Saints: Role Models for Men- Sts. Peter and Paul

Yesterday was the Feast Day of Sts. Peter and Paul. Both are awesome and today I decided to highlight some of the incredible things we learn about these men from Scripture.

St. Peter

Made a Mistake/ Picked Himself Up

St. Peter seemed to kind of be the guy who spoke before he acted often during Jesus's ministry. He seemed to think he had the answer and knew what to do, and then through Jesus learned that he was wrong. However, during the Passion of Jesus Christ, we see Peter stumble the greatest. Even though Jesus warned him of the three denials before the cock crows, Peter seems to forget it as he quickly denies knowing who Jesus is three times. Big mistake!

St. Peter, however, becomes the Church's first Pope and one of the first martyrs. How? He admits that he was wrong, and works to set thing right. After Jesus' resurrection, Peter replies to Jesus three times "Lord, you know I love you". He takes on the role of leadership once Jesus ascends into Heaven and leads the early Christians through the beginnings of their evangelization and persecution.

Boss Speaker

During Pentecost, after the Holy Spirit came to the Apostles, they began speaking in various languages and preaching to the Jews. Many were confused, and others thought the Apostles were drunk. St. Peter replied with the first century equivalent of "Dude, it's only 9am!" before launching into an epic speech explaining why it was that the Apostles could speak in tongues and he taught the crowds about the truth of Jesus. At the end, St. Peter asked the people to be baptized in the name of Jesus, and 3000! people were added to the number of Christians that day.

Not to mention, during this time period, Peter and the Apostles were brought before the Pharisees. When the Pharisees would accuse them of crimes and blasphemies and attempt to have the Apostles dig themselves into a hole, Peter always came back with the best response to keep from falling into the Pharisees' traps.

Man of Faith

So one night the Apostles were sailing across the Sea of Galilee and a storm disturbs their boat. They see Jesus walking on the water, at first thinking that it was just a ghost or vision. Peter called out and Jesus invited him out onto the water. Because of his love for Jesus and his faith, Peter stepped out of that boat and walked on top of that rough sea water to join Jesus.

Granted, Peter eventually began to fall and Jesus had to rescue him and rebuke him for his little faith, but just think how amazing it is that, because of his love for Jesus and his desire to follow him, Peter was able to walk on top of the sea even for a short time.

St. Paul

Change of Heart

St. Paul was a strict and dedicated Jewish man before his conversion. He was so dedicated, that when Christianity first came into being, St. Paul (also named Saul) would capture and persecute any Christian person he could find. Just think about that. The man who wrote many of the letters found in the New Testament started out by imprisoning Christian people. However, after a miraculous encounter with Jesus, St. Paul converted and became one of the greatest evangelizers the Church has ever known.

Deep Conviction

St. Paul's characteristic dedication transferred well into his life as a Christian. Often times, when preaching about Jesus in various towns and synagogues, Paul would cause such trouble that mobs of people would gather to beat and stone him. There is one story in Acts that explains that Paul was injured so bad from one stoning that people thought he was dead and dragged him outside the city wells. However, Paul woke up, got to his feet, and walked right back into the city to continue evangelizing to the people like a boss.

Reaching Out

The early Christian movement before Paul was focused on the conversion of the Jewish people. However, it was St. Paul who began to reach out to the Gentiles, the non-Jewish, pagan members of society. At first, this caused a stir within the Christian community, however, St. Peter had a vision and agreed that it was the right thing to do to reach out to the Gentiles. It was St. Paul who was the primary evangelizer to the Gentiles and without him, it might have been some time before Christianity became its own entity that differed from Judaism.

Christianity in Harry Potter's Wizarding World: The Chamber of Secrets Part 1

Ottery St. Catchpole

In Chapter 3, after the Weasley brothers rescue Harry from the Dursleys, the readers first come to the Burrow, which is located in a town called Ottery St. Catchpole. This is a town with both a Muggle and a wizard community.

It turns out that Ottery St. Catchpole is a small town based on the real life Ottery St. Mary around Devon, England. That "St." does not stand for Street, but rather it stands for Saint.

