I was at a retreat required for my CCD class and we were told it was a sin to play with ouija boards. Can you explain why this is so? - Joe

Joe,

The answer to this question has sooo many layers!  Please hang on tight while I try to explain it as simply as I can!

Flat out:  The Ouija board is a tool, or a way, people converse with supernatural sources.  (contacting the supernatural is called "divination.") This is a serious and harmful thing to do..

The Ouija board can really work, and the only "spirits" that will be contacted through it are evil ones. "It’s true that many people view the Ouija board as just a harmless game, a toy. They claim, 'Oh, I don’t believe in it,' " or 'It's just for fun.'  "However, not believing in something doesn't make something not real." (I could say I don't believe the world is round and that scientists are just trying to trick me into falling off the face of the earth by telling me it's round when it isn't. That doesn't make the earth flat!)

"The Ouija board is real even if you don’t believe in it. And we know this because God himself tells us so.  The Lord repeatedly condemns any and all occultic practices, including divination. While many Bible passages could be cited, the following one is typical of his view of occultic practices: "Let no one ... who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord (Dt 18:10–12, NIV). 

"On the experiential side of the issue, we have the testimony of the Church’s exorcists. Their experience shows that Ouija boards are far from harmless. Some investigating supernatural phenomena from a Catholic perspective have gone so far as to say that 90 percent of their very worst cases involving demonic activity have been linked to the use of the Ouija board. Simply put, nothing positive can ever come from the use of the Ouija board, and God warns us against such things for our own spiritual safety." http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/are-ouija-boards-harmless

So Joe, playing with Ouija boards is a way of connecting with evil spirits.  In a sense, it is talking with them.  What do we call 'talking with God'?  Prayer!  So, in a sense, when you talk to the spirits through an Ouija board, you are praying to the devil, and the devil's minions.  That is idolatry.  ... Like I said at the beginning of your answer, there are so many levels we could touch, but due to the space we have, I will stop my answer here.  I hope this helped you! 

God bless you for being attentive to the Word!

Love is not something we do. An argument of logic.

In this post I want to run a little logic problem; I want to prove that LOVE is not something we DO, that it's not a thing but actually love is something we can BE.

Let's begin by looking at a couple of things the Bible says about love.  First:  "Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love."  1 John 4:8.  

GOD is love.  Ah, that makes LOVE a PERSON!  And I have already proven the premise! But let's see if we can further figure out what that means for us about God.  Can we discover a little bit more about God by using this definition of God is love? 

I say, "YES!" 

Look at 1 Cor 13:4-8a   "Love is patient, love is kind.  It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interest, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.   Love never fails. ..."  

If God is love that means God = LOVE.  Logically speaking, that also means that Love is God or LOVE = God   So I can just as easily change the words to 1 Cor 13:4-8a to "God is patient, God is kind.  ..." and I can know more about God's ways of being. 
"Wait," you say.   The next statement would be 'God is not jealous,' but the Bible says God is a jealous God.  Doesn't that blow this definition of God being love out of the water? 

Not at all:  Remember, we must always look at the context of a text when we are trying to interpret it - and remember that translation is often difficult because words have different nuances in different languages.   Let's take a look at one of those Bible verses which proclaim God as a jealous God:     Deut 4:24   Moses is reminding the Israelites that God made a covenant with them.  He is reiterating that they are not to have any idols, that is they are not to have any false gods - because God is a jealous God.  The Hebrew word used for that statement is from the adjective 'qanna' which expresses the idea of intense feeling focused on solicitude for someone ... It says that God has a zeal for His people.  The definition used in this instance does not contain the idea of envy - which is the definition meant in the Corinthians passage.   (As an aside, there is another archaic definition of jealous which holds the meaning of 'demanding loyalty.')

So we see that in the Corinthians passage, the word jealous is being used in the context of being envious.   God is certainly not envious. ...

