¡Viva Cristo Rey!

I have a joy of reading about saints and their accomplishments and why they entered the religious orders. The first was Padre Pio and it was by mere happenstance where my wife mentioned American Army Airforce officers discussing Padre Pio affecting bombing missions over Italy. Skeptical, I dug into researching this and I did find a British document mentioning a flying priest discouraging American bombers from dropping bombs. Today’s book is Blessed Miguel Pro: 20th Century Mexican Martyr, by Ann Ball.

The author Ann Ball is a Roman Catholic who has written several book on Catholic saints. She is a former school teacher and was an owner of a private security contracting firm in Houston, Texas. Sadly, she passed away in 2008. The book I am writing about was one of her best selling books and was published in 1996 by TAN Books and Publishers. The publisher provides me with what I should expect.

Do not expect a scholarly book as there are no references or any research documentation, and it isn’t dry at all. You are not going to find any sources which is rather sad for me, though it doesn’t make this story untrue. There are 30 pages of images in this 119 page book. While the book lacks sources we do get a hint of where Ann may have gotten some of her material from the acknowledgements. The book itself is an easy read and one that fits well for younger adults. It is not complex and difficult to follow but the opposite. Ann weaves a story that lacks the hitting of an academic writing where you are faced with the data. Her book is more of an amalgamation of stories told by those who knew Miguel or knew stories about him.

If there is one thing anyone should gleen from this book is that Catholicism from its inception has suffered continual terrible persecution. Blessed Miguel Pro lived during a tulmultuous time in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution where priests and other religious were unmercifully murdered by revolutionaries. In fact, the 1917 Constitution of Mexico suppressed the Catholic Church which lasted until 1998 when some of the restrictions placed upon the Church were removed. This type of persecution is not uncommon as we can read how the Bolsheviks massacred priest after priest even when there was no reason to. We can jump to China where Catholicism was attacked and in one story a church was ransacked, the priest imprisoned in a room, and the Holy Eucharist was thrown on the ground. A young faithful Chinese girl would sneak out at each night on her belly and consume as many of the Eucharist she could until she was finally caught and brutally murdered. Japan had its period where Catholicism was persecuted and Samurai who were Catholic had to hide their religious belief. There is England and its destruction of the Catholic Church where many faithful Catholics suffered at the hand of the monarchy. The list goes on. Interestingly, the Catholic Church never died out but came back. Yes, one can look back on the apostles who were executed for their belief to what we see today. This book is a reminder of how close this type of persecution happened to the United Staes and there is no safe state for anyone.

As for Blessed Miguel, the book focuses on her positive attitude and faithfulness and his ministry to the Mexicans until his brutal murder by those whose hatred overwhelmed any appreciation of life. We must be left with the question of “why is the Catholic Church hated to the point of blindless murder without compassion?” What evil compels us to kill others? In the end, Blessed Miguel Pro was victor and his last words still ring today, “¡Viva Cristo Rey!”

There have been a number of books that have had me reflect on the world and how I live my life. Though this book isn’t some great scholarly creation, it has made me think about socialism, communism, hatred, and how we love to justify our ideology. Regardless of your religious conviction or even political leaning this book should be read to make you think about your anger, hatred, violence, and the lies you tell yourself. We are all flawed and when think the taking of any human life no matter how small is justified then we need to know we are lying to ourselves and have become the willing partner of the evil that revels in this horror.

The book lacks the depth due to Ann’s style of writing and goal. Missing is the background that surrounds Blessed Miguel that would provide us with not only depth but an understanding of how tragic his murder was and how evil in thoughts and ideology people can be toward what they do not agree with. The takeaway is how people can do such evil deeds while thinking their self-righteous beliefs are pure and good. For a great analogy, read The Lord of the Rings and learn how Gandalf or even Galadriel viewed the one ring if they possessed it.

Is it worth reading? Yes. It is excellent light reading you can easily finish in a day unlike the book I am currently trying to finish. The biggest downside for me is wanting to know more about Miguel. I wanted depth. If you’re religious you’ll see this as inspirational. If you’re not, then you should see how man’s ideology helps bring out the evil within man. If you get none of that out if it then I am going on the assumption you just blew through the short book without placing any thought to the events within the book.

Handed Down: A Lesson On The Bible

In reading James Papandrea’s Handed Down, he touches on a few topics that I’ve often brought up with other when discussing reading the Bible. In talking with religious and non-religious people about points in the Bible, I find they do not understand or interpret passages the way they want. And forget about those on TikTok. They’re just plain wrong.

