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Today marks the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae (Latin: Of Human Life), the encyclical promulgated on July 25, 1968 by Pope Paul VI. I know that many people could go their entire lives without ever reading a papal encyclical. But I must urge you to read at least this one.

Carrying the subtitle On the Regulation of Birth, this letter from the pope reaffirmed the Church’s teaching on the topics of abortion, contraception and other human life issues. Many consider this letter to have been prophetic, in that its four predictions about the social effects of contraception were accurate and have unfortunately come to fruition in our world: infidelity and moral decline; lost respect for women; government imposed birth control; and irreverence to human life.

It isn’t a long document: this free ebook of Humanae Vitae (PDF, 340 K) is only 16 pages. So don’t be intimidated. Read it! This is a critical document in understanding why the Catholic Church opposes contraception.

An e-mail has been circulating in my area with the transcript of a recent homily (PDF 36K). I think it is something every lay Catholic needs to hear and heed. Father Brian Higgins’ delivered this homily on June 29, 2008 at Saint Peter Chanel Catholic Church in Roswell, Georgia.

Among his points are that many Catholics only encounter their clergy during the Sunday mass, and then tend to judge him based solely on his abilities as a speaker. Fr. Brian comments that “what I have found most amazing is how many and how often people comment, criticize or email about what they hear from the pulpit.” He continues:

You see, rare is the priest who is gifted in all areas. And so before you charge into criticism of the poor sermons you have heard, consider the weekly crucifixion it must be for the priest who knows he is not a gifted speaker or homilist and yet must preach week after week anyway. And instead of our prayers and appreciation for giving his life to Christ for the good of our souls, rather he is mocked and written horrific emails because he is not as talented as we wished him to be; but my dear friends, it will do us all well to remember that Adolph Hitler and Jim Jones both were dazzling and dynamic speakers.

Are we only going to church as a form of entertainment? Or are we going to worship God? “Yes, air-conditioned churches, padded pews, inspiring sermons are nice,” he states, “but the first and foremost reason we go to Mass is to surrender your heart to God in an awed thanksgiving for the sacrifices made by Christ.”

As I would’ve said in my Protestant days, “Preach it brother…er, Father!”

Father John Corapi recently delivered a very powerful message entitled Death Wish: The Impending Suicide of a Once Great Nation. It is available as a free PDF download from his website, fathercorapi.com. An excerpt:

A large number of endangered, unwanted, and unborn children held a town hall meeting on the 4th of July–alarmed at the brutal and untimely killing of millions of their brothers and sisters in recent years. That the murderous war waged on them had the full force and respectability of the law made their plight all the more terrifying.

Their complaint was humble and it was simple. They were not distressed by rising gas prices, or the deteriorating economy in general. They were not even frightened by the exponential increase of natural disasters. The threat of global warming or global terrorism did not greatly disturb them.

They had become an endangered species, and little had been done to answer their terrified and silent screams from the womb…

Here are links to coverage of Pope Benedict XVI’s address to the young people gathered in Australia for World Youth Day:

• Pope2008.com – The Pope’s Message to Youth
• Catholic World News – Pope’s message to youth in Sydney
• FULL TEXT from the Vatican’s site

So the city of San Francisco officially condemns the Catholic Church. Hey, since the city is named after Saint Francis of Assisi, maybe the politicians might want to consider a name change. I think Sodom and Gomorrha are available.

According to a report on today’s Catholic World News site, the beatification of John Henry Cardinal Newman could take place before the end of the year:

The Vatican has directed that the body of Cardinal John Henry Newman should be exhumed from a simple cemetery and preserved in a marble sarcophagus in the Birmingham Oratory, according to English newspaper reports.

…

Church officials in England hope that the beatification of the famous theologian — a convert from the Church of England and a towering figure in the English intellectual world of the 19th century — could take place before the end of this year.

Last December, I wrote a letter to the editor of the Protestant magazine Charisma. It was in response to the article “Take Up Your Scepter”. My letter did not run, but I thought it would be worthwhile to post it here:

In the “Take Up Your Scepter” article on spiritual authority (Charisma, Dec. 2007), Rebecca Greenwood is right in identifying that the “keys of the kingdom” in Matthew 16:18-19 signify Christ’s authority, but wrong in her understanding of where these keys reside today.

Christ did not give these keys to all believers; instead, He gave them specifically to Peter and only to Peter – all three times “you” is used in verse 19, it is singular [Greek: soi], not plural.

