More and more, it seems that the Catholic Church in tone and practice is becoming the province of women. I would extend this observation to the whole of Western civilization as well.
Now I am aware that these states are controversial to be sure. I believe I will catch quite a bit of flack over this post. So be it!
But there definitely seems to be a trend at work in the Church. I recently read excerpts from a book by Dr.Leon Podles entitled, The Church Impotent: the Feminization of Christianity.
Dr. Podles suggests that the Church can trace this feminine trend as far back as the beginning of the 1800s, with the dawning of the Industrial Revolution. He theorizes that large numbers of men went to work in mines, mills and factories usually far removed from home and provincial parishes. The women stayed behind and began introducing a feminine character within their churches.
Dr. Podles further proposes for serious consideration the fact that the Victorian Era saw the rise of church nurseries, Sunday schools, quilting circles, ladies’ sodalities and teas, soup kitchens, and a host of charitable initiatives directed at the poor and downtrodden.
Dr. Podles may or may not be correct in his analysis of the beginning of this feminizing trend with the Church, but what is certain is the fact that women have firmly established their presence within parish life, especially with regard to the various ministries related to the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy.
On any given weekend, Greeters, Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist, Lectors, Cantors, Music and Choir Directors, even Altar Servers are predominately women. Not that I believe there has been a conscious effort to drive men away from these ministries, but rather most men are quite comfortable in accepting the idea that such ministerial service is particularly suited to women who are by nature more nurturing than men.
But the feminine influence is not only apparent in terms of ministry, it seems that the very definition of Christianity itself has changed.
Frankness and boldness in the proclamation of the Gospel truths are out. Sensitivity and passivity are in. Catholics nowadays are expected to be gentle, non-judgmental, sensitive and caring. Greater attention is paid to fostering family life than to personal career advancement and accomplishment.
The virtues of the Christian believer are now considered to be calmness, politeness, and a openness to everyone without exception.
For the most part, it has been a quiet revolution of sorts. Yet, it is harder and harder for men to find a comfortable foothold in their churches anymore because they must conform themselves into an atmosphere of gentility and sensitivity which is quite foreign to the male mind set. A case in point: it’s quite intimidating for a man to hold hands in a circle, to emote in public, or to imagine falling deeply in love with another man (even if his name is Jesus).
One need only listen to the undertone of much of what Pope Francis has to say about living the Gospel to realize that the days of Pope Leo the Great, and Pope Pius IX are over indeed!
Catholicism today is of a softer, gentler brand.
Perhaps, my views are founded upon very stereotypical constructs regarding men and women. However, one must admit that the image of the Church as the Militant Defender of the Gospel, the days of having “lions” in our pulpits have come and gone, probably forever.
I admire those men who still remain faithful to the practice of their Catholic Faith. I just wonder how comfortable we make men feel when we immerse them in what is clearly a continually feminine milieu.
My thoughts on the matter. What thinkest you?
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Friday, April 28, 2017
POPE FRANCIS' PUSH TOWARD SYNODALITY: Part Two
It is clear that more traditionally-minded Bishops do not agree with nor accept the synodality which Pope Francis espouses.
Recently, Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, warned that the Church’s unity is being threatened by influential leaders within the Church who “insist” that national churches have the “capacity to decide for themselves” on doctrinal and moral matters.
“Without a common faith, the Church is threatened by confusion and then, progressively, she can slide into dispersion and schism,” the Cardinal said.
“Today there is a grave risk of the fragmentation of the Church, of breaking up the Mystical Body of Christ by insisting on the national identities of the Churches and thus on their capacity to decide for themselves, above all in the so-crucial domain of doctrine and morals,” he added.
Catholics profess every Sunday in the Nicene Creed that the Church is “one, holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.” These are often called the four “marks” of the one true Church.
“The Universal Church is not a sort of federation of local churches," he said. “The Universal Church is symbolized and represented by the Church of Rome, with the Pope at its head, the successor of Saint Peter and the head of the apostolic college; hence it is she who has given birth to all the local churches and she who sustains them in the unity of faith and love.”
Cardinal Sarah said that the Church will grow throughout the world only if it is united by “our common faith and our fidelity to Christ and his Gospel, in union with the Pope.”
“As Pope Benedict XVI tells us: ‘It is clear that a Church does not grow by becoming individualized, by separating on a national level, by closing herself off within a specific cultural context, by giving herself an entirely cultural or national scope; instead the Church needs to have unity of faith, unity of doctrine, unity of moral teaching. She needs the Primacy of the Pope, and his mission to confirm the faith of his brethren,’” he said.
And so, the tensions between the more traditional ecclesiology espoused by such Bishops as Cardinal Sarah and the synodal vision of Church teaching and discipline enunciated by Pope Francis become more visible with each passing day.
Whether the Church is able to endure the strain of the fragmentation to which Cardinal Sarah alludes is anyone’s guess at the moment. Perhaps, we all need to remind ourselves that the Church has been entrusted to the Holy Spirit for guidance and protection, for unity and peace.
Perhaps, everyone’s agreement on that basic tenet of Faith will be enough to assist us through the trials and difficulties that lie before us in the years ahead.
Recently, Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, warned that the Church’s unity is being threatened by influential leaders within the Church who “insist” that national churches have the “capacity to decide for themselves” on doctrinal and moral matters.
“Without a common faith, the Church is threatened by confusion and then, progressively, she can slide into dispersion and schism,” the Cardinal said.
“Today there is a grave risk of the fragmentation of the Church, of breaking up the Mystical Body of Christ by insisting on the national identities of the Churches and thus on their capacity to decide for themselves, above all in the so-crucial domain of doctrine and morals,” he added.
Catholics profess every Sunday in the Nicene Creed that the Church is “one, holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.” These are often called the four “marks” of the one true Church.
“The Universal Church is not a sort of federation of local churches," he said. “The Universal Church is symbolized and represented by the Church of Rome, with the Pope at its head, the successor of Saint Peter and the head of the apostolic college; hence it is she who has given birth to all the local churches and she who sustains them in the unity of faith and love.”
Cardinal Sarah said that the Church will grow throughout the world only if it is united by “our common faith and our fidelity to Christ and his Gospel, in union with the Pope.”
“As Pope Benedict XVI tells us: ‘It is clear that a Church does not grow by becoming individualized, by separating on a national level, by closing herself off within a specific cultural context, by giving herself an entirely cultural or national scope; instead the Church needs to have unity of faith, unity of doctrine, unity of moral teaching. She needs the Primacy of the Pope, and his mission to confirm the faith of his brethren,’” he said.
And so, the tensions between the more traditional ecclesiology espoused by such Bishops as Cardinal Sarah and the synodal vision of Church teaching and discipline enunciated by Pope Francis become more visible with each passing day.
Whether the Church is able to endure the strain of the fragmentation to which Cardinal Sarah alludes is anyone’s guess at the moment. Perhaps, we all need to remind ourselves that the Church has been entrusted to the Holy Spirit for guidance and protection, for unity and peace.
Perhaps, everyone’s agreement on that basic tenet of Faith will be enough to assist us through the trials and difficulties that lie before us in the years ahead.
Thursday, April 27, 2017
POPE FRANCIS' PUSH TOWARD SYNODALITY IN THE CHURCH: Part One
In his 2013 Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis spoke of a “conversion of the Papacy” that would help him “exercise” the Petrine ministry. In the same document, the Holy Father criticized the “excessive centralization” of power in the Office of Peter, suggesting that Bishops’ Conferences should be empowered with “genuine doctrinal authority.”
The Pope further addressed the need for a decentralized Church in his 2016 Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia. He wrote: “I would make it clear that not all discussions of doctrinal, moral or pastoral issues need to be settled by interventions of the magisterium…Each country or region, moreover, can seek solutions better suited to its culture and sensitive to its traditions and local needs.”
According to Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, President of the Polish Conference of Bishops, the Pope indicated to the Polish Bishops that a decentralized Church would be able to interpret Papal Encyclicals and to solve contentious issues, such as giving Communion to civilly divorced and remarried Catholics.
“The journey of synodality is the journey that God wants from his Church in the Third Millennium,” the Pope said as he, members of the Synod of Bishops on the Family, theologians and other guests marked the anniversary of Blessed Paul VI’s institution in 1965 of the synod as a forum for sharing the faith and concerns of the world’s Catholics, reflecting together and offering counsel to the Pope.
“The synodal Church,” Francis stated, “is a listening Church, aware that listening is more than hearing. It is a reciprocal listening in which each one has something to learn.”
Referring to the Greek roots of the word “synod,” Francis said, “walking together -- Laity, Pastors, the Bishop of Rome -- is an easy concept to express in words, but is not so easy to put into practice.”
“The need for everyone in the Church -- from the Pope on down -- to listen and to learn from others is based on the conviction, clearly explained by the Second Vatican Council, that through Baptism and Confirmation all members of the Church have been anointed by the Holy Spirit and that the entire Christian community is infallible when its members discern together and speak with one voice on matters of faith and morals,” Pope Francis said.
“The sensus fidei (sense of faith) makes it impossible to rigidly separate the ecclesia docens (teaching church) and the ecclesia discens (learning church) because even the flock has a ‘nose’ for discerning the new paths that the Lord is opening up to the Church,” the Pope said.
But ensuring the synodality of the whole Church will be impossible, the Holy Father insisted, if people misunderstand the church’s hierarchy and see it as a structure in which some people are placed above others.
“The church’s structure,” the Pope said, “is like an upside down pyramid” with the top on the bottom, which is why the Ordained are called ‘ministers’ -- they serve the others."
“In his diocese,” Francis said, “the Bishop is the Vicar of Jesus who, at the Last Supper, knelt to wash the feet of the apostles,” and the Pope is called to truly be “the servant of the servants of God. We must never forget: for the disciples of Jesus — yesterday, today and forever — the only authority is the authority of service; the only power is the power of the cross,” the Holy Father said.
Francis told the gathering that “the Pope does not stand alone above the Church,” but he is “within it as a baptized person among the baptized and in the Episcopal College as a Bishop among Bishops, called at the same time -- as the successor of the Apostle Peter -- to guide the Church of Rome, which presides in love over all the local churches.”
And so, the synodal process requires the Church to listen to the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, called to make pronouncements “not based on his personal convictions, but as the supreme witness of the faith of the entire Church,” the Holy Father insisted.
It is clear, however, that not all the Bishops agree with and accept the synodality which Pope Francis espouses.
More in Part II of this post tomorrow.
The Pope further addressed the need for a decentralized Church in his 2016 Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia. He wrote: “I would make it clear that not all discussions of doctrinal, moral or pastoral issues need to be settled by interventions of the magisterium…Each country or region, moreover, can seek solutions better suited to its culture and sensitive to its traditions and local needs.”
According to Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, President of the Polish Conference of Bishops, the Pope indicated to the Polish Bishops that a decentralized Church would be able to interpret Papal Encyclicals and to solve contentious issues, such as giving Communion to civilly divorced and remarried Catholics.
“The journey of synodality is the journey that God wants from his Church in the Third Millennium,” the Pope said as he, members of the Synod of Bishops on the Family, theologians and other guests marked the anniversary of Blessed Paul VI’s institution in 1965 of the synod as a forum for sharing the faith and concerns of the world’s Catholics, reflecting together and offering counsel to the Pope.
“The synodal Church,” Francis stated, “is a listening Church, aware that listening is more than hearing. It is a reciprocal listening in which each one has something to learn.”
Referring to the Greek roots of the word “synod,” Francis said, “walking together -- Laity, Pastors, the Bishop of Rome -- is an easy concept to express in words, but is not so easy to put into practice.”
“The need for everyone in the Church -- from the Pope on down -- to listen and to learn from others is based on the conviction, clearly explained by the Second Vatican Council, that through Baptism and Confirmation all members of the Church have been anointed by the Holy Spirit and that the entire Christian community is infallible when its members discern together and speak with one voice on matters of faith and morals,” Pope Francis said.
“The sensus fidei (sense of faith) makes it impossible to rigidly separate the ecclesia docens (teaching church) and the ecclesia discens (learning church) because even the flock has a ‘nose’ for discerning the new paths that the Lord is opening up to the Church,” the Pope said.
But ensuring the synodality of the whole Church will be impossible, the Holy Father insisted, if people misunderstand the church’s hierarchy and see it as a structure in which some people are placed above others.
“The church’s structure,” the Pope said, “is like an upside down pyramid” with the top on the bottom, which is why the Ordained are called ‘ministers’ -- they serve the others."
“In his diocese,” Francis said, “the Bishop is the Vicar of Jesus who, at the Last Supper, knelt to wash the feet of the apostles,” and the Pope is called to truly be “the servant of the servants of God. We must never forget: for the disciples of Jesus — yesterday, today and forever — the only authority is the authority of service; the only power is the power of the cross,” the Holy Father said.
Francis told the gathering that “the Pope does not stand alone above the Church,” but he is “within it as a baptized person among the baptized and in the Episcopal College as a Bishop among Bishops, called at the same time -- as the successor of the Apostle Peter -- to guide the Church of Rome, which presides in love over all the local churches.”
And so, the synodal process requires the Church to listen to the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, called to make pronouncements “not based on his personal convictions, but as the supreme witness of the faith of the entire Church,” the Holy Father insisted.
It is clear, however, that not all the Bishops agree with and accept the synodality which Pope Francis espouses.
More in Part II of this post tomorrow.
MAY THE HOLY SPIRIT PROTECT POPE FRANCIS AS HE TRAVELS TO EGYPT THIS WEEK
On Palm Sunday, two suicide bombers blew themselves up in Coptic churches in the cities of Alexandria and Tanta, Egypt. More than 40 people were killed and 106 injured.
The attacks were the latest in a string of terror incidents at Coptic churches in Egypt over the last five years. Once again, Coptic Christians were left with sorrow and grasping for an explanation of what is happening to their Church in a country that has been its home for almost two millennia.
The attacks happened minutes after Coptic Pope Tawadros II and government officials left the church in Alexandria. It was also a week before Easter Sunday, and ahead of a visit this Friday by Pope Francis to Egypt, where he will meet the Coptic leader.
Copts are the largest minority population in the Middle East and make up 10 per cent to 15 per cent of Egypt’s population. Founded in the first century by St. Mark the Apostle, the Coptic Church is believed to be one of the oldest Christian denominations in the world.
