XXXVI - 11(03)

“Watchman,

what of the night?”

"The hour has come, the hour is striking and striking at you,
the hour and the end!"          Eze. 7:6 (Moffatt)

אֵל (EL)

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Sunday and the Eucharist

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CATHOLIC ACTION

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A L'Osservatore Romano Insert

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Editor's Preface

Apart from the first article, this issue continues the consideration of the Roman Eucharist focusing on the relationship perceived by Rome between it and "the religious observance" of Sunday. While at the moment the focus is centered in Europe and its constitution, and while in America the focus is on abortion, there is a call, resulting from the Papal initiative, declaring "Now is the Time for Catholic Action!" Our Sunday Visitor, p. 10 (April 20. 2003), featured an article captioned, "Catholic voters of the nation, unite!" If there ever was a time we needed to keep our thinking straight it is now. There are some basically good programs being championed today by what is called, "the religious right," for example, "family values." The problem is simply, how far dare the government go, and the inalienable rights of the individual citizen under the Constitution not be violated? Dare we sell our "rights" for a bowl of social porridge? Slowly but surely, there is edging to the top of the social agenda, "the religious observance of Sunday." And this is not merely an enactment of an old time "Blue Law."

With this issue is our current "Order Form." The same basic documented research is being offered so that all may know what has transpired in the immediate past within the community of Adventism.

Recent publications call for evaluation: The Good News of Daniel 8:14, Investigating the Judgment, and The Trinity, as well as a pamphlet asking the question - "Start a Home Church?" - and then challenging, "Think It Through First!" All of these releases are on the drawing board as we contemplate the crucial 2004.

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A Contemplation of God

אֵל
EL

Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God (El). (Ps. 90:1-2)

This prayer of Moses the man of God is addressed to a single Deity - EL. Yet in the preface of Psalm 90, Moses is declared to be a man of the Gods הָאֱלֹהִים    - plural with article, the same designation for God that he used in Genesis 1:1 without the article. To whom then is he praying? The One he knew on a personal basis - "face to face" (Deut. 34:10); the I AM of the burning bush. This One has been and is from "everlasting to everlasting" (from eternity to eternity), the Logos who "was (hn) with God" (John 1:1-2).

"He is before all things, and by Him all things consist" (Col. 1:17). "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3). At some point back in the billions of light years of the past, the Word began creation. At that point, He was (hn). The human mind cannot perceive it, yet there are those who propose to define what took place in the silence of that eternity. These would do well to remove their shoes from off their feet, recognizing that they are walking on holy ground, for only the Holy Ones existed.

I am the first and the last, (I am) he that liveth; and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forever more and have the keys of hell and of death" (Rev. 1:17-18).

In this divine testimony of Himself, the I AM is telling us something if we have a mind that can perceive it. The last part of verse 17, and verse 18 as quoted above constitute a single sentence in the Greek text. John is quoting the exact words of the risen Lord. In Revelation a contrast, but also a parallel, is given between Him who is "alive for evermore" and the Almighty. Of the Almighty it is written:

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. (Rev. 1:8).

Yet we find, that the I AM claims the same self designation - Alpha and Omega - and combines the concepts of "the first and the last" and "the beginning and the end" as one in Himself. (Rev. 22:13). The only differentiation between the two revelations of the Gods is that One, the I AM, was "dead" but now is alive forevermore and has "the keys of hell and of death." It is also interesting to observe that when John describes the Almighty stating that He "was," he uses the same verb form as he uses to define the existence of the Word in John 1 - hn - the Greek imperfect tense of "to be" which denotes continuous action in past time.

We may speculate on "the first and the last," the "Alpha and Omega" but the simple self-declaration of the One who was dead is that He is the Living One - 'o zwn (a present participle) - defining I AM. In this revelation we stand before the mysterious love which He who was equal with God manifested in emptying Himself so as to die that He might open the grave to the fearful sons and daughters of Adam. (Phil. 2:6-8; Heb. 2:14-15).

Yet today, in the community of Adventism we are faced with the blasphemous denial of the eternal Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ under the guise of rejecting the Roman doctrine of the Trinity. One may be perfectly right in denying the teachings of Rome, but deadly wrong in the rejection of the LORD Jesus Christ, by Whom and without Whom there is no salvation. (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).

Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Isaiah 57:15

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SUNDAY AND THE
EUCHARIST

The editor of Christianity Today in a book review commented, "The European Union has excluded any reference to Christianity from the draft for its new constitution." (August, 2003, p. 53).  This constitution is to be signed in October. The Papacy reacted to this exclusion. The issue of L'Osservatore Romano for July 23, 2003 carried the headline - "Build a new Europe: renew her Christian roots." On the prior Sunday, July 20, the Pope in a Catholic devotional at his summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, declared - "The Church is also prompted to make her own contribution to this important task which involves all members of European society."  He stated further:

In the complex history of the Continent, Christianity constitutes a central and defining element established on the firm foundation of the classical heritage and the multiple contributions offered by various ethnic and cultural streams which have succeeded one another down the centuries.

It certainly can be said, therefore, that the Christian faith has shaped the culture of Europe, becoming inextricably bound up with its history and, despite painful divisions between East and West, Christianity became "the religion of the European peoples." It has also had a remarkable influence in modern and contemporary times, regardless of the strong and widespread phenomenon of secularization.

The [Roman] church knows that her interest In Europe is inherent in her mission. As the bearer of the Gospel, she has helped to spread values which have made European culture universal. This heritage cannot be squandered. On the contrary, the new Europe should be helped "to build herself by revitalizing her original Christian roots."

After reciting the devotional prayer, the Pope reminded the pilgrims, gathered together in the courtyard of his summer residence, that July 20 was the 100th year "of the death of Pope Leo XIII" who was to be "remembered above all as the Pope of Rerum Novarum, the Encyclical that marked the beginning of the modern social teaching of the Church." While this Encyclical placed the Roman Church's approval on Trade Unions, Leo's social teaching was also at variance with the concept of separation of Church and State. He termed it a "fatal theory"  because "the profession of a religion is necessary in the State,"  and "that one must be professed which alone is true." (Libertas praestantissimum naturae opus, May 20, 1888).

From the time of Leo XIII to the present an exception was made for the United States because the population was largely non-Catholic. This acceptance of separation of Church and State was considered, "not indeed as the ideal arrangement, but as a modus vivendi." The situation is now different more than a century later. Leo's dictum of 1888 still stands - "It is in no way lawful to demand, to defend, or to grant, unconditional freedom of thought, of speech, of writing, or of religion, as if they were so many rights which nature had given to man." (Ibid. See also Facts of Faith, pp. 256-272).

Behind Leo XIII's attack on democracy, secularism and liberalism, was the work of Louis Veuillot, whom Leo called the "Lay Father of the Church." Veuillot's book, "Liberal Illusion," was translated into English in 1939 and published by the National Catholic Welfare Conference of Washington D.C. The translator, Msgr. George Barry O'Toole, Ph.D., S.T.D., Professor of Philosophy in The Catholic University of America, noted in the personal preface he wrote that the Encyclical of Leo XIII cited above "placed the seal of papal approval . . . fully upon the contents of Louis Veuillot's The Liberal Illusion" (p. 8, second printing).

Veuillot set the agenda for the revived papal power. He wrote:

When the time comes and men realize that the social edifice must be rebuilt according to eternal standards, be it tomorrow, or be it centuries from now [already 100 years have passed], the Catholics will arrange things to suit said standards. Undeterred by those who prefer to abide in death, they will re-establish certain laws of life. They will restore Jesus to His place on high, and He shall no longer be insulted. They will raise their children to know God and to honor their parents. They will

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uphold the indissolubility of marriage, and if this fails to meet with the approval of the dissenters, it will not fail to meet the approval of their children. They will make obligatory the religious observance of Sunday on behalf of the whole of society and for its own good, revoking the permit for free-thinkers and Jews to celebrate, incognito, Monday or Saturday on their own account. Those whom this may annoy, will have to put up with this annoyance. Respect will not be refused to the Creator nor repose denied to the creature simply for sake of humouring certain maniacs, whose phrenetic condition causes them stupidly and insolently to block the will of the whole people. However, like our own, their houses will be all the more solid and their fields all the more fertile on that account.

