CALLED TO COMMUNION - Dr. David Anders - June 19, 2020

from becoming a Catholic why can't women become priests 183 three two eight eight EWTN I don't understand why I have to earn salvation one eight three three two eight eight three nine eight six why do I need to confess my sins to a priest what's stopping you this is called to communion with dr. David Anders on the EWTN global Catholic radio network hey we made it it's Friday and this is called the communion here on EWTN the program for our non Catholic brothers and sisters if you're not a Catholic perhaps you were a practicing Catholic years ago but fell away from the faith for whatever reason maybe you've never been a Catholic but whatever their whatever the situation is you have a question or two about the Catholic faith and you're trying to get that question answered we are here to help here's our phone number eight three three two eight eight EWTN that's eight three three two eight eight three nine eight six if you're listening outside of North America please use the u.s. country code and then two oh five two seven one two nine eight five you can also text the letters EWTN to five five zero zero zero wait for our response and then text us your first name and your brief question message and data rates may apply and of course you can send us an email of course CTC at ewtn.com CTC at ewtn.com all right we got the a team in place ready to rock and roll here at Charles berry our producer we also have Ryan Penney as our phone screener and Jeff person on social media if you want to post a question via YouTube or Facebook you can do that in the comments section Jeff we'll pass that on to us here in studio one I'm Tom price along with dr. David Anders Tom how are you today doing great big plans for the weekend for you sir oh how big how big not so big not so big that's a big trying to a little playing a little writing well sleeping little praying oh very good that sounds really good we're gonna scoot over to Atlanta for the day tomorrow and visit some friends that we have there so it's just a quick over and a and a quick back but it'll be a nice thing to you know break up the weekend oh good looking forward to that so we've got a four for the price of one email here this is from James who says I have several questions asked of me by my wife that I need your help answering or direction on where to find the answers here are the four questions one why did God create a patriarchy for the human family and for the hierarchy of his church - why is there no gender complementarity at the altar during Mass in a visible way three why is there no gender complementarity in the organization of the church and finally why did God create the man to be the initiator of our communion when st. Paul John Paul the second stated that women must teach men how to be human would really appreciate your guidance God's blessings to you from James okay thanks I heard you got the question ah okay nothing controversial in here at all that's right all right so so you know the the mind of the church the pastoral expression of the church on issues of human sexuality and sexual identity and and social role has changed over the course of history and in response to I think reason and culture and and pressures of modernity and the feminist movement and these kinds of things so up until really up until the Second Vatican Council if you had looked at Magisterial statements on the respective roles of men and women in the family in the church you know all the way up to and including pius xi and sickle caste kenobi which is 20th century encyclical be fairly traditional standard patriarchal sounding language at the second vatican council there was a move away from that kind of language you know about men ruling in the family in the home and this kind of thing and then and then in the in the encyclicals of john paul ii much more attention paid specifically to the question of the dignity of women and and a more nuanced way of addressing of addressing these issues with more sensitivity to the question of of complementarity now um just as an aside there's a as a Catholic scholar feminist scholar named Erica Bochy OG I think that's how you say her name who has written a book entitled women sex in the church which give you a kind of thick analysis of these kinds of issues from the point of view of a Catholic feminist who is nevertheless respectful of the church's positions Oh guys question so just for further reading you might want to take a look at budget you look on women sex in the church but here's where it comes down today and this is basically the the take away men women are equal in dignity but they are not identical they are not the same there is a difference between men and women and and if we if we deny that then we're actually we're actually violating we're doing we're doing an injustice to men and women all right there psychological differences there no there are no sort of differences in in in talent or intellect or ability it's not that sort of thing but you know overwhelmingly this is not every single case right but women tend to be far more interested in people in relationships than in things you know I mean if you get a group of men and women together for lunch on Sunday in one group goes out and starts you know looking under the hood of the car to talk about the new v8 engine and the other one is gonna talk about like you know who showed up at the church picnic who's gonna be in which group gee I wonder right who's gonna be in which group there are differences in the way men and women operate and and we should acknowledge this that doesn't mean we have to tie everybody down in a straitjacket and and you know I remember one time I went to to a church picnic at a Korean Baptist Church this is where I was Catholic and you know more traditional society and kind of locked into more concrete social roles and my wife and I worshipped happily in this church for a while but there were occasions when we to ourselves little lost four things