The Girl and God

Posted by HolySmack on

A young man falls in love with a young woman. How he is still an atheist makes no sense. She is beautiful… even the mere complexion of her skin wracks my thoughts — never mind her entire person! How it doesn’t make a believer out of him confuses me just the more…

I would tell him:

Look into her eyes and tell me they just got their color and shape because of 7,000,000+ years of human evolution. Tell me her voice is just noise vibrating from vocal cords in her throat, and that her words communicate thoughts that are merely electrical charges passing from one neuron to the next.

Tell me her hair is just like the next woman’s — the next great ape’s — and that her laughter is just some strange development not much different from hyena calls. Sit down, share honeyed tea with her and overlook how her lips kiss the porcelain — it’s nothing but the animal need to satisfy thirst. In fact, it’s all just an animal need and an animal reaction. If she was struck dead by one of many cancers, or fatally stabbed through the blood-brain barrier, just go and find another female human to perpetuate the species. She was weak, sick, and too stupid to protect herself anyways… it would’ve been bad to have her pass her genes onto the next generation.

BlackSesameKem

[Black Sesame Ice Cream: an Asian Delight]

Why bother memorizing her phone number, email address, birth date, last name, middle name, first name, saint name, favorite color, song or ice cream flavor? All of those things are random and meaningless. Her phone number is only a jumble of digits mixed by the telephone service company database server. Her email may be just the same thing as her phone number – only it was her brain instead that jumbled the mix of digits and letters. Her ancestors jumbled the letters for her names. And what’s a saint got to do with anything? Colors are merely wavelengths of invisible photons. One color is as special as the next: yellow, canary, saffron, gold, and urine color. Songs are just assortments of organized noise. If you listened to all the explosions, crashes, hushes and thunder in the universe, you would have by now heard all the frequencies audible to your ears. Anything else was already heard before in the mix… somewhere. Ice cream flavor — if nothing discussed above matters, then ice cream matters even less. What does that have anything to do with some female human that’s going to die one day and be replaced by an evolved and improved female human?

Unless… unless you love her like I do. Unless you see signs of God through her person – and by person I mean everything that is hers. Can you not realize that no chance process set her fingers so that they fit so warmly into yours? No toss up tuned her voice so that you can hear music call your name from even across busy streets. There’s no way she wasn’t thought up and nurtured by Love. Something – someone so beautiful and precious to you could never be merely a thing rolled out by an expanding universe of matter… she could only be a holy miracle.

 

 

– “To love someone means to be the only one to see a miracle that is invisible to others.”

-François Mauriac

First written and posted by Evan Pham on: April 28, 2011

Happy to be Hated

Posted by HolySmack on

Today is Good Friday.

Christians today around the world remember the scourging, suffering, crucifixion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, it is the day we murdered God, the day He let us kill Him.

There are many things we can discuss about this: why did God let us kill Him? how can God die? why would we do such a thing? etc…

But right now, I want to share why I think we call this infamous Friday good.

Doesn’t it seem ironic that we call this day good? It’s like calling September 11th Good Tuesday. Doesn’t it seem absurd? And doesn’t it seem even more absurd to be happy about it?

What do I mean? I mean it is a great thing, a happy thing to be hated by haters. It is a good thing to be hated by what I dub:

AntiCatholicKlub

Yes, this exists. Members of the Official Anti-Catholic Klub [OACK] include the KKK, the Nazis, and Communist Parties. There are other members too, like radical Islam, Satanic cults, militant atheists, and even some misguided Protestant denominations. All these groups are very different from one another, but they share one thing in common: they hate the Catholic Church.CatholicHaters

Why do they hate the Church? Because they want power they don’t have. They want power they can never have. They want to have a leader who leads forever. They want a leader who can create universes from scratch. They want a leader who is not only invulnerable and incorruptible, but immortal and invincible too. A leader who — even if he somehow gets killed — can resurrect Himself!

And we have that one-and-only leader in the Lord Jesus. So on this Friday twenty centuries ago, when hatred, death and sinners (you and me) cut down our Christ, we Christians call it a good day — because this day means we’re on the right side. We’re on the winning team.

We’re supposed to be hated by evil-doers. We’re supposed to be hated by the prideful, the envious, the wrathful. Because if they like us, if they call us friend… that means we’re not threatening to them, that means we are just one of them — part of their klub.

