Theology of the Body - From the Beginning

I learned a great deal this past week. The main stimulus of watching and reading these sermons and writings was to build a stronger theological foundation of understanding God's purpose for creating human with two genders.

The best lecture I have ever heard on the subject is by Christopher West - see YouTube. He referred to JOHN PAUL II'S THEOLOGY OF THE BODY which contains 129 lectures (!) collectively explaining the glorious teaching on why God created man and woman - expounding on scripture that spans from Genesis to Revelation. Take for an example, on the subject OF THE UNITY AND INDISSOLUBILITY OF MARRIAGE  Pope John Paul II spoke on 5 September 1979, in the first of his General Audiences on the Theology of the Body, expounded the words of Christ, "In the beginning the Creator made them male and female." to over 20,000 people. This is based on the following Gospel account:
"And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, 'Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?' He answered, 'Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.' They said to him, 'Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?' He said to them, 'For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so'" (Mt 19:3-8, cf. also Mk 10:2-12).
Pope John Paul II explained: "Christ quoted Genesis 1:27 in summary form: "In the beginning the Creator made them male and female." The original passage reads textually as follows: "God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Subsequently, the Master referred to Genesis 2:24: "Therefore, a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh." Quoting these words almost in full, Christ gave them an even more explicit normative meaning (since it could be supported that in Genesis they express de facto statements: "leaves. cleaves. they become one flesh"). The normative meaning is plausible since Christ did not confine himself only to the quotation itself, but added: "So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder." That "let not man put asunder" is decisive. In the light of these words of Christ, Genesis 2:24 sets forth the principle of the unity and indissolubility of marriage as the very content of the Word of God, expressed in the most ancient revelation."

Based on this Theological Foundation "it is the Church's resolute 'yes' to conjugal love, the spousal meaning of the body, and the meaning of the complementarity of the sexes, to its ordering to pro-creation, that necessarily requires a 'no' to homosexual activity" (from Theology of the Body and Homosexual 'Marriage') There are six specific passages in scripture that condemn homosexuality: Gen. 19:5-8; Lev. 18:22-23; Lev. 20:13; 1 Tim. 1:9-10; Rom. 1:26-27; Jude 7. But there are proponents of the "Gay Theology" who interpret these same passages differently to normalize homosexual behaviour in the church. In other words, it is fine to be both a professing Christian and a practicing homosexual. To gain a better understanding how these scriptures were interpreted and the problem with their interpretation, watch this Joe Dallas's talk on the subject: I Was an Apologist for Gay Theology
Another worthwhile lecture series worth watching: Refuting Pro-Gay Arguments and Theology

This subject is very important to me as I have several family members (and likely most of my friends and relatives) who are quite offended by my stance on the subject. I know I ought to love everyone, irrespective of their belief on homosexuality, and I can honestly say I do love my gay friends and relatives. But is it wrong? - absolutely! It is not God's original intention when He created man and woman. But I consider this sinful behaviour no worse than lying, gossiping, sex before marriage, abortion etc. "For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another... Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh... Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:13, 16-21) I admit I do commit quite a number of these deadly sins from time to time. If it wasn't for the grace of salvation offered by Christ on the cross, I would be doomed myself. I often quote this passage because homosexuality is not on the list! I think it's covered under "fornication, impurity, licentiousness". But the point is I am just another sinner trying to help other sinners to the path of ultimate fulfillment.

2 Corinthians chapter 4 is absolutely one of my favorite passages in Scripture. Listen to this:
"Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:1-6)

May God use me to help my brothers and sisters who have been mislead, to bring them back to the fullness of the truth! Live Truth, Live Catholic!

Jesus washed Judas' feet - a New Commandment!

