Per Christum

For those of you who are fans of the Busted Halo podcast, I want to let you know that the cantor on the Kyrie, Gloria and Prayers of the People for the Papal Mass at Nationals Park is Paulist Deacon Stephen Bell.  He’s the guy who sometimes sings the theme to their “Church Search.” 

I had the distinct honor of singing for his ordination mass to the transitional diaconate last year in the Crypt Church at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (pics found in the link above).  Of note to Per Christum readers, he’s a convert from the Church of Christ.  He’ll be ordained to the priesthood this June. 

This post is just a quick note to let you know that former-Southern Baptist and current-”Southern Papist”, Andrew McNutt, will be on the EWTN’s “The Journey Home” with Marcus Grodi tonight (April 14, 2008) at 7pm Central/8pm Eastern time.

Andy’s got a great story and his prayers and emails were very helpful when I was making that same Baptist-to-Papist transition. Say prayer for him and give it a peek if you can.

Avery Cardinal Dulles, an agnostic during his college years, returned to the Christianity of his youth upon seeing the budding of the trees around the springtime. Later, he converted to Catholicism. Here are his own words (from “A Testimonial to Grace”):

I was irresistibly prompted to go out into the open air … The slush of melting snow formed a deep mud along the banks of the River Charles, which I followed down toward Boston … As I wandered aimlessly, something impelled me to look contemplatively at a young tree. On its frail, supple branches were young buds … While my eye rested on them, the thought came to me suddenly, with all the strength and novelty of a revelation, that these little buds in their innocence and meekness followed a rule, a law of which I as yet knew nothing … That night, for the first time in years, I prayed.

You may be familiar with the television and radio ministry of evangelist Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron (aka “Mike Sever” from Growing Pains) called Way of the Master [warning: here there be loud audio , busy flash and dubious theology.] I usually refer to it as “Way of the Ambush” because it’s built around walking up to unsuspecting folks on the street and letting them know how sinful they are and, if they haven’t followed the “Roman’s Road”/Sinner’s Prayer version of conversion, that they are on their way to Hell.

Because there are a lot of Catholics (practicing and non) on this planet, they are often targets for this treatment…all the better if they are poorly catechized or lapsed.

One feature they have on their radio show is “Fish with Trish” where a lady named Trish Ramos goes around with a cellphone finding non-Christians or people who “think they’re good” who will agree to talk on the air with Ray, Kirk and/or radio host Todd Friel to find out how wrong and lost they are.

This time, I think Trish reeled in a fish that wouldn’t fit in their live-well: Fr. Jim McGhee.

Fr. Jim McGhee is a convert to the Catholic faith AND a Catholic priest at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in Forth Worth, Texas. He was raised as a Methodist and was a Methodist minister for about seven years before becaming Episcopalian and serving as a priest in that communion for about 20 years. He entered full-communion with the Catholic Church in 1992. He’s also married (which amazed Trish and caused her to wonder out loud if it was “some sort of liberal thing.”)

Well, Fr. Jim can quote scripture as well as they can and he knows their language. He presents the Catholic faith in way that I think they could understand, even if it wasn’t in a way that they liked. Here’s an excerpt:

Comfort: But, if I’m a Roman Catholic, I’ve been sprinkled as a baby, I’m adult and I’m Catholic by name but I haven’t repented and my faith is not in Jesus am I going to heaven?

McGhee: No.

Comfort: So I’m going to Hell?

McGhee: Because you have to cooperate with the grace of God in knowing the faith, living in hope according to your will and learning how to love the good by presence of the Holy Spirit. There has to be a sanctification, a growing up in the Faith.

Download an mp3 of the Program here
(Fr. Jim’s segment starts at 37 mins and 56 seconds into the mp3*)

Anyway, I think Fr. Jim did a great job of presenting the Catholic faith and traditional, sacramental Christianity in a winsome way to a hostile audience that espouses a more novel version of the Christian faith. He really contrasts the nuances of the Apostolic Faith with the “fits on business card” presentation that seems to be par for the course at Way of the Master.

