THE day draws ever closer...

I had originally promised to blog about my call story this evening. Unfortunately, we are very busy here at the seminary and I haven't had time to organize my recollections about my vocation call or a chance to put them on paper (or Word in this case). So, I will blog about my vocation call within the next few days, I PROMISE!

Because of my schedule (I have 9 meetings in the next 48 hours AND I think I am supposed to go to class...something about being a student) I am going to make this entry fairly short.

The closer I get to ordination, the more and more that I seem to have to do. This week, for example, I have been organizing the list of addresses for those to whom I am sending my invitations. This might seem to be fairly straight forward, but it is actually quite time consuming. I certainly do not want to forget any of my friends and at the same time one also has to make some tough decisions as to who gets an invite and who doesn't. I'd like to send an invite to everybody I know, but I don't have the $400 it'd cost me in postage. Another example, is all the logistics that are associated with the ordination. Music, readings, rehearsal dinner, reception, seating, dignitaries who are attending, etc. all take a lot out of a person.

Rather than depress or wear me out, though, it has helped me to realize the preparation and work that goes into an ordination. It is extremely humbling to see the many people who are giving their heart and soul to helping to make my ordination a holy and glorious experience. The week before the ordination, I plan on dedicating a blog entry solely to thanking all those who are making the ordination possible.

Well, that is enough of me rambling for now. I will not likely make an entry tomorrow night as I will be in a number of meetings tomorrow. I shall return on Saturday, though, so beware. Before I close, I'd like to say a big Canadian howdy to a new reader and close friend of mine...HI Wade and glad to have you onboard!!! Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 23:07 | link | comments |
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Are we living in the end times...Part 3

This is the final entry of my series on the End Times and the Second Coming. I thought we'd finish this topic by contrasting and critiquing the beliefs of Dispensationalists in light of Catholic teaching.

Dispensationalists hold the belief that the Old Covenant God made with the Jewish people has not been either abolished or fulfilled yet. God made a second and New Covenant in establishing the Church, but it has gone corrupt and only a small remnant of ‘true Christians’ remained under the umbrella of this Covenant. In essence, this establishes two Peoples of God. We have the Jewish People of God found in the OT and the remnant People of God in the NT, which is composed of, obviously, Dispensationalists. This thinking is contrary to Christian beliefs. Specifically, it is contrary to Catholic doctrine, which definitively states that the New Covenant concludes and fulfills the Old Covenant.

Dispensationalists claim that Jesus is not reigning as King. According to their views, Jesus came to offer an earthly kingdom to the Jews, but when they rejected it, Jesus had to resort to a ‘back-up’ plan of postponing this offer until the Second Coming. The time from Pentecost until the Rapture is a sort of interlude, if you will, between his attempt to establish an earthly kingdom in his first coming and the actual establishment of his earthly kingdom after the Rapture. The Church, in the eyes of dispensationalists, serves no practical purpose since their focus is completely on the Rapture. Hence, Jesus cannot be reigning as King, because the kingdom wasn’t established. Yet, Jesus proclaimed over and over that the “Kingdom of God had come” and that the “Kingdom of God was at hand.” Dispensationalists refuse to accept the Kingdom as being established because it both destroys their separation of Scripture and it forces them to recognize the Church as the kingdom Jesus established. This allows them to reject the Church as the Body of Christ and also to proclaim that the only necessary action is the individual acceptance of a personal Christ.

It is easy to recognize the Catholic (or even mainline Protestant) unity and the Dispensationalist disunity in the two doctrines. The existence of the Old Covenant and the New Covenant as well as two People of God creates an immense disunity of Scriptures. The failure of Christ to establish a Kingdom and the existence of the Church in this age cannot be understood by adhering to their doctrine. Lastly, human history is a very pessimistic and meaningless existence because nothing that is done now, except embracing Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, has any bearing on the future. As long as one does this, he is saved. The teaching of Jesus and his instruction have no application to dispensationalists. Without Christ as the center and apex of human history, all of time seems to make no sense.

This leads to the last, and most important, consequence of the dispensationalist view. Jesus Christ is removed as the central and pivotal figure in human history. According to dispensationalists, human history is in a state of failure. Dispensationalists divide history into eras that all have the same theme. God offers salvation; man is tested and man fails. Their view of the “Church age” is no different. Jesus failed to establish the earthly kingdom at his incarnation and so we live in failure awaiting the return of Jesus to finally establish this earthly kingdom. The mission of Jesus is meaningless and his incarnation is reduced to failure. The salvific nature and power of Jesus is eliminated.

