Virtus In Medio Stat

I believe By Laurence Gonzaga It has been about eleven years since I took the “leap” back towards the faith of my upbringing, and about ten years since I came back to Catholicism in particular. It has been quite a journey, filled with a few detours, as well as much that was lacking in the way of what can be called “purity of intention”, as a friend recently phrased it. I recently wrote a piece called, “ The idolatry of worshiping God ” , which had mostly good responses, and a few appreciated critiques. I will be more careful moving forward when I disseminate my writing. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish my theological/apologetical pieces versus what can be called “theological reflection”, also known as “opinion”. After all, my undeserved positive reputation from days gone by precedes me. That piece had to do with the same topic as this one, that is, the first words of the first article of the apostle’s creed, “I believe”. It’s amazing how theologically and practically...

The idolatry of worshiping God Laurence Gonzaga A few weeks ago I had pulled into a local parking lot during my lunch break from work and a song came on the local Christian radio station. It was by no means appropriate for any kind of liturgical service, but one thing I will credit the Protestants for is that they know how to make music that touches the heart, not because of its technical or aesthetic beauty, but because it resonates with the challenges that modern Christians may face today. In that sense, it may only have transitory value, as opposed to a Mozart or Palestrina piece, but it serves a purpose. Considering the personal challenges I have been facing as of late, listening to the song and its lyrics drove me to tears; in fact, it was even a full blown sob, begging God for direction and clarity for my life. The lyrics for this song can be read here . This evening I had a wonderful conversation with a friend. We spoke about many things, not the least of which has be...

  and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works ? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household ." And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.  (Matthew 13:54-58 ESV) Do you ever wonder why your witness tends to be better received among those who know you the least? Of course this is not always the case. Not everyone can be a Scott Hahn right? However, in my observation, of my own life and the lives of others, I have found folks with rather powerful messages. Often times they are very popular figures, champions of truth ev...

Some months ago I was directed to a viral video making its way through the social networking universes, titled Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus ( http://youtu.be/1IAhDGYlpqY ). It was a Christian attack on “religion”, or at least, how the author portrays religion. I have to say, what makes his message so appealing, is the means by which it is packaged. Like it or not, we live in the modern world. Like it or not, the folks that need the Gospel message the most are not those who are already “well”, that is, those who already know Jesus and His message, but those that don’t, and perhaps don’t even want to hear it (Luke 5:31-32). I think this guy speaks a language or dialect if you wish that most Christians probably can’t or refuse to speak. It is in a similar sense that I think the Holy Ghost gave the apostles gifts of tongues to be able to preach the Gospel to others in their own languages (Acts 2:6). Some may argue it is “dumbing” it down; some will say it is taking sacred thing...

By Laurence Gonzaga Introduction As a former atheist, it has become an area of interest for me to present simple presentations of some of the arguments which I fell in love with that brought me out of atheism. I don’t claim that these arguments have no responses or criticisms. They do, and they are good ones. I believe that those who are formally trained in philosophy would take more absolute positions on these arguments, but I look at it in more practical terms. Ultimately, for me, I approach my life with the goal of discerning its purpose and meaning. As an atheist I had taken moral stances and I behaved in certain ways, which had to be rooted in some kind of consistent moral framework, but I had none. That is not to say atheists cannot have one, but I have found that many of those whom I had encountered, never took the time to develop one. I heard much about “rights” and “freedom”, but when asked about what those words mean and who or what determines what they are and why...

"High Fashion" http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeslifestyle/2012/03/26/why-adults-should-ditch-the-shorts-wear-suits/ The piece above is a perfect compliment to what I had just posted yesterday. This will be a reflection on choice of attire. Like I had said previously, there was a time when I had rejected my jeans and t-shirts. I had fallen in love with the principles that I had learned from the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP). Good ideas, at the time. When I was in high school, my old friends and acquaintances can confirm that I went to public high school wearing slacks, button up long sleeves, and ties. I even carried around a brief case rather than a backback. It was a style I was attracted to at the time. I don't know if it helped me with my grades, as I was not the stellar student then. But, after leaving much of what can be described socially as "traditionalism", the jeans and t-shirts came back. I was comforta...

nolite iugum ducere cum infidelibus quae enim participatio iustitiae cum iniquitate aut quae societas luci ad tenebras – II Cor 6.14 This is something I have been struggling with for some time. In the height of my traditionalism I had avoided watching all television, stopped wearing jeans and t-shirts, and stopped listening to popular music. When I began to reject some social aspects of traditionalism I started watching television, popular movies and music again. The jeans and t-shirts came back and a lot of the rest. But, I have noticed since then that when I do encounter some of the more worldly and perverse aspects of the popular media and culture, I still have this disturbing response to them. The first obvious response I noticed was when I had watched the film SAW III. I remember I was not a believer when the first film came out. I was not disgusted by the scenes of torturous murder in there. I later figured it out; I was so desensitized from years of violence in popular films....