So don’t be afraid of being hated by the haters. It’s a good thing. But notice that if you hate them in return, you just joined their team…

So do what Jesus does.

Start today.

P.S. If you’ve never watched the Passion of the Christ, give it a look!

The Dark Knight Fails

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Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Trilogy is by far my favorite in film history. Many things were simply done right in the story, but a few things could’ve been better. But since I have a reputation for nitpicking the negatives, I’ve decided to write about more redeeming things.

Except…Miranda and Bruce

Do you remember the scene in The Dark Knight Rises, when Bruce and Miranda share an intimate night together in his lonesome mansion? Yes – the scene that didn’t need to be in the movie at all. Yes – the scene that was followed by a silly shot of Batman overlooking a Gotham sunrise, standing atop a skyscraper, triumphantly posed as if he just accomplished a rite of passage into manhood.

Batman Surveys Gotham

Yes, that one-night-stand between Wayne and Tate. What was it all about? Why have it in the storyline?

Here’s what I think (SPOILER ALERT):

In Bruce’s loneliness after being abandoned by business, boss, and butler, he finds a lovely young woman in Miranda – someone also interested in him. Together, they share something proper only for a married man and woman to share. But it doesn’t end there.

Every act of love-making has consequences. And in this case, Bruce just cursed himself. How so?

1. Miranda turns out to have been only using sex to gain Bruce’s trust (where Bruce was using love only to gain sex).

2. As a consequence of using and being used, Bruce falls for someone out to manipulate him even more. Miranda is Talia al Ghul, none other than Ra’s al Ghul’s vengeance-bound daughter out to finish her psycho-father’s plan to terrorize Gotham.

3. Because of Bruce’s weakness and lust, he fell for Talia’s treachery, which made him overlook a lot of clues a virtuous Batman would’ve noticed sooner and used sooner to track down Bane and the League of Shadows resurgent.

4. Finally, Bruce’s weakness and lust betrayed Selina – his true love, his true friend and companion, despite her stained history. Because he gave away the gift of his body and love to Miranda, he failed in keeping himself for Selina, and that deprives Selina of what she rightfully deserves as Bruce’s bride.

If you are hoping to find your spouse one day, please think of him or her right now:

Men: she’s out there somewhere, waiting to meet you. Wouldn’t you want her to be keeping herself, saving herself for you? Shouldn’t you do the same?

Women: he’s out there looking for you, eager to meet you. Wouldn’t you want him to keep himself, save himself for you, because of how special you are? Shouldn’t you do the same?

[Happily Ever After...]

[Happily Ever After…]

Frozen Favorites

Posted by HolySmack on

Frozen So a few weeks back I was finally cornered into watching Frozen (yes, I was sitting in the corner of the living room). Then, I was on a transcontinental flight and guess what was the in-flight movie?

Yes – twas none other than Frozen. Again.

So I obviously noticed a few things (and for those of you who have not yet seen the film, consider this your SPOILER WARNING!!!)…

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1. Rushing into marriage is crazy… a crazy mistake! Imagine what the fallout could’ve been if not for Elsa’s refusal to bless their union, and if not for Kristoff’s intervention and advice. Anna could’ve found herself in even deeper domestic abuse and violence (for herself and the Kingdom!). That’s why the dating and courting process exists – to let the man and woman really know what they’re getting into, and who this stranger is before pledging their life and love in marriage. By the way, “Kristoff” is the same name as “Christopher” (which is a name with strong Christian meanings, as you can see on this cognates list.)

2. Let it go… let it go… and you’ll hurt so many! Including those who love you (I mean, Anna got shot in the heart!). Be yourself, yes. Be not ashamed with your talents, yes. But don’t be reckless! Be responsible with your abilities and personalities. We all know what Uncle Ben told Peter, right? And so… the cold never bothered her anyway… but it got a lot of people sick!

3. Finally… yes, an act of true love must save the day! Anna must be swept away by a kiss so romantic that her heart is healed and the eternal winter is melted! Except… this does not happen. Instead… agapic love was the saving act! (I know… I know… aga-wha?) Agape is one of the four types of love, and is the highest type of love. We have philia, which is a friendly, brotherly and sisterly love. We have eros, which is romantic love and a love for beauty, and we have storge, which is  familial affection. So the message of Anna’s act is not only storge, but is agapic in that she sacrifices herself for the good of another. Agape is charitable and self-sacrificial: wanting and seeking the best for another person even if it hurts you, even if it kills you. This is the love that saves the day, that saved all days. (IMPORTANT: Romantic love without sacrifice is not love at all but mere infatuation. All the other three loves must mature to include or inspire agape, or else they fall short.)

