The Road to Damascus...

Many times, in synagogue after synagogue, I punished them in an attempt to force them to blaspheme; I was so enraged against them that I pursued them even to foreign cities. "On one such occasion I was traveling to Damascus with the authorization and commission of the chief priests. At midday, along the way, O king, I saw a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my traveling companions. We all fell to the ground and I heard a voice saying to me in Hebrew, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goad.' And I said, 'Who are you, sir?' And the Lord replied, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. Get up now, and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness of what you have seen (of me) and what you will be shown. I shall deliver you from this people and from the Gentiles to whom I send you, to open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may obtain forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been consecrated by faith in me.' "And so, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. On the contrary, first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem and throughout the whole country of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached the need to repent and turn to God, and to do works giving evidence of repentance. That is why the Jews seized me (when I was) in the temple and tried to kill me. But I have enjoyed God's help to this very day, and so I stand here testifying to small and great alike, saying nothing different from what the prophets and Moses foretold, that the Messiah must suffer and that, as the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles."

-From the Acts of the Apostles 26:11-23

Today the Universal Church celebrates the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. St. Peter, the apostle to the Jews, and St. Paul, the Apostle to the gentiles,were human just like the rest of us, with gifts and failings, virtues and vices. But I would like to take a moment to focus specifically on St. Paul.

Whenever I hear the story of the conversion of Paul, I think to myself “boy, God has an awesome sense of irony, doesn’t He?” I know he has in my own life for sure!!! But we look at the man of Saul, who persecuted Christians. He was a Jew intent on exterminating this radical sect, preaching the Gospel of someone named Jesus. Even in the passage that we read above, we see that he literally followed Christians to other countries! And when it came time to put the Christians on trial, he would push them to speak against God, trying to get them to say something blasphemous or heretical. And when it came time to convict, he was right there, making sure that the Christians were put to death. This was not a nice man…

Enter Our Lord, Jesus Christ, son of the living God…

Saul’s experience on the road to Damascus changed him so much, that he was even given a new name: Paul. It was then that the tables turned. It was Paul who went far and wide spreading the Gospel. It was now Paul who was being persecuted for preaching the Good News of Christ. But Paul never takes one bit of credit for his conversion, in everything that he did, and had to endure. He is always giving it to Christ, who appeared to him on that fateful day and gave Paul the grace of conversion. He knows that it is Christ alone who is responsible for his conversion, and for his good works and faith. It is to Christ that all credit is given.

And so it should be with us.

Many of us may well have led the life of Saul. And then, through the power of our Lord, we have our Damascus experience. Even though most of us never encounter anything as dramatic as Paul, we are still led to conversion. But we need to remember one thing: that it is all due to the Grace and Power of Our Lord. Without him, we would still be living the life of Saul. Whether or not you are a cradle Catholic, or a convert like myself, it is important to remember that we are all brought to the faith because of God and God alone, not through our own fallen nature. He has given us His Son, and this Faith as a gift to us.

Like Saint Paul, we would do well to give him honor and glory for this unmerited gift…

Pope Benedict has declared a Year of St. Paul, honoring the 2000th anniversary since his birth, from June 2008 to June 2009. Over the next year, meditate on the witness of the apostle Paul. Read a decent book about him. Better yet, read his letters in the New Testament, meditating on his words, given to him by the Holy Spirit. St. Paul, through the power of Christ, has a lot to teach us, and I think we all need to be better students…

Blessings and peace,
Dean

From Darkness...

(continued from The Pagan Path)

It is through the Grace of God alone that we are here today...

Eventually, I came into contact with a family of practitioners that followed a belief system that closely resembled the structure of the Celtic Pantheon, but they had many of their own bits thrown in. They believed in Karma and several Buddhist concepts. They participated in channeling and communication with spirits on a regular basis. Two of them even claimed to be dieties that helped to create the earth and all the living beings on it. They celebrated all eight festivals, and several smaller ones too. They were also very open minded to other traditions, throwing in bits and pieces from other belief structures. They were quite free sexually, but taught their children that they needed to be responsible in sexual matters, no matter which gender they got involved with. They embodied the threefold law, and the Wiccan Rede (An it harm none...). They were very ritualistic, and had many guidelines for formally joining their group, including a year and a day before being initiated, and several ranks of initiation after that.

I began formally studying with them after I graduated high school. I had been to a few of their functions before, but after I graduated, I found myself more and more going to their house to learn. I was like a sponge soaking up all they offered. I even moved in with them, slept on their living room couch, and started scouting larger houses with them.

One of the most interesting aspects of their tradition, was that each person had a different self on a higher plane. In fact several different selves. This plane was called Home. At Home there were councils and discussions and goings on and learning and battling. It all was so real, eventually more real than reality itself. Based on the Kabalah, there were many realms and beings, containing everyone from Taliesin and Cernunos ,to Jehovah and Jesus, to Satan and Lucifer (who were separate to them). They were all just regular old spirits that they could communicate with whenever there was a need.