I think the name of the town may reinforce a wizard's knowledge of who or what a saint is. For example, out here in my neck of the woods, city names include St. Paul, St. Charles, St. Peters, and St. Louis (among others). These are not just random names of cities, but also names of saints with a history and a past. Citizens of these cities have the knowledge of where the name of their town comes from. In the same way, wizards who live in Ottery St. Catchpole have the knowledge that the town is named after a Catholic person, thereby having access to info about what a saint is and what makes St. Catchpole a saint.  I think it is interesting that J.K. Rowling changed the name of the real town so that instead of a real saint's name, she used a fake name (there is no St. Catchpole in reality, at least not that I could find. Though in Harry Potter's world, St. Catchpole is a real figure).

Devil

In both the movie and the book, Gilderoy Lockhart describes Cornish pixies as "devilish". I think by examining the appearance and behavior of the pixies, we can better understand the wizard's concept of  the devil. At first, the pixies seem small and harmless. It's kind of a way for them to lure wizards into a false sense of security. As soon as the pixies are released, they wreck havoc throughout the classroom. They attack the students, they take Lockhart's wand, and they pick up Neville and hang him up on the ceiling. While the pixies are small, they are vicious.

All of these describe how the devil manipulates us through sins and temptations. He lures us into a false sense of security by making himself or something bad seem small and harmless and then attacks us after we fall for the trap. In this understanding, Lockhart correctly defines the pixies as devilish and by experience the student wizards also understand why the pixies are defined as devilish.

Bless

While Harry helps him answer fan mail, Lockhart is telling the boy about one of his admirers and says "bless her". This phrase kind of reminds me of the little old ladies who say "bless you" to people as a term of endearment. What does bless mean, according the wizarding world then? Most definitions of bless revolve around asking God to bring His grace down upon the person being blessed, but bless can also mean to bestow good upon someone. I think that the latter definition is how the word bless is used in the wizarding world. Though wizards like Lockhart most likely understand the Christian background behind the term, bless is used by wizards as a way of wishing good things upon someone, as this example from the book demonstrates.

Christened 

At the beginning of Chapter 14 "Cornelius Fudge", the book goes over Hagrid's liking for large creatures and, when it comes to the three-headed dog that we encountered in the first book, it says that Hagrid "christened" the dog Fluffy.

This is not an unfamiliar word, Christened. One of the definitions of christen is to give a name to something, as in "I christen you the U.S.S. Enterprise" or "I christen you Fluffy the three headed dog". However, other definitions refer to the receiving of one's Christian name, particularly during baptism. The word itself is derived from the ancient word for Christian. In the wizard world, if one uses the word christened, it is most likely being used according to the first definition, to name something, but with the understanding that Christ is there in the word, thereby linking the word to the Christian world.


This is only half of my findings from The Chamber of Secrets. Look for a continued examination of Christianity links from Harry's second year in the next installment of the series.

Christianity in Harry Potter's Wizarding World: The Sorcerer's Stone Part 2

Souls and Ghosts

-There are two phrases that Harry Potter hears his first day in the wizarding world that can be quickly missed at first. The bartender at the Leaky Cauldron, upon recognizing Harry as the famous Boy Who Lived, says "Good Lord" and "Bless my soul". First, the term "Good Lord". This is usually used as an address for the Christian God or Jesus Christ, which in today's world is used much more often in a lighthearted context. This term recognizes that God is both Good and that He is Lord. Meaning that at least this wizard, the bartender, has an idea of God as a "Good Lord".

Then there is the phrase "Bless my soul". Some definitions of bless include: to make something or someone holy by saying a special prayer, to ask God to take care of something or someone, and to provide someone or something with a desirable good.  Meaning that not only is the use of the word bless a positive statement, but it is also in a way a prayer, which makes it a spiritual statement. This reinforces the idea that there is a spiritual side to the wizarding world that is often quickly glossed over or seen under the surface value.

In this phrase we also are introduced to the concept of a soul in the wizarding world. Wizards throughout this series address the existence of souls (which is manifested in the existence of ghosts). Christians recognize that the soul is the spiritually eternal part of us that lives on even after we physically die on Earth. In the wizarding world, ghosts are proof of the soul.

