away with my life. Can you do anything for me?" I said, through the interpreter, "Madame, I cannot do anything for you if you intend to take that stuff." I asked her, however, to postpone her suicide for nine days.
I the began a novena to the Sacred Heart at the Church of the Notre Dame des Champs. Kneeling before the statue of the Sacred Heart, I pleaded: "If you really love souls - and you do - then save this one." Every evening of the novena, I would take a dictionary on my left hand, thumb it with my right, and with a contemptuous disregard for tenses, would attempt to stammer out some simple, elementary Christian truth in French. However, knowing that she could not be brought back to the Faith by my poor instructions in French, I had recourse to the confessional. I reasoned that if she would humble herself, and go to Confession, the Good Lord Jesus would give her grace.
Two nights before the novena ended, I took her to the Saint Joseph Church near the Etoile and asked one of the Irish priests there who spoke French to hear her confession. But she did not receive the gift of Faith. In the meantime, I asked one of the servant girls in the house how long she had been away from the sacraments. I then begged her to go to Confession the final day of the novena with Madame. During the confession, the night before the novena ended, she received the gift of Faith, and the following day I gave her Communion; the French maid also received Communion.
In the fall, I went to the University of Louvain. Madame wrote to me, telling me that her daughter was seriously ill in Chartres. She was willing to give up anything, provided God would spare her daughter. I asked her to make an offering of her daughter; it might be a means of reconciling her and her husband. So it happened. Her husband, whom she had not heard from in years, came to visit the sick daughter. The husband and wife were reconciled at the sickbed. The daughter recovered. In the end, grace triumphed as the mother and daughter restored the husband to the Church. The following summer on my way to Lourdes, I stopped at Dax and was driven away to a beautiful chateau in the mountains where, for three days, I enjoyed the hospitality of Monsieur and Madame and Mademoiselle Citroen. When I visited the village priest I asked if the Citroens were practicing the Faith. He did not know the story but answered: "They are the most wonderful Catholics in the Pyrenees. Isn't it beautiful when people keep the Faith all during their lives!"
Then there is the beautiful story of the conversion of Fritz Kreisler and his wife. I received a letter from a stranger who asked me to call on her uncle. His wife had committed suicide a short time before by throwing herself out of the window. The writer asked that I try to bring some consolation to the uncle. The apartment house in Manhattan alongside the East River was the type that had only two apartments to a floor. I went to the apartment where I expected to visit the man in question, but he was not at home. I asked the elevator man who lived in the other apartment, and he told me - Fritz Kreisler.
I rang the bell, introduced myself to Fritz and Mrs. Kreisler, and after a short conversation, asked them if they would like to take instructions for the Church. Fritz Kreisler was one of the finest and noblest men I ever met in my entire life. When I would quote a text from the Old Testament, he would read it in Hebrew; when I would quote a text from the New Testament, Fritz would read it in Greek. One evening during an auto trip together, I observed: "Fritz, tomorrow you are playing your violin on 'The Telephone Hour.' "Yes." "Will you practice?" "No." "Will you practice before the concert?" "No." With that, Mrs. Kreisler said: "I always contended that if Fritz had practiced, he would have been a great violinist."
When I began mu television series, I asked Fritz to write me a theme song for my programs. He gave me about forty or fifty manuscripts that had never been copyrighted. He told me to choose from anyone of these, and he would give me the copyright. The one that I chose, as I remembered it, was the "Vienna March." I took it back to Fritz. "This is the one that I like, but I cannot march on stage. Can you change it to waltz time?" Fritz said: "It cannot be put in waltz time." I said: "Fritz, you can transpose anything; please sit down at the piano and try it." "No" he said, "It can't be done." I begged him and he sat down at the piano, played one measure and said: "See, I told you; it cannot be done." With that, Mrs. Kreisler said: "Fritz is in his 'no' mood tonight." She then took him by the hand, walked him down the corridor to another studio at the other end of the apartment. A short time later I heard the strains of my theme song coming from the piano in waltz time. It later became my theme song on television.
I was a very close friend of the Kreislers from the time of their reception into the Church, and it was tragic to see Fritz in his last days, blind and deaf from an automobile accident, but radiating a gentleness and refinement not unlike his music. I visited them every week for some years until the Lord called them from the Church Militant to the Church Triumphant, where I am sure the music of Fritz Kreisler is in repertoire of Heaven.
