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November 7, 2021Dear Parishioners,
I hope that everyone made it through the storm we had at the end of October. Fortunately, here at the parish we did not lose power, but our school sign on Newport Avenue was not so lucky. The wind ripped it right in half. We hope to replace it as soon as possible.
Our school Trunk or Treat on Friday, October 29th was a huge success. At least twenty cars lined the parking lot decorated in all different Halloween themes. Many trunks had games in which kids could win candy. Some of the trunks took inspiration from movies such as Jurassic Park, Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and the Disney movie Coco. The parking lot was packed with kids going from trunk to trunk. Thank you to all the parents, teachers, and families who volunteered. I special thank you to Mrs. McMichael who organized the event and whose son Andre goes to our school.
This Sunday I teach a lesson to our Confirmation II students. For one lesson I teach the students the praeambula fidei or the “preambles of the faith.” These are those truths about God which natural reason can demonstrate without the aid of faith. These include the existence of one God, that everything depends on Him, the need for revelation to supplement our knowledge, and a basic presentation on bad argumentation. What many people forget nowadays is that we can prove the existence of God simply by looking at the world around us. We use reasoning based on cause and effect. Our faith is not a “leap” as others have described in the past (in fact I use a scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when Indiana makes a leap of faith to show that our faith is not this). In other words, it shows that it is reasonable to believe in God.
These praeambula fidei form the first steps toward belief. Once we understand them, then we prepared to listen to God’s revelation. Yet, our natural reason can only go so far. God needs to reveal salvific truths to us. If God had not revealed Himself, we would not know such truths as the Trinity, that Jesus is human and divine, that sins are forgiven by Christ’s redemptive sacrifice, and so on. Unaided human reason cannot demonstrate salvific truths such as these, but once our minds are enlightened by faith to such a truth, we can use our reason to demonstrate its reasonableness. As St. Augustine writes, “that by which the most wholesome faith is begotten… is nourished, defended, and made strong.” Wish me luck with the students!
God bless,
Fr. Barrow
