tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-134202602012-01-16T22:04:33.858-05:00Thinking out loud on faith, theology, complexity, philosophy and culture.Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.comBlogger1551100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-37526807840247037562012-01-16T21:53:00.004-05:002012-01-16T22:04:33.866-05:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6xM6FGtSspU/TxTjeZGng7I/AAAAAAAABKY/bqgLa3MpUt8/s1600/MLK_monument.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 187px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6xM6FGtSspU/TxTjeZGng7I/AAAAAAAABKY/bqgLa3MpUt8/s320/MLK_monument.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698429539804742578" /></a><br />God bless Re. Martin Luther King. He was called, committed, consecrated and courageous. He was a man of God, a prophet, a deliverer, a martyr. He was first and foremost a man totally committed to Christ and totally surrendered to the will of God. God called Rev. King to deliver His people from bondage and Rev. King obeyed that call. Rev. King was more than an emancipator, more than a leader, more than an equal rights advocate. Rev. Martin Luther King was a man whose God was the Lord! He was a man who showed us that love for God and neighbor often requires radical and committed selfless action. While society loves to idolize him as a drum major for equal rights, our society conveniently ignores the fact, the truth, the glaring reality, that Rev. Martin Luther King was a Christian of the sort that men should imitate.<br />Instead we dishonor his name by proclaiming equal rights without the One from whom all people were endowed with these inalienable rights. Instead we desecrate his memory by calling sin and wickedness rights. We grieve the God he served by enshrining the murder of unborn children as a right. No, we have learned little from the Rev. Martin Luther King. What we have failed to learn is that only with God and only through God are we great. Only through faith, not as some ideology, or fanciful concept, but faith as it is expressed in true commitment to God and His laws by the power of His Spirit, only in this way can we rise to His vision. Only through the sort of faith he exemplified can we truly be the nation and enjoy the freedom and dream that he dreamed.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-3752680784024703756?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-49868536778912871752012-01-11T20:20:00.007-05:002012-01-11T23:24:37.099-05:00I was recently directed to this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY&sns=fb">video</a> through a friends facebook post. It is well done and heartfelt. It is right, and it is also wrong. It is well-intentioned but misguided.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SIagBNuYLHU/Tw49cewML2I/AAAAAAAABKI/xlUg1QJmyMI/s1600/religion.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 268px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SIagBNuYLHU/Tw49cewML2I/AAAAAAAABKI/xlUg1QJmyMI/s320/religion.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696558138171076450" /></a><br /><br />Was Jesus really opposed to religion? Did Jesus really come to abolish religion? Is religion really the disease? While I would admit that it is awfully easy to be religious and not be transformed into the image of God by it, it is also impossible to be radically devoted to Jesus without going to church, praying daily - in fact praying moment to moment, reading scripture, reading spiritual books, sharing fellowship with like-minded believers, etc. All of these things add up to "religion". No, not religion as is meant in the image above or among the fundamentalist, born-again, charismatic, non-denominational, emergent, church groups. But religion in the classic sense. Religare meant, "to bind fast" and shares the same root as ligament. To be religious is to have a life bound to an object of devotion and bound to the observance of devotion to that object. The Christian is bound to the worship of God, the Christian is "religious".<br /><br /><br />The radical anti-establishment, anti-institutionalism that is so much the rage these days is an heresy. But I understand the sentiment of it. I once occupied the same space and spoke the same rhetoric. And for our unsaved society, which is also anti-institutional, it resonates well and cuts through the experience many people have had with religion. Yes, I totally concede that religion often obscures the face of God. But is this because organized Christian faith is bad or because the human condition is separated from God? Is it simply by the fact that religious practice becomes organized that men are separated from God by it? No. Maybe the problem lies within us. And secondarily maybe the problem lies more with our families.<br /><br />Each person has to make their secret journey into the heart of God and be reconciled to Him. No matter if you are an Evangelical or a Catholic, a Baptist or a non-denominational Christian, the faith you have been raised in has got to become yours. It has to move past the glaze of familiarity to intimacy, from an insulation to vulnerability, from a cloak that covers and hides to a nail and spear that pierce the heart. It is not not a problem with religion, it is a problem with the human heart.<br /><br />Secondarily it is a problem with our families. It is a problem of fathers who blow off church for golf. It is a problem of mothers who would rather be anxious than pray. It is a problem of parents who are too focused on making ends meet than listening to their children and guiding them into faith. It is a problem when parents divorce and wound the hearts of their kids. It is a problem of parents who want the church to impart to their children what only they can, a living faith. Because if the faith is not living in the household it will not be living in the children. If the faith is disordered in the household it will be disordered in the children. No, parents can't be perfect, but they owe it to God to bring up their children in the faith.<br /><br />It is not that some people are religious, it is that some are not religious enough. It is that we are not so religious as to allow it to transform us. Instead we are lukewarm. We are not so religious as to reject falsehood, instead we tolerate it. And we are not so religious as to live a life of genuine devotion to our creator. Religion is intended to keep us in relationship with God.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-4986853677891287175?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-84693048460748039872012-01-11T00:00:00.002-05:002012-01-11T00:04:53.762-05:00The Catholic faith is math and music together. Some people think only the music is important, others think only the math is important. But the truth is that the Faith is an equation sung. If it is the Catholic (universal)Faith the equation is always true, the math is always complete, the result is always right. Sung well and it produces a wondrous melody. It is less than the Catholic Faith if the equation is incomplete, is not sung, or at least not sung beautifully, as it is written. It fails to reach the heights of the Catholic Faith when the music falls out of key or tempo because the notation is incomplete.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-8469304846074803987?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-13882351473314070502012-01-02T16:57:00.004-05:002012-01-02T17:13:18.739-05:00Ok, I have commented on this before, but it really is a load of hoey. More than that it is now becoming a full blown Christian heresy. I know what many Christians means when they say they are Spiritual but not Religious. They mean that they are not like those "other" people who appear to be hypocrites, or who are "traditional" and practice stodgy religious activities that people can't relate to and seem to have no relevance to the present religious trends. But the fact of the matter is this......While you can be religious and not spiritual you cannot be genuinely spiritual without being religious. Let me say it again, <span style="font-style:italic;">"While you can be religious and not spiritual you cannot be genuinely spiritual without being religious<span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span>" A person may attend church or synagogue and not give any place in their lives to allow that activity to transform them and they may not be better people for it. They may be hypocrites, they may be cranky, they may be superficial. But people who claim to be spiritual who are not practicing some sort of religious discipline and activities are self-deceived. A person cannot truly be spiritual without going to church regularly, without a lifestyle of prayer, without observing certain religious activities and obligations. More than that, a genuine Christian cannot be genuinely spiritual without practicing self-abasement, self-mortification (usually done by obedience and fastings), a rule of prayer, participation in the sacraments, reading of the scriptures, and service to others. In short, there is no such thing as being a Christian and not being religious. The people you meet you are "religious" but do not seem to exemplify the life of Jesus and the Spirit of God - these are the people who are not actually religious. They put on a veneer of religion but do not really practice it. Being religious does not make you stodgy, it makes you spiritual. Now, being religious without dependence upon the Holy Spirit to fill you and empower you........now that is a different post.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-1388235147331407050?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-4906369166006481922012-01-02T16:47:00.002-05:002012-01-02T16:56:26.170-05:00Well, it is time. After two years full of changes; redirection, humble submission to circumstances I can't control, God reorganizing my entire life, falling apart and coming together again...........whew!.............I think I am ready to begin writing again. There is a lot going on and I am living a busy life, but I have a lot of time for reflection with my new job (I am bi-vocational for the time being). So it is time to uncork my head and begin to put my thoughts, ideas and opinions back out on the blogoshpere. This is more part of my own process than anything else. It is not so much about being heard as it is expressing myself anew. The content and themes will be the same; the intersection of Christ, Culture, Complexity and Consciousness. So, for those who may be led to this blog,for those who have followed it a bit, and for those who had who may begin again, here we go. Of course, Facebook has in part filled the space that this blog had occupied. I am not sure I can maintain both. So I am making no promise of frequency of posts. But I should be posting more frequently.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-490636916600648192?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-28018943618895258092011-05-30T11:38:00.002-04:002011-05-30T11:42:29.718-04:00I was wondering (after clicking the advert on FB).......with movies like "The Green Lantern", "X-Men" and the myriad other recent super hero movies and epic shows...........are these compensating for something that is missing from our experience? Are modern Americans feeling that powerless? That fearful? Is our narrative so small? Do we have such small challenges to overcome? Are the accomplishments of the average American so small and trivial that the soul has to connect with something so much greater? A greater narrative and purpose? Are we living the smaller American narrative?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-2801894361889525809?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-81271355195438997262011-04-24T20:57:00.002-04:002011-04-24T21:01:09.121-04:00For those who have carried their cross and through faith have practiced resurrection, these, like their Master, shall never die. For if we practice our dying, we who are in Christ practice His resurrection, which is ours also. <br /><br />If we practice resurrection our energies are oriented forever towards God and towards life. If the energy of our being is unbound by despair, deception, depravity, discouragement, and through faith we overcome each of these trials in life do you not know that those who have so oriented themselves cannot help but be raised? Even though our bodies die those who are well practiced in dying and rising can do nothing other than rise again with Him.<br /><br /> As it say's "But now, Christ has been raised from the dead. The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep". If, in Christ, death does has no victory over us in life, how shall it have victory in death?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-8127135519543899726?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-11117850384023003122011-04-19T23:33:00.004-04:002011-04-19T23:54:52.277-04:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LeasY_POJXA/Ta5Yhe25ykI/AAAAAAAABG8/Ei0vX2htKl0/s1600/Bosch%2BHarrowing%2Bof%2BHell.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 274px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LeasY_POJXA/Ta5Yhe25ykI/AAAAAAAABG8/Ei0vX2htKl0/s400/Bosch%2BHarrowing%2Bof%2BHell.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597508719110376002" /></a><br />C.S. Lewis says that hell is not so much the punishment of God but rather an eternity lived outside of His presence. This is kind. But the soul is eternal and God is Light and Life. Without God we are without light and life. Devils are beings of darkness because they cannot die, yet they are without life and light. For enlightened heavenly beings to turn from the knowledge of God and reject him the only consequence is the evacuation of light and life from the eternal essence of that being. When human beings reject God habitually, as they turn away from God and embrace rebellion and darkness there is a retreat of the light and life of God from the soul until, at death, there is a final evacuation of light and life from the soul. For a being to live eternally without any sense of light and life can only be utter doom, hopelessness and insanity. <br />Christ died to save us from this most pitiable fate. From this we will be saved if we trust in Jesus, if we live in repentance, if we hold to the truth, if we finish the race.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-1111785038402300312?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-24694702306519895682011-03-23T08:19:00.005-04:002012-01-10T23:58:07.644-05:00It has been some time since I last posted. Facebook seems to have diverted a lot of energy from blogging in general and certainly this is the case here. However I still need a place to put my thoughts and so I return to my blog. I am sure no one is really following it any longer but it still serves as a launching pad for my thoughts. Sort of like casting my thoughts on the river, you never know where they will end up.<br /><br />It has now been about 1 1/2 years since I left the CEC. I did not want to publish criticisms or process my own feelings online. But now it is time for some reflection. As I look back at the CEC and where it seems to be now it has become increasingly clear to me that the CEC is essentially Anglican. It's ethos is Anglican since it tries to hold together catholic and reformed positions. It's expression has been Charismatic (with both the good and bad aspects of that) but its place among denominations is essentially Anglican. Case in point, I recently came across an anglo-catholic blog that suggested that the mascot for such a church be the duck-billed platypus and stating that they are catholic and protestant. This description just as aptly fits the CEC just. However the CEC has spent so much time distancing itself from Anglicanism that it has pigeon holed itself, forcing it to re-invent what already is. The problem now is that rather than drawing nearer to what it holds in common with the Anglican world (and since it has rejected the journey that leads to Orthodoxy or genuine Catholic faith) it is forced to further isolate itself by entrenching itself in the Convergence Movement. But the Convergence movement is like the Emergent church movement. All of those modes can be accomplished in nearly any church, and certainly in any Lutheran or Anglican derivative. <br /><br />World-wide Anglicanism is in the process of realignment. And while it has fallen apart organizationally it is not dead by any means. Instead I think we are in the middle of one of those 100 year (or more)long corrections that we see in church history. We are living in the middle of a period of crisis. But Anglicanism is alive, as evidenced by it's growth around the world in places like Africa and Brazil and among Anglican groups like the ACNA, the CEC, AMIA and others. Perhaps the best thing for the CEC would be to realign itself with global Anglicanism and learn that it holds much more in common with Anglicanism than with Orthodoxy or Catholicism. The time of the CEC as a self-described "Catholic" church has passed. There was a move and an opportunity to align with either of those two historic churches. This proved too costly and was poorly handled. Perhaps now the CEC can find commonality within the Anglican ethos it was born into (ca "Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail") and gain strength from those associations. This would be good.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-2469470230651989568?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-4467469770198499212010-08-08T00:01:00.003-04:002010-08-08T00:07:05.089-04:00When I was a Protestant Christian I thought the idea of Convergence* seemed good. When I became a Catholic Christian convergence became just another Protestant idea.<br /><br />*Note; Convergence was a movement of the Nineteen nineties originating among various Protestant churches that endeavored to be Evangelical, Charismatic and Sacramental and Liturgical at once. See wiki <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergence_Movement">here</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-446746977019849921?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-14735776010782553042010-06-30T16:11:00.003-04:002010-08-07T23:50:36.853-04:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kgDrqTGkO28/TCulLu39zsI/AAAAAAAABEw/1Oy9fl253jo/s1600/lastman-jonah.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px; height: 262px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kgDrqTGkO28/TCulLu39zsI/AAAAAAAABEw/1Oy9fl253jo/s400/lastman-jonah.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488662191860993730" /></a><br />"Your old men will dream dreams and the young men will see visions". For years I have dreamed dreams and seen visions. I have most often kept them to myself only referring to them from time to time to illustrate a point in a sermon or in conversation. I dreamed this dream a few months ago but the Lord has been putting on my heart to share it publicly. While it has some significance for me personally I think that it needs to be shared with those who are faithful to Jesus Christ.<br /><br />"In my dream I came upon a church. it was a large traditional stone church with spires and buttresses. Off to the side of the building was a feature like a very small entrance with a domed top and small window or door. I entered by this little way. This led to richly appointed offices and rooms that had been converted to house refugees. I saw people sleeping on cots on the floor and in something like vestibules. Not every space was taken as there were some empty places. There were no clergy and there were no other people tending them. They were merely sheltered there. <br /><br />I then entered the south transept (a wing of the nave where the congregation sits). I wore a black shirt with no collar and was invited to sit down. I sat with a few other clergymen while a liturgy began. I was soon called to sit in the main body of the nave in seats near the front that were facing the aisle while the procession took place. At this point I was wearing a collar. I then looked up at the church all about me and noticed that the entire interior of the church was like being in the belly of a whale. I immediately thought of Jonah in the belly of the whale. <br /><br />The procession continued with a mitered bishop leading the way. It was beautiful and seemed "spirit filled". And within the procession I saw a man who was delivered from demons by a few clergy. I was roped into serving and somehow contributed to this. And when the bishop found out that I had come in by the little way, an irregular way, I was forgiven then praised for having courage and for being like a bible character and given keys to the church. The procession then took on the nature of a Christmas drama or play when it reached the chancel (front). But a woman was now the commanding presence and was speaking and dramatizing about the life of Christ but in the most mocking and denigrating way. She denigrated those who could believe such a thing. <br /><br />After this the church was mostly empty except for the bishop and four black women dressed in black. (I would note that Holy Angels have also repeatedly appeared to me as dark skinned African Americans and I take it to mean that this is representative of spiritual beings). One woman played modern music on the piano before the bishop while the other three women were dancing, singing,, prophesying, enticing and ridiculing other people. Other spirits then joined in playfully, but it was polluted. The three women were three spirits; spiritual deception, sexual deception, and mocking and deriding cynicism."<br /><br />The church is in the belly of Jonah's whale, the church is in judgment. She has forgotten the poor, the alien and the stranger. She has fancied herself beautiful and processes like she is alive but she is in under a spell. The Church is being led captive by deceiving spirits in places of prominence. Many good people are being led astray because of a lack of discernment. <br /><br />There is a lot more content here. I will leave the rest to the Holy Spirit and those who are inclined to actually pray on these things. I pray we all will live in Holiness, in true spiritual purity, and in the Truth.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-1473577601078255304?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-91119602032305496802010-05-19T17:52:00.005-04:002010-06-14T20:27:04.815-04:00I have been reflecting recently on the power of rhetoric verses substance in the discussion of what it means to be a catholic. And what we find these days are rhetorical Catholics and Apostolic Catholics. A rhetorical catholic likes the idea of being catholic rather than being Protestant and idealizes certain catholic concepts or practices like "the patristic church" or "obedience" or "praying the Rosary" or "monasticism" but all the while the terms and the very idea of what "Catholic" means is subject to the same postmodern deconstructionism at work all throughout our western society. For these rhetorical Catholics the term "catholic" is redefined according to the groups own opinion, as if were being defined in a historical vacuum. This is a criticism I have had for years and expressed often, "we cannot use the term "catholic as if it were in a vacuum", I would say, "and the Roman Catholic church or the Eastern Orthodox churches did not exist and as if the term had not already had a long and authoritative meaning". If one calls oneself Catholic one is obligated to the entire Great tradition. If one truly wants to be an Apostolic and Catholic christian the terms demand our submission to another set of definitions and not our own. We can claim divine "inspiration" but it is untested inspiration. Such inspiration, when it comes up against the the long agreed upon venerable mind of the church on such terms, lacks authority. It comes to recent opinion verses the established authority of The Church. And the only way it could gain authority is through a council. Otherwise such an opinion can only remain the opinion of the few vis a vis the authoritative opinion of The Church over centuries. Such a church can only spin its catholicity rhetorically because, in the end, it is not in communion with those churches that are Apostolic and Catholic. <br /><br />Submission to The Church is a hard thing. It demands humility. The humility to let go of personal and cultural preferences to a degree. As I make my way into Orthodoxy I am confronted with the scandal of a closed communion for example. But could it not also be said that this is not different from the scandal of Salvation through Christ only? Or, as Pope Benedict recently remarked about the celibate priesthood, it too is a scandal showing that one can live only for God and one can chose to be chaste. Perhaps we, as Americans who are so denominational in our thinking, and rebellious, cannot help but insist on our own opinions.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-9111960203230549680?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-62582049567531445162010-03-04T15:12:00.008-05:002010-03-04T16:47:29.139-05:00In 434 the Monk St. Vincent wrote the Commonitorium. His concern was in how we can distinguish the true faith from errors. He writes at a time when there were many variant groups claiming to represent the apostolic faith. Here are some excerpts:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">VINCENT OF LERINS The Commonitory <br />Chapter 2 - A General Rule for distinguishing the Truth of the Catholic Faith from the Falsehood of Heretical Pravity <br /><br />“how and by what sure and … universal rule I may be able to distinguish the truth of Catholic faith from the falsehood of heretical pravity; and I have always, and in almost every instance, received an answer to this effect: …. to continue sound and complete in the Catholic faith, we must, the Lord helping, fortify our own belief in two ways; first, by the authority of Scripture and then, by the Tradition of the Catholic Church.<br /><br />But here some one perhaps will ask, “Since the canon of Scripture is complete and sufficient of itself for everything….what need is there to join with it the authority of the Church's interpretation? For this reason: because, owing to the depth of Holy Scripture, all do not accept it in one and the same sense, but one understands its words in one way, another in another; so that it seems to be capable of as many interpretations as there are interpreters. For Novatian expounds it one way, Sabellius another, Donatus another, Arius, Eunomius, Macedonius, another, Photinus, Apollinaris, Priscillian, another, Iovinian, Pelagius, Celestius, another, lastly, Nestorius another. Therefore, it is very necessary, on account of so great intricacies of such various error, that the rule for the right understanding of the prophets and apostles should be framed in accordance with the standard of Ecclesiastical and Catholic interpretation.<br /><br />Moreover, in the Catholic Church itself, all possible care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all. …. This rule we shall observe if we follow universality, antiquity, consent. We shall follow universality if we confess that one faith to be true, which the whole Church throughout the world confesses; antiquity, if we in no wise depart from those interpretations which it is manifest were held by our holy ancestors and fathers; consent, in like manner, if in antiquity itself we adhere to the consentient definitions and determinations of all, or at the least of almost all priests and doctors.”</span><br />(from Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 11, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)<br /><br />Why is this so important? We live in an age not unlike St. Vincent’s. There are as many opinions as there are teachers. One church teaches that Communion is merely a memorial meal with no other significance, another teaches that it is the very body of Christ. Orthodox churches teach that there is a correct way to worship and other churches teach that any act done with sincerity is worship (resulting in finger painting during a Sunday service being called “worship” – and yes, I have seen this with my own eyes). One body of churches teach that homosexual people in committed relationships may be married or ordained by the church, another teaches that women may not be admitted to Holy Orders. It can get confusing. At what point does personal opinion stray beyond the bounds of the faith when, according to our social values, everyone’s opinion is equally valid?<br /><br />This is the “postmodern” dilliemma. The real problem with truth in our age is not “what is truth” but rather <span style="font-style:italic;">what is the truth about truth and who owns it</span>? What church or group can claim the authority to teach the faith? St. Vincent helps us with this problem by telling us that the true teaching of the church can be verified by what has been believed always, everywhere and by all. We can understand it this way: Jesus promised that he would be with the church always and that the Holy Spirit would lead the church into all truth. If this is true then we have to trust that God has always been at work in the church. We can then look back across time and allow history to witness to us those things that have been most consistently believed and practiced by all people, across the particularities of any one time and the varied cultural influences always threatening the church. We can take a “majority position” and feel relatively safe in the fact that no one culture has inordinately dominated the interpretation of the faith. When we look at history in this way we can see that the Reformation was necessary. For example the Roman Church practiced innovations that were not consistent with what had been believed always, everywhere and by all. But we can also see that present day Protestantism is a far cry from this norm as well and is straying even farther. We would also see that the Orthodox churches of the east most closely adhered to this norm across the ages and in all places.<br /><br />Our cultural value places the individual as the highest authority. Truth is determined by each person for him/her self. This is, in part, the exaggeration of the Protestant Reformation after 500 years. The result is a multiplication of denominations and churches. How many denominations must we have? In fact the result is that people no longer believe in institutions because this sort of radical individualism expressed in multiplying Christian denominations undermines any claim to authority. This exaggerated Protestantism has literally undermined the Church everywhere, making its claims unbelievable. <br /><br />The result is that we can witness two divergent reactions to this problem: individuals disavow institutions or move towards institutions that poses a very conservative and strong argument for their authority. And so the numbers of people who are "de-churched" grow and there is marked growth in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Pentecostal/evangelical (with the strong fundamentalist appeal to Holy Scripture) and even Mormons as the recent Pew Studies show. These statistics show that they reject this modern condition and intuitively know that they must return to an authoritative community. The result is that many people are returning to the Orthodox and Catholic churches. And this crisis of authority extends across the Protestant spectrum. From the Emergent church movement, to the Convergence movement, the adoption of historic practices have been taken up in varying degrees in an attempt to console the modern insecurity brought about by the crisis of authority. Unfortunately these Protestant groups can never really escape this insecurity because at the end of the day they are defining for themselves what exactly constitutes the "fullness of the faith". When you are making it up as you go along you can never really feel secure about what you are doing. And this is what happens when the historic faith, its shape and practice, is divorced from it's native economia (here meaning the administration of the faith according to the mind of the authoritative Church).<br /><br />Ofcourse, this does not mean that these true, right believing Churches cannot err or that this economia prevents them from misusing the Faith entrusted to them. What it does mean is that these churches are far more resilient to error. Newer churches are far more susceptible to erroneous teaching, or more subtle still, errors of opinion or behavior that render the whole less apostolic even if the doctrines held appear to be similar. While there can be similar errors in behavior or opinion in the true Churches the effects are mitigated by a much deeper, richer, and more established culture and body of teaching. Newer movements are at the mercy of the behavior and teaching of the few. And who is to say that the teaching is truly apostolic? Any appeal to the apostolic faith must be "reinterpreted" by the few in order to excoriate authoritative teaching that might make the movement appear less authoritative. This can only result in propping up a schism or worse still, a heresy.<br /><br />Thus, the appeal to that which has been believed always, everywhere and by all cannot be minimalistic, as if there were merely a minimum standard of doctrine believed in order to adhere to the Apostolic faith. Rather it is an appeal to the entire mind of the church, calling us not merely to dogmatic belief but right belief, leading to right action.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-6258204956753144516?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-74310987354638650272010-01-28T17:40:00.002-05:002010-01-28T21:46:07.288-05:00<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CMATTHE%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C03%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">I wrote this list some time ago. Thought I'd toss it out there. One never gets all one wants, but it expresses a holy desire. <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"> <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">What I want in my church.</span> <br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I want a church that hungers for Jesus more than being right, justifying its existence or trying to look cool.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I want a church on a quest for the deeper spiritual life, not one trying to stay in the last trend or running after the next trend.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I want a church that is connected with the martyrs and saints of old and honors and owns them, not a church that merely venerates their history or cherry picks their contributions.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I want a church that is wise in the ways to fight sin and the flesh, not one that is only wise in theology or postmodern philosophy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I want a church with modern sacred music that supports the divine liturgy and chant that sounds the radical otherness of God, not emotive rock pulsing in my desire.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I want an ascetic church that calls me to renounce the world to apprehend Christ, not a church that embraces the world to apprehend nothing.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I want a church with honest, whole and free men and women, not a church that fosters weak emotional dependence upon personalities or positions.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I want a church that is true, not a church that says one thing and does another or constantly changes its mind.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I want a church that looks out to the world with inviting love, not a church closed to people, dialogue and ideas.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I want a church that suffers with those who suffer, not one that leaves at the first sign of inconvenience.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I want a church with intellectual integrity and shine, not one of narrow, cultic self-dialogue.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I want a church that honors the best of every Church that calls itself “Christian”, not one that fosters division.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I want a church with a big tool box.<span style=""> </span>One with catholic screwdrivers and Pentecostal hammers, with orthodox drills and evangelical tape measures.</p> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-7431098735463865027?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-11191321615114349832009-12-13T00:44:00.002-05:002009-12-13T00:54:57.717-05:00Lot's of people talk about "coming home" to Orthodoxy or the Catholic Church. I have always found these sentiments understandable, but a little starry eyed. The condition of the churches in the US and the West is so catastrophic that it is most disheartening. So there is a sense of safety in retreating to these two churches, and safety smacks of "home". But even these churches have their issues. Thankfully my home lies elsewhere, in heaven. No matter what church I am in I am still tabernacling. And until I arrive at my true home, my perfect home, my true safe harbor and perfect peace, I am still a sojourner. I have gone to Orthodoxy because I am concerned for the salvation of my soul. And I want to live in an economy of spirit that can aid my journey and rid me of pride, and sin and make my wedding clothes white for the great supper when I will be welcomed HOME.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-1119132161511434983?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-10948290494809616652009-12-03T11:39:00.003-05:002009-12-03T17:53:05.416-05:00As you may know, I have left the CEC with plans on entering the Antiochian Orthodox Church Western Rite Vicariate. A summary of my reasons follows.