October 14, 2021

Way-Makers are always survived by unfinished work. This is why heroes are always conquered by a monster. Why authors have posthumously published work. Why artists have models and half-sculpted forms in their empty workshops. If they were not in the middle of creating that change, of forging that way, when death came upon them, they would have ceased to be a way-maker long before their heart ceased to beat. These things do not exist because they are failures, but because they are successes. Beowulf’s death is not a defeat, but a victory!

On the Relationship between Medicine, Science, and Faith - Part 1

[Originally written as a letter to a friend]

My dear friend,

I want to encourage you, even as you rejoice in the progress you have made so far, not to give up on full healing.

Before, you probably thought this current level of healing you have reached was impossible. But you HAVE achieved it! There is always more healing possible for us, even if we are not actively seeking it, or if it will not come until the New Heaven and the New Earth.

My Philosophy

Before I address any more of your specific concerns on medicine, brain re-wiring, and modern science, I would like to begin by laying out my own philosophy and approach when it comes to medicine, science, faith, and mindset, for it is radically different from the typical approach, and I want to avoid any confusion that could arise from talking at cross-purposes.

It’s longer than I had intended, so I ask that after you read it, you give yourself 48 hours or so to sit with it, and maybe skim through it again before responding. And if you could respond in a way that clarifies and asks questions, that would be helpful as well. I want to get to the point where we are debating, but I want to make sure we are on the same page in understanding each other, before we go there. I hope that makes sense?

What I lay out here are beliefs I have come to after asking myself for years these same questions that you are now grappling with.

• “Who can I trust?”

• “How can I know that what I am experiencing is true, or trustworthy?”

• “How can I know who to believe?”

Please do not take anything I say here personally. It was important for my own sake to write this out, because I need to understand my own mind, and the conclusions I have been coming to lately, in science, medicine, religion, and belief.

Fruit first, science last

Personally, I believe in judging a thing more on the merits of its fruit, then the credentials of the person behind it, or the scientific basis of its use.

Not that credentials don’t matter - they do, but only up to a point. Experience and results mean more.

Not that science doesn’t matter - it does, but again, only to a point. Science is a human institution, which ought to be guided by an open-minded curiosity and willingness to be confronted by inconvenient truths. Also, waiting to know that something is true scientifically before trying it, is a dangerous practice. It gives science more power than it ought to have, and puts doubt on the validity of personal experience and common sense.

I think it is a fallacy in our modern age to equate knowing why a thing is useful, to knowing that it is useful.

Can we ever fully know?

We are fallen human beings, who are born into this world with limited understanding, so that we can cultivate that understanding and grow. We are not animals with instincts that rule our actions. We have developed science as a tool for learning and discovering, and this has been very helpful in intellectual pursuit. However, it is fundamentally a fallible system, as it depends on fallible human beings.

The Four Humors, neuro-science

You have mentioned before that the four humors and the studies of neuroscience have been disproven, and therefore you find the use of mindset and Hildegard’s medicine suspect. But I’m afraid I must challenge that belief.

Hildegard did not base her science, medicine, and philosophy on the PROOF of the four humors. She based it on the evidence - and the evidence she observed has not changed. For example, we can say that it is now PROVEN that the sun does not revolve around the earth, but that does not follow that the evidence of our everyday life has changed: the sun still rises and sets around the earth, and knowing that this is not strictly the case does not change how we, as human beings, relate to the sun on a day to day basis.

In the same way, to say the four humors has been disproven, and therefore all of Hildegard’s medicine is suspect, seems hasty.

Doctors are not a new invention, but modern history likes to paint them in the light of the only ‘real’ doctors that have ever existed. But the truth of the matter is that, while we have many new inventions that give us insight into the microscopic world of the human body, we have lost the ‘whole’ approach to the human person.

St. Luke was a doctor, as well as Hildegard of Bingen. They both would have used what most today consider ‘outmoded’ methods of medicine, and yet, I firmly believe, that they both were able to affect real healing in their patients. Their science was off, but their approach to the human person, rooted as it must have been in the truth of God’s creation, led them to discover methods and means to heal.

Can anything ever ever truly be disproven?

It is very easy to prove that a leaf exists - you only need one instance of seeing it to accept its reality. But to prove the existence of something unseen is much for difficult, unless you rely on the evidence of it’s affects upon the world. You would have quite a time proving that an alien existed, because you cannot see their effects upon the earth, but to prove the wind is much easier: simply step outside on a gusty day.

Can the mind wire itself? Can DNA heal itself? Can positive thinking evoke MORE than a simple chemical response - can it actually be biological?

The problem with these questions is that modern science has put on blinders.

We KNOW the human person is capable of great healing. I have experienced it, as have many other people.

Science, however - an institution created by fallen humankind - states that, unless we have observed something 1 million times, and can affirm that each result was not too different from other results, it is the truth. And since we have not yet observed the interior of the human person healing itself 1 Million times through a positive mindset, we cannot call it real science.

