Praise be God, through His Mother Mary: She has not died, but gone to Heaven!

Zenale, Bernardino. L'Assunta. (Church of Saint Charles on the Corso: Milan, Italy).

This day the holy and animated Ark of the living God, which had held within herself her own Maker, is borne to rest in that Temple of the Lord, which is not made with hands. – St. John Damascus

Most Catholics probably do not know the significance of the great Mystery celebrated this day. It is clear of course that the Church places great importance in this Mystery. It assigns it the greatest solemnity, makes it a holy day of obligation, and in many Catholic countries this Great Feast is even celebrated as a public holiday.

This feast is not a new feast invented by Pope Pius XII in his declaration of November 1, 1950, Munificentissumus Deus. The common perception of this teaching is also not one of doubt, but one of apathy. Why does it matter that the Holy Mother of God has been taken up to heaven body and soul?

It matters – it matters deeply not only within our souls, but with in our bodies – our bones, our muscles, and our flesh. This great grace of Mary’s Assumption is the fulfilment of the promise of the God the Father to redeem us and call us back to him (cf. Ps. 16). At the beginning of time there was no need of redemption, since God walked in the Garden of Eden with the first Adam and the first Eve. As Pope John Paul II put it Adam and Eve were “naked without shame.” After the Fall, this was lost. For they realized they were naked, and became ashamed. They hide themselves from God (cf. Genesis 3:9-15).

Heaven was lost to Adam and Eve, and since we are their children, we have also lost heaven. For through the first Adam death entered the world. The death we all face is the unavoidable witness to this fall. Death, strong though it may be, is not stronger than the love of God. God’s love for us took on a body like our body – with bones, muscles, and flesh – he became incarnate in Jesus Christ. He came to redeem us – which means literally he came to buy us back. God wants us to be with him in heaven. So the promise of our own resurrection is shown forth in the resurrection of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:20-6).

Saint Ireneaus of Lyon tells us how this was first shown worth with the Blessed Virgin Mary. By his own death, Christ – the “second Adam” – undid what the first Adam did. Christ reverses death. So Mary – the “second Eve” – in her obedient words, be it done unto me according to your Word (Luke 1:37), reverses the disobedience of the first Eve. Thus God’s promise is fulfilled in her, and her body does not even come to know the decay of death. This is important for us to reflect on. The redemption of our body is a gift that we have not earned. We cannot earn it. But God nonetheless respects what He has created – and respects the freedom that He has created us with. He will not force the resurrection of our bodies on us, just like He did not force more to become the Mother of God. He offers us the resurrection in the promise that took on flesh in His Son, and as all the angles and the rest of creation waited on the words of Mary – so all the angles and the rest of creation waits for us to say, be it done unto me according to you Word.

This Great Feast in fact is the great invitation to join Mary in heaven. To accept the gift that God so graciously lays before us. This now is the moment to make our own FIAT. To fulfil the promises of our baptism as a response to the great gift that God offers us. This is so great that the Church has always celebrated it. The first Christian bishops preached about the Assumption of Mary. This Tradition was handed on, as is testified to by countless homilies through all the ages down to the present. We see this in art – all of the famous painters have always painted at least one image of the Assumption. We hear this in music – as some of the most beautiful music was composed to commemorate the Assumption. It has always been believed by the Church, so that is the reason why Pope Pius XII, defined the Assumption in 1950. He was not proposing something new, but in his words drawing together almost two thousand years of Tradition to glorify Jesus through His mother, Mary.

Mary Mother of God, Assumed into Heaven, Pray for us.

Pius XII, of Blessed Memory, Pray for us.

For there is not greater love...

Today is the Feast of Maximilian Kolbe, martyr.

The great book of martyrs is not finished. It started with Saint Stephan, the proto-martyr and continues through the Romans, the Barbarians, the Wars of Religion, the Wars with Islam, the foundation of the Church in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. It continues even recently to be added to, especially in the previous century.

It was this century, that saw the rise and fall of totalitarian regimes, two world wars, a number of genocides, and a great many dictators that saw the making of many martyrs. In fact there were more martyrs between the open guns of the First World War to the fall of Communism in 1989 than any other period in the Church.

