COME ON, COME TOGETHER

[note: my internet writing style is different. it will be all lower caps except for a few key places. and you will figure those out very quickly]

the title stems from a spiritualized song off of the 1997 album ladies and gentlemen, we are floating in space. but the title isn't important as much as why i chose it.

after my confirmation as a disciple of CHRIST in the united methodist CHURCH, i had some very naïve ideas about the body of CHRIST. i always thought that if you declare yourself to be a follower of CHRIST, you are part of the CHURCH. but my first experience at a roman catholic mass changed that. i realized that there were divisions and they hurt because you don't experience the fullness of CHRIST if you couldn't receive the body and blood merely because of a confession of faith. since that time, i wanted more than anything to have all believers to come together in ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC CHURCH [μίαν, αγίαν, καθολικην και αποστολικην εκκλησίαω or unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam ecclesiam].

now how do we do that?

it's a tough question to answer and i'm definitely not going to answer it (unless GOD wills me to). but from what i read, the union has to be the kind of union that takes place during the sacrament of marriage (which by the way is one of the sacraments that properly called that by the apostle paul and was blessed by CHRIST at cana). it has to be willing by both parties. it has to be preserve the TRUTH and be true to what it believed over the years. it has to be honest and focused on GOD instead of presenting an image of unity. in other words, this is to be done in a matter similar to joining man and wife, not how you join nations together.

will it happen? it's uncertain to say. talks have been going on. the sees of rome and constantinople are discussing and trying to work out their differences. at least they are doing things together. this is probably where the first major and significant step towards unity will take place. once the roman catholic and the eastern orthodox followers join together, the majority of christianity will be based on traditional and apostolic teachings. the protestant sect will either join in (meaning giving up their reformed theology) or simply perish.

however it's to be done, it should be delicately and with great care. although the first union i mentioned seems plausible, there are some dangers that come with it. this is why the issues really need to be worked out and amongst the episcopate. in the mean time, the laity can take their own steps to embrace others with the love of CHRIST from working together to solve problems and using each other to realize more fully the TRUTH. of course, i'm not speaking for the CHURCH (whichever you can consider) but i always point to prayer and divine guidance (and if intercessory prayer is your thing, call on the 318 fathers of the first ecumenical council or the first council of nicea in AD 325).

in the mean time... come together... :)

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I'M STILL IN THE GRIP OF GRACE

What if God was not in my life? This is a question that I have been bugging myself with for a while. What would happen to me if I were to take God out of my life and out of my heart, what will remain? Who will I be?

The chances are very likely I would be an asshole. I would succome to the desires of the world. I would seek solace in alcohol. I would have experimented with drugs and probably LSD or X at a rave scene. I would have lost my virginity at age 17. I would have been loose with my tongue and quick in my temper. I would have been a mess but it didn't care since I would have had my middle finger up.

Now is this an exaggeration? Perhaps. But it's not far from the truth. Without God, I would have done things my own way and I wouldn't have cared. I would have treated people like shit and I wouldn't matter in the least. In other words (for those who may know me) I wouldn't be the sensitive soul that I am.

I will never understand the nature of God's grace but I do know when it works (and believe me it does). And believe me, this world will be a better place when more people trust in the Lord. Lives will be better. Perceptions will be clean. People would associate with others better. Peace will be realized (if not external, definitely internal). This is what I'm grateful for and will be always.

Thank you God.

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OBSESSION WITH THE FLESH

Modern culture and I have a problem.

One of the many dogmas of the current secular scene is that sex is a basic human right and it is absolutely essential for the human race. Now within the sacrament of marriage, that's perfectly fine. But then there are additions that make it further nauseating: homosexuality, pedophila, bestiality, promiscuity, prositution, premartial sex, extramartial sex, pornography, sado-masochism, masturbation...