The scientific method is helpful, but it is not the final word.

Science can only dissect, but the evidence of a life well and joyfully lived speaks, in my opinion, far more eloquently than any microscope.

The whole person

And truly, treating the whole person is what ought to be the goal of science, and any other branch of knowledge. Why does medicine, physics, chemistry, biology, etc, exist, unless to know as much about one area of life as possible, and then to admit that it has exhausted itself, and can only contain so much of the whole picture of life.

Mind, body, soul... they are so integral, that we can only separate them in a superficial way. We can say, “I eat to be healthy, pray to be holy, and read to be smart.” But if we only read, our minds suffer. And if we only eat, our souls are lost.

G. K. Chesterton once said, “Never deny, rarely affirm, always distinguish.”

My goal here is not to affirm or deny any truths, but rather to show that I am open, ragardless of the generally accepted conclusions of modern science, to other truths, and to demonstrate why this is so. It can appear, at first glance, that I am denying the legitimacy of science, but I want to defend my case, and show that this is far from the truth. Rather, I do not want to put science as the first test of truth.

Science is what we decide it is, and it is prone to human error

Science is prone to human error, being a practice based solely on human research, and results interpreted by human beings. I treat with fascination, but careful detachment, any results discovered by atheists. I believe we can learn from what they do and study, but that we should never treat their results as the final word on which to close our minds.

Our modern society is very confused on many topics: metaphysics, faith, religion, the dignity of the human person, marriage, family, government... and numerous other matters. To close our minds and ears to where medicine and science are involved is dangerous. It opens us to believing things that should NOT be believed. Therefore, concerning generally accepted facts, I want to give a word of caution. We have a society that believes masturbation, homo-sexuality, and abortion are scientifically good and healthy. And they are seeking ways, through science, to justify these beliefs.

In addition, our society proclaims itself open-minded and debate-oriented, but more often than not, if a theory comes forward that challenges the common narrative, the person, in addition to the idea, is attacked.

If they must not only disprove the theory, but also discredit the theorist, it means that the theory put forward, correct or not, endangers thier generally-accepted scientific law. It shuts the door on the ability of opposing opinions to act as counter-balances to new ideas.

Expelled - This video shows how those who have legitimate theories (intelligent design of the universe) are, in massive numbers, attacked and expelled from scientific circles.

Continued in Part 2…

December 8, 2020

Dear Mother Mary,

On this your day of days, with love in my heart, I come before you as your child, asking you to reveal to my heart your immaculate plan.

I have experienced great difficulty thus far in attending Mass, receiving Our Lord, praying the Rosary daily, and honoring your day.

Recognizing that our God is a God of mercy, I have relied on His graces to fill these negligences, and allow for grace in spite of my difficulties. But I do not want to presume.

Please Mother, wipe away any presumption on my part. Make me pure, holy, and dedicated to honoring your dignity.

Mother, I do not want to be angry on your day. I do not want to attend a church that I feel dishonors you in the celebration of its mysteries. Mother, it fills me with ire, bitterness, and angry tears.

Please release me from this anger. Mother, please fill me with your wisdom, continual mental prayer, heroic patience, profound humility, blind obedience, and mortification in all things. Amen.

June 24, 2020

Jesus, why does enforcing the requirement to wear a mask scare me so much?

We have become a faceless country. Jesus, I am angry! This is not a political issue, or a medical issue, or a race issue - it is a human issue.

We are human beings with faces, with courage, with souls. We are not dying by the thousands - we are being led, by thousands, like sheep to the slaughter with no concern for our hearts, spiritual nourishment, or need for community.

We are communal people, created for fellowship, love, joy, and celebration! Jesus you created us for celebration.

March 17, 2020

Dear Saint Patrick, we invoke your aid on our church, country, and world in this time of global crisis. As you drove out the snakes of paganism from Ireland, please drive out the illness and fear that is raging across the continents.

Fill us with the peace of Christ and the good news that you spread throughout Ireland about God’s mercy and love. May the rapid spread of this disease decrease to the extent that we will be able to have Mass on Easter Sunday. Help us to put our trust in God, and turn to him and him alone in our fear and anxiety. We ask all this through Jesus’s name, Amen.

Saint Patrick, pray for us

March 13, 2020

Coronavirus update from The Catholic Corner Store

We’ve all seen them. The emails pouring into our inboxes from local and even global organizations assuring us that their top priority is everyone’s safety. It’s a great priority to have. But as Catholics, our top priority is not safety, but HEAVEN.

It’s serving God every moment that we are here, not being afraid of death, and supporting each other in moments of crisis. Pope JPII said, “Be not afraid!”

At the Catholic Corner, we are being careful. But we are also being prayerful. If you want comfort in this time, please stop by to talk with us. We are here to be a light in the darkness. We are here to remember that the world has been through many crises, and will be through many more, and that God always helps us through them. Let us embrace his healing power! And pray for peace, health, and above all, in this troubled, fearful time, increased trust in the Lord!