Being a lover of psychology and the inner workings of the human mind, I now look back on the whole thing with a bit more clarity, and what everything meant. One of the adults was even a fallen Catholic who at one time was about to enter a religious order. In fact, he even told me once that he was the reincarnation of St. Francis...

I could go on for pages more. But there are a lot of things I still keep close to my heart. Experiences that I am not sure anyone will know but me and God. Perhaps some day, He will show me a way to use them, but not yet I think... But anyway...

I became engrossed in all they gave to me. I became quite adept in their tradition and drew closer to my formal initiation, which was set to be the summer solstice of 2004.

I think I should now mention the other family that was involved. They had connected with this group at about the same time as I did, but after a few moths, things went sour due to manipulations and drug use. The family that I was with basically decided they wanted to take them on spiritually, that they were weak and would not be able to withstand them. They began performing rituals, of which I was involved, to rid them of this problem. They performed what is known as a "binding", basically tying up a person or persons spiritually so that they would not be able to act. But things kept happening, and the family I was with started blaming other things on them as well, such as money issues and relationship problems.

In the meantime, I was just going on with the flow, at least outwardly. I was participating in everything, and continuing my training towards my initiation. But inwardly, I was growing uneasy. For quite some time I had started poking holes in their claims. Noticing that many of the channeling sessions were in fact not real, due to nuances that I would get from the main channeler. I would have pointed these out, but many times, I tried brushing them off, thinking that it was in fact my mistake, and not their deception.

The final straw with them was when I came home from work one day. The leader, the mom, said that all the problems with their family had been solved. They had taken care of the other group. Due to my growing doubts I started asking questions. They refused to tell me what they did. Not until after initiation would they tell me. I must be patient and all will be revealed. But I pressed them further. The mom finally told me what happened.

She said they had communicated with Satan, and that he would take care of everything.

That uneasiness I mentioned earlier? It was now blaring alarms and flashing red lights. I was out of there within an hour.

That uneasiness, by the grace of God, had been due to three things: A death, a bookstore, and a television station.

Coming in a few days: ... into the Light

Veritas

My soul cries out to you Lord... Without you, I am nothing...

Truth. Unlike any other time of the year, we are confronted with Truth. Truth about ourselves. Truth about our world and those around us. Truth about our God. Sometimes it is a revelation, sometimes it is not. It may be peaceful and comforting, or heartbreaking and painful...

He presents us all of these, right when we need them. Not a moment too late, nor a moment too soon. In ourselves during Lent we are encouraged to examine our souls. To see what is truly there. Have we been faithful to God? Have we been a witness to His Truth and Light? When others look at us, and speak with us, do they see and hear the Light of Christ? Are we presenting Truth? And if they do not see it, how can we change ourselves on the interior, so on the exterior, we may be a beacon and witness of Our Lord?

Truth can be hard to accept. We do not want to confront those parts of ourselves that are dark. We do not want to admit that we have done what is contrary to God's will. But we all have. I know in my own life, I have been guilty of turning from Truth, even running from it at times...

As I sit here in front of the Blessed Sacrament, I am presented with the Ultimate Truth. Our Lord, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. It is in Him that all things were made, and it is in him that we will discover authentic veritas. Authentic truth. Only in turning to him will we find final peace and happiness...

As we near the completion of Lent, we must remember what comes at the end. The Crucifixion. Through all of us turning away from the Truth of his Way and Life, we crucified our Lord. We would do well to remember it, to accept it and confess it, to repent, and to live our lives in His Light and Love.

But we must also remember one more thing, the most important perhaps: while we put Him on the cross through our transgressions, three days later, the most amazing thing in the history of humanity happened: He rose to life. So while we put him there, while we turned from truth and killed our God, he turned it around. He took our sins, and forgave them. He showed us what it means to follow Him: that there is indeed an Easter after the horrible events of good Friday. That there is indeed Life in His Light.

If you are Catholic, what does this all mean? Prayer, alms giving, and fasting. Using the helps of the Church. Returning to the Sacraments, especially that of reconciliation. That box in the back of the Church is not there for looks you know...

If you are not Catholic, come on over. We are a church of sinners, and always welcome more company. :)

In what will likely be my last reflection before Holy Week, I have no inspirational quotes or verses. Only my own paltry musings as I sit here in the chapel on a chilly Friday night. In one week I go on retreat. I pray that it will be a time of reflection, prayer, and guidance. I pray that the Holy Spirit is with me. I ask for your prayers as well.

As we approach the glory of Easter, you can be assured of mine!

God bless,
Dean

Sancte Michael Archangele, ora pro nobis. Sancte benedicte, ora pro nobis...

Coming home...

As the holy season of Easter approaches, Catechumens, converts, and reverts alike are preparing for the journey back into the Church. Has it been a question in your life? Are you a fallen away Catholic who is interested in finding out more about the church? Or a non-Catholic or non-Christian who feels a desire to look into the Church more deeply? There is no time like the present! :)

Come on over. We'd be glad to have you. :)



Still curious? View another awesome video here. Both provided courtesy of CatholicsComeHome.org.

My prayers are with you all!

God bless,
DJ