It is that isolation that your neighbors need to be freed from.  Really, if you could search their hearts, you would find that they don’t want to live like that.  However, because so few Americans can build and maintain happy relationships with others, most Americans find it easier to do without relationships.

As Christians we need to be the ones that bring peace to our neighborhoods by offering ourselves as the ones whose sacrifices and generosity will make real peace possible for those around us.  Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” and that is what our neighbors need–they need Christians to come into their lives and make peace–peace between them and their neighbors, between them and their children, between them and their relatives, and ultimately between them and God.

After all, any talk about bringing our neighbors to God is absurd if we can’t even bring our neighbors to peace with one another–and if we cannot be at peace with them.  St. John said,

“If any man say, ‘I love God’, yet hateth his neighbor; he is a liar. For he that loveth not his neighbor, whom he seeth, how can he love God, whom he seeth not?”

When God wished to explain heavenly things to men, he did so by relating them to earthly things that He assumed men would understand.  He assumes, for example, that mothers love their children, that fathers discipline their children, that men relish friendship and community, that everyone loves a banquet, and so on.  Yet, in our lives today, it would appears that these assumptions were not necessarily true.  When one drives down a road with 24 houses on 1/4 acre lots and realizes that every one of those families owns their own lawnmower, it should be obvious that these people don’t know much about community.  That’s the first thing that needs to change.

Every one of your neighbors would like to live in a warm, friendly, happy neighborhood.  Many of them would like to be hospitable, they’d like to share their resources, they’d like for their children to have good friends.  That’s why they live in neighborhoods and not in apartments.  They want to be happy–but they don’t know how to be happy, and they don’t have the grace necessary to be the ones who bring happiness into a community.  That’s the job of Christians–who should.

So, how ought you to begin?

1.  Be outside.
Get out on the front lawn and relax.  Toss a ball around, go for a walk around the neighborhood.  Wave to every car that passes by, to every neighbor you see.  Let them know you’re approachable and friendly.

2.  Pray with the windows open.  Sing and pray and don’t be afraid to let the neighbors hear you doing so.  Let them hear some sacred music, let them know that you do things that they don’t…regularly.  Don’t act like people who have no religion if you do.  My wife can tell you about our time in grad school at Rutgers University…I used to sing Christian hymns in the evening, and everyone got to listen–Muslims, Jews, atheists, etc.. They knew Christians lived upstairs and no one ever complained.

3.  Always make extra.  If you’re making pies, or baking bread…make some extra.  Send the kids with a treat over to the neighbors house with a simple.  ”Hi, Mom made some extra pies and told us to bring you one.  Bye!”  Don’t worry about delivering a homily or stuffing tracts under the pie crust.  Just be friendly.

4.  Celebrate the holidays.  Everyone should know that your house is the place to be on Christmas Eve.  Have a big party and let the neighbors know it’s open invitation.   Yes, it will be expensive, but generosity is always expensive.  Besides, you’re trying to promote generosity, remember?  Be Mr. Fezziwig, not Mr. Scrooge.  Give out good candy on Halloween, share pies on Thanksgiving, decorate your house for Christmas.  Fill your neighborhood with some fun, for crying out loud.

5.  Say ‘Yes’.  If a kid comes to the door selling something be friendly and say “Yes.”.  The price of the cookies, or raffle tickets, or whatever else they’re selling is the price of making friends.  Be friendly, say ‘Yes’.  I remember when I was I kid, I thought the families who donated or bought stuff were the “nice families” and those who didn’t were “mean”.  Don’t be a mean family…you’re not going to win any prizes for it.

6.  Lend a Hand.    Help is expensive and there’s no better way to be a good neighbor than to offer some for free.  Send the kids out to help rake leaves or shovel snow…they don’t need to be paid for it.  Offer to cut the grass for an old lady or a new neighbor.   Be useful and lend a hand.

7.  Don’t be a Weirdo  Realize that being a generous neighbor is true religion.  You don’t need to try and corner your poor neighbors and force them into awkward religious conversations.  ”So, Brett, did you know that Jesus is really present–body, blood, soul and divinity–in the Holy Eucharist?”  Uh, Brett’s probably looking for an escape route because you’re a weirdo.  Religious conversation doesn’t begin with the loftiest mysteries of the Christian faith.  It begins with the birds of the air, the lilies of the field, the good Samaritan, etc..  Be patient…those discussions will come comfortably and in the right context.

8.   Learn Manners.  Yes, it may be fun for you be a home school family with boys who live with no shirts on and girls who look like Quakers.  However, good manners are formed by convention and need to adapt to the society you’re in, not that which you wish you were in.  Be an example of good manners and respect the culture of your neighborhood, “be in the world, but not of the world”, as St. Paul said.

9.  Absorb Losses.   Being a good neighbor is not a for-profit endeavor.   You’ll come across real needs in your neighbors’ lives as you get to know them and there are a lot of people in the world who are expensive to be friends with.  I have a neighbor, for example, who’s 70 years old and doesn’t have much money, and I buy farm products from him that are lower quality than what I could buy from other guys I know–but he needs the money more than they do. Being a good neighbor to him means absorbing some losses, but that’s a price we need to pay to build community.  You will learn, however, that the American aversion to work and the eagerness to play is a major obstacle to this kind of benevolence.  Rather than work as much as you have to and share what’s extra (which will usually be nothing), you’re going to challenged to share of what you have and then work extra.

In my neck of the woods, though, out in the country, we really don’t have neighbor problems.  Farmers can’t survive without collaboration and we share everything.  I have equipment my neighbors don’t, and they come and pick it up when they need it.  They have equipment I don’t, and I don’t need to ask to use it when the time comes.  One neighbor grows hay, another raises pigs, another buys seed and fertilizer and everyone shares.  My wife visits widows now and then to bring them some fresh bread and eggs and see if they need any help.  If my neighbor makes a new batch of strawberry wine, a bottle gets dropped off for me.  I pay for the dumpster and all my neighbors toss their junk in.  Anyone who’s been around my house for a time will tell you, it’s a beautiful thing to see, and we don’t take it for granted–but you have to be willing to share to be shared with.   We work to create that community, and you need to do the same.  Trust me when I tell you that building community by being generous and friendly will change everything.

The Goal.  Now, this friendship is not meant to gain or give temporal benefits alone.  Our goal is to evangelize and bring our neighbors to eternal happiness.  This long-term vision is what alone makes sense of the sacrifices and losses that such community-building will require of you.  You should, as a Christian, relish the opportunity to demonstrate your faith by your works to your neighbors and challenge them, as Jesus did, to follow you.  They should not be able to keep up with you for charity because you are a Christian with your roots deep in the rivers of God’s graces.  Their weakness should inspire them to admire you and begin to ask, “Why can’t I do the things I want to do?”.  When they get to that point, they’re ready for the Gospel.  Before then, it probably won’t make much sense.  My neighbors aren’t Catholics yet, and some aren’t even Christians, but I know they think well of Catholics, which is my first objective.  One of my neighbors wanted to talk to me when Pope Benedict resigned and get the scoop on that.  Another invites our kids to the local Baptist Vacation Bible School, and I get to joke with them about Catholics not reading the Bible.   We’re all good neighbors and now, God willing, we can all become like-minded Christians.  I trust we will, in due time, but there’s no point in trying to run together before we can all walk together.

God bless,
William Michael
Beatitudes Farm

That Savior, of course, is Jesus Christ.  He was promised by God to come for many years, but God had to first prepare the world for Him.  When the time was finally prepared, Christ was born into the world, which event the world celebrates at Christmas.