to say because well frankly we didn't speak Korean sure so I went to this went to this church picnic and and the women were all cooking food the men were all out speaking Korean around picnic table and I found my cell so left out of the conversation because I didn't speak Korean I love to cook I love to cook right and and I love Korean foods this I hope I will go in and learn something about cooking Korean food so I walk into the kitchen and all these Korean ladies in there and I said y'all mind if I step in here and like learn something about cooking Korean food you would have thought I'd walked in there wearing a dress I mean they about God they fell over backwards just laughing their heads off and they kind of took the benign and American by the elbows and they were like you go back to the man where you belong so they could not let me do it you know it's funny anyway I'm getting off on a tangent but I'll come back to the other side of the break okay yeah very good and James sit tight if you're listening to us this afternoon we'll continue this conversation in a moment we'll also get back to the phones we'll talk with Christopher in PS code New Mexico Steve and Dillon Montana antlers a line open for you at eight three three two eight eight EWTN on the Friday edition of call to communion do stay with us divine intimacy radio the greatest joy in my life is helping others to come to know Christ more fully and there's no better light on this path the path to deep union with God than the wisdom of the saints talking about this daily on ewtn radio divine intimacy Radio Sunday 6:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Eastern on EWTN radio to ask why should I pray is the same as asking why should I raise my mind and heart to God since that's what prayer is but when stated like that it's pretty obvious we need to pray because God is he to whom our minds and hearts are ultimately directing union with him is our ultimate destiny without prayer we lose our direction to God as our ultimate end and thus set ourselves on a path that leads back into the slavery of sin the wisdom of Mother Angelica what do you do on Sundays you at a church I know I golf every mega-haul I want know well why don't you pray a little bit pray yeah I pray oh why I need to pray I could give you fifty reasons for more information on Mother Angelica visit religious catalogue at ewtn our si.com solid Catholic radio for you 24 hours a day right here on EWTN radio and that would include tonight father Spitzer's universe at 8:00 p.m. Eastern tonight father Spitzer and Doug will continue with part two of the five graces of the Holy Eucharist fascinating program father Spitzer's universe tonight 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on EWTN radio okay before the break David was kind of unpacking these four questions from James regarding gender complementarity why did God create man to be the initiator of our communion that that sort of thing yep so I really kind of began in a long round about way discussing kind of the historical position of the church on this the way the church really I should say expressed her her her catechesis which would have had a more traditionalist kind of flair to it before the Second Vatican Council the second half of the 20th century much more sensitivity to the change in social roles of women in society and the the just complaints of the feminist movement this kind of thing greater sensitivity awareness of the equal dignity of men and women in complementarity so it hasn't been a shift in the way the church has expressed her teaching on the relationship of men and women what has not changed is the church conviction grounded in reason that men women are not the same maybe the equal in dignity but they're not the same right and and we can see I've made some some funny anecdotes about the way we can like discern that in our daily relations as well as what the you know the social psychologist can tell us as well about the way men and women operate and so that's embedded into into the church's teaching right that so for example men only men can be fathers only men can be fathers only women can be mothers children relate to men and women as parents differently not not one better than the other but they have different needs and they need to be socialized of God members of both sexes right in the family life that's why God made men and women to be parents and there's a there's a you know in my own family life look it's not even an option I couldn't lord it over my wife if I want to do she's not gonna stand for that no and yet she will appeal to me frequently to exercise authority on her behalf to protect her from the aggression of her children right yeah and look I don't want to I'm lazy it's a pain I'd rather offload the responsibility I mean that's just I'm just speaking the truth here like you know kids giving mom trouble like I have a headache I'd rather walk away all right and then yeah she'll come David coming here and make this kid listen to me do something about this problem I've got an issue I cancel she's asking me to use paternal Authority as a gift of service mm-hmm right and and look it runs against my my sloth right against my own nature which is hey feminism let the women take it fine roll away do it you know no but I have to actually as a gift of self to man up as they say and get in there and and offer what gifts and talents I have as a service of self-sacrifice to my law to my wife now that's actually what the Church teaches about the model of the way men can be the head of their family it's the way that Christ was the head of the church by way of self sacrificial love to the point of death on a cross we men have abdicated so many responsibilities you know I'm speaking for myself speaking for a lot of guys who have just said as you just said you know if the ladies want to handle this let's let them handle it and meanwhile look where we are now in the year 2020 right yeah I mean what are you gonna do go play video games all the