The Order of Brothers of Reconciliation

As my ever changing life continues to move forward, I have opened a new lay community that is pending approval and supervision of the Bishop of the Dioceses of Lexington Kentucky. This Order, The Order of Brothers of Reconciliation is open to all Catholic men eighteen years of age or older (no upper limit, except based on health and mental status, and the Canon of the Church) who are in communion with the Holy Roman Catholic Church and able to meet the requirements of Religious Life per the Canon of the Church.

To learn more about the new community and to express your interest, go to The Order of Brothers of Reconciliation’s web page and follow the links there.

We are also looking for US tax deductible donations, which you can find more information on here. Prayers for our growth and approval and supervision by the Bishop are greatly needed and accepted as well!

In Christ!

Catching up with myself…

A very good friend of mine in California complained that all I write about now is related to religion… This post will have some of that too, but basically I will honor her request and update what has been going on this past 12 months or so…

Last year I was accepted into the Brothers and Sisters of Reconciliation as a Friar. I would have started my Seminary studies this past August (2009). Roughly in October of last year the Archbishop of Miami decided that the Order had not been set up properly or supervised by a (Arch)Bishop correctly and that the Order was to be closed effective immediately and that any and all vows given were to be released effectively immediately. I applied to two Franciscan Orders, both of which decided that I was too old. (Most Religious Orders stop accepting a person after they turn from 25 to 35, depending on the Order.)

During this time of discernment with the Orders, a VERY good lady friend (at the time), Debbie and I continued to talk about the possibility of getting together. About the time the Orders were starting to get back to me, Debbie and I decided to get married. The great day of our Marriage was March 4th, while I was visiting from Florida. I returned to Ashland in April, and we got married in her Church on May 15th. I now live with her in Ashland, KY.

(Very pretty up here, pretty much year around so far! People are friendly, and all speak English!)

At the end of April or beginning of May (can’t remember!!??) I began working at Crisp Dairy Treat so that I could continue to pay Child Support and other bills. I work as a short order cook, ice cream maker, and food issuer. (Hand food to the customers, and take their money. )

I have re-opened my martial arts school, Circular Wind Ryu, Inc. here in Kentucky and am open for business. I have also gotten more active, yet again, with Watkins and am selling those GREAT products! (Check out the products at http://www.watkinsonline.com and when you “sign up” use my Associate ID of 335373!!) I am also available to fix computers, install software and train people on how to use their computers and software. TDBell Enterprises, Inc., now a sub-unit of Circular Wind Ryu, Inc. is open for business in IT Operations, Business Operations and Business Plan Development consulting on an hourly basis. (http://www.tdbellenterprises.com)

I am aggressively looking for a job with at least a bit better pay, and mainly for one that has medical benefits. (I know, deep request in today’s world…) I am looking for a job in IT Management, Business Management, or IT technical areas. If you know of any such openings in the Ashland, KY/Huntington, WV area, let me know!

I am still very involved in a Secular yet Religious life, and very much still in love with the Church (Roman Catholic, but Christian faith in general), and still active in the Church. (As if you couldn’t gather from my post here…)

In Christ!

Mary, the Mother of Jesus

The Bible that is used by Christians tells us that Jesus was born of Mary. I do not think anyone in the Christian faiths disagrees with this.

All of the main line Christian faiths appear to state that the Trinity, God/Jesus/Holy Spirit, are one.

The Catholic Church, based on Mary being the Mother of Jesus, and God/Jesus/Holy Spirit being one entity, calls Mother Mary, the Mother of God. (Mainly in the Hail Mary/Rosary.) Is that a far stretch? I hear many Protestants complain that Mary is NOT the Mother of God. Do they believe that the Trinity of God/Jesus/Holy Spirit is one entity as their faith professes (in most cases)? If so, how far of a stretch is it to say that Mary is the Mother of God? At least in His human form?

Mary, in an effort to bring the people of God BACK to God, has been reported to appear before many people over the years. In each of these apparitions, she has requested that people come back to the beliefs of the Church created by her Son, Jesus Christ. In each case her message was about Jesus and coming back to him. She would often have the person(s) she was talking to do something to help improve and grow the Church in the name of her Son. (At least those apparitions that have been approved by the Catholic Church.) Many of these apparitions and the messages associated with them brought healing to the recipients.

