Views of a new Catholic in an old world on the joy and inexhaustible meaning found in the Faith
Recently, I mentioned that I am a contrarian. That fact, explained here in a post originally published May 14, 2010, is one of the reasons why I am Catholic.
My wife can tell you that I am wired differently than most people. I tend to go against the crowd. Webster wrote a post a while back called Because I am Usually Howling with the Mob. Not me. I tend to avoid mobs, crowds, and popular opinion. [Read more...]
This is part VII of my conversion story, tagged as 2BFrank in the Tag Cloud. I run it every year on this day to commemorate the death of Thomas Merton, who was also known as Father Louis. Yes, I am well aware that he is not a canonized saint, but the salient point about Fr. Louis’ life is not whether he was a good Catholic, or a bad Catholic. The main thing isn’t even that his writings helped bring me into the Church. [Read more...]
It is ironic to run a post with a title claiming that one of the reasons Why I Am Catholic is to leave history behind. Especially when I have argued in the past that one of the reasons I am Catholic today is because of Church history. Let me explain this paradox. See, I was a Culture of Death believing Christian, until I became Catholic.
Simply put, the history that I flee, and continue to struggle to leave behind, is not the history that led me to the Church. The history I left behind is an impediment, a barrier if you will, to Truth. Let me give you a few examples. [Read more...]
A friend of mine asked me recently, “If you could be any animal, what animal would you choose to be?” I didn’t think about my answer very long.
In the past, before I was a Catholic, I would probably have just lept to the first thing that popped into my head. An eagle, or a tiger, or some other fearsome predator, you know, one that is lethal and smart, such as these. [Read more...]
Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. What do these mysterious attributes have to do with this blog, or with your humble blogger? Well, if a picture is worth a thousand words, that message is all spelled out for you in the new YIMCatholic banner image you see above. [Read more...]
Originally published on February 10, 2010.
Before I was a Catholic, yet seriously considering the idea of becoming one, my wife made a suggestion to me. My daughter was preparing for her First Communion and while the children were being prepared, there was someone speaking to the parents in the parish hall in the interim. My wife said he was a very good speaker and that I might enjoy what this person had to say. I was dubious, to say the least. [Read more...]
Another Marian post as we are ten days from the Feast of the Assumption. This one was first published back in December of last year.
Back when I first joined YIMCatholic, I was going to write posts about my conversion. I hammered out seven posts in pretty rapid succession and then, I stopped writing them until recently.
Many of my posts now are simply my observations of the world which are colored through the lens of a convert to Catholicism. It would be difficult for them not to be. Other posts I’ve written are of the “look what I just found!” variety, and the “I want to share this with you” type. Call them the discovery posts if you will. [Read more...]
I ran a half-marathon once, courtesy of the United States Marine Corps—13.1 miles on a hot, humid September morning in Quantico, Virginia. Along with 120 other happy Leathernecks, I never could have run this distance successfully without prior training.
I couldn’t have made it without the refreshment stops provided by our benevolent leaders along the way either. Even though I had stamina, discipline, and faith in my abilities, all of that would have been for naught without ice cold water available at stations along the route. I wouldn’t have made it to the finish line without them, and no one else would have either. [Read more...]
During the Summer of 2007 I read an awful lot of books that led me to join my parish RCIA program in the Fall of that same year. I’ve written about most of my reading program in earlier posts in this series, and I continued reading great Catholic books once my RCIA class started too.
For example, I read Mirabai Starrs’ translation of The Book of My Life by St. Teresa of Avila. It is a fascinating book about prayer by a fascinating woman. By reading Big Terry’s book, I discovered the work of another obscure author I had never heard of who had a big impact on this Doctor of the Church and on me. Here is what St. Teresa says on page 20 of her book that peaked my interest,
On the way to my sister’s village, we stopped in to see my Uncle Pedro. He gave me a copy of The Third Spiritual Alphabet by Francisco de Osuna. This is a book all about the Prayer of Recollection. In the past year, I had realized what harm my appetite for romance novels had done to my soul, and I had begun to develop a tremendous appreciation for spiritual books. Since I did not know a thing about the practice of contemplative prayer, or how to go about recollecting my senses and my thoughts, I was thrilled to find a book that told me exactly what to do.
