I just finished reading Dare We Hope “That All Men Be Saved”? by Hans Urs von Balthasar. The basic thesis of the book is that as Catholics we should hope for universal salvation – that all men be saved from final damnation. This was a controversial viewpoint of von Balthasar’s and got him a good deal of criticism (although, as he notes, others – such as St. Gregory of Nyssa – have held it before and it has never been formally condemned by the Church). At the beginning of the book, he engages some of his critics, and one particular criticism struck me:

Now comes a…paradox from G. Hermes: “We can well…hope for every [!] individual [!] man and pray that he attains salvation, because [?] we do not know what judgment God will pass upon him. But we cannot hope that all men will enter heaven, because that is expressly excluded through revelation”

As is obvious from von Balthasar’s editorial additions of exclamation points, he does not think too highly of Hermes’ argument. However, even after reading “Dare We Hope” I must admit that I agree with Hermes instead of von Balthasar. It is one thing to hope for each individual; after all, the Church has never declared any specific individual to be condemned to Hell, not even Judas. However, to hope for each individual man is different than hoping that all men be saved.

As a (admittedly crude) analogy, let me compare it to my feelings about my favorite baseball team, the Cincinnati Reds. Let’s say they are supposed to be very good this year (yes, I realize that takes a lot of imagination). Before every game, I will hope that they win. However, never would I hope that they win all 162 games, as I know that is a hope for something that is simply not possible. The reality is that they will lose some games no matter how good they are.

The problem with von Balthahasar’s hope for universal salvation is that it effectively negates human freedom. If all men are saved, then in truth there is no human element in the process of salvation, something which goes against Catholic teaching. To return to my analogy, if the Reds did somehow win all 162 games, I (along with everyone else) would suspect that something had been rigged. Likewise, if all men are saved, I would have to suspect that man is not truly free – his salvation is predetermined regardless of the choices he makes. And freedom is a necessary component of love; without freedom, we are simply slaves of a benevolent master, not children of a loving father.

I posted my reflection on this Sunday’s readings, in which I consider the power of Jesus’ touch.

He it is Who has destroyed death and freely graced us all with incorruption through the promise of the resurrection, having raised His own body as its first-fruits, and displayed it by the sign of the cross as the monument to His victory over death and its corruption.
St. Athanasius – On the Incarnation

When I first became Catholic, it took some time for me to feel totally comfortable making the sign of the cross. Growing up with no ritualistic actions from my own tradition I had no real connection to using my body as part of prayer. Every time I would make the sign, I would be completely self-conscious: Did anyone see me? Did I do it right? Did I look like an idiot just now?

Of course, over time I got used to it, and now I can’t imagine a day going by without making this important gesture – it is truly the sign of our salvation.

Well, now a Protestant scholar is suggesting that Protestants begin to make the sign of the cross:

A Methodist scholar on the Apostle Paul suggested Friday at Samford University that Protestants try using the sign of the cross as a reminder of the importance of Jesus’ sacrifice for mankind’s salvation.

“I think we have lost that very heart of the Gospel,” said Michael J. Gorman, a visiting New Testament scholar at Duke Divinity School. “What if Baptists made the sign of the cross?”

The prayer and physical gesture focus on Jesus’ sacrifice and death on the cross, he said.

“It’s a perpetual reminder our lives are shaped by the cross,” said Gorman, dean of the Ecumenical Institute of Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore and author of numerous books on Paul.

Many Protestants prefer to focus on the Resurrection, he said. But the Apostle Paul stressed the importance of the crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus as a sacrifice for mankind, Gorman said.

“It’s the crucified Jesus who was raised by God,” he said.

I have read Gorman’s book on Paul called Apostle of the Crucified Lord and it is excellent. In fact, when I was reading it I figured Gorman was a Catholic (he teaches at a Catholic seminary). But as the story notes, he understands that the crucifixion is at the heart of Paul’s preaching, and making the sign of the cross is a small reminder of the events of Good Friday.

Unfortunately, it will take a lot of cultural changes for most Protestants to begin this practice, but I for one hope Gorman’s suggestion takes root with many Protestants.