First off, why attack them? This culture is obsessed with the pleasures of the flesh. It insists that no matter how it's done, the end is always satisfaction for somebody (well one of them at least). No one should be denied that kind of satisfaction now should they? So we allow the children to be molested, the teenagers to go too far without really understanding the consequences (well... they do fortunately but unfortunately it leads to other problems), marraiges to fall apart, lives to be ridden with all matter of ills, minds to be distorted, time to be wasted, families to be divided, trust to be destroyed, characters scarred... all for the sake of seeking to obey every single whim.

Now out of all the things mentioned, why homosexuality? Isn't possible for a homosexual relationship to be abstinent? Yes. But then again, it wouldn't be homosexual would it? If it's abstinent, then it's simply a friendship with heightened emotions. It becomes homosexual when sex is involved and that's what I object to. I object to the idea that you are willing to go against the natural order because you have a whim to do so. So what? I may have had a whim to kill someone, rob someone or screw someone (in a multitude of ways) as well. But I never did it. Self-control my friend. Self-control.

Not everything is about sex. Even within marriage where it is sanctioned, sex is not the driving factor or the important thing. Sex is only part of the story. I want my wife to be a lover, but I also want her to be a friend, a mother, a compatriot and a second-hand. There will be love but there are other forms to explore.

After all, Christ's human will knew that the divine will is boss.

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ROME IS THE SHEPHERD OF THE WORLD, NOT THE KING

Right now, I have a somewhat love-hate relationship with the See of Rome. I love the See for its devotion and commitment to the Truth and thriving for love. I also hate it for its prideful side and its reliance on certain theology.

The Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Church were once unifed and they worked together for the advancement of the Faith, the perservation of the Truth and the encouragement of Love. The Patriarch of Rome was recognized as the "first among equals" and that first was a primacy of honor and in some cases a means of having the final word on a major theological dispute. The Eastern Sees recognized and even honored that duty and its chair. Sure there may have been differences in approach - the East tends to be more philosophical and mystical whilst the West more legalistic and logical - but they knew that the different members worked together for the Bride of Christ.

This was fine until around the 8th century.

Without going into too much detail, the West and the East started to drift apart due to lack of communication and everyone acting independently. Now I will say that both sides have their share of contributions to the Great Schism. However I will say that after that, Rome continued to act without the rest of the Eastern Sees. The primacy of honor turned into universal jurisdiction. His ability to have the final say on doctrinal disputes turned into papal infalliability, meaning that anything that the Pope says in regards to faith and morals is correct. Being catholic meant being under a visible hierarchy and not so much an invisible catholicism where we are uniform in doctrine. And based on an adherance to St. Augustine (another person of whom I have a love-hate relationship) and his theology and an over-emphasis on the clergy, you create a feminine gap. That is filled with the Theotokos++.

Now why do I have this somewhat animosity towards the Holy See? Well, pride is the main reason. Rome took its role and expounded it to a greater proportion. Thinking that it can do a good job based on past experiences and praises, the result is an abandonment of the other Sees. And I'm not disputing the Pope's importance and its connection and succession from Peter. But Christ had eleven other people as well (well... more like ten since the other one made the choice not to take part). You need a leader (Peter) but you can't rule alone (much like the idea of the Trinity). Papal infalliability works in the context of not only the other bishops within his See but with the bishops outside as well, working together to realize the Truth. And as long as the majority of the laity really believes that the Pope is the end all, be all of teaching on earth, I will not be a part of it.

Now... do I absolutely despise Rome? No. I have met some great Catholics (and soon-to-be ones as well) for the past year or so. Roman Catholicism has improved somewhat after Vatican II (except now it's more like the Protestant West instead of the Orthodox East and the American dioceses have shot themselves in the foot for laxing the grip on canon law). In fact I even recite the Rosary with my newfound Catholic friends. I even like the current Pontiff (although his devotion to certain Marian appartions makes me raise an eyebrow in concern but thankfully the Holy Spirit hasn't spoken through the chair of Peter on them). And I do pray for the See whenever I can but I care for it.

