Exclusive Interview: Paradise Commander - How a Convinced Agnostic Became a Devout Catholic

2/19/2013

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for Air Force Systems Command.

Antigua? Paradise! I said it best on page 26. "Characteristic of the Eastern Caribbean, Antigua is an island of easterly trade winds, of swaying palms, cheap rum, and steel bands playing to tourists on moonlit beaches; land of a gentle, long suffering but joyous people of quiet dignity; descendants of African slaves." As a bonus, Antigua was transitioning from colonial status to independence. We worked with the British Empire at its twilight!

Fr. James: It was at Antigua that you had a profound religious experience that brought you to join the Catholic Church. Although you explain this amazing journey in your book with great detail, can you tell our readers about your conversion experience? I am sure that they will be very moved by your story.

Al Hughes: I was at an impasse: looking for evidence of God. From page 135, "I was frozen in my dilemma, could not get to God, so The Voice came to me! He broke the ice with a subtle proposition of relationship. I soon realized that knowledge, wisdom and understanding flow from God through relationship, not only or first from my own mental gymnastics!" With relationship established, in short order He delivered a series of unmistakable miracles and directed me to the Catholic Church. After baptism I encountered the Holy Spirit. We committed our lives in total obedience to the will of God. All of this happened between mid-November 1978 and mid-February 1979. He since has guided all our moves and apostolic works: the latest is Paradise Commander.

Fr. James: Once your conversion took place, what was your wife thinking all of this time? Did she remain quiet and just sit back and watch the whole thing unfold? Did she encourage you? Did she push you a little? Or was your religious experience in Antigua so clear that you did not need any pushing?

Al Hughes: Jeannie never, ever pushed. After the conversion events began, she admitted that she had been praying for my conversion for eleven years. As the conversion events unfolded and the years went by, she was a participant, not an external witness. She lived it, as did I. We shared information on everything that went on. Still do. Some of that is evident in Paradise Commander.

Fr. James: What would you say today to people that are searching for the truth? Also, what would you say to people that are considering the Catholic Church as their Church home?

Al Hughes: Avery Cardinal Dulles once wrote a book titled Models of the Church. He points out that "Church" is thought of by people in various ways: a building, or the hierarchy of the priesthood and so forth.

The best model is the one proposed by Saint Paul. The Church is the assembly of its members as the Body of Christ, with the resurrected Christ as the head.

Since the living head of The Church is the way, the truth and the life (He said so, Himself!), then The Church in union with its head is the Truth. The mission of Christ's own Church is faithfully to teach Christ; not to "evolve, update or modernize" the church to keep pace with secular trends. God does not change. The Church has to be the very definition of orthodoxy. Christ only organized one church. It seems natural that when I posed in prayer the question "Which Church?" the immediate answer was "Your spiritual home is the Roman Catholic Church." Why go anywhere else?

Fr. James: How has the Charismatic Renewal been influential in your life?

Al Hughes: Most directly, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Paradise Commander, chapter VIII); secondly, through studies leading to a Benedictine certificate in Spiritual Direction and some of the studies for a Master of Pastoral Ministry at Seattle U. and finally, through long participation with the Southern California Renewal Communities (SCRC), Dominic Berardino, President.

Fr. James: Since your conversion, you have been very active in the Catholic lay apostolate. You have been very active in the day by day experiences of parish life. What would you say to Catholics that might be struggling with their faith? What would you say to those who are fervent and enthusiastic?

Al Hughes: I would say, "To know and not to do, is not yet to know." I would quote Fr. Georges Florovsky: "The Church gives us not a system, but a key; not a plan of God's city, but the means of entering it. . he who has studied only the plan risks remaining outside and not really finding anything." So get with the program! Pray for Relationship! Find where the work of the Church needs help and serve. You are a member of Christ. Move it! Don't just sit there! Of course you are bored! You aren't doing anything! Read! Study! Explore the City of God! Participate! "To know and not to do, is not yet to know."

Fr. James: Finally, Al, what hopes do you have for your first book? Are you hoping that it will help a lot of people? Do you have any plans for a second book?

Al Hughes: It is as you wrote for the back cover, Fr James. "If you are seeking the truth, read this book. If you have found the truth and need some inspiration, read this book." Much of our apostolic work focused on Catholic converts, but there are far more candidates for conversion already in the Church. If I have helped to awaken even a few to embrace the reality of relationship with the Living God, I am content.

A second book? The epilogue of Paradise Commander is what we would term in the Air Force, a "Lessons Learned Report." It offers some detail, but is necessarily short. It has planted many seeds which I would like to cultivate. I have a title and a chapter sequence. Time to get back to work! This interview, itself, inspires me to "Get with the program!" one more time.

Fr. James: Thanks Al for your time and thanks for taking the time to write this excellent book. I am sure that Paradise Commander will inspire a lot of people.

Paradise Commander can be purchased online from Amazon.com.

