"Dear young people: if you are rooted in Christ, you will fully become the person you are meant to be" Pope Benedict XVI to the young people of Croatia.
|
|
|---|
Showing posts with label Holy Father. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy Father. Show all posts
"What are you looking for?"
"And, startlingly, the voice of Jesus also says to you: 'what are you looking for?' [John 1:35-39] Jesus speaks to you today, through the Gospel and his Holy Spirit. He is your contemporary! He seeks you even before you seek him! While fully respecting your freedom, he approaches each one of you and offers himself as the authentic and decisive response to the longing deep within your hearts, to your desire for a life worth living. Let him take you by the hand! Let him become more and more your friend and companion along life’s journey. Put your trust in him and he will never disappoint you! Jesus enables you to know at first hand the love of God the Father; he helps you realize that your happiness comes from his friendship, from fellowship with him. Why? Because we have been created and saved by love, and it is only in love, the love which desires and seeks the good of others, that we truly experience the meaning of life and find happiness in living it, even amid difficulties, trials and disappointments, even when it means swimming against the tide.
"Dear young people: if you are rooted in Christ, you will fully become the person you are meant to be" Pope Benedict XVI to the young people of Croatia.
"Dear young people: if you are rooted in Christ, you will fully become the person you are meant to be" Pope Benedict XVI to the young people of Croatia.
A blast from the past
Way back in the mid-1980s when he sat for a lengthy interview with Vittorio Messori, which became The Ratzinger Report, then-Cardinal Ratzinger said:
Prior to this lengthy statement, he said, quoting San Carlo Borromeo: "the Church of today does not need any new reformers [or reforms, programs]. The Church needs new saints."
In a February 2007 Q&A session with his pastors after he became bishop of Rome, the Holy Father told them "not to extinguish the charisms. ... If the Lord gives us new gifts, we must be grateful even if they are difficult. It is good that they arise without an initiative from the hierarchy. They result from grassroots initiatives...[that] come from on high, in other words from the gifts of the Holy Spirit" (underlining emphasis added).
He went on to say that the Church "is the body of Christ, and hence a spiritual body, as St. Paul says. The Church is not an international organization; she is not an executive body or an organ of power. Nor is she a social agency, though she does undertake social work, but a spiritual body."
"What is hopeful at the level of the universal Church- and the Church in the Western world- is the rise of the new movements into being, but which have sprung spontaneously from the inner vitality of the faith itself. What is manifested in them - albeit subdued- is something like a pentecostal movement, of the Cursillos, of the movement Focolare, of the neo-catechetical communities, of Communion and Liberation, etc. Certainly all of these movements also give rise to some problems. They also entail greater or lesser dangers. But that happens with all living beings. I am now, to an increasing degree, meeting groups of young people in whom there is a wholehearted adhesion to the whole faith of the Church, young people who want to live this faith fully and who bear in themselves a great missionary élan."
Prior to this lengthy statement, he said, quoting San Carlo Borromeo: "the Church of today does not need any new reformers [or reforms, programs]. The Church needs new saints."
In a February 2007 Q&A session with his pastors after he became bishop of Rome, the Holy Father told them "not to extinguish the charisms. ... If the Lord gives us new gifts, we must be grateful even if they are difficult. It is good that they arise without an initiative from the hierarchy. They result from grassroots initiatives...[that] come from on high, in other words from the gifts of the Holy Spirit" (underlining emphasis added).
He went on to say that the Church "is the body of Christ, and hence a spiritual body, as St. Paul says. The Church is not an international organization; she is not an executive body or an organ of power. Nor is she a social agency, though she does undertake social work, but a spiritual body."
Being practical people, Americans ask, Why does it matter?
Since I posted a musical traditio earlier this week in honor of Mr. Zimmerman's birthday, today I am posting a textual traditio. It bears reminding both of my readers that traditio refers both to what is passed on from generation to generation as well as the act, the how of handing it on. While it is too early to tell whether blogs will from a legitimate part of preserving the patrimony of faith in Christ as handed on from the apostles, I will proceed today anyway with something by Pope Benedict XVI:
During Lent I posted something by A.W. Tozer from his book The Pursuit of God (you can read in its entirety on-line) on this same verse, which is my "life verse." Not too many Catholics have such verses (it is more of an Evangelical thing), but Romans 12:1 is mine. The value of this verse is consitently reinforced by my on-going engagement with Don Gius and my recent serious re-engagement with the works of Bonhoeffer, neither of whom had any patience with passive following. After all, faith, which can only ever really be faith in Christ, is not merely swapping one set of preconceptions for another, which move reduces it to an ideology, something I see all the time, even within the ekklesia.
The mystery of the Cross does not simply confront us; rather, it draws us in and gives a new value to our life.
This existential aspect of the new concept of worship and sacrifice appears with particular clarity in the twelfth chapter of the Letter to the Romans: "I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship [word-like] worship" (v.1) The idea of worshipping God in the manner of the word (logikê latreía) is taken up here, and it means the offering of one's whole existence to God, in which, so to speak, the whole person becomes "word-like", "godlike". In the process, the physical dimension is emphasized: it is our physical existence that must be penetrated by the word and must become a gift to God (Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week- From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection 236)
During Lent I posted something by A.W. Tozer from his book The Pursuit of God (you can read in its entirety on-line) on this same verse, which is my "life verse." Not too many Catholics have such verses (it is more of an Evangelical thing), but Romans 12:1 is mine. The value of this verse is consitently reinforced by my on-going engagement with Don Gius and my recent serious re-engagement with the works of Bonhoeffer, neither of whom had any patience with passive following. After all, faith, which can only ever really be faith in Christ, is not merely swapping one set of preconceptions for another, which move reduces it to an ideology, something I see all the time, even within the ekklesia.
Truth transforms us
In his book Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection, commenting on 1 Timothy 1:13, where St. Paul writes that he was "a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent" of God and the church, going on to write that he "received mercy because [he] had acted ignorantly in unbelief," the Holy Father writes, referring to Paul's studying "under the best masters" to the point he could certainly be considered an expert in the Scriptures, "This combination of expert knowledge and deep ignorance certainly causes us to ponder." Pondering this "reveals the whole problem of knowledge that remains self-sufficient and so does not arrive at the Truth itself, which ought to transform man." (pg. 207)
Homily for Vespers- 2nd Sunday of Easter
Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9
Seeing is believing, or that’s what we’re often told. Think for a minute. How many things do you believe that you do not see? One standard example of this is to ask someone if they believe in the North Pole. When they answer “Yes,” a follow-up question is asked: Have you ever been there? Given the paucity of people who have ever been to the North Pole, the typical answer is, “No”. Is the implication here that you should stop believing in the North Pole because you have never been there? Well, I for one certainly hope not! You see you believe there is a North Pole because you trust the ones who told you it is there, people like your teachers, your parents, even explorers who make documentaries and write about their experience of traveling to this unique point on the earth, many of which include glossy color pictures. Far from being considered wise and intelligent for disbelieving those on whose testimony most people rely, you’d be considered a little wacky, if not a tad insane, even if you are from Missouri, the "show me" state.
We come to believe in Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead on the testimony of witnesses. Our patroness, St. Mary Magdalene, is known as the apostula apostulorum, that is, the "apostle to the apostles" precisely because she was the first witness of this glorious event. As a result of her testimony, some of the apostles hurriedly made their way to Jesus’ tomb. Do you think if they did not find her credible they would have bothered to go? They believed her because, like them, she was a disciple of Jesus. She was known to them. She was one of the women who took care of them, providing for them materially. But her testimony was an invitation, echoing the words of her Lord and God as spoken to John and Andrew, who, we are told in St. John’s Gospel, were disciples of John the Baptist who were so taken with Jesus upon seeing him and hearing their master, say, "Behold, the Lamb of God" (John 1:36), that they followed Him, causing Jesus to bid them "Come and you will see." (John 1:39)
It begins by the testimony of witnesses, of people we know, people we trust, not just now, but people through the ages, spanning the millennia between now and when the event of Jesus’ resurrection occurred, what the author of the Letter to the Hebrews described as a "great a cloud of witnesses." (Heb. 12:1) My friends, we, too, can experience the risen Lord. Where, you might ask. In the sacraments, which are always encounters with the Risen One. In baptism we die, are buried, and rise to new life. In confirmation He anoints us, incorporating us more fully into His priestly people. We meet him in confession, the Tribunal of Divine Mercy, where the only defense allowed is saying we are sorry with all our hearts. Most of all we meet Him in the Eucharist, the sacramentum caritatis, the great sacrament of God’s love, in which He gives Himself to us again and again so that we not only see, but also taste the goodness of God and believe.
