Matt Fradd's Blog, page 24

What the Bible actually says about Jesus’ brothers

“Mary wasn’t perpetually a virgin. The Bible says Jesus had brothers.”

Ever heard that objection? Interestingly, both evangelicals and atheists raise it. They point to passages like Mark 6:2-4: “Many hearing him were astonished, saying…‘Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?’ So they were offended at him. And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and among his own relatives and in his own house.’”

The typical Catholic response is, “That Greek word for ‘brother’ doesn’t really mean a biological brother. It’s more like ‘cousin.’”

That’s an okay response. But the problem is that the Greek word “adelphoi” CAN mean a biological brother, depending on the context.

Fortunately, there’s a deeper answer that’s rooted in Scripture.

Let’s break it down.

1. Explaining the brothers

In verse 4, Jesus says: “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own relatives, and in his own house.”

The Greek word Jesus uses for “relatives” (“syngeneusin”) never refers to blood siblings. It means cousins of a different mother.

So in effect, the objectors question Jesus’ authority by calling out his “brothers” and Jesus responds by calling them “brothers from a different mother.”

That explains the “brothers,” but the passage also mentions “sisters.” What are we to make of that?

2. Explaining the sisters

Jesus refers to his “sisters” when he says “…and in his own house.”

Interestingly, Jesus doesn’t deny that he has “sisters.” But he does affirm that they’re relatives. When he uses the word for “house” or “household,” he’s actually referring to the Book of Numbers.

In Numbers chapter 1, God tells the Israelites to take a census of all their tribes. The families are organized and counted in groups of “ancestral households.” So in this case, “households” refers to one’s immediate family and to extended family in the same tribe. Jesus is using Scripture to refer to these women as a kind of distant relative.

3. Pointing out Christian tradition

It’s also worth pointing out that other intelligent Christians like St. Jerome (a biblical scholar) answered the same objections to Mary’s perpetual virginity by explaining passages like Mark 6:2-4, long before modern-day evangelicals and atheists came on the scene.

Even the Protestant reformers upheld Mary’s perpetual virginity. Martin Luther believed it until his dying day, as did Calvin and Zwingli.

So the next time someone tries to tell you that Jesus actually had brothers and sisters, share this little Greek and Scripture lesson with them.

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The Hidden Meaning of Incense

Incense has a long history in the Catholic liturgy. Like so many aspects of worship, it has roots in the Jewish liturgy of the Old Testament:

“And he [Moses’ brother Aaron] shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small; and he shall bring it within the veil and put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat which is upon the testimony” (Lev. 16:12-13).

Modern Catholics have different opinions about incense. Traditional Catholics generally love it. Certain modern types complain about the “smells and bells.” “Smells” mostly refers to incense — unless you happen to be in the cry room surrounded by a bunch of babies.

The use of incense in the liturgy is full of symbolism. We’ll focus on one of the lesser-known — and most beautiful — meanings.

Offering our wounded hearts to God
Some types of incense come from the “blood” of a tree. What do we mean? By repeatedly wounding a tree, sap is brought forth that forms the hard pellets used for incense.

We are like wounded trees. Our wounds have become hardened, dead, and useless.

In the context of the liturgy, burning incense symbolizes us opening our wounded hearts to God. The priest puts the incense on coal, which represents divine charity. Our wounds can only be healed if they are offered to God’s merciful heart. Just as the burning incense releases a sweet fragrance when coming into contact with the coal, God transforms our wounds into something beautiful.

Remember that Christ offered His suffering on the cross as an act of worship. The Mass — a representation of this same sacrifice — incorporates our wounds into Christ’s to be offered up to the Father.

Ravishing the heart of the bridegroom
In the Song of Songs 4:9, we read the following: “You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride, you have ravished my heart with a glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.”

In ancient Hebrew, the phrase “ravish my heart” is used in extra-Biblical literature to mean stripping bark from a tree. We are back to the wounded tree! The bark is the hard outer layer of the tree that protects it. Stripping the bark makes it vulnerable. It exposes the tender layer beneath the bark where the sap runs.

Going back to the Song of Songs, the bridegroom’s heart is made vulnerable by the bride. He lets down his walls. He lets his tender underlayer be exposed — to be wounded by her beauty, plight, and vulnerability. This gives him a desire to rescue her.

Christ has revealed Himself as the Bridegroom of the Church, which is His bride. He sees the beauty of His bride and also her woundedness. Her beauty ravishes His heart and He comes to rescue her.

These are such beautiful things to meditate on. Hopefully, you never see — or smell — incense the same way again!

