A 5 1/2 minute video using an overlooked scripture passage to answer the question "Is there an Ordained Ministry in the true Church?"

Video: Why the Catholic Church: Part 1 - Is There a True Church?

Video: Why the Catholic Church: Part 2 - Is There Authority in the True Church?

Video: Why The Catholic Church: Part 4 - The Early Church Leaders

Copyright 2010 Franciscans of Our Lady of the Holy Family

This brief video directs our attention to the centering point of existence. 1 1/2 minutes 

Copyright 2010 Franciscans of Our Lady of the Holy Family

The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro, MA held its first St Padre Pio Pilgrimage/Retreat Day on Saturday, September 26, 2009 with Father Patrick Magee FLHF from Paterson, N.J. His homily centered on Conversion

Copyright 2010 Franciscans of Our Lady of the Holy Family

Video: This 1 1/2 minute visual draws the viewer into what's it all about. 

Trillions and Trillions – A Brief Look at the Mathematics of DNA

Introduction: This paper will be used in the video to explain to the viewer DNA combinations used in the Video Atheism: A Crisis of Doubt – Signs of the Presence of God.

1.       Welcome. The following is a response to those who wanted to see how the combinations for the DNA were calculated.

a.       Let’s begin by looking at the basics

                                                               i.      Imagine we have thousands of decks of cards all shuffled together

                                                             ii.      Each deck has 52 cards

                                                            iii.      If I  was to deal out just one card that card could be one of four possibilities: a spade, club, heart or diamond.

                                                           iv.      We could write it this way 4 to the 1^st  power = 4 possibilities

b.      Now suppose I was to put 2 cards onto the table how many different combinations would we have.

                                                               i.      2 cards would be times 4 x 4 = 16 possibilities.  Therefore, we could have spade – spade or spade - club, or spade - heart, or spade - diamond. We also could have club -spade, or a club - club, or a club - heart, or a club - diamond, and this would continue with each cord.

                                                             ii.      Each new card placed on the table increases the total combinations of those cards by 4 times.

c.       5 cards onto the table has 4x4x4x4x4  or 1024 combinations.

d.      10 cards = (4x4x4x4x4) x (4x4x4x4x4) = 1024 x 1024 = 1,048,576 over 1 million combinations.

e.      15 cards = (4x4x4x4x4) x (4x4x4x4x4) x (4x4x4x4x4) = 1024 x 1024 x 1024 = 1,073,741,824 or over 1 billion combinations

f.        20 cards = (4x4x4x4x4) x (4x4x4x4x4) x (4x4x4x4x4) x (4x4x4x4x4) = 1,099,511,627,776 or over 1 trillion combinations

2.       DNA

a.       The DNA can also be one of four kinds designated as A, C, T, or G.

b.       5 DNA have the same number of combinations as 5 cards =  4x4x4x4x4 = 1024

c.       20 DNA or cards = (4x4x4x4x4) x (4x4x4x4x4) x (4x4x4x4x4) x (4x4x4x4x4) = 1,099,511,627,776 or over 1 trillion combinations

d.      Finally 100 DNA is over a trillion x trillion x trillion x trillion x trillion combinations

3.       Let us deal out 10 cards out until the 1 million combinations are covered.

a.       We could do it several ways.

b.      Imagine that we had only one dealer who shuffled the cards for 1 year and on New Year’s Eve dealt out ten cards.

c.       Every New Year’s Eve he dealt out another ten cards and by wonderful chance, there was always a different combination of cards.

d.      To cover 1 million combinations of 10 cards in this example 1 dealer would have to deal out cards for 1 million years.

a.       This time we have 1 million dealers who shuffle the cards all year long. On New Year’s Eve, they deal out 10 cards.  Because we have so many dealers, we are done in 1 year.

a.        We now have 1000 dealers who deal out 10 cards on New Year Eve. It would take 1000 years to cover all the combinations.

6.       Let us now use 10 DNA instead of cards and ape couples having offspring rather than dealers.

a.       What would be the minimum time to do one million combinations of 10 DNA if each generation was one year and each offspring had a different set of DNA combinations?

b.      If we had only one ape couple begetting it would take 1 million years because (1 ape couple) x (1 million years) = 1 million combinations.

c.       If we had 1 million ape couples, it would take one year because (1 million ape couples) x (1 year) = 1 million combinations.

d.      If we had 1 thousand ape couples, it would take 1 thousand years because (1 thousand ape couples) x (1 thousand years) = 1 million combinations.

a.       Let us apply this to evolution.

b.      To get the magic intelligence protein as mentioned in the video we needed a magic protein of only 100 DNA.

c.       Any creature in the universe that stumbles upon this 100 DNA suddenly has an intelligent civilization forming.

d.      If each offspring had 100 mutations and each new set of mutations were different from all the other set of mutations simply by luck

e.      If each generation of offspring from ape creatures is one year from conception to future offspring conception

g.       To do all the combinations of 100 DNA would require =

h.      = (1 trillion ape couples on 1 planet for 20 DNA combinations)  x ( 1 trillion identical planets going around a sun for the next 20 DNA combinations) x (1 trillion identical suns in a galaxy for the next 20 DNA combinations) x ( 1 trillion identical galaxies in the universe for the next 20 DNA combinations) x (1 trillion years for the last 20 DNA combinations)

i.         NOTE our universe is only 14 billion years old since the big bang.

Conclusion:

Ellie the atheist’s example from the movie Contact is irrational. When she says if 1 out of million stars had planets and if 1 out of a million had life and if out of a million had intelligent life then there would be millions of civilizations out there. This might happen if the intelligence protein was about 15 DNA long but this is absurd.