time I know you know and and so I think the the the the the sacramental arrangement of the church right and the fact that Christ is the head of the church as the as the husband to the broad who lays his life down in sacrifice and then establishes a sacramental order within his church that's supposed to emulate that right and so the priest doesn't stand as a as a domineering patriarch who Lords it over the congregation mm-hmm but as one who leads in guides in the way of sacrificial worship and and so the sacramental structure of the church the liturgical structure of the church reflects that self gift right now if it's lived that way with generosity and respect for the dignity of all people that's a gift that's a gift and and and the liturgical order reflects that that type of self-sacrifice and of course the reason liturgical II that the priest is a man is because he stands in the place of Christ and in relationship to the church as a as a husband bridegroom to abroad and a father to a family but it should be after that model redeemed in Christ not the kind of domineering sinful chauvinism that has so often been an occasion of the abuse of women but the kind that lays down his life for the service of wife children family and society absolutely all right James thank you so much for your very thoughtful email we do appreciate that and if you're ready now let's go to the phones at eight three three two eight eight EWTN we're going to begin this time with Andre in Trinidad and Tobago hey there Andre thanks for watching us today on YouTube what's on your mind today thank you so much it's always a pleasure to be on your program doctorandus this is a bit long so I'm gonna try to speak a little fast someone recently sent a text to challenge your understanding of the church's involvement in slavery and on June 15 2020 there was an article in the National Catholic Register and I quote in a series of people both beginning with pope nicholas ii says domme diverse has 1450 to and including Pope Alexander the sixth into coterra 1493 the church not only authorized perpetual enslavement of Africans and the seizure of non-christian lands but morally sanctioned the development of the transatlantic slave trade this trade forcibly transported Elise 12.5 million enslaved African men women and children to the Americas and Europe to enrich European and often Catholic offers unquote I only call in because on your shoe you repeatedly call out this horrific treatment of African Americans in American society I find great dissonance in the fact that on EWTN Rose Riza said to end abortion and to end the protest but no mass was offered for George Floyd or to end the oppression to my knowledge in fact how could Catholics and good conscience receive communion with the legacy of the church's deep involvement in injustice how come there is no international confession for the sin of slavery we have our own issues of course in the Caribbean including racism experienced by some priests of color from some us priests how attractive is becoming Catholic when love for the least of these appears not to be served at the table thank you however listen ok yes what uh what a compelling question absolutely and I I cannot speak for the absence I can I tell you why have there been no rosaries of reparation well first of all I can't say that there have been no rosaries of reparation or no masses of reparation I don't know that with certainty but I would say that to be sure it's it has received less prominent attention right probably then then the issue of abortion and perhaps that's an injustice that should be rectified I know that in my own diocese and I can only speak for my own diocese my own bishop who Robert Baker has attempted to be a very prominent voice on precisely this issue not only did he issue public statements about the death of George Floyd but but several years ago was very vocally involved in in trying to promote understanding and reparation on this very issue he hosted a conference in here in our Diocese of Birmingham Alabama but an international conference at Sanford University is ecumenical together with Baptists and others called black and white in America how deep the divide and at that conference I gave a talk I was the one Catholic representative on the panel precisely on the church as an instrument of reconciliation and I told a story in that conference and I'll tell it again right now that a white man living in Alabama which has a legacy a history of racism that we all now decry and recognize to be immoral and I had parents and grandparents that grew up in this in this system and this regime and they were products of it and the knot Ollie always fully aware of the ramifications of what they were living with but as they began to become aware of them they also rejected the injustice as they saw around them my grandfather who was probably born around can't remove that you raise more like 1906 1907 died in about 1992 when he was on his deathbed he called me to his side he said two things to me last two things I remember my grandfather saying to me one of them was David I understand you're going to get married be sure the other one was David we did not treat the black folks well ask them to forgive us that from a man who grew up in Northport Alabama well in you know in 1900 so I did now are counted that story at that conference and on behalf of my grandfather and I think I'm speaking with with commission from my bishop I personally issued a an act of repentance and a request for forgiveness from those that had been that had suffered at the hands of white people Catholic and non-catholic in Alabama elsewhere I know there have been other prominent Catholic voices on this issue not only in America's but in Africa one of the participants in that particular conference was Archbishop Obinna from the diocese of weary in Nigeria who spoke about the legacy of racism yes racism and his own diocese and this wasn't black on white but it was tribe on tribe and how he'd committed his his