It seems, in the final analysis, that the Dispensationalist view and their understanding of the Rapture is not only unorthodox teaching, but is actually outside the definition of a Christian. Their beliefs challenge some foundational and primary elements of the Christian faith held by Catholics, Orthodox and nearly all mainline Protestants. For me, anyway, books like the Left Behind series concerning the Rapture fall into the same category as the Da Vinci Code: both are complete fiction. The authors both acknowledge that the books are fictional in their characters, but they both hold that the theology taught within the book is sound and true. A friend of mine advised me that rather than refering to these books as complete fiction, I should refer to them as science fiction. Everybody recognizes Sci-fi as complete fantasy and the result of one with a vivid imagination. That seems to properly describe these type of books. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 23:22 | link | comments |
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Are we living in the end times...Part 2

I want to continue the discussion on the End Times and the Second Coming. I think this topic is important as the Left Behind type of books continue to rise in popularity. It seems that Catholic need to be able to defend the faith and also to understand the difference. Even my non-Catholic readers need to understand the differences as I suspect none are dispensationalists.

Catholics differ significantly in two areas regarding the End Times and Second Coming of Christ. Catholics believe that Jesus established the Kingdom when he became incarnate and lived on earth. The Kingdom is the Church. When Christ returns at the Second Coming, time will end and the Final Judgment will take place. Most dispensationalists and other Rapture followers do not believe that the Church is the Kingdom at all, rather that the Kingdom was offered to the Jews who refused it. The Rapture, therefore, will occur with the 'secret' coming of Christ to liberate the true Christians from earth who "will be caught up together with them [the risen dead] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thes. 4:17). Those 'left behind' face the disasters spoken of in the Book of Revelation which culminate with Christ Second Coming to establish his earthly reign for a thousand years before time will end. This is a pretribulation or midtribulation belief actually has Christ returning twice: first secretly to ‘rapture’ the faithful and then generally to judge all and establish his earthly reign. The Catholic Church does not believe in any 'secret' return of Christ prior to his Second Coming.

The history preceding the writing of the Left Behind series helps us to better understand the theology from with these books were written. In the early formation of a millenarianism, a general belief in Christ returning to establish a thousand year earthly reign before the end of time. This is contrasted with the doctrinal development of the End Times for Catholics. Augustine’s solid and foundational understanding, developed in his work City of God, that describes ‘City of God’ and ‘city of Satan’ battling in history yet Christ has already determined the winner. This ‘already but not yet’ doctrine is foundational to the understanding of the end of time as culminating with the Second Coming of Christ and his Final Judgment. The Protestant Reformation is a time of increased interest in the apocalypse. The 1800’s, however, was the time in which many new theories of the apocalypse developed. Many new beliefs arose at this time, particularly against Catholic doctrine. The Catholic Church was seen as corrupt and rejected by Christ. Opponents believed that there was no such thing as the Body of Christ and that an individual relationship with Christ was the means of salvation, hence the common phrase, "He you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?"

That is alot to digest, so I will stop there. I will have one more entry on this topic that will bring us to the present and the actual Left Behind series. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 22:10 | link | comments (2) |
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Are we living in the end times...

I am taking a class on Sin and Eschatology this semester where we have been discussing the Second Coming and the Rapture. These terms have often been used interchangeably, but are actually quite different. One of our assignments was to choose a book from a short list, read the book and then write a short book report focusing on the Eschatology presented in the book. I choose a book called, Will Catholics Be "Left Behind" written by Carl E. Olson. You might recognize a part of the title as a reference to the Left Behind novel series by Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins. This very popular novel series, which has resulted in two Left Behind movies, focuses on the Rapture and the events of the Tribulation that follows. The Rapture occurs at the beginning of the first book with all the "holy" Christians being whisked away to heaven while the unbelievers and the false worshipers are left on earth to face the coming disasters. The books, of which I have read most of them, derive their foundation from the Book of Revelation, but then apply fictional characters who find themselves living in the Tribulation. There are a number of very interesting elements of the Left Behind novel series that I want to explore.

First, we need to understand what is meant by the word 'rapture' and if this is the same as the Second Coming. These two terms are acutally quite different. Rapture, as understood by most Protestants, refers to the 'secret' coming of Christ in the clouds to liberate the true Christians from earth who "will be caught up together with them [the risen dead] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thes. 4:17). Those 'left behind' face the disasters spoken of in the Book of Revelation which culminate with Christ returning again to establish his Kingdom on Earth. This is a pretribulation or midtribulation belief, which has Christ saving some, leaving others to face Satan's wrath and then returning again to judge all and begin his 1,000 year reign. The Catholic Church, on the other hand, does not believe in any 'secret' return of Christ prior to the his Second Coming. Whereas those who adhere to the rapture take a quite literal interpretation of the Book of Revelation, Catholics understand Revelation to to be a mixture of symbolic language and literal language describing both historic events of the past and future events that are sometimes spiritual in nature and sometimes physical in nature. While this may seem rather complex, it is actually fairly evident that this is the case in examining Revelation. For example, it'd be rather odd to say that the following passage could, in any way, be taken literally:

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth (Rev. 12:1-4).

This is obviously not a literal event that will or even could happen. On the other hand, passages such as "I saw the dead, the great and the lowly, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened. Then another scroll was opened, the book of life. The dead were judged according to their deeds, by what was written in the scrolls (Rev. 20:12)" can be taken very literally as Christ himself spoke of this event in the Gospels.

