You Are In the House of God

When you enter the church, you are entering the house of God. So many people forget this. They've been taught that God is not confined to a church. This is true... but that doesn't mean it isn't a place of reverence.

You have a home. You're not confined there. You can travel, visit other people, go on vacation... but you still have a home, and if you are in your home you don't want someone coming over and disrespecting you in your house.

Even Jesus became extremely upset when there were dealers disrespecting His Father's Temple.

Jesus went into the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves. And he declared to them, "It is written: My house will be called a house of prayer. But you are making it a den of robbers." (Matthew 21:12-13)

So even Christ looked at the Temple as the house of God. When Christ came into the world and thus began Christianity (where God's chosen people became those who followed his Son - because no one goes to the Father but through Christ), Christ's church became God's temple, the home of the Holy Trinity.

In the Catholic faith, we take the Eucharist very seriously. We truly believe Christ is present in the Eucharist. It is not merely metaphoric. Through Transubstantiation, we believe that the bread and wine truly becomes the body and blood of Christ.

Jesus said to them: "Truly I say to you. Unless you eat of my body and drink of my blood, you shall have no eternal life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood, shall have eternal life and I will raise them up on the last day." (John 6:53-54)

So the bread (hosts) kept within the Tabernacle, we look at that as Christ present in the church in a literal sense.

So when you come into the church, you are entering the house of God. There must be respect, decorum and dignity, lest you disrespect God in His own home.

In the Traditional Church... rules were much stricter than they are now since Vatican II... but that doesn't mean, just because the church is looked at as more lax, that God has changed his opinions on dignity.

Now, this blog comes around after I attended daily mass this morning. A girl who I assume was volunteering at the Church's daycare came in with a group of the little children attending the Daycare. She had on the shortest shorts. When she sat, it went from inappropriate for church, to grossly inappropriate for church. Sometimes I don't think girls see themselves from the angle others can see them. They don't realize how shorts or a skirt rides up when you sit.

Another Mass last year, a girl, very tall and skinny, wore a skirt so short, you had to look away whenever she'd bend over if you didn't want an eye full of underwear (God in Heaven I hope she wore them.)

And another mass last year, a girl came in wearing a strapless dress. It was so short, whenever she sat, you got an eye full of everything, and being on the thicker side, without a bra, gravity took effect and she spent half the mass either showing too much cleavage or yanking the top up.

What you do on your own time is between you and God... but in the house of God, this is unacceptable and priests should now allow it. Those dressed as inappropriately as in the last example, should be asked to cover themselves, or leave. This is God's house. Let us say you are visiting your parents and their neighbor comes in and disrespects your parents in their own home. Would you stand for it? Of course not.

Coming into the house of God looking as if you're about to go to the strip club right after is disrespectful. Would you go to work as a banker or as a nurse in a bikini? Then why would you come to the house of our Lord looking like you just came from a night of partying at a bar? If you would not allow someone to walk into your own home and disrespect you... why would you dress disrespectfully when walking into the house of God?

In the traditional church:

WOMEN

Mantilla (Chapel Veil)
Arms should be covered at all times (Short sleeves acceptable)
Long Dress or Skirt (no pants, shorts, or capris)

MEN

Suit (Winter)
Short sleeve polo shirt and dress pants (Summer)

In the post Vatican II Church:

WOMEN

Arms should be covered at all times (short sleeves are acceptable)
Pants, Skirt below the knees, Capris no shorter than knee length.

MEN

Same as the Traditional Church with the exception that you can wear a T-Shirt as long as it does not contain inappropriate language or art.

Although, in reality, we should be following the Traditions of the original church. It only changed because of the church's modernization and Feminism over-reaching.

Some still say a dress code is repressive. If you read my previous blog about the chapel veil, you will find a documentary that details exactly why dressing respectfully and wearing a chapel veil in the house of God is a way to build a woman up, to make her special and holy, rather than oppress her.

Even if you don't believe in dresses and chapel veils... try looking at yourself and say, "I'm about to walk into the house of my Creator. Would my grandmother cringe if I walked into her home like this? If she would, God definitely would." it's only an hour out of your time, once a week. What will it hurt you to dress with dignity in God's house?