EVERY 20 DNA is "TIMES 1 trillion combinations at least. The human body has about 3 billion pairs of DNA. 

If we said that the proteins were on the average 750 DNA long then we would be looking at some 4 million proteins.

In the movie contact Ellie hears the numbers from deep space coming in 2, 3, 5, 7 and says those are prime numbers – no way is this a natural phenomena – and she would be right. Yet that sequence represents the odds of only 11 DNA. The Magic Intelligence protein of 100 DNA represents the Power on High – God.

Copyright 2009 by the Franciscans of Our Lady of the Holy Family

Guest Ariticle by Lt. Col. Bob Magnuson, USMC (Retired) 

This video explores the dynamics for questioning the foundation of atheism - the signs of the presence of God. (17 minutes)

(To see on YouTube click here)

Guest Speaker Linda Santo, Little Audrey's mother 

Video: This 5 minute video invites the viewer to pray with Little Audrey's mom for their particular intention.

Video: This 3 minute video, set to music, looks at the beauty of life, its challenges and its purpose.

Video:  This 8 minute video is the second of a four part series addressing the question "Why the Catholic Church?".  Fr. Patrick Magee FLHF explores the question "Is there authority that binds our understanding of Scripture and Salvation in the True Church?" We journey back to the early Christian Community to answer this question.

Video: Why the Catholic Church: Part 1 - Is There a True Church? 

Video: Why the Catholic Church: Part 3 - Is there an Ordained Priesthood?

Video: Why The Catholic Church: Part 4 - The Early Church Leaders

A letter to the Family

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Peace. From all over the world you come to these two web sites. Over 18,000 have now come. How amazing to be making contact from people in every continent - from north and south of the equator and from so many different languages. PEACE.

When I climbed the mountain of Vermont in the USA, (very small compared to many mountains of the world) I came to the hermitage and made a retreat. Two ideas were strong as I sat in the Lord’s presence.

First, be holy as the Lord is Holy.

Second, be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect.

The essence of God is his Eternal Holiness. The angels sing out Holy, Holy, Holy.

The word for perfect is the Greek word “telos” which could also be translated “mature”.

In the hermitage I focused on these two pillars of the spiritual life. My gaze needs to center on the mystery of God who reveals Himself as The Holy. Through out the day in a moment of silence I need to assess the level of my maturity in the present moment - the maturity to discipline my inner self. Amos the prophet wrote in 5:14-15 what Saint Paul will say in Romans – to love the good, hate what is evil.

In the silence of God’s Holiness – may His Peace fill us with hope, joy, and the resolve to be committed to the Good.

Peace my brothers and sisters of the world

Father Patrick Magee FLHF

The announcer continued, “... a UFO is an un-identified flying object and people there are saying that’s exactly what we’ve got. We’ll go to Sandy Robertson at the scene, Sandy can you tell us what you are seeing.”  “Katie, there are about 200 people and growing. We are standing in front of a lawn 100 feet by 100 feet. It is completely surrounded by a 4 foot high old wire fence with no entrance or gate but it did have a newly placed sign on it reading “NO TRESPASSING”. In the middle of the lawn is an object that has the shape of a space craft. But, Katie, what has everyone talking is what’s in front of the spacecraft – a parking meter.”

A newly placed ten hour parking meter stood just in front of the spacecraft – and it was running with 3 hours 23 minutes left on it.

Sandy continued, “Katie, the craft is circular about 50 feet in diameter. It’s about 25 feet high.  We do know this, it is not resting on the ground - it seems to be floating – but it looks immovable. The wind has absolutely no affect on it. Several workers had stopped to investigate before the police arrived. They took a long rope and while holding either ends of the rope passed the rope completely under the craft which is about 1 foot above the ground. Katie, there are no supports – it is levitating. Next some guy in the crowd ran to his car and said he knows how it’s being done, saying he has a science toy at home that does the same thing. He yelled that there must be magnets in the ground and inside the hollow spaceship.  He pulled out a compass he kept in his car and told us that the compass will point to the magnets. He jumped the fence and went all around the craft. He came back bewildered, nothing had happened.   Katie, one more thing, one of the kids threw an empty soda can at it and it bounced off even before it got near the craft.”

Katie interrupted, “Sandy, do we know when it arrived?” Sandy replied, “We did the calculations, the parking meter started running at 2:43 AM and at 12:43 PM the meter runs out.”

The police had come with the dogs to sniff around, nothing unusual. As more and more gathered, the mayor arrived for a photo op. What gave credibility was the rope trick. No one had broken the law and many were calling it a publicity stunt. Some wondered if the Mayor had something to do with it.

The one question on everyone’s mind, what was going to happen when the parking meter ran out? That question was about to be answered. It was 12:40PM.

Someone from the back of the crowd had pushed his way to the fence. It was a homeless person in shabby clothes. “Excuse me,” he said, “I’m doing my job.”  He was in his mid 40’s and had not shaved for a few days. He jumped the fence and went up to the meter. He kept yelling, “Just doing my job.” And he put a quarter into the slot. Another ten hours to go. Going back to the fence, he climbed out. At that instant he became a world celebrity.

At first he felt uncomfortable about the fuss and questions. “I was told to say nothing if I wanted to get the reward. The guy had a mess of quarters which are here in my pocket and said to make sure the meter does not run out. No, no accent – look I can't say any more else I might not get the reward. And he remained quiet.

They did not know who he was, just a homeless person, but all the press and reporters where wanting to invite him out for a meal – which he accepted. They offered him clean cloths and allowed him to wash up at their apartment. Every ten hours he was back again to put another coin into the meter. This went on for a few days when he made the announcement 3 coins left.

People from different parts of the world started coming. No one could get any information out of him.

