Today is the Solemnity of Pentecost, the day we commemorate the Holy Spirit coming down upon the Apostles and Mary. It is sometimes called the birthday of the Church, but I am not sure that is really accurate. Rather, I think of Pentecost as the Church's "Epiphany", or manifestation to the world. Christ was born on Christmas, but was not made manifest to the world until Epiphany. Likewise, the Church was born from the wounded side of Christ on Good Friday, but was not made manifest to the world until Pentecost. When the Spirit came, the apostles were given the strength to be instruments through which Christ's work of salvation would continue in the world. The existence and mission of the Church was now manifest.
Because it is the day of the liturgical year when we tend to have the highest focus on the Holy Spirit (though we should speak of it a LOT more than just one day of the year), you may have heard a lot about the Holy Spirit in a homily today or last evening. You may or may not have heard that there are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. I would imagine, though, in your average homily, if those gifts were mentioned, an explanation of what those seven gifts are was not. I will try to do that here in case anyone heard that phrase today or yesterday and wondered what those gifts are.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks of these seven gifts in Paragraph 1830. The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Here are the seven.
1) Wisdom Wisdom is the gift that allow us to value the truths of the Faith, and see the world through the eyes of that faith. We see creation as God's gift to us, we see our place in relation to God, and our need of a Savior, the reality that Jesus Christ is that Savior, and that He founded One Church for the salvation of all men.
2) Understanding Understanding is indeed similar to wisdom, but slightly different. Understanding goes beyond just accepting and valuing the truths of the Faith, but it allows us, as it implies, to "understand" them a little bit, although that will be impossible to do 100% this side of eternity.
3) Counsel Counsel is the gift that allows us to judge what we should do in a particular instance, almost by instinct. It is like, as it implies, that we have a "counselor" inside us, giving us very good advice.
4) Fortitude Fortitude is connected to counsel, because it gives us the grace to follow through on the counsel we receive. It gives us the strength to do what needs to be done, even if it involves possible suffering.
5) Knowledge The gift of knowledge is a result of the gift of wisdom. Whereas wisdom allows us to desire the things of God, and therefore see the world and our life in it accordingly, knowledge is our actual seeing of those aforementioned things.
6) Piety Piety is the gift of desire to please God by worshiping and serving Him, this God whom we have come to know and understand a little via the other aforementioned gifts of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. It gives us the grace to practice true religion.
7) Fear of the Lord This gift gives us the desire not to offend God, and the certainty He will give us the grace not to. This is analogous to our relationship with our parents. We do not want to hurt them, not because we are afraid of them per se, but rather, because we respect them because of how much they mean to us.
Those are the seven gifts in a nutshell. More could be said about each of them. They are similar, connected, and yet, distinct, from each other. Only in the Catholic Church, among all the different Christian denominations, is there such deep theological and spiritual insight that can produce such a nuanced list.
I hope this sheds a little light on what these gifts are. I can speak more perhaps about one or more in a later post, as well as the twelve "fruits" of the Holy Spirit that these gifts produce. In the meantime, let's pray to receive all these gifts of the Holy Spirit, so our lives can be lived according to God's Will, and we receive peace and joy in this life, and eternal happiness in the next.
Joseph, protector of Holy Church, pray for us.
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Friday, April 22, 2016
Psalm 139
It has been sad and depressing to hear all the ignoble talk recently about gender identity issues and who can go in what bathroom.
I recommend contrasting all that chatter with the beautiful, uplifting, heavenly words of Psalm 139:
O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall[a] on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
For they speak against You wickedly;
Your enemies take Your name in vain.[c]
Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall[a] on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
For they speak against You wickedly;
Your enemies take Your name in vain.[c]
Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
You may just be better off stopping here. I think those words speak for themselves, and have no need of any further commentary from me.
Yes, we are "fearfully and wonderfully made". God made us. We did not create ourselves. This means God made our gender. We did not decide our gender, just like we did not decide our parents. If we can choose our own gender, why cannot we not choose our own parents? If we can change our gender, what else can we change? Can we change our spouse at will? Can we change our children at will?