Trish also posted photos and her account of the encounter on her blog as well this video:

*Note: There are some other Catholic-related jewels earlier in the episode: a recording from a 60 Minutes interview with a Catholic former-hitman talking about confession and an incredibly shallow and ham-fisted review of the statement by Avery Cardinal Dulles about the universal scope of the plan of salvation that gets brought up in Fr. Jim’s segement. That’s why Todd Friel says “it’s not beat up on Catholics hour.” There’s also a clip from a sermon by Reformed Baptist pastor John Piper about making sure Christ is first in your life that I thought was well stated.

An evangelical is studying the ancient Church Fathers. She is impressed with the deep theological insight of the Fathers. She begins studying ancient Christian art, and takes a special interest in church architecture. Over time, she begins to personally observe the Church Year, and studies the hallowed prayers and liturgy of the Church. She finally tires of the white walls and “contemporary” music of her mega-church, and decides to attend a Catholic mass. She steps inside, and kneels to pray, but can’t find any kneelers. Soon the procession starts, and rather than being solemn and reverent, dancers parade up the aisle. The architecture is no noticeably different than the evangelical church, and the priest add libs a lot to the liturgy, making it rather chatty. The evangelical leaves, and decides to visit an Orthodox Church.

A progressive Protestant is starting to see increased crime in his neighborhood, which he starts to connect with a general moral breakdown in society. He ponders the root cause of his neighborhood’s decline, and now questions his former assumptions about certain family issues, particularly his belief that divorce is “no problem.” This leads him to explore the Catholic Church, because it, unlike his current mainline church, still considers divorce a sin. Soon, after much independent reading, he begins to see the wisdom of Catholic Teaching on a variety of issues. He decides to meet with a priest to discuss becoming Catholic, and the priest gives him a strange look, and asks him why he wants to become Catholic when he already has a church. The priest counsels the man that since the ecumenical era, the Catholic Church doesn’t steal sheep, but if the man really wants to be Catholic, then the priest won’t stop him. So he is thrown into RCIA, where he is taught things that pretty much line up with the mainline church he came out of. The man leaves RCIA, and starts looking for a new church.

Now, I know these examples are simplistic. Most committed seekers would not abandon joining the Catholic Church simply because they entered one or two distressing situations. Nonetheless, I have often wondered:

How many faithful potential converts have been turned away from the Church, even scandalized, by the watered-down Catholicism they sometimes encounter?

I know that some catechists, priests, and liturgists justify “dumbing down” the faith, or “watering down” the liturgy in order to make Church teaching and worship more attractive. Nonetheless, this seems to me to be a losing situation, in that by dumbing down the faith, they are attracting those who aren’t likely to be committed to the Church. I mean, to whom are they making the Church more attractive? Committed or uncommitted converts? First, in today’s society, with few social and family pressures to be Catholic, I am guessing that few uncommitted people are going to bother joining the Church, watered-down or otherwise, to begin with. Second, it seems to me that those uncommitted to joining the Church on the Church’s terms are not going to suddenly become committed, active Catholics once they do join. So, basically, by being flaky, is the faith being watered down so much that committed seekers are being turned away, leaving only a small handful of semi-committed converts? I think the answer is probably “yes,” and this could explain the decline of many mainlines: nobody is going to join a church or organization whose beliefs are so watered-down or nebulous that they are meaningless.

Now, I have to say that standing up for, and teaching the Truth of Catholic Teaching, does not mean being overbearing. As a teacher (and sponsor for RCIA), I am always reminded that amidst our permissive society, Catholic Teaching is generally going to be difficult to digest, and offensive on its own, so it is important that it be taught in both Truth and charity. I think it is important that we not fall into the opposite extreme of being flaky, which is being hard, impatient, and mean to those struggling to believe. I have honestly seen quite a few nominal Catholics and candidates accept Church Teaching after actually having the teachings explained by a faithful, but patient, person. You wouldn’t think a Catholic in her 40s would not know that the Church is against artificial contraception, or that a Catholic in his 30s would think that we are supposed to give up meat on the Sundays of Lent, but I have known of these cases. In both of these examples, patient and loving teaching worked.