 

So in the end, I thought Frozen was a nice little treat. All it was missing was a cherry on top. Sorry, but carrots just don’t go very well – confection-wise.

 

FrozenCharacters

UPDATED: Getting to Know “Noah”

Posted by HolySmack on

Noah

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Be warned: SPOILERS POSSIBLE

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Ten years ago, Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ cemented itself as the greatest motion-icon about our Lord’s Passion. Today, there is still no comparing it with any other film about Christ. It has set the bar, and the bar is in orbit.

Yesterday, Darren Aronofsky’s Noah did the same for the Genesis narrative about the Great Flood. So be warned now: if you’re looking for a rant against Noah, you won’t find it here. Instead, I believe the film did more good than bad, more beauty than bumbling, and more creativity and faithfulness to the Flood story than what I’ve seen in a long time. (If you have a specific critique of the film, please feel free to comment!)

Links to various reviews and interviews will follow, so you can see what better critics than I have been saying, but before that, let me share my favorite scenes (these are obviously spoilers):

  1. The Creator sends a little raindrop down. It hits the dirt. Noah (played by Russell Crowe) looks to the sky, sees not a cloud, and wonders where the drop came from. He looks down again and it pops like popcorn into a flower. I don’t know about you, but I would go nuts if ex nihilo happened right in front of my face! (Ex nihilo is Latin for “out of nothing,” meaning God alone creates out of nothing.)
  2. Illa (played by Emma Watson) is ashamed of being infertile, to the point of trying to convince Noah to find another woman for his son. She believes to the point of tears that she is worthless because she cannot be a mother. But Noah refuses. He tells her again and again: “I thought you would be a burden, but I was wrong. You are a gift. A precious, precious gift!”
  3. When a grounded angel repented to God for having sinned, he was blitzed straight to Heaven – like a shooting star in reverse. The beauty of a saved creation, a contrite spirit, a redeemed beloved (like the Prodigal Son), always brings tears of joy to me.
  4. And the best for last: Illa, as a new mother now to her newborns, begs to at least be allowed to sing a lullaby to her children before they are taken from her, to at least calm them to sleep first. Trust me – you just have to see and listen to this scene for yourself. Even if you dislike the whole movie, this scene is worth it. Emma Watson just ravaged my heart. At display here is what Pope John Paul II coined the Feminine Genius, and what I call severe tenderness (more on those another time).

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Other reviews:

Illa

 

Memo on the Memorare

Posted by HolySmack on

Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Annunciation: when the Archangel Gabriel spoke with Mary, when God proposed to the Queen… (Luke 1: 26-38)

My favorite icon of this cosmic event is painted by Henry Ossawa Tanner (it also heavily inspired my writing of Little Miss Lucifer’s first chapter).

Henry Ossawa Tanner's "Annunciation"

But may I also present, on this solemnity (which overrules Lent! That’s right, we may feast today!), the newest Holy Smack Holy Card made possible by artist Cecilia Lawrence’s faith, talents, and generosity:

[Our Lady of Perpetual Help]

The Memorare

[The Memorare — I pray it every day!]

Funny story: after I stumbled upon Cecilia’s DeviantArt site, and after contacting her for the privilege and permission to present her work on a Memorare prayer card, I found out that her very own brother lives, studies and discerns the priesthood in the same seminary as myself! What a small Catholic world it is! So please, pray for her, her brother, and all of us here who are offering to God our talents. Thank you and Happy Feasting!

Special Deliverance

Posted by HolySmack on

I just finished reading a book!

The book is Matt Fradd‘s Delivered. It’s a great collection of nine testimonials from men and women who once were or are struggling to be free from pornography addiction.Delivered

Yes, there is such a disorder as porn addiction, and if you don’t believe me, consider this article, and this article, and this one too… and this one. (Btw, the last one was made by an ex-porn actress.)

And if you were or are addicted to porn, if you are tempted, if you think porn is harmless, please know that I was like you.

I was caught up in lust starting from a very young age. I remember the first incident was when I was in fifth grade, and it worsened when my family got Internet for the first time (in 1998 – yes, I just showed my age) and I was trapped for ten years.

