Further reflection on souls...

My previous encounter with a certain individual inspired me to expand on the Catholic view on souls.

It is catholic belief that all living things have souls (plants, animals, and us), by definition, in the proper sense of the word.

See:
New Advent on Souls

An animal does not have a spiritual soul though. That is, its soul cannot exist without it's body. So when a cat, say, dies, not only does the cat cease to be, but so too its soul ceases to be. (Let's just say a soul is "the form of a naturally organised body having life potentially", or more or less, that in virtue of which this substance is what it is as a living substance).

When a man dies, the man also ceases to be. St. Thomas goes so far as to say that when he dies he will not be. The man is not his soul, nor his body, but the composite of both, the soul being the form of his body. But what distinguishes him from a dog, is that man's soul will continue to exist without a body.

So whereas for man, as such, to have eternal life he needs his soul to be reunited with his body, (bet you didn't know that... ) and therefore for himself to become a man again, a dog would have to be re-created, both matter and form. Could God, in the end, re-create certain animals? He's God, He can do whatever He wants that isn't against His nature.

But even if He did, they would not be in heaven, not essentially anyhow. They would not share, nor could they share, in the heavenly society. If they were re-created it would have to be only to have another secondary object for the blessed to reflect God's glory in.

Animals are my friends

I got into a dialogue with a Native American (only relevant for context purposes) about the value of animals. He was annoyed that I didn't see animal morality (if you want to call it that) on par with human morality. As if anyone that doesn't see animals on par with humans is an anti-PETA right wing nut that goes hunting for fun. That animals were scum and indespensible. It just about floored me how zealous his feelings were toward people that didn't see animals on par with humans. It makes me think what this guy would do if I lived in his apartment complex and a fire broke out. He'd get his cat, the neighbors mouse, and snails before he even thought of me.

Something is wrong with that picture.

I told him: "I believe animals have spirits. I believe they should be treated with the upmost respect. I believe these things and I am a person of faith. However, believing these things does not necessitate humans and animals being equal."

It didn't matter.

Removal of Christian Flag

Here we go again:

Removal of Christian Flag

Nothing new.

I don't care anymore if religious symbols of any kind are taken down (although I don't hear of many Buddhist, Asatru, etc. being taken down...I've seen them and have never once thought "take it down"). I still have a place to worship and I'm happy with that. It just really irks and concerns me that some live in fantastic dread that somewhere, somehow, no matter how small or benign, a public display of the religious faith will be made; and who, upon being exposed to it, reflexively attaches, without thought, the most evil and vile intentions to those making the display.

Now, I will say that I wouldn't at all be surprised that the very same people angry about the flag coming down; were perhaps of like mind to those wanting no mosque at ground zero. What if it was just an Islamic flag? Probably same reaction. This is probably good reason for some to justify to get rid of them all together; and like I've said, I don't care either way. In fact, I'm even getting to the point where people's reflexive responses toward religious symbols (in a negative connotation) is less weighing on me.

What I can't however let go is that originally "seperation of church and state" had a anti-clerical connotation to it. That soon evolved to an anti-religious (dare I say anti-Christian and anti-Muslim?) connotaion to it. This in essense gave rise (or perhaps the begining) to a more extreme interpretation which tries to rid any religiousity out of any public display or any hints of it in law. This is almost always accompanied by a deep seated anti-religious expressions. Such a phenomenon is very real in our society IMO.

Call me crazy.

Sounds of the Mouth

This is simply cool! He uses mostly his God-given talent to produce the sounds you hear.

Burqa's as a threat

I don't recall a spree of burqa wearing female hoodlums posing any threat anywhere. Is this a problem in the UK?......Is this really out of concern for the public? They must be robbing banks. We give into this, what's next? Most disturbing is the extent to which Islamophobia is glamorized as a campaign for freedom and equality for all women. Some may actually believe this, but dig down deep enough and one discovers that the real issue is a perceived security threat.

Most Brits back face veil ban

What is Freedom?

Pope John Paul did an amazing job in his encyclical at articulating what freedom is. Here is a glimpse of it:

Fides et Ratio
In that act, the intellect and the will display their spiritual nature, enabling the subject to act in a way which realizes personal freedom to the full.(15) It is not just that freedom is part of the act of faith: it is absolutely required. Indeed, it is faith that allows individuals to give consummate expression to their own freedom. Put differently, freedom is not realized in decisions made against God. For how could it be an exercise of true freedom to refuse to be open to the very reality which enables our self-realization? Men and women can accomplish no more important act in their lives than the act of faith; it is here that freedom reaches the certainty of truth and chooses to live in that truth.