When it comes to myths said about the Catholic Church one that has carried its mythical weight is the idea the Catholic Church was trying to keep the Bible from the common people. Even I at one time believed this and actually think it is a good idea, which I address later. Papandrea states, the Catholic Church also translated the Bible into vernacular languages such as English, French, and Spanish-sometimes before the Reformers did.”¹ In discussions with Protestants, they always point out that the Catholic Church never did this. However this is in correct. The Catholic Church feared how the people would interpret the Bible without the Tradition and Church teachings thus leading the common people into heresy.

Reading the Bible without any help leads one to make numerous errors as can be commonly found on TikTok and YouTube. You cannot always read the passages in a literal manner or claim the Bible should be taken literally. This is simply wrong on several accounts. First, the Bible has been translated and these translations are not one for one translations as there are words in Hebrew and Greek that do not have a good English translation, so the translator may be lazy and just pick a word. One example is the ἀρσενοκοῖται which means “a male who lies with males.” The closest word for this is homosexual. Love is another example. There are plenty of additional examples that can be introduced but this is enough. The second issue is most bible reader do not understand the era and too often treat it in terms of their modern understanding and experience. The reality is the first century, the time when Jesus was roaming the countryside, was vastly different than what we experience today. Unless you understand the culture, the geography, the Jewish religion as well as the pagan religions it becomes nearly impossible to truly read the understand the Bible. A great example of misreading the Bible is found in Rev 3:14-16:

To the angel of the church in Laodicea, write this: “‘The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the source of God’s creation, says this: I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. o, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

Too many intrepret this incorrectly where they believe Jesus wanted us to be hot with our zeal for our faith or cold as in without faith, but those lukewarm Jesus does not want for those whose faith is not full of zeal are not worthy. You may hear different variations of this, but what you likely are not aware of is that this is referring to two geographical locations Colossae that had cold springs or cold water and Hierapolis that had hot springs. Sitting between the two is Laodicea which had neither and had to import the water from either would produced lukewarm water. Now the entire meaning of the passage is altered. Unless you knew the geography you would never truly begin to grasp this passage, and this is why I woudl hesitate to allow a common person read the Bible without assistance. I’ve read many papers and books and at times struggled to understand some, so I had to put it down and do more research in order to be able to fully appreciate what I was reading.

Reading the Bible without help is very difficult. I have read the Bible for years and many instances I am left wondering about a certain passage or even parable only to discover the true meaning down the road. Another problem I have witnessed is incorrect interpretations by people who not versed in the Bible. I have seen too many evangelicals contradict themselves when they dig into the meaning of the Bible and then try to apply it to the world today. If you don’t have the correct interpretation you will can’t translate it into today’s world. An easy example of this is offensive to all statement, “God hate fags”. Someone apparently doesn’t understand God or the Bible. God doesn’t hate. If you read and understand the Old and New Testament you will clearly see that whether or not you believe.

1. Papandrea, James L. 2015. Handed down: The Catholic Faith of the Early Christians. Catholic Answers Press, 52.

Books on Demonic Possession

I am not a horror fan. If I am quite honest I thought A Christmas Carol was too much like a horror film and book, so I struggled every year when whichever movie version was on the tely. Worse yet, my sister took me to one of the Friday the 13th movies when I was young and we were the only two people in the theater. I just do not like these types of movies and will avoid books, too. Yet, this changed about a year ago when I listened to a podcast about exorcisms. That got me curious but not enough to fully investigate it. I have done a little research but rather study other horrorfying things such as disease, science, and warfare. Still, these priests do attract my attention to exorcisms.

What I find odd is that many of my friends who are atheists do not believe in the devil and demons and possession but somehow believe in ghosts with a few that enjoy talking about spiritualism. I do not know how many have had a psychic visit their house or they visit them. I find it contradictory or they’re just not be truthful to themselves. There are the religious friends who also do not believe in the devil yet believe the Bible to be true. Contradictory, too?

When it comes to exocism podcasts they become quite numerous during Halloween where this discussion on possession becomes a popular topic. There are a number of priests that I have become familiar with as they are open to what they do and will discuss what excorcism is and the process. On the surface, one would thing these men are taking advantage of people, but the reality is far from that. Unlike some so-called Christians who charge money for an exorcism, no Catholic priest will charge for an exorcism.

