Book Review: The Last Days of Jesus by Bill O'Reilly

I recently read The Last Days of Jesus: His Life and Times by Bill O'Reilly. If I were to rate the book using a five-star system, I would give it 3.5 stars. 

What I liked: The easy to read format enriched with informative illustrations, maps, and historical timelines. The author described the culture, regional lifestyles, religious beliefs, and political issues of the time period very well. 

What I didn't like: Though a Catholic, the author didn't use a Catholic translation of the Bible for reference. He said that Jesus died in 36 AD, which is not correct. Mary Magdalene is referred to as a prostitute, which is often alleged but no proof exists that it was indeed the case. The title of the book is not a good choice, as the author covers the entire life of Christ. Much of the story told by the author is shared with a great deal of poetic license, filling in the blanks left by historical texts and Scriptures with a likely story line.

This is a good book for adolescents and up, but should be accompanied by Sacred Scripture and good catechesis.

US Catechism for Adults, Second Printing

The United States Catechism for Adults is about to go into its second printing. Scheduled to change is a portion which addresses the covenant with Jews. The USCCB has just received recognitio from the Vatican and in recent statement released by the USCCB, they state the following:

The change clarifies Catholic teaching on God’s covenant with the Jews. The first version, in explaining relations with the Jews, stated, “Thus the covenant that God made with the Jewish people through Moses remains eternally valid for them.” The revised text states, “To the Jewish people, whom God first chose to hear his Word, ‘belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ.’ (Romans 9: 4-5; cf. CCC, no 839)

The change was approved by the U.S. bishops following the bishops’ 2008 June meeting in Orlando, Florida.

The clarification is not a change in the Church’s teaching.

The clarification reflects the teaching of the Church that all previous covenants that God made with the Jewish people are fulfilled in Jesus Christ through the new covenant established through his sacrificial death on the cross. Catholics believe that the Jewish people continue to live within the truth of the covenant God made with Abraham, and that God continues to be faithful to them. As the Second Vatican Council taught and the Adult Catechism affirms, the Jewish people “remain most dear to God, for God does not repent of the gifts he makes nor of the calls he issues.” (Lumen Gentium, no.16).

If you have not yet read the United States Catechism for Adults, the first official catechism from the US Bishops since the Baltimore Catechism, I suggest you take a look at it. It is indispensable in the parish setting as well as the domestic church for ongoing adult catechesis. In our home, it served as bedtime reading with the family before prayer time.

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To purchase a copy, please visit your local Catholic bookstore or order from a Catholic source online such as The Catholic Company.

View sample of Chapter 7 of the US Catechism for Adults HERE in .pdf

For more information and suggestions on how to use the catechism in your catechetical program, click HERE.

Quick Path to Judgement

The state of Washington has a new law in effect today, March 5, 2009. It is now the second state in the US to legalize suicide with the other being Oregon. According to the Washington State Catholic Conference:

Under the Washington law, healthcare providers are not required to participate in assisted suicide. Many physicians and pharmacists are choosing to “opt out”, and not write or fill prescriptions. Many healthcare facilities are also “opting out” and will not allow assisted suicide on their premises.

What does the Church say about Euthanasia? From the CCC:

Euthanasia

2276 Those whose lives are diminished or weakened deserve special respect. Sick or handicapped persons should be helped to lead lives as normal as possible.

2277 Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable.

Thus an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator. The error of judgement into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded.

2278 Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; it is the refusal of 'over-zealous' treatment. Here one does not will to cause death; one's inability to impede it is merely accepted. The decisions should be made by the patient if he is competent and able or, if not, by those legally entitled to act for the patient, whose reasonable will and legitimate interests must always be respected.

2279 Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a sick person cannot be legitimately interrupted. The use of painkillers to alleviate the sufferings of the dying, even at the risk of shortening their days, can be morally in conformity with human dignity if death is not willed as either an end or a means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable. Palliative care is a special form of disinterested charity. As such it should be encouraged.

In 2007, the state of Washington reported 24,735 abortions. It seems to me that Washington's notoriety as a rainy state would remind all Christians of other images of water. The Great Flood. The cleansing water of Baptism. The lavabo. Tears. The water flowing from Christ's side.