-As the first year students await to enter the Great Hall, a group of about twenty ghosts enters the room. The ghosts are described as "Pearly-white and slightly transparent". Ghosts make frequent appearances throughout the Harry Potter series and they pretty much match what the modern concept of ghosts is in the terms of looks and abilities. However, we must quickly realize that these ghosts are the living souls of people who died. These are souls that interact with the physically living. Meaning that the wizard understanding of death and the afterlife is connected with the Christian understanding of Heaven (examined in the first post) as well as the soul.

-A major reason why the soul is important to Harry Potter is because of Voldemort. In the hospital after Harry's adventure to rescue the stone, Dumbledore tells Harry "Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort...". The connection between Voldemort and souls comes up throughout the series, but note that Dumbledore clearly speaks about the reality of souls and points out what connected Quirrell's soul and Voldemort's. Both wizards are connected by dark, wicked emotions and that connection leads them towards sinful actions. Speaking of sinful...

Sin

The engraving on the doors to Gringotts Bank begins with the phrase: "Enter, stranger, but take heed of what awaits the sin of greed". We have all probably heard of the seven deadly sins, right, and that one of them is greed? Well, what is sin?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that sin is first and foremost an offense against God and an abuse of the freedom that He gives us. Sin causes damage in one's relationship with God. It goes on to say that sin also damages one's relationship with the Catholic Church, though I think that sin can damage our relationships with all peoples, whether they are part of the Church or not. Sin is an act contrary to reason.

So, in the case of "the sin of greed" and its relation to Gringotts, being greedy could cause someone to try to steal something valuable or powerful. That act of stealing would be contrary to reason (especially with the special security at Gringotts). Greed at Gringotts would damage one's relationship with the people around them, whether it be the people that they steal from or the staff of Gringotts or the staff of Gringotts or anyone directly connected with the thief. And since the wizard's understanding of God, Heaven, and the afterlife has been addressed, acting upon the sin of greed would damage one's relationship with God and probably land them in the same area as Quirrell and Voldemort.

Christmas and Easter

The first of many times that Christmas is mentioned throughout the entire Harry Potter series begins in chapter 12 "The Mirror of Erised". This is the beginning of the Christmas holiday for Hogwarts.

This brings to the surface two interesting connections between the wizard's world and the Christian world. The first connection is the word holiday. In the modern English vernacular, holiday is more defined as vacation, which is how it is applied to Harry's experience in the wizarding world. However, the fact still remains that they use the word holiday. Break that down: holi-day, or rather holy day, as in Christmas-is-a-holy-day, as in "we're on break because we are celebrating a holy day". Christmas isn't the only holiday that the wizards celebrate. The mention of the Easter holidays is in chapter 14 "Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback".

The second connection is the word Christmas, which breaks down to Christ-mas (Christ-Mass). As stated in the first post, the wizards have an awareness of Jesus Christ and now we know that they even set a school break around the time that the Christian people celebrate Christ's birth. However, we never see wizards discussing Jesus Christ and we never see them going to church or even praying for that matter. Yet, they celebrate a holy day anyway, in the fashion of modern times of putting up decorations and giving each other presents on Christmas day.

Saints

While the main trio attempts to catch Snape in the acting of stealing the Sorcerer's Stone, Ron gets frustrated with Hermoine and says "Honestly, Hermoine, you think all teachers are saints or something". Saints can be taken in a couple different ways.

There is the Catholic understanding of saints, which is acknowledging that someone led a holy life of selflessness and charity by helping the poor and the needy and that person has become a part of a special community in Heaven by interceding in miraculous situations on Earth. There is also the more general Christian or worldly concept of saints, in which a saint is defined as a person who is virtuous, benevolent, and overall a good person, meaning that they can do no wrong and are always focused on the good and positive. I think in this case, Ron means to use the word "saints" in the latter understanding. Now, is Severus Snape worthy of being labeled a saint? That's for you to decide.

Now that many things have been defined through The Sorcerer's Stone, it's time to move on to The Chamber of Secrets in the next installment of the series