Finally the moment came. He approached the fence and jumped it. He pulled out of his pocket the last of the coins. He said to all, “that’s the last one” and all sorts of photos were taken. He came up to the meter and put it in. He stood there. Everyone gasped; the craft began to rise up slowly to a height of 10 feet. The homeless man turned and walked under the craft to the center and turned to the crowd – smiled and was lifted up into the craft. Another shout went up as it started to rise another 14 feet and was gone – just like that.

A strange occurrence began to take place all around the world; people were beginning to take notice of the homeless, being a bit kinder to them. And they all wondered.

The morning after the departure he reached over to the coffee pot and poured himself his morning coffee. He was about to turn on the radio but stopped. Instead he opened his Bible that he kept on the table turning to Hebrews 13:2

VIDEO: Conclusion to Once Upon a UFO - Stealth Departure and Beyond (1minute)

Guest Commentary on Sat, Aug 1, 2009 

As a retired military aviator and serious amateur astronomer, I would like to say, for those who might doubt it, that the 'cross' at the end of this video is real. It is an actual pair of galaxies colliding together, hundreds of light-years from earth. Someday, in the improbable future, a human may fly out there close enough to see and experience these galaxies close at hand. As a pilot, I always loved Psalm 139, also a favorite of Charles Lindbergh. Perhaps this could inspire a 21st-century addition to that ancient Psalm which says 'Where could I go to escape your spirit? Where could I flee from your presence? If I climb the heavens, you are there; there too, if I lie in Sheol. If I flew to the point of sunrise, or westward across the sea, your right hand would still be guiding me, your right hand holding me.' And now, thinking of that 'intergalactic cross' we could add 'If I fly to distant galaxies, I would still see you before me.'

Nice video.

by Lt. Col. Bob Magnuson, USMC (Retired)  

The Lord give you His Peace

Father Patrick Magee FLHF

           Copyright 2009 Father Patrick Magee FLHF

Africa: Jaws of Death - The Nile Crocodile

(The names have been changed.)

The flooded plains were subsiding. Nyafulanga knew that food would soon be available for her seven children. Outside, four other women were waiting for her in the open square surrounded by the family huts. As they proceeded to the traditional spot for catching the fish, women from the other villages were all winding along the paths converging to the same location. Each carried an eight foot long fish basket on their head.

The basket was designed so that the water would flow through it while capturing the fish. They arrived at the fishing locale just before sunrise as they had in the previous days. Going into the water knee deep they set their baskets in a continuous line in order to cut off all possible paths of escape for the fish.  

Many fish had now collected in the lake that annually flooded during the rainy season. The river rose 10 to 20 feet covering the planes. As the floods receded the fish would follow the water flowing back into the Zambezi River. Nyafulanga, along with her family and friends, sang as they worked catching the fish late into the day.  However there was one who was not singing - it was in the water - watching, waiting.   

The Nile crocodile is one of the most treacherous and cleverest of the reptiles. It has survived the dinosaurs. One writer stated that it could stand up on its hind legs. I doubted that fact but it did remind me of the raptors. The croc will watch its victim and discover their weakness. With a sudden burst of strength, it can go from an apparent sleep position on the sand to pursuit speed of 15 miles an hour. It runs behind the victim and with its tail swats the person into the water. If two crocs are present, the victim will be torn to pieces. If one is present, the croc drowns its victim and at some other time devours it.  

Part of the danger of these creatures is that they are underestimated. Two UN officials came to visit us on the Zambezi at Chinyingi. When they saw the beautiful sand beach and gorgeous view they decided to go swimming. We warned them but to no avail. At 11 AM they went down and swam. That evening at supper they told us that we exaggerated the danger. The next morning at 11 AM again they went swimming ignoring our warning. At evening they shared their great swimming adventure. At 10 AM the third morning the crocodile was there waiting for them. It had seen their ritual and anticipated their arrival. Sometimes a crocodile will wait underwater for an hour for the unsuspecting victim. When the jaws clamp shut it remains shut.  At best the victim occasionally survives but minus a limb. At 11 AM there was a knock at the door; the villagers told us there was a croc at the swim site waiting. The two UN officials at 10:30 AM had started their vehicle and were heading back to Lusaka to tell every one of the beauty of the Chinyingi Beach. They never found out how close to death they had come. 

The sun had just set and night rapidly approached for the women fishing.  Within 45 minutes it goes from daylight to dark and it was now dark. Maria had already gotten out with the others. “Nyafulanga, get out, it’s dark.” “I’m coming Maria.” Nyafulanga looked up at her friend.  Her heart stopped in terror. Maria stood there frozen, with a scream. Nyafulanga felt her waist explode in crushing pain. She frantically grasped at anything, Already she was being submerged as the jaws of death were dragging her out into deeper water. She could hear the cries of the women as the water covered her.  

Over 25,000 people are killed by crocks each year, a fact I did not recall until later. That morning my mind was on the malaria medicine that I needed to stop the fever. So I walked over to the infirmary and asked where Sister was. The Sisters ran the hospital in the bush. Nurses in the bush witnessed things that could make a doctor shiver, with sometimes nothing but an aspirin they would save lives doing whatever it took. "Father, you’ll find Sister down at the river. It’s her prayer day." Once a week they spent a half day in quite prayer. I went down to where the Chinyingi River met the Zambezi.

At the river side I saw Sister as she was reading her book resting against the tree. As I greeted her I turned to admire the view of the Zambezi. I froze. In the water not more than 20 feet away from sister, hugging the bank, I saw three tell-tale points in the water followed by a log. As a croc approaches one could possibly see the two eyes and nose breaking the surface of the water - as terror and nausea fills the viewer. We all say the same thing when we realize we are being hunted. Is that a log? No, it’s a croc. My emotion was one of total anger at this creature that was about to eat the sister or myself as I stood there. If I had not come down at that moment to find Sister - I shuddered - as we stared at the “log” it submerged and rose up in the middle of the river. We ran - that evening I went to the villagers. How do I kill a croc?  

