My University of Georgia Bulldogs gave me an early Father’s Day present yesterday with a 7-4 win over Miami in the first game of the College World Series in Omaha. Check out the story of the Bulldog victory.

The Dawgs will face Stanford Monday night.

Go DAWGS!

I have a small booklet entitled Fathers’ Manual that contains many helpful prayers, including the following prayer for a Father’s Success in Work:

Prayer for a Father’s Success in Work

Lord God, and Father of us all, look down upon me and give me your abundant aid in my fatherly office.

Grant me the help to be successful in my job of providing adequately for the family entrusted to me.

Give me, as it pleases you, the health of body needed to carry out my work; and grant me grace to reconcile myself to any lack of health that may befall me.

Give me the mental and emotional health to be steady and judicious in my work and in my decisions — and grant me the proper balance to see the purpose of my job and not to expect it to give me more than it should.

Give me the good sense to know that for your blessings I must apply my talents with proper industry, alertness and fidelity, devoting myself faithfully to the carrying out of all that is rightly expected of me.

May I have the ideals and initiative to do a good job at all times, giving generously all that I should; but, at the same time, may I have the humility not to be ambitious beyond right reason.

May I always remember that no work is right or really successful which involves a violation of any of your laws.

Give me the help to provide adequately for the financial needs of my family and home and for the proper Catholic education of my children; but, at the same time, teach me the generosity that does not expect too much and is prepared to live cheerfully and economically within my means.

May I never be tempted to measure success in terms of money alone, and may I not look in envy at others who seem to have more than I.

May I not let absorption with my work keep me too much from my wife and children and from the proper fulfillment of my duties at home.

Above all, may my work never take me away from you. But may I always look on it rightly as a service of others and as a means of bringing a family close together with a modest security and sufficiency and see if as a means of uniting us all together in you.
–
Taken from the book Fathers’ Manual: Prayers and Directives for Married Men by A. Francis Coomes, S.J. (William J. Hirten Co., Inc., Brooklyn, NY.)

A classic from the archives of Envoy magazine…Patrick Madrid’s Top Ten Pick-up Lines for Catholics:

10. May I offer you a light for that votive candle?

9. Hi there. My buddy and I were wondering if you would settle a dispute we’re having. Do you think the word should be pronounced HOMEschooling, or homeSCHOOLing?

8. Sorry, but I couldn’t help but noticing how cute you look in that ankle-length, shapeless, plaid jumper.

7. What’s a nice girl like you doing at a First Saturday Rosary Cenacle like this?

6. You don’t like the culture of death either? Wow! We have so much in common!

5. Let’s get out of here. I know a much cozier little Catholic bookstore downtown.

4. I bet I can guess your confirmation name.

3. You’ve got stunning scapular-brown eyes.

2. Did you feel what I felt when we reached into the holy water font at the same time?

1. Confess here often?

Just when I think I have an original idea, it turns out to be not so innovative. Over morning coffee and watching President George W. Bush meet once again with Pope Benedict XVI, I wondered out loud to my wife that perhaps W will join the Catholic Church when his term of office ends — much like how his friend UK Prime Minister Tony Blair joined the Catholic faith last year. As I was driving to work, my wife phoned me explaining that there was a priest on television speculating the very same thing. So much for my theory being original!

Here’s a link to the YouTube video of that priest’s comments:

Recently, one of our parish priests mentioned that during our Saturday evening mass, the “Chicklets” made an appearance in our parking lot. He was referring to a group of fundamentalists who were placing Jack Chick comic-book-style tracts on the windshields, specifically a tract with the title Are Roman Catholics Christians? aimed at converting us Catholics to what they view as the pure Christian faith (their own brand of Protestantism, of course!). In case you ever encounter these tiny cartoon booklets, Catholic Answers has a useful Special Report dispelling their claims. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Roman Catholics are indeed Christians.

