The 5 Scientific Questions Every Catholic Should Ask

Question 1:
How does science fit in with going to Mass every Sunday?

Answer:
Sunday mass provides your soul with weekly sustenance! In two parts, human and spirit, the tradition of the holy mass feeds the brain and soul.

On the human level, the more we know about the meta-cognitive processes that explain the way we learn and think, the more likely we are to be successful at problem-solving. The human experience is comparable to the scientific method. We see an issue in any instance and usually seek to take an action. Several forces may interact with the collection of data, but the exercise of conscience, helps people to choose right and wrong. The human learning experience is at its height as we try to understand through scripture what the Perfect man chose to do.

On the spiritual level, the mass is digestive. People need spiritual food. The scientific viewpoint for feeding of the soul is like the way in which chemical reactions take place. For example, the breaking down of physical food in the stomach is unseen, but often directly felt. The soul is directly affected by the Word of God and the Body and Blood of Christ. If you do not feed your soul, you will die. If you do not feed your body you will die. The exercise of following traditions that God the Father has established through Jesus Christ brings people that much closer to fullness.

Jesus says to Nicodemus, “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe, if I tell you heavenly things?” (John 3:12)

Read more at:
Sunday’s Reading

Question 2:
Where does Ida the dinosaur fit in with Christian teaching?

Answer:
“Nothing exists that does not owe its existence to God the Creator.” (CCC 338) This quote comes from the Catechism of the Catholic Church which acknowledges Scripture as divinely inspired by God. Ida is one of the many creatures that God has created. The more scientists study past creatures, the more they see the interdependence of creatures. (CCC 340) The fact that man was made as authority over all creatures is visible and exercisable. Also, man is dependent upon creatures under his authority. These types of scientists iron out the details and hopefully recognize that the beauty of creation found in evolutionary species is the foresight of God the Father.

Read more at:
The Big Bad Biology Lesson

Question 3:
Why is it wrong to use Embryonic Stem-cells?


Answer:
Embryo is the base word for embryonic, which means the ‘beginning before birth’. This biological field of science reveals the very physical limits and abilities of human cells. In the same way that “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) the beginning of man is part of the plan of salvation instituted by Christ. When someone interrupts the beginning, they interrupt the plan of God. Embryonic stem-cells are the beginning of all parts of a human life, which is very different from adult stem-cells which are singular in nature.

See more at:
Fun with Stem-cells: A .GIF Animation

Question 4:
Did God create life in another universe?

Answer:
Scientists have established that the same chemicals that make up the Earth’s atmosphere are present in the ice shelves of Mars. There are many undiscovered galaxies and some nearby enough to view through a telescope. The limitless possibilities of life in various forms located on other planets boggles the mind. But does this limit a God who created a universe so varied as our own? The answer is God is infinite. Remember an elementary teaching, ‘God cannot stop loving you.’ “And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way” (Isaiah 35:8) We can presume that any being presented before Jesus Christ will be judged righteous or not. Therefore, God has infinite mercy for all beings, and all beings have the ability to receive God’s infinite mercy. As scientists continue to find diversity of creation in this universe, they continue to build our knowledge of the power of God the Father. (Rev. Benedict Ashley, O.P.)

Understand more at:
Man, Mars, and Methane

Question 5:
What impact do I really have on my Environment?

Answer:
“The beauty of creation reflects the infinite beauty of the Creator and ought to inspire the respect and submission of man’s intellect and will.” (CCC 341) The scientific and political debate on global warming has heated up as we see more drastic natural events. On a planet scale, it is hard to see major long term effects given the changing climate in the history of the world. On the local scale, the long term effects are very easily seen because the dependence of man on the local species, landscape and weather. The fact is that God created this Earth for man to be authority; it is then the duty of man to take care of it.
Small and large living things are affected by human choice. When sins of greed, avarice and sloth become the choice, the Earth suffers and so does man.