The elders had a method that employed rotten meat with a fishhook inside of it. From the hook, many strands of fishing line were attached to a large float.  When it ate the meat the float would be dragged on the surface warning the people of the croc lurking for a kill. With spears in hand, the villagers would canoe to the float. Someone would grab the float and the canoes would gently move to the shore slightly pulling on the fish lines. On the rivers edge they would form a semi-circle around it to spear it from either side as it came ashore - in theory of course.

Armed with this information I went down to the river and placed the meat, hook and float by the shore line. I had chosen to use wire instead of fish line. Two days went by – nothing. On the third day the villagers came to me. Father, the float was spotted down at the river bend.  I remember getting in the canoe with the others, all of us with spears. Slowly, carefully we paddled to the river bend where we spotted the float. We all looked at it. Some were standing in the 20-foot wooden canoe.  It was actually quite stable because the canoe was a heavy hollowed out tree.  Finally, I reached over, took hold of the float, and began to pull. Nothing happened. The line had broken and there was no croc.  To be honest, I felt relief.   

We all had known of villages where people were taken by the croc; a twelve-year-old girl from the school was killed. Far down the river, a lay missionary’s son was dragged into the river while the family watched in horror from the other side of the river. Every year the stories continued.  This week reports of a croc trailing a canoe were talked about. It was seen stalking its victims and was going to strike.  

The Zambezi River at Chinyingi is over 1000 feet wide. A Franciscan brother had built a suspension bridge over the river. The bridge was photographed by National Geographic in its article on Zambia of October 1997. I was coming in from Zambezi, bringing the mail to the Chinyingi Friary. Midway across the bridge, I stopped.

Being 40 feet above the water one could get an amazing view of the whole region. I happened to look down to the left of the bridge, at the pontoon.

The croc was there waiting for a victim. As the river flowed southward, the croc was pointing northward, slowly moving its tail to keep a stationary position by the pontoon against the current. The pontoon is a large raft that you drive a vehicle onto pulling it by the cable to the other side of the river.  Something had the croc’s attention - 20 students were playing soccer (world cup football) and were about to come down to the river to clean up.  The croc was waiting for them.

It is useless to shoot a croc unless you shoot it in the belly, which is soft; anywhere else and the bullet simply bounces off the thick hide. However, with the croc in the water the belly is quite safe from view. There is one other spot that you can aim for – the eye – but how do you get close enough to hit it? The rifle at the friary had a damaged sighting mechanism. If you aimed at the target you would completely miss it. As I looked down at the croc from the bridge, I had to make an immediate decision. If I yelled and scared the croc away it would simply come back the next day and another wail would rise up among the villages as a child was killed. To make matters worse the croc was protected by law - unless danger to life was present. I knew what I had to do.

Going to the friary, I took the rifle and hid it under the habit I was wearing so the students would not see it. If the kids suspected the croc, they would run down to the riverbank and scare it away. Going down to the river was awkward because I was holding the rifle next to me while walking straight legged as if my left leg was made of wood. I came to the steep incline that led to the pontoon.

Going on to the pontoon my heart sank – the croc had moved. I scanned the surface and saw the croc 400 feet down river. I said a prayer.

Dear Jesus, this thing is going to eat a child.

It was a rather short prayer and the Lord knew what I was asking for. I placed the rifle at the end of the pontoon that jets out into the deep river. I braced myself by grabbing tightly the railing and lowered my foot into the river. I needed bait for the croc. Again, I said, Oh Lord, it’s going to kill a child. It worked – it was coming towards me. If this monster thought that I knew it was there, it would be gone in an instant – it lives by the element of surprise. Like the devil, it is very patient, watching.  

The croc had stopped moving, did it suspect something? I lowered my foot deeper into the water. It started approaching,  now it was 200 feet away. I had to act quickly. I lowered myself to the pontoon turning my back to him. I put my arm and leg into the water. I could see him coming faster now. At 30 feet he stopped, something was not right. I pushed my arm all the way in – nothing - he would not come closer. I stood up with rifle in hand and aimed at its eye.  Then I remembered, the aiming mechanism was broken. I quickly cried out to Jesus with a groan. Lord, it’s going to eat a child. Not knowing where to aim, I closed my eyes while moving the barrel of the rifle in a circular motion in the direction of the croc's head and pulled the trigger with eyes closed.  

Exploding out of the barrel, the bullet sped over the water hitting the croc in the eye.   I was stunned.  

A shout went up; kids came pouring onto the bridge. Utter jubilation. The croc was spinning in the river doing a death roll floating down the river - feet up.   I went to the friary. I was about to be deported unless I reported the incident immediately to the police. A knock at the door. Father, it’s still alive. It had been seriously wounded but recovered enough to swim into the tiny Chinyingi River. It was rapidly getting dark. Father, you must now finish it off.

Another brother from the friary and myself, armed with rifle, torch (Flashlight), rope and spear went down to the Chinyingi.  But where could it be?   And then I saw it at the very tree where Sister and I were almost attacked by the croc. I could see the croc clearly as it was at the river’s edge. The ground sloped down to the river in a very slippery steep embankment - at the same time, my rechargeable flashlight (torch) was losing its charge. The brother held the spear and I started slipping down the slope to the jaws of the croc. I extended the rifle way out with my hand so it would be a point blank shot.

