Among the peeves I keep as pets, chief is my loathing of the Easter Bunny. There are many reasons to hate the Bunny. I will get into why in particular the Bunny, but first to some other pressing business.
Why is it that religious holidays require mascots to make them palatable to secularists who otherwise wouldn’t give a fig about the celebration? While some mascots are cool in their own right, most add nothing and typically detract from the holiday’s expressed purpose.
Take the leprechaun. Actually, don’t take the leprechaun. I am pretty sure that taking a leprechaun is bad luck. But the leprechaun as a symbol of St. Paddy’s Day? A hard-drinking short guy consumed with greed is not a good mascot for a celebration of a great saint’s feast day. A good mascot for Christopher Hitchens’ Day perhaps, but not for St. Patrick’s Day.
Another egregious example of the trend is that stupid cupid. St. Valentine, priest and martyr, gets a pagan symbol of lust…Continue Reading @ National Catholic Register
March 26, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Early Riser:
You are right. I said "the Christmas is of pagan origin." However, a CLOSER reading will tell you that there is something off: either the word THE is there incorrectly OR a word is missing.
Clearly, a word is missing. That word is "tree."
So, once again, I am NOT saying that Christmas (the Holy Day, not the tree) is of pagan origin.
You might want to go back and re-read the post and insert the word tree as you read it. Then address my point.
Or why not address the point I made in another post, that Christ and Christianity are the fulfillment of pagan traditions.
March 26, 2010 at 10:10 pm
Kim – it wasn't clear. If you're not going to write what you mean, then don't bother. I shouldn't have to correct or do guess work because you don't know how to form a coherrent thought. Or maybe it was a Freudian slip on your part? Hmmm.
And regarding your last comment, you are SO off. Are you really Catholic? If so, you are in dire need of catechesis. Christ does not "fulfill" pagan tradition, religion, beliefs or ANYTHING of that nature. Paganism is FALSE. By definition, a lie cannot be "fulfilled", it can only be corrected or disproven.
Come on.
March 26, 2010 at 10:47 pm
You're right, you shouldn't have to correct it. Sometimes I don't realize how fast I type and I make mistakes.
Thankfully, though, St. Paul disagrees with you. In Acts 17, we see him talking to the Greeks in Athens about the unknown god they worship. He tells them who that God is. Not only is He known, but He is the Knower. Here is the quote:
22 Then Paul stood up at the Areopagus and said: "You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines, I even discovered an altar inscribed, 'To an Unknown God.' What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you. 24The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands,25 nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything. Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything.
Link: http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/acts/acts17.htm
What is Paul doing here? First he is acknowledging the pagans religiosity; second, he is taking something they worship, "The Unknown god" and reveals to them who He is.
In other words, he took their pagan tradition and showed them that Christ is the fulfillment of that tradition.
March 26, 2010 at 10:55 pm
Early Riser:
I also humbly suggest the book "The Religious Sense," by Msgr. Luigi Giussani, founder of the lay ecclesial movement "Communion and Liberation." That movement is near and dear to my heart and has helped me further my understanding and relationship with Christ in ways I could not have imagined.
In the book. Msgr. Giussani talks about the religious sense in man; how we are designed for God; how pagan religions are advent religions (said as well, I believe by Pope Benedict XVI)..these pagan religions are crying out for Christ, and He is their fulfillment.
Anyway, here is a link to the book: http://www.amazon.com/Religious-Sense-Luigi-Giussani/dp/0773516263
March 26, 2010 at 11:29 pm
Kim – sorry, but you've already proven yourself unreliable here. I simply am NOT going to accept, "Pope Benedict said…" or "Msgr so-and-so said…" Your understanding on this subject as clearly flawed, to say the least. So, I'd need to review ANY direct quote you provided in its context and from a reliable source before I could take anything you say seriously at this point.
And if we're going to play the "simply read this book…" game, might I humbly suggest a book called "The Holy Bible". Read it front to back, then get back to me.
March 26, 2010 at 11:46 pm
Please, yes, verify what I've written. In fact, I provided a direct quote from Acts for you, with the link to the USCCB website. And I've also provided the link to Msgr. Giussani's book so that you can look at it for yourself.
For ease of convenience, here is an excerpt of Dominus Iesus, penned by then-Cardinal Ratzinger in 2000. In it, he refers once again to the right and true teachings of the Second Vatican Council:
In the course of the centuries, the Church has proclaimed and witnessed with fidelity to the Gospel of Jesus. At the close of the second millennium, however, this mission is still far from complete.2 For that reason, Saint Paul's words are now more relevant than ever: “Preaching the Gospel is not a reason for me to boast; it is a necessity laid on me: woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16). This explains the Magisterium's particular attention to giving reasons for and supporting the evangelizing mission of the Church, above all in connection with the religious traditions of the world.3
In considering the values which these religions witness to and offer humanity, with an open and positive approach, the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on the relation of the Church to non-Christian religions states: “The Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions. She has a high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts and teachings, which, although differing in many ways from her own teaching, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men”.4 Continuing in this line of thought, the Church's proclamation of Jesus Christ, “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6), today also makes use of the practice of inter-religious dialogue. Such dialogue certainly does not replace, but rather accompanies the missio ad gentes, directed toward that “mystery of unity”, from which “it follows that all men and women who are saved share, though differently, in the same mystery of salvation in Jesus Christ through his Spirit”.5 Inter-religious dialogue, which is part of the Church's evangelizing mission,6 requires an attitude of understanding and a relationship of mutual knowledge and reciprocal enrichment, in obedience to the truth and with respect for freedom.7
Link to the full text on the Vatican site here:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000806_dominus-iesus_en.html
Now that I think about it, I suspect you believe that I am saying that all religions are equal. I am not and they are not. As Dominus Iesus says, insofar as they are good, these faiths are orienting toward God. Yet they do not have the full revelation of Truth. Only Catholicism retains that. This is what I firmly believe and it is what I've always believed.
We can say that Christ is the ultimate fulfillment for pagan religions because Christ is the ultimate fulfillment for everyone. Once pagans accept Christ, they cease being pagans.
March 27, 2010 at 2:39 am
Kim – first, thank you for providing the exact quotes and relevant documents to make your point. It is appreciated.
Second, none of them say anywhere that Jesus fulfills paganism or pagan religions. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. Nothing more. Full stop. It is only the Old Testament which prophecied and foreshadowed the coming of Our Lord. Other cultures, religions, beliefs may have contained some truth about God (i.e. that He is omnipotent) but this does not mean Jesus fulfilled them. I'm sorry, but this is absolute and utter heresy. Please, go to a legitimate priest and ask this question straightforward. You seem like a nice enough person, but you really need to get right with God on this one. Please.
March 27, 2010 at 2:56 am
No, it isn't heresy. You're not getting what I'm saying. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment for all religions because he is the ultimate fulfillment for all people. I am NOT saying that He fulfills any of their prophecies.
You need to understand that this does not in any way legitimize those other faiths, or make them equal to Christianity, let alone Catholicism.
Christ is the fulfillment of OT prophecies, absolutely. But He is more than that as well. He is the fulfillment for each and every human being. Man has a religious sense toward God and Christ is the full revelation of God. Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of every man. So much so that man begs for Christ.