See the beauty of God's Earth at:
Galactic Catholic Photo Stream

These questions form a very basic background of some topics relevant to today. There is always room for more scientific discovery in faith!

A Star named for Cardinal John Newman

The poll winner to name a star after an up and coming Saint, Cardinal John Newman. I should have realized, I was so hoping for de Veuster!

Science of Speech

Pope Pius called him the second Paul. Saint Bernardine of Siena's words read like fire of the Holy Spirit. If only I could get my hands in the Fransican library and find a book of his writings.

Saint Bernardine of Siena, words were very important to you. You spent most of your life speaking the golden words of Jesus' mercy and his Holy Name. And you abhorred words that were shameful. Pray for us that we may always choose to speak Jesus' name with reverence and choose words of love over words of shame. Amen

Cognitive rational for tolerance

Last fall, I conducted some fun action research in a third grade classroom. It had to do with the cognitive thought patterns that appear through concept mapping. The linking words are the key components which show the cognitive pattern of the map designer.

I have related the idea to methods of assessing theological studies in a secondary classroom. Let's say we break down the idea of tolerance to college bound seniors. Here is a schema they may come up with.



If students were to write a reflection on the given concept map, would they determine that 'to be tolerant, is to allow anything as defined by one person's own learned principles'?

(It already seems like tolerance is a child's game where the kid in charge makes the rules, but let's continue.)

It's possible that top percentage and low percentage students would come to that conclusion. But what if we throw in an application question?

1. Using the concept map of tolerance, determine the answer to the following. Mr. X has decided he does not want legs anymore and tells the amputating surgeon his reasons. According to tolerance, what should the surgeon say and do?

2. Using the concept map of tolerance, determine the answer to the following. Miss So-in-so has been pregnant for 6 months and has decided that she doesn't like the idea of a baby and wants to get rid of it. She 'dialogues' with the local doctor who does not believe in abortion. According to tolerance, what should the doctor say and do?

3. Using the concept map of tolerance, determine the answer to the following. You have decided to talk about your faith priciples and act on what you believe are right choices that are rational and reasonable. The neighborhood home owners association has decided that there is a 'tolerance' policy in the neighborhood you live in and you are violating it because you have spoken out about your reasonable faith principles to a neighbor who does not care for faith solicitation. Explain how the HOA came to their decision.
________________________________________________________

If we are rational Americans, then we cannot TOLERATE all things. Toleration is the twisted term for temperance. One definition I looked up for tolerance included the words 'undogmatic viewpoint.' That should give a very large red flag for anyone spouting tolerance as a replacement for truth.

All I can say is, What a load of crap the country is being fed.

Graduation

I graduated today. So exciting to finally get a Master's degree in Teaching. I have few fancy dreams, but one was always to get a PhD. So on to being piled higher and deeper, HERE I COME!!


Right after I get a Master's in Theology!

Happy Mother's Day

Haiku

The children were writing haikus today, so I thought I'd give it a try for Our Lady.

Midnight Moon
Star of the night sky
Theotokos for all time
New covenant arc

Tower of Ivory
Crowned high in glory
Ascended queen of heaven
For eternity

Arabian Virgin
Desert by the shore
Dry and barren she was not
Ever catalyst

Most Beautiful Morals

What type of criteria do you think Catholic Americans would use to choose a winner of the lady with the 'Most Beautiful Morals'?

Possibly: Integrity, Compassion, Charity, Temperence, Piety, Patience, Chastity

Today I heard someone describe piety as meaning= people who act like they pray but just want to look good

It's kind of sad they never met a pious person in their church before.

Check out this article: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,519193,00.html

May Crowning

Our crowned Mary from last year. Don't mind the green moss, it's Louisiana, it never goes away.



Oh Sweet Lady, make speed to befriend me, from the wiles of my enemies, readily defend me. Amen.