I want to explore this topic some more in future entries of the next few days. I also want to fulfill a suggestion of one of my readers, who responded to my request for topics to blog about by asking me to relate my vocation call story. My blog entry this coming Thursday will be on my call to priesthood. It seems appropriate to relate my call story on that day as it marks 30 days until my Diaconate ordination. My readers are still free to suggest other topics of discussion as well (hint, hint, hint) and I will be happy to blog on them in hopes of getting a good dialogue going between the readers and myself. I will continue my blog on the End Time in the next few entries. Until then...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 22:19 | link | comments |
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Special day for my class

Today was a momentous day for my class here at Kenrick. I write this entry tonight having taken an oath of perpetual celibacy and an oath of obedience to my bishop, the Magisterium and the Holy Father this morning. After Morning Prayer, 4 of my classmates and myself took our oaths of celibacy and fidelity as well as made a profession of faith. After taking our oaths, we each signed and dated the oaths at the center of the altar with our right hand resting on the Book of Gospels.

This is a wonderful and yet simple ceremony in which we swear, in writing, to give ourselves totally in service to the Church. The signed oaths will be sent to our bishops, which fulfills the requirements of paragraph 1036 & 1037 in the Code of Canon Law that says:

Can. 1036 In order to be promoted to the order of diaconate or of presbyterate, the candidate is to present to his bishop or competent major superior a declaration written in his own hand and signed in which he attests that he will receive the sacred order of his own accord and freely and will devote himself perpetually to the ecclesiastical ministry and at the same time asks to be admitted to the order to be received.

Can.  1037 An unmarried candidate for the permanent diaconate and a candidate for the presbyterate are not to be admitted to the order of diaconate unless they have assumed the obligation of celibacy in the prescribed rite publicly before God and the Church or have made perpetual vows in a religious institute.

This is the final step before receiving orders to the diaconate. It is such an important moment for my classmates and myself because it confirms our commitment to the Church. On May 27th, my bishop will seal this commitment by the laying of his hands on my head, reciting the Prayer of Consecration and by the power of the Holy Spirit. The responsorial antiphon from Morning Prayer today sums up this event: This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad. Alleluia!

Please pray for me as I prepare for my ordination in just over a month. Pray that I may be a humble, holy and faithful servant who ministers His people with love and care. Until next time…God bless.

posted by: crossman at 20:49 | link | comments |
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Pope Benedict XVI...1 year later

Today marks the 1^st anniversary election of Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI. One of the requests in my blog entry asking for topics of discussion asked me to reflect on the first year of the Holy Father’s pontificate. It seems appropriate to reflect on this today.

I think the word that defines the general response regarding the Benedict’s first year as pope is ‘surprise.’ Both the right and left inside and outside the Church had their own preconceived notions as to how Benedict would conduct his pontificate. Those who supported the stern, conservative and strict approach to the faith believed that these characteristics would dominate his pontificate. They envisioned massive reform of the Church and a return to those glory days prior to Vatican II. At the other end of the spectrum, those who opposed Ratzinger’s role in the Curia prior to his election dreaded his papacy in which they felt that the Church would regress in its advancement of the past couple of decades and that more liberal, or in their mind progressive, ideologies would be persecuted or suppressed. Both sides were surprised by Benedict’s papacy to date.

Benedict was seen as "God’s Rottweiler" while he was Prefect for the Doctrine of the Faith. His role was to guard and defend challenges to the faith. This role entails one taking what can be seen as a hostile stance against these challenges. Yet, when elected pope, his role changed. He was now the shepherd of 1.1 billion Catholics. His role is now as the pastoral and spiritual leader of the faithful as well as the Vicar of Christ on earth. He was no longer "God’s Rottweiler" but the keeper and minister of God’s fidelity, gifts, love and obviously God's mercy.

His new role can be seen most clearly in his first encyclical, "Deus Caritas est," which emphasizes love, both erotic and agape love. Possibly an explanation of his own actions in his new role as pope, Benedict says in the introduction of his encyclical, ""I want to speak of the love which God lavishes upon us and which we in turn must share with others" (¶1). This could be seen as a good analogy of his new role as Holy Father. Benedict chose to write about and seek to exemplify Christianity's central but so often overlooked themes: divine Love and the way it relates to human loves.

I believe that this isn’t the only surprise in store for the world regarding Benedict XVI. As Prefect, he was only heard when ruling and defending confrontations to the faith. Some always was this as him being the ‘bad cop.’ As pope, however, we see him as the pastor, as the shepherd, as the lover of God’s People, as the leader of a billion Catholics and as the Vicar of Christ. God has called Pope Benedict to be His Love on earth.

posted by: crossman at 21:11 | link | comments |
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Appearance is everything...Isn't it?

A word of warning...this blog entry is a rant. I want to rant on 'appearances' in the Church.