episcopate to reconciliation among disparate ethnic groups and into racism and discrimination and so forth so I do think there have there are our instances right but but we should do more to be wish we should do more to you know and from my own point of view like when I became Catholic you know I've said the story many times on the air I came into the church at a time when the church was convulsed by the question of sex abuse and you know I had to confront the question do I want to be Catholic in a world in a church in which some of its leaders are so obviously fallible sinful corrupt even evil and and that's a challenge that's probably the big people say what's stopping you if we're gonna get Catholic that's the question I put to the audience and I've been asked that question myself by callers on the show doctorate is what do you think is the greatest barrier to Catholic faith or what would be to you if you were not Catholic and I've always said the greatest obstacle to becoming Catholic for me if I were not Catholic would be Catholics themselves much bigger than any question of history or exegesis or philosophy be the actual lived life of Catholics that'd be greatest obstacle to me so what am I going to do with that like you know that's a that's a reality I have to confront and what I have to come back to is this why do I think that racism is evil why why do I think that slavery is evil Aristotle didn't think it was evil Aristotle did think was able the Romans didn't think it was evil you know what the Romans said when when they ran up against another culture they found inconvenient Carthago de Linda asked Carthage must be destroyed Cato's call for genocide right that's that's the way of the world that's the way of history why do I think otherwise why not just go with the historical consensus that that pertained that held sway before the Christian era why not go with that seems natural you know two coyotes getting a fight one kills the other what's wrong with that well my conviction that create that racism is wrong this slavery is wrong is grounded in something that's not purely rational namely my conviction given to me by revelation that we are children of the Creator God made in his likeness and image and redeemed in Christ we share a common humanity that Christ came to save and that Jesus Christ came to destroy the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Greek slave and free black and white and that theological conviction which I received from the Catholic Church is the ground of my rejection of racism and slavery has the church done an adequate job pastoral e to apply all the implications of that teaching consistently throughout all its institutions and all its pastoral activity clearly not and I'm look I can't speak for the church I can only speak for me but I'll say I repent that's all we can do sometimes under a great call thank you so much for checking in from us with us there all the way and Trinidad and Tobago that is fantastic called a communion here on EWTN our phone number eight three three two eight eight EWTN let's go to one of our younger listeners and that would be Christopher in pious Co New Mexico listening on the EWTN app hey Christopher what's on your mind today sir Christopher are you there Christopher yes I'm sorry that's okay what's on your mind today did Mary did married I did married and she assumed into heaven for did you just take her with him yes that's a great question thank you the answer is that we don't know and there are traditions that have been handed down in the church that say that she did die and there are traditions that suggest that she did not die and we don't really know all we know is that she was assumed to heaven she assumed into heaven and she's alive now whether or not she died physically before her assumption is an open question me one about which we don't have certainty okay does that helpful for you there Christopher thank you thank you call back another time it is called a communion here on EWTN we do have one line open here at eight three three two eight eight EWTN as you know the program moves very quickly on Fridays a lot of people want to get those questions in before the weekend so it's a great time for you to call look at like when Christopher hung up freed up a line for you two lines open right now at eight three three EWTN eight three three two eight eight EWTN there we go eight three three two eight eight three nine eight six here on the Friday edition of call to communion all right they're stacking up like cordwood here we're going to talk with Steve and Dillon Montana also Luis in Tampa Florida Indiana in Salem Oregon and like we like we say we do have a couple lines open if you have a question for dr. David Anders eight three three two eight eight EWTN that's eight three three two eight eight three nine eight six it's the Friday edition of call to communion here on EWTN stay with us [Music] the venerable Fulton John Sheen it is a self-evident principle that the creator his endowed man with certain unalienable rights the leading Catholic voices are on EWTN radio he was a doctor of the church a Carmelite and one of the most famous mystics of all time Matthew Bunsen and the doctors of the church Saint John of the Cross wanted to help all Christians to become Saints one of his most important teachings was to encourage us all to learn how to love where there is no love he said put love and you will find love he died in 1591 for more about the doctors of the church visit doctors of the church calm hey listen question are you doing the things that you need to do to stay sane during this time no the things like betting time with friends exercise but Chris I can't go to a social gathering but you can pick up the phone and FaceTime somebody are you making time for that if you're lonely you know but I can't go to the gym but you don't tell you what you can do you didn't get no weights in your house Google Burpee bu r PE e do 30 of those you'll feel like you about to die listen those