No, some things are not meant to be changed.
God does not make mistakes. If He created you male, your masculinity is a part of why He made you. There is a reason it exists, rather than not exist. If He created you female, your femininity is a part of why He made you. There is a reason it exists, rather than not exist. Discovering the reason of our existence is what makes like so dramatic and so interesting. Trying to create our own reason for existence ultimately just means we decide for ourselves what life is all about. Limiting life to our own vision and purpose serves to make life banal and devoid of meaning.
I pray for those who feel they have to change their God-given gender. The reality is that no matter what, they cannot change it. No surgery, no change in registration can alter who God made us as, nor His Dream for us. The more we run from whom we are meant to be by God, the more frustrated we become, even if on the surface we may say things are OK. No one who is a man who is living as a woman can say he has complete inner peace. No one who is a woman who is living as a man can say that, either. Why? Because they are living in contradiction to the beautiful and exalting words of Psalm 139, which exalt and praise both God, and His pinnacle of creation, man. Anyone who lives a life that conflicts with those noble words cannot ever have inner peace.
I pray people read and meditate on this beautiful Psalm everyday and realize that God, the Master Design, designed us all out of love, and for a purpose. He knows us through and through, much better than we know ourselves. He never abandons us. We need to have faith and trust that God had a reason for creating us as He did; we all are "fearfully and wonderfully made".
Joseph, renowned offspring of David, pray for us.
Friday, April 1, 2016
Mother Angelica
I join the many in mourning the loss of Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, the foundress of the Eternal Word Television Network. Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon her.
I always enjoyed watching her. She had an "edge" to her. She loved everyone, but that does not mean she was always "nice" to everyone. She sometimes said tough words. She often made people uncomfortable. Whatever she did or said, though, was always out of charity. Sometimes, the loving thing to do is indeed to say something that a person or persons may not want to hear, but need to. There can be no truth without love. There can be no love without truth.
I think in the years since she had to give over control of her network, EWTN, that that network has lost some of the "edge" it had when she was at the helm. The Church overall has lost a lot of Her "edge", too.
We need to get that "edge" back.
What do I mean by that?
1) We need to not be afraid. We need to not be afraid of things that we should not be afraid of. The only thing we should fear is the Lord. We should not fear anyone or anything else.
2) We need to hold ourselves accountable. We excuse our behavior with every excuse in the book; "my family was this way, so that is how (or why) I am". Mother's parents divorced. Her father abandoned her. Her mother had mental illness. Yes, she came from a broken family. Rather than let that stop her, though, she embraced her situation, and made it ever fruitful for her and so many.
3) We need to hold our leaders accountable . If people in authority are not speaking or doing as they should, they need to be asked to do so privately. If they continue not to, they need to be asked to publicly. Mother certainly challenged Bishops on more than one occasion when she felt it necessary.
4) We need to be warriors for Holy Mother Church. Mother defended the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, with a passion. She defended the Magisterium. She defended the Holy Father. Her weapons were the Rosary, her Crucifix, and the Child Jesus.
5) We need to call sin sin, and nothing else. Mother was always pleading with people to go back to Confession. She spoke about it seemingly on almost every one of her shows. She spoke of the beauty of a good Confession, how "light and free" it made you feel, and how you should reward yourself with an ice cream, or some other delicious food, afterward. I have taken her advice on more than one occasion.:) Like her, we should learn to be positive, not by affirming people in their sinful behavior, but by speaking about the beauty of repentance and mercy.
6) We need to stop taking ourselves so seriously, and take God seriously instead. She cracked a joke seemingly every few minutes on her show. At a cable convention one year, she approached the Playboy booth and she said that the girls turned around when they saw her coming. As she said, "I didn't think their back looked any better than their front." When one of her writings was panned for grammatical errors, she said her writings were the words of "one dummy to another.", and left the errors in there.