Page 1
Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Roman Empire was the powerful pagan empire that controlled most of the known world during New Testament times. The unique laws and judicial codes by which the Roman Empire governed itself and the various nations and foreign provinces under its control.
Judicial authority ranged from the absolute power of the emperor to the function of the senate and the imperial civil service [Governors, Procurators, prefects, magistrates, etc]. Judicial procedure in Rome generally included appearance before a magistrate, a trail, and the selection of a judge who would then render judgment on a case.
In the province, Roman law was administered by Roman officials. Pontius Pilate, for example, was the Roman governor involved in the trial of Jesus. The Gospel accounts of this episode give considerable insight into the judicial procedure of the Romans and how they related to local Jewish officials. - Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 18-19 -
The apostle Paul's Roman citizenship granted him privileges as well as protection from Jewish and Roman fanaticism. - Acts 16:35-39, 22:22-29 - His imprisonment in Caesarea and defense before Felix, Festus, and king Agrippa, as well as his specific appeal to plead his case before Caesar - Acts 25:10-12 - are good examples of Roman civil and legal law.
Christianity began in Roman territory and expanded into additional areas controlled by Rome. Christians were expected to observe Roman law and not to get involved in any disorderly, suspicious, or treasonous activity. The Book of Acts shows that the early Christians were protected and acquitted by the Roman authorities. They recognized Christianity as a legal and valid religion with the right to exist. Saint Paul affirmed that he had not broken any Jewish, religious, or Roman law. - Acts 25:8 -
Rome was founded in 753 B.C. by Romulus, who became its first king. The little kingdom grew in size and importance, absorbing its immediate neighbors through the reign of seven kings, until the tyranny of Tarquinius Superbus drove the people to revolt and to take the government into their own hands. A republic was established, and Roman citizens had a voice in government affairs. During the period of the republic, Roman extended her borders throughout all of Italy and the known world.
In 63 B.C. Judea became formally subject to Rome and this was the case during the entire New Testament period.
The republic was subject to internal strife which eventually led to the decline of a people-oriented government. The emperor Octavian, who was also known as Augustus, became emperor in 27 B.C. He was still reigning at the time of Jesus' birth.
The religion that was native to Rome was basically primitive in nature. The Romans believed that impersonal spirits or supernatural powers inhabited such natural objects as trees, streams, and earth. They believed that these spirits affected one's personal life for good or evil. But the most striking feature of Roman religion was its ability to merge the best features of several religions. As the empire expanded, it imported and assimilated many religious ideas, and pagan gods from Greece and the Orient. Roman gods were fused and identified with the gods of the Greeks. Buildings, temples and monuments to these gods were erected. Astrological beliefs and magical practices flourished.
An "imperial ruler cult" developed in the first century B.C. when the Roman senate voted to deify Julius Caesar and to dedicate a temple to his honor. Among all the emperors, only Julius Caesar, Augustus, and Claudius were deified. This phenomenon apparently had more political than religious meaning.
Throughout the entire New Testament period, various emperors ruled over the Roman Empire. During the reign of Augustus, Jesus Christ was born. His crucifixion occurred during the reign of the succeeding emperor Tiberius. The martyrdom of apostle James, took place in the reign of the emperor Claudius. - Acts 11:28, 12:1-2 - It was to the emperor Nero that Saint Paul appealed. - Acts 25:11 - The destruction of Jerusalem prophesied by Jesus Christ was accomplished in the year A.D. 70 by Titus, who later became emperor. Thus, all of the New Testament phenomenon or story unfolded under the reign of Roman emperors.
As he drew near and came in sight of the city he shed tears over it and said, 'If you in your turn had only understood on this day the message of peace!' But, alas!, it is hidden from your eyes! Yes, a time is coming when your enemies will raise fortifications all round you, when they will encircle you and hem you in on every side; they will dash you and the children inside your walls to the ground; they will leave not one stone standing on another within you - and all because you did not recognise your opportunity when God offered it!' - Luke 19:41-44 - Matt. 24 - Mark 13 -
The Roman Empire reached the height of its power from about A.D. 100 to 175. By the end of the century, however, the Roman and their power had begun to decline, because of the vast expanse of its territory, the Empire grew increasingly difficult to administer. High taxation and political infighting also took their toll. Morally, Rome was also a sick society; its life of sin and debauchery served to hasten its collapse from within, even as barbaric tribes moved in to challenge the Romans; military rule. By A.D. 450 the Roman Empire was only a skeleton of its former self, reduced to a third-rate power among the nations of the ancient world.