For ten years I abused women and girls by lusting after them. I abused my imagination, my body, my freedom, my desire to love. I was butchering my ability to truly love and to truly be loved.

Then in 2006, I was Holy Smacked in the face. I was punched with this insight: “The problem with pornography is not that it shows too much, but because it shows too little.”

That’s right. Read that quote again: Porn is not showing too much — it’s not showing enough! So… what is there more to see?

How about all of her? She has a name. The girl is someone’s daughter. She’s someone’s sister. Someone’s granddaughter. The woman is someone’s wife, someone’s mother, someone’s aunt. She is someone’s friend. She has dreams, goals, aspirations. She has a childhood, a history, a whole life-experience. She’s not just a body, she’s not just body parts. She has an irreplaceable soul, a unique mind, a heart made for love.

The most beautiful part of a woman is her. All of her.

And porn blinds us from seeing all of her for who she is. Porn blinds us from seeing anyone for who they are, including the person who uses it. There’s so much more to a person than we can see (If you don’t believe it, look over a copy of Delivered for yourself).

My life changed when I realized this (via the Theology of the Body). Actually, my life more than changed, I felt more free, strong, manly and a follower of Jesus than ever before. I even saw more in girls and women than I could ever see while trapped in lust. Today, whenever I see a beautiful person, I stop and sigh a prayer: “Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for this person, and all her beloveds, for they all have recourse to thee.”

And if she’s especially beautiful to me, then I pray and pray and pray for her to be safe from my lust and the lusts of others. I pray over and over, and thank God for creating and nurturing this person, and I pray for her to become a saint. And by this time, I think so much about who she is that I’m too lost in wonder with God to start lusting.

What just happened there? What exactly?

I just turned the temptation to abuse the woman into a reminder to pray for her and thank the Lord. And guess what: that really annoys the devil. REALLY ANNOYS that leech! And he can’t do anything about it.

Last thing: Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I don’t feel tempted anymore. I’ll be tempted until I die. But now the chains are off, and I know where the gun safe is, and I know how to aim and shoot.

[Click on the safe for your own weapons.]

[Click on the safe for your own weapons.]

A Barefoot Lenten Journey

Posted by HolySmack on

Holy Stomp!There’s that stereotype about ladies and their shoes. I’ve known of some who owned upwards to 50 pairs! Whereas I have had just four pairs in the last six years — and I’m still wearing them!

But then there’s my friend, Angel.

Angel just surrendered her shoes for the next 40 days of Lent 2014, and she forfeited them for some great prayer and fasting intentions. That means she’s going barefoot, and that means she’s going to have some very interesting experiences to share on her tumblr, like this:

Hi there! 🙂 So today is Day 2 of Lent. It’s March 6, 2014, I’m sitting in my 8 am college biology lecture, and my feet are freezing. Thinking back to how I got here, it was pretty much how all of my decisions are made: spur of the moment and really, really impulsive. I had been thinking for weeks about what to give up or add to my life for Lent and I kept drawing blanks. In previous years, I gave up things for the wrong reason. My older brother and I used to give up meat for Lent. While he had real reasons behind his fasting, I honestly just did it for the heck of it because it seemed fun. But this year, I knew I couldn’t do that again. First, because my brother isn’t around anymore to monitor the crap out of me. Second, because I was doing it for the wrong reasons. What’s the point of giving something up, if it has nothing to do with your relationship with God or improving your spiritual life?

So this year I gave up shoes. You’re probably thinking, “Angel, you’re an idiot.” And I won’t argue you there. But hear me out! This year’s theme is evangelical poverty. This past year I blew so much money on a lot of new shoes that I didn’t need. Meanwhile, there are people in the world who don’t even own one pair. And I can take something like that for granted. Do you realize how blessed we all are that I can give no second thought to putting on a pair of shoes? Giving up something that I use literally all day, every day, makes me reflect all day, every day. It reminds me to be thankful for what I have, to pray for those who are not as fortunate, and to not just abstain from sin, but to fully and truly convert my heart and mind as a follower of Jesus Christ.

So, blessed Lent everyone! Take some time out of your day to count your blessings, and thank God for what you’ve been fortunate enough to have and experience.

So please, don’t just read about Angel’s sacrifice here on HolySmack! Visit her humble little home on the world wide web: DownToMyToes.

Down To My Toes