I remember thinking to myself, I don’t know what St. Teresa is talking about (contemplative prayer? What’s that?), but if she liked de Osuna’s book enough to give it such a ringing endorsement, then I need to get a copy of it too, post haste! And the “harm of romance novels” comment resonated with me too, as I sheepishly realized how much of my reading time had heretofore been wasted on a lot of superfluous junk. Since this time, my night stand has been cluttered with “spiritual books”, and lots of them, instead. I wonder if she introduced de Osuna’s book to another Doctor of the Church too, you know, her friend and colleague St. John de la Cruz.
It turns out that Paulist Press published this book as a part of their excellent The Classics of Western Spirituality Series and it’s readily available. A visit to Amazon.com, a few clicks of the mouse, and a credit card authorization later, and The Third Spiritual Alphabet was on its way to me.
Within a week it arrived, all 609 pages of it. And let me tell you, de Osuna did not disappoint. I broke out my pencil for underlining purposes early, and often. Here are some examples of his thoughts from a few of the chapter and section headings,
Communion to God is Open to All; As Gifts Increase, So Do Our Debts; How We Should Give Thanks In Adversity; Blindness is Necessary to See God; How We Cannot Know God in Himself While We Live; Imitating Our Lord in the Desert of Recollection.
And here are a few of his thoughts on recollection that I underlined,
p.170: …we note that the devotion is called recollection because it gathers together those who practice it and, by erasing all dissension and discord, makes them of one heart and love. Not content with just this, recollection, more than any other devotion, has the known, discernible property by which someone who follows it can be greatly moved to devotion when he sees another person also recollected.
Having just left the greater Los Angeles area for my hometown in the hills of Tennessee, these words on the next page struck a chord with me too,
p.171: This devotion encourages us to retire from the traffic of people and noisy places to dwell in more secluded regions and to go out only now and then. If we do leave, we find ourselves anxious to return to our retreat to enjoy recollection, and we are just as eager as when we began the practice. We are like an eel that slips around in the fisherman’s hands so it can wriggle back into the water.
He could say that again. He goes on to say,
In recollection news and vain gossip have no appeal, nor do we like to hear anything that does not advise us to withdraw further into our hearts…for (the recollected) only wish is to see God with their hearts.
And Fray Francisco doesn’t pull any punches on what it takes to get from A to Z in the practice of this devotion. These are his thoughts from p. 175 that maybe only a Marine Corps Drill Instructor can appreciate,
You should also remember that no one masters any art without arduous practice, and the more one practices and becomes accustomed to something, the more quickly he masters it. Do not be so foolish as not to respect in this devotion and art the two things we observe in all occupations. First, learn it so that you are its master; do not be content to remain a beginner all your life like stupid, listless people who are forever learners, never attaining the science of truth because they are insufficiently attentive to their tasks. They are like the one in the gospel of whom it is said, “This man began to build and could not finish( Luke 14:30).”
How ignorant is the man who starts to build a house but does not concentrate on finishing it as quickly as possible so he can enjoy it soon! …If you wish to build the house of recollection for your souls, brother, you will profit immensely by remembering your intention. Plan to finish it.
Aye, aye sir! Now that I’ve given you a taste of my pal Fr. Francisco, I promise to share more of his thoughts in future posts. I can assure you of this because of the minor miracle that I will briefly describe for you now.
You may not have noticed that I’ve been blogging here for just over a year and this is only the second time that I am writing about my friend Fr. Francisco. I mentioned him briefly in the YIMC Book Club discussion of Mere Christianity when we were reading C.S. Lewis’ thoughts on pride. The principal reason for me keeping Fr. Francisco hidden from view is simple: I misplaced his book!
I had searched up and down my house, and my office, for it too. I reckon that it has been missing from my shelves for well over a year. Miraculously, and admittedly this is a minor miracle, not a supernatural one, the book reappeared in the back seat of my car last night. Here is the story.
Our family attended a Christmas party last night, see, and we took two cars because my wife had to go early to help set up. She took my eldest son with her to help her carry things. In Marine Corps jargon, her and my son were the Weathers “advance party” to the event. I followed in trace with the “main body” which included myself and my two younger children.
With the advent of cellular phones, this “advance party(AP) – main body (MB)” jargon makes sense to me because the AP called the MB about five times between the time the AP left and the MB crossed the line of departure. The message traffic went sort of like this,
AP to MB: “Could you bring my make-up bag? I left it in my other purse. Over.”
