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The Most Revd Eamon Martin, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, delivered the following homily at Choral Evensong in Saint Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Armagh, on Sunday, 8th October, to mark the 500th anniversary of Luther’s theses.
Archbishop Martin presented three ways of reconciling the Reformation by emphasising … “the importance of friendship and trust” and “a shared encounter with Christ in the sacred scriptures and in prayer,” and by “strengthening our shared Christian witness on the island of Ireland.”
Homily of Archbishop Eamon Martin
Near the Lateran square in Rome there’s a statue of Saint Francis of Assisi holding out his arms towards the Basilica of Saint John. Tourists try to line up their cameras so that the picture seems to show Saint Francis holding up the great Cathedral. The sculpture commemorates a story of Pope Innocent III who in a dream saw a little friar supporting the church which was about to collapse! It reminds us of Saint Francis’ own vision in the Church of San Damiano in Assisi where he heard the Lord calling him: “Go and rebuild my Church since it is falling into ruin”.
When I reflect on that phrase: “ecclesia semper reformanda – the Church, always in need of being reformed” – I often think of Saint Francis, an insignificant friar who forsook a future of wealth and power to witness instead to a simple life of poverty, a life motivated by “true faith, certain hope and perfect charity”.
Just before his election at the conclave in 2013 Pope Francis warned against a self–referential Church. The Church, he often says, must resist the temptation to become closed in on herself out of fear or prejudice, thinking ‘we’ve always done it this way’. Instead the Church must be prepared to go out, inspired by true faith, bringing certain hope and living in perfect charity. The missionary impulse, Pope Francis says, is ‘capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channelled for the evangelisation of today’s world rather than for her self–preservation’ (Evangelii Gaudium 27 – The Joy of the Gospel).
In this spirit of pastoral conversion and mission, Pope Francis himself travelled to the Cathedral of Lund in Sweden on 31 October 2016 for a joint Catholic–Lutheran prayer service to begin the five hundredth anniversary year of Luther’s “Ninety–five Theses”. It was an historic, joyful and surprising moment – surprising firstly, to think that the Holy Father had been invited to such a significant Reformation event, and secondly, that he had accepted!
In that same spirit, I am deeply grateful for the invitation of Archbishop Richard Clarke and Dean Gregory Dunstan to join you here today. Let me share with you some lines from the joint declaration in Lund that was signed by Pope Francis and Bishop Munib Yunan, President of the World Lutheran Federation. They declared:
“While we are profoundly thankful for the spiritual and theological gifts received through the Reformation, we also confess and lament before Christ that Lutherans and Catholics have wounded the visible unity of the Church. Theological differences were accompanied by prejudice and conflicts, and religion was instrumentalized for political ends. Our common faith in Jesus Christ and our baptism demand of us a daily conversion, by which we cast off the historical disagreements and conflicts that impede the ministry of reconciliation. While the past cannot be changed, what is remembered and how it is remembered can be transformed”.
The witness of Pope Francis, Bishop Yunan and many others during this anniversary year encourages all of us to find ways of ‘reconciling the Reformation’. This afternoon I would like to present three ways of bridging, or reconciling the Reformation, and offer some final thoughts regarding our particular situation on the island of Ireland.
Firstly, I want to emphasise the importance of personal friendship and trust in helping to bridge and reconcile the Reformation. This trust is founded on the reality that what unites us is so much greater than what divides us. We share the conviction that ‘God loved us first’, with His free gift of grace and merciful love, and before any human response that we might have given. Sometimes we underplay the extent of agreement that exists across our traditions on key doctrinal issues, including the core issue of justification which triggered so much of the polemic and mutual condemnations of the Reformation period. That is, of course, not to deny that there remain important differences between us – for example over issues like Church, Eucharist, ministry and the papacy. However, changing the paradigm from disagreement and difference to one of friendship and trust, frees up our theologians to debate and clarify the areas of difference that merit deeper understanding and dialogue. Perhaps one of the greatest obstacles to reconciling the Reformation is possessiveness and even fear – the fear of letting go of our differences; fear of losing something of who we are in the exchange. It is tempting, sometimes, to remain closed in on ourselves – wrapped in the cosy comfort–blanket of ‘the way we’ve always been’.
The Gospel, however, shakes us out our complacency; it challenges us to deepen ‘true faith’ in a culture of openness and dialogue which allows us to learn from, and be enriched by, each other. (Archbishop Richard has often said to me that we should try to do together those things which we feel we do not have to do separately).
The second bridge I offer towards reconciling the Reformation is that of a shared encounter with Christ in the sacred scriptures and in prayer. Saint Jerome was convinced that “ignorance of the scriptures is also ignorance of Christ”. During the period surrounding Luther’s Reformation, Christians rediscovered the centrality of God’s Word in the life and mission of the Church. The apostle John, in his first letter, speaks about encountering Christ in his Word; he describes ‘hearing’, ‘seeing’, ‘touching’ and ‘looking upon’ the Word who is life (1 John 1:1).
Knowing this, we might return more often in prayer to the Word of God in a quest for greater reconciliation. Through shared study of God’s word, combined with prayerful reading and reflection, the Holy Spirit can guide us to overcome prejudice and promote greater harmony and understanding.
We cannot however allow the Word of God to remain shut up within us, or resort to individualism in our interpretation of it. Jesus’ moving prayer to the Father: “that they may be one, so that the world may believe” (John 17:21) promises us that as we grow closer to Christ in his Word and in prayer, we draw closer to each other. Our shared immersion in the Word, and guided discernment of its message for us, inspires us to prayer and onwards to ‘perfect charity’ – a merciful outreach towards the poor and marginalised.
That brings me to my third suggestion for reconciling the Reformation – strengthening our shared Christian witness on the island of Ireland.
The role of religion and faith in Irish society, north and south, has clearly changed dramatically, influenced by the process of secularisation and evidenced by a steady decline in Church attendance and in vocations to ministry. More and more people are now living their lives without any reference to God or to religious belief.
It is in this environment that all of us as members of Christian traditions are being called to courageously “go out of ourselves” to engage in mission. Our wounded world needs so much to be healed and enlightened by the Gospel, and we are all called to be prophetic in shining the light and truth of the Gospel into some of the trickiest and most sensitive issues of our time. All around us we see people discarded by society, or starved of purpose, ‘robbed of hope’, or simply confused by the superficiality of what is on offer to them. Jesus in our hearts is calling on all of us Christians: ‘give them something to eat!’
The Second Vatican Council document Gaudium et Spes puts it this way: “The future of humanity rests on those who are capable of handing on to the coming generations reasons for living and hoping.” (11)
Some would react to us: ‘Christians, keep your faith to yourself, save it for the privacy of your home and your place of worship; stay out of the public square’.
But our faith in God’s love for us, and our personal relationship with Jesus compels us to participate in the public sphere.
I am convinced that in the midst of an increasingly secular world, we in the various Christian traditions are called to combine our efforts out of our ‘certain hope’ for the world. We therefore present to public discourse our consistent Christian conviction about the sacredness of all human life and the dignity of the person, about the centrality of the family, about solidarity and the need for a fair distribution of goods in the world, about a society that is marked by peace, justice and care for all, especially the most vulnerable.
Of course we must find new ways of presenting our sincerely held perspectives alongside those of other faiths and none in conversations about significant issues and values. Such engagement by people of faith is made all the stronger if we do it together and, where possible, when we have a unified voice on the key ethical issues of our time.
To conclude, I recognise, sadly, that many people looking in at us from outside, and particularly on this island, see a history of division and sectarianism, of intolerance, mutual recriminations, and open hostility within the Christian family – this is a source of scandal, and something which has dimmed the light of the Gospel.
We people of faith, in the various Christian traditions on the island of Ireland, share the responsibility of leading the way in transforming relationships and in healing the legacy and pain of our troubled past.
Allow me to return to the joint declaration of Pope Francis and Lutheran Bishop Yunan in Lund this time last year. I quote: “We pray for the healing of our wounds and of the memories that cloud our view of one another. We emphatically reject all hatred and violence, past and present, especially that expressed in the name of religion. Today, we hear God’s command to set aside all conflict. We recognize that we are freed by grace to move towards the communion to which God continually calls us.”
My brothers and sisters, in the end we are all faced with choices. Peace is a choice, forgiveness is a choice, tolerance and respect – each of these is a choice. ‘Freed by grace’ we can choose like Saint Francis to support and rebuild God’s Church in true faith, certain hope and perfect charity; or we can choose to remain closed to God’s promptings, shut up inside ourselves, self–referential, growing more and more irrelevant to the wounded world around us.
This challenge is not simply one for Church leaders but for all Christian believers – in our families and communities, workplaces and recreation – to move from conflict to greater communion, together bringing the joy of the Gospel into our troubled world.
North Carolina Bishop Hope Morgan Ward presides over debate on "Rule 44," a process for small group discernment, at the 2016 United Methodist General Conference in Portland, Ore. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS
Eight men commence ministry for the Church
Story and photos by Ambria Hammel | Nov. 15, 2010 | The Catholic Sun
A baptism at St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish in Cave Creek last week marked a double cause for celebration for one man in particular.
The waters of baptism signaled the first step of a lifelong journey in faith for the 2-month-old boy and the first time the celebrant — the infant’s grandfather — administered the sacrament as a permanent deacon for the Church.
One day prior, Deacon Robert Torigian was among eight men, all married with children, whom Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted ordained to the diaconate Nov. 6 at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral. They join 239 permanent deacons serving the Phoenix Diocese from the altar, within parish ministries and in the greater community.
“I know that each of them has what it takes to be an effective, caring deacon and a powerful witness of Jesus, the Servant of all,” said Deacon Doug Bogart, associate director of education and formation for the diaconate.
He described them as smart and creative. The new deacons, ages 42-60, have a strong commitment to service, particularly to the bishop, their parishes and to the poor, Deacon Bogart added.
Bishop Olmsted told a crowded cathedral filled with extended family, friends, priests and fellow deacons that deacons represent the charity of the Church. Therefore, he said, they will see the new deacons as disciples seeking “not to be served, but to serve.”
Then he spoke directly to his eight newest “sons.”
“You receive sacred authority to teach in the name of the Church. Such teachings are badly needed,” the bishop said. He cautioned them to resist the temptation to omit any teaching that may not be popular.
“Hand it on faithfully in its organic wholeness,” the bishop said.
One by one all eight deacon candidates knelt in front of the bishop, placed their hands in his and promised their fidelity.
Then the entire church offered a litany of supplication while the candidates fully prostrated themselves down the cathedral’s center aisle. It marked their act of submission.
When they got up, the new deacons spread themselves along the foot of the altar where priests vested them for the first time. Jesuit Father Dave Klein vested his brother Deacon Tom Klein, who will be the only deacon serving St. Francis Xavier Parish.
Deacon Klein also cited his other brother, a St. Thomas the Apostle parishioner and longtime Vincentian, as influential in his discernment.
“It’s been a lifetime evolution for me. There was no lightning bolt moment,” Deacon Klein said in his final hour before ordination.
Deacon Klein, who also works as a trial lawyer, will head the parish’s busy marriage preparation program. He hopes to encourage parishioners of all ages to become more active in the Church.
Once vested, the deacons knelt a final time in front of Bishop Olmsted as he symbolically handed each of them the Book of the Gospels.
“Now you are not only hearers of the Gospels, but also its ministers,” the bishop said.
The deacons finished their ordination Mass from the altar and helped distribute the Eucharist.
Hope for the future
“We, today, witnessed the living faith being handed on from generation to generation so that the Church of Christ will never be without the sacraments of the three holy orders of the Church,” Bishop Eduardo A. Nevares said during a brief program at a post-ordination reception.
Providing for the future of the Church, especially by administering the sacrament of baptism, is what several new deacons looked forward to in their first weeks of ordained ministry. One had eight baptisms lined up during his first week.
“That is the joy and source of hope,” said Deacon David Runyan, a retired meteorologist who will serve St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Chandler and El Cristo Rey Parish at the Grand Canyon in the summertime.
Deacon Torigian, who baptized his grandson, plans to remind older Catholics of their baptismal obligation to come to know and serve the Lord, he said.
The new deacon and longtime physician assistant should know a thing or two about service. He devoted so much time to pastoral ministry in his native Detroit that several deacons invited him to consider joining the diaconate. He finished formation in Phoenix.
Outside of parish work at St. Gabriel, Deacon Torigian will also help the diocesan Office of Natural Family Planning develop curriculum for Catholic high school students.
Deacon Jim Gall, who for a while didn’t know what a deacon was but always liked to serve others, also looks forward to living the deacon motto of servant leadership.
He gained a deeper prayer life during the formation process. It’s helped him see things with spiritual eyes instead of reacting based on temperament, he said.
“I could never go back to the way I was,” Deacon Gall said.
Most new deacons said they gained a deeper spirituality and strengthened their marriage and family relationships during formation.
“I just thank God that I finally said yes,” said Deacon Al Homiski, a parish administrator at St. Bernadette in Scottsdale. He admitted putting off repeated invitations to join the diaconate for years.
The five-year formation process in Phoenix involves two years of weekly Kino classes, monthly diaconate meetings with candidates and their wives, practicums including at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, and twice daily prayer. The experience is enough to impact the entire family.
Deacon Ron Johnson saw a noticeable change in the spiritual lives of his three children as well during formation. The psychologist first felt called to the diaconate during a Cursillo weekend seven years ago and is looking forward to being the first Spanish-speaking deacon in the Flagstaff area.
He’ll also travel with Fr. Pat Mowrer throughout the north deanery supporting other parishes and missions.
Deacon Jason Robinson said he was always attracted to serving the Church. He applied to the priesthood after high school and entered further discernment.