I can take this one step further.  If I want to find out if I really LOVE my neighbor, I can deposit  my name in that spot ... Can I say I am patient?  Am I kind?  Am I jealous, rude, quick-tempered?  Do I brood over injury?   etc?  And I could ask that about my spouse (or friend -- etc)  Does he love me?  Well, is he patient?  Is he kind ... and so on.  Get the idea?

So, if I want to be an example of Jesus to the world and Jesus is God, then I need to be an example of LOVE to the world and I need to make those statements about myself true.  

But, that's not the focus of this post.  This post is to show that love is not something we do.  And if I use the Bible for my definition, then that is so.  Love is not something we do; Love is actually a person. 

What do you think?

Our Religious Education person keeps telling me that "the family is the first teacher" of the kids for faith. I do not have a degree in theology. I don't know the Bible very well. I am not even a CCD teacher. How can I tell her that she doesn't know what she's talking about when she speaks to me? -- L.

Dear L.

I can see that your concern is very close to your heart and I applaud you for your struggle with it!  First of all, let me tell you to take a deep breath!  What your Director of Religious Education has said is a truth.  But it is not one that should stress you out, but one that should invigorate and challenge you to a higher goal.  

Let me explain.  Home is where life is full of exploration, conversation, and security for children.  It is also the place where children see first hand how life is lived.  What they see, hear, and model there is a clear clue as to how they will view the world.  When they see the family kneel down to say night prayers, or pray at meal time, or grope around on a Sunday morning trying to give everyone a turn in the bathroom as they all get ready to go to Mass, they learn that faith is a part of life.  It is the time they encounter Christ as he lives in us.  (We are the face of Jesus to our children.)  

So much of the faith is about living it.  And that is your role.  You show your children what it looks like to live as a Catholic Christian in the world.  Along with that, the way you share your experiences of faith - like stories of your own First Communion, or Confirmation, etc, then they are free to imagine and ask questions.  It doesn't matter whether you know the answer to a question about God.  What matters is that you are open to discovering the answer with your child.  Your role as one who helps your child encounter Jesus is where your biggest teaching moments come.  

Because of all the time you get with your child, because of the love your child holds towards you, your moments are more important than any other.  Your actions teach.  Your words teach.  And your love teaches.  Learning to relate with Jesus is not about a lesson plan or a degree.  Learning about Jesus is about learning what loving Him is.  

If you don't spend time speaking about Jesus, or modelling Him, then your child won't see the importance of know Him.  So  you don't know the Bible.  Get one that is appropriate for your child's age and read together the stories of the faith.  Your child isn't going to ask you what the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit are.  And if your child does, you can research it.  Your child will ask you questions which require deep thinking and conversation.  They may not have a "correct" response per say, and that's when you encourage your child to keep asking and keep praying.  God will lead the right people to you when the time is right.  

The role of the Religious Education program is to supplement what you do.  If you work as a team with your Catechists, then your kids can grow up with a healthy view of Christianity, and be equipped to face the world when the time comes.   But it takes you to lead the way in setting the atmosphere of openness and acceptance to things of faith.  And that is how you are the FIRST TEACHER OF THE FAITH.

Good luck!  I'll be praying for you!!

I was at Mass today and heard about the City of David. Is this Bethlehem? is this Jerusalem? What about the city called Zion? -Angela

Angela,

I too get confused when I hear about the City of David.  Here's what I finally discovered - and which helped abate my confusion:

Zion was a fortress on a Mount Zion which was on the southwest side of Jerusalem.  In 2 Samuel 5:7-10, King David captures that fortress.  Upon his capturing that city, it then became called the City of David.  Because he captured it.  He then chose to live there and as it was so near the city of Jerusalem - and of course because he lived there others moved there and the living area spread, Zion became known as Jerusalem.   According to 1 Kings 2:10,  David was also buried in Jerusalem.  

In the New Testament, Luke calls Bethlehem the City of David.  (2:11)   Then, that title is referring to the place where David was born and raised.  

So, we have to go with the context of the stories when we are listening to the Bible stories.  And we just have to remember that in the Old Testament the City of David refers to Jerusalem, because that is the city he captured and made his headquarters when he was king.  