little things that we need to do like interacting with other people exercise reading a book spending time in prayer it's critical right now more critical than you get in the work done or the home schooling lessons done that your school is so suddenly sent home and congrats your homeschooling parent all the sudden you no more critical and all that is that you do those key pieces in your day to keep it healthy and happy because if you don't do that you're not good for anybody that's what God bless you for more text Chris at44 144 this is Krista fanuc on ewtn radio hi this is sy Kelly Glitter today on Catholic Answers live we're gonna talk about a Catholic approach to crisis with Jerry uh sure and Debbie Joe Gianni and then the kids show is back Calvin Gantz was live 6:00 p.m. Eastern on EWTN radio now back to called the communion with dr. David Anders [Music] the Friday edition of called communion in progress here on EWTN our phone number eight three three two eight eight EWTN a quick message here from been watching us on Facebook this is regarding our earlier call Ben says we had a mass for George Floyd I attended it last week at Saint Isaac Joe's parish here in Rapid City South Dakota so there you go right good to know that all right back to the phones right now here is Steve Steve is in Dillon Montana listening on the EWTN app a first-time caller hello Steve happy Friday what's on your mind today hello thank you dr. Anders and thank you mr. price I'm a Protestant who's been listening to your program for a couple years now and for dr. Anders as a Protestant who has converted to Catholicism I will assume that you talked to family friends and say Protestant theologians from time to time and I'm curious whether your conversations drifts or the differences between them or how Catholicism and Protestantism can bring people together for Jesus as Lord and Savior yeah that's a great question well I had this one small problem in that a lot of my Protestant friends became Catholics so I had them as Protestant friends for a while but now we talk about other things right that's a good problem to have yeah exactly uh but I do have a few I've got a few and and to be honest with you a lot I lost some friends when I became Catholic but I still have a few and some of them even professional theologians and you know do we I you know we look for a points of commonality we look for points of commonality in our in our Christian witness and you know I have family members that are that are practicing Protestants and not all of them theologians some of them very uninterested in theological issues but we can pray for one another we can rejoice in common goods and we can we share some of the same joys and sorrows and in in other friends that we have and the drama of their life and we can mutually pray for them and so forth you know I have I have a friend who is an expert in the theology of Jonathan Edwards I mean real international expert and the theology of Jonathan Edwards and look I love Edwards and I think Edwards is Fanta I mean he's a Puritan I don't really agree with him in his soteriology but have a profound respect for him as an intellect he's one of the shining lights of America of Puritanism of any any stripe and probably greatest American theologian of all time and and a deep regard for his influence on you know the New England way and so forth and so we groove on that you know and and he has he has some thoughts that are interesting and amenable to Catholics and so yeah we have interesting conversations you know I I think there's some profound differences in the way Protestants and Catholics often conceive of our situation visa via the world and our evangelistic witness and that and that you know the purpose of the church and what evangelism model look like so that can prove a sticking point you know I relate well to Protestants of history Protestant books literature continue to inform you know in my own mind my formation in biblical studies was when I was still in Protestant land and so a lot of if you listen to the show you know a lot of the quotes that I will make and authors at all reference and names that I'll drop will often be Protestant biblical scholars and partially because they're really good and also just because that's how I was formed sure and you know I got a call the other day about NT write on the show well not in T right I think the world of NT right as a biblical scholar as a historian of intertestamental Judaism and early Christianity a reference them all the time yesterday on the show is talking about CS Lewis and who will always be a lodestar for me in terms of thinking through the relationship of Christianity to modernity and its in its relationship to Late Antiquity in the Middle Ages and he was just a seminal person for me and so you know I sometimes I get a little cantankerous know that and you know you know I have all the zeal of an ex-smoker you know hmm but that doesn't mean that I don't have a profound regard and and and love for many Protestant thinkers and individuals in my life who spell looking in my life have been a blessing to me and you know my grandfather is also one of those seminal figures he was just an outstanding man of profound virtue didn't have a doctrine of virtue cuz he was Baptist yeah he didn't he wouldn't have known a virtue if it hit him over the head with a you know with a fish but he was full of him he was full of virtues he just couldn't define them okay hey thank you for your call Steve a very a very interesting call there indeed it is called a communion here on EWTN let's go to Tampa now and talk with Luis listening to us on YouTube today a first-time caller hey Luis what's on your mind today oh thank you thanks for giving me an opportunity I've been listening to you for almost a year and you know overwhelmed with the my question is why did women at the tomb at the Transfiguration at the Annunciation like a riot they were so terrified overwhelmed with fear in the apparition of angels I tend to believe that