So I am curious, how many of you have been scandalized by flakiness? Has it ever influenced your decisions relating to religion, or choice of parish? I know that many on the Christian blogosphere are pretty devoted and committed, so we notice things like this!

One of my favorite blogs as of late is Retractiones, the journey of an evangelical who is considering Catholicism and Orthodoxy. I haven’t commented there much, simply for lack of time, but I read it regularly with great joy and interest. I am probably so interested in the thoughts and journey of “Irenaeus,” because I was once where he was. His thoughts have got me thinking a little bit about how I went from evangelical to Catholic.

Every evangelical who becomes Catholic (or Orthodox even) has something that starts the process, i.e. sparks the interest in ancient and catholic things. For me, it was the Church Fathers and Church history, both which I first discovered in 1999. At the time, I was an evangelical, active in the Navigators and Campus Crusade for Christ, but having issues with the theology and practices I encountered in both groups. One extreme example of the problems was when a Campus Crusade leader spoke on John 1:1, and was glad to read that the Bible was called “God!!” An Early Christianity class I took with a devoted and scholarly Orthodox professor opened my eyes to the treasure that is ancient Christianity. I was shocked that I had never heard of the Church Fathers before, let alone their thoughts and ideas. I became increasingly more concerned that the evangelical Christianity I knew so well seemed so different from the Christianity of those who lived immediately after Christ. Soon after the class ended, I went out and bought the entire 38 volume set of Fathers put out by Hendrickson Publishing. But nonetheless, like our friend “Irenaeus,” I moved slowly and incrementally, not able to make the leap immediately into Catholicism or Orthodoxy, for theological, social, and other reasons. I did find evangelicals and other Protestants that seemed to appreciate the Fathers. When I saw that the Episcopal church embraced (at least in theory) a lot of what the Fathers seemed to teach, like baptismal regeneration, Eucharistic Real Presence, liturgical worship, hierarchy within the Church, etc. I became Anglican, which having grown up as an evangelical, was itself a major step, but since I could point to popular Anglican evangelical authors, friends and family weren’t as shocked as had I become Catholic or Orthodox. I just could not make the leap to Catholicism or Orthodoxy.

As I mentioned above, even though I read many Catholic and Orthodox authors (including many Patristic and Medieval writers both privately and later in grad school), I was also influenced by catholic-leaning evangelicals like Robert Webber and Thomas Oden. In fact, I owe the late Robert Webber a debt of gratitude. Even though I have come to disagree with many of his conclusions, Webber helped me become Catholic. In fact, some anti-Catholic websites cited Webber’s influence on me as proof that the newest generation of evangelicals (which includes Webber) is corrupting people into Catholicism!

When I eventually realized that the Anglican Communion did not possess Catholic authority, and had no real “core” beliefs, I knew I finally had to make the jump to either Orthodoxy or Catholicism. Mind you, this is 5 years after I initially discovered the Fathers…5 years! Like Irenaeus, at this point, I seriously explored Orthodoxy and Catholicism. Even though most people who knew me probably would have guessed that I would become Orthodox at some point, I became convinced of the claims of the Catholic Church for a variety of reasons, which I have outlined in my conversion story, which saves me from typing them out here (whew!).

When I think back to the twists and turns my journey into the Catholic Church took, and how much time and energy it would have saved me to just jump in and become Catholic back in 2000, I also remind myself that it is never that easy to simply “jump in” without being emotionally and socially ready, although once we become convinced of the Truth of the Catholic Church, it is imperative that we join as soon as possible. Becoming Catholic organically and naturally, rather than jumping in without proper study and prayer, has likely made me a stronger and more faithful Catholic today than had I just jumped in. I look back and fear that had I become Catholic while at grad school, I would have gotten a warped sense of Catholicism from some of the Catholics there (one Catholic student there wrote in my graduate school’s newsletter that a nun patting a woman’s head was a lesbian “sexual experience”).

For Irenaeus: know that many of us here have been where you all, and are praying for you on your journey, and wherever you end up, and however long it takes you to get there, we will continue to enjoy your reflections and insights.