Unrequited Love

“The story assumes God’s determination to reward the just. When they suffer, there is a limit to that suffering. Once the limit occurs, God will intervene, sometimes miraculously.” The Catholic Bible: Personal Study Edition

The Book of Tobit draws my interest every time I read it. Every time I read it, I read it in its entirety. The most compelling part for me is not the love story between Tobias and Sarah, though that part is good too, but the man Tobit. Particularly I contemplate him burying the dead as his duty.

Duty, I believe, is foundational in drawing man together as one church. Tobit represents the faithful church of his time in his actions and character. Tobit is a Jewish servant of God who is persecuted by Gentiles and afflicted by blindness. His duty to God the Father is instinctive. He has built within his conscience the will to serve in the way he knows will serve his community. “I used to take their bodies by stealth and bury them” 1:18 He does not exhibit pride in these instances, rather he shows an internal desire to be part of the ongoing fulfillment of God’s covenant. I believe this is not a false humility either on his part, but a fire within to act justly for Israel.

Another aspect of his character is that of his selflessness. Tobit readily seeks to do right by his kinsmen under a ruthless authority. This action strikes me as having the flavor of supernatural courage. Tobit is also mocked for his actions by his neighbors. But his testimony is greater than they see. Tobit fulfills the covenant made with Abraham by obeying the sense of duty within him. Obedience is hard to fulfill at first, as Abraham is a witness. I believe Tobit knows that you cannot fight a call within your heart from God, because he recognizes consciously that that would be the greatest injustice he could do to himself. Therefore, even with threat of death, “Will this man never learn!” 2:8, Tobit buries the dead.

The faithfulness of Tobit contrasts with the image of God’s unrequited love of Israel. Yet, God loves on for people like Tobit. But then, Tobit becomes blind and lashes out in his brokenness. His wife calls him on it. I can see Tobit questioning his anger at life at this moment. He probably was more worried about offending God than his wife. Thus he is brought to the purest poverty of spirit in his true blindness. He wills himself to die. “So now, deal with me as you please, and command my life breathe to be taken from me, that I may go from the face of the earth into dust.”

Who can fault Tobit for this prayer? He praises more than he asks. But I understand his call to die because his purpose, to serve God, has been taken from him. The great thing about this man though, is that he continues to fulfill his duty to others even after he has given up. His duty is to his God, family and tribe. I admire his perseverance and desire to do right by others in the best way he can. The story of Tobias afterwards is a side story. Tobit’s redemption from trial is made sweeter though, by his son’s joy.

Tobit’s praises to God in his sorrow remind me of Christ’s weariness as he approaches the passion. For me, Tobit is a real example of duty and of one with supernatural will to be faithful. Christ is the perfect example of course, but Tobit helps me take baby steps to that level of love.

Tobit does not just represent himself in this book. We could see him as one of the faithful waiting for various wars and battles that the prophets predicted, but as one nation always viewing the end goal. Tobit calls us to fulfill God’s will with action and response to duty. Our obedience will be rewarded in the very real kingdom that Christ has prepared. Tobit represents a strong heart and will to serve God and receive just rewards; therefore it is possible for someone like me to work around my ignorance with duty and obedience to respond to God’s love with supernatural courage.

Tobit, man of faith, man of action, man of duty. Not your average biblical hero.

Honor Our Lady in May

Fun round I made up last year to honor my mother, Our Lady of Medjugorje. Excuse the singing!

Sweet Mary

I loved reading about the month of May memories of the Mary and Me blogger. I went to public school so I was not so lucky to have those. But my very first memory of any knowledge of God or Our Lady, was when I was about 5 or 6 and I went into the kitchen at what seemed like midnight, to find my mom.

"Momma," I said, "I keep having nightmares and I don't know what to do."

She said, "Pray to Sweet Mary that they go away."

I did pray that small prayer from a small person and Our Lady certainly heard me, because I didn't have another nightmare type dream until I was 10. I remember because I was keeping track at the time, being so amazed that my prayer had worked.

