September 1 (P.S. Sept. 8, 11, 14, 15, 20, 26)

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

How is your summer? We hope you have had a restful and prayerful summer before any rush in September.

"A scholar is not a creator of truth, but its explorer," John Paul II said recently. Plato, in fact, thought alike. We would like to share further details as regards Plato's theory of Forms later this month. Meanwhile, the editor has to prepare two talks on Theology of Energy or Chi in Chinese, his first language. Everything in that culture in the last four or five thousand years has been Chi, explicitly and implicitly. It is awesome. Yet it is more awesome when we begin to see the relationship between the Holy Eucharist (the infinite Living Source of the Uncreated Divine Chi) and the various created spiritual, human and material Chis. Praise God!

Thank you.

Best wishes in Christ and Our Heavenly Mother,

Editor

P.S. (September 8)

Today is the Birth of Mary. In loving union with the whole Family of God on earth (i.e., the Church) and the whole Divine Heavenly Family, i.e., the Most Holy Trinity and the whole Family of Holy Angels and Saints in Heaven, let us salute our Dearest Mother and Queen of Heaven and say, solemnly, joyously and delightfully: "Happy Birthday!" To further wish her a Happy Birthday, click here. Alleluia!

P.S. (Sept. 11)

Diabolic acts of Biblical proportions which could have serious repercussions over the whole world seem to have taken place today in the U.S. Perhaps all of us, indeed even the whole humanity, need to be on our kneels begging God for mercy. No prayers said can be regarded as sufficient for the victims and prevention of the possible consequences from such abominable terrorist attacks.

Despite everything, we still can be confident in God's boundless mercy. Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil, for God is with us; God's rod and God's staff will comfort us (cf. Ps 23:4).

P.S. (Sept. 14)

Today is the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. In the aftermath of the Tuesday attack, our enormous cross consists in facing and dealing not only with the victims, but also with the so-called enemy. This is precisely where Divine Revelation is most needed in the midst of unavoidable confusion. Mt 5: 43-45 clearly states the Word of Christ as follows: "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven."

Today is also a day of mourning across North America for the victims of America under attack. Who, then, are these victims? In a real way, everyone in the world is a victim. Just look at the horrific scenes regarding a) the debris of the Twin Towers; b) the dead, their grieving family and relatives; c) the long lineup at the borders; d) the rising tension in countless places towards our unfortunate Islamic sisters and brothers. And yet this is only the very beginning. The entire world will hardly be the same again.

If Divine Revelation is correct that "we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places [i.e., against the evil spirits]" (Eph 6:12), then the victims should include also the attackers. "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Lk 23:34). Indeed, if these terrorists had really known (as some surely know now in their afterlife) what they were doing, they would not have done it. Without question, they would not have chosen to be deceived and enslaved as tragic playthings of Satan, "a liar and the father of lies, a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth" (Jn 8:44). We, therefore, must first forgive and show love to the brothers and sisters who have hurt us (even if we have to seek some form of justice), so that we may be children of our Father who is in heaven. To be sure, this tremendous call to forgive and love by Jesus is not easy at all. It is an immense cross awaiting us. However, it can be made easy through sufficient deep prayer and meditation. In this way, we will begin to experience its incredible triumph in Christ, the Lord and Saviour of all.

We adore You, O Christ and praise You. Because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world!

P.S. (Sept. 15)

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Amid the present bereavements and calls for war in the wake of the Black Tuesday aforementioned, it does not take much (perhaps it does to the sheer rational mind) to know that Our Heavenly Mother is still suffering many great sorrows today.*

One of Our Lady's sorrows consists in that countless people seem to have identified the wrong enemy (cf. Eph 6:12). Her designated role to crash the enemy's head (cf. Gen 3:15) is thus immensely slowed down. However, this magnificent assignment of hers would immeasurably hasten if we, as never before, co-operate with her and activate our faith, hope, love and obedience to Jesus Christ who comes only to bring us life in abundance. "The thief [the devil] comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (Jn 10:10).

Perhaps her greatest sorrow can be put as follows, i.e., that many people today have refused to truly believe, love and obey Jesus Our Lord and His Good News. Let us, then, do something to bring her some consolation. One of the sure ways is to follow more heroically the two great Commandments of God, i.e., to love God and others, especially those who have done us wrong. Oftentimes, a long journey begins with a simple prayer in a forgiving attitude. There are many other ways to help strengthen our resolve with regards God's commandments or reflections of His divine nature. One is to pray the perfect prayer, i.e., the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, as well as the following prayer.

*No attempt is made to explain how Our Heavenly Mother who is now in glory can suffer. In brief, according to countless canonized mystics, our dearest mother indeed can suffer. But according to the rational mind of many, of theologians or not, she obviously cannot.

P.S. (Sept. 20)

The problem of the universals is fundamentally the one-and-the-many universal problem. No one person, group, culture and historical period can avoid it. It is both a simple and a profound problem. We begin to encounter the problem of the universals when we encounter, for example, many trees, green colours and friendships and begin to ask if there is one ideal tree, green colour and friendship. We start grasping its profundity when we come upon the three major historical solutions which have been competing against one another philosophically since the time of Plato. "A philosopher's commitment to a particular solution of the problem of universals determines his entire philosophical system" (New Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 14, 1967, p. 455). These three solutions are a) the ante-rem (before-thing) realist approach as represented by Plato; b) the in-re (in-thing) realist approach as represented by Aristotle; c) the post-rem (after-thing) anti-realist approach as represented by Ockham. The problem of [the] universals can be immensely complicated when we explore it more deeply as a doorway to metaphysics, epistemology and ethics, etc.

Applying it to the problem of the stem cell research or that of the Black Tuesday, there should be an ideal way of dealing with it, to be discovered according to the ante-rem (or uncreated) universals of the universe.

P.S. (Sept. 26) Feast of the North American Martyrs

During these post-9-11 days --- in which we are waiting for the dust to settle, in anticipation of a possible series of troubles ahead, two sets of Twin Towers of Strength have come to mind. One set was fallible and did collapse altogether within merely 1 hour and 44 minutes on September 11; and the other set is impossible to fall and will remain so as our most reliable Towers of Strength at all times. While the former appeared in the American Dream of many, the latter did so in the Christian Dream of St. Don Bosco. Perhaps it is time for us to turn to the latter in this unsettling period concerning the whole human family. For more information of the latter (although it may need to be carefully interpreted), click here and here.

Thank you, Lord, for the Catholic faith, hope and love! They are not only just for the Catholics. As the two greatest treasures or gifts of God, these infallible Twin Towers of Strength are at all times also very much given to the whole humanity whom God truly loves and cares for.

Historically, it appeared that it was these two infallible Towers of Strength which had given the eight North American martyrs the necessary discernment and strength to become heroic witnesses, unashamed of Christ and His words (regarding Christ's Real Presence, His Church and His Mother, etc.). As Jesus clearly states in today's Gospel: "Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and of the Holy Angels" (Lk 9:26).

* Fr. Michael Lapierre, S.J., and the editor John Cheng are currently taking part in this column. While the latter is doing January, March, May, etc., the former is partaking in February, April, June, etc. As usual, we take a summer break during July and August. Thank you.