Lt. Colonel Albert E. Hughes, (USAF RETIRED) holds an M.S. (with distinction) in Systems Management from the Air Force Institute of Technology, an M.M. in Pastoral Ministry from Seattle University (Jesuit) and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction. He taught adults for 25 years as a Catholic catechist and retreat master. He lives in Corpus Christi, TX with his wife Jeannie.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: year of faith, albert hughes, father james farfaglia, Pentecost, conversion, Holy Spirit, Charismatic Renewal, faith, spirituality

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1 - 1 of 1 Comments

Mathew Thankachen O.Praem
2 months ago
Thank you Fr.James for your Interview with Al Hughes, attempting to share his personal conversion from Agnostic to Catholic. In line with your thought, I published an article titled, " The God of Atheists' from a different angle in the ' Indian Currents.Org

The god of the Atheists.
It is absurd to speak of the god of Atheists for the very word ‘Atheists’ stands for ‘non- believer’. Unlike in the past, today ‘communists and Atheists’ are treated, probably with more respect in the society than a theist. They are eulogized for their rational tempo and pragmatic approach. Last week, I happened to be a speaker in one of the Catholic colleges in a symposium on ‘Science and Religion in the Christian perspective’. There were eminent personalities like Dr. Rajpal Singh Kashyap, a scientist himself. The moderator of the dialogue was the Head of the Department for Physics who introduced himself as an “Atheist”. I was taken aback to know such atheists work in catholic college. His talk was such persuasive that I felt my arguments don’t hold much water. The historical acrimony of Galileo by the Church still weakened my thesis. Yet I cudgeled my brain to vindicate that Jesus was the most revolutionary in annihilating the Religious superstitions and irrationality prevailed in the Jewish custom while provoking the Jews to think “critically and creatively”. I too clarified etymologically that “ scientia”(Lat) , “Episteme” (Gk) means “Knowledge” and it was best realized in Jesus.If the definition of Aristotle “ science as a body of Knowledge explained logically and rationally”, Jesus could be a “ scientist par exallance”. While Science established the relationship of man with his immediate and tangible cosmos around, the same “search Engine within man” exceeds a step further to find an “ultimate relationship” as the very world “Religion” (Relegare Lat.) stands for. The Bible, although not a book of natural science, has been the inspiration behind ‘Evolutionary theory and Big Bang theory’. The historical contributions of the Catholic Church in the progress of science such as the Vatican Observatory ( 1891) ‘Pontific Academy of Science’ (1936) and contributions of Catholic clergy like George Lamaiter( Big Bang Theory) Mendel (Genetic theory)etc. added teeth to my argument. Although I don’t hate Atheists and Communists, for Jesus commanded “to love your enemy”, seldom could I appreciate their stand for my concept of ‘Atheism’ was often colored by the Western Atheism as much as the Western concept of Secularism. Although India is a land of million gods and goddesses, I found in the sharing that followed by these eminent experts that Hinduism and Buddhism that shaped the Indian culture had the seed of Atheism. ‘Samkya and Mimamsa’ of the Hindu school were Atheists. For the Ancient Indian Logic, the first cause was illogical. The Religion of Budhism doesn’t believe in any ‘God’, ‘ soul’ or ‘ reincarnation’, despite the ‘Enlightenment of Buddha, neither do they have any role for God in creation ’. They explain creation in terms of ‘immediate cause’ or “dependent origination’. Even when they don’t have a theistic doctrine, they are the exponent of “non-violence’ and “human benevolence’. Properly understood, even the ‘ secularism’ of India envisaged in the constitution is not a “ denial of God” or Religions, rather is the “ strengthening of faith” while the state remains “ neutral” in her relationship. Unlike in Europe, Atheism in India is a part of culture that demands “co-existence”. Some of them vehemently attacked the “organized Religions” for their “failure of God” in carrying out” justice and compassion” in the socio- political context of the nation. In my assessment, it became evident that “whenever the God of Religions failed to create a better human, a bitter human gave birth to a god of Atheism”. It is interesting to note that the number of Atheists in the third world increased between 1970-90, a period in which the Communism was a challenge to the Organized Religion while brain washing them as the “ opium of the people”. Thereafter the decline of Communism in Russia and Eastern Europe “converted the Communists” to accept “Jesus as the revolutionary model” coupled with “ Liberation theology of the Catholic Church” of social justice that brought about a “ hybrid” Christianity of “ Christian orthodoxy” and “ Atheistic/ Communist ortho-praxis’. While the role of God in the ‘Afro-Asian nations is limited to the material welfare and social justice, the role of God in the developed West is a matter of ‘God of Gap’ between private and public life, science and Religion. For instance, the Europeans don’t’ want the Church to intervene in their ‘private morals’ like ‘sexuality, reproduction, abortion’ etc. In the realm of science, they believe God is outside the scope of Test Tube and hence is a “God of gap”. While many accepts the Church’s stand on “Science as a boon for humanity”(Vat.II), they refuse the same for Religion. Fr. Job Kozhamthadam, the founder and pioneer of ‘Institute of Science and Religion’ Pune, in his valedictory statement clarified three basic statuses of science and Religion in the contemporary society vz. Christianity is an enemy of science, Faith and science is complementary, respect the autonomy of both, nevertheless interfering. Despite methodological variation, a teleological convergence of Science and Religion for the welfare of humanity was quite evident in the dissertation. Despite ‘Religion’ varies in its scope and methodology from science, the ‘Rationality of faith’ was affirmed. In this year of “Faith”, one is reminded of the great responsibility not to create “ the god of atheists’ otherwise in a fertile soil of India.
Mathew Thankachen O.Praem.

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