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What Baking Bread Reveals About You

Baking bread is one of the most beautiful human activities. True, it’s a humble activity that usually takes place out of the limelight. Bakers don’t get the same adulation we give to famous musicians, athletes, or politicians (though baking shows do have dedicated fans).

Yet baking bread offers deep insight into what it means to be human. Here’s what we mean.

Baking bread reveals the image of God within you.
In Genesis 1:26, we read about God creating the first man and woman: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’”

We have the image of God stamped upon our nature primarily through our intellect and will. And we reveal this image by becoming subcreators.

What does that mean?

God alone can create in the truest sense of the word. To create means to make from nothing. We can’t do that, but we can still take the material God has created and make completely new things. In this we imitate God. We take the simple resources of the world — wheat, yeast, salt — and make something upon which the human race has flourished.

Think about it. Could grain ever get into a loaf of bread by itself? The fact that God doesn’t give us all our needs ready-made shows that He not only allows us to participate in His creative acts, He actually desires us to.

Baking bread becomes the basis for an amazing supernatural act.
If you’re tempted to think of bread as nothing special, then consider this: Jesus chose bread and wine to be the substances that transform into His body and blood in the Eucharist. Seriously, how many other material goods can claim that dignity?

This means that those who make the bread that will eventually become Jesus are intermediaries between the natural and supernatural.

In our consumeristic, high-tech world, it’s easy for us to look down on activities such as bread and baking. Yet, there is a sanctity hidden in all good human work. Let’s pray that we obtain the vision to see God’s glory manifested in all that is true, good, and beautiful — especially in the little things in life we often overlook.

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Does This Argument for Mary’s Assumption Really Work?

As Catholics, we believe that Mary experienced something that few others have: She and her earthly body were assumed into heaven!

We call this dogma of our faith the Assumption. The reason why it’s a big deal is that most of the deceased won’t get their bodies back until after the Last Judgment.

Most Protestants reject this belief in Mary’s Assumption. They believe that her soul left her body when she went to heaven — the same way most of us leave this life. They challenge Catholics to provide evidence for the Assumption from Scripture or history.

One argument Catholics sometimes bring up is that no one has claimed to possess any relics of Mary’s body.

But is this really a good argument? Yes and here’s why.

 

Relics were a big deal even in the early Church.
Protestants often accuse Catholics of idolatry because of our reverence for relics. And they claim that we’re out of sync with the early Church, which knew nothing of collecting them.

Yet, not only do we not worship relics, we also can verify that the early Church took an interest in relics. The practice of enshrining relics possibly goes back to the second century and maybe even further!

The early Church was quick to preserve relics of important saints, especially the Apostles and martyrs. Given Mary’s prominent status as the mother of the Savior, you’d think there’d be a concerted effort to acquire her relics. But we don’t have any record of the early Christians claiming to have these precious remains of the Blessed Virgin.

A number of Church Fathers were relic hunters, so we know people were interested in the discovery of relics and who owned them. Given that the Church Fathers greatly expanded our theology of the Blessed Virgin Mary, you’d think they would be on top of any news of her remains.

But what about St. Joseph?
A counterargument you sometimes hear is that we also don’t see early Christians claiming to have St. Joseph’s relics. And Catholics don’t have any official teaching saying that St. Joseph was assumed to heaven, so we know his remains are still on earth.

This argument seems convincing. Although St. Joseph is one of the most popular saints of modern times, it wasn’t always that way. In fact, there didn’t seem to be a lot of interest in St. Joseph during the earliest centuries of the Church — at least based on current research. He starts to come into focus in the liturgies of the sixth and seventh centuries.

Defending the Assumption is tough and the above argument isn’t going to convince everybody. You’ll need to combine this with positive arguments for the Assumption based on other early teachings about Our Lady.

However, the argument still makes good points that support the Catholic position. Make sure to highlight the importance of relics in the early Church when you’re discussing the Assumption.

Many non-Catholics are unfamiliar with the early Church. Challenge them to read up on it. As St. John Henry Newman said, “To be deep into history is to cease to be Protestant.”

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How Does God Know the Future?

As Catholics, we believe that God knows the past, present, and future. But how exactly does He know all of this? We could give an easy answer by saying, “He’s God.”

While that’s true, we can actually say a lot more. Let’s dig deeper by examining the nature of time — something many of us get wrong.

Only by understanding time can we perceive how God knows the future.

1. What is time?
St. Thomas Aquinas had a strong view on the nature of time, which he mostly got from Aristotle. Aristotle believed time is just a measure of change.

