The Saturday Morning Post: Quite Contrary, Virgin Mary

 Welcome, God and All...

In my most recent post, i pondered: If you'd told a peasant teenager 2000+ years ago that she would be more a source of misunderstanding and division to Christians, would she still say 'yes' to God?

Mary, if you knew that your baby boy would one day save the nation, would you still...?

Wait a minute.

There are some things that Mary absolutely knew ahead of their time. When the Archangel Gabriel announces that Mary is to be the mother of Jesus, he clearly states that "great will be his dignity, and he will be called Son of the Most High" (Luke 1:32ab). Further, when the infant Jesus is first brought to the Temple, Simeon prophecies that "this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (Luke 2:34bc-35).

As also stated in my previous post, I've been watching the internet sensation The Chosen. Of great interest is how the character of Mother Mary (as opposed to Mary Magdalene) is portrayed. I am rediscovering something I set aside many years ago but is staring me (and many Catholics) in the face. You see, many of the doctrinal differences between Catholics and other Christian denominations is wrapped up in Mariology. The latter group looks at Mary being just another ordinary (and peasant) Jewish girl/woman who had an extraordinary part in salvation history; and that the birth of Jesus was not unlike any other birth in that era. Mary, already stressed out at the circumstances of having to deliver her child far from home and under far from ideal circumstances, would have experienced labor pains and would have had to clean the baby immediately after birth. And a significant number of Catholics would probably agree. But early Church fathers state that in order to preserve Mary's virginity, the holy infant miraculously emerged from her womb, with no labor pains or other discomforts of childbirth.

Trying to wrap my arms around this has not been easy. Simeon's prophecy indicated that she would know sorrow. She surely must have suffered emotional pain watching her Son dying an excruciatingly painful death. There is no reason to believe otherwise. Surely someone who suffered this kind of trauma could endure pain associated with childbirth.

Infallible teaching of the Catholic magisterium is rare. The top two are related to Mary. In 1870, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma surrounding Mary's immaculate Conception. She was spared the stain of original sin so that she would be a proper vessel to bear the Christ child. Pius IX wrote, “From the very beginning, and before time began, the eternal Father chose and prepared for his only-begotten Son a Mother in whom the Son of God would become incarnate and from whom, in the blessed fullness of time, he would be born into this world." The second infallible teaching came eighty years later, when Pope Pius XII proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption of Mary into heaven, body and soul.

It's a good thing I'm not afraid to bring up this conundrum, especially among men who are taking steps to broaden their sense of spirituality. In the course of a few brief discussions, I came to understand a new (to me) phrase. I almost want to avoid using it, because it has negative implications in today's 'cancel' culture. (Indeed, statues of Mary have been vandalized; the most recent happening at the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC. It is now that I can truly understand "atrocities" committed against the Virgin Mary and Jesus.)

The Blessed Virgin Mary was singularly privileged by God. One should easily see this, for when the archangel Gabriel greets her, she is called "favored" (Luke 1:28). When she visits her cousin Elizabeth, she acknowledges that "all generations will call me blessed; the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name" (1:48b-49).

Saint Bonaventure (1221-74) listed seven privileges of the Virgin Mary which can be read here. It's an excellent summation of how we should view the woman who followed the Lord's calling for her life. Centuries removed from this kind of teaching, I'm willing to bet that many average Catholics don't know all these particulars; or if they do, they misinterpret Mary's place in salvation history and attribute 'goddess' status to her. The Catholic Church points out that she is not, but it's not too difficult to take all that she has been to a higher level. And thus lies the source of debate - often heated - over a very special yet, to all outside appearances, otherwise ordinary young woman.

Mary was truly filled with the Holy Spirit, and the effects of this continue to this day. Otherwise, she could not have appeared in Lourdes, Fatima, Guadalupe, or any of the other places that have experienced Our Lady's presence. It's one of the deeper mysteries of Christianity, or so I've been told. Mary has received grace upon grace. Somehow, it's much easier for me to understand this complexity than to make sense of the intricate electronic systems and programming in my SUV.

Of course Mary knew. She pondered and treasured all of this and kept it - for all eternity - in her heart. Mary, Mary, how contrary we are. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God; that we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.

Until we meet again, May the Lord bless you and keep you...

+the Phoenix

The Saturday Morning Post: The Fine Line Between Evangelization and Marketing

December 11, 2021

Welcome, God and All...

