11 Ways Pope Francis has already redefined the Papacy

Does anyone else feel like this Pope is redefining what you thought was possible for a pope to look like? This pope seems to be the real deal. I am amazed at the way that every day he surprises me with another example of humility and a pastoral heart.

Already he has done so many things that turn my head.... here are 11:

Pope Francis chooses a unique way to celebrate Holy Thursday

Today the pope will wash the feet of incarcerated young people as he chooses to celebrate Holy Thursday in a juvenile detention center. There will be no media coverage.

The Mass of the Lord's Supper that Pope Francis will celebrate on Holy Thursday in the chapel of the Casal del Marmo Penitential Institute for Minors (IPM) will be, by his express desire, very simple, as reported by the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J. Concelebrating with the Holy Father will be Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar general of the Diocese of Rome, and Fr. Gaetano Greco, chaplain of the Institute. 

Around 10 girls and 40 boys will take part in the Mass. The Pope will wash the feet of 12 of them, who will be chosen from different nationalities and diverse religious confessions. The youth will also say the readings and the prayers of the faithful.After the Mass, the Pope will meet with the youth and the IPM's personnel in the Institute's gym. Around 150 persons are expected to attend, including the Minister for Justice, Paola Severino, accompanied by the Head of the Department of Justice for Minors, Caterina Chinnici, the Commander of the Institute's Penitentiary Police, Saulo Patrizi, and the Institute's director, Liana Giambartolomei. 

The youth will give the Pope a wooden crucifix and kneeler, which they made themselves in the Institute's workshop. The Holy Father will bring Easter eggs and “colomba” (the traditional Italian Easter cake in the shape of a dove) for all.Given the intimate nature of the pastoral visit, journalists will be restricted to the area outside the building and no live coverage will be transmitted
(via The Vatican)

Do some Christian denominations look down on others?

An Atheist writes:

Be honest, do some christian denominations look down on others? Do people look down on others for their denomination's beliefs. Is the Catholic church taken less seriously after all the scandal it's going through?

My Response:

Of course people look down on others... Christians are human beings after all. Who you look down on is dependent on who you are and where you stand.

I was raised in the LCMS (a conservative Lutheran body) and in the LCMS we looked down on:

• The ELCA (a less conservative Lutheran body) for not following the whole book of Concord
• The Reform folks - for having weak sacramental theology and trying to fit God into reason
• Catholics - For denying salvation by Grace alone through faith alone
• Mormons - for denying the Nicine Creed
• Pietists - For letting their feelings dictate their beliefs
• and pretty much everyone else... you name it

Then I joined the "Evangelical Covenant Church." They weren't nearly as openly hostile to everyone, but we still looked down on people.

• We looked down on the reform people - for their overly wrathful soteriology
• Conservative Christians - for not ordaining women
• Literalists - for making the Bible into a stick to hit people with
• Dispensationalist - for their terrible eschatology
• People who watch Fox News - beacuse it's fun to feel smarter than others
• and we looked down on anyone who wasn't involved in social justice

Now I'm a Catholic. We look down on everybody else for not being a part of the "Church Jesus Established" but in particular we look down on:

• Christians who don't use the liturgy
• Other Catholics that don't emphasis the same church teachings that we do
• Other Catholics that don't venerate the same Marian apparitions
• Other Catholics that don't pray the same novenas
• The Orthodox for their ecclesiastical pissing matches
• Other Catholics that like the Ordinary form of the mass more then the extraordinary... and vice versa

Yep... we look down on each other A LOT. It's a sin, and one I guilty of.

Lord have Mercy

Writing the New Testament

My friend, and fellow podcaster, Thad recently posted this video on the history of the Bible. I love the MS paint illustrations! Check it out.

Raising Men

In the aftermath of The Steubenville rape, Ann Voskamp wrote a great article on manhood. As a father I was really struck by it because I know I will define manhood for my son. Here is an excerpt, but please read the whole thing.

"Real Manhood never objectifies women. Real Manhood edifies women.Real Manhood means you don’t get drunk,and a man can get drunk on a lot more than alcohol.Men drunk on power, on control, on ego, lose more than all inhibition —they lose The Way, their own souls. Men drunk on anything can destroy everything and real manhood thirsts for righteousness.Real Manhood means peer pressure only makes you stronger in Christ.That in a culture where it’s the tendency to bend, you’ll stand. That in situations where there’s tendency to look the other way, you’ll look for help. That, at times in the church when there’s a tendency to be divisive on the secondary and a unified front of silence on the painful, you’ll seek to rightly divide the truth and unify the brokenhearted."

Does faith grow more through imagination or fortification?