These witnesses of the faith teach us today by their example. This is what a martyr is, one who witnesses. They witness that Christian love is much more powerful than secular hate. They witness that the dignity of every human being is so great that no regime can arbitrarily snuff out anybody, no matter how weak, how “useless,” they have value since they are a child of God. He has knit each person together in his mother’s womb. And like Maximilian Kolbe, they bear witness that even in the darkest moments of the human experience that God is present, that God gives strength, and that God cares.

Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish-Conventual Franciscan priest. He was arrested on February 17, 1941 for his activity in the Polish resistance of the Third Reich. His activities included give over 2000 Jews refugee in his friary and providing the radio support for the resistance movement. He was sent to Auschwitz as a slave labourer. In July of that year a man went missing from the barracks where Maximilian Kolbe lived. Keeping with the principle of “corporate punishment,” the whole barracks had to be punished for this escape.

A sketch of Maximilian Kolbe handing over his life, "my life is not taken from me, but I hand it over." This sketch is from a series of sketchs done by a survivor of Auschwitz.

Ten men were selected at random to be starved to death in the basement cells of the work camp prison. Recalling the words of Jesus, that there is no greater love then to lay down your life for a friend, Fr. Maximilian Kolbe volunteered to take the place of one of the men, because that man had a wife and family outside the camp.

With his companions, Maximilian was locked in a cell with limited air, no water, no light, no food, and no sanitation. The SS commander’s dogs had much better accommodations than these cells. Usually with priests the goal of the SS was not to kill them, but break them, to cause them to loss the faith through intense suffering. Most men died in these starvation cells within three days. Maximilian did not lose faith, he gained even more faith.

In remembering the law of the gift, this was passed on to his companions, for it is remembered that hymns of joy could be heard radiating from that starvation cell. He not only survived three days, but three weeks. All the while offering encouragement and most likely last Confession to prisoners as new ones rotated in to replace those who had died.

The patience of the SS guards grew thin. Even though this priest was so close to being called home as a result of his maltreatment, they removed his body that by this point must have been no more than a sack of bones. They took a needle, inserted in his arm and injected highly concentrated carbolic acid into his veins. Maximilian Kolbe died on August 14, 1941. He survived over twenty days in the starvation cell. He survived 179 days in Auschwitz.

The starvation cell of Maximilian Kolbe. In the heart of the darkest place from the century of blood, this has become a place of prayer, and even hope for those who suffer injustice.

He won his crown of glory. On October 10, 1982 he was declared a Saint by his countryman, Pope John Paul II.

The man who Maximilian Kolbe traded places with, was at the canonization with his children and grandchildren.

Maximilian Kolbe, Pray for us.

Part II: The dangers of being "non-biased," or Don't be so open headed that your brain falls out

A prisoner of the War in the Vendée

Part II: The dangers of being "non-biased," or Don't be so open headed that your brain falls out

Even if it were possible to achieve a truly “non-biased point of view,” would it truly be desirable? The very fabric of humanity is tied up in this "messy knot" of cultural, social, spiritual factors. The demand to neutralize these human factors when make decisions in the public square is in fact a demand for every citizen to deny his own humanity. The resulting decisions will not reflect the solutions that a human society requires to function. The world that results from these "non-biased" decisions is slowly becoming less and less friendly to the human person. We see this being played out in art, which is at this point utterly void of any meaning. It is also played out in the extreme environmental and animal right movements, which demand an end to so called "anthropologic-centricism." It is played out legally, which is especially vivid in Spain and her recent debate on the legal status of high primates (and I am not talking about bishops and cardinals, but rather apes and gorillas).

The Enlightenment strove to be the great “Age of Reason.” It was the first modern attempt of Western society to divorce itself from God. It has been a messy divorce so far. In the late 1700’s the European and American intellectuals looked back on the previous two century and so much blood, much violence, much suffering, and much evil. There were wars of religion from one end of Europe to the other. There were dynastic disputes that pulled whole constellations of countries in war. The feudal system of society was rapidly falling apart. This led to much social and political turmoil. In their reflection on these events the thinkers of the Enlightenment, called the “philosophes,” proposed a diagnosis of what went wrong. They placed the cause of all this suffering in what they thought was an irrational belief in god and an unreasonable oppression of human reason from organized religion. There basic program was neutralize the religious and cultural bias by organizing society around the dictates of human reason. They were very much impressed with the achievements of the natural sciences in their use of reason, and wanted to extend this to politics and morals.