I went to the Mass of the Lord's Supper last night for the first time. I was told that this mass marked the beginning of the Sacred Triduum. The first thing I learned was that some protestant denominations (e.g. Anglican) call the first day of Triduum Maundy Thursday. The word Maundy comes from the Latin phrase "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos" ("A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another." John 13:34) by which Jesus explained to the Apostles the significance of his action of washing their feet, more of that later. The Mass of the Lord's Supper highlighted three important events: the Institution of the Holy Eucharist (and the Mass), the Institution of the Holy Priesthood, and the demonstration for the "New Commandment". The Old Testament scripture for the mass was taken from Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 which told the story of the Institution of the First Passover. The reading of the Psalms was taken from Psalms 116:12-13, 15-18 - "What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord," and "O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your serving girl. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people,". This is the appropriate response for God's salvation to us! Then 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 was read - this is perhaps one of the most read scriptures to remind us of the Institution of the Holy Eucharist. Now to tie everything together is the Gospel passage John 13:1-15. Jesus, the priest, also the sacrificial lamb of the Passover, demonstrated to us the "New Commandment" by washing His disciples' feet!

Jesus was once asked by this young lawyer "“Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”" Jesus summarized the Old Commandments (the Ten Commandments from Deuteronomy 5) into this - Love God, Love our neighbor as ourselves. And yet He gave us a New Commandment: "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." (John 13:34). The Old Commandment says we should love our neighbor as ourselves, but the New Commandment says we should love our neighbor as Christ has loved us. We know how He has loved us: "But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us."(Romans 5:8). And in a practical way He also demonstrated His love by washing the feet of His servants (literally mean slaves).

What I didn't know was that Jesus washed Judas' feet also - before he went out to betray Him! That's the extent He loves us. That's the extent we are to love our neighbor - including our enemies.

It's hard to do. But we are called to be perfect; we are called to be saints!

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)

Patheos has a lovely piece on "Washing Judas' Feet". It says something quite interesting in Simon Peter's reaction after Jesus pointing out Judas as the betrayer, after He washed their feet:"But Simon Peter let Judas go. Why? The story doesn’t tell us. Maybe Simon Peter was moved by the fact that Jesus just washed Judas’s feet. Maybe, if just for a moment, Simon Peter knew that God calls us to respond to violence with nonviolent love and service. And maybe that is what the Atonement is all about."

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

I was moved to tears when I sang "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" at the Psalm Sunday Mass this morning.This is a very familiar hymn from the Protestant days. Maybe it was the setting of the Catholic Mass - a church full of people, the palm branch in my hand, the smell of the incense, and the procession of the two priests, the seminarian, and a train of altar boys and girls all in their appropriate worship attires. Or maybe it was simply that I was overwhelmed with gratitude the love of God as represented by the cross, particularly after coming back to the Catholic Church at this point in my life.

As I listened to it again - this one sung by the Choir of Kings College at Cambridge, and read along the lyric:

(1) When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.	(3) See, from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?
(2) Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast save in the death of Christ, my God! All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them through his blood.	(4) Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.

The hymn sums it up so beautifully this one truth about the cross: "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all." I need to look no further to find meaning and purpose than to look at the cross for the rest of my days. These words always pricked my soul deeply: "my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride"; "All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them through his blood.".

These words of St. Paul's came to mine: "For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."(1 Corinthians 1:18). I often ask God for power to be His witness. I'll find it in the Cross of Christ. That's why Jesus reminded us: "Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:27)

My understanding of the cross has changed a lot since becoming a Catholic also. Dr. David Anders explains it well: "Growing up Protestant, I learned that my sin moved God to anger and that His wrath had to be appeased by blood sacrifice. Protestants teach that God actively punishes Christ in the crucifixion, and in the descent into hell.   It is a vicarious punishment. God agrees to punish an innocent victim, treating him as if he were guilty of my offense. In exchange, I get off scot-free." This is known as Penal Substitution. Against this view Dr. Anders explains the Catholic view: "...the (Catholic) Church rejects the idea of vicarious punishment. The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes this plain, “Jesus did not experience reprobation as if he himself had sinned.” (CCC 603)  Not only would such punishment be unjust, it would also express a very defective view of Christ’s divinity.  God the Son cannot be at enmity with God the Father, nor does the Father reject him. Even on the Cross, Christ never failed to be in perfect union with God the Father... In Catholic teaching, Christ’s death is a sacrifice in the sense that he offers up something of value – namely, his own human life.  It is analogous the the sacrifices of the Old Covenant. The worshiper under the Mosaic covenant gave up something of value (a heifer, a goat, a lamb, even grain) in token of thanksgiving, reparation, or satisfaction.   There was no idea that God punished the victim for the sins of the worshiper,  no imputation of sins. The offering was rather a sign of the sincerity of the penitent.  Remember the words of David, “ I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.” (2 Sam. 24:24)".