<br /><br />I have been in the CEC for 16 1/2 years, since April 1993. It was joyous for us in the beginning and we have loved the CEC. It has been our congregation. But being a church planter in the CEC has been difficult. Having spent the better part of 10 years trying to plant churches in the CEC I have just reached the end of my capacity to continue. We have endured years of lack of structure, isolation, discouragement, lack of support, instability (personal and denominational), and financial sacrifice. I cannot blame the structure, I can only look at my own decisions, take responsibility and move on. I cannot repeat the same kinds of decisions.<br /><br />In October I experienced what appeared to all as a heart attack. Fortunately I am well and we found no problems. But it stopped me in my tracks and caused me to re-evaluate everything. I made this known to my Bishop. I simply reached the conclusion that for the sake of my health (I don't want to experience that again in 5 years for real!), my family and those I minister to, I needed to make decisions that would create more stability in my life and ministry. <br /><br />Secondarily to these issues are a few theological ones. The theological tension reflected in the positions of the CEC are no longer tenable for me. For my part I cannot honestly be catholic and hold myself in protest. One can look over this blog and the entries over the past several years and understand my struggle over the issues, that they have been long and fair. I have vacillated back and forth and I had to put this to rest.<br /><br />I do not believe Eastern Orthodoxy is a perfect world. I am exchanging one set of issues for another. But I am also exchanging one set of theological tensions for a place of virtually no tension, on identity or ecclesiology (ok maybe one or two minor issues). I am making a compromise in matters of aesthetics, not on dogma.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-1094829049480961665?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-4564872135058132742009-11-16T10:31:00.003-05:002009-11-16T10:44:49.978-05:00<h3 style="font-family: arial; font-weight: normal;" class="GenericStory_Message" ft="{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;msg&quot;}"><span style="font-size:100%;">Recently I attended a worship event. It was traditional and featured some contemporary worship music. One of the songs we sang (can't remember the name) mentions the martyrs and I realized that we actually don't have any. Sure, they are part of our shared christian memory but there are not any in our church. Neither are there true saints in our church. Yes there are saints in our shared christian memory but they are "those saints of the ancient church back there in the past in the church before it was divided". Yes they are mine already, in a sense. But I thought to myself how disconnected I felt from them.<br /></span></h3><h3 style="font-family: arial; font-weight: normal;" class="GenericStory_Message" ft="{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;msg&quot;}"><span style="font-size:100%;">This started me thinking. We need saints, those holy examples of the Christian life that anchor our identity in a higher call. The problem with many mega churches and denominations is that few of them (any?) are built on real saints. They may be built on good men who are great administrators, but then the church is built on a personality and a business model. The Martyrs and Saints call us to return to a holy life, not an organization or theory. They beckon us to live lives of radical love for God and our neighbor. I don't want ta church built on an administrative model or a momentary culturally instigated christian response, I want a church built on the apostles, prophets, saints and martyrs.<br /></span></h3><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-456487213505813274?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-51735010620707258182009-09-25T10:21:00.002-04:002009-09-25T10:37:12.126-04:00<div>I don't think that too many people visit this page any more but I figured I would at least point you to where I have been spending my time these days. Any blogging activity has been on the Center for the Cure of Souls page found <a href="http://centerforcureofsouls.org/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=category&amp;layout=blog&amp;id=44&amp;Itemid=57">here</a>. And of course Facebook might be the culprit, so if you are interested in some of the things I am thinking about you can do a search for me there. So for now I will just be leaving bread crumbs here. Have fun.</div><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-5173501062070725818?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-80863098769077365762009-04-13T00:12:00.003-04:002009-04-13T00:14:19.468-04:00I haven't been around for a while. I have been focusing my energy on taking care of people. But I think I will be getting around to writing again soon enough. In the immortal words of the Terminator- "I'll be baaak".<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-8086309876907736576?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-4053557838617458482008-06-29T12:17:00.002-04:002008-06-29T12:41:15.836-04:00For the past few years I have been spending more time in Orthodox Spirituality. No where does the light of truth shine more brightly for the cure of souls than in this tradition. While evangelicals and charismatics grope for understanding in the effort to cure souls and default to psychotherapists the desert fathers had an intimate, personal and effective understanding of the human person, the heart or "nous".<br /><br />However, as one comes into contact with these writings, like the Philokalia, one comes to think that this is the absolute word on spirituality and growth. Unfortunately we often fail to realize that this is the way of the spiritual athlete. I like to refer to it as the advanced physics of genuine Christian spirituality. As such it is not easily appreciated by those who are young in the faith. If the stats are right most Christians, even those in mega-churches, don't even pray or read the scriptures regularly (perhaps this is why so many have to run after the latest teaching seeking "refreshment" in the "spirit"). I do appreciate how strong the evangelical ethos is to evangelize and inspire deep commitment in converts. When that evangelical ethos is carried to maturity and those people are introduced to the inner life of the desert fathers this is when real inner transformation can begin to take place. The evangelical world has no substantial answer for persistent sin and brokenness. The answer is typically, 'repent, and pray more and read the bible". Some times this includes memorizing scriptures. But they do not understand why these work or the mechanisms of the human person, the economy of the soul, that one can employ in this endeavor. At times the glory of this inner tradition is so strong as to pull me in that direction. And then I remember my Charismatic brothers and sisters imbued with the Spirit who are outside of "O"rthodoxy who are also healing the soul and setting people free with some of the same spirit illumined works. Why is it, when the light shines so great on paper, that one often has to go outside of the Orthodox tradition to find release? or to find genuine evangelical commitment? Can it be that these have also "acquired" the Holy Spirit? Of course this can be so. As I read the Fathers I find, not new and surprising truths, but familiar and practiced truths. I find wisdom commensurate with my experience of the Holy Spirit. Having practiced a deep prayer life led by the spirit I find similar things spoken differently. And yet the fathers, having gone deeper, having been more the athlete than I, call me deeper and illumine my soul further. I am grateful for their inner watchfulness, their "nepsis", and the riches they have mined for us.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-405355783861745848?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-30240073911571502022008-06-11T22:51:00.003-04:002008-06-11T23:11:37.971-04:00From time to time I wax poetic and this poem is about the shipwreck of the soul and the journey home. Read Psalm 107 <p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>The Shipwreck of the Bonnie Bryant<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;"><o:p> </o:p>By Matthew Mirabile</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">It has been years since the grounding</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Years since the ship, tossed about the seas</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Subject to the fiercest storms and deluge</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The tempest and lightings</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Years since she ran upon the rocks</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">There the ship lay for a time</p> <p class="MsoNormal">While the tempests had passed</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And the seas grew calmer</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Even still the breakers beat the hull</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Remnants of a storm now past</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">How can we free this vessel</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Now ran aground upon the mighty stones</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Stuck upon the sharp and jagged landscape</p> <p class="MsoNormal">For the stern is run through and water fills the hull</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The stores have been emptied </p> <p class="MsoNormal">And the cargo nearly all lost</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Captain remains faithful</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Having never left the vessel</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The crew nearly drowned to a man</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Washed up on the shore like fishes</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Like some weak, exhausted creatures</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Bleached by the sun</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Take stock of the vessel</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Examine the hull and masts</p> <p class="MsoNormal">This seafarer is not finished yet</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The boards though battered are sturdy still</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The ropes and sails though tattered </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Await new winds for filling</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Chop us some wood</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Call the ships carpenter</p> <p class="MsoNormal">That master builder who survives</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The maker and repairer of all things</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“This ship will again sail”, says he</p> <p class="MsoNormal">"But the work will take some time"</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Let us beach the vessel</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Off the rocks and upon the sand</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lighten the load and wait for tide</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And every man lay a hand</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Take up the ropes and pull with might</p> <p class="MsoNormal">With all your heart</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Upon the beach the vessel lay</p> <p class="MsoNormal">For months the stranded labor</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And long nights pass and fires blaze</p> <p class="MsoNormal">As blame and fault are measured</p> <p class="MsoNormal">For those that steered the ship astray</p> <p class="MsoNormal">O’er navigations blunders</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Enough of that”, the captain warns</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Tis time to test the timber</p> <p class="MsoNormal">For the hull is patched and the sails repaired</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And the sea again she beckons</p> <p class="MsoNormal">May gull and loon soon guide us”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Yet the hull is scarred deep</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And the gashes appear above the draught </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The ship she creaks with every wave</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And the beam is not so true</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Still upon the seas again we sail</p> <p class="MsoNormal">When sailors pray and mercies sought</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“I cannot say with any surety”,</p> <p class="MsoNormal">says the captain to the crew </p> <p class="MsoNormal">“that we shall see our desired haven</p> <p class="MsoNormal">but better the sea in this beaten vessel</p> <p class="MsoNormal">then the rocks and sand and tern</p> <p class="MsoNormal">for years spent there slay hope”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Mind not the leaking waters</p> <p class="MsoNormal">But take up the bucket bilge</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And keep thy hand upon the pilot’s wheel</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Take it not off, not even a moment</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lest we find ourselves again</p> <p class="MsoNormal">At the mercy of the stormy sea</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Keep out thine eye up there</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Yee that in the crows nest spy</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Keep us true and sound the depth</p> <p class="MsoNormal">When the straights approacheth</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And when land is gone and gulls are few</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Keep hope and faith fervent</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">For we shall reach land</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Yet not the land we reckoned</p> <p class="MsoNormal">But that which men do seek</p> <p class="MsoNormal">That land of gold and stories told</p> <p class="MsoNormal">That land of spice and glory</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Yet few are they who find it</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So keep strong at work</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And give not rest to deck hand</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And to oarsman, and keep her clean</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And tighten the ship at each port along the way</p> <p class="MsoNormal">For days shall come when again the test</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Shall cause good men to quiver</p> <p class="MsoNormal">But at the end of the journey</p> <p class="MsoNormal">When day is past</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Your soul it shall deliver.</p><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-3024007391157150202?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-23889839290513076532008-06-08T23:34:00.002-04:002008-06-09T00:07:28.291-04:00I have been spending a great deal of time over the last few months on working towards Pascha House. We found a another great piece of property that fully embodies the vision with a building for a sanctuary, several small bungalow houses and a larger one plus other structures we can use. We are praying for a miracle of provision and favor with the owner and hope to make an offer soon.<br /><br />The church, Church of the Holy Martyrs, had been in a re-launch phase but we recently realized that we were not re-launching the church but launching Pascha House. I was joined by Fr. John VanHaelen who has come aboard as assisting priest and he has been a blessing. Church has been great and God is working in the lives of the people. <br /><br />Personally I have been most profoundly impacted by my continued readings of the Orthodox saints, particularly the Philokalia and the writings of Napfaktos Heirotheos. These writings represent the truest guide to the inner way and he enlightening of the intellect in the way of salvation. This material is essential to my brothers and sisters in the Protestant world as it represents a missing body of material on the inner workings and dynamics of the intellect, soul, body and spirit. I have even taken to sleeping on the floor on more than one occasion in the disciplining of the body for the eradication of the passions. This, of course is a life long journey. and I am convinced that this inner way has to be passed on to those who are coming after me and I am passing this on. Mean while I have remained true to my roots in Protestant experience. this is important because it is through private "charismatic" experience that I had already come to see and understand the sayings of the desert fathers and had, through various experiences found them confirming these same things. While some may say where the church is we cannot say where it is not. It is in this effort of integration that I continue to persist, remaining true to what I have already experienced and proved effective and adding to it. For, "when the body is urged by the senses to indulge its own desires and pleasures, the corrupted intellect readily succumbs and assents to its impassioned fantasies and impulses. But the regenerated intellect exercises self-control and withholds itself from them. <span style="font-style: italic;">Moreover, as the true philosopher it studies how to rectify such impulses. </span>And so I have sought to study how to rectify such religious experiences that hurt, and those that benefit the soul. Not that i have already attained this, but I press on toward the goal.<br /><br />In the mean time I have also taken time to recharge and enjoy my time with my kids, my friends and other activities. We recently took the kids and other young men from church on a camping trip that was a wild success, one we will repeat at least once before the summer is out. And then I rode my motorcycle to Americade and rode and rode, putting on 950 miles in four days. I love riding and find it meditative and prayerful when it is not simply mind clearing. I spend much of my motorcycle time praying the Jesus prayer, "Jesus, Son of God have mercy on me a sinner".<br /><br />So here is my long overdue post. I fear that they will be few and far between for a while, perhaps to diminish altogether. We shall see. And pray for me a sinner.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-2388983929051307653?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-15590833652683776032008-04-17T23:20:00.002-04:002008-04-17T23:26:07.737-04:00Well, we went from Easter to a clergy retreat and from that to one of those major computer crashes that eat up tons of your time trying to fix. Hours and hours spent trying to defrag the drive and get work done through a poorly functioning machine. I hate that! So I eventually used the recovery utility to reinstall windows. And while I did not have to reload every program several won't reload properly now, especially Quickbooks Pro. And to top it all off I lost all my contacts, ones gathered from nearly fifteen years of business. And my back ups would not load because the windows reload behaved like a new machine. Crap!!!! I finally got most of them back through an obscure CF card from my old palmtop that I used 8 months ago. Back up and running, almost. Well, at least its a post.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-1559083365268377603?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-51108143531874495072008-03-28T11:41:00.006-04:002008-03-28T12:30:43.425-04:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kgDrqTGkO28/R-0TH03wZ5I/AAAAAAAAAm0/ybFYjxXX3Hc/s1600-h/P8220001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kgDrqTGkO28/R-0TH03wZ5I/AAAAAAAAAm0/ybFYjxXX3Hc/s320/P8220001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182819771345823634" border="0" /></a><br />About 7 years ago, shortly after we moved into our home here we were praying about getting a dog. On a family walk in the neighborhood we passed a little black Pomeranian in the front yard of a home. Our kids could not resist going up to pet him. It turned out that the owner had several dogs and gave us this little Dog, Gizmo. Gizmo has been a wonderful family pet. He is no bigger than a cat and as quiet as one too, and he is fun and affectionate. My daughter loves him.<br /><br />Wednesday afternoon was busy. We have a habit of letting him out the door to relieve himself, which he usually does along the fence in our yard. We usually keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't go in the street. He is an inside dog. But it was busy. Within a few minutes my Son in the Lord, Carl walked in stating that Gizmo had just been run over by an SUV.<br /><br />I found Gizmo in the street virtually dead. His body was frozen in that arched position that you find most dead animals in at the side of the road. He was not really breathing, his body was strangely firm, his eyes were unfocused and simply twitching to the right. I took him to the back yard, to a spot where I could pray without distraction and where faith could be at work. I prayed over him, commanding the life of God to enter him and emphatically calling on God to heal this beloved family friend. Then my 16 year old Son Mattias came and joined with me in prayer. At first there were no signs of life, then after just a few minutes of praying he blinked his eyes and looked over at me. I continued to pray for healing and he then licked the blood from his mouth. I then commanded him to get up and walk, and......he squirmed around and began to pull himself up, but his hips and rear legs were not cooperating. I calmed him and made him lay still. We continued to pray and I had my son get a towel so we could lift him and get him into the car to take him to the animal hospital. Gizmo tried to get up again. As we took him up from that spot in the towel to the car my son said, "I think the Lord has told me that he will only need a cast on his front leg". And so my wife and I drove him to the animal hospital. As we drove we could see that he was responsive and alert. By the time we reached the hospital he sat up on his own on the floor. We took him in and they examined him. After x-rays and a full check up they said that he was in surprisingly good shape and just had a broken front leg. He had a plate put in yesterday and he will be home today.<br /><br />Now, when we came home we were processing this event. "Was he really that near death? Could he have just been suffering from shock?" These are the questions you tend to ask yourself in the face of events that defy explanation. So we asked Carl. Carl explained that Gizmo walked across the street to Him when he saw him so he actually saw Gizmo get run over; first by the front wheel, which flipped up in the air landing him on his back to be then run over completely by the rear tire. Gizmo was run over by both tires and crushed under the weight of a 37oo lb vehicle. And I can say that the dog was virtually dead when I picked him up and first laid him on the front lawn and assessed him. God miraculously restored this animal to life who should have been dead.<br /><br />This even has, of course now begun to encourage and challenge the people who saw it. We are challenged to expand our faith, to believe God for the impossible, to trust him for our needs. And I, I am simply praising God and giving Him glory!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-5110814353187449507?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-71151219497400499242008-03-25T09:05:00.002-04:002008-03-25T09:38:39.262-04:00Several months ago I made a decision to remain in my communion. For a long time I had been on a trajectory towards the historic churches but always found myself stopping just short because of a few issues that I could not comfortably get around. At one time I considered converting to the Roman Church. But I took issue with the fact that married clergy are virtually never permitted to preach on Sunday or administer the sacraments on a principal service. Married clergy appear to be second rate clergy of whom the church is embarrassed. I could not overcome this hurdle. My other issues really centered around the validity of experience. I could not bring myself to confess that those Protestant Christians with whom I have been saved, baptized in the Spirit and taught the deep things of Christ were less authentically or less validly The Church. What I know is that Jesus is no less present with godly, spirit filled Evangelicals though they do not keep the historic shape of the liturgy, though they deny Christ's real presence, though they bow to the spirit of the age at times. This doesn't mean I think they are "complete". I do not believe that. I beleive they are poorer for lack of these things and that the absence of a rich sacramental life, a healthy liturgy, and the discontinuity with the spirituality of the church of the first five centuries - particularly that of the Desert Fathers, of necessity leads to little errors (and some big ones). But amazingly Jesus is still present, working in the midst of it. And I know that Jesus is often more present among these brothers and sisters, that their zeal is greater and their commitment to Christ is deeper, than most of the members of the many Roman and Orthodox churches that surround me here in the North East.<br /><br />Yet, after making decision mentioned at the start, I felt a rebelliousness in my soul, a wildness. And I have been thinking a lot about this. Because the fact is that while I continue to carry these issues I am in Protest. And these other bodies that fail to embrace their brothers of the Reformation in the essentials of the faith as represented in the primary apostolic witness of scripture, that fail to really embrace the power of the Holy Spirit for the common life (making it decidedly less common), that deny the scriptures when it clearly indicates that an overseer be married (just not to more than one wife), I am put in a position of Protest. I can humbly submit to these things and lay it all down. But I find that my full participation in the Kingdom of God where I am is what makes me valid and I long for the day when the churches unite on the essentials. In heaven we will not say "I am of Rome, I am of the East, I am of Calvin or Luther." We will all confess together, we are of Christ Jesus!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-7115121949740049924?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-76474575726411597992008-02-16T14:32:00.002-05:002008-02-16T15:00:41.225-05:00Does the church at times and in places act as a cultural enabler? When the church embraces the values and illnesses of the culture is it not enabling those illnesses to perpetuate? When we fold those values into the church that run counter to the historic faith are we not enabling? <br /><br />What is problematic is that these values are so pervasive and deceptive that few can discern just where the illness is located. Just as those who are in co-dependent relationships cannot see their own contribution to the dysfunctional relationship, I wonder if we can really see our participation in the cultural dysfunction. How can we tell if we are complicit or not? While we are in the relationship we cannot see it. somehow we have to step outside of it. How can we do this? <br /><br />We can only step outside of this dysfunctional cultural relationship by removing ourselves from it. I am not advocating a retreat from society. The withdrawal I propose is to the place of prayerful contemplation. We have to withdraw to a place of contemplation informed by voices not our own. And by "not our own" I include our own culture. We must be informed by voices from other times, the voices of men who have gone before us. We need to retreat with the voices of the Early Church fathers, the, monks, saints and Christians who are "outside" the culture of our time. And we must let them shed light on what we believe. Perhaps we need to develop a certain skepticism towards our own culture and our own voice, a posture of humility that invites the correction of other ages and greater souls. <br /><br />As persons we can only grow when we begin to believe that we don't have all the answers and that others need to speak into our lives. As the Church, perhaps we need to do the same. Maybe then we can extricate ourselves from repeating dysfunctional patterns in the church. Maybe we can get a better idea of healthy spirituality from outside our own context, maybe from the desert among ascetics who cut themselves off from the love of the world. Maybe we can get a better idea of authentic worship from outside our own highly individualized and customized society. From a time when people understood that the strength of one is found in the health of the whole. Maybe we can get a better idea of social justice from another time so that we don't advocate justice for moral confusion. Perhaps then we would see clearly to discern between those who are truly suffering from injustice and those who have brought suffering on themselves because they have abandoned God's commands. Maybe we would get a better idea of doctrine, not from the spirit of novelty or disaffection, but from humble submission to the mundane, the established, from tradition. maybe our departure should not be from what has been handed down, but from what has been reinterpreted, revalued, and rejected. Maybe then we can see our way a bit more clearly to emulate the city of God than the city of men.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-7647457572641159799?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-3252505636084390342008-02-08T12:52:00.000-05:002008-02-09T13:50:37.591-05:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://paschahouse.wordpress.com"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kgDrqTGkO28/R631xS1t_LI/AAAAAAAAAkc/2G6B_yGi6Ds/s320/New+Pascha+House+Logo+Cloud+break.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5165054574883372210" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I have created a new WordPress blog site/web presence for Pascha House. It is called Pascha House Update and will function as a news portal for Pascha House as well as a basic web site. It will also include a donation button so that people can donate via the web with a click of the mouse. Please visit the site, just click on the image above.<br /><br />One of my hopes is that Pascha House will serve CEC parishes by providing a treatment program that is consistent with the vision of the CEC. I cannot think of many (if any) recovery programs that are fully Charismatic - bringing all the power of the spiritual gifts together for inner healing, together with a richly sacramental spiritual life, and an evangelical emphasis on personal faith and the Word of God. It is my hope that CEC churches and others will be able to send young men who need healing and discipleship. Please check it out.<br /><br />Fr. Matt<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-325250563608439034?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-6138463166117424032008-01-31T00:12:00.001-05:002008-01-31T00:57:34.120-05:00I have been thinking a lot about worship these days. Actually the relationship between worship, holiness and genuine spirituality. Of course many people are talking about worship these days. We talk about worship in spirit and truth and of worshiping with all our hearts. And many people are talking about the idolatry of modern worship. We have made an idol out of pursuing the emotional experience of worship, the high. And like many I have been questioning the authenticity of it. This is not a new insight, and as I said, many others have commented on it. Modern praise and worship is all too often emotive rather than authentically spiritual. And I think we confuse the two. Emotional worship is not necessarily spiritual at all. In fact, I think it is endemic of modern Evangelical/Charismatic spirituality. It is a spirituality rooted in the "passive" part of the human person. This is Orthodox language for that part of the human person wherein the passions originate and are active. We can have healthy passions of course. We can have healthy emotional love and rapture for God too. So we can't disqualify this sort of worship out of hand. But perhaps it is more an "outer court" worship than many would like to think. This may sound surprising to many since they feel that it is precisely the emotive aspect of worship that makes it an inner court sort of thing. But the problem is that it often seems shallow. Modern Evangelical worship, with all its intimacy and emotive force eventually feels shallow. Why is this? I think it returns to this aspect of the passive part of the human person. Evangelical Spirituality is notoriously Word centered and it is active (read the bible and do something). What it is not is introspectively spiritual. What do I mean by this? The Desert Fathers were deeply aware of what sort of things fuel the passive part of the person. They were introspectively aware of how their thoughts and activities promote or inhibit their responsiveness to God. In fact they were often seeking a passionless state, that is; a state in which their passions and so the vices - lust, avarice, greed, sloth, gluttony, et al. - were extinguished so that they could be filled with the Holy Spirit and caught up in pure contemplation and enravishment by God. However we are often not paying attention to our inner state. When we eat too much, or watch too much TV, or if we are too busy and anxious, or when we are fostering anger and fear these things have a direct, powerful but subtle effect on our spiritual state. We have not been watchmen over our souls, we have not been in possession of our spirits, and so our capacity to apprehend God is polluted. If we are gluttonous and lazy it is like water on the fire of our zeal and we cannot pray. If we are angry and fearful it is like a fire that consumes all the fuel and leaves nothing but ash-our spirits are burned over. If we are busy and anxious our spirit is divided and confused and so also we cannot pray or focus our energies on God. This of course presumes holiness - not simply the absence of serious sin but an inner watchfulness for that which leads to the thoughts that fire the passions that lead to sin. If this then is the state of the souls of most how can they worship in spirit and truth? All they have to give is an instantaneous emotive response engendered by emotive music. True worship starts in the Holy of Holies, the heart, the nous (see Gk.-noeo). And if the noetic powers are clear and strong worship is strong and vibrant and inexhaustible. It does not rely on emotive powers but has clear and unfettered access to God from within.<br />This is inner court worship. Worship that originates in and is in close proximity to the Holy of Holies. Outer court worship originates in and is in close proximity to the marketplace and the bustle of the streets - these are the passions and the affairs of the world.<br />We can start in the outer court, but in time we must proceed to the Holy of Holies. We must cleanse the temple of our hearts (the seat of the will and intellect) through repentance and inner watchfulness. This is the austere path of the spiritual athlete.<br />Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-613846316611742403?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-56085449074321011142008-01-19T23:41:00.000-05:002008-01-19T23:55:49.763-05:00A meditation on John 1:29-34, 2nd Sunday of Epiphany<br /><br />It is the lamb of God, slain before the foundation of the world, who baptizes with the Spirit. Why is it that no one else can baptize with the Spirit? Our sins must be removed before we can receive the Spirit. Why is it that there can be no authentic baptism of the Spirit without the forgiveness of sins? Because the Spirit of God is the Spirit of holiness. We must be sanctified before we can receive this Spirit. This is the distinguishing mark of the impartation of the Holy Spirit. Not ecstatic utterances or prophecies, not fainting and laughing, but holiness and love. Where these things are increasing the Spirit of God is present. Where these things are not present there is a lying Spirit.<br /><br />I, from time to time, watch religious programing on TV. The Word network or GodTV often provide insights, not so much into the Word, as into modern Western worship. This worship so often appears false to me. It appears misdirected. Not always, but often. And I have been trying to place my finger on it because it is so subtle. But I think what it is is a profound lack of holiness among God's people. I have been convicted of this myself. We cannot worship God in spirit and truth if there is no Holiness. What is so often missing in church as we know it is authentic Christian spiritual formation of the sort that leads to a more genuinely spiritual worship. We too often confuse emotive worship with what is truly of the Spirit. We often forget that most religions provide mystical and spiritual experiences. This is common to man because he is a spiritual being. What we often lack is worship that is of the Spirit of God, that Holy Spirit that is resplendent, that caused Moses' face to shine. I am not against modern worship music. I use it myself. I just wonder how much flesh is in the mixture.