We are the heirs of the Enlightenment project – does it seem like we are living in the age of reason? Are all rights truly protected? Both history and current events show that this is not the case. At the very beginning of the secular experiment -- the French revolution there is already a strong counter-example in the Vendée genocide. Vendée wished to remain faithful to the Church, and rebelled against the revolutionary regime. They were poor, untrained, and underequipped farmers. The response of the revolutionary regime was not a tolerant respect of the rights of the people of the Vendée -- but a resposne of violence. The armies of the revolution marched up and down the Vendée gathering the priest, religious brothers and sister, nuns, and all those who aided them. They stripped them of their clothes, tied them together on a boat, and would sink the boat. This was the first modern genocide. In a particular twist of cruelty they would tie a naked priest and a naked nun together before drowning them, calling this a "Marriage of the Vendee."

Here is a historic quote in regards to this genocide: There is no more Vendée, Republican citizens. It died beneath our free sword, with its women and its children. I have just buried it in the swamps and the woods of Savenay. Following the orders that you gave to me, I crushed the children beneath the horses' hooves, massacred the women who, those at least, will bear no more brigands. I do not have a single prisoner to reproach myself with. I have exterminated them all... Francis Joseph Westerman, the slaughter of the Vendée

The revolution that put atheistic humanism into practice was born in violence, and became a regime of violence. This continued through the 19th century, as colonialism was a direct result of the Enligtenment, into the 20th century with the two world wars and the Holocaust. The previous two and a half centuries have been exceedily bloody. They have also been the most god-less epochs of human history.

As the War in the Vendée progressed the killing became even more arbitrary. Eventually just wearing a Sacred Heart Badge like the one pictured here would be enough of a reason for a person -- man, woman, or child -- to be killed. There was no trial, and there was not mercy.

If religion is the cause of violence as many hold now, it would stand to reason that the abolition of religion and the exhile of God from the public sphere would result in a great dimishment of violence. This abolition and exhile has been attempted for the last two centuries, and interesting enough the last to centuries have not been less violent than what went before it, but more violent. It is not religion that causes violence, but men. When these men are formed by religion history demonstrates that they are less violent. Yes there was violence before the Enligtenment, but these were men that dis regared Christian principles, as we can see in how they burned Churches and raped nuns. The sum total though was that there was much less violence, and it effected a much smaller portion of the civilian population, especially in comparison to the total war carnage of the London Blitz or the Dresden Bombing. What is particularly true of Christianity, is that it holds that all human life is sacred and hence must be honored as such. This always held back the violence to an extent. When religion was abolished in the European mindset in the French revolution, this safe-guard disappreared, and total carnage resulted.

Poland and the impossible (the summer episode one)

In front of the priory with some of the other TMS friends

This is my first summer since leaving for Rome. As part of the tradition of many years I have not returned home, but instead spent it in Europe. The first part was a return trip to Poland. I had previously been in Poland for the days around New Years. This visit was much different -- instead of cold and snow; it was warm and sunny -- instead of only a few days staying in an infamous and semi-moral youth hostel; this stay was three weeks in the comfortable and beautiful Dominican priory in the heart of the old town of Krakow.

Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity (the Domincan Priory Church), Krakow in Poland

This was not a vaction though, but a seminar. It was more academic than I thought it would be, but I has really been a cause of much reflection over the past few weeks. It was called the Tertio Millennio Seminar on the Free Society. The main topic was the encyclical letter of John Paul II, Centesimu Annus. This was a three-week discussion on the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church. This was not just a series of lectures, but an encounter. The participants are all young people -- graduate students and young professionals -- half are from America and the other half are from the former communist countries of Eastern Europe. This brings a very different perspective on many of the topics we were talking about -- family, Church-state relations, human rights, the Christian reflection on the economy and political change.

One of the many fine dinners out: Center is Lorraine Kroll (always full of giggles) and right is Dr. Hittinger -- philosopher of law extra-ordinaire

There are two aspects of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church that I realized during this seminar that were unexpected. The first was how robust and central the teachings are. This is not a filmsy after though of Catholic theology -- but really a growing and solid core of many of the issues that the Church has is addressing at this moment as She exercises Her Prophetic Office. Do you want to know what the Church teaches on gay marriage and why? This is a question that the helps to answer. Do you want to know how Catholic thought on the dignity of life and the commitment to a culture of life informs your political decisions? The social doctrine helps Catholic of good will discern this. Do you want to know why the Church instists on the autonomy of Her schools -- and way it is much more than just a "Catholic issue," but one that directly effects the freedom of every citizen -- not just the Catholic citizens? The social doctrine helps to make sense out of this.