When God created, He made things that are finite and subject to change. A human baby changes into a child and then an adult. Snow that falls on a winter day eventually transforms back to water as the temperature rises.

Time is simply how we measure these changes. The reason this is important is that we often think of time as something that exists on its own — something extra that is added into the mix. But this is not how St. Thomas and Aristotle saw time. For them, if there were no changing beings, there would be no time.

2. What is eternity?
Our view of eternity influences how we view God’s eternity. Many of us think of eternity as time on steroids — time that keeps going on and on in both directions. While this is one kind of eternity, it’s not the eternity we mean when we speak of God being eternal.

Remember that for St. Thomas, time is the measurement of change. But God is changeless. There is no transformation in Him to measure. He simply is.

For God, eternity is not time continually progressing forever. It is something many theologians speak of as an “eternal now.” This isn’t a perfect expression, since “now” is still connected to time. But it’s the closest we can get.

Humans progress to the fullness of being in stages. We never possess all we can become in a single moment in time. You may be experiencing the company of your spouse and children, but not your deceased parents. You may be enjoying a steak tonight that you won’t experience during your next meal of fried fish.

But God possesses His life wholly and simultaneously. There is no before and after in God. He is timeless. He doesn’t exist for “a really, really long time in both directions.” He simply transcends time.

3. All things are present to God simultaneously.
God is the cause of all things, even those that — from our frame of reference — are in the future.

We can sometimes guess future events through causes. For example, if I observe two of my single friends hitting it off at a party, I know there’s a good chance they may end up on a date soon. I can’t know that with absolute certainty, but through my knowledge of causes I can make a reasonable guess.

But God knows our future events not only through causes that will lead to them, but also in and of themselves. They are already present to Him. There is no future with God. Just now.

Hopefully, this basic explanation clarifies God’s knowledge of the future. Of course, philosophers and theologians dig much more deeply into these concepts.

Let’s end with a practical application of this theoretical knowledge: The reason you can entrust your future to God is that that future is already present to Him in His eternal now. And since He already sees it, you can be assured that He will help you find your true fulfillment as you cooperate with His grace.

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What Should Catholics Think About Transhumanism?

Science fiction sometimes becomes reality. There were stories of us visiting the moon before we had the technology to get there. Space stations, artificial intelligence, and 3D printers are examples of real things that were once the stuff of fiction.

Transhumanism is something that is still mostly confined to books and movies. But even as you read this, people are working to make it a reality.

Let’s discuss what transhumanism is and what Catholics should think about it.

What is transhumanism?
Transhumanism is a project that seeks to radically enhance humanity. It wants to overcome our fundamental limits as human beings, such as getting sick, losing our memory, and even dying. It wants to produce a Human 2.0.

There are different levels of this enhancement project. Cognitive enhancement makes us smarter. Physical enhancement makes us stronger. Mood enhancement improves our emotional life. Moral enhancement facilitates our collaboration with each other.

Sounds like something we all want, right? And you can accomplish these things — to a very limited extent — in human ways, via exercise, study, and other natural aids.

Transhumanists, however, want to take these enhancements beyond what we are naturally capable of. Some transhumanists envision a future where we live forever, free of suffering, in our world. (Note that they are not talking about heaven.)

What’s the one thing standing in the way of these new humans? Our bodies. Sickness, aging, and death take place in the body. Transhumanists imagine a future where we are disembodied and therefore free of these evils.

This means we would exist in some sort of digitized state. One proposed stage of this would mean uploading our brain data to a computer.

What should Catholics think about this?
We can relate to some of the aspirations of transhumanists. We would all like to be free of pain and suffering and many of us may want to live forever. Not all enhancements designed to improve us are inherently wrong. There are moral ways to improve our memory, health, and longevity.

That being said, there are many problems with transhumanist thought. First of all, Catholics can’t share its disregard for the human body. Our bodies are holy and part of what makes us human. The Church has always strongly condemned ideologies that treat the human body as something to be fully rid of or inherently evil.

Some strands of transhumanism support eugenics. In a scenario echoing Huxley’s “Brave New World,” embryos would be engineered with an eye to enhancement. Others would be destroyed. All future humans would be produced in labs and sex would become merely a recreational activity. This goes against our belief in the dignity of human life at all stages and the meaning of sex.

We as Catholics already believe we will live forever — with our bodies. Our glorified bodies in heaven will be free of all the limitations that transhumanists seek to overcome.