So I was delighted tonight to go to adoration and see Our Lady! The last time I went to the chapel I sat on the right side in the afternoon. The monstrance is on a somewhat large wooden altar. I noticed for the first time when I just happened to look up, an image of Our Lady in the shadows of the wood grain. I kind of looked around at other people praying, as I do when these things happen. No one noticed, but I loved the image of Our Lady right beneath the monstrance. She seemed as if she was hugging a six year old Jesus who had just leapt into her arms.

Tonight I went late. I sat on the left side. I hadn't been since the last time and I forgot I had seen that image. I remembered after an hour and looked for it, but it wasn't really visible from where I was. I stayed for a while and eventually the room cleared out and the appointed parishinor for that hour turned down some of the lights, and there She was! So I sketched what I saw in the back of my bible. I love Sweet Mary, even in wood grains. Enjoy!

Understanding

"Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, don't seek to understand so that you may believe, but believe so that you may understand."

-- St. Augustine

Quote above, officially nabbed from EWTN.org. I prayed for the gift of understanding at my confirmation. You definitly don't always know what your getting into when you pray these things, because the fruit of understanding is the ability to forgive over and over again.

Pro-Life or Pro-Pluto?

The vote is in. An overwhelming number of voters (if you multiple by 10000) voted that to be 'Pro-Life' is to be 'Pro-Pluto'. To those who are purists on pro-life issues, I choose to take the Democratic party's view of biparitsanship and yell at you while I don't listen to a word you say. Pro-Life, Pro-Pluto it is.

The Story of St. Therese

Theoretical Catholic Tribes of America

I went to a lecture on African Art last night at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Very interesting stuff. It made me wonder though, what would the Catholic tribes of America be today if we were to name them?

Each tribe had its own customs, and there were hundreds and hundreds of tribes across the continent of Africa. If we counted the customs of a faithful people what would be the corner stone that might bond us? The scripture perhaps. Enter in traditions of our faith. Might the true peoples of the Catholic faith be labeled so easily? I would like to hope my state would be far up on the faihtful list. I didn't even realize Latin mass was not practiced in so many places until it was 'allowed' again.

One way we could determine some tribes, would be by which sacraments and devotions they practice. But I know there would be some definitely labeled as extinct. Our Catholic America seems to want to pick and choose which traditions it practices. I know this is not all Catholics, there are smatterings of solid hearts throughout some crazy places. It is almost as if, similar to the tribal nations allowing the slavery of other tribes, our fellow Catholics have let themselves become slaves.

Which brings me to another option of theorectical tribal derivement, individual faith. A Catholic, that practices the teaching of Christ, recognizes the differences that are so vast between each man. Would it be valid to place any man in one tribe? Or to call our one tribe Catholic, Universal. We call our one nation, United. We call our one planet, Earth. Is it so hard for Catholics to all practice the teachings of our chief? Or should we cut the dissenters heads off and place them on a pike?

Well, there will be no chopping of heads. Christ has taught us differently. But there are distinctive masks that have been put in to place in the same manner as the ancient and not so ancient tribal Africans. In contrast though, American masks are in two colors only: black and white. Christ leaves no gray area when he speaks to our Catholic tribe in scripture.

Luckily, our universal tribe is being led back to the uniform traditions in the vessage of Pope Benedict XVI. In no way can we possibly see him as only a peace keeper as the name implies. Like St. Bernardine of Siena, Benedict speaks as if he is shining a light on the most compelling catalyst that ever walked this Earth. The unchanging logos commands as a chief and loves as a father should.

One thing about the tribes the lecturer discussed, there is a very real sense of the spiritual realm in all places and things for tribal peoples. African tribes were divided by animistic rituals practiced away from eyes of other tribes or tourists. Catholic traditions are practiced for all to see. There is no deception, only transparency. Transparent walls are easily attacked, especially when what is on the inside is so infinitly the most precious treasure in existence.

What would the Catholic tribes of America be today if we were to name them? I really don't know. I could call California the Pelosi peoples and make some funny little piece of art depicting posadas in Texas, but really we are all One Body. That is the richness of our tribe. It's just a matter of time, because there is no place like home.