He soon met his wife through a singles ministry and continued to search for his niche in the Church.
“I had this passion for the Church kind of from the inside, yet I was a working man,” the software developer said, “so I was always a bridge.”
He thought about entering the diaconate later in life. A personal invitation to the diaconate expedited his formation and ordination.
His ministry will include prison and Native American outreach plus parish work.
“Thank you for responding to God,” Deacon Jim Trant, director of the diaconate told the diocese’s newest deacons, “for doing and acting upon His will.”
More: www.catholicsun.org
ORDERING INFORMATION
Looking for a glossy/matte copy of this photo? Please call 602-354-2140 or send an e-mail for ordering information. Please note the photo's title when ordering. Download the order form here.
Copyright 2006-2010 The Catholic Sun. All rights reserved. This photo and all photos on this Web site credited to The Catholic Sun are provided for personal use only and may not be published, broadcasted, transmitted or sold without the expressed consent of The Catholic Sun.
Watching a recording of the opening of the Conclave... With prayers that the Holy Spirit will guide the Cardinal Electors in their discernment of a Pope to lead the Church in the 21st century.
Bishop Hope Morgan Ward watches as votes are tallied showing the defeat of "Rule 44," a process for small group discernment, at the 2016 United Methodist General Conference in Portland, Ore. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS
Bishop Olmsted ordains diocese’s newest priest
By Ambria Hammel | June 2, 2012 | The Catholic Sun
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted ordained Dan Vanyo to the priesthood June 2 at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral.
He joins 254 diocesan and religious priests who serve the Phoenix Diocese by offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, conferring the sacraments and overseeing aspects of parish life. Many of them were on hand to offer congratulations to their newest brother.
That included a handful of local priests and some from St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver who played key roles in Fr. Vanyo’s discernment. Fr. Vanyo, 43, began discerning his call to the priesthood at age 32 when a friend through a local Catholic singles group was discerning religious life.
“I never discerned anything,” Fr. Vanyo said. He researched some religious orders, but it wasn’t until a day for prospective diocesan seminarians that he reached a peaceful conclusion.
“They need help here,” Fr. Vanyo, then a hospice nurse, recalled thinking. “That’s when I gave the Lord my fiat. If you open the door, I’ll walk through it.”
He ran into Fr. Chauncey Winkler, who he knew from the local Catholic Retreat for Young Singles group and told him, “I think this is where I could be of some help.”
He entered the seminary in 2005 and was among a reported 487 ordinands nationally who will join the ranks of priesthood this year. Bishop Olmsted read from the Ordination Rite during Mass.
He reminded the crowd, including family and friends who filled the first row on both sides, that Jesus chose certain disciples to carry out publicly in His name, a priestly office. He reminded the diocese’s newest priest of his roles of Christ the teacher, priest and shepherd.
“Carry out the ministry of Christ the priest with constant joy and love,” the bishop said. He also challenged Fr. Vanyo to bring the people together in one family. That’s a challenge the priest plans to meet in his new home, Queen of Peace Parish in Mesa. He will serve as parochial vicar starting July 1.
“I am most excited that I will be able to hear people’s confessions. When the Holy Spirit touches the hearts of the penitents with His grace in the confessional, I will be blessed to be a witness to it,” Fr. Vanyo said.
In addition to a parish presence, Fr. Vanyo will serve as chaplain at Seton Catholic Preparatory High School in Chandler. Fr. Vanyo will offer his first liturgy, a Mass of Thanksgiving, at his home parish Holy Cross in Mesa, at 10 a.m. June 3.
More: www.catholicsun.org
ORDERING INFORMATION
Looking for a glossy/matte copy of this photo? Please call 602-354-2140 or send an e-mail for ordering information. Please note the photo's title when ordering. Download the order form here.
Copyright 2006-2012 The Catholic Sun. All rights reserved. This photo and all photos on this Web site credited to The Catholic Sun are provided for personal use only and may not be published, broadcasted, transmitted or sold without the expressed consent of The Catholic Sun.
Bishop Hope Morgan Ward (right) presides over debate on "Rule 44," a process for small group discernment, at the 2016 United Methodist General Conference in Portland, Ore. Assisting her is the Rev. L. Fitzgerald Reist, secretary of the General Conference. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS
Bishop Olmsted ordains diocese’s newest priest
By Ambria Hammel | June 2, 2012 | The Catholic Sun
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted ordained Dan Vanyo to the priesthood June 2 at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral.
He joins 254 diocesan and religious priests who serve the Phoenix Diocese by offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, conferring the sacraments and overseeing aspects of parish life. Many of them were on hand to offer congratulations to their newest brother.
That included a handful of local priests and some from St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver who played key roles in Fr. Vanyo’s discernment. Fr. Vanyo, 43, began discerning his call to the priesthood at age 32 when a friend through a local Catholic singles group was discerning religious life.
“I never discerned anything,” Fr. Vanyo said. He researched some religious orders, but it wasn’t until a day for prospective diocesan seminarians that he reached a peaceful conclusion.
“They need help here,” Fr. Vanyo, then a hospice nurse, recalled thinking. “That’s when I gave the Lord my fiat. If you open the door, I’ll walk through it.”
He ran into Fr. Chauncey Winkler, who he knew from the local Catholic Retreat for Young Singles group and told him, “I think this is where I could be of some help.”
He entered the seminary in 2005 and was among a reported 487 ordinands nationally who will join the ranks of priesthood this year. Bishop Olmsted read from the Ordination Rite during Mass.
He reminded the crowd, including family and friends who filled the first row on both sides, that Jesus chose certain disciples to carry out publicly in His name, a priestly office. He reminded the diocese’s newest priest of his roles of Christ the teacher, priest and shepherd.
“Carry out the ministry of Christ the priest with constant joy and love,” the bishop said. He also challenged Fr. Vanyo to bring the people together in one family. That’s a challenge the priest plans to meet in his new home, Queen of Peace Parish in Mesa. He will serve as parochial vicar starting July 1.
“I am most excited that I will be able to hear people’s confessions. When the Holy Spirit touches the hearts of the penitents with His grace in the confessional, I will be blessed to be a witness to it,” Fr. Vanyo said.
In addition to a parish presence, Fr. Vanyo will serve as chaplain at Seton Catholic Preparatory High School in Chandler. Fr. Vanyo will offer his first liturgy, a Mass of Thanksgiving, at his home parish Holy Cross in Mesa, at 10 a.m. June 3.
More: www.catholicsun.org
ORDERING INFORMATION
Looking for a glossy/matte copy of this photo? Please call 602-354-2140 or send an e-mail for ordering information. Please note the photo's title when ordering. Download the order form here.
Copyright 2006-2012 The Catholic Sun. All rights reserved. This photo and all photos on this Web site credited to The Catholic Sun are provided for personal use only and may not be published, broadcasted, transmitted or sold without the expressed consent of The Catholic Sun.
Outlining a Theory of General Creativity .. on a 'Pataphysical way
^ Obscura's selfme exposed to my tags-map extracted from flickr inspector memory !
"THE ALLEGORY OF CAMERA & OBSCURA".
Once upon a time there was two small dark boxes, illuminated with certainties, two small empty heads, full of hope, and whose sensitive soul was waiting until the external light penetrates them to dazzle them with an image of the "True Reality”. At the proper time, they finally opened.
Camera in pursuit of the Absolute, wanted all to see without any reflection. All, absolutely All ! Then, at the proper time, it decided to be totally overcome by the "True Entropic Reality", all its sensitivity offered to intensely feel everything, without any prejudice, without thinking one second with all these words which darkens the mind more than they enlighten it. It installed a hypersensitive film which it will push in spite of its coarse grain. It tuned her diaphragm to the maximum aperture, a long time, and gave up itself to ecstatically feel the whole true light of the whole True Entropic Reality.
Obscura in quest of the Universal Knowledge, wanted all to know precisely, it wanted all to understand and memorize with a maximum of details and discernment. Then at the proper time, it decided to focuse a depth of field as deep as possible, to choose a pause time as short as possible, to be sure to get the highest neatness of the True Real Universal Memory. It installed a hyperfine grain film which it will develop energetically to compensate its low sensitivity. It tuned the aperture at less than anything, and adjusted the pause time at an infinitesimal fraction of nothing.
The moral of the story ? All the photographers will say it to you !
Camera obtained the most luminous image which is at ounce the fuzziest one, an immaculate uniform Absolute Entropic white 100%blank.
Obscura obtained the finest image which is at ounce the darkest one, an immaculate uniform Universal black 100%blank.
From now on, when it chooses an aperture and a time of pause suitable to create less blind images, Camera finally formed in it several suspicions of True Reality. They are images as poor of Absolute Sensitivity as weak of Universal Knowledge, but they are marvellous and magic images, illuminated by unexpected shapes and colors.
In the neighbourhood of the Absolute Entropy, each cell of Camera opens like a white sapphire prism dispersing and breaking up the Entropic light in colored iridescences. From her cells juxtaposition are emerging lines and shapes, metamorphosing the dazzling Entropic light in simple but unknowable .. shapes, only lacking some .. words to name them.
From now on, when it chooses an aperture and a time of pause suitable to create less blind images, Obscura finally formed in it several suspicions of True Reality. They are images as poor of Universal Knowledge as weak of Absolute Sensitivity, but they are marvellous and magic images, rich of ambiguous signs and senses.
In the neighbourhood of the Universal Memory, each cell of Obscura opens like a black sapphire crystal dispersing and breaking up the universal darkness in colored enlightening sparks. From her cells juxtapositions are emerging now vowels, consonants and others signs, metamorphosing the gloomy universal darkness in simple but unknowable .. words, only lacking some .. shapes to imagine them.
Refer to The median vacuum semiotics : Idiom nearby Absolute Entropy.
Eight men commence ministry for the Church
Story and photos by Ambria Hammel | Nov. 15, 2010 | The Catholic Sun
A baptism at St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish in Cave Creek last week marked a double cause for celebration for one man in particular.
The waters of baptism signaled the first step of a lifelong journey in faith for the 2-month-old boy and the first time the celebrant — the infant’s grandfather — administered the sacrament as a permanent deacon for the Church.
One day prior, Deacon Robert Torigian was among eight men, all married with children, whom Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted ordained to the diaconate Nov. 6 at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral. They join 239 permanent deacons serving the Phoenix Diocese from the altar, within parish ministries and in the greater community.
“I know that each of them has what it takes to be an effective, caring deacon and a powerful witness of Jesus, the Servant of all,” said Deacon Doug Bogart, associate director of education and formation for the diaconate.
He described them as smart and creative. The new deacons, ages 42-60, have a strong commitment to service, particularly to the bishop, their parishes and to the poor, Deacon Bogart added.
Bishop Olmsted told a crowded cathedral filled with extended family, friends, priests and fellow deacons that deacons represent the charity of the Church. Therefore, he said, they will see the new deacons as disciples seeking “not to be served, but to serve.”
Then he spoke directly to his eight newest “sons.”
“You receive sacred authority to teach in the name of the Church. Such teachings are badly needed,” the bishop said. He cautioned them to resist the temptation to omit any teaching that may not be popular.
“Hand it on faithfully in its organic wholeness,” the bishop said.
One by one all eight deacon candidates knelt in front of the bishop, placed their hands in his and promised their fidelity.
Then the entire church offered a litany of supplication while the candidates fully prostrated themselves down the cathedral’s center aisle. It marked their act of submission.
When they got up, the new deacons spread themselves along the foot of the altar where priests vested them for the first time. Jesuit Father Dave Klein vested his brother Deacon Tom Klein, who will be the only deacon serving St. Francis Xavier Parish.
Deacon Klein also cited his other brother, a St. Thomas the Apostle parishioner and longtime Vincentian, as influential in his discernment.
“It’s been a lifetime evolution for me. There was no lightning bolt moment,” Deacon Klein said in his final hour before ordination.
Deacon Klein, who also works as a trial lawyer, will head the parish’s busy marriage preparation program. He hopes to encourage parishioners of all ages to become more active in the Church.
Once vested, the deacons knelt a final time in front of Bishop Olmsted as he symbolically handed each of them the Book of the Gospels.
“Now you are not only hearers of the Gospels, but also its ministers,” the bishop said.
The deacons finished their ordination Mass from the altar and helped distribute the Eucharist.
Hope for the future
“We, today, witnessed the living faith being handed on from generation to generation so that the Church of Christ will never be without the sacraments of the three holy orders of the Church,” Bishop Eduardo A. Nevares said during a brief program at a post-ordination reception.
Providing for the future of the Church, especially by administering the sacrament of baptism, is what several new deacons looked forward to in their first weeks of ordained ministry. One had eight baptisms lined up during his first week.
“That is the joy and source of hope,” said Deacon David Runyan, a retired meteorologist who will serve St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Chandler and El Cristo Rey Parish at the Grand Canyon in the summertime.
Deacon Torigian, who baptized his grandson, plans to remind older Catholics of their baptismal obligation to come to know and serve the Lord, he said.
The new deacon and longtime physician assistant should know a thing or two about service. He devoted so much time to pastoral ministry in his native Detroit that several deacons invited him to consider joining the diaconate. He finished formation in Phoenix.
Outside of parish work at St. Gabriel, Deacon Torigian will also help the diocesan Office of Natural Family Planning develop curriculum for Catholic high school students.
Deacon Jim Gall, who for a while didn’t know what a deacon was but always liked to serve others, also looks forward to living the deacon motto of servant leadership.
He gained a deeper prayer life during the formation process. It’s helped him see things with spiritual eyes instead of reacting based on temperament, he said.
“I could never go back to the way I was,” Deacon Gall said.