Our enemies are not merely other men, or even ourselves.  The world is filled with evil spirits that inspire us to do evil, and they are stronger and more clever than we are.  Our enemies, then, include the Devil, all of the unclean spirits of  the world, our own sinful desires and habits, and the world around us.  We cannot possibly overcome these enemies by human strength–as you know, it is impossible to live without doing giving in to bad desires or influences.  We need “grace”, which simply means strength to do what God wills, which God gives us.

To honor Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, God gives this strength to men only in Jesus’ name.   The strength God gives us is found in Christ’s teaching in the Bible, in the generous friendship of other Christians, and in the sacramental blessings (or “graces”) available through the Christian Church.  The beginnings of these “graces” is the strength needed to believe in the Gospel.  You do not need to worry about that, though, for if you want to be a Christian, God will give you much more than the grace you need to believe.

God has prepared many sources of grace for you–but you must make use of them.  God has given you a Bible to make you wise, a Catechism and many excellent teachers from throughout history to help you understand the Bible.  There’s no excuse not to know the truth.  God has also given you the seven sacraments, which give you grace at all of the important stages of your life.  To begin, there is Baptism.  When you are baptized, you will be changed. Your past will be washed away and you will begin a new life as a new person in a new world.  After Baptism, if you struggle to do good or do evil, God offers you forgiveness and help through Confession.  When you are well-taught in the faith and willing to confess your faith publicly, God offers you grace through Confirmation to live according to that teaching.  If you are married, God gives you and your spouse help through the sacrament of Matrimony.  When you are sick, God gives you special graces through the sacrament called the “Anointing of the Sick”, which is also called “Last Rites” when received before your death.  If you are are interested in serving God’s Church, God gives grace through Holy Orders. In addition to these, there are many special blessings available to help you, which a priest can give you.  Holy Water is available to remind you of your Baptism and to bless you.  Most of all, Christ offers you His own body and blood in Holy Communion, as spiritual food and drink, to cleanse you of sins and to strengthen your soul.   The Church provides you with prayers and study materials, music and artwork–everything you could possibly need to live a holy and wise life in the world.  It is all available to you freely–you must simply come and receive it.

Therefore, you are called by God–today and every day– to believe the Gospel and receive all of its benefits. They are endless and they are free.  You are called to be free from all of the things that ruin your life and make you miserable–gluttony, lust, sloth, envy, anger, pride and greed. There are no excuses–you can’t blame anyone or anything for keeping you back from it. You can overcome all these things…if you are willing.

God says to you:

“All you that thirst, come to the waters: and you that have no money make haste, buy, and eat: come ye, buy wine and milk without money, and without any price.  Why do you spend money for that which is not breed, and your labour for that which doth not satisfy you? Hearken diligently to me, and eat that which is good, and your soul shall be delighted in fatness. Incline your ear and come to me: hear and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you.”  (Isaiah 55)

(a)  to Persuade unbelievers to become disciples,
(b)  to Baptize those disciples and initiate them into the sacramental life of the Church, and
(c)  to Train those disciples to obey Christ in all things.

Step one, then, requires that we go out into the world and lead unbelievers to become Christian disciples and to bring them into the pastoral care of the Church.  We cannot control that ministry, and it’s not our responsibility.  Our responsibility is to “go out into the highways and byways of the world and compel them to come in”.  (Luke 14:23)

These people we find live in the highways and byways of the world.  They are all different sorts of people with sorts of problems, obstacles, prejudices, misunderstandings, etc..  Some are rich, some are poor, some healthy, some sick, some young, some old, some friendly, some hostile.   Regardless of their condition, they are the people to whom Our Lord has sent us and we must go.

As we go, there are three basic questions we must ask that will allow us to complete step one:

(1) Who is this person?
If the children in our own homes are all so different, how much more the individuals we will happen to interact with when we begin to do the work of evangelists.   The individuals we seek to lead to Our Lord will all be different and, like patients with different diseases, they will be in need of different remedies.  We, like a good physicians, must study them to diagnose their problems, and then must do what we can to bring them to the remedy.  Of course, Our Lord, who is the “Great Physician” has already told us what all men need, and He has established the sacraments and sacramentals, and all the other means of grace, as the cure-alls for man’s ills.   We need to do what we can to help our neighbors come to Christ, trusting that He will relieve them of all of their cares and troubles once they are in Him.

Therefore, we must be willing to study and get to know those around us–one by one–that we might become friends and gain their trust.  We must “be slow to speak and quick to listen”, learning from their own lips their beliefs, ideas and weaknesses.  We must study our neighbors and human beings in general, learning the teachings and practices of different religions, and how those around us relate to them.  We CANNOT arrogantly and rashly pretend that we know more than we do, as if our limited experience is all that’s needed to understand other men.  We must be patience and learn who our neighbors are.

(2) What does this person need to know?

We will find that one is a Muslim, another a Jew, one who doesn’t think about religion at all.   One will be a benevolent neighbor, another a hardened criminal.  Each of them will need us to become a bridge between them and the Church and we must be willing and able to adapt ourselves to many different audiences and environments if we would, as St. Paul explained:

“Whereas I was free as to all, I made myself the servant of all, that I might gain the more. And I became to the Jews, a Jew, that I might gain the Jews:   To them that are under the law, as if I were under the law, (whereas myself was not under the law,) that I might gain them that were under the law. To them that were without the law, as if I were without the law, (whereas I was not without the law of God, but was in the law of Christ,) that I might gain them that were without the law.  To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak. I became all things to all men, that I might save all.  And I do all things for the gospel’ s sake.”

We must endeavor then, to study the Christian faith so as to share it with those who don’t know or accept it.  When we are asked a question, we must seek out and give the correct answer–not our opinion. We must endeavor to understand exactly what it is that others do not understand or agree with and then zero in on the causes of that misunderstanding and/or rejection and try to remove it.

We must also set Christianity on display before their eyes, giving them the opportunity to see it in action, and even to feel its benefits.  If there is no such fruit, why are we eager to convert them to something that is no different from anything else?  This is, in fact, what causes so many Christians to lack any interest in evangelization–they see nothing in themselves to offer unbelievers, because there isn’t anything substantially different about them.  We must show our neighbors that there IS a difference and that we have virtues and graces and benefits that they do not have.

(3) What does this person need to believe?

We do well to teach a person what Christ has taught us, and to show them what the Christian life looks like.  However, knowing Christian teaching will not necessarily cause them to believe Christian teaching.  It is one thing to know what one should do, and another to believe that one should do it.

It must, then, be our aim to remove every possible obstacle to faith, to predispose our neighbors to faith, as the Catechism teaches.  God will give them grace to believe, and we can do nothing without that grace, but that grace can be ignored or rejected by our neighbors when it is given.  Our endeavor must be to not have that happened, but to imitate the ministry of John the Baptist:  ”to turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just, to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people”.

Most of the people around us are more prepared than we initially think to believe.  Human ideas and beliefs are normally hidden behind a complex facade of emotions, words and social pressures.   The Gospel speaks to the heart of man, in its most secret places and, as Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice.”

CONCLUSION

The Classical Liberal Arts Academy will be developing an intensive evangelistic program to allow Christians to study, discuss and collaborate in bringing the Gospel to our neighbors.  If this article stirs your interest, let us know, and we can discuss what needs to be done.

We’re doing pretty well.