What All Catholics MUST Believe About Creation

Was there a primate in your family tree? Was there more than one Adam and Eve?

First and foremost, you must understand, accept and embrace that God is the author of all creation. Period. We must also balance that with the understanding that the Bible is not a science textbook and the writings must be read using all of the senses of Scripture (CCC 115-119). Catholics also understand that Scripture is authored by humans inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Word is God-breathed and the Bible is truth.

Let's look at Church Dogma on God the Creator:

1. All that exists outside God was, in its whole substance, produced out of nothing by God.
2. God was moved by His goodness to create the world.
3. The world was created for the glorification of God.
4. The Three Divine Persons are one single, common principle of creation.
5. God created the world free from exterior compulsion and inner necessity.
6. God has created a good world.
7. The world had a beginning in time.
8. God alone created the world.
9. God keeps all created things in existence.
10. God, through His Providence, protects and guides all that He has created.
11. The first man was created by God.
12. Man consists of two essential parts - a material body and a spiritual soul.
13. The rational soul per se is the essential form of the body.
14. Every human being possesses an individual soul.
15. God has conferred on man a supernatural destiny.
16. Our first parents, before the fall, were endowed with sanctifying grace.
17. In addition to sanctifying grace, our first parents were endowed with the preternatural gift of bodily immortality.
18. Our first parents in Paradise sinned grievously through transgression of the Divine probationary commandment.
19. Through sin our first parents lost sanctifying grace and provoked the anger and the indignation of God.
20. Our first parents became subject to death and to the dominion of the devil.
21. Adam's sin is transmitted to his posterity, not by imitation but by descent.
22. Original sin is transmitted by natural generation.
23. In the state of original sin man is deprived of sanctifying grace and all that this implies, as well as of the preternatural gifts of integrity.
24. Souls who depart this life in the state of original sin are excluded from the Beatific Vision of God.
25. In the beginning of time God created spiritual essences (angels) out of nothing.
26. The nature of angels is spiritual.
27. The evil spirits (demons) were created good by God; they became evil through their own fault.
28. The secondary task of the good angels is the protection of men and care for their salvation.
29. The devil possesses a certain dominion over mankind by reason of Adam's sin.

From the work of Dr. Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, published by the Mercier Press Ltd., Cork, Ireland, 1955. With Imprimatur of Cornelius, Bishop. Reprinted in U.S.A. by Tan Books and Publishers, Rockford, Illinois, 1974 - below is the Kindle version.
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To be honest with you, I really do not care if there are primates in my family tree. I can assure you there have been some colorful characters, but beyond that it really doesn't matter to me. It is the Divine origin of all creation that touches my heart and mind. I was happy to see my sentiment validated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

CCC 284: The great interest accorded to these studies is strongly stimulated by a question of another order, which goes beyond the proper domain of the natural sciences. It is not only a question of knowing when and how the universe arose physically, or when man appeared, but rather of discovering the meaning of such an origin: is the universe governed by chance, blind fate, anonymous necessity, or by a transcendent, intelligent and good Being called "God"? And if the world does come from God's wisdom and goodness, why is there evil? Where does it come from? Who is responsible for it? Is there any liberation from it?

Still, since many continue to be more fascinated with the scientific than the Divine, we must be certain that the voice of the Church is heard clearly. Pope Pius XII declared that "the teaching authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions . . . take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter—[but] the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God" (Pius XII, Humani Generis 36). Whether our bodies developed over time to what they are now or if they were directly created by God, Pius XII tells us that souls do not evolve. So there we have it: whether or not Adam and Eve were hair-covered and looked like Quasimodo doesn't matter. When our first parents were created, their ensoulment was complete and created by God.