In a word, Catholic society will be Catholic, and the dissenters whom it will tolerate will know its charity, but they will not be allowed to disrupt its unity. (pp. 63-64)

If this is the agenda, Rome wishes to have placed in the new European Constitution, so as to "renew her Christian roots," then in the Papal discussion of the constitution, there would be introduced the Sunday question. Two weeks later, August 3, after the call to "build a new Europe," the Pope from the same summer residence gave a call to "Safeguard the precious value of Sunday." He declared:

Europe is the continent which, in the past 2000 years, has been marked by Christianity more than any other. From all Its regions - in its abbeys, cathedrals and churches - ceaseless praise has been raised to Christ, the Lord of time and of history. Baptism and the other sacraments have consecrated the seasons of life of countless believers. The Eucharist, especially on the Lord's Day, has nourished their faith and love, the Liturgy of the Hours and many other popular forms of prayer have marked the rhythm of their daily life.

Even if none of these things has been lacking in our time, a renewed commitment is still indispensable if we are to face the challenges of secularization, so that believers may make their entire life a true spiritual worship that is pleasing to God.

Special attention should be paid to safeguarding the value of Sunday, Dies Domini. This day is the symbol par excellence of all that Christianity has stood for and still stands for, in Europe and throughout the world: the perennial proclamation of the Good News of the Resurrection of Jesus, the celebration of his victory over sin and death, the commitment to the human being's full liberation. By preserving the Christian meaning of Sunday a notable contribution is made to Europe for the preservation of an essential part of its own particular spiritual and cultural heritage. (L'Osservatore Romano, 6 August 2003, p. 1)

The prophecies of Revelation, chapters 13 and 14 are becoming more discernable as to what the final issue will be. Days will be involved; but one does not worship a day. It is the worship on the day which will form the issue. The call of the First Angel is to worship "Him that made"- the Creator. The voice of the "beast" calls men to worship a bread-god blasphemously declared to be created by a priest. The final issue revolves around the Roman Eucharist on the "Day of the Church." (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, par. 41)

CATHOLIC ACTION

In his Encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, John Paul II declared: "The Eucharist is truly a glimpse of heaven appearing on earth. It is a glorious ray of the heavenly Jerusalem which pierces the clouds of our history and lights up our journey."  Then he concluded:

A significant consequence of the eschatological tension in the Eucharist is also the fact that it spurs us on our journey through history and plants a seed of living hope in our daily commitment to the work before us. Certainly the Christian vision leads to the expectation of "new heavens" and a "new earth" (Rev. 21:1), but this increases, rather than lessens, our sense of responsibility for the world today. (Emphasis his) I wish to reaffirm this forcefully at the beginning of the new millennium, so that Christians will feel more obliged than ever not to neglect their duties as citizens in this world. Theirs is the task of contributing with the light of the Gospel to the building of a more human world, a world fully in harmony with God's plan. (Emphasis mine) (Par. 20).

This is simply a call for Catholic involvement in the election process with the sole objective of making the nation where these citizens reside a

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nation structured according to "the modern social teaching of the Church" as set forth in the Encyclicals of Leo XIII, which in turn echoed the concepts of Louis Veuillot.

Overlooked by many of us, the pontificate of John Paul II began with a call for involvement in the electoral process to make the State reflective of the social teachings of the Church. In 1991, Michael and Sandy Galloway, a Catholic couple in Bakersfield, California founded, "Catholic Online," the largest Catholic media-internet presence in the world. Now, they are asking Catholics to join Your Catholic Voice (YCV), "a movement to respond to the Holy Father's call to the 'New Evangelization ' of culture, and (the) response to the call of the Church to 'Faithful Citizenship.'" The first item on their agenda is - "Promote the social teaching of the Catholic Church as a framework for a truly just social order." To this they have now added a Foundation as "a response to the call of the Church for faithful participation in social and political action." This Foundation will be "faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church" and place pressure on all elected and appointed Catholics to put these teachings first before allegiance to the Constitution.

The Roman Catholic News Service (May 7, 2003) stated that this Foundation is an arm of YCV "to get Catholics to become more active in the political process." Its president is a deacon from the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, Keith A. Fournier, serving in Christ the King Parish in Norfolk. He holds a law degree as well as a degree in sacred theology and philosophy. He prepares all materials for the Web site which are designed to be "distinctly Catholic," presenting "the beauty of Catholic teaching." Fournier in an interview indicated that many people are looking for leadership from the Catholic Church. He stated that "as we get ready for elections . . . we need to move beyond liberal and conservative and Republican and Democrat, and get everybody (to understand) the treasure of the church's social teaching, which has so much to offer." (ibid.)