Be wary of promised enhancements that come at the cost of human dignity. There are trade-offs. Enhancements in one area of your life can come at the cost of other goods.

God created us as beings with body and soul. Although sin has wounded us, God has promised to redeem those who turn to Him, giving them everlasting life free of pain and full of love. It’s a future far brighter than any utopia promised to us by transhumanism.

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3 Reasons You Should Make Friends With the Saints

The Catholic Church is one big spiritual family. And we don’t mean just here on earth — although we are more than a billion strong worldwide. The saints in heaven are also united to us in the Mystical Body of Christ.

The saints are aware of us and our needs. Don’t think of them as merely historical figures, but as ever-present spiritual companions.

Here are a few reasons why you should make friends with the saints.

1. They are the best role models.
Saints are people who made it to heaven. That makes them the best role models for us. After all, that is our ultimate goal, right?

If you were baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Church, then you likely took the name of a saint in each sacrament. You should pray to these saints a lot, for you are under their patronage.

Another awesome thing about the saints is that you can find them in every state of life. Sure, there are more officially canonized saints who are priests and religious. But there are also married saints who show that holiness is within reach of those living ordinary lives in the world.

Plus, there are more saints in heaven than those who are officially recognized as such by the Church. This means there are likely a TON more married saints we’ve never heard of!

2. They show that we all have a role to play in God’s plan.
God wants to involve us in His plan of salvation. That includes you! But it may often feel like you’re too insignificant to matter to God.

The saints show this to be false. Many saints came from humble backgrounds and were not great by the world’s standards. Some suffered from chronic illness and pain. Yet God used them to bring people back into communion with Him.

You don’t have to be a missionary or martyr to be a saint. You simply have to follow God’s will in your vocation.

If you’re faithful, God will do amazing things through you!

3. Their intercession is powerful before God.
The saints know what it’s like to see God face to face. They want you to do the same and stand ready to intercede for you.

Find a few saints that you’re especially drawn to and pray to them. Definitely include your patron saints, but also consider saints that shared the same vocation or line of work as you during their lifetime.

The saints now live with perfect charity, so God hears their prayers. Take advantage of this!

Let’s face it, many people feel lonely. Despite our connections via social media, they feel like there’s no one to look after them.

But the saints are always watching us. They love us and want to accompany us on our life’s journey. We need their help, so let’s joyfully embrace it!

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How to Live With Chronic Pain — the Catholic Way

Being the aspirational species we are, human beings naturally dream of living happy, pain-free lives. But reality has a way of interfering with this vision in various ways.

For some, chronic pain becomes a major theme in their lives. It can get so bad, they seriously question God’s care for them. After all, didn’t God create us to be happy? Doesn’t He say that our lives have a purpose?

There are no easy answers to the problem of chronic pain. But we as Catholics have a lot more to fall back on than secularists.

Here are some tips.

1. Unite yourself to the suffering of Christ.
It’s easy to tell someone to “offer up” their suffering. Sadly, some people say this in a dismissive way to get out of helping someone in need of support.

Yet, it’s only by offering your suffering to Christ that it becomes meaningful. The secular world simply has no way to make sense of suffering. But for Catholics, suffering is redemptive. We can offer our suffering to atone for our own sins or those of others.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t adopt practices to reduce your pain. Definitely listen to your doctor’s suggestions. But if some pain lingers, what are you to do?

The cross of Christ offers the only answer. This applies to chronic pain, as well as suffering in all its forms.

2. Remember that nothing falls outside of God’s loving providence.
God is not the creator of suffering. But He allows it to enter our lives and is able to transform it into a vehicle of grace for us.

It is tempting to look at your pain as an obstacle to personal fulfillment. But nothing can get in the way of God’s plan for your life. He sees your fulfillment and will give you the means to get there.

Your ultimate fulfillment may not end up being what you dreamed of, but it will transform you into an image of Christ if you simply let God’s grace do its work. So instead of trying to fight your suffering (we mean beyond practical steps to reduce the pain), ask God what He’s trying to teach you through it.

3. Don’t feel guilty if you struggle at Mass.
Some people have pain that prohibits them from kneeling or standing at Mass. If your church has a communion rail, you may feel self-conscious about not being able to kneel to receive our Lord.

Don’t feel guilty. Be as reverent as you can within the limitations imposed by your condition. Jesus sees your heart and He understands it better than anyone else.

On the other hand, if you see someone sitting when everyone else is kneeling or standing, don’t jump to conclusions about their motivations. They, too, may have physical limitations.

These tips will help you handle your pain. But, as we said, the mystery of suffering — and the innumerable questions it raises — will not be answered in this life.

