A while ago I began to write an article about health “fanatics”; I am a bit of a “healther” myself, but not overly so. I exercise moderately three or four times a week, and go for jogs when I can, weather permitting. But I smoke cigars a lot; I have a drink most every night, sometimes two. I eat a TON of read meat. Anyway, it dawned on me a while ago that many of my health fanatic acquaintances were atheists. Well, of course. What else is there for an atheist? That may seem sarcastic.

I have been reading about the existence of God. Various beliefs, pro and con; whether Jesus really ever existed. Is the Bible myth?

My father disliked sarcasm and cynicism. He would never tolerate sarcasm. Some felt he had a romantic view of the world. He wanted things to be “good.” A common joke among myself and my brothers and sisters is “Dad lied to us.” It seems, as we got older, the world is maybe not so good as he led us to believe, as he wanted us to believe. It seems odd that a man who had such a hard world upbringing–orphanage, alcoholic and violent stepfather, pretty much in charge of his family since the age of 16 when the stepfather disappeared–it seems odd he would be so positive. He went to church every Sunday, and as far as we could tell he didn’t like it! Not so much going to Church, but the sermons would drive him nuts. He would moan, and sometimes mutter to himself “oh, jesus christ!” When I was growing up in the sixties, Sunday sermons, unfortunately, could be rather political–and Dad hated it. Still, he went. And he had a positive outlook on life.

Reading various articles by those who strive to prove there is no God, and that Jesus never existed, I notice a common thread: sarcasm. The modern word might be “snarkism”; and more than a little hatred for the Catholic Church. There is an underlying theme of ridicule, and anger. And as I read these various authors, I get a warning. My father’s worldview comes back to me in an odd way. “Don’t go there’” he tells me. “Those people are to be avoided.” Why? I will come back to this in my next post.

Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

*****

Every so often I take part in a group discussion of current events in the world, discussed in the light of our (the members of our discussion group–anyone is welcome) Catholic faith. I have come to realize over the time I have been involved, that not everyone is a “Catholic”; though they all attend services in my church. However, all of them are “Christian.”

Last month, we talked about the origins of religion. One member, who is keen to talk about the origins of religion, declared that the world is a mess, on the verge of destruction. There is so much power ready to be loosed upon the world by any maniac of the month in some far off land. And he was correct.

And then he said that what the world needs is a new message, one that applies to everyone. A message, or belief, or belief system that all members of all faiths can understand and accept. When I asked him what it was, or what it could be, he replied, “I don’t know… that’s beyond me. But we’d better find it fast before it’s too late.”

I said to him, “it’s already here. It is the message of Jesus. Don’t you get it? He came here with a totally new message. He preached love and forgiveness; he hated hypocrites, he wanted us all to love each other, to understand, to accept his love. He said ‘I am the light of the world.’ That is the message. He is the light in the darkness of the crazy threats we are facing and will be facing. Can you imagine a world without the message of Jesus? Can you imagine how violent, horrible, painful, and destructive this world would have been before today without the message of Jesus Christ? He was, He is the new message.”

We argued the point; but I was lost in thought from then on. I was thinking of the story of the “woman caught in adultery.” What was written in John, 8, is fascinating and even today it is beyond its time. But for then… it was craziness in the context of the time. It is craziness in the context of our world today–even the regular standard “modern” world. In many countries they would kill Jesus for saying what he said… oh, wait…

Back to my friend looking for the new message. The new message is here. It has been here for almost two thousand years. It is not just the telling of the woman caught in adultery. It is so much more, so seemingly commonplace to us today. Perhaps that is the problem. We know the phrases, so we are accustomed to them; yet they were so ridiculously radical then, and even now: “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.” “Is it lawful to cure a man on the sabbath or not?” “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” “Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.” “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

The words of Jesus Christ are the way. Every sentence turns us around. “Turn the other cheek.”

The new message is here. It has been here. We must not let it be ignored or forgotten. If a good man in my discussion group, a professed Christian, has lost the understanding of why he is Christian, then we are, indeed, in danger. But not as the result of the need for a new language, understanding, or message. But, rather, because we have forgotten the depth of love and understanding that has been revealed to us. It is in the book! It is all there. It has guided men through the ages. When its guidance is no longer recognized… then we are in danger. I pray it never happens.

Turning to the disciples in private he said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

-Michael Alexander

Well, he did it out of fear.

