Of These Coming Storms

Now the tides
Begin to rise
All around
Signaling the demise

What comes
Must go by
Despicable and sorrow
To the wayside

The status quo
Cannot go
Anymore at length
It is the foe

Disaster speaks
At whisper's length
Fail the Almighty
Lose more than a tenth

The thunderous cloud
Calls forth a rapture
A cleansing of sorts
Of false and ill-reputed stature

Down shall fall
An institution's merit
No glory nor honor
But dissonance inherit

Thy fate is at hand
The people speak
Protests and chants
Of the future bleak

God raises his voice
Louder and clearer
The tide crashes in
Washing the error

Are you in the steady
A foundation of rock
Or is it in quicksand
Fleeing the flock

Change your ways
The signal alarms
You have been warned
Of these coming storms

A letter this time
Will not suffice
Rectify these claims
Own up to the vice.

The Infallible Pope

It is time now to review this principle (as good as any), the thought that the pope is infallible. I'm not a theologian or an authority of the Catholic Church, but rather follower of the faith. As you may know, the Church is going through a rough period right now with the scandal that affects the priests and those in power within the Church, and how they have been maliciously robbing the youth (to say it in a understated manner). I predict that the Church will get through this as they always have throughout history, but changes will and should be in store.

One of those changes I think need revision is the principle of infallibility of the pope. It has been obvious in my own opinion that popes have in the past strayed from the path of holiness, yet their authority and power is considered infallible as it is dictated by the teachings of the Church. We as citizens and servants of God must obey the pope for it is his duty given by God to shepherd us. We are led to believe that we are human and that is why we make mistakes to which I agree wholeheartedly. We need the guidance of a holy person to shepherd us toward the light.

I'm not saying the pope cannot guide us to the path toward heaven however. Rather, I would follow a holy pope if he was truthful, enlightened and saw God in everything he did (a core principle of the Catholic faith). Theoretically, that person would act in a righteous manner when given the opportunity to promote justice. It now seems that Pope Benedict in the past may have knowingly or inadvertently caused more harm in his leadership as Bishop and Cardinal Ratzinger, who in high positions of the Church acted in ways perceived as corrupt.

Even if he inadvertently caused harm to others, you would think that as Pope Benedict, he would be remorseful of those decisions. I would still follow him if he were humble and owned up to those mistakes. However, the principle of infallibility will not allow him to do so. In fact, he writes a scathing but justified letter to the Irish congregation about the abuses of the Church in Ireland, without mentioning the problems affecting the German Church which is odd considering his German origin and the abuses there. I assume that would put the pope too close to breaking the infallibility principle.

There are cries out there now in the world for the resignation of the pope. Still others are taking matters to their own hands by with lawsuits (which probably will fail due to the mere fact that heads of state are immune to prosecution). Others have given up and left the faith. What am I to do? Oddly has it may seem, I am still the keeper of the faith. I know we will ride out this storm, but the aftermath of this pain will bring new revisions to Church policy just like Luther and the Reformation did for the Church.

This time, I believe one of those revisions or issues should be the infallibility of the pope. I hope that Pope Benedict will be courageous enough to proclaim that he, like me, is not infallible and that we are all human. According to Catholic teaching, his decrees are like new policies and rules within the Church. The only difference is that he has the calling of God to which I hold in high regard. He can still lead, but current issues obviously affect his leadership. What is a shepherd to do when he abuses his sheep, leaving them out for the wolves to prey?

The Church will be saved. I have no doubt about it as it is an institution run by God, but those within this institution shall have their day of justice if abuses are not corrected. I pray that these changes come soon and swiftly.

____________________________________

I've been thinking about this issue for over several years now and I wanted to just bring them out into public view. I am a follower of the faith, but I believe the current situation in Church is dire and despicable. If these abuses continue to arise, a change shall surely happen and they should already be happening. The only issue then is, will the change be for the good or will this drastically affect the Church in a negative light? To that, I have no clear answer or opinion. It is at a breaking point and I wonder where the cards will fall.

May God help us all.

Disclaimer: This is an opinion of mine and has no bearing or authority on the teachings of the Church (even though I would like it to be taken into consideration). I have not the power to dictate policy or teachings within the Catholic Church.

A Yell Cries Out From Under

Beneath the smoke and rubble
Bricks fallen asunder
Glass shattered all over
A yell cries out from under

Drips of oozing blood
Drop down the forehead
Aching pain and bewilderment
Littered around with dread

This pain strikes deep
Like a destructive blast
Exploding with blunder
Is there life to even last?

The "rebels" fight fiercely
The gunships too in retaliation
At the heart of this matter
A two-state solution

Yet neither show civility
As civilians die and perish
Palestinians and Israelis alike
Life callously un-cherish

Extremism at the top notch
From the ground and air
The rocket attack unforeseen
As the innocent despair

Is this the Holy Land
Bloodshed and destruction
Hatred and distrust
God's plan and creation?