Seeing is believing, or that’s what we’re often told. Think for a minute. How many things do you believe that you do not see? One standard example of this is to ask someone if they believe in the North Pole. When they answer “Yes,” a follow-up question is asked: Have you ever been there? Given the paucity of people who have ever been to the North Pole, the typical answer is, “No”. Is the implication here that you should stop believing in the North Pole because you have never been there? Well, I for one certainly hope not! You see you believe there is a North Pole because you trust the ones who told you it is there, people like your teachers, your parents, even explorers who make documentaries and write about their experience of traveling to this unique point on the earth, many of which include glossy color pictures. Far from being considered wise and intelligent for disbelieving those on whose testimony most people rely, you’d be considered a little wacky, if not a tad insane, even if you are from Missouri, the "show me" state.
We come to believe in Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead on the testimony of witnesses. Our patroness, St. Mary Magdalene, is known as the apostula apostulorum, that is, the "apostle to the apostles" precisely because she was the first witness of this glorious event. As a result of her testimony, some of the apostles hurriedly made their way to Jesus’ tomb. Do you think if they did not find her credible they would have bothered to go? They believed her because, like them, she was a disciple of Jesus. She was known to them. She was one of the women who took care of them, providing for them materially. But her testimony was an invitation, echoing the words of her Lord and God as spoken to John and Andrew, who, we are told in St. John’s Gospel, were disciples of John the Baptist who were so taken with Jesus upon seeing him and hearing their master, say, "Behold, the Lamb of God" (John 1:36), that they followed Him, causing Jesus to bid them "Come and you will see." (John 1:39)
It begins by the testimony of witnesses, of people we know, people we trust, not just now, but people through the ages, spanning the millennia between now and when the event of Jesus’ resurrection occurred, what the author of the Letter to the Hebrews described as a "great a cloud of witnesses." (Heb. 12:1) My friends, we, too, can experience the risen Lord. Where, you might ask. In the sacraments, which are always encounters with the Risen One. In baptism we die, are buried, and rise to new life. In confirmation He anoints us, incorporating us more fully into His priestly people. We meet him in confession, the Tribunal of Divine Mercy, where the only defense allowed is saying we are sorry with all our hearts. Most of all we meet Him in the Eucharist, the sacramentum caritatis, the great sacrament of God’s love, in which He gives Himself to us again and again so that we not only see, but also taste the goodness of God and believe.
Jesus, I trust in you
A thought on today's beatification of Bl. Pope John Paul II
For me the personal holiness and heroic virtue of Karol Joseph Wojtyla are evident to anyone who has eyes to see. I guess if people want to be parochial and get worked up about what he would no doubt dismiss as so many bourgeois concerns, that is, choosing to focus on a couple of trees, thus failing to notice the majesty of the forest, they are certainly free to do so. I mean, it's not like Hitch didn't make a few worthwhile observations in his otherwise brutal "take" on Bl Teresa of Calcutta. Few people have changed the whole world for better, done more to usher in God's kingdom, than Bl. Pope John Paul II.
Like the late, great Dominican theologian, Yves Congar, I, too, have concerns about popes beatifiying and canonizing other popes. However, when the voices of literally millions of the faithful shout out repeatedly, "Santo Subito!", there is a very different dynamic. According to the way saints have traditionally been made, he was a saint then and there. So, while still only beatified, not canonized, all of this constitutes so many formalities, which only affirm the reality of what already is definitively. The heroic virtue and courage of Bl. Pope John Paul II immediately and dramatically affected for the better the lives of hundreds of millions.
Looking at another example, do you really think Archbishop Oscar Romero is not already a saint?
Jesus, I trust in you
In support of banning further nuclear tests
I was very privileged to be asked by our recently retired Diocesan Legislative Liaison to read the following statement by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in favor of banning further nuclear tests. I read this statement today in the plaza of our Cathedral to a group of concerned fellow citizens who marched from church to church on this Spring day. Live nuclear tests, while undeniably safer now that they are carried out deep underground, have wreaked havoc on many people from various small communities in southwestern Utah, those known as Downwinders. Probably the best known Utahn to succumb to cancer likely caused by radioactive nuclear tests was our much beloved former governor, Scott Matheson, who is the father of Rep. Jim Matheson. Rep. Matheson, along with former Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr., has diligently looked out for our state with regards to nuclear testing and efforts to store and transport radioactive waste from other parts of the country and around the world in Utah.
Below is the statement I read:
"The Catholic Church opposes the use of nuclear weapons, especially against non-nuclear threats, and it opposes the development of new nuclear weapons. While possession of a minimal nuclear capability may deter the use of nuclear weapons by others, the Church urges that nuclear deterrence be replaced with concrete measures of disarmament based on dialogue and multilateral negotiations. In its nuclear policy the U.S. should commit to never use nuclear weapons first and to reject use of nuclear weapons to deter non-nuclear threats.
"The United States and other nuclear powers must move away from reliance on nuclear weapons for their security. A global ban is more than a moral ideal: it should be a policy goal. In a major victory, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops successfully advocated for ratification of the New START Treaty in 2010.
"The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has urged the Administration and Congress to view arms control treaties not as ends in themselves but as steps along the way to achieving the goal of a mutual, verifiable global ban on nuclear weapons. Much deeper, more irreversible cuts, in both strategic and tactical weapons, are both possible and necessary.
"Pope Benedict XVI stated on January 1, 2008: 'It is truly necessary for all persons of good will to come together to reach concrete agreements aimed at an effective demilitarization, especially in the area of nuclear arms.'"
Below is the statement I read:
"The Catholic Church opposes the use of nuclear weapons, especially against non-nuclear threats, and it opposes the development of new nuclear weapons. While possession of a minimal nuclear capability may deter the use of nuclear weapons by others, the Church urges that nuclear deterrence be replaced with concrete measures of disarmament based on dialogue and multilateral negotiations. In its nuclear policy the U.S. should commit to never use nuclear weapons first and to reject use of nuclear weapons to deter non-nuclear threats.
"The United States and other nuclear powers must move away from reliance on nuclear weapons for their security. A global ban is more than a moral ideal: it should be a policy goal. In a major victory, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops successfully advocated for ratification of the New START Treaty in 2010.
"The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has urged the Administration and Congress to view arms control treaties not as ends in themselves but as steps along the way to achieving the goal of a mutual, verifiable global ban on nuclear weapons. Much deeper, more irreversible cuts, in both strategic and tactical weapons, are both possible and necessary.
"Pope Benedict XVI stated on January 1, 2008: 'It is truly necessary for all persons of good will to come together to reach concrete agreements aimed at an effective demilitarization, especially in the area of nuclear arms.'"
Christos Anesti
Urbi et Orbi - Easter 2011
URBI ET ORBI MESSAGE
OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
BENEDICT XVI
EASTER 2011
OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
BENEDICT XVI
EASTER 2011
"In resurrectione tua, Christe, coeli et terra laetentur!
In your resurrection, O Christ, let heaven and earth rejoice!" (Liturgy of the Hours).
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Rome and across the world,
Easter morning brings us news that is ancient yet ever new: Christ is risen! The echo of this event, which issued forth from Jerusalem twenty centuries ago, continues to resound in the Church, deep in whose heart lives the vibrant faith of Mary, Mother of Jesus, the faith of Mary Magdalene and the other women who first discovered the empty tomb, and the faith of Peter and the other Apostles.
Right down to our own time – even in these days of advanced communications technology – the faith of Christians is based on that same news, on the testimony of those sisters and brothers who saw firstly the stone that had been rolled away from the empty tomb and then the mysterious messengers who testified that Jesus, the Crucified, was risen. And then Jesus himself, the Lord and Master, living and tangible, appeared to Mary Magdalene, to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and finally to all eleven, gathered in the Upper Room (cf. Mk 16:9-14).
The resurrection of Christ is not the fruit of speculation or mystical experience: it is an event which, while it surpasses history, nevertheless happens at a precise moment in history and leaves an indelible mark upon it. The light which dazzled the guards keeping watch over Jesus’ tomb has traversed time and space. It is a different kind of light, a divine light, that has rent asunder the darkness of death and has brought to the world the splendour of God, the splendour of Truth and Goodness.
Just as the sun’s rays in springtime cause the buds on the branches of the trees to sprout and open up, so the radiance that streams forth from Christ’s resurrection gives strength and meaning to every human hope, to every expectation, wish and plan. Hence the entire cosmos is rejoicing today, caught up in the springtime of humanity, which gives voice to creation’s silent hymn of praise. The Easter Alleluia, resounding in the Church as she makes her pilgrim way through the world, expresses the silent exultation of the universe and above all the longing of every human soul that is sincerely open to God, giving thanks to him for his infinite goodness, beauty and truth.