Today a sizeable Coptic diaspora exists in the West, including about 200,000 Coptic Christians in the United States and 50,000 in Canada (of which over 80 per cent reside in Ontario). While data on Copt migration are scarce, it is clear that the number increases each year — both because of terrorism and economic instability.
From a geopolitical perspective, the timing of the church bombings signals a clear message: The Islamic State group is waging war on Christianity in Egypt and the Middle East.
Of course, the solution to stemming attacks on Copts lies ultimately in the hands of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and his government. In speeches, el-Sissi regularly describes Egypt as unified and has promised to reduce Muslim-Christian tension. “But there remains little Christian representation in government, and sectarian violence is all but commonplace,” said Sarah Yerkes, an International Relations Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.
“Many Christians supported Sissi’s rise to power, but there’s no group that’s safe," she added, in reference to civil society activists and political opposition groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, hundreds of whose supporters were massacred in a 2013 raid on a protest encampment. “Anyone deemed to be a threat to Sissi is under this state of oppression.”
“Connecting the early persecution of Coptic Christians to the latest attacks, Yerkes stated: “We don't know when the next one will be, but we know there will be one.”
Meanwhile, the Vatican has downplayed security concerns surrounding the Pope’s visit to Egypt on Friday.
Pope Francis will not use an armored car during his visit to Egypt later this week, Vatican Spokesman Greg Burke told reporters on Monday. "The pope will use a closed car to move around, but not an armored one. That's how he wanted it," Burke said, adding that the Holy See was not enduring "worry" about the security aspects of the trip.
Let us pray for the safety of the Holy Father during this visit and for success in answer to his plea for unity and peace in out world.
Dear Holy Spirit, protect our Holy Father always. May he continue to be Your Voice in calling us to be witness of Your Divine Charity in our troubled world.
The attacks were the latest in a string of terror incidents at Coptic churches in Egypt over the last five years. Once again, Coptic Christians were left with sorrow and grasping for an explanation of what is happening to their Church in a country that has been its home for almost two millennia.
The attacks happened minutes after Coptic Pope Tawadros II and government officials left the church in Alexandria. It was also a week before Easter Sunday, and ahead of a visit this Friday by Pope Francis to Egypt, where he will meet the Coptic leader.
Copts are the largest minority population in the Middle East and make up 10 per cent to 15 per cent of Egypt’s population. Founded in the first century by St. Mark the Apostle, the Coptic Church is believed to be one of the oldest Christian denominations in the world.
Today a sizeable Coptic diaspora exists in the West, including about 200,000 Coptic Christians in the United States and 50,000 in Canada (of which over 80 per cent reside in Ontario). While data on Copt migration are scarce, it is clear that the number increases each year — both because of terrorism and economic instability.
From a geopolitical perspective, the timing of the church bombings signals a clear message: The Islamic State group is waging war on Christianity in Egypt and the Middle East.
Of course, the solution to stemming attacks on Copts lies ultimately in the hands of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and his government. In speeches, el-Sissi regularly describes Egypt as unified and has promised to reduce Muslim-Christian tension. “But there remains little Christian representation in government, and sectarian violence is all but commonplace,” said Sarah Yerkes, an International Relations Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.
“Many Christians supported Sissi’s rise to power, but there’s no group that’s safe," she added, in reference to civil society activists and political opposition groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, hundreds of whose supporters were massacred in a 2013 raid on a protest encampment. “Anyone deemed to be a threat to Sissi is under this state of oppression.”
“Connecting the early persecution of Coptic Christians to the latest attacks, Yerkes stated: “We don't know when the next one will be, but we know there will be one.”
Meanwhile, the Vatican has downplayed security concerns surrounding the Pope’s visit to Egypt on Friday.
Pope Francis will not use an armored car during his visit to Egypt later this week, Vatican Spokesman Greg Burke told reporters on Monday. "The pope will use a closed car to move around, but not an armored one. That's how he wanted it," Burke said, adding that the Holy See was not enduring "worry" about the security aspects of the trip.
Let us pray for the safety of the Holy Father during this visit and for success in answer to his plea for unity and peace in out world.
Dear Holy Spirit, protect our Holy Father always. May he continue to be Your Voice in calling us to be witness of Your Divine Charity in our troubled world.
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
HAVE NO FEAR OF A SCHISM -- THE QUIET DEFECTION OF CATHOLICS CONTINUES
On any given day, the Internet is ablaze with articles and blogs predicting a schism between conservative and liberal factions within the Catholic Church.
Of course, the hottest of the hot button issues which inspires these frantic ramblings remains the Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, the post-Synodal document which has been the basis upon which a number of Bishops have begun to institute pastoral guidelines which would assist divorced and remarried Catholics who refuse to live in sexual abstinence to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion.
I see the present state of affairs within the Church quite differently.
First, it is clear that most Catholics are ignorant of the heightened tensions presently existing among the hierarchy. Why? Because most Pastors and Bishops have been silent about the initiatives and reforms which Pope Francis has encouraged.
Let’s be honest. What Catholics know about the Faith and about the Church comes almost exclusively from the pulpits of their parish churches. Catholics, for the most part, do not engage in an ongoing regimen of adult education in the Faith, nor do they keep pace with what is happening by way of Catholic media.
The fact is that, by and large, Catholics are completely indifferent toward the Church's squabbles and disputes.
In the course of my lifetime and ministry, I have witnessed how previously devout and docile Catholics transitioned to a nominal Catholicism, largely in response to the reforms of Vatican II and the overwhelmingly rejected teachings of the Church regarding artificial contraception and family planning.
Over the years, quietly but steadily, these nominal Catholics transitioned to being liberal, nominal Catholics. Still somewhat regular in practicing the Faith, these Catholics assimilated the secular values of society and now find themselves accepting the popular mores of the contemporary culture. So that, today, a significant majority of Catholics seemingly have no problem with homosexual orientation, having same-sex marriages recognized by the state, abortion in cases of rape or incest, as well as a host of behaviors which, at one time, were characterized as deviant and self-destructive.
In recent years, these liberal, nominal Catholics have transitioned into becoming non-practicing, dissenting, liberal, nominal Catholics. When it comes to Faith and Morals, these Catholics not only refuse to impose Catholic values on others, they refuse to adopt those same values for themselves and their children.
This is all part of a religious-cultural milieu described in a recent Pew Study which notes: “The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing.”
The hardest-hit Christian body, according to that same study, is the Catholic Church, and, amazingly, “12.9% of American adults are former Catholics.”
For this reason, I believe there is no reason to fear a future schism with the Catholic Church, because I believe there has already been a quiet apostasy of millions of once-Catholic believers.
I am not one who regularly quotes Pope Saint John Paul II, but I do wish to note that, in his 2003 post-Synodal Exhortation Ecclesia in Europa, the Holy Father spoke of the spiritual condition of Catholicism’s heartland: “European culture gives the impression of ‘silent apostasy’ on the part of people who have all that they need and who live as if God does not exist.” (Paragraph 9)
Simply put, most people today have forgotten God.
I am also not one who regularly criticizes Pope Francis. Yet, the many comments he has made along with his intense outreach to non-Catholic and non-Christian faith communities certainly appears to advance the acceptability of an indifferentism when it comes to the salvation of non-Christians who live and die in their various religions — without the benefits of baptism and without the Divine and Catholic faith.
One wonders how that cannot but harm the Church’s missionary zeal. Will this not confuse Catholics themselves, who will wonder why they have to live the strict moral code of the Catholic Church when the rest of humanity can apparently be saved without it.
Archbishop Guido Pozzo, appointed by Pope Francis to be the secretary of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei which is charged with pastoral outreach to traditionalist Catholics, recently stated: “... there exists today, unfortunately, the view — contrary to the Catholic Faith — that there is a salvific path independent of Christ and His Church.”
The pews of our Catholic churches are definitely emptier than they were a generation ago, a phenomenon that largely went unnoticed and un-addressed by a hierarchy largely out of touch with the ongoing secularization of society.
This quiet defection by millions will only continue should the in-fighting among conservative and liberal hierarchs become generally known to the Catholic laity.
If there is a solution to this crisis, it appears to remain hidden in the Divine Mind of the Holy Spirit to Whom we intercede on behalf of the millions yet to be born who may come into a world in which the Light of Christ has been dimmed by indifference and outright hostility.
Come, Holy Spirit, come!
Of course, the hottest of the hot button issues which inspires these frantic ramblings remains the Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, the post-Synodal document which has been the basis upon which a number of Bishops have begun to institute pastoral guidelines which would assist divorced and remarried Catholics who refuse to live in sexual abstinence to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion.
I see the present state of affairs within the Church quite differently.
First, it is clear that most Catholics are ignorant of the heightened tensions presently existing among the hierarchy. Why? Because most Pastors and Bishops have been silent about the initiatives and reforms which Pope Francis has encouraged.
Let’s be honest. What Catholics know about the Faith and about the Church comes almost exclusively from the pulpits of their parish churches. Catholics, for the most part, do not engage in an ongoing regimen of adult education in the Faith, nor do they keep pace with what is happening by way of Catholic media.
The fact is that, by and large, Catholics are completely indifferent toward the Church's squabbles and disputes.
In the course of my lifetime and ministry, I have witnessed how previously devout and docile Catholics transitioned to a nominal Catholicism, largely in response to the reforms of Vatican II and the overwhelmingly rejected teachings of the Church regarding artificial contraception and family planning.
Over the years, quietly but steadily, these nominal Catholics transitioned to being liberal, nominal Catholics. Still somewhat regular in practicing the Faith, these Catholics assimilated the secular values of society and now find themselves accepting the popular mores of the contemporary culture. So that, today, a significant majority of Catholics seemingly have no problem with homosexual orientation, having same-sex marriages recognized by the state, abortion in cases of rape or incest, as well as a host of behaviors which, at one time, were characterized as deviant and self-destructive.
In recent years, these liberal, nominal Catholics have transitioned into becoming non-practicing, dissenting, liberal, nominal Catholics. When it comes to Faith and Morals, these Catholics not only refuse to impose Catholic values on others, they refuse to adopt those same values for themselves and their children.
This is all part of a religious-cultural milieu described in a recent Pew Study which notes: “The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing.”
The hardest-hit Christian body, according to that same study, is the Catholic Church, and, amazingly, “12.9% of American adults are former Catholics.”
For this reason, I believe there is no reason to fear a future schism with the Catholic Church, because I believe there has already been a quiet apostasy of millions of once-Catholic believers.
I am not one who regularly quotes Pope Saint John Paul II, but I do wish to note that, in his 2003 post-Synodal Exhortation Ecclesia in Europa, the Holy Father spoke of the spiritual condition of Catholicism’s heartland: “European culture gives the impression of ‘silent apostasy’ on the part of people who have all that they need and who live as if God does not exist.” (Paragraph 9)
Simply put, most people today have forgotten God.
I am also not one who regularly criticizes Pope Francis. Yet, the many comments he has made along with his intense outreach to non-Catholic and non-Christian faith communities certainly appears to advance the acceptability of an indifferentism when it comes to the salvation of non-Christians who live and die in their various religions — without the benefits of baptism and without the Divine and Catholic faith.
One wonders how that cannot but harm the Church’s missionary zeal. Will this not confuse Catholics themselves, who will wonder why they have to live the strict moral code of the Catholic Church when the rest of humanity can apparently be saved without it.
Archbishop Guido Pozzo, appointed by Pope Francis to be the secretary of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei which is charged with pastoral outreach to traditionalist Catholics, recently stated: “... there exists today, unfortunately, the view — contrary to the Catholic Faith — that there is a salvific path independent of Christ and His Church.”
The pews of our Catholic churches are definitely emptier than they were a generation ago, a phenomenon that largely went unnoticed and un-addressed by a hierarchy largely out of touch with the ongoing secularization of society.
This quiet defection by millions will only continue should the in-fighting among conservative and liberal hierarchs become generally known to the Catholic laity.
If there is a solution to this crisis, it appears to remain hidden in the Divine Mind of the Holy Spirit to Whom we intercede on behalf of the millions yet to be born who may come into a world in which the Light of Christ has been dimmed by indifference and outright hostility.
Come, Holy Spirit, come!
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
WHAT IS TRUTH?
Courage “means speaking the truth openly and without compromise,” like Peter and John who — strengthened by the Holy Spirit — would not be silenced when the religious leaders of their day ordered them not to speak about Jesus.
Such was the message of Pope Francis in his homily during morning Mass recently.
How could anyone disagree?
But, the crux of the challenge which the Holy Father presents is really not so much about being uncompromising in proclaiming the truth, it’s knowing what the truth of any matter really is.
Every year during Holy Week, when the Passion is read aloud in its entirety, I am struck by the exchange recorded between Jesus and Pilate who appears to be desperate to assist Our Lord in mounting some type of self-defense against the criminal charges the Jews are leveling against Him.
At one point in that exchange, Jesus tells Pilate that He was sent “to testify to the Truth”. Pilate then asks perhaps the most significant question which has remained unanswered in the twenty-plus centuries that have unfolded since it was first posed to the Son of God Himself: “What is truth?”
The Church claims to know what truth is. As a matter of fact, the Church’s fundamental claim to moral authority is predicated upon the Church’s profession that she is the “depository” of Divine Truth which provides a certain and clear path directing man’s hunger for knowledge and his desire to do good.
Yet, throughout the course of her history, the Church has been witness to countless debates and divisions regarding whether the teachings and disciplines she has proclaimed are true and profitable for salvation.
Are those who disagree with Church teaching motivated by a desire to have the Church “compromise” the truth? Or, rather, do they perceive a different truth which they believe worthy of equally uncompromising fidelity in its promulgation?
Certainly, the history of Christianity reveals that there have been martyrs on both sides of the debates that have often bred division within the ranks of the faithful. I am sure that every martyr earnestly believe that he or she is sacrificing their lives for the truthfulness of what they believe.
Surely, the Church’s claim to possess the “fullness of truth” will not in and of itself end challenges that come to her both from within and outside her members. A case in point: Amoris Laetitia!
And so, while we agree with Pope Francis that we should announce the truth without fear and with conviction, let us pray that God will grant us the wisdom to know what is true and how we can best serve that truth in fulfilling His Holy Will.