Today Vatican City turns 80! She doesn’t look a day over 2,000.

(Follow the link to see exactly what is 80 years old today).

Last night I received this email from Fr. Stan Fortuna:

This evening at 7:03 PM my mother, Constantina Sarabales Fortuna, or “Connie” as some of you knew her – completing 77 years of a loving, vibrant, generous and fruitful life – took the next step on her journey to the Father’s House after a one year and 88 day battle with cancer (426 days). Her passing was as smooth as the most amazing sunrise you have ever seen – thanks be to God Who is Love. The house was full of her favorite people – her husband of 56 years, her daughter and son-in-law, her two adored grandchildren, and me, her first-born son. We were blessed to be right there with her along with my Auntie Flo, my mother’s cherished sister. Please pray for my father, my sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew, and me too…along with the rest of the family and all her friends, as we suffer her loss and carry on her legacy of loving with a generous and vibrantly joyful spirit. She wants it no other way…thanks…
fr stan+…

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

In line with what I wrote earlier about the need to escape the “tyranny of time,” the Catholic Sentinel has a beautiful story about two men – a Silicon Valley executive and an electrial engineer – who left their successful careers to become Carmelite friars. An excerpt:

Brother Kissner, to be called Brother Mark of of the Most Precious Blood, was a 30-year-old electrical engineer working in San Diego when he joined his parish’s group for young adults. He learned more about his faith and dated, hoping to be married and raise a family.

“Over time, through prayer and study, I grew more and more in love with Jesus Christ and His Church,” Brother Kissner writes in an e-mail interview. “I had also been influenced by several holy religious priests and nuns over those years. At some point during this period of deepening my faith, the idea of becoming a religious priest entered my mind.”

He struggled with the idea for years, because his vision for himself had always been as a husband and a father. But the more he tried to put the idea of religious life out of his mind, the worse he felt. He describes his decision to truly consider the life as “a surrender” that yielded much peace.

“God made the path to enter the Carmelites fairly easy after that,” writes Brother Kissner, a 42-year-old native of Dayton, Ohio and a graduate of Purdue University.

Men such as Brother Kissner and Brother Silva are the backbone of the Church – let’s pray that God raises up more men and women willing to give up the rat race for a life of prayer.

Today is the feast day of St. Scholastica, sister of St. Benedict. A great story about her is found in St. Gregory’s “Life and Miracles of St. Benedict”:

And [Scholastica] coming thither on a time according to her custom, her venerable brother with his monks went to meet her, where they spent the whole day in the praises of God and spiritual talk: and when it was almost night they supped together, and as they were yet sitting at the table, talking of devout matters, and darkness came on, the holy Nun his sister entreated him to stay there all night, that they might spend it in discoursing of the joys of heaven. But by no persuasion would he agree to that, saying that he might not by any means tarry all night out of his Abbey.

At that time, the sky was so clear that no cloud was to be seen. The Nun, receiving this denial of her brother, joining her hands together, laid them upon the table: and so, bowing down her head upon them, she made her prayers to almighty God: and lifting her head from the table, there fell suddenly such a tempest of lightning and thundering, and such abundance of rain, that neither venerable Benedict, nor his monks that were with him, could put their head out of door: for the holy Nun, resting her head upon her hands, poured forth such a flood of tears upon the table, that she drew the clear air to a watery sky, so that after the end of her devotions, that storm of rain followed: and her prayer and the rain did so meet together, that as she lifted up her head from the table, the thunder, so that in one and the very same instant, she lifted up her head and brought down the rain.

The man of God, seeing that he could not by reason of such thunder and lightning and great abundance of rain return back to his Abbey, he began to be heavy and to complain of his sister, saying: “God forgive you, what have you done?” to whom she answered: “I desired you to stay, and you would not hear me, I have desired our good Lord, and he hath vouchsafed to grant my petition: wherefore if you can now depart, in God’s name return to your monastery, and leave me here alone.”

Source.

Sounds like she would be a powerful intercessor. St. Scholastica, pray for us!