Most new deacons said they gained a deeper spirituality and strengthened their marriage and family relationships during formation.
“I just thank God that I finally said yes,” said Deacon Al Homiski, a parish administrator at St. Bernadette in Scottsdale. He admitted putting off repeated invitations to join the diaconate for years.
The five-year formation process in Phoenix involves two years of weekly Kino classes, monthly diaconate meetings with candidates and their wives, practicums including at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, and twice daily prayer. The experience is enough to impact the entire family.
Deacon Ron Johnson saw a noticeable change in the spiritual lives of his three children as well during formation. The psychologist first felt called to the diaconate during a Cursillo weekend seven years ago and is looking forward to being the first Spanish-speaking deacon in the Flagstaff area.
He’ll also travel with Fr. Pat Mowrer throughout the north deanery supporting other parishes and missions.
Deacon Jason Robinson said he was always attracted to serving the Church. He applied to the priesthood after high school and entered further discernment.
He soon met his wife through a singles ministry and continued to search for his niche in the Church.
“I had this passion for the Church kind of from the inside, yet I was a working man,” the software developer said, “so I was always a bridge.”
He thought about entering the diaconate later in life. A personal invitation to the diaconate expedited his formation and ordination.
His ministry will include prison and Native American outreach plus parish work.
“Thank you for responding to God,” Deacon Jim Trant, director of the diaconate told the diocese’s newest deacons, “for doing and acting upon His will.”
More: www.catholicsun.org
ORDERING INFORMATION
Looking for a glossy/matte copy of this photo? Please call 602-354-2140 or send an e-mail for ordering information. Please note the photo's title when ordering. Download the order form here.
Copyright 2006-2010 The Catholic Sun. All rights reserved. This photo and all photos on this Web site credited to The Catholic Sun are provided for personal use only and may not be published, broadcasted, transmitted or sold without the expressed consent of The Catholic Sun.
Eight men commence ministry for the Church
Story and photos by Ambria Hammel | Nov. 15, 2010 | The Catholic Sun
A baptism at St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish in Cave Creek last week marked a double cause for celebration for one man in particular.
The waters of baptism signaled the first step of a lifelong journey in faith for the 2-month-old boy and the first time the celebrant — the infant’s grandfather — administered the sacrament as a permanent deacon for the Church.
One day prior, Deacon Robert Torigian was among eight men, all married with children, whom Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted ordained to the diaconate Nov. 6 at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral. They join 239 permanent deacons serving the Phoenix Diocese from the altar, within parish ministries and in the greater community.
“I know that each of them has what it takes to be an effective, caring deacon and a powerful witness of Jesus, the Servant of all,” said Deacon Doug Bogart, associate director of education and formation for the diaconate.
He described them as smart and creative. The new deacons, ages 42-60, have a strong commitment to service, particularly to the bishop, their parishes and to the poor, Deacon Bogart added.
Bishop Olmsted told a crowded cathedral filled with extended family, friends, priests and fellow deacons that deacons represent the charity of the Church. Therefore, he said, they will see the new deacons as disciples seeking “not to be served, but to serve.”
Then he spoke directly to his eight newest “sons.”
“You receive sacred authority to teach in the name of the Church. Such teachings are badly needed,” the bishop said. He cautioned them to resist the temptation to omit any teaching that may not be popular.
“Hand it on faithfully in its organic wholeness,” the bishop said.
One by one all eight deacon candidates knelt in front of the bishop, placed their hands in his and promised their fidelity.
Then the entire church offered a litany of supplication while the candidates fully prostrated themselves down the cathedral’s center aisle. It marked their act of submission.
When they got up, the new deacons spread themselves along the foot of the altar where priests vested them for the first time. Jesuit Father Dave Klein vested his brother Deacon Tom Klein, who will be the only deacon serving St. Francis Xavier Parish.
Deacon Klein also cited his other brother, a St. Thomas the Apostle parishioner and longtime Vincentian, as influential in his discernment.
“It’s been a lifetime evolution for me. There was no lightning bolt moment,” Deacon Klein said in his final hour before ordination.
Deacon Klein, who also works as a trial lawyer, will head the parish’s busy marriage preparation program. He hopes to encourage parishioners of all ages to become more active in the Church.
Once vested, the deacons knelt a final time in front of Bishop Olmsted as he symbolically handed each of them the Book of the Gospels.
“Now you are not only hearers of the Gospels, but also its ministers,” the bishop said.
The deacons finished their ordination Mass from the altar and helped distribute the Eucharist.
Hope for the future
“We, today, witnessed the living faith being handed on from generation to generation so that the Church of Christ will never be without the sacraments of the three holy orders of the Church,” Bishop Eduardo A. Nevares said during a brief program at a post-ordination reception.
Providing for the future of the Church, especially by administering the sacrament of baptism, is what several new deacons looked forward to in their first weeks of ordained ministry. One had eight baptisms lined up during his first week.
“That is the joy and source of hope,” said Deacon David Runyan, a retired meteorologist who will serve St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Chandler and El Cristo Rey Parish at the Grand Canyon in the summertime.
Deacon Torigian, who baptized his grandson, plans to remind older Catholics of their baptismal obligation to come to know and serve the Lord, he said.
The new deacon and longtime physician assistant should know a thing or two about service. He devoted so much time to pastoral ministry in his native Detroit that several deacons invited him to consider joining the diaconate. He finished formation in Phoenix.
Outside of parish work at St. Gabriel, Deacon Torigian will also help the diocesan Office of Natural Family Planning develop curriculum for Catholic high school students.
Deacon Jim Gall, who for a while didn’t know what a deacon was but always liked to serve others, also looks forward to living the deacon motto of servant leadership.
He gained a deeper prayer life during the formation process. It’s helped him see things with spiritual eyes instead of reacting based on temperament, he said.
“I could never go back to the way I was,” Deacon Gall said.
Most new deacons said they gained a deeper spirituality and strengthened their marriage and family relationships during formation.
“I just thank God that I finally said yes,” said Deacon Al Homiski, a parish administrator at St. Bernadette in Scottsdale. He admitted putting off repeated invitations to join the diaconate for years.
The five-year formation process in Phoenix involves two years of weekly Kino classes, monthly diaconate meetings with candidates and their wives, practicums including at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, and twice daily prayer. The experience is enough to impact the entire family.
Deacon Ron Johnson saw a noticeable change in the spiritual lives of his three children as well during formation. The psychologist first felt called to the diaconate during a Cursillo weekend seven years ago and is looking forward to being the first Spanish-speaking deacon in the Flagstaff area.
He’ll also travel with Fr. Pat Mowrer throughout the north deanery supporting other parishes and missions.
Deacon Jason Robinson said he was always attracted to serving the Church. He applied to the priesthood after high school and entered further discernment.
He soon met his wife through a singles ministry and continued to search for his niche in the Church.
“I had this passion for the Church kind of from the inside, yet I was a working man,” the software developer said, “so I was always a bridge.”
He thought about entering the diaconate later in life. A personal invitation to the diaconate expedited his formation and ordination.
His ministry will include prison and Native American outreach plus parish work.
“Thank you for responding to God,” Deacon Jim Trant, director of the diaconate told the diocese’s newest deacons, “for doing and acting upon His will.”
More: www.catholicsun.org
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On several occasions during 2005, an image with a miraculous cross appeared on our backyard fence. Again in 2006, the same luminous cross was visible on Palm Sunday. Through discernment, I believe it's a miraculous sign from heaven of God's angelic shield of protection through the intercession of Saint Michael the Archangel. When the image first manifested, our family had been encountering adversity, and some difficulties with our son. However, the issues have since mitigated through God's spiritual presence. When encountering obstacles, prayer can have amazing and powerful results!
My wife Teresa and daughter Lauren checked windows and rooms for reflections and found none. The interesting point is that the sun was rising behind the fence in the east, while the image appears on the front, as if the sun is shining onto the fence from the west!
In a problematic world of derision, our faith in prayer is necessary for God's divine intervention and protection. God's plan is designed to help validate His existence to humanity, especially at times when circumstances appear to be hopeless. The Bible conveys the following in John, Chapter 4, Verse 48: Jesus said, “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe.”
The following scripture is conveyed in Revelation, Chapter 20, Verse 1 and 2: "Then I saw an angel come down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a heavy chain. He seized the dragon, the ancient serpent ... and tied it up for a thousand years."
I supplied several prints of the image to Father Richard Tartaglia of Saint Mary's Church, Denville, New Jersey (USA). I've known Pastor Richard for over a decade as my spiritual advisor. Pastor Richard is a source for imparting testimonial on behalf of the Lenar Family in connection to the spiritual events occurring in my life (Loci B. Lenar).
Update: The image of the Cross again appeared on our property on Monday, September 3, 2007.
(The phenomenon was photographed with my HP PhotoSmart 945 digital camera in August of 2005.)
For updates on signs, wonders, and miracles of faith, please visit the following links:
(Photograph © 2005 Loci B. Lenar - Registration Number: VAu687-513)
Bishop Olmsted ordains diocese’s newest priest
By Ambria Hammel | June 2, 2012 | The Catholic Sun
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted ordained Dan Vanyo to the priesthood June 2 at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral.
He joins 254 diocesan and religious priests who serve the Phoenix Diocese by offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, conferring the sacraments and overseeing aspects of parish life. Many of them were on hand to offer congratulations to their newest brother.
That included a handful of local priests and some from St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver who played key roles in Fr. Vanyo’s discernment. Fr. Vanyo, 43, began discerning his call to the priesthood at age 32 when a friend through a local Catholic singles group was discerning religious life.
“I never discerned anything,” Fr. Vanyo said. He researched some religious orders, but it wasn’t until a day for prospective diocesan seminarians that he reached a peaceful conclusion.
“They need help here,” Fr. Vanyo, then a hospice nurse, recalled thinking. “That’s when I gave the Lord my fiat. If you open the door, I’ll walk through it.”
He ran into Fr. Chauncey Winkler, who he knew from the local Catholic Retreat for Young Singles group and told him, “I think this is where I could be of some help.”
He entered the seminary in 2005 and was among a reported 487 ordinands nationally who will join the ranks of priesthood this year. Bishop Olmsted read from the Ordination Rite during Mass.
He reminded the crowd, including family and friends who filled the first row on both sides, that Jesus chose certain disciples to carry out publicly in His name, a priestly office. He reminded the diocese’s newest priest of his roles of Christ the teacher, priest and shepherd.
“Carry out the ministry of Christ the priest with constant joy and love,” the bishop said. He also challenged Fr. Vanyo to bring the people together in one family. That’s a challenge the priest plans to meet in his new home, Queen of Peace Parish in Mesa. He will serve as parochial vicar starting July 1.
“I am most excited that I will be able to hear people’s confessions. When the Holy Spirit touches the hearts of the penitents with His grace in the confessional, I will be blessed to be a witness to it,” Fr. Vanyo said.
In addition to a parish presence, Fr. Vanyo will serve as chaplain at Seton Catholic Preparatory High School in Chandler. Fr. Vanyo will offer his first liturgy, a Mass of Thanksgiving, at his home parish Holy Cross in Mesa, at 10 a.m. June 3.
More: www.catholicsun.org
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This is a book I have for sale: The book has a different picture on the cover and is Titled: A FERVENT APPEAL for the PRESENCE of GOD, TRUTH, and AGAINST ALL EVIL, by Anthony (Tony) Sheffield [[ the following table of contents is not in right order as there is an Insert; but the book is copyrighted and very helpful in these doctrines; there is not another book like it on the market and completely persuades the doctrine in absolute proof.
>3.1 Witnesses, Preaching, Verbal Means of Truth & Spirit, and Proof; Open to Truth, God’s Presence, and Neighbors Concerned Verification
>Chp 3 (Addition)- Special Note regarding the Law of Contradiction; More support for the Law of Contradiction/Truth: Love of; Required; Truth in our Constitution; Reasoning’s Strangely FALSE; Truth & Existence; Grammar (Word Law) Law- Statements and Words; Truth, Irrelative of; Carnality Signs; Misinterpreting God’s Word; Light; SPIRIT & TRUTH; Receive Facts; Disorder; Habits appear True
>Chp 4 (Addition) - Study and Seek in Experience by Prayer and Spiritual Senses and Inner Man, Pro3.5-6, 2Cor10.5; Proof and Carefulness/Truth and Righteousness/SERIOUSNESS minded
>5a-22a Guilt, Sin, and Death: Does God clear guilt automatically?; Conditions to clear Guilt; Sin is Guilt; Sin (Guilt) brings Spiritual Death at the Time of the Sin (Guilt); the Death Sin (Guilt) brings is Spiritual
>5a-22ab Why Sin Brings Eternal Death or It Does Bring Eternal Death or How Does It Bring Eternal Death
>Chp 5 (Addition) - Definition of Sin; Not Walking with God or Seeking God, Led by the Spirit; Not Studying God’s Word; Doubtful Things; Where There is No Law; Sin is Evil
>5a-1aEve & Adam
>5a-1z Saul’s Sinning Religion
>5a-6 (Addition) LOVE / RESPECT
>Chp 5a-5a (Addition) - Sin Crucifies Christ; Heb 6, 1Cor 11, and others
>5a-9abImpossible for Sinners to Be Saved
>5a-9a Question and Answer Format: Sinning while Saved, Having God’s Presence, with Truth
>5a-9abc Foolishness, Vanity, Folly - a Serious Matter with God
>5a-11a Too Hard to Live Victoriously
>5a-11abFeels Good to Be Right
>5a-11abc Do Iniquity or Offend, saith the Lord Jesus; A Best Statement from Jesus Earthly Lips
>5a-11d Which One of You Convinceth Me of Sin
>5a-12a (Addition) - Choice is Clear
>5a-12ab Impossible to be Right and Wrong at the Same Time
>5a-12d Cannot Believe or Have Faith with Sin
>5a-12e Willingly yield obedience
>5a-13ab What Doctrines Can We Tolerate??