For doing what is right and true is relatively easy. What is hard is knowing what the right thing to do is in any given situation and circumstance. God grant us that wisdom. God grant us that grace always.
Such was the message of Pope Francis in his homily during morning Mass recently.
How could anyone disagree?
But, the crux of the challenge which the Holy Father presents is really not so much about being uncompromising in proclaiming the truth, it’s knowing what the truth of any matter really is.
Every year during Holy Week, when the Passion is read aloud in its entirety, I am struck by the exchange recorded between Jesus and Pilate who appears to be desperate to assist Our Lord in mounting some type of self-defense against the criminal charges the Jews are leveling against Him.
At one point in that exchange, Jesus tells Pilate that He was sent “to testify to the Truth”. Pilate then asks perhaps the most significant question which has remained unanswered in the twenty-plus centuries that have unfolded since it was first posed to the Son of God Himself: “What is truth?”
The Church claims to know what truth is. As a matter of fact, the Church’s fundamental claim to moral authority is predicated upon the Church’s profession that she is the “depository” of Divine Truth which provides a certain and clear path directing man’s hunger for knowledge and his desire to do good.
Yet, throughout the course of her history, the Church has been witness to countless debates and divisions regarding whether the teachings and disciplines she has proclaimed are true and profitable for salvation.
Are those who disagree with Church teaching motivated by a desire to have the Church “compromise” the truth? Or, rather, do they perceive a different truth which they believe worthy of equally uncompromising fidelity in its promulgation?
Certainly, the history of Christianity reveals that there have been martyrs on both sides of the debates that have often bred division within the ranks of the faithful. I am sure that every martyr earnestly believe that he or she is sacrificing their lives for the truthfulness of what they believe.
Surely, the Church’s claim to possess the “fullness of truth” will not in and of itself end challenges that come to her both from within and outside her members. A case in point: Amoris Laetitia!
And so, while we agree with Pope Francis that we should announce the truth without fear and with conviction, let us pray that God will grant us the wisdom to know what is true and how we can best serve that truth in fulfilling His Holy Will.
For doing what is right and true is relatively easy. What is hard is knowing what the right thing to do is in any given situation and circumstance. God grant us that wisdom. God grant us that grace always.
Monday, April 24, 2017
REFLECTIONS AT SUNSET IN THE DESERT VALLEY
It’s a part of the natural order of things, I guess.
It seems that, as we advance in age (hopefully accompanied by wisdom, though not always unfortunately), there is greater time for reflection.
I know that is generally true in my situation as a retired Priest.
Most evenings, I enjoy watching the beautiful sunsets for which the Valley of the Sun is famous here in Phoenix, Arizona. It is a quiet time, a pensive moment, caught between the dying of the day and the onset of the night. Oftentimes, these are moments when I reflect upon the memories of the people who have been part of my life’s experience. Quite often, I am inclined to remember those who have died but left a lasting impression upon me.
I have great memories of so many, and, sadly, not so much of others. That is sad to admit. It can be very hard to have good memories of some people. But, each of us hold memories of peoples’ characters and the legacy of memories, for good or ill, they have left behind.
I confess that, in my youth, I took for granted the precious and now-adjudged all too few moments I shared with some remarkable individuals who graced my life with their kindness, their wisdom and their virtue. Now, the memory of their coming into and going out of my life reminds me of my own appointment with death which has increasingly perceptible features.
I am not crippled by a fear of dying.
I accept the Divine Judgment upon sinful humanity and the admonition of the Creator to both Adam and Eve that, as a result of our pride and selfishness, mankind will “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19)
I wonder what the moment of death will be like for me. Will I be prepared or will death come suddenly? Will death come as a friend, relieving me of suffering? Will it come as foe, robbing me of many more days of discovery and joy in this life?
Sometimes, the wondering about the personal circumstances of my moment of death can be a bit overwhelming. Still, I choose to believe that Jesus has promised Eternal Life to those who trust in His Mercy. That is enough to dispel the doubts and fears we all naturally have about our mortality.
So what memories will I leave behind for people to reflect on when I die?
I can only hope the memories, the legacy (if you will) will be intimately associated with my abiding trust in God’s generous forgiveness of us sinners.
This has been the foundation of my life as a Priest, as a person, to trust that, no matter how profoundly and how often we turn away from the ways of Grace and Truth, the Father is always ready and eager to embrace His Prodigal Sons and Daughters.
This truth, this bedrock of my faith in God, has been the steady and constant source of comfort and joy in my Christian faith. If I have succeeded in sharing that with others, then that is what I am content to consider to have been the only lasting value of my earthly existence.
In just a hour or so, the sun will begin to set. I will take my place on my patio and gaze into the distance horizon as the rays of light all too quickly fade into the darkness of a cobalt sky. I will remember loved ones and friends again this evening. Dearest parents, teachers, seminary professors, fellow Priests, parishioners who gladdened my life just by their presence. I will commend them to the Mercy of God and the Hope of Eternal Life for which I myself pray.
I will bless the legacy of goodness with which they have touched my life and hope, in some small way, that my life will have been a blessing to others.
It seems that, as we advance in age (hopefully accompanied by wisdom, though not always unfortunately), there is greater time for reflection.
I know that is generally true in my situation as a retired Priest.
Most evenings, I enjoy watching the beautiful sunsets for which the Valley of the Sun is famous here in Phoenix, Arizona. It is a quiet time, a pensive moment, caught between the dying of the day and the onset of the night. Oftentimes, these are moments when I reflect upon the memories of the people who have been part of my life’s experience. Quite often, I am inclined to remember those who have died but left a lasting impression upon me.
I have great memories of so many, and, sadly, not so much of others. That is sad to admit. It can be very hard to have good memories of some people. But, each of us hold memories of peoples’ characters and the legacy of memories, for good or ill, they have left behind.
I confess that, in my youth, I took for granted the precious and now-adjudged all too few moments I shared with some remarkable individuals who graced my life with their kindness, their wisdom and their virtue. Now, the memory of their coming into and going out of my life reminds me of my own appointment with death which has increasingly perceptible features.
I am not crippled by a fear of dying.
I accept the Divine Judgment upon sinful humanity and the admonition of the Creator to both Adam and Eve that, as a result of our pride and selfishness, mankind will “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19)
I wonder what the moment of death will be like for me. Will I be prepared or will death come suddenly? Will death come as a friend, relieving me of suffering? Will it come as foe, robbing me of many more days of discovery and joy in this life?
Sometimes, the wondering about the personal circumstances of my moment of death can be a bit overwhelming. Still, I choose to believe that Jesus has promised Eternal Life to those who trust in His Mercy. That is enough to dispel the doubts and fears we all naturally have about our mortality.
So what memories will I leave behind for people to reflect on when I die?
I can only hope the memories, the legacy (if you will) will be intimately associated with my abiding trust in God’s generous forgiveness of us sinners.
This has been the foundation of my life as a Priest, as a person, to trust that, no matter how profoundly and how often we turn away from the ways of Grace and Truth, the Father is always ready and eager to embrace His Prodigal Sons and Daughters.
This truth, this bedrock of my faith in God, has been the steady and constant source of comfort and joy in my Christian faith. If I have succeeded in sharing that with others, then that is what I am content to consider to have been the only lasting value of my earthly existence.
In just a hour or so, the sun will begin to set. I will take my place on my patio and gaze into the distance horizon as the rays of light all too quickly fade into the darkness of a cobalt sky. I will remember loved ones and friends again this evening. Dearest parents, teachers, seminary professors, fellow Priests, parishioners who gladdened my life just by their presence. I will commend them to the Mercy of God and the Hope of Eternal Life for which I myself pray.
I will bless the legacy of goodness with which they have touched my life and hope, in some small way, that my life will have been a blessing to others.
Sunday, April 23, 2017
IT'S ALL ABOUT TIME
In the mid-1960s, a television sitcom entiltled “It’s All About Time” entertained American audiences. The story line consisted of two astronauts, traveling faster than light, who go back in time to prehistoric Earth. Unable to return, they make friends with the "natives."
Ironically, for the sitcom’s creator, Sherwood Schwartz, and the lead actors, Frank Aletter, Jack Mullaney and Imogene Coca, the sitcom only survived for two seasons from 1966 to 1967, a short time indeed!
I know this is a strange way to introduce a post. But, as I have been thinking about Pope Francis and his legacy, this crazy sitcom and its title have often come to mind.
It is all about time, isn’t it?
Whether or not Pope Francis’ Pontificate has any lasting impact upon the Papacy, the Curia, moral and sacramental theology, the hierarchy and the laity alike really depends upon how long the Lord gives the Holy Father the spiritual and physical stamina to shepherd His Church.
If the various Catholic pundits and the “talking heads” which appear on EWTN and elsewhere in the media are correct, an identifiable and very vocal conservative wing within the hierarchy has remained reluctant to embrace the various pastoral initiatives which Francis has either inspired or encouraged.
Whether these initiatives will become part of the institutional structure of the Church in the future may very well depend upon the length of this Papacy and the opportunity which Francis will have to replace these conservative diehards with liberal minded Prelates.
If not, then the Church will be find itself in troubled waters indeed.
For the question will then be whether Catholics who have been so encouraged by the openness with which Francis speaks of God’s mercy and forgiveness will accept an attempt by conservative voices to return to a Church of judgment and condemnation.
A dear friend of mine puts the question this way: can the Church put the toothpaste back into the tube after Pope Francis?
Again, it’s all about time, I think.
But there are some things which time will quickly determine for any future Papacy.
For example, the next Pope will have less than one day to define his Papacy. What do I mean?
If the next Pope doesn’t carry his own suitcase, pay his own hotel bill the morning following the Conclave, doesn’t live in the simple apartment at Santa Marta, doesn’t ride around in Fiat rather than a Mercedes, then that Pope’s future acceptance by the ordinary Catholics and non-Catholics will be seriously and negatively impacted.
That’s for sure and any future Pontiff should be well aware of this simple but profound fact. Any future Papacy must imitate the simplicity of Francis or that Pontificate is DOA (dead on arrival).
It’s all about time, and the appearance and trappings of the Papacy have been changed for all time.
And whether or not Amoris Laetitia, or Laudato Si, or any other Apostolic Exhortation or Papal Encyclical of Francis continues to provide guidance and inspiration to future generations of Catholics will depend upon the amount of time Francis has to appoint Bishops who are receptive to his message of discernment, accompaniment and mercy.
It’s all about time!
The Holy Father has said on more than one occasion that he envisions his Papacy as a short one, suggesting in one address to a group of elderly Italian female soldalists that he is a “a little old, and a little sick” for his Pontificate to be a long one. Early on, during an impromptu news conference conducted on a return flight from one of his missionary visits, he suggested that he might only be Pope for “five years or so”.
It’s all about time!
Whether or not Francis appreciates this fact and whether or not his actions and decisions are marked by a sense of urgency is anyone’s guess. Whether the Holy Father is simply content to do what he can while he can and leave the future of the Church to the Holy Spirit Who will motivate and inspire his successor is again anyone’s guess.
Yet, I sense the Holy Father is anxious to at least urge the leadership of the Church to consider alternatives and to be bold in being generous in the dispensation of God’s merciful Grace. Whether or not this will have a significant and permanent effect remains to be seen.
For in the end, it’s all about time!
Ironically, for the sitcom’s creator, Sherwood Schwartz, and the lead actors, Frank Aletter, Jack Mullaney and Imogene Coca, the sitcom only survived for two seasons from 1966 to 1967, a short time indeed!
I know this is a strange way to introduce a post. But, as I have been thinking about Pope Francis and his legacy, this crazy sitcom and its title have often come to mind.
It is all about time, isn’t it?
Whether or not Pope Francis’ Pontificate has any lasting impact upon the Papacy, the Curia, moral and sacramental theology, the hierarchy and the laity alike really depends upon how long the Lord gives the Holy Father the spiritual and physical stamina to shepherd His Church.
If the various Catholic pundits and the “talking heads” which appear on EWTN and elsewhere in the media are correct, an identifiable and very vocal conservative wing within the hierarchy has remained reluctant to embrace the various pastoral initiatives which Francis has either inspired or encouraged.
Whether these initiatives will become part of the institutional structure of the Church in the future may very well depend upon the length of this Papacy and the opportunity which Francis will have to replace these conservative diehards with liberal minded Prelates.
If not, then the Church will be find itself in troubled waters indeed.
For the question will then be whether Catholics who have been so encouraged by the openness with which Francis speaks of God’s mercy and forgiveness will accept an attempt by conservative voices to return to a Church of judgment and condemnation.
A dear friend of mine puts the question this way: can the Church put the toothpaste back into the tube after Pope Francis?
Again, it’s all about time, I think.
But there are some things which time will quickly determine for any future Papacy.
For example, the next Pope will have less than one day to define his Papacy. What do I mean?
If the next Pope doesn’t carry his own suitcase, pay his own hotel bill the morning following the Conclave, doesn’t live in the simple apartment at Santa Marta, doesn’t ride around in Fiat rather than a Mercedes, then that Pope’s future acceptance by the ordinary Catholics and non-Catholics will be seriously and negatively impacted.
That’s for sure and any future Pontiff should be well aware of this simple but profound fact. Any future Papacy must imitate the simplicity of Francis or that Pontificate is DOA (dead on arrival).
It’s all about time, and the appearance and trappings of the Papacy have been changed for all time.
And whether or not Amoris Laetitia, or Laudato Si, or any other Apostolic Exhortation or Papal Encyclical of Francis continues to provide guidance and inspiration to future generations of Catholics will depend upon the amount of time Francis has to appoint Bishops who are receptive to his message of discernment, accompaniment and mercy.
It’s all about time!
The Holy Father has said on more than one occasion that he envisions his Papacy as a short one, suggesting in one address to a group of elderly Italian female soldalists that he is a “a little old, and a little sick” for his Pontificate to be a long one. Early on, during an impromptu news conference conducted on a return flight from one of his missionary visits, he suggested that he might only be Pope for “five years or so”.
It’s all about time!
Whether or not Francis appreciates this fact and whether or not his actions and decisions are marked by a sense of urgency is anyone’s guess. Whether the Holy Father is simply content to do what he can while he can and leave the future of the Church to the Holy Spirit Who will motivate and inspire his successor is again anyone’s guess.