He had seen so much, heard His words, taken in His lessons; he was told that the new beginning, the beginning of salvation would be built on him. He would be the rock. In today’s jargon, Peter was the man. Hey, Peter, you d’man!

And that was the problem.

Men get scared, even when they know they have been shown the presence of God in the world. Even when they know they are looking at the human manifestation of God. They get scared. So they deny what they know to be true. And what a truth! But, Peter got scared. He didn’t want anyone to know that he knew Him. And it happened regularly. Not once, not twice, but three times in an afternoon. Like clockwork, if I may.

That’s roughly ten to fifteen times a day, given the right opportunity and enough fear.

We don’t do any different, or at least many of us don’t do any different. How many times have I seen proof of the existence of God? How many prayers have been answered? From how many silly messes have my prayers delivered me? These are not rhetorical questions. The answer is: many.

How many times do I not say grace before I eat a meal, especially when I am in the company of non-family members? How many times do I stay silent when I hear people make statements contemptuous of Christianity in general, and Catholicism in particular?

Then I retire to my home and wish I had said something. The fear gets to me. I’d be labeled a Jesus Freak. A member of the religious right. Someone hopelessly mired in superstition.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, or both, I know it is not superstition. I know the way to happiness and I know the strength Jesus can give all people. I know it. Just like Peter knew it. Yet, I go to church and pray–that’s easy enough. I’m surrounded by fellow Catholics. I celebrate Christmas and Easter and observe other Catholic religious days. That’s easy, too. Most everyone likes Christmas, and Easter has that Bunny and colored egg thing going on, so that’s easy, too. And non-Catholics don’t pay any attention to the other days. Oh, we look a bit odd on Ash Wednesday, our one big day of courage when we let people know we went to church on a day that is not Christmas or Easter or Sunday. Some day that has something to do with the beginning of Lent, you know that holiday time when we Catholics give up candy or something. We wear our badge of courage for a day.

I sometimes tire of “politically active” Catholics; I’m not knocking them, it’s just that I often find it a canard. A way to be catholic without being Catholic.

I heard an author on the radio, just today, hawking his book about his wonderful Catholic father who always believed in –, no, not Jesus, for heaven’s sake! According to the author, his father believed in social justice. And when asked a few questions about his father’s religious beliefs and his own religious beliefs, it all boiled down to a belief in–taking care of the poor, the downtrodden, the disadvantaged, those less fortunate than we. All of this is fine. However, please, can you first say WHY this is important? Who was Jesus?! Who is he to you, Mr. Author?

It was depressingly clear that the writer of the book, the son of the great Catholic, didn’t believe much in anything involving the Catholic faith. He believed in political activism–and selling his book. So, like Peter, he denied the real reason for our belief. He could talk politics, he could talk doing good, but he couldn’t talk Jesus. Too much at risk. Might not sell his book. Too afraid.

I think that is a cheat. I want a Catholic who says he believes in–Jesus Christ. THEN he can believe in the rest of whatever he believes in. I don’t want a Catholic who preaches Catholicism as Christianity as social justice–and who, when on national radio, acts just like Peter did when he was asked if he was a friend of Jesus.

I am no different in many ways, and that is why Peter is so important. I know so much about Jesus and God just as any believing Christian does. Yet I don’t want the pain; and, too often, we don’t want the pain and embarrassment of letting people know that, uh-oh, I’m a Jesus Freak. You can be a Yankees fanatic, a Red Sox fanatic, a Dallas Cowboy’s nut job or a Lakers Freak–that’s okay. But a Jesus Fan? A Jesus Freak? Well, that’s kind of, uh, freaky.

Scenario: you are in a job interview and you are at the point where things are going well, and things are getting a bit more relaxed; you know, toward the end of the interview that you know has gone well. Then the interviewer starts talking about sports, etc. Talks about his kids, maybe his son, what a rabid sports fan the little guy has become! Then he says, laughing, “Well, it could be worse, he could be one of those jesus freaks!” Come on now, laugh with the interviewer.

Of course, that is a false scenario because if you replied with anything remotely Christian in defense and did not get the job, there would be a chance of a lawsuit against the potential employer. So, no, that never happens. Not in a job interview.

Yet, similar things happen to us all the time. Don’t we see it every day? All the jeering in the media about the Church; all the planted stories designed to let us know that we believe in a superstition; all the glib cracks about the religious right, etc. How many of us fight back by simply saying, “I believe that Jesus Christ was our savior. There are many reasons for my belief. If you are interested I will gladly tell you; otherwise, that’s all I need to say.”