“…I took the simplest and most explicit Christian name: “Cristiano.” Since yesterday evening therefore my name is Magdi Crisitano Allam.

“For me it is the most beautiful day of [my] life. To acquire the gift of the Christian faith during the commemoration of Christ’s resurrection by the hand of the Holy Father is, for a believer, an incomparable and inestimable privilege. At almost 56 […], it is a historical, exceptional and unforgettable event, which marks a radical and definitive turn with respect to the past. The miracle of Christ’s resurrection reverberated through my soul, liberating it from the darkness in which the preaching of hatred and intolerance in the face of the “different,” uncritically condemned as “enemy,” were privileged over love and respect of “neighbor,” who is always, an in every case, “person”; thus, as my mind was freed from the obscurantism of an ideology that legitimates lies and deception, violent death that leads to murder and suicide, the blind submission to tyranny, I was able to adhere to the authentic religion of truth, of life and of freedom…

I know what I am headed for but I face my destiny with my head held high, standing upright and with the interior solidity of one who has the certainty of his faith. And I will be more so after the courageous and historical gesture of the Pope, who, as soon has he knew of my desire, immediately agreed to personally impart the Christian sacraments of initiation to me. His Holiness has sent an explicit and revolutionary message to a Church that until now has been too prudent in the conversion of Muslims, abstaining from proselytizing in majority Muslim countries and keeping quiet about the reality of converts in Christian countries. Out of fear. The fear of not being able to protect converts in the face of their being condemned to death for apostasy and fear of reprisals against Christians living in Islamic countries. Well, today Benedict XVI, with his witness, tells us that we must overcome fear and not be afraid to affirm the truth of Jesus even with Muslims.

For my part, I say that it is time to put an end to the abuse and the violence of Muslims who do not respect the freedom of religious choice. In Italy there are thousands of converts to Islam who live their new faith in peace. But there are also thousands of Muslim converts to Christianity who are forced to hide their faith out of fear of being assassinated by Islamic extremists who lurk among us. By one of those “fortuitous events” that evoke the discreet hand of the Lord, the first article that I wrote for the Corriere on Sept. 3, 2003 was entitled “The new Catacombs of Islamic Converts.” It was an investigation of recent Muslim converts to Christianity in Italy who decry their profound spiritual and human solitude in the face of absconding state institutions that do not protect them and the silence of the Church itself. Well, I hope that the Pope’s historical gesture and my testimony will lead to the conviction that the moment has come to leave the darkness of the catacombs and to publicly declare their desire to be fully themselves.”

More from Zenit.

Was just curious to find out if any of our dozen readers or so out there were received into the Church this weekend. If so, welcome home! Also feel free to leave a note in the combox.

I know more than a few of our regular combox warriors as well as (a majority?) of our contributors made that journey - some in just the past several years. For them, how long have you been Catholic?

Anyone picking out swim apparel and eyeing the Tiber for next year out there?

“I realize what I am going up against

but I will confront my fate with my head high,

with my back straight and the interior strength

of one who is certain about his faith.”

— Magdi Christian Allam.

Some voices in Europe and other places are presently criticizing the pope for his high profile baptism of Magdi Allam at the Easter Vigil. They assert that the pope is somehow taunting Islam and unnecessarily putting Mr. Allam’s life in danger, and perhaps the pope’s as well. I cannot know the pope’s mind. But I would like to suggest why he might do something so dramatic and frankly foolish in the eyes of the world:

I think the pope is making all kinds of points.