Yet, I sense the Holy Father is anxious to at least urge the leadership of the Church to consider alternatives and to be bold in being generous in the dispensation of God’s merciful Grace. Whether or not this will have a significant and permanent effect remains to be seen.
For in the end, it’s all about time!
Saturday, April 22, 2017
HOW CAN PASTORS ADJUST TO POPE FRANCIS' INITIAIVES?
From his depiction of the Church as a field hospital, to proclaiming the need to acknowledge the Mercy of God in all situations, Pope Francis has spoken repeatedly about the need of Pastors to meet people in whatever circumstances life has given them and to walk with them in compassion and love.
In his Exhortation on The Joy of the Gospel, he named this “the art of accompaniment.” But what exactly does Pope Francis mean by that term?
Francis has told his Bishops and Pastors: "... the ministers of the church must be ministers of mercy above all. The confessor, for example, is always in danger of being either too much of a rigorist or too lax. Neither is merciful, because neither of them really takes responsibility for the person. The rigorist washes his hands so that he leaves it to the commandment. The loose minister washes his hands by simply saying, ‘This is not a sin’ or something like that. In pastoral ministry we must accompany people, and we must heal their wounds."
One thing is certain. The fruitful and efficacious implementation of the pastoral initiatives which the Holy Father has encouraged depend upon a Clergy that is prepared and capable of such discernment and accompaniment.
Yet, most Priests (including Priests of my generation) were never schooled in such pastoral skills.
For the most part, we were trained in the classic structure of seminary formation: personal discipline, study and prayer, in that ascending order.
Theologically we were schooled to be “teachers” of the Deposit of Faith found in the Scriptures and Tradition of Holy Mother Church. We were expected to know the fundamental doctrines and dogmas of the Church and to share those teachings with diligence to those entrusted to our care.
As concerns the ministry of the Confessional, the Sacrament was presented as the “tribunal of God’s forgiveness” with the Confessor standing as judge of sinful deeds and as the advocate on behalf of the penitential sinner: our judgments based upon clear and universally binding moral principles and the Absolution we granted always inspired by the Merciful Jesus whose alter-persona we Priests are to His People.
We were not formed or trained to accompany people. We were to teach them, sanctify them with the Sacraments, and see to the administration of the temporal goods of the Church which provided the means of accomplishing these sacred duties.
And now (rather late in the game I might add), we are occasionally scolded by the Holy Father, for being “rigorists” because we sought to diligently and dutifully fulfill the responsibilities with which the Church entrusted us and expected us of us.
I see a parallel in today’s Priesthood with many professions and careers in the secular world.
In today’s competitive marketplace, it is crucial for businesses to be flexible enough to change, in order to remain relevant and profitable. Change in job descriptions and tasks continues to be an issue of controversy and division: how can employers create suitable conditions for a successful changes within the company structure and among employees.
For many people, their jobs largely define who they are. Personal lives change as people get older, so do jobs, careers and organizations. However, human beings, by nature, do tend to resent change and resist it strongly. The whole process can be very distressing and negative emotions oftentimes stem out from it.
These same tensions and challenges exist among Priests today. I believe it is always advisable to recognize the different stages of change and anticipate its impact in order to take preventive measures.
And so, if I may presume to be so bold, I would offer the following advice to my brother-Priests who are being challenged by the new expectations which Pope Francis’ pastoral initiatives are placing squarely on their shoulders.
First, make an informed and determined decision to accept the reality that the Church has been most effectively when it allowed itself to accept change, adapting to the cultures and customs of people and adapting those cultures to the teachings and traditions of the Church. Change has always been a part of the history of the Church, even if the defensive response to the Protestant Reformation contributed to the illusion that the Church was always what the Council of Trent depicted it to be. No one can live in the past. Denying that change happens only makes life and ministry more complicated and burdensome.
Second, read, read, read. Stay informed and alert to what is happening locally in your parish, your diocese, and at the highest echelons of Church authority. Be alert to clues and hints that changes are on the way and be willing to adapt to them or entrust them to others.
Third, maintain open communication channels with superiors and peers. Don’t expect things to pass you by smoothly. Get acquainted with the occurring changes, seek more details from those in authority as well as and peers to form an accurate understanding of the matter. And be honest and vocal about your fears: dealing with the unknown is often resented and daunting.
Fourth, make a personal assessment of your ability and willingness to accept and realistically implement the changes expected of you. Recognize your strengths and where you could bring them into play. At the same time, stay aware your inadequacies and work on improving them. Be flexible enough to look at the different angles of the change and see where you could apply your “existing” skills and knowledge, and what news skills you need to acquire.
Fifth, stay optimistic. Keep a positive attitude and don’t let yourself drown in uncertainty. Involve yourself in the new process; locate yourself properly in the new scenario. Adjust as much as you can.
Sixth and last, be humble enough to admit you may not be able to adjust to the change in expectations and entrust the task to some who is more capable of successfully fulfilling the demands the new changes require.
Many may think that it is too much to expect an aging Clergy to accept change.
Yet, I have always been inspired and admire the Priest who so readily accepted and adjusted to the changes resulting from the Second Vatican Council. Priests who had celebrated the Sacred Liturgy all their lives according to the Tridentine ritual who readily adapted to the reforms of the Council and encouraged their parishes to accept them as well. And these Priests did it so well happily and well!
May our generation of Priests be equally as humble and enthusiastic as were our immediate predecessors.
God bless our Priests and sustain them in the difficult ministry which is theirs to be the faithful Servants of God and His Holy People.
In his Exhortation on The Joy of the Gospel, he named this “the art of accompaniment.” But what exactly does Pope Francis mean by that term?
Francis has told his Bishops and Pastors: "... the ministers of the church must be ministers of mercy above all. The confessor, for example, is always in danger of being either too much of a rigorist or too lax. Neither is merciful, because neither of them really takes responsibility for the person. The rigorist washes his hands so that he leaves it to the commandment. The loose minister washes his hands by simply saying, ‘This is not a sin’ or something like that. In pastoral ministry we must accompany people, and we must heal their wounds."
One thing is certain. The fruitful and efficacious implementation of the pastoral initiatives which the Holy Father has encouraged depend upon a Clergy that is prepared and capable of such discernment and accompaniment.
Yet, most Priests (including Priests of my generation) were never schooled in such pastoral skills.
For the most part, we were trained in the classic structure of seminary formation: personal discipline, study and prayer, in that ascending order.
Theologically we were schooled to be “teachers” of the Deposit of Faith found in the Scriptures and Tradition of Holy Mother Church. We were expected to know the fundamental doctrines and dogmas of the Church and to share those teachings with diligence to those entrusted to our care.
As concerns the ministry of the Confessional, the Sacrament was presented as the “tribunal of God’s forgiveness” with the Confessor standing as judge of sinful deeds and as the advocate on behalf of the penitential sinner: our judgments based upon clear and universally binding moral principles and the Absolution we granted always inspired by the Merciful Jesus whose alter-persona we Priests are to His People.
We were not formed or trained to accompany people. We were to teach them, sanctify them with the Sacraments, and see to the administration of the temporal goods of the Church which provided the means of accomplishing these sacred duties.
And now (rather late in the game I might add), we are occasionally scolded by the Holy Father, for being “rigorists” because we sought to diligently and dutifully fulfill the responsibilities with which the Church entrusted us and expected us of us.
I see a parallel in today’s Priesthood with many professions and careers in the secular world.
In today’s competitive marketplace, it is crucial for businesses to be flexible enough to change, in order to remain relevant and profitable. Change in job descriptions and tasks continues to be an issue of controversy and division: how can employers create suitable conditions for a successful changes within the company structure and among employees.
For many people, their jobs largely define who they are. Personal lives change as people get older, so do jobs, careers and organizations. However, human beings, by nature, do tend to resent change and resist it strongly. The whole process can be very distressing and negative emotions oftentimes stem out from it.
These same tensions and challenges exist among Priests today. I believe it is always advisable to recognize the different stages of change and anticipate its impact in order to take preventive measures.
And so, if I may presume to be so bold, I would offer the following advice to my brother-Priests who are being challenged by the new expectations which Pope Francis’ pastoral initiatives are placing squarely on their shoulders.
First, make an informed and determined decision to accept the reality that the Church has been most effectively when it allowed itself to accept change, adapting to the cultures and customs of people and adapting those cultures to the teachings and traditions of the Church. Change has always been a part of the history of the Church, even if the defensive response to the Protestant Reformation contributed to the illusion that the Church was always what the Council of Trent depicted it to be. No one can live in the past. Denying that change happens only makes life and ministry more complicated and burdensome.
Second, read, read, read. Stay informed and alert to what is happening locally in your parish, your diocese, and at the highest echelons of Church authority. Be alert to clues and hints that changes are on the way and be willing to adapt to them or entrust them to others.
Third, maintain open communication channels with superiors and peers. Don’t expect things to pass you by smoothly. Get acquainted with the occurring changes, seek more details from those in authority as well as and peers to form an accurate understanding of the matter. And be honest and vocal about your fears: dealing with the unknown is often resented and daunting.
Fourth, make a personal assessment of your ability and willingness to accept and realistically implement the changes expected of you. Recognize your strengths and where you could bring them into play. At the same time, stay aware your inadequacies and work on improving them. Be flexible enough to look at the different angles of the change and see where you could apply your “existing” skills and knowledge, and what news skills you need to acquire.
Fifth, stay optimistic. Keep a positive attitude and don’t let yourself drown in uncertainty. Involve yourself in the new process; locate yourself properly in the new scenario. Adjust as much as you can.
Sixth and last, be humble enough to admit you may not be able to adjust to the change in expectations and entrust the task to some who is more capable of successfully fulfilling the demands the new changes require.
Many may think that it is too much to expect an aging Clergy to accept change.
Yet, I have always been inspired and admire the Priest who so readily accepted and adjusted to the changes resulting from the Second Vatican Council. Priests who had celebrated the Sacred Liturgy all their lives according to the Tridentine ritual who readily adapted to the reforms of the Council and encouraged their parishes to accept them as well. And these Priests did it so well happily and well!
May our generation of Priests be equally as humble and enthusiastic as were our immediate predecessors.
God bless our Priests and sustain them in the difficult ministry which is theirs to be the faithful Servants of God and His Holy People.
Friday, April 21, 2017
A GLIMPSE INTO THE MIND AND HEART OF FRANCIS?
I think a light bulb just clicked on in my brain.
Perhaps, for just a millisecond, I believe my spirit merged with the Cosmic and Divine Wisdom which governs all things and, in that instant, I believe I was allowed to glimpse the resilience and the brilliance of Pope Francis.
The Holy Father is a Jesuit wrapped in Franciscan tenderness.
As a Pastor of souls, Francis exudes the profoundly charming charism of his namesake. Gentle, patient, kind, without harsh words or judgments, deeply serene and unshakeably confident in the bounty of the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness.
As an administrator, the Pope is both studied and careful, practical and daring. He possesses the characteristic trait of all Jesuits, that is, the ability to be faithful to the Church while, at the very same time, testing the Church’s limits both structurally and theologically.
For this reason, Francis has appeared to be an enigma.
To conservatives, Francis is the antithesis of institutional tradition and orthodoxy, challenging the Church to explore the full implications of a Gospel whose charity looks beyond the narrow confinements of credal formulas and catechetical axioms.
Yet, to liberals, the Pope is a source of great frustration in his hesitance and reluctance to reform ancient customs and disciplines which have been a source of continuity and stability for centuries.
I believe this is the reason Francis continues to be puzzling to so many.
Indoctrinated and formed in the theology and praxis of classical Western European philosophy and culture, most Catholics see reality in terms of black and white. A thing, an idea, an action is either real, true or right or it is an illusion, a lie, or wrong. A thing cannot be real and illusory at the same time. An idea cannot be correct and incorrect in one moment. An human act is either right or wrong, meritorious or sinful, deserving of reward or punishment.
Francis, however, seems disposed to see reality, especially Christian reality, not as black or white but predominantly grey. For Francis, there is no difficulty in accepting the reality that people are both saints and sinners, not one or the other. In each of us, both the divine and the mundane find harbor. In so many ways, we yearn for the peace and comfort which the Grace of the Sacraments promise, yet we remain obstinate to the very virtues which the Sacraments are meant to inspire and nurture.
How else can we understand how Francis can accept and allow those who are in an objective state of serious sin to still be capable of having access to the Sacraments? Because the Franciscan and the Jesuit co-exist in this Pontiff.
The overwhelming majority of Catholics want the Holy Father to give definite answers to definite questions. They want the Pope to demand that Bishops allow their Priests to provide Communion to divorced and remarried Catholics unwilling to practice sexual abstinence. They want the Universal Church to allow for the ordination of married men to the Priesthood everywhere. Most Catholics want definite responses that will be universally binding upon all the Christian faithful.
Instead, the Holy Father is content to respond to specific questions and issues with a "maybe, let's see" answer.
In his Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, for example, Francis says that “in some cases” divorced and remarried Catholics “might be able” to approach the Sacraments, while “in other cases” they “might not”. Each situation must be considered individually, through a process of discernment and pastoral accompaniment.
For Pope Francis, there are no universal answers to what are always uniquely personal circumstances. The Gospel is not meant to be a book of rules with which the faithful are pounded over the head until they comply. Rather, the Gospel is a primer of sorts, helping the troubled and the weak in Faith to be assured of God's understanding and forgiveness. The Lord does not make demands upon His followers but accompanies all those who draw close to Him seeking His compassion and mercy.
It’s been suggested to me that the Oriental culture and mindset lives comfortably in a world of both “ying” and “yang”. According to the wisdom of the Orient, life unfolds amidst the constant effort at finding a balance between the pulls and tugs of the cosmic tension that exists in all things.
I confess to being quite ignorant of the South American (and especially Argentine) culture and outlook on life. But it seems to me that this Argentine Jesuit Pope is equally comfortable in accepting a world in which humanity finds itself in a struggle to achieve some sense of balance between the tensions of moral opposites.
Of this, I am reasonably sure. No European or American Pope could possibly have compoased and promulgated Amoris Laetitia. No African or Japanese Pope ever would consider permitting married men to be ordained to the Priesthood. Their cultural and ecclesiastical formation simply prohibits them from accepting the apparent contradictions in theology and history which such reforms suggest.