Now comes to the part that I find actually interesting. I do not recall which exorcist states that they receive hundreds of calls or contacts every day or week, I do not recall the time frame but it is a lot. The priest does not go into exorcist mode but goes through a process where the person is evaluated by a doctor whether medical or psychology in order to determine a health issue as there is a protocol they go through. The vast majority end there. Furthermore, many are not Catholic. You have Protestants, Muslims, and I believe even atheists which surprises me. There are psychologists who will recommend an exorcist, too. What is fascinating to me is how does one come to the point of believing or being recommended for an exorcism and how does the process of removing prospective people from the exorcism event.

Now the exorcism is usually the most interesting to people as that is where the oddities happen with levitation, body contortions, the strange voice, super natural strength, and speaking unknown language. This doesn’t interest me as much as if a demon is an angel that has rebelled against God, then they are most capable of doing all of these which is the explanation. You know where it is coming from. What each Catholic exorcist states is that these actions are done to distract and eventually goes away when it has no effect on the exorcist and whoever else is in the room.

Some of the Catholic exorcists have written books and I have taken the time to sample at least one book. The book is interesting but will not be an area that I will focus my reading on. For me, one book is enough, but for others they may enjoy reading all of the books out there. I look at these books by the priests as hands on documentation unlike others written by some journalist author or someone who is interested in the topic or a specific case as they do not have all of the information, so for those who believe in this you’re mislead, for those who are on the fence, you, too, are misled, and for those who do not believe, I guess it doesn’t matter. The following books are ones that I recommend for your education or enjoyment.

1. Exorcism: The Battle Against Satan and His Demons, by Fr. Vincent Lampert (This is the one I read)
2. Dominion: The Nature of Diabolic Warfare, by Fr. Chad Ripperger
3. An Exorcist Explains the Demonic: The Antics of Satan and His Army of Fallen Angels, by Fr. Gabriele Amorth (I hear this is very good)
4. An Exorcist Tells His Story, by Fr. Gabriele Amorth
5. Father Amorth: My Battle Against Satan, by Fr Gabriele Amorth
6. The Exorcism Files: True Stories of Demonic Possession, by Adam Blai (As I understand it, he has participated as in being in the room of some exorcisms)

If you want to sample what the books may be about then I suggest you do a search on the authors and the podcasts they’ve been on to get an idea if you are interested in the books. For those questioning the validity of these men, I suggest you enter with an open mind, otherwise you’re own bias will not allow you to give it a proper review and understanding which is normal for each and every one of us.

What are my thoughts about this topic? I’ll keep my view to myself on this topic as that is not what I am writing about. This post is more about books and reading. If you enjoy reading and would like to venture into this realm then please try on of the six books I have listed. For me, one book is enough.

Nancy Pelosi and the Holy Eucharist

What is the deal about Nancy Pelosi being banned from the Eucharist Archbishop Cordileone and then she received it at the Vatican? To non-Catholics, this may not seem to be such a huge issue and even to many or maybe even most Catholics, however, The Catholic Church’s view on the Eucharist goes back to the early church fathers. In this post, I explain the Catholic viewpoint.

To understand what the Eucharist means to the Catholic Church, it is truly the body of Jesus Christ and the wine is truly the blood of Christ. This belief dates back to the Gospels and Jesus where he states in John 6:51, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread I will give is my flesh for life of the world.” At first glance, one does not fully comprehend the meaning. The following verses, 52-56, puts the context in better light especially if you understood the culture and language at the time. ‘The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks by blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remain in me and I in him?”‘ The Jews are clearly discussing the idea of Jesus wanting them to eat his flesh and drink his blood. The words Jesus used were of a literal meaning and that is what upset the Jews. Jesus was not being figurative and the meaning of this is lost through translation as Jewish custom.

Next is maybe the most misinterpreted line of the Bible. Matthew 26:26-28, ‘While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.”‘ Luke 22:19-20, ‘Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will given to you; do this in memory of me.” And Likewise the cupt after they had eaten, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.” How is this section misinterpreted? It is the english word of memory. The Jewish meaning is different than how we define memory. For the Jews, this meant they were actually going back and re-living the moment in real time. This is not a repetitive reenactment but a real time event of Jesus’s Passover meal.

St. Justin writes about the Eurcharist, “For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink; but as Jesus Christ our Savior being incarnate by God’s word took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the word of prayer which comes from him . . . is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus.” Clearly, St. Justin does not consider the Eucharist as a symbol. Ignatius even expresses the important of the Eucharist, “Take care, then, to have only one Eucharist. For there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup to show forth the unity of His Blood” (Philadephians 4). Ignatius also writes about heretics and their denial of the real presence, “They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, in his goodness, raised up again.” I can quote many other early leaders saying the same thing. The Eucharist is the body of Jesus Christ and should be held with great reverence.