Greenwood correctly wrote, “the handing over of keys implies promotion to full authority.” In the Davidic kingdom, the king delegated his authority to the prime minister or prefect of the palace – an office that not only carried authority, but succession. We see this in Isaiah 22:22 when “the key of the house of David” is removed from Shebna and given to Eliakim in King Hezekiah’s court.

Anticipating the end of His earthly mission, Christ established His church upon Peter (Matt 16:18) and delegated His authority to Peter (Matt 16:19). Just as the keys were transmitted from one prime minister to the next in the Davidic kingdom (Isa 22:22), so the keys in Christ’s kingdom have been handed down since the founding of the church from Peter to his successors – the popes of the Catholic Church.

In Hebrews 13:17, we are commanded to obey those who have been placed in spiritual leadership over us: “Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account” (RSV).

As we individual Christians engage the culture of this fallen world, let us not claim too much authority for ourselves. Instead, let us be humble and operate within the proper framework of the church Christ established.

Fifteen months ago today — at the Easter Vigil on April 7, 2007 — I was formally received into full communion with the Catholic Church. In honor of this milestone, here are some scripture passages that helped me on my journey from Protestantism to Catholicism:

15 Bible Verses Every Catholic Should Know

1. 2 Thess 2:15 – We are told to hold to the traditions, whether taught by word of mouth or by letter. This goes against the Protestant ideas of sola scriptura (scripture alone as the final authority) and that all forms of tradition are bad (Christ only condemned certain traditions of men in Mt 15:3 and Mk 7:9, not all types of tradition).
2. James 2:24 – We are justified by works and not by faith alone. This opposes the Protestant idea of justification by faith alone, or sola fide.
3. Phil 2:12 – We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling; instead of simply having faith alone (sola fide), we are to be active participants, cooperating with God’s grace in our salvation.
4. 2 Peter 3:15-16 – Scripture is not clear or easily understood, and it can easily be twisted to support false doctrine. We are told that Paul’s letters contain things that are hard to understand, which contradicts the Protestant concept of the perspicuity (clearness) of scripture.
5. Rom 11:22 – We must continue in God’s kindness or we will be cut off (i.e., we can lose our salvation). This verse goes against the teaching of some Protestants, such as Calvinists, who say that believers cannot lose their salvation. (Note that other Protestants, like Wesleyans and Arminians, agree with Catholics that a believer can lose their salvation.)
6. John 3:5 – We must be born of water and the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God. Being born of water means baptism: a point reinforced in John 3:22 when Jesus and the apostles begin baptizing.
7. 1 Pet 3:21 – baptism…now saves you (baptism is regenerative, not merely a symbol)
8. Col 1:24 – A believer’s sufferings are in some way combined with Christ’s afflictions (”complete what is lacking”) and can be applied to benefit other believers (i.e., “for your sake” and “for the sake of…the church”).
9. Rev 12:1 – Mary is depicted in heaven bodily (supporting the bodily assumption of Mary) and wearing a crown (supporting the idea that Mary is queen of heaven). (That this woman is Mary is clear from Rev 12:5…she gives birth to the Messiah.)
10. Rev 12:17 – Mary is the mother of all believers
11. 1 Cor 4:15 – Paul tells his readers, “I became your father in Christ through the gospel.” This supports the practice of Catholics calling their priests “Father”. (Protestants sometimes use Matt 23:9 to claim that calling a priest Father goes against Christ’s teachings.)
12. Acts 1:20, 25-26 – Apostolic succession; Matthias takes Judas’ apostolic ministry (”bishoprick” in the KJV).
13. 2 Tim 2:2 – Apostolic succession: Christ’s teachings were given to Paul, who taught Timothy, who is to teach faithful men, who then are to teach others.
14. John 6:53-56 – The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist (see the entire Bread of Life discourse in Jn 6:35-71).
15. 1 Cor 11:27-29 – Concomitance: the body and blood are present in both the bread and the cup. If you eat the bread or drink the cup unworthily, you sin against both the body and the blood of Christ.

Today’s Musings from a Catholic Bookstore shows the relationship between the writer’s Big Bell Box Meal from Taco Bell, his Aunt Gloria’s homemade Mexican cooking, and the Pope’s reaffirmation that there is no salvation outside the Church. A fine blend of hysterical and insightful. Read “Salvation Outside the Burrito” >