>5a-8ab Will and Decisions (Choice), The Fact of
>5a-14a Sin Hurts Other Beings
>5a-14b Jehovah DOES NOT Call Good Bad NOR Bad Good
>5a-16aJames 1:15 for Clarity
>5a-18 (Add’n)- (TTT) Temptation, Troubles, Trial (TESTS)
>5a-21 (Addition) - Life
>5a-22 (Addition) - Death Defined
>5a-24aChristian Armor Shows We are to Fit It to Allow No Sin to Enter the Interior or Exterior
>5a-24ab Demonic Activity
>5a-25a Believe Every Statement of the Lord is True
>5a-26 (Addition) - Sin Causes a Separation or Leave of Absence from God’s Presence
>5a-29aCharacter of God
>5a-29abSeal of God
>5a-34 Special Texts; used to support the committing of sin while saved
>5a-34aSerious Physical, Spiritual, and Providential Consequences of Sin
>Chp 7 (Addition) - Law / Discerning good & evil
>Chp 8 (Addition) -Witness of the Spirit/God’s Presence; Laws on Heart; Come to God; no body needed for fellowship; Will; Feelings; Deception; good example vs.; Everyone is following some spirit; Thought (person); Need & Evidence
>8.1a Old Testament - facts about Spirit, Sin, Obedience, Ceremonies
>Chp 10 (Addition) - Cooperation; good basic example; Experience; Righteousness; Sanctification Commanded; >Understanding Deficiency Resolved: Trust & Obey; God’s Presence & Graces; God’s Presence & Idolatry; Repentance addition
>10.1 Desires, Affections, and Intentions
>10.1aSpirituality - Mind & Heart; Priority of; Preparation Place; Needs
>10.1b Spiritual States Of Danger: Intellectual; Intent or Motive; or Will
>10.2Probationary Period and TIME
>10.7 GIFT, Salvation, Pardon, Some Relations of
>5.1 Responsibility; What Makes us Responsible; Timing, God’s Methods & Ways; Ignorance and Young; Foundational Truth & Responsibility, Proofs in Abundance
>8.1 Forgiveness / Pardon
>8.3 Excessive Harshness or Hardness of Heart (Spirit) to Others
>8.2 God wants no one in Hell
>5b-38 Heresy, Reprobateness, and Sinner; Open to Truth, Love It
>5b-37 Encouragements on Dangers, Details, and Boundaries of Sin and the Power of Jesus Blood
>5b-39 There is no Sin that is not Forgivable Except One: Heb 6; Heb 10; Heb 12 -Hard Passages Proved absolutely; Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit; Others too
>5b-40 No Amount OR Number of Times of Sin is Unforgivable
>5b-41 God Warns Carefulness, Preparation, Alert, not Overconfident to Confront Temptation; WATCH
>5b-42 Spirit Shall Not Always Strive with You (end physical life)
>5b-43 Sin is Forgivable as While Alive Physically
>5b-44Backsliding (apostasy) Can Cause Worse To Come Upon You
>5b-45Death Can Occur At Any Time and Even Unexpected Times
>5b-46God Warns of Danger Ahead of Time and If Not He Says So
>5b-47What is the “Sin Unto Death”
>5b-47abLittle Sins (small sins)
>5b-48 Mental Capacity Can Be Damaged and to Extent of Loss of Mind
>7.1a (Addition) Law / Spirit
>8.5Gifts of the Spirit / Power with God
>8.6Spirituality, The Kingdom of God; EYE; thoughts & Feelings
>8.6a Creation, Creation Science, Spirituality, Evolution and the Likes
>8.6a1 Good & Evil
>8.6b Pain & Pleasure
>8.7 Special Commandments Avoided by “Churches & Christians”: Food and Drinking in the Church; Sabbath Day; Love God; Vain Foolish Things; Tattoos; Alcohol; Hair; Jewelry; Make-up; Cloths; Radio babbling and riches; TV; Sports; Dancing & the like; Drama, Acting, Fiction
>8.4 Claiming Promises: Special notes; Types of Promises; Truth Standing
>8.3 How Do the Spirit and The Word Work Together; Claiming the Word and the Witness of the Spirit; The Holy Word by the Holy Spirit may be Applied as it is Written Without The Holy Spirit’s Direct Application; The Holy Spirit has the Right to Apply or Discern His Will in Each Case and therefore One Verse May Apply Whereas Another may not; The Spirit and the Word Often Work Together and Must in Some Areas; The Spirit and Jesus without the Word
>Chp 9 (Addition) - Free Will
>9.1 Self
>9.2 Faith / Faith & Law (cont’d in book)
>9.2a Praise & Thanksgiving, Christianity the Religion of
>9.2ab Love & Care
>9.3 Position Folk: Church Folk in position-Rejecting Sound Doctrine
>9.4 Reasons, Motives, and God
>10.3 Judgment; Judging Others; Discernment
>10.3a Rebuke / Correct
>10.4 Hell - an Eternal Place Where the Sinner Will Exist Eternally?
>10.5 Atonement: Basis of; Understandings of Law, Substitutes, Sanctions, Value
>10.6 Cults, Deception, False Christianity, Simplicity Evil, Lunatics, Stupid, Dumb, Craziness, Maniacs, Disordered, etc. Lies, and their Reasons
Chapter 1—How Do We Know God’s Will? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Chapter 2—Proof = Absolute Evidence Presented Herein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chapter 3—Truth and Spirit Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Chapter 4—Heart (Spirit) Matters in Preparing To Hear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
> Call to Humility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
> Call to Honesty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
> Spirit of the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
> Fear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
> References for Reading and Truth Appeal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
> History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
> Understanding, Wisdom, Knowledge, Discernment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
> Willing Mind and Heart / Openness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Chapter 5—Sin Doctrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
> Clarity and Soundness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
> Antinomianism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
> The Definition of Sin—What Is Sin?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
> God Hates Sin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Subchapter 5a > Sin Causes Death. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5a-1 Line Upon Line, Precept Upon Precept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5a-2 Partiality or Respecter of Persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5a-3 Unchangeableness or Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
5a-4 Past, Present, Future Sin Acts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5a-5 The Foolishness To Think God Gave Up and Said, “I’ll Just Have
To Make a Way for Them So They Can Make It While They Sin” . . . . . . . . . . 34
5a-6 Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
5a-7 Discernment as to Where the Standard Is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5a-8 Effects of Sinning Religion on Sinners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5a-9 Christ Died for the Church—Worshippers of God, Not Sinners . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5a-10 Born Again Argument. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5a-11 Victory Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5a-12 Sin Needed To Keep Humble. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
5a-12a Choice Is Clear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
5a-13 Security Feeling, True Security, Spirits, Love of the Truth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
5a-13a Weakness of Sin’s Cause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
5a-14 Unity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
5a-15 God Commands When He Knows That We Cannot Perform the Command . 44
5a-16 God’s Main Purpose or Objective—Our Calling
and Christ Our Example Includes No Sin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
5a-17 Assurances to Eternal Life Are Exclusive of Sin and Cannot Have Any Sin . . 46
5a-18 Temptation To Sin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
5a-19 Finding God and Keeping God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
5a-20 Wholeheartedness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
5a-21 L I F E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
5a-22 Death Defined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
5a-23 Death and Life—Two Different States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
5a-24 Light and Darkness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
5a-25 Devil’s Doctrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5a-26 Sin Causes a Separation or Leave of Absence From God’s Presence . . . . . . 56
5a-27 No Separation of Fruit From Tree—Deeds and Person Are in Unity—
Sins and Person Are One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
5a-28 Tests of a Christian Are All Sinlessness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
5a-29 Comparing Sin in the OT and the NT—Consistency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
5a-30 Holy Spirit / God’s Presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5a-31 Cause and Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
5a-32 Universal and Eternal Law of God—Sin Causes Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
5a-33 List of Some Holy Scriptures All Showing That One Willful
(Intentional or Deliberate) Sin Causes Spiritual Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
5a-34 Special Texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
5a-35 Righteous Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
5a-36 BLOOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
> Sin Nature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Chapter 6—False Arminianism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
> Regarding Committing of a Certain Type of Sin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
> Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
> Regarding the Practice of Sin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Chapter 7—Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Chapter 8—Witness of the Spirit / God’s Presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Chapter 9—Free Will . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Chapter 10—Cooperation (Covenant) Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
> Cooperation or Covenant Relationship Proved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
> How To Enter the Salvation State and How To Be Sanctified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
> Salvation Is a State of Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
> Repentance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
> Obedience and Following Jesus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
> Faith / Belief / Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
> Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
> Salvation Is a State of Being That Requires a
Continuing or an Abiding (Continuing Principle) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
> Grace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
> Righteousness or Holiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
> Perfection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
> Chastening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Chapter 11—Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Chapter 12—Worldliness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Chapter 13—Devotions—An Intensive Appeal Towards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Chapter 14—Farewell, Dear Heart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
> Appeal Towards a Good Attitude and Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
> Departing Plea and Earnest Bid for Your Heart To Yearn for God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Chapter 15—Final Appeal Towards Sanctification. . . . . . .
Eight men commence ministry for the Church
Story and photos by Ambria Hammel | Nov. 15, 2010 | The Catholic Sun
A baptism at St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish in Cave Creek last week marked a double cause for celebration for one man in particular.
The waters of baptism signaled the first step of a lifelong journey in faith for the 2-month-old boy and the first time the celebrant — the infant’s grandfather — administered the sacrament as a permanent deacon for the Church.
One day prior, Deacon Robert Torigian was among eight men, all married with children, whom Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted ordained to the diaconate Nov. 6 at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral. They join 239 permanent deacons serving the Phoenix Diocese from the altar, within parish ministries and in the greater community.
“I know that each of them has what it takes to be an effective, caring deacon and a powerful witness of Jesus, the Servant of all,” said Deacon Doug Bogart, associate director of education and formation for the diaconate.
He described them as smart and creative. The new deacons, ages 42-60, have a strong commitment to service, particularly to the bishop, their parishes and to the poor, Deacon Bogart added.
Bishop Olmsted told a crowded cathedral filled with extended family, friends, priests and fellow deacons that deacons represent the charity of the Church. Therefore, he said, they will see the new deacons as disciples seeking “not to be served, but to serve.”
Then he spoke directly to his eight newest “sons.”
“You receive sacred authority to teach in the name of the Church. Such teachings are badly needed,” the bishop said. He cautioned them to resist the temptation to omit any teaching that may not be popular.
“Hand it on faithfully in its organic wholeness,” the bishop said.
One by one all eight deacon candidates knelt in front of the bishop, placed their hands in his and promised their fidelity.
Then the entire church offered a litany of supplication while the candidates fully prostrated themselves down the cathedral’s center aisle. It marked their act of submission.
When they got up, the new deacons spread themselves along the foot of the altar where priests vested them for the first time. Jesuit Father Dave Klein vested his brother Deacon Tom Klein, who will be the only deacon serving St. Francis Xavier Parish.
Deacon Klein also cited his other brother, a St. Thomas the Apostle parishioner and longtime Vincentian, as influential in his discernment.
“It’s been a lifetime evolution for me. There was no lightning bolt moment,” Deacon Klein said in his final hour before ordination.
Deacon Klein, who also works as a trial lawyer, will head the parish’s busy marriage preparation program. He hopes to encourage parishioners of all ages to become more active in the Church.
Once vested, the deacons knelt a final time in front of Bishop Olmsted as he symbolically handed each of them the Book of the Gospels.
“Now you are not only hearers of the Gospels, but also its ministers,” the bishop said.
The deacons finished their ordination Mass from the altar and helped distribute the Eucharist.
Hope for the future
“We, today, witnessed the living faith being handed on from generation to generation so that the Church of Christ will never be without the sacraments of the three holy orders of the Church,” Bishop Eduardo A. Nevares said during a brief program at a post-ordination reception.
Providing for the future of the Church, especially by administering the sacrament of baptism, is what several new deacons looked forward to in their first weeks of ordained ministry. One had eight baptisms lined up during his first week.
“That is the joy and source of hope,” said Deacon David Runyan, a retired meteorologist who will serve St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Chandler and El Cristo Rey Parish at the Grand Canyon in the summertime.
Deacon Torigian, who baptized his grandson, plans to remind older Catholics of their baptismal obligation to come to know and serve the Lord, he said.
The new deacon and longtime physician assistant should know a thing or two about service. He devoted so much time to pastoral ministry in his native Detroit that several deacons invited him to consider joining the diaconate. He finished formation in Phoenix.
Outside of parish work at St. Gabriel, Deacon Torigian will also help the diocesan Office of Natural Family Planning develop curriculum for Catholic high school students.
Deacon Jim Gall, who for a while didn’t know what a deacon was but always liked to serve others, also looks forward to living the deacon motto of servant leadership.
He gained a deeper prayer life during the formation process. It’s helped him see things with spiritual eyes instead of reacting based on temperament, he said.
“I could never go back to the way I was,” Deacon Gall said.
Most new deacons said they gained a deeper spirituality and strengthened their marriage and family relationships during formation.
“I just thank God that I finally said yes,” said Deacon Al Homiski, a parish administrator at St. Bernadette in Scottsdale. He admitted putting off repeated invitations to join the diaconate for years.
The five-year formation process in Phoenix involves two years of weekly Kino classes, monthly diaconate meetings with candidates and their wives, practicums including at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, and twice daily prayer. The experience is enough to impact the entire family.