Contact between Rome and Jews took place when some of the Jews were scattered to various parts of the Mediterranean world and when Rome moved into Palestine as part of its eastern expansion. Technically, however, contact between the Romans and the Jews began in 63 B.C. when Pompey marched into the land of Palestine. From the time of the Captivity in Babylon - or perhaps even earlier - many Jews made their homes outside Palestine. While some of them did this for economic reasons; others had been deported as prisoners of war to such places as Assyria and Babylon. The prophet Jeremiah indicated that some Jews had settled in Egypt during his time. - Jer. 44:1 -
Under Rome rule the Jews were given a special status with certain legal rights. They were permitted to practice their own religion and to build their synagogues. They also were exempt from military service and were not required to appear in court on the Sabbath. Relationship between the Jews and the Romans were mostly positive. But a few major disturbances did occur. The emperor Caligula alienated the Jews by opposing their belief in one God and forcibly erecting a statue of himself in their synagogues. In A.D. 19, the emperor Tiberius expelled some Jews from Italy. This edict was renewed under Claudius in A.D. 49. - Acts 18:2 - Apparently this edict did not last long, because Jews were living in Rome when apostle Paul arrived there about A.D. 62.
The situation of the Jews varied considerably under the different Roman rulers. Basically, the Romans treated the Jews fairly. Herod the Great rebuilt the Temple in 20 B.C. and Herod Agrippa sought Jewish favor by persecuting the Christians. Archelaus, on the other hand, was a cruel and tyrannical ruler who massacred many Jews.
It was about this time that king Herod started persecuting certain members of the Church. He beheaded James the brother of John, and when he saw that this pleased the Jews he decided to arrest Peter as well. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread, and he put Peter in prison, assigning four squads of four soldiers each to guard him in turns. Herod meant to try Peter in public after the end of Passover week. All the time Peter was under guard the Church prayed to God for him unremittingly....... It was only then that Peter came to himself. 'Now I know it is all true' he said, 'The Lord really did send his angel and had saved me from Herod and from all that the Jewish people were so certain would happen to me.'........ Herod put out an unsuccessful search for him; he had the guards questioned, and before leaving Judaea to take up residence in Caesarea he gave orders for their execution. - Acts 12:1-19 - Matt. 2:22-23 -
Resentful of the presence of these foreign oppressors, the Jews refused to recognize anyone but God as sovereign. Revolutionary activities of Jews nationalists such as Zealots increased and threatened the peace in Palestine. By A.D. 66, Rome was forced to subdue a Jewish revolt in Judea. And in A.D. 70, Titus, a Roman general who later became emperor, marched on the city of Jerusalem to destroy Jewish resistance. Many Jews lost their lives by crucifixion and other violent means. A small group of freedom fighters held out at Masada, but they took their own lives just before the Roman soldiers broke into their fortress.
The destruction of Jerusalem did not wipe out the Jewish state or religion. In some ways, it made the Jews more determined to resist. During the next 60 years Rome and the Jews clashed on a number of occasions. From A.D. 132-135 a second rebellion was led by a self-proclaimed messiah, and emperor at the time, issued an edict which virtually destroyed Judaism. Jerusalem was rebuilt as a Roman colony, complete with a pagan Roman temple, erected on the site of the Jewish Temple. The province of Judea was replaced by Syria Palestine. In this rebellion, some 500,000 Jews were killed and many others were sold into slavery. Those who survived were scattered beyond this new province.
The birth and development of Christianity took place within the borders of the Roman Empire. The New Testament contains references to Romans who were ruling at this time. Among them was Caesar Augustus - Luke 2:1 - Quirinius - Luke 2:2 - Tiberius Caesar - Luke 3:1, 20:22 - Other minor officials ruled on behalf of Rome, particularly those of the Herodian dynasty.
The Book of Acts shows how Christianity spread throughout Roman Empire. Under apostle Paul, the great missionary to the Gentiles, the Gospel may have been preached and proclaimed as far west as Spain. - Rom. 15:28 - Christian Church existed in Rome as early as A.D. 50 - Acts 18:2-3 - By the time Saint Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans [A.D. 58] a large Christian community existed in the imperial city.
