LAW & MORALITY

UNITY CONGRESS V – APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF NORTHERN ARABIA (KUWAIT)

YEAR OF FAITH 11 OCTOBER 2012 – 24 NOVEMBER 2013

DOOR OF FAITH – PORTA FIDEI Pope Benedict XVI

25^th September 2012

Link to the Theme Song for the Unity Congress
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQU2rty-WE0

LAW & MORALITY

His Lordship Bishop Joel Baylon

Definition of  GRACE

G od’s

R iches

A t         

C hrist’s

E xpense

I.          When God created man in His image and likeness He also gave him the gift of freedom.  Jesus is the revelation of the mystery of the Father. 

Read and Reflect    Genesis Chapter 3 – THE FALL

THE THREE PRIMORDIAL QUESTIONS FOUND IN THIS TEXT ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1)      Where are you? Gen 3:9

2)      Who told you that you were naked? Gen 3:11

3)      What have you done? Gen 3:13

1)  Where are you? Gen 3:9

God is always in search of us.  He wants to see us before Him.  We are His greatest creation.

The questions we must always ask ourselves are

i)     Where do I stand before God?

ii)    Am I faithful?

iii)   Am I obedient?

In the parable of the Prodigal Son Luke 15:verse 20 gives us a very moving description of the father who was on the lookout for his wayward son’s return.  It says, “ He was still a long way off when his father caught sight of him. His father was so deeply moved with compassion that he ran out to meet him, threw his arms around his neck and kissed him.”

This is a portrait of our heavenly Father and us sinners.  Salvation is the homecoming of human beings to the love of God.  Sin makes human beings homeless and God lonely.

The greatest gift after the gift of life given to us by God is the gift of freedom.  It is a powerful gift because we can say ‘no’ to Him.

2)  Who told you that you were naked?  Gen 3:11

At our baptism we are clothed in the truth and righteousness of God.  When we sin innocence and righteousness go out and malice and shame come in.  Sin makes us naked and homeless and we seek to wrap our nakedness with worldly things.  The things we surround ourselves with indicate that we are naked. We feed our undying desire for God and the emptiness caused by  His absence with things that can never satisfy. 

3) What have you done? Gen 3:13

With the gift of freedom comes responsibility and accountability.  We have to be righteous before God, before ourselves and before others.

II.  BEING CLEAN AND LIVING CLEAN

What is true religion?

God established a covenant with His people and gave them the 10 commandments.  These were a symbol of the greatness of their nation.  They had a God who loved them and made Himself manifest to them through the law.

Moses would say to the people, "What great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to him? What other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?" Exodus 4:6-8

Through the Law they were expected to lead lives which were different, better than their ‘pagan’ neighbours. There was great emphasis on the observance of the Law as a sign of commitment and obedience to God. But, by the time of Jesus, the law had become so hopelessly complicated in its applications that only experts could interpret it in the many practical problems which would arise in daily living and often the law  was being interpreted literally.

When we examine ourselves the question of paramount importance that we ought to ask ourselves is, “Did I hurt someone?”  What is important is our relationship with God and with people.

We must not become bogged down by the letter of the law and forget to love

Isaiah 29:13 Yahweh has said; “These peo­ple approach me in words; they honor me with lip-service, while their hearts stay afar. The worship they offer me is useless, these are no more than traditions and human rules.

III. TRUE MORALITY

Lord what must I do to gain eternal life?  What is the right way?  What is the wrong way?

CCC  2052 "Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?" To the young man who asked this question, Jesus answers first by invoking the necessity to recognize God as the "One there is who is good," as the supreme Good and the source of all good.  Jesus then cites the commandments and sums them up positively saying : "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

CCC 2053 To this first reply Jesus adds a second: "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." This reply does not do away with the first: following Jesus Christ involves keeping the Commandments. the Law has not been abolished, but rather man is invited to rediscover it in the person of his Master who is its perfect fulfillment. 

Jesus calls the rich young man to follow him, in the obedience of a disciple and in the observance of the Commandments, and to that call is linked the call to poverty and chastity.

Each time we ask ourselves what must I do our advise must be, “What is the loving thing to do?”

We must be instruments of communion and peace for Jesus will say to each of us, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'  Mt 25:40

Proclamation of Faith Through the New Evangelization

UNITY CONGRESS V – APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF NORTHERN ARABIA (KUWAIT)

YEAR OF FAITH 11 OCTOBER 2012 – 24 NOVEMBER 2013

DOOR OF FAITH – PORTA FIDEI Pope Benedict XVI

24th September 2012
Proclamation of Faith Through the New Evangelization
His Lordship Bishop Joel Baylon

The Holy Father is ushering the whole Church into a time of particular reflection and rediscovery of the faith so we can be consistent witnesses to the faith.  We are called to return to our faith and to reflect on it.  We are called to look back as well as into our self and ponder our faith life.

MAJOR ELEMENTS OF PORTA FIDEI
 
1)      Our faith life is one which is in communion with God and with the community of the Church.  The door of faith is always open.  God initiates the invitation to us and He reveals Himself to us by drawing us to Himself through faith.  It is not a private experience but is deeply seated in the faith of the Christian community and this is what sustains it.