The explosion of the rifle startled the woods and could be heard far beyond the villages. The impact of the bullet pushed the head of the croc under water. It came up again. The brother who was known for his soft demeanor screamed – shoot it again. Again the point blank explosion, and then another one.  With amazing courage the brother with spear in hand jumped into the water and speared the crock in the belly. He tied it with a rope and we dragged it to shore. We could smell the decaying meat from its mouth. The brother dragged it to the village hanging it from a tree where the villagers celebrated its death. How many had it killed?

The next day, with testimonial paper in hand and the croc in the back of the truck, I brought it to the police station. The officer reading the testimony and seeing the croc said the greatest words I could here at that moment. “Job well done.”   All week long people came to the police station to be photographed next to the croc. I found out later that they thought I was a sharp shooter.

To this very day I remember this event as if it was yesterday.  More than anything else, I am humbled before the greatness of God who revealed His mercy to a village who loved Him. Victory belongs to our God.

Psalm 18:17f  ^“He reached down from on high and seized me; drew me out of the deep waters.  He rescued me from my mighty enemy, from foes too powerful for me.  They attacked me on a day of distress, but the LORD came to my support.  He set me free in the open; he rescued me because He loves me.”

The Lord give you His peace.

Video:  Spiritual Warfare - this video reveals the stragey Lucifer uses against the Clergy and all Christians. Lucifer tempts us away from God's Lordship over our lives.  9 minutes

This 7 minute video is the first of a four part series addressing the question "Why the Catholic Church?".  Fr. Patrick Magee FLHF explores the question "Is there a true Church?" taking the viewer back into Biblical times to answer that question thus preparing one for the next step of the journey of faith. Note: This video was one of the first video's. Presentation styles and delivery were later improved upon. Sincerely Father Patrick FLHF.

Video: Why the Catholic Church: Part 2 - Is There Authority in the True Church?

Video: Why the Catholic Church: Part 3 - Is there an Ordained Priesthood? 

Video: Why The Catholic Church: Part 4 - The Early Church Leaders

Evolution's Stumbling Block - The Mathematics of DNA 

(Revised March 16, 2009  8:15 AM)

The Parable of the Atheist and the Bridge

Once upon a time, an atheist was walking through a nature reserve. 

 

Noticing the flight of a hawk, he was struck by the beauty of it's glide, the hollow bone structure to reduce weight, and the wing structure. Of course he reminded himself of the chance happening of snow flake symmetry. Recalling his "hope" that there are trillions of universes out there - he reassured himself that this all happened by chance. He continued on the path quite content with his logic.

Going further he happened to see wild hens in the distance.

Being an observant atheist he noticed how the mother hen was turning over the eggs. He knew of course that hens do this to allow the developing chick to be in constant free fall. At this stage, if it attaches itself to the side of the shell it would become deformed and die. He reminded himself of the symmetry of the snow flake while recalling his belief in the existence of trillions of universes. It's better to believe that chaos created all this rather than God - it's more comfortable this way. However, how fortunate for the chick that all those chance mutations occurred over and over again. 

He thought of the mutations that had to take place in the genes in the process of evolution that were needed at the right moment to not only produce an egg but to also give the mother hen the instructions to turn the egg over several times a day. Everything happened just in the nick of time. He reminded himself that if there is no God then it's a lucky throw of the dice - pure chance that the hen started to turn the eggs over and not turn over the near by rocks or rooster.

He came upon a river and saw a particular species of mollusk. Being very intelligent he took pride in knowing that this mollusk – which has no eyes – keeps its larvae in a sack that resembles the bait, yes the bait that a specific fish enjoys eating.

(In the picture below the larva sack is resting on the mollusk - it looks like the bait fish)   

         Larvae in sack - photo by G. Thomas Watters, PhD                     Larvae in sack about to be eaten 

He also recalled that unless that specific species of fish eats the “bait” the mollusk larvae will die. It needs the gills of the host to survive. He liked the idea that there are trillions of universes out there - so this is going to happen anyway. The role of the dice can bring about the most amazing results - all in the nick of time. Of course, the mollusk will never realize this - all those mutational accidentals and all. Thank God there are trillions of universes out there to make it reasonable not to believe in God.

He paused. Of course, if God had guided this process, then he would have to consider WHY GOD MADE HIM. He thought to himself, "There would be accountablity to God." The atheist enjoyed being his own god. He comforted himself with what Carl Sagan had told everyone in his movie about aliens, "No, no tests." Yes, he thought to himself, "no test", no accountability. It's far better to think that aliens exist and not God. Then, I can avoid the issue of personal moral accountability to the Divine Creator. It's best to look for signs of alien communication then a loving God revealing Himself to us - in this way I can do things my way. He continued on his way. 

Finally, the educated atheist came to a beautiful ravine with a wood bridge spanning it. Just as he was about to cross over, he saw some sticks on the ground to the side of the bridge underneath a large tree. They seemed to be arranged in the form of a message - a warning. “Danger this bridge may be structurally flawed.” The atheist being a reasonable man, who liked the idea that there are trillions of universes out there, said to himself, sooner or later tree branches will accidentally fall this way. No need to think intelligence was behind this. Why complicate life? As a student of Natural Selection - I find this not beneficial to me so I reject this as a sign of intelligence. Appreciating his enlightened view of life he crossed the ravine. He arrived safe at the other side and continued on with his life.

About an hour later the Park Inspector arrived on the scene and began inspecting the bridge. There was a loose bolt which he immediately tightened. Back at the office he saw the assistant. “The bridge is safe now." The assistant smiled. “I decided to make a sign. If I turned out to be wrong concerning the safety of the bridge I could tell the people how foolish it is of them to think intelligence formed those sticks into a message on the ground. It far better to believe that the message happened only by chance. With trillions of universes out there – eventually branches of trees will accidentally fall that way.”