About nine months ago - during Lent - I wrote that I had found something different that was occupying my time. A different look at the ministry of Jesus; how he found those who would follow him closely as his disciples and ultimately, as his apostles.

Get used to different, he said to Simon Peter. That was never explicitly recorded in the Gospels. It didn't have to be; it was certainly implied in every parable and miracle. And in the process, this different take begged us all to dig deeper and see what an authentic Jesus might look like and how he might interact, thus bringing clarity and a better understanding of those words first passed on orally, then through several linguistic translations and finally into our current (and evolving) style of speech and mannerism.

Such has been the impact of Dallas Jenkins' inspired magnum opus, or great work, thus far: The Chosen. From the moment I watched that first episode about Mary Magdalene's backstory and her emotional and spiritual healing by Jesus, I knew I was hooked. I have watched all sixteen episodes multiple times and desperately want more, even as I know the general outline and outcome which must happen in order for the series' continuity and portrayal of Jesus and his contemporaries to be, in Jenkins' own words (and he says many at every opportunity), authentic.

The Chosen has received a lot of 'thumbs up' references from people in Church circles. Bishop Robert Barron (auxiliary) of Los Angeles has taken part in discussion roundtables with Jenkins and other religious leaders representing a cross-section of Judeo-Christianity. They're all appreciative of what they've seen thus far and are eagerly yet patiently awaiting more.

For me, the show has led to co-hosting a local discussion group. We ran through the first season in September and October, and will do the same for season two in January and February. As a Catholic minister, there are some specific challenges that have to be considered.

While receiving good publicity from many Catholic leaders in the United States, The Chosen has not been officially endorsed by the Church. Nor can it be. While the backstories have done much to create what authentic 1st Century history might look like, those can't be authenticated by either native historical sources or in the Gospels. Thus, we must consider them, even as realistic as they might be, as works of fiction. It's not unusual; stories like Ben Hur and the storyline of the motion picture Risen have a basis in historical fact but are not true stories in themselves.

Another challenge is unique to modern times: commercialization. Licensing and Marketing. The Chosen is what it is. Jenkins and others involved with the show's development want to keep bringing it to wider and wider audiences, and that in itself takes a great deal of creativity. Advertising, if you will, through providing messaging and branding through apparel, books, accessories, and sales of the program on recorded home media. I get easily caught up in the concept of being an ambassador for Christ in the form of a walking billboard; but not so good at living out the Gospels in the humble manner Jesus did. This in turn reminds me of the one scene in the Gospels where Jesus appears to 'lose his cool' and proceeds to throw out the merchants and moneychangers doing business just inside the Temple walls. I am very curious over how the creative staff will deal with that should it make its way into the screenplay.

There's a third challenge, and it has already sparked discussion and debate - sometimes heated. The challenge reminds me that all viewpoints (including my own as a Catholic) are missing something big. It's so big that it will take another reflection to address it as I should. That means I'll have another post, in the very near future, to put what I know together with what I've learned so far and try to make authentic sense of it. If you'd told a peasant teenager 2000+ years ago that she would be more a source of misunderstanding and division to Christians, would she still say 'yes' to God?

I attended the theatrical release of The Chosen's Christmas special episode, The Messengers this past week. It was my first venture into a theater building in two years; since before the COVID pandemic. I was indeed impressed; but not initially. I do not doubt the faith and desire of those who professionally praise the Lord through their musical ability; after all, that is a lot of what I do. But it was hard to get through the first fifteen minutes of several songs by different artists that (to me, anyway) sounded very much the same. One group, apparently identifying with the 25-and-under set, showed up in designer ripped-up jeans. They seemed to have missed the part of the psalms that tell us to worship the Lord "in holy attire". Or they thought that the word 'holy' was misspelled. But the show definitely got better as it rolled along. And...no, I'm not going to tell you what happened. You must know? Go and see. It came in at #4 at the box office last weekend, and its nine-day run (so far) is the largest gross receipt of any event in Fathom Events' history. Is Jesus happy about this? I hope so. But for those who can't get to a theater, it's been promised to be available to watch - for free - beginning tomorrow evening (December 12). 

Until we meet again, may the God of peace be with you...

+the Phoenix

The Saturday Morning Post: Nuttier Than A Fruitcake

 from the archives

December 8, 2018

Welcome, God and All...