angels radiate Allah was so fearful for all of them yes so in Isaiah chapter 6 first one the Prophet writes in the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord High and exalted seated on a throne and the Train of his robe filled the temple above him were Seraphim it each with six wings with two wings they covered their faces with two their feet and with two they were flying and they called out to one another holy holy holy is the Lord Almighty the whole earth is full of his glory and of course the word holy in Hebrew kadosh kadosh kadosh means separate separate separate not like you hmm angels are terrifying they are terrifying you know there is a there is an appropriate numinous all that that the soul feels in the presence of the and that is uh that's not an emotion that we that we dwell upon much in the modern age we tend to be rather sentimental mm-hmm in our view of God and in the and the spiritual life and you know we a lot of times we like to think of Jesus like like Harvey the invisible rabbit from the Jimmy Stewart film no our good buddy that comes with us everywhere and can comfort us and tell us what color shoes to wear and have a drink but that's not the God of the Bible all right who is awesome and powerful and utterly not like us and I think do angels reflect the love of God yes they do but they also reflect and manifest the awesome holiness of God the proper response to which would be numinous all well I would think so we're not talking about Glenda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz where she's smiling and she's got the little you know the little stick with the star on the end of it this is not like that no no appreciate your call Louise thank you so much for it I'm glad that you're listening and thank you also for your kind words about the show it is called a communion here on EWTN let's go to Indiana listening in Salem Oregon on the EWTN app Indiana what's on your mind today hi um I had a question I really like your perspective so for a year now I have been getting every time I look at the clock or I look at my phone or I look at license plate I get certain numbers and everyone that I talk to they always talk about numerology but I I wanted to know if there was anything in the Bible that talk about numbers yeah thanks I appreciate the question so the to associate a kind of spiritual or mystical significance with a coincidental encounter with a number or a set of numbers would be would be a form of superstition and that would be one that the church opposes and has always opposed because that's not the way that that God routinely communicates to us he does communicate to us in a very interior way through our conscience informed by revelation and through the life of the virtues but not but not in this kind of way now there is in Sacred Scripture there are numbers that are repeated throughout Sacred Scripture symbolically so we often encounter the number seven the number three the number forty hunt 12 and 120 I mean these would be patterns that we see and they they but the associations are fairly plain I mean they're reasonably consistent indicating you know various forms of completeness and of course twelve is associated with the tribes of Israel and therefore we have twelve disciples and then you know twelve pillars and the kingdom of God this sort of thing but they're literary figures they're literary types that have their meaning within the context of a narrative they're not they're not numerological types that were meant to find repeated in nature and then and then interpret subjectively some sort of mystical significance in our own life so I hope that's helpful thank you so much for your call called a communion here on EWTN our phone number eight three three two eight eight EWTN got a YouTube a question here from Ryan Ryan says I started to attend Mass occasionally I attended Catholic High School as a Protestant I've been thinking about RCIA but my family seems very concerned and is discouraging me any advice yeah absolutely so you have to follow your conscience yep and you know becoming Catholic is not a choice between you know wearing a blue shirt or a pink shirt it's not a choice between vanilla or chocolate it is it's and shouldn't be motivated in that way I mean you shouldn't become Catholic because you know you like the organist at st. Peter's you know about of the one it better than the one at First Baptist that would be a shallow reason to become Catholic the only ultimate reason that once you become Catholic is well as one becomes persuaded that it's true and that this is the church founded by Christ and that I'm found in conscience to belong to it however bad the organist is right or good for that matter yeah and and if that's where you're headed then then the objections of your family are a difficulty to be confronted but not an impediment to prevent you there's something that you have to deal with but they shouldn't stop you from following your conscience because look what's at stake in following your conscience well just everything just everything right I mean I remember in my own life I got hung up for about a year and didn't become Catholic because of the opposition of my family and the result was that just the complete complete innovation just a sucking dry of my spiritual life - I had no moral energy because I wasn't living truth I mean how can you how can you be obedient to your conscience and anything else when the fundamental question the following God is just shoved aside everything else just faded into insignificance so you have to follow your conscience and when it comes to discussing this with your family I think that's conscience should lead it's a great approach you say folks you know that guy Martin Luther Protestant dude said my conscience is held captive to the Word of God and to disobey conscience is neither right nor safe Luther never said a truer word my conscience is hooked if I don't fall I don't follow my conscience so I'm no good to anybody yeah appreciate your a