Maxium Spiritual Entropy

On Friday evening I was lucky enough to attend a discussion entitled The Aquinas Lecture Series at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. The topic was “How Natural Theology can enrich Theology” by Rev. Benedict Ashley, O.P. If the speaker doesn’t tell you something about how comprehensive this discussion was, I’ll let you know now that I plan to write four articles on all of the components of what Father Ashley spoke about. His knowledge of physics and science in the universe and the blatant love of Christ that came through was a combination of wisdom gifted and spirituality lived. “God loves each and every one of you and you are unique,” he said.

Father Ashley has lived an interesting discipleship of Christ, writing books and continuing to lecture in St. Louis where he now resides. He mentioned that the talk he gave was an opening discussion for his next book, thus the variety of the topics in this one lecture.

Here is a basic outline of the four major areas that I picked up in his lecture. The main topic was the view of modern scientists and their denial/struggle/refusal to use the natural forces as a clear reflection of something greater than the ‘nature of man.’

The first article I would like to present to you revolves around the analytical tendencies of both modern scientists and theologians. This was actually an answer to an audience member’s question, but the thought struck me so deeply, I am determined to define it. Consider the process a scientist goes through, gathering data, taking small steps, and many times failing miserably. The successful scientist is decisive and driven to succeed in this one discovery/goal what have you. Consider the way of the theologian, who many times is called to the job by taking small steps, and who uses his physical research as spiritual based findings. There are interesting and clear parallels that I intend to decipher further between these two inner missions.

The second topic Father Ashley spoke of was the information that the study of the universe reveals about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. His main question for us is a revelation of how science reveals the manner of the Trinity.

The third topic I am interested in developing for you is the part of the discussion on the historical aspects of man’s view of heaven and how God has revealed to us through the medium of man, these things. And as in the New Testament, the Gospel of John tells us that there are so many things that were not revealed to us. Father Ashley discussed both heaven and hell and an analogy of cause and effect.

The fourth topic is an article delving into the reasons for a change from natural science to historical science. Father Ashley suggested that modern science does not see the constants in the natural world so well as it used too. Maybe I can find some of those scientists by the time I write the article. He mentioned the physical versus the natural often during his talk which I will explain in this article.

Two more weeks of graduate school! How tickled am I! I am excited just to be able to do the reading to write about these topics. Father Ashley suggested an author named Anthony Rizzo who has a few books on physics and theology out now, I didn’t catch the whole name but google, “The Science of Science.”

(Found it: http://www.amazon.com/Science-Before-Guide-Thinking-Century/dp/1418465046/ref=sr_1_1/182-9344770-1258546?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240891306&sr=1-1 )

Earth Day

I found out today there was an 'Ecology' flag. I think I might have known it before, but who remembers stuff like that? It gave me a Brilliant! idea! Flags for Feast days! Would that be cool! And yes! I am this excited, flags and maps are my love after Jesus.



So I started with my most excellent patron saint, St. Elizabeth of Hungary. If I got the latin wrong, sorry!

Here's the Ecology Flag for Earth Day.

Bill O'Reilly speechless

The second Pro-Life March I went to in D.C., a young high school student in my group suddenly saw an aborted fetus on an advertisement on the side of a bus. Needless to say, she started to hysterically cry and didn't stop for almost an hour.

If only we could all be so moved by the horrific infancide that happens everyday in America.

Here is a speechless Bill O'Reilly on Live-birth abortions.

http://www.jillstanek.com/archives/2007/09/stanek_on_the_o.html

Fun with Stem Cells

This is a little stem cell information for Pre-K learners. :)



Check out the following articles by philosophy genius Dr. Christian Brugger.

Stem cells for Dummies
http://culture-of-life.org//content/view/551/1/

Stem cells for the Not-so-Dumb
http://culture-of-life.org//content/view/554/1/