What is the focus of the Mass? It seems that the answer is obvious: the Eucharist. Yet, I have witnessed so many Masses where other 'idols' become more important. Music, decorations, elaborate vestments, self-important priests & the pomp/circumstance can overshadow the true center of Mass - Jesus Christ.

Let me give a few examples:

I've been at parishes where the organist believes the Mass is their own personal concert & that the their music should dominate the Mass. The music is either played so loud that the congregation cannot be heard over the organ or the hymns are so complex that the congregation has no ability to participate. Furthermore, the organist often dictates to the priest what songs are going to be used, what parts of the Mass he should sing and who is going to sing the hymns. The music becomes more important than the miracle on the altar.

I was at a parish recently where appearance was their god. The vestments of the priest had to be the finest & the best. The decorations had to dominate the sanctuary. The congregation was chastised over & over about dressing in slacks, dresses and no jeans or tshirts. The servers had to wear cassocks, the finest matching surplices and dress shoes. Lectors were told to dress in suits or ankle length dresses or they would not be allowed to read. At Easter last year, this parish even instructed its ushers to seat families not 'dressed up' in the back of the church. Appearance meant more than the Mass and worship became a fashion statement.

I've seen liturgists so caught up in making 'the perfect Mass' that piety and prayer were taken out of the equation. Every Mass had to have incense. On solemnities they put 50 candles in the sanctuary (I'm not exaggerating - I witnessed this recently). The entrance at the beginning of Mass had to be this grand procession. If the priest, a server or any minister made a mistake, they were yelled at and chastised in the sacristy after the Mass. Eventually, the parish found itself short of laypersons willing to serve in ministry roles and they couldn't understand why. Again, the Mass and the laity takes a back seat to appearance.

I am not saying that music, beauty and proper respect for the order of Mass is a bad thing. It serves to enhance and guide the worship in our parishes. When it becomes the end all of the Mass, however, God is surplanted by earthly idols. We no longer worship God, but decor, music, elegance or correctness. As elements of the Mass, these are all necessary to a healthy worship of the laity. But these elements are NOT the Mass. Every one of these elements could be removed from the Mass and it would not change the grace or Godliness of the Mass. It would still be the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross represented and the miracle of his Body and Blood in the consecration. These elements enhance the Mass, they do not define it.

I hate to rant, but sometimes I mourn the loss of the focus of our faith in all the external wrappings. Until next time...God bless. 

posted by: crossman at 00:20 | link | comments (1) |
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The Easter Vigil...our salvation history celebrated

Holy Saturday or more specifically the Easter Vigil is packed with so much symbolism. The Easter Vigil Mass, while lasting usually 2 hours, can be seen as a progression through human history. I want to explore each element of this Mass briefly.

The Mass begins in darkness with the church devoid of any lights. At the entrance to the church a fire is lit and the priest blesses this 'new light' that is the Light of Jesus Christ. One can see this opening to the Mass as being akin to Genesis where it says, "The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light (Gen. 1: 2-3). The Easter candle is lit from this fire and is carried in procession to the front of the church. As it is carried to the front, the whole congregation lights the candles they are holding from the Easter candle. The Light is spread to everyone and this light illuminates the church.

Once the minister reach the altar, the deacon or another person sings the Exsultet, which proclaims that the death and resurrection of Jesus is the Light that dispels the darkness much like the light of the Easter candle has dispelled the darkness of the church allowing the congregation to 'see' beyond the darkness.

The Liturgy of the Word follows with a series of readings, nine to be exact, that take us through the biblical history. The Genesis creation story, sacrifice of Abraham, the Exodus through the Red Sea, the new Jerusalem envisioned by Isaiah, the prophesy of salvation by Isaiah, the fountain of wisdom spoken of in Baruch and the new heart and new spirit proclaimed by Ezekiel make up the Old Testament readings. The Epistle is then read. This is a New Testament reading from Romans in which Paul declares that when we are baptized we are baptized into the death of Christ and just as Christ was raised from the dead so we too will be raised from the dead. Lastly, the Gospel is read recalling the resurrection of Jesus on Easter morning.

Following the Word, the catechumens are brought forward and baptized. These persons image our own baptism and entry into the death and resurrection won by Christ. These newly baptized are then confirmed receiving the holy chrism that anoints and seals them with the Holy Spirit. They receive the Holy Spirit just as the Apostles received the Spirit at Pentecost.

The Liturgy of the Eucharist, instituted by Jesus on Holy Thursday, is celebrated as usual for a Mass. The congregation receives the True Body and Blood of Christ, sacrificed on the cross on Good Friday. At every Mass we recall the Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, but especially at this Mass we recall the Triduum we have just celebrated and rejoice in its triumphant conclusion. The Mass is concluded with a final prayer and our call to 'go in peace to love and serve the Lord, alleluia, alleluia!!!'