Remember the bully in the schoolyard? Everyone was afraid of him (or her–there are many types of bullies and many versions of bullying). No one dared cross the bully, either because of fear of reprisal, or fear of becoming unpopular, or fear of being labeled a weirdo.

Every time we do not take the opportunity to acknowledge our Lord, we are Peter; we are the scared kid in the schoolyard.

Peter went on to greatness, and great hardship. Ultimately, we revere him; and he teaches us a great and valuable lesson about ourselves. But, then, doesn’t everything associated with Jesus Christ do that?

So why is it so hard to show it?

A friend takes very good care of her Bible. She does not leave it on the floor, does not put anything on top of it, and usually has it in one place.  It is in very good shape after quite a few years, and it is one of those leather bound, very well constructed books.

In contrast, there is my Bible. It looks like it was taken from the local laundromat book pile. Pages are falling out; there are maps in the back that, while not technically missing, are on the floor somewhere in my bedroom. I know this because I periodically find them and put them back in place. The pages are dog-eared and the binding is coming apart. It shares space with a few favorite novels and a couple of books on physics and astronomy and politics and music.

I suppose it is a matter of lifestyle. My friend has, for the most part, a set time of day when she reads her Bible, and she usually reads at her desk or dining room table. I suppose she is more organized than I am. I read my Bible mostly when I get into bed, and it may fall to the floor as I fall asleep; sometimes I will simply roll over onto it and grind it during the night.

I purchased this particular Bible from Barnes and Noble about ten years ago. I have, and have had, others. One on my office shelf and one New Testament and Psalms in my office desk drawer, another on my dresser. However, this Bible is my “go to” Bible. And it is big, and heavy.

My friend thinks it mildly sacrilegious the way I treat this Book; but, as the saying goes, “it is what it is”; and in this case, what it is is The Catholic Bible, Personal Study Edition, Oxford University Press, 1995. It is a wonderful book filled with so much information on the writers and their history, historical references, and teachings of the church. It discusses various translations and has hundreds of pages of study guide. It is quite an impressive Book from the standpoint of the task of putting it all together.

I am not one of those people who can quote verses from the Bible and that is probably because of the way I read. I know I can go back to the Book when I need it, and I never memorized passages for fear I would use them in an argument about something. I know people who can quote hundreds of passages. I know the books, I know the stories, I know the events, but passages elude my memory.  I have to pick it up and open it and read it. Psalm 86: Hear me Lord and answer me; Revelation, 21, 1: Then I saw a new heaven, and a new earth… And, The man with the withered hand.

Perhaps my favorite is John, 20, 1: On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb.

I love this passage. It fills me with wonder, anticipation. It is the beginning of the dawn and of the dawning of the knowledge of what has occurred.

I wake up most days as Mary approached the Tomb. It is early morning (usually too early), it is still dark, and I think of my obligations to God. In my mind, I approach the tomb and realize the stone has been removed; and the miracle of life and salvation begins anew.

My Bible is falling apart, and as it falls apart I become more “together.” I often read it in conjunction with books pertaining to science, and I frequently put it down to graze over the pages of one of the novels I find particularly funny, moving, curiously written. A casual observer would say that I do not treat my Bible with reverence. I do not see it that way, despite the fact that I have a few times found it in the hamper. No, that is not sacrilegious. On the contrary, it is a symptom, or perhaps a sign–and not of slovenliness. I am constantly reminded that God must be part of my daily routine. Why? Because that Book appears and disappears, pages go missing and I search for them. Maps fall out but I know I will find them and I will find a way to put the Book together again. Or, if not, then perhaps someone will find some of the pages. Maybe they will be blown about the streets and someone will pick them up and see. And if, one day, the whole thing falls apart or too many pages go missing, I suppose I will get a new one. A new heaven, and a new earth.

When I wake up in the early morning, in the dark, I think and pray. I ask for God’s protection of my children–always the first prayer. I ask that my day’s endeavors point me–and others–toward a more holy life, a more Christian life. I ask that God’s will be done. I ask for forgiveness for my many, many flaws! I wonder about the origins of the universe.

Then I put my Bible–somewhere–and start the day. When I come back after a long day’s work, I will, at some point in the evening, find myself saying, “Where did I put it this time. I know it’s here somewhere.”