I was thrilled to read this article at the New York Times, mostly because my inner theology nerd was excited that Donatists were referenced in a major news publication. However it also does make a great observation about where the church has been and where the church is going. Here's an except:

I’ll leave it to Catholics to decide if Francis is good for the church. The subject here is how do you revive a movement in crisis. The natural instinct is to turn Donatist, to build an ark and defend what’s precious. The counterintuitive but more successful strategy is to follow Augustine, to exploit a moment of weakness by making yourself even more vulnerable, by striking outward into complexity, swallowing the pure and impure, counterattacking crisis with an evangelical assault.

Homosexuality, Contraceptives, and Abortion

This post is something of a cry for help that I have felt for a long time but have never had words to say. I still don't. But I thought it might help if I got my frustration out. Perhaps you all have words of wisdom far beyond my own. The Bible says that we are to bear one another's burdens so I'm giving you one of mine. I'm not sure if Paul had bloggers in mind when he wrote it to the Galatians but I sure would like all the help I could get.

OK so here's the issue, let me know what you think...

When I bring up religion among "non-religious people" the first things that always come up are homosexuality, contraceptives, and abortion. Have you noticed this? It was particularly noticeable last week as with the media coverage surrounding the Papal conclave. While most of the "insider" commentators were talking about evangelization, liturgy and curia reform; outsiders brought up these three issues over and over and over again.

Why is that?

Why the Pope chose the name Francis

I was blown away by this explanation of why Pope Francis chose his name.

Speaking to the thousands of journalists and camera operators that covered the papal transition, Pope Francis recounted the story of his election and his choice of the name Francis.

Why the Family is important

I was recently featured in this video along with president of the Catholic University of America, John Garvey. In it we talk about why the family is important and how education can help contribute to building individuals into servants. Take a look!

The Personal Promise Bible: Highlighting an American Heresy

Have you seen the Personal Promise Bible? It's a Bible that you can special order to insert your name into biblical passages. 

If I got one I would see my own name show up all over the Bible. 2 Peter 1:4 would become:

"By which He has granted to Billy His precious and exceedingly great promises; that through these Billy may become a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust."

You can also have your spouses name added places too...

Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer

 
 Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer is now available on youtube. It's a great documentary that explores the spirituality of a great Christian prayer tradition in the East called the Jesus Prayer. It's a prayer that has deeply formed my own prayer life. Take a look at the video, it's quite good.

Trinity Analogies

Hans Fiene's theological hilarity strikes again in this St. Patrick inspired video. 

Top 10 reasons I am thrilled about Pope Francis

There is a new pope as you all know. I am personally VERY excited about this pope for a number of reasons. I have listed my top ten reasons why I am so excited. I would love to know what you all would add to my list in the comments below!

10 Reasons I'm Thrilled About Pope Francis

Read St. Patrick in his own words

In preparation for St. Patrick's day I decided to read St. Patrick's Confessio.  It's really interesting and the webpage http://www.confessio.ie/ has posted a great collection of versions of it. Here is how it begins:

My name is Patrick...
I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. I am looked down upon by many.
My father was Calpornius. He was a deacon; his father was Potitus, a priest, who lived at Bannavem Taburniae.
His home was near there, and that is where I was taken prisoner.
I was about sixteen at the time.

Read the rest here, and get into the real spirit of the holiday. Build your faith and avoid the hangover!

The Spirituality of Infertility

Infertility is a major theme in the scripture. In many ways it highlights many of the struggles that come along with faith. God often shows up, not in monumental demonstrations of his power to the world but in the creation of life in the barren womb. It is arguably the greatest of all miracles, while being at the same time remarkably natural. Although I have been blessed with a son, this blessing has only heightened my sensitivity for people who are unable to have children. This week I ran into a fantastic article by Timothy P. O’Malley on the struggle through infertility. Here's a highlight:

Sometimes, I allow myself to daydream either about one day getting a phone call from our adoption agency or receiving news that Kara is pregnant.  This moment would undoubtedly be the happiest of my life, full of a grace that human words would express only in a stutter at best...   Of course, such a moment may never come.   Nothing in a human life is promised.   It’s why learning to pray through infertility has been akin to learning to see the possibility of grace, never the guarantee.  Otherwise, would such moments be grace, a total gift, in the first place?  So we stand waiting for Gabriel.  Learning to hear the angel’s voice in new ways.

Take time to read the rest. Remarkable. Thank you so much for sharing Timothy!

Podcast Episode 17: Four Senses of Scripture

This week  the other doctoral students on the Crossed Purposes podcast and I talk about the four senses of scripture.

• Literal: What the passage says about past events
• Allegorical: What the passage can tell us about Christ
• Moral: What the passage can teach us about how to live
• Anagogical: What the passage tells us about our ultimate fate

Take a listen and let us know what you think!



Download it here

Blessed John Paul II, Super Hero

Ran into this on Catholic Memes today. Thought it was worth sharing!

I think it might have been inspired by this sketch...

