Easter 2024 Article for the Argus Newspaper

Why do we need Easter in the 21st century? The Enlightenment movement in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries made huge advancements in government, science, mathematics, and philosophy. So much so that some started to believe that through human effort we could conquer disease, poverty, lawlessness, and other ailments of society. Some people started to believe that if we just had the right government, the right laws, that the perfect society would emerge. Humanity had made so much progress in other areas, surely we could come up with a form of government that would allow everyone to thrive. Our intellectual powers will surely come up with something that allows everyone to thrive. The idea and early formulations of democracy came out of this period. Socialism became a huge topic as well.

As Catholics, we believe we are still, even after the Fall, essentially good. However, even though we are essentially good, we are fallen. After the Fall of Adam and Eve, our intellect, our ability to discern right and wrong, is clouded. As Catholic Christians we believe that we do not have the capacity on our own to fix ourselves or our society. We need supernatural grace. We need a Savior. We have access to this supernatural grace because Jesus died on the Cross and rose again. If we are to be the people God has called us to be; if we are to have a well-functioning society made up of fallen human beings, then we need the supernatural grace of Jesus Christ.

Now the separation of state and church is for the most part a good thing. However, our Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. We need to allow God, in different forms, to bear on the deeper questions of society. Jesus says in Matthew 26:11 that the poor will be with us. This doesn’t mean that we should stop caring about the poor. However, it does mean that in a fallen world we will never eradicate poverty completely. The same for justice. In a fallen world, things will not always be completely just. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to be just. We should try. However, it does mean that we do not have the capacity (through laws or regulations) to make people be completely just with each other.

We do not have the capacity to create the perfect society. Only Jesus does. Jesus did, does, and will form the perfect society…in heaven. Heaven will be the perfect society. It is tapping into the graces of Jesus’ death and resurrection that we prepare ourselves for the perfect society of heaven. Jesus did not come to declare us good and holy, but to give us the grace to become more and more holy. We may not (probably not) reach sainthood in this life, but if we choose Christ in this life, He will choose us and give us the grace to become saints in the next life, in heaven. This is why humanity will always need Jesus Christ. This why humanity will always need the graces won by Jesus Christ on the Cross and through His resurrection. This is why humanity will always need to be an Easter people.

Catholic Schools’ Week 2024 Article for the Argus Newspaper

Argus is the newspaper here in the town of my new assignment (as of July 1, 2023). One of the editors has started a religion column. She has asked me to write several articles. The following is my article for Catholic Schools’ Week

January 28th through February 3rd is nationally Catholic Schools Week. Maybe for some this seems odd or even contradictory. Often science (or even reason in general) is pitted against religion. The Catholic Church has never seen these at odds. And even before Christianity, before Christ, ancient societies saw science, art, and engineering as below the study of philosophy. It was philosophy that probed the deepest questions of our humanity. It was philosophy that tried to understand not just what, but why. There is a universe, yes, but why is there a universe? There are human beings with physical bodies, but why does our human life seem to revolve around questions of love and desire that are not explained by matter? In other words, truth is not just what we can observe with our five senses (and maybe enhanced by technology).

Jesus came on the scene two thousand years ago and declared that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (John 14:6) Since the time of Christ, Christians have understood that if Jesus is Truth, and Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity, and God created the universe, there should be nothing in the universe that contradicts what we know about God. Therefore, the more we understand the universe, the more we understand God because He created it. However, there maybe other things that God reveals to humanity that are not observable in the universe, in God’s creation. The fact that God is a Trinity of Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit cannot be known by studying the universe, God’s creation. The fact that there is a heaven, hell, and purgatory cannot be known by studying the universe, God’s creation.

In John 18:38, Pilate asks Jesus, “What is truth?” Father Mike Schmitz, a Catholic priest who has a great online presence, simply defines truth as “what is.” Truth is reality. As Christians we believe that there is more to reality, more to what is, than what we can observe. Therefore, whether we are studying literature, art, math, or science, we are studying some aspect of God revealed to us in creation, we are studying some aspect of reality, of truth.