Deacon Ron Johnson saw a noticeable change in the spiritual lives of his three children as well during formation. The psychologist first felt called to the diaconate during a Cursillo weekend seven years ago and is looking forward to being the first Spanish-speaking deacon in the Flagstaff area.
He’ll also travel with Fr. Pat Mowrer throughout the north deanery supporting other parishes and missions.
Deacon Jason Robinson said he was always attracted to serving the Church. He applied to the priesthood after high school and entered further discernment.
He soon met his wife through a singles ministry and continued to search for his niche in the Church.
“I had this passion for the Church kind of from the inside, yet I was a working man,” the software developer said, “so I was always a bridge.”
He thought about entering the diaconate later in life. A personal invitation to the diaconate expedited his formation and ordination.
His ministry will include prison and Native American outreach plus parish work.
“Thank you for responding to God,” Deacon Jim Trant, director of the diaconate told the diocese’s newest deacons, “for doing and acting upon His will.”
More: www.catholicsun.org
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Malta: The statue you’re seeing its St. Helena holding the Cross were you could see it in Birkirkara, Malta. St. Helena Basilica Church, they also got the largest Church Bell in Malta. The locals celebrate St. Helena Feast on the August 18th, and there feast its special because the procession and band marches takes place in the morning rather then in the evening. The most beautiful thing is that I [Charles Bray] was baptised at St. Helena Basilica Church and every time that I go to Malta I always go to see her.
St. Helena was the mother of Constantine the Great, born about the middle of the third century, possibly in Drepanum (later known as Helenopolis) on the Nicomedian Gulf; died about 330. She was of humble parentage; St. Ambrose, in his "Oratio de obitu Theodosii", referred to her as a stabularia, or inn-keeper. Nevertheless, she became the lawful wife of Constantius Chlorus. Her first and only son, Constantine, was born in Naissus in Upper Moesia, in the year 274. The statement made by English chroniclers of the Middle Ages, according to which Helena was supposed to have been the daughter of a British prince, is entirely without historical foundation. It may arise from the misinterpretation of a term used in the fourth chapter of the panegyric on Constantine's marriage with Fausta, that Constantine, oriendo (i. e., "by his beginnings," "from the outset") had honoured Britain, which was taken as an allusion to his birth, whereas the reference was really to the beginning of his reign.
In the year 292 Constantius, having become co-Regent of the West, gave himself up to considerations of a political nature and forsook Helena in order to marry Theodora, the step-daughter of Emperor Maximianus Herculius, his patron, and well-wisher. But her son remained faithful and loyal to her. On the death of Constantius Chlorus, in 308, Constantine, who succeeded him, summoned his mother to the imperial court, conferred on her the title of Augusta, ordered that all honour should be paid her as the mother of the sovereign, and had coins struck bearing her effigy. Her son's influence caused her to embrace Christianity after his victory over Maxentius. This is directly attested by Eusebius (Vita Constantini, III, xlvii): "She (his mother) became under his (Constantine's) influence such a devout servant of God, that one might believe her to have been from her very childhood a disciple of the Redeemer of mankind". It is also clear from the declaration of the contemporary historian of the Church that Helena, from the time of her conversion had an earnestly Christian life and by her influence and liberality favoured the wider spread of Christianity. Tradition links her name with the building of Christian churches in the cities of the West, where the imperial court resided, notably at Rome and Trier, and there is no reason for rejecting this tradition, for we know positively through Eusebius that Helena erected churches on the hallowed spots of Palestine. Despite her advanced age she undertook a journey to Palestine when Constantine, through his victory over Licinius, had become sole master of the Roman Empire, subsequently, therefore, to the year 324. It was in Palestine, as we learn from Eusebius (loc. cit., xlii), that she had resolved to bring to God, the King of kings, the homage and tribute of her devotion. She lavished on that land her bounties and good deeds, she "explored it with remarkable discernment", and "visited it with the care and solicitude of the emperor himself". Then, when she "had shown due veneration to the footsteps of the Saviour", she had two churches erected for the worship of God: one was raised in Bethlehem near the Grotto of the Nativity, the other on the Mount of the Ascension, near Jerusalem. She also embellished the sacred grotto with rich ornaments. This sojourn in Jerusalem proved the starting-point of the legend first recorded by Rufinus as to the discovery of the Cross of Christ.
Her princely munificence was such that, according to Eusebius, she assisted not only individuals but entire communities. The poor and destitute were the special objects of her charity. She visited the churches everywhere with pious zeal and made them rich donations. It was thus that, in fulfillment of the Saviour's precept, she brought forth abundant fruit in word and deed. If Helena conducted herself in this manner while in the Holy Land, which is indeed testified to by Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, we should not doubt that she manifested the same piety and benevolence in those other cities of the empire in which she resided after her conversion. Her memory in Rome is chiefly identified with the church of S. Croce in Gerusalemme. On the present location of this church formerly stood the Palatium Sessorianum, and near by were the Thermae Helenianae, which baths derived their name from the empress. Here two inscriptions were found composed in honour of Helena. The Sessorium, which was near the site of the Lateran, probably served as Helena's residence when she stayed in Rome; so that it is quite possible for a Christian basilica to have been erected on this spot by Constantine, at her suggestion and in honour of the true Cross.
Helena was still living in the year 326, when Constantine ordered the execution of his son Crispus. When, according to Socrates account (Hist. eccl., I, xvii), the emperor in 327 improved Drepanum, his mother's native town, and decreed that it should be called Helenopolis, it is probable that the latter returned from Palestine to her son who was then residing in the Orient. Constantine was with her when she died, at the advanced age of eighty years or thereabouts (Eusebius, "Vita Const.", III, xlvi). This must have been about the year 330, for the last coins which are known to have been stamped with her name bore this date. Her body was brought to Constantinople and laid to rest in the imperial vault of the church of the Apostles. It is presumed that her remains were transferred in 849 to the Abbey of Hautvillers, in the French Archdiocese of Reims, as recorded by the monk Altmann in his "Translatio". She was revered as a saint, and the veneration spread, early in the ninth century, even to Western countries. Her feast falls on 18 August.
We help build great leaders by strengthening the following skills: adaptability, discernment, perspective, communication, endurance and countability.
June 22, 2021 – Bishop Gregory Parkes presented 13 people with a Certificate in Lay Leadership Ministry at the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle. In an evening prayer service, the Bishop congratulated and commissioned these students to serve in ministry leadership throughout the diocese. The Bishop remarked on their courageous commitment not only to ministry leadership, but to their four years of study in the program. Bishop Parkes also congratulated and thanked their spouses, family members and friends for their support and encouragement over the four years of the program.
The graduating class represented 10 parishes from around our diocese. Graduates completed one year of discernment and three years of academic and spiritual preparation.
Those who were commissioned and their parishes are:
Susan Lynn Arcand, St. Paul (Tampa)
Tom Barrett, Nativity
William L. Brown, III, St. Stephen
Theresa V. McCain Cole, St. Clement
Christine DeLieto, St Vincent DePaul
Ophelia Hinton, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
Elizabeth L. Huetteman, St. Stephen
Paula M. Hurlock, St. Clement
Dale P. Kennedy, St. Lawrence
Christina Marie Kijanka, Espiritu Santo
Paul J. Laurence RN, Holy Family
Carol J. Ritter, St. Ignatius of Antioch
Scott Samuels, St. Paul (Tampa)
Three individuals also received certificates from Bishop Parkes for completing Level 1 of the Southeast Pastoral Institute Escuela de Ministerios (SEPI). They are:
Leila Castellanos – Nativity Parish
Theresa Hernandez – Most Holy Redeemer Parish
Felicia Westbrook – Incarnation Parish
Thank you to Dana Rozance for graciously taking and sharing these photos with us! #courageouslyliving
Bishop Olmsted ordains diocese’s newest priest
By Ambria Hammel | June 2, 2012 | The Catholic Sun
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted ordained Dan Vanyo to the priesthood June 2 at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral.
He joins 254 diocesan and religious priests who serve the Phoenix Diocese by offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, conferring the sacraments and overseeing aspects of parish life. Many of them were on hand to offer congratulations to their newest brother.
That included a handful of local priests and some from St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver who played key roles in Fr. Vanyo’s discernment. Fr. Vanyo, 43, began discerning his call to the priesthood at age 32 when a friend through a local Catholic singles group was discerning religious life.
“I never discerned anything,” Fr. Vanyo said. He researched some religious orders, but it wasn’t until a day for prospective diocesan seminarians that he reached a peaceful conclusion.
“They need help here,” Fr. Vanyo, then a hospice nurse, recalled thinking. “That’s when I gave the Lord my fiat. If you open the door, I’ll walk through it.”
He ran into Fr. Chauncey Winkler, who he knew from the local Catholic Retreat for Young Singles group and told him, “I think this is where I could be of some help.”
He entered the seminary in 2005 and was among a reported 487 ordinands nationally who will join the ranks of priesthood this year. Bishop Olmsted read from the Ordination Rite during Mass.
He reminded the crowd, including family and friends who filled the first row on both sides, that Jesus chose certain disciples to carry out publicly in His name, a priestly office. He reminded the diocese’s newest priest of his roles of Christ the teacher, priest and shepherd.
“Carry out the ministry of Christ the priest with constant joy and love,” the bishop said. He also challenged Fr. Vanyo to bring the people together in one family. That’s a challenge the priest plans to meet in his new home, Queen of Peace Parish in Mesa. He will serve as parochial vicar starting July 1.
“I am most excited that I will be able to hear people’s confessions. When the Holy Spirit touches the hearts of the penitents with His grace in the confessional, I will be blessed to be a witness to it,” Fr. Vanyo said.
In addition to a parish presence, Fr. Vanyo will serve as chaplain at Seton Catholic Preparatory High School in Chandler. Fr. Vanyo will offer his first liturgy, a Mass of Thanksgiving, at his home parish Holy Cross in Mesa, at 10 a.m. June 3.
More: www.catholicsun.org
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" I make it clear that what I write is the result of my experiences and studies. There is absolute truth. That's what I believe to understand. Get what is legal. Throw away what does not serve."
Many must know the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM . Most Westerners associate this mantra with compassion and translates as "The jewel the lotus."
But the interesting thing is that this kind of literal translation does not have much to do with the original context of the mantra. For those who do not know, is a Buddhist mantra, specifically the Tibetan school, which is tantric. Like the vast majority of tantric knowledge, the mantra is an aphorism, or contains in itself a great deal of information that unfolds and presents for those who know the original concept. This is not to be technical, complicated or something. In the original Buddhist context, all Buddhists know these concepts. So it was something natural ...
In a very simplistic, follows the traditional model of what the mantra is for Tibetan Buddhists, according to what was passed by the great sages:
OM = is the principle of universality of coverage.
MANI = is the mind, which should transform from something impure into something pure, translucent and firm, through the discernment and discrimination ( Viveka and vijnana ).
PADME = is the fruit of the transformation of the mind in the " diamond "( vajra ). It is the perception of expansion of consciousness.
HUM = is the fruit of this expansion of perception: integration.
Now, each of these meanings that arise according put a specific discipline. Each of the Dhyani Buddhas are associated with this mantra and their " Prajnas "( wisdom ) as well.
My question is: OM MANI PADME HUM means The jewel the lotus? No. This is a translation or meaning that was given by the Western spiritual mantra, based on the story that he was passed to mankind by a Bodhisattva (Cherenzing, Kanon, Kuawn Yin), an act of compassion. The mantra can even generate compassion on me, if I learn that he is a mantra for compassion. It even placebo. But if I REALLY know what the mantra is made, than it is "made" for sure will be another focus. It may even have compassion, but it is something much deeper.
Mantras are one of the ways that scholars have found to try to reproduce that state of consciousness they scored and experienced during his experiences of Samadhi . They are like a "cake" of information. But this information is not mental. Are beyond the mind, because they deal directly with the Ultimate Reality, with Brahman, the All, you want to call. And there (Brahman), the mind can not reach ... Assign the mantras and yantras mental relations (or mental states of consciousness) is an error, so far as I understand. Thus, the mantras have nothing to do with the unconscious, conscious or subconscious, but with greater awareness, ie Brahman.
The word mantra is the junction of two other in Sanskrit. Despite the trivial translation be " instrument of the mind ", where MAN is " mind "and TRA is " instrument , "I tell you that this is the wrong translation ...
MAN , in fact, it is MIND . TRA comes trayate , meaning RELEASE . Thus, the Mantras are tools that help us to " release / release of the mind "(rather than liberate the mind, like a literal translation can guess). In other words, mantras are tools to "liberate the mind."
The mantra, repeated at random mechanically, have little or no influence on the person who repeats. So some may be thinking, oh, but has egregore, etc.. I say: According to what I learned outside (and inside) the body with some Yogi, mantra in itself has no egregore. Now, like the intent and understanding that is generated AFTER the mantra MAY generate a egregore. And yet, this is real egregore for those who have relationship with her ... So anyone can access what you think the mantra or egregore represents, not what he really is.
By tradition only repeat something leads to nothing. Indeed, tradition, repeated without clarity, leads to manipulation of the tradition itself, causing it to lose its original character. The tradition may even be renewed. Since lean and not deviate from its original concepts.
As learned from Ramakrishna, if you are patient, repeating the word "remedy" will not cure you. You have to go and take the medicine. That is, you need to "experience" mantra. And that experience not only comes with practice and is not synonymous with practice time ... This experience which Ramakrishna talks is to realize LUCID, with the support of DISCERNMENT and DISCRIMINATION ( viveka and vijnana ), the mechanisms of functioning. And that requires a minimum knowledge of the concepts to be applied (in this case, OM, NAMAH SHIVA and).
But what is OM? and Shiva?