<br /><br />Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.<br />Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.<br />Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-5608544907432101114?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-46585637030191384032008-01-17T08:23:00.000-05:002008-01-17T08:35:26.570-05:00I wonder, as people and especially as Clergy - Are we Charismatic enough? Are we charismatic enough to recognize a Pharisaical spirit when it is there? Can we hear it when men speak and see it in their actions? Have we cultivated the gift of discernment? Can we discern between a broken man with faith and a successful man who is proud? When we pray do we really hear that still small voice? Or perhaps we are so much in the flesh that we cannot tell the difference between the Spirit of the Lord and our own desire. Is our optimism based upon really hearing the voice of the Lord, sound judgment and wisdom or is it magical thinking covering over the fear of failure? Are we Charismatic enough? Are we Charismatic enough to hear the Spirit of Holiness calling us to repent and seek a deeper, truly Christian life? Are we Charismatic enough to step out of the boat and risk our skin? Or do we play it safe while we make bold pronouncements? Do we cast out demons and heal the sick, really heal them? Are we really binding up the broken? or just passing them off to someone else because they take so much time and energy? Are we Charismatic enough? Are people being saved? Have they consecrated their lives to Christ and been born from above? Are they being delivered from sin and addiction and restored to life? Are they going out and telling others where to find life? Are you charismatic enough to give a word of knowledge in a time of need, a word that breaks the yoke? Are people being made whole? Are you Charismatic enough? When you pray for people do they weep because you have disclosed the secrets of the heart and spoken Gods word to the soul? When you pray alone when was the last time you really felt the presence of God? Did His peace come over you as you entered his rest? Did you get divine understanding for souls, ministry and life? Did you come away with a truly heavenly perspective?<br /><br />I love Orthodox Spirituality. I love the Liturgy and Chant. There is something Holy about those things. They disclose something of God from a different perspective. But in all my years I have found that it is the Spirit that gives life, a personal encounter with God and with His Spirit that is life transforming. It is by the Spirit that we participate in the divine nature. These other things help keep us from error, but they are no substitute.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-4658563703019138403?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-12226167291985396182008-01-07T00:02:00.000-05:002008-01-07T00:07:29.948-05:00On January 1st I received a phone call from a parishioner. His 20 year old step son had swallowed 150 aspirin. Fortunately he was taken to the hospital early enough to have his stomach pumped. He is alive and well all things considered. He is being held in the psych unit for observation since this was a serious suicide attempt. He is not a believer at all and has shown some contempt for the church. Please pray for this young man that he will have a true conversion experience. I will be visiting him again by mid week.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-1222616729198539618?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-54210627316178156032008-01-06T23:35:00.000-05:002008-01-06T23:57:55.143-05:00<p class="MsoNormal">This statement from Thomas Merton says it beautifully. I just came across it again and thought it germaine to the current train of thought:</p> <p class="MsoNormal">"The notion of dogma terrifies men who do not understand the Church. They cannot conceive that a religious doctrine may be clothed in a clear, definitive and authoritarian statement without at once becoming static, rigid, and inert and losing all its vitality. In their frantic anxiety to escape from any such conception they take refuge in a system of beliefs that is vague and fluid, a system in which truths pass like mists and waver and vary like shadows. They make then their own personal selection of ghosts, in this pale, indefinite twilight of the mind. They take good care never to bring these abstractions out into the full brightness of sun for fear of a full view of their insubstantiality."</p> <p class="MsoNormal">New Seeds of Contemplation, p. 146</p>I beleive in equilibrium,, that opposing forces are necessary for a healthy system. There needs to be clearly expressed and elucidated doctrine while also maintaining the vitality of the Living Spirit in the economy of the church. The former without the latter does in fact become nearly inert. The latter without the former becomes magic.<br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-5421062731617815603?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-3589770810452685512008-01-04T19:26:00.000-05:002008-01-04T20:03:02.315-05:00I am now at the end of the construction project I have been managing for the last one and one half years (has it been that long?) and am getting ready to refocus on ministry. This isn't to say that ministry was not the focus during that time, but that I did not have the time to invest in it that I wanted to. This was providential though and God blessed us in many ways. The last few months in particular allowed me only enough time to focus on work and maintain our church services and Pascha House had to be put on the back burner. This too was providential. <br /><br />Yet, God has been moving in our little church in wonderful ways and we have been growing in spite of all of these challenges. During the summer we only had services every other week and on my deck at that! And yet we are brimming with potential. We have a new worship team, the singer and keyboard player are both professionals. In fact Doug, the keyboard player and Michelle were both part of the first church I planted back in 1994. I am playing drums (although it is a little awkward playing in an alb) and the music is great! So now my priestly juices are starting to flow and I thought it was time to redesign the blog. I hope you like it.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-358977081045268551?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-84619238657035113112007-12-31T17:15:00.000-05:002007-12-31T17:52:11.277-05:002 Peter 1:3-4<br /><br />3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">NIV</span><br /><br />For some months now in my preaching this passage has returned over and over as an underlying theme. It holds within it the secret of the Christian life and its goal. It presents us with the theological premise and the way by which one is truly Christian. And it answers so many of the questions people raise as they seek out the true faith.<br /><br />The apostle Peter explains that God, through His divine power, has provided his people everything needed for life and godliness. And how are these attained? These things are attained by our participation in the divine nature.<br /><br />Participation is an interesting word. It suggests the willing cooperation of the person with another active agency. One can be a willing participant in a murder even if one stands by and does nothing to stop it. By merely acquiescing to the actions of others one becomes guilty. Participation requires action of some sort. It requires one to "go along with" the actions of another. With regard to the divine nature we are called to go along with the character and nature of God. Interestingly one does not really go along with dogma or doctrine. We may intellectually agree with it and it may inform our actions, as it should, but it is not an active agency. God is an active "agent" and we are called to participate in His essence. His essence is not contained in doctrinal statements, but they may clarify His essence. His essence and divine nature, by virtue of His being God Almighty surely exceed whatever the church can say about Him. This is the essence of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">apophatic</span> theology, not that we can say all that God is but perhaps only what He is not.<br /><br />So, is one a Christian who confesses faith in Christ? Is one a better Christian if one joins a church that claims to be the real church or a truer church than others? What constitutes truly being a Christian and being the Church? Can one make the claim and not participate in the divine nature? Of course! Can one attend the right church, make orthodox statements and still fail to participate in the divine nature? Peter reminds us in the passage that follows this that our participation in the divine nature affects our character. How could it not? Yet perhaps at times I chose not to be a participant, but only an observer of the divine nature? One who acknowledges the divine nature without actually participating in it?! Christ have mercy. Fortunately one can be mentally challenged, unable to read or reason well, and still participate in the divine nature. It does not depend on what we know but upon how deeply we know God and willingly go along with what He does and how he does it. The faith is not kept in doctrines, it is kept in love and Godliness. The church is only truly herself when she, and more specifically those of whom she is made, participate in increasing measure in the divine nature.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-8461923865703511311?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-80076070306351134172007-12-15T17:55:00.000-05:002007-12-15T18:00:29.629-05:00<span style="font-weight: bold;">Why I can't join the Orthodox Church at this time.</span><br /><br />I cannot leave the CEC for bad men or poor organization, only heresy and the sort of schismatic teaching that, while appearing to be generally good, would truly and ultimately lead to apostasy. This is the sort of teaching that overemphasizes (or omits) some doctrine or aspect of the faith or praxis of the church that would ultimately and seriously inhibit the grace of God in it's adherents. If I were convinced that was the case in the CEC then I would have painful choices to make. But the CEC is correcting itself and God's grace is present in the churches outside the US as much as I can see it. I will give the Spirit time to correct and discipline us. How can I have more patience for one sinner under my care than for a whole church? I watched the rise of St. Paul's in <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1197758835_0">Darien, CT</span> and it's fall. Those who stayed in that church and faithfully served after others left are among the best Christians I know. God chastened them, tested them and God raised them up again. I may yet be forced to go East but until then let me offer these thoughts.<br /><br />Where does orthodoxy reside? Does it reside in dogma and doctrine alone? The Orthodox churches teach that Orthodoxy is life, it is an oeconomia. Orthodoxy ultimately resides in the administration of the faith, not in the stated dogma of the church. While the CEC may have some issues with regard to the administration of this economy I submit that there is not a church that does not. Are there not other marks of true Orthodoxy? What about the evangelical impulse of the church, the Great Commission? is that not a mark of orthodoxy? And if so, do the Eastern Orthodox churches demonstrate this impulse, fueled by a compassion for the lost and empowered by the Holy Spirit? If they do, where is the evidence? Granted the Eastern Churches have experienced something of a holocaust over the last 100 years or so because of communism, but has it demonstrated this orthodox impulse to seek and save the lost? Have the Orthodox, within their history, as magnificent a witness to this evangelical impulse as the Protestants? or the Romans? who have gone over the whole world preaching the gospel? Why has it been confined chiefly to the slavic peoples? If Orthodox doctrine and the liturgy of Chrysostom saves why are there so few regenerate, divinized Greeks, Romanians, or Russian immigrants? Why are they not transforming their communities? What light shines from there that the whole world has gone after? What in the Orthodox economy is missing that allows this to happen? Are there not as many adulterers, gamblers and greedy men among them as in any other church?<br /><br />And what about Azuza street? Did God require those Protestants to first be Eastern Orthodox? Cornelius and his household frown from heaven. For if the Spirit had been given to gentiles to the amazement of the Jews, how much more valid is the Spirit poured out upon those who confess simply that Jesus is Lord who are Protestant? Did the Spirit then impel those Pentecostals to seek out the Orthodox church? Or did God do wonders among them, healing the sick and causing the Gospel to be preached to the whole world? And are we not their children? Did the revival of the work of the Spirit among a small band of Protestants 100 years ago not spread to the whole church permeating even the Roman church and reaching the Pope himself? <span style="font-style: italic;">Does this not witness to the Orthodoxy of that grace!</span>? I cannot invalidate the work of the Spirit on so many lives for the sake of ecclesiastical safety. Could I invalidate it, and class the revelation of the grace of God and the impartation of the Holy Spirit as nothing more than an act of prevenient grace until I should obtain the very same thing from the Orthodox church? Was it merely the logos spermaticos (see Justin Martyr) shedding light until I should join the Orthodox church? When then about all of those people I preached to who were converted on the streets of <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1197758835_1">Amsterdam</span>, all the sick I have prayed for who have been healed, all the gifts of discernment in operation that brought right glory to God in healing the souls of the broken? Was all that invalid? Could I, in a dysfunctional church, accomplish in the life of a broken young man through the power of the Spirit what orthodox priests could not accomplish through their right belief? If I have received the imprimatur of the Spirit outside of the reach of Eastern Orthodoxy or Roman Catholicism am I now to deny it? This is the ultimate betrayal. Not to deny ones communion or bishop, but to deny the impartation of the Spirit who sanctifies. How can I go to the East and deny that that deposit of Grace was nothing but a shadow? How can I? when I look over the bridge and see nothing more powerful, nothing more glorious? <br /><br />Those who seek safety in this age of great unrest will find it not in institutions or dogmas, but in Christ. Those who seek the Kingdom will not find it bound up in statements about the perpetual virginity but in doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with God. Those who seek the catholic and orthodox faith will find it, not merely residing in doctrinal statements and catechisms, but among those whose "participation in the divine life" overflows to their communions, their churches, their friends and neighbors. Because only that church and those people who participate in the Kingdom of God to the fullest degree possible is most Catholic and most Orthodox!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-8007607030635113417?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-30942867921074723032007-11-24T17:54:00.000-05:002007-11-24T18:46:13.901-05:00These are dangerous and disheartening times for the Church. She is beset by calamity and intrigue, scandal and schism. It seems there is no part of the church that is untouched by these events. In the Protestant world whole denominations are abandoning the gospel for the religion of the age, a religion of tolerance. The Anglican communion is in a full on melt-down. The Roman church, while having weathered the sex abuse scandals well, is losing adherents at an alarming rate in Latin America, Africa and Elsewhere (<a href="http://www.detnews.com/2005/religion/0504/17/relig-152283.htm">here</a>). Even the Orthodox quibble over jurisdiction and suffer financial scandal (<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/25/AR2006022501266.html">here</a> and <a href="http://christdot.org/modules.php?name=News&amp;file=article&amp;sid=5826">here</a>). And even my own communion has endured heart braking events over the last year. There are Anglicans who are leaving the Anglican Church for Rome and Evangelicals going to Eastern Orthodoxy all looking for a safe place. There are lay persons leaving historic churches to go to Charismatic churches because their churches have not brought them in a meaningful way to Christ. But what does all this mean? And what is there to do? Is there a safe place? Does one expression of the Christian Faith truly represent a safe haven? <br /><br />It is not the particular church, but the economy administered by its bishops and priests and ministers that lead to safety. It's the oeconomia stupid! When our churches are deficient in any one of the many essential facets of the Christian economy they fail to convey the life of Jesus. If we have the liturgy and sacraments but cannot convey the gospel we are missing a part of the economy, even if we can perfectly describe salvation in theological terms. If we have the most meaningful Charismatic worship but fail to lead souls in conversion (theosis) through the disciplines of historic spirituality we create shallow anemic Christians. When we over emphasize episcopal authority at the expense of the priesthood of all believers we can create an authoritarian machine that runs over the weak. It is in maintaining the equilibrium of all the forces and aspects of the economy of God's household that makes the household healthy. And no one church has consistently done this. As in our own households, when they are in order the family is safe. When the various aspects of running the household are out of order the family suffers.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-3094286792107472303?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-3311028189344733682007-10-04T15:52:00.000-04:002007-11-24T18:49:02.237-05:00America is not free. The United States of America enjoys the illusion of freedom while it lives in an increasingly oppressed state. Are we free? Sure, we have the freedom to buy a new car, to change careers, to pursue the American dream of money and leisure. We can get higher education of we are resourceful, we can get a job even if we are illegal, and we can get medical care if we have little money. We can buy five thousand square foot homes and vacation in Hawaii. We can create new businesses and become millionaires. But we have no peace!<br /><br />We can't let our children play unsupervised in a park. We can't swim at the local town swimming hole for fear the town will be sued. Our children are handicapped with depression because parents are either too permissive, truly abusive, or not present. The media, for the sake of the "story" labels youthful misdeeds hate crimes escalating the sense of oppression to society. We fear terrorism from without and terror in our schools. We can't trust spouses cause cheating is rampant. We can't eat transfats or enjoy a cigar in public. We call for tolerance and are becoming increasingly intolerant of others. Wherever we go fear confronts us.<br /><br />"America, your freedom has turned rotten in your stomach. Your filth outweighs your glamour. You sacrifice your own children for pleasure. You dine on torture and death. Your religion is as gluttonous as your mouth, for you stuff yourself with new teachings and kind intention while you expend far less than you take in to care for the poor and to love your enemies. And your knowledge of me is as superficial as your religion."<br /><br />"This freedom I will not let you export. This sort of freedom is ruinous and invites a spirit of death. This sort of freedom creates suffering and invites a spirit of despair. Repent," say's the Lord, "before I cast you on a bed of suffering."<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-331102818934473368?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-30626641943595238282007-09-06T10:57:00.000-04:002007-09-06T10:59:03.029-04:00<div id="mb_0"> <p><br /><a href="http://lh4.google.com/SWarfareMJM/RtNK6pD2xGI/AAAAAAAAATw/FAYQay55IZY/s160-c/CCS%20circlewing_4.jpg" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/SWarfareMJM/RtNK6pD2xGI/AAAAAAAAATw/FAYQay55IZY/s160-c/CCS%20circlewing_4.jpg?imgmax=160&crop=1" /> </a><span style="font-size: 24pt; color: windowtext;"> Pascha House Newsletter</span><span style="color: windowtext;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="color: windowtext;">August 22, 2007</span><span style="color: windowtext;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="color: windowtext;">Vol 1 Issue 2 </span></p> <p><b><span style="color: windowtext;">A Personal Journey</span></b><span style="color: windowtext;"> </span></p> <p><span style="color: windowtext;">Some define a "Vision" as some future state of affairs or conditions. It is often driven by the various goals and objectives that someone would like to realize. But vision at its deepest level is really our inner world seeking realization. On the deepest level the Center for the Cure of Souls is my inner world seeking to be realized. It is my contemplative and Eucharistic heart, the result of years of inner struggles and my desire to heal people who have experienced soul pain. </span></p> <p><span style="color: windowtext;">The Vision carries with it the responsibility to make real a long held set of ideals and aspirations, dreams and hopes. It focuses aspects of my ministry to those who are hurting but is also intended to manifest a conviction that the Body of Christ must be centered around self-sacrifice, prayer, ministry and living amidst a broken world. For me this vision is not so much about tackling one specific need, like setting those captive to addiction free, rather it is about expressing The Faith in such a way that it lifts the souls of those who experience it out of the spiritually blinding forces that surround us and into a vision and experience of Christ that transforms us. I am sharing this personal aspect of the journey because I believe it is important to understand what is driving me to start this ministry. In fact, it is a call to die with Christ, to bear His burden. Both my wife and I understand that what we are doing now will likely define the rest of our lives. There has been a great deal of reflection, prayer and anguish behind this move to step out and start this ministry. Next to my desire to see God glorified and people healed I long for only one more thing, fellow journeymen. A few key people who will take up the vision with us, bind themselves to us and it and realize this vision with us. I am praying for such to join us.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="color: windowtext;"><br /><img src="http://lh5.google.com/SWarfareMJM/RlN-1FxtKxI/AAAAAAAAAJk/XXZTBqMTnoM/s160-c/IMGP0815.JPG" /></span><a href="http://lh3.google.com/SWarfareMJM/RlN_DlxtK1I/AAAAAAAAAKE/n2xMT7lwgv8/s160-c/IMGP0819.JPG" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> <img src="http://lh3.google.com/SWarfareMJM/RlN_DlxtK1I/AAAAAAAAAKE/n2xMT7lwgv8/s160-c/IMGP0819.JPG?imgmax=160&crop=1" /> </a><a href="http://lh4.google.com/SWarfareMJM/RlN_A1xtK0I/AAAAAAAAAJ8/104acJR6Qqo/s160-c/IMGP0818.JPG" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/SWarfareMJM/RlN_A1xtK0I/AAAAAAAAAJ8/104acJR6Qqo/s160-c/IMGP0818.JPG?imgmax=160&amp;crop=1" /> </a><a href="http://lh5.google.com/SWarfareMJM/RlN91FxtKaI/AAAAAAAAAGs/HsJUVXJ-BnM/s160-c/IMGP0792.JPG" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/SWarfareMJM/RlN91FxtKaI/AAAAAAAAAGs/HsJUVXJ-BnM/s160-c/IMGP0792.JPG?imgmax=160&crop=1" /> </a><a href="http://lh4.google.com/SWarfareMJM/RlN-W1xtKmI/AAAAAAAAAIM/pyJTaEjQZVw/s160-c/IMGP0804.JPG" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/SWarfareMJM/RlN-W1xtKmI/AAAAAAAAAIM/pyJTaEjQZVw/s160-c/IMGP0804.JPG?imgmax=160&amp;crop=1" /> </a><a href="http://lh4.google.com/SWarfareMJM/RlN-g1xtKqI/AAAAAAAAAIs/RsfYlDZfwBE/s160-c/IMGP0808.JPG" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/SWarfareMJM/RlN-g1xtKqI/AAAAAAAAAIs/RsfYlDZfwBE/s160-c/IMGP0808.JPG?imgmax=160&crop=1" /> </a><br /><br /><span style="color: windowtext;"></span></p> <p><b><span style="color: windowtext;">Pascha House Update</span></b><span style="color: windowtext;"></span></p> <p><span style="color: windowtext;">How do you know that the vision you have is from God? You know it when people respond to the vision. When people you have never met before inquire about how to be involved, when it seems to be easy to raise money, when people you don't know are praying for you. All of these things are happening with Pascha House and the Center for the Cure of Souls. It is a vision whose time seems to have come.</span></p> <p><span style="color: windowtext;">In the last newsletter I asked people to give because we had found a piece of property that seemed to be perfect for our needs. At that time I was hoping to raise about ten thousand dollars for the initial phase. We were in the negotiation stage at that point and needed several thousand dollars for a binder. Since then things have moved along quickly and we have raised to date $19,400 dollars. We agreed on a price of $430,000 dollars for the property and I have signed a contract for the purchase of the property and given them a deposit. Our Attorney, Russell Small, is taking care of the purchase. As we move forward we have three major hurdles to overcome. First of all we have to find a mortgage. I was originally hoping that we would only need to put down five percent of the purchase price. This does not seem likely since we are purchasing the building as a non-profit without a proven credit history. We may need to put as much as twenty percent down. This means that we would have to raise another $63,000 dollars. Pocket change for our God. I am confident that if He has provided nearly twenty thousand dollars so far He is not going to fall short. I will need to expand our list of contributors and trust God to place it on the hearts of His people to give. The third hurdle we have to overcome is the removal of asbestos from the basement and kitchen. It is unlikely the bank will finance us unless this is taken care of and we need to pray that the owner absorbs this cost, which is estimated at about $17,500. We will have other hurdles in the coming months - we will have to find and qualify for grants, and we will have to fill the house and find staff. These are all critical issues for prayer.</span></p> <p><span style="color: windowtext;">We have been busy moving along on several fronts at once. Attorney Small has also been working on the 501-c3 (non-profit status) incorporation of both the <i>Center for the Cure of Souls</i> and <i>Pascha House</i>. Since Pasha House is a separate program and will lease the house from CCS and will be contracting with the state to provide beds,, it needed to have its own 501-c3 status. </span></p> <p><span style="color: windowtext;">I have also met with the program director for the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for the state of </span><span style="color: windowtext;">Connecticut</span><span style="color: windowtext;">, Bill Halsey. We have a strong advocate with the state who helped set up this meeting, Dr. Marc McKinney. This meeting went well and served to put us on the radar for state funding. The state is not averse to funding faith based programs as long as those sent by the state are not forced to participate in religious programs. Part of our funding model is to make a few beds available to the Dept. of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) and the Dept. of Corrections. This may constitute a total of eight beds with eight more available to those who do not come through state referrals. Together with ATR (Access To Recovery) funds for faith-based programs, donations, client rental fees (for the rooms once the client is working) and other funding,, we expect to cover our operating costs. Please keep these issues in prayer.</span></p> <p><span style="color: windowtext;"> </span></p> <p><b><span style="color: windowtext;">Center for the Cure of Souls</span></b><span style="color: windowtext;"></span></p> <p><span style="color: windowtext;">One of the questions most often asked of me is how the Center for the Cure of Souls is different from Pascha House. While it is easy to understand Pascha House as a residential treatment program for people with life-controlling problems, the Center for the Cure of Souls (CCS) has a broader purpose. I'd like to share this with you now.</span></p> <p><span style="color: windowtext;">Some people may not be familiar with the term "Cure of Souls". The "Cure of Souls" is an ancient term used by the Church to define the work of the Church in healing the souls of men and women. It is not based in modern psychological methods but is contained in the traditions of Christian Worship, Spiritual Direction, Pastoral Care, the Sacraments of Eucharist and Confession (Penance), Deliverance (exorcism), and Spiritual Exercise. In effect, it is orthodox Christianity as a therapeutic method.</span></p> <p><span style="color: windowtext;">Our society is suffering from increasing degrees of distress, addiction and anxiety leading to behaviors that threaten children, families and marriages. The Center for the Cure of Souls (CCS) will provide opportunities were people can find help and healing. And what makes CCS different is its blending of historic (Catholic and Orthodox), charismatic, and evangelical experiences and spiritual resources to create a comprehensive set of experiences and solutions for the Cure of Souls. This will occur as we gradually initialize the following programs:</span></p> <ul type="disc"><li style="color: windowtext;"><b><span>Spiritual direction for those in Recovery</span></b><span> – Spiritual direction is the art of listening to God together with another as a spiritual guide for the purpose of spiritual and personal growth. It is essential for recovery.</span></li><li style="color: windowtext;"><b><span>Centering Prayer/Contemplative prayer </span></b><a name="114d23628c8d6845_114d22fe5913631a_114aa19f8244e33d_elizabethsgroup"></a><span>– For those seeking to be in community with others who have a daily practice of prayer. And the contemplative service, with candles and quiet chant/music. </span></li><li style="color: windowtext;"><b><span>Healing Prayer Ministries</span></b><span> –We find that both physical ailments and personal distress are often related to inner woundedness. The purpose of the healing ministry will be to nurture the healing work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who come to CSS. </span></li><li style="color: windowtext;"><b><span>Pastoral Counseling</span></b><span> - A counseling ministry at CCS designed to assist those suffering from physical, emotional, and spiritual difficulties. CCS uses classic orthodoxy as a therapeutic model. </span></li><li style="color: windowtext;"><a name="114d23628c8d6845_114d22fe5913631a_114aa19f8244e33d_taize"><b><span>A Prayer Service in the Rhythm of </span></b></a><b><span>Taizé </span></b><span>- This service is quiet, musical, and contemplative, and provides an excellent opportunity for prayer. Taizé is an ecumenical religious community in </span><span>France</span><span> devoted to reconciliation. </span></li></ul> <p><span style="color: windowtext;">We eventually hope to offer:</span></p> <ul type="disc"><li style="color: windowtext;"><b><span>School</span></b><b><span> of </span></b><b><span> Discipleship</span></b><b><span> </span></b><a name="114d23628c8d6845_114d22fe5913631a_114aa19f8244e33d_pcc"></a><span>– For young adults who want make their faith come alive! They will learn how to pray and discern God's voice, to walk by faith in the face of lifes challenges, and how to share their faith. A special emphasis will be on integrating charismatic, evangelical and historic (Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican) expressions of spirituality into their lives. </span></li></ul> <p><span style="color: windowtext;"> </span></p> <p><b><span style="color: windowtext;">Fundraising News</span></b><span style="color: windowtext;"></span></p> <p><span style="color: windowtext;">While our fundraising has gone well so far, our financing is moving slow. Ultimately my prayer is that we might purchase the property debt free, but I am open to financing and am walking this out one step at a time. To this end we would like to continue to aggressively raise funds for this ministry. In the current financing climate we may need as much as 20% down, meaning that we would need to raise another $63,000 dollars, as stated earlier. God can do this and more. I look forward to seeing Him glorify His name. Please pray about how God might be calling you to give. Checks can be written out to <i>Center for the Cure of Souls </i>with "Property fund" in the note line and sent to me at the address to the right. All gifts are tax exempt. Thank you for your prayers and gifts.</span></p> <p><span style="color: windowtext;"> </span></p> <p><b><i><span style="color: windowtext;">Late Breaking News as of August 30^th:</span></i></b><span style="color: windowtext;"> Praise God! It looks like we have found two possible local funding sources for our mortgage.<span> </span>We will not make our target closing date of September 10^th.<span> </span>So we will have to negotiate for an extension as long as I can show a good faith effort to make something happen.<span> </span>Please keep this in prayer, there is a lot of paperwork to finish.</span></p> <p><span style="color: windowtext;"><br />With Warm Affection in Christ,<br /><br />Fr. Matthew Mirabile<br />200 </span><span style="color: windowtext;">Villa Avenue</span><span style="color: windowtext;"><br /> </span><span style="color: windowtext;">Fairfield</span><span style="color: windowtext;">, </span><span style="color: windowtext;"> CT</span><span style="color: windowtext;"> </span><span style="color: windowtext;">06825</span><span style="color: windowtext;"><br />203-334-4600</span></p> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-3062664194359523828?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-13122604211847534532007-08-04T11:38:00.000-04:002007-08-04T11:44:25.395-04:00Wile most people think I am serious all the time and too intense here is some levity courtesy of the Mere Comments (Touchstone).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.spurgeon.org/%7Ephil/posters.htm">http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/posters.htm</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-1312260421184753453?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-2906702811684906832007-07-30T23:29:00.000-04:002007-07-30T23:45:37.561-04:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://picasaweb.google.com/SWarfareMJM/PaschaPics/photo?authkey=AXqC4t2iL-M#5067533456270764818"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/SWarfareMJM/PaschaPics/photo?authkey=AXqC4t2iL-M#5067533456270764818" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://picasaweb.google.com/SWarfareMJM/PaschaPics/photo?authkey=AXqC4t2iL-M#5067533705378868050"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/SWarfareMJM/PaschaPics/photo?authkey=AXqC4t2iL-M#5067533705378868050" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://picasaweb.google.com/SWarfareMJM/PaschaPics/photo?authkey=AXqC4t2iL-M#5067532206435281266"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/SWarfareMJM/PaschaPics/photo?authkey=AXqC4t2iL-M#5067532206435281266" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />As promised in the newsletter here is the link to the photos of the property we are in the process of purchasing for Pascha House and the Center for the Cure of Souls. Pascha House will be our residential program for those struggling with life-controlling issues like drugs and depression. The Center for the Cure of Souls will be a resource center of healing, providing different worship atmospheres, counseling, spiritual direction, and the sacraments for all who need healing. To date we have raised $18,700.00 dollars and we have signed a purchase agreement on the property. Please pray that we raise a lot more money so that we do not have to carry a heavy note on the property and so that we can more easily get a mortgage.<br />Follow the link below.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/SWarfareMJM/PaschaPics/photo?authkey=AXqC4t2iL-M#5067532206435281266"><span style="font-size:85%;">Pasha House photos<br /></span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-290670281168490683?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-58162949759525010022007-07-11T09:08:00.000-04:002007-07-11T09:29:37.464-04:00Over the weekend I watched "the House of the Flying daggers" on TV. It is a Chinese film in the tradition of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and was directed by Zhang Yimou. I am a fan of these movies because they are beautiful, not because they are martial arts movies (though I am an avid MA fan and have spent time practicing Wing Chun Kung Fu and other martial arts). What these movies have that most American movies do not is a sense of beauty. In these films one can see that a great deal of attention is given to the natural world as the context for the actors. It is not simply a backdrop, it is a living participant in the film. The trees are actors. The landscape and the mountains are alive. In American films the background is simply there in a utilitarian sort of way, the landscape simply locates the actors. But in these movies the spiritual and mystical aspect of the natural world seems to be captured and appreciated. The Bamboo trees move in the wind as if they were speaking, the leaves fall (as in Hero) as if the world were weeping. <br />Our sense of beauty is dead in America, just look at the number of slasher horror movies we produce. It is a sign of cultural death. It is a sign of a culture that uses and consumes the world around it rather than loving and being touched by it. If American is to survive we must pray for producers who bring us back in touch with beauty and truth - two inseparable concepts. And for those who cannot see the truth in beauty or visa versa, they are not yet seeing.