7) We need to love with all our heart. Seeing the way Mother clutched her Bible, her crucifix, and any image of the Child Jesus she had nearby, and hearing her speak, revealed that Mother had such a deep love for Our Lord, and His Church. Jesus was her Bride, her Spouse. When she felt He was disrespected, such as when He was portrayed by a woman at the Stations of the Cross at World Youth Day in 1993, she defended Him with a fiery passion. This love is what gave her the strength to do all she did. She really didn't "do" much. She loved much. She loved till it hurt. So should we. Do we love Jesus so much that it hurts? Do we love the Church so much that it hurts? If not, we should pray for the grace to love more, as Mother did.
Mother suffered a lot in her life. She was misunderstood. She had strokes. She fell several times. She had to wear braces until she was healed. She had to beg for money. Indeed, she had a lot of Good Fridays. Yet, she died on Easter Sunday, almost like she was vindicated in her sufferings, like Our Lord was and is.
If we do the right thing, no matter how difficult it is, we can be confident that we, too, will be vindicated before the judgment seat of Our Lord. But we must get our "edge" back. We must be willing to suffer. We must be willing to speak the truth. We must defend like warriors the Sacred, in the person of Christ and in His Holy Church. We must be willing to suffer and offer our sufferings, as Mother did, for the good of souls.
Mother had a great devotion to the Child Jesus. Maybe only Saint Joseph and the Blessed Mother have had greater devotions to the Child. Mary and Joseph knew what it was like to live "on the edge".
May Joseph intercede for Mother, for the whole universal Church, for all of us, to lead us all closer to the simple trusting, loving pure heart of the Child Jesus, and help us become more pure, and the world a safer and better place.
Joseph, Head of the Holy Family, and Protector of Holy Church, pray for Mother Angelica, and pray for us.
I always enjoyed watching her. She had an "edge" to her. She loved everyone, but that does not mean she was always "nice" to everyone. She sometimes said tough words. She often made people uncomfortable. Whatever she did or said, though, was always out of charity. Sometimes, the loving thing to do is indeed to say something that a person or persons may not want to hear, but need to. There can be no truth without love. There can be no love without truth.
I think in the years since she had to give over control of her network, EWTN, that that network has lost some of the "edge" it had when she was at the helm. The Church overall has lost a lot of Her "edge", too.
We need to get that "edge" back.
What do I mean by that?
1) We need to not be afraid. We need to not be afraid of things that we should not be afraid of. The only thing we should fear is the Lord. We should not fear anyone or anything else.
2) We need to hold ourselves accountable. We excuse our behavior with every excuse in the book; "my family was this way, so that is how (or why) I am". Mother's parents divorced. Her father abandoned her. Her mother had mental illness. Yes, she came from a broken family. Rather than let that stop her, though, she embraced her situation, and made it ever fruitful for her and so many.
3) We need to hold our leaders accountable . If people in authority are not speaking or doing as they should, they need to be asked to do so privately. If they continue not to, they need to be asked to publicly. Mother certainly challenged Bishops on more than one occasion when she felt it necessary.
4) We need to be warriors for Holy Mother Church. Mother defended the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, with a passion. She defended the Magisterium. She defended the Holy Father. Her weapons were the Rosary, her Crucifix, and the Child Jesus.
5) We need to call sin sin, and nothing else. Mother was always pleading with people to go back to Confession. She spoke about it seemingly on almost every one of her shows. She spoke of the beauty of a good Confession, how "light and free" it made you feel, and how you should reward yourself with an ice cream, or some other delicious food, afterward. I have taken her advice on more than one occasion.:) Like her, we should learn to be positive, not by affirming people in their sinful behavior, but by speaking about the beauty of repentance and mercy.
6) We need to stop taking ourselves so seriously, and take God seriously instead. She cracked a joke seemingly every few minutes on her show. At a cable convention one year, she approached the Playboy booth and she said that the girls turned around when they saw her coming. As she said, "I didn't think their back looked any better than their front." When one of her writings was panned for grammatical errors, she said her writings were the words of "one dummy to another.", and left the errors in there.