• He wants to uphold the example of this man who has stood up to Islam already for many years.
• He also wants to make an issue of the Muslim practice of assassination of those who convert out of it. Imagine the shame heaped on Islam if Allam is killed.
• He wants to show Muslims that reasonable and rational people, the very best of Islam are ashamed of what Islam has become.
• He wants to make a point to sleepy Europeans that Christianity is a faith worth dying for.
• He wants to give all the world an example of Christ-like willingness to die for the good, rather than to kill.
• He wants the world to know that it is superior to suffer violence than to commit it.
• He wants to show the world the moral and spiritual superiority of Christ and Christianity.
• He wants to show the world that the willingness to innocently suffer violence for one’s faith is not reserved to the earliest ages, but is a very present reality.
• He wants to highlight that Christians throughout the world willingly suffer violence for their faith every day.
• He wants to bring about religious freedom, a true liberation of personal conscience in the lands of Islam.
• He wants to give the Muslim world an example of Christian virtue that they will notice.
• Should Mr. Allam or Benedict lose their lives, he would want to offer martyrs for the sake of the Muslim world.

Finally, Magdi Allam, now on the world stage, may be safer than if he had not been in the spotlight. Who knows?

.

Pope to Baptize Prominent Muslim

By NICOLE WINFIELD – 3 hours ago

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Italy’s most prominent Muslim commentator is converting to Catholicism by being baptized by the pope at an Easter vigil, the Vatican announced Saturday.

Magdi Allam is the deputy editor of the Corriere della Sera newspaper and writes often on Muslim and Arab affairs. Born in Egypt, he has described himself as a non-practicing Muslim. He has long spoken out against extremism and in favor of tolerance.

Pope Benedict XVI was baptizing seven adults during the service, which marks the period between Good Friday, which commemorates Jesus’ crucifixion, and Easter Sunday, which marks his resurrection.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said of Allam before the service that anyone who chooses to become a Catholic of his or her own free will has the right to receive the sacrament.

Lombardi said the pope administers the sacrament “without making any ‘difference of people,’ that is, considering all equally important before the love of God and welcoming all in the community of the Church.”

Benedict opened the lengthy nighttime service by blessing a white candle, which he then carried down the main aisle of the darkened St. Peter’s Basilica. Slowly, the pews began to light up as his flame was shared with candles carried by the faithful, until the whole basilica twinkled and the main lights came on. READ ALL

May God grant him many years in health and happiness.

May his conversion light the way for many more!

UPDATE ZENIT: Magdi Allam Recounts His Path To The Catholic Church

UPDATE: baptized by pope says life in danger “He said he made his decision to convert after years of deep soul searching and asserted that the Catholic Church has been ‘too prudent about conversions of Muslims.’”

Dr. Beckwith announces over at his group blog “I will be spending next school year on the faculty of the University of Notre Dame as the Mary Ann Remick Senior Visiting Fellow in the Notre Dame Center for Ethics & Culture.”

So head’s up, Fr. J! Ideally you can snag him for PC, but barring that, maybe an exclusive interview or two? We will see!

H/T: to stlouismb over at On Our Way Home The lady priests to the left are not the ones in question - just a random shot of Church of England gals doing their thing…

Now I am feeling a little lazy today (the sun is shining and I want to let my 5 dogs walk me a bit, it is going to be 0° here Sunday) but I seem to recall about 12 years ago the first woman ordained in the Church of Ireland (Anglican) and several Lutheran Lasses made a similar move. Anyone remember the names?

Pastor Of The Worlds Third Largest Methodist Church, Crosses The Tiber

“After much prayer and meditation over the past six months, I have shared with Bishop Lindsey Davis that I am relinquishing my status as an ordained United Methodist pastor in the North Georgia Conference. This deeply personal decision reflects my sense that God has called me to serve in a new mission role. Moreover, I believe that God has led me to a new spiritual home in the Catholic Church, so I have made provision to be received as a member into that Church. Anita plans to continue her ministry with children in the United Methodist Church, and I naturally will continue to support her and that ministry with my prayers and my regular volunteer service. I pray God’s blessings on my brothers and sisters in ministry in the United Methodist Church, particularly the wonderful family of believers at Mount Pisgah. -Allen”

Link To Allen Hunt’s blog post (here)

More on Allen Hunt (here) , (here) and (here)

H/T: Good Jesuit, Bad Jesuit

In 2007 we saw the coming home of 3 Episcopal bishops, one Lutheran bishop in Canada, scores of prominent Episcopal and Lutheran Clergy, Dr. Francis Beckwith, and a good number of others…

Maybe that was just a warm-up for 2008?