And so, I think we should all accept the fact that the best answer we can expect from this Pope to any question put to him will be “yes and no”, "maybe, let's see".
For Francis, it is and rightfully should be the duty of the Bishops to provide answers to these questions in a way which provides for the welfare of those entrusted to their pastoral care. And so, the Church’s response to certain questions or issues will be answered in one way in certain places and in others ways in other places, depending upon the discernment of the local Bishops and not the Pope alone.
The days of "Roma locuta, caua finita est" are over. No more universally applicable Vatican solutions. No black or white answers. Rather, grey responses based upon individually discernable circumstances and situations.
Whether or not my assessment of this Pontiff is correct, whether or not that light bulb which went off in my brain was just a short-circuit only time will tell.
The question for the moment is whether or not we Catholics can live in this present world of grey-ness without watching the Church we love fragment and dissolve before our very eyes.
Perhaps, for just a millisecond, I believe my spirit merged with the Cosmic and Divine Wisdom which governs all things and, in that instant, I believe I was allowed to glimpse the resilience and the brilliance of Pope Francis.
The Holy Father is a Jesuit wrapped in Franciscan tenderness.
As a Pastor of souls, Francis exudes the profoundly charming charism of his namesake. Gentle, patient, kind, without harsh words or judgments, deeply serene and unshakeably confident in the bounty of the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness.
As an administrator, the Pope is both studied and careful, practical and daring. He possesses the characteristic trait of all Jesuits, that is, the ability to be faithful to the Church while, at the very same time, testing the Church’s limits both structurally and theologically.
For this reason, Francis has appeared to be an enigma.
To conservatives, Francis is the antithesis of institutional tradition and orthodoxy, challenging the Church to explore the full implications of a Gospel whose charity looks beyond the narrow confinements of credal formulas and catechetical axioms.
Yet, to liberals, the Pope is a source of great frustration in his hesitance and reluctance to reform ancient customs and disciplines which have been a source of continuity and stability for centuries.
I believe this is the reason Francis continues to be puzzling to so many.
Indoctrinated and formed in the theology and praxis of classical Western European philosophy and culture, most Catholics see reality in terms of black and white. A thing, an idea, an action is either real, true or right or it is an illusion, a lie, or wrong. A thing cannot be real and illusory at the same time. An idea cannot be correct and incorrect in one moment. An human act is either right or wrong, meritorious or sinful, deserving of reward or punishment.
Francis, however, seems disposed to see reality, especially Christian reality, not as black or white but predominantly grey. For Francis, there is no difficulty in accepting the reality that people are both saints and sinners, not one or the other. In each of us, both the divine and the mundane find harbor. In so many ways, we yearn for the peace and comfort which the Grace of the Sacraments promise, yet we remain obstinate to the very virtues which the Sacraments are meant to inspire and nurture.
How else can we understand how Francis can accept and allow those who are in an objective state of serious sin to still be capable of having access to the Sacraments? Because the Franciscan and the Jesuit co-exist in this Pontiff.
The overwhelming majority of Catholics want the Holy Father to give definite answers to definite questions. They want the Pope to demand that Bishops allow their Priests to provide Communion to divorced and remarried Catholics unwilling to practice sexual abstinence. They want the Universal Church to allow for the ordination of married men to the Priesthood everywhere. Most Catholics want definite responses that will be universally binding upon all the Christian faithful.
Instead, the Holy Father is content to respond to specific questions and issues with a "maybe, let's see" answer.
In his Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, for example, Francis says that “in some cases” divorced and remarried Catholics “might be able” to approach the Sacraments, while “in other cases” they “might not”. Each situation must be considered individually, through a process of discernment and pastoral accompaniment.
For Pope Francis, there are no universal answers to what are always uniquely personal circumstances. The Gospel is not meant to be a book of rules with which the faithful are pounded over the head until they comply. Rather, the Gospel is a primer of sorts, helping the troubled and the weak in Faith to be assured of God's understanding and forgiveness. The Lord does not make demands upon His followers but accompanies all those who draw close to Him seeking His compassion and mercy.
It’s been suggested to me that the Oriental culture and mindset lives comfortably in a world of both “ying” and “yang”. According to the wisdom of the Orient, life unfolds amidst the constant effort at finding a balance between the pulls and tugs of the cosmic tension that exists in all things.
I confess to being quite ignorant of the South American (and especially Argentine) culture and outlook on life. But it seems to me that this Argentine Jesuit Pope is equally comfortable in accepting a world in which humanity finds itself in a struggle to achieve some sense of balance between the tensions of moral opposites.
Of this, I am reasonably sure. No European or American Pope could possibly have compoased and promulgated Amoris Laetitia. No African or Japanese Pope ever would consider permitting married men to be ordained to the Priesthood. Their cultural and ecclesiastical formation simply prohibits them from accepting the apparent contradictions in theology and history which such reforms suggest.
And so, I think we should all accept the fact that the best answer we can expect from this Pope to any question put to him will be “yes and no”, "maybe, let's see".
For Francis, it is and rightfully should be the duty of the Bishops to provide answers to these questions in a way which provides for the welfare of those entrusted to their pastoral care. And so, the Church’s response to certain questions or issues will be answered in one way in certain places and in others ways in other places, depending upon the discernment of the local Bishops and not the Pope alone.
The days of "Roma locuta, caua finita est" are over. No more universally applicable Vatican solutions. No black or white answers. Rather, grey responses based upon individually discernable circumstances and situations.
Whether or not my assessment of this Pontiff is correct, whether or not that light bulb which went off in my brain was just a short-circuit only time will tell.
The question for the moment is whether or not we Catholics can live in this present world of grey-ness without watching the Church we love fragment and dissolve before our very eyes.
Thursday, April 20, 2017
LET'S GET HONEST AND MATURE ABOUT A MARRIED PRIESTHOOD IN THE LATIN CHURCH
It appears the rumblings about Pope Francis' openness to the question of allowing married men of proven virtue to be ordained to the Priesthood are becoming louder and louder. In my preceding post, I highlighted the remarks Cardinal Kasper made in an interview published on the website of the German Bishops' Conference.
The Cardinal was very direct in stating that Pope Francis is open to receiving proposals from Conferences of Bishops in countries where there is a dearth of Priests available to provide for the spiritual and Sacramental care of the faithful.
Frankly, I have consistently questioned and challenged the mindset of previous Popes and the Bishops who have insisted that the canonical discipline of celibacy trumps the mission of the Priesthood to be the continuous and effective salvific presence of Christ among the People of God.
Yet, while I am very enthusiastic about the possibility of admitting married men to the Priesthood, I do believe that this solution comes with difficulties and challenges, to be sure.
So, let's talk about the idea of married Priests for a moment, honestly and maturely.
If the Church is really going to admit married men to the Priesthood, then the hierarchy and the Catholic faithful need to be realistic and not create a fantasy similar to that which surrounded the celibate Priesthood. That is to say, a Priest, married or not, is a fallible human being, a sinner called from among sinners to minister in the name and person of Christ.
And so, as the celibate Priesthood has been shown itself to be vulnerable to the weaknesses of human sinfulness, so too the Priesthood of the married will be subject to the frailties of the wounds that flow from Original and personal sin.
If the Church is going to embrace married men in the Priesthood, then the Bishops and the Catholic faithful need to understand that, along the way, there will be failings among these married Priests. There will be incidences of divorce, adultery, family issues involving children and extended family members.
It won't be pretty when these things take place (as they are bound to happen), but the Church needs to stop pretending the Priesthood somehow makes the Priest invulnerable to the human condition of brokenness that all humanity suffers.
It is appropriate and fitting that we expect the Priest to be an example of the life of charity and sincerity the Gospel inspires, but we must be reasonable in those expectations and accept the fact that all of us depend upon the Grace and the Mercy of God as we struggle to be faithful to Christ.
For too long, the Church perpetuated the false image of the Priest as a sinless servant. Nonsense. And in perpetuating the illusion, cover up and concealments added to the human tragedies. As recent incidences have shown, Priests are subject to (perhaps even more vulnerable) to the temptations and failings of the world, the flesh and the Devil. The illusory pedestal upon which the Priesthood stood for far too long was destroyed, once and for all, in the scandals of recent years.
Of course, the response of the official Church has been what is always is: condemnation and punishment.
Rather, the Church needs to remind us that when we stray from the wisdom and the resource of Christ's Grace, our lives become chaotic, without direction, selfish and self-destructive. This is true of all of us, from the Pope to the lay person.
What the Evangelical response should and must be in the face of human failing is the Mercy of Christ and the possibility of redemption, even from the worst of sins.
So, if we are to ordain married men to the Priesthood, we must accept the fact that some will fail and not respond as Pharisees but as Alter Christus, as Christ Himself.
We shall see what the future holds for the Priesthood of the Latin Church, a Church so different than the one in which I was ordained so many years ago. The Holy Spirit continues to be with us, to inspire, to protect and to guide us. That is a source of great assurance to me and, hopefully, will be to you as well.
The Cardinal was very direct in stating that Pope Francis is open to receiving proposals from Conferences of Bishops in countries where there is a dearth of Priests available to provide for the spiritual and Sacramental care of the faithful.
Frankly, I have consistently questioned and challenged the mindset of previous Popes and the Bishops who have insisted that the canonical discipline of celibacy trumps the mission of the Priesthood to be the continuous and effective salvific presence of Christ among the People of God.
Yet, while I am very enthusiastic about the possibility of admitting married men to the Priesthood, I do believe that this solution comes with difficulties and challenges, to be sure.
So, let's talk about the idea of married Priests for a moment, honestly and maturely.
If the Church is really going to admit married men to the Priesthood, then the hierarchy and the Catholic faithful need to be realistic and not create a fantasy similar to that which surrounded the celibate Priesthood. That is to say, a Priest, married or not, is a fallible human being, a sinner called from among sinners to minister in the name and person of Christ.
And so, as the celibate Priesthood has been shown itself to be vulnerable to the weaknesses of human sinfulness, so too the Priesthood of the married will be subject to the frailties of the wounds that flow from Original and personal sin.
If the Church is going to embrace married men in the Priesthood, then the Bishops and the Catholic faithful need to understand that, along the way, there will be failings among these married Priests. There will be incidences of divorce, adultery, family issues involving children and extended family members.
It won't be pretty when these things take place (as they are bound to happen), but the Church needs to stop pretending the Priesthood somehow makes the Priest invulnerable to the human condition of brokenness that all humanity suffers.
It is appropriate and fitting that we expect the Priest to be an example of the life of charity and sincerity the Gospel inspires, but we must be reasonable in those expectations and accept the fact that all of us depend upon the Grace and the Mercy of God as we struggle to be faithful to Christ.
For too long, the Church perpetuated the false image of the Priest as a sinless servant. Nonsense. And in perpetuating the illusion, cover up and concealments added to the human tragedies. As recent incidences have shown, Priests are subject to (perhaps even more vulnerable) to the temptations and failings of the world, the flesh and the Devil. The illusory pedestal upon which the Priesthood stood for far too long was destroyed, once and for all, in the scandals of recent years.
Of course, the response of the official Church has been what is always is: condemnation and punishment.
Rather, the Church needs to remind us that when we stray from the wisdom and the resource of Christ's Grace, our lives become chaotic, without direction, selfish and self-destructive. This is true of all of us, from the Pope to the lay person.
What the Evangelical response should and must be in the face of human failing is the Mercy of Christ and the possibility of redemption, even from the worst of sins.
So, if we are to ordain married men to the Priesthood, we must accept the fact that some will fail and not respond as Pharisees but as Alter Christus, as Christ Himself.
We shall see what the future holds for the Priesthood of the Latin Church, a Church so different than the one in which I was ordained so many years ago. The Holy Spirit continues to be with us, to inspire, to protect and to guide us. That is a source of great assurance to me and, hopefully, will be to you as well.
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
CARDINAL KASPER IS AT IT AGAIN!
Cardinal Kasper seems to be at it again.
Stirring up yet an issue destined to become yet another hornets nest of controversy for Pope Francis.
This time, Cardinal Kasper is making some bold statements about the Holy Father’s inclinations regarding the possibility of allowing married men to be ordained to the Priesthood in the Latin Rite.
In an interview published on the official website of the German Bishop’s Conference, the Cardinal states that Pope Francis wants the matter address and resolved by individual conferences of Bishops around the world.
And so, in those countries in which the Bishops determine that there are insufficient numbers of ordained Priests to provide for the Sacramental care of the people, the respective Bishop Conferences would submit proposals for ordaining married men to the Holy Father for his approval.
In his interview, Cardinal Kasper indicated that there is “an urgent need for action” on the question of married Priests, expecially given the shortage of Priests in Germany. The entire country has only 40 candidates for the Priesthood.
Cardinal Kasper stated, further, that previous discussions on this topic were “not approved officially by Rome”. Now, however, the Cardinal reveals that Pope Francis is open and eager to address the topic. His Eminence has not shared where the Holy Father personally stands on this question, but that he views discussion on the topic “positively”.
If the Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, set off a firestorm of conflict within the ranks of the hierarchy and the more traditionally-minded of the Catholic faithful, one can only imagine what the Holy Father’s eventual response to any proposal to allow married men to be ordained to the Priesthood will cause.
We shall see what the Holy Spirit (and Cardinal Kasper) has in store on this issue in the weeks and months ahead!
Stirring up yet an issue destined to become yet another hornets nest of controversy for Pope Francis.
This time, Cardinal Kasper is making some bold statements about the Holy Father’s inclinations regarding the possibility of allowing married men to be ordained to the Priesthood in the Latin Rite.
In an interview published on the official website of the German Bishop’s Conference, the Cardinal states that Pope Francis wants the matter address and resolved by individual conferences of Bishops around the world.
And so, in those countries in which the Bishops determine that there are insufficient numbers of ordained Priests to provide for the Sacramental care of the people, the respective Bishop Conferences would submit proposals for ordaining married men to the Holy Father for his approval.
In his interview, Cardinal Kasper indicated that there is “an urgent need for action” on the question of married Priests, expecially given the shortage of Priests in Germany. The entire country has only 40 candidates for the Priesthood.
