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Spiritual Warfare, Part I
Catholic Exchange.com ^ | November 5th, 2008 | Mark Shea

Posted on 11/28/2008 10:43:20 PM PST by Salvation

Spiritual Warfare, Part I

November 5th, 2008 by Mark Shea

Recently, the Catholic League complained when a University of Central Florida student walked out of Mass with the Host and held it hostage for several days.

In response to this, a professor named P.Z. Myers, who teaches at the University of Minnesota – Morris, wrote a viciously anti-Catholic post on his blog in which he referred to the Eucharist as a “goddamned cracker” and urged his readers to “score me some consecrated communion wafers” so that he could “gladly, and with much fanfare… treat it with profound disrespect and heinous cracker abuse, all photographed and presented here on the web”.

The Catholic League again protested, noting that Myers was using University equipment—and therefore public monies—to spread his malignant views. Apparently after receiving some heat from his superiors, Myers quickly backed down, telling the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that “the blog entry is more ’satire and protest’ than an actual threat to defile the Eucharist.” However, he also promised to do “something” and followed up on this promise a few days later by piercing a Host with a rusty nail, throwing it in the trash, and posting a photo on his blog. All this raises the question, yet again, of what our response as Catholics should be to such situations.

crux.jpgThe Eucharist is, of course, the source and summit of our Faith. It is Jesus Christ, fully and really present in the fullness of His body, blood, soul and divinity. Deliberate desecration of the Eucharist proceeds from exactly the same spirit that nailed Him to the cross. Those who do it, whether they know it or not, are acting with precisely the same malice as those who mocked Jesus in His agonies. As Catholics, we cannot minimize that. We know Who that is there on the altar, however much His enemies may scream “cracker” at us. We have an obligation, not simply for His sake, but for the sake of souls, to see that such a desecration does not occur.

To the world, Catholic shock and outrage at Eucharistic sacrilege is either odd (like people obsessed with lucky rabbit’s feet), hypersensitive (like the Muslims who rioted because they thought Pope Benedict XVI had said they were prone to rioting), or contemptible over-reaction to a real insult (like the Muslims who rioted over cartoons that made fun of Muhammad). So there is the question of how to confront the sacrilege without encouraging further sacrilege.

However, beyond this, there is the question—really the only question—of what God wants us to do. And when we start there rather than with our feelings of shock or our jitters about how to navigate an increasingly post-Christian and hostile culture, we have a clear answer from Scripture: forgive and fight with the weapons of the Spirit.

Forgiving and fighting don’t seem to go together in many people’s minds. But they were perfectly reconcilable in Paul’s mind. On the one hand, Paul knew that he had been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation since “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19). Paul saw this lived out with his own eyes as he looked down with approval on the bloodied face of St. Stephen and heard him pray, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). And he knew perfectly well that Stephen had prayed that for men who, like P.Z. Myers, are not one bit sorry for what they were doing. In that, Stephen was like his Lord, who likewise prayed for utterly impenitent men, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

That means, as a fundamental baseline, that we are forbidden from responding like the Danish Cartoon Rioters. We are forbidden from threats or cursing or vengeance. When our Eucharistic Lord hung upon the Cross, desecrated with the spittle of the mob, the blows of His captors, and the mockery even of His fellow victims, He refused to give in to these things. He willed the good of His most vicious enemies. He prayed for them and forgave.

At the same time, however, He was at war in the profoundest way. Because as He was hanging upon the cross, despised by all the world, He was in that very moment “despoiling the principalities and the powers.” What appeared to be a humiliating defeat was, in fact, a crushing victory over the devils. With His Cross, “he made a public spectacle of them, leading them away in triumph by it” (Colossians 2:15).

That is what Paul means when he says, “the weapons of our battle are not of flesh but are enormously powerful, capable of destroying fortresses. We destroy arguments and every pretension raising itself against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive in obedience to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

Next time, we will look at some ways Scripture shows how Paul forgave and fought.

Mark Shea is Senior Content Editor for Catholic Exchange and a weekly columnist for the National Catholic Register



TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic; History; Theology
KEYWORDS: catholic; catholiclist
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For your discussion of these modern times happenings.
1 posted on 11/28/2008 10:43:20 PM PST by Salvation
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To: nickcarraway; Lady In Blue; NYer; ELS; Pyro7480; livius; Catholicguy; RobbyS; markomalley; ...
Catholic Discussion Ping!

Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Catholic Discussion Ping List.

2 posted on 11/28/2008 10:44:30 PM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Salvation
We need to do two things: 1. Tell the prof. that Christ died for his sins and that Christ KNEW He would be hated and tortured like this.
2. Send the prof. to live permanently in Saudi Arabia.
3 posted on 11/28/2008 10:46:39 PM PST by Cronos ("Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant" - Omar Ahmed, CAIR)
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To: Cronos

**Send the prof. to live permanently in Saudi Arabia. **

LOL!

This is a five part series and this first one is a little old. There was a slew of stories about him taking the host when it first happened.


4 posted on 11/28/2008 10:49:00 PM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Salvation

Yes, send the prof to live in Saudi Arabia. hahah.


5 posted on 11/28/2008 10:52:01 PM PST by bboop (obama, little o, not a Real God)
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To: Salvation

marking for later.