I was first spurred on to write this entry because of some questions posed by a friend just last night. She is currently going through RCIA at some parish on the U.S. east coast and is seeking Baptism. Like many other Catechumens, she has discovered that the Catechists need some Catechesis themselves. Long story made short, the group told her that there were many Adams and many Eves and that for Lori to say that there was one Adam and one Eve showed that she was taking the Creation narrative too literally. Surely she should have known that Adam is a representation of several Adams?! She assured the group that what they were teaching was contrary to Church understanding. They then directed her to make an appointment with the parish priest the following day so that he could 'set her straight'. Seems the Catechists in her parish have fallen into heresy in at least one vein. I got to work researching to help Lori arm herself with solid Magisterial information and she immediately began printing off sheets that would rival any good doctoral dissertation.

I quoted Humani Generis above and would like to share with you what paragraph 37 says, in its entirety:

37. When, however, there is question of another conjectural opinion, namely polygenism, the children of the Church by no means enjoy such liberty. For the faithful cannot embrace that opinion which maintains that either after Adam there existed on this earth true men who did not take their origin through natural generation from him as from the first parent of all, or that Adam represents a certain number of first parents. Now it is in no way apparent how such an opinion can be reconciled with that which the sources of revealed truth and the documents of the Teaching Authority of the Church propose with regard to original sin, which proceeds from a sin actually committed by an individual Adam and which, through generation, is passed on to all and is in everyone as his own.

I'll let you know how Lori makes out. Unfortunately, she has more knowledge and understanding about the Catholic Church than the Catechists - and they told her she has to be in the RCIA program for two years in order to be Baptized. Keep Lori in your prayers. I think God is preparing her to be a Catechist - or perhaps she already is one.

For further reading not linked above, see Adam, Eve and Evolution.

Believing in a Higher Power is NOT Enough!

Survey after survey indicates that a great majority of Americans believe in 'a higher power'. A 2005 CBS poll states that:

"More than nine in ten believe in God or a higher power, six in ten say they pray often, and more than half say religion is very important in their daily lives." Source

A 2007 Gallup poll indicates that:

"Roughly 9 in 10 Americans believe in God or a universal spirit, while fewer than 10% are firm in their belief that there is no God. Eighty-one percent of Americans believe in heaven. At the same time, 7 in 10 profess belief in the Devil and in hell." Source

I want to examine what these seemingly benign and hopeful statements truly mean.

First, is the belief in God and the belief in a 'universal spirit' the same thing? To a Christian, an alarm should go off when reading this statement. There is but one God and one can easily believe in a 'god' and not know 'God'. The variables within this question are too high in number to lead to a valid and scientific study. Did these statiticians take Stats 101?

Is believing in God enough? Will that get those 81% of Americans suggested to believe in Heaven through the 'Pearly Gates'? The resounding answer is an undeniable NO! Saving the more meaty topics of Justification, Sanctification, Once Saved Always Saved, Baptism, etc. for another time, all Christians should agree on one thing: ‘Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord" shall enter the kingdom of heaven’ (Matt. 7:21). Jesus Christ was clear. In John 4, we find what Jesus says to Thomas in reply to a question he poses to Him: Thomas said to him, "Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him."

As the Bride of Christ Jesus, the Catholic Church is "the universal sacrament of salvation" (CCC 774–776), and states: "The Church in this world is the sacrament of salvation, the sign and the instrument of the communion of God and men" (CCC 780). Simply put, incomplete Christianity is not enough to have eternal life. What does this mean for the non-Catholic Christians who believe in and love Jesus Christ? This means that even though they are indeed Christian, they continue to lack the fullness of the faith which Christ wants and indeed started for them. (For more on this topic, see Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth)

Second, is it possible to believe in heaven and not hell? How can that be? Ignorant hope perhaps, and more likely, a rationalization. People who say this are really saying: "I am rewarded for being good and punishment does not exist." Sounds like the wishful thinking of a child, yet even the youngest child understands the simple concept of consequences. Heaven is real, brothers and sisters. And so is hell!

Study and know what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches about hell. (CCC1033-1041) "The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, "eternal fire." The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs." Study and know what God taught about Hell. "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Dan. 12:2).

In summary, clearly believing simply in 'a higher power' is not enough to get to the 'heaven' so many claim to 'believe in'. Many among us are deceived; some by their own conscience as a mode of soothing. Dear reader, what say you?