Paul's appearance in Rome was ironic because he came as a prisoner and not as a missionary. Here he was held in confinement awaiting a trail that apparently never took place. According to tradition, Paul lost his life under Nero's persecution about A.D. 64.
If I am guilty of committing any capital crime. I do not ask to be spared the death penalty. But if there is no substance in the accusations these persons bring against me, no one has a right to surrender me to them. I appeal to Caesar. Then Festus conferred with his advisers and replied, 'You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you shall go.' - Acts 25:11-12 - Acts 28:11-31 -
In its early stages, Christianity was regarded by Rome as a sect of Judaism. This is why it was ignored during its early years. On several occasions, Roman authorities viewed conflicts between Jews and Christians as an internal matter, not worthy of their attention. - Acts 18:12-17 - When Christians were accused by the Jews of breaking the law, they were acquitted. - Acts 16:35-39 - Rome even protected Christians from Jewish fanatics and assured apostle Paul the right of a proper trial. - Acts 19:28-41, 22:20-30, 23:23-24, 23:26, 28:31 - Most Christians had a positive and respectful attitude toward Roman authority.
The first known persecution of Christians by the Roman authorities took place under Nero. But this was an isolated case and not a general policy. Many Christians, including apostle Paul, lost their lives at this time. Tacitus, a Roman historian, refers to vast multitudes of Christians who were arrested, tortured, crucified, and burned. Hardship came to Christians in parts of Asia while Domitian was emperor. Later, under Trajan, they were further problem, especially in Bithynia where Pliny was governor (A.D. 112) Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, was martyred during this persecution. Rome may have feared that Christians could become a political threat because they would not acknowledge Caesar as lord.
Marcus Aurelius took official action against Christianity. As emperor, he was responsible for the death of Justin Martyr (A.D. 165) Celcius (A.D. 249-251) launched attack against Christians and, like Nero, used them as scapegoats for his own failures. While under Diocletian intense persecution of the Church took place for three years (A.D. 303-305) Many Churches were destroyed and Christians were martyred. With the coming of Constantine, however, this policy of persecution was reversed. His Edict of Milan in A.D. 313 made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.
Page 1
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
Judicial authority ranged from the absolute power of the emperor to the function of the senate and the imperial civil service [Governors, Procurators, prefects, magistrates, etc]. Judicial procedure in Rome generally included appearance before a magistrate, a trail, and the selection of a judge who would then render judgment on a case.
In the province, Roman law was administered by Roman officials. Pontius Pilate, for example, was the Roman governor involved in the trial of Jesus. The Gospel accounts of this episode give considerable insight into the judicial procedure of the Romans and how they related to local Jewish officials. - Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 18-19 -
The apostle Paul's Roman citizenship granted him privileges as well as protection from Jewish and Roman fanaticism. - Acts 16:35-39, 22:22-29 - His imprisonment in Caesarea and defense before Felix, Festus, and king Agrippa, as well as his specific appeal to plead his case before Caesar - Acts 25:10-12 - are good examples of Roman civil and legal law.
Christianity began in Roman territory and expanded into additional areas controlled by Rome. Christians were expected to observe Roman law and not to get involved in any disorderly, suspicious, or treasonous activity. The Book of Acts shows that the early Christians were protected and acquitted by the Roman authorities. They recognized Christianity as a legal and valid religion with the right to exist. Saint Paul affirmed that he had not broken any Jewish, religious, or Roman law. - Acts 25:8 -
Rome was founded in 753 B.C. by Romulus, who became its first king. The little kingdom grew in size and importance, absorbing its immediate neighbors through the reign of seven kings, until the tyranny of Tarquinius Superbus drove the people to revolt and to take the government into their own hands. A republic was established, and Roman citizens had a voice in government affairs. During the period of the republic, Roman extended her borders throughout all of Italy and the known world.
In 63 B.C. Judea became formally subject to Rome and this was the case during the entire New Testament period.
The republic was subject to internal strife which eventually led to the decline of a people-oriented government. The emperor Octavian, who was also known as Augustus, became emperor in 27 B.C. He was still reigning at the time of Jesus' birth.