As the Park Inspector was walking away he turned and asked, "By the way, whatever happened to your brother who was on trial for lottery fraud? After all, winning twelve in a row is suspicious of intelligent intervention." The assistant gave an even bigger smile. "They threw the case out. My brother reminded them that there are trillions of universes out there, it just happens that way - the logic so overwhelmed the court that it ended the case." After all who needs reasonable cause and personal moral responsiblity when we have all those universes out there - and he continued on with his life content with his logic. 

The Park Inspector went home. He was saddened by what he heard from his assistent and others like him such as Dawkins. They of course were deceiving themselves and others. The concept of multiuniverses was not new. At first it was suggested that the universe explodes out in the big bang and then crashes back in on itself in the big crunch - over and over again. That concept was proven false and rejected by Penrose and Hawking. Now atheists grasp at straws, dropping science so as to cling to fantacy - imaginary parallel universes to escape our universe and its 14 billion year time limit. It sounded like opium to avoid reality - the science of mathematical probability and what is REASONABLE.

It was foolish for the judge and jury to throw the case out saying it's realistic that the assistant's brother could win the lotery 12 times in a row. It was folly for people to look at the warning left by the assistant and say it's just accidental - that the branches fell that way. It is sheer folly to look at the blind mollusk - to see that it has created a perfect fish lure for its larvae to hide in - and not see God's hand in this.  For one to believe that this is all chance happening is fools gold. The real issue is that the atheist does mind that God exists.

The Park Inspector too had seen the magestic glide of the hawk, the mother hen turning the eggs over, the amazing design of the mullosk's sack. It was all amazing and wonderful. That night he got down on his knees. He thanked God for the greatness of His Love and Wisdom. He went on with his life at peace and with joy and in truth.

(Revised March 23, 2009    2:30 PM) 

Notice: “Evolution's Stumbling Block - The Mathematics of DNA” should be read first

Commentary on “Evolution's Stumbling Block” & Atheism – the Bottom Line 

When writing the article “Evolution's Stumbling Block - The Mathematics of DNA”, the focus was on the difficulty of accidentally coming upon the correct series of DNA to change an ape creature into a civilization of scientists. A divine intervention that guided the DNA sequence was, in my opinion, the remaining reasonable solution to the sheer complexity of the combinations of the DNA to code for a single protein. Carl Sagan, the atheist astronomer, would represent the opposing view. He wrote the novel “Contact” but died before the completion of the movie. If he had survived his cancer, he would have certainly caught the mathematical mistake in the script. Ellie, the atheist astronomer, says to her friend, “There are 400 billion stars out there just in our galaxy alone.  If only one out of a million of those had planets, and if just one out of a million of those had life and if just one out of a million of those had intelligent life then there would be millions of civilization out there.”   NOT SO - even if Ellie were talking about the universe - her numbers are way off. There is a need for a more critical mind and a willingness to look at the math.

Charles Darwin wrote, "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous successive slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down." Evolution must address itself to "successive slight modifications". It states that these modifications with regard to DNA are nothing more than “chance-olution” - pure random mutational chance. But, Natural Selection must have something to select. So, how in fact did that mutation of the correct 1000 DNA come about? Even Doctor Crick, the co-discover of the DNA double helix, saw the combinations of DNA so great that in the early years of his studies he claimed that the changes were accomplished by alien beings. As an atheist, he did not want to acknowledge Divine intervention in the process.

Ellie – The Moment Of Truth

In the movie “Contact” there is an exciting moment when Ellie hears for the first time the incoming signals from outer space in the form of pulses of sound over the receiver. She says, “2, 3, 5, 7, those are all prime numbers … And there is no way that this is a natural phenomena … let’s just calm down”. What just occurred? Ellie the atheist experiences the adrenalin of the moment caused by the reasonable hope that the pulses are intelligent communication – not just chance happening.  She is willing to direct her life to pursue this, because it is reasonable.

Ellie is excited when she hears a few numbers coming up which is the same odds of getting the right sequence of only 12 DNA molecules.  She is excited because she knows that they are being contacted. When she discovers signals that are prime numbers from 2 to 101 - which is still trillions of times easier to arrive at then the odds of getting the right sequence of a single protein 700 DNA bases long (1/10^339.562 compared with 1/10^421.442) - she is willing to risk her reputation, to tell the world.  

Earlier in the movie “Contact”, Ellie says to a potential benefactor who is declining assistance to her search, “Look, all I’m asking is for you to have the tiniest bit of vision - you know, to sit back for one moment and to look at the big picture - TO TAKE A CHANCE ON SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE THE MOST PROFOUNDLY INPACTFUL MOMENT FOR HUMANITY, FOR THE HISTORY OF HISTORY.”  Ellie says this about alien beings. All the more she should be saying this about God. So the question arises. Why is there excitement for extra terrestrials – a higher power - but denial concerning the existence of God, the Power on High?  Why do they not apply the same standards for belief in the existence of God as they do for the existence of aliens?

Atheism and The Bottom Line

When I was flying back from Africa, I sat with a couple on the long transatlantic flight. Eventually the conversation came to religion. He was an atheist. I said to him, "If I could prove to you with such stunning clarity that God existed" – I paused – "would you buy me a beer?" We both laughed. I began a second time. "If I could prove to you with such stunning clarity that God existed" – I paused – "would you give the rest of your life to Him?" As I looked at him he became sad. I said, “That is why you are an atheist.”  The bottom line is atheists mind that God exists. It interferes with their comfort zone.

