Palm Sunday entrance

Tuesday night in our Bible study (on Zoom) we were discussing the colt/donkey that Jesus road into Jerusalem as king, which fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy. As our group is "older," we do get a little off track, and I mentioned that as a little child I knew about the cross on the donkey's back before I ever understood Palm Sunday because of "donkey basketball" which was popular entertainment in small towns. So I had seen donkeys and ridden one, plus I loved horses and donkeys are equines. Only one person had heard of donkey basketball (also grew up in a small town), and about half had never noticed the markings of a donkey (it fades as the animal ages, and Jesus rode a colt).

Bishop Barron's sermon for Palm Sunday (Luke 19:28-40) is on the passage "The Master has need of it" and he says every baptized person has a gift the Master has need of. Whether you are gifted with music, or art, or math, or hospitality, or financial acumen, or teaching, or a heart for the poor, or any other gift, he says, you are liberated to be of service to Christ and his people. That's an easy phrase to remember or memorize. So the next time you see a donkey, look for the sign of the cross. There is a legend that the donkey followed Jesus to the cross.

https://youtu.be/Jvi9Hmvki0k

Saint Irenaeus of Lyon, a new Doctor of the Church

Bishop Robert Barron

WOF 306: The Genius of St. Irenaeus | The Word on Fire Show

Pope Francis just announced he’s planning to declare a new Doctor of the Church, St. Irenaeus of Lyon. Who was he? What were his key ideas? Why does he still matter? That's what Brandon Vogt and I discuss in today's episode. Topics include:

- What’s a Doctor of the Church, and why should Irenaeus be declared one?

- How did Bishop first become acquainted with Irenaeus?

- What was Irenaeus’ approach to battling Gnosticism?

- Irenaeus taught that God has no need of anything outside of himself. What does this mean, and why is it good news?

- How to understand Irenaeus’s pithy line, “The glory of God is man fully alive”?

- Irenaeus’ theology of recapitulation

- How Irenaeus remains a great spiritual and theological bridge between Eastern and Western Christians

- Why Irenaeus is still relevant today

A listener asks, how should I respond to the idea that nothing really exists because we can’t prove that it exists?

How we got here--explained in clear language

 Bishop Robert Barron explains the complex chaos of today, the ideologies behind the riots and violence, based on philosophies of two 19th century and two 20th century philosophers.

1.  Marx

2. Nietzsche

3. Sarte

4. Foucault

Atheism. This is critical to all of them.   Oppressed and oppressor. Class struggle.  Control of language. Culture of self-invention.  Being and non-being. Existentialism. Death of God. Power.

Ideas have consequences. https://youtu.be/8KQcm0Mi5To

Catholics off the rails--the Pew Study and USCCB

John 6:66 "From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him."  

 Bishop Robert Barron addresses the problem that 70% of Roman Catholics believe the real presence is symbolic.  This problem was also addressed at the recent gathering (November 15-18) of U.S. Bishops. Many had hoped there would be condemnation or at least mention of Catholic politicians who push abortion, support same sex marriage and gender confusion. That didn't happen. This speech is from 2020, and lays the ground work.

https://youtu.be/UzCPu_lEhe8

One-third of U.S. Catholics believe in transubstantiation | Pew Research Center

"BALTIMORE — The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voted overwhelmingly to approve a teaching document on the Eucharist Wednesday that caused a great deal of controversy in its June meeting due to concerns that its section on worthiness to receive Communion would be perceived as aimed at prominent pro-abortion Catholic politicians like U.S. President Joe Biden.

The document did include a section on worthiness to receive Communion, reminding the faithful that “if a Catholic in his or her personal or professional life were knowingly and obstinately to reject the defined doctrines of the Church, or knowingly and obstinately to repudiate her definitive teaching on moral issues” they “should refrain” from Communion, but contained no references to specific politicians. Compared to the three hours of heated debate its drafting spurred, there was only about a half-hour of comments from bishops before its passage by a vote of 222-8, with three abstentions."

It seems the document leaves it up to the local bishop, so Biden and Pelosi will continue to thumb their noses at the church and Jesus.

US Bishops Try to Keep Focus on Eucharist, Not Politicians, in New Document| National Catholic Register (ncregister.com)

The document "The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church" was developed by the Committee on Doctrine of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). It was approved by the full body of the USCCB at its November 2021 General Meeting and has been authorized for publication by the undersigned.

The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church | USCCB

The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church.pdf (usccb.org)

Should Biden get Communion given his abortion views? Catholics split by party | Pew Research Center

THOMAS AQUINAS - SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST - Quotes (crossroadsinitiative.com)