The Easter Vigil is a time to reflect on salvation history from our very creation to our baptism into the death of Christ. At the same time, we anticipate the resurrection of Christ in which our salvation and eternal life is confimed and finally celebrate that resurrection and the trimphant Jesus risen in all his glory.

The Easter Vigil celebrates our salvation history. The Easter Vigil celebrates our eternal life. The Easter Vigil celebrates the whole of our faith. I wish all my readers a blessed, joyful and happy Easter. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 11:49 | link | comments |
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Our salvation is bought in the Triduum

A solemn and holy Good Friday to all my readers. Last week my friend asked, "WHICH event was the critical moment of salvation. Which one piece of the story, which out with, the whole thing would have been ineffectual?"

This is an excellent question, but the answer is not as clearcut as one might think. The short answer is that the death of Jesus on the cross is the moment that, if it had not happened, would make the sacrifice ineffectual. What seems to be the most devestating moment in history is actually the summit and apex of history. Every moment in time flows to that instant when Christ died. Every moment in time is shaped and viewed in light of the death of Jesus on the cross. We reverence the wood of the cross on Good Friday because it is that wooden cross that bore the weight of Jesus and of our sins. On that cross, in a single moment, by the words of Jesus "into your hands I commend my spirit" our salvation was won. No other moment in history can even remotely compare to this single moment. All of history, past, present and future is redeemed in this one moment in time.

Yet, it is not only the death of Jesus that plays into our salvation. The Last Supper is intregal in that the institution of the Eucharist gives the Church the perpetual sacrifice that we celebrate at each and every Mass. At the Mass, the sacrifice of Jesus is made present to us here and now. As such, the Last Supper is the starting point of our salvation. Just as important is the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday as it completes the sacrifice and our salvation with Jesus' triumphant victory over death. The moment of Jesus' death is still that single instant that buys our salvation, but these other moments are all interwoven with this moment.

God could have chosen any way He wanted to bring us our salvation. The sacrifice of his Son on the cross was the means He chose. The institution of the Eucharist, the Passsion, the death of Christ, his burial in the tomb and his resurrection are all integrated into God's plan for our salvation.

It seems, that in the final analysis, it is the Triduum as a single event, such as we discussed in my April 5th blog entry, that is this one moment that without which our salvation would not have happened. This again emphasizes the uniqueness of Triduum. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 22:10 | link | comments |
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We begin Triduum

Tonight, Catholic Churches throughout the world await the Passion of Christ. The altars of every parish are stripped bare and stand in sanctuaries devoid of any decoration. The tabernacles stands empty with its doors open and the tabernacle candles extinguished. In a chapel or other appropriate place outside the church, the faithful kneel in prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament. They pray on this night just as Jesus kneeled praying in the garden of Gethesame on this night nearly 2000 years ago. As Jesus knelt in that garden preparing for his coming Passion and death, so we prepare to remember the day Christ died. We enter into Good Friday to mourn the death of Christ. We enter into Good Friday to offer intercessions for the Church, for the world, for its leaders, for the sick, the suffering, the oppressed, for the faithful and for those who do not believe. Most importantly, though, we enter into Good Friday knowing that the death of Christ on the cross was not the lowpoint or end, but the beginning. But tonight, we await, we prepare and we pray.

Tomorrow I will only post a short blog. In it I will address a question asked by a reader and friend of mine last week. She asked, "WHICH event was the critical moment of salvation. Which one piece of the story, which out with, the whole thing would have been ineffectual?" It seems appropriate to explore this question on Good Friday as we remember the Passion and death of Jesus knowing that it is this day in which we are saved. Lastly, on Holy Saturday I will finish my Triduum blog series. Last week we explored Holy Thursday and Good Friday. I save the discussion of Holy Saturday, though, for that day itself. The Easter Vigil Mass celebrated on Holy Saturday has so many rich and beautiful symbols that I wanted to discuss them just hours before my readers will attend the Vigil Mass. It is my hope that when you attend the Mass that evening, you will better understand and appreciate the depth and beauty of the Easter Vigil. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 23:17 | link | comments |
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Gospel of Judas? Part 2

I didn't get around to posting this last night because, to be honest, I forgot. I usually type my blog entries in Word before I copy them into the Motime blog post program. I do this so that Word can catch all my spelling errors, and believe me if the word has more than two syllables, I usually misspell it (including the word syllable, which Word pointed out that I spelled wrong). I had typed my blog entry last night in Word and then forgot to upload it to the blog. Senile moment I guess. Oh well...moving on this is my second entry on the Gospel of Judas, which was completely translated recently (and I mean recently as in Apr. 6, 2006). If you missed the first blog entry on this topic, you'll want to go to the April 11th blog entry and read it before continuing with this entry. Anyway, lets continue with our discussion of the Gospel of Judas.

