I joined several hundred devout Catholics -- mostly Iraqi Chaldeans, Lebanese Maronites and Albanians -- in a procession Wednesday for the Feast of the Assumption of Mary in Carey, Ohio. Here is the Blade article (can you spot me in the crowd?).
I was there strictly for business, however, not personal devotion. I am somewhat amazed at the worship of Mary. She holds a special place in history as the mother of Jesus but I don't believe she is to be worshipped. She is a human being and the Bible warns many times against worshipping anyone but God.
The Catholic doctrine on the Immaculate Conception, claiming that Mary was not conceived by man, was not promulgated until the 1850s. And the doctrine about her being assumed, body and soul, into heaven also was not promulgated until centuries after her death.
Anyway, here are a few random observations from my day at the National Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio:
I was speaking to a friar manning the information booth across from the national basilica when I saw a Chaldean man in sunglasses and black shirt waiting impatiently behind me. So I stepped aside and motioned for him to come forward.
The man leaned on the counter and took a thick wad of bills, wrapped with a rubber band, from his pocket. The friar asked how he could be of help. "Prayer," the man said. "You want prayer?" the friar asked. "Yeah. Prayer, prayer," the man said, and started flicking through the wad of bills, dropping four twenties on the counter. Pause. Another twenty. "Give me prayer."
He darted away.
On the side of the basilica is a large rectangular structure, about 12 feet wide, 4 feet deep, and 8 feet high, with a sign saying "Holy Water," and topped by a cross. There are about 10 faucets attached. People were filling water bottles, jugs, and pitchers with the holy water. A couple of people washed their faces with it while the water poured out of the faucet. I saw one woman take out an empty plastic Evian water bottle, fill it with holy water, and gulp it down.
I wonder what the church rules are on use of holy water? I wonder why none of the friars said anything to the face-washers? I wonder how they bless the water when it is coming out of pipes? Do they bless the reservoir?
These are little questions that have been nagging me since my visit.
I bought an empty bottle, an official shrine bottle, at the shrine bookstore, filled it with water and gave it to an assistant city editor who is a Catholic. The newsroom can use some divine blessings.
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I just read an article by atheist author Christopher Hitchins in Vanity Fair about his experiences on a book tour promoting his best-seller, God Is Not Great. The guy's arrogance is incredible. He is quite proud of his ability to debate religious people and mocks Americans for their ignorance of their own faith. But what Hitchins does not understand is that faith is not rational and not something for intellectual argument. You can be an intellectual and you can be a person of faith, however. They are not mutually exclusive despite some assertions to that end. Unfortunately, many religious leaders who enter into debates with intellectuals like Hitchins are outgunned from the start, and cannot explain their beliefs intelligently and perhaps don't even understand why they believe what they believe. They are asking for a whuppin' if they enter the ring with Hitchins. You need to do your homework and know why you are a Christian, or a Muslim, or Jew. And not just because you say so or you believe so. Why? What makes you so sure you're right? This is a healthy stance to take -- you should be prepared to defend your beliefs, as Apostle Paul advises believers.
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I went to www.bible.com, a very useful web site for finding scriptures in different biblical translations, but not very good for other resources. I looked at the "Bible answers" link, for example, and it listed the top 20 questions on "what does the Bible say about..." Guess what Question No. 5 was? "... Internet hoaxes." I'm not kidding you.
Obviously, St. Paul just clicked on www.snopes.com.
Toledo, Ohio
August 18, 2007