In some ways this Advent season began by living up to its predecessors. The ghosts of Christmases Past were serving up the same pablum again with runs of TV movies that started before Halloween, reminders of “Black Friday” specials that ran from the beginning of November through last weekend, and the same old tunes on the radio that have little if anything to do with the anticipated coming of Christ. On the plus side, there had not much beyond the usual social debate over whether to greet others with ‘Merry Christmas’ or ‘Happy Holidays’, and - so far - there have been no reports of vandalism or thefts at Nativity scenes being put up wherever the bold and the brave are doing so.

I wish I could tell you that this was good news…but this season’s war against Christmas (and by extension, each other) has moved into previously uncharted waters.

-- A contestant family from New Jersey in the 2017 season of ABC’s Great Christmas Light Fight is being fined $3000 per day that the lights are on this season, because of the lack of crowd control. Neighbors insist that the family pay for such control, so any potential emergency might be handled in a proper and organized manner. The family can’t afford this, but rather than shut it down they’ve taken their light fight to court, on First Amendment grounds.

-- A Virginia school district has banned the singing of any holiday music mentioning the name of Jesus - which, if taken to the logical extreme, would ban any song with the word “Christmas” in it.

-- A radio station in Cleveland started the most recent nationwide social debate by banning from its holiday playlist the song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” after receiving numerous complaints that the duet sang blissfully about sexual predators and date rape. This last one spawned an avalanche of additional comments about pulling Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer off TV because Mrs. Claus promotes obesity, Santa and other reindeer are bullies, and cries of discrimination because the ‘misfit’ elf Hermie can’t fulfill his dream of becoming a dentist.

--In my home state of Illinois, the holiday display at the state capitol includes a statue belonging to a satanic cult. Now that’s diversity for you!

It brings to mind other things that we should do away with, maybe just out of spite. Who would like to stop hearing Deck The Halls and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas because each has a ‘gay’ reference? Or Eartha Kitt's classic 1953 holiday hit Santa Baby, covered in 1987 by Madonna, where the venerable Mr. Claus is seen as a ‘sugar daddy’? Not to mention the growing list of seasonal music that I really dislike!

And what about that fruitcake? Seems it’s been taking criticism on the chin for a long time.

Yeah, I’m pretty much convinced that the war against Christmas picked its first battle and won its first victory in modern times by humiliating the fruitcake. My dear departed grandmother would buy one the size of a Bundt cake from Walgreen’s every year and made sure we got it. Now you’re lucky to find one the size of a stick of butter.

The strategy has changed. We’ve grown tired of ‘keeping Christ in Christmas’. The political winds aren’t blowing as strong in that direction this year. Advertisers seem to have backed off the gas pedal a bit; maybe the midterm elections and that we had a full week in November after Thanksgiving have something to do with it; possibly the failure of Sears/Kmart and ToysRUs, coupled with more online shopping is changing the playing field. But the strategy has definitely changed, as one by one, two by three, and 4 for $5, our traditions are being ripped apart.

Traditions (small t) are what we think of when it comes to major events like my concatenated “Hanulfestimazaa.” Should my Jewish friends stop celebrating Hanukkah because the lit menorah is a potential fire hazard? Or because spinning the dreidl is not unlike shooting craps? Should we abandon celebrating the Winter Solstice because it happens to be cloudy on December 21? Or give up on Santa Claus because he can’t give us the gifts we really want? Where’s that fruitcake when you need it???

I’ve barely touched on the Tradition (big and small T) associated with Jesus’ birth. These bear great importance. Lose these, and it’s as if Jesus never came to earth. But the distracting traditions I mention (and a bunch I don’t simply out of time/space consideration) should not be overlooked. They help set a mood…and maybe, if they’re approached with true love and devotion, and prayer, can help light the way toward understanding just one of the reasons “Christ’s Mass” is recognized as one of the biggest events of this or any year.

I know it’s not easy…but please try to overlook the social debate right now. It’s too emotional, and really does threaten to do the one thing the Grinch couldn’t do. Enjoy what you can, when you can, for as long as you can. The pent-up stress of holiday preparation disappears in the smile of a child’s face. Remember that when it’s all over that it’s here and beginning and thriving because “God loved the world so much, that he gave us His only Son, that whoever believes in him might have eternal life” (John 3:16). Otherwise, we may find ourselves with nothing left but an aluminum pole, a long list of grievances, and a closet filled with ugly sweaters.

Until we meet again, may God and God's peace be with you...

+the Phoenix