I just finished reading Pope John Paul II’s 1993 encyclical Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth). With the upcoming Catholic New Media Celebration and its focus on the new evangelization on my mind, one passage near the end stood out as particularly relevant:

Just as it does in proclaiming the truths of faith, and even more so in presenting the foundations and content of Christian morality, the new evangelization will show its authenticity and unleash all its missionary force when it is carried out through the gift not only of the word proclaimed but also of the word lived. In particular, the life of holiness which is resplendent in so many members of the People of God, humble and often unseen, constitutes the simplest and most attractive way to perceive at once the beauty of truth, the liberating force of God’s love, and the value of unconditional fidelity to all the demands of the Lord’s law, even in the most difficult situations.

– Veritatis Splendor, 107 [bold added for emphasis]

It is easy for us to get caught up in particular methods of communication, including the excitement of newer media ranging from podcasts to blogs and beyond. As we proclaim the word using new communication tools, let us be wise enough to not forget the critical ingredient of “the life of holiness.” Let’s remember that we must first be followers of Christ, not only proclaiming the word – but also living the word in lives of holiness. It is from our example of transformation and holiness that our efforts in the new evangelization “will show its authenticity and unleash all its missionary force.”

I’ve heard various non-Trinitarian religious groups and scholars claiming that early Christians did not teach the doctrine of the Trinity, and then pointing to the writings of the Church Fathers to support their claims.

Rather than reading isolated quotations which may or may not be in their proper context, I decided to read the writings of the earliest Church Fathers myself to see what they say. What I found clearly supports the doctrine of the Trinity.

Two Key Issues

By the Trinity, I mean that within the nature of the one true God there are three distinct Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Typical objections are that (1) the Spirit is not a person, but rather an impersonal divine force, and (2) the Son (Jesus) is not divine.

Well, what exactly did early Christians believe?

The Personality and Deity of the Holy Spirit

In The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, we find that the Holy Spirit is alive and is a person:

As surely as God lives, as Jesus Christ lives, and the Holy Ghost also (on whom are set the faith and hope of God’s elect)…
(The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, 58) ¹

Note that this passage tells us that (1) the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force, but rather is alive (he “also” lives) and (2) the Holy Spirit is a person not an “it” (“on whom” our hopes are set, not “on which”).

The introduction to the edition I read explains that this epistle “is one of the earliest Christian writings outside the New Testament… Of the authenticity of this epistle there is no doubt. Its author was the Clement who is mentioned fourth (after Peter, Linus and Anencletus) in the most reliable lists of the Bishops of Rome… The date of the epistle is generally reckoned to be about A.D. 96.” ²

The Divinity of Jesus

Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, was a student of the Apostle John. Prior to being martyred in A.D. 107, Ignatius penned or dictated seven letters. His writings drip with language about the divinity of Jesus:

Ignatius…to the Church at Ephesus in Asia; a church…forever united and chosen, through real suffering, by the will of the Father and Jesus Christ our God… Being imitators of God, you have, once restored to new life in the Blood of God, perfectly accomplished the task so natural to you.
(Ignatius, Epistle to the Ephesians, prologue and ch. 1) ³

There is only one Physician –

Very flesh, yet Spirit too;

uncreated, and yet born;

God-and-Man in One agreed,

Very-Life-in-Death indeed,

Fruit of God and Mary’s seed;

At once impassible and torn

By pain and suffering here below:

Jesus Christ, whom as our Lord we know.