6 posted on 11/29/2008 12:27:27 AM PST by TASMANIANRED (TAZ:Untamed, Unpredictable, Uninhibited.)
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To: Salvation

bookmark


7 posted on 11/29/2008 12:40:51 AM PST by GOP Poet
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To: Salvation
I think the only way these types of things are going to be overcome, is when all faiths start banding together and start boycotting the culture at large. -That is, in the pocketbook. Then we will see a healthy change in what is politically correct and what is not.

The fact is, we are putting up with this crap!

8 posted on 11/29/2008 2:01:05 AM PST by GonzoII ("That they may be one...Father")
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To: Salvation

Mocking The Lord is a dangerous business. These Christian haters will find that out to their pain and agony.


9 posted on 11/29/2008 3:41:40 AM PST by Bulldawg Fan (Victory is the last thing Murtha and his fellow Defeatists want.)
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To: Salvation
A few years back my father-in-law was in the hospital in Washington, DC, during Christmas. It was a very bad time for our family, my wife and 2 toddlers, at the time. We found ourselves at the Shrine of the Bascilica of the Immaculate Conception for Christmas Eve Mass. I watched the people go up for communion and noticed an usher to the side each line. I wasn't sure what they were doing? They were looking intently at every communicant. One young man who took the Eucharist, in hand, had turned from the altar, but had not placed the Eucharist in his mouth and he was stopped by one of these ushers. The young man put the Eucharist into his mouth and proceeded on his way.

I don't know how often such events occur in our parishes, but I have heard that they occur more often than one might expect. I suppose that it is a good thing that such incidents are not widely publicized or their would be "copy cats".

Many of you probably remember the situation a few years back when someone tried to sell a Eucharist that had been blessd by JP the Great on E-bay. It was purchased by a chapter of the K of C for about 3 thousand dollars. What I found most remarkable was E-bay's complete and utter indifference to the matter! They needed to be convinced that people should not duplicate this feat!?!

I think that spiritual warfare is a very important way to deal with such incidents, possibly the only way, however I also believe that apologetics and education of those who are not familiar with Catholic teaching - be they Catholic or not - on the subject is also helpful. To do this we need to understand the teaching of the mystery of this Sacrament ourselves. A process, for me, which continues on a daily basis:

http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/engl_mir.htm

Open thou mine eyes and I shall see,

Incline my heart and I shall desire,

Order my steps and I shall walk

In the ways of thy commandments.



O Lord God, be thou to me a God

And beside thee let there be none else.

No other, nought else with thee.

Vouchsafe to me to worship thee and serve thee

According to thy commandments

In truth of spirit,

In reverence of body,

In blessing of lips,

In private and in public.

10 posted on 11/29/2008 4:42:28 AM PST by incredulous joe ("No road is long with good company. " - Turkish Proverb)
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To: Cronos

Amen! The Lord Jesus knew they did, and would, hate Him without a cause. Yet He prayed, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

One of my favorite verses is just after the best known verse: (John 3:16)
“For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.”
(John 3:17)
“Let this mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus: Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took
upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherfore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given a name which is above every name:” (Philippians 2:5-9)


11 posted on 11/29/2008 6:24:03 AM PST by LetMarch (If a man knows the right way to live, and does not live it, there is no greater coward--Anonymous))
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To: Salvation

Thanks


12 posted on 11/29/2008 7:12:29 AM PST by Jaded
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To: Bulldawg Fan

**These Christian haters will find that out to their pain and agony.**

And being damned to hell for eternity. Funny how they don’t believe in hell, isn’t it? (Actually pretty sad.)


13 posted on 11/29/2008 8:51:33 AM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: incredulous joe

** What I found most remarkable was E-bay’s complete and utter indifference to the matter! **

E-bay is only interested in money. They will be held partially responsible for the sin of the man who offered the host for sale. If they had been educated they would not have accepted it for sale.


14 posted on 11/29/2008 8:54:57 AM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Salvation

Excellent post.


15 posted on 11/29/2008 9:34:39 AM PST by Paved Paradise
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To: Salvation
After the sale, E-bay tried to get all blustery and outraged about it, but it was pretty transparent and embarrassing. They wanted it both ways.
16 posted on 11/29/2008 10:28:46 AM PST by incredulous joe ("No road is long with good company. " - Turkish Proverb)
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To: GonzoII

Or........we’re complicit with it? I agree, my family has long ago decided to boycott the culture at large and the next step is to band together with like minded people. I did see that somewhere in the U.S., a church full of people spent Black Friday in the church in prayer and meditation rather than shopping. Believers need to get together on this.


17 posted on 11/30/2008 11:27:18 AM PST by glide625
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To: glide625

“..people spent Black Friday in the church..”


I think that is a good thing IMHO.

I would say also that we Christians have to live in the world for now, just like Christ did, and when you think about it, he did more manual labor than preaching (three years preaching only).

He set the example, knowing that we would have to live and work here until we get to our true home.

-Hope I didn’t sound to preachy.


18 posted on 11/30/2008 11:44:09 AM PST by GonzoII ("That they may be one...Father")
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To: glide625

Sorry glide, I thought I was responding to another post!

LOL!

I will respond separately to you again.


19 posted on 11/30/2008 11:51:06 AM PST by GonzoII ("That they may be one...Father")
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To: glide625

“band together with like minded people.”


It would be interesting to know just how much buying power we have as a group. It just seems we could wield influence if we wanted to.


20 posted on 11/30/2008 11:54:58 AM PST by GonzoII ("That they may be one...Father")
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