Powerful statement

painting by Akiane Kramarik

This is a very wonderful discussion the deacon of my church wrote about the message of the readings and Gospel for 7/2/17 (the 13th Sunday of Ordinary time)

Jesus said to his Apostles

"Whoever Loves Father or Mother more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me."

Those are very powerful words. Powerful words indeed. And difficult words too. Jesus is telling us that true Christianity comes at a cost.

Here's a cute story of two brothers, ages 9 and 5. They were arguing over who would get the last chocolate chip cookie. Their mother said to the boys not to fight. She told her sons, "Think of what Jesus would do. He would tell his brother, "here brother, you take the cookie". The nine year old thought for a moment then said to his 5 year old brother: "Mikey, you be Jesus".

To be a true Christian means suffering is part and parcel to our lives, but no one really likes the idea of suffering, do we? Yet pain, sorrow and suffering are a part of who we are and part of our human existence. Think of it. Headaches, muscle aches and pains, worries, cares, the death of a loved one, stress, misery, trouble with our marriages, jobs, daily living, so on. All of these things point to the fact that we do have pain and suffering in our daily lives. We'd like to be free of them, but the fact is we can not, no matter how hard we wish or how hard we try. In the end, following Jesus is going to cost us something.

We've all heard the saying, "You get what you pay for". Well then, beware of cheap religions or any religion that comes across as soft and easy and accepting of everything. Beware religion where the cost of following Jesus Christ is never mentioned and where our consciences is never challenged or disturbed. Also be wary when we begin to think that living for Jesus Christ is SUPPOSE to be easy.

Cheap religion will only wrap us in tales of God's love. It will never tell us the truth. The Truth is that Jesus Christ DIED for us. Think of that. Jesus Christ died on a cross for you and me, and the whole human race. He suffered a painful, humiliating death. he willingly gave his life for us and he calls us to be willing to give something of ourselves in return.

There are too many people who only know one side of the story. The story of God's love. Learning and living in God's love is important, but there is much more to the story! that is the point of today's Gospel.

Jesus tells his Apostles and those who succeed them, that they must be prepared to undergo great sacrifices, even death itself, if called to do so. Even though they had only a very vague idea of what he meant, when the time came, they remembered his words and gladly suffered imprisonment, hardships, and finally Martyrdom for Jesus. This shows how the resurrection of Jesus, and the descent of the Holy Spirit on them, changed them from worldly weaklings to fearless heroes.

They had become convinced that Jesus was the Son of God who had come to Earth to bring all men to heaven. They came to realize how transitory and unimportant the few years of earthly life were, when compared with the eternal life to follow. It was not only the apostles who gave their lives gladly for Jesus. There are thousands of martyrs who, during the first three centuries of the church, not only accepted, but welcomed death for Christ's sake, because they were convinced it was the door to eternal life, the only life that mattered.

Down through the centuries, the followers of Jesus have been persecuted because of their belief in him, and many of us can be proud that we have among our ancestors, men and women who died for their faith. Today, too, there are still those who are suffering a lingering martyrdom, because they obey God rather than man.

All of us, at one point or another, or in one way or another, have had to bear crosses in life. By bearing our crosses, we can become more like Jesus. Why do some of us come out of our trials more miserable than before? And why do some of us become more Christ like? Well, it may be that the answer has to do with how we see Jesus and follow him.

Remember our Lord's words in today's first reading. he who will give hospitality and help to a prophet will have the reward of the prophet. He who helps those who are preaching and teaching the message of salvation, the good news of Jesus, at home and abroad, will himself share in that reward of these preachers and teachers.

When we get to heaven, one of the many pleasant surprises awaiting us will be the gratitude we will receive from the saints we've helped send to heaven, people we never knew or perhaps thought about. We helped those who thought about them and worked hard for their salvation, and thus we share in their rewards.

Remember this promise, even a cup of cold water will not go unrewarded, every little helping hand we give to bring our fellowmen to heaven will help us too, toward the same goal. Heaven is our real goal in life. It alone will satisfy all our desires and it alone will last forever.

Are we truly followers of him or are we only admirers? That is an important question we need to ask ourselves. Are we followers or admirers? If we are only admirers, then we will tend to see our faith and belief in Jesus as a crutch or a Band-Aid. If that happens, when trials and sufferings and sorrows come, we'll become bitter and hopeless people. Especially when things don't go the way we want them to go.