And we are created for truth. That is why since the beginning of time, humanity has strived to know. This is what we are created for. We are created for the transcendentals, which are truth, goodness, and beauty. This is why it was the Catholic Church that started the university system. Authentic faith and reason will never contradict each other. If you want to dive deeper into this, I encourage you to read St. Pope John Paul II’s encyclical “Faith and Reason.” So never be afraid to know more about our universe. It should lead us to a deeper appreciation for our Creator. 

New Years 2024 Article for the Argus Newspaper

Argus is the newspaper here in the town of my new assignment (as of July 1, 2023). One of the editors has started a religion column. She has asked me to write several articles. The first one I wrote was on New Years. The following is my article:

Happy New Year!! And don’t forget, the Christmas season continues. We continue to celebrate God’s great gift of becoming one of us; again taking our humanity so that we can take on His divinity. Now this doesn’t mean we become gods, but it means that we become full of grace, fully holy; that we become saints. Because of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, made possible by His incarnation, we have the possibility of becoming saints in heaven.

This is a popular time of the year to make New Years resolutions. We are imperfect beings living in an imperfect world; both effects of the Fall (of Adam and Eve). Therefore, there are always things we can do better. There are always things we can do to make the world better. As eluded to above, Catholics believe that Jesus didn’t just die on the Cross for our sins to declare us good and forgiven, but He rose from the dead to give us the grace to actually change, to actually become and act more holy; again, to become a saint. Sainthood isn’t just for “weirdly” nice people like Mother Theresa. No, the Catholic Church talks about the universal call to sainthood. Any person in heaven is a saint. So as we begin a new year, how are we going to strive to become better, to ultimately become saints? What changes do we need to make to our lives to become more holy, to do more good and less evil?

Now we are physical beings that live in time. Even so, I once had a boss who gave up smoking cold turkey. After a month, he looked 10 years younger. However, most of us don’t have this type of will power. If we are going to change, especially bad habits, we are going to need supernatural grace and patience. We need to pray for supernatural grace. As St. Paul reminds us, often our battle isn’t just with ourselves. (Ephesians 6:12) Satan wants us to return to our bad habits, to our sins. We need supernatural grace, we need Jesus Christ, to overcome our bad habits, our repetitive sins. We also need patience. We shouldn’t make excuses for ourselves, but permanent change takes time and effort. Ask anyone who has been 20 years sober thanks to AA (Alcoholics Anonymous). Change (usually) doesn’t happen overnight. Be patient with yourself. Don’t give up. Setbacks are normal. Just make sure you are progressing further than the setbacks. The saint God is calling you to become starts with the thoughts and actions you do today.

Christmas 2023 Article for the Argus Newspaper

Argus is the newspaper here in the town of my new assignment (as of July 1, 2023). One of the editors has started a religion column. She has asked me to write several articles. The first one I wrote was on Christmas. The following is my article:

The wait is almost over!! Christmas is almost here. We usually think of Christmas as a day, December 25. However, Christmas is actually a season. Growing up, my mom would sometimes have birthday week or even birthday month. I know this sounds kind of cool, but I think it was just my mom’s adjusting when she didn’t have the cake and presents ready to go on our actual birthdays. In the Christian tradition Christmas season started on Christmas day and lasted until January 5th. On January 6th, traditionally, Christians would celebrate the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child, the Baptism of Jesus, and Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding at Cana. If you count them out, December 25 to January 5 is twelve days. Hence Christmastide or the twelve days of Christmas. (Quick questions, how many gifts did the person receive in Twelve Days of Christmas? Did they receive 78 gifts or did they get 364 gifts? I personally think the answer is 364.) So I encourage you to not through out your Christmas tree on December 26th. Unless it is a fire hazard, I encourage you to keep it up until January 5. Celebrate the season of Christmas; not just the day.