Jesus went to the cross to model for us to offer ourselves as living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). Catholic Answers has a good talk show on "Why Jesus Died on the Cross" - it is really worth listening to.


This is another beautiful rendition of the hymn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-mKnY2HMXg

I told my wife to include this hymn at my funeral!

April 7 - A Tribute to St. John Baptist de la Salle

My life was tremendously blessed by my high school education at La Salle College (LSC). There are alumni everywhere and in this particular area of Canada there is a group of old boys who meet regularly and the common theme of these meetings was always to honor our school and her teachers, many of whom were priests of the what is now known as the La Salle Brothers. My memory of these priests were mixed. They were mostly very dedicated educators. A La Salle boy was expected to be successful in society. My favorite story is that the boy who scored last in my senior year class (not me but I was close to the last!) received a Master degree from Stanford University! They were also very strict disciplinarians. I couldn't remember any of them telling me the gospel message and the religious classes used to be called "Ethics" classes. I couldn't remember any discussion involving very personal and spiritual matters. But nevertheless, I had opportunities in that school to participate in religious activities, such as the Legion of Mary. But sad to say, I didn't really have any solid spiritual formation during the six and a half years there.

Yesterday (April 7) was the feast day for St. John Baptist de la Salle. Now that I am quite serious about the Catholic faith with its long history of saints, I thought I should do a little more reading around St. John Baptist de la Salle to honor him and to ask him to pray for me, even though my teaching career is almost over.

So this is a brief summary (reference) of what I learned:

• John Baptist was born on the 30th April, 1651, in the town of Rheims in France.
• His father, a relatively rich magistrate and a good Catholic, expected him to become a lawyer like himself, but was happy that he wanted to become a priest even at the early age of eleven.
• He was ordained a priest at the age of 27 on 9th April, 1678. Two years later he received a doctorate in theology.
• While ministering as a priest, he met many poor children who did not receive any education and who ended up getting into a lot of  troubles.
• He established schools, where children were not only taught how to read and write, but also to cultivate good manners and above all to pray and live their Catholic faith.
• Despite opposition from the church and the educational establishment his work attracted other men to join him and in just a few years he founded the Institute of the 'Brothers of the Christian Schools', and established several teacher colleges.
• He died on April 7, 1719 (on Good Friday, only weeks before his 68th birthday) 
• 6 years after his death (in 1725) the Institute received the formal approbation of the Church in the papal bull:  “In apostolicae dignitatis solio.”.
• 181 years later (in 1900) John Baptist de La Salle was canonized by Pope Leo XIII and another 50 years later (in 1950) Pope Pius XII proclaimed him “Special Patron of all Christian educators.”
• His feast day is April 7.

The Lasallian family today:

• The Lasallian family includes about 4,000 Brothers, who together with 90,000 men and women teachers and numerous other Lay associates help in running 1,000 education centers, in 79 countries.
• At any one time 850,000 students, children, youth and even adults, receive the best education available in Lasallian educational establishments.
• The Lasallian Family recognizes and welcomes believers of other faiths traditions who share the Lasallian Educational Mission and who call De La Salle “our Founder.”  For example, at the University of Bethlehem, one would find Brothers, teachers and students of other religions. 
• The Lasallian Institute, which is positively involved in the educational rights of children, was awarded the NOMA prize from UNESCO during the International Year of Literacy/Schooling in 1990.
• Today Brothers and Lay Lasallians support more than 300 informal educational centers for young children, teen-age youth and adults who live in areas of social decay.
• In the footsteps of the St. John Baptist de la Salle, 14 Brothers have been canonized, 150 are beatified, 8 Venerables and another 5 are on either on the way to sainthood with their process begun or nearing completion. 

Wow what a rich history! And I am a La Salle boy! St. John Baptist de la Salle, pray for me!