20 years ago, I was a miserable 17 year old entering my senior year of high school in Edison, NJ. From the time I was 13, my life was devoted to playing sports. However, a broken shoulder in 1991 ended my sports career. My life suddenly collapsed in the midst of my teenage years. My college scholarship options were lost. My friends slowly left me. I sat in an irreligious house, alone in my bedroom at night, drawing and thinking about the meaninglessness of life.

“Am I just going to die one day and disappear?”
“Will I just stop existing?”
“How can I–ME!–just stop existing?”

While I was named “Class Clown” by my senior class and seemed to be a crazy teen by those around me, I was thinking of very different things privately. I was lost, and I knew it.

I met a girl in 1992, as my senior year of high school began. She was a pretty girl and not a part of my old social circles. I had lived in the same town my entire life and my schoolmates had been in school with me since pre-school. In came someone new and I was able to step away from my past.

She was an evangelical Christian, and she invited me to go to church with her family. Her friends laughed at the idea of me being interested in going to church because they all knew me. I was the class clown–a foul-mouthed, racist, jock in school, who made fun of everything. They were wrong, though. They didn’t know the thoughts behind the funny facade. I was very interested in religion.

What few did know was that I had a religious past. I was baptized Catholic in 1975. I was enrolled in CCD when I was 7 and made First Confession and First Communion. I continued in CCD until I was 12 or 13, when my mother went to work full-time. It was then that all religion ended for me and I was left to the public schools. Sports, thank God, filled my time and kept me from trouble. Even in high school, I preferred training and practice to partying and dating. Sports saved me from tons of trouble.

I agreed to go to church one Sunday with my new girlfriend and I enjoyed it–kind of. The “church” was located in a large and empty office suite, more like a warehouse. It was filled with sound equipment, a concert stage and a pulpit. I had never experienced anything like it before, but the music was good, the pastor was funny and we read and discussed the Bible. My girlfriend bought me a Bible and my life changed.

I bid farewell forever to all of my old friends and went away to college. My room-mate dropped out the first week. So, I was left alone, 18 years old, away from home, searching for meaning in my life, with a Bible.

I continued to attend the church my girlfriend’s family went to on Thursday nights and Sundays–not every week, but pretty regularly. I began reading the Bible incessantly, starting (by God’s providence) with a weird book called “Job”, that I pronounced as in “day job”. I was reading “jahb”. In addition to that, I began reading the Sermon on the Mount. I was addicted to Scripture reading.

As time went on, I wasn’t into the rock-n-roll-church-in-a-warehouse thing. I was a pre-med student, doing well in my studies, and reading the Bible every waking moment. I began to learn about Church history and started reading Jonathan Edwards, who was an early president at Princeton. My Christian intellect quickly developed reading Edwards, and through him John Calvin, John Wesley and then the Puritans.

As time went on, I knew I wanted something different. I liked history. I liked tradition. Growing up in New Jersey, we have lots of beautiful “old” places around us including the Rutgers and Princeton campuses where I studied. I liked the old brick and ivy, and I wanted something more “traditional”, more “serious”. Those were the only words I could think of. I was being led, as if by a magnet, somewhere and no one around me understood me. I was smart. I was a leader. I was different. I didn’t know where I was going, but I knew I had to get somewhere…fast.

As I continued to struggle, I realized I had many questions to answer–the same questions I was asking when I was 17 years old. I became a leader of the campus Christain fellowship and one day one of my professors tore into me, calling Christianity “a bunch of recycled myths”. I went home that day confused. He could be right, and I wouldn’t know it. I was studying Anatomy and working in a chemistry lab, thinking I had life figured out. Is this Christian religion just a bunch of recycled myths?

In 1997, that girlfriend of mine was finishing her degree in Classics. I decided to join her for a class on Mythology and I hit it off with the professor. I knew, reading for that class, that I had tapped into something important. I needed this. My answers were here, somewhere.

In September of that year, I upset everyone around me by abandoning my plans for medical school. I was a Dean’s List junior with an impressive lab position, all set for medical school. I knew I had questions to answer, though, that were bigger than medical school, being a doctor, getting married, etc.. I’d give up everything to know the answers to my questions–and I did. I switched studies to Classics and, because of my academic strength, was given permission to develop an independent study plan with the chariperson of the Classics department–that Mythology professor who became a close friend of mine and mentor. I tore into classical studies–mythology, Stoicism, Latin and Greek, etc.. I studied around the clock, constantly, and was living in my own world.

In 1998, that girl from high school and I were married in a Baptist church near our college campus. She took a job teaching at a local Christian school while I continued studying. I was admitted early to graduate school and we lived in grad student housing when our first child was born. I was also offered a full-time job teaching Latin, Greek, literature and history by another school in the area.

In 2000, our first child was born. However, when I held that boy in my arms, something inside me said, “He needs to be baptized–he’s a Christian baby.” Baptized? A baby? No, I’m a Baptist. We don’t baptize babies…that’s not biblical.

Well, I had a new question to answer and began reading a book by an old Anglican minister, named Richard Hooker, titled “Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity”. It was the Anglican Church’s response to the Puritans in the 16th century. I devoured it…and I rejoiced. I need to become an Anglican. I have found the truth at last! Some time later, our second child was born and we joined the Reformed Episcopal Church, which happened to be pastored by a friend of ours–an excellent Christian man whose daughter I taught. Life was good, and our babies were baptized. We loved the Book of Common Prayer, the liturgy, the culture.

Unfortunately, new thoughts entered my mind. “How can the Church of England be your church? You are an American.” I didn’t have an answer to that question. I noticed something strange, though. My favorite authors–St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, Dante, J.R.R. Tolkien–all had something in common. They were Catholics.

Catholics?! What am I doing liking Catholic authors as a Protestant?

At that time, I began to think back to my days in CCD. It was good. The teachers were very nice. The church was very dark, quiet and beautiful. I remembered making my First Confession. I remembered my First Communion. I couldn’t think of anything negative. Why wasn’t I a Catholic? If Tolkien and Dante could be Catholics, why can’t I?

We decided to visit a Catholic Church, and went to Sunday Mass with out four children. It was beautiful. The kids sat in the pew and stared up at the giant vaulted ceiling. My son said, “Daddy, look! Heaven!” Yes, it was heavenly. We followed along through the Mass, reading the missal as we went along…and then it was over.

That was…totally fine. Why am I not a Catholic? I don’t know. I was baptized Catholic. I went to CCD. I went to First Communion. I, kind of, AM a Catholic.

Returning to the Catholic Church cost me my teaching job, but another followed the first day I looked. In fact, I was offered the job, leading a Classics department in a preparatory school an hour after my interview.

I decided to call my mother and tell her I was returning to the Catholic Church. She was happy. She always wanted my sisters and I to be Catholics. She said it was funny that I called because she was cleaning out the attic and found the Rosary I received from my First Communion.

Today, I am a Catholic with my wife and nine children and I use the Rosary I received when I was 8 years old when I was prepared for First Commununion by the CCD teachers at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in Edison, NJ.  I now know what that “magnet” was that was drawing me through my studies, from the depths of lonely teenage confusion to the heights of Christian happiness.

I still remember my second grade CCD teacher’s name and face, though she would probably not remember mine.  I was just one of many students.  Therefore, if you are a CCD teacher, I thank you.  It was a person like you–working with kids you would never think would end up doing anything good, and won’t know about in 30 years–who prepared me for First Communion, and it was the graces of my Baptism and Communion, working through  my reading of the Bible and life experiences, that led me home safely.

If anyone criticizes your work, I’ll be happy to defend it for you.  Don’t be discouraged.  You’ll be surprised in heaven to learn of what will have happened to some of your students.