7) We need to love with all our heart. Seeing the way Mother clutched her Bible, her crucifix, and any image of the Child Jesus she had nearby, and hearing her speak, revealed that Mother had such a deep love for Our Lord, and His Church. Jesus was her Bride, her Spouse. When she felt He was disrespected, such as when He was portrayed by a woman at the Stations of the Cross at World Youth Day in 1993, she defended Him with a fiery passion. This love is what gave her the strength to do all she did. She really didn't "do" much. She loved much. She loved till it hurt. So should we. Do we love Jesus so much that it hurts? Do we love the Church so much that it hurts? If not, we should pray for the grace to love more, as Mother did.
Mother suffered a lot in her life. She was misunderstood. She had strokes. She fell several times. She had to wear braces until she was healed. She had to beg for money. Indeed, she had a lot of Good Fridays. Yet, she died on Easter Sunday, almost like she was vindicated in her sufferings, like Our Lord was and is.
If we do the right thing, no matter how difficult it is, we can be confident that we, too, will be vindicated before the judgment seat of Our Lord. But we must get our "edge" back. We must be willing to suffer. We must be willing to speak the truth. We must defend like warriors the Sacred, in the person of Christ and in His Holy Church. We must be willing to suffer and offer our sufferings, as Mother did, for the good of souls.
Mother had a great devotion to the Child Jesus. Maybe only Saint Joseph and the Blessed Mother have had greater devotions to the Child. Mary and Joseph knew what it was like to live "on the edge".
May Joseph intercede for Mother, for the whole universal Church, for all of us, to lead us all closer to the simple trusting, loving pure heart of the Child Jesus, and help us become more pure, and the world a safer and better place.
Joseph, Head of the Holy Family, and Protector of Holy Church, pray for Mother Angelica, and pray for us.
Friday, March 25, 2016
Don't mess with my wife and kids!
In the United States Presidential election recently, one of the candidates felt his wife was being threatened by another candidate. He got mad and said, " It's not easy to (expletive) me off. I don't get angry often. But you mess with my wife, you mess with my kids, that'll do it every time."
I wonder if Our Lord sometimes has similar thoughts about the attacks against His Bride, His Holy Catholic Church, and His children! I wonder if He gets angry when He hears, for example:
-Attacks from all sides against His Vicar, his representative on Earth, the earthly head of the Church!
-Attacks against His and Her Blessed Mother, who carried Him, and raised Him, and whom is now the Mother of the Church!
-Attacks against His and Her Magisterium, the teaching office of His Bishops, whom He gave authority to teach and preach in His name!
-Attacks against the Eucharist, His Real Presence!
-Attacks against His and Her Priests, the "other Christs" on Earth, whom he gave authority to forgive sins and sanctify His people!
-Attacks against His and Her Children, the little children whom he beckons "come to me", whom are often abused, and sometimes, not being given the chance to live because they are aborted!
Yes, I can see Our Lord standing there, and while perhaps not pointing a finger, I can imagine Him looking straight at Her enemies, and saying " You will not mock My Bride! You will not mock Her beauty! She is My jewel, My diamond, My precious one ! I gave my life for Her! In My eyes, She is without stain or wrinkle. The gates of hell shall never prevail over Her, and neither shall you! If you continue to assault Her, and do not repent, you will go where there is whaling and gnashing of teeth for all eternity! Yes, in My Bride, the Church, is My Kingdom, which will go on forever and ever! No one who insults Her will have a place in that Kingdom. Rather, like those at the king's feast who did not have wedding garments , they will be cast out! I will not let Her fall. She may struggle, She may suffer, but She will always be victorious in the end! She will be a blessing to everyone who embraces and cherishes Her. Her radiance will shine like the noonday sun! Nobody attacks or insults MY bride! When you mess with Her, you must deal with Me!
And all of the above holds ESPECIALLY true for anyone who attacks Our children!"