Christian Worship as a family recipe

Although there is very little documentation available that describes how the liturgy was practiced in the west, in the early middle ages, as one begins to study the liturgy in the later centuries of the middle ages, things become more complicated. Where manuscript evidence is sparse in earlier centuries, once one begins to explore the liturgy in the tenth and eleventh centuries the manuscript evidence becomes so abundant and varied that recognizing a “standard” practice anywhere becomes impossible. Seeing just how little uniformity there is within the liturgies at the time helps highlight the reality of liturgy before the introduction of the printing press.

St. Paul as a master of cross-cultural terminology

A lot of the terminology that Paul employs in the New Testament is loaded with multivalent semantic fields; his words have multiple meaning depending on the culture you are in. As both a former pharisee and a Roman Citizen his theological terminology is rich in both Jewish meaning and Greco-Roman resonance.

I recently encountered this great chart in Michael Gorman's Apostle of the Crucified Lord: A Theological Introduction to Paul and His Letters. It highlights some of the genius of Paul's use of language.

Each of these words holds somewhat different meanings depending on the context that you're in, whether it be first century Judaism, Roman, or 21st century Christian. Read closely! 

Justification, Sanctification & being "Saved"

A reader recently read about my decision to join the Catholic church  and wrote me a message expressing their concern about the issue of Justification vs Sanctification and how the Catholic church differs from the protestant church on this issue. I thought I would take some time to respond to the concerns and share it with you, just in case other readers are having similar concerns.

First of all, thanks for writing. I am touched by the many people that have written to me with concerns about my shift towards Catholicism. I am so blessed to have people who are thoughtful in their responses and caring in their critiques.

Justification has been a huge issue in the western church since Augustine took Pelagius to task over 1500 years ago, and has been a particularly big deal since Luther (an Augustinian monk) kick started the reformation surrounding just this issue. It was a huge issue for me a number of years ago as well, and only was resolved as I studied the concepts of Sanctification and Justification in light of the historical Church's understanding of these concepts.

Spotting fake clergy in the conclave

So did you hear about the fake bishop that managed to evade security and sneak into the Vatican?

Ralph Napierski, a self-appointed German ”bishop” from the apparently made-up Corpus Dei order, somehow managed to get through a manned Vatican checkpoint and mingle with Cardinals as they gathered for a meeting in preparation to elect a new Pope.

 Although it appears his main goal seems to have been to have been to have been to get photos with Catholic big-wigs, it does raise an important question: How do we know who is a real cardinal in the conclave?

Thankfully Jason Bach has created a brief guide to help us. Take a look.

Everything is spiritual (by Rob Bell)

I ran into this recording of Everything is Spiritual, a talk given by Rob Bell a number of years ago. I was actually present at this recording in the front row right in the middle, so you can see the back of my head a lot in it.

It's a good talk for a number of reasons:

1. He makes some excellent observations and weaves them together wonderfully.
2. It's Rob Bell as the height of his game as a communicator. I can't tell you how many preachers I have met who have tried to imitate his style. Rob Bell redefined how to preach for the next generation of evangelical pastors. 
3. This is Rob Bell without the controversy. Many people only know Rob because of Love Wins and the fall out that came along with that book. This is Rob before any of that drama went down. Take a look to see Rob's less controversial side.

My book is now on $2.99 (for a limited time)

Just wanted to let you all know there is a special deal on my book right now. $2.99 for the kindle edition (normally it's $9.99). 

Get it today!

Papal March Maddeness

I thought this was clever and helped give a picture of the global church represented in the college of Cardinals... although I'm not sure they quite understand how this conclave thing works.

Baptismal Theology and Practice in the Age of St. Thomas Aquinas

I thought this lecture by Fr. Augustine Thompson, OP at DSPT was very interesting, and was glad that it was made available online. I had to pass it on to you all. Here is a little synopsis:

Fr. Augustine Thompson, OP examines new discoveries about the liturgical and social significance of baptism in the cities of thirteenth century Italy. These developments will be compared with the development of the theology of baptism from the twelfth century to Thomas Aquinas in the late thirteenth.

There is a lot of fascinating stuff if you're into that sort of thing. (A word to the wise, it's quite academic.)

Give it a watch below!

John Cavadini's excellent reflections on Benedict XVI and the future of the Catholic Church

John Cavadini offered some of his own thoughts on the historical situation the Catholic Church finds it self in with the abdication of the papacy by Benedict XVI as well as his own reflections on the legacy of Benedict's papacy in a recent youtube video.

I thought the reflections were excellent!

They offered many of my own thoughts on the issues and presented a thoughtful reflection on the future. I think it would be worth your while to check it out. I have included the video below. Give it a watch and let me know what you think!

Podcast Episode 16: Proclaiming the Word

This week  the other doctoral students on the Crossed Purposes podcast and I talk about proclaiming the word. What is the role of the Gospel in the life of the average Christian? What does it mean to preach the Gospel? How might you define the Gospel? Take a listen and let us know what you think!



Download it here