I. Quest of Riches

Do animals ordinarily called irrational possess no species of reason whatsoever? This has never been decided. Failure of the ability to express thought in speech does not preclude the possibility of more of less reasoning which is unexpressed.

That man’s endowment is of a much higher order is demonstrated by the number of arts he cultivates and his aptitude in acquiring others. With special exceptions lower animals exercise no art. When they do, it is easily attributable to instinct rather than reflection. And man is no stranger to their arts. He imitates the web of the spider, models like the bee, and swims although structurally formed for walking.

He is even acquainted with the divine arts, emulating Aesculapius in the cure of the sick, rivaling Apollo in medicine, architecture, music and divination, and cultivating the studies of the muses, like astronomy and geometry. In the words of Pindar his attainments extend from the depths of the earth to the heights of the heavens. And here by his love for learning he has acquired the greatest of even celestial accomplishments, a knowledge of philosophy. In spite of the participation then of other animals in intelligence, man is the only one deservedly to be called rational.

Thus elevated above the rest of creation, is it not discreditable to neglect precisely what we have in common with the gods to occupy ourselves with lower pursuits, and spurning intellectuality chase only after riches? To demonstrate the perversity of Fortune the ancients not content with representing it both in painting and sculpture under the guise of a woman, surely a sufficiently significant symbol of unreason, have placed a rudder in her hand, a wobbly wheel under the feet and have covered the eyes with a bandage.

In the midst of a tempest about to be swallowed up by the waves, grave will be the blunder if we confide the helm to a blind man, yet no more grave than if on the sea of life, where the shipwrecks are even more to be feared, we trust our happiness to this unstable divinity.

Fortune is so stupid and bungling that passing over the worthy she enriches the least deserving – and even then only later to despoil them. In spite of this crowds rush after her rolling pedestal, and in their chase fail to perceive the precipices ahead. Escaping their grasp she scorns their supplications while ridiculing their laments.

Look, however, at the attributes painters and sculptors bestow on Mercury, the patron of logic and the arts: Healthy, young, with beauty neither borrowed not artificially enhanced, and reflecting the virtues of his soul; countenance smiling, eyes observing, pedestal a stable cube. Behold his worshippers, always happy and smiling like himself. Never abandoned, never separated, and accompanying him always, they rejoice in the benefits of his providence.

Look again at the followers of Fortune. Carried away by hope and easily misguided on account of their lack of learning they rush after the fleeing goddess, some nearer, some further away. In the forefront you distinguish Croesus of Lydia and Polycrates of Samos. Astonishing spectacle! For the first the Pactolus runs with gold – the fish of the sea purvey to the second! After them are found Cyrus, Priam and Dionysius. Look another time and you perceive Polycrates fixed to a cross, Croesus vanquished by Cyrus, Cyrus bent under the yoke of other kings, Priam thrown into Prison and Dionysius dying in obscurity at Corinth.

Taking cognizance of the crowd further back you will be disgusted, composed as it is of demagogues, prostitutes and traitors. You see there homicides, ghouls and bandits. You see atheists, who not content with insulting the gods, pillage even their temples.

The other cortege, that of Mercury, is composed of honorable men, cultivators of the arts. They are not rushing, nor vociferating, nor disputing. The god is in their midst. Ranged in order about him, each preserves the place assigned. Those nearest are the geometricians, mathematicians, philosophers, physicians, astronomers and philologists. Next are the painters, sculptors, teachers of grammar, carvers in wood, architects and lapidaries. In the third rank are the other artists. With eyes fixed on the god they are anxious only to obey without question.

They resemble in no way the crowd following Fortune. For not by the accident of birth, or riches, or official dignity, does he judge of superiority. He honors and attaches to his person the dignified and upright leaders in their art. Observing them you are seized by the desire of veneration and emulation. We see there Homer, Socrates, Hippocrates, Plato – men whose writings place them on a plane with the gods as the lieutenants and ministers of Mercury. Among them there in none not an object of his care. He concerns himself not only with the present but the absent, and watches over them in metaphorical and literal shipwreck.

On a sea voyage Aristippus’ vessel was shattered by a tempest. Thrown on an unknown and possibly hostile shore he was reassured when he observed traced on the sand geometrical figures. He thought he must have landed in Greece among the sages, yet knew at least he was not among barbarians. It proved to be Syracuse. He directed his steps to the university and had scarcely pronounced Sophocles’ verse: “Who will receive the wandering Oedipus and day by day his scanty needs supply?” when he was surrounded. Later some Syracusans about to sail for Cyrene, his native land, inquired if he had anything to say to his compatriots. “Instruct them,” he responded, “to acquire only the goods which pay for the continuance of the passage when the vessel is wrecked.”

Many with no thought but riches, landing in these straits weigh themselves down with their gold or silver only to lose their lives. They forget that they admire even among the lower animals the proficient. They choose horses bred for the race, and dogs trained to the chase. They make their slaves learn professions, even at considerable expense. Yet they fail to educate themselves. Is it not humiliating that a slave be estimated at two thousand dollars while the master is not worth one? One, did I say? Why we would not take him for nothing.

When we see them educating slaves, training animals and fertilizing fields, so as to increase their usefulness, while neglecting their own most precious possession – the mind, we are sensible of no depth of human degradation with which to compare them. With justice we say, “Your houses, slaves, horses, dogs and fields show the results of culture, you only have been neglected!”

Demosthenes and Diogenes were right, the former in calling the ignorant rich “sheep burdened with golden fleece;” the latter in comparing them to fig trees growing on precipitous mountain sides where humanity is unable to benefit by their fruit necessarily given over to crows and jays. For the treasures of the rich of no service to the worthy are the prey of flatterers who prevent them from realizing that Fortune may at any time despoil them.

He was no stranger to the Muses who compared the rich man to a well: As long as the water lasts we come to it to drink, but run dry we are just as ready to use it as a privy. It is perfectly rational that a man whose only recommendation is riches should find himself when despoiled, despoiled too of all the advantages they procured. What can he expect who with no personal qualifications plumes himself on extraneous circumstances dependent on Fortune?

II. Profession of Gentleman by Birth

Not unlike the rich are the gentlemen by birth. Possessing no qualifications of their own, they live their lives in the shadow of their ancestors. They are ignorant that titles of nobility resemble pieces of silver, passing current in the city where coined, but in others no better than counterfeit.

Apropos in Euripides:

Jocasta: “Are you not proud of your illustrious birth and the accompanying rank?”

Polynices: “My nobility fails to prevent me from starving, as far as it is concerned I possess nothing.”

The renown of ancestors, says Plato, is a precious treasure, but more pregnant with significance and idealism is the statement put by Homer into the mouth of Stheneos: “We honor our name by becoming greater than our fathers.”

If distinction of rank means anything, it ought to make us anxious to follow its lead. With every departure, our ancestors should grieve, if the dead can experience sentiment. The higher the standing the greater the dishonor in failing to uphold it.

Ignorant men of obscure extraction have at least this advantage – that people do not know what they ought to be. When the origin is illustrious it cannot be concealed. If we live not up to it what can we expect but dishonorable notoriety?

They who prove unworthy of their ancestors deserve less indulgence than others. A vicious man boasting of his birth, makes his conduct all the more reprehensible. To judge common people we have not the same criteria. If they prove mediocre, we willingly pardon them, finding an excuse in the baseness of origin. For the noble born we have no such plea, since they insist on their differentiation from the multitude.