Cardinal Kasper stated, further, that previous discussions on this topic were “not approved officially by Rome”. Now, however, the Cardinal reveals that Pope Francis is open and eager to address the topic. His Eminence has not shared where the Holy Father personally stands on this question, but that he views discussion on the topic “positively”.
If the Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, set off a firestorm of conflict within the ranks of the hierarchy and the more traditionally-minded of the Catholic faithful, one can only imagine what the Holy Father’s eventual response to any proposal to allow married men to be ordained to the Priesthood will cause.
We shall see what the Holy Spirit (and Cardinal Kasper) has in store on this issue in the weeks and months ahead!
Monday, April 17, 2017
SO HOW DID YOU CELEBRATE EASTER SUNDAY?
If you live in or are from a Scandinavian country, you probably went begging in the streets with soot-covered faces, scarves around your heads, carrying broomsticks, coffee pots and bunches of twigs. Later in the evening, you most likely gathered around the huge Easter bonfires that are burned to ward off these “witches” who fly around on brooms during the holy days of the Triduum.
Polish Easter traditions include that of the “Smingus-Dyngus”, the custom of pouring cold water on one another using buckets, squirt guns or anything else the folks can get their hands on. Legend says girls who get soaked on Easter will marry within the year. This tradition is said to have its origin in the Baptism of Polish Prince Mieszko during Easter in 966 AD.
In France, omelets are the traditional morning fare of Easter Sunday. In the town of Haux, a giant omelet is prepared each year using more than 4, 500 eggs, feeding up to 1,000 people who gather in the town square. The tradition commemorates the entry of Napoleon and his troops into the south of France and the occasion upon which they stopped in this village to rest and eat the omelets the people enthusiastically prepared for them.
We Italians celebrate Easter and almost every tradition with food. Since Easter is the end of the Lenten Season of sacrifice, food is very much part of the Easter festivities. Traditional Easter foods across Italy may include lamb or goat, artichokes and special Easter breads that vary from region to region. Pannetone (sweet fruticake) and Colomba (dove shaped) breads are often given as gifts, as are hollow chocolate eggs that usually come with a surprise inside. On Easter Monday, some cities hold dances, free concerts, or unusual games often involving eggs. In the Umbrian hill town of Panicale, cheese is the star. Ruzzolone is played by rolling huge wheels of cheese, weighing about 10 pounds , around the village walls. The object is to get your cheese around the course using the fewest number of strokes. Following the cheese contest, there is a band in the piazza and of course, wine and cheese sampling.
Children in the American grow up expecting a delivery of eggs and candy from the Easter bunny each year, but it may seem odd to an outsider. Brought to this country by German immigrants in the 1700s, the practice is rooted in the belief that rabbits and eggs symbolize fertility and rebirth.
Whatever customs are observed in celebrating Easter, they are expressions of a deep and abiding faith and trust in the Mercy of the Lord witnessed in Christ Passion and Death and Promised in His Resurrection.
However you may have celebrated Easter Sunday, try to keep the spirit of that celebration in your heart and soul each and everyday. The Lord has forgiven us our sins, let us rejoice in His Resurrection and be assured of His Promise of Eternal Life to all those who believe in Him.
Happy Easter Season, everyone. God bless you always!
Polish Easter traditions include that of the “Smingus-Dyngus”, the custom of pouring cold water on one another using buckets, squirt guns or anything else the folks can get their hands on. Legend says girls who get soaked on Easter will marry within the year. This tradition is said to have its origin in the Baptism of Polish Prince Mieszko during Easter in 966 AD.
In France, omelets are the traditional morning fare of Easter Sunday. In the town of Haux, a giant omelet is prepared each year using more than 4, 500 eggs, feeding up to 1,000 people who gather in the town square. The tradition commemorates the entry of Napoleon and his troops into the south of France and the occasion upon which they stopped in this village to rest and eat the omelets the people enthusiastically prepared for them.
We Italians celebrate Easter and almost every tradition with food. Since Easter is the end of the Lenten Season of sacrifice, food is very much part of the Easter festivities. Traditional Easter foods across Italy may include lamb or goat, artichokes and special Easter breads that vary from region to region. Pannetone (sweet fruticake) and Colomba (dove shaped) breads are often given as gifts, as are hollow chocolate eggs that usually come with a surprise inside. On Easter Monday, some cities hold dances, free concerts, or unusual games often involving eggs. In the Umbrian hill town of Panicale, cheese is the star. Ruzzolone is played by rolling huge wheels of cheese, weighing about 10 pounds , around the village walls. The object is to get your cheese around the course using the fewest number of strokes. Following the cheese contest, there is a band in the piazza and of course, wine and cheese sampling.
Children in the American grow up expecting a delivery of eggs and candy from the Easter bunny each year, but it may seem odd to an outsider. Brought to this country by German immigrants in the 1700s, the practice is rooted in the belief that rabbits and eggs symbolize fertility and rebirth.
Whatever customs are observed in celebrating Easter, they are expressions of a deep and abiding faith and trust in the Mercy of the Lord witnessed in Christ Passion and Death and Promised in His Resurrection.
However you may have celebrated Easter Sunday, try to keep the spirit of that celebration in your heart and soul each and everyday. The Lord has forgiven us our sins, let us rejoice in His Resurrection and be assured of His Promise of Eternal Life to all those who believe in Him.
Happy Easter Season, everyone. God bless you always!
Sunday, April 16, 2017
HAPPY EASTER, EVERYONE!
A truly Happy and Holy Easter to all. May the joy and hope of this Day of the Lord's Resurrection be with all of you. May the Promise of Eternal Life inspire us and quiet the anxieties and fears we confront in life's trying moments, in moment's of sadness and grief. And may the assurance of God's Love and Mercy dispel the darkness of guilt and disappointment that accompany our sins. The Lord forgives....that is the Good, no the Greatest News of all. No matter our failings, He is always there to embrace us with His understanding and His care.
May this Easter be your best ever! Celebrate the bright promise and hope of this day with all those you love and let us all try, in every way, to be as forgiving of others as the Lord has been forgiving of us!
May this Easter be your best ever! Celebrate the bright promise and hope of this day with all those you love and let us all try, in every way, to be as forgiving of others as the Lord has been forgiving of us!
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
A BLESSED TRIDUUM TO YOU ALL!
As we prepare now to celebrate the Triduum, the Solemn Liturgy which commemorates and celebrates the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus, I will refrain from posting any articles so as to enter into the spirit of these special days and evenings.
I certainly encourage as many of you as can to make of these days opportunities for prayer and thanksgiving for the generous Mercy the Father has bestowed upon us in His Son.
On Easter Sunday, the Holy Father will impart the traditional blessing on the City and the World (Urbi et Orbi). May blessing take hold of a world divided by war, a world increasingly indifferent to Almighty God, a world in such need of peace!
I shall join with Pope Francis in offering my blessings on Easter Sunday as well. In the meantime, let us rejoice that Jesus loves us and is so forgiving of our sins.
Monday, April 10, 2017
A BRIEF HISTORY OF HOLY WEEK
In the Christian Church, Holy Week is the week just before Easter. It is the last week of Lent and includes Palm Sunday (just celebrated), Spy Wednesday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. It does not include Easter Sunday, however.
The earliest reference to Holy Week as a whole with special observances can be found in the Apostolic Constitutions of the latter half of the Third Century and beginning of the Fourth Century. In this text can be found references to abstaining from meat all the days of this week and absolute fast (eating nothing) on Friday and Saturday.
The most special day of this week and the earliest to achieve prominence was Good Friday, followed closely by Holy Saturday (the “Great Sabbath") with its Vigil Service, which in the Early Church was associated with an expectation that the Second Coming would occur on an Easter Sunday.
Today, the Christian Churches of the West practically observe the same liturgies for Holy Week. These include Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, Presbyterians as well as Catholic Churches of the Latin Rite.
Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday (Passion Sunday) commemorating Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, one of the few events described in all Four Gospels. It is customary to bless palm leaves or olive branches followed by a procession or solemn entrance into the church with the cross leading the congregation carrying palms. This ritual memorializes Jesus’ entrance into the Holy City as he begins His journey to His crucifixion.
The days between Palm Sunday and Holy Thursday are known as Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday and Spy Wednesday. The Gospel accounts are not always clear or in agreement on the events which occurred on these days, though there are traditional observances held by some denominations to commemorate certain events from the last days of Jesus' life.
On Monday, some observe the anointing of Jesus at Bethany, an event that in the Gospel of John occurred before Palm Sunday.
On Tuesday, some observe Jesus' predictions of his own death.
On Wednesday, some observe the story of Judas arranging his betrayal of Jesus with the high priests, For this reason, the day is sometimes called Spy Wednesday.
In whatever way possible, we are invited to make the days of this week an extraordinary time for remember God’s Mercy for sinful humanity. As we call to mind our sins and ask the Lord Jesus to be gentle and generous in His Forgiveness, let us be especially mindful of the opportunity and invitation the Lord extends to us to be forgiving of one another.
Let us be thankful that Almighty God has chosen to be Divinely Just in demanding reparation for man’s sinfulness, the price of which was the very life of His Only Begotten Son. And let us be eternally grateful that Our Heavenly Father has likewise chosen to be Divinely Merciful in forgiving us our sins.
May the days of this Holy Week 2017 be truly a time of conversion in the lives of each and every one of us.
The earliest reference to Holy Week as a whole with special observances can be found in the Apostolic Constitutions of the latter half of the Third Century and beginning of the Fourth Century. In this text can be found references to abstaining from meat all the days of this week and absolute fast (eating nothing) on Friday and Saturday.
The most special day of this week and the earliest to achieve prominence was Good Friday, followed closely by Holy Saturday (the “Great Sabbath") with its Vigil Service, which in the Early Church was associated with an expectation that the Second Coming would occur on an Easter Sunday.
Today, the Christian Churches of the West practically observe the same liturgies for Holy Week. These include Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, Presbyterians as well as Catholic Churches of the Latin Rite.
Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday (Passion Sunday) commemorating Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, one of the few events described in all Four Gospels. It is customary to bless palm leaves or olive branches followed by a procession or solemn entrance into the church with the cross leading the congregation carrying palms. This ritual memorializes Jesus’ entrance into the Holy City as he begins His journey to His crucifixion.
The days between Palm Sunday and Holy Thursday are known as Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday and Spy Wednesday. The Gospel accounts are not always clear or in agreement on the events which occurred on these days, though there are traditional observances held by some denominations to commemorate certain events from the last days of Jesus' life.
On Monday, some observe the anointing of Jesus at Bethany, an event that in the Gospel of John occurred before Palm Sunday.
On Tuesday, some observe Jesus' predictions of his own death.
On Wednesday, some observe the story of Judas arranging his betrayal of Jesus with the high priests, For this reason, the day is sometimes called Spy Wednesday.
In whatever way possible, we are invited to make the days of this week an extraordinary time for remember God’s Mercy for sinful humanity. As we call to mind our sins and ask the Lord Jesus to be gentle and generous in His Forgiveness, let us be especially mindful of the opportunity and invitation the Lord extends to us to be forgiving of one another.
Let us be thankful that Almighty God has chosen to be Divinely Just in demanding reparation for man’s sinfulness, the price of which was the very life of His Only Begotten Son. And let us be eternally grateful that Our Heavenly Father has likewise chosen to be Divinely Merciful in forgiving us our sins.
May the days of this Holy Week 2017 be truly a time of conversion in the lives of each and every one of us.
THERE IS LITTLE "CATHOLIC" ABOUT CATHOLIC CHARITIES
A study conducted by Catholic Charities USA found that total income for their 177 member agencies was about $4.5 billion, with about $2.8 billion coming from government sources. This would include federal, state and local government support.
President Trumpis proposing to slash the budget of the Department of Health and Human Services by 18 percent, or $15 billion, while the Department of Housing and Urban Development could see cuts of about 13 percent, or about $6 billion. Both of those federal agencies are big funders of local Catholic Charities agencies.
How Catholic is Catholic Charities?
Because Catholic Charities receives almost two-thirds of its funding from government sources, the agency can do little that is uniquely Catholic. It has to do what the government dictates, which means that Catholic Charities cannot talk about the Catholic part of the charity.
A number of Catholic politicians have been alarmed to witness firsthand the role of the Catholic lobby — especially Catholic Charities — in scuttling government reform legislation.
Catholic Charities appears to be more interested in maintaining its own status as a benefactor of government grants than in promoting true charity to the underprivileged, much less witnessing to the truths of the Gospel in a way that is “distinctly Catholic.”
Little wonder that the presence of public money has affected Catholic Charities’ mission.
Indeed, lobbying legislatures, scrounging for more public dollars and attending to political priorities seems to consume an inordinate amount of the organization’s energies. A casual glance at its national meetings shows that Catholic Charities focuses on politics and political priorities at the expense of actually doing what the layperson on the street might think the organization does: serve the poor directly
What is Catholic about Catholic Charities?
It is difficult to say with any degree of certainty. But this much is evident: Catholic Charities is visibly and aggressively dedicated to keeping the government’s welfare largesse flowing, and, so long as it does flow, to endorsing the priorities of those who sign the checks.
Catholic Charities has become trapped in the same cycle of dependency that afflicts the poor in the presence of a cradle-to-grave welfare state. Cut off from the local population served by area charities, donors who would otherwise feel called upon to make a voluntary financial sacrifice instead come to believe that their charitable obligations are discharged through the tax system. This in turn leads the organization to despair of gaining private donors, which leads to an increased reliance on government.
The late Cardinal John O’Connor, Archbishop of New York, rightly warned Catholic institutions that “dependence on government is fraught with the peril of creeping dependence. I see us going after the money, wherever the money is, to tailor programs accordingly, to fit our charity to the requirements of governmental regulatory procedures.”
The fact is, government support is not charity or philanthropy, defined as the giving of the proper amount to the most worthy institutions and individuals. Government support is a regulated purchase of goods and services where he who pays the piper calls the tune.
Ultimately, American Bishops need to ask themselves this simple question, “If you are only going to be a more efficient bureaucracy, if you are not going to feed the souls as well as the stomach, then why exist?”
I long ago answered this question for myself as I routinely ignored mentioning or encouraging parishioners to support the annual Catholic Charities Appeal. Instead, I reminded them that “charity begins at home” and encouraged them to support the parish’s charitable outreach programs which were delivered in the name of Jesus and the local Catholic parish.