This may not be the typical image one has of Our Blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Yes, He is merciful. Yes, He is full of love, mercy, and grace for all whom are willing to receive it. At the same time, however, He is a true man, in all His perfection. He is a lover. He is a jealous God. His Sacred Humanity will never fail to stand up for His love when She is in danger, or being threatened.
This is a warning for those who try to attack or ridicule His Bride.
Don't!
Saint Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, pray for us.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Liturgy
I attended a funeral today for a monk priest who I knew in college. It was a beautiful service, as is the usually the case at this monastery. The Benedictines are well known for the beauty of their liturgical services. There is nothing rushed, nothing hurried, things are well planned, and it seemingly runs like clockwork. I feel their liturgies give you a sneak preview of what heaven is like, especially if you think of heaven like I do.
In heaven, we will worship and adore God.
In heaven, there is no "time limit"; we will not be in a hurry.
In heaven, there will be order, not chaos.
In heaven, everyone will be supportive of one another; while we love God, we will love our brothers and sisters more fully than ever.
To a degree, I experienced all that today at the funeral liturgy.
Now every liturgy is supposed to be a "foretaste" of heaven, be it at a monastery or any Catholic church. It may not always seem that way, but in its essence, it is, and we can experience it as such, no matter how poorly it is celebrated, or how "messy" things get during Mass, if we prepare ourselves well, and have the proper dispositions. Yes, it absolutely helps if it is celebrated well, as I witnessed today, but nonetheless, the liturgy is the liturgy, as long as a few certain basics are in place, and we can benefit from it no matter how well or not it is presided over, or the characteristics of the atmosphere it takes place in.
The word "liturgy" originally meant a "public work". The Church's tradition has taken it to mean the participation of the People of God in the "work of God". In the liturgy, the Church proclaims, celebrates, and invites us to participate in God's work. The liturgy has a dual aspect; praising God, and then offering His gifts back to Him, asking Him to bless that offering so that His blessings will produce abundant life on the Earth. In liturgy, we bless God, but in doing so, we become blessed, or "divinized" ourselves.
Dietrich von Hildebrand, a great philosopher and spiritual writer of the middle 20th century, wrote a beautiful book that I encourage you to read called "Liturgy and Personality". In this book, he makes it clear that while personal development is not the goal of liturgy, nonetheless, praying through the liturgy helps us to grow personally. He lists several ways it helps us grow as people, which I will list here. ( I am grossly simplifying his arguments, you really need to read the book to truly appreciate his insights.)
1) Liturgy takes us out of ourselves, and helps us grow in communion with God and others.
2) Liturgy, by promoting reverence, instills reverence in us, increases our reverence for other persons, and promotes reverence for all creation.
3) Liturgy helps us respond appropriately to value, and to respect the hierarchy of values. Through the liturgy, we experience truth, love, beauty, power, and communion, and in doing so, we are better able to experience those values in our lives outside the liturgy.
4) Liturgy promotes wakefulness. Through proper participation in the Liturgy, we are taken out of our own narrow existence, and become more "alert" to the metaphysical realities around us which are much larger than our own individual circumstances.
5) Liturgy promotes discretion. In the liturgy, we practice discretion by not moving rapidly from one thing to another, but taking time to prepare ourselves before reaching the climax of any celebration. For example, we do not walk in and receive Communion or Absolution or Baptism; no, for each of those, we have to prepare ourselves, and do certain things first. This is why liturgy should never feel rushed. It is good to practice discretion in other life circumstances, as well, and the well-formed man practices discretion everyday.
6) Liturgy promotes continuity. This allows us never to get trapped in the present moment, and in doing so, forget the lessons of the past, and/or forget to anticipate or prepare for the future. The liturgy recalls God's saving work, makes it present now, and anticipates the fulfillment of the Kingdom in the future. We should live our lives with equal awareness of the past, present, and future, as best as possible. We will never be all we can be if we neglect to try to do this.
