According to an article in today’s National Catholic Register, “NBC has refused to air CatholicVote.org’s new pro-life ad during its broadcast of this Sunday’s Super Bowl game.” You can view the ad here:

This is a positive and uplifting message. And it is tastefully done, without shocking photos or even use of the word “abortion.”

According to the article, an “NBC representative in Chicago told CatholicVote.org late yesterday that NBC and the NFL are not interested in advertisements involving ‘political candidates or issues.’”

Virtue Media has a series of commercials that present the pro-life message in a positive manner. Here’s just one, which features Norma McCorvey — better known as “Jane Roe” of the “Roe vs Wade” court case — who is now a pro-life activist:

More great commercials are available on the Virtue Media site at http://www.virtuemedia.org/television.htm. Share them with others and support Virtue Media with your prayers and donations!

Much has been in the news lately about Rick Warren being slated to deliver next week’s presidential inaugural invocation. As a result, interest in Pastor Warren’s best selling book The Purpose Driven Life is no doubt on the rise among Christians who may have not read the book when it debuted in 2002.

What is the Catholic view of this popular non-Catholic book? I’ve found two vantage points: one advising Catholics to avoid it altogether; the other suggesting that it can be advantageous provided there is Catholic pastoral guidance.

Don’t Go There

Catholic Answers’ This Rock magazine published a critique titled “Wrong Turn: The Purpose-Driven Life Gives Bad Directions” in its December 2005 issue. Written by Ronald J. Rychlak and Kyle Duncan, the article explains:

Warren is no anti-Catholic bigot. He accepts that Catholics are true believers, and he cites monks and nuns (including Mother Teresa) as Christian examples. …Nevertheless, Catholics should be aware that there are dangers on the Purpose-Driven road.

The article then points out several problems with The Purpose-Driven Life’s content, including Warren’s view of scripture, salvation, liturgy, sacraments and ecclesiology. The critique concludes with this advice to Catholics under the subhead “Don’t Go There”:

Whatever helpful personal encouragement Warren’s teaching might offer, the use of his books in any catechetical setting is a serious mistake. They are misleading and potentially profoundly confusing to poorly catechized Catholics. Moreover, while seeming to be ecumenical in approach, they actually undermine true ecumenism because they gloss over serious theological problems. …Catholics who follow the Purpose-Driven template are driving blind, and the road they follow is more likely to lead away from the Church than to a deeper practice of their faith.

More Agreement Than Disagreement

A second perspective on Warren’s book comes from Father Joseph M. Champlin, who penned a book called A Catholic Perspective on The Purpose Driven Life, published in 2006. The opening chapter begins:

Roman Catholic teaching and practice coincide with some parts of Pastor Rick Warren’s message in his book The Purpose Driven Life and clash with other points. There is, however, more agreement than disagreement. (p. 13)

Throughout the book, Father Champlin compares and contrasts the points in Warren’s book and Catholic teaching, to “affirm and enrich parts where the two seemingly coincide” and “explain and clarify points where the two apparently clash” (p. 13).

Having read Warren’s book when I was still a Protestant, I am finding Father Champlin’s book quite helpful (I’m about half way through its 106 pages). I think he does a fine job guiding Catholics who have read or are reading Warren’s book. In his Introduction, he explains that his book is ideally read alongside Warren’s:

For the most effective use of this study guide, I would suggest following Pastor Warren’s day-to-day approach for a particular section, then, after completing that portion, read the corresponding chapter in my book.

Although I’m not reading it in his recommended manner, I am finding it to be a worthwhile resource. Father Champlin is addressing the problem identified by the writers of the This Rock article: that poorly catechized Catholics could be confused and led astray by Warren’s book.

Catholic Writers May Be Better for You

If you are Catholic and are considering reading Rick Warren’s The Purpose-Driven Life, do so with caution and certainly with guidance. Father Champlin’s A Catholic Perspective on The Purpose-Driven Life is a highly recommended companion to Warren’s work.