Christos Anesti
JPII: "to live in His love today and forever"
Pope John Paul II passed into life eternal six years ago today. I still miss him tremendously. Watching this elicits very deep emotion in me, it stirs my heart. He lived what he preached to the very end of his life, thus giving faithful witness to the One he faithfully served to his last breath.
In anticipation of his beatification on Divine Mercy Sunday, 1 May 2011, the Holy See has set-up a YouTube channel dedicated to JPII.
Papa Wojtyla, pray for us!
Meum cum sim pulvis et cinis
"But what's puzzling you is the nature of my game"
"I watched with glee/while your kings and queens/fought for ten decades/for the gods they made"
Pope Benedict has observed and publicly stated more than once that violence committed in the name of God or religion is false. In the second volume of his life of our Lord he states, "Violence does not build up the kingdom of God. On the contrary, it is a favorite instrument of the Antichrist, however idealistic its religious motivation may be. It serves not humanity, but inhumanity."
Even though today is Friday, is not a day of either fasting or abstinence because today we observe the Solemnity of the Annunciation. So, say a Memoraré and have a cheeseburger. Let's remember that by His cross and resurrection, Christ broke the cycle of violence showed the great lie behind the myth of retributive violence. This is why we should all rejoice that just before Lent Pat Quinn, the governor of Illinois, abolished the death penalty in that state.
Magnificat anima mea Dominum
Kermit Gosnell and the Gospel of Life, or taking an unpopular stand
Since it's unexpectedly turned into social justice week here at Καθολικός διάκονος, I thought I would post something today on an issue that presents a real conundrum for a lot of Catholics, namely the case of the abortion practitioner, Kermit Gosnell. I would suggest that a necessary prologomena to this post is my post from last Saturday, the title of which is taken from Romans 12:17, "Repay no one evil for evil." To summarize, if we are truly followers of Jesus Christ, we must forgive, but forgiveness is not only a process, in many cases it is only made possible by the grace of God, that vengeance is the Lord's, as St. Paul tells us, and that mercy does not cancel out justice, even in the kingdom of God, as Pope Benedict wrote about with great insight in his encyclical letter Spe Salvi.
What Kermit Gosnell stands accused of is atrocious. I have no problem calling it evil. Elizabeth Scalia, who blogs as The Anchoress has a post that details Gosnell's alleged doings, which constitute a whole lot more than being responsible for the death of a woman for whom he performed an abortion and brutally killing babies who survived his botched abortion attempts. Specifically, as The Anchoress details, "Prosecutors in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania announced today they will seek the death penalty for abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell, who faces charge[s] related to killing a woman in a botched abortion and killing babies infanticides." As a result of being charged with first-degree murder, prosecutors let Gosnell's attorney know "that they will seek death by lethal injection if a jury finds Gosnell guilty" on this charge. Additionally, "Gosnell faces a third-degree murder charge related to the death of 41-year-old Karnamaya Mongar from a botched abortion Gosnell performed. Mongar died November 20, 2009, after overdosing on anesthetics prescribed by the doctor." Gosnell stands accused of a lot more than these crimes. Elizabeth provides a link to the Grand Jury report, which I provide here for the sake of ease with a warning that the contents are horrifying.
This is clearly a case when we realize that it’s not easy to take an unpopular stand, even when it’s right, but as followers of Jesus, even in a case this gruesome, we must oppose the death penalty. In his encylical Evangelium Vitae, Pope John Paul II saw rising opposition to the death penalty as great sign of hope, writing, "Among the signs of hope we should also count the spread, at many levels of public opinion... evidence of a growing public opposition to the death penalty, even when such a penalty is seen as a kind of 'legitimate defence' on the part of society. Modern society in fact has the means of effectively suppressing crime by rendering criminals harmless without definitively denying them the chance to reform" (par. 27).
Now, it is inadvisable to write about the death penalty without addressing the issue of moral equivalence. Probably the greatest consternation that arises as a result of the late Cardinal Joseph Bernadin's seamless garment of life proposal is that it seems (only because many don't take the time familiarize themselves with what Bernardin actually proposed) to establish in the minds of many Catholics a moral equivalence between abortion and the death penalty. Of course, there is no moral equivalence between the taking of an innocent, helpless human life and that of a person who is guilty of murder, or, as with Gosnell, multiple murders. In this country, insuring that the person facing the death penalty is actually guilty of the crime he is accused of, or often convicted of, is very problematic, to say the least, but that is a justice issue for another day.
This certainly becomes an issue at election time, when we routinely face a choice between candidates who oppose abortion, but who support the death penalty and vice-versa. Well, because they are not morally equivalent, if your decision comes down solely to this issue, which it usually does not, proportional reasoning indicates you go with the candidate who opposes abortion and supports the death penalty. This is just one case study in how difficult it is to bring our faith to bear when exercising our rights as citizens in a representative democracy, which requires us to use proportional reasoning.
Also in Evangelium Vitae, JPII states,
A friend reminded me today of something Don Giussani said that synthesizes and summarizes this all very well: "The Mystery as mercy remains the last word even on all the awful possibilities of history."
What Kermit Gosnell stands accused of is atrocious. I have no problem calling it evil. Elizabeth Scalia, who blogs as The Anchoress has a post that details Gosnell's alleged doings, which constitute a whole lot more than being responsible for the death of a woman for whom he performed an abortion and brutally killing babies who survived his botched abortion attempts. Specifically, as The Anchoress details, "Prosecutors in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania announced today they will seek the death penalty for abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell, who faces charge[s] related to killing a woman in a botched abortion and killing babies infanticides." As a result of being charged with first-degree murder, prosecutors let Gosnell's attorney know "that they will seek death by lethal injection if a jury finds Gosnell guilty" on this charge. Additionally, "Gosnell faces a third-degree murder charge related to the death of 41-year-old Karnamaya Mongar from a botched abortion Gosnell performed. Mongar died November 20, 2009, after overdosing on anesthetics prescribed by the doctor." Gosnell stands accused of a lot more than these crimes. Elizabeth provides a link to the Grand Jury report, which I provide here for the sake of ease with a warning that the contents are horrifying.
Kermit Gosnell
This is clearly a case when we realize that it’s not easy to take an unpopular stand, even when it’s right, but as followers of Jesus, even in a case this gruesome, we must oppose the death penalty. In his encylical Evangelium Vitae, Pope John Paul II saw rising opposition to the death penalty as great sign of hope, writing, "Among the signs of hope we should also count the spread, at many levels of public opinion... evidence of a growing public opposition to the death penalty, even when such a penalty is seen as a kind of 'legitimate defence' on the part of society. Modern society in fact has the means of effectively suppressing crime by rendering criminals harmless without definitively denying them the chance to reform" (par. 27).
Now, it is inadvisable to write about the death penalty without addressing the issue of moral equivalence. Probably the greatest consternation that arises as a result of the late Cardinal Joseph Bernadin's seamless garment of life proposal is that it seems (only because many don't take the time familiarize themselves with what Bernardin actually proposed) to establish in the minds of many Catholics a moral equivalence between abortion and the death penalty. Of course, there is no moral equivalence between the taking of an innocent, helpless human life and that of a person who is guilty of murder, or, as with Gosnell, multiple murders. In this country, insuring that the person facing the death penalty is actually guilty of the crime he is accused of, or often convicted of, is very problematic, to say the least, but that is a justice issue for another day.
This certainly becomes an issue at election time, when we routinely face a choice between candidates who oppose abortion, but who support the death penalty and vice-versa. Well, because they are not morally equivalent, if your decision comes down solely to this issue, which it usually does not, proportional reasoning indicates you go with the candidate who opposes abortion and supports the death penalty. This is just one case study in how difficult it is to bring our faith to bear when exercising our rights as citizens in a representative democracy, which requires us to use proportional reasoning.
The "clinic" where Gosnell provided "Family Planning" services
Also in Evangelium Vitae, JPII states,
"The problem [of the death penalty] must be viewed in the context of a system of penal justice ever more in line with human dignity and thus, in the end, with God's plan for man and society. The primary purpose of the punishment which society inflicts is 'to redress the disorder caused by the offence'. Public authority must redress the violation of personal and social rights by imposing on the offender an adequate punishment for the crime, as a condition for the offender to regain the exercise of his or her freedom. In this way authority also fulfils the purpose of defending public order and ensuring people's safety, while at the same time offering the offender an incentive and help to change his or her behaviour and be rehabilitated."I would apologize for posting such long extracts of papal teaching, except that when it comes to these so-called "hot button" issues that tend to stir up a lot of emotion, it is important for both of my readers to know that I am not merely offering my own opinion. It is also good to be reminded, in this case as well as the one raised by recent efforts to eliminate or severely limit the right of workers to collectively bargain, that we shouldn't only appeal to church teaching when it suits our personal politics, that is, fits with our preconceptions. How does this challenge us to follow Christ with ever more fidelity? More importantly, we must ask ourselves how advocating for Gosnell's death affects our witness to the inherent dignity of all human life, created in the imago dei, which even the most heinous sins cannot completely efface; the radicality necessitated by the Gospel about which I posted last Saturday.