If on the other hand, we are true followers of Jesus we will realize that all of our trials and tribulations, no matter how awful they are, can and will bring us closer to God. Remember that we are called to learn about God. This doesn't mean that we figure out the Trinity or know word for word what the pope or Vatican has said or that we can read the new testament in original Greek. no we are called to learn about Jesus from our every day experiences and the joys and happiness of life, the struggles and pains, in our strengths and weaknesses of life too. We need to learn about God from Christ like people, people who pick up their crosses everyday and do their best to follow Jesus.

All of us can be Jesus to someone, someone who will remember what Jesus is like because they remember what we are like. They will know that we are true followers of Jesus, even in the midst of bearing our crosses. True followers and not just admirers only.

But we must also be willing to put away our self-centeredness. If we do this and realize this, we'll gain a deeper appreciation of what pain and suffering can bring to our lives.

Jesus says, "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake, will find it." Let us lose ourselves then in Jesus, and lose ourselves in all that life gives us, in joy and sorrow, in happiness and pain, in all things good and bad, so that one day, we can find life eternal in Him.

Readings and Gospel for this statement:

2 kings 4:8-17

Romans 6:1-11

Matthew 10:37-42

Today, so many religions are all about acceptance, tolerance, inclusivity. They talk about how God loves everyone and accepts everyone, and who are we to judge anyone? That's for God alone.

They don't teach about hell. Hell's become either a non existent place made up to frighten children or a place that is merely a separation from God. (despite the biblical mentions of fire and brimstone and suffering.)

God, in many newer Christian religions, has become a magic fairy godmother and all we have to do is love, accept, tolerate, and not judge. Suffering isn't part of the deal. Avoiding sin isn't part of the deal. sacrifice isn't part of the deal.

They are leading people astray by reinterpreting the harsh language of the bible and making it about love and peace and equality.

They are missing the point. The saints suffered, Christ suffered, and so we too must suffer in this world, and offer our sufferings to Christ, so that we can gain eternal peace and joy with Christ and all the saints who went before us.

Free Will

There are a lot of questions about free will that come up all the time. If God intervenes because we prayed for him to, doesn't that take away the free will of someone else? (For example, if we pray that we get a job that someone else wanted, and God intervenes and helps us get the job.)

If God is all knowing, and knows what will happen in our lives before we do... doesn't that mean our lives are predestined?

If God gave us free will, why does he punish us for using it? (If we sin. How is it free will if there are rules?)

It's a hard concept to understand, and I'm not an apologist. A Catholic Apologist is someone who is an expert in Catholic theology, however let me try to explain it in the way I understand it.

Free will is misinterpreted. The main point of free will isn't "Do what you want, no consequences". The reason God gave us free will was because he wanted us to love him, but he didn't want us to love him because we were programed to. He wants us to give ourselves to him freely and knowingly. He wants us to choose to be good rather than evil.

It's not meant to be a free for all. Even with God, there are consequences for our actions. You choose to sin, you must face the consequences. You choose to do wrong, you must face his just punishment.

It's like theft. You don't have to walk into someone's yard and steal their kid's bike, but because of free will, you can. But you will go to jail for the theft. Just as someone doesn't have to get involved if they know you did it, but if they use their free will to report the theft, they could be given a small reward by the child's parents for the good deed.

Our choices, which are freely ours to make, will have consequences, both good and bad, both legal (Man made laws) and moral (God's laws)

So you have free will to choose to do good or evil, to choose to love God or deny him. But you have to remember that there are consequences, just as there was for Adam and Eve. They had free will to do whatever they wanted. The only rule was, "do not eat the fruit of one Tree". God didn't stop them from doing it, he gave them the test. How will they use the gift of free will he gave them? They used their free will to disobey God, and they were punished for what they did, much like someone who steals a bike is punished for their act.

But the main purpose of Free Will is more about our freedom to accept or reject God than it is if we have fish or steak for dinner. He gave us the choice to love him, or deny him, because he didn't want to be worshiped by force. He wants us to love him because we love him.

Then comes the questions of miracles. Why does God intercede in certain situations? What if he helps someone get a job because they prayed hard about it, doesn't that take away the free will of someone else vying for that job?

