4-10-07
Greetings!
To the media's credit…or maybe to simply sell newspapers/product (I'm getting more cynical as I age)…they generally print encouraging religious stories on Easter Sunday weekend. Two bits of news caught my attention.
The first involved a church in Florida for men only. They meet one Saturday evening a month. Apparently around 70 men show up for worship and learning. The most unique part…they have a "shot clock" for the preacher. I daresay it's probably more then the 24 seconds the NBA uses. While not denying that such a tool could be useful depending on the rhetorical gifts of the preacher, such stunts inevitably trivialize what is to be the Sacred act of offering worship to God.
The second story involved a new movement of people leaving churches to worship in homes. The family interviewed regularly attracts 7-25 people to their house for praise and worship, along with Bible study. Saying that they then "don't have to stare at the back of somebody's head" in a pew…as well as not having to listen to somebody else's interpretation of the Scriptures. Of course! Why should I listen to someone else when I know the Spirit is speaking through me individually…and if anyone disagrees with my opinion, it just means they're not listening to the Spirit as well as I am. Right?
As always, there is some truth here. The Spirit does speak to individuals…the Bible is full of such examples. However, such speaking is inevitably within the framework of the larger Tradition, be it the Jewish faith in the Old Testament, or the Church in the new. Furthermore, when I lead Bible studies, I always ask people if anything "stood out to them" or "caught their attention", after reading a passage. The Holy Spirit frequently uses such occasions. However, following that opportunity we then pull the passage apart within the living framework of the Church and guide their own observations within those boundaries. Remember that God cannot contradict Himself. And if He has revealed Truth…He's not going to change it. There is only one who seeks to change the Truth...and that one is at constant war with God.
This story brings to mind Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch. Recall that Phillip was lead by the Spirit to join the Ethiopian and proceeded to explain the words of Holy Scripture to him…for as the eunuch said, "how can I understand unless someone explains it to me?" (See Acts 8:26-39).
This particular movement has been given a foundation by a structured church...one that the Ethiopian was lacking and that Phillip provided. Without that foundation, they would have nothing. Indeed, their efforts will likely succeed for awhile, but what of the next generation? They will have lost the patrimony and gift that was given to them. Indeed without the structured Church (which elsewhere in the article is denigrated) they would not have anything from which to form a house church in the first place. And Jesus said to Peter, "on you I will build a church". And to Andrew, "on you I will build a church" and to John, "on you I will build a church" and to Judas "on you I will build a church"…or maybe that's the New Gehenna Version (NGH) of the Bible.
Phil's Tidbits:
While some rejoice at being able to worship in their homes, as opposed to those "stuffy and impersonal" churches----the Catholics of
Qatar
rejoice at building a Church of their own. Quite the striking contrast!
Church in Qatar Nearing Completion
1st to Be Built Since the 7th Century
DOHA, Qatar, APRIL 3, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The construction of the first Catholic church to be built in Qatar since the seventh century is set for completion by year-end.
The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary will stand in the south of the capital city, which overlooks the Persian Gulf.
According to the future pastor, Father Tom Veneration, there are more than 100,000 Catholics in
Qatar, all of them foreigners since the government grants freedom of religion to Christians, but prevents conversions, AsiaNews reported.
"We grow in number each year," the priest said, "but we cannot do any type of apostolate."
Qatar and the Holy See re-established diplomatic relations in 2002, an agreement which foresaw granting land to Christian communities.
"After over 20 years of making formal requests to the authorities, the government has finally granted the Christian confessions land to build their own places of worship," Father Veneration said. "The Catholic community was given the largest piece of land, because our presence here goes back down the centuries and also because our community is the largest."
The priest, who has been working in Doha for three years, is originally from the Philippines.
"Up till now," he said, "we have been gathering to pray in our homes.
Together with all the Catholics who live here, I am really delighted at the idea that soon we will be able to celebrate Mass in a true church, sign of our presence in this land."
Qatar has a domestic population of about 885,000, of whom 95% are Muslims.
