Eyes of Faith The world appears empty and flat to those without eyes of faith.

The Pope has taken Jesus' remarks about those who cause others to sin as an opportunity to speak about the scandal of incoherent Christian lives. I especially like his definition of a Christian: "A Christian is a person who thinks like a Christian, feels like a Christian and acts like a Christian." You might call it the "duck analogy". See his remarks at "Pope to Christians: Practice what you preach."

Scripture is written by people. Inspired scripture is written by people under God's inspiration. Inspired scripture is inherently deeper than that which is not. The Church has recognized this point, and discerned three spiritual senses of interpretation (allegorical, moral and anagogical) of the canon of scripture to supplement the literal interpretation. To tease out the literal interpretation, it can be necessary to apply technical means such as historical and literary criticism. What did the original human author intend to convey?

This Sunday we have a lengthy reading from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, as reported in the Gospel of St. Matthew. At the beginning of the reading, Jesus informs us that "I have come not to abolish but to fulfill." Among his teachings, we find the following commandments that serve to fulfill the meaning and purpose of the Law of Moses.

While the author of "Our Secular Future", a piece in America Magazine, has some important things to say about the cultural clash between (what I prefer to call) serious Christians and the increasingly dominant secular progressive elites, the comments that follow the article point to dissent even to his employment of the term "Catholic". Given all the controversy over the meaning of the word "Catholic" and who is allowed, or not allowed, to apply that term to themselves, I propose the following solution:

St. Paul's letter to the Galatians (especially the part we skipped yesterday due to the observance of an obligatory memorial to Sts. Cyril and Methodius) contains important insights into the spiritual and moral life.

The new Jerusalem, the holy city (cf. Rev. 21:2-4), is the goal toward which all of humanity is moving. It is curious that God's revelation tells us that the fullness of humanity and of history is realized in a city. We need to look at our cities with a contemplative gaze, a gaze of faith which sees God's dwelling in their homes, in their streets and squares. God's presence accompanies the sincere efforts of individuals and groups to find encouragement and meaning in their lives. He dwells among them, fostering solidarity, fraternity, and the desire for goodness, truth, and justice. This presence must not be contrived, but found, uncovered. God does not hide himself from those who seek him with a sincere heart, even though they do so tentatively, in a vague and haphazard manner. 1

Debates like that touted in "Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham" have never impressed me. In the first place, I've never enjoyed a debate between amateurs that pretends to be serious. In the second place, I've been exposed to much more challenging debates, for example, that between Bertrand Russell and Jesuit Fr. Frederick C. Copleston. (See "Fr. Copleston vs. Bertrand Russell". The debate between Bertrant Russell and G.K.

The Church is herself a missionary disciple; she needs to grow in her interpretation of the revealed word and in her understanding of truth. It is the task of exegetes and theologians to help “the judgment of the Church to mature”.[42] The other sciences also help to accomplish this, each in its own way. With reference to the social sciences, for example, John Paul II said that the Church values their research, which helps her “to derive concrete indications helpful for her magisterial mission”.[43] Within the Church countless issues are being studied and reflected upon with great freedom. Differing currents of thought in philosophy, theology and pastoral practice, if open to being reconciled by the Spirit in respect and love, can enable the Church to grow, since all of them help to express more clearly the immense riches of God’s word. For those who long for a monolithic body of doctrine guarded by all and leaving no room for nuance, this might appear as undesirable and leading to confusion. But in fact such variety serves to bring out and develop different facets of the inexhaustible riches of the Gospel.[44]

In reflecting on paragraph 40 of Evangelii Gaudium, in which Pope Francis speaks of the growth of the Church's understanding of her living faith tradition, I am reminded of the following:

...In today’s world of instant communication and occasionally biased media coverage, the message we preach runs a greater risk of being distorted or reduced to some of its secondary aspects. In this way certain issues which are part of the Church’s moral teaching are taken out of the context which gives them their meaning. The biggest problem is when the message we preach then seems identified with those secondary aspects which, important as they are, do not in and of themselves convey the heart of Christ’s message. We need to be realistic and not assume that our audience understands the full background to what we are saying, or is capable of relating what we say to the very heart of the Gospel which gives it meaning, beauty and attractiveness.

Pope Francis nailed it, and what he said here applies in spades to the media coverage of this very apostolic exhortation.

Since the states of Colorado and Washington have legalized private use of marijuana (see "Colorado and Washington Blazed a Marijuana Legalization Trail: Should Others Follow?"), moral conservatives all over have objected to its coming impact on youth. One of the more interesting arguments is a very old one, that marijuana is a gateway drug. (So are chocolate and taco chips and spectator football.