The Christian Science Monitor has a cool story about the first Catholic church to open in the country of Qatar. It is actually the first Christian church of any kind to open in this Muslim-ruled country. Excerpts:

The government’s move to permit church building, which began to surface after it established diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 2002, was controversial among Qataris. A final decision was taken only after a 2003 referendum approving the country’s new Constitution, which guarantees freedom of worship.

“We have 16 masses on Friday alone” [the day of worship for all faiths in Qatar] with an average attendance of about 8,000, said Veneracion, who is Filipino and has a staff of five other priests. Masses are said in Konkani, English, Tagalog, Sinhala, Arabic, Malayalan, Urdu, Tamil, French, and Italian.

“You cannot imagine,” said engineer Adi Dwinanto when asked how he felt about the new church. “It’s just amazing, that here in this country we can do this freely…. All of us are happy, for sure.”

I hope we all appreciate our local parishes as much as Mr. Dwinanto.

Recently I was teaching one of my daughters about the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. One of the points of the lesson was that while all 14 works are valuable and to be commended, each person has to decide which he will focus on in his own life. My own family has chosen evangelization, pro-life work and service to the poor as the areas we will spend most of our energy, and we have chosen St. Francis of Assisi as our patron in this work.

We are very fortunate to have connections with a religious order which has these three areas as integral parts of their own charism and also has St. Francis as their patron. I’m speaking of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (also known as the CFRs). Their most prominent members are Fr. Benedict Groeschel (of ETWN fame) and Fr. Stan Fortuna (the “rapping priest”), but they number over 100 members and do countless works of mercy in the areas of evangelization, pro-life work, and service to the poor.

I have been associated with them since the mid-90s and a priest of their order celebrated my wedding. A great video about them is up on Youtube (in two parts):

If you are looking for a place for your charitable donations, please consider them.

Some people have asked me about t-shirts with the image I created of President Obama’s quote and an unborn child (see this post). I created an account at CafePress and you can order them here:

http://www.cafepress.com/ericsammons

Update: If I actually make any money from this, I’ll donate it to my Little Flowers Foundation.

I was reading the Our Sunday Visitor Newsweekly yesterday and I saw an ad for “Scott Hahn’s Scripture Survival Kit.” It began:

From one of the foremost leaders in Scripture, Scott Hahn provides two new must-have resources in Scripture Study.

I knew Scott Hahn really knew the Scriptures, but I had no idea that he was actually in Scripture! I imagine, since his specialty is the covenant, especially in the Old Testament, that he lived sometime between Abraham and David (how else could he know all those details about ancient middle eastern religious practices?). Perhaps he is the mysterious Melchizedek! I can just hear the lector next week, “A reading from 1st Hahn…”

(Note to OSV: I’m just joking of course, please don’t move my book to a late 2015 release date…)

It seems you can’t go a day anymore without running into someone who complains about being too busy or not having enough time. To say the modern American is overextended is the understatement of the year, yet never has a culture done so much to accomplish so little of value.

By contrast, each year I go on retreat to a Trappist monastery in Virginia, and I am always struck by how outside time they seem to live. They pray slowly, they walk slowly, they even eat slowly. When I first arrive each year, I find I have to make a conscious effort to slow down and try to put myself at their pace. Although I am sure they have plenty to do, they do not seem to have succumbed to the tyranny of time; in a way, they are already living in eternity.

All of this came to mind recently when I read something by St. Thomas Aquinas:

In Hell true eternity does not exist, but rather time.
- Summa Theologica I, q10, a3, ad2

One of the frustrations of trying to evangelize today is the atomization of society, especially in the suburbs. Each family is isolated in so many ways from their neighbors and other community organizations (just drive down your local neighborhood in the evening and observe the “TV glow” emanating from each house). But I firmly believe that this hides a lot of hurt and pain out there. With the incredible divorce and abortion rates today, there are many, many people who need to be touched by the love of Christ.