The mantra Om Namah Shivaya mantra is a reminder of the Shiva . The literal translation of the mantra is " I welcome the Lord Shiva . " Shiva is, according to Hindu tradition, the second aspect of the trinity. He has many epithets (attributes), the best known being "processor, of sweet effulgence, the three-eyed" ( Tryambaka ) ... However, the word Shiva is literally " the Benevolent . " Shiva is pure consciousness, the original foundation of the Self in Vedic Yoga and the currents it is called Brahman . Brahman and Shiva represent the same principle: The Whole, the Absolute, the Ground of Being Original Thus, Shiva is often depicted in yogic posture, with face serene, placid and always at peace. THE ALL being, nothing is outside it and therefore it is always the same, equal in all circumstances.
But most people associate Shiva the motion because it is associated with transformation, change. And as we have seen, it is pure quietude, as is always the same. If so, why did he join the transformation, or even to destruction? It seems we have a paradox, is not it?
But that is only apparent.
Shiva is the Pure Consciousness, the Ground of Being, when evoked or "tuned," tends to start the "movement of focus" in ourselves. Thus, the "energy" of Shiva has the property to show us the Ultimate Reality, that is, our own essential nature . Shiva is the destroyer ... illusions!
When this occurs, the apparent dualities of reality in which we live tend to "collide", causing a feeling of disorder or apparent change.
Indeed, changes or "turned upside" that causes the energy of Shiva is nothing more than a "pull to Reality." And when I actually do not speak of ordinary reality, day-to-day. I speak of the reality of consciousness as being one and all. Talk of a tug or a flow of energy that creates the sense of "move the dualities in our face" and have the opportunity arises to see the REAL, the essence of everything and everything.
As our apparent reality is grounded in the ego and the mind and its mechanisms in emotional deprivation, when "call" the Consciousness / Reality (Shiva), everything seems to "shake", is destabilizing. But actually, what happens is we begin the search for stillness, or, as Patanjali in his Yoga Sutra says, "seen in his real nature." Obviously, our true nature is at odds with this apparent reality. For all that has been explained, it is easy to understand why associate Shiva transformation.
But it is always worth remembering: Shiva does nothing! He is always the same, quiet, perennial, and always benevolent. Who moves, who "shakes" is what we call the MIND that, in the traditions of yoga, Vedanta and Tantra, is composed of the Ego, Buddhi ( subtle mind ), Chitta ( memory ) and Manas ( mind dense ). But that's another story ... :)
In conclusion: The mantra Om namah Shivaya is something like a call for a reality :
OM is the principle of universality, become, or is a trigger.
NAMAH is welcome, congratulate.
Shivaya is Consciousness, Ground of Being
Om Namah Shivaya is like a cry of " I WANT TO SEE / LIVING REALITY !!!!! "
I Cor. 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. 3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. 4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
The lightning represents spiritual insight and power to see. The Warrior wars with his spiritual tools of intercession using the word of God and faith and the Name of Jesus.
Here he wars for the Jewish people and the ghosts are the spirits of the holocaust. He feels a burden for the Israelites. He has a wound on his cheek to show the battle he has been in.
Eight men commence ministry for the Church
Story and photos by Ambria Hammel | Nov. 15, 2010 | The Catholic Sun
A baptism at St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish in Cave Creek last week marked a double cause for celebration for one man in particular.
The waters of baptism signaled the first step of a lifelong journey in faith for the 2-month-old boy and the first time the celebrant — the infant’s grandfather — administered the sacrament as a permanent deacon for the Church.
One day prior, Deacon Robert Torigian was among eight men, all married with children, whom Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted ordained to the diaconate Nov. 6 at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral. They join 239 permanent deacons serving the Phoenix Diocese from the altar, within parish ministries and in the greater community.
“I know that each of them has what it takes to be an effective, caring deacon and a powerful witness of Jesus, the Servant of all,” said Deacon Doug Bogart, associate director of education and formation for the diaconate.
He described them as smart and creative. The new deacons, ages 42-60, have a strong commitment to service, particularly to the bishop, their parishes and to the poor, Deacon Bogart added.
Bishop Olmsted told a crowded cathedral filled with extended family, friends, priests and fellow deacons that deacons represent the charity of the Church. Therefore, he said, they will see the new deacons as disciples seeking “not to be served, but to serve.”
Then he spoke directly to his eight newest “sons.”
“You receive sacred authority to teach in the name of the Church. Such teachings are badly needed,” the bishop said. He cautioned them to resist the temptation to omit any teaching that may not be popular.
“Hand it on faithfully in its organic wholeness,” the bishop said.
One by one all eight deacon candidates knelt in front of the bishop, placed their hands in his and promised their fidelity.
Then the entire church offered a litany of supplication while the candidates fully prostrated themselves down the cathedral’s center aisle. It marked their act of submission.
When they got up, the new deacons spread themselves along the foot of the altar where priests vested them for the first time. Jesuit Father Dave Klein vested his brother Deacon Tom Klein, who will be the only deacon serving St. Francis Xavier Parish.
Deacon Klein also cited his other brother, a St. Thomas the Apostle parishioner and longtime Vincentian, as influential in his discernment.
“It’s been a lifetime evolution for me. There was no lightning bolt moment,” Deacon Klein said in his final hour before ordination.
Deacon Klein, who also works as a trial lawyer, will head the parish’s busy marriage preparation program. He hopes to encourage parishioners of all ages to become more active in the Church.
Once vested, the deacons knelt a final time in front of Bishop Olmsted as he symbolically handed each of them the Book of the Gospels.
“Now you are not only hearers of the Gospels, but also its ministers,” the bishop said.
The deacons finished their ordination Mass from the altar and helped distribute the Eucharist.
Hope for the future
“We, today, witnessed the living faith being handed on from generation to generation so that the Church of Christ will never be without the sacraments of the three holy orders of the Church,” Bishop Eduardo A. Nevares said during a brief program at a post-ordination reception.
Providing for the future of the Church, especially by administering the sacrament of baptism, is what several new deacons looked forward to in their first weeks of ordained ministry. One had eight baptisms lined up during his first week.
“That is the joy and source of hope,” said Deacon David Runyan, a retired meteorologist who will serve St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Chandler and El Cristo Rey Parish at the Grand Canyon in the summertime.
Deacon Torigian, who baptized his grandson, plans to remind older Catholics of their baptismal obligation to come to know and serve the Lord, he said.
The new deacon and longtime physician assistant should know a thing or two about service. He devoted so much time to pastoral ministry in his native Detroit that several deacons invited him to consider joining the diaconate. He finished formation in Phoenix.
Outside of parish work at St. Gabriel, Deacon Torigian will also help the diocesan Office of Natural Family Planning develop curriculum for Catholic high school students.
Deacon Jim Gall, who for a while didn’t know what a deacon was but always liked to serve others, also looks forward to living the deacon motto of servant leadership.
He gained a deeper prayer life during the formation process. It’s helped him see things with spiritual eyes instead of reacting based on temperament, he said.
“I could never go back to the way I was,” Deacon Gall said.
Most new deacons said they gained a deeper spirituality and strengthened their marriage and family relationships during formation.
“I just thank God that I finally said yes,” said Deacon Al Homiski, a parish administrator at St. Bernadette in Scottsdale. He admitted putting off repeated invitations to join the diaconate for years.
The five-year formation process in Phoenix involves two years of weekly Kino classes, monthly diaconate meetings with candidates and their wives, practicums including at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, and twice daily prayer. The experience is enough to impact the entire family.
Deacon Ron Johnson saw a noticeable change in the spiritual lives of his three children as well during formation. The psychologist first felt called to the diaconate during a Cursillo weekend seven years ago and is looking forward to being the first Spanish-speaking deacon in the Flagstaff area.
He’ll also travel with Fr. Pat Mowrer throughout the north deanery supporting other parishes and missions.
Deacon Jason Robinson said he was always attracted to serving the Church. He applied to the priesthood after high school and entered further discernment.
He soon met his wife through a singles ministry and continued to search for his niche in the Church.
“I had this passion for the Church kind of from the inside, yet I was a working man,” the software developer said, “so I was always a bridge.”
He thought about entering the diaconate later in life. A personal invitation to the diaconate expedited his formation and ordination.
His ministry will include prison and Native American outreach plus parish work.
“Thank you for responding to God,” Deacon Jim Trant, director of the diaconate told the diocese’s newest deacons, “for doing and acting upon His will.”
More: www.catholicsun.org
ORDERING INFORMATION
Looking for a glossy/matte copy of this photo? Please call 602-354-2140 or send an e-mail for ordering information. Please note the photo's title when ordering. Download the order form here.
Copyright 2006-2010 The Catholic Sun. All rights reserved. This photo and all photos on this Web site credited to The Catholic Sun are provided for personal use only and may not be published, broadcasted, transmitted or sold without the expressed consent of The Catholic Sun.
"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival."
Printer's device of Nicolaus Episcopius the younger of Basel (here used by his heirs and brother Eusebius), featuring "a crane, a symbol of continual watchfulness and sharp discernment, and holds a stone in one of its claws so as not to fall asleep. The hand extending from a cloud grasps a bishop's crozier on which the crane is perched. Written across the top of the staff is EPISCOP, which is the shortened form of the Latin word for bishop 'Episcopus,' but also is a wordplay on the name of the printer."--Pitts Theology Library Digital Image Archive.
Established heading: Episcopius, Nicolaus, 1531-1565
Penn Libraries call number: GC55 M8899 563s 1570
Bishop Olmsted ordains diocese’s newest priest
By Ambria Hammel | June 2, 2012 | The Catholic Sun
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted ordained Dan Vanyo to the priesthood June 2 at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral.
He joins 254 diocesan and religious priests who serve the Phoenix Diocese by offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, conferring the sacraments and overseeing aspects of parish life. Many of them were on hand to offer congratulations to their newest brother.
That included a handful of local priests and some from St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver who played key roles in Fr. Vanyo’s discernment. Fr. Vanyo, 43, began discerning his call to the priesthood at age 32 when a friend through a local Catholic singles group was discerning religious life.
“I never discerned anything,” Fr. Vanyo said. He researched some religious orders, but it wasn’t until a day for prospective diocesan seminarians that he reached a peaceful conclusion.
“They need help here,” Fr. Vanyo, then a hospice nurse, recalled thinking. “That’s when I gave the Lord my fiat. If you open the door, I’ll walk through it.”
He ran into Fr. Chauncey Winkler, who he knew from the local Catholic Retreat for Young Singles group and told him, “I think this is where I could be of some help.”
He entered the seminary in 2005 and was among a reported 487 ordinands nationally who will join the ranks of priesthood this year. Bishop Olmsted read from the Ordination Rite during Mass.
He reminded the crowd, including family and friends who filled the first row on both sides, that Jesus chose certain disciples to carry out publicly in His name, a priestly office. He reminded the diocese’s newest priest of his roles of Christ the teacher, priest and shepherd.
“Carry out the ministry of Christ the priest with constant joy and love,” the bishop said. He also challenged Fr. Vanyo to bring the people together in one family. That’s a challenge the priest plans to meet in his new home, Queen of Peace Parish in Mesa. He will serve as parochial vicar starting July 1.
“I am most excited that I will be able to hear people’s confessions. When the Holy Spirit touches the hearts of the penitents with His grace in the confessional, I will be blessed to be a witness to it,” Fr. Vanyo said.
In addition to a parish presence, Fr. Vanyo will serve as chaplain at Seton Catholic Preparatory High School in Chandler. Fr. Vanyo will offer his first liturgy, a Mass of Thanksgiving, at his home parish Holy Cross in Mesa, at 10 a.m. June 3.
More: www.catholicsun.org
ORDERING INFORMATION
Looking for a glossy/matte copy of this photo? Please call 602-354-2140 or send an e-mail for ordering information. Please note the photo's title when ordering. Download the order form here.
Copyright 2006-2012 The Catholic Sun. All rights reserved. This photo and all photos on this Web site credited to The Catholic Sun are provided for personal use only and may not be published, broadcasted, transmitted or sold without the expressed consent of The Catholic Sun.
Bishop Olmsted ordains diocese’s newest priest
By Ambria Hammel | June 2, 2012 | The Catholic Sun
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted ordained Dan Vanyo to the priesthood June 2 at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral.
He joins 254 diocesan and religious priests who serve the Phoenix Diocese by offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, conferring the sacraments and overseeing aspects of parish life. Many of them were on hand to offer congratulations to their newest brother.
That included a handful of local priests and some from St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver who played key roles in Fr. Vanyo’s discernment. Fr. Vanyo, 43, began discerning his call to the priesthood at age 32 when a friend through a local Catholic singles group was discerning religious life.
“I never discerned anything,” Fr. Vanyo said. He researched some religious orders, but it wasn’t until a day for prospective diocesan seminarians that he reached a peaceful conclusion.
“They need help here,” Fr. Vanyo, then a hospice nurse, recalled thinking. “That’s when I gave the Lord my fiat. If you open the door, I’ll walk through it.”
He ran into Fr. Chauncey Winkler, who he knew from the local Catholic Retreat for Young Singles group and told him, “I think this is where I could be of some help.”
He entered the seminary in 2005 and was among a reported 487 ordinands nationally who will join the ranks of priesthood this year. Bishop Olmsted read from the Ordination Rite during Mass.
He reminded the crowd, including family and friends who filled the first row on both sides, that Jesus chose certain disciples to carry out publicly in His name, a priestly office. He reminded the diocese’s newest priest of his roles of Christ the teacher, priest and shepherd.
“Carry out the ministry of Christ the priest with constant joy and love,” the bishop said. He also challenged Fr. Vanyo to bring the people together in one family. That’s a challenge the priest plans to meet in his new home, Queen of Peace Parish in Mesa. He will serve as parochial vicar starting July 1.