(Ignatius, Epistle to the Ephesians, 7) ⁴

Jesus Christ our God was conceived by Mary of the seed of David and of the Spirit of God… The age-old empire of evil was overthrown, for God was now appearing in human form to bring in a new order, even life without end. (Ignatius, Epistle to the Ephesians, 18 and 19) ⁵

All perfect happiness in Jesus Christ our God, to you who are bodily and spiritually at one with all His commandments… (Ignatius, Epistle to the Romans, prologue) ⁶

Leave me to imitate the Passion of my God. (Ignatius, Epistle to the Romans, 6) ⁷

Glory be to Jesus Christ, the Divine One… (Ignatius, Epistle to the Smyrnaeans, 1) ⁸

Farewell always in our God Jesus Christ. (Ignatius, Epistle to Polycarp, 8 ) ⁹

This last quotation is especially noteworthy. Here Ignatius is writing to another disciple of the Apostle John, Polycarp the Bishop of Smyrna. If Ignatius were making a doctrinal error in calling Jesus God, surely Polycarp would have corrected him. However, we see the opposite occur: after Polycarp received this letter and copies of the other letters penned by Ignatius, Polycarp had them copied and circulated to the various churches in the region – in essence validating their doctrinal content!

Conclusion

Going back to the earliest Christian writings outside of the New Testament, we find powerful testimony that the Holy Spirit was considered to be a person by early Christians and that Jesus Christ was truly God in the flesh. From these passages, it’s clear that the earliest Christians were indeed Trinitarian.

1 Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers. Translated by Maxwell Staniforth. Revised translation, introductions and new editorial material by Andrew Louth. (Penguin Books, London, 1987) p. 47. Emphasis added.

2 Ibid, pp. 19-20.

3 From the Ancient Christian Writers series (Paulist Press, Mahwah, New Jersey), as cited in Rod Bennett, Four Witnesses: The Early Church In Her Own Words (Ignatius, San Francisco, 2002). Emphasis added.

4 Early Christian Writings, p. 63. Emphasis added. The translator in a footnote states “The rhythmical nature of this passage has tempted some commentators to see it as an excerpt from an early Christian hymn – a temptation which I have not resisted.” (p. 67).

5 Ibid, p. 66. Emphasis added.

6 Ibid, p. 85. Emphasis added.

7 Ibid, p. 87. Emphasis added.

8 Ibid, p. 101. Emphasis added.

9 Ibid, p. 111. Emphasis added.

As I wrote earlier, today is the feast day of Saint Justin Martyr.

The writings of the early Church Fathers – Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr and Irenaeus of Lyon – were influential in my decision to become Catholic. When it came time to select a saint’s name to take at my confirmation (March 2007), these were the four that came immediately to mind.

After a little deliberation, Justin was the name I chose. Mostly, this was because I could relate to a saint who was a layman (the others were bishops) and an apologist (I was inspired by how Justin wrote to clear up misconceptions others had about the beliefs and practices of Christians).

I also couldn’t see myself with the name Clement (call me “Clem”), Ignatius (call me “Iggy”) or Irenaeus (how do you spell that again?).

Today, June 1, is the feast day of Saint Justin, second-century convert to Christianity and noteworthy apologist of the faith. Around the year A.D. 165, he was martyred for his beliefs and as a result is frequently called Justin Martyr.

He was born in Palestine about 40 miles north of Jerusalem, in what is today called Nabius (in Jesus’ time, this was part of Samaria). His parents were Greeks living in the area.

Justin was well-educated and explored various schools of thought and philosophy. Eventually, he met a Christian and began to study the Hebrew and Christian scriptures at Ephesus. Around age 30, he converted to Christianity and was baptized.

Following his conversion, Justin continued to wear his philosopher’s garb and defended the Christian faith intellectually. Among his surviving writings are his First Apology, Second Apology, Dialogue with Trypho and fragments of other works. His First Apology includes descriptions of the Mass of the early Church.

He and six other Christians – five men and a woman – refused to offer sacrifice to the false gods at Rome and they were put to death by beheading in A.D. 165. When the Roman Prefect Rusticus commanded that he worship the idols, Justin replied, “No right minded person forsakes the truth for falsehood.”

In artwork, Justin is typically depicted with a quill pen, book or scroll in one hand (denoting his profession as a writer and philosopher) and an axe or sword in the other (in reference to his method of martyrdom).

He is the patron saint of apologists, philosophers and lecturers.

1 Corinthians 1:18-25 is considered a noteworthy scripture reference for his life.