2)      Faith is the act of believing not just the contents of our faith.  After Abraham, Mary is the most perfect embodiment of obedience. It is an obedience prompted by faith to accept the invitation by God to enter into a relationship with Him.  This is the very foundation of our life.  Faith is seed that needs to grow and bear fruit.  We cannot take our faith for granted.  Today our faith is being challenged as people want a better understanding of what it is that we are called to believe.

3)      Faith as both communion and witness. In his post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation ECCLESIA IN MEDIO ORIENTE, of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to the patriarchs, bishops, cloergy, consecrated persons andthe lay faithful on the Church in the Middle East:  Commmunion and Witness,

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20120914_ecclesia-in-medio-oriente_en.html
The Holy Father writes clearly about what we can do to revive faith as well as how we can witness to it in sometimes conditions that are often hostile.  He urges us to hold on to what we have received and stresses that the more alive we our to our faith the stronger will our communion and witness be because it is born of conviction. The Holy Father reveals a paternal understanding  towards the faithful in this region.
 
The proclamation of faith begins first within our families.  Communion is an important experience.
God calls us to life and transforms and sends us out as witnesses.  
The love of Christ urges us to on.

The purpose of the call to a new evangelization by the late Blessed Pope John Paul II at the dawn of the new millennium is to nourish  ourselves with the Word in order to be servants of the Word.  “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel.”  It is not a new message.  It speaks of Christ who is the unchanging message.

HUNGRY FOR GOD

Three Main Characteristics of the New Evangelization

A)  It is CHRISTOCENTRIC

1. Centered on Jesus Christ as He is the Word of the Father.
2. He is the Answer
3. He is the Teacher
4. He is the Good Shepherd
5. He is our Savior

B)  It is the responsibility of the entire people of God and involves every member of the Church.  

Our baptism makes us witnesses
It calls for inculturation and involvement in human affairs
Widespread secularism competes with God today.  God’s word is muffled and left unheard
“A dictatorship of relativism is being constituted that recognizes nothing as absolute and which only leaves the 'I' and its whims as the ultimate measure."

C) The New Evangelization calls for a missionary spirituality.
     
We are called to enter into the lives of the disadvantaged, the least, the last, the lowest.
We must find Christ in the poor
Intimacy with Christ in prayer
We can become effective witnesses if we walk the talk.
We must not become impatient and must remember that the work of evangelization is God’s work we only participate in it.
We must encounter Jesus Christ in faith in ourselves and in others
We must lead a holy life.  Personal holiness cannot be separated from missionary zeal.
We bear fruit according to His will

What is the New Evangelization?

The New Evangelization calls each of us to deepen our faith, believe in the Gospel message and go forth to proclaim the Gospel. The focus of the New Evangelization calls all Catholics to be evangelized and then go forth to evangelize. In a special way, the New Evangelization is focused on 're-proposing' the Gospel to those who have experienced a crisis of faith.Pope Benedict XVI called for the re-proposing of the Gospel "to those regions awaiting the first evangelization and to those regions where the roots of Christianity are deep but who have experienced a serious crisis of faith due to secularization." The New Evangelization invites each Catholic to renew their relationship with Jesus Christ and his Church.

Why do we need the New Evangelization?

The New Evangelization offers hope. Jesus grants all people rest and comfort from the world's burdens (Mt. 11:28) by offering us the hope of salvation and eternal life. Through the “re-proposing” of the Gospel, the Church seeks to comfort all those who are burdened. The New Evangelization offers the gifts of faith, hope, love and new life in Christ.

Faith, Reason and Certitude: The Modern Question

LINK TO THE THEME SONG FOR THE UNITY CONGRESS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQU2rty-WE0

UNITY CONGRESS V – APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF NORTHERN ARABIA (KUWAIT)

YEAR OF FAITH 11 OCTOBER 2012 – 24 NOVEMBER 2013

DOOR OF FAITH – PORTA FIDEI Pope Benedict XVI

24^th September 2012

Faith, Reason and Certitude: The Modern Question

Rev. Fr. Mathew Vekathanam

Blessed Pope John Paul II released an encyclical letter on faith and reason, entitled Fides et Ratio.*

The encyclical is called "Faith and reason" - not "Faith or reason" - because the two work together. There is a profound unity and harmony that the late Holy Father says are, "like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth." There is a false dichotomy that is commonly posed between faith and reason which leads to an undermining of both when in truth there is no opposition between the two.

 THE ARGUMENT AGAINST FAITH

Science requires that facts be verified and this is done through sense perception as well as experiments that seek to prove that we stand on solid ground.  However, in matters of faith, there can be no certainty instead we are asked to submit ourselves to the authority of the Church through the submission of our minds.  It is through verifiable knowledge alone that we can be led to the freedom of enlightenment.  Religion and monarchy call for submission and in doing so there is an element of slavery present.  The tyranny and bigotry of religion and monarchy perpetuate the enslavement of the mind.  Voltaire said that man will never be free until the last king is strangled by the entrails of the last priest – both must perish.