In conclusion, I shall explain my title. The Patriarch of Rome with his primacy of honor should be a shepherd instead of a king. The clergy - no where they are affliated with - are also suppose to be shepherd. By shepherd meaning that they should have a clear idea on how to raise and maintain a flock comprised of somewhat individualistic creatures (I think that's why God loves the shepherd analogy... after all, that's why I think David was chosen to be king after Saul screwed up).

May God be with the sheep and the shepherds of Rome and the Eastern Sees. May we one day graze in the same fields together.

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THE BLOOD STILL CRIES (EVEN IF THE CHILDREN CAN'T ANYMORE)

This is a sure-fire way to ruin a whole evening. I warned you that this contains very graphic images so don't say I warned you.

Now that you return from your shock... I ask you a huge question. Why do people still hold on to the evil delusion that abortion is somehow OK or that it is a right?

Abortion is simply murder. It's destroying life before life really has a chance to grow into something important. I mean... I much rather see a child born healthy and well after 36 weeks or so of internal development. There is a feeling of joy and wonderment at the continuation of human life created by God. Seeing an aborted child just sickens me beyond belief. Both the mother and the doctor have robbed life when they should be protecting it.

Now you may ask: if abortion is murder, what about war or capital punishment (after all, wasn't the Christ a victim of capital punishment)? Capital punishment - although misused - serves as an instrument of justice for the actions (not the character) of an individual. The criminal knew the crime and with crime comes punishment and sometimes punishment is not a pleasant thing (after all, look at St. Matthew 25:31-46). As for war, well it's an inevitably. We should avoid it but sometimes the right needs to survive from the wrong. Abortion is not justified. The only real justification for it is because it "cramps my style" of free sex, which by the way is sinful in itself.

But what about rape? Incest? Medical reasons? With rape, why should the child suffer for a perpetrator's crime? And besides, the case of rape is an extreme case because the vast majority of rapes do not yield to pregnancy. Plus does rape mean that you were really raped or is it something else? Incest is not extreme case but stupid. You shouldn't be having sex within the family at any rate, no matter what. As for medical reasons, I don't buy it for one bit. There's always risk with pregnancy. There's always risk for other things in life. Aborting a child to save the mother from possible complications is like committing suicide to save yourself from the possiblity of cancer. And furthermore, there shouldn't be any medical reason for it under the Hippocratic Oath (which is no longer said or no longer said in its complete version). Doctors are to protect life but not at the expense of another (in other words, the cost gains are negative).

Next January 22, it would have been thirty years since 410 US 113 (infamously known as Roe v Wade) was heard and decided by the United States Supreme Court. And by then, nearly 50 million young lives will be gone due to abortions: three times the number of European Jews killed under the Nazi death machine AND the number of deaths in Stalin Russia (both WW2 and by him). Nearly a third of my generation - future lawyers, doctors, theologians, clerics, artists, writers, musicians, engineers, scientists, professors, teachers... friends, neighbors, contemporaries, schoolmates and maybe even a lucky girl with whom I will give my life to in love and in other respects - GONE. Tell me... how can abortion be somehow an American right when you end up killing a fifth of America in the span of only three decades?

And if the Theotokos chose life for the One who is Life, why can't you?

God have mercy on the children.

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THE GRASS IS BURNED WITH THE TARES

Martin Luther was right about Pope Alexander VI. And I would totally understand his spiritual dilemna upon witnessing the evils that are breeded (for lack of a better word) by him and several other priests Luther was aware of: promiscuity, simony, bribery... pretty grim. But Luther, in his efforts to weed out the tares, has pulled out the grass and burned them all. Of course, Luther was only the first generation and the first thing to go was the hierarchy. But generation after generation, more and more Christianity seemed to have been stripped of its splendor and glory to the point where Christianity can be seemingly no different than a Buddhist temple or a recreation center. Well at least both of them have a lot more stuff.