The Catholic Church believes that Mary was of Immaculate Conception, meaning that she was born without sin, and that she lived a life without sin. This declaration was proclaimed in 1854, and in 1858, St. Bernadette, an uneducated little girl at the time, who had not heard those words before, received the words, “I am the Immaculate Conception” from an apparition of Mary who gave her various instructions to follow. These instructions again tried to point people to the Church and to help grow the Church.

The Catholic Church believes that Mary was ever Virgin. That she had no children after Jesus. Records, such as Protoevangelium of James, that were created in early times (in the case of Protoevangelium of James, it is estimated to have been completed within 60 years of the death of Mary), indicate that Mary was dedicated by her Mother Anna to the Church of God, and that she lived and worked in the Church as a virgin until she was of age and then was to be married to Joseph as her protector, who was an older male with offspring of his own already (wife was deceased). The original Greek word of “Brethren” used in the Bible transcripts meant includes half brothers/sisters, cousins and other close relatives, as was the custom in that time. While the Bible states that Jesus’ brethren were out side, it could well include His half brothers/sisters through Joseph, His cousins, etc. It is curious to me that there is never, in any of the transcripts from that time, that I have read or heard of, telling of Mary ever being pregnant again, and of her having any other child. The early Protestant Reformers, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli, all believed in the Ever Virgin status of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. It was their followers that sought to distance themselves even further from their Parent Church for various reasons that removed that doctrine from their faith.

In conclusion, many people of the Catholic faith, put a lot of faith and trust in Mother Mary, talk to her (pray) often and ask her for her intercession with Christ for a better life, or help in life. Who better to ask for intercessory pray that the Mother of Jesus?

Why the Catholic Church for me?

Over the last year and a half, as I have told people about my decision to convert to the Catholic Church as my faith center, I have had many people ask me “WHY?” (and in some cases “shouting it”!). So, after some thought about sharing why, I decided to write this, and schedule it to release while I am away on a 30 day prayer and contemplation retreat (returning on the 8th of June 2008).

When I turned 15, for 3 years every night, I had a dream about being a monk. I can remember trying to change my habit from that of the dream to an all black or all brown habit and white rope of the Roman Catholic Monks I had seen on TV or of the orange habit of the Buddhist Monks. I kept going back to the brown on white habit with a blue rope in the dreams, no matter how hard I tried to change it.

As many of you know (and if you read the whole blog, it’s here already), for the past 20 plus years I have been a Shaman (or priest) of the Mescalero Tribe of the Apache Nation. At the time of my life when I was introduced to this Nation, through what is now my Blood Brother George, I felt that the beliefs of the Tribe and Nation very closely followed what I felt in life. I learned the stories of the Nation, their love for the planet earth and all that the Great Spirit/Giver-of-Life (God) gave them, etc. During this time in my life, I felt there was still more out there to learn.

Every time I drove by the Knights of Columbus Halls out there, I had a strong desired to go inside and see what it took to become a Knight within their Halls. Over the last few years before converting to the Catholic Faith, I had a strong feeling that I would become a Knight through the Knights of Columbus… It was a STRONG feeling.

For most of the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 I did a lot of research into religion and faith systems. I looked into the Jewish faith, which was the faith of Moses, Abraham, David, and most of those God chose to his side in the Old Testament which is used by the Christian faiths and the Jewish. I looked into the Muslim faiths, which are an offshoot of the Jewish faith from a line of descendants from Abraham. I looked deeper into the Buddhist and other Eastern faiths. I looked into the Orthodox Catholic cult. (Cult to me is not a bad word in this case, all religions are cults in the original sense of the word. It is only “today” that cult has a bad meaning behind it, and wrongly so in my eyes. SOME cults are bad, some aren’t, and all religions are, by definition a cult.) I looked into the various Protestant church, especially the Methodist, which is what I was raised as until I turned 20ish.