This is not the first time anyone has heard of the Gospel of Judas. Many hypothesize that the gospel dates from somewhere between 130 and 170 A.D. and they base this on one undeniable fact: St. Irenaeus, the Bishop of Lyons, wrote against this gospel in 180 A.D. In his letter against heresies he wrote:

They (Cainite Gnostics) declare that Judas the traitor... alone, knowing the truth as no others did, accomplished the mystery of the betrayal; by him all things, both earthly and heavenly, were thus thrown into confusion. They produce a fictional history of this kind, which they style the Gospel of Judas.

"Cainite" Gnostic were a sect that butted heads with the early Catholic Church. They believed that Yahweh of the Old Testament was evil, and a quite different and much lesser being to the deity that had created the universe, and was responsible for sending Jesus. They venerated those who rebelled against Yahweh in the Old Testament, such as Cain and the Sodomites. Many also believed that Judas was the keeper of secret mysteries told to only him by Jesus.

Craig Evans, a professor of the New Testament at Acadia Divinity College in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, commented, "It is possible that the Gospel of Judas preserves an old memory that Jesus had actually instructed Judas in private, and the other disciples did not know about it." (http://www.religionnewsblog.com/14243)

From the point of view of orthodox Christianity, the claims of the Gospel of Judas are not a groundbreaking discovery that will re-write our understanding of Jesus and Judas. Rather, the gospel seems to support that fact that Gnostic beliefs were circulating from at least the mid 100's to the mid 300's.

The gospel certainly qualifies as heresy in a number of ways. First, the gospel claims that Judas received secrets to the kingdom that the other disciples were not told. In the manuscript Jesus says to Judas, "step away from the others and I shall tell you the mysteries of the kingdom." This is a classic Gnostic element. Gnostics (the Greek word means 'knowledge') believed that there was secret knowledge that Jesus passed on to a few elite persons. The Church clearly teaches that the revelations of Christ's lifetime were universal revelations and not private revelations.

Secondly, the claim that Judas betrayed Jesus on the orders of Christ himself and that he did this because he was divinely chosen for this task reduces the salvation wrought by Jesus. The active and voluntary participation of Judas as a 'divine instrument' implies that it was not Jesus alone that brought about our salvation.

Thirdly, the Gospel of Judas has Jesus saying the following to Judas, "You will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me." This alludes to a well known early heresy in which the flesh was evil and only the spiritual was of importance (http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=6440). The 'man' that 'clothes me' also can be seen as saying that Jesus only seemed human but was actually only divine Again, this is a heresy, called docetism, which was condemned by the Chalcedon in 451.

Lastly, by the words of both Irenaeus, as well as Epiphanius of Salamis who was the bishop of Cyprus two centuries after Irenasue, the Cainite Gnostic sect is the origin of the Gospel of Judas. As had been mentioned, these persons believed Yahweh of the OT was evil. ALL of orthodox Christianity clearly affirm that God is all good and that all he creates is good. God IS Good. Furthermore, the belief that the God of the OT was an evils and lesser god than the Creator and sender of Jesus is obviously polytheism.

In summary, the Gospel of Judas, while certainly interesting from an antiquities point of view, is hardly the bombshell some are claiming it to be. What is alarming, though, is that this gospel is another example of the recent revivals of heresies and false teachings regarding the faith. The most prominent example of this in the last couple of years was the Da Vinci Code, which also had a Gnostic element to it. With today's world becoming more and more secular and even anti-religious, the only result of this discovery will be to stir up rumor, speculation and confusion. THAT is the reason I spent two blog entries discussing the Gospel of Judas. I welcome any comments, questions or insights, as always. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 08:08 | link | comments (1) |
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The Gospel of Judas?

I apologize for not poasting in the past few days. Motime performed an upgrade and as a result not only could I not post, but I had lost my entries after April 3rd. Motime emailed me this morning to apologize for the inconvenience and to tell me the entries had been restored, so all is cool. They've been a good blog host and continue to tend to the needs of their users in a very pastoral way.

Many of you may have heard the recent ruckus about the Gospel of Judas. You may have heard that it is a huge find that will change Christianity. The National Geographic channel had a 2 hour special Sunday night and I decided to watch it. I wanted to get an idea of the basics surrounding this ancient find and I wanted to know as much as I could to explain it and/or defend the faith if necessary. What I saw was very interesting and at the same time set off warning alarms in my head. Because of the density involved in understanding the recent happenings regarding the Gospel of Judas, I am going to spend two blog entries discussing this gospel.

Whenever I watch a religious special on TV, be whether it Discover, History Channel, Natl. Geographics or just a news broadcast, I always take what is said with a grain of salt. Television has one primary focus in producing shows: ratings. In the eyes of TV execs, if it is not intriguing, mysterious, shocking or contraversial then it isn't worth showing. The producers tried to include every one of these elements in this special about the Gospel of Judas. As such, I researched it myself to get a more balanced understanding of this topic. As I suspected, the TV special tried to sensationalize the whole issue. Most of what I am going to discuss was NOT included in the special or if it was mentioned, it was dismissed or not explored.