The problem I have with the Protestants is that they are too simple for me. There is nothing really there in their congregation that invites the soul to go deeper into the Mysteries. Where there is no Sacrament of Marriage, there is no real respect for the bride or the bridegroom and the covenant of which both of you enter into. Where there is no Sacrament of Confession/Reconcilaton, there is no understanding of the need to be justified and made whole due to the brokeness caused by your own personal sin. Where there is no real clergy, there is no healing of the soul. Where there is no respect or admoration for the saints before us, there is no desire to continue the work that has been done before us and all the blood will cry to deaf ears. Where there is no presence of Christ in the Eucharist, there is no reason to believe in the Incarnation or the Resurrection of Christ. Where there is no veneration of the Theotokos, there is no divine side of Christ and especially no divine side of His bride, the Church.

Now is it to say that the Protestants are doomed? No because there is time for each and every one of them to look deep inside themselves and at the Church of which they are part and see that preserving and maintaining the past helps build the future. I have met some great Protestants, Catholics, Orthodox and others. I have met some lousy Protestants, Catholics, Orthodox and others. I pray that the Protestants continue to remember that it is Christ who is important and to thrive to learn and be like Christ. I pray that the Catholics will continue do the same in the face of grave hostility. I pray that the Orthodox not only maintain the Truth but also to open their arms in love. I pray that others will reject what is evil and embrace what is good and pleasing to God's sight.

Although I still will not be a communicant with the See of Rome, I feel closer to them now than I do the Protestant camp. And with the problems that are rampant in the Catholic dioceses in America and with the failing health of the current Pontiff, John Paul II, I do pray for them. And I do pray for the Protestants as well. And I pray for unity but not based on compromised truth or unified efforts for social works... but true union of faith and truth and we all speak in one voice "one Lord, one faith, one baptism."

The harvest is nigh. Let us work the fields.


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THE SIGN OF JONAH

We all know (at least it's assumed... but then again assumption is the mother of all f***-ups) the story of Jonah. God tells Jonah to preach to Nineveh. Jonah refuses and goes the other way (goes west instead of east). God sends out a storm with his name on it. Jonah gets thrown out of the boat and gets swallowed up by a fish. Resides there for three days, prays and gets on God's good graces again. Take 2: Jonah goes to Nineveh. Jonah preaches to Nineveh. Nineveh accepts. God is happy with this and there was much rejoicing. Jonah is pissed off and God tells him (basically) "I'm just as compassionate with Nineveh as I was and still am with you."

Christ talks about the "sign of Jonah" as the only sign the people will have during His tenure on earth. It is viewed most commonly that he is referring to His burial in the tomb for three days and then arises again from the dead. However there is more to Jonah than just to Christ.

Jonah was conditioned on a very narrow perception of God. He was part of the Chosen People and they have always seen Him as "their" God for God gave to them blessings, a homeland, people to look up to (and not to look up to) and the Law. Anyone outside of the box is considered an outcast and under the wrath of God. However God instructed Jonah to do a very unusual thing... preach God to a foreign land. The time was nigh that God had to spread out to the whole world. The known world has become a little bit smaller due to the Hellenistic culture and the emerging of vast expanding empires. Communications between different lands was easier now. The Chosen People became a Diaspora, wandering around the Meditteranean Basin with their culture and tradition and the Gentiles are starting to join in. And God wants to show that the same "plotline" or progression from corrupted human to a child of God is the same for the non-Jews as it is for the Jews.

Jonah is similar to us as Christians who has resided in this artifically constructed boundary for far too long. Now I'm not saying we should downgrade the role of Christ because that is part of the Message and that has to be maintained. But we should make an effort to reach out to those whom we might consider our enemies. A modern day equivalent would probably be an American Jonah going to an Afghani Nineveh. We have to know that God wants all to abide in His graces and mercies and not just to the ones who call "Lord, Lord" (after all, even those may not inherit the kingdom of God). For if Christ has truly manifested and transformed our hearts like God did for Jonah, then Christ has truly manifested and transformed the hearts of the foreigners like God did for the Assyrians.

Think outside the box. God hates to be placed in a box. Christianity doesn't exist. Only through Christ it does.

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