However, instead of reading The Purpose-Driven Life, you may want to consider reading similar spiritual-growth books penned by Catholics. Matthew Kelly is one such writer, and you may find his books such as Perpetual Motivation, The Rhythm of Life, Rediscovering Catholicism, or Perfectly Yourself more enriching than any Protestant book.

Opportunity for Dialogue

Knowing how popular Rick Warren’s The Purpose-Driven Life has been over the past several years, I think that Catholics need to make themselves aware of the book’s messages in order to effectively dialogue with non-Catholic Christians.

Father Champlin’s work offers meaningful summaries of Warren’s points, and it provides appropriate Catholic insight, including references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, scripture and noteworthy Catholic writers.

So, even if you never plan to read Warren’s book, Champlin’s A Catholic Perspective would be one way to equip yourself to charitably dialogue with those who have read The Purpose-Driven Life — and help show them that God’s plan for us all involves being part of the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church that Jesus established.

Last Thursday’s passing of Father Richard John Neuhaus — the noteworthy editor of First Things and ex-Lutheran minister who became a Catholic priest — is marked by a nice article by George Weigel in Newsweek.

I enjoyed Fr. Neuhaus’ commentary on EWTN this past April when Pope Benedict XVI visited the United States. That was the first time I saw him on television, and I liked his dry wit!

Two or three years ago, on my own journey toward Catholicism, I read an article Neuhaus wrote entitled, “How I Became the Catholic I Was.” (I later learned that it was an excerpt from his book Catholic Matters.) The article is available as a PDF in the Coming Home Network’s Feb. 2003 newsletter (beginning on page 3) and as HTML on the First Things site.

He recalled the story of how “the great confessional Lutheran theologian Peter Brunner regularly said that a Lutheran who does not daily ask himself why he is not a Roman Catholic cannot know why he is a Lutheran.” Neuhaus also pointed out how Lutheranism “turned against the fulfillment of its destiny as a reforming movement within the one Church of Christ. Lutheranism in all its parts, both in this country and elsewhere, had settled for being a permanently separated Protestant denomination; or, as the case may be, several Protestant denominations.”

That hit me hard — especially as someone who was a proud member of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod since the early 1990s. The original idea of the Reformation was to work toward reform of and reconciliation with the Catholic Church, not to establish a permanently separated state. This original idea has been lost over the past 490+ years.

I cannot say that Fr. Neuhaus’ writings immediately prompted me to join the Catholic Church, but he did get the old wheels turning in my head at a much faster rate than they had in the past.

Thank you, Father Neuhaus, for all that you did in this life, and may you enter into eternal rest!

We commemorated The Baptism of Jesus in today’s liturgy. While in mass today, I remembered the insights Pope Benedict XVI (writing as Joseph Ratzinger, rather than as Pope) shared in his book Jesus of Nazareth:

Looking at the events in light of the Cross and Resurrection, the Christian people realized what happened: Jesus loaded the burden of all mankind’s guilt upon his shoulders; he bore it down into the depths of the Jordan. He inaugurated his public activity by stepping into the place of sinners. His inaugural gesture is an anticipation of the Cross. He is, as it were, the true Jonah who said to the crew of the ship, “Take me and throw me into the sea” (Jon 1:12). The whole significance of Jesus’ Baptism, the fact that he bears “all righteousness,” first comes to light on the Cross: The Baptism is an acceptance of death for the sins of humanity, and the voice that call out “This is my beloved Son” over the baptismal waters is an anticipatory reference to the Resurrection. This also explains why, in his own discourses, Jesus uses the word baptism to refer to his death (cf. Mk 10:38; Lk 12:50).

- Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration, Ch. 1: The Baptism of Jesus, p. 18.

Prior to reading this book, I had not deeply reflected on the connection between Christ’s baptism and crucifixion – that in both instances, Jesus stepped into the place of sinners.

Just thought this might server as a nice reflection today. Enjoy!