In all of this research, I read at the Bible. (I didn’t REALLY start reading it until January of last year when I finally settled down and began studying the Catholic Church under Father Francis at Saint Henry Roman Catholic Church in Pompano Beach Florida.) In my readings, I found that I was leaning more and more towards the Catholic Church, as I was getting the feelings inside me that it was the Church that was initially founded on the actions and words of Jesus Christ, who I was earnestly coming to believe was the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament in no uncertain terms.

As I looked at the various Protestant Christian systems out there here in the US, I found that each had be created by someone that had been wronged or didn’t like something that was happening in the Roman Catholic Church, which they were a member of. For example, the Methodist Church, which I was most familiar with was created by John Wesley, who was originally a Priest with the Anglican (or Church of England) Church, but had a desire to make changes, which the Church did not accept. So, he split off and formed the Methodist Church. (A lot more than that happened, and lead to the split, but that’s a rough, and I do mean rough, summation of it!)

The same appears to be true for most of the other Christian faith systems.

While I do not believe that the Roman Catholic Church is infallible, I do believe that PEOPLE within the Church, including Priest, have made some bad choices, probably listening to themselves, and not open up to the Word of God, and done some wrong things. I do feel that Jesus appointed Peter to lead Jesus’ flock in the pursuit of love and the will of God. I do feel that he assigned the other Apostles of Christ to create the basis of the “leadership” of the Church, or the Bishops. I do believe that the Pope sits in the position of the first Pope, Saint Peter.

I do not believe that the Pope is infallible, but then again, nor does the Roman Catholic Church, contrary to the popular belief of others! I do believe that a good Pope will listen to his Flock as well as to God through Prayer, reading the Word, and consultation with his fellow Bishops.

In my research, I feel, strongly, in my heart that the over all dogma of the Roman Catholic Church is correct and follows the intent and Word of the Bible. I like that it is one of the few Churches that has services seven days a week. That the Priest are dedicated to the Church and do not work in any other capacity. (Yes, some teach, some work in offices, etc., but in all cases, they are religious related postings.) That you can go to any Mass/Service on the same day anywhere in the World and know what is happening and know in advance what is being read and said (minus the Homily or “speech” by the Priest, which is always individual for the most part). That over a three year period, if you go to Mass seven days a week, you will have had the entire Bible read to you and explained to you. (Many of the Protestant Church get fixed on one or two or three Books in the Bible and go back to the often through out the year, and they leave out books that they don’t understand or like or ….)

Upon looking at the various faith systems out there, I felt a sense of relief as I grew closer and closer to converting to the Roman Catholic Church and the few times I moved in directions towards other faiths, I felt a sadness of heart. At each point this past year, as I was accepted as a Postulate with the Order of Brothers and Sisters of Reconciliation last year, as I was accepted into and confirmed in the Catholic Church earlier this year , and as the Order accepted the past year as my Novitiate year and accepted my initial Vows as a Full Religious Brother/Friar in the Order, I felt that relief intensify.

As I go to the Eucharistic Mass daily, participate in the rituals and readings, help others settle their issues with the Lord, pray daily and often in a day, I feel more and more that I have done the right thing in life.

A First… Favorite Parable List…

Well, for the first time ever, I’ve been “Tagged” for a blog meme by Kim over at Transitus Tiber. I don’t normally do these, and I’m not aware of ever being tagged for one, and had always said I’d not “play along”, but have decided that this one I would do. I’m actually kind a honored that Kim tagged me!

So, here is the meme:

The rules:
1. You name your five favorite parables (Parable List)
2. You tag one blogger per parable.
3. It would be nice if you linked back to this post.

My response:

1. The Prodigal Son
2. The ten Virgins
3. The two debtors
4. The rich man and Lazarus
5. The mustard seed and Yeast

I won’t tag anyone, as I’m not sure who I would tag, but I’ll respond to the other two parts of the meme.

Enjoy!

Native American Belief systems..

I had someone tell me that I needed to have an Exorcism because I use to follow the Apache belief system and now follow the Roman Catholic faith system (for the rest of my life…). This floored me and took me back in a big way!