Miracles are never made to the detriment of another person, or to take away anyone's free will. Miracles are made to remind us that God is here and he loves us. It's to show people a light that there is more to this world than the hardships we face. It's a tap on the shoulder to try to turn his children back to him after they've walked away. It's about hope, it's about love. 

You've probably heard someone say "Everything happens for a reason". That's how miracles work. They're not meant to remove someone else's free will or to spurn one person for another. There is a purpose for all involved when God intervenes. There's a lesson in there, or a nudge back to God in there, or healing in there.

God doesn't want to take away our free will or put one person above another... God's miracles and intervention are his ways of showing us his love. If he wanted to take away our free will, he'd constantly be intervening and forcing us to do what he knows is right. It would be like me standing in front of two doors, and he removes one of the doors so I didn't have to choose which one to enter. I'd just do what he wanted, because he made the choice for me. That has never been God's way. So Miracles have nothing to do with free will or overstepping the gift he gave us.

Of course there is still a question about predestination. God is all knowing. He knows the beginning, he knows the end. He knows what we are going to do before we do it, is the common thinking. However that is not what I've gotten out of studying theology.

I think God knows everything... He knows from the moment we're conceived, our left and our right. He knows all the outcomes of every move we make, but it's still our choice to make. 

For example, Back to those two doors I mentioned earlier. One is marked "Do Not Enter" and one is marked "Welcome". God knows what will happen behind each door, but I am still free to choose which door to open and accept the consequences that follow.

So while God does know everything, he knows the outcome of both sides of the coin we toss... he still lets use choose. So our lives are not predestined. We are still free to make our own choices.

It's a heavy responsibility and it's very hard to understand at times... but that is what faith is all about.

We need to use the choices we are given to be good people, do good for others, help those in need, and love God with all our hearts and remember how much he loves us.

I hope this makes it somewhat easier to understand.

God bless

- I Say Amen -

Shroud of Turin / The Real Face of Jesus

Today is Holy Saturday, the day before resurrection morning. This is the day many will go to the church to have their Easter Sunday food blessed. (Ham, rolls, colored eggs, chocolates, wine, etc.) This food can not be touched until Easter Sunday. It was tough as a child to not touch those giant, milk chocolate, Cadbury bunnies. ha

But now that I'm older and chocolate isn't as important, Besides blessing food in the afternoon, one of my new traditions is to watch the History Channel's special "The Real Face of Jesus?" That takes us on a journey of the Shroud of Turin and digital artist Ray Downing who set out to pull the faint face from the holy cloth, and show what the person that left that image, would have looked like.

Since many believe the shroud to be that of Christ, through this documentary, we could be seeing the actual face of our Savior. If you go to the History Channel's website or amazon, you can purchase a DVD. For those who enjoy streaming (like I do) it's available to order on amazon instant download as well. If you can't afford the DVD or to own the streaming copy, you can watch on YouTube.

Again, the title is "The Real Face of Jesus" and it includes artist Ray Downing. (there are two versions of "the Face of Jesus" out there. this one is the better researched of the two.)

This is Ray Downing, the artist that appears in this documentary. I call him the artistic Henry Winkler. the "Fonz" of the Shroud of Turin.

You can visit Ray Downing's website at raydowning.com to see his work related to his artistic rendering of the face in the shroud, as well as other videos he's made on Jesus using the rendering, or to order prints. Brilliant man with a brilliant artistic skill.



The Shroud of Turin is a very interesting piece of history. 

Some say it is the burial cloth of Christ... embedded with Christ's image upon the glorious light of his Resurrection.

We know all things are possible with God, and also, We all know the story of St. Veronica. 

St Veronica's real name is unknown. She is referred to as St. Veronica because of the veil itself. In Latin the veil is called Vera Icon (true image)... and thus was derived the word "Veronica".  

Legend says the unnamed saint watched as Christ fell under the weight of his cross on the way to his crucifixion. She was so moved by the scene, she ran to him to wipe his bloody and dirt covered face. She removed her head veil to use. As a miracle in return for her act of kindness, he left his holy image on the veil that she used.

Now, it must be mentioned, there is no biblical basis for this legend. St. Veronica does not appear in the passion of Christ either in Matthew, Mark, Luke Or John. It is only depicted in the movies or art, Mostly as a way to explain the existence of the actual veil.