It has value not just for Catholics, but presents a robust reflection on society that benefits all of society. This is why the social encyclical of John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, is addressed "to all men and women of good-will." This doctrine is a synthesis of the classical thought, such as Aristotle and modern thought, all in the light of the Gospel. So it can speak to all men and women, even if they are not Catholic, even if they are not Christian.

The cloister was filled with beautiful Italo-Polish works of art, such as these Dominicans

This leads into the second aspect -- and that is the "Christian amensia" of Western, especially European society. George Weigel in the book, The Cube and the Cathedral, places much significance on how the European constitution ignores the Christian heritage of Europe and its contribution to the current Western World (which includes us). As it currently states -- the two main contributions have been the classical thought and the Enlightenment. This is problematic since it skips 1.200 years of European history -- as if nothing happened. But something did happen. It was during this period that the very concept of A PERSON developed, and also the concept of HUMAN DIGNITY. These two concepts are the foundation of further political thought on HUMAN RIGHTS and also for DEMOCRACY. So the question develops -- Can Europe (and hence the U.S.) maintain its commitments to human dignity and human rights if it ignores the contributions of Christian thought, and the voice of the Catholic Church today? Looking at the steady erosion of religious rights, and even the freedom of speech in Europe today -- the answer seems to be NO. Looking at how Christian clergy can be between in the streets of London, and there is not serious follow-up by the secular authorities -- the answer seems to be NO. Looking at how ecclesial communities are being told that they must comply with policies and partices to go directly against their religious convictions or they must shut down their missions -- the answer seems to be NO.

This is the Marian heart of Poland, the Black Madonna of Jaz Gora

I was very ignorant of what the Social Doctrine of the Church before the Tertio Millennio Seminar. I think this is the case of with most Catholics, most Christians, and most everyone else. If they have any exposure to it, it is probably under the loose and much abused term "social justice." This is a shame. It is this body of thought where the Church shows that it is not remote to the world, but cares very deeply for the world. It is here where many of our moral convictions that seems arbitrary or even discraminatory -- it is here that they come to light as a compelling, pastoral, and ultimately loving response to the hurting world.

Our fearless leader and seminar director, George Weigel, leading us on his JPII "death-march"

There can be no doubt that European and American societies are facing immediate and drastic problems. I can see this very clearly walking through any European city -- they are not reproducing themselves. In thirty years the processes of nature -- namely death -- will reduce Europe to a mere shadow of her self. The structures of family, civic society, and public moral reasoning are falling apart. For example in Italy most children do not know the world for brother, sister, cousin, aunt, uncle -- from first hand experience. This is shocking in a country once known for its large families. Has the "secular experiement" that violently broke out on July 14, 1789 failed? It looks like it has. This was the conclusion of Henri de Lubac in his analysis of the crisis of the two World Wars in The Drama of Atheistic Humanism. The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church provides a viable -- not just viable, but life-giving, alternative to the modern creed of secular-humanism. In fact secularity is not a real humanism at all, since it requires a person to deny a variety of spectrums of the human experience -- the spiritual, moral, religious, and transcendental dimensions of human life. Is a world that has been pruned of these aspects a world worth living in?

One of the best parts of Poland is the food -- such as this well-hidden but very good lunch place

The time in Poland was not all studying though. There was plenty of time for a lot of fun. Krakov is a great city. It is a student's city -- due to the the large Jagiellonia University. So it offers that young optimistic ambience. It is also a very Catholic city. The communists refered to Krakov as the "black city" since at one time almost a third of its population consisted of priests, nuns, monks, friars, or other consecrated persons. It is the heart of Catholicism in the most Catholic country in the world.