A couple of prime numbers and Ellie the atheist and Carl Sagan are excited over extraterrestrials. But, when it comes to God revealing Himself through the wisdom contained in creation, there is denial.  Ellie makes an interesting statement. Why has this almighty hidden God not revealed Himself? – BUT HE HAS!! To Ellie’s question of a hidden God I would respond, "Well, if He is God why does He not multiply bread, calm the storm, walk on water, raise a stinking corpse to life, appear to 500 at the same time, break bread with his disciples?  – BUT HE HAS!! Why does He not empower his disciple to cure the sick, regenerate a cancerous kidney? – BUT HE HAS!! Atheism is the opium of the intellectually immature. It is a refusal to recognize God's presence in their universe, and the call for each person to enter into a loving relationship with Him. Whether it is the God who reveals Himself in the flaming bush, or the God who raises Lazarus from the corruption of the tomb, He has sent us a message far more profound than prime numbers. He has communicated a love story that answers the questions of life by the mystery of Himself.  Between the shadow of the Cross and the opening of the tomb is found the answer to the bitterness of life’s sudden tragedies. We are meant for Him. The grace is there for each to respond - purchased at a great price. One does not need a telescope to look deep into the eyes of God and hear His voice - only humility.

The Lord give you peace.

Father Patrick of the Immaculata FLHF

(Revised February 28, 2009 10:30 PM) 

 “So There I Was”  - the Elephant and the Ant Hill

I first meet Father Bill (not his real name) at Lukulu in the western part of Zambia, along the Zambezi River. Of course, the first meeting was traumatizing - to have a newly arrived missionary disappear into the ground and all. How would you write the letter to his folks back in Canada? Dear Family, because your son was not emaciated like the rest of us, he started sinking … Perhaps I need to explain. All arriving missionaries are over weight relative to what happens after a while. We “got” rice and beans every day.  We lived way in the bush – no stores for two or three day’s journey. Rice and beans and then beans and rice and on special holidays Father Daniel would serve his favorite – rice pudding – it tasted better if there was milk in the country.

SO THERE I WAS – sitting next to Father BIll when I noticed – he’s shrinking eight inches if any. I was thinking of throwing some holy water on him when he looked at me as if I could do something. He had just sunk another 4 inches - it was serious. As an engineer from Marquette we were trained to quickly assess the situation. I thought of saying, “your toast” but I figured it wouldn’t be to encouraging. I settled for a compromise, “You’re too heavy – and you’re not my brother.” Sure enough - his chair legs were thin steel rods and his weight was pushing the chair into the sandy ground. The letter never had to been written to his family – happy ending. That was my first meeting with Father Bill.

The rest has become one of the great legends among the missionaries – best shared with new recruits at night with the legs resting on a stool swallowing a soft drink – if it could be found any where in the sub continent. If the legs are resting on a stool then they are not on the ground so less chance of a hunter spider investigating your toe.

Father Bill’ superiors were coming for a visit from North America and he would take them to the game park – elephants of course – “Got to see the elephants.” The day they were going on the trip Father Bill was sitting half in and half out of the vehicle taking off his shoes and putting on sneakers. “Why are you doing that Bill?” Reply, “In case the elephant starts chasing us.” Statement of fact, “But Bill, you can not out run an elephant.” Another statement of fact, “No,” said Father Bill, “but when it’s charging I can out run you.” They laughed and got into the vehicle. They tried to make pleasant conversation to avoid thoughts of who could run the fastest. “So Bill, what do you do all day long here in Lukulu?”  Long silence. “I cry a lot.”

One of the things all recruits are fascinated by is their first sighting of the ant hills - if you are driving through the Copper Belt in Zambia, AND IF you are not distracted by the blue shift. In that region it was notorious for thieves to stop the car and rob you. One solution - drive your vehicle close to the speed of light to get through there as fast as you can. The down side – which you have probably already guessed – is the blue shift - everything is shifted to the blue as you approach the speed of light – an experience all parents have had when allowing their kids drive the car - so you could be easily distracted from seeing the 15 foot tall ANT HILL.  You heard me. You know your not dreaming because you see the water tank on top of it. The vehicle is suddenly filled with the scream – STOP THE CAR – I don’t care if the thieves are there. I don’t care if we’re risking life and limb – the family back home needs this picture. CLICK. The vehicle peels off.

They arrived at the game park. When the guys got out of the vehicle the game warden came over to give them some instructions. It went like this, to be safe, follow the instructions. (At that moment some of the guys where trying to recall if they had updated their wills.) Now if you see the bull elephant start to wiggle its ears – it’s not a fun moment. It’s angry and it’s trying to cool down. (I stored this away for the next deanery meeting.) He went on. The elephant has excellent hearing and if you take a picture he will hear the CLICK and will start charging at you. Now came the really good part. If it starts running at you - stand still - and the elephant will stop. Father Bill was about to ask if he heard right – did the guy say it will stop or stomp. The superior was not paying any attention. He was to busy looking at Bill’s sneakers.

Then the game warden said, the elephant is behind the ant hill.       Long pause, real long pause.

They all started to approach the ant hill. To the left they noticed a movement. It was Father Bill. Slowly his two hands were rising up. Camera being aimed as he started WALKING FORWARD going to the left side of the ant hill – face to face with the elephant. All the guys in slow motion, with no sound coming from their mouth, are forming the word – NOOOOOOOO. Father Bill is saying silently, “YESSSSSSSSSS”. 

CLICK

A roar from the elephant – it was one unhappy dude.  

Up goes the trunk, ears flapping,

IT CHARGED.

The superior of course recalls exactly what happened next, which might vary with Father Bill's account in minor points.

Superior: “I thought I was dead, my heart pounding, running as fast as could. From behind I hear this boom, boom, boom of something coming. Suddenly it's Bill with his sneakers running past me. We dive into the vehicle and turn to look.

Silence.

There between the Elephant and us stood the game warden - standing his ground - strong and courageous.