I tried to explain to the lady that the North American Natives followed God, pre-Jesus, just like the Christians did. They just didn’t know Jesus as Jesus didn’t make himself known in what is now called the States… So, to give each of you a bit more information about the belief system of the Apache nation as I understand it, I present this:

Yes, I would like to tell you about Shamanism as it applies to the Native Americans. It can be and is different for those overseas that are called Shaman though! Shamanism was a name “tagged” to the those that lead a belief system different than the “tagger”. The Indians call the person Wakan, which roughly translates to Blessed. Wakan Tanka is “The Blessed Spirit” or “The Great Spirit”, which is personified in Father Sky and Mother Earth, as created by “Wakan Tanka”.

In the Nations, a Wakan/Shaman is a “Holy Man” or “Priest” to the Nation. They are the Keepers of the History of the Nation and “the world” as they knew it. The Native Americans of the old days, and even today some are thought to, at least those I have had close dealings with over the years, are strong believers that Wakan Tanka talked to the Wakan (Shaman) and helped them understand illnesses and how to cure them, provided them with the History of the world, which by the way included the parting of the waters, the Great Flood, and many other stories of the Jewish and Christian Bibles, and ways on how to live. Most nations started out as very peaceful, but there was always the rivalries and “stealing of women and horses” to grow and improve the Nation. Most of the Nations were very animal and nature oriented.

Near the end of 1800s and early 1900s, the Wakan in most nations became less a “physical healer” and tried to spend more of their efforts on the “spiritual” healing side of getting the Nations to go back to Peace taking care of their lands, animals, and crops, which the “White Man” had taught them how to raise.

One of their early stories talks about how after the Great Flood, Wakan Tanka split the peoples up and moved them all over the world. The Nations (of North and South America) were one of the “prized people” with whom Wakan Tanka went with in Peace. Aside from inter-Nation horse stealing and spouse stealing, until the early 1800s most of the nations were peaceful. In the early 1800 the Apache Nation as well as other Nations wanted to travel more broadly around the Northern Continent and the other Nations did not want it, so the Apaches began fighting stronger battles to expand their
nomadic way of life. As they grew into new areas, they would leave a Tribe behind to “watch over that area”, typically a water hole or grazing area. The Tribe I was associated with is the Mescalero Tribe of the Apache Nation, which was based out of New Mexico in the mountains, which had a great elk and deer herd, as well as a great water source. This tribe was less nomadic, but did provide warriors for the Nomads.

If you look DEEPLY into the Apache Nation belief system, you will find that they believe that Wakan Tanka, by way of nature through the animals and plants teaches them how to get along in life. They fought for what was theirs, but in most cases would rather live in peace. Very similar to the Catholic Church over the years in protecting our (I’m Catholic now) belief system.

A Wakan of the Nations job is to “preach” the Stories of the Nation to his or her People, to remind them of what the Great Spirit wants them to do, which is to live in peace and harmony with those around them. This is done in Sweat Lodges, where the “sins” are washed off in steam, at campfires in dance, and on “Journeys”. In the Old days the Journey consisted of living on the land for up to a year, learning how to survive in the Great Spirit’s world.

To somewhat equate that to the Catholic Church, you have the Church building where we gather and sing and pray to God. In the Sweat Lodge, you chant and pray to the Great Spirit. Some of the chants of the Nation are actually very similar to the Psalms, but the names are different, and the “location” is different. Many of the songs deal with great harvest, strong herds, and strong Nations.

Part of the reason that the Christian Churches condemned the Native American Belief system was they were not familiar with it, and would not nor did not take the time to understand it. (Now mind you, if they had sat down and learned about the Ways, they still might have condemned it, but we will never really know…) When these “heathens” came to their camps dressed in loin clothes, carrying crude weapons, offering peace, the “immigrants” were initially frightened. The “Red Man” helped them get over the fright, and for a short time there was Peace. “White Man” wanted to grow out and take over more land, and the Indians did not want to give up their lands. Strife grew and the “White Man” became more negative about the “Red Man”, which was not a name given to the skin color, which was more a dark brown, but to the way the Indians live in a communal way, to include their faith and belief system. This same happens now with “unknown” faiths, and even “known” faiths that are different.

The other “Shamanistc” faiths are another story and I would not be able to describe them or answer the question there.

It goes to show how closed people are to what they don’t know.