“I am most excited that I will be able to hear people’s confessions. When the Holy Spirit touches the hearts of the penitents with His grace in the confessional, I will be blessed to be a witness to it,” Fr. Vanyo said.
In addition to a parish presence, Fr. Vanyo will serve as chaplain at Seton Catholic Preparatory High School in Chandler. Fr. Vanyo will offer his first liturgy, a Mass of Thanksgiving, at his home parish Holy Cross in Mesa, at 10 a.m. June 3.
More: www.catholicsun.org
ORDERING INFORMATION
Looking for a glossy/matte copy of this photo? Please call 602-354-2140 or send an e-mail for ordering information. Please note the photo's title when ordering. Download the order form here.
Copyright 2006-2012 The Catholic Sun. All rights reserved. This photo and all photos on this Web site credited to The Catholic Sun are provided for personal use only and may not be published, broadcasted, transmitted or sold without the expressed consent of The Catholic Sun.
Eight men commence ministry for the Church
Story and photos by Ambria Hammel | Nov. 15, 2010 | The Catholic Sun
A baptism at St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish in Cave Creek last week marked a double cause for celebration for one man in particular.
The waters of baptism signaled the first step of a lifelong journey in faith for the 2-month-old boy and the first time the celebrant — the infant’s grandfather — administered the sacrament as a permanent deacon for the Church.
One day prior, Deacon Robert Torigian was among eight men, all married with children, whom Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted ordained to the diaconate Nov. 6 at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral. They join 239 permanent deacons serving the Phoenix Diocese from the altar, within parish ministries and in the greater community.
“I know that each of them has what it takes to be an effective, caring deacon and a powerful witness of Jesus, the Servant of all,” said Deacon Doug Bogart, associate director of education and formation for the diaconate.
He described them as smart and creative. The new deacons, ages 42-60, have a strong commitment to service, particularly to the bishop, their parishes and to the poor, Deacon Bogart added.
Bishop Olmsted told a crowded cathedral filled with extended family, friends, priests and fellow deacons that deacons represent the charity of the Church. Therefore, he said, they will see the new deacons as disciples seeking “not to be served, but to serve.”
Then he spoke directly to his eight newest “sons.”
“You receive sacred authority to teach in the name of the Church. Such teachings are badly needed,” the bishop said. He cautioned them to resist the temptation to omit any teaching that may not be popular.
“Hand it on faithfully in its organic wholeness,” the bishop said.
One by one all eight deacon candidates knelt in front of the bishop, placed their hands in his and promised their fidelity.
Then the entire church offered a litany of supplication while the candidates fully prostrated themselves down the cathedral’s center aisle. It marked their act of submission.
When they got up, the new deacons spread themselves along the foot of the altar where priests vested them for the first time. Jesuit Father Dave Klein vested his brother Deacon Tom Klein, who will be the only deacon serving St. Francis Xavier Parish.
Deacon Klein also cited his other brother, a St. Thomas the Apostle parishioner and longtime Vincentian, as influential in his discernment.
“It’s been a lifetime evolution for me. There was no lightning bolt moment,” Deacon Klein said in his final hour before ordination.
Deacon Klein, who also works as a trial lawyer, will head the parish’s busy marriage preparation program. He hopes to encourage parishioners of all ages to become more active in the Church.
Once vested, the deacons knelt a final time in front of Bishop Olmsted as he symbolically handed each of them the Book of the Gospels.
“Now you are not only hearers of the Gospels, but also its ministers,” the bishop said.
The deacons finished their ordination Mass from the altar and helped distribute the Eucharist.
Hope for the future
“We, today, witnessed the living faith being handed on from generation to generation so that the Church of Christ will never be without the sacraments of the three holy orders of the Church,” Bishop Eduardo A. Nevares said during a brief program at a post-ordination reception.
Providing for the future of the Church, especially by administering the sacrament of baptism, is what several new deacons looked forward to in their first weeks of ordained ministry. One had eight baptisms lined up during his first week.
“That is the joy and source of hope,” said Deacon David Runyan, a retired meteorologist who will serve St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Chandler and El Cristo Rey Parish at the Grand Canyon in the summertime.
Deacon Torigian, who baptized his grandson, plans to remind older Catholics of their baptismal obligation to come to know and serve the Lord, he said.
The new deacon and longtime physician assistant should know a thing or two about service. He devoted so much time to pastoral ministry in his native Detroit that several deacons invited him to consider joining the diaconate. He finished formation in Phoenix.
Outside of parish work at St. Gabriel, Deacon Torigian will also help the diocesan Office of Natural Family Planning develop curriculum for Catholic high school students.
Deacon Jim Gall, who for a while didn’t know what a deacon was but always liked to serve others, also looks forward to living the deacon motto of servant leadership.
He gained a deeper prayer life during the formation process. It’s helped him see things with spiritual eyes instead of reacting based on temperament, he said.
“I could never go back to the way I was,” Deacon Gall said.
Most new deacons said they gained a deeper spirituality and strengthened their marriage and family relationships during formation.
“I just thank God that I finally said yes,” said Deacon Al Homiski, a parish administrator at St. Bernadette in Scottsdale. He admitted putting off repeated invitations to join the diaconate for years.
The five-year formation process in Phoenix involves two years of weekly Kino classes, monthly diaconate meetings with candidates and their wives, practicums including at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, and twice daily prayer. The experience is enough to impact the entire family.
Deacon Ron Johnson saw a noticeable change in the spiritual lives of his three children as well during formation. The psychologist first felt called to the diaconate during a Cursillo weekend seven years ago and is looking forward to being the first Spanish-speaking deacon in the Flagstaff area.
He’ll also travel with Fr. Pat Mowrer throughout the north deanery supporting other parishes and missions.
Deacon Jason Robinson said he was always attracted to serving the Church. He applied to the priesthood after high school and entered further discernment.
He soon met his wife through a singles ministry and continued to search for his niche in the Church.
“I had this passion for the Church kind of from the inside, yet I was a working man,” the software developer said, “so I was always a bridge.”
He thought about entering the diaconate later in life. A personal invitation to the diaconate expedited his formation and ordination.
His ministry will include prison and Native American outreach plus parish work.
“Thank you for responding to God,” Deacon Jim Trant, director of the diaconate told the diocese’s newest deacons, “for doing and acting upon His will.”
More: www.catholicsun.org
ORDERING INFORMATION
Looking for a glossy/matte copy of this photo? Please call 602-354-2140 or send an e-mail for ordering information. Please note the photo's title when ordering. Download the order form here.
Copyright 2006-2010 The Catholic Sun. All rights reserved. This photo and all photos on this Web site credited to The Catholic Sun are provided for personal use only and may not be published, broadcasted, transmitted or sold without the expressed consent of The Catholic Sun.
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Myth and Psyche
The Evolution of Consciousness
This introduction to Jungian psychology was written by Donald Kalsched and Alan Jones as a companion to a photographic exhibition at The Hofstra Museum, in New York City, November 15 – December 19, 1986. The exhibit was presented by The Hofstra Museum with The Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS). The exhibit was curated by Karin Barnaby and Annmari Ronnberg.
Introduction
Mythology is the most archaic and profound record we have of mankind's essential spirit and nature. As far back as we are able to trace the origins of our species, we find myth and myth-making as the fundamental language through which man relates to life's mystery and fashions meaning from his experiences. The world of myth has its own laws and its own reality. Instead of concepts and facts that make logical sense, we find patterns of irrational imagery whose meaning must be discerned or experienced by the participant-observer. Discovering these patterns of meaning is what Jung meant by the symbolic approach to religion, myth, and dream.
The mythic image is not to be taken literally and concretely as it would be in the belief-system of a particular religion, nor is it to be dismissed as 'mere illusion,' as often happens in scientific circles. Instead, we must approach myth symbolically as revealed eternal 'truths' about mankind's psychic existence — about the reality of the psyche. 'Once upon a time' does not mean 'once' in history but refers to events that occur in eternal time, always and everywhere. Any myth is very much alive today. Every night in sleep we sink back into that source of all mythological imagery, the unconscious psyche — the origin of dreams. Many of our games have their roots in mythology and much of contemporary art, literature, and film is shot through with mythological themes.
The comparative method is the basic key to a symbolic understanding of mythology. Through it we discover certain patterns which recur in widely varying cultures separated by an immensity of both distance and time. Jung called these underlying patterns 'archetypes' from 'arche' meaning primordial, and 'typos' meaning typical. Archetypal images embody the most essential elements of the human experience and drama. They manifest both as powerful images, and as dynamic behavioral patterns. They are a repertoire of instinctive human functioning, analogous in our species to the instinctive impulse that impels, say, the Baltimore Oriole to build a beautiful teardrop nest, or Salmon to return to the streams of their birth. The generality of these images result from recurrent reactions of human beings to situations and stimuli of the same general order, repeated over thousands of years.
The archetypal images represent several basic stages of the life drama symbolized by the Hero myth. They lead from an initial stage of unconsciousness before the ego has awakened, through various stages of heroic struggle, to a final state of 'wholeness' or integration when life has reached its full potential and a relationship between the human and divine has been reestablished. Jung called this process 'individuation,' the process of becoming the true individual that one really is. This 'true self' Jung felt to be the dynamic factor in the unconscious of each individual. It represents the central archetype of order and wholeness among the other archetypes. Jung called it the Self.
The Original Embryonic State
In the beginning of many creation myths is an image of an original state of perfection, wholeness, and beatific containment. This is often represented as a containing circle, cave, pool, or sphere. The predominant archetypal symbol is that of the primordial Earth Goddess — the Great Mother with her nourishing and protective womb. Many other symbols express this archetype. Anything large and embracing or containing, such as a vessel, that enwraps, shelters, and preserves something small and fragile partakes of this 'primordial mother' One very common symbol is the uroborus, the snake with its tail in its mouth. These symbols express a paradisal state prior to any degree of self-sufficiency and autonomy. The Garden of Eden, and the Golden Age when mankind lived in union with the gods, partaking of divine fullness and totality, are other common motifs of this psychological condition. In the biological life of the individual this symbolism corresponds not only to the pre-natal gestation of the embryo in the mother's uterus, but to the state of the newborn's total dependence upon the mother. Psychologically, these symbols express the stage when the ego is only a potential, or when the ego is dominated by the universal instinctual patterns of human response to the world, or a condition when little or nothing of a uniquely personal value is expressed by the individual.
Separation, Creation, and the Birth Of Consciousness
Comparative mythology teaches us that there is always a creative tension or urgency in the original embryonic state which leads to trouble. The great uroboric round breaks open and light is born into the world. A typical personification of this impulse is the snake that tempts Eve to violate her passive containment in the Garden, or the shadowy figure or animal in Fairy Tales that tempt the hero or heroine to break the status quo and do something 'evil,' i.e., individual. Such acts result in expulsion from paradisal condition. The protection of childhood, as well as the contentment with the past or with what has been achieved, are types of a paradise that are lost when life calls for a new adaptation.
This process begins with a cataclysmic separation. In myth it is often imaged as the separation of the world Parents. Father Sky and Mother Earth hold each other in an embrace and the world is left in darkness. The children born between them must thrust them apart, despite their parents' protesting cries and groans. Only then does light enter the world. This light symbolizes consciousness. Only in the light of consciousness can man know. Yet the acquisition of consciousness is a Promethean act subjecting the hero to the danger of inflation and retribution. For stealing fire from the Gods Prometheus was chained to a rock where an eagle ate his liver every night; when Icarus flew too high on his man-made wings, their wax melted and he plunged to his death in the sea. As a bearer of light, the hero is willing to face these dangers, despite the awareness of his aloneness, individuality, and mortality, in order to carry development further.
However, once the apple is eaten the world falls into opposites, and 'good' and 'evil' are assigned their place in the world. The Great Good Mother shows her dark aspect, the hateful or Terrible Mother, while the creative Father now sits opposite the Destructive Father, and brothers kill each other in the name of love, and the world is alternately either an enchanted or persecutory place.
The Hero Myth: Birth, Call, Journey
The hero myth symbolizes that personality formation occurs only through struggle, suffering, and sacrifice. The hero's triumphs and defeats are the paradigms of the individual's confrontation with the challenges of his or her own individual life — no matter how mundane or exalted. The birth of the hero usually occurs in humble surroundings such as a manger or cave, but it is always extraordinary in some way. Often there is a special light around the child, or the child is perceived to be a threat to the King. Frequently, the hero has two fathers — his personal father and a 'higher' father. Often the mother is a virgin, and the hero's conception is of divine origin. The hero thereby inherits a dual nature. He is a human being like everyone else, yet at the same time he feels himself to be an outsider, a stranger to the community. He does not fit in, and discovers within himself something that sets him apart, such as his prophetic powers, healing abilities, or creative powers. These lead him to extraordinary deeds.
The heroic adventure often begins with some message or 'call' from a miraculous source. A frog talks to the princess, or Moses confronts a burning bush, or an empty rice bowl floats upstream (Buddha), or there is an annunciation in a dream. The call often comes at an important moment. Old life values have often been outgrown and a certain sterility has set in. Parsifal's quest for the Holy Grail was set in motion by the Fisher King's realm having become a wasteland. Whatever its form, the call awakens the hero to his or her special destiny.