The elephant had stopped.

I remember this story quite well with Father Bill telling it. When I shared it with others one thought comes to mind. God stands his ground as a helper and as a shield in the time of battle. When life comes running at me, God is there, with arms out stretched like the Cross, giving me everything I need – strength and courage - to stand my ground - in the LORD.

The Lord give you his peace.

Father Patrick of the Immaculata FLHF

(Revised March 1, 2009 1:00 PM) 

“So There I Was” – The Lost Key & Saint Michael

So there I was - it was a rather big spider as spiders go. We of course were at a stand off. I wanted to get on with my life and it was hungry. The thing about the bamboo spider is that it does not look fast. That surprise usually comes a few moments later. I had been told about them.  The flat spiders on the wall are our friends, we do not touch them. (I can still hear the lesson: Repeat after me, we do not touch them.) David was doing his best to instruct the new recruits so that our survival rate could be increased from 14 minutes after arrival to 12 years.

I raised my foot and quickly stepped on it – mistake, big mistake.  Missionaries only make that mistake once – they’re either dead or have packed their bags. I couldn’t pack my bags because the suitcase was already being eaten by the white ants – no kidding. The two paramount chiefs on either side of the Zambezi River – rivals - heard my yell. The beast (the spider) had side stepped my foot and was proceeding to get revenge on it. I in the mean time was climbing the nearest object – the chair or worse Father Charles. Charlie weighed 440 lbs with only one foot on the scale. I found a rather long broom stick and started identifying with Saint Paul. Now being a Franciscan, people will remind me of the animals our founder loved – true, and the wolf that was tamed by Saint Francis, yes of course - but for myself as a Catholic, thus one who loves reading the Scriptures, I suddenly felt called to identify with Saint Paul in Acts (the snake into the fire) – after all it is inspired. Fortified with proper exegesis - I swatted it (the spider – not Father Charles.)  Please note that they have huge fangs (the spider) – but that’s another story – please remind me latter to tell you about the noise in the dark.

But I digress.

I had been living 18 miles away at Zambezi Mission and one of the jobs was to bring the mail out to Chinyingi Mission for the good Sisters working at the “Hospital” - by definition: a building with beds with patients who hope that doctors do exist. However – I lost the key to the mail box.

Unless you lived in a third world country – you just don’t have any idea what this means. So let me educate you. In a first world country you can buy anything you want. In a second world country, you have things but you don’t have the money. In a third world country you don’t have money but who cares because there is nothing to buy.

So when I lost the key – THERE ARE NO REPLACEMENTS – (flash back of David to the new recruits: please repeat – no replacements this side of the equator. Shall I spell equator for you -  no, no need to do that, thank you teacher. It will never happen.)  Well it did happen – and I was on everyone’s short list for revenge. I had actually thought of faking my own death but with my luck they would put me in the canoe and send me over Livingston falls as it's done in the movies. I had to think of something else.

So I was at Chinyingi having polite tea with the sisters. They had conveniently placed the EMPTY MAIL BAG in my view – I knew the topic would come up. Sister to the newly condemned: “So Father are you enjoying YOUR mail.”  Reply: “No sister, I am identifying with the down and oppressed and decided not to read my mail as a token of support for you.” Stone faced gaze at me – this is going to be tough.  Sister to the newly condemned, “That’s understandable Father - it’s only been 14 days and 3 hours since your – I noticed her self control – memory loss. She turned to the other sister and said – Sister, next time, stir in some brain supplement formula - with his tea – it might help”.   At that moment pure terror swept over me. She was going to put “Meramite” into my tea. Last month the Australian sister had offered me some of it on a cracker – I’d rather have eaten a ten day old rhino burger in the hot sun. (Remind me later to tell you about the old man and the lion.)

She continued. Father – have you prayed to Saint Anthony to find the keys? I ignored her. “Father?” It was a dilemma. If I answered in a way that recognized the keys were lost – I would be admitting imperfection. As a newly ordained from Immaculate Conception Seminary – that would not do – I could be disowned or worse – forced to attend the deanery meetings. On the other hand - if I admit it – I could possibly avoid the Meramite. I replied. “No sister, I don’t pray to Saint Anthony – he has never helped me – I always go to Michael”. Utter disaster. Now I had the whole convent attacking me. The window to the right of me had been barred. I had thought of the side door but the spitting cobra could still be there. (Remind me to tell you about Brother and the Mamba.)

Out of desperation and offering an excusing prayer to Saint Michael I said, “Alright.  Sisters, I am finishing my tea. I am going to get up and walk to the friary. It takes 5 minutes to get there. IF, (I repeated it again,) if any credit will be given to Saint Anthony, the lost keys must be in MY HAND before I open the front door to the friary or else credit goes to Saint Michael.

I stood up and swallowed the last bit of tea. I passed the table and put the dirty cup into the kitchen sink. Turning to go I noticed a small can to the right side of the sink by the window. Leaning over I looked in side – there were the keys. “SISTERS”, I said, “I’ve found the keys.” The two rival paramount chiefs heard the shouts of joy and the “I told you so-s.”

Paul wrote, “pray for me that the door may be opened.” On the journey we need the prayers of each other. I can hear David, “Forget about it - Yo, I’m talken to you – we need each other – we don’t do it alone.  Ya, and remember - God gave you knees so use them – do some prayen for others for a change."

PS my family has sworn to disown me unless I start using spell check – “to conceal your ignorance as long as possible.”  Of course they new I had gone to Marquette and it was quite understandable – “should have sent him to Dickenson.”

PPS David is Luvale - but I thought you’d listen better if he sounded like he was from "da Bronx" New York.

The Lord give you his peace

Father Patrick of the Immaculata FLHF