Blog Hosting

I have grown dissatisfied with the blog hosting at Blogger, especially in the realm of formatting the blog. Also, I wish to expand the blog to be a more substantive website. I have therefore started hosting my blog through WordPress. The blog's address will be the same http://www.veritasvosliberat.com, and it can also be reached at http://veritasvosliberat.wordpress.com. It may take a little bit of time for the Internet to reflect the change for www.veritasvosliberat.com since it was just made, which is why I provided the secondary URL.  Thank you for your patience during this transition.

Genetically Engineered Child

I read this article the other day, which tells the story of a little girl who had a rare bone marrow disease.  Her parents, who had wanted to have more children, had a child genetically engineered so that his DNA would match that of their sick daughter so she could have a bone marrow transplant.  As far as the doctors can tell, this little girl is now cured of the disease.  I am writing this post not to judge the parents, for I cannot know the state of their souls, but rather to objectively evaluate the means by which this girl was cured and the possible effects of these means.

When evaluating something based on Natural Law, one must look at both the end and the means.  Neither of these aspects can be evil, or else the entire act is evil.  The first thing to look at is the end of this action.  The end is to cure this girl of her bone marrow disease so she can live a long, healthy life.  This is a good end.

The problem comes in with the means.  In order to cure her, her brother was conceived through in vitro fertilization so that he could have the genetic qualities necessary to be a bone marrow donor to her.  The first issue involves the in vitro fertilization itself.  The end of the human sexual act is the begetting of children, and this end is good.  Nature has established the way in which children are conceived, namely, through the sexual union of a husband and wife.  I am specifically using the terms "husband and wife" because marriage is a natural institution for the begetting and raising of children.  Any act that separates a means from its end is naturally immoral.  The problem with in vitro fertilization is it does just that -- the ends and means are severed.  Rather than the means nature has provided for conception, artificial means are used.  Going back the the principles of Natural Law, since the means are evil, the entire act of in vitro fertilization is evil under Natural Law.  Therefore, the means used to help this girl are naturally evil.

My next concern is that this boy was conceived for the purpose of being a bone marrow donor for his sister.  Granted, the parents wanted another child.  However, the fact that he was to serve this other purpose does raise concerns.  Did they want him for himself or because he could also fulfill another purpose?  His existence was determined solely by the fact that he is a genetic match to be a bone marrow donor for his sister.  The doctors went through the eggs supplied by these children's mother until they found a match.  Eggs that were not a match were discarded (I do not remember if the article is clear whether they were destroyed or just passed over).  Unlike in the views of some modern philosophers, humans are not solely spiritual beings that happen to have bodies; we are in fact body-soul composites.  Since human beings are body-soul composites, a person is a particular body with a particular soul.  Therefore, a person's particular DNA matters when determining his particular personhood.  Different DNA means a different person.  Thus, this boy only came into being because he would have the "right" DNA looked for by the doctors.  I think this realization can be traumatizing for him later in life, especially the realization that if he did not have the correct DNA, the egg he came from would have been passed over, and he would not exist.  I think it also could be indicative that he was viewed as a means and not as an end in himself, which would be a violation of his human dignity.

The illness of a child can be a very difficult thing to bear, especially when it is an illness as serious as this little girl's bone marrow disease.  However, there are still certain boundaries established by nature that we cannot ethically cross.  What needs to realized is that just because we can do something does not mean we should; the ends do not justify the means.  Ethical means are necessary in obtaining ethical ends.  This can make for some agonizing decisions, and it is a result of the fallen world we live in caused by sin.  Ultimately, we must unite our sufferings with those of Christ, and strive to live our lives in such a way that we can join Him in Heaven after our deaths.