God is evident everywhere.

“Almighty Creator, whoever you are or whatever you are, we ask you for your blessings on this gathering.”

The above is an exact quote from the beginning of a “blessing” by the “chaplain” at a recent awards dinner I attended for a volunteer fire department.

I had a hard time not laughing aloud. I couldn’t help but wonder:  what were the religious studies upon which the chaplain based his faith and concluded that there is an almighty creator? What, if anything, did the chaplain actually believe?

It has gotten this absurd, this silly, this meaningless; it has gotten this lazy. One is tempted to say “this politically correct”; but perhaps “religiously correct” is a more realistic term.

Let us examine the words of the person who was asked to “lead us in the blessing.”

“Whoever you are”: Presumably, the chaplain became a chaplain as the result of, among other things, a belief in God. One would also assume that this belief in God led to studies–of some sort–regarding the creator of the universe. The studies must have resulted in the firm conviction (after all, the guy became a chaplain–whoever or whatever that is in his world) that there is a god. Unfortunately, the upshot of this person’s “chaplaincy” is that he has no idea who god is. Heck, I would rather have him be a pantheist and declare that god is in the trees. At least that’s an acknowledgement of something. However, these days we have gotten to this point: whoever you are; and it is thrown out to us at a dinner for men and women who risk their lives. “It’s okay guys and gals, Whoever It Is is looking out for you. Go into that burning building with confidence! Whoever It Is is with you!” What kind of belief is this?

“Or whatever you are”: Okay, this is creepy. What if God is a centipede? An umbrella? A rose bush? My dog? Imagine standing in front of an audience of firefighters, who dutifully had their heads bowed, and beseeching the blessings of a “Whatever”?  Just what does that mean?  I watched those bowed heads from the corners of my eyes and wondered what they were thinking. I felt sad. We were all being asked to acknowledge a whoever and a whatever. I am reminded of the word used these days by our youth when they don’t want to get involved in a discussion. “Whatever.” And that may be close to the heart of the matter: too many people no longer want to think about or attempt to know God. It is too much of an effort. So they “whatever” God and pretend to have a religion.

I went to the home of a close friend a few weeks ago. She has recently begun to attend a church, but I wasn’t sure which church. I noticed the church bulletin on a counter in her home and picked it up. It was eight pages. And in all those eight pages, there was not one mention of God. Not one. It was eight pages of political activism, short essays on women’s rights, male domination in our society, tolerance for everyone under the sun, and invitations to attend hikes and organic food parties. This was the bulletin for an allegedly “Christian” church. The words “Jesus” and “Christ” appeared nowhere.

What has happened to us as thinking human beings? Why attend a church that has nothing to do with an understanding of God? And what kind of person becomes a “chaplain” as a result of discovering that god is a whoever or a whatever? What is the point?

As beings with the power to reason, man has always attempted to discern God. After all that has been written over the ages, all that is contained in the Bible, all the history of the Jewish religion and the Christian religion, and the presence of a man named Jesus within this historical context–how does a chaplain end up praying to a whatever? How does a person attend a “church” that overtly has nothing to do with God?

Here’s how: we are getting to a point in history where a belief in God is okay, it is acceptable–as long as that belief culminates in no real attempt at understanding God, and in reality, no real belief in God. This way, our modern secularists will be able to appear to be tolerant of all religions as long as those religions are meaningless. In other words, our society is becoming intolerant of a real belief in God, while at the same time claiming to respect all religions. It’s a trick that has happened slowly, imperceptibly. This is where we are.

Is it so offensive to proclaim that Jesus Christ has had an incalculably beneficial effect on our world and its people, even on those who do not believe in him? Here is a test: imagine the history of the world if the words and life of Jesus Christ never existed? Consider the history of man since the birth of Christ. Jesus Christ established our individual relationship with God. He established that every one of us is supremely individually important to the creator of the universe. Obviously, he did so much more; but consider what these concepts led to: democracy, freedom, care for the poor, individual rights, an assessment of the “power” of those who would rule over us. Yes, there is so much more; but that is another essay for another day. These concepts are meaningless unless we acknowledge that they come to us as rights we all have from God. The God that gave us these wonderful gifts is the God of Judeo-Christianity, and that’s a fact. Shout it from the rooftops. Or, better yet, just read Jefferson, Madison, Washington, Lincoln, and Martin Luther King, Jr. But be careful; these days, their writings would place them squarely in the realm of the crazed religious right. Again, what has happened to us as thinking human beings?