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-5816294975952501002?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-69438109768159816922007-06-09T10:35:00.000-04:002007-06-09T13:34:03.630-04:00I've been way too busy to blog these days (if anyone is watching). I have been working on making Pascha House a reality as well as working a regular job, pastoring a small church and being a dad and husband. But God has been so good to us over the last year, especially over the last 10 months or so. His blessing has been so present, especially on my family and our finances. Exactly one year to this day I had a dream that I recorded in my journal. In it I was reaping a harvest in a very fruitful field, I ate its fruit and was satisfied.<br /><br />We are now seeing our labors bearing fruit. Pascha House is coming to fruition. Several thousand dollars have already been pledged. We now have the funds to make the deposit on the property and purchase Board insurance. If you like, you can see photo of the property here:<br />http://picasaweb.google.com/SWarfareMJM/PaschaPics?authkey=AXqC4t2iL-M<br /><br />The last year was rough on our little church. We lost our deacon to the internal strife in the CEC, our worship singer got a brain tumor (he is dying in the Philippines as I write), another family experienced teen pregnancy while begin pregnant themselves, and another family lost their husband and father tragically. But good things have happened too. For the woman who lost her husband God used it to cement her faith more deeply in Christ. We showed how resilient and committed we are. We baptized babies and children. We now have a new worship musician, an old friend who is an awesome jazz keyboard player. We are slowly growing again. And Jesus is present among us. We are excited about starting Pascha House and look forward to worshiping in the chapel there. We have plans to expand the garage there to create a chapel that will seat about 80 persons.<br /><br />When I started this church God told me that it would not be built on the typical worship formula - that goal being to create a fulfilling worship experience. He told me that it would be built upon serving the broken. Not glamorous, not trendy, nothing "emergent" folk take notice of (although the vision was missional and monastic from the outset). ....................Ok, now I'm rambling. I am spending a relaxed Saturday at home (I've been so busy each Saturday for the last two months) and I have the time to ramble.<br /><br />I am deeply greatful to God for all he has done.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-6943810976815981692?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-14735864332368019412007-05-14T15:58:00.000-04:002007-05-14T16:09:41.436-04:00<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">From a recent newsletter......<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">D</span>ear Friends,<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: right;" align="right"> April 16, 2007<o:p></o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">G</span>reetings in Jesus name from Fr. Matt and Inger Mirabile. We want to share with you some exciting developments in our ministry and how you can participate. <span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 12pt 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 150%;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Introduction</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">A</span>lmost two and a half years ago we welcomed Carl into our home. When Carl first came to me he was a graduate of a Christian drug rehab and was living in a half-way house. That first year, as I came to know Carl I began to realize that his addictive behaviors were compounded by underlying psychological disorders. This condition, often called a "dual diagnosis" or "co-occurring" disorder makes recovery very difficult. As I worked with Carl it became clear that there were few programs available for him, and those like him, that provided the sort of care he needed. Half-way houses often do not provide enough ongoing support, Christian ministries are either too simplistic in their treatment or too overburdened, and pastors are often too busy for the sort of intensive and ongoing pastoral care needed to truly bring healing to those struggling with these issues. And in many programs the focus is on eliminating the rotten fruit (controlling behaviors like drug use) rather than the diseased root (soul pain). But when the root is healed the fruit is healed too.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;">After using Classical Spiritual Direction as a pastoral counseling model and other sacraments and resources of The Faith Carl has now not only experienced inner healing, but has also learned how to deal with real-world “stressors” without reverting to dysfunctional thought patterns and behaviors. <span class="apple-style-span">This is accomplished by listening to Christ on the journey to healing and recovery. Carl experienced this, and in time he eventually made the dean’s list at a local community college. While he still struggles with some issues he continues to become a healthier, productive young man and follower of Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;"><span class="apple-style-span">Carl's transformation occurred in large part because he was given the time and focused care necessary for this healing process to occur. Most professionals who work in addiction recovery now agree that a new paradigm needs to be put in place that provides a safe place and continuum of care that extends beyond the typical set program of 30, 60 or 90 days.<span style=""> </span> Carl has progressed a great deal but still needs more time, as do the many others who struggle as he has.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">A</span>s a result of this encounter we feel God calling us to begin a ministry to fill this need. Over the last year and a half we have been prayerfully investigating this, visiting similar ministries, and seeking wise counsel. And we now believe that it is time to move ahead. We now have a window of opportunity before us. <span style=""> </span>Please let me share the vision with you. <span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><b><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Vision<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">O</span>ur vision is to create <i>The Center for the Cure of Souls</i> and <i>Pascha House</i>.<span style=""> </span>Think of Pascha House as an extension of the Center for the Cure of Souls – two hands reaching from the same heart.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">T</span>he purpose of <i>Center for the Cure of Souls</i> (<i>CCS</i> for short) is providing opportunities for healing within an orthodox Christian framework to those struggling with life controlling issues. CCS will do this by first offering services like those below to those who cannot attend, or may not need a more intensive and lengthy residential program. These opportunities may include:<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">Christian Twelve Step program<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">Spiritual Direction for those struggling with life controlling issues<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">Healing prayer ministry <span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">Pastoral Counseling Services <span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Various worship and prayer opportunities and workshops </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">Youth in crisis and discipleship programs <span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></li></ul> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;"><i><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">P</span>ascha House</i> takes its name from the Hebrew "Passover" and is used to signify the journey with Christ through the suffering of the cross to the victory of the resurrection – our metaphor for healing.<span style=""> </span>It is envisioned to be a holistic Christian therapeutic community <i>especially for young adults</i> with an emphasis on prayer, the sacraments, pastoral counseling, psychological and psychiatric care as needed (networking with others in the community) and life-skills coaching. As such it will be a more intensive and residential expression of CCS for young adults where the end is not just recovery but real Christian discipleship.<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><b><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What's happening now?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">W</span>e have already begun to draw together a board of directors and are currently working on the business plans. Working with me on the board is Gary Gulemi, a local business man and Bob Riggs, who owns and runs his own construction management firm. We are working to expand our board in the near future with people who have legal, accounting, operations and business management expertise. We have established an EIN number in the name of CCS and an escrow account for the purpose of receiving donations.<o:p></o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">W</span>e are also looking into piggybacking our program on the already successful and established "Bridges" program run in <st1:place><st1:city>New York</st1:City>, <st1:state>Florida</st1:State></st1:place> and other states. Two close friends are very involved in this program and are providing guidance and resources in working with the state. <span style=""> </span>And more opportunities are presenting themselves as I write.<o:p></o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">I</span> am presently studying psychology and will have ATR certification in Pastoral Counseling in early June. The ATR certification is part of the Faith Based initiative programs for those in recovery and prisoner re-entry. And of course, I am still pastoring our small mission church.<o:p></o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">W</span>e have recently found the perfect location to begin this ministry.<span style=""> </span>It is a large 15 room home and doctor’s office that can comfortably house up to 24 young people and provide a chapel, prayer room, recreation room, and meeting rooms and offices for counseling, management and CCS.<span style=""> </span>We couldn’t ask for more for the money or a house more perfectly suited to our needs!<span style=""> </span>This property is located in a relatively safe area of <st1:city><st1:place>Bridgeport</st1:place></st1:City> and is very affordable.<span style=""> </span>We need to keep the debt ratio as low as possible so I am believing God for a healthy down payment and continued contributions so that we can eliminate the mortgage as early a possible.<span style=""> </span>We don’t want this opportunity to slip away.<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><b><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">How you can participate<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">T</span>his is an exciting undertaking and we feel confident God is in it!<span style=""> </span>That's why we need people to come alongside to help. First we need the most important thing of all –<i> prayer. </i>We have already experienced a great deal of spiritual opposition and without people praying for us faithfully we will not be able to prevail. <i>Will you please stand with us in prayer? </i>We need you to pray for; networking with the right people, prayer partners, pledges and gifts, purchase of our property, qualified and godly people to work with us, and protection from spiritual attack. <span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">W</span>e need you to <i>give</i>. We already have a very generous gift pledged for next fall! It is my goal to get off the ground and running by September, God willing. <i>But we need the building!</i> We need to begin to receive gifts towards the down payment of our building and with your help we can make this happen.<span style=""> </span> Will you please consider giving generously to help us establish this critical ministry in lower <st1:city><st1:place>Fairfield</st1:place></st1:City> County? There are so many “Carls” out there, so many young people struggling with addiction, depression, and other life controlling issues. I urge you to pray about giving to help bring this unique and critical ministry into being. All gifts are tax deductible and will be held in escrow by a local attorney for CCS. You can send checks, made out to <i>Center for the Cure of Souls, </i>to our address below.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">P</span>lease take a moment to read our enclosed/attached brochures to learn more.<span style=""> </span>On behalf of Inger and myself I would like to thank you for your friendship over the years and for your consideration in partnering with us in this wonderful opportunity to heal the brokenhearted, and set the captives free. <span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: 150%;" align="center"><i><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 150%;">Isa 61:1-4</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: 150%;" align="center"><i><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 150%;">"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.</span></i><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: 150%;" align="center"><i><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 150%;">Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, they will raise up the former devastations,</span></i><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: 150%;" align="center"><i><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 150%;">and they will repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations."</span></i><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: 150%;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 150%;">NASB</span><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> <span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In Christ's Love,<br /><br />Fr. Matt Mirabile<br />Center for the Cure of Souls/Pascha House<br />200 Villa Avenue<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Fairfield, CT 06825<br />203-334-4600<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">fr_matt_m@yahoo.com<br /><br /> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-1473586433236801941?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-86076557075900299322007-04-19T19:08:00.000-04:002007-04-19T19:31:44.608-04:00The horrific murders at Virginia Tech are troubling on some many levels. There is a great amount of sympathy poured out for those who have suffered this tragedy, the families and students. And rightly so. And there is a great deal of discussion about the killer, Cho. Professional psychologists are doing postmortems on his behavior for the news media, theories about what set him off are being tossed around, and everyone is trying to figure out if this could have been recognized and stopped. Both teachers and students noticed the behavior and some suggested he get help. <br /><br />But my heart breaks for Cho who was apparently in great pain for some time. Listening to his rant I could hear him recount horrible the things that happen to him (some of them at least) masked as crimes against others. The sad thing is that no one reached out to him. Where were the Christians? Where were the people of God? Are we looking out for the marginalized? The least, the lost, the lonely? Are we reaching out to the outcast? We spend all our energy looking for the next trick that will grow our church, the next big new thing in worship ministry a fail to take care of the stranger in our midst. <br /><br />Our Toxic culture is producing more and more young men like Cho. Alienated, rejected, angry, without a real friend, and without hope. We feed them movies like Saw (1,2 and 3), make pornography instantly available, and we have made God irrelevant. We will see more Chos in the years to come. We are breeding them for violence. Not because of movies and pornography in themselves, they just add to the mix. The real culprit is our neglect - parental neglect, pastoral neglect, and personal neglect. The man beaten and left for dead in the story of the Good Samaritan in the United States is the neglected young person who has been left for dead by a toxic culture. And the church looks at the angry stare, the withdrawn nature, the strange behavior and we walk to the other side of the street.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-8607655707590029932?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-38233851485184793492007-04-06T13:31:00.000-04:002007-04-06T13:32:32.397-04:00Have a blessed Easter Triduum<span style="font-weight: bold;">.<br /><br /></span><h2><br /></h2><h2><span style="font-size:100%;">Sing of Passion’s love</span></h2> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">By Rev. Matt Mirabile</span></p> <br /> <p class="MsoNormal">At Gethsemanes anguished praying</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Drops of blood upon the brow</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Obedience deliberating</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Yields to Gods Holy Now</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Accused before princes and kings</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Beaten, abused and whipped</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Pain to life translating</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Humility is not stripped</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sing my soul sing of love</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sing of peace from above</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sing of life unending won</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sing of Gods eternal Son</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A crown of thorns upon the head</p> <p class="MsoNormal">By mocking still not silenced</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Prophets words are wished dead</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Truth defeats all violence</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Hammer and nail betray Gods flesh</p> <p class="MsoNormal">But not a bone is broken</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Man and God at once enmeshed</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Eternal Love a token</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sing my soul sing of love</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sing of peace from above</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sing of life unending won</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sing of Gods eternal Son</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Into the darkness of the tomb</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Eternal light is hidden</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Decent into the tortured womb</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The dead to life are bidden</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">My soul with his majestic one</p> <p class="MsoNormal">United in His passion</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Eternal victory Have I won</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In resurrections fashion</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sing my soul sing of love</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sing of peace from above</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sing of life unending won</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sing of Gods eternal Son</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-3823385148518479349?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-86010683733147834422007-04-06T12:51:00.000-04:002007-04-06T12:52:13.011-04:00<p class="Body">Our forgiveness and victory were not merely purchased with the resurrection, but in enduring the many pains of death and thereby transmuting that cup.<span style=""> </span>The cross was the culmination, the crowning of his sufferings.<span style=""> </span>It is for this reason that we meditate upon the way of the cross, we walk the stations of the cross, because he endured the full weight of all of his sufferings.</p> <p class="Body">The victory over death is first a victory over spiritual death.<span style=""> </span>Sin is spiritual death.<span style=""> </span>Christ bore our sins, he therefore would have suffered the pains of spiritual death.<span style=""> </span>Every time we sin we rob our soul of that divine spark that gives life to our souls.<span style=""> </span>Those who do not live a life of true repentance before God live in this decay - they are people, not of resurrection, but of the tomb. We can feel this decay if we are sensitive to it.<span style=""> </span>When we sin we feel as if some life force was lost, some essential essence, a measure of divine light, was lost from us.<span style=""> </span>Jesus not only endured the anguish of pain, he endured the decay of sin.<span style=""> </span>In fact, he overcame the decay of sin and death.<span style=""> </span>He who's soul dwells in unapproachable light submitted to consume the spiritual poison of the sins of the entire world.<span style=""> </span>He drank a drought that could have threatened to rob his soul of all life and light.<span style=""> </span><span style="background: yellow none repeat scroll 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">His victory is first a victory over spiritual decay!</span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-8601068373314783442?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-79500368411767748292007-04-03T08:47:00.000-04:002007-04-03T09:08:16.351-04:00In early march I returned from the clergy retreat for the diocese of the Northeast. I was happy to encounter a bishop who was not focused on what had happened over the last year, or on the many arrows that had pierced him or the communion but one focused on moving forward. Bishop Bates preached three of the most catholic sermons I have ever heard, theologically dense, full of the real gospel and resounding with the call to die with Christ - the call of the priesthood.<br /><br />Possibly to the chagrin of some the CEC is healing and will rise a much stronger, organized, open and orthodox communion. With national working groups coving a wide range of issues structures that have long been called for are being put into place. a uniform liturgy is being rolled out and tested around the national church, and the Global South Bishops are being given a greater voice than ever before.<br /><br />God chastens those he loves, and when they heed it God raises them up. Oftentimes it is costly, but the fruit of repentance, when the house is put in order, is sweet. I believe that the CEC will rise up to be a faithful expression of indigenous American orthodoxy in the US and an expression of a truly post-Protestant catholic church. One that does not reject offhand the strength of its charismatic and evangelical roots while truly integrating that into a genuine orthodox economy. This will take time. I for one cannot discount as a lesser form of Christianity my charismatic past, nor can I justify the localization of what is truly catholic and orthodox within one single tradition. Every tradition is only as catholic, only as orthodox, as its participation in the divine economy - the Kingdom of God in all it's fullness. And St. Vincents Commonitorium is the soundest measure of that participation I have found. I see in the CEC an increasing, not decreasing, participation in that economy with all the fits and starts that have plagued the church throughout history, especially at those watershed moments of history when great shifts have occurred. We,, all of us, are in this history, we are living another monumental shift in history. And in the in the midst of the messiness, God is writing the next 500 years.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-7950036841176774829?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-25927768574668984992007-03-29T21:57:00.000-04:002007-03-29T22:02:19.541-04:00<p class="MsoNormal">Shakespeare – our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we often might win by fearing to attempt.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The mind is like a field, it will return, indiscriminately, what is sown in it.<span style=""> </span>Sow poison and it will return poison, sow good seed and you will reap a harvest of good fruit.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">You live off the fruit of your life. "What are the most destructive thoughts in my heart?<span style=""> </span>What single train of thought could be responsible for my failures?"</p>Angry men are full of internal failure speak. The internal failure dialogue that short circuits success.<br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-2592776857466898499?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-59010688615667662292007-03-05T20:39:00.000-05:002007-03-05T20:46:40.017-05:00At a recent clergy retreat I hung out with two fellow priests who were former YWAM'ers (Youth With A Mission) like myself. As we discussed the state of things, especially in the CEC we began talking about a teaching common to YWAM called "The Death of a Vision". This teaching was borne out of the experiences of YWAM leaders who had ventured impossible things by faith and expereinced a sort of death or period of perceived death of that endeavor. This is strongly supported by scripture (take the passion of Christ for example, or Abraham having to make and offering of his son Isaac). The thing is that whenever we are going to do something worth while for the Kingdom we will suffer a sort of death in the process. Sometimes this is brought about by pride. Fortunately God is still committed to fulfill what he began. So even though there is an apparent death God will resurrect the promise and it will be more glorious that before. The CEC has been going through just such a death. Resurrection is a wonderful thing! It surprises all who are touched by it.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-5901068861566766229?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-74015656991025111922007-03-05T08:13:00.000-05:002007-03-05T09:00:41.227-05:00I was recently thinking about the principles we often consider when we discuss the ontological unity of the church. A popular idea, and one I never questioned before is whether unity is truly possibly based upon minimal parameters. The idea that "In essentials unity, in non-essentials diversity but in all things love" is a minimalistic set of parameters. Can this work? After all, it is precisely what is deemed "essential", beyond the core of the gospel, that is the problem. Certainly the Holy Spirit is the key to unity. That "unity of the Spirit" that scripture speaks of is the true bond of peace, yet it is so fragile. It makes me wonder, is unity this side of heaven possible? Do we need to shelve our intellect to achieve unity? If unity is something we must strive for here and now, and I believe it is, then it has to be integrative. That is; unity must exist across spiritual, social and corporate spheres if it is to have any ontological expression. A minimalistic formula like the Augustinian one above, cannot generate real unity in the current context of the church. It may have been sufficient when the church was one catholic church, but I don't see how it can generate ontological unity in the current denominational context without asking people to lay aside their intellect. Rather, we may need to create a statement that is maximalist in its weight without being overly narrow. We need a consensual statement that surveys and sums up what is most universally believed and practiced. It cannot be a confessional statement but rather a rule of thumb that can guide everyone to unity. As I said earlier, it is the question of what is essential that is the problem. At the center of the history of the church is two thousand years of established tradition in the Catholic and Orthodox churches that tell us that the liturgy, apostolic succession, and the sacraments is essential. Any rule of thumb that cannot deal with that reality is doomed to fail.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-7401565699102511192?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1171242752945862742007-02-11T19:58:00.000-05:002007-02-11T20:12:32.960-05:00As an adult child of divorce stability and peace are two things I have always longed for and always found hard to get. As an entrepreneurial spirit this has meant that the decisions I made often resulted in struggle rather than peace. But the feelings I have are deeply shared by at least 50% of the population. We all long for stability and peace.<br /><br />I look out and survey the church in all it's disarray. It is a sad sight. Denominations split, clergy fall, there does not seem to be one quarter of the church that is not embattled, not one glimmer of stability. And I thought, "will by children have the opportunity to serve God in peace? Will they find their gifts and call frustrated by a church that can't get out of it's own way? Will they feel free to serve God without reserve? Or will they fear for the ministries they align with and the years they invested? How many times will they have to start over? Will my experiences color their commitment to the church? Of course it will. Will there be a church with credibility when they are old enough to serve her as ordained clergy?" Jesus, I am entrusting my children to you and your church. Please provide a church they can believe in and serve with confidence for your names sake.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-117124275294586274?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1171118330988974242007-02-10T08:54:00.000-05:002007-02-10T09:38:51.003-05:00In a recent <a href="http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0700752.htm">article</a> by the Catholic News Service data is presented that shows that the Catholic adults to come, those who are now the young adults we call Millenials, identify strongly with their church but will not be committed to the institution. These Millenials are more likely to pursue spirituality and service than be committed to the core teachings of the church and the institution. One of the reasons is because the institution has lost credibility and thus authority. <br /><br />One of the issues the church has to wrestle with is that we live in a jaded culture. We can't believe in love because half of us have suffered the affects of divorce. We can't believe in gender permanence because the media tells us that one day we may discover that we are gay. We can't believe in the integrity of the church because priests are "pedophiles" and preachers are drug addicted closet queers. We can't believe in truth because we are faced with a multiplicity of truths and sales hype every day so we can't believe a word anyone says. This translates to a very unsafe and insecure world. In the face of that it leaves only the pursuit of personal spirituality and care for the needy. After all, what can be more authentic than personal deep spirituality and civic activism, especially among the poor and needy.<br /><br />Since we are in a period where the "strange attractor" is weak (imho), meaning that there is no single strong and credible institution to rally around the patterns people will align behind, so to say, will be divergent. But they will all have this in common. They will all be in reaction to, or around, the cultural forces mentioned above. <br /><br />If the church is going to be credible it will need the following qualities:<br />Authenticity=antiquity (only because what is old and has lasted seems stable and safe)<br />Authenticity=identity (Only genuine identity is valid. Posers are quickly spotted and despised)<br />Authenticity= spirituality (personally felt, experienced and expressed)<br />Authenticity= charity (Genuine care for the needy and broken)<br /><br />Authenticity is "What is real". Everything else is a shadow. Authenticity is what lies behind the hype and the lies (the "desert of the real"). Authenticity is consistent. So if spiritual leaders (or The Church) lie, if they say what is politically expedient, if they are immoral, if they show more concern for institutional preservation than caring for people, if they vacillate back and forth on who they are and what they believe, if they are faddish or sectarian or exclusionary, they will be seen as lacking credibility and are "not real". <br /><br />"Jesus, make us, your church, to be the authentic expression of your Kingdom we were intended to be. Give us the courage to speak truthfully and present a consistent witness. Lord, let our witness be one grounded in an authentic love for you and our neighbor. Help our spiritual leaders to place people above programs and institutions. Help them to be servant leaders who exemplify a deep and genuine spirituality for us to believe in and follow. And Lord, help us to give ourselves to help the needy, the addicted, the prisoner, the mentally ill, the broken and the hungry and naked. Jesus, help us to encounter you daily and experience your life in our times."<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-117111833098897424?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1169925335172658112007-01-27T13:54:00.000-05:002007-02-01T15:08:21.013-05:00I continue to have grave concerns about the CEC. I am not concerned about the purported wickedness of a bishop or pastor, that will always happen and always has. It is not something you leave your church over. And you do not leave your church because it is organizationally inept. That may be uncomfortable but no less so than being a missionary priest in the Amazon where self-reliance is your only hope of survival. My concerns are the damage to our credibility as a communion, the lack of top down communication and visioneering (not that it is not happening at all, just not as much as I think it should), and the general lack of dynamic involvement and participation in the thought life and dialogue within the community. It seems like a machine that has lost all inertia. We are existing, and no doubt working on correcting things, but right now I think the greatest danger is the loss of inertia. <br /><br />What is inertia in an organization and why does it matter? Inertia is what makes critical mass possible. If there is not enough interactivity, not enough dialectical exchange, little participation, little communication and response, inertia is very slow. As the pastor of a small church I can bear witness that inertia is not an easy thing to generate among people who have varied personal agendas. What is more difficult is when an organization has cultivated personal agendas through inaction and isolation and then has to draw these back together to one singular vision after credibility has come into question - even if it were unfounded. God help us create positive inertia. <br /><br />And btw, I will not entertain vain CEC bashing, constructive criticism however, is welcome.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-116992533517265811?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1169574869009659142007-01-23T12:29:00.000-05:002007-01-27T13:54:36.216-05:00I was recently reading about how some proponents in the psychiatric world would encourage equilibrium in gender, promoting androgyny over male and female gender expression. there seems to be a misunderstanding in our society as to what equilibrium means. It is not the elimination of extremes, paradoxes or alternating states, it is the balancing of these within an interdependent system. This fallacy of equilibrium is found everywhere these days and I have become convinced that it is not, strictly speaking, a property of a healthy system. For example, we are looking for equilibrium in the environment as if we expect that variations in temperature should remain relatively constant. Global warming arguements (I am not an authority on it) seem to follow this same assumption -that there should be a climatological equilibrium that remains constant. We forget that the entire climatological system exists in a state of flux, in a state of alternating conditions divisible by greater and greater spans of change. For example: Day and evening, summer and winter, and greater and lesser/closer and further orbits around the sun taking millenniums to complete. <br /><br />From the oscillation of light and sound waves, to the changing states of atoms, to the alternating states of societies, what we find is not equilibrium, but oscillation. We find that everything that is dynamic and living, everything that is not static or inert, alternates from one state to another. In fact it appears to me that this property of creation generates energy and life. Where we strive to eliminate it we inhibit the development of a healthy dynamic system. We need male and female, in all those polarizing qualities at work in culture to enable its dynamic properties. Likewise we need dialectical participation from the top down and the bottom up in organizations. We need climate to alternate from periods of warmth and cold in order to maintain the dynamic properties of weather. Again, I am criticizing equilibrium in the radical sense. Not the balance created between and by alternating states, the property of an open system, especially living organisms, to regulate its internal environment. Regulating an internal environment assumes dialectical interaction between alternating states.