AsiaNews explained that for almost 14 centuries Qatar's government opposed the construction of Christian churches under pressure from the Wahhabi, a puritanical Muslim sect, who compose a majority in the country.
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So when was the last time you heard about Christians bombing schools or taking hostages? Or maybe I missed something?
New Jersey
School Stages Practice Hostage Drill – Portrays Killers as Fundamentalist Christians
Superintendent says, "We need to practice under conditions as real as possible"
By Meg Jalsevac
BURLINGTON, NJ, April 3, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On Thursday, March 22, officials at Burlington Township High School enlisted the help of two local policemen to carry out a mock 'hostage situation' drill at their school. The drill invoked disapproval from Christian students as the student body was told that the alleged gunmen were "members of a right-wing fundamentalist group called the 'New Crusaders' who don't believe in separation of church and state."
According to a report in the local paper, The Burlington County Times, the mock gunmen pretended to gun down several students in the hallways before taking 10 students hostage in the school's media center. Given that the drill was intended to test the disaster response of students, faculty and local emergency personnel, county officers were dispatched during the drill to realistically execute an emergency evacuation of the building.
The drill organizers explained that the supposedly Christian gunmen "went to the school seeking justice because the daughter of one had been expelled for praying before class."
School Superintendent Chris Manno praised the drill beforehand explaining that "You perform as you practice. We need to practice under conditions as real as possible in order to evaluate our procedures and plans so that they're as effective as possible."
Bob Pawson, National Coordinator of the Scriptures in School Project, denied that the drill portrayed a possible reality and instead asserted that the drill was used as an excuse to denigrate Christians. "So what allegedly real condition was imagineered? A grotesque scenario saturated with Christian-bashing prejudice and bigotry; a scenario which could never possibly occur."
Pawson explained that the scenario created by the Burlington school officials could never realistically happen. "Why could it never happen? Because, as all Burlington school officials know full well: It is perfectly legal for any student or staff member to pray in a public school. They know that no student can ever be expelled for praying before class. Hence, the contrived reason for the mock attack is bogus."
Prayer in school has been a contentious issue for schools in the past despite a 1969 Supreme Court ruling that stated that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."
The US Department of Education explicitly affirms the high court ruling and the national No Child Left Behind educational program penalizes any school that does not allow for constitutionally protected religious speech which includes public prayer.
While county officials praised the drill saying that it was the first live test of its sort Pawson explained that he thought the drill was a test of another sort. "This denigrating drill is also a test of the reactions and responses of
New Jersey 's Christians, along with all other fair-minded citizens of any faith, to such a blatant example of anti-Christian animosity."
"A public apology is in order. The citizens of Burlington County could rightly demand the resignation or termination of school officials who dreamed up and approved this reprehensible scenario."
The County Times reported that the drill was observed by law enforcement, school administrators and state and county officials from the Office of Emergency Management.
One final act of charity from a consecrated religious who, by her very vocation, offers her life in service to others.
Nun Dies Saving AIDS Patients From Fire
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, APRIL 5, 2007 (
Zenit.org).- The local press is calling the death of 35-year-old Sister Anne Thole a martyrdom. She died in a fire, trying to rescue AIDS patients from a burning hospice.
Sister Thole was a novice director for her order. According to The Mercury, a local newspaper, the Maria Ratschitz Mission, outside of Dundee, caught fire on Saturday night, apparently from a patient's cigarette. The founder of the hospice, Sister Irmingard Thalmeier, said that five of the eight patients were evacuated from the fire, which started Saturday night. Three died with Sister Thole.
Retired Dundee Bishop Michael Rowland was awakened and called to the scene. "By the time I got there, the building was blazing and we tried to put it out with garden hoses, but the wooden staircase and thatch were a column of fire," he said.
"Sister Anne was so brave," the 78-year-old prelate said. "She gave her life for the patients. She exuded tremendous joy and had a great love of her vocation. She played the guitar well, and ran the choir and sang. All the novices loved her."
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God bless you! Phil Lawson For the latest info on St. Peter's, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com (You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
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