question via Facebook or no actual from YouTube Ryan thank you so much for it called a communion and progress here on EWTN you know on this show and on other shows we occasionally talk about media missionaries what are we talking about are we talking about people that work for EWTN well yes and no they may not be getting a paycheck they may not be on the on the on the plan here the end the insurance plan but media missionaries are wonderful people volunteers who prayerfully take EWTN to parishes and the community through the print and electronic media that we provide we will provide those brochures or maybe program guides or things of this sort bumper stickers whatever that you might see in the in the front of your church somebody's got to put those there and media missionaries do that job for us and we're eternally grateful to them for that if you would like to join our our group here you can visit EWTN missionaries comm today EWTN missionaries dot-com join us in sharing the Eternal Word with the world called a communion of progress on this Friday afternoon here on EWTN let's go to Jay right now Jay is in Dallas listening on our great affiliate there Guadalupe radio a first-time caller hello Jay happy Friday what's on your mind today yeah thanks for taking my call and been listening to talk everywhere about the letter to the White House from the archbishop at the Vatican and you guys are talking about it the other day and you know reminding us not to follow politicians or follow a party and my thought on something like that is in this specific case is that it's actually it's actually the writer of the letter following Jesus which we're also doing because you know we have gotten it to the point where it's it's what might be say a binary choice at this point and yes yes if the politician if that party is coming along with us as Catholics of us as Christians isn't that a good thing okay yeah thanks I appreciate the question yet to be sure look the call yesterday someone asked me what I thought about the Archbishop of Ghana is letter and and my general response was that I was uncomfortable with with any approach that cast the Ministry of the church in deeply ideological and political terms that distinguishes quite clearly between the children of light the children of darkness and the good guys and the bad guys and the reason I believe that doesn't mean that I think that there are that there aren't good in bad policy policy responses clearly I do mean earlier in the show we we addressed the question of racism mm-hmm you know I mean like the getting rid of the Jim Crow laws in Alabama was a good idea you know are there are good policy responses there are acts of Justice that we should work for as communities and we should get behind political programs and parties that advocate justice I mean there are good things to do there are good political activities to be engaged in so I'm not disputing the role of Christians and civil society talking about the way we conceive of the church's mission and and and where the battle lines should be drawn primarily and you know st. Agustin dealt with this issue in the fifth century with the sack of Rome and and there were voices that acted like that was the end of the world follow Romans into the world and some of them wanted to blame the church right the pagans wanted to blame the church fort and the response of Augustine was to write his magnificent tome the City of God and the thesis was that what the the City of God is those people would have been called out by grace to to follow justice to be reborn in Christ refigured in Christ and live for eternity and and it's it's not perfectly coextensive with civil society it's not even perfectly coextensive with the contours of the church because not everybody in the church lives and dies in grace and but it but it is something that we can trace from the beginning of to the end of time and and along the way political situations will change and fortunes will rise and fall and and the church itself will be convulsed and yet those who are united to God in grace and charity will will continue the elect in other words we'll be in every age now over time the institution of the church will work towards the inflammation implementation of the kingdom of God and be the most effective sign and instrument of that City of God all right but she does so through the ministry of word and sacraments primarily and mercy that's the primary competence of the church to evangelize to sanctify and to serve the poor and can that involve us in the political sphere yes it can but but there's there's no one-to-one correspondence between the dictates of Catholic moral theology and this or that political ideology program party or agenda J thank you so much for your call it is called communion here on EWTN we're going to go to Tina now Tina's in Nashville listening online ewtn.com and a first-time caller hey Tina happy Friday to you what's on your mind today hello dr. David Andrews I just love listening to you I do have a question I saw this in a church bulletin and then I want to went online and I saw it in other church bulletins an article that is given permission to put in bulletins but I never heard of this terminology before and I was just wondering when or where this came from it says parenting is a Eucharistic activity because from the first moment of conception children consume us our flesh blood energy time and resources if we don't sacrifice ourselves our children would not have life this is a priesthood of parenting Christ is present in this self-sacrifice that the Eucharistic activity as a parenting ID where did that come from that idea okay thanks well it seems to me that this is a metaphor it's a metaphor is what it is and it's not an inappropriate metaphor as long as they don't like any metaphor you can press a metaphor too hard and then you destroy the metaphor but the point of our engagement in the Eucharist as a sacrament and sacrifice is so that we can become Krista forma that we can become