Why Did It Have to be Snakes? (Mary & Genesis 3:15)

My wife is not a fan of Indiana Jones, which I find ironic since they share a deep-seeded hatred of snakes.  Not only will she hyperventilate if she sees one in real life, she’ll shriek and shut her eyes if one comes on television.  Actually, that may explain her lack of interest in the exploits of Dr. Henry Jones Jr.

So I was surprised one day when my wife brought up Genesis 3:15, one of the snakiest passages in Scripture.   This in the context of Genesis 3, the Fall of Man.  Adam and Eve have already eaten of the fruit, they already realized they were naked ("I didn't know I was streaking, honest!") and God is now giving out punishment.  In this punishment though God also gives hope... it is the protoevangelium, or first prophecy, and as most Christians understand it, a foretelling of the destruction of Satan and the coming of the Savior, making it a precious prophecy to millions.  When my wife mentioned the verse I knew immediately that it read:

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

I didn’t know why she was bringing it up and I would have never guessed what she was about to ask me: “Do you agree with the Catholic teaching on this verse?”  I had no idea that there was a specific Catholic teaching on that verse!  And considering the fact that my dear, loving wife doesn’t quite see what I see in Catholic teaching  (not yet at least ;)... love ya babe!  ) I was just hoping this verse wouldn’t put enmity between me and my woman!

Thomas Merton and Living in Print

Jennifer Fulwiler over at the National Catholic Register wrote a good article... oh, about two months ago... in regards to comments made by Thomas Merton, a Catholic monk and a popular author.  He has some interesting things to say that apply to this age of the Digital Diva; which is especially interesting because he died in 1968, almost forty years too late for anyone to Tweet about it.  He is quoted as saying, "It was as if I could not quite be satisfied that I was real until I could... see myself externalized in a public and printed and official self which I could admire at my ease. This was what I really believed in: reputation, success. I wanted to live in the eyes and the mouths and the minds of men.  But when my mind was absorbed in all that, how could I lead a supernatural life, the life to which I was called.  How could I love God, when everything I did was done not for Him but for myself, and not trusting in His aid, but relying on my own wisdom and talents?"

Humbling thoughts for all of us, especially for me as I am rebooting my blog (and I know all too well how self-centered and self-absorbed I can be).  Be sure to check out Jennifer's full article as she has some very good thoughts on this.  

Year-long writer's block? An update of sorts...

I'm under no delusions; I know I don't have denizens of adoring fans out there reading my material.  However, such a long absence  on my part does require an explanation. ("There is no time to explain, allow me to sum up." - - Indigo Montoya).

Since I last posted there have been some major changes in my life.

• In July my wife and I had our first daughter, the lovely Norah.  She is now 8 months old, crawls all over the house, growls like a dinosaur, eats electrical cords, poops on two three four pairs of clothes a day and is a source of love and entertainment in our household.
• In early January my wife's father passed away.  He had been dealing with several illnesses and injuries and everything caught up with him rather quickly.  He is very much missed.
• Also in January I handed in my resignation as youth pastor at the Baptist congregation where I had served for 5.5 years.  For a lot of reasons it was simply time to move on.  I am truly grateful for my experience there.  
• In February we moved to my wife's hometown,  Nashville, TN.  More stress with packing up, saying goodbye to old friends and getting reacquainted in new surroundings.  I am currently unemployed, but money is coming in thanks to some quick thinking by my dear wife.
• For reasons talked about in posts on this blog, I am no longer comfortable being a Baptist youth minister (or a Baptist at all).  My wife and I are working together on what God is calling us to (I'm strongly leaning towards the Catholic faith, my wife is leaning the other way, but we are both leaning on each other in love).  It is an exciting time even though I feel adrift.
• My name actually isn't David Peru (sorry, sorry).  For fear of losing my job I didn't post with my real name at the time.  That isn't so much a concern anymore.  My name is Michael.  Sorry for the deception.  

So there it is.  Life has changed a lot for me these past few months and my writing will reflect this.  As I am settling into a routine now, I hope that I can post regularly again.  I will still discussing my faith journey and other information, thoughts and questions relevant to that.  I will also post random, goofy nonsense (you don't work in youth ministry for 12 years and not exhibit symptoms of ADD).

I also have a new aspiration for some of my posts.  Since resigning as youth minister I have made it known to a very select (and very dear) few people in my life that I am interested in the Catholic faith.  Since most everyone I know is a biblicist Evangelical, it is understandable that they ask a lot of questions and bring up a number of concerns about the Catholic Church.  Some of my posts will be the result of the ongoing questions and conversations I am having with friends and family members.  I hope some of these posts can be a resource for them, providing a useful launchpad to help them find answers to their questions.  Any feedback or additional guidance that could assist me or others with that mission in the form of comments is most welcome.  Even more, I will appreciate your prayers as my journey continues.