The Real Crusades

The Crusades, perhaps the largest stone of information thrown at catholics to show just how horrible the Catholic Church really is. Unfortunately, very few even bother to dig up what the whole fuss was about. All they know is the Catholic Church did some bad stuff during the Crusades and they'll ride that until the wheels fall off. Let the wheels officially fall off:

The Real History of the Crusades

Enjoy...=)

Dr. Laura come back to radio please...

I am so disappointed and upset to hear Dr. Laura Schlessinger quitting as a radio host. She was one of a kind in a world that really needs to hear what she has to say. I didn't always agree with her but she embraced an open and civil line of dialogue. One that often was at odds with liberalism at it's core. Which was perfectly fine with me.

She quit due to her using the n-word in a conversation with a caller. Anyone who has taken the time to listen to the entire session would know the context was not to use the word in a way to injure blacks. Nonetheless, she shouldn't have ever used the word and she actually apologized long before the media got a hold of what she said.

Eventually the hate mail and powerful interest groups was too much for her to handle and she quit. I just want to tell her "that's exactly what they wanted you to do for years!"...and they accomplished it. So who is the intolerant ones? It's no longer about agreeging to disagree, but you must be silenced if you aren't pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, socialist,....and a number of other things.

Now isn't the time to quit; but to stay strong, patient, and pray.

God be with us all.

Anne's flirtation with Rome

I watched Anne Rice talk about her reasons for leaving the Catholic Church. Although her reasons for leaving hardly came as a shocker; it was her explanations for why she came into the Church that got my attention. I’m not about to sit here and decipher if one’s conversion is genuine and true, because that’s not only wrong, but there is no way of knowing outside of their personal convictions; and that’s enough.

However, the atheist often prides himself on holding him/herself on a higher intellectual arena where the theist can’t come and meet them (or so they think). Her vampire novels were an expression of how she felt and it expressed her atheism at its roots. These feelings and expressions are perhaps more telling about her long holding stance as an atheist, then they are about the proto-typical atheist that I’m accustomed to bumping into.

The atheist I’m used to dialoguing with would have crossed there t’s and dotted their i’s before even thinking of joining the Church; especially the Catholic Church. Anne’s conversion was perhaps a mini Damascus road experience with a touch of perspicuity as to what the Catholic Church actually taught. Or maybe it’s like falling in love with someone that you know has certain character flaws but you move forward anyways. Conversions are often complicated, difficult, and confusing; not a fun place to be.

I hope she finds peace in her decision and I can only finish off by saying that her Catholicism was certainly not my Catholicism.

Catholic ritualism was icky

I remember thinking “my goodness, all that catholic stuff with the saints, Mary, kneeling, candles, statues, etc…..just seems like a huge distraction from what really matters.” What could that be? Our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ of course! All that catholic stuff all seemed grossly excessive. It was all idolatrous to me and that Catholics honored saints far too much.

The vivid memories of my mom making offers to a saint with a cigar in his mouth and a bag (with money I think) on his hands was just absurd to me. It wasn’t until much later that I discovered that saint wasn’t a catholic saint at all, but a mayan pagan saint with a history of opposition to the Catholic Church. How ironic…There is no question I can relate to people who feel this way. In fact, I still struggle with some of those feelings to this day; always keeping a watchful eye that Catholics don’t take it too far.

The shift for me started when I was listening to 107.9 (local Christian radio that flourished from the Chuck Smith / Calvary Chapel movement). Raul Ruiz was the hosting pastor and I enjoyed (still listen to him) listening to him daily. His comments about St. Paul being the most this and most that sparked my thoughts and icky feelings of hearing similar rhetoric about Mary. At that moment in time it became readily apparent to me that non-catholic Christians could talk all day and night about St. Paul and never feel as though by focusing so much on him was in any way "worshipping Paul" or "giving him "too much honor". Paul-centered sermons were so normal and prevalent in most of the protestant churches I attended that it never crossed my mind that it was excessive and too much. Why? Well, because I knew (along with most of the members in our congregation) that Jesus comes to us through St. Paul and there is no conflict between the two. Yet if a catholic even had a statue of Mary or had the slightest mention of her, it immediately brought a flood of warnings upon most of our congregants. It made me think, that maybe……just maybe, Catholics honored Mary in the same way we honored Paul. Not only that, but I can’t recall hearing a single sermon on Mary, why?

Looking back it, I can’t help but give a gentle smirk at it all.

I was originally intending to get into the details of Mary and the Saints but there is so many good resources out there; no sense in reinventing the wheel:

Why do Catholics pray to the saints?

The link above covers an array of questions so hopefully you find it a helpful and fruitful read.