"Therefore, he continues, 'It is clear that, for these purposes to be achieved, the nature and extent of the punishment must be carefully evaluated and decided upon, and ought not go to the extreme of executing the offender except in cases of absolute necessity: in other words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society. Today however, as a result of steady improvements in the organization of the penal system, such cases are very rare, if not practically non-existent'.
"Finally, In any event, the principle set forth in the new Catechism of the Catholic Church remains valid: 'If bloodless means are sufficient to defend human lives against an aggressor and to protect public order and the safety of persons, public authority must limit itself to such means, because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person'" (par. 56; CCC par. 2266-2267).
A friend reminded me today of something Don Giussani said that synthesizes and summarizes this all very well: "The Mystery as mercy remains the last word even on all the awful possibilities of history."
"Repay no one evil for evil"
Having posted last night about Cardinal George's desire to make hearing confessions an important part of his ministry after his retirement from being the archbishop of Chicago, this morning I encountered something via Quaerere Deum on the absolute necessity to forgive. The brief piece, which originated on Desert Wisdom, is about a Russian monk, Elder Sampson Sievers, who passed back in 1979. Like Dostoevsky's remarkable Elder Zosima in The Brothers Karamazov, Elder Sampson was a spiritual father to many. I guess the best equivalent in the West would be a spiritual director, often conceived of, from the Celtic tradition, as a soul-friend. However, the relationship between a person and her/his spiritual father is a different, deeper kind of relationship. It doesn't take on the kind of pragmatic "let's get down to business" character that seems to comprise a lot of what passes for spiritual direction in the efficient West.
The post on Desert Wisdom says that Elder Sampson "was a man well-equipped to speak on the subject of forgiveness. As a young novice monk, he was arrested by the Communist authorities, shot in a mass execution, and thrown into a common grave. By Divine Providence he survived the shooting, and was pulled out of the grave still breathing by his brother monks and nursed back to health. Later he was arrested again and spent nearly twenty years in Communist concentration camps. But he never held onto bitterness and resentment: He completely forgave both his executioners and his torturers. In his later years, when he was serving as a spiritual father to many people, he was especially tough when his spiritual children refused to forgive someone, even for some petty annoyance. He said: 'I’ve always concluded: this means that they still have not gotten the point, that the whole secret, that all the salt of Christianity lies in this: to forgive, to excuse, to justify, not to know, not to remember.'"
I find this both beautiful and troubling. The reason I find it troubling is the exhortation not to remember evil and even to justify evil. I see why I should not dwell on on evil. I even see that to forgive means, to some extent, to excuse evil, but do I really have to both forget and justify evil? Given his experience, Elder Sampson's teaching cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand. There was a conversation I participated in last week about the absolute need for one who follows Christ to forgive as Jesus taught us in last Sunday's Gospel, and He demonstrated by praying for those who killed Him even as the were nailing Him to the Cross: "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father" in the recognition that God "makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust" (Matt.5:43-56).
It is undeniable that we are to pray for our enemies and love those who persecute us. This falls into the category of easy to say, difficult to live. However, what about really egregious things? In no way do we realize that, unlike our blessed the Lord, we are not yet perfect as our Father heaven is perfect than when it comes to the need to forgive. As Elder Sampson directed, forgiving requires at least excusing evil, if not justifying it or forgetting it. Forgiveness, certainly for truly evil acts deliberately committed, as well as very often for trifling things, must be a choice, but it requires grace, too. I believe that this grace takes the form of remembering how much we need God's mercy, Jesus Christ (i.e., "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us"). Nonetheless, we sometimes first have to pray for the grace to pray for another, to truly desire the best for him/her. For many who have been gravely harmed by another this is a process, a two steps forward and one step back proposition (or even one step forward and two steps back, depending on the day). The need to forgive, to be merciful because God has given us mercy, always, inevitably, and necessarily brings up the issue of justice.
I his encyclical Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict reflects deeply on justice and mercy. I think he lays things out more clearly than does Elder Sampson: mercy cannot cancel out the demands of justice:
We cannot neglect weighty matters, that is, our stance towards thos who deliberately commit truly evil acts. Take as an example our opposition as Catholics to the death penalty: I can’t fail to recognize the point-of-view of someone who has had a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a child, a near and dear friend who was brutally murdered and accept their very human response to such an occurrence, which often, at least initially, sees justice as an eye-for-an-eye and tooth-for-a-tooth. We must help them see that result of such a stance, particularly in the face of evil, only has the effect, as Tevye, from Fiddler on the Roof, sagely observed, of leaving everyone blind and toothless.
In recently counseling someone who is dealing with the rape and murder of someone close to him, he told me about how a close friend had mocked his opposition to the death penalty and his faith by saying to him about the murderer: "I guess you can look forward to shaking hands with that bastard in heaven." The scandal of Christianity is that, while this is not a certainty, it is a possibility. Further, it is a possibility we are called to help bring about. This is how we help accomplish God's purpose, assisting in the divine work of bringing life from death. It is hard work, indeed!
In light of these provocations, as a Christians, let us recognize how far our hearts from are from where they need to be, from where we want them to be (if we are serious about being Jesus' disciples). In order to do so, we have to be reassured of what the Holy Father teaches us; with God there is justice, even for those who ultimately recognize their need for divine mercy. This is no different from what St. Paul wrote a long time ago:
The post on Desert Wisdom says that Elder Sampson "was a man well-equipped to speak on the subject of forgiveness. As a young novice monk, he was arrested by the Communist authorities, shot in a mass execution, and thrown into a common grave. By Divine Providence he survived the shooting, and was pulled out of the grave still breathing by his brother monks and nursed back to health. Later he was arrested again and spent nearly twenty years in Communist concentration camps. But he never held onto bitterness and resentment: He completely forgave both his executioners and his torturers. In his later years, when he was serving as a spiritual father to many people, he was especially tough when his spiritual children refused to forgive someone, even for some petty annoyance. He said: 'I’ve always concluded: this means that they still have not gotten the point, that the whole secret, that all the salt of Christianity lies in this: to forgive, to excuse, to justify, not to know, not to remember.'"
I find this both beautiful and troubling. The reason I find it troubling is the exhortation not to remember evil and even to justify evil. I see why I should not dwell on on evil. I even see that to forgive means, to some extent, to excuse evil, but do I really have to both forget and justify evil? Given his experience, Elder Sampson's teaching cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand. There was a conversation I participated in last week about the absolute need for one who follows Christ to forgive as Jesus taught us in last Sunday's Gospel, and He demonstrated by praying for those who killed Him even as the were nailing Him to the Cross: "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father" in the recognition that God "makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust" (Matt.5:43-56).
It is undeniable that we are to pray for our enemies and love those who persecute us. This falls into the category of easy to say, difficult to live. However, what about really egregious things? In no way do we realize that, unlike our blessed the Lord, we are not yet perfect as our Father heaven is perfect than when it comes to the need to forgive. As Elder Sampson directed, forgiving requires at least excusing evil, if not justifying it or forgetting it. Forgiveness, certainly for truly evil acts deliberately committed, as well as very often for trifling things, must be a choice, but it requires grace, too. I believe that this grace takes the form of remembering how much we need God's mercy, Jesus Christ (i.e., "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us"). Nonetheless, we sometimes first have to pray for the grace to pray for another, to truly desire the best for him/her. For many who have been gravely harmed by another this is a process, a two steps forward and one step back proposition (or even one step forward and two steps back, depending on the day). The need to forgive, to be merciful because God has given us mercy, always, inevitably, and necessarily brings up the issue of justice.
I his encyclical Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict reflects deeply on justice and mercy. I think he lays things out more clearly than does Elder Sampson: mercy cannot cancel out the demands of justice:
"To protest against God in the name of justice is not helpful. A world without God is a world without hope (cf. Eph 2:12). Only God can create justice. And faith gives us the certainty that he does so. The image of the Last Judgement is not primarily an image of terror, but an image of hope; for us it may even be the decisive image of hope. Is it not also a frightening image? I would say: it is an image that evokes responsibility, an image, therefore, of that fear of which Saint Hilary spoke when he said that all our fear has its place in love. God is justice and creates justice. This is our consolation and our hope. And in his justice there is also grace. This we know by turning our gaze to the crucified and risen Christ. Both these things—justice and grace—must be seen in their correct inner relationship. Grace does not cancel out justice. It does not make wrong into right. It is not a sponge which wipes everything away, so that whatever someone has done on earth ends up being of equal value. Dostoevsky, for example, was right to protest against this kind of Heaven and this kind of grace in his novel The Brothers Karamazov. Evildoers, in the end, do not sit at table at the eternal banquet beside their victims without distinction, as though nothing had happened" (par. 44).