7) The liturgy is organic. Organic implies "fullness of meaning coming from within". In other words, it is not mechanical (having no meaning) or artificial ( has meaning, but coming from the outside, not from within). Liturgy praises God and brings Him down to us (the dual movement we spoke of earlier). It does not force God on us, and we do not force ourselves on Him. The best personalities are developed from within, with meaning, and not forced from the outside. Participating in the organic liturgy helps us be more organic ourselves in our own personality.
8) The liturgy is classic. It is rooted in objective truth. The more we are rooted in truth, the fuller our individual personalities are.
Again, please read his book for much more detail on all those points above.
The upcoming Easter Triduum is a great opportunity to experience beautiful liturgy. The Holy Thursday Mass, Good Friday service, and the Easter Vigil, are all wonderful liturgical experiences that can lift your soul to God to a degree that is not matched at any other time of the year, because the Easter Triduum is the "source of light" for the entire liturgical year. I encourage you to try to attend at least one of these three services; you will not be disappointed, and you will be a better person as a result of going.
Before closing, I wish to honor Saint Joseph, whose feast day was today. Reading through Mr. von Hildebrand's qualities of a noble personality above, I cannot help but think Saint Joseph emulated all of them. He was by all accounts a quiet man who worked hard and lived virtuously. Because of that, I am sure was rich in all the traits mentioned above. In adoring the Christ child, Joseph was able to become the best man he could be. In adoring Christ through the liturgy, we can do likewise.
Joseph most strong, pray for us.
In heaven, we will worship and adore God.
In heaven, there is no "time limit"; we will not be in a hurry.
In heaven, there will be order, not chaos.
In heaven, everyone will be supportive of one another; while we love God, we will love our brothers and sisters more fully than ever.
To a degree, I experienced all that today at the funeral liturgy.
Now every liturgy is supposed to be a "foretaste" of heaven, be it at a monastery or any Catholic church. It may not always seem that way, but in its essence, it is, and we can experience it as such, no matter how poorly it is celebrated, or how "messy" things get during Mass, if we prepare ourselves well, and have the proper dispositions. Yes, it absolutely helps if it is celebrated well, as I witnessed today, but nonetheless, the liturgy is the liturgy, as long as a few certain basics are in place, and we can benefit from it no matter how well or not it is presided over, or the characteristics of the atmosphere it takes place in.
The word "liturgy" originally meant a "public work". The Church's tradition has taken it to mean the participation of the People of God in the "work of God". In the liturgy, the Church proclaims, celebrates, and invites us to participate in God's work. The liturgy has a dual aspect; praising God, and then offering His gifts back to Him, asking Him to bless that offering so that His blessings will produce abundant life on the Earth. In liturgy, we bless God, but in doing so, we become blessed, or "divinized" ourselves.
Dietrich von Hildebrand, a great philosopher and spiritual writer of the middle 20th century, wrote a beautiful book that I encourage you to read called "Liturgy and Personality". In this book, he makes it clear that while personal development is not the goal of liturgy, nonetheless, praying through the liturgy helps us to grow personally. He lists several ways it helps us grow as people, which I will list here. ( I am grossly simplifying his arguments, you really need to read the book to truly appreciate his insights.)
1) Liturgy takes us out of ourselves, and helps us grow in communion with God and others.
2) Liturgy, by promoting reverence, instills reverence in us, increases our reverence for other persons, and promotes reverence for all creation.
3) Liturgy helps us respond appropriately to value, and to respect the hierarchy of values. Through the liturgy, we experience truth, love, beauty, power, and communion, and in doing so, we are better able to experience those values in our lives outside the liturgy.
4) Liturgy promotes wakefulness. Through proper participation in the Liturgy, we are taken out of our own narrow existence, and become more "alert" to the metaphysical realities around us which are much larger than our own individual circumstances.
