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Horses and Religions

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Horses and Religions

Although she knew very little about horses, the young woman admired horses and was eager to join her boyfriend at the race track to watch the horses race. In fact, she was thrilled at the thought of watching these magnificent animals running at full speed, with such grandeur, power, and brilliance. The thought tantalized her; she was quivering with excitement as they approached the racing stables. The clear skies and moderate temperatures added to the anticipation of a pleasurable, exciting experience. She could not wait to enter the race grounds to watch the horses parade onto the track and then to witness the stately animals race furiously down the track.

As the two of them advanced to the paddock to evaluate the horses scheduled to run in the first race, the boyfriend scanned his iPad where there existed multiple, horse racing data bases, which contained most of the pertinent facts and figures about each of the horses competing in the race. Then his eyes would furtively check the odds on each horse, before returning to notice the behavior of each horse as they walked around the paddock. Meanwhile his girlfriend calmly enjoyed the beauty of the horses and the comfort that each jockey possessed as he guided his horse. Finally, it was time to place a bet. The boyfriend authoritatively advised her that the number 3 horse was an almost certain winner so he was placing his bet on number 3.  She replied, “I like the 5 horse; it is so beautiful and appears ready to run well.” The boyfriend shook his head in disbelief commenting, “A bad bet, but it is your money.”

“And they are off!” shouted the race announcer. The ten horses charged from the starting gate and immediately drove furiously down the track, before settling into a tempo. Both friends cheered loudly and enthusiastically as their horses passed the viewing stand. The atmosphere was filled with excitement and tension. It was a heart pumping experience as they both threw their whole being into the race. The girl friend screamed in jubilation as the announcer called her horse, number 5, as the leader, as the horses approached the finish line. “Number 5 Wins”, he thundered over the public address system. She was jubilant, jumping up and down, waving her winning ticket high in the air, and throwing a hung around her boyfriend’s neck. He was dumfounded. How could she have picked a winner on the basis of the beauty of the horse? Knowing his thoughts, she smiled and gently advised him that the night before the race she had accessed the best horse rating sites on the Internet and reviewed the pedigree of each of the horses and noticed that the number 5 horse possessed a lineage that was far superior to any of the other horses in the race. She confidently told her boyfriend, “Your horse did not stand a chance against number 5. Your horse was bred from lesser horses than was number 5. All the other measurements were secondary” She was focused on the most important factor.

There are over 34,000 Christian denominations in the world today. Not all of them possess the fullness of truth from Jesus Christ. It is true that most of the 34,000 plus denominations contain elements of the truth, but only one has been designated as possessing the fullness of truth. It is the Catholic Church. Only the Catholic Church was founded by God, Jesus Christ; all other churches had humans as their founders. Additionally, the Catholic Church is the only church which Jesus promised to be with “until the end of the age.” Despite the failures of many of its followers, including bishops and priests, the Catholic faith remains the faith founded by Jesus Christ. Jesus guaranteed that the Catholic Church would remain fiercely loyal to His teachings on faith and morals. It is His Church.

As was the case with the young woman’s analysis of the importance of the lineage of the horses in the winning of the race so also is Jesus’ connection and guarantee of the faithfulness of Catholicism to His teachings in man’s seeking the will of God.

“I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

The Unchangeable God and Prayer

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The Unchangeable God and Prayer

“There is no way on earth that Dad is going to change his mind and allow you to attend that school,” the sister authoritatively advised her brother. However, her brother still retained hope that his father would consent to allowing him to attend the high school of his choice, rather than the one to which his father had enrolled him. “Dad is not that unchangeable; he is flexible on some things,” the brother unconvincingly challenged his sister’s opinion. She just rolled her eyes and firmly advised, “You will never change his mind on education issues. He is a fanatic on having us attend the best academic school, not the best school for sports.” His sister evaluation of the issue was correct. When he approached his father about attending the more sports oriented school, the son was turned down quickly and with finality. Accompanying that rejection was his father’s time tested lecture on the importance of education for the son’s future. Dejected, the son tried a second time to change his father’s mind, but to no avail….and with a warning not to approach the subject again.  No petitions or pleadings would solicit the response the son so desperately desired. His dad’s mind was firm; it was unchangeable.

In many of life’s circumstances, occasions arise in which individuals change their minds. Yes, even Moms and Dads occasionally change their minds and accede to previously rejected requests from their children.  A woman may, at first, rebuff a suitor’s request for marriage and then change her mind and gladly accept the marriage offer. Employers change their plans as business circumstances change. It is a fact that change is part of the very fabric of life.

Yet there is one instance where change is not a given; this is in the basic nature of God. While throughout Catholic literature and history, man has been advised to pray frequently, even constantly, for God’s favorable intervention in life, such as for a sick relative or for success in marriage, the most notable thinkers in the history of Catholicism have described God as being unchangeable, all knowing, and eternal. From the earliest church fathers through Augustine, Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, Robert Bellarmine, and others, the Catholic Church has firmly accepted that God is the perfect, singular, unchangeable reality. Even the early leaders of Protestantism, including Luther, Calvin, John Wesley, and many others, were firm in their doctrine of the unchangeable nature of God.

St. Augustine clearly stated God’s unchanging nature, “God’s mind does not pass from one thought to another. His vision is utterly unchangeable. Thus, He comprehends all that takes place in time-the not-yet existing future, the existing present and the no-longer-existing past in an immutable and eternal present . . . [Neither] is there any then, now, and afterwards in His knowledge, for, unlike ours, it suffers no change with triple time present, past, and future. With Him, there is no change, nor shadow of alteration.” God is unchangeable.

During the First Vatican Council (1868-1870) the Church authoritatively declared, “The holy, Catholic, apostolic Roman Church believes and professes that there is one true and living God, the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth. He is almighty, eternal, beyond measure, incomprehensible, and infinite in intellect, will and in every perfection. Since he is one unique spiritual substance, entirely simple and unchangeable, he must be declared really and essentially distinct from the world, perfectly happy in himself and by his very nature, and inexpressibly exalted over all things that exist or can be conceived other than himself.” The council thus emphatically declared the unchangeable nature of God.

Assuming the unchangeable nature of God, then why should we pray as we are encouraged to do so by the prophets, Jesus Christ, the saints, and the Church? What effect will our prayers have on an unchangeable, all-knowing, perfect God? The answer is that prayers do have a significant effect. Thus keep praying. God knows from all eternity whether we will sufficiently and persistently pray for a good, which will benefit His plan for us and creation and He factors those prayers into his plan from eternity. St. Thomas Aquinas comments thusly, “For we pray not that we may change the Divine disposition, but that we may impetrate that which God has disposed to be fulfilled by our prayers in other words “that by asking, men may deserve to receive what Almighty God from eternity has disposed to give.” In other words, God has foreseen our prayers from eternity and thus included them in his plan for the universe, to give us (and others) what he knew we would ask for. In fact, there is no higher use we can make of our liberty than to freely choose to pray.

Pray always and trust in God!

Suggested Reading

The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas – Section 2, Part 2, Question 83, 2nd issue on Prayer.

 The Catholic Catechism, P. One, Section 2, Profession of the Christian Faith, Ch 1, Article 1.

“The Catholic Catechism” by John Hardon, published by Doubleday. Section II, The Living God.

St. Augustine’s “City of God”