We cannot neglect weighty matters, that is, our stance towards thos who deliberately commit truly evil acts. Take as an example our opposition as Catholics to the death penalty: I can’t fail to recognize the point-of-view of someone who has had a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a child, a near and dear friend who was brutally murdered and accept their very human response to such an occurrence, which often, at least initially, sees justice as an eye-for-an-eye and tooth-for-a-tooth. We must help them see that result of such a stance, particularly in the face of evil, only has the effect, as Tevye, from Fiddler on the Roof, sagely observed, of leaving everyone blind and toothless.
In recently counseling someone who is dealing with the rape and murder of someone close to him, he told me about how a close friend had mocked his opposition to the death penalty and his faith by saying to him about the murderer: "I guess you can look forward to shaking hands with that bastard in heaven." The scandal of Christianity is that, while this is not a certainty, it is a possibility. Further, it is a possibility we are called to help bring about. This is how we help accomplish God's purpose, assisting in the divine work of bringing life from death. It is hard work, indeed!
In light of these provocations, as a Christians, let us recognize how far our hearts from are from where they need to be, from where we want them to be (if we are serious about being Jesus' disciples). In order to do so, we have to be reassured of what the Holy Father teaches us; with God there is justice, even for those who ultimately recognize their need for divine mercy. This is no different from what St. Paul wrote a long time ago:
"Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.' To the contrary, 'if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom. 12:17-19- ESV).
"If there's Lord above... give me something in to believe in"
It is funny how much blogging becomes part of my life. Not having posted for two days seems like a long time. I think the Friday traditio is a good way to get back in the saddle. Today I do so with Poison's Give Me Something To Believe In. The heavy metal/glam/hair bands of the '80s were nothing if not melodramatic, but many times they struck heart chords. For my money the best songwriter in the group is Brett Michaels.
So-called existential angst is part and parcel of the human condition. As Christians, we attribute this to our fallenness, which is the result of original sin. I recapitulate the original sin each and every time I sin; those times I usurp God and seek to be self-determining, deciding for myself what is right and what is wrong with no reference to God or other people. This usually takes the form of me putting myself first, looking out for number one, as it were. Nothing could be more antithetical to following Christ, who calls me to self-emptying service of others, the most important feature of the diakonia to which I am all called first through baptism and then by ordination.
Writing about Israel to the church in Rome, St. Paul said- "As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all" (verses 28-32 underlining emphasis mine).
God's mercy is Jesus Christ. Hence, I don't need something to believe in, but Someone and not just any old body, but someone who believes in me, not just enough to die for me, but to rise from the dead for me and to remain with me by the power of His Spirit! As Pope Benedict declared at the end of his first Easter Urbi et Orbi message back in 2006: "Christus resurrexit, quia Deus caritas est!", or "Christ is resurrected because God is love." The Gospel isn't free, but it doesn't cost money, it costs me everything, but what I receive is infinitely greater that what, even at my best, I am capable of giving.
Let's not forget the veterans of today's conflicts, especially those traumatized and shaken, wounded physically, mentally, and spiritually, by asking that they come to see and leverage God's love and mercy for them, just as we pray for ourselves. As Brett's heartfelt lyrics remind us, especially when he remembers his friend, experience always trumps ideology.
So-called existential angst is part and parcel of the human condition. As Christians, we attribute this to our fallenness, which is the result of original sin. I recapitulate the original sin each and every time I sin; those times I usurp God and seek to be self-determining, deciding for myself what is right and what is wrong with no reference to God or other people. This usually takes the form of me putting myself first, looking out for number one, as it were. Nothing could be more antithetical to following Christ, who calls me to self-emptying service of others, the most important feature of the diakonia to which I am all called first through baptism and then by ordination.
Writing about Israel to the church in Rome, St. Paul said- "As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all" (verses 28-32 underlining emphasis mine).
God's mercy is Jesus Christ. Hence, I don't need something to believe in, but Someone and not just any old body, but someone who believes in me, not just enough to die for me, but to rise from the dead for me and to remain with me by the power of His Spirit! As Pope Benedict declared at the end of his first Easter Urbi et Orbi message back in 2006: "Christus resurrexit, quia Deus caritas est!", or "Christ is resurrected because God is love." The Gospel isn't free, but it doesn't cost money, it costs me everything, but what I receive is infinitely greater that what, even at my best, I am capable of giving.
Let's not forget the veterans of today's conflicts, especially those traumatized and shaken, wounded physically, mentally, and spiritually, by asking that they come to see and leverage God's love and mercy for them, just as we pray for ourselves. As Brett's heartfelt lyrics remind us, especially when he remembers his friend, experience always trumps ideology.
Purgatorio, the fire within
Sandro Magister's 17 January article over on Chiesa in which, prompted by Pope Benedict XVI's 12 January catechesis on St. Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510), he took up the topic of purgatory is something I have thought a lot about this past week. St. Catherine of Genoa is best known for her vision of purgatory. In particular, Magister points out the congruence between the Holy Father's audience and a passage from his magnificent encyclical letter, which is too little known and read: Spe Salvi. I cannot think of purgatory, however, without taking into consideration N.T. Wright's objections to what he sees as a late-developing and uniquely Catholic doctrine.
Wright lays out his objection to the doctrine of purgatory in a chapter of his book Surprised By Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. In fact, Wright's vehement argument that purgatory is effectively a made-up doctrine, like the doctrine of limbo- that place in between heaven and hell that was posited to give unbaptized infants a place to go and that was effectively retracted by the International Theological Commission, which belongs to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in a 2007 document that was some ten years in the making, The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptized- sparked a charge of anti-Catholicism against him by the late Fr. Richard John Neuhaus. The good news is that these two friends, while never agreeing about purgatory, did attain reconciliation. Anyone who is interested can read Fr. Neuhaus' objections to Wright's critique in his piece The Possibilities and Perils in Being a Really Smart Bishop in the April 2008 issue of First Things and Wright's response in the June/July 2008 issue of the same journal.
It is not my intent to lay out Wright's argument contra purgatory at great length. "Purgatory," he correctly observes, "is basically a Roman Catholic doctrine. It is not held as such in the Eastern Orthodox church, and it was decisively rejected, on biblical and theological grounds and not merely because of antipathy to particular abuses [i.e., the selling of indulgences] at the Reformation." Wright goes on to accurately observe that purgatory was intially laid out at some length by "Aquinas in the thirteenth century and Dante in the early fourteenth." It is here that Bishop Wright points out something very vital about purgatory that gives the idea impetus and theological credibility, namely that as a result of these treatments of purgatory, likely more Dante's than Aquinas', "the notion became woven deeply into the entire psyche of the whole period." Of course it remains deeply woven into the psyche of subsequent periods, too. Wright goes on to note that "[t]he poetic and dramatic power of the idea of purgatory is evident," not only in Dante, but also in Newman's lovely poem Dream of Gerontius.
The his catechesis on St. Catherine of Genoa, the pope notes that "Catherine, in her mystical experience, never received specific revelations on purgatory or on the souls being purified there." Nonetheless, in her writings about purgatory we encounter "characteristics that were original in her time." First among her unique insights is "the 'place' of the purification of souls." Prior to her time purgatory "was depicted mainly using images linked to space: a certain space was conceived of in which purgatory was supposed to be located." For Catherine purgatory is "an interior fire." This insight flows from "her own experience of profound sorrow for the sins committed, in comparison with God’s infinite love." So, from the first "moment of [her] conversion... [she] suddenly became aware of God’s goodness, of the infinite distance of her own life from this goodness and of a burning fire within her. And this is the fire that purifies, the interior fire of purgatory." So, rather than locating purgation in the afterlife, St. Catherine "begins with the inner experience of her own life on the way to Eternity."
"'The soul', Catherine says, 'presents itself to God still bound to the desires and suffering that derive from sin and this makes it impossible for it to enjoy the beatific vision of God'. Catherine asserts that God is so pure and holy that a soul stained by sin cannot be in the presence of the divine majesty." We, too, are "aware of the immense love and perfect justice of God and consequently [we] suffer for having failed to respond in a correct and perfect way to this love." The Holy Father concludes that "love for God itself becomes a flame, love itself cleanses it from the residue of sin."