Back to the Chaplain.

If god is a whoever or a whatever, why bother to pray to him/her/it? One would think that if God were the Supreme Creator of all, there would be some reason for him to create us; that God would want us to know who God is. We owe it to ourselves as human beings to look at the world and its history and determine if God has given us signs of his being, and if so, why? It is not sufficient, in fact, it is a bit of a joke to assume that we can talk to a whatever and let it go at that.

Jesus took a cup and gave thanks. Why? Why would he give thanks for such a cup and all that it meant, all the suffering, all the humiliation as a man? We need to understand that. Moses led his people out of slavery and darkness. Why? We need to understand that. If God is a whatever, then so are we–and that is not good. ”Whatevers” are doomed to servitude to whomever is a bigger and stronger whatever.

We are better than that, infinitely better and infinitely more important. God is not a whatever. Jesus is not a whatever. And neither am I. And neither are you.

Good morning, God! I will try to get things right today–again! Thanks for the support, and thanks for life. Help everyone, everyday, to recognize you.

Commencement speech at a Northeastern High School, June 2011.                       by Michael Alexander

When I realized I would be speaking at this graduation ceremony, I had to think a lot about what to say. Because when giving a speech, especially a graduation speech, you want it to be interesting, and relevant, but it can’t be too complex–you have to consider your audience. And I’m speaking for the most part to High School students. There are others in the audience, but I’m for the most part talking to you.

So, I’m going to talk tonight about–graduation… and the origins of the universe, whether or not we have souls, and the universal rights of man. And I’m sure you are mature enough to hear these facts of life.

Listening to my speech tonight may be a little bit like playing “connect the dots,” except tonight, in this speech, the dots will be moving.

Just about one month ago, a famous physicist declared that human beings are just machines, computers; and when the hard drive crashes, that’s it. There’s nothing.

Wouldn’t that be a joke?

But before I get into that topic, I want to say to all of you “Congratulations.” So I will: Congratulations.

Congratulations? For what? Graduating? Is that a good thing? Says who? What’s so good about it? Is there such a thing as good? As opposed to bad? Are there rules, truths, or is everything meaningless–or “relative?”

Now I may be dating myself here, but about 14 billion years ago–and I think only your principal and I are old enough to remember, but about 14 billion years ago there was a tiny object the size of an atom–and there was nothing else… there was a formless void. And within a trillionth of a second that tiny object expanded maybe a hundred yards or so. And within 30 minutes it had expanded many light years across. And shortly thereafter it was really gigantic.  And after a while it started to cool; and clusters formed which became galaxies, and stars, and solar systems, and planets…. And the earth.  And us.

So what. Who cares. Whatever.

What’s so good about that? And what does it have to do with graduation?

Well, we only know about this stuff because there are laws. Physical laws which we have discovered rule the universe.  And we have used these laws, these rules, to gather all this information about what happened 14 billion years ago.

There are rules of science: physics, astronomy, mathematics, medicine. You do something this way, it works. It’s good. You deviate, don’t follow the law or rule, It doesn’t work. It’s bad. There’s a right way and a wrong way. A good way and a bad way–and these laws are observed, obeyed, every day.

What else do we observe? Some things are observed annually: Anniversaries, Birthdays, Passover, Christmas–graduation.  Every year we do these things. Every year.

If we are just hard drives that crash and burn and disappear then all of this observing is a great big bad joke.

FACT: There are people here today who have shed tears of joy and sorrow over you graduates; who have laughed with each other and hugged each other over you.

How is it possible that from the expansion of a tiny particle14 billion years ago there are now such things as a tear drop, a smile, a kiss, the healing touch of a hand?

How is it possible that it led to some of the joys of you hiding in the darkness at 3 a.m. with a huge water gun playing a game called “Assassin?”[1]

When did communication begin?

Do you know that they have found the first written communication of one human being to other human beings? And this is going to blow your mind, but this is what was said: “Good morning, young people, parents, and staff. Due to the inclement weather, all schools in our district will be closed.”[2]

QUESTION: Why are decisions made to close schools when the weather is bad?

ANSWER: Because it’s the right thing to do.

We are here tonight because there is good in the world.

Thomas Jefferson was a scientist. We know him as a founding father and great political figure, but he was fascinated with science, and particularly with paleontology–the study of fossils. He studied nature. He was a student of the scientific method.