President Trumpis proposing to slash the budget of the Department of Health and Human Services by 18 percent, or $15 billion, while the Department of Housing and Urban Development could see cuts of about 13 percent, or about $6 billion. Both of those federal agencies are big funders of local Catholic Charities agencies.
How Catholic is Catholic Charities?
Because Catholic Charities receives almost two-thirds of its funding from government sources, the agency can do little that is uniquely Catholic. It has to do what the government dictates, which means that Catholic Charities cannot talk about the Catholic part of the charity.
A number of Catholic politicians have been alarmed to witness firsthand the role of the Catholic lobby — especially Catholic Charities — in scuttling government reform legislation.
Catholic Charities appears to be more interested in maintaining its own status as a benefactor of government grants than in promoting true charity to the underprivileged, much less witnessing to the truths of the Gospel in a way that is “distinctly Catholic.”
Little wonder that the presence of public money has affected Catholic Charities’ mission.
Indeed, lobbying legislatures, scrounging for more public dollars and attending to political priorities seems to consume an inordinate amount of the organization’s energies. A casual glance at its national meetings shows that Catholic Charities focuses on politics and political priorities at the expense of actually doing what the layperson on the street might think the organization does: serve the poor directly
What is Catholic about Catholic Charities?
It is difficult to say with any degree of certainty. But this much is evident: Catholic Charities is visibly and aggressively dedicated to keeping the government’s welfare largesse flowing, and, so long as it does flow, to endorsing the priorities of those who sign the checks.
Catholic Charities has become trapped in the same cycle of dependency that afflicts the poor in the presence of a cradle-to-grave welfare state. Cut off from the local population served by area charities, donors who would otherwise feel called upon to make a voluntary financial sacrifice instead come to believe that their charitable obligations are discharged through the tax system. This in turn leads the organization to despair of gaining private donors, which leads to an increased reliance on government.
The late Cardinal John O’Connor, Archbishop of New York, rightly warned Catholic institutions that “dependence on government is fraught with the peril of creeping dependence. I see us going after the money, wherever the money is, to tailor programs accordingly, to fit our charity to the requirements of governmental regulatory procedures.”
The fact is, government support is not charity or philanthropy, defined as the giving of the proper amount to the most worthy institutions and individuals. Government support is a regulated purchase of goods and services where he who pays the piper calls the tune.
Ultimately, American Bishops need to ask themselves this simple question, “If you are only going to be a more efficient bureaucracy, if you are not going to feed the souls as well as the stomach, then why exist?”
I long ago answered this question for myself as I routinely ignored mentioning or encouraging parishioners to support the annual Catholic Charities Appeal. Instead, I reminded them that “charity begins at home” and encouraged them to support the parish’s charitable outreach programs which were delivered in the name of Jesus and the local Catholic parish.
Saturday, April 8, 2017
PIOUS PLATITUDES OF LITTLE VALUE TO FAMILY LIFE
The 2018 World Meeting of Families will focus on the theme of "The Gospel of the Family: joy to the world."
In preparation for the meeting, Pope Francis wrote a letter addressed to Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the head of the new Vatican office for Laity, Family and Life.
In the letter, Pope Francis asks: “Does the Gospel continue to be a joy for the world? And also: does the family continue to be good news for today's world?”
The Holy Father continues” “I am sure the answer is yes! And this ‘yes’ is firmly based on God's plan. The love of God is His ‘yes’ to all creation and at the heart of this latter is man. It is God's ‘yes’ to the union between man and woman, in openness and service to life in all its phases; it is God's ‘yes’ and His commitment to a humanity that is often wounded, mistreated and dominated by a lack of love. The family, therefore, is the ‘yes’ of God as Love. Only starting from love can the family manifest, spread and regenerate God's love in the world. Without love, we cannot live as children of God, as couples, parents and brothers.”
Certainly, no one of good will can take exception to the Pope’s sentiments.
The question is: “To whom is Pope Francis speaking?”
Not to American Catholics apparently. Not according to a recent study. The Pew Research Study found that roughly 10% of U.S. Catholics say a household headed by a married mother and father is an ideal situation for bringing up children! Roughly 10%!
But the survey shows the other 90% think other kinds of families – those headed by parents who are single, divorced, unmarried or gay – are fine for raising children, too!
Twenty-five percent of US Catholics have gone through a divorce. Ten percent have not only divorced but also remarried. Ten percent are living with a romantic partner, sans wedding, and more than 25% have done so at some point in their lives.
When it comes to matters of sexuality, there are a number of issues on which US Catholics either mostly disagree with the Church (on the question of whether Catholics should be permitted to use birth control) or are divided (on the question of whether the church should recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples).
For example, 84% of Catholics say it is acceptable for unmarried parents who live together to bring up children, including 48% who call this as good as any other arrangement for raising children.
And fully two-thirds of American Catholics think it is acceptable for same-sex couples to raise children, including 43% who say a gay or lesbian couple with children is just as good as any other kind of family.
Leaving children aside, Catholics also condone a variety of adult living arrangements that the Church traditionally has frowned upon. A sizable majority (85%) think it is acceptable for a man and woman to live together as a couple outside of marriage, including more than half (55%) who say cohabitation is as good as any other living arrangement for adults. And 70% of Catholics say married couples who opt not to have children have chosen a lifestyle that is as good as any other.
Moreover, many U.S. Catholics would like the Catholic Church, as an institution, to adopt a more flexible or accepting approach toward people who are divorced, cohabiting with a romantic partner outside marriage or in same-sex relationships.
Fully 60% say the Church should start allowing Catholics who are cohabiting, as well as those who have divorced and remarried without obtaining an annulment, to receive Communion (61% and 62%, respectively). And nearly half of Catholics (46%) think the church should recognize same-sex marriages.
When it comes to traditional Catholic family values, it seems that many Catholics have adopted an almost purely secular mentality little different from the viewpoints of non-Catholics and non-believers alike.
No one would disagree that love is the binding force of family life. But, in the secular and amoral culture in which we now find ourselves, love has become an increasing indefinable, elusive and heroic virtue indeed.
Pious platitudes about love, family, parenting, all well and good have little effect upon the popular culture which is decidedly secular and becoming increasingly so, if that is possible. In this social milieu, relationships, even intimate ones, are disposable when they cease to be convenient and satisfying.
I confess that, as I read the Pope’s letter to Cardinal Farrell, I could have been reading the latest psycho-babble of Dr. Phil or Oprah.
Everyone agrees that love is the core of family life. The problem is the understanding and investment which contemporary Catholics and others apply to the word “love”.
The Holy Father should understand this and reinforce the Biblical understanding of the essence of what true love really is, the surrender in good will to the needs of the other, with no condition and with absolute fidelity.
I find this Biblical understanding of love lacking in the Holy Father’s letter and, I suspect, it will be sorely lacking at the upcoming World Meeting of Families.
We need to reinforce first principles about family life and love. What we don't need is bumper sticker pious platitudes.
Postscript:
While we're thinking about it, weren't many of these same Catholics educated in Catholic schools? As I have said for years, Catholic school graduates show little difference, if any, in their adherence to Catholic teaching, moral and doctrinal. So much for the amount of human and financial resource American Catholic parishes expend in support of Catholic education these days!
In preparation for the meeting, Pope Francis wrote a letter addressed to Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the head of the new Vatican office for Laity, Family and Life.
In the letter, Pope Francis asks: “Does the Gospel continue to be a joy for the world? And also: does the family continue to be good news for today's world?”
The Holy Father continues” “I am sure the answer is yes! And this ‘yes’ is firmly based on God's plan. The love of God is His ‘yes’ to all creation and at the heart of this latter is man. It is God's ‘yes’ to the union between man and woman, in openness and service to life in all its phases; it is God's ‘yes’ and His commitment to a humanity that is often wounded, mistreated and dominated by a lack of love. The family, therefore, is the ‘yes’ of God as Love. Only starting from love can the family manifest, spread and regenerate God's love in the world. Without love, we cannot live as children of God, as couples, parents and brothers.”
Certainly, no one of good will can take exception to the Pope’s sentiments.
The question is: “To whom is Pope Francis speaking?”
Not to American Catholics apparently. Not according to a recent study. The Pew Research Study found that roughly 10% of U.S. Catholics say a household headed by a married mother and father is an ideal situation for bringing up children! Roughly 10%!
But the survey shows the other 90% think other kinds of families – those headed by parents who are single, divorced, unmarried or gay – are fine for raising children, too!
Twenty-five percent of US Catholics have gone through a divorce. Ten percent have not only divorced but also remarried. Ten percent are living with a romantic partner, sans wedding, and more than 25% have done so at some point in their lives.
When it comes to matters of sexuality, there are a number of issues on which US Catholics either mostly disagree with the Church (on the question of whether Catholics should be permitted to use birth control) or are divided (on the question of whether the church should recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples).
For example, 84% of Catholics say it is acceptable for unmarried parents who live together to bring up children, including 48% who call this as good as any other arrangement for raising children.
And fully two-thirds of American Catholics think it is acceptable for same-sex couples to raise children, including 43% who say a gay or lesbian couple with children is just as good as any other kind of family.
Leaving children aside, Catholics also condone a variety of adult living arrangements that the Church traditionally has frowned upon. A sizable majority (85%) think it is acceptable for a man and woman to live together as a couple outside of marriage, including more than half (55%) who say cohabitation is as good as any other living arrangement for adults. And 70% of Catholics say married couples who opt not to have children have chosen a lifestyle that is as good as any other.
Moreover, many U.S. Catholics would like the Catholic Church, as an institution, to adopt a more flexible or accepting approach toward people who are divorced, cohabiting with a romantic partner outside marriage or in same-sex relationships.
Fully 60% say the Church should start allowing Catholics who are cohabiting, as well as those who have divorced and remarried without obtaining an annulment, to receive Communion (61% and 62%, respectively). And nearly half of Catholics (46%) think the church should recognize same-sex marriages.
When it comes to traditional Catholic family values, it seems that many Catholics have adopted an almost purely secular mentality little different from the viewpoints of non-Catholics and non-believers alike.
No one would disagree that love is the binding force of family life. But, in the secular and amoral culture in which we now find ourselves, love has become an increasing indefinable, elusive and heroic virtue indeed.
Pious platitudes about love, family, parenting, all well and good have little effect upon the popular culture which is decidedly secular and becoming increasingly so, if that is possible. In this social milieu, relationships, even intimate ones, are disposable when they cease to be convenient and satisfying.
I confess that, as I read the Pope’s letter to Cardinal Farrell, I could have been reading the latest psycho-babble of Dr. Phil or Oprah.
Everyone agrees that love is the core of family life. The problem is the understanding and investment which contemporary Catholics and others apply to the word “love”.
The Holy Father should understand this and reinforce the Biblical understanding of the essence of what true love really is, the surrender in good will to the needs of the other, with no condition and with absolute fidelity.
I find this Biblical understanding of love lacking in the Holy Father’s letter and, I suspect, it will be sorely lacking at the upcoming World Meeting of Families.
We need to reinforce first principles about family life and love. What we don't need is bumper sticker pious platitudes.
Postscript:
While we're thinking about it, weren't many of these same Catholics educated in Catholic schools? As I have said for years, Catholic school graduates show little difference, if any, in their adherence to Catholic teaching, moral and doctrinal. So much for the amount of human and financial resource American Catholic parishes expend in support of Catholic education these days!
Monday, April 3, 2017
WILL BE AWAY FROM APRIL 3 UNTIL APRIL 10
It’s Monday, April 3 (already) and I am leaving to take a trip through southwestern New Mexico. I have always been fascinated with the culture and customs of the indigenous people of this part of the world. During this week long adventure, I shall be visiting with a number of Priests and clergy who serve the Native American tribes of the high desert surrounding Las Cruces.
I also want to visit the rich silver-mining country near the New Mexico/Arizona border. Silver City continues in its history as a mining center in the Southwest.
I shall not be posting articles during this trip, but will resume when I return the following weekend.
Stay well during my absence from the Net and please say a prayer that I have a safe and interesting outing.
God bless you always!
I also want to visit the rich silver-mining country near the New Mexico/Arizona border. Silver City continues in its history as a mining center in the Southwest.
I shall not be posting articles during this trip, but will resume when I return the following weekend.
Stay well during my absence from the Net and please say a prayer that I have a safe and interesting outing.
God bless you always!
Sunday, April 2, 2017
NEW WINE INTO OLD WINESKINS: Part Two (Conclusion)
Funny, until Pope Francis, I never really considered myself to be an old wineskin.
But, in his words and by his actions, the Holy Father has certainly challenged me and the Church to understand how our lives are “wineskins” for the new wine of Christ Jesus.
Francis is calling me and all of us to a fundamental conversion of mind and heart, to let the new wine renew and transform, not just the obviously religious parts of life, but everything.
I confess that I tend to be quite conservative, not only when it comes to theology, but also in my personal habits and preferences. I don’t think I’m rigid in my beliefs. But, I do find myself approaching new ideas and suggestions from a decidedly conservative point of view.
And so it is that I have always found it challenging to surrender myself with what is unfamiliar and unpredictable. I am most comfortable with what I’ve been told is sure and certain, clear and uncompromising.
Thus, I find Pope Francis 'new model of the Church as a “field hospital”, his pastoral approach in Amoris Laetitia, and much of his rhetoric about “accompaniment” and “journeying” a bit unsettling and definitely challenging.
One thing I am sure of is this: Pope Francis message certainly is new wine! What I have been asking myself a lot lately is this: am I an old wineskin?
I don’t want to be.
But how am I to accept Francis call to a new paradigm for the Church, for the Sacraments, and especially regarding my Priesthood?
It’s not that I reject what the Holy Father is teaching. It’s that I find myself mentally resisting, or at least in a state of tension, torn between what I had been taught and assured was true Catholic teaching and what the Holy Father has stated is a rigorism which undermines the Salvific Mission of the Church.
In many ways, I find what the Holy Father has said about the preeminence of the human conscience to be an affirmation of what I have believed. In other ways, I am confused about the moral priorities he has indicated should govern my religious thoughts and actions: globalization, the environment, immigration, as well as a host of social issues and concerns.
In the end, I guess my challenge will be the same as yours: to surrender the old self (the old wineskin) to the ever-relevant and ever-saving Gospel of Jesus Christ (the ever-new wine).
