Los Angeles Religious Education Congress Day 1 Reflections

Today I had the opportunity to go to the annual Los Angeles Religious Education Congress at the Anaheim Convention Center.   I wasn't the only one! It was very crowded and full of people seeking out ways of growing their faith and the faith of those around them.

The first lecture I went to was by Rabbi Michael Lokter speaking on the topic "What every serious Christian should know about Judaism".  I found his lecture very interesting and informative and was able to purchase his book A Christian's Guide to Judaism.  If the book is half as good as his lecture it will be an excellent read.   I think so often that we as Christians take for granted Jewish beliefs.  We read the Old Testament and get some basic instruction on what "Jewish Practice" was like before Christ and we scratch our heads wondering why the Jews missed Jesus as the Messiah.

Rabbi Lokter did a great job explaining to us why that is and it seems to ultimately come down to two ideas.  First, who God is and Second who the Messiah is.  Apparently both of these questions are not satisfactorily or even coherently answered by Christianity in the Jewish mind. I also learned that while Christianity is interested primarily with the afterlife,  Judaism is interested primarily with what we have here on earth now and what we are to do to better the world around us for God.   The afterlife in Judaism is not focused on much.    Differences like this, once understood, can really lead to some fruitful discussions between our faith traditions, and is far better than understanding a mere caricature of each other.

The second lecture I attended was by Fr. Joe Kempf speaking on the topic "What do you See in the Mirror".   I was able to first hear Fr. Joe speak last year about the Sacrament of Reconciliation and I was very impressed with his pastoral nature and this lecture today did not disappoint either.   Fr. Joe has a "pal" named Big Al that is a puppet he uses to teach children and make children's videos with.  Apparently he has been doing this for some time as everyone seems to know all about it.   Since I was a convert just last year to Catholicism I had no idea who this "Big Al" was and it was pretty comical to see all the middle aged folks get so excited to see Big Al and take pictures of him! The little I saw of Big Al and Fr Joe though makes it clear why people love him so much, he touches on heart issues and real world struggles and helps people figure out how to get through the hard times of life and how much God loves us.   I picked up a book and DVD and am hoping to introduce my own kids to Big Al now!

My third workshop was a sobering one related to the atrocities of human trafficking.  Theresa Flores spoke about her own experience being trafficked as a teenager and has written a book of her story titled "The Slave Across the Street".  Theresa gave a lot of statistics and examples, but the biggest thing I think to take away was that Trafficking can happen to anyone anywhere and recognizing when someone may need help (even if they don't ask or admit it) is key to helping people gain freedom from their traffickers.

The day closed out with a choice of masses and I attended the "Black Culture Liturgy".  It was a beautiful mass and the priest gave a wonderful homily about loving others even when they don't love us back or when it is difficult.   I was lucky enough to sit next to a group of religious brothers from Hawaii and they were super friendly and we had a good time.   I think if they had an extra habit and ticket to Hawaii, they may have offered it to me......maybe I would have accepted!

As happened last year,  I now have a huge pile of books from the exposition floor to get through over the next few months!

I am very excited for tomorrow and the insights and faith formation to be gained by the lectures and liturgies tomorrow.  Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church will be giving the keynote and so I am very excited to hear from someone of my former tradition as an Evangelical speak to this huge Catholic audience.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession)

When we talk about the confessional, it seems that people immediately get scared and nervous.  The idea of telling someone the skeletons in your closet is terrifying to most people.    Why is this?  Ultimately it comes down to shame and judgement.  Shame for what we have done, and the associated embarrassment, and the fear of judgement from others.....the strange looks, the second thoughts, perhaps the severing of a relationship.  

Thankfully, God does not respond to our sin, the way people around us might.   He loves us and pours out his grace upon us.   He suffered for us on the cross and he bore the weight of all of our shortcomings.   Sharing our shortcomings with God is something he wants from us, he wants to help us and he wants to bring us through the darkness into the light. 

So why is the confessional so scary?  It shouldn't be.  It is a place where we can meet God and hear the words of forgiveness said to us.  That someone representing God and the Church is there and hears what we have done and tells us that we are forgiven no matter what.  The sin is gone, it is erased.   Someone is there to anonymously hear what we need to get out, what is bottled up, what is burdening us, and that same person to tell us it is ok to let the burden of sin go, to let Christ take it for us. 

As a protestant, I was no stranger to asking God for forgiveness.  I did it plenty in prayer, but there was something lacking, something I could not ever put my finger on, but present none the less.  It was  a burden that I continued to carry.  My sins, though asked for forgiveness for, still bore weight on me.  I knew God forgave me, but I could not fully release the burden that the sin had placed on me.  Small sins, bigger sins, no matter, there was a burden.   

I appreciated the idea of the Confessional, there was something that seemed right about it.  I was still nervous going in, but it was the most amazing experience I have ever had.   I went into the confessional, burdened and came out freed.   Hearing the words of absolution brought tears to my eyes,  I experienced first hand the Divine Mercy of Christ.  It was so real you could feel it.  I felt like I walked a few feet taller after that.   

In my journey to the Catholic Faith, I did a lot of study, read a lot of information, talked to a lot of people.  I was convinced of the Catholic Faith, intellectually.   Everything I learned, all the apologetics, all the arguments, were mere dust compared to how real the experience of the Sacrament of Reconciliation was.  God's mercy was felt,  His grace received, and it was clear that God works and acts through his church.  