The religion that was native to Rome was basically primitive in nature. The Romans believed that impersonal spirits or supernatural powers inhabited such natural objects as trees, streams, and earth. They believed that these spirits affected one's personal life for good or evil. But the most striking feature of Roman religion was its ability to merge the best features of several religions. As the empire expanded, it imported and assimilated many religious ideas, and pagan gods from Greece and the Orient. Roman gods were fused and identified with the gods of the Greeks. Buildings, temples and monuments to these gods were erected. Astrological beliefs and magical practices flourished.
An "imperial ruler cult" developed in the first century B.C. when the Roman senate voted to deify Julius Caesar and to dedicate a temple to his honor. Among all the emperors, only Julius Caesar, Augustus, and Claudius were deified. This phenomenon apparently had more political than religious meaning.
Throughout the entire New Testament period, various emperors ruled over the Roman Empire. During the reign of Augustus, Jesus Christ was born. His crucifixion occurred during the reign of the succeeding emperor Tiberius. The martyrdom of apostle James, took place in the reign of the emperor Claudius. - Acts 11:28, 12:1-2 - It was to the emperor Nero that Saint Paul appealed. - Acts 25:11 - The destruction of Jerusalem prophesied by Jesus Christ was accomplished in the year A.D. 70 by Titus, who later became emperor. Thus, all of the New Testament phenomenon or story unfolded under the reign of Roman emperors.
As he drew near and came in sight of the city he shed tears over it and said, 'If you in your turn had only understood on this day the message of peace!' But, alas!, it is hidden from your eyes! Yes, a time is coming when your enemies will raise fortifications all round you, when they will encircle you and hem you in on every side; they will dash you and the children inside your walls to the ground; they will leave not one stone standing on another within you - and all because you did not recognise your opportunity when God offered it!' - Luke 19:41-44 - Matt. 24 - Mark 13 -
The Roman Empire reached the height of its power from about A.D. 100 to 175. By the end of the century, however, the Roman and their power had begun to decline, because of the vast expanse of its territory, the Empire grew increasingly difficult to administer. High taxation and political infighting also took their toll. Morally, Rome was also a sick society; its life of sin and debauchery served to hasten its collapse from within, even as barbaric tribes moved in to challenge the Romans; military rule. By A.D. 450 the Roman Empire was only a skeleton of its former self, reduced to a third-rate power among the nations of the ancient world.
Contact between Rome and Jews took place when some of the Jews were scattered to various parts of the Mediterranean world and when Rome moved into Palestine as part of its eastern expansion. Technically, however, contact between the Romans and the Jews began in 63 B.C. when Pompey marched into the land of Palestine. From the time of the Captivity in Babylon - or perhaps even earlier - many Jews made their homes outside Palestine. While some of them did this for economic reasons; others had been deported as prisoners of war to such places as Assyria and Babylon. The prophet Jeremiah indicated that some Jews had settled in Egypt during his time. - Jer. 44:1 -
Under Rome rule the Jews were given a special status with certain legal rights. They were permitted to practice their own religion and to build their synagogues. They also were exempt from military service and were not required to appear in court on the Sabbath. Relationship between the Jews and the Romans were mostly positive. But a few major disturbances did occur. The emperor Caligula alienated the Jews by opposing their belief in one God and forcibly erecting a statue of himself in their synagogues. In A.D. 19, the emperor Tiberius expelled some Jews from Italy. This edict was renewed under Claudius in A.D. 49. - Acts 18:2 - Apparently this edict did not last long, because Jews were living in Rome when apostle Paul arrived there about A.D. 62.
The situation of the Jews varied considerably under the different Roman rulers. Basically, the Romans treated the Jews fairly. Herod the Great rebuilt the Temple in 20 B.C. and Herod Agrippa sought Jewish favor by persecuting the Christians. Archelaus, on the other hand, was a cruel and tyrannical ruler who massacred many Jews.
