Bill Kassel's Blog

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Faith & Religion

Back to the Cross

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REEXAMINING WHY
JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED

Why Jesus had to die on the cross is a question that becomes a major stumbling block for many people when they first consider the Christian story in a serious way.

It doesn’t seem to make sense that someone who touched people’s lives for the better, as Jesus clearly did (physically, morally, spiritually), should have been seen as a threat.

What could possibly have made anybody wish to harm him — much less put him to such a grizzly, tortuous death?

My novel, MY BROTHER’S KEEPER, attempts to answer that question in an engaging fictional narrative. But back in 2013, when I launched this blog, my first post was an essay that addressed the issue of Jesus’ execution.

That piece was republished by the online journal, American Thinker, and I have reposted it at Eastertime in succeeding years.

My approach is not theological. I don’t go into the salvific power of Christ’s death and resurrection. Rather, I examine the social, economic and political circumstances surrounding Jesus’ mission (as I do in the novel as well).

Since, 2,000 years later, much confusion and misunderstanding remain, it’s timely to examine the question once again…

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Honoring St. Joseph

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JESUS’ FOSTER FATHER AS
A TIMELESS ROLE MODEL

The earthy father of Jesus receives official honor twice during the liturgical year.

March 19 has been his feast day since, as they say, “time immemorial.” And in 1955 Pope Pius XII designated May 1 as the special feast of “St. Joseph the Worker,” highlighting Joseph’s worldly vocation as a carpenter or builder (tekton in Greek).

The pope’s intention was to provide a Christian alternative to May Day labor celebrations being promoted worldwide by the Soviet Union and the Communist Internationale. His idea caught on, and that feast is now celebrated by workers throughout the Catholic world.

St. Joseph plays a prominent role in my novel about the family of Jesus, MY BROTHER’S KEEPER. And on the first Father’s Day after the book’s publication Nancy Hastings of the Gatehouse Media Group did a brief feature article highlighting the unique challenges faced by St. Joseph, as I sketched them in my novel.

It’s only right St. Joseph is honored as a model of the fatherly virtues.

Those virtues are under stress these days. Much of the crime, violence, extremism and sexual perversion we see around us can be attributed to the collapse of fatherhood that’s evident throughout large portions of our society (and those of other nations as well).

Appealing to St. Joseph as an intercessor in this difficult period would be most appropriate. And if you don’t accept the Catholic notion of saints interceding on our behalf, then merely try invoking the name of Joseph in the prayers you address directly to God. Either way, I believe Joseph is a powerful helper standing by — and an example for all men with children to raise, young lives to mold.

So to mark the Feast of St. Joseph — and even though it’s not Father’s Day — here’s Nancy’s article…

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Back to the Ashes — Again

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IT’S GOOD TO REMIND OURSELVES
OF OUR FLAWS AND FAILINGS

Ash Wednesday kicks off Lent this week. Perhaps some thoughts I posted back in 2014 (and then reposted last year) might still be of interest…

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I have to confess that there are certain Catholic pious practices I don’t entirely get.

It probably reflects the fact that I’m an adult convert and wasn’t raised in the Church — or that I’ve made less progress on my spiritual journey than I like to assume.

One of the things I don’t get is fasting.

As I understand it, the Church advocates self-denial as a way of detaching ourselves from fleshly preoccupations. Yet I’m never more preoccupied with concerns of the flesh (that is to say, eating) than when I deny myself food.

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Christmas Prayers Again

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ONGOING PRAYERS FOR PEACE
AMID HOPE AND UNCERAINTY

Christmas 2017 caps a year of great improvements mixed with continuing conflicts — and some ominous signs of problems ahead.

Our prayers for peace remain all too relevant.

So once again I post my little variation on Franz Gruber’s Christmas classic, “Silent Night.”

I wrote these lines for the Christmas concerts presented by my 1980s music group, Company, which I’ve mentioned from time to time. Based in Colorado, Company was a forerunner of today’s Independent Catholic Music Movement. We did an annual benefit program for a regional charity called Christmas Unlimited. And the high point was always our rendition of “Silent Night” that included this insert…

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Not into Temptation

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THE LORD’S PRAYER
EMPHASIZES CONTRAST

Pope Francis and Donald Trump are susceptible to the same temptation: to speak in ways that are a bit too spontaneous.

Each is a shoot-from-the-hip kind of guy, and this characteristic has gained each an enormous, loyal following. Unfortunately, it also inclines them to say things that aren’t fully thought out, that spur the media to wild speculations, and that make people go a little nuts.

Francis’ recent remark about the Lord’s Prayer — or as Catholics call it, the Our Father — is a prime example. Hysteria reigns over the expectation that he’s going to change the one prayer which virtually all Christians (and quite a few non-Christians) know by heart.

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Singing in Hope and Triumph

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SURVEY OFFERS INSIGHTS
ABOUT MUSIC AT MASS

Advent is a confusing time.

The liturgical season that began on December 3 anticipates Christ’s return in glory. But its timing — immediately before Christmas — and the themes infusing its weekly readings point also to Jesus’ first appearance in a Bethlehem stable.