Quickly, the background of the Gospel of Judas is as follows. The papyrus manuscript was found in Egypt nearly 30 years ago. It passed through many hands, each not knowing what they had but realizing that it was an ancient papyrus script. They simply sought to sell it. Failing to get the asking price, the manuscript was placed in a safety deposit box where it deteriated. It surfaced earlier this year and has already been carbon dated to the late 3rd or early 4th century (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Judas).

The text itself is written in ancient Coptic and nearly 85% of the text has been preserved. Its contents are a mix of the sayings of Jesus. However, many of these sayings are completely different than anything appearing in the four Gospel of the New Testament and often times completely contradict them. In fact, the gospel is vastly different than any of the other gospels that exist, both Scriptural and Apocalyptic. I should point out that the four Gospels of the NT are not the only gospels that were written. There exists a dozen or so gospels besides the four of the NT, including the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Peter and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. None of these are considered gospels of authority and many are suspect because of their strange teachings that often contradict the faith.

The content of the Gospel of Judas differs significantly in its portrait of Judas. Whereas the other Gospels portray Judas as the betrayer of Jesus, this gospel paints him as the favorite disciple of Jesus to whom Jesus promised to share exclusively the mystery of the kingdom. He is shown as the only true disciple of Jesus and as the one divinely appointed to bring to fufillment the sacrifice of Jesus by his betrayal.

Tomorrow, I want to explore the history of this gospel, its conflicts with the faith and the implications it may have on the faith and society today. As always, I welcome comments, questions and insights. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 21:39 | link | comments (1) |
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Good Friday...the apex of our religion

The second 'day' of Triduum is the apex of Triduum. Good Friday is the celebration of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross that redeems all humankind - past, present and future. It is the highest solemnity of the Catholic Church. We commemorate the death of Christ with sorrow, but also with hope knowing that the cross is not the end, rather the beginning.

For Christ, his crucifixion is the fulfillment of his life. God takes on human flesh to live the life of a human, to suffer the trials and tribulations of humans and ultimately to die just as we die. But the death of Christ destroys the permanent nature of death for us.

The Catholic Church celebrates this day in such a different way than any other day. First, the priest is forbidden to celebrate Mass on this day. This is the ONLY day of the year in which the priest cannot celebrate Mass. The Mass celebrates the Word made flesh, his institution of the Eucharist and the Paschal mystery of Christ. On Good Friday, however, the Church focuses on that moment in history in which Christ died and we were freed.

Instead of Mass, the Church has a commemoration service. This is a very solemn liturgy. The priest enters in silence and prostrates himself at the foot of the altar. Prostration in the Catholic Church is always a sign of dying. There are only three times in which one prostrates oneself. At ordination to the Diaconate and priesthood the ordinand prostrates himself to symbolize dying to self and rising as a servant of God. Some religious also prostrate themselves when they take their permanent vows to again symbolize death to self. Lastly, the priest prostrates himself on Good Friday to symbolize Christ dying not to self but dying for us.

The Passion of Christ is also read at the service. The faithful come forward to reverence the cross, usually by kissing the feet of Jesus. The reserved Eucharist from Holy Thursday is brought into the church and communion is distributed. Lastly, the Eucharist is returned to its place of reserve outside the church and everyone departs in silence.

To sum up this day, I refer to a phrase my Sin and Eschatology teacher has repeated to us many times: all time moves toward and proceeds from the cross. The cross is the one, central and absolute moment in history because it defines humankind for eternity.

Next week, as we enter into the holiest week of the year, I want to explore a couple of topics. First, one of my readers, and a good friend, asked "WHICH event was the critical moment of salvation. Which one piece of the story, which out with, the whole thing would have been ineffectual?" This is such an excellent question, that I want to take a whole blog entry next week to explore this question. One might think, with what I have just mentioned in the blog, that the death of Jesus is that one point. I think, though, that it is not as simple as that and I want to explore why. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 23:43 | link | comments |
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Rite of Ordination to the Diaconate: Promise #6

The final promise made by the ordinand to his bishop is the summit of the other six promises. This promise defines the life of the deacon and provides for him a daily goal in which to strive to meet. The bishop asks the deacon:

PROMISE #6: Do you resolve to conform your way of life always to the example of Christ, of whose Body and Blood you are a minister at the altar?

If the deacon cannot strive daily to conform himself to Christ, the other promises, even if faithfully kept, will not bear fruit. We are all called to conform ourselves to Christ, but the deacon and priest MUST conform themselves to Christ if they wish to serve him and serve in his person to the the people of God.

The deacon is not called to simply conform himself to Christ, but to conform his very way of life to the example of Christ. Every action, every word, every way in which one conducts himself must be an example of Christ. When one is ordained to the Diaconate, he is incardinated into his diocese, becomes a member of the clergy and receives the title of Reverend Mister (ie. Rev. Mr. Christopher Rossman). His very being is changed. The Church teaches that ordination places an indelible and permanent mark of one's very soul. We are marked eternally as belonging to God.