But it will in the next, when the Lord will wipe away every tear from our eyes and heal every wound.

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How to Deal With Online Criticism

If you’re looking for inspiration to get you through the day, there’s no better place than the comments section on your favorite social media platform.

We joke, of course. Still, many of us keep going down those online rabbit holes to find validation.

But it’s a mean, depressing world in the digital sphere. Many people adopt alter egos to write things they would never say face-to-face.

Maybe you’ve been on the receiving end of hurtful online comments. If so, here are some ways to handle them.

1. Be humble and offer the hurt to God.
All of us struggle with pride. Sometimes we need a little prick to deflate our big egos. Reading hurtful comments can accomplish that.

When you read such comments, stop and take a deep breath. Remember that even if the comment is unfair, you are an imperfect person in need of healing. Offer the hurt to God in satisfaction for your sins.

A comment may point out a real flaw in you. Maybe you do come off as haughty or mean online and other commenters are calling you out on it.

In these cases, reflect on how you present yourself online.

2. Crack a joke.
Joking is a great way to practice humility. It also works against those mean commenters who relish in your pain.

Don’t give them what they want. Turn it around and crack a joke. Many times, this will silence them, or at least undermine their credibility.

3. Pray for those who mock you.
It’s easy to read a mean comment and immediately start thinking hateful things about the author. This reaction is just as bad as their action, so stop this behavior.

Charity demands that you pray for everyone — including your enemies. Offer them up to God in prayer, however tough it seems. It’s what we’re called to do as Christians.

4. Block the offenders.
Charity demands that you love everyone, even those who offend you. But this doesn’t mean you have to continually put up with people.

Consider giving someone another chance if they post one mean comment. If you’re comfortable and know them personally, send them a message asking them to stop. But if they keep doing it, there’s nothing wrong with blocking them.

Remember that you are God’s child and made in His image. Remember that Christ died for all, even people you can’t stand.

Worry less about what others say online and more about how you conduct yourself. Don’t sacrifice holiness, peace, and joy to score some cheap points against an online bully.

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3 Reasons You Should Become Catholic

Are you a non-Catholic considering joining the Church? Or a Catholic who wants to help a non-Catholic friend convert?

Being Catholic is the most amazing thing on earth. There are hundreds of reasons why you should become Catholic.

Don’t worry, we’re not actually going to list all of them! Here are three of them.

1. Becoming Catholic will take your spiritual life to the next level

Catholicism is overflowing with devotions and spiritualities to choose from. You have the Rosary, the Divine Mercy chaplet, the Liturgy of the Hours, and so much more!

These different devotions fit people with different temperaments and vocations. Some are best suited to priests and religious. Others help married couples find holiness in the hustle and bustle of daily life.

Catholic devotions are also helpful for people who struggle with spontaneous prayer. Some people have trouble thinking of the words on their own. Some never learned how to pray. Using established prayers from the Church or the saints teaches you how to address God and what to ask Him for.

A word of caution: Don’t go overboard by trying to do too many devotions. Find a few that best suit your state in life. It’s better to do a few devotions well than a dozen half-heartedly. If you’re unsure which to choose, ask a spiritual director.

2. You get to live the mysteries of the Faith each year through the liturgical calendar

For most Christians, faith isn’t just an idea. It’s built on historical events — instances where God intervened in history in a special way. Of course, the most important of these is the Resurrection. St. Paul said, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Cor. 15:14).

Many Christian communities commemorate the chief events of salvation history, especially Christmas and Easter. But Catholics go way further. Our liturgical calendar is full of saints’ days and commemorations for the many different mysteries of our faith.

The liturgical calendar ensures that we periodically call to mind our spiritual heritage and live it out in our daily life. It also helps us realize that God’s plan is still unfolding toward its culmination in the great wedding feast in the kingdom of heaven.

3. You join a huge spiritual family

The word “Catholic” means “universal.” Few other Christian communities have such a worldwide presence as the Catholic Church.

But the Church is also universal in the sense that we are united to the Church Suffering in Purgatory and the Church Triumphant in heaven. We can pray for those in Purgatory, and Jesus hears those prayers. We can talk to the saints and the Blessed Mother in heaven and ask for their intercession.

Sadly, many Protestant communities don’t believe in praying to the saints. They’re missing out on experiencing an incredible spiritual family bond!

There simply isn’t anything that beats being Catholic. If you feel God tugging your heart toward His Church, don’t be afraid! The rewards are far above anything you get from this life.

 

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