Why is Christmas such a big deal? We don’t have space in this article to get into how God’s foreknowledge, predestination, and our freewill can all simultaneously exist. However, in God’s initial creation, before the Fall of Adam and Eve, Adam and Eve were “destined” to exist forever in the Garden of Eden, paradise on earth. However, out of mercy, after the Fall of Adam and Eve, God didn’t force us to live forever in a fallen world. The Fall happens in Genesis 3:6. However, in just nine verses later, God lays out His plan for our salvation. He tells the Serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15, New International Version) As Catholics we believe that the woman and offspring that has complete separation from Satan is Mary and Jesus. Satan struck at Jesus’ heal when Jesus was crucified on the Cross. However, we know that Mary’s offspring, Jesus, will crush Satan’s head at the end of time. Jesus takes on our human nature, being born of Mary, so that our salvation can happen. Jesus takes on our human nature so that Good Friday and Easter Sunday can happen. Out of the Fall, God offers us something better than eternal life in the Garden of Eden; He offers us eternal life in heaven is we choose Him. God is the master of bringing about a greater good out of evil.

Sometimes our lives can be full of tragedy. Sometimes Christmas can be an especially hard time for those who have lost loved ones. Evil, injustice, unfair tragedies are unfortunately a part of a fallen world. However, we have to trust that in the scope of salvation history, God has, and is, and will, bring about an even greater good. We might not know how until we get to heaven. This is the promise of Christmas: that God’s gifts are always greater than our sins and failures. Merry Christmas and Happy New Years.

Advent 2023 Article for the Argus Newspaper

Argus is the newspaper here in the town of my new assignment (as of July 1, 2023). One of the editors has started a religion column. She has asked me to write several articles. The first one I wrote was on Advent. The following is my article:

In many Christian traditions, December 3rd marks the beginning of the Advent season. In the Catholic tradition, it is kind of like New Years. Advent is when we start the new liturgical year. This means that the readings that are read at Mass begin a new cycle. (If you’re keeping track at home this means Year B for Sundays and Year II for weekdays.) During the Advent season, the priest wears purple. In the ancient world purple was season as a sign of royalty or wealth. The reason for this was because the dye to make purple garments is secreted by several species of predatory sea snails. It would take tens of thousands of snails and substantial labor to have enough dye for just one garment. So purple clothing in the ancient world was very expensive.

Also in many Christian traditions, purple is also a color of repentance. In the Catholic Church not only is it used in Advent, but even during the more penitential season of Lent, the season before Easter. Both Advent and Lent are seasons of preparation. I mentioned this the other day in a homily, but I think back to my childhood. Whenever we had company, my mom would make us clean the house extensively. It was kind of a “punishment” before the party. I’m not sure if this is quite the right way to think of Advent and Lent, but it is a step in the right direction. In the case of Advent, how do we prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ into the world? Yes, He has come. Yes, He came, died on a Cross, and died for our sins, but He coming into the world continues through the mission of His disciples, us. In a world where things seem to be getting more unstable, how are we called to bring the Truth and Love of Jesus Christ to those around us?

In order to be a light of Truth, Love, and Peace, we have to have these things ourselves in Christ Jesus. So as we prepare to celebrate Christmas, what are some ways we need to better be people who love Jesus and share His love, peace, and joy? So yes, we need to Christmas shop. It is good to give to others meaningful material gifts. What what spiritual gifts are we giving to those around us? Are we giving them our own natural love or are we giving them the supernatural love of Jesus Christ? The latter means that we also need to spend time in prayer. It means we need to spend time in reparation for the things we have done wrong. How is God asking us to make amends for the mistakes we have made and how is He asking us to strengthen our will so we don’t make those mistakes, those sins again?

Again, as prepare for Christmas during this Advent season, what are we doing to receive more of God’s love and mercy and then to extend that love and mercy to others?

Peace of Christ,

Father Vogel