We need to understand that the papal call for a "New Evangelization" is not how we understand evangelism - the winning of souls to the truth - but rather as stated, "of culture." It is as Veuillot stated, "Catholic society will be Catholic" with the imposition of "the church's social teaching" through the power of the State. This will mean, among other things, making "obligatory the religious observance of Sunday on behalf of the whole of society and for its own good." The words chosen by Veuillot - "the religious observance" of Sunday - take on new meaning in the light of the Encyclical of John Paul II on the place and importance of the Eucharist in Roman worship. This aspect of the "mark" of the beast has not been given due study.

The announcement from Bakersfield, California also included the fact that to the presidency of YCV, the civic action arm, has been appointed R. L. Flynn, former mayor of Boston, and U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican. The announcement stated that Mr. Flynn "has demonstrated his loyalty and love for the Catholic Church and his dedication to living his faith in the public square. We (the Galloways) can think of no one better suited to lead the civic action part of this movement."

AN INSERT

In the July 2, 2003 issue of L'Osservatore Romano, a "Special Insert" was placed. It was an "Apostolic Exhortation" to the Bishops of Europe for the Ecclesia in Europa. While not carrying the authority of an encyclical, Apostolic Exhortations constitute "formal instructions given on specific occasions" (The Pope Speaks, Vol. 48, #5, p. 281). This post instruction to the Synod of Europe echoed the same theme and direction which the Pope emphasized in his Sunday devotions at his summer residence.

Prefacing this six chapter Exhortation, the pope declared, "In proclaiming to Europe the Gospel of hope, I will take as a guide the Book of Revelation, a 'prophetic revelation' which discloses to the community of believers the deep and hidden meaning of what is taking place."  Each of the six chapters is in turn prefaced with

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the text from Revelation. Chapter Four on "Celebrating the Gospel of Hope"  is captioned with Revelation 5: 13. The pope commented:

The Gospel of hope, as a proclamation of the truth which sets us free is meant to be celebrated. Before the Lamb of the book of Revelation there begins a solemn liturgy of praise and adoration: "To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might for ever and ever!" (Rev. 5.13). This vision, which reveals both God and the meaning of all history, take place "on the Lord's day" (Rev. 1:10), the day of the resurrection, as relived by the Sunday assembly, (Par. 66; emphasis his).

The pope's call for the celebration of the "Gospel of hope" meant the celebration of the sacraments stating - "A prominent place needs to be given to the celebration of the sacraments" (Par. 74; emphasis his).  He lists first, the Eucharist, calling it, "the greatest gift of Christ to the Church," "the source and summit of the Christian life," and "the pledge of future glory." It is to him, "the taste of eternity within time."

The final section of celebrating "the Gospel of hope" is introduced by stating: "The Lord's day is a highly evocative and defining moment in the celebration of the Gospel of hope." (Par. 81; emphasis his). Observing that nowadays, "Sunday is reduced to a 'weekend,' a simple time of recreation," the pope concluded:

Consequently I renew my encouragement to "recover the deepest meaning of the day of the Lord" [Emphasis his]. Sunday should be sanctified by sharing In the Eucharist and by rest enriched with Christian joy and fellowship [Emphasis mine; put this together with Veuillot's "the religious observance of Sunday"]. It needs to be celebrated as the heart of all worship, an unceasing prefigurement of unending life, which invigorates hope and encourages us on our journey. There should be no fear, then, of defending the Lord's day against every attack and making every effort to ensure that in the organization of labour it is safeguarded, so that it can be a day meant for man, to the benefit of all society. (Par. 82)

By carefully noting the papal "exhortation" and comparing it carefully with Veuillot's statement quoted from his Liberal Illusion, (p. 3-4 of this issue) and checking carefully Leo XIII's encyclicals (Facts of Faith, pp. 256-272), keeping in mind the high regard of the current pope for Leo XIII,* you have a "paper trail" that dare not be ignored.

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* -- Remembered above all as the Pope of Rerum Novarum, the Encyclical that marked the beginning of the modem social teaching of the Church, he developed a broad and articulate Magisterium. . . . In this year of the Rosary, it cannot be forgotten that Leo XIII dedicated 10 Encyclicals to the Rosary. Today let us fervently thank the Lord for this great Pontiff. (L'Osservatore Romano, July 23, 2003, p. 1, col. 4)