But when it came to human beings, and human rights, he threw science out the window; because he didn’t need it.

He wrote “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” It’s better than science.

“All men are created equal, and they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights.” And he insisted that we must respect those rights, because they are good.

What the heck am I talking about? What do I mean?

QUESTION: If you were going blind; if you were deaf, very sick, getting old, no wife, no kids–would you be happy?

Beethoven, Beethoven found himself in that exact same situation and he wrote his last symphony, the ninth symphony, under those circumstances. And the Ninth Symphony ends with the magnificent “Ode to Joy.” Not “Ode to the end of my sucky life.” Ode to Joy.

Why?

Because life is good.

You are good. L’Chaim. To life. Here’s to you.

In the Bible, which some call “The Good Book,” in Genesis God looks at all he created and he saw how good it was.

Beethoven, Jefferson, and many others recognized it, too.

If you become cynical, if you become bitter, if you become relativistic… if you do that you will be missing all the good, all the self-evident joys in the world.

Look around you. No, I mean it literally: take a few moments to look around this room. Look at each other’s faces.

You love each other. We all do.

Machines don’t.

Only beings infused with a knowledge of the good brought to you by a Creator who endowed you with unalienable rights–one of these rights being the pursuit of happiness–only we do.

You are important to us. We are proud of you. We love you. And if you’re not sure, look around again.

It’s self-evident.

So this graduation ceremony is most definitely in order. We acknowledge the good in you and the accomplishments you have achieved. We are here because there is good in the world. So to all of you wonderful students of the graduating class of 2011: you have done a good thing, and you know it, and we know it. And it is real.

Congratulations, continued success, and God Bless all of you.

DESPITE MY DOUBTS

I am certain that most people who believe in God have doubts–at times. I am also certain that many very religious Catholics have doubts. I am speaking of doubts concerning the existence of God. Forget about Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the Apostles and all the Saints: some days an inquiring mind, or a troubled mind, or an educated mind, or any human mind will wonder about it all. And sometimes, while wondering, they will find themselves praying.

This blog is dedicated to re-affirming the power of prayer, the message of the man named Jesus who lived and walked on this earth. It is about the Catholic Church, the Sacraments, attending Church services; it is about Christianity, Judaism, science, law, democracy, faith, and the acknowledgment of one individual’s (i.e., any individual) unique relationship with God. It is written by a doubter–who prays constantly and has every reason to believe fervently in God’s love and the message of Jesus. It is written by one who has had all of his prayers answered (the really important prayers, anyway–and a couple of real doozies which were totally unimportant and, clearly, coincidence–God could not possibly be solely a Yankees fan?), and who, for most of the 24 hour day, believes. Yet it is written by one who, despite every evidence to the contrary, continues to have moments when he says “there probably is nothing, or if there is something, it has nothing to do with us. We are just advanced evolutionary biological products who got the big brain and opposable thumbs first and took control. There is no God, Jesus never performed any miracles, he did not rise from the dead, and the entire Bible is one gigantic fairy tale. We don’t need it. It’s a hoax.”

I have these thoughts, these doubts, often. They do not prevent my beliefs, they are doubts. Yet despite my doubts, I will, in this blog, discuss the power of prayer, the validity of the argument for God, Jesus, and the Catholic Church. I can say without reservation that there is evidence of God and the necessity for the message of Jesus Christ in everything I see–particularly the horrible things in the world. The violence, the hatred, the anger, the misunderstanding, the jealousies, the sins people commit every day–these are the things that convince me that God exists and he is a loving God–and he sent us a messenger, his son, at precisely the correct moment in history to deal with all of this. Despite my doubts, I believe this. And I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth and all that is seen and unseen, because, despite my doubts, this is the only belief which, ultimately, makes any sense–not just religiously, but scientifically as well. And I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only son of God eternally begotten of the father because upon considered examination and reflection my soul, my heart, tells me this is fact.

I have thought of these things, meditated on them, contemplated them, for many, many years. This blog, hopefully, will be a place for examination into many aspects of our faith; and my examination of my Catholic faith has lead me to affirmation. I will be as honest as I can before you, the reader, but mostly before God, my creator. I owe him that much–despite my doubts. And I will pray for his guidance, as should everyone. Why? Because it works.

I hope you find these writings affirmative. Michael Alexander

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