The sensible man then will learn an art. If he is of good family, it will prove no disadvantage. If he is lowly born he has to opportunity of responding with Themistocles when reproached with his birth: “I am the beginner of a race, yours ends with you.” We refuse to Anacharsis neither our admiration nor the name of sage although of Scythian origin. When he was affronted with his barbarian birthplace he responded: “My country may be a shame to me; you are a shame to yours;” thus reducing to silence a man whose only recommendation was the culture of his native land.

On consideration we perceive it is not the cities which make the citizens illustrious, but he reverse. Whence comes the renown of Stagira, if not from Aristotle; of Soli, if not from Aratus and Chrysippus? Why is the name of Athens so widely known? Surely not on account of the meager fertility of her soil, but rather the number of superior men who have extended to her the éclat of their renown. This truth stands out when we recall that their being Athenians served only to make the misconduct of the demagogues Cleon and Hyperbole more notorious. As a reproach for their ignorance the Boeotians were called swine, but the poetical talent of Pindar alone was almost sufficient to efface this national disgrace.

II. Profession of Male Prostitute

Praiseworthy is Solon, the legislator of Athens, for excusing the son from caring for a father in his old age, who had taken no pains to educate him. Beauty should not be used as a means of livelihood, whatever the vicious may say. The traffic of the body is infamous, while the profit from the exercise of a profession is honest, glorious and sure.

Capable of learning an art only by beginning early, beautiful boys seduced from the path of culture find themselves later repeating with the poet: “Would that the beauty had never existed which has cost so dear!”

They recall then the recommendation of Solon that the last years of life be not forgotten. Hurling at old age a malediction which they deserve themselves, they come to agree with Euripides: “When beauty surpasses the ordinary it is a misfortune, not a good fortune.”

The truth in the verses of Sappho stands out:

The beautiful are so only as long as looked at;
The good will always be beautiful.

To receive old age, who comes on us unexpectedly like a tempest at sea, it is necessary to be prepared with clothing, a comfortable home and a thousand things, imitating in this the experienced mariner, who takes precautions far in advance of the storm.

Conforming then to the ancient precept, the young man should examine himself in the mirror. If endowed with a beautiful face, he should strive to put his soul in harmony, ashamed to possess an ignorant mind within a handsome body. If he finds his figure deformed, he should seek all the more to increase his intelligence, recognizing with Homer: “No matter how homely the man, if endowed with the gift of eloquence we look at and listen to him with pleasure. If when pleading in the assembly he speaks with confidence combined with the proper modesty, he carries us away, and when passing through the city is looked on with admiration almost as a god.”

From what has been said it must be evident to all not devoid of reason that dependence is not to be placed on birth, riches or beauty to the neglect of the arts, yet an excellent and final confirmation in a story of Diogenes may not be amiss: Dining one day at the house of a rich man, whose surroundings were in perfect taste, but who had neglected his own culture, he coughed and throwing his eyes around finally spit on the host himself. When the host reproached him with indignation for his rudeness and demanded the reason, Diogenes responded: “On looking about I found the walls adorned with exquisite paintings, the floor of mosaic of great value representing the images of the gods, the furniture polished and useful, the carpet and bed marvelous in their beauty, the only thing not in harmony was yourself, and since the general custom is to spit where it will do the least harm, I had no other recourse.”

II.A Profession of Athlete

Take care, however, not to be seduced by an imposter or charlatan, who will teach you a useless or contemptible profession. Learn that an occupation which has no serviceable end in life is not an art. You should know that it is not an art to be a tumbler, to walk a tight rope, to twirl around in a circle without vertigo, to imitate Myrmecides of Athens or Callicrates of Lacedaemon.

I trust, too, that the profession of athlete, though it boasts of giving strength to the body, is wildly acclaimed by the mob, was honored by the ancients with state compensation, and has often been put on a plane with the most illustrious professions, will not seduce you. I wish, however, to put you on your guard because without reflection it is easy to be led astray.

Man stands between the gods and the animals, near the first on account of his intellectuality; with the second, because he is mortal. His pursuits should be such as to bring him nearer the former. If he succeeds, he accomplishes everlasting good; if he fails, he has at least the satisfaction of still being above the lower animals. When athletes miss their end they are disgraced; when they attain it, they are not yet above the brutes. Who is stronger than a lion, or an elephant? Who more rapid than a hare? Who even knows that the gods are pleased by these accomplishments?

Divine honors have never been bestowed for running in the stadium, throwing the discus or wrestling, but only for excellence in the arts. Aesculapius and Dionysus, no matter whether they were originally men or were born gods, have been judged worthy of these honors; the first because he discovered medicine, the second because he taught cultivation of the soil.

If you doubt me, believe at least the Pythian Apollo, who addressed Lycurgus: “You come to my temple, Lycurgus. Whether god or man I know not, but I believe you are a god.”

The same oracle rendered no less honor to the memory of the poet Archilochus when his assassin, wishing to enter the precinct, was driven away with the words: “Begone from my temple, you have killed the nurse of the muses!”

Can you tell me of similar honors to athletes? You answer not. Is it because you have nothing to say, or because you consider my witnesses insufficient? You allow me to suspect such intentions when you call in the mob and put forward the applause it accords to athletes.

When you are sick do you place yourself in the hands of the crowd, or of men of education, and even among these the most skillful of physicians? When you are on the sea do you give the wheel to the passengers, or to a specially trained pilot? In the same way for things of less importance we have recourse to the carpenter when we build, and to the shoemaker when we want a pair of shoes. How then in an affair of so much more importance do you claim for yourself the right to judge instead of leaving it to those who are wiser?

Not wishing to speak again of the gods, I present you with some sentiments of Euripides:

A thousand evils afflict Greece, and not one greater than athletics.

What man trained for running or throwing the discus, or for breaking a jawbone has merited a civic crown while serving in the army?

Do we go to war with the discus in hand? Do we repel invaders by running along the defenses? The enemy at hand, we recognize the foolishness of this preparation.

Passing from the testimony of Euripides and other poets, let us turn to the judgment of scientific writers. All philosophers condemn the profession of athlete. Among even physicians, not a single one approves it. Listen, for instance, to Hippocrates: “The athletic development is not natural; much better the ordinary healthy condition of the body.”

I do not wish, however, to draw conclusions from opinions only, because this is rather a procedure of rhetoric than the course of a man endeavoring to arrive at truth. It is only that some, directing attention to the applause of the populace and refusing to consider the profession of athlete apart from this prestige, have forced me to bring forward these witnesses in order to show that the plaudits are merely of the mob and not of intellectual men.

The story of Phryne appears apropos. At a banquet the game of “follow-the-leader” was inaugurated, consisting in each commanding in turn whatever he or she wished. Seeing the women’s faces painted with orcanette, white lead, and rouge, Phryne ordered “hands in finger bowl, touch cheek and wipe immediately with napkin.” She began by doing it herself. The faces of the others, smeared with streaks, were made repellent, Phryne alone became more radiant – she alone possessing a natural beauty without need of detestable artifice.

As true beauty exists only apart from ornamentation, we will examine the profession of athlete to see if it possesses in itself some utility for the state, or for the individual.

There are in nature goods of the mind and goods of the body. Athletes enjoy none of the former, since they are too ignorant to appreciate even that they have a mind. In the amassing of their great quantity of flesh and blood their mind is lost in the vast mire. Receiving no stimulation to develop, it remains as stupid as that of brutes.

II.B Health of Athletes

Athletes think perhaps they participate in some of the goods of the body. Do their exercises create health, the greatest bodily good? If we listen to Hippocrates, in no one do we find a more unstable diathesis:

The extreme development which athletes acquire is deceiving.

