The CatholiCity Message
Volume X, Number 5 – October 31, 2006
"To make a man a saint, it must indeed be by grace; and whoever doubts this does not know what a saint is, or a man."
Blase Pascal
Dear CatholiCity Citizen,
Happy Feasts of All Souls and All Saints! May they guide us and our fellow citizens from their august union with the risen Christ when we vote next Tuesday. We've got a bunch of stuff for you this time, so without further introduction...
1. WE JUST LOVE THIS GUY
It has only been seven weeks since Pope Benedict's lecture at Regensburg University in Germany set off an infamously negative reaction in parts of the Muslim world. The lecture was not chiefly about Islam. It was about the link between faith and reason. More specifically, our pope explained that to act against reason is to act against God's nature. It follows that violence and coercion cannot be a part of the advancement of religion. Put another way, God does not condone the use of immoral methods to achieve the worthy goal of our salvation. The contrast with militant Islam is obvious. That moderate Muslim leaders have responded to the pope's request for dialogue in recent weeks is encouraging.
2. WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT
By the way, we still have some gorgeous Pope Benedict lapel pins left over from last year, and you can get one for yourself as our thank you gift for your support of CatholiCity. You can take a look here:
http://www.catholicity.com/support/donation.html
3. THE END OF THE LEARNING CURVE
There are many ways to approach the subject of militant Islam. One way is to look to what can be called The End of the Learning Curve: the terrifying possibility of Islamic jihadists procuring, then using, nuclear weapons.
The beginning of the Learning Curve for most was watching the World Trade Centers collapse in 2001. It is doubtful that any of us back then supposed a group of militant Episcopalians had hijacked those planes. Lesson: these people are willing to go to great lengths to murder large numbers of innocent civilians. Bombings (and foiled plots for bombings) all over the world since, from Spain to England to Australia, teach this same lesson.
Further along the Learning Curve was digesting the ugly and violent reaction in many sectors of the Muslim world to the publication of the Dutch newspaper cartoons. Lesson: jihadists are intolerant and seem incapable of comprehending (much less accepting) western standards of civil rights.
Regardless on one's political views on the subject, the efforts of the United States to bring freedom and democracy to Iraq, with the associated cost of our soldiers' lives and almost incomprehensible financial cost, have been frustrated by the complication of two different Muslim groups (Shia and Sunni) which remain unable to find a way to live in peace with each other. If the war in Iraq is lost because of these kinds of factors, one feels the senselessness of an opportunity lost by the Muslim people themselves in that country.
Underlying all these lessons is a growing realization that the jihadists are irrational. What Pope Benedict did at Regensburg was remind the post-Christian West that irrationality is not compatible with religion. He brought us closer to the End of the Learning Curve, and ironically, from our viewpoint, gave the otherwise morally relativistic West a rationale to resist the jihadists as they continue their bloodthirsty ways. The jihadists and their supporters in Muslim countries may use the trappings of religion and believe themselves to be religious, but they are not, strictly speaking, Godly, because they are irrational.
Considering the above, would the jihadists use nuclear weapons on Israel, the U.S., or a city in Europe? Would that be any less rational than bin Laden's apparent and bizarre belief that knocking down a few large buildings in the United States would please Allah and somehow castrate us as an enemy nation? Among the many things it was, 9-11 was about the stupidest strategic "military" decision in history.
And if they do nuke Paris or Berlin or Sydney or Jerusalem when they get a hold of a bomb, will not the governments of those essentially secular nations respond in kind? Do the jihadists understand this?
4. SIGN OF THE TIMES
At a barber shop, we chanced upon a magazine featuring an article on the "coolest" 100 gadgets. How could we resist? As the list did not contain the Zippo lighter, it was sadly incomplete. The magazine itself was not semi-pornographic, but rather a materialistic "lifestyle" magazine in the vein of Cosmopolitan, only targeted to males. We won't name the magazine, but we noticed a disturbing article (which we could not find online) about a recent trend for homosexual men to use In-Vitro Fertilization to have offspring. These men essentially buy the female eggs and hire women to carry the baby. Enormous financial expense plus medical and legal complications were rampant, and "results" (a living child) were not guaranteed. We were deeply saddened for everyone involved. It seemed to us a kind of prostitution without sexual union; a before-now unimaginable oxymoron suddenly burst into existence.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
"Mysticism keeps men sane. As long as you have mystery you have health; when you destroy mystery you create morbidity. The ordinary man has always been sane because the ordinary man has always been a mystic...He has always left himself free to doubt his gods but (unlike the agnostics of today) free also to believe in them."
G.K. Chesterton
"One is a saint only after death. Before, one is on the way."
Jacques Maritain
"Earth's saints are those who to the last cling to beauty's broken mast, then striking boldly seaward, reach the smooth-stoned slope of heaven's beach."
Henry Robinson
"No devotion to the saints is more acceptable and more proper than if you strive to express their virtues."
Erasmus
5. UPDATE MARY FOUNDATION AUDIO TAPE PHASE OUT
First of all, thank you to everyone who took advantage of our "Last Chance" offer for audio tapes of our free Catholic talks. (Don't be alarmed: we will continue to offer CDs!) We're completely out of certain titles, but we still have other titles in stock in audio tape format. (Inside Scoop: "The Conversion of Scott Hahn" is close to being gone forever on audio tape.) If you missed the announcement, you can still order the remaining titles here:
https://secure.catholicity.com
6. IN THE CAN
We don't want to tease you too much, but it's a fact that our first new Mary Foundation release in quite a long time has been recorded and is in the final stages of editing, and we're planning to begin production for the tens of thousands copies initially needed in a matter of weeks. We're sure you'll agree that it was worth the wait. It's awesome stuff. Hint: the word "secrets" is in the title.
7. ON THE NEAR HORIZON
The all-new, soup-to-nuts version of CatholiCity.com, the first new version in years, is in the final weeks of preparation. We hope to have it online before Thanksgiving.
8. 60,000 PLUS COUNTLESS MILLIONS
By joining our prayers (all 60,000 of us receiving this message) to the prayers of the saints in heaven, we add millions upon millions of souls to the mix. Father in heaven, we ask You now to ask all the saints in heaven to join us in pleading for the intercession of the First Among Saints, Mary, as we begin...
"Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, we fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins our Mother; to thee do we come, before thee we stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer us, Amen."
Thanks for being a part of our work and our lives. CatholiCity Citizens are the best!
With Christ,
Your Friends at CatholiCity