<br />In both thermodynamic and chemical equilibrium "there are no unbalanced potentials (or driving forces) with the system. A system that is in equilibrium experiences no changes when it is isolated from its surroundings." (Wikipedia) No change and isolation is death.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-116957486900965914?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1168978622158969932007-01-16T15:02:00.000-05:002007-01-16T15:17:02.180-05:00<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Children’s “nature deficit” is a growing health threat. Children today are spending less time in direct contact with nature than did previous generations. The impacts are showing up not only in their lack of physical fitness, but also in the growing prevalence of hyperactivity and attention deficit. Studies show that immersing children in outdoor settings – away from television and video games – fosters more creative mental activity and concentration. The same “nature deficit” is robbing adults of balance and pushing them toward robotic souls rather than spiritual ones. (From Dan Miller's "48 Days" Newsletter)<br /><br />A few years ago I began writing a sci-fi short story. I have many partially written pieces, one day I hope to publish them. But this particular story was about how technology affects everything from language to world view. It takes place on an interstellar ship that is taking a multi-generational trip to another galaxy. Living in this controlled and technologically immerssive environment eventually takes it's toll as people begin to lose their minds. At the same time it begins to trigger a deep spiritual awakening for a few. The idea is that we were not designed to live in sterile, steel and concrete surroundings filled with whirring thingamajigs and electronic obsessions. We were made to live among stone and dirt, leaves and sky. Having lost connection to planting, to natural growth, and green grass we are being rewired. Our brains are made to model, through neurons and neural connections, the world we live in. Our fast paced electronic world is being mapped into our physiological constitution. While this may not be all bad, it can't be all good and we need to take time to reconnect with God's green earth to regain our humanity.<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-116897862215896993?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1168269384618545582007-01-08T09:27:00.001-05:002007-01-08T10:16:24.636-05:00It has been a very busy holiday season but it was filled with the blessing of being surrounded by people we love. We had a great big Christmas/New Years party that had many from our church, family, friends and neighbors. It was standing room only in our home, but it was wonderful.<br /><br />The next week found everyone here sick with a bad cold. But then off to work and school we went. I am still working on the construction project. the going has been slow due to asbestos remediation, but things are going better now that before. And thankfully the weather has been holding. <br /><br />Savannah, my 18 year old daughter, is getting ready to leave for Youth with a Mission to do a DTS in England. She made the decision a few months ago after speaking with Carl (our sort of adopted son-the young man who cam to live with us for a while two years ago). She wants to make sure that she does not lose her faith when she goes to college so she felt that a DTS would help prepare her. She has gown a lot over the last year. She came out of her non-communicative shell (I guess that sort of teenage rebellion was better than some other sorts) and is far more engaged and fearless.<br /><br />I have also begun studies in psychology, taking distance learning courses via Liberty University. God willing, I will continue to work towards a masters in Professional Counseling. True to my nature I may have bitten off more than I can chew doing two courses at once, but I think I can make it. This will be a process that will take several years. Hopefully no more than five.<br /><br />Carl is back at our home btw, and will be staying with us until he gets a place ASAP. He had struggled trying to make it back home in Michigan but there seemed to be too many triggers there from him to manage. It is a crisis of character more than anything else. Like most addicts he has sown a lousy character. And, left to himself, and once challenged by stressors, that character shows up and begins to sabotage healing. Hopefully, back here several of those family related triggers will be a non-issue and he will be able to get back on track. But restoration now lies with him more than others.<br /><br />Our small church has shown itself to be very resilient. We have had so many set-backs since we began yet we keep bouncing back from every one. Since September we have weathered a lot. The Deacon and his family leaving, unwed pregnancies, brain tumors, run-away daughters, and more. But God is moving. Recently the husband of one parishioner was released from prison and my concern was that he would cause his wife (in recovery) and young son to stop coming. However, the opposite has happened and he is coming as well - every week, and has asked for my help adjusting. One issue now is the time to focus on creating growth again. I need a new deacon or worship leader/musician to help.<br /><br />The Healing Center (Pascha House and the Center for the Cure of Souls) is still being worked on, but has been put on hold over the holidays. I now have two other men working with me on it who will be on the board of directors. One is helping me spearhead putting together the Board and is a long time friend and does marketing, the other is a architect/developer here in CT and has been looking for properties. We still need a good Christian accountant or financial manager for the Board so we can begin to raise money. The next phase is to create a business plan and have a lawyer write up a 501c3 for the organization. Please keep this in prayer.<br /><br />Well, thats it. A lot of irons in the fire. Pray for me, as sinner.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-116826938461854558?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1167501343980652022006-12-30T12:55:00.000-05:002006-12-30T12:55:44.046-05:00Young children often reveal key points about Christmas, important themes that we sometimes miss. As they consider what gifts they might receive they sometimes ask questions like, "Have I been good?". Of course, it is not merely a Christmas question meant to probe the parent about whether or not the child will get many gifts or the gifts they he or she hopes for. it is a question also asked frequently with other words. Every time a child accomplishes something or looks for the parent to affirm and recognize what they have done it is really the same question. "Am I doing well?" is a question reaching out for affirmation, a question meant to comfort the soul and assuage guilt, fear and insecurity. As adults we often do the same thing. We want to hear that we have been good children, kind, productive, worthy of the blessing. It is sad that the nature of the fall has left mankind insecure and unsteady in the heart. Because of sin and our broken relationship with God there is a question, self-doubt hanging over us. What we long for is "Well done, good and faithful servant" what we often get from others is "you bad and stupid fool!". This is what we are often trying to out-pace in our lives. It is the source of so much striving, so much self-destructive action, so much pride. But if we will only listen, we will hear the Father saying, "Yes child, you are doing well and i love you."<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-116750134398065202?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1166663626379195802006-12-20T19:45:00.000-05:002006-12-20T20:13:46.476-05:00I remember a song back from the eighties by Public enemy No 1, "Don't believe the hype!" Though Christmas has become a holiday filled with hype and the initial reaction is to attack it I think that what we need now more than anything is to believe the hype. Not the hype the marketers create in order to get us to buy, but the hype about a day filled with warmth and good cheer, peace on earth and good will toward men. This is gospel hype, the hype of the Kingdom. Perhaps one of the reasons the day has become so hype-filled is because we really need something wonderful to believe in. We need to believe in a day filled with the magic of love and wonder in the midst of a troubled world. The hype of Christmas is the hype of the world the way it is meant to be and we need to help people believe that that is possible. So I pray that for you this Christmas is filled with all the hype the world places in it.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-116666362637919580?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1166025727297989532006-12-13T10:44:00.000-05:002006-12-13T11:14:54.986-05:00Advent, the season to prepare ourselves for Christ's coming, is a season of soul searching and a time for repentance. I have been preaching this theme for a little while and it has been burning in my heart. As I sat listening to worship music for the songs to be chosen for Sunday's worship I came across a song I had not listened to for some time. It is "Prepare ye the way of the Lord" by John Michael Talbot. I had been, and continue to be, a huge fan of JMT's music. For some time most of my musical library consisted of his work. As I listened to the lyrics again calling for repentance I began to weep and cry out. He sing's "Repent, and turn from your striving. Repent, and turn from your hatred. Repent of the doctrines of men that divide. Repent of seeking vain glories....... and all the first stones cast to kill while your own damned self-righteousness lives!"<br /><br />This is a season of repentance, but it is a message that is so often overlooked. We spend very little time preaching repentance. Rather we bend over backwards to attract people to church and worship services while we should be calling them to repentance. Over the past several months God has been driving the message of repentance into my heart, both personally and for the church. And while I am a strong advocate of preaching the love of God to preach this without balancing it equally with the call to repentance is a misrepresentation of the gospel. God is understanding, patient and loving, but the call to repentance is always strong, emphatic and clarion clear. But, perhaps because of our own secret sins we prefer to muddy this call, to tone it down and diminish its intensity lest we find ourselves wanting. Yet it is repentance that prepares the way for His coming. This metanoia, the redirection in the thoughts of our hearts and our subsequent actions, the agreement with the commands of God and commitment to obey them, is essential for the forgiveness of sins and our spiritual well-being. Without it our spiritual vitality is diminished, our eye is not "clear" and our conscience is afraid. <br /><br />What must we repent of? One the top of my Christmas repentance list for the church is: Repent from the doctrines of men that divide. So many have made theological distraction the order of the day. It is so easy to get caught up in "theological correctness" (often called orthodoxy). We begin to believe that Orthodoxy itself is salvific. Jesus saves, the Spirit gives life, and the flesh, the liturgy, dogma, count for very little if the Spirit of God is not what moves us and is shackled by our slavish commitment to the doctrines of men. this is not to say that orthodox teaching is not essential, it is, but it comes after a life lived in and through the Spirit of God. We need to repent of the first stones cast to kill. We have often decried the moral failures of others, especially leaders, while not tending to our own vineyard. We judge others as unfit for ministry while we overlook our own lapses, prayerlessness, and dysfunctions. We have decried leaders while we have failed to truly and fearlessly hold them accountable ourselves. We have sought the dignities of office and position above humble and unrecognized service, taking offense at the way's in which we may have been overlooked. There's more, but I think you can take it from here.<br /><br />I pray this Advent season you find true repentance like a laser, cutting away sin.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-116602572729798953?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1165464116766710212006-12-06T23:00:00.000-05:002006-12-06T23:18:13.033-05:00For the past few months a friend, Gary Gulemi, and I have been working on putting together a board of directors for the Center for the Cure of Souls and Pascha House. We are getting close, we now have three for the board. Our new member is an architect, builder and developer and will help with finding the right properties. We have located a possible site that includes a building with offices, a worship center, kitchen, dinning hall, etc and is being sold with two houses next door. This would be perfect but would require us to move our base of operations from this community to one a bit further out. We are still looking to find a good financial person to sit on the board to help with the business plan. In the mean time I am beginning work towards a Masters in Professional Counseling. <br /><br />This morning I ministered to the brothers at a local half-way house. The word I gave was on what I call "Internal Failure Speak". It refers to the tape that runs in the minds of men (especially) that tells them over and over again that they are failures and can only fail. It is the constant subconscious language that is turned on in the face of every discouragement and difficulty. It say's, "I am no good. I will never amount to anything. I might as well give up." it keeps us shackled to addiction and shame. It rears it's head every time we sabotage relationships, jobs, and opportunities. <br /><br />Please pray for this vision as we seek to heal the root of addiction and life controlling problems.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-116546411676671021?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1163518075517679152006-11-14T10:03:00.000-05:002006-11-26T07:32:39.203-05:00<h1><span style="font-weight: normal;font-size:85%;" >I recently shared some of these thoughts with Urban Monk and another seminarian and for their benefit I am posting this now.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-weight: normal;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"> I had intended on further developing the thoughts, but this gives you an idea of where I am going with it. Blessings.</span><br /></span></h1><br /><h1>The Four Catholic Spirits</h1> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">From Irenaeus Adv Her. Book 3<span style=""> </span><span style="color:black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >Chapter 11 - Proofs in Continuation, Extracted from </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >St. John's</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" > Gospel<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 6.75pt 6.75pt; text-indent: 14.25pt;"><span style=""><span style="">" </span></span><span style="color:black;">8. It is not possible that the Gospels can be either more or fewer in number than they are. For, since there are four zones of the world in which we live, and four principal winds (<i>Literally, "four catholic spirits;" Greek, ‎</i></span><i><span style="">tessara kaqolika pneumata</span></i><span style="color:black;">)</span><b style=""><span style="position: relative; top: -3pt;color:maroon;" >142 </span></b><span style="color:black;">while the Church is scattered throughout all the world, and the "pillar and ground" </span><b style=""><span style="position: relative; top: -3pt;color:maroon;" >143</span></b><span style="color:black;">of the Church is the Gospel and the spirit of life; it is fitting that she should have four pillars, breathing out immortality on every side, and vivifying men afresh. From which fact, it is evident that the Word, the Artificer of all, He that sitteth upon the cherubim, and contains all things, He who was manifested to men, has given us the Gospel under four aspects, but bound together by one Spirit. As also David says, when entreating His manifestation, "Thou that sittest between the cherubim, shine forth." </span><b style=""><span style="position: relative; top: -3pt;color:maroon;" >144</span></b><span style="color:black;">For the cherubim, too, were four-faced, and their faces were images of the dispensation of the Son of God. For, [as the Scripture] says, "The first living creature was like a lion," </span><b style=""><span style="position: relative; top: -3pt;color:maroon;" >145</span></b><span style="color:black;">symbolizing His effectual working, His leadership, and royal power; the second [living creature] was like a calf, signifying [His] sacrificial and sacerdotal order; but "the third had, as it were, the face as of a man,"-an evident description of His advent as a human being; "the fourth was like a flying eagle," pointing out the gift of the Spirit hovering with His wings over the Church. And therefore the Gospels are in accord with these things, among which Christ Jesus is seated."</span><span style=";font-size:16;color:black;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 6.75pt 6.75pt; text-indent: 14.25pt;"><span style="color:black;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)</span> </span><span style=";font-size:16;color:black;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color:black;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color:black;">Chapter 11 - Proofs in Continuation, Extracted from </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color:black;">St. John's</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color:black;"> Gospel<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 28.5pt 6.75pt 0.5in; text-indent: -21pt;"><span style="color:black;"><span style=""> </span></span><b style=""><span style="color:maroon;">142 </span></b><span style="color:black;"><span style=""> </span>Literally, "four catholic spirits;" Greek, ‎tessara kaqolika pneumata‎: Latin, "quatuor principales spiritus."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;"><span style=""> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">(from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;">If we are to consider what the Catholic Church is then we must consider that it is a church supported by four pillars or "“four catholic spirits"”.<span style=""> </span>What are these four catholic spirits?<span style=""> </span>The seraphim were four faced and Irenaeus’ interpretation gives us a glimpse of these four spirits.<span style=""> </span>The first is Apostolic authority (Lion), the second is the sacramental system (Ox) around which the liturgy and faith is ordered.<span style=""> </span>The third is the incarnational and hypostatic face of Christ, the God-man (Man), signifying reason and the gospel.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>The last is the gift of the Holy Spirit hovering over the church and includes prophetic revelation and the Charismata (Eagle).<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color:black;">There has been much discussion about "three streams" as representing the Catholic faith. And this is so. However, I wonder if we are not missing something in the use of that analogy. We in the CEC talk about these three streams and then talk about the government of God almost as if they were independent of one another. However, if we were to reframe our arguement along the lines Irenaeus provides here we come to a more complete and holistic model. It is, in fact, cubic (the significance of this can be seen from an earlier post http://frmattmirabile.blogspot.com/2006/02/introphysics-of-knowing.html). What this means is that the Government of God exists in an interdependent relationship with the sacerdotal, prophetic, and evangelical streams.</span><span style=""></span><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Ezek 1:10-11<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span><b style="">10</b>As for the form of their faces, <i style="">each </i>had the face of a man, all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle. NASB<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Man=reason,<span style=""> </span>evangelical, the gospel<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lion=authority and power (Apostolic/Episcopal government, the Government of God)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Eagle=spiritual power and insight (divine inspiration)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Bull=sacramental system, including the liturgy<br /></p> These four pillars evidence the complete church. Where one is missing the church is weakened. If one aspect is over or under represented the pillars do not support the people of God. If one is higher than the other the church is unstable. (this can be better understood from the link above to the "Intro to the Physics of Knowing post).<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-116351807551767915?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1162922096156967732006-11-07T12:39:00.000-05:002006-11-13T11:44:37.356-05:00Last Thursday TJ, a young man of 27 and the principal singer for our worship ministry was rushed to the emergency room. After some tests they found he had a tumorous mass the size of an apple in his brain. TJ is from the Philippines and sends a lot of money back to his family to support them. We at church are his family in the States. For the last five days prayer requests have gone out and we have prayed and fasted from him. We laid hands on him praying for healing and a miraculous recovery. Sunday evening the doctor explained to us that his chances for surviving the operation were 50% and that even after that he could have a stroke from bleeding on the brain and that his language and learning centers were at risk. Yesterday evening we waited with hopeful hearts as he endured 7 hours of surgery. TJ came out of surgery wonderfully! After wards he was conscious and responsive. Although he was unable to speak he seemed to recognize everyone and smile for his visitors. The doctors reported that they had good success in removing the tumor. The next few days will be critical. They will be watching for swelling on the brain, recovery of brain function (especially speech), bleeding and stroke, and the results of a biopsy of the tumor to determine if it was benign or not. We are thankful to God for his mercy and goodness for such great results and believe that God will grant him a total and complete and speedy recovery.<br /><br />Thanks for your prayers and please continue to hold him in prayer.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-116292209615696773?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1162426570759181222006-11-01T18:16:00.000-05:002006-11-02T21:00:26.360-05:00My oldest is now 18. That means 18 years of parenting our way through the straights of Halloween. When our first two kids were old enough to begin trick-or-treating and dressing up we were very much hard-line anti-halloween. It was painful for my wife knowing that our kids went to school dressed normally while other kids were dressed up. And the oldest two kids grew up with the understanding that it was an ungodly and evil day. We didn't really express it that strongly or extremely, but thats what the kids heard it. I learned this when I discovered that my daughter (then about 7) told a teacher that it was the devils holiday. I swear I never said that! But that did initiate a shift in the way I began to look at our position towards this pagan holiday.<br /><br />Most of the time Christians protest the "evil" costumes and themes of the day. We preachers talk about the druidic pagan history and get caught up in being "anti-Halloween". Worse still many fundamentalist and Penetcostal churches hold alternate celebrations that often scare the living-daylights our of kids with the presentation of a real Satan who actually is out to take their souls and bring them to hell. Most of these attempts to deal with this pagan event are misguided. We can clean up the themes, changing them to "nicer, kinder and gentller"costumes and reclassify it as good clean fun. And that is not a bad solution. But I wonder if it doesn't come down to soemthing more funamental - like identity. In our household the arguement for our non-participation (or limited) has become one of maintaining and galvanizing a Christian identity in our children. I aks my kids, "do we celebarate Hannuka? Why dont we?" They respond by saying, "we are not Jewish". And I ask them how Jewish or Moslem kids experience Christmas. The fact is that their non-participation in halloween galvanizes thier identity as Christians, not because it is an evil day, but because it is not "our day". It is not a Christian day. And in the same way that Jewish non-particpation in Christmas galvanizes their religious identity so our non (or limited) -participation can do the same for us. We do not celebrate or participate in Halloween because we are not pagans and it is not a Christian holiday. And obvious obvservation perhaps, but a powerful opportunity to drive home the otherness of the Kingdom of God and the Church.<br /><br />Of course, since then we have mellowed out a lot. It is still hard for our youngest kids who are aged eight and ten. This year (cause my wife went soft on me) they went to school in their costumes. And my fifteen year old wants to go out with his friends too. But at least my kids know that our stance towards Halloween has less to do with goblins and devils (all of which are under His feet) and is more about who we are as a people and where are allegiance lies.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-116242657075918122?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1160880912135489742006-10-14T22:26:00.000-04:002006-10-14T22:55:12.150-04:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5244/1178/640/2006-06-28%2018-11-46_0013.jpg"><img style="CLEAR: all; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5244/1178/320/2006-06-28%2018-11-46_0013.jpg" border="0" /></a> In case you have been wondering why I have been so quiet lately it has been work, ministry and life. I devoted the better part of the last few years to the establishment of Church of the Holy Martyrs excusively, doing carpentry here and there. Finances had been getting thin and God provided a pretty challenging project. I began to work on this project in June. It is the rehabilitation of this delapidated building, turning it into 20 low income units. As you can see the building is in aweful shape and has presented a great number of challenges. For the most part I have been working on it full time, plus doing ministry. In fact, it is Saturday evening and I have been putting together the music, overheads, etc for the service tomorrow. I was working on my sermon during some down time on the site yesterday and have to get back to work on it and then finish it up tomorrow morning. <br /><br />Life has been pretty busy lately. My daughter turned 18 on <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5244/1178/640/2006-06-28%2018-12-06_0016.jpg"><img style="CLEAR: all; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5244/1178/320/2006-06-28%2018-12-06_0016.jpg" border="0" /></a>the 12th and we have been giving her driving lessons. And her boyfriend just dumped her. My wife went to Norway to visit her family on the 29th and arrived back on the 10th. Her father is scheduled for open heart surgery and she wanted to spend some time with him beforehand, just in case. And while she was there he had a minor heart attack and was rushed to the hospital at 4am. He stayed there for a few days. It was hard for her. That was a crazy week for me too - driving the youngest boys around, grounding my oldest son for a lapse in judgement, work, church - frazzled! And by the end of the week I was sick as a dog. I was so happy when my wife came home. <br /><br />Church has been good though. What a great bunch of people! I have been running a bible study every other Friday at the home of TJ's Landlords. This is primarily a Filipino bible study and it has been well attended. It is evangelistic and those who are coming are typical Roman <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5244/1178/640/2006-06-28%2018-13-28_0020.jpg"><img style="CLEAR: all; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5244/1178/320/2006-06-28%2018-13-28_0020.jpg" border="0" /></a>Catholics - faith but without much biblical knowlege and little in terms of a personal relationship with Jesus. Last week we prayed the Rosary (what they are used to) and then I taught about prayer as drawing near to God in a personal way and without an intermediary. I have been doing this in addition to our Tuesday evening bible study at my moms. It has also been a difficult last few weeks for some friends, who, while in the 8th month of their own pregnancy discovered that their 14 year old daughter was pregnant. She (the mom) gave birth last week and her daughter's baby is due in December. So that has been a pastoral issue too. <br /><br />Well, thank God for my motorcycle, cause it has been keeping me sane. it is amazing what a one or two hour ride can do for the soul. Well, back to work.<br /><br />By the way, the photo to the right shows the debris from the four floors above that have colapsed into the basement. it has been cleared out now, but you could drop a bus through the roof and park it in the basment without touching what is left of the floors above. The building had been abandoned for over 25 years. It is amazing what happens when we stop valuing something and neglect it. Looking at this photo it reminds me of the state of some lives and marriages and the work it takes to restore them. Most of the contractors who have come to bid on various parts of the project have suggested we just tear it down. But it is amzing what God can restore.&nbsp;<a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-116088091213548974?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1160241983725837432006-10-07T13:17:00.000-04:002006-10-07T13:26:23.796-04:00<img style="CLEAR: all; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5244/1178/320/IMGP0168.jpg" border="0" /> It is important to have source of joy in your life. For my wife its flowers. For me, it is my new (used) motorcycle. It is a 96' Kawasaki Vulcan Classic 800. This is my second bike. I sold my Kawi 750 several years ago and was pinning for a new one everytime I heard a motorcycle pass my home. In the month and a half I have owned it I have put nearly 1500 miles on it. And every time I ride thanksgiving wells up in my heart and I have joy. When I return I am settled and happy. This natural thing is a spiritual gift.<br /><br /><br />There is no division between what is spiritual and what is natural. They are intertwinned. We can derive true spiritual joy from natural things. Joy is a gift that the human soul cannot live without. A life without joy becomes negative, pessimistic and sick. Just as a longing fulfilled is life to the soul. Somehow joy humanizes us. Too much hardship and suffering may rob us of joy and we can become judgemental, callous, unforgiving fault-finders. Joy helps the soul to breathe, it is an exhale of grace. I pray you find your source of joy.&nbsp;<a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-116024198372583743?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1158936525038993852006-09-22T10:28:00.000-04:002007-01-11T14:14:08.106-05:00Mark 7:13<br />13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. NIV<br /><br />Tradition can be a blessing. It serves to anchor identity and provides normative precepts for the church. It helps moderate the subjective oppinions of men and an era. But tradition can also be a curse. One of the things the CEC has learned, having first discovered the benefits of tradition and now learning first hand the curse of it, it that it can nullify the word of God. For example, when some criticised Abp Adler for ommitting the formal confession of the creed on the occassion of one service in Manilla it created a scandal. Yet, ths was done because the service was over three hours long and took place in the heat of Manilla. A few people fainted. It reminds me of an occassion when Jesus asked once, "Is it better to do good on the sabbath or evil, to give life or destroy?" Some forgot that the liturgy was made for man and not man for the liturgy. I am pleased that our church has recentered itself in the liberty of the Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus, understanding that the flesh counts for nothing, it is the Spirit that gives life. Today the statement of the House of Bishops was posted. You can read it here, http://www.iccec.org/patriarchscouncil/StatementPatriarchsCouncil0906.pdf<br /><br />I look forward to being an ancient-future church, embracing the work of the Spirit found in the great historic churches and the churches of the reformation. And I am blessed to be in a church that has re-affirmed the work of the Spirit in the church, choosing not to cut it off for the sake of an intellectual tradition. I cannot deny the salvation so generously poured out upon myself and others who came from the Protestant tradition. I cannot deny the Pentecostal outpouring that I recieved in a little pentecostal church in East haven CT. If God is please to give the gift of the Spirit to these churches, ones that are not "apostolic" in the traditional sense, then, in the same way the Spirit was poured out upon the Gentiles, let us affirm the work of God. Not perhaps that that work is complete. But that God is no respecter of persons. I look forward to a church that will exhibit a spirit-filled structure and government, moving in the power of the Holy Spirit within an economy that participates, to the fullest extent possible by men, in the Kingdom of God as it has been best expressed throughout the ages.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-115893652503899385?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1157221026075446142006-09-02T13:51:00.000-04:002006-09-13T01:44:16.136-04:00<p class="MsoNormal">Church Masquerading as <st1:city><st1:place>Mission</st1:place></st1:city> – Help Wanted!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p>A friend and I recently had a conversation.<span style=""> </span>We were discussing the spiritual climate of <st1:place><st1:placename>Fairfield</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>County</st1:placetype></st1:place> compared to his hometown in <st1:state><st1:place>Michigan</st1:place></st1:state>.<span style=""> </span>One of the things he noted was that while in <st1:state><st1:place>Michigan</st1:place></st1:state> there is a clear distinction between light and darkness here it is very different.<span style=""> </span>Here there seems to be a spiritual sluggishness, like you are being drugged.<span style=""> </span>It is like a life sapping spirit here that drains your soul of spiritual vitality, like you are wadding through neck high muck and mire.<span style=""> </span>I told him that he was spot on and that the enemy is rocking souls to sleep in a cradle of affluence.<span style=""> </span>A friend and missionary once remarked that it was a spiritual ghetto.<span style=""> </span>There are lots of churches, but few that are making an impact.<span style=""> </span>And if you don’t like your old church you can likely drive no more than ten minutes away to another one – Congregational, Episcopalian, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Methodist – take your pick, they are all here conveniently located right down the road. If lukewarm Christianity – <st1:city><st1:place>Laodicea</st1:place></st1:city> - is anywhere, its here.<span style=""> </span>There is no need for people to go to church except to pursue their interests – choir, children’s programs, etc…<span style=""> </span>This is the program driven church. <span style=""> </span>No programs, no attendance. And no one seems to care or mind.<span style=""> </span>While other people are re-thinking church and calling for a radical reawakening the Northeast still slumbers.<span style=""> </span>People have prayed for revival for thirty years, quoting 2 Chron. 7:14 and still we sleep.<span style=""> </span>When do people come to church here? I guess it’s the same time as anywhere else, when their lives have been decimated and they come to the end of their strength.<span style=""> </span>But it just takes longer for that to happen and it seems to happen to fewer persons, after all, there are so many other options to try before one surrenders to God.<span style=""> </span>So many other distractions.<span style=""> </span>Since there is more money here (43% earn over 100k) and people are generally better educated (50% have Bachelors degree or higher), there is an intellectualism that cuts against faith. <span style=""> </span>We are thoroughly postmodern thinkers, individualistic, isolationist (most who move here from other parts of the <st1:country-region><st1:place>US</st1:place></st1:country-region> find it hard to make friendships with neighbors and often move away), skeptical, materialistic, focused on personal achievement and making money. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><br /><i>So, let me issue you a challenge…..Do you want to work here promoting the gospel?<span style=""> Do you have a never-say die attitude and are a person of prayer? </span></i>We are currently working on a model that follows an article I wrote a while back called “Doing Church Backwards”.<span style=""> </span>I might say that the model is <span style="font-style: italic;">the church masquerading as a </span><st1:city style="font-style: italic;"><st1:place>mission</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-style: italic;">.</span><span style=""> </span>We beleive God has called us to create <i>The Center for the Cure of Souls</i>, a ministry that will focus on meeting the needs of the community through a variety of programs.<span style=""> </span>The focus will be on……..Curing the Soul, which is the goal of all Christian endeavor. <span style=""> </span>The Center will offer daily Eucharistic services, weekly charismatic and contemplative (in the style of Taize) services, classical Spiritual Direction for those struggling with life controlling issues and behaviors, a Pastoral Counseling ministry and various ministries for those struggling with addiction.<span style=""> </span>Out of this or along side of it we will also open Pascha House – a residential capstone program (like a halfway house) for those in recovery with a focus on Spiritual Direction and orthodoxy as a therapeutic method.<span style=""> </span>Our church will continue alongside this ministry. <span style=""> </span><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We already have begun forming our Board of Directors and already have substantial funds pledged for next year. God has been answering our prayers and the enemy has been fighting against us. We are persueing God in this one step at a time and watching him confirm it as we go. So, if you are clergy in the CEC or a layperson who feels called to work with those struggling with addiction, or if you have a degree in Social Work, Drug Treatment, Counseling or Psychology and you want to be involved in a community that draws on the entire Christian tradition (Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism) for its spirituality, worship and practice I would like you to contact me. <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>I am looking to recruit persons of prayer and spiritual maturity. Send me an email, let’s talk.<span style=""> </span>If you feel like you would like to support us from where you are in prayer we need prayer partners!<span style=""> </span>Let me know and I will put your name on the mailing list we are putting together.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Blessings to You!<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"> "Look ahead. You are not required to complete the task; neither are your permitted to lay it down." <br />The Talmud </span></span><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ><b><i>"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how</i></b> <i><b>the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."<br />Teddy Roosevelt<br /></b></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-115722102607544614?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1157053694968906772006-08-31T15:44:00.000-04:002006-08-31T21:57:00.123-04:00<p style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><strong><em>A friend forwarded this to me and I found it to be so astute and applicable to the CEC that it bears our consideration. Hopko does an excellent job of exegeting the context the Orthodox Church finds itself in. We too have to exegete our situation,and examine the complexities at work on our communion - namely the conflicting economies at work (among other things) and respond in kind. I think Hopko's recommendations for how one should respond are truly wise. I especially appreciated this comment because it reflects a truly orthodox understanding of submission and authority. He say's: "</em></strong><em>We can obey our leaders who disagree with us, and refuse to meet with us and speak with us, to the extent that they do not lead us into heresy or immorality, whatever they are doing, or not doing, in their personal lives and pastoral actions."</em></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><strong><em><br /></em></strong></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><strong><em>"What Can We Do?</em></strong></p> <p style="margin-top: 0px;"><em>Fr Thomas Hopko</em></p> <p><em>I believe that the problems and disagreements we have in the Church today, not only concerning finances in the Orthodox Church in America, but about virtually everything in Orthodoxy (authority, community, responsibility, structure, organization, leadership, decision-making, education, mission, monastic life, liturgical worship etc.) are not simply because we are sinful and incompetent people. They also exist because we are compelled to deal in a complex, secularized world with a two-thousand year history that we dont know how to understand and handle in relation to our present times and conditions. In our ideas and actions we inevitably mix together elements from: </em></p> <p><em>the early church in which, for example, we hear of a monarchical episcopate, with the bishop being an image of God and an other Christ in his local church community of presbyters, deacons, widows, virgins and faithful people that was more like an extended contemporary parish than it was a contemporary diocese</em></p> <p><span style="font-style: italic;">the patristic period in </span><em>which, for example, we see the Church organized into geographical regions with dioceses and parishes, and primacies, patriarchs and metropolitans, following imperial governmental divisions, with the bishops (all being celibate by 6th century law) becoming major players in public life, though they were still pastors of local communities</em></p> <p><em>the Byzantine period -- in which, for example, we find church order being explained in hierarchal and mystagogical ways (often misunderstood by us), with the bishops, presbyters, deacons and laypeople understood in a descending order of power and authority, with superiors ruling over their inferiors in church and state, in imperial conditions involving massive political struggles, social conflicts, military engagements, missionary activities (mostly in Slavic territories), schisms with the Christian West and monastic developments that played major roles in public life both in Byzantium and in the Slavic lands</em></p> <p><em>the Ottoman period -- in which, for example, we see the bishops (and clergy generally) being installed by the Turks for almost 500 years as ethnarchs with secular authority over the Christians of the Turkish empire, and adopting the secular insignia of the former Byzantine empire (the long hair, mitre, sakkos, staff, eagle rug, and throne on the side of the church building) and also the formal uniform of Turkish rule (the riasson and cylindrical hat of the Turkish judge), with no schools, a devoted but mostly unenlightened clergy, and a celibate episcopate whose members rarely possessed serious theological education and genuine monastic training and testing, while the church in the Russian lands was to undergo major inner turmoil and schism in its imitation of Greek practices </em></p> <p><em>the Western Latin influence like, for example, Holy Orders being understood and explained in Orthodoxy as one of the seven sacraments allegedly instituted by Jesus and found in the Scriptures, with the bishop possessing the fullness of the priesthood understood as a priesthood substantially different from the priesthood of all believers, with the clergy exercising power and authority over subordinates and inferiors whom they try (often unsuccessfully) to rule over as their subjects; and, of course, with thousands of Orthodox Christians without their own countries and governments being ecclesiastically united with Rome as Eastern-Rite Catholics</em></p> <p><em>the Western Protestant influence like, for example, the suppression of the Patriarchate in Russia by Peter the Great, and the establishment of an ecclesiastical structure patterned after the Dutch Reformed Church that ruled the Russian Church for over 200 years headed by a government office, with bishops governing dioceses of hundreds of thousands of people and the clergy (who came to exist as a feudal caste) being narrowly and poorly educated (except for the academy graduates) and totally controlled by the state, and almost totally at the mercy of the people upon whom they and their families depended for their daily subsistence and well-being</em></p> <p><em>the period of national churches -- in which, for example, the still mostly untrained clergy (who often led rebellions against Turkish domination) continued to serve as ethnarchs to defend and support national interests under the direction and appointment of imported Western European monarchs and aristocrats </em></p> <p><em>the period of Marxism -- in which, for example, thousands and even millions of committed clergy and lay people were imprisoned and murdered, and church leadership was totally subjugated to atheistic governmental control, with the clergy either being very clever in their devotion to God and their people, or plainly sold out to the communists, or surviving and serving with some strange mixture of the two in their thoughts, words and deeds</em></p> <p><em>the post-Marxist period -- in which, for example, churches led by clergy placed in power under communism and decimated by persecution and oppression are compelled to deal with masses of people demanding baptism, institutions demanding reorganization, and structures demanding reconstruction, in so-called democratic and capitalistic societies controlled by oligarchies of former communists in league with western capitalists</em></p> <p><em> the period of Middle Eastern strife -- in which, for example, the majority of educated Orthodox Christians in territories from Turkey to Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Israel and Egypt have fled to the West, leaving behind a suffering minority of believers growing smaller every day</em></p> <p><em>the period of the so-called diaspora -- in which, for example, the churches came to serve as the organizational centers of ethnic communities outside their original homelands, with the priests becoming hired chaplains caught between their communitys lay leaders and their diocesan bishops, all of whom were influenced, in one way or another, not only by the past histories of their old homelands, but also by the political, economic and religious ideologies and experiences of life in their new countries.</em></p> <p><span style="font-style: italic;">All of these periods, with the understandings and experiences of Orthodoxy that they provide, real and fantasized, are all mixed together today in the minds and memories of our bishops, priests and people. Chaos and confusion reign among us because of it. Add our personal and corporate weakness, ignorance, incompetence and sin to the story, and we have the conditions in which we live and work today.</span></p> <p><em>What can we possibly do in these conditions? How can we possibly survive, not to speak of healthily growing and thriving? We already know that if it were not for those born abroad and converts to the Church, our churches would be in even worse condition than they now are, in both quantity and quality of members.</em></p> <p><em>I believe that we can begin by doing seven things.</em></p> <p><span style="font-style: italic;">We can realize the tremendous complexity of our present situation, and work together patiently and charitably to disentangle its various elements, to understand them accurately, and to deal with them appropriately in our church life today, according to our abilities to do so, whether or not our hierarchs, here in America or abroad, choose to</span><em> lead us and participate with us in these obligatory efforts.</em></p> <p><em>We can make our views known, and offer our suggestions about proper action, forcefully and firmly, without demonizing or ridiculing those who disagree with us, while cooperating courageously with those who do.</em></p> <p><em>We can always remember that those who disagree with us are as strongly committed to their understanding of things as we are.</em></p> <p><em>We can meet regularly with those whom we believe are building up the Church and fostering its God-given mission, even if these people are few and are not always supported by the ecclesiastical hierarchy.</em></p> <p><em>We can obey our leaders who disagree with us, and refuse to meet with us and speak with us, to the extent that they do not lead us into heresy or immorality, whatever they are doing, or not doing, in their personal lives and pastoral actions.</em></p> <p><em>We can give our money, time and energy to the churches, institutions, organizations and activities in the Church that we believe in, and give only what we are obligated to give by statute to other ecclesiastical offices and institutions.</em></p> <p><em>We can work on ourselves to be faithful Orthodox Christians in word and deed through liturgical worship, sacramental communion, reading Holy Scripture, and following the Saints in prayer, fasting, silence, repentance, confession of sins and acts of mercy to others, whoever they are, that are in need of spiritual and material assistance, guidance and support.</em></p> <p><span style="font-style: italic;">If we do these things, we will be using our time, energy and money to inspire, encourage and educate new church leaders, who, humanly speaking, are the Churchs only hope for survival and growth. We cannot keep trying to put new wine into old wine skins. We cannot keep trying to force or cajole or shame our leaders and our people into doing things that they dont want to do. We can only love them and leave them to do what they think best while we give ourselves fully to finding and fostering a new generation of Orthodox Christian leaders who believe in the Gospel and struggle to interpret the complex history of Orthodoxy in the eternal light of Christ, while applying their evangelical, theological and historical visions to the conditions of the real life of the real world in which they are really living.</span></p> <p><em>We have everything in the Orthodox Church that we need for divine life in this world, whoever our bishops, priests and people are, and whatever their behavior may be. We have God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, His Only Son, and the Holy Spirit. We have the Scriptures, the Sacraments, the Liturgical Services, and the lives, teachings and prayers of the Saints. And we have each other. We dont need anything else. We dont even need formal church unity, especially if it will be a unity in our present chaos and confusion that may actually make matters worse. Indeed, we are perhaps even better off, at least for the time being, without such unity. </em></p> <p><em>Let us all start by doing what we can as individual believers, families, monasteries and local communities. Lets leave all the rest for now. And lets let those responsible for those aspects of church life, for whom we pray and whom we obey and support to the extent that we can, do what they think best, remembering that we will all answer on the Day of the Lord for what we have said and done. May the Lord have mercy on us all.</em></p> <p><em>Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko<br />Dormition 2006"</em></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-115705369496890677?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1156881400410282372006-08-29T15:30:00.000-04:002006-08-29T15:56:40.506-04:00<span class="ct_title">In the current issue of Leadership Journal the following quote appears. I find it terribly pertinent. There is also an article entitled, "</span><span class="arttitle">Leader's Insight: Supporting Leaders When You Disagree:</span><span class="artdeck">Successful "second chair leaders" play a challenging part". It is a must read.</span><span class="artbyline"></span><br /><br /><span class="ct_title"><br />"What Destroys Churches</span><br /><br /><span class="ct_text">About 20 years ago, I said something impromptu to the new members standing in a row across the front of the church. As we received them, the Holy Spirit prompted me to add, "And now, I charge you that if you ever hear another member speak an unkind word of criticism or slander against anyone—myself, an usher, a choir member, or anyone else—that you stop that person in mid-sentence and say, 'Excuse me—who hurt you? Who ignored you? Who slighted you? Was it Pastor Cymbala? Let's go to his office right now. He'll apologize to you, and then we'll pray together so God can restore peace to this body. But we won't let you talk critically about people who aren't present to defend themselves.'<br /><br />"I'm serious about this. I want you to help resolve this kind of thing immediately. And know this: If you are ever the one doing the loose talking, we'll confront you."<br /><br />To this day, every time we receive new members, I say much the same thing. That's because I know what most easily destroys churches. It's not crack cocaine, government oppression, or even lack of funds. Rather it's gossip and slander that grieves the Holy Spirit."<br /><br /></span><span class="ct_smtext">Citation: <i>Jim Cymbala,</i> Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire <i>(Zondervan, 1997); quoted in </i>Men of Integrity <i>(January/February 2001).</i></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-115688140041028237?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1155999031510430792006-08-19T10:04:00.001-04:002006-08-19T10:50:31.526-04:00<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:10;" >I was tagged by my friend Chris Monroe. Here are my answers:</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:10;" ><br />Book Meme:</span></span></b></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><span style=";font-size:12;color:black;" >1. One book that changed your life: For the Life of the World, by alexander Schmemann<br /></span></span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><span style=";font-size:12;color:black;" >2. One book that you’ve read more than once: The imitation of Christ, by Thomas Kempis<br /></span></span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><span style=";font-size:12;color:black;" >3. One book you’d want on a desert island: After the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer (ECUSA),<br /></span></span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><span style=";font-size:12;color:black;" >4. One book that made you laugh: Calvin and Hobbs.<br /></span></span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><span style=";font-size:12;color:black;" >5. One book that made you cry: Why Revival Tarries, Leonard Ravenhill.<br /></span></span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><span style=";font-size:12;color:black;" >6. One book you wish had been written: Pastoring the cultural Soul: why modern evangelicalism misses the point<br /></span></span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><span style=";font-size:12;color:black;" >7. One book you wish had never been written: The Late Great Planet Earth, by Hal Lindsey</span></span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><span style=";font-size:12;color:black;" >8. One book you’re currently reading:</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="sans"> The Word, Church And Sacrament: In Protestantism And Catholicism by Louis Bouyer</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="/s/102-0325500-4256961?ie=UTF8&index=books&amp;rank=-relevance%2C%2Bavailability%2C-daterank&field-author-exact=Louis%20Bouyer"><br /></a></span></p> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="buying"> </div> <p><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><span style=";font-size:12;color:black;" >9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: Cosmic Liturgy: the Universe according to Maximus the Confessor by Hans Urs Von Balthasar<br /></span></span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><span style=";font-size:12;color:black;" >10. One book you’d like to write: The Physics of Knowing: modeling complexities of thought, identity and society<br /></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 51);font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 51);font-size:12;" >.</span></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-115599903151043079?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1155874899223581502006-08-18T00:09:00.000-04:002006-08-22T18:31:38.286-04:00Lest anyone else lose clergy i thought it might be helpful for us to be aware of what the Church Fathers say about clergy who forget their position and elevate themselves to judge bishops, and who continue to take for themselves the title of Father, Deacon, etc, after they have resigned form holy orders or been deposed. These passages are two edged and ought to give those who remain due consideration and fear. While one may take issue with the hierarchy of a church and it's leadership one ought not forget the one who made him a priest or deacon. We ought not forget that God placed us under the men whom we serve and, while it is our job to honestly and respectfully contest wrongdoing and error, it is not our place to insist on the resignation of our bishops. God will judge our bishops if they have behaved badly. If you, oh priest or deacon, find yourself full of indignance towards your bishop, humble yourself before it is too late. Go, speak the truth and seek reconcilliation. And if there be none quietly serve the people for whom you have been ordained. They are your charge, not the bishops of the church! I realize that this goes enitely against American sensibilities. These sensibilities tell us that those in authority over us are our equals and we have every right to call for their heads. But this, I think is anchored in a purely American, democratic, and Protestant (congregational) understanding of the church. And we may have the duty to call for reform. We do not have the duty to tear at the body of christ, to create schism, or to engage in anonymous accusations.<i><br /><br />Chapter 41 - The Conduct of Heretics: Its Frivolity, Worldliness, and Irregularity<o:p></o:p></i> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i>Their ordinations, are carelessly. administered, capricious, changeable. At one time they put novices in office; at another time, men who are bound to some secular employment; at another, persons who have apostatized from us, to bind them by vainglory, since they cannot by the truth. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nowhere is promotion easier than in the camp of rebels, where the mere fact of being there is a foremost service.</span> And so it comes to pass that to-day one man is their bishop, to-morrow another; to-day he is a deacon who to-morrow is a reader; to-day he is a presbyter who tomorrow is a layman. For even on laymen do they impose the functions of priesthood.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i>(from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 3, Tertullian)<o:p></o:p><br /></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i>De Fuga in Persecutione<o:p></o:p><br />11. Thus ought every servant of God to feel and act, even one in an inferior place, that he may come to have a more important one, if he has made some upward step by his endurance of persecution. But when persons in authority themselves-I mean the very deacons , and presbyters, and bishops-take to flight, how will a layman be able to see with what view it was said, Flee from city to city? Thus, too, with the leaders turning their backs, who of the common rank will hope to persuade men to stand firm in the battle? Most assuredly a good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep, according to the word of Moses, when the Lord Christ had not as yet been revealed, but was already shadowed forth in himself: <span style="font-weight: bold;">"If you destroy this people," he says, "destroy me also along with it." </span>But Christ, confirming these foreshadowings Himself, adds: "The bad shepherd is he who, on seeing the wolf, flees, and leaves the sheep to be torn in pieces." <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i>(from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 4, Tertullian)<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i>Epistle 64 - To Rogatianus<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i><o:p></o:p>1. Cyprian to his brother Rogatianus, greeting. I and my colleagues who were present with me were deeply and grievously distressed, dearest brother, on reading your letter in which you complained of your deacon , that, forgetful of your priestly station, and unmindful of his own office and ministry, he had provoked you by his insults and injuries. And you indeed have acted worthily, and with your accustomed humility towards us, in rather complaining of him to us; although you have power, according to the vigour of the episcopate and the authority of your See, whereby you might be justified on him at once, assured that all we your colleagues would regard it as a matter of satisfaction, whatever you should do by your priestly power in respect of an insolent deacon , as you have in respect of men of this kind divine commands. Inasmuch as the Lord God says in Deuteronomy, "And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest or the judge, whoever he shall be in those days, that man shall die; and all the people, when they hear, shall fear, and shall no more do impiously." And that we may know that this voice of God came forth with His true and highest majesty to honour and avenge His priests; <span style="font-weight: bold;">when three of the ministers -Korah, Dathan, and Abiram-dared to deal proudly, and to exalt their neck against Aaron the priest, and to equal themselves with the priest set over them</span>; they were swallowed up and devoured by the opening of the earth, and so immediately suffered the penalty of their sacrilegious audacity. Nor they alone, but also two hundred and fifty others, who were their companions in boldness, were consumed by a fire breaking forth from the Lord, that it might be proved that God's priests are avenged by Him who makes priests. <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i>(from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, Tertu,llian.)<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i>Epistle 64 - To Rogatianus<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i>3. But deacons ought to remember that the Lord chose apostles, that is, bishops and overseers; while apostles appointed for themselves deacons<span style=""> </span>after the ascent of the Lord into heaven, as ministers of their episcopacy and of the Church. But if we may dare anything against God who makes bishops, deacons may also dare against us by whom they are made; and <span style="font-weight: bold;">therefore it behoves the deacon of whom you write to repent of his audacity, and to acknowledge the honour of the priest, and to satisfy the bishop set over him with full humility</span>. For these things are the beginnings of heretics, and the origins and endeavours of evil-minded schismatics;-to please themselves, and with swelling haughtiness to despise him who is set over them. Thus they depart from the Church-thus a profane altar is set up outside-thus they rebel against the peace of Christ, and the appointment and the unity of God.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i>(from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, The Epsitles of Cyprian.)<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p>On the Clergy<o:p></o:p></p> <i></i> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i>If, therefore, Christ did not glorify Himself without the Father, <span style="font-weight: bold;">how dare any man thrust himself into the priesthood who has not received that dignity from his superior, and do such things which it is lawful only for the priests to do?</span> Were not the followers of Corah, even though they were of the tribe of Levi, consumed with fire, because they rose up against Moses and Aaron, and meddled with such things as did not belong to them? And Dathan and Abiram went down quick into hell; and the rod that budded put a stop to the readiness of the multitude, and demonstrated who was the high priest ordained by God.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i>(from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7, PC Study Bible electronic database Copyright © 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-115587489922358150?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1155094803117598492006-08-08T22:56:00.000-04:002006-09-10T04:16:35.416-04:00<p class="MsoNormal">Saturday I arrived back from my vacation. It was well needed as I was sick and tired of the tensions within my communion and the continuous battle to establish a healthy mission church. On Sunday I was heartened to be back in our little parish and see our people and tell them that my wife and I love them. On Monday it was shattered for a short time by my deacon who called to inform me that he had resigned from the ICCEC effective immediately. But God is merciful and so, within a short time, I found my self running an errand and meeting a good friend who, just three months earlier agreed to be on the board of directors for the Center for the Cure of Souls. This was significant because while away God called us to continue to peruse the Healing ministry of the Center and Pasha House. And while away we prayed that God would send the man who will stand with us and help us bring the practical details (501-c3, legal contacts and documents, etc...) together. No sooner had I said hello before he began to ask what was happening with the ministry and was eager to help as much as he could. This tempered my earlier anger and sadness. My soul has been very sad lately, and burdened. And I have been angry at the actions of so many good men who seem to have lost themselves.<br /><br />Today, after work, I drove into the shrine of St Margaret’s. It is a typical Roman Catholic shrine with statues of saints placed around the property with seats for reflection. It is always being added to and is sort of ill-kept. It is a strange arrangement of active devotion and sacrificial labor while lacking the sort of daily upkeep to keep it free from weeds and dirt. I walked the grounds in reflection. I prayed before the statuary depicting the appearance of Mary at <st1:place>Fatima</st1:place>. I visited the shrine of St Margaret, virgin and martyr of Pisidion Antioch and walked past the shrine of St. Sebastian the martyr. The crucifixion was represented in several locations as well. As I contemplated my "tribulations" I realized that I was surrounded by a cloud of witnesses who suffered before me. I looked at the rough uncut stones that were used everywhere to build the stone walls and grottos and steps. I realized that each stone was probably placed by the workmen with hidden prayers of the heart. Prayers like, "Jesus, save my daughter from drug abuse", and "Jesus, help be a better father and stop drinking", or "Jesus, have mercy on my dying mother". These were simple, uncomplicated prayers offered in humility and humble work. I looked down at the ground before me and noticed all the weeds in the cracks between the stone work and concrete work of the floor. And I realized that the best way to pray was to engage in humble acts of service. I got on my hands and knees and began to pull up the weeds from the cracks. Slowly, prayerfully, humbly. I crawled from one spot to another adding my work, my humble praying to the labor of all the men who had worked there before.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br />It is good, when lofty words and arrogant pronouncements and opinionated minds take up haughty battles, it is good to humble the soul with simple acts of humble service. It is good to remember that we are simply workmen laboring on our hands and knees, among the saints and martyrs, removing the weeds that grow over time in the cracks of our lives and in this earthly establishment of the church. It is good to remember that we are merely servants laboring in the world, lest we get too heady and concern ourselves with things to great for us. We can either do this or play the Pharisee and decry the weeds and the ill-kept shrines of the churches we belong to and never get on our hands and knees and do the humble work of serving without notice, without having been asked, without reward. Our reward is with the saints and martyrs.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-115509480311759849?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1153620242743944712006-07-22T21:52:00.000-04:002006-07-22T22:04:02.763-04:00A pertinent reflection<br /><br />John 21:19<br /><br />Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. 18 I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!" <br />NIV<br /><br />John 21:18<br /><br />Peter, while a young man serves Jesus as a willing participant. It is during these youthful years, while he can dress himself, that he is still "free". His life is in his own hands (Ps 119:109). It was all excitement when Peter, with the twelve, came back reporting how the demons were subject to them. When young our service to God is not too costly. In fact we fancy the opportunity and it is with a willing heart and with excitement. We beleive we are fulfilling our desire to serve God according to our strengths and passions. But a day will come when it alls turns around and we find that it was never about our desire to serve God, to pastor, to play music (or whatever acts bring your heart joy before God). One day our service culminates in being led where we do not want to go. This is the test of true service. When young or immature we tear ourselves off the cross, despising its shame. I have met many men who walk with the nail wounds unhealed - only submission will close the wounds. We, like Peter run from it because it means death. But when we become the men and women God calls us to be, when we have died our ten thousand deaths to pride, we will submit to the cross and be led where we do not want to go. It is here, with quiet obedience in the face of death, submission to those who would harm us - who would do violence to our souls - to the discomfort of a mission that calls us to do nothing but die and give witness, it is here that the true test of love begins. "Few", as Thomas Kempis say's, "be the lovers of the cross". What the church needs is not critics, nor rulers, but men who can die well.<br /><br />Copyright © 2000 Fr. Matthew Mirabile. All rights reserved.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-115362024274394471?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1153601242591358382006-07-22T16:32:00.000-04:002006-07-22T16:51:28.230-04:00<a id="bodyLinks" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="92956"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 64);"><b>In the previous post "A hopeful future: the iccec in the postmodern context" I made the following statements: <span style="font-style: italic;"> "</span></b></span><span style="font-style: italic;">This Postmodern cultural shift also seeks to recover pre-Modern ideas and values </span><span style="line-height: 150%; font-style: italic;">(11)</span><span style="font-style: italic;">. These pre-modern ideas and values are spiritual ones, they are mystical. We can witness this in the rise of paganism, witchcraft, New Age, Labyrinth walking and the revival of historically Catholic forms of piety among Evangelicals. Frederic Baue, in his book “The Spiritual Society; What lies beyond Postmodernism?” discusses the work of Pitirim Sorokin, the Russian immigrant and sociologist who founded and chaired the Dept. of Sociology at Harvard from 1930-44</span><span style="line-height: 150%; font-style: italic;">(12)</span><span style="font-style: italic;">. Sorokin, in his work, suggested that Western society modulated between a Sensate, to an Ideational cultural system, about once every 500 years. The Sensate being chiefly concerned with systems, technology and order - material and sensory values were in the ascendancy. Ancient </span><st1:city style="font-style: italic;"></st1:city><st1:place style="font-style: italic;">Rome</st1:place><span style="font-style: italic;"> is a good example of this and it also describes the period from the Enlightenment to the Modernism of the Twentieth century. The Ideational is concerned with spiritual and mystical values – the supersensory values are in ascendancy </span><span style="line-height: 150%; font-style: italic;">(13)</span><span style="font-style: italic;">. The Middle Ages might be an example of this. This is where we are now! The last century has seen these two systems in conflict with each other, with the ideational moving into ascendancy. This is one of the reasons why Islam has become so radical. It is one of the reasons why the Barna Group reports spiritual values to be so high in the </span><st1:country-region style="font-style: italic;"></st1:country-region><st1:place style="font-style: italic;">U.S.</st1:place><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="line-height: 150%; font-style: italic;">(14)</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> even though people are not going to church. The world is finished with Modernist assumptions on reality.