Magister points out that the relevant parts of Spe Salvi are paragraphs 43-48. Central to this part of the Holy Father's letter on hope is when he points to the writings of "recent theologians" who "are of the opinion that the fire which both burns and saves is Christ himself, the Judge and Saviour. The encounter with him is the decisive act of judgement. Before his gaze all falsehood melts away. This encounter with him, as it burns us, transforms and frees us, allowing us to become truly ourselves. All that we build during our lives can prove to be mere straw, pure bluster, and it collapses. Yet in the pain of this encounter, when the impurity and sickness of our lives become evident to us, there lies salvation. His gaze, the touch of his heart heals us through an undeniably painful transformation 'as through fire'. But it is a blessed pain, in which the holy power of his love sears through us like a flame, enabling us to become totally ourselves and thus totally of God" (par. 47).
As Pope Benedict and Bishop Wright both indicate, such matters are too important to be left entirely to theologians. Painters, poets, composers and, in modern times, film-makers demonstrate how consonant the doctrine of purgatory is with the human heart (how deeply woven it is into our Christian psyche), arising from our experience of being fallen creatures in a fallen world, albeit one in the process of being redeemed and purified (Rom. 8:18-30). The obvious example is the Purgatorio of Dante's Divine Comedy (I urge you to check out the Divine Comedy via the University of Texas' wonderful website). Cardinal Newman's Dream of Gerontius holds a special place for me, as does Elgar's brilliant oratorio that sets Newman's poem to music, which I was privileged to hear at The Cathedral of the Madeleine back in August 2009.
Wright lays out his objection to the doctrine of purgatory in a chapter of his book Surprised By Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. In fact, Wright's vehement argument that purgatory is effectively a made-up doctrine, like the doctrine of limbo- that place in between heaven and hell that was posited to give unbaptized infants a place to go and that was effectively retracted by the International Theological Commission, which belongs to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in a 2007 document that was some ten years in the making, The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptized- sparked a charge of anti-Catholicism against him by the late Fr. Richard John Neuhaus. The good news is that these two friends, while never agreeing about purgatory, did attain reconciliation. Anyone who is interested can read Fr. Neuhaus' objections to Wright's critique in his piece The Possibilities and Perils in Being a Really Smart Bishop in the April 2008 issue of First Things and Wright's response in the June/July 2008 issue of the same journal.
It is not my intent to lay out Wright's argument contra purgatory at great length. "Purgatory," he correctly observes, "is basically a Roman Catholic doctrine. It is not held as such in the Eastern Orthodox church, and it was decisively rejected, on biblical and theological grounds and not merely because of antipathy to particular abuses [i.e., the selling of indulgences] at the Reformation." Wright goes on to accurately observe that purgatory was intially laid out at some length by "Aquinas in the thirteenth century and Dante in the early fourteenth." It is here that Bishop Wright points out something very vital about purgatory that gives the idea impetus and theological credibility, namely that as a result of these treatments of purgatory, likely more Dante's than Aquinas', "the notion became woven deeply into the entire psyche of the whole period." Of course it remains deeply woven into the psyche of subsequent periods, too. Wright goes on to note that "[t]he poetic and dramatic power of the idea of purgatory is evident," not only in Dante, but also in Newman's lovely poem Dream of Gerontius.
Lust, which artwork based on Dante's Purgatorio I chose due to another post I read and commented on today
The his catechesis on St. Catherine of Genoa, the pope notes that "Catherine, in her mystical experience, never received specific revelations on purgatory or on the souls being purified there." Nonetheless, in her writings about purgatory we encounter "characteristics that were original in her time." First among her unique insights is "the 'place' of the purification of souls." Prior to her time purgatory "was depicted mainly using images linked to space: a certain space was conceived of in which purgatory was supposed to be located." For Catherine purgatory is "an interior fire." This insight flows from "her own experience of profound sorrow for the sins committed, in comparison with God’s infinite love." So, from the first "moment of [her] conversion... [she] suddenly became aware of God’s goodness, of the infinite distance of her own life from this goodness and of a burning fire within her. And this is the fire that purifies, the interior fire of purgatory." So, rather than locating purgation in the afterlife, St. Catherine "begins with the inner experience of her own life on the way to Eternity."
"'The soul', Catherine says, 'presents itself to God still bound to the desires and suffering that derive from sin and this makes it impossible for it to enjoy the beatific vision of God'. Catherine asserts that God is so pure and holy that a soul stained by sin cannot be in the presence of the divine majesty." We, too, are "aware of the immense love and perfect justice of God and consequently [we] suffer for having failed to respond in a correct and perfect way to this love." The Holy Father concludes that "love for God itself becomes a flame, love itself cleanses it from the residue of sin."
Magister points out that the relevant parts of Spe Salvi are paragraphs 43-48. Central to this part of the Holy Father's letter on hope is when he points to the writings of "recent theologians" who "are of the opinion that the fire which both burns and saves is Christ himself, the Judge and Saviour. The encounter with him is the decisive act of judgement. Before his gaze all falsehood melts away. This encounter with him, as it burns us, transforms and frees us, allowing us to become truly ourselves. All that we build during our lives can prove to be mere straw, pure bluster, and it collapses. Yet in the pain of this encounter, when the impurity and sickness of our lives become evident to us, there lies salvation. His gaze, the touch of his heart heals us through an undeniably painful transformation 'as through fire'. But it is a blessed pain, in which the holy power of his love sears through us like a flame, enabling us to become totally ourselves and thus totally of God" (par. 47).
As Pope Benedict and Bishop Wright both indicate, such matters are too important to be left entirely to theologians. Painters, poets, composers and, in modern times, film-makers demonstrate how consonant the doctrine of purgatory is with the human heart (how deeply woven it is into our Christian psyche), arising from our experience of being fallen creatures in a fallen world, albeit one in the process of being redeemed and purified (Rom. 8:18-30). The obvious example is the Purgatorio of Dante's Divine Comedy (I urge you to check out the Divine Comedy via the University of Texas' wonderful website). Cardinal Newman's Dream of Gerontius holds a special place for me, as does Elgar's brilliant oratorio that sets Newman's poem to music, which I was privileged to hear at The Cathedral of the Madeleine back in August 2009.
What can save us from ourselves?: The tragedy in Arizona
I noted in the immediate aftermath of the tragic shootings in Tucson, Arizona that ideological moralizing is an inadequate response to evil. Beyond that, it is an act of self-deception, in which we try to convince ourselves that a few feeble legislative actions will solve the problem of evil in the world. The following is a statement by Communion and Liberation in the U.S. on this horrendous event and proposes the only adequate response, Christ Jesus, the Lord:
Who cannot be saddened and sickened by the shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and seventeen others, including six who died, among whom was a nine year-old girl? Yet, we so quickly seek the source of blame. We announce our findings. We accuse others or inadequate policies. We provide solutions that can be implemented. Then we argue about them for a time and move on. These events, however, invite us to ask profound questions, such as why such a thing should have happened in the first place, or to ask questions regarding the meaning of justice and evil.
We all thirst for love and truth, for goodness and fulfillment, and the shootings in Tucson outrage us for they contradict these desires. Yet, despite our thirst, evil dwells in all of us. This dramatic event is a reminder of the wound that affects each and every one of us, a reminder of our own evil.
We desire justice, and yet human justice is so limited in front of evil: it possesses so little power to restore the good destroyed by it. No one can give back the lives of those killed. No policy can resurrect a nine year-old girl. There is only One who possesses the power to restore all the good destroyed and he ardently desires to use it: God. “Man […] needs an answer that he himself cannot give,” as Pope Benedict states in his most recent book.
What is needed on our part? That our thirst for happiness become a simple acceptance of the gift of His presence among us. A real conversion is needed, and “Part of this conversion is putting God in the first place again. […] We must, so to speak, dare again the experiment with God—so as to allow him to work within our society.”(Benedict XVI)
We offer the words of Pope Benedict in his homily on Christmas Eve as the most adequate statement on such a tragedy, particularly pained by the suffering of the families of those who died or were wounded:
"God has anticipated us with the gift of his Son. God anticipates us again and again in unexpected ways. He does not cease to search for us, to raise us up as often as we might need. He does not abandon the lost sheep in the wilderness into which it had strayed. God does not allow himself to be confounded by our sin. Again and again he begins afresh with us. But he is still waiting for us to join him in love. He loves us, so that we too may become people who love, so that there may be peace on earth."
Communion and Liberation
January, 2011
January, 2011
Not just another "manic Monday"
What prevents today from being "just another manic Monday," at least for me, is that it marks the seventh anniversary of my ordination as a deacon, which apart from my marriage, my own baptism, confirmation and being brought into full communion (Easter Vigil 1990), along with the birth of my children, is the most significant thing that has ever happened to me. So, to my brother deacons of the Diocese of Salt Lake City who were also ordained 24 January 2004 by then-Bishop George Niederauer, I say happy anniversary and ad multos annos! On this date, too, I remember our brothers who were ordained with us and who have gone home: Gerry, Aniceto, and Scott (Chisholm), as well as our brother, Deacon Bob Quintana, ordained in the second class of deacons for our diocese, who passed away last week and whose funeral is tomorrow (thanks to Deacon Silvio Mayo for the correction concerning the class of deacons to which Deacon Qunitana belonged).