Why are we to conform ourselves to Christ? Because we serve at his altar, we assist the priest, who is in the person of Christ and we teach and preach Christ, crucified and risen in glory. Our ministry, especially our ministry of the Body and Blood of Christ at Mass, necessitates that we live Christ as and example to others.

This promise is so essential to the life of the deacon that even his response differs. Unlike the previous promises, which he answers by saying 'i do,' his response to this promise is 'I do, with the help of God.' This is truly the only way in which the deacon, and indeed all the faithful, can conform themselves to Christ - through the grace of God.

These six promises guide, define and offer a mold for the deacon in his ministry, in his duties and in his very way of life. His being faithful to these promises opens him to the grace of God, to doing His will and to humbly serving His people.

That concludes our in-depth look at the promises of the deacon at his ordination. If you have any questions or comments about the Rite of Ordination to Deacon, including questions I have not covered in these promises, please feel free to ask. Until next time...God bless.

 

posted by: crossman at 23:42 | link | comments |
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Holy Thursday...

The Triduum begins on Holy Thursday at sunset. Parishes have a Mass in the evening at which a number of unique things take place. First, in imitation of Jesus at the Last Supper, the priest washes the feet of a dozen parishioners. Liturgical norms specify that these 12 people are to be men, but few parishes follow this and often include even children. Secondly, after communion and the closing prayer, the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle is removed and taken in solemn procession to a place of reposition that is not within the main church. Adoration is encouraged until midnight when the Blessed Sacrament must be covered or reposed in an alternate tabernacle. After the procession, everyone leaves in silence, the altar is stripped bare and any crucifixes in the church are covered along with any statues.

The many elements of the Holy Thursday Mass each have special meaning to them. I've already explained the washing of the feet in imitation of Jesus. The reason many parishes use men, women and children is that they feel this more properly represents the cross-section of the parish. While I don't argue with that, the focus of the washing of the feet is truly supposed to be on Christ as the servant and our imitation of him as servants to God and to each other. In this context, the gender and age shouldn't matter and as a representation of the Last Supper, the use of men would seem appropriate.

Regarding communion, the transfer of the Blessed Sacrament and Adoration until midnight, these all emphasize that Jesus, truly and really Present in the Blessed Sacrament, begins the journey to Calvary. The transfer of the Eucharist from the Church prepares us for the Passion of Christ, his death and ultimately his glory. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is the opportunity for one to realize the sacrifice Christ makes for our sins and to give praise for his continued and True Presence in the Eucharist.

The altar is stripped and the statues are covered to symbolize the solemnity and sorrow that is Good Friday. Also, adoration ends at midnight as the Passion begins. Lastly, the usual procession at the end of Mass is omitted and the people leave in silence for two reasons. First, the solemness again in recognition of the beginning of the Triduum. Secondly, the Mass doesn't end as usual because the celebration of Triduum doesn't end. As I said in my last blog, the Triduum is celebrated as one, single event encompassing three days. We leave in silence, but we anticipate the songs of joy and praise to come on Easter Sunday as Triduum comes to its triumphant close with the resurrection of Christ.

Tomorrow I will talk about Good Friday. The blog entry tomorrow may be late in the evening because we get out of school to go home for Holy week tomorrow and I will be spending about 5 hours driving home. Rest assured, though, that I will make my blog entry tomorrow (actually 2 as we have the last promise of the deacon to discuss). Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 19:22 | link | comments |
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What is Triduum?

In an email exchange with a friend, he recently asked me a question that I thought would be good to discuss on the blog. He asked me to explain what the term Triduum means and how Catholics use it. It's an excellent question that I will try to explain briefly. I thought that in preparation for Holy Week next week that I'd take the next three regular blog entries, Thu., Fri. (the Fri. blog will be double post as I also present the last of the six promises of the deacon) and Sat., to discuss the Triduum. Tonite, I want to give a little intro.

Triduum literally means "a space of three days" in Latin. We apply this term to the days from Holy Thursday through Easter Sunday. Now, I know you're thinking, "Heavens! Chris must be a hick from Kansas because he can't count. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday are four days not three." While this is true (the fact that there are four days, not the hick part), these are counted according to the Hebrew understanding of days, which is from dusk to dusk. Day 1 is from dusk on Holy Thursday to dusk on Good Friday. Day 2 is from dusk on Good Friday to dusk on Holy Saturday. Day 3 is from dusk on Holy Saturday to dusk on Easter Sunday. The Church, however, really sees this time span as a single event and not three days. The word 'Triduum' is used because it is a single word that expresses and encompasses the whole of the Last Supper, Passion, death and resurrection as one, single event. Look at it this way: The Last Supper in which the Eucharist is instituted means nothing if there is no Passion, death or resurrection. Christ's death is a tragic end if there is no resurrection. The resurrection only has its glory in the triumph over his death on the cross. Without one of these vital elements, the rest of the them have no meaning. For the Church, then, the Triduum is seen a