There is something very therapeutic for the soul about going to confession.   It forces you to search yourself, acknowledge your sin, and strive to change.   It is far too easy for us to condone bad behavior in ourselves, or justify wrongdoing.   It is far to easy to bottle things up and not really deal with them.  Confession counters those problems in a real way.   

Confession reconciles us with God, by coming to him with our sin and asking forgiveness.  God works through the priest in this by assuring us of our forgiveness in the provision of absolution and by using the priest to offer us ways to reconcile the damage done by our sins in penance.  Ways to help us heal our soul from the damage that has been done to it by our sin.  

Confession also reconciles us to the Church.  It returns us from a wayward sheep back into the flock.   This was seen from the earliest times when they used to have public confessions before the whole church!  While a motivator to keep the narrow path, I imagine people began to hide their sins a bit to avoid the public confession and the private confessional developed to meet such  a pastoral need. 


For those that are uncertain of the basis of confession in the Bible,  I can post a couple verses here.

John 20:21-23

 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

This shows that Jesus commissioned the Apostles to go out and hear sins and forgive them if the people were sorry, or not forgive them if they weren't . This authority was handed on as the Apostles handed on their office through the ages to the Bishops of today.

James 5:13-16

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

I really love this verse 16.  In my previous evangelical upbringing the idea of confessing sins to another person would have been very outlandish.   There was no reason for it and no one ever did it.   Certainly not to the pastors or elders outside of perhaps some sort of counseling type of situation.  I like how this section of verses describes calling the elders to you and asking them to pray for you.  That their prayer is powerful and effective and that you should confess your sins to these elders.   This is what is done in the Confessional (this section also describes "Last Rites"). 

I have been wanting to do a post on Confession for a while due to my really amazing experience with it, but I hadn't formulated enough ideas for it, or taken the time to right it all down.   Our Parish priest spoke to the RCIA class this last week on this topic and it sort of rekindled the flame.  

  Sometimes we are so critical with ourselves that we convince ourselves that God can't or won't forgive us.  This is nothing but Satan lying to us.  The God who brought forth the Universe from nothing, can most certainly forgive any pitiful sin we commit.   

I also want to point out that the Confessional is a great tool for our own sanctification, something we can all say that we strive for.  We should always want to grow in Christian holiness.  Going to the confessional regularly is a great way to do that.  It is a way for us to really examine ourselves and report our faults.  A time to grow in prayer and receiving God's Grace.   The popes have gone to confessional quite frequently.....every week or two. They do this as both an example to us, and to form their consciences and humble themselves before God.   It is important for them, and it is important for us for the same reasons. 

So what are you waiting for?  

Go and lay down your burdens today!

The Catholic Church- On Icons

We recently had a visit to our parish of a Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa.   The icon originates in Poland, and has been traveling around the world on a pilgrimage for the sanctity of human life.  It is a very beautiful image of the Blessed Mother holding a child Jesus.  There is a lot of information on the icon that one can read at this link : Our Lady of Czestochowa Information

Seeing the icon in person was a great experience.  It is a part of Christian history dating back at least 700 years, with tradition saying that the Gospel writer Luke painted it.    It is an icon, that I probably would never see in my life, except that it came to my very own parish.  So even just from an interesting museum type historical standpoint, it was a nice thing to see, but icons are much more than that and often times a stumbling block for people interested in the Catholic Faith.

So what is an icon exactly?  Icons are images of Christian Figures that are in some ways like a window to heaven.   They are a physical display of a diving reality as best as we can have that.   Icons help us, as physical creatures, imagine something about the Divine.  In this case about Mary and Jesus, their relationship with each other, and with us.   It helps us see God becoming man, and what that means for us.  

Often it is viewed by people that are unfamiliar with icons and the rich tradition of them throughout Christian History as a form of idolatry.  This cannot be further from the truth however.  No one is worshiping the icon, instead they worship God with the aid of the icon.   We would never say it is idolatry to pray before an open Bible, or to sing praises with images of Christ on a Power Point Screen flashing by.  But for some reason it becomes idolatry in the minds of some, when the image is a permanent picture or statue.   All of these forms of art, whether they be a statue or a powerpoint video, serve the same purpose of helping us focus on God.

As a convert,  this was something I had to come to understand.  The last thing anyone wants to do is become an idolater.   It takes serious reflection and understanding to fully understand what one should do in relation to icons.   In fact, many lifelong Catholics may need a refresher on practices related to icons, to ensure they are not erroneously falling into idolatry.  

I couldn't help but imagine what I as a then Protestant would have done if the ark of the covenant had been discovered, or the true cross.   Imagine as a protestant someone without any doubt whatsoever, bringing the actual cross of Christ into your church to display.   Would you not, display it reverently up in front?  Would you not perhaps decorate around it with lights and flowers?  Would you not encourage people to come and sit or kneel at the foot of the cross?  Would you not encourage people to gently touch the areas where Christ's feet were pierced?  

I think everyone would see no problem in any of that.  Knowing that all worship and thanks and honor is going to Christ and not the actual cross.  It brings us closer to his suffering, closer to experiencing him in a very real and tangible way.

The same is true with icons, and a proper veneration of the icon in an act of humble worship to God.