Since I have already mentioned now-Archbishop Niederauer, who celebrates the sixteenth anniversary of his episcopal ordination tomorrow on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, it is opportune to point out that today is also the forty-fifth World Communications Day. What links all of this, in addition to the fact that part of my diakonia (and by no means the main or most important part) consists of my various on-line activities, is the fact that Archbishop Niederauer, who is truly a master communicator, sits on the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. Formerly he served as chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Communications. World Communications Day falls each year on the Feast of St. Francis de Sales because he is the patron saint of the Catholic press, writers, as well as journalists. While not officially proclaimed, St. Isidore of Seville, back in 2003, was proposed as patron saint of the Internet. As I mention in the caption under his image over on the right, whoever gets that job has her/his work cut out.
Each year the Holy Father issues a message for World Communications Day. In his message, promulgated today, Pope Benedict reminds those of us who take an active role in what Pope John Paul II described as "the Areopagus" of our times that "[t]o proclaim the Gospel through the new media means not only to insert expressly religious content into different media platforms, but also to witness consistently, in one's own digital profile and in the way one communicates choices, preference and judgments that are fully consistent with the Gospel." To me this says that Christian witness does not only consist of what we say, but how we say it; the necessity of communicating the truth with love (i.e.,agapé) (Eph. 4:15).
In his message the Holy Father succinctly describes what I hope, at least to some extent, this blog already does and what I pray it will more fully do as time goes on, namely recognizing "that the truth which we long to share does not derive its worth from its 'popularity' or from the amount of attention it receives," but communicates the truth "in its integrity, instead of seeking to make it acceptable [by] diluting it," thus providing "daily nourishment" instead of just being "a fleeting attraction." "The truth of the Gospel," the pontifical message continues, "is not something to be consumed or used superficially; rather it is a gift that calls for a free response." Above all, "[e]ven when it is proclaimed in the virtual space of the web, the Gospel demands to be incarnated in the real world and linked to the real faces of our brothers and sisters, those with whom we share our daily lives. Direct human relations always remain fundamental for the transmission of the faith!".
His conclusion, in true Benedictine (i.e., Ratzingerian) fashion, sets forth both the significance and the potential for on-line activity: "In the final analysis, the truth of Christ is the full and authentic response to that human desire for relationship, communion and meaning which is reflected in the immense popularity of social networks. Believers who bear witness to their most profound convictions greatly help prevent the web from becoming an instrument which depersonalizes people, attempts to manipulate them emotionally or allows those who are powerful to monopolize the opinions of others. On the contrary, believers encourage everyone to keep alive the eternal human questions which testify to our desire for transcendence and our longing for authentic forms of life, truly worthy of being lived. It is precisely this uniquely human spiritual yearning which inspires our quest for truth and for communion and which impels us to communicate with integrity and honesty."
Since I have already mentioned now-Archbishop Niederauer, who celebrates the sixteenth anniversary of his episcopal ordination tomorrow on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, it is opportune to point out that today is also the forty-fifth World Communications Day. What links all of this, in addition to the fact that part of my diakonia (and by no means the main or most important part) consists of my various on-line activities, is the fact that Archbishop Niederauer, who is truly a master communicator, sits on the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. Formerly he served as chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Communications. World Communications Day falls each year on the Feast of St. Francis de Sales because he is the patron saint of the Catholic press, writers, as well as journalists. While not officially proclaimed, St. Isidore of Seville, back in 2003, was proposed as patron saint of the Internet. As I mention in the caption under his image over on the right, whoever gets that job has her/his work cut out.
Each year the Holy Father issues a message for World Communications Day. In his message, promulgated today, Pope Benedict reminds those of us who take an active role in what Pope John Paul II described as "the Areopagus" of our times that "[t]o proclaim the Gospel through the new media means not only to insert expressly religious content into different media platforms, but also to witness consistently, in one's own digital profile and in the way one communicates choices, preference and judgments that are fully consistent with the Gospel." To me this says that Christian witness does not only consist of what we say, but how we say it; the necessity of communicating the truth with love (i.e.,agapé) (Eph. 4:15).
In his message the Holy Father succinctly describes what I hope, at least to some extent, this blog already does and what I pray it will more fully do as time goes on, namely recognizing "that the truth which we long to share does not derive its worth from its 'popularity' or from the amount of attention it receives," but communicates the truth "in its integrity, instead of seeking to make it acceptable [by] diluting it," thus providing "daily nourishment" instead of just being "a fleeting attraction." "The truth of the Gospel," the pontifical message continues, "is not something to be consumed or used superficially; rather it is a gift that calls for a free response." Above all, "[e]ven when it is proclaimed in the virtual space of the web, the Gospel demands to be incarnated in the real world and linked to the real faces of our brothers and sisters, those with whom we share our daily lives. Direct human relations always remain fundamental for the transmission of the faith!".
His conclusion, in true Benedictine (i.e., Ratzingerian) fashion, sets forth both the significance and the potential for on-line activity: "In the final analysis, the truth of Christ is the full and authentic response to that human desire for relationship, communion and meaning which is reflected in the immense popularity of social networks. Believers who bear witness to their most profound convictions greatly help prevent the web from becoming an instrument which depersonalizes people, attempts to manipulate them emotionally or allows those who are powerful to monopolize the opinions of others. On the contrary, believers encourage everyone to keep alive the eternal human questions which testify to our desire for transcendence and our longing for authentic forms of life, truly worthy of being lived. It is precisely this uniquely human spiritual yearning which inspires our quest for truth and for communion and which impels us to communicate with integrity and honesty."
Pope John Paul II declared blessed
The cries of "Santo Subito!" heard so loudly in St. Peter's Square after the death of Pope John Paul II were heeded. The process for his canonization has been underway since 2005. Just today Vatican Radio published in full the decree of beatification "of the late great Servant of God John Paul II."
The great Dominican theologian, Yves Congar, whom JPII created a cardinal, rightly expressed concern about the practice of popes canonizing other popes. This seems to me to be a very legitimate concern and something that must be safeguarded against. One reason (among many) it must become more of a rarity is that it obscures the holiness of those who walk in the shoes of the fisherman and who are truly saints. John Paul II, beginning with his cultural resistance to the German occupation of Poland as a young man and ending with his witness to the beauty of life during the years of his illness, truly demonstrated heroic virtue. It must be noted that the practice of creating great theologians and scholars cardinals in recognition of their major contributions to the church, as with so many things, was initiated by Pope John Paul II. It must also be noted that Congar accepted the red hat only on condition that he not be ordained a bishop, a concession that Pope John Paul II made for him.
At one time in the church, the only way to be recognized as a saint was by proclamation of the faithful, who simply venerated holy men and women, thus elevating them to sainthood. Indeed, the cries of Santo Subtio on the lips of literally millions of the faithful is probably the best argument in favor of the canonization of Karol Józef Wojtyła.
In his second encyclical and then throughout his life, he taught us that "[t]he Cross is in fact the most profound humbling of God before man. The Cross is like a touch of eternal love on the most painful wounds of man’s earthly existence" (Dives in Misericordia, 8).
It appears that his beatification ceremony will, appropriately, take place on 1 May 2011, which is Divine Mercy Sunday. Like the beatification of the Bl. John Henry Newman, the ceremony will undoubtedly be presided over by Pope Benedict, his close friend and collaborator.
Papa Wojtyla, pray for us!
The great Dominican theologian, Yves Congar, whom JPII created a cardinal, rightly expressed concern about the practice of popes canonizing other popes. This seems to me to be a very legitimate concern and something that must be safeguarded against. One reason (among many) it must become more of a rarity is that it obscures the holiness of those who walk in the shoes of the fisherman and who are truly saints. John Paul II, beginning with his cultural resistance to the German occupation of Poland as a young man and ending with his witness to the beauty of life during the years of his illness, truly demonstrated heroic virtue. It must be noted that the practice of creating great theologians and scholars cardinals in recognition of their major contributions to the church, as with so many things, was initiated by Pope John Paul II. It must also be noted that Congar accepted the red hat only on condition that he not be ordained a bishop, a concession that Pope John Paul II made for him.
At one time in the church, the only way to be recognized as a saint was by proclamation of the faithful, who simply venerated holy men and women, thus elevating them to sainthood. Indeed, the cries of Santo Subtio on the lips of literally millions of the faithful is probably the best argument in favor of the canonization of Karol Józef Wojtyła.