The veil of Veronica really exists, so where does it come from if not from someone who wiped his face on his way to the crucifixion?  

There is an unnamed woman in the gospels, for reference: Mark 5:25-34, who was hemorrhaging for 12 years... and through her faith that Christ could heal her, she got on her hands and knees, and touched the hems of his garment and was healed. 

Some wonder if the image of Jesus appeared on the woman's veil, rather than the story about his face being wiped during the crucifixion, as a sign of her healing through her faith in Christ. The Vatican is in possession of the veil.

It's also note-worthy, that while faint... the image on Veronica's veil, does not appear to be bloodied and bruised like the image on the shroud of Turin... so it is possible it was from the woman Christ miraculously healed long before Jesus' wounds and crucifixion.

that said, I bring it up to show, there is some religious precedent for such a miracle.

The Shroud of Tourin is very complex, and I can't really do it very much justice in my layman way except to say this much.

There are so many things about this shroud that is quiet interesting. 

1. No artist pigments or any artistic media has been found. Neither modern nor from ancient times. That means it most likely NOT the work of an artist.

2. Dr. Baima Ballone, Dr. Alan Alder, and the Late Dr. John Heller were able to procure a sample of what was once believed artistic blood(Painted). They were able to find that it was true blood. Typed AB (a rare type of blood), as well as degraded DNA and XY Chromosomes (meaning male). The Degraded DNA made it "Consistent with the supposition of ancient blood."

3. The Carbon dating of 1988 has come into questions. The Carbon dating put the shroud as a medieval. Now, I'm not a scientist, however, it is said by someone who IS a scientist, that the part of the shroud tested is a part that had been repaired in the middle ages after damage... and not part of the original cloth, so the results are deemed invalid. More modern testing of the original cloth does show that it could have been from around the period in which Christ would have died.

4. The shroud itself is in compliance with the traditional burial customs of that period. From the position of the body, to the way the body would have been wrapped based on the folds in the cloth.

5. Then of course the wounds. The wounds show an injury to the head that looks like points of blood caused by something sharp, a stab to the right side, stab marks in the wrists and feet, and slashes to the back resulting in severe bleeding.

We know a few things: one.. the crown of thorns was an abusive insult specific to Christ, it wasn't common practice to crown those about to be crucified with thorns. two... there is no artist that would subject themselves to such torture, by being beaten enough to create that much blood (since we know it's real blood)and then be wrapped in linen, in order to create an image of the crucified Christ.

Not to mention, newer carbon dating of the original cloth shows it to be around the year Christ died. There weren't artists standing under the cross sketching him as modern day sketch artists do.

So those wounds were real (as we know real blood has been found on the shroud)... the person in that image suffered. And they are exactly what is described in the bible. Scourges, bloody forehead, the wrists have holes (which actually goes more towards the belief that, to sustain a body, they would crucify a person through the wrists, not palms)... and through the feet.

There is also a lance wound in the side. The legs do not look broken. It was a practice to break the legs of the crucified to make them die faster if they were still alive after a certain time. Christ had already passed so they lanced his side to make sure he was dead rather than breaking his legs. Unbeknownst to them at the time, they fulfilled the prophecy that not a bone would be broken. (John 19:36)

So we have the wounds, the blood on those wounds being real blood, the valid carbon dating of the original cloth (Rather than the repaired section) dating back to Christ's time period, the traditional burial customs represented in the shroud, and the lack of any artistic medium known to exist at that time. 

Is the shroud truly the burial cloth of Christ? I personally believe so. If you do more research on this miraculous relic... 

FURTHER READING

Shroud Website

Shroud of Turin Evidence 

Turin-Shroud.com

The Real Face of Jesus DVD (also available on Amazon Instant Download for purchase, or you can rent it for $1.99. Viewable online or on your Roku)

Briefly returning to Veronica's veil... there have been some artistic experiments with both the face on the shroud and Veronica's veil. There was some detailing that had to be artistically done since the image on the veil is so faint... but after all was said and done...

The images matched up fairly close in the positioning of the eyes, the line up of the nose, and the features of the jawline/beard. Both date to the appropriate period which would be in the lifetime of Christ, further proving the authenticity of the shroud.