Blair now a Catholic

It turns out that the rumors we've been hearing over the past several months are true -- Tony Blair has now converted to Catholicism.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/12/22/catholic.blair.ap/index.html

The O Antiphons

Yesterday marked the first day of the seven O Antiphons.  The O Antiphons are the Gospel canticle antiphons for Vespers (Evening Prayer) from December 17 to the 23.   They name various titles of Jesus.  They are (in order): O Sapientia (O Wisdom), O Adonai (O Lord), O Radix Jesse (O Stem of Jesse), O Clavis David (O Key of David), O Oriens (O Rising Sun), O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations), and O Emmanuel.  What is particularly neat about them in Latin is that if you take the first letter of the first major word of each and write them out starting with Emmanuel and working backwards you get the phrase "Ero Cras".  This means "I will come/be tomorrow", and it is a reference to the impending coming of the Messiah on Christmas.  Christmas celebrates the coming of the Messiah in three ways.  First, He came some 2000 years ago when He was born of the Virgin Mary.  He continues to come in the Eucharist at Mass.  Finally, He will come again in glory at the end of the world.

Getting towards the end of the semester

I'm still around.  Things have been busy, but the end of the semester is two weeks away.  Hopefully then I'll be posting more.

All Souls' Day Mass

At Kenrick we had a High Requiem Mass for All Souls' Day.  Here are some pictures:

The Old Steps of Holy Orders

My posting seems to have become sparse lately. Things have been really busy and my computer is out of commission for a little while (hard drive needs to be replaced).

However, I did find this really neat picture showing the old process of Holy Orders, starting with tonsure, working up through the minor orders, and then culminating with priesthood.

Ad Orientem

http://www.zenit.org/article-20559?l=english

Here is an interview from Zenit regarding the priest facing ad orientem at Mass.

God's Love and Wealth

In the past I have seen Protestant ministers on TV preaching that if God loves you, you will be wealthy. The corollary of this would be poverty means God does not love you. I have never encountered a Catholic priest who taught this, but I do not rule out the possibility. In any case, this is a false and dangerous teaching.

This week in the Divine Office, there has been a series of readings from St. Augustine about how to be a good pastor. Even when these readings are replaced by the proper ones for saints (as was the case today with St. Matthew), I still like to read the writings of Augustine because of the wealth of information in them. In the one for Friday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time, Augustine wrote, "For the Apostle says: All who desire to live a holy life in Christ will suffer persecution. But you, shepherd, seek what is yours and not what is Christ's, you disregard what the Apostle says: All who want to live a holy life in Christ will suffer persecution. You say instead: 'If you live a holy life in Christ, all good things will be yours in abundance. If you do not have children, you will embrace and nourish all men, and none of them shall die.' Is this the way you build up the believer? Take note of what you are doing and where you are placing him. You have built him on sand. The rains will come, the river will overflow and rush in, the winds will blow, and the elements will dash against that house of yours. It will fall, and its ruin will be great."

Augustine is speaking out against people who teach that to live a holy life means an abundance of goods. Such a teaching contradicts Scripture. God loved Jesus, yet there was much suffering in Jesus' life. Likewise, God loved Mary, yet there was much suffering in her life. As Scripture says, which Augustine quoted, everyone who lives a holy life will have suffering in their lives. This does not mean that living a holy life is bad. Suffering is very redemptive. Through suffering a person can unite himself to the Cross of Christ; he can share in Christ's suffering. By offering up his suffering, a person can help souls in Purgatory achieve perfection faster.

The teaching that God's love brings wealth can be especially discouraging for those who are living holy lives but are not wealthy. They may think that God must not love them even though they are doing their best to live lives in accordance with His will. Such false reasoning can cause them to turn away from God out of bitterness and resentment.

God's love in infinite. He loves those who lead holy lives, and He loves those who are sinners. What He does not love is sin. Yet, He is willing to forgive the repentant sinner should that sinner ask for His forgiveness. The sinner may think that God does not love him because of past mistakes. However, as Sacred Scripture says, “God is love”. Since God is love itself, He can never stop loving anyone. This is evident in His actions. God the Father sent His only Son to be crucified in order that humanity’s sins may be forgiven. God loves us so much that He died for our sins. These include the sins of those before Jesus’ life, during Jesus’ life (including those who put Him to death), and after Jesus’ death on the Cross, which includes myself and everyone else in the world. Through the sacrament of Penance, God forgives all our sins so long as we are sorry for them and humbly confess them. God loves us so much that He will forgive our sins if we ask Him to by going to Confession.