In his second encyclical and then throughout his life, he taught us that "[t]he Cross is in fact the most profound humbling of God before man. The Cross is like a touch of eternal love on the most painful wounds of man’s earthly existence" (Dives in Misericordia, 8).
It appears that his beatification ceremony will, appropriately, take place on 1 May 2011, which is Divine Mercy Sunday. Like the beatification of the Bl. John Henry Newman, the ceremony will undoubtedly be presided over by Pope Benedict, his close friend and collaborator.
Papa Wojtyla, pray for us!
Pope Benedict XVI- Message for World Day of Peace 2011
Message of His Holiness
Pope Benedict XVI
For the Celebration of the
World Day of Peace
1 January 2011
Pope Benedict XVI
For the Celebration of the
World Day of Peace
1 January 2011
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, THE PATH TO PEACE
1. At the beginning of the new year I offer good wishes to each and all for serenity and prosperity, but especially for peace. Sadly, the year now ending has again been marked by persecution, discrimination, terrible acts of violence and religious intolerance.
My thoughts turn in a special way to the beloved country of Iraq, which continues to be a theatre of violence and strife as it makes its way towards a future of stability and reconciliation. I think of the recent sufferings of the Christian community, and in particular the reprehensible attack on the Syro-Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Baghdad, where on 31 October two priests and over fifty faithful were killed as they gathered for the celebration of Holy Mass. In the days that followed, other attacks ensued, even on private homes, spreading fear within the Christian community and a desire on the part of many to emigrate in search of a better life. I assure them of my own closeness and that of the entire Church, a closeness which found concrete expression in the recent Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops. The Synod encouraged the Catholic communities in Iraq and throughout the Middle East to live in communion and to continue to offer a courageous witness of faith in those lands.
I offer heartfelt thanks to those Governments which are working to alleviate the sufferings of these, our brothers and sisters in the human family, and I ask all Catholics for their prayers and support for their brethren in the faith who are victims of violence and intolerance. In this context, I have felt it particularly appropriate to share some reflections on religious freedom as the path to peace. It is painful to think that in some areas of the world it is impossible to profess one’s religion freely except at the risk of life and personal liberty. In other areas we see more subtle and sophisticated forms of prejudice and hostility towards believers and religious symbols. At present, Christians are the religious group which suffers most from persecution on account of its faith. Many Christians experience daily affronts and often live in fear because of their pursuit of truth, their faith in Jesus Christ and their heartfelt plea for respect for religious freedom. This situation is unacceptable, since it represents an insult to God and to human dignity; furthermore, it is a threat to security and peace, and an obstacle to the achievement of authentic and integral human development.
Religious freedom expresses what is unique about the human person, for it allows us to direct our personal and social life to God, in whose light the identity, meaning and purpose of the person are fully understood. To deny or arbitrarily restrict this freedom is to foster a reductive vision of the human person; to eclipse the public role of religion is to create a society which is unjust, inasmuch as it fails to take account of the true nature of the human person; it is to stifle the growth of the authentic and lasting peace of the whole human family.
For this reason, I implore all men and women of good will to renew their commitment to building a world where all are free to profess their religion or faith, and to express their love of God with all their heart, with all their soul and with all their mind (cf. Mt 22:37). This is the sentiment which inspires and directs this Message for the XLIV World Day of Peace, devoted to the theme: Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace.
Iraqi Chaldean girl praying in Church in Amman, Jordan
UPDATE: No sooner is the Holy Father's plea for peace and religious freedom given on this day dedicated to world peace than another deadly attack against Christians occurs in the Middle East, this time in Alexandria, Egypt. According to the BBC "[a]t least 21 people were killed and 70 hurt in the suspected suicide attack, which happened during a New Year's Eve service at the al-Qiddissin Church."
Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for us!
Veni adoramus
"only mercy until we close our eyes..."
Last evening, between Evening Prayer and supper, I turned on the t.v. for just a minute and watched an episode of the Loretta Young Show on EWTN. The title of this particular show is Three and Two, Please. It originally aired 16 December 1956. In the episode, Loretta plays Sister Ann, a nun working in a Catholic hospital on Christmas Eve. What stands out in my mind is something she said to the rich, crotchety, sick, but lonely old man, Mr. Atherton, who is really longing for companionship, as she is disturbing him by re-arranging his private room in order to put a young boy, Guermo, who has not heard from his father and is worried about Christmas, in with him.
What follows is my paraphrase of the dialogue that struck me:
Mr. Atherton: Is there no justice in this world?
Sister Ann: In this world there is no justice, only mercy until we close our eyes, then there is justice.
This put me in mind of what the Holy Father wrote in his encyclical letter Spe Salvi:
As Deacon Greg reminds us today, no matter how hopeless things look, through Christ, in Christ, and with Christ, there is always hope. For Christians, the theological virtue of hope is not synonymous with wish. Let those who have eyes see what hope looks like, it is not ephemeral, but real and concrete, like the babe born in Bethlehem.
What follows is my paraphrase of the dialogue that struck me:
Mr. Atherton: Is there no justice in this world?
Sister Ann: In this world there is no justice, only mercy until we close our eyes, then there is justice.
This put me in mind of what the Holy Father wrote in his encyclical letter Spe Salvi:
"The encounter with [Christ] is the decisive act of judgement. Before his gaze all falsehood melts away. This encounter with him, as it burns us, transforms and frees us, allowing us to become truly ourselves. All that we build during our lives can prove to be mere straw, pure bluster, and it collapses. Yet in the pain of this encounter, when the impurity and sickness of our lives become evident to us, there lies salvation. His gaze, the touch of his heart heals us through an undeniably painful transformation 'as through fire'. But it is a blessed pain, in which the holy power of his love sears through us like a flame, enabling us to become totally ourselves and thus totally of God" (par. 47).As a deacon I am privleged to pour the water into the wine during the liturgy as I say, sotto voce: "By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity." Indeed, this is the point of the Incarnation, there is no other. "Create in me a clean heart, O God" (Ps. 51:10).
As Deacon Greg reminds us today, no matter how hopeless things look, through Christ, in Christ, and with Christ, there is always hope. For Christians, the theological virtue of hope is not synonymous with wish. Let those who have eyes see what hope looks like, it is not ephemeral, but real and concrete, like the babe born in Bethlehem.
Veni adoramus
Urbi et Orbi- Christmas 2010
URBI ET ORBI MESSAGE
OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
BENEDICT XVI
CHRISTMAS 2010
OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
BENEDICT XVI
CHRISTMAS 2010
"Verbum caro factum est" – "The Word became flesh" (Jn 1:14).
Dear brothers and sisters listening to me here in Rome and throughout the world, I joyfully proclaim the message of Christmas: God became man; he came to dwell among us. God is not distant: he is "Emmanuel", God-with-us. He is no stranger: he has a face, the face of Jesus.
This message is ever new, ever surprising, for it surpasses even our most daring hope. First of all, because it is not merely a proclamation: it is an event, a happening, which credible witnesses saw, heard and touched in the person of Jesus of Nazareth! Being in his presence, observing his works and hearing his words, they recognized in Jesus the Messiah; and seeing him risen, after his crucifixion, they were certain that he was true man and true God, the only-begotten Son come from the Father, full of grace and truth (cf. Jn 1:14).
"The Word became flesh". Before this revelation we once more wonder: how can this be? The Word and the flesh are mutually opposed realities; how can the eternal and almighty Word become a frail and mortal man? There is only one answer: Love. Those who love desire to share with the beloved, they want to be one with the beloved, and Sacred Scripture shows us the great love story of God for his people which culminated in Jesus Christ.
God in fact does not change: he is faithful to himself. He who created the world is the same one who called Abraham and revealed his name to Moses: "I am who I am … the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob … a God merciful and gracious, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (cf. Ex 3:14-15; 34:6). God does not change; he is Love, ever and always. In himself he is communion, unity in Trinity, and all his words and works are directed to communion. The Incarnation is the culmination of creation. When Jesus, the Son of God incarnate, was formed in the womb of Mary by the will of the Father and the working of the Holy Spirit, creation reached its high point. The ordering principle of the universe, the Logos, began to exist in the world, in a certain time and space.
"The Word became flesh". The light of this truth is revealed to those who receive it in faith, for it is a mystery of love. Only those who are open to love are enveloped in the light of Christmas. So it was on that night in Bethlehem, and so it is today. The Incarnation of the Son of God is an event which occurred within history, while at the same time transcending history. In the night of the world a new light was kindled, one which lets itself be seen by the simple eyes of faith, by the meek and humble hearts of those who await the Saviour. If the truth were a mere mathematical formula, in some sense it would impose itself by its own power. But if Truth is Love, it calls for faith, for the "yes" of our hearts.
Veni adoramus
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)