The maintenance of health depends on the avoidance of satiety in eating and fatigue in exercise.

Fatigue, nourishment, drink, sleep, sex, all in moderation.

Athletes do exactly the opposite. They fatigue themselves to the limit and then gourmandize to excess, prolonging their repast often into the middle of the night. Analogous rules to those guiding their exercise and eating regulate also their sleep. At the hour when people who live according to the laws of nature quit work to take their lunch, the athletes are rising. They appear to take pleasure in forcing themselves with the madness of the Corybantes to act contrary to the precepts of the divine old man.

Leading a life contrary to the principles of hygiene makes them much more favorable to disease than to health. Hippocrates, I believe, had the same feeling when he stated: “The athletic development is not natural, the healthy condition is better;” thus declaring their manner of life to be against nature. He never even uses the word “condition” in connection with the adjective athletic, not wishing to employ an expression by which the ancients described the state of individuals in perfect health. Condition is a permanent state which changes with difficulty, while the athletic development, carried as it is to an extreme, is subject to change. Brought to the highest degree, it cannot increase, and unable to remain stationary it can only deteriorate.

While athletes pursue their profession their body remains in this dangerous state. When they quit it, they fall into a state even more dangerous. Some die shortly after, others live a little longer, but never reach old age, or if they do they resemble exactly the priests of Homer: “Limping, deformed, and squint-eyed.”

In the same way as walls shaken to their foundations by machines of war fall easily on the next attack, athletes, their bodies enfeebled by the jolts they have received, are predisposed to become sick on the least provocation. Their eyes ordinarily sunken, readily become the seat of fluxions; their teeth, so readily injured, fall out. With muscles and tendons frequently torn, their articulations become incapable of resisting strain and readily dislocate.

From the standpoint of health no condition is more wretched. With reason can it be said that they have been perfectly named, since the word athletai (athletes) is derived from athlioi meaning the unfortunate, or the latter from the former, or both come from the common source athliotes signifying miserable.

II.C Beauty of Athletes

After this discussion of one of the bodily goods, namely, health, let us pass to the other, how athletes fare on the side of beauty. Not only do they derive none from their profession, but many who have been perfectly proportioned fall into the hands of trainers who develop them beyond measure, overloaded them with flesh and blood, and make them just the opposite.

Pancratiasts and pugilists develop a disfigured countenance hideous to look upon. Limbs broken or dislocated and eyes gouged out of sockets show the kind of beauty produced. These are the fruits they gather. When they no longer exercise their profession, they lose sensation, their limbs become dislocated, and, as I have said, they become completely deformed.

Despite these disadvantages athletes assert that they wish to be strong, and that strength is the one thing worth the while. Ye gods! How are they strong? And of what use is their strength? Is it of use on the farm? Can the athlete dig, harvest, or accomplish more in agriculture? Is he more apt in war? Recall anew the verses of Euripides who thus glorifies the athlete: “Do we combat with the discus in hand? The enemy approaching, we recognize the foolishness of this preparation.”

Without doubt then these rivals of Hercules will show special resistance to cold and heat. Without shoes and covered with only a single skin in winter as well as summer, they sleep on the earth under the open heaven! You deceive yourself – in this respect they are more susceptible than a newborn babe.

Under what circumstances then do they show this strength, of which they are so proud? Is it in being able to overcome shoemakers, carpenters, or masons in the palaestra or in the stadium?

Milo, the famous athlete of Croton, by Jupiter, once carried on his shoulder through the stadium a bull destined for sacrifice. O extreme of foolishness! Is it not evident that a few moments before, the bull carried its own body more easily than Milo, since it could even run while carrying it?

His end proves how silly he was. Seeing a young man splitting a tree by the aid of wedges, he ridiculed his weakness and undertook to split it with his hands. Gathering his whole strength, in the first effort he separated the two sides, the wedges tumbled out, and his strength becoming exhausted, the tree gradually shut on his fingers. There he remained fast until he starved. Such was his miserable end.

Would the strength of Milo be capable of saving the Grecian republic against the barbarians? Was it not rather the wisdom of Themistocles who, having properly interpreted the oracle, made the war a success? Euripides gives us the answer:

Wise counsel means more than many men, armed ignorance is the worst of all evils.

Having demonstrated that the regime of athletes is useless as regards practical life, I am going to recount a fable in epic verse by a friend of the Muses to show that there is nothing in athletics as such: If by the will of Jupiter all living beings were brought together in harmony, and if the herald of Olympus called both men and animals to a contest in the same arena, no man would receive a crown. The horse would take it on the long course called the dolichos; the hare in the stadium; the antelope in the dialus. No mortal could enter into competition with the animals in quickness of foot. O light-footed athlete! What a miserable showing you make!

A descendant of Hercules himself would not prove strong as an elephant or a lion. The bull would triumph over the pugilist, and if the ass, adds the poet, was allowed to combat with his heels, he would be a victor. In the learned annals of history, then, would have to be written that man had been conquered in the pancration by the ass, and it would probably be recorded in these words:

Twenty-first Olympiad, Mr. John Ass – the laurel crown.

This fable shows that strength is not what ought to be cultivated, for if the athlete cannot even surpass the animals, of what advantage is it?

Nor do athletes even attain pleasure, if this can be called a corporeal good, neither while exercising their profession nor when they quit it. During the former they are subjected to great fatigue and misery – fatigue by their practice, and misery by their overeating. After quitting it they are crippled in all their members.

They boast perhaps of their emolument. Yet it is easy to discover that they are always in debt. Both while exercising their profession and afterwards they are never found richer than the high-class servants of an opulent man.

If you wish to possess a sure and honest means of making a good living, choose a profession which will remain with you during your whole life. The professions are divided into two categories. The first comprises those in the domain of intelligence, called the honorable or the liberal arts; the second, those demanding manual labor, called the illiberal or mechanical arts. It is assuredly better to choose one in the first category, because those of the second cannot ordinarily be continued during old age.

In the first are found medicine, rhetoric, music, geometry, arithmetic, philosophy, astronomy, literature, and jurisprudence, to which sculpture and painting may be added, for although they are associated with manual labor, they do not demand great strength. A young man whose mind does not resemble that of a brute should choose and exercise one of them, especially medicine, which in my opinion is the best of all.

I have fought incessantly since founding the Classical Liberal Arts Academy in 2008 to resist the polemic and divisive traditional Catholic crowd that criticizes the Church and suggests that “novedad es no verdad”  (i.e., what is new is not true).  This crowd accomplishes very little and in many noble endeavors can’t help but defeating itself by its addiction to criticism and inflexibility.  I have tried desperately to distance myself from that, while being very interested in the traditional liturgy–not only of the Mass, but of the Hours as well.

In God’s goodness, I have gained the friendship of a small, but extraordinary religious community that I will be supporting in the future and want to commend to you.  They are the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem, and they understand the happy course between the Scylla of divisive pseudo-tradition and the Charybdis of modern traditio-phobia–both of which share the same flaw:  ignorant zeal.   The Canons are wise and pious men who do not make much noise on the internet or in modern ecclesiastical circles because they are doing what monks and priests are supposed to be doing:  praying and serving God on our behalf.

I encourage you to learn more about the Canons because they are worth learning about.   You can do so online at www.canonsregular.com.  Be sure to drop them a note, say hello, tell them you’re a friend of mine and give them some encouragement.  Read their articles, watch their videos, etc., it’s good stuff.  We’ll be organizing support for their community in the near future and I’d encourage you to help us do so.