Because of God's love for us, He sometimes allows us to share in the suffering of Christ for the good of our souls and the souls of others. Wealthy or poor, holy or sinful, "God loves each of us as if there were only one of us," to quote Augustine. Nevertheless, God wills that we should live good lives and avoid sin. Part of God loving us means that He wishes what is best for us, and this includes a life in which one avoids sin. In the end, the amount of wealth or other good things one has in no way indicates the amount of love God has for him.

Loss of Hell

I was reading an article today about how many people in modern society have lost an idea of Hell and that sin can lead one to spend eternity there. I think this is a two-fold problem. The first aspect of it is the loss of the idea that Hell exists at all. I believe Fulton Sheen said something to the effect that the Devil's greatest triumph is convincing us that he does not exist. This would naturally lead people to cease believing Hell exists.

The second aspect of this problem is a person believing in Hell, but also believing that he could never end up there. I have encountered people who believe in a sort of "get out of Hell free" card. This normally seems to take the form of an idea that if they do some good things these will excuse mortal sins committed by this person. Another misguided idea is that one can live a life of sin with the idea that you'll just confess on your deathbed. First, death may come for a person at any time. This is why mortal sin is so dangerous - a sinner could be hit by a bus shortly after committing the sin. You just don't know if you'll have an opportunity for repentance and confession before death. Secondly, as Leibniz said, "The present is laden with the past and pregnant with the future." What he is saying here is that one's past actions have a bearing on how one can be expected to act in the present and in the future. Granted, there is room for divine grace and conversion of heart. However, if one intends to live a dissolute life and then all of a sudden convert on his deathbed, chances are he will not because he has so predisposed himself to sin. A corollary of this is that even if one goes through the motions of a deathbed confession, repentance is necessary for one's sins to be forgiven. If a person confesses his sins but is not sorry for them, again a likely effect of a life of sin, that person will not be forgiven.

Thus, it is necessary to have knowledge both that Hell exists and that one can end up there if one commits mortal sin and does not seek God's forgiveness. To quote Augustine, "God loves each of us as if there were only one of us." God's love for us is infinite; He does not want us to go to Hell, but rather He wants us to be in Heaven with Him. However, God's love for us allows us to have free will. We are the ones who choose for or against God. Thus, we are the ones who make the choices that will lead us to Heaven or Hell. If we choose against God, God in His love for us allows us to exercise our free will by choosing an eternity in Hell.

Orationes ad Vestitum

Today I learned some more prayers for vesting. I think they are all very beautiful. I especially like the one said when the priest or seminarian puts on his collar.

Ad Tunicam Talearem:
Dominus pars haereditatis meae et calicis mei: tu es qui restitues haereditatem meam mihi.

For the Cassock:
The Lord is the portion of my inheritance, and of my cup; Thou shalt restore my inheritance to me.

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Ad Collarem:
Subjice me Domine dulci jugo tuo dulcique jugo matris tuae Mariae.

For the Collar:
Subject me, O Lord, to Thy sweet yoke and to the sweet yoke of Thy Mother Mary.

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Ad Cingulum:
Praecinge me Domine cingulo puritatis, et exstingue in lumbis meis humorem libidinis, ut maneat in me virtus continentiae et castitatis.

For the Cincture:
Gird me, O Lord, with the cincture of purity and extinguish in my loins the desire of lust, so that the virtue of continence and chastity may ever abide within me.

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Ad Superpelliceum:
Indue me Domine novum hominem, qui secundum Deum creatus est in justitia et sanctitate veritatis. Amen.

For the Surplice:
Put on me, O Lord, the new man who has been created according to God in justice and holiness and truth.
Amen.

Beatification of Fr. Basil Moreau, C.S.C.

Today, the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows, which is the patronal feastday of the Congregation of Holy Cross, the founder of Holy Cross, Fr. Basil Moreau, was beatified in Le Mans, France. This is a great day for the Congregation of Holy Cross.