What needs to be understood is where the Catholic belief of the Eurcharist comes from and why it is important and why one should never take the Eucharist when in sin. Even Paul in 1 Conrinthians 27-29 places an importance on the Eurcharist and why one should not receive it if in sin, “Therefore whoever eats this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unoworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself” To receive the Eurcharist in sin is an affront to God and damning to the person receiving communion.

There is another element to be brought up. It is abortion. The Catholic Church opposes abortion. This goes back to the beginning much like the Eucharist as is noted through the early Church leaders. One of the earliest documents, the Didache, states, “You shall not murder a child by abortion, nor kill a child at birth.” We have the Letter of Barnabas 19:5, “Thou shalt not murder a child by abortion, nor again shalt thou kill it when it is born.” This idea continues with St. Jerome in Letters 22:13 ““Some go so far as to take potions, that they may insure barrenness, and thus murder human beings almost before their conception. Some, when they find themselves with child through their sin, use drugs to procure abortion, and when, as often happens, they die with their offspring, they enter the lower world laden with the guilt not only of adultery against Christ but also of suicide and child murder.” The fact you read about Jesus mentioning doesn’t mean he didnt’ mention abortion or abortion was okay. We now look at tradition where it may have been well understood at the time abortion was wrong and no one saw the need to write it down until the Didache where is showed itself to be a problem. In our modern world we have many unwritten rules that our culture knows and abides by, so why would we think any different?

Next are the mystics defined as great lovers of God who offer and give themselves to God. These mystics often report that abortion is a great abomination to God. There is the reported Medjugorje apparation where Mary stated, “People who have abortions will be held responsible for the grave sin they commit.”

This partial list of information explains why the Catholic Church views abortion the way it does. You may think the Church is not theologically founded on abortion but that is taking a modern perspective of the Church and ignoring its history and views from the past. The Church, from the beginning, has viewed abortion as wrong even if there are some within the Church’s history that strayed or appeared to stray.

How does this apply to Nancy Pelois? First, to be a Catholic you must believe the Eucharist is the Real Presence of Jesus Christ. There is no debate about this. Second, you must be against abortion and not support it in any way. You can’t even support a candidate who supports abortion as it is a sin. Nancy’s view on abortion contradicts Church doctrine. She therefore cannot receive the Eucharist. By her receiving the Eucharist at the Vatican does several things. She has affronted God and though not damned for all eternity she is in sin and if she were to die today, without penance, she could then be damned without forgiveness. To non-Catholics this may seem trivial but think of the greatest insult you could receive and you just come close to what this means. The second is she sends the wrong message about the Catholic Church. Her visiting the Pope gives the impression the Pope supports abortion and the fact he made no reference after the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade worsens her visit. This visit was divisive and very scandalous.

This is why Catholic’s who support abortion must rethink their position. I would add that Catholics also need to fully understand what the Catholic Mass is and the Litury of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is not a symbol nor some reenactment but the true body and blood of Jesus Christ and should be treated with great reverance.

A FEW ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ABOUT THE TOPIC OF THE EUCHARIST AND ABORTION

• There is much to be written about the subject on the Catholic Church’s view on abortion and the Eucharist, and you’ll find many writings about the two subjects. In my brief research for this, I did encounter biased information that was against the Church teachings where the authors failed to understand some of the theological elements who God is and the Church’s relationship to God as well as incorrect interpretations due to their modern viewpoint. I read views on what appeared to be good points but failed with their judgement on bishops or flawed understanding of science or even just not understanding the Catholic Church even though they are Catholic. Even what I composed above is limited in information and may possibly be misleading. I tried not to judge like these other authors but repeated what the views of the Church. My goal was to provide the reader an basic understanding of what is going on here without diving into the details of everthing and writing two books on the Eucharist and abortion.
• When studying the early Church and the church fathers I see a strong emphasis placed on the Eucharist. It is throughout their writing and very clear in meaning. Most Catholics have lost the understanding of the Eucharist and have strayed from their faith to the point one can question whether or not they are still Catholic.
• When it comes to abortion I go back to the early Church fathers and reference Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria, Basil the Great, John Chrysostom, Cyprian, and even the Apocalypse of Peter write about the sinfulness of abortion. The Council of Nicea addressed abortion as did the Council of Trullo. These views reflect the Didache written in the first century when some of the apostles and Paul were living. Unless otherwise shown, I stand by the idea that abortion was carried on by tradition as well as inserted in the Didache and possibly other losts texts to instruct that abortion was wrong and sinful.