The Hero Myth: The Dragon Fight and Redemption of the Feminine
In the fight with the dragon the hero battles the regressive forces of the unconscious which threaten to swallow the individuating ego. The forces, personified in figures like Circe, Kali, medusa, sea serpents, Minotaur, or Gorgon, represent the Terrible side of the Great Mother. The Hero may voluntarily submit to being swallowed by the monster, or to a conscious descent into Hades so as to vanquish the forces of darkness. This mortifying descent into the abyss, the sea, the dark cave, or the underworld in order to be reborn to a new identity expresses the symbolism of the night-sea journey through the uterine belly of the monster. It is a fundamental theme in mythology the world over — that of death and rebirth. All initiatory rituals involve this basic archetypal pattern through which the old order and early infantile attachments must die and a more mature and productive life be born in their place.
The mythological goal of the dragon fight is almost always the virgin, the captive, or more generally, the 'treasure hard to attain.' This image of the vulnerable, beautiful, and enchanting woman, guarded by and captive of a menacing monster gives us a picture of the inner core of the personality and its surrounding defenses. The hero's task is to rescue the maiden from the grasp of the monster and, ultimately, to marry her and establish his kingdom with her. This dragon fight and liberation of the captive is the archetypal pattern that can guide us through those major transitional passages in our personal development where a rebirth or reorientation of consciousness is indicated. The captive represents the 'new' element whose liberation makes all further development possible.
In response to the call the hero undertakes a journey, usually a dangerous journey to an unknown region full of both promise and danger. Often the journey is a descent. Sometimes, as with Jonah, Aeneas, Christ, and Psyche, it is a descent into the depths — the sea, the underworld, or Hades itself. Always there is a perilous crossing. Sometimes the faintheartedness of the hero is balanced by the appearance of guardians or helpful animals that enable the hero to perform the superhuman task that cannot be accomplished unaided. These helpful forces are representatives of the psychic totality that supports the ego in its struggle. They bear witness to the fact that the essential function of the hero myth is the development of the individual's true personality.
The Goal of Individuation and Its Symbols
The successful completion of the hero drama forges a relationship between the psychic opposites which split apart at the birth of consciousness. The major symbols for this synthesis are various forms of the Coniunctio Oppositorium or Mandala in which the original wholeness is now re-established but on a higher, more differentiated level. In the images of King and Queen united in marriage, or male and female united in the form of the androgyne, or geometrical opposites paradoxically united in the 'squared circle' or life and death come together in the mysterious image of the immortal God suffering a mortal wound, the integration of the opposites within the personality are symbolized. Additional symbols of wholeness are the elixir of immortality, the pearl of great price, and the divine child, representing a life-transcending potential for future growth.
The hero myth tells us that the ego's courage to suffer the burdens of fear, guilt, and the conflicts within the personality — the willingness to be crucified on the cross of one's own doubleness and to hold this inwardly — is the only way God and man can be reconciled and drawn closer together. The original unity of God and man, as in the Garden, is broken when the ego aspires to consciousness. The ego is then banished to a world full of opposites which war with each other within the personality, as brother falls upon brother in war and devastation. But into the chaos is born the child of light, the hero, whose struggle can forge an everlasting relationship between male and female, light and darkness, life and death, God and man. This is the promise, the Ring, the Covenant, the Flaming Rainbow Bridge which can unite the human and divine in the inward depths of the human psyche.
www.cgjungny.org/d/d_mythpsyche.html
The biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis Chapters 2-3) is foundational to our Western culture and has influenced the upbringing and psychology of all of us, whether we realize it or not.Mythologists as well as many biblical scholars recognize the story as being in the genre of myth, which makes it appropriate to analyze it from the perspective of depth psychology, among other approaches. Indeed, as Joseph Campbell concluded, “This story yields its meaning only to a psychological interpretation” (2001, p. 50). Further, Carl Jung (CW 9.2, para. 230) had already written that “cosmogonic myths are, at bottom, symbols for the coming of consciousness.” But the literature about the Eden story taking such a psychological approach is scant, largely due to traditional and problematic gaps and tensions between academic disciplines. My recent book, The Mythology of Eden, is in part an interdisciplinary effort to take on this fascinating and important task and advance our knowledge on the subject. Below I distill some of my findings from this approach to the Eden myth, and I hope they break some new ground: The Story as Told.In the story, Yahweh warns Adam (before Eve is created) not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, or he will die that very day. In many mythologies and religions, including traditional Canaanite-Israelite religion, sacred trees have been thought of as conduits for connecting with and directly experiencing the divine, whereas the Eden story’s author insisted upon a covenant (contract) relationship between the divine (Yahweh) on the one hand and the human (earthly, profane, non-divine) sphere on the other. In the ancient biblical world, one way to experience the divine was to partake of the fruit or other produce of the sacred tree or plant, thus imbibing the essence of the divinity represented by or immanent within the tree, but this practice was condemned in the Bible.When Eve was tempted by the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit, she decided to eat it for various reasons, but mainly because she desired wisdom (Gen. 3:6). This purpose was realized when, immediately after Eve and then Adam ate the fruit, “the eyes of both were opened” (Gen. 3:7), and Yahweh remarked (to other divine beings), “See, the man has become like one of us [deities], knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:22). The questions become: What kind of knowledge/wisdom did Adam and Eve acquire, and what kind of transformation did these archetypal humans undergo? Both relate to the psyche.
The Creation of the Cosmos from ChaosIn ancient Near Eastern creation myths, there was no such thing as creation from nothing. Before the creation, there was always a formless watery substance characterized as “chaos” (see, e.g., Gen. 1:1) because at that stage no time, space, or other order existed. The same is true before the beginning of creation in the Eden story (a separate creation story from that in Genesis 1, by a different, earlier author), only a different metaphor for chaos was used, that of a desert wasteland (Gen. 2:4-5). The ordered cosmos is created like a bubble within the surrounding chaos and is bordered by the solid firmament above and the ground below, as shown in Diagram 1 below. The cosmos (including humans) is made of the same substance as chaos; the only difference is that it is ordered, has multiplicity, and the things created have names given by the creator decreeing their function and destiny.This motif of creation from chaos was universal in the ancient Near East and common around the world. Why? Marie-Louise von Franz (1995, pp. 2-4) explained that this is a natural result of our psyche experiencing its own ego-consciousness coming into being as “world-becoming.” As far as our psyche is concerned, our becoming aware of the world and the world coming into existence are one and the same. This process occurred not only when humans first developed ego-consciousness but also occurs in any young child’s development (as shown by developmental psychology) and in the life of adults, such as when we wake up in the morning from an unconscious state and order falls into place. Our unconscious has no sense of space or time and little sense of order; it is indeed chaotic and is experienced as such. Thus, the dawn of consciousness and our image of the creation of the world are parallel and related processes which throw up corresponding, related symbols. The notion of primordial chaos is a natural projection of an archetypal image that helps make the unknown comprehensible.Chaos as Evil and Sin.After the creation, chaos is not eliminated but continues outside the cosmos, always trying to encroach upon and undo the created cosmos. Particular things are “created” only to the extent that chaos is absent in them. But in fact nothing is perfect (except the initial Garden of Eden); each thing contains some element of chaos. In nature, chaos is manifested in natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and violent storms. Since humans are made of the same substance as the rest of the cosmos (recall Adam being formed from the ground and water), chaos can and will inevitably erupt in humans too. In modern psychological terms, this is the unconscious at work. In the biblical world, chaos was typically symbolized by a serpent, so when in the Eden story the serpent appears before Eve, the story’s ancient audience knew that chaos had entered the Garden and Eve’s mind. Her dialogue with the serpent represents this manifestation of chaos within herself and inner turmoil.In normative terms, chaos is viewed as bad (evil), while creation is good. After all, God had created the ordered cosmos from chaos, so that’s what He wanted. The cosmos in this respect has a teleological nature, which should be respected, maintained, and furthered. Chaos manifested in humans is what results in human evil (which the biblical authors said includes pagan religion). This is what Yahweh warns Cain about: “sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it” (Gen. 4:7, by the same author as the Eden story). The same biblical author later described this chaotic trait within human nature as wild imaginings of the human heart (in the ancient world thought to be the repository of thought) (Gen. 6:5; 8:21), much like Eve’s imaginings during her temptation (Gen. 3:6). Later rabbinical writings characterized this trait as the yezer hara (“impulse to evil”), which became the standard rabbinical explanation for the origin of evil. The ancients did not understand the nature of the unconscious as such, but they did reach the insight that much of human behavior, especially evil behavior, stems from urges deep within and barely susceptible to our rational, conscious control.The Antidote: The Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the Law
Adam and Eve’s transgression in the Garden showed what happens if unrestricted human nature takes its natural course. The author had to provide a remedy. His antidote was twofold: the knowledge of good and evil, combined with the Law (here in its incipient form).First, the immediate result of eating the forbidden fruit was to acquire the godlike knowledge of good and evil. What this knowledge consists of has been the subject of much debate, but actually the Hebrew Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls go fairly far in explaining it. In several passages they describe this knowledge as being acquired (or perfected) as one passes from minority to adulthood, at the age of 20 (e.g., Isa. 7:14-16). Thus, when the Hebrews rebelled against Yahweh in the wilderness of Sinai, those 20 or older (except for the virtuous Joshua and Caleb) were implicated in this sin and so were not allowed to enter the Promised Land (hence the long stay in the wilderness), while minors under 20 had no knowledge of good and evil and so were considered incapable of sin, and therefore would eventually enter the Promised Land (Num. 14:29-30; Deut. 1:39). The Hebrew Bible goes on to portray Israel’s best kings, David and Solomon, has having an extra dose of the knowledge of good and evil, which is described as wisdom and a power of discernment (2 Sam. 14:17, 20; 1 Kings 3:9-12, 28; 4:29-31).The above understanding means that Adam and Eve’s transgression did not rise to the level of sin, since they had not yet acquired the knowledge of good and evil. They were like minors without legal capacity. In fact, their transgression was the result of human nature already at creation having the aforementioned inclination toward evil, not the cause of our sinfulness, as claimed in the doctrine of original sin.Given that evil is a form of chaos and good is a manifestation of the divinely created order of creation, the knowledge of good and evil is nothing less than the godlike knowledge of how the universe works in terms of the dynamic between chaos and order, both at the cosmic level and at the human moral level of good and evil. This understanding was likewise an insight into how the human psyche works. According to the biblical writers, in principle the knowledge of good and evil is what can (if applied) enable humans to avoid sin and further good.As shown by the snowballing of human evil leading up to Noah’s flood, however, in practice merely having this knowledge was not enough for good to prevail. Humans needed divine guidance and assistance. It was for this reason that Yahweh bestowed on the Hebrews the Law, a set of ordering principles which, if followed, would result in good prevailing, as well as the greatness of the Israelite nation. Having the knowledge of good and evil would enable humans to understand and follow the Law. This scheme is shown in Diagram 2 below, presenting the knowledge of good and evil as a type of merism, encompassing these opposites at the cosmic and human level.The Psychic Nature of the Transgression.Having the knowledge of good and evil enables humans to discern and understand both external and internal (psychic) reality, in particular pairs of opposites, symbolized by the opposites of good and evil but including others in the story such as male and female, and God and humans. Therefore, Adam and Eve’s acquisition of this knowledge constituted an enlightenment and transformation into a higher psychic level, that of full ego-consciousness. Before that, they were mired in a lower psychic state dominated by the unconscious that Erich Neumann (1954) famously called the “uroboros,” where all is one and there are no pairs of opposites (pp. 5-38). Yahweh’s warning that Adam would “die” upon eating the fruit, may well render this moment a kind of initiation scenario, with the old human dying and entering a new state of being. This transformation is what made humans responsible and accountable for their actions (especially before God), truly capable of sin or of good, and ready to act in the real world. That is when Adam and Eve exited the Garden. In psychological terms, they were not driven from the Garden but grew up and walked out on their own. As Joseph Campbell explained, “The Garden is a metaphor for the following: our minds” (2001, p. 50).Although no act of “original sin” occurred, the Eden story remains principally a story explaining human nature, in particular our psyche. Especially important is the story’s recognition of the role of chaos in the psyche, which today means the unconscious and especially the Shadow. As Jung recognized, “it is a frightening thought that man also has a shadow-side to him, consisting not just of little weaknesses and foibles, but of a positively demonic dynamism” (CW 7, para. 35). This chaos eventually came to be represented by the Devil. The author of the Eden story honestly brought out this psychic fact, and he did his best to fashion a way to deal with it. His remedy was the application of our knowledge of good and evil (an aspect of ego-consciousness) plus the Law.
What Does the Eden Story Mean for Us?In considering the relevance of the Eden story in today’s world, we must reevaluate the biblical author’s remedy and determine what our conclusions mean for us individually (spirituality, psychology), as well as socio-politically in terms of criminology, social policy, ethics and morality, education, religious doctrine (or abandonment thereof), and law. This complicated endeavor would take us far beyond the scope of this article, so I will end with just two points in this regard.
First, to the extent the biblical remedy involves conscious application of the knowledge of good and evil, this seems inevitably to involve, at least in part, ego-consciousness repressing and suppressing contents of our unconscious, which modern psychology has shown to cause still more problems.Second, historically, the biblical authors’ reliance on prophylactic laws to control human behavior has had mixed results. Further, such approach assumes that the human psyche is incapable of further change, even though it had transformed once before in the Garden. As a result, the prophylactic approach treats symptoms rather than the underlying problems, including evolved traits that once had survival value but which in many cases are now dysfunctional.
An alternative approach is to endeavor to transform the human psyche to a higher level, in which case the need for prophylactic measures and suppression and repression of the unconscious would lessen. Such is the approach, for example, being explored by Allan Combs (2009), the integral psychology movement championed by Ken Wilber (1996; 2000), and other progressive thinkers and initiatives. One means toward this end may well be spiritual practices giving a direct experience of divinity (however conceived), the type of approach condemned in the Bible but which resulted in the elevation of Adam and Eve’s consciousness.
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