So Advent feels like, and tends to function as, a run-up to that beloved silent night, holy night. Not to mention serving as a reminder that time for holiday shopping is running out.

To make things even more confusing, the new church year begins with Advent. This is in contrast to the turn of our secular calendar a few weeks later.

For those churches that subscribe to liturgical materials services — OCP, GIA, etc. — Advent also brings new music books. And with those fresh, unwrinkled paperback volumes inevitably comes renewed discussion about the music we use at Mass.

Consideration of that topic in my parish was enriched this year by a survey with which we attempted to discern people’s preferences in hymns, instrumental accompaniment, and song leadership. Worshippers at all Masses were asked to complete and return a brief questionnaire.

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Still No Secular Option

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HALLOWEEN ATTACK LATEST
SKIRMISH IN RELIGIOUS WAR

At a press conference held about two hours after the Halloween truck attack in New York City, Governor Andrew Cuomo commented that this terror incident was intended to “break our spirit.” Mayor Bill de Blasio called it “cowardly.”

In short order, various news personalities were observing that the perpetrator was “sick,” “deranged” and or otherwise inexplicably unhinged. Even Donald Trump picked up that theme in a post-attack tweet.

I can appreciate that Governor Cuomo would want to acknowledge the resilience of New Yorkers who have experienced 911, the Times Square car bombing attempt, and other acts of planned mayhem.

Likewise, in the first hours after such an occurrence, when the authorities are trying to sort out what has just happened and are saying very little, I can forgive news reporters groping for any explanation in the absence of facts.

But the sameness of all these reactions is telling.

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The Great Principle

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POPE’S STATEMENT ON LITURGY
OFFERS A CHANCE FOR BALANCE

Pope Francis seems to have one ongoing mission: to stir the pot, both politically and ecclesiastically. But amid all the change and controversy, his latest pronouncement on liturgical language presents the Church with an opportunity to pursue reasonableness and balance.

The September 3 apostolic letter titled Magnum Principium (“The Great Principle”), charges the world’s bishops with greater responsibility for vernacular translations of the words we use at Mass. This move revives a controversy over worship language that has gone on with greater or lesser intensity since the Second Vatican Council. And it’s another step in the decentralizing of authority which appears to be high on the agenda of this pontificate.

According to Magnum Principium, the Holy See still retains the power of final text approval, thus ensuring fidelity to meanings embodied in the universal Latin standard. But national episcopal conferences now have greater authority to make prayers and responses better fit the linguistic structures and usages of the world’s many tongues.

To those outside the Church, all this might sound like a So-what? proposition, a procedural adjustment at most. But those who understand Catholicism and its internal stresses recognize that what Francis has done — as with his much-debated words about receiving Holy Communion in Amoris Laetitia — stokes anxiety in some quarters about the future shape of our Church and power relationships within it.

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The Trusting Prayer

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THAT EVIL MAY BE DEFEATED
AND THAT RIGHT MAY PREVAIL

It’s hard to know how to pray these days.

The country is in such turmoil, and clearly, we need God’s help. But I find it hard to keep my daily supplication from sounding like a blog post (like my last blog post, for instance).

I know God cares about our welfare. But does He care about our politics?

How do I implore His benevolence, without presuming He endorses my particular agenda?

What’s the proper way to frame my appeal to One whose perspective is eternal and all-encompassing?

The cute graphic above — currently circulating online — hints at the difficulty of keeping willfulness from imposing itself on prayer. Apparently a lot of people face this challenge.

I suspect the answer to my quandary lies in trust. Which is to say: in trusting that God knows what’s best, and assenting to His will, no matter how He permits things to work out.

Easier said than done, I’m afraid.

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Holy Attire — Examined

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DRESSING FOR CHURCH
IS A VERY HOT TOPIC

Last Saturday’s post — in which I raised the issue of wearing slovenly and/or immodest clothing at Mass — really struck a chord.

Each of the Facebook pages and discussion groups to which I linked the article has brimmed over with “Likes.” I’ve had more hits on this piece than any other essay in the history of my blog. Numerous comments have been posted all over.

Obviously, feelings about this topic are strong.

Most people agree with the point made by both Deacon John Amthor and myself that worship attire could stand some improvement.

But not everybody.

One objector put his view quite succinctly…

“Bullsh-t. Come as you are. God don’t care about how you dress. God cares about your heart.”

He saw the idea of applying standards to our physical appearance as a “doctrine of man,” which he rejects.

Another reader — named Lamont — had a similar edge to his critique, but he offered it with considerably more wit…

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Holy Attire

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LET’S TRY TO LOOK
DECENT IN CHURCH

When I was a kid attending a Presbyterian church, people dressed to the nines for Sunday service. Ladies wore hats. Gents came in suits. Little girls carried their collection money in their lace-trimmed white gloves. Little boys wore ties — grudgingly — and did their best to keep shirt tails tucked in.

Well…that was the 50s and early 60s. Times have changed.

When I began attending Catholic Mass, I was taken aback to see slacks on the women, open-neck knit shirts on the guys. That was the 70s. Things have gone completely to hell since then.

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