</span><span style=""><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span><br /><br />I wanted to cite the article from Zenit, shown below, as an evidenciary example of these statements. I feel it is important that we, as men who discern the times, are able to put into perspective the current shift in social paradigms so that we will better be able to meet the challenges ahead. When we fail to exegete the culture properly we may ourselves be caught in the reactionary tide of change and inject this reactionary spirit into the very bodies (or organizations) we are working in for reformation. This means that the new movements (and times like these always give brith to new movements) we form in answer to our need for change may itself become contaminated with as much of the virus as with the cure. One of my chief criticisms of the Emergent movement is just such a tendency. The CEC, as well as any other new body (the AMIA for example is not immune) can (and probably has) fallen prey to such a thing. I offer this for your reflection.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 64);"><b><br /><br /><br />God is Winning</b></span></a><br />Religion Refuses to Fade Away in a Modern World<br /><br />NEW YORK, JULY 22, 2006 (<a id="bodyLinks" href="http://www.zenit.org/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Zenit.org</a>).- Far from fading away in the shadow of modernity and prosperity, religious fervor is, in fact, growing. This is the argument of an article, "Why God is Winning," published in the July-August issue of the magazine Foreign Policy.<br /><br />The authors, Timothy Samuel Shah and Monica Duffy Toft, explain that one of the most recent confirmations of their thesis was the win last January of the Hamas party in the Palestinian elections.<br /><br />After the election, one supporter of Hamas replaced the flag flying over the parliament with a banner proclaiming Mohammad. Soon afterwards the violent protests in many countries over the publication of cartoons depicting Mohammed provided further evidence of the strength of Islamic fervor.<br /><br />This was not just an isolated incidence, Shah and Toft maintain. "Voices claiming transcendent authority are filling public spaces and winning key political contests," they say.<br /><br />Religiously-inspired politics has played an important role in situations such as the fight against apartheid in South Africa and the victory of Hindu nationalists in India in 1998.<br /><br />In the United States, evangelicals have played an increasingly important part in elections in recent years. "Democracy is giving the world's peoples their voice, and they want to talk about God," the article notes.<br /><br />The strengthening of religion is taking place at a time when democracy and freedom has spread in the world. The opening up of political processes in countries such as India, Nigeria, Turkey, and Indonesia during the past decade led to a much greater influence by religion in political life.<br /><br />A similar trend has taken place with regard to economic life. Even though poverty is still a serious problem in many countries a lot people are now better off in economic terms. But as the world's population has become wealthier and more educated they have not turned their backs on God. A case in point is the rapid economic development in China, accompanied by a strong growth in religious belief.<br /><br />Citing data from the World Christian Encyclopedia, the Foreign Policy article points out that the two largest Christian faiths -- Catholicism and Protestantism -- and the two largest non-Christian religions -- Islam and Hinduism -- have increased their share of the world's population in the year 2000 compared to a century earlier.<br /><br />The four religions together accounted for 50% of the global population at the start of the 20th century. This had risen to nearly 64% by the beginning of the 21st century, and it could rise to nearly 70% by 2025.<br /><br />Neo-orthodoxy<br /><br />But the religious upsurge is not evenly distributed, point out Shah and Toft. "Today's religious upsurge is less a return of religious orthodoxy than an explosion of 'neo-orthodoxies,'" they argue.<br /><br />These groups have in common the ability for good organization and political savvy. They are also quick to utilize new technologies to reach potential believers and translate their numbers into political power. This has been the case with Hindu groups in India, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Hamas in the Palestinian territories and the Pentecostals in Brazil.<br /><br />There are concerns, however, that such groups may be too extreme in their views and that they can also provoke civil conflicts. But even if there are negative aspects to some uses of religious fervor, religion has played a positive role in supporting democracy and human rights in many countries.<br /><br />Shah and Taft further explained their case in an interview posted on the Web site of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. In the text, dated July 18, they note that attention has been focused in recent years on Islam. It is not just an Islamic question, however, and the Islamic question needs to be understood in a broader context of religion in the world.<br /><br />They also admitted that a number of Western countries, among them European nations, Canada and Japan, are quite secular. Even so, religious debates and groups still play a role in these countries. In Europe, for example, many recent debates on issues such as Turkey's entry to the European Union or immigration, involve Islam and the role of religion in European identity.<br /><br />In trying to account for the current strength of religion, Shah and Taft opine that a change began in the late 1960s and accelerated in the 1970s and 1980s. In the developing world, the secular leaders and ideologies that promised progress began to fail. This was the case, for instance, in both Egypt and Iran.<br /><br />The subsequent defeat of Soviet communism accelerated this process, creating a vacuum that religious groups were able to fill. In addition, a number of "prophetic" religious leaders, from John Paul II to Islamic figures, have exercised a large degree of authority and influence over their followers in recent times. The mobilization of religious believers in the United States has also been an important factor in influencing political and social life, with consequences both inside and outside America.<br /><br />Until recently, however, religion's role in politics was given little weight by analysts. That has changed now and both academic circles and governments are taking religion more seriously.<br /><br />Global resurgence<br /><br />Another view of religion in the modern world comes from Ronald Inglehart, chairman of the World Values Survey, and a professor at the University of Michigan. A transcript of an interview with Inglehart at the National Press Club, dated May 8, is also available on the Pew Web site. The most recent values survey, the fifth, is now being carried out, with results to be published next year.<br /><br />Inglehart underlined the complexity of the situation regarding religion. In many countries religion is declining. But, he continued, "there are more people alive today with traditional religious beliefs than ever before in history, and they're a larger percentage of the world's population than they were 20 years ago."<br /><br />There was secularization involved with economic changes, although the United States does provide an exception to this process. But the secularization took place mainly in the period of industrialization, and is still going on in some countries. This led to a decline in religion in many countries and the weakening of established religious organizations. In many Western nations, for example, church attendance is down.<br /><br />The situation has changed, however, in the post-industrial or knowledge-based societies. In these countries there is an increasing debate over issues related to religious values, for example, over the question of same-sex marriage.<br /><br />So while traditional churches may still face many challenges, there is a greater interest among the population for spiritual questions. Questions of culture and religion, therefore, do have greater weight in today's world.<br /><br />Inglehart also pointed out that there is a notable difference between the economically advanced countries and the developing nations. The new interest in religion in developed countries is different in that it is less accepting of authority and linked to what is termed new age beliefs. In the developing countries, however, there is significantly more emphasis on traditional religion and this has not changed in recent years. In fact, they are not secularizing and are placing more emphasis on traditional religion.<br /><br />This divergency in religious attitudes is a possible source of conflict, Inglehart noted. This conflict is not inevitable, but is a potential fault line where it could occur. So globalization has not brought with it greater conformity and convergence in terms of cultural and religious values. A situation that will no doubt be closely studied in coming years.<br />ZE06072202<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-115360124259135838?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1152802605379251122006-07-13T10:47:00.000-04:002006-07-13T10:58:52.613-04:00<h2 style="font-weight: normal;"><font><span style="font-size:100%;">Fr Kevin Baker forwarded this site to me and I thought that it may be helpful for all of us to be educated on the matter. there is much more at http://www.beyondintractability.org/user_guides/religious_leaders_and_workers/?nid=5305</span></span></h2><font><font><font><font></span></span></span></span><h2><font><font><font><font><font>Causes of Intractable Conflict</span></span></span></span></span></h2><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span><h2 style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>By Michelle Maiese</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h2><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><h2><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Introduction</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h2><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/meaning_intractability/">Intractable conflicts </a>are ones that remain unresolved for long periods of time and then become stuck at a high level of intensity and destructiveness. They typically involve many parties and concern an intricate set of historical, religious, cultural, political, and economic issues.[1] These matters are central to human social existence and typically resist any attempts at resolution. In fact, parties often refuse to negotiate or compromise with respect to such issues. As a result, each side views the rigid position of the other as a threat to its very existence. They may develop a mutual fear of each other and a profound desire to inflict as much physical and psychological harm on each other as possible.[2] This sense of threat and hostility often pervades the everyday lives of the parties involved and overrides their ability to recognize any shared concerns they might have. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>As conflict <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/escalation/">escalates</a>, any tangible issues may become embedded within a larger set of values, beliefs, identities, and cultures. Disputes about land, money, or other resources may take on increased symbolic significance.[3] Over the course of conflict, the original issues can even become irrelevant as new causes for conflict are generated by actions within the conflict itself. Those on opposing sides come to view each other as enemies and may resort to highly destructive means. Eventually, the parties become unable to separate different issues and may see no way out of the conflict other than through total victory or defeat.[4] </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Why do some conflicts become intractable? Many describe intractability in terms of the destructive relationship dynamics that govern the adversaries' interaction. For example, if one party resorts to inhumane treatment in waging conflict, this deepens antagonism and may lead the opposing side to seek revenge.[5] Likewise, when extremist political leaders appeal to ethno-nationalist ideology to arouse fear, this may increase support for the use of violence and contribute to intractability. Other factors that make some conflicts extremely difficult to resolve include the vast numbers of people involved, the large number of complex issues to be resolved, and a previous history of violent confrontation. But what are the underlying causes of these destructive conflict dynamics? </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>What is common to all intractable conflicts is that they involve interests or values that the disputants regard as critical to their survival. These underlying causes include parties' moral values, identities, and fundamental human needs. Because conflicts grounded in these issues involve the basic molds for thought and action within given communities and culture, they are usually not resolvable by negotiation or compromise.[6] This is because the problem in question is one that cannot be resolved in a win-win way. If one value system is followed, another is threatened. If one nation controls a piece of land, another does not. If one group is dominant, another is subordinate. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>While sharing is possible in theory, contending sides usually regard compromise as a loss. This is especially true in societies where natural fear and hatred is so ingrained that opposing groups cannot imagine living with or working cooperatively with the other side. Instead, they are often willing to take whatever means necessary to ensure group survival and protect their way of life. Below are brief summaries of some of the central underlying causes of intractable conflict. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><h2><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Moral Conflicts</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h2><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>In general, conflicts over <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/intolerable_moral_differences/">intolerable moral differences </a>tend to be intractable and long-lasting.[7] The substantive issues are often a matter of rigidly held moral beliefs, based in fundamental assumptions that cannot be proven wrong.[8] These fundamental moral, religious, and personal values are not easily changed, and people who adhere to a particular ideology may very well be unwilling to compromise their world view. In addition, because parties to such conflicts often have great difficulty in describing the substantive issues in shared terms, they will find it difficult to reach some sort of compromise even if they are willing. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Such conflicts tend to result from a clash between differing world views. One group's most fundamental and cherished assumptions about the best way to live may differ radically from the values held by another group.[9] Parties may have different standards of rightness and goodness and give fundamentally different answers to serious moral questions.[10] When groups have different ideas about the good life, they often stress the importance of different things, and may develop radically different or incompatible goals. In some cases, one group may regard the beliefs and actions of another group as so fundamentally evil that they exceed the bounds of <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/tolerance/">tolerance </a>and require active, committed opposition. (This is the case with parties on both sides of the abortion controversy in the United States , for example.) Because values and morals tend to be quite stable, people are often unwilling to negotiate or compromise with respect to these topics. Indeed, if the basic substantive issues of the conflict are deeply embedded in the participants' moral orders, these issues are likely to be non-negotiable.[11] Parties to such conflicts tend to have great difficulty in imagining a <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/win-lose/">win-win </a>resolution. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Those involved in moral conflict may even regard perpetuation of the conflict as virtuous or necessary. They may derive part of their <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/identity_issues/">identity </a>from being warriors or opponents of their enemy and have a stake in the continuation of the conflict because it provides them with a highly desirable role.[12] In addition, because struggles over values often involve claims to <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/social_status/">status </a>and <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/Power/">power</a>, parties may have a great stake in neutralizing, injuring or eliminating their rivals. They may view any compromise about their most cherished values as a threat to their basic human needs and their sense of identity. In intractable conflicts, the continuation of a conflict may seem preferable to what would have to be given up in order to accommodate the other party.[13] </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><h2><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Issues of Justice</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h2><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Because the desire for justice is one that people tend to be unwilling to compromise, assertions of injustice often lead to intractable conflicts as well. An individual's sense of justice is connected to the norms, rights, and entitlements that are thought to underlie decent human treatment. If there is a perceived discrepancy between what a person obtains, what she wants, and what she believes she is entitled to, she may come to believe she is being deprived of the benefits she deserves.[14] This can occur when either a procedure or outcome is viewed as unfair. When people believe that they have been treated unfairly, they may try to "get even" or challenge those who have treated them unjustly. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Indeed, a sense of injustice often motivates aggression or retaliation. Individuals may come to view violence as the only way to address the injustice they have suffered and ensure that their fundamental needs are met. This is especially likely if no procedures are in place to correct the oppressive social structures or bring about <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/retributive_justice/">retributive </a>or <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/restorative_justice/">restorative justice</a>. However, the powerful often respond by attempting to quell the disturbance and maintain the status quo.[15] This can lead to ongoing violent conflict. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Conflicts that center on issues of justice tend to be intractable in part because reaching an agreement about what qualifies as injustice is often exceedingly difficult. Those who benefit from injustice often perpetuate it, often without being fully aware that they are contributing to injustice. Not surprisingly, victims are typically more sensitive to injustice than victimizers.[16] What seems fair to one person may not seem fair to another, and these perceptions are often affected by self-interest. However, parties often speak of justice in absolute terms, as some independent and objective standard of fairness that can be used to determine who is right.[17] </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Not surprisingly, once one group has <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/framing/">framed </a>the conflict in terms of justice, it becomes much more difficult to resolve. If one or both groups advance their claim as a matter of <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/types_of_justice/">justice</a>, moderate positions become less likely. Parties who believe they have suffered injustice may claim a higher moral ground for themselves, hardening their position to the point of inflexibility.[18] People are typically unwilling to <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/compromise/">compromise </a>on justice issues, or even enter into <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/dialogue/">dialogue </a>with those whose points of view differ from their own.[19] <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/negotiation/">Negotiation </a>and <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/problem-solving_mediation/">problem solving </a>thus become more difficult, and actual interests are obscured as the conflict becomes <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/framing/">framed </a>as win-lose.[20] People who believe that their cause is just are unlikely to back down or to begin the process of <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/apology_forgiveness/">forgiveness </a>and <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/reconciliation/">reconciliation</a>. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>In fact, those who feel they have been the victims of injustice or unfair treatment may grow extremely angry and feel justified in seeking <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/backlash/">revenge</a>. Or, they may blame members of the other group and denigrate them as morally inferior, paving the way for <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/dehumanization/">dehumanization </a>and more <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/violence/">violence</a>.[21] This may simply lead to further injustice and cause the conflict to <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/escalation/">escalate </a>out of control. If vengeance becomes the primary goal, attention may be shifted away from addressing the central justice issues that gave rise to conflict in the first place. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><h2><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Rights</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h2><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Rights-based grievances likewise contribute to intractability. A dispute begins when one person or group makes a claim or demand on another who rejects it. One way to resolve disputes is to rely on some independent standard of perceived <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/legitimacy/">legitimacy </a>or fairness.[22] However, if both groups advance their claim as a "right," moderate positions become less likely and it becomes difficult to compromise or reach consensus. Rights talk can foreclose "further communication with those whose points of view differ from our own."[23] This is in part because people treat rights-based arguments as "trump cards" that neutralize all other positions. A tendency towards absolute formulations in rights talk promotes unrealistic expectations and increases the likelihood of conflict. It also ignores social costs and the rights of others, and inhibits <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/dialogue/">dialogue </a>that might lead to the discovery of <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/commonalities/">common ground </a>or compromise.[24] For example, abortion is typically framed as pitting two interests against each other in an all-or-nothing contest. This sort of absolute, <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/win-lose/">win-lose</a> framing is typically not conducive to <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/problem-solving_mediation/">problem solving</a>. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>People's assumptions that they are entitled to certain rights can also result in self-centeredness. Transforming something into a right gives bearers of the supposed right the ability to demand its realization from those who have a "duty" to realize it.[25] However, such demands may make it more difficult to modify one's claims in the face of reasonable claims of others. Indeed, rights talk often leads parties to forget that their liberties are limited by the stipulation that they do not harm others.[26] When parties do not balance their rights claims against the rights of others, their conflict is likely to become intractable. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Linked to justice issues, many have noted the strong interdependence between human rights violations and intractable conflict. Violations of political and economic rights are the root causes of many crisis situations, which in turn generate further human rights abuses. When rights to adequate food, housing, employment and cultural life are denied, and large groups of people are excluded from the society's decision-making processes, there is likely to be great social unrest. Such conditions often give rise to <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/justice_conflicts/">justice conflicts</a>, in which parties demand that their <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/human_needs/">basic needs </a>be met. Indeed, many conflicts are sparked or spread by <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/human_rights_violations/">violations of human rights</a>. For example, massacres or torture may inflame hatred and strengthen an adversary's determination to continue fighting. Violations may also lead to further violence from the other side, and can contribute to a conflict's <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/escalation/">spiraling out of control</a>. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>On the flip side, armed conflict often leads to the breakdown of infrastructure and civic institutions, which in turn undermines a broad range of rights. When hospitals and schools are closed, rights to adequate health and education are threatened. The collapse of economic infrastructure often results in pollution, food shortages, and overall poverty.[27] The breakdown of government institutions results in denials of civil rights, including the rights to privacy, fair trial, and freedom of movement. In many cases, the government is increasingly militarized, and police and judicial systems are terribly corrupted. Abductions, arbitrary arrests, detentions without trial, political executions, assassinations, and torture often follow. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>These various forms of economic breakdown and oppression violate rights to self-determination and often contribute to further human tragedy in the form of sickness, starvation, and lack of shelter. In cases where extreme violations of human rights have occurred, it is difficult to carry out peace negotiations or begin the <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/reconciliation/">reconciliation </a>process.[28] This is because it is difficult for parties to move toward conflict <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/transformation/">transformation </a>and <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/apology_forgiveness/">forgiveness </a>when memories of severe <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/violence/">violence </a>and atrocity are still in their minds. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><h2><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Unmet Human Needs</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h2><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Human needs theorists argue that many intractable conflicts are caused by the lack of provision of fundamental <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/human_needs/">human needs</a>. These include basic needs for food, water, and shelter as well as more complex needs for safety, security, self-esteem, and personal fulfillment.[29] These more complex needs center on the capacity to exercise choice in all aspects of one's life and to have one's identity and cultural values accepted as legitimate. The need for both <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/distributive_justice/">distributive justice </a>and the ability to participate in civil society are also crucial. All of these needs are fundamental requirements for human development.[30] Thus, while interests can be negotiated when they come into conflict, needs cannot. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Various types of structural <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/violence/">violence </a>jeopardize individuals' physical safety and security. Poverty, environmental degradation, poor health care, and lack of adequate housing often lead to the denial of their basic needs for dignity, safety, and control over their lives.[31] Likewise, conflicts that develop around issues of identity, ethnicity, religion, or culture are often grounded in unmet human needs. Because all individuals are driven to fulfill these essential needs, they will fight indefinitely to achieve them and will not give up until their goal is attained. Indeed, individuals, groups and entire societies are affected by peoples' unstoppable drive to fulfill unmet human needs.[32] For example, the conflict between Israel and Palestine involves the threatened identity of individuals as well as groups and nations. A deep-rooted and intractable conflict has grown out of both groups' unmet need for recognition and security. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><h2><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Identity Issues</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h2><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Identity is one of the fundamental human needs that underlies many intractable conflicts. Conflicts over identity arise when group members feel that their sense of self is threatened or denied legitimacy and respect. Because identity is integral to one's self-esteem and how one interprets the rest of the world, any threat to identity is likely to produce a strong response. Typically this response is both aggressive and defensive, and can <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/escalation/">escalate </a>quickly into an intractable conflict. Because threats to identity are not easily put aside, such conflicts tend to persist. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Intractable conflicts are often maintained by the development of <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/polarization/">polarized </a>collective identities among group members.[33] Group memberships form along the lines of nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, or whatever other categories are relevant to the conflict. Individuals identify with those in their own group and begin to organize against those in the opposing group. While collective identities may initially form around issues such as resisting oppressive social structures or staking claims to territory, they eventually take on meaning and value of their own. As the conflict escalates, the opposing groups become increasingly polarized and develop hostility towards those in the out-group. A high level of in-group identification, together with a high degree of perceived threat from the other group, leads to a basic impulse to preserve oneself and destroy the opponent.[34] </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Identity is the primary issue in most racial and ethnic conflicts. It is also a key issue in many gender and family conflicts, when men and women disagree on the proper role or "place" of the other, or children disagree with their parents about who is in control of their lives and how they present themselves to the outside world. These conflicts center on matters of security, fair treatment, and a sense of control over one's life.[35] Because identity-based concerns are tied to fundamental human needs, conflicts surrounding identity often threaten parties' very existence. Such conflicts are typically more intense than interest-based conflicts. This is because the issues in interest-based conflicts are typically more clearly defined and have greater potential for compromise. Identity conflicts, on the other hand, are based on people's psychology, culture, basic values, shared history, and beliefs. These issues tend to be more abstract and are connected to people's basic needs for survival. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>In addition, rigid collective identities may make it more difficult for groups to compromise. When they feel that another group poses a threat to their authority or legitimacy, they may lash out. Those in the out-group may be excluded, which limits contact between identity groups and contributes to the development of negative <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/stereotypes/">stereotypes </a>and intergroup violence.[36] Parties view their adversaries as evil or even nonhuman and regard their views and feelings as unworthy of attention. Because merely sitting down with the opponent can be seen as a threat to one's own identity, even beginning efforts at <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/reconciliation/">reconciliation </a>can be extremely difficult. Furthermore, the negation of the opposing group often becomes a fundamental aspect of one's own identity.[37] During the Cold War, for example, an important aspect of identity for many United States citizens was being anti-Communist. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Some identity conflicts are grounded in <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/nationalism/">nationalism</a>. Nationalism as an ideology affirms the existence of peoples or nations whose members share a common history and destiny. Nationalist sentiments often lead individuals to see their own group or nation as superior to other groups. This can also lead group members to denigrate or dominate other peoples and countries. Because any challenges to one's nation are regarded as a threat to one's very existence, nationalism can act as a source of intractable conflict. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Finally, intractable identity conflicts typically involve a history of <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/post-colonial/">colonialism</a>, ethnocentrism, or racism and emerge out of a history of domination and perceived injustice. Colonization, in particular, often has serious socio-economic and moral implications that tend to persist. Where there is a severe imbalance of power, the more powerful party may exploit or abuse the less powerful party.[38] Minority groups may be denied effective political participation or lack opportunities for cultural expression. If their identity is denied or simply unrecognized by the majority, these oppressed groups may recognize these power hierarchies as unjust and rebel against them.[39] This leads to intractable conflict. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><h2><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>High-Stakes Distributional Issues</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h2><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Conflicts surrounding who gets what and how much they get also tend to be intractable. The items to be distributed include tangible resources such as money, land, or better jobs, as well as intangible resources such as social status. If there are plenty of resources available, then everyone simply takes what they need and no conflict develops. However, when there is not enough of a given resource to satisfy everyone's needs or wants, and no more can be found or created, the conflict becomes a "win-lose" situation. The more one party gets, the less the other party gets (or the more he or she "loses"). When the item in question is very important or valuable, these conflicts tend to become very intractable. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>For example, conflicts over water in arid lands are high-stakes classic distributional conflicts. In the Western United States, as well as many other arid regions, water is extremely valuable, as life cannot exist without it. Because there is not enough water to go around, endless conflicts arise about who gets what amount of water for what purpose. Although individual disputes get resolved, another dispute over the same water will almost certainly arise again later on. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Domination conflicts are a special type of high-stakes distributional conflict in which the resource to be distributed is <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/social_status/">social status</a>. Because most groups want to be on top of the social, economic, and/or political hierarchy, there is often a perpetual struggle between those at the top and those at the bottom. Conflicts over social status can occur between individuals or between nations. Because issues of social status are connected to matters of unequal economic power, the divide between the <a href="http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/rich_poor/">rich and poor </a>has contributed to intractable conflict both within nations and across international society as a whole. These conflicts tend to be very difficult to resolve because no one wants to be on the bottom, and few are willing to share the top level of the social hierarchy. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>While those in weaker positions want to gain more power and reverse the relationship, those with the most power do not wish to give up the benefits associated with their position. Unless those people at the top are willing to share their privileges with everyone else, such conflicts are likely to continue. Even if those with low social or economic status are able to reverse the situation and assume a leadership position, the conflict will continue as the new group on the bottom strives to gain status.