As the fight forges on
The suffering only multiplies
Exponentially within throughout
From out under a yell cries

Is there peace
A truce and resolution
Fixing the fracture
A conflict's ending conclusion?

Thousands of years of war
Hath not been able to solve
Time to meet at the table
The handshake of peaceful resolve

Urgently and make haste
This needed settlement
Otherwise face the wrath
Of hatred's accursed entitlement

Because beneath the broken
Destruction and despair
This child shall awake
How will he fair?

A yell cries out from under
The angry inferno must cease
For the future's sake
Settle the conflict in peace.

Religion

What is religion? The sound of this very word brings forth many emotions from countless amount of people. To some, it is highly regarded, something of value (often times number one in all the values) and to others, it is viewed in a totally opposite light. Religion or lack their of is most likely handed down from your parents like an heirloom. If your parents were Catholic, most likely you are Catholic as well. The same goes for other religions. I only bring this idea up because of our current situation and also personal lives. It could be that Christians and Catholics are fighting each other in Northern Ireland, or the most blantant example is Jewish Israel vs. the Arabic Muslim World. It could be that you are in love with a person that is not of your religion and that evidently is in direct opposition of your belief system. It would be so much easier if everybody around you were of the same faith. To think of it, if you did not live in America, most likely you would. From my person perspective, if you were living in Vietnam, you were either Buddhist or Christian (includes all denominations). If you were not the majority (Buddhist), you were living in a town that was mainly of one religion. So you would probably meet and marry one of the same faith so to speak. This would probably be true of most other countries (aka Islam in Iran) . However, this is America, one of the few countries in the world that (in theory) does not discriminate against religions. Since we are in America, we come into contact with other religions and cultures. So just by probabilities, we are bound to find someone of another culture, another faith from us and that might lead to lifelong changes. This contact brings our values into focus. Do we break this newly found bond that was formed with another person or do we give up our religion. Our parents are the driving force for our religious faith and oftentimes the bond that we want to form with this person that is not of the same faith causes tension and stress. Sometimes religion says that our faith is the "best" and all others fail. Is that other person a failure? Obviously not, because we wouldn't form a friendship with that other person if we though that person was a failure. Do we try to convert that other person? Sometimes we try, but it is well known that you do not want that other person to live a lie? What do you do? A relationship survives because of compromise and communication. Like in other things, religion because a compromise and for some that compromise is a "no-no." This "no-no" idea is disturbing especially in Christianity. Since this is what i know best, I will take it from this perspective because I do not want to talk for a religion i know much about (which would be a lie in a sense). It is taught in the Bible that we should love one another like God loves us? Now if we are to believe this, then why can't we accept the other person (especially our parents?). We are supposed to see God in everybody, but as soon as someone you know is "non-Catholic," that person cannot be your girlfriend or boyfriend, even before your parents know how nice that person may be to you. It seems to be that our parents and even ourselves sometimes fail to live up to the standards we set for ourselves being Christian. I believe (and i'm not talking for the Church) that if someone lives a good life and follows all the Commandments, that person should have an equal chance to go to Heaven. It is said that Jesus died on the Cross for all of our sins, even those that don't know him. So if a good person who never gets the chance to know Jesus, but lives a good life according to His rules results in failing to get to Heaven, would you think Jesus would allow that? I personally do not think so because their are other people using God's name to do things (terrorism) that definitely does not warrant Heaven. My whole point in this is that one should not judge another's faith. If you love someone that is not of your faith, it is important that this comes up early in the courtship period. Compromise is key in this issue like others in a relationship as is communication. Maybe God wants you to love a person not of your religion; how do you know that the spare rib was meant to be a person of another faith? Maybe you are to convert and maybe you are not. The truth of the matter is listen to you heart and realize what true faith is (in the Christian-Catholic context). These are the ramblings of my mind on this very day, a culmination of thought over the years finally put into words and writing.