Your answer?  Usually,  note: Usually, the City of David refers to Jerusalem.  Once in a while it means the city where he was born - and then it is Bethlehem.  Let the context be your guide.

Crystal clear, right? !! 

I have a friend who always says, "Offer it up," when I am in pain. I don't understand what she means. -B

B-

I remember asking a faithful person in the Church what that meant too.  I think it was just in the last year or so.  Here's how I understand it. ... When I suffer any type of pain, I can join hands with Jesus and we can together offer our hurt as prayer, worship, and offering to God.  We can offer it for the healing of others, for the salvation of souls, for lots of things.  The important thing to note here is that I am joining hands with Jesus to do this.  He suffered for us.  We join Him in his suffering and hence give him the gift of ourselves in order that other may be brought to Him.  I hope that makes sense.

Anyone else have ideas on this?

 

Is the Sabbath Saturday or Sunday?

The simple answer is, "Yes!"  
Now the longer answer:   To the Jewish people, the Sabbath day was Saturday.  Sunday was the first day of the week.  They still celebrate the Sabbath beginning on Friday at sundown.  

When Jesus rose from the dead, we are told that He rose on the first day of the week.  "For Christians is has become the first of all days, the first of all feast, the Lord's Day ... Sunday:  We all gather on the day of the sun, for it is the first day ... when God, separating matter from darkness, made the world; and on this same day Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead."  Our celebration of Sunday fulfills the commandment to observe the day of worship.  It follows the rhythm and spirit of w weekly celebration of God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.  (CCC 2174 & 2175) 

However, we Catholics allow for a vigil on the Saturday night before to be considered as the Sunday Mass.  ... I think this might come from the fact that the Jews consider that a day starts at sundown.  They get this idea from the Creation story in Genesis.  "Evening came, and morning followed - the first (second, third, etc) day."

Incidentally, a Mass said the day before cannot count as the next day's Mass unless it begins at 4:00pm or later!  ... Oh, so many details!!

To summarize the answer your question, it depends on whether a person is viewing the Sabbath from Jewish or Christian perspective.  Than, it depends on whether you are talking about the evening vigil prior which must be at 4:00pm or later.  

Fasting from meat on Fridays - why was meat chosen for Catholics to abstain from eating? - Linda

Hi, Linda ...

First of all, let's review why we fast:  
- to prepare for special liturgical feasts  CCC 2043
- to acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart   CCC2043
- to express conversion back towards God   CCC 1434
- to obtain forgiveness of sins  CCC1434
- in a nutshell:  to draw closer to God.

But you probably already know all that. 

So what about meat?  There are some "documents that indicate that meat was singled out as being a food Christians occasionally abstained from since the first century.  ... [It] was singled out because it is associated with celebrations and feasts.   ... On top of all that, meat has often been a luxury in many cultures. ... Meat cost a bit more.  Maintaining a spirit of simplicity, people turned to other, less expensive fare." http://bulldogcatholic.org/

Also, my heart tells me that there is more to think about with this question:  Since ancient times the Hebrews offered meat up as their sacrifices in the Temple for things like forgiveness, uncleanness, thanksgiving, etc.  In the New Testament the Jews continued to do so until the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD.  That they chose meat as THE offering to God showed an "value" in their minds of what one should use to approach God about BIG things.

Added to that, think about the things we call meat.  Meat comes from animals that have blood in them.  Blood was seen as the very life of a creature, and as such, it was seen as sacred.  The ancients were forbidden to partake of blood.  (which was why people turned from Jesus when He said, "This is my blood, take it and drink of it.")   Meat then was the most nourishing element in the diet.  When we give up the most nourishing thing in our diets, we stay somewhat hungry, somewhat lacking from the very life-givingness of our meal.  That lacking allows us to then be a little empty, thus giving us room within us, room which we then are called to fill up with God.

Your question was definitely food for thought! (lol)