Is it truth or sophistry?

By Melanie Jean Juneau

St. Mary Magdalen Listens to
Christ's Teaching by Brisset
(Wikimedia Commons)

 


Years ago, I was washing up some pots, just before dinner, when all of a sudden a word popped into my head, seemingly out of nowhere. I turned around and blurted out to my kids, who were doing homework around the kitchen table,

“Sophistry! The word that keeps coming to me is sophistry.”

Of course everyone burst out laughing because no one had a clue what I was talking about or what that word even meant. The word sophistry describes language and logic used by Satan, in Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost. Sophistry could describe the logic used by a lawyer intent upon persuading a jury to find a criminal not guilty. When the intent of words is not to reveal the truth but to confuse people, the speaker is using sophistry. Sophistry is all too common in out society, from the world of politics to the world of advertising,Modern man uses words to influence people for their own purposes.

Just the other day, the word sophistry popped into my head again because we often resort to sophistry without realizing exactly what we are doing. Words often keep us running in circles and keep us from discovering freedom and truth. Thank God for the power of the Holy Spirit. The word of God cuts through sophistry like a two-edged sword.

My only hope of living in reality, to cut through lies, to see myself  and others in  truth and to embrace truth is by embracing the Word made flesh.Sometimes I might think that I am in the truth or that I am ruthlessly speaking the stark truth to another but if I do not speak with Love, it is still sophistry.  The evil one can speak a condemning truth, a truth without love that seeks to destroy.Only God and those who carry the Love of God speak a liberating truth that heals and sets free.


Melanie originally posted this on her blog joy of nine9.

More than just a nice idea

By Heidi

The Conscience of Judas (Wikimedia Commons)

“So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.” John 13:30
 
John’s imagery is always so clear.   When we leave Him we enter into darkness, when we cling to Him we remain in the light. But what were Judas’ intentions?  Had he convinced himself that what he was doing was good? 

The movie Jesus of Nazareth portrays a Judas who wants to see Jesus’ ideas and philosophies advanced.  He knows he is going behind Jesus’ back, he knows there is treachery involved, but he has convinced himself this is the only way for Jesus’ message to get out.  It is a sympathetic portrayal, and one that should cause all of us to meditate on how we allow Jesus to shape us.  Do we cling to abstractions of Jesus and His message?  Do we reduce Him to an impersonal intellectual morsel?

Yes, the teachings of Christ are Truth, and we must always strive to live it and teach it.  But Jesus is more than just an idea, He is body, blood, soul and divinity.  His Word is not tidbits of wise sayings, it is living with power to transform you. We cannot evangelize the world if Jesus is just an abstract morsel of goodness, we must have a relationship with Him, then we remain in His light and let Him live in us and breath through us, to draw all mankind to Himself.

Close your eyes and lay your head on His chest and listen to His beating heart.  Remain in His light always!


 
Heidi writes at Journey to Wisdom.

So when can we expect to hear Humanae Vitae preached at Sunday Masses?

By Michael Seagriff

Pope Paul VI (photo credit: Ambrosius007,
Wikimedia)

I recently read a short but interesting article written by Father Michael Orsi. It is entitled How Same-Sex Marriage Won. You can read his article here at Catholic Exchange. 

As I am wont to do, I simply passed it along to several social media sites with the same question I posed in today's post. That's all I did. What a stir it created.  

I did not have time to join the on-going and often troublesome discussion but did forward another relevant piece I discovered on Homiletic & Pastoral Review (HP&R), entitled Celebrating "Humanae Vitae" 45 Years Later. You can find this excellent article by the well respected editor of HP&R and Jesuit, David Vincent Melconi, S.J., by clicking here.  

Maybe I am naive but I was caught off-guard by the nature of the discussion these two articles sparked. Reading some of the comments became excruciatingly painful - a hard but valuable lesson learned by this wannabe evangelist.   

Continue reading at Michael's blog Harvesting the Fruits of Contemplation.

Though in sight of men he suffered...

 By Heidi

Salome with the Head of the Baptist by Caravaggio (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons).

The title of this post is a quote from the third chapter of Wisdom, and it is fitting that Saint Bede the Venerable used it in his homily of St. John, you can read it in the Office of Readings for the Memorial of the Beheading (or Passion) of John the Baptist. As I was reading through Saint Bede’s homily today this paragraph just stopped me in my tracks.

“There is no doubt that blessed John suffered imprisonment and chains as a witness to our Redeemer, whose forerunner he was, and gave his life for Him.  His persecutor had demanded not that he should deny Christ, only that he should keep silent about the truth.  Nevertheless, he died for Christ.  Does Christ not say:  “I am the truth”?  Therefore, because John shed his blood for the truth, he surely died for Christ.” 

Things have not changed have they?!  Usually we are not asked to outright deny Christ, we are simply expected to be quiet about Him.  However, do not be surprised if our silent compliance leads to the demand to deny Our Lord explicitly.  Which makes today a good day to ask for the intercession of Saint John the Baptist, for the wisdom to know when to speak, and the courage to follow through.  The concluding prayer for this powerful Memorial is:

O God, who wills that Saint John the Baptist should go ahead of your Son both in his birth and in his death, grant that, as he died a Martyr for truth and justice, we, too, may fight hard for the confession of what you teach.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ your son, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

I pray that all of us grow in the courage to place our hope in the immortal Truth, who is Christ.

Heidi blogs at Journey to Wisdom.

Can we remember the love story?

by Colleen Spiro

The Works of Mercy by David Teniers (photo in Public Domain).

I love this recent quote from Pope Francis in an April homily -

"We, the women and men of the Church, we are in the middle of a love story: each of us is a link in this chain of love. And if we do not understand this, we have understood nothing of what the Church is.”

Do we understand what the Church is? Do we remember that we are in the "middle of a love story"?

Some comments and questions don’t sound like it:
"The Church needs to come into the 21st century."
"We should allow birth control."
"When are women going to be ordained?"

I actually read a comment from a woman who said that she was going to leave the Church if it did not start ordaining women. I think she missed the love story part.

The Church is not a democracy. Majority does not rule here. We don’t get to vote on changing the Ten Commandments, for heaven's sake.

Have we forgotten who is in charge here?

"Christ said, 'I am the Truth'; he did not say 'I am the custom.'" -St. Toribio (1538-1606)

And then there is the infighting that has really driven me crazy. Disagreements are one thing, but some people are very uncharitable. Even Pope Francis, in a speech to the cardinals before his election as pope, referred to the harsh comments and "hypercriticism" being found in blogs and comment boxes.


Continue reading at Colleen's blog  Thoughts on Grace