MB to AP: “Roger that AP, will do.”
AP to MB: “MB, MB, could you stop by the ATM and get some money so we can buy some raffle tickets? I’m out of cash. Over.”
MB to AP: “Roger that AP, will do. Over.”
AP to MB: “Could you bring XYZ with you? I just realized I forgot it. Over.”
MB to AP: “Negative AP, we are enroute and only 5 mikes (minutes) from your location. Over.
AP to MB: “OK then, disregard. Over and out.”
Granted, my wife and I don’t really talk like this on our cell phones. But really, isn’t this the way these AP to MB conversations go? Surely you have experienced this too. After that first exchange about the makeup bag, I found that bag and took it directly to the back seat of my car. I know what is of vital importance to a mission being successful or not, and a missing makeup bag would have been unimaginable. I absolutely did not want to forget that, thus I put it right there on the empty back seat of my car and walked away knowing that all would be well.
The MB arrives at the party and finds it well attended and packed to the gills with people enjoying themselves immensely and noted a long, snake-like, slow-moving, line of people waiting their turn for the food. I tracked down my wife, who was busy helping out, etc. I informed her that I had the makeup bag in the car and to let me know when she needs it and I’ll go get it. She said, “why didn’t you bring it in?” and discretion being the better part of valor, I turned tail and went and got it, ASAP.
As I approached my car, unlocked the doors, and rounded the rear bumper to open the passenger door on the side of the car where I had deposited the make-up bag, I was shocked to see Fr. Francisco’s book sitting there pretty as you please. When I unlocked the car, the dome light comes on automatically and I just stared through the window at that book for probably 15 seconds before I opened the door. I was thinking to, “where did you come from?” That seat had been empty when I threw the makeup bag there less than an hour earlier.
I was happy though, and thanked the Lord that it reappeared. It turned out that my youngest son had somehow noticed that something was bulging in the pouch on the back of the front passenger seat. He may have thought that I was hiding a Christmas present in there or something. I’m sure he was disappointed when it turned out to be one of his Dad’s dog-eared and well worn old books. So he just tossed it onto the seat and never said a word.
Sometimes that is how minor miracles work themselves out. Regardless, I’m just glad Francisco is back and I look forward to sharing more of his thoughts with you in future posts.
The burden of the valley of vision.
These seven words strung together, in a nice, taut sentence, is how the 22nd chapter of the book of the prophet Isaiah starts off. Isaiah was given the gift of prophecy, and what a double-edged sword that gift must be. Truly, a heavy burden, to be gifted with such visions as God inspired him with and then commanded him to share them with His people.
As readers of this space well know, I’m a convert to Catholicism.
In my particular case, I was raised as a Protestant Christian, similar to how my friend Dom Lou Tseng-Tsiang was, when he was born into a Protestant Christian family in his hometown in China. We two, though seperated by both time and distance, became Catholics of our own volition. It’s weird and wonderful at the same time. And like I wrote about once before, very, very contrarian.
It is a burden too, and I don’t even have the “gift” of a prophets vision to fall back on as some sort of compensation for shouldering it either. The truth is, since I’ve become a Catholic, I don’t desire any compensation really. Not, at least, as the world would define it. But I recognize the duty of sharing this burden, though, and to share the Good News of Christ and His Church with others.
When I was struggling to come to terms with the, what seemed at the time radical, idea that the Catholic Church was “for real,” I was amazed that almost all of my questions about the Church were answered by the Bible. I was astounded at this, but I really shouldn’t have been, because everything I “knew” about the Catholic Church was simply hearsay and came from, to put it delicately, less than authoritative sources.
But as Monsignor Louis Gaston de Ségur wrote once,
Many speak of the Gospel without having any knowledge of it. Many have never read it; and some would even be troubled to explain clearly what it is. Hence it follows that, on the subject of religion and Christianity, people believe just what they have been educated to believe; thus, in our days, as in the time of Luther and of Calvin, we may see thousands of unhappily misguided people who, deluded by false teachers, hate their brethren, and blaspheme the most sacred things, all in the name of the Gospel!
Oh, I had read the Gospel. And truthfully, I really, really, thought that I knew it upside down and sideways too. That I was really an ignoramus never even entered my mind. Like Michael Barber and Mark Shea have written about recently, I thought I could see, when in fact I was still a blind man.