It is still a living faith -- it has not become a museum piece as the Faith has become in the rest of Europe. Look at the university Mass at the Dominican basilica. Even though lectures are not in session at about 6:45 PM on Sunday you will see a young man setting up some microphones to the side of the altar, as he is doing this the students start trickling in. By the time Mass has started at 7:00 PM there are over 3.500 students filling the Church. The pews are full, so they are in the choir stalls, sitting on the confessionals, filling the side chapels, and I have been told when lectures are in session it spills out into the street. Why do they come? They come because they are feed here. Their devotion bears witness to a deep faith that their parents have passed on to them. They are attentive to the Word and open to the Mystery. They are committed. This was my most appreciated sight.

In addition is the delicious Polish food. Perogi and golki -- two of my favorite things.

Rafting in the mountains -- "the heavens are telling the glory of God..."

Pope Quote of the Day:

I would like to do a quick "man-on-the-street" survey: True or False, the Catholic Church is always oppressive to women, and ignores their unique and neccesary contribution to understanding the Christian mysteries?

Our Lady of Humility, Prayer for Us!

Most people I think would say, "absolutely true." I think how ever they would be wrong. Let's look at this following quote from our currently reigning Pontiff:
It is theologically and anthropologically important for woman to be at the center of Christianity. Through Mary, and the other holy women, the feminine element stand at the heart of the Christian religion.

Father Josef Ratzinger on his ordination day

FACT: The Church by worshipping Christ, a man born of a woman, the Church has always seen women as centrally important in the human project. The first Saint is a woman, Holy Mother Mary, and this has continued through the present day. From Mary through Catherine of Siena through Therese of the Infant Jesus (the Little Flower) and Edith Stein, among many more.

The Myth of being "non-biased"

(Part I: Yes I am biased, because it is impossible to be otherwise and still remain human)

In a recent note I have been accused of being biased. To the person that accused me of such I have one thing to say -- "Thank you."

What does this mean?Does it mean that I discriminate based on race, gender, ethnic group, political affiliation, etc.? NO.

Does it mean that I do not examine issues and causes before forming a conviction of my conscience? NO.

What it does mean is that I have come to examine the factors that have contributed to my current make-up. What are the psychological, sociological political, social, environmental, and cultural experiences that shapes the paradigm through which I see the world and assess it? I must recognize that all of these factors, and many more, contribute to the rich tapestry of who I am. Each person also possesses his own rich tapestry of "person-hood." In asking how these factors serve as the lens through which I see the world, I am also recognizing that I see the world from a particular point of view, namely mine. This is my bias. Guess what -- we all have a bias.

It seems like one of the "ultimate values" of the current cultural-social matrix of the west since political-cultural-social revolutions of the twentieth century has been above all things to be unbiased. Where does this come from? Much ink has spilt over this. Some ground it in the scientific revolution, some in the enlightenment, some in the great massacre of all values and morals during the two world wars. It is not my objective to spill more ink on this. So know we stand at a point that the only voice that "can be trusted" in the public square is the voice of the "non-biased person." At first look is very attractive. The society that all of us live in is very diverse. It is not just a plurality, but a number of systems of belief and values existing side -by-side, some of them incompatible among each other. In the true and good intention then to not infringe upon anyone system of beliefs, it is thought best to always make decisions concerning the public square from a non-biased point of view.

Yes -- this is a good and holy desire. It follows from the true dignity of each human person that a majority ought not snuff out the belief of the minority. The problem though is obtaining this non-biased point of view. Can a person really be removed from all the rich tapestry that forms them, so that he can stand separate from them and make a non-biased decision? I think this is very difficult, if not outright impossible. There simply is not such thing as "a view from no-where." This is affirmed in the modern philosophy of science, and holds true from this physical level onto the metaphysical level.

My religious, cultural, social, familial background neccesarily contributes to who I am. Human dignity and the values that modern democracy stands on says that who I am, and what I say has value, that it matters. This is true of myself, but also true of ever person. In the determination to be "non-biased," there is a strong demand to neutralize how my religious, spiritual, cultural, social and familial background colors my decisions, opinions, and values. It is a demand to deny myself -- my own humanity, and as much as there is a strong push for every person to be "non-biased," this demand is for every person to deny his own humanity. Not only "non-biased" view point an impossible objective to reach, it is inhumane, since it necessarily follows that in order to be non-biased a person has to deny the very fabric of his own humanity.
I typed in "a view from nowhere" into Google image search, and this is the first item that came up. It is confused and hazy, just like the current public moral reasoning. It just needs the right lens and everything will be pulled into focus.