<i> </i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><hr /><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><font><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13420260-115280260537925112?l=frmattmirabile.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Fr Matt Mirabilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02183507756621528474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13420260.post-1152155795112778642006-07-05T23:11:00.000-04:002006-07-05T23:16:35.190-04:00<p class="Title1">I wrote the following article last year and released it to a few bishops and fellow priests. I am releasing it now in the hope that my brothers will begin to understand that the premise of the ICCEC is far from dead. In fact it is critical for the next generation. While many are focusing on what is wrong, it is important to take a look at what is right and work towards that . I hope it is an encouragement .<br /><br /></p> <p class="Title1"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >A Hopeful Future: The ICCEC and the Postmodern Context</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right">By Fr. Matthew Mirabile</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right"><st1:date month="10" day="17" year="2005">Oct, 17, 2005</st1:date></p> <p class="Body">I recall a word from the First National Convocation in <st1:state><st1:place>Kansas</st1:place></st1:State>, back in 1994.<span style=""> </span>In summing up that word, God told us that he did not raise the CEC up merely as an opportunity for us to find a sacramental and liturgical refuge from Charismatic excesses or the apostate Episcopal Church.<span style=""> </span>God was raising the CEC up to reach the young people among us, the generation to come.<span style=""> </span>This word has been reinforced over the last few years by Abp. Adler as he has reminded us of our call to reach the youth.<span style=""> </span>God has called us into being for mission, for the task of reaching what many are calling the “Postmodern” world.<span style=""> </span>At a time when many churches are struggling to grow, at a time when we are facing obstacles from within and without, it is important for us to look forward.<span style=""> </span>It is important for us to be stirred by the opportunities that lay before us, to catch a vision for our mission that will help drive us forward.<span style=""> </span>While we may have taken as our purpose the mandate to make visible the Kingdom to searching Evangelicals and Charismatics, I propose instead, that our mission is to reach the postmodern culture.<span style=""> </span>Where some have seen the very idea of Postmodernism as a negative and a detriment to the work of the Church, I believe that God has raised us up for such a time as this.<span style=""> </span>God has raised up the ICCEC as a post-Protestant and neo-Catholic answer to the postmodern age.</p> <p class="Body">Postmodernism has become the buzzword of the <st1:place><st1:placename>Emergent</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype>Church</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> movement.<span style=""> </span>It has long been discussed by Thomas Odin, Robert Webber and many others.<span style=""> </span>For those concerned with the Church’s dialogue with the culture, Postmodernism has become the descriptive of a culture that no longer believes in absolute Truth. Postmodernism, or more precisely, poststructuralism, refer to modern philosophical movements often associated with the French Philosophers Jacques Derrida and Jean-Francois Lyotard ^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(1)</span>}.<span style=""> </span>This school of philosophy holds that metanarratives (an overarching interpretive story) are suspect because they are spoken by people whose concepts are formed by a history of learned assumptions.<span style=""> </span>In this case these assumptions are nothing more than social programming, not some expression of a transcendent Truth.<span style=""> </span>These metanarratives, so they say, are simply means of control, empowering some and marginalizing others ^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(2)</span>}.<span style=""> </span>Under these circumstances none of us can really be said to be speaking <i style="">The Truth</i>, but only personal truths that are the result of cultural conditioning. <span style=""> </span>When we speak, it is merely the culture speaking us ^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(3)</span>}.<span style=""> </span>This philosophical reality, though not clearly understood by the average person, expresses itself in popular culture by the idea that people can “create their own realities”.<span style=""> </span>We most often hear this in statements like, “Well, that is your truth.<span style=""> </span>I will believe my truth.”<span style=""> </span>This “incredulity towards metanarrative”^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(4)</span>} has frustrated the <st1:place><st1:placename>Evangelical</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype>Church</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, which has been struggling to regain the higher ground on the truth about truth, and who owns it.</p> <p class="Body" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">In seeking to regain ownership of “truth”, the Evangelical world has repeatedly called for a return to Biblical norms.<span style=""> </span>There is the expectation that if we shout the fact that “truth is truth” loudly enough, if we try to convince people that Truth originates with God and the Christian faith and a Biblical world-view, people will begin to see the light and believe again that there is truth.<span style=""> </span>This is where the strategy of dissenting orthodox Episcopalians has failed, they are asking for a return to a Biblical Christian metanarrative within a society that no longer regards any such truth claims as authoritative, only subjective.<span style=""> </span>Those who take such a position have failed to properly exegete the cultural context.<span style=""> </span>If we think we can carry the culture back to a Modernist, linear, and reason-able worldview any time soon, we are mistaken.<span style=""> </span>A shift has occurred as great as any Tsunami, and the cultural landscape has been altered.<span style=""> </span>Places where we once thought we could find truth are now removed, lying under the water of postmodern skepticism.<span style=""> </span>What we need to do now, according to Christian apologist Len Sweet, is learn to ride the waves of our Postmodern culture^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(5)</span>}.<span style=""> </span>Instead of fearing this new landscape we must learn to exploit it.</p> <p class="Body" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">For those of us who believe strongly in the vision of the ICCEC as a liturgical/sacramental, Evangelical and Charismatic convergence of streams and a prophetic corrective to our culture, positioning is crucial.<span style=""> </span>As we know, one may have the ability to hit a home run, but if he isn’t positioned to swing and hit the pitch when it comes the ability is lost on the opportunity.<span style=""> </span>The ICCEC in the <st1:country-region><st1:place>U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> has been uniquely enabled to exploit this Postmodern shift. <span style=""> </span>Yet, it seems that we are not positioned to hit the ball.<span style=""> </span>It recently occurred to me that we are not merely planting churches; we are building them on a new proposition that has not yet been clearly articulated to those outside of our own cadre, and has not yet been expressed in a way that strikes the cultural nerve.<span style=""> </span>Our vision of “Convergence” is a new proposition that has not yet been made intelligible to the wider cultural context outside of the Church. <span style=""> </span>This also begs the question, “just how much have these streams actually converged?” The greatest moves of God are those<span style=""> </span>that strike the cultural nerve in such a way that it resonates with the as-yet-unspoken thoughts and feelings of men, causing a swell of souls to the movement being articulated.<span style=""> </span>The Reformation and Wesleyan Revival are examples of prophetic movements that struck the cultural nerve.<span style=""> </span>They not only garnered support, but it resonated with the experiences of the people of the time.<span style=""> </span>These movements touched their hearts and moved society in a new direction.<span style=""> </span>These examples prove hopeful for the ICCEC since it has resonated with those already in the church, those who have been experiencing the “Post-Protestant/post-evangelical”^{<span style="line-height: 150%;"> (6)(7)</span>} crisis.<span style=""> </span>Yet, we have not yet struck the greater cultural nerve.<span style=""> </span>And it is not merely those within the Church that are experiencing a Post-Protestant crisis, our entire culture is caught up in this crisis of belief in one way or another.<span style=""> </span>It has most often presented itself as part of the postmodern condition.<span style=""> </span>And believe it or not, the ICCEC is itself an expression of this.<span style=""> </span>Our very ability to draw together diverse traditions; Charismatic, liturgical, sacramental, Orthodox, and Evangelical, and try to synthesize them in one communion is an expression of Postmodern culture^{<span style="line-height: 150%;"> (8)</span>}.<span style=""> </span>And it is certainly evidence of being Post-Protestant.<span style=""> </span>If we take a quick survey of this postmodern landscape and compare it to the CEC we will find a great deal of convergence, and with that a great many opportunities to strike the cultural nerve if we will turn outward into mission. </p> <p class="Body" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">In the following pages I hope to present some occasions of this overlap as opportunities to meet the postmodern condition.<span style=""> </span>These are merely examples of shared values that should enable us to see opportunities.<span style=""> </span>These are not necessarily templates, nor do these represent an exhaustive list, but it merely presents occasions of convergence within the culture that we can exploit if we are outward focused and thinking creatively to engage a lost culture.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="Body" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">One such occasion of convergence is that we have become a society that rejects false divisions and seeks to integrate diversity, one that seeks to broaden experiences beyond previously prescribed boundaries. <span style=""> </span>We are a culture that lives in paradoxes, in holding, what seems to be opposing positions, in tension.<span style=""> </span>Len Sweet calls this “double ring” ministry ^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(9)</span>}. <span style=""> </span>Automobile manufacturers have exploited this by designing retro-looking vehicles while incorporating modern technology.<span style=""> </span>It is reflected in cutting edge music where Chant has been married to Techno.<span style=""> </span>We can see it applied to architecture ^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(10)</span>} where we see the crude building elements that were once hidden exposed and incorporated into the design, or where we see strange juxtapositions in the design.<span style=""> </span>The Convergence Movement is an expression of this very thing. <span style=""> </span>We, and others, are seeking to hold in tension the Evangelical, Charismatic, and Catholic/Orthodox expressions of the faith.<span style=""> </span>We are attempting to express exuberance within the framework of historic liturgies, we are speaking in Tongues while we are hearing confession and pronouncing absolution.<span style=""> </span>We are a Communion of paradoxes and we are tailor made to reach the postmodern world.<span style=""> </span>This may also be one reason why it has been difficult for us to arrive at a working definition of our native “oeconomia”.<span style=""> </span>In trying to hold these paradoxes together we are having to generate a new economy, one that seeks a convergence between the unique experiences and traditions of our Charismatic and Evangelical histories into an authentically orthodox and catholic economy. </p> <p class="Body" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">This Postmodern cultural shift also seeks to recover pre-Modern ideas and values ^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(11)</span>}.<span style=""> </span>These pre-modern ideas and values are spiritual ones, they are mystical. We can witness this in the rise of paganism, witchcraft, New Age, Labyrinth walking and the revival of historically Catholic forms of piety among Evangelicals.<span style=""> </span>Frederic Baue, in his book “The Spiritual Society; What lies beyond Postmodernism?” discusses the work of Pitirim Sorokin, the Russian immigrant and sociologist who founded and chaired the Dept. of Sociology at Harvard from 1930-44^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(12)</span>}.<span style=""> </span>Sorokin, in his work, suggested that Western society modulated between a Sensate, to an Ideational cultural system, about once every 500 years.<span style=""> </span>The Sensate being chiefly concerned with systems, technology and order - material and sensory values were in the ascendancy. Ancient <st1:city><st1:place>Rome</st1:place></st1:City> is a good example of this and it also describes the period from the Enlightenment to the Modernism of the Twentieth century.<span style=""> </span>The Ideational is concerned with spiritual and mystical values – the supersensory values are in ascendancy ^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(13)</span>}.<span style=""> </span>The Middle Ages might be an example of this.<span style=""> </span>This is where we are now! The last century has seen these two systems in conflict with each other, with the ideational moving into ascendancy. <span style=""> </span>This is one of the reasons why Islam has become so radical.<span style=""> </span>It is one of the reasons why the Barna Group reports spiritual values to be so high in the <st1:country-region><st1:place>U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> ^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(14)</span>} even though people are not going to church.<span style=""> </span>The world is finished with Modernist assumptions on reality.<span style=""> </span>This trend has manifested itself in the CEC by its embrace of Iconography, ancient forms of prayer, and a pre-modern sacramental world view.<span style=""> </span>It is also a characteristic of the Charismata, of the spiritual gifts.<span style=""> </span>Our ability to lay aside reason and lay hands on the sick is not merely a work of the Spirit, it is evidence of a cultural shift to the spiritual and mystical.<span style=""> </span>Our belief in angels, demons, and the interaction between psychological, physiological and spiritual conditions are also a reflection of this trend.<span style=""> </span>So within the context of a return to spiritual values and experiences the CEC is armed with the capacity to enter into this world-view and meet this yearning.<span style=""> </span>As we introduce people to spiritual practices that connect them with a spiritual view of the universe and themselves we are tapping into this postmodern trend.<span style=""> </span>However, this needs to be balanced with authenticity, another aspect of the postmodern condition.<span style=""> </span>The operative spiritual value is transcendence not emotionalism.<span style=""> </span>Flaky spirituality, of the sort seen to be akin to snake handling, appears inauthentic to most postmoderns.<span style=""> </span>Instead, an intentional mystical spirituality anchored in ancient practices (prayer beads, Eucharistic Adoration, Lection Divina, etc..) appear to be more authentic.<span style=""> </span><b><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="Body" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Yet another aspect of this change is the shift from linear and rational modes of learning and receiving information to hyper-texted and symbolic modes of learning^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(15)</span>}.<span style=""> </span>Again, this is an aspect, a subset, of a mystical world-view, but it is also supremely visual.<span style=""> </span>We have been raised on Television have been wired for symbolic communication.<span style=""> </span>Rather than communicating by linear statements we communicate through signs, symbols and pictures.<span style=""> </span>We have become an image rich society accustomed to communicating ideas through icons and images.<span style=""> </span>The advent of the computer and the internet has also accelerated this trend. <span style=""> </span>We are now accustomed to taking in various streams of information from the same page. While speaking critically, D. Groothius says that we are learning though image and icon^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(16)</span>}. Our eyes jump from one image and line to another, from one statement to another.<span style=""> </span>Other overlapping trends further strengthen this premise.<span style=""> </span>There is an emerging interest in artistic expression, especially the classical arts^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(17)</span>}.<span style=""> </span>This is being expressed in video, music and fine art. <span style=""> </span>It is technological as well as organic.<span style=""> </span>As a result many postmoderns are being drawn to liturgy, icons and artistic expressions in worship and are fusing that with digital media to create multi-sensory hyper-texted worship^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(18)</span>}.<span style=""> </span>They also want to engage worship rather than be only observers.<span style=""> </span>They want to see it, participate in it, smell it and taste it ^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(19)</span>}. Yet in many of these churches there is a <i style="">mystery-deficit</i> because they are symbologically and ceremonially poor.<span style=""> </span>The liturgy is worship <i style="">hyper-texted</i>, it is multi-sensory worship perfectly suited to postmoderns.<span style=""> </span>The historic liturgy, especially when placed within an image-rich atmosphere filled with Icons and stained glass, becomes the perfect worship environment for postmoderns.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Their attention can fly back and forth from the ceremony of the Gospel Presentation to the Icons, to the Chalice and Ciborium on the Table, and back to the Icons or stained glass.<span style=""> </span>The can “read’ the entire worship experience.<span style=""> </span>We can add to this the use of PowerPoint presentations during Praise and the Prayers of the People to create a truly engaging and image rich hyper-texted worship service.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="Body" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Yet another trend among postmoderns, and evidencing just how much overlap there exists in each of these examples, is the desire for authenticity and stability ^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(20)</span>}.<span style=""> </span>Especially among those postmoderns under 35, there is a rejection of hype and flash and exuberant or confident pronouncements.<span style=""> </span>These are highly skeptical people who watch and listen closely to those who make claims, who purport to be leaders, and who are “truth purveyors”.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>They have seen Presidents lie under oath, they have seen parents divorce after having made claims of undying love, and they have been over-sold in a consumerist society. For them the “New” often means the superficial and temporary, and inflated claims are met with skepticism. There are only so many times you can claim to improve Tide before the claim becomes absurd. This is why commercial advertising has either moved into the absurd, parodying campy 70’s sitcoms for example, or to the understated.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>In their experience new is not always better and is often a lot worse.<span style=""> </span>They have also experienced a fully permissive culture and have tasted the rotten fruit.<span style=""> </span>Aged beyond their years they are coming to look for stability and authenticity in things that have stood the test of time.<span style=""> </span>As a result we have seen a tremendous rise among postmoderns in recovering spiritual practices, aspects of piety, and disciplines that are pre-modern.<span style=""> </span>What the CEC can offer them is an authentic expression of the ancient faith and access to these historic disciplines.<span style=""> </span>But it has to be real, it must be authentic.<span style=""> </span>It has to have that weighted-ness that comes from authenticity, and authenticity derives from a presentation that is consistent with a deeply ingrained character to match.<span style=""> </span>If we merely take up ancient forms of worship and piety without entering into their native economy, if we behave like Protestants while we simply look like Catholics, and if we fail to synthesize these three streams into a whole, we will be found to be inauthentic and lose the very people God has raised us up for.<span style=""> </span>The Emergent movement, having done exactly this, is suffering from “trendy-ness” as a result.<span style=""> </span>As a Convergence Movement, we cannot afford to assume that we can synthesize these three streams without intentional effort, pain and acumen.<span style=""> </span>Authenticity will demand of us this work. When they do not see the church live up to the claims we make they will discount it off hand.<span style=""> </span>They will not take a mediocre church seriously and they will not take seriously any appearance of self- aggrandizement or acts inconsistent with what they perceive to be the radical claims of the gospel.<span style=""> </span>What they will respond to will be a church that radically seeks social justice, engages in self-sacrifice, and shows hospitality freely.<span style=""> </span>Before they ask if it is “true” they will ask if it is “real.”^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(21)<span style=""> </span></span>}Like it or not, a church or leader that appears closed, aloof, arrogant, self-seeking or autocratic, rather than humble, open, and real, will be seen as a fake and will be rejected before you have a chance to wave goodbye.<span style=""> </span>Servant leadership that is open and honest, consistent with the spirit of the gospels, will win their undying devotion.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="Body" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Connected to the quest for authenticity are the twin impulses for experience and the extreme.<span style=""> </span>Unless something can be experienced and thereby verified, its value is suspect.<span style=""> </span>These people want to experience what is real, they do not want to be told what is real.<span style=""> </span>They don’t believe the hype!<span style=""> </span>If something is claimed to be of real value they want to go on a process of discovery so that they can feel and experience it.<span style=""> </span>One of the ways they accomplish this is by engaging things in the extreme.<span style=""> </span>They are not content to just sit back and let mediocrity wash over them, they want to have the experience, the adrenaline rush, of authenticity.<span style=""> </span>But extreme can take many forms.<span style=""> </span>It does not have to be loud.<span style=""> </span>In fact, when combined with some of the other trends we might find that the extreme is found in being silent, deep in contemplative prayer, in a mystical environment replete with candles and Icons.<span style=""> </span>In a world filled with noise, the authentic can take the form of silence.<span style=""> </span>As a <st1:place><st1:placename>Charismatic</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype>Church</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> anchored in a Catholic and Orthodox economy (as opposed to the other way around- a liturgical/sacramental church anchored in a Charismatic economy) we can offer meaningful experience within the context of stability and authenticity^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(22)</span>}.<span style=""> </span>These postmoderns want to feel safe.<span style=""> </span>While the Charismatic stream, as traditionally expressed within the context of a worship service for example, might seem extreme to us it can appear to them as a dangerous mix of hype and emotional manipulation.<span style=""> </span>However, we can and must express the Charismatic where it really counts, in spiritual direction functioning with the gifts of discernment, in prayers for healing, in power for deliverance, and in the sacrament of penance.<span style=""> </span>When these expressions of Pentecost function within the economy of an authentic orthodox and catholic spirituality, within the context of an ordered and spiritually meaningful liturgy, we will answer their need for transcendence, mystery and meaning.</p> <p class="Body" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">In discussing the postmodern condition there are two more “Posts-” and something new worth considering that have arisen specifically out of the American Protestant circumstance. These are conditions that are unique to the church but apparent in our society.<span style=""> </span>They are; post-Protestant, post-Denominational, and neo-Catholic.<span style=""> </span>One of the reasons why we have left our Evangelical and Protestant past is that Protestantism has exhausted itself.<span style=""> </span>Western Protestantism has passed out of the spectrum of being a truly prophetic voice to the culture.<span style=""> </span>Simply put, to be Post-Protestant is to be moving beyond historically Protestant modes of thought and piety.<span style=""> </span>The trend is becoming more and clearer.<span style=""> </span>It has been documented by Colleen Carrol in her book, “The New Faithful” ^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(23)</span>}, it has been presented in the works of Brian McLaren and Robbert Webber, and many others; men and women are leaving traditional Protestantism and moving towards orthodoxy, mystery, ancient forms of piety and Christian formation.<span style=""> </span>They are deeply dissatisfied with the superficial and culturally compromised forms of American Christianity.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Our nation is fast becoming a post-Protestant one.<span style=""> </span>From here we can retreat into some idyllic form of Catholicism that passed away in the Fifties, or a Byzantine expression of orthodoxy that is so culturally removed from American sensibility as to require one to “read his way in”.<span style=""> </span>Or we can <span style=""> </span>accept ourselves for what we are, post-Protestants who have embraced the historic orthodox and catholic faith.<span style=""> </span>As post-Protestants we are not rejecting our Protestant past.<span style=""> </span>No, in fact we are carrying with us those aspects of that tradition that are good and helpful, namely our evangelical commitment to a personal relationship with Jesus, our love affair with the Word of God, and our commitment to the Great Commission.<span style=""> </span>Still, while not rejecting Protestantism outright, we are in the process of moving beyond it to something else, something more real and substantial, something ancient and yet new.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="Body" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">One aspect of this Post-Protestant movement, of which we are part, is that we are Post-denominational. Rather than losing ourselves in confessional statements, we want to embrace what is common to the whole Church.<span style=""> </span>Part of this project requires us to triangulate orthodoxy between western orthodoxy (Roman and Anglican), eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism.<span style=""> </span>In order to do this we must move beyond denominational sensibilities to a Consensual one.<span style=""> </span>Rather than emphasizing what separates us from other Christians we want to emphasize what unites us with other Christians, not just in this age, but in all ages.<span style=""> </span>As a post-denominational communion we must take up a clear and consistent “Consensual” paradigm, one that goes beyond convergence as a means to an end, namely integrated, truly “catholic” worship, to a Consensual theology grounded in the Vincentian Canon ^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(24)</span>}.<span style=""> </span>By taking up a post-denominational “consensual” theology we signal that we are not merely a new denomination (the very idea of which would be frowned upon by postmoderns), but an expression of a truly indigenous American Orthodoxy borne out of our unique set of traditions and experiences. <span style=""> </span>In being Post-denominational we have transcended the very idea of denominationalism, not by having moved backwards in time to a bygone era, to a paleo-orthodxy, but by moving forwards in time - reconciled both to the past, the present, and the future.<span style=""> </span>As a Post-denominational church we embrace the entire Christian tradition.<span style=""> </span>When understood in this way we could be seen to be truly universal, broad and open, without compromising the catholic Faith.<span style=""> </span>By so doing we are engaging the culture and speaking its language.<span style=""> </span>We have the argument by which we can strike the cultural nerve.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="Body" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">To be Post-Protestant simply means that we are what ever comes after it.<span style=""> </span>It means that something new is coming into being.<span style=""> </span>We cannot really go into the past and become something we never were.<span style=""> </span>That’s fiction.<span style=""> </span>Having been where we’ve been, having the history we have, we can only carry that into something new.<span style=""> </span>Even Postmodernism is transitional, no one really knows what happens next.<span style=""> </span>I think, for the CEC, what lies ahead of us, is an expression of the orthodox and catholic faith that is new.<span style=""> </span>It is an expression of the catholic faith that has as its genesis a transcended Protestant faith.<span style=""> </span>We have to say transcended because we are not protesting Protestantism, we have willingly and gladly carried with us an Evangelical mandate, and a Charismatic life.<span style=""> </span>But having transcended these we have added to them a unique and distinctly indigenous catholic ethos.<span style=""> </span>This catholic ethos is not merely apparent in the superficial things, like the fact that our clergy marry, that we use historic liturgies or that we employ the sacrament of Penance.<span style=""> </span>What has happened is that we have joined this catholic ethos to a very broad and diverse native theological economy, albeit perhaps, not an entirely consistent one.<span style=""> </span>We cannot claim to be “Catholics” in a Roman sense, in a way that Catholics understand themselves to be.<span style=""> </span>Our theology is orthodox, our worship and piety is increasingly Catholic, yet our mode of operation, our economy, is still Charismatic. <span style=""> </span>This can be a good thing, or it can be a bad thing.<span style=""> </span>It seems to me that the Episcopal office was instituted to bring order to the charismatic economy of the late first century.<span style=""> </span>Where these things are synthesized into a whole, rather than layered on top of each other, we can only be called new-Catholics, or neo-Catholics.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="Body" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">As I have shown, we have been blessed with the ability to make an impact in our postmodern culture.<span style=""> </span>Unlike our Orthodox bothers we can combine Taize Chant, contemporary digital media and Eucharistic Adoration in a symbol rich environment to create compelling alternative services.<span style=""> </span>We can fuse together technology and the Liturgy, old and new, by offering services that combine PowerPoint presentations, Iconography, and the rich symbolic economy of the Eucharist.<span style=""> </span>We can offer what many other churches can not.<span style=""> </span>We can offer a Thursday evening full bore Charismatic praise and worship experience, complete with a full band, and on Saturday offer the sacrament of Penance followed by a Rosary group.<span style=""> </span>We have the flexibility, the know-how and the anointing to accomplish a greater degree of convergence with the culture than we ever dreamed possible.<span style=""> </span>We only need to do one thing, look outward.</p> <p class="Body">What does the future then hold for the ICCEC?<span style=""> </span>That depends, of course, on the leadership of our Bishops, who are charged with steering the ship.<span style=""> </span>But I think that we have an opportunity to seize the moment of this colossal change.<span style=""> </span>We can capitalize on these conditions and put them to work for us.<span style=""> </span>How?<span style=""> </span>We must first orient our mission from an ecclesiastical one to a missiological one.<span style=""> </span>Currently our mission, as it has been stated, is oriented towards other expressions of the church, it is internally focused.<span style=""> </span>“<i style="">The Charismatic Episcopal Church exists to make visible the Kingdom of God to the nations of the world</i>; (now follows the means by which we will do this)<i style=""> to bring the rich sacramental and liturgical life of the early church to searching evangelicals and charismatics; to carry the power of Pentecost to our brothers and sisters in the historic churches; and finally, to provide a home for all Christians who seek a liturgical-sacramental, evangelical, charismatic church and a foundation for their lives and gifts of ministry.”</i>^{<span style="line-height: 150%;">(25)</span>}<i style=""> </i><span style=""> </span>We can see that the language and focus of our mission statement (and therefore our DNA and modus operandi) is focused upon gifts God has given us for <i style="">the Church</i>.<span style=""> </span>It is almost entirely focused on the church, rather than the world.<span style=""> </span>While this is part of our DNA, we also need to become missional. This gift, which we have received with great joy, must be reprioritized behind the Biblical mandate to “Preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth, making disciples of men”.<span style=""> </span>We now have been empowered to make disciples within the tradition of the orthodox and catholic faith.<span style=""> </span>We need to adopt a missional stance that takes the expansion of the <st1:place><st1:placetype>Kingdom</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:placename>God</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> to the postmodern soul as the primary calling and mission of our communion.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="Body">I have outlined only a few of the factors present in our postmodern cultural context, yet I firmly believe that we have the potential to reap a great harvest if we aim ourselves to capitalize on these conditions.<span style=""> </span>We need to know that God has equipped us to reach the coming postmodern generations, and with that equipping comes a calling, a mandate, to reach them.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="Body" style="text-indent: 0in;">References<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="Body" style="margin: 3pt 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="">1.<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="ltr">Cahoone, 1996, 5</span></p> <p class="Body" style="margin: 3pt 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="">2.<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="ltr">Cahoone, 17</span></p> <p class="Body" style="margin: 3pt 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="">3.<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="ltr">Cahoone, 5</span></p> <p class="Body" style="margin: 3pt 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="">4.<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="ltr">Jean-Francois Lyotard,<span style=""> </span>482, Cahoone 1996</span></p> <p class="Body" style="margin: 3pt 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="">5.<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="ltr">Sweet, 1999, 17</span></p> <p class="Body" style="margin: 3pt 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="">6.<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="ltr">McLaren,, 2004m 123</span></p> <p class="Body" style="margin: 3pt 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="">7.<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="ltr">Webber, 2002, 143-153</span></p> <p class="Body" style="margin: 3pt 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><spa