When I was grappling with the idea that I might actually have to become a Catholic (and yeah, I really mean I had to) in order to really, truly follow Christ, I delved deeply into the scriptures. Thankfully many others, and surely I am the least of these, have grappled with the same issues and had done a lot of the heavy lifting for me in this regard. Guys Like Mark Shea and Francis Beckwith, Peter Kreeft,and Scott Hahn. I will be the first to admit that I am not fit to be the water boy for any of these gentleman. And for what I am about to share with you, I have to thank Scott Hahn and the Catholic scholars from the 16th and 17th centuries that he gives credit to as well.
I’m talking about the prophecy in Isaiah chapter 22, the one that begins with the seven word sentence at the beginning of this post. It confirms, not just to my mind, but of much more importance, to the Catholic Church, the weighty significance of Our Lord handing the Apostle Peter the “Keys of the Kingdom” as you can read about right there in chapter 16 of the Gospel of Matthew.
I’m going to provide the words written by Isaiah as translated in the Doauy-Rheims version of the Bible, because of the perfect clarity that they bring to this passage. The bold highlights, and the commentary, are mine. Let’s take a look, starting with verse 15:
Thus saith the Lord God of hosts: Go, get thee in to him that dwelleth in the tabernacle, to Sobna who is over the temple: and thou shalt say to him: What dost thou here, or as if thou wert somebody here? For thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, thou hast hewed out a monument carefully in a high place, a dwelling for thyself in a rock.
I always remember reading “he that has ears, let him hear” and thinking to myself, yes I can make sense of everything I read in the Bible. But I was so out of my depth, it isn’t even funny. Because in this one short, two verse passage, God starts explaining what will happen to His Heir, and I never had a clue. Here we have a temple, a burial place, a high place, and a rock. This is going to be interesting.
Behold the Lord will cause thee to be carried away, as a cock is carried away, and he will lift thee up as a garment.
One sentence that says it all, doesn’t it? Christ will be betrayed or “carried away” and “lifted up”, crucified. There is even the mention of a rooster, which reminds me of a betrayal. This sounds like what Christ explained to Nicodemus right there in St. John’s gospel. ”Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things?” No Lord, because I am the least of all! So Our Lord patiently explains,
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him, may not perish; but may have life everlasting.
Clarity! Now, back to Isaiah,
He will crown thee with a crown of tribulation, he will toss thee like a ball into a large and spacious country: there shalt thou die, and there shall the chariot of thy glory be, the shame of the house of thy Lord.
Yes Lord, I see! I see a crown of thorns, I see You being sacrificed, and I see Your Resurrection, Your Glory. And Your Ascension, much like how You took Elijah up in a chariot. And Your shameful death to a proud people.
And I will drive thee out from thy station, and depose thee from thy ministry.
Because You are seated at the right hand of the Father, now. But, as the angel asked, should the Apostles just stand around, looking up into the sky? No need, because He has a plan.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliacim the son of Helcias,
Who is this guy? Who can this possibly represent?
And I will clothe him with thy robe, and will strengthen him with thy girdle, and will give thy power into his hand: and he shall be as a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Juda.
But Lord, this sounds like a transfer of power. Is that what I see? Is this St. Peter, then?
And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder: and he shall open, and none shall shut: and he shall shut, and none shall open.
It is! Are you down on your knees yet, because that is where I went when I read these words. Scales were falling off of my eyes, a blind man was being given the gift of sight!
And I will fasten him as a peg in a sure place, and he shall be for a throne of glory to the house of his father. And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house, divers kinds of vessels, every little vessel, from the vessels of cups even to every instrument of music.
“And the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it,” yes, I remember these words again. But I wonder, will this last forever? No. It cannot. Because at the end of time, this office will no longer be needed. For,
In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the peg be removed, that was fastened in the sure place: and it shall be broken and shall fall: and that which hung thereon, shall perish, because the Lord hath spoken it.
Hiding in plain site, as always. Thanks be to God.
More on this passage in Isaiah may be found on the YIMCatholic Bookshelf here and here.
Update: Dr. Hahn writes:
That was a great article. I liked how you followed the Isaiah prophesy through… I had never done that before. And having a picture of the Pope at the end was just what was needed 
. Congratulations on your coming home to the Catholic Church, and I’m glad that the Lord has led you this way through honest, humble prayer with Scripture.
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