It was about this time that king Herod started persecuting certain members of the Church. He beheaded James the brother of John, and when he saw that this pleased the Jews he decided to arrest Peter as well. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread, and he put Peter in prison, assigning four squads of four soldiers each to guard him in turns. Herod meant to try Peter in public after the end of Passover week. All the time Peter was under guard the Church prayed to God for him unremittingly....... It was only then that Peter came to himself. 'Now I know it is all true' he said, 'The Lord really did send his angel and had saved me from Herod and from all that the Jewish people were so certain would happen to me.'........ Herod put out an unsuccessful search for him; he had the guards questioned, and before leaving Judaea to take up residence in Caesarea he gave orders for their execution. - Acts 12:1-19 - Matt. 2:22-23 -
Resentful of the presence of these foreign oppressors, the Jews refused to recognize anyone but God as sovereign. Revolutionary activities of Jews nationalists such as Zealots increased and threatened the peace in Palestine. By A.D. 66, Rome was forced to subdue a Jewish revolt in Judea. And in A.D. 70, Titus, a Roman general who later became emperor, marched on the city of Jerusalem to destroy Jewish resistance. Many Jews lost their lives by crucifixion and other violent means. A small group of freedom fighters held out at Masada, but they took their own lives just before the Roman soldiers broke into their fortress.
The destruction of Jerusalem did not wipe out the Jewish state or religion. In some ways, it made the Jews more determined to resist. During the next 60 years Rome and the Jews clashed on a number of occasions. From A.D. 132-135 a second rebellion was led by a self-proclaimed messiah, and emperor at the time, issued an edict which virtually destroyed Judaism. Jerusalem was rebuilt as a Roman colony, complete with a pagan Roman temple, erected on the site of the Jewish Temple. The province of Judea was replaced by Syria Palestine. In this rebellion, some 500,000 Jews were killed and many others were sold into slavery. Those who survived were scattered beyond this new province.
The birth and development of Christianity took place within the borders of the Roman Empire. The New Testament contains references to Romans who were ruling at this time. Among them was Caesar Augustus - Luke 2:1 - Quirinius - Luke 2:2 - Tiberius Caesar - Luke 3:1, 20:22 - Other minor officials ruled on behalf of Rome, particularly those of the Herodian dynasty.
The Book of Acts shows how Christianity spread throughout Roman Empire. Under apostle Paul, the great missionary to the Gentiles, the Gospel may have been preached and proclaimed as far west as Spain. - Rom. 15:28 - Christian Church existed in Rome as early as A.D. 50 - Acts 18:2-3 - By the time Saint Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans [A.D. 58] a large Christian community existed in the imperial city.
Paul's appearance in Rome was ironic because he came as a prisoner and not as a missionary. Here he was held in confinement awaiting a trail that apparently never took place. According to tradition, Paul lost his life under Nero's persecution about A.D. 64.
If I am guilty of committing any capital crime. I do not ask to be spared the death penalty. But if there is no substance in the accusations these persons bring against me, no one has a right to surrender me to them. I appeal to Caesar. Then Festus conferred with his advisers and replied, 'You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you shall go.' - Acts 25:11-12 - Acts 28:11-31 -
In its early stages, Christianity was regarded by Rome as a sect of Judaism. This is why it was ignored during its early years. On several occasions, Roman authorities viewed conflicts between Jews and Christians as an internal matter, not worthy of their attention. - Acts 18:12-17 - When Christians were accused by the Jews of breaking the law, they were acquitted. - Acts 16:35-39 - Rome even protected Christians from Jewish fanatics and assured apostle Paul the right of a proper trial. - Acts 19:28-41, 22:20-30, 23:23-24, 23:26, 28:31 - Most Christians had a positive and respectful attitude toward Roman authority.
The first known persecution of Christians by the Roman authorities took place under Nero. But this was an isolated case and not a general policy. Many Christians, including apostle Paul, lost their lives at this time. Tacitus, a Roman historian, refers to vast multitudes of Christians who were arrested, tortured, crucified, and burned. Hardship came to Christians in parts of Asia while Domitian was emperor. Later, under Trajan, they were further problem, especially in Bithynia where Pliny was governor (A.D. 112) Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, was martyred during this persecution. Rome may have feared that Christians could become a political threat because they would not acknowledge Caesar as lord.
Marcus Aurelius took official action against Christianity. As emperor, he was responsible for the death of Justin Martyr (A.D. 165) Celcius (A.D. 249-251) launched attack against Christians and, like Nero, used them as scapegoats for his own failures. While under Diocletian intense persecution of the Church took place for three years (A.D. 303-305) Many Churches were destroyed and Christians were martyred. With the coming of Constantine, however, this policy of persecution was reversed. His Edict of Milan in A.D. 313 made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
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