Strengthen Your Brethren - Da Vinci Code Response - June 4, 2006
This weekend’s celebration of the Solemnity of Pentecost brings to a conclusion our Easter Season. The Collect (Opening Prayer) for the Vigil Mass of Pentecost summarizes the hope expressed by this liturgical memorial of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary: “Father in Heaven, fifty days have celebrated the fullness of the mystery your revealed love. See your people gathered in prayer, open to receive the Spirit’s flame. May it come to rest in our hearts and disperse the division of word and tongue. With one voice and one song may we praise your Name in joy and thanksgiving. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.” Come, Holy Spirit, come!
In a special way, please remember in your prayers the graduates of our Saint Peter Middle School. Their graduation Mass is in our church at 6:30 pm this Wednesday. May the Lord richly bless these young people as they move on to high school!
As you will recall, last fiscal year (ending 30 June 2005) we did not meet our budget and so were forced to take out a loan from the Diocese in the amount of $18,000.00. Thanks to all of you who faithfully used the debt reduction envelopes in your monthly packets. Thank you, too, to all those who worked so hard on various fundraisers throughout the course of the year. Your creativity and generosity have been inspiring! The good news is that on 24 May 2006 we were able to make our final payment on that loan! The bad news, however, is that for our current fiscal year (ending 30 June 2006), we are in much worse shape compared to last year – indeed, tens upon tens of thousands of dollars behind our 2005-2006 budget. Obviously, then, we desperately need next weekend’s parish picnic to be a booming financial success. Please sell those raffle tickets and encourage family, friends, and neighbors to come and support Saint Peter’s – and to have a good time! May God bless our labors!
In a 13 May 2006 letter to the priests, deacons and faithful of the Diocese of La Crosse, Bishop Listecki wrote: “It is impossible not to notice the sensation that has been created by the release of the movie The Da Vinci Code, based on the bestselling book of three years ago. Despite being a work of fiction, Dan Brown makes the claim at the beginning that ‘all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.’ As a result, there are those who recognize on the one hand that the story and characters are fictional, but on the other hand consider or accept the historical and religious content as true. However entertaining the book and the movie may be, we must remind ourselves of the basic truth about Jesus Christ that this book (and movie) so grossly distorts – that He is truly God and man, and offered Himself in sacrificial love on the Cross for our salvation. We do not worship a God who hides Himself in codes and riddles that only the ‘enlightened’ can discover. We believe that Jesus Christ preached salvation to all, and that this same Gospel, understandable to even the simplest soul, is the ultimate sign of God’s love for us. Over the centuries, men and women have witnessed to the fact of the living Jesus, a witness made perfect in martyrdom. How can we ignore the blood that proclaimed to the world the truth of Christ Jesus now challenged by a work of fiction? I would urge you as faithful followers of Christ Jesus to know how to respond to the questions that this movie raises, so that you might assist others to discover the saving truth about God. There is an abundance of resources available . . . that respond clearly and charitably to the falsehoods that The Da Vinci Code puts forth as ‘fact,’ . . . I encourage you to make use of these and other resources.” Saint Peter’s has made available to you one such resource entitled The Da Vinci Deception by Mark Shea and Edward Sri. For a free-will offering you may pick up a copy in the Saint Faustina Room. It is in a brief, easy-to-read, question-and-answer format. Another excellent book in the same style and format is The Da Vinci Code and the Catholic Tradition by Nancy De Flon and John Vidmar. The most comprehensive resource is The Da Vinci Hoax by Carl Olson and Sandra Miesel. Some of the best resources on the internet include www.davinciantidote.com and www.jesusdecoded.com.
Saint Peter, pray for us! Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!