I just read a good article by an Evangelical pastor titled, “Rethinking Suburban Evangelism“. In the article, the pastor gives the positives and negatives of his own experience in trying to preach the Gospel in suburban neighborhoods. I found much of his experience familiar, and much of his advice helpful. Some excerpts:

Some of those who never go to church may be reached by the church’s annual Christmas pageant or Easter musical. The athletically inclined are more likely to respond to the church’s softball league than its junior choir program. And, yes, we’ve discovered that some people still respond well to a knock on the door.

So we still do visitation (while trying to eliminate as much of the fear factor as we can). And we offer a variety of ministries (while trying not to fall into a pointless busianity).

This is very true; there are many ways to evangelize, but we can’t rule out what the author calls “visitation” (i.e. door-to-door). Too often we assume that going door-to-door won’t work because it wouldn’t work on us. But this is a fallacy; door-to-door still works, just look at the continued growth of the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Some people will still respond to this type of outreach, and as Catholics we can’t leave it to groups without the fullness of the faith to be the only ones who directly reach out to our neighbors.

Care has two sides. One is the informal, low-profile, and personal kind of care. A young man, who with his family had just moved into town and visited our church once or twice, had to have emergency gall bladder surgery. One of the Bible classes in our church heard about it. Class members took casseroles to the family and cared for the children so the wife could visit her husband. As a result, this couple joined our church and quickly became part of the ministry.

The other kind of caring is structured, open, and public. Our youth group went through two neighborhoods of West Omaha a few weeks ago to collect food for the downtown mission and gathered more than a thousand cans. They not only helped the mission, but they also made our community aware that our church cares about the needy.

These are great examples. A parish that does not care for its members – and other members of the community – is simply not a parish that is following Christ. We don’t help others simply to recruit them, but the truth is that many will join (or stay in) a parish because it is there for them in a time of crisis or loneliness.

I’ve made it a practice (and I teach this to others) to speak with the man of the family. In a day when sexism is a possible criticism, I do this not because I believe either parent is more significant than the other, but because I believe that in most homes, the man is the key in reaching the entire family. Perhaps it’s because he’s often the most reluctant; perhaps because he often has more influence on the choice of activities for the whole family.

When I do visitation, I ask if I can meet the whole family. I work at including both the husband and the wife in the conversation, but when it comes to asking for commitment (whether praying for salvation or simply indicating their willingness to visit the church), I ask the man for his commitment first. If he agrees, it’s easier for the rest of the family to make the same commitment.

This point is sure to be controversial, but I think it has some merit. Too often I see families at Mass in which the father stays at home while the mother valiantly brings her children to Mass. I worry that these are the children who eventually stop going themselves, as they have received a mixed message their whole life as to the importance of practicing the Faith.

I have often wished that Catholic parishes would be more like Evangelical ones when it comes to evangelization. Of course, there will be differences: we are not trying to bring people to a “one-time decision,” but instead into a life-time sacramental communion with Christ. This difference necessitates a difference in approach at times. But the fact remains that Evangelicals, Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses bring many people into their communities with only a fraction of the truth – how many would become Catholic if our parishes were out there truly evangelizing?

Every Easter and Christmas our parish does an outreach to inactive Catholics. Often we will have a “Top 10 Reasons to Return to the Catholic Church” as a humorous way to get their attention. Here was our latest:

10.) Better than Sunday morning cable shows

9.) See if you’re still allergic to incense

8.) If it was good enough for Mother Teresa, it should be good enough for you

7.) Sacrament of Confession a lot cheaper than therapy

6.) Celebrate Christmas every Sunday at Christ’s Mass.

5.) Confirm that, yes, there are kids that scream even louder than yours

4.) All are welcome; only our Founder is perfect

3.) Skip your breakfast, if necessary, but not the Bread of Life

2.) We’re not a “Bible church”, but the Church that made the Bible

1.) Even with a billion members, we could still use one more

Sometimes truth comes from where you least expect it. At the National Prayer Breakfast the other day, President Obama said these words:

There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being.

That inspired me to make the following image:

Update:Some people have asked me about t-shirts with this image. I created an account at CafePress and you can order them here:

http://www.cafepress.com/ericsammons

I’ll donate any money from this to my Little Flowers Foundation.

Update 2: I’ve also created bumper stickers with this image and quote.