Cardinals, Bishops, theologians, philosophers and the learned men in their company love to speak in terms of absolutes. Absolute truths. Absolute norms. Absolute allegiance.
Pope Francis challenges us to understand that there is only one absolute: the Mercy of God for sinners. I know that if I focus my attention on this Absolute, surrendering all the pre-conceived, familiar and comfortable absolutes of my old wineskin conservative self will be easier. Not easy, but easier.
Deep down, I believe the Holy Spirit is at work in this Church I love. Even now, when the chasms and the controversies are so apparent, the Spirit is calling each and all of us to unity in our trust and hope that Jesus is indeed the Merciful Savior of sinners.
So, God bless you, Pope Francis. This old wineskin wishes to be transformed into the new wineskin which not just carries the fullness of Christ’s love but pours that love into the cups of all those seeking refreshment and nourishment from the Divine Savior.
Lord Jesus, help me, help all Your Church to be the worthy vessel of Your Compassion and Mercy.
But, in his words and by his actions, the Holy Father has certainly challenged me and the Church to understand how our lives are “wineskins” for the new wine of Christ Jesus.
Francis is calling me and all of us to a fundamental conversion of mind and heart, to let the new wine renew and transform, not just the obviously religious parts of life, but everything.
I confess that I tend to be quite conservative, not only when it comes to theology, but also in my personal habits and preferences. I don’t think I’m rigid in my beliefs. But, I do find myself approaching new ideas and suggestions from a decidedly conservative point of view.
And so it is that I have always found it challenging to surrender myself with what is unfamiliar and unpredictable. I am most comfortable with what I’ve been told is sure and certain, clear and uncompromising.
Thus, I find Pope Francis 'new model of the Church as a “field hospital”, his pastoral approach in Amoris Laetitia, and much of his rhetoric about “accompaniment” and “journeying” a bit unsettling and definitely challenging.
One thing I am sure of is this: Pope Francis message certainly is new wine! What I have been asking myself a lot lately is this: am I an old wineskin?
I don’t want to be.
But how am I to accept Francis call to a new paradigm for the Church, for the Sacraments, and especially regarding my Priesthood?
It’s not that I reject what the Holy Father is teaching. It’s that I find myself mentally resisting, or at least in a state of tension, torn between what I had been taught and assured was true Catholic teaching and what the Holy Father has stated is a rigorism which undermines the Salvific Mission of the Church.
In many ways, I find what the Holy Father has said about the preeminence of the human conscience to be an affirmation of what I have believed. In other ways, I am confused about the moral priorities he has indicated should govern my religious thoughts and actions: globalization, the environment, immigration, as well as a host of social issues and concerns.
In the end, I guess my challenge will be the same as yours: to surrender the old self (the old wineskin) to the ever-relevant and ever-saving Gospel of Jesus Christ (the ever-new wine).
Cardinals, Bishops, theologians, philosophers and the learned men in their company love to speak in terms of absolutes. Absolute truths. Absolute norms. Absolute allegiance.
Pope Francis challenges us to understand that there is only one absolute: the Mercy of God for sinners. I know that if I focus my attention on this Absolute, surrendering all the pre-conceived, familiar and comfortable absolutes of my old wineskin conservative self will be easier. Not easy, but easier.
Deep down, I believe the Holy Spirit is at work in this Church I love. Even now, when the chasms and the controversies are so apparent, the Spirit is calling each and all of us to unity in our trust and hope that Jesus is indeed the Merciful Savior of sinners.
So, God bless you, Pope Francis. This old wineskin wishes to be transformed into the new wineskin which not just carries the fullness of Christ’s love but pours that love into the cups of all those seeking refreshment and nourishment from the Divine Savior.
Lord Jesus, help me, help all Your Church to be the worthy vessel of Your Compassion and Mercy.
Saturday, April 1, 2017
NEW WINE INTO OLD WINESKINS: Part One
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’
(Luke 5:37-39)
The Church of my youth, of my seminary and Priestly formation, was the Church modeled on the vision of the perfect society, which Pope Leo XIII applied to the Church in his Encyclical, Immortale Dei.
In the document, he writes: “The Church is a perfect society of its own kind and their own right, since in and of itself it everything for their existence and their effectiveness is necessary, in accordance with the will and power of the Grace of their Founder. As the goal of the Church is more sublime, its power is always far superior, and it can therefore not be considered less than the Civil state, as to not be in a state of subordination.”
The perfect society Church was a neat, divinely inspired, order of authority established within the distinct responsibilities and obligations from the Supreme Apostolic Office of the Papacy down through the ranks of those in Sacred Orders (Cardinals, Bishops, Priests), to those in Religious Life (Consecrated men and women) to the laity (on the low side of the hierarchical pyramid).
In keeping with the Biblical metaphor, this was the Church of the old wineskin, my Church.
Now comes a Pope who clearly rejects the notion of the Church as a perfect society and proclaims a new model (a new wineskin): a field hospital!
In his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, Francis writes: 'Frequently, we act as arbiters of grace rather than its facilitators. But the Church is not a tollhouse; it is the house of the Father, where there is a place for everyone, with all their problems.'
More recently in Amoris Laetitia, he repeats the image of the field hospital and complements it with other images: “The Church must accompany with attention and care the weakest of her children, who show signs of a wounded and troubled love, by restoring in them hope and confidence, like the beacon of a lighthouse in a port or a torch carried among the people to enlighten those who have lost their way or who are in the midst of a storm”.
The Holy Father then goes on to insist that mercy must be the hallmark of all we say and do: “Mercy is the very foundation of the Church's life. All of her pastoral activity should be caught up in the tenderness which she shows to believers; nothing in her preaching and her witness to the world can be lacking in mercy."
And so it is that many find themselves caught in the tensions of what Jesus spoke about in images of old wineskins and new wine.
There can be no mistaking the depth and width of the chasm between Pope Francis and some Bishops who waged the culture wars in times past as Pope John Paul's most loyal storm troopers.
This is now playing out in Rome and will be an ongoing tension in the Church for at least another generation or two. In speaking to those Bishops, Pope Francis said. “I know that you face many challenges and that the field in which you sow is unyielding, and that there is always the temptation to give in to fear, to lick one's wounds, to think back on bygone times and to devise harsh responses to fierce opposition. And yet we are promoters of the culture of encounter. We are living sacraments of the embrace between God's riches and our poverty. We are witnesses of the abasement and the condescension of God who anticipates in love our every response. For this, harsh and divisive language does not befit the tongue of a pastor, it has no place in his heart; although it may momentarily seem to win the day, only the enduring allure of goodness and love remains truly convincing."
New wine into old wineskins, indeed!
Four Cardinals who were in the peak of their powers during the previous two Pontificates took the unprecedented step of publishing their concerns about Pope Francis’ teachings and pointing out that some of the things being said by Francis are irreconcilable or at least inconsistent with previous clear statements by Pope John Paul II.
Cardinals Brandmuller (who previously chaired the Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences), Burke (who previously headed the Church's supreme court), Caffarra, Archbishop of Bologna, and Meisner, Archbishop of Cologne think Francis is seriously in error when he teaches about mercy and justice, right and wrong, and the place of conscience.
In 1993, in his Encyclical, Veritatis Splendor,
Pope John Paul II stipulated one and only one way of moral reasoning in the Catholic tradition. But this way had strong appeal for the present dissentients.
Pope Francis does not even refer to Veritatis Splendor.
Yet, invoking that Encyclical, the four Cardinals insist that there are absolute moral norms which prohibit intrinsically evil acts which are binding without exception. Circumstances and intention cannot transform these acts. There are objective situations of grave habitual sin. They are insistent that Veritatis Splendor both excludes a creative interpretation of the role of conscience and emphasises that conscience can never be authorised to legitimate exceptions to moral norms that prohibit intrinsically evil acts.
Old wineskins, to be sure!
Francis has an altogether different approach in his Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, in which he states: “Individual conscience needs to be better incorporated into the Church's praxis ... Naturally, every effort should be made to encourage the development of an enlightened conscience, formed and guided by the responsible and serious discernment of one's pastor, and to encourage an ever greater trust in God's grace. Yet conscience can do more than recognize that a given situation does not correspond objectively to the overall demands of the Gospel. It can also recognize with sincerity and honesty what for now is the most generous response which can be given to God, and come to see with a certain moral security that it is what God himself is asking amid the concrete complexity of one's limits, while yet not fully the objective ideal."
New wine, most definitely!
Still, the old wineskins insist John Paul's statement is contained in an Encyclical, while Francis's plea is only in an Apostolic Exhortation, as though the import of Francis' is somehow circumscribed by the literary form in which it was proclaimed.
The fact is Pope Francis has created a chasm with this "new wine". And the dissenting Cardinals have highlighted how deep and wide that chasm is.
This tension opens new possibilities and new risks for those wanting to show mercy and love to those who most need it.
Francis says that a person can be living in God's grace while 'in an objective situation of sin', and that the Sacraments, including the Eucharist might help, because the Eucharist 'is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak'.
How am I, an old wineskin, reacting to this new wine? More in Part II tomorrow.
(Luke 5:37-39)
The Church of my youth, of my seminary and Priestly formation, was the Church modeled on the vision of the perfect society, which Pope Leo XIII applied to the Church in his Encyclical, Immortale Dei.
In the document, he writes: “The Church is a perfect society of its own kind and their own right, since in and of itself it everything for their existence and their effectiveness is necessary, in accordance with the will and power of the Grace of their Founder. As the goal of the Church is more sublime, its power is always far superior, and it can therefore not be considered less than the Civil state, as to not be in a state of subordination.”
The perfect society Church was a neat, divinely inspired, order of authority established within the distinct responsibilities and obligations from the Supreme Apostolic Office of the Papacy down through the ranks of those in Sacred Orders (Cardinals, Bishops, Priests), to those in Religious Life (Consecrated men and women) to the laity (on the low side of the hierarchical pyramid).
In keeping with the Biblical metaphor, this was the Church of the old wineskin, my Church.
Now comes a Pope who clearly rejects the notion of the Church as a perfect society and proclaims a new model (a new wineskin): a field hospital!
In his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, Francis writes: 'Frequently, we act as arbiters of grace rather than its facilitators. But the Church is not a tollhouse; it is the house of the Father, where there is a place for everyone, with all their problems.'
More recently in Amoris Laetitia, he repeats the image of the field hospital and complements it with other images: “The Church must accompany with attention and care the weakest of her children, who show signs of a wounded and troubled love, by restoring in them hope and confidence, like the beacon of a lighthouse in a port or a torch carried among the people to enlighten those who have lost their way or who are in the midst of a storm”.
The Holy Father then goes on to insist that mercy must be the hallmark of all we say and do: “Mercy is the very foundation of the Church's life. All of her pastoral activity should be caught up in the tenderness which she shows to believers; nothing in her preaching and her witness to the world can be lacking in mercy."
And so it is that many find themselves caught in the tensions of what Jesus spoke about in images of old wineskins and new wine.
There can be no mistaking the depth and width of the chasm between Pope Francis and some Bishops who waged the culture wars in times past as Pope John Paul's most loyal storm troopers.
This is now playing out in Rome and will be an ongoing tension in the Church for at least another generation or two. In speaking to those Bishops, Pope Francis said. “I know that you face many challenges and that the field in which you sow is unyielding, and that there is always the temptation to give in to fear, to lick one's wounds, to think back on bygone times and to devise harsh responses to fierce opposition. And yet we are promoters of the culture of encounter. We are living sacraments of the embrace between God's riches and our poverty. We are witnesses of the abasement and the condescension of God who anticipates in love our every response. For this, harsh and divisive language does not befit the tongue of a pastor, it has no place in his heart; although it may momentarily seem to win the day, only the enduring allure of goodness and love remains truly convincing."
New wine into old wineskins, indeed!
Four Cardinals who were in the peak of their powers during the previous two Pontificates took the unprecedented step of publishing their concerns about Pope Francis’ teachings and pointing out that some of the things being said by Francis are irreconcilable or at least inconsistent with previous clear statements by Pope John Paul II.
Cardinals Brandmuller (who previously chaired the Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences), Burke (who previously headed the Church's supreme court), Caffarra, Archbishop of Bologna, and Meisner, Archbishop of Cologne think Francis is seriously in error when he teaches about mercy and justice, right and wrong, and the place of conscience.
In 1993, in his Encyclical, Veritatis Splendor,
Pope John Paul II stipulated one and only one way of moral reasoning in the Catholic tradition. But this way had strong appeal for the present dissentients.
Pope Francis does not even refer to Veritatis Splendor.
Yet, invoking that Encyclical, the four Cardinals insist that there are absolute moral norms which prohibit intrinsically evil acts which are binding without exception. Circumstances and intention cannot transform these acts. There are objective situations of grave habitual sin. They are insistent that Veritatis Splendor both excludes a creative interpretation of the role of conscience and emphasises that conscience can never be authorised to legitimate exceptions to moral norms that prohibit intrinsically evil acts.
Old wineskins, to be sure!
Francis has an altogether different approach in his Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, in which he states: “Individual conscience needs to be better incorporated into the Church's praxis ... Naturally, every effort should be made to encourage the development of an enlightened conscience, formed and guided by the responsible and serious discernment of one's pastor, and to encourage an ever greater trust in God's grace. Yet conscience can do more than recognize that a given situation does not correspond objectively to the overall demands of the Gospel. It can also recognize with sincerity and honesty what for now is the most generous response which can be given to God, and come to see with a certain moral security that it is what God himself is asking amid the concrete complexity of one's limits, while yet not fully the objective ideal."
New wine, most definitely!
Still, the old wineskins insist John Paul's statement is contained in an Encyclical, while Francis's plea is only in an Apostolic Exhortation, as though the import of Francis' is somehow circumscribed by the literary form in which it was proclaimed.
The fact is Pope Francis has created a chasm with this "new wine". And the dissenting Cardinals have highlighted how deep and wide that chasm is.
This tension opens new possibilities and new risks for those wanting to show mercy and love to those who most need it.
Francis says that a person can be living in God's grace while 'in an objective situation of sin', and that the Sacraments, including the Eucharist might help, because the Eucharist 'is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak'.
How am I, an old wineskin, reacting to this new wine? More in Part II tomorrow.