A Catholic Dilemma

An issue of much debate and discussion today in our American society is the issue of life. More specifically, when the start of life happens. What are the conditions or requirements that characterizes the person as living? This debate has evolved from abortion to stem cell research. As many Christians and Catholics know, the right of life should be always regarded as something special and sacred, a miracle from God. People who support abortion apparently want to deem it okay to end someone's life. This is wrong because we are hurting someone, an act of murder. More importantly, in my opinion, by ending a person's life we are playing God, which we is heresy and sinful. God is the only one who can determine life and death because he can actually create life. If a life is created, then it shall be allowed to life. We are not allowed to tamper with God's works (which should lead us to disapprove of the death penalty and of destroying the environment, but this is the the subject for another time).
The issue of stem cell research makes the issue more complicated and leads us to hazy grey areas. Before our time, life was always thought of as starting in the mother's womb at conception where the sperm and egg came together to form the fetus. As time has passed by and science has increased technological advances, we are now able to create embryos outside the body and then implant it into the womb. The curious procedure that many Christians blindy go through when they want to get pregnant with the help of science through in vitro fertilization is that this process takes harvest several eggs from the mother's womb and fertilizes them with the father's sperm. A couple are implanted into the mother (because by chance only one or two actaully grow to be embryos and the other ones die off), and the others are frozen away just in case the mother does not become pregnant. This process creates a surplus of human embryos that science wants to use in stem cell research to help find cures. The problem that morally jumps out at me is: Is it right to destroy a life to help cure many other lives? A deeper question we must ask ourselves is when does life start? Does it still start with with the sperm and the egg coming together to form embryos? Or does the embryo have to be in the mother's womb to be considered a womb? In my opinion, life starts when the embryo is implanted in the womb because if that implantation does not start, then the embryo will die off. Without that critical process, then a human being cannot be formed from an embryo. However, does that mean that frozen embryos from in vitro fertilization clinics can be determined to be non-human? Clearly not for obvious reasons because these embryos if implanted would have the potential to become human. If that is the case, what are we going to do with all these frozen embryos in those clinics? I am pretty sure not every Christian/Catholic woman will agree to implant these embryos to help deliver children. So what then?
Stem cell research seems to be a viable option because research on them could find cures for diseases such as diabetes because killing off a few embryos would save countless numbers of human lives. It is like sacrificing one's life in a dangerous situation to save a life of a friend. However, we are not ones to determine if a life is ended or spared. To reiterate, God is the only one that can do this, but this leads us to the main question, when does life start? Is it when embryos are formed or when the embryo is implanted? People of religious authority have said that stem cell research is immoral and evil. However, they do not have clear and concise arguments of why it is not. I am a scientist and a Catholic, a person stuck in between. I will need a peron in the clergy with scientific background to explain this dilemma to me.

The Act of Judging Someone

I don't know about some other Catholics, especially American Catholics, but they seem to judge the new pope, Benedict XVI, a bit too early. They haven't let him start out his work as the 265th pontiff and yet, they are already calling him a bad leader. True it is someone's past can tell you a little bit of what the person is like. However, when the person gets a promotion, a new job, or in this case becomes a spiritual leader, the citizenry should allow the inauguration before we judge his performance. He gets the clean slate so to speack. He has yet to decree anything significant. More importantly though, is the fact that these Catholics are judging their pontiff. First and foremost, we have been taught in our Christian faith that we should not judge others. God is the only one that is reasonable enough to judge anyone. We should not judge so that God will not judge us, is what I thought Catholics and Christians alike have been taught in Sunday school. Apparently, those teachings don't apply here to them. However, I will not judge them to see if this is true or not; it is just a postulation. Another issue is that they are "devastated" by the election of this pope. We should remember if we are true Catholics then we believe the Holy Spirit is with these cardinals during the conclave. Therefore, whoever is chosen to be the pope, God has a direct hand in this issue. This is the same God who saves us from danger and ill will when we pray to him. Why would God not pick the right pontiff? He has the infinite and excellent knowledge. Thus, by criticizing the pope, we are criticizing God as well. So the question that belies us is, are we going to argue with our eternal Creator, the God that gave us life? I certainly am not. Those are my ramblings of the day. Hopefully it is somewhat coherent for you to read.

My Pope, Our Pope

God's decision has been made
my Pope, our Pope has left us
in the peace of the night
toward heaven he swiftly goes
to meet the face of God

Though we are sad
as we gaze at his lifelessness
we know in our hearts
he is in a better place
someday we hope to meet him

He teaches us to be not afraid
to stand for God to do the right
though our struggles at times
are harsh and intolerable
he showed we can walk this narrow road

By the divine mercy
and grace of God
may my Pope, our Pope
be received at your right hand
into the light of heaven

My Pope, our Pope
please pray toward God for us
that one day like you
when we meet our earthly end
we will meet again in the presence of God

A Prayer for John Paul II, The Pope

I pray for the Pope
with my heart and soul
that he will be able to cope
through the pain and suffering

I pray for the Pope
under the direction of God
who gives us all hope
give him strength and courage

I pray for the Pope
if this be the end of the line
the everlasting sleep for the pope
may he be taken peacefully and serenely

I pray for the Pope
if he is to continue his duties in this world
may the pontiff be revived, our pope
recover him thoroughly and fully

I pray for the pope
whatever God plans are
let us not in his current conditions mope
but rather his life rejoice and be glad.