like Christ and as Christ gave himself for the sanctification and salvation of his bride the church parents ought to give themselves in charity for the sanctification and salvation of their spouses and of their children and and of course they draw strength from the Eucharist to do just this very thing now in in the Apostolic exhortation familial RS consort Co which was john paul ii posts a nodal exhortation on the family life he brings the Eucharist frequently into his disc of Christian Catholic family life such as in the following text he says by virtue of their ministry of educating parents are through the witness of their lives the first heralds of the gospel for their children furthermore by praying with their children by reading the Word of God with them and by introducing them deeply through Christian initiation into the body of Christ both the Eucharistic body and the ecclesial body in doing this they become fully parents in that they are beginners not only of bodily life but also that life through the spirits renewal that flows from the cross and resurrection of Christ so that's not the metaphor that your text was using but it's another way of thinking about Parenthood as a university activity in this sense parents are the ones that introduced their children to the Eucharist and and John Paul says Pope John Paul says that in doing this they are they are parents twice over physically beginning their children and aiding them as like midwives in their spiritual rebirth into the body of Christ both Eucharistic and ecclesial so would I would I approve this metaphor it depends right if if you press the metaphor to the point of diminishing the uniqueness of the Eucharist as a sacrament you know where somebody said well you got the sacrament I got Parenthood well that'd be pressing the metaphor for yeah too far right but if if you mean by this that we must draw our strength and encouragement and spiritual nourishment for this self-sacrifice as parents from the Eucharist well then sure I'll accept that as metaphor I'm David Andrews and I approve this metaphor I like that a lot 18 oh thank you so much for your call we have a quick question here from Pasco watching us on youtube today where in the bible is it said that the Holy Spirit is God yeah thanks so I'm not aware of a text that has that exact phrase you know the Holy Spirit is God what we find is the teaching that there is but one God right mm-hmm we have the teaching that God is Father Son and Holy Spirit that the Spirit is described as the Spirit of God and you know and God does not have sort of subordinate emanations that are only partially divine so you put all those together and you come up with a doctrine of the spirits divinity the definitive patristic treatise on the topic is by Saint Basil the Great his texts on the Holy Spirit goes into these questions in great depth ok very good and one more here this will probably take us out and this is from Leslie an email who says I was told when I went through RCIA 10 years ago that during my first confession I simply had to choose 3 sins from my life prior to that time to confess since it wasn't practical to cover everything I might have done in the 50 years before I joined the church well now 10 years later I'm wondering if I still need to confess serious though probably not mortal sins from that period of my life ok you were really badly informed yeah I heard you were really really badly informed there's nothing in the church's teaching that suggests that we you know if I have 12 mortal sins that I just need to confess 3 even less that if I have 1,200 I only need to confess 3 that is just absolutely wrong hmm the church says that after baptism we are obligated to confess all known mortal sins in kind and number and so let's say you've got lots and that was the complaint well you got too many you do them all well we got an answer of that all right here's what you do let's say murder way more times than I can count adultery way more times than I can count bearing false witness way more times than I can count it so many times I can't remember but I hit them all you get all of the kind and number that you can do that's what you're supposed to do now what would I recommend you do make an appointment with another priest not the one who advised you to do 3 no say I recognize now that my first confession was not what it was supposed to be I'd like to make a general confession and can I come see you Thursday afternoon get yourself a handy dandy guide to making a general confession there's a million of them online just pull one down read through it think through the Ten Commandments think through the Beatitudes go through you know the guide to make any confession go and make your general confession and you're good to go absolutely yeah and but definitely this is not something you want to do want to do on a typical Saturday afternoon yeah yeah you don't want to mess up the line right people will not be happy with you doctor tell them what you wanted it I want to make a general confession never done it need to do it didn't do it right the first time let's go sounds like a plan David I know that you are a very happy father of five so I want to wish you a very happy Father's Day well you too Tom thank you I appreciate that I'm looking forward to it and hopefully everybody will have a great weekend parent or no parent remember that we do this program Monday through Friday here on EWTN radio with an encore at 11:00 p.m. Eastern again 2:00 p.m. live 11:00 p.m. Eastern for the encore and a best up show on Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Eastern on behalf of our great team I'm Tom price along with dr. David Andrews have a wonderful weekend and we'll see you right here on monday's edition of call to communion god bless

Channel: EWTN

Views: 1,923

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Catholic, EWTN, Christian, television

Id: X1h9hYrbS6E

Length: 53min 55sec (3235 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 19 2020