The reign of reason and the eclipse of religion and God.  The consequence of this ideology was seen in the French Revolution which resulted in the brutal tyranny of the mob.

Bertrand Russell:  Christians hold that their faith does good but other faiths do harm what I maintain is that all faiths do harm.

Faith is a firm belief in something for which there is no evidence whereas when there is evidence no one speaks of faith.  We speak of faith when we substitute emotion for faith.

The prevalent attitude of religious critics is the tendency to give a very distorted portrayal of faith since it is their idea  of faith which cannot be subjected to the scientific method.

Faith they say is the infantile emotion on the level of emotional fanaticism and is ultimately disassociated from reason.

Faith is holding firmly on to something for which there is no evidence it, therefore, degenerates into obscurantism.  It is a case of the blind leading the blind.

REFUTING THE ARGUMENT AGAINST FAITH

John 1:1

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

The general Greek translation of the Word is Logos but it is also translated as reason.

Now let us look again at the above verse replacing the word, ‘WORD’ with the word REASON’

“In the beginning was the Reason and the Reason was with God and the Reason was God.

We humans participate in the Great REASON WITH OUR little, small and finite reason.  Anything against reason is against God.  A religion without reason, a faith without reason is not worthy of belief.

EVIDENCE FOR FAITH

Empirical evidence is based on experience, experiment, observation, and practical application and has formed the basis of man’s knowledge for centuries.  Science, scientific evidence and proof came much later it is therefore not the most prevalent source of certitude.  God created man with reason – He created a rational human being and this is what served him centuries before scientific enlightenment.

There are other types of evidence for faith.

Wisdom of the ancients, traditions, hereditary, inherited wisdom proved by time and therefore is reasonable to believe.  We cannot limit ourselves to scientific evidence.

Testimonial Evidence – reliability of the witness.  Cannot err and has no intention of misleading.  Trusting another is not slavery. Man depends to a great extent on others as a source of knowledge.

In interpersonal relationships belief is possible when we entrust ourselves to each other.  This belief based on trust that what the other has declared or revealed is true.

Intuitive Evidence:

In the field of esthetics – beauty, poetry, love.

The beauty of a rose cannot be proved scientifically in a laboratory.  A piece of art requires the intuitive ability to recognize it as worthy of appreciation.  So also symphonies, music – we know intuitively what is harmonious and melodious and what is not.

Love is not dependant on reason.  The  heart has reasons that the mind does not comprehend.  There are many ways by which we can come to the knowledge of truth.

Reasonable / Rational:

There is a difference between the two.  It is the privilege of human beings to be both reasonable and rational  but rationality alone is unreasonable as it considers human reason as superior.  There are realities above science and human reason.

FAITH:

Normally speaks of God and supernatural realities.  Faith is natural and makes life possible.  It is the most important element of our experience.  It is the driving force of our daily life without which we cannot live.  Faith drives the conviction that all things are possible.  Natural faith drives conviction.  Desire without conviction is day dreaming.  Faith enables us to put our talents into operation.  Faith leads to success. It is the power and drive of conviction which urges us on to achieve our goal.  Without it human progress is impossible.  Faith comes first operation follows.  Science and technology can do nothing by themselves, they are blind, it is what man’s faith directs them to do that makes it possible to produce its effects.

SUPERNATURAL FAITH  in the context of natural faith.  There are areas of desire that are beyond human limits.  Life can be made better but not perfect.  There is within man an infinite horizon.  He is never satisfied and is constantly wanting more.  His cravings go beyond anything that the world can offer or satisfy.

The craving for God is in every human person.  God is not within a man’s natural disposition only God can make Himself availab"MsoNoSpacing" style="font-fafor us ignites our quest for him.  We are created for God.  The self giving of God is at His disposal, His revelation of Himself. His self-giving is at His initiation.  Faith is trust in God.  The promise of God is the giving of Himself which is engraved in our hearts by our quest for Him.  The revelation of God’s love becomes visible in the incarnation of His Son.

Trust in the promise of God which is engraved in our hearts is supernatural faith.  Nothing fully satisfies, GOD ALONE SUFFICES.  We enter into a personal relationship with God who makes this relationship with Himself possible.  We cannot escape this experience. 

REASON AND FAITH (Fides Ratio)

Faith and reason cannot be separated they are as two sides of  a coin.  When reason is devoid of faith it becomes unreasonable.  When faith is stripped of reason and denies man’s natural intellectual ability it becomes groundless and leads only to personal preference thus the very possibility of believing anything or anyone is destroyed.  Reason and faith go together as reason prepares the way to faith and lays the foundation for it which makes revelation believable/credible thus reason becomes the common ground between believers and unbelievers.

Faith without reason withers into myth or superstition.  Without reason, faith is left with only feelings and experience and thus loses its universality.

*http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_15101998_fides-et-ratio_en.html

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xvi_motu-proprio_20111011_porta-fidei_en.html