Ologyism

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How about a new word for secularism? How about considering that God is not being rejected or excluded from public affairs? How about considering the God standard is exactly what is being applied and used to measure the value and quality of our civil society? How about considering secularism is really “ologyism”. How about considering, Theism is seeing value and quality being discovered in the Word of God and “ologyism” as seeing value and quality as being invented by the will of the individual. So you take some psychology and a dose of biology and a dash of theology and a little spooky philosophy; blend it with twenty first century individualism, expressionism and some lively liberalism; mix well and bake for twenty five years; spread it over middle and upper class Americans while attending state sponsored schools and presso chango “ologyism”. But it’s the very virtues found in Holy Scripture which are used to measure the results of this “ologyism”. So if the “ologyist” really believes that the logic, reason, understanding, awareness and the power of their will can lead to the perfectly structured society, well then at least give themselves a new name because ideologist, socialist, utopians and democrats are already taken.

The Myth of Sacrificial Love

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Is sacrificial love in harmony with the teachings of the Church? Did our Lord, Jesus Christ sacrifice His life for us? Does Holy Scriptures teach us to be imitators of Christ? Are we made in His image and likeness? Certainly we have heard the homilies, read the commentary; we hear the voice in our souls saying it’s better to give than receive. Of all the commandments which speak to the truth, isn’t love your neighbor as you love yourself the greatest and simplest  instruction on how to live with each other and in each other. As parents and children of parents, as brothers and sister, friends, colleagues, allies, strangers on the street and souls in distress all over the world; hasn’t our sacrificial love reached out to all. The answer must certainly be, yes. And so it is; but is it the only answer?

Bishop Barron says; Love is willing the good of the other for the sake of the other. He says; the Almighty Father doesn’t just love, He is Love. Our Father wills the very existence of the universe, with, through and in love; from second to second, in every aspect and respect. Our Father knows all, sees all and uses all for our greater glory, for our greatest good. He knows for sure and for certain what is and what will be. So for us too, love is a conscious decision, a willful act, grounded in heart and mind. The difference being; we don’t know for sure and for certain what will be. Christ’s death on the Cross was a willful act with a purposeful end. He is the cause and the effect. Not so with us; we do not know the effect, cannot see the result. By thinking we can know the result, we put ourselves into the equation and have introduced the question of quality and quantity; doesn’t this sound egocentric. Now not only have we decided to act out and for the greatest good, we are also deciding on the cost and the results; something which we cannot know. However, we can apply the God standard and ask ourselves are we acting out of love, humility and appealing to everyone best interest and highest ideal; this we can do. We cannot sacrifice, we can make the best decision we can and leave everything to God’s goodness.

G.K. Chesterton said, paradox is the truth standing on its head to get attention. So let’s admit we cannot sacrifice, we can be in this moment receiving the gift of Grace. We can remove the obstacles in our hearts and watch Christ’s goodness flow out of us, into the waiting world, a world in great need. I offer you this; before we act, before we give of our time and resources, before any whisper or hint or glimmer of goodness, we receive the suffering of this world. Yes, in a world where suffering has no value, where suffering is avoided at any cost, we embrace it, we smother it, we accept it willingly and thankfully, because in the suffering lies strength. The strength and courage to lean on the Cross. The strength and courage which brings the endurance and peace at the end of the day. I’m not suggesting we suffer for ourselves, not suggesting we suffer for others and certainly not suggesting we suffer for the sake of suffering; I am suggesting where Christ gives Divine Mercy, we show self-giving love and earthly compassion.

The Hour Glass

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The turmoil, troubles and falling away which the Catholic Church has experienced in recent years maybe solved by making the past the path into the future. Through the rediscovery of our perfected precepts, the Body of Christ through our Catholic Faith and our continuing conversion of the heart will recreate the cornerstone and construct Jesus’ Church. As it was, as the Holy Spirit makes it and as it will be.  Through right thinking, evangelization flows naturally from one idea to the next.  Solutions found by reestablishing the harmony in the “Form and Content” of our Church. What does this mean?

Take the hour glass, unmistakable in its form, design and purpose. It’s immediately recognizable; in its symmetry, its functionality and in its simplicity, no other structure is like it, no other structure can take its place. It is the Form. It is the way that it is, because it is the only way it can be. This is the Church.

The sand; each grain is exquisitely unique.  Distinctively faceted, a shade apart from the rest, fashioned by God and honed by nature. This is the Content. Bathed in paradox, because the only element they truly share is that each is different. Yet taken in their entirety, each is uniform, locked in perfect harmony with the rest. This is the Body.

We realize the Form can not be changed, rearranged or altered in any way. And nothing can be added or taken away from the content. Not even the most beautiful diamond among the sand, for nothing else belongs there. There can be no substitutes; there are no equivalents, for only a genuine and measured amount will work.

Simply put, the “Hour Glass” provides the best example of the Catholic Church. Without the Form the Content fulfills no purpose.  Without the Content the Form has no function.