Read about Tim’s mission here.

As I have written before: Phenomenal growth in Africa and parts of Asia in countries that are not predom Catholic but will soon have Catholic populations larger than some predom Catholic countries is appreciable as well…

In Uganda, only 1/3d of the population is Catholic, but with a birth rate of Uganda 48.12births/1,000 population (source) well, that is worthy of some thought. Conversions, and births are turning this country more and more Catholic by the day. In time the number of Catholics attending Mass weekly and active in the church could far outnumber the same in larger Western countries.

As the west grows older and more tired and, all too often, show’s its post-Christian colors, might I suggest we can look to Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe for much renewal with great, great hope.

Jennifer and I are currently sponsoring two candidates for RCIA this liturgical year. I did not have to go through RCIA when I became Catholic, mainly because I was practically qualified to teach it, even as an Anglican. However, I am sure in some parishes, I would have been made to go through RCIA before entering into full communion with the Catholic Church. I admit, when deciding to convert, I was not too keen on going through RCIA, even though, in the spirit of humility, I was willing to. I mean, I read the Catechism all the way through, read the complete Bible (including Deuterocanon) previously, had read many Church Fathers and medieval writers at Ohio University, Emory, and on my own personal time. And on top of all of this, I understood what it meant to submit to the Church’s Teaching. Did I even need RCIA (which as far as I knew, was designed for the unbaptized anyway)?

I have heard many horror stories associated with RCIA, namely teachers who are less Catholic than the candidates themselves, an over-emphasis on emotion to the exclusion of theology and hard fact, teaching that openly contradicts actual Catholic Teaching, and so forth. Here are a few objections from the combox over at Third Blog From the Right, in the post, Why are you not a Catholic?:

From Tribal:

RCIA is very time-consuming. Why can’t I just show that I’ve attended services for X amount of time and take a test on doctrine, and am thus committed and knowledgeable? I know far more about Roman Catholicism (at least in terms of doctrine) than most Roman Catholics I know, have a valid Christian baptism, attend Roman Catholic services, and even try to observe canon law, such as the prohibition on meat on Fridays. However, with three graduate classes in a row on Thursday mornings I simply don’t have the time to attend a Wednesday evening RCIA course for many months.

From Laura:

Hey, Tribal! I always wondered that one myself. I have sponsored many a person in RCIA and even though some of them found it beneficial, I remember thinking that there must be so many in the class who are more Catholic than some of the sponsors at the time! In other words, they GOT it…they didn’t need someone teaching them all about how much Jesus loves them or how to promote affordable housing for about 6 months during the classes (the classes have improved since then, I’m just sayin’!).
I know the usualy line is, “Well, just accept it as ‘what we do’ and suck it up, if you’re going to be Catholic for real, then you gotta learn how to suffer for Christ anyway!”. Heehee. While that is mostly true, it would seem to me that the priest should be the primary catechist and should be able to tell in a series of interviews that any person is prepared for any of the sacraments, right?

From the Young Fogey:

As has been alluded to here specificially with RCIA (also my experience) on the ground level most of them are really liberal Protestants.

So, here are some questions for discussion:

1. If you are converting for the right reasons (as opposed to bad reasons, like you are getting married to a Catholic and you have no intention of actually believing what the Church believes, etc), is RCIA, as it is often run, a stumbling block, rather than a help?

2. Or has RCIA gotten a bad name because of a few bad programs/sponsors, and is the Catholic blogosphere simply just not sharing the good RCIA stories?

3. If you have been through RCIA as a teacher, sponsor, candidate, observer, etc, what about your RCIA experience was good? What was bad? (Please share some good with the bad; this is not intended to simply be a b**** session)

4. How would you improve the conversion process (note that I personally am not suggesting RCIA should be done away with; I think it is a good idea, and the opposite of misuse is not disuse, but correct use)?

5. Related to number 4, would the RCIA process be more fruitful if it consisted of an intense reading of the entire Catechism, many Church Fathers, and a whole lot of Scripture?