If you’d like to make a donation to the Canons through CLAA Missions, you can do so here.

God bless,
William Michael, Director
Classical Liberal Arts Academy

The Life of Joseph DVD

Now available in the CLAA Bookstore is the final DVD for the Book of Genesis, Bible on DVD Series: The Life of Joseph. This DVD covers chapters 37 – 50 of Genesis and narrates the story of Jacob’s sons, especially of Joseph and his rise to power in Egypt.

With this last disc, you now can listen to the entire book of Genesis narrated and set to Sacred and themed Art, music, and effects. These DVDs are a great way to help children learn and understand the Biblical text.

Also available as an Audio CD or MP3 download.

Find this item in the CLAA Bookstore by clicking here.

Starting to look for Christmas gifts? Try the Bible on DVD Series.

New in the bookstore this week is The Life of Jacob.

This DVD contains narration of Genesis 25-36, set to beautiful sacred art, themed music, and audio effects, aiding children in their understanding, recollection, and memorizing of the Sacred text. DVD,
1hr 26min

Know that your support of this project will help us make the Catholic Bible and Catholic Art accessible to families around the world.

This DVD includes the following events:

The birth of Esau and Jacob
Esau sells his birthright to Jacob
Isaac makes league with King Abimelech
Jacob, by his mother, obtains Isaac’s blessing
Jacob’s Ladder and jouney to Mesopotamia
Jacob serves his uncle Laban
Jacob marries Leah and Rachel
The birth of Jacob’s sons
Jacob is blessed in caring for Laban’s flock
Jacob wrestles the angel
Jacob reconciles with Esau
Dinah is ravished
Jacob purges his family of idols
God makes Jacob’s name Israel
The death of Rachel and Isaac
The descendants of Esau

To View a Sample Video and Order DVD, click here

Is John 3:16 really our “ticket to heaven”?

by William Michael
(Pardon the typos, this has not been edited.)

To most evangelicals, especially American evangelicals of the last 50 years, it would seem that in speaking to man, God spoke only a five or six lines, which are endlessly quoted by evangelicals as the message of Christianity.  The most popular of these is John 3:16:

“For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son;
that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.”

The evangelicals who quote this verse suggest that it is a summary of what we must believe to “be saved”.  If a man believes that John 3:16 is true, he will be saved.  That is the Gospel according to the Evangelicals.

Obviously, one will not find this verse given such attention in Catholic circles, or in any Christian circles beyond the last century.  It’s a verse that is twisted to say something it really does not say, which is why it must be isolated by evangelicals and used apart from the rest of the message.

The first problem is that modern Christians seem to think that the chapter and verse divisions of Scripture are original to the text, as if St. John would have spoken of his own Gospel with references to chapters and verses.  The verse and chapter divisions were  made in the 13th century by the Catholic Cardinal Stephen Langton.  Therefore, when we read Scripture, we need to be careful that our minds follow the ideas as they are expressed in the narratives and not allow the chapter and verse divisions to mislead us into thinking that the Bible is simply a collection of verses like the book of Proverbs.  Verses have context and are parts of passages–they do not stand alone for interpretation.  However, those who would twist the Scriptures couldn’t be happier to see them divided as they are.  It makes their work easy because very few people will (a) know the context and necessary meaning of lines quoted and (b) look them up to determine such.

Let us consider together the meaning of “John 3:16″.

First, let us remove the chapter and verse markings and look at the Gospel of John as a narrative, written like any other historical book we might read.  If we allow the narrative and not the chapter/verse divisions to direct our minds, we will find that “John 3:16″ has quite a different meaning than evangelicals think or suggest it does.  Yes, I know it’s long–that’s the point.  Therefore, read this entire passage–not just “John 3:16″ slowly:

“And the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And he found in the temple them that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting.  And when he had made, as it were, a scourge of little cords, he drove them all out of the temple, the sheep also and the oxen, and the money of the changers he poured out, and the tables he overthrew.   And to them that sold doves he said:  ”Take these things hence, and make not the house of my Father a house of business.”  And his disciples remembered, that it was written: “The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up.”  The Jews, therefore, answered, and said to him:  ”What sign dost thou shew unto us, seeing thou dost these things? “  Jesus answered, and said to them: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”  The Jews then said:  ”Six and forty years was this temple in building; and wilt thou raise it up in three days?”  But he spoke of the temple of his body.  When therefore he was risen again from the dead, his disciples remembered, that he had said this, and they believed the scripture, and the word that Jesus had said.  

Now when he was at Jerusalem, at the Passover, upon the festival day, many believed in his name, seeing his signs which he did.  But Jesus did not trust himself unto them, for that he knew all men, and because he needed not that any should give testimony of man: for he knew what was in man. And there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night, and said to him:  ”Rabbi, we know that thou art come a teacher from God; for no man can do these signs which thou dost, unless God be with him.”  Jesus answered, and said to him:  ”Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  Nicodemus saith to him: “How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born again?”  Jesus answered:  ”Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit. Wonder not, that I said to thee, you must be born again.  The Spirit breatheth where he will; and thou hearest his voice, but thou knowest not whence he cometh, and whither he goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”  Nicodemus answered, and said to him:  ”How can these things be done?”.  Jesus answered, and said to him:  ”Art thou a teacher in Israel, and knowest not these things?  Amen, amen I say to thee, that we speak what we know, and we testify what we have seen, and you receive not our testimony. If I have spoken to you earthly things, and you believe not; how will you believe, if I shall speak to you heavenly things? And no man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up:  That whosoever believeth in him, may not perish; but may have life everlasting.   For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.  For God sent not his Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by him.  He that believeth in him is not judged. But he that doth not believe, is already judged: because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the judgment: because the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light: for their works were evil.  For every one that doth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be reproved.  But he that doth truth, cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, because they are done in God.  

After these things Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea: and there he abode with them, and baptized. And John also was baptizing in Ennon near Salim; because there was much water there; and they came and were baptized.”

There we have the famous evangelical verse , but in its context.  Doesn’t stand out very much does it?  In fact, it’s not nearly the climax of Our Lord’s message to Nicodemus.  Let’s break this all down.

First, Our Lord, having just begun his public ministry in Israel and in the midst of gathering His first disciples, speaks the words of “John 3:16″ to a Jewish ruler and teacher named Nicodemus after having just turned the temple upside down, challenging the Jewish leaders and making many converts while in Jerusalem.  This man Nicodemus already knew who Jesus was, but came to him secretly at night.  This secret visit introduced right after St. John says, “Many believed in his name, seeing his signs which he did.  But Jesus did not trust himself unto them…for he knew what was in man.”  Nicodemus is an example of one such man and Our Lord speaks to Him out of this knowledge of “what is in man”, not with a mechanical “Gospel” message.

Nicodemus comes and says, “We believe…”.  Oh, really?  You Jewish leaders believe, Nicodemus?  Is that so?  Then why the night-time visit?  Jesus “did not entrust himself to them…for He knew what was in man”.  This same Jesus had upon meeting Nathanael praised him as “A true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.”  Jesus was aware of the deceitfulness of the Jews and answers Nicodemus with a cut-to-the-heart response:

“Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

That is, “When you are publicly baptized, Nicodemus, and follow me in the light, then I will recognize you as one who believes in Me.”  Nicodemus stumbles and stutters over this clear, heart-piercing challenge and Jesus explains why.

“The Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light: for their works were evil. For every one that doth evil hateth the Light, and cometh not to the Light, that his works may not be reproved.  But he that doth truth, cometh to the Light, that his works may be made manifest, because they are done in God.”

Therefore, Jesus rebukes Nicodemus’ cowardice and explains that those who are true and good will come to Him, confess His name, receive the sacrament of Baptism and follow Him in the light.  They’re praise will not be rendered in the dark while they deny Him in the light.  Those who do good will come to the light and those who love evil will hide from it.

Evangelicals, rejecting ancient and true Christian teaching on baptism, do not baptize their children into the Church, but have invented their own “baby dedication” rituals, revealing the natural desire to do exactly what baptism does: make our children disciples of Christ. For Catholics, no such empty rituals are practiced, but babies are brought to Christ for the new birth of Baptism and given the opportunity to confirm their discipleship formally at First Reconciliation, First Communion and later at Confirmation.

An evangelical, of course, will deny that this has anything to do with the “sacrament of Baptism’ because, according to their teaching, baptism isn’t even necessary for salvation.  How do I know that Jesus is saying the opposite, that without Baptism, Nicodemus will not be saved?

Context.

In the first chapter of John’s Gospel, he teaches us about the arrival of John the Baptist (yes, he’s actually identified by his work of baptizing people) who is calling men to radically break their sinful habits and receive the purifying water of Jewish baptism.  As John the Baptist administers that baptism to “all Judea” who came out to him (i.e., it was no secret or private ceremony, but a public penance made by many), he speaks to those people of Christ who is soon to come and what does he says that Christ will do?  JOhn explains:

“He who sent me to baptize with water, said to me: He upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining upon him, he it is that baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.”

St. Luke adds detail to John’s words and makes the meaning yet clearer:

“I indeed baptize you with water; but there shall come one mightier than I…he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

So, John the Baptist, who was sent by God to announce the coming of Jesus, does not say, “Behold the Lamb of God…whose death will make us holy in God’s sight by faith alone!”  He says, “Behold the Lamb of God…who will gain for us the graces needed for our salvation and who will judge the world.”  John speaks of penance and judgment–not altar calls and praise music.   The ministry of Jesus is primarily a ministry of baptism–but a baptism that is the reality of what is merely symbolized by John’s water baptism.  John baptizes with water, but Jesus baptizes with BOTH water and the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, the context explains clearly the meaning of Our Lord’s words to Nicodemus:

“Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

Now, the evangelicals will get hung up on the phrase “born again”, for which they have invented a meaning that serves their own false teaching.  ”Born again” has come to mean some sort of magical, invisible, sometimes fruitless, sometimes insensible, sometimes radical, spiritual “experience” that proves a person to be saved.  Of course, there is no such teaching anywhere in Scripture, but when you’re trying to prove that the Catholic Church is wrong and that you are the “real” Christians, these invisible, confusing ideas become very useful–especially for people who live to wonder whether God has saved them yet…or not.  Evangelicals torment themselves with this kind of spiritual introversion, for which there is no answer and which requires the constant effort to have a new and confirming “experience” to point back to for the future.

However, rather than leaving us to this modern, man-centered nonsense, the context makes it very plain that the way in which men are “born again” is by the sacrament of Baptism–through which, throughout all of Church history, the water and the Holy Spirit are together received by new disciples.

Furthermore, when Jesus’ night-time meeting with Nicodemus ends, what does St. John return to in his narrative?  Baptism.  John 3:22 informs us:

“After these things Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea: and there he abode with them, and baptized.”

The theme of the opening chapters of St. John’s Gospel is Our Lord’s calling of disciples.  These disciples were required to stand against the Jewish leaders, be willing to lose everything, and publicly confess Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God.  This public confession was made through the reception of Christian baptism.  Jesus told Nicodemus that  if he could not publicly confess Christ and follow Him through baptism, he would not be able to enter the kingdom of God.

Now, into that context we can insert “John 3:16″ and find that it makes perfect sense–but isn’t Our Lord’s focus at all.

“For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son;
that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.”

The problem for evangelicals is that “faith alone” is not at all what Our Lord is teaching in John 3.  He has made public confession and baptism to be the necessary initiation of all who would be His disciples, and told Nicodemus that what the evangelicals are preaching today is false!  No, you can’t be saved by “faith alone”.  You must confess Christ in the light, before men and make that public confession through the sacrament of Baptism.  If one does not accept the Cross that comes through this public confession and visible obedience to the teaching Christ, he will not enter the kingdom of God.  Jesus preached this same message again and again, throughout his entire ministry:

“Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake:  Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven.”   St. Matthew 5

“He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.”  St. Matthew 10

“Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God.  But he that shall deny me before men, shall be denied before the angels of God.”  St. Luke 12

“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”  St. Matthew 16

The message is very obvious to anyone who is not limited to the verses selected and explained by evangelicals.  There is no such thing as this wimpy, phoney, “faith alone” nonsense.  Our Lord knows what is in man and says that courageous, public confession of Christ before men, and obedience to the command to be baptized are the test He has fixed for true disciples.  Not baptism alone.  Not faith alone.  Our Lord demands true, courageous faith and obedient baptism.  He makes this yet clearer when, at the end of his earthly life, He gives the Church her mission:

“Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”  St. Matthew 28

CONCLUSION

The famous “John 3:16″, as used by evangelicals, is a classic example of isolating and twisting the Scriptures to pretend that “biblical” support exists for a false teaching and, even more, a false Gospel that is no Gospel at all.  There is no easy way for men to gain eternal life, but by counting all that this world offers to be rubbish and following Christ courageously and flinching at no threat of loss.  Nicodemus, to whom Our Lord spoke John 3:16, would have already been “saved” by the evangelical doctrine, for he professed faith in Jesus, but Our Lord says that what Nicodemus offered was no true faith.  Our Lord taught plainly that if Nicodemus wanted to be saved, he needed to confess Christ before men, in the light, be baptized into the Church (whose leadership was already established) and obey the teaching of Christ at all costs.  Nicodemus, in John 3, chose to live by faith alone…and went away without being saved, for faith without obedience is nothing.

For over 2000 years, the Catholic Church has brought the world to Christ through its unchanging message of repentance, baptism and and obedience to all that Christ has commanded.  The Protestant Reformation, which sought to make the way of salvation easy for me who would not submit to the will of Christ, have made a false way that has led countless millions to damnation.  Our Lord has explained the way to us plainly and His hard message to Nicodemus warns us all that whoever will not obey the commands of Christ, but will seek Christ “at night” will not be saved.  God has indeed loved the world and sent his Son, and all who believe in Him will be saved–after they complete lives as baptized and obedient servants of His kingdom.  As Catholics, we do not depend on cut and pasted verses pulled from here and there and twisted to appear to serve our purposes.  We offer all men all of the Scriptures and all of history as our support.  

Listen carefully to Our Lord’s warning and let these words settle the question of who is right:

“A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit.  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them.  Not every one that saith to me, “Lord, Lord”, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.  Many will say to me in that day: “Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name?”  And then will I profess unto them, “I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.” 

John 3:16, when understood truly, does not contradict the rest of Scripture–only when understood as the evangelicals wish to use it.  Rather than being a message of how easy salvation is, it is a message of how impossible it is to justify a divided and cowardly life, for if God sent His son into the world as the Savior of the world–woe to anyone who is found to father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, friend, boss, job, house, career, comfort or any other thing more than Christ.  If we disobey any of His teachings, we deny that He is Lord and prove ourselves be but Nicodemuses, who are happy to speak with him in the dark, but who hide from him when it is day.  Such will not enter the kingdom of God.