5) Liturgy promotes discretion. In the liturgy, we practice discretion by not moving rapidly from one thing to another, but taking time to prepare ourselves before reaching the climax of any celebration. For example, we do not walk in and receive Communion or Absolution or Baptism; no, for each of those, we have to prepare ourselves, and do certain things first. This is why liturgy should never feel rushed. It is good to practice discretion in other life circumstances, as well, and the well-formed man practices discretion everyday.
6) Liturgy promotes continuity. This allows us never to get trapped in the present moment, and in doing so, forget the lessons of the past, and/or forget to anticipate or prepare for the future. The liturgy recalls God's saving work, makes it present now, and anticipates the fulfillment of the Kingdom in the future. We should live our lives with equal awareness of the past, present, and future, as best as possible. We will never be all we can be if we neglect to try to do this.
7) The liturgy is organic. Organic implies "fullness of meaning coming from within". In other words, it is not mechanical (having no meaning) or artificial ( has meaning, but coming from the outside, not from within). Liturgy praises God and brings Him down to us (the dual movement we spoke of earlier). It does not force God on us, and we do not force ourselves on Him. The best personalities are developed from within, with meaning, and not forced from the outside. Participating in the organic liturgy helps us be more organic ourselves in our own personality.
8) The liturgy is classic. It is rooted in objective truth. The more we are rooted in truth, the fuller our individual personalities are.
Again, please read his book for much more detail on all those points above.
The upcoming Easter Triduum is a great opportunity to experience beautiful liturgy. The Holy Thursday Mass, Good Friday service, and the Easter Vigil, are all wonderful liturgical experiences that can lift your soul to God to a degree that is not matched at any other time of the year, because the Easter Triduum is the "source of light" for the entire liturgical year. I encourage you to try to attend at least one of these three services; you will not be disappointed, and you will be a better person as a result of going.
Before closing, I wish to honor Saint Joseph, whose feast day was today. Reading through Mr. von Hildebrand's qualities of a noble personality above, I cannot help but think Saint Joseph emulated all of them. He was by all accounts a quiet man who worked hard and lived virtuously. Because of that, I am sure was rich in all the traits mentioned above. In adoring the Christ child, Joseph was able to become the best man he could be. In adoring Christ through the liturgy, we can do likewise.
Joseph most strong, pray for us.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Look forward, not back
There is a common theme in today's Scripture Readings on this 5th Sunday of Lent. In the First Reading from the Prophet Isaiah, the Lord says "Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new!" In the Second Reading from Saint Paul's Letter to the Philippians, we read, " Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus." Do you see a common theme yet? In the Gospel from Luke, we read how Our Lord was focused more on the future of the woman caught in adultery than in her past. He removed the men from the scene who represented the past. He says to the woman, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” After she acknowledges no one has, Jesus says, " Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”
Hopefully you can see the common thread; look to what is ahead, not the past. In this Year of Mercy, we should not be focused on our sin, but focus on what is presented to us; Mercy Himself. (The priest today at Mass, commenting on the Gospel, says the woman was misery, and Our Lord was Mercy, two "M's", a beautiful way of saying it.) Now we need to acknowledge our sin, as the woman did, but we cannot keep looking at it; rather, we have to look ahead at what is in front of us. And what is in front of us, especially this Year, is Mercy. This is true in all aspects of our life; we are healthier when we focus on what is front of us, rather than what is behind us, or has happened and is done with.
In many ways, I think, these readings show us yet another beautiful aspect of Catholicism, and how it is different from other Christian denominations, and other religions. The beautiful thing is this; Catholicism is not stuck in the past, everything about Her is "alive". (Many might think so, but the reality is different.) Think about these realities that are proclaimed by the Catholic Church alone among the different Christian churches.
1) The Mass represents Christ's Sacrifice on the Cross, making it present to us here and now. The Church teaches that the Paschal Mystery is not something that just happened 2000 years ago. Our Protestant brothers and sisters believe that the sacrifice happened, and ended long ago. No, rather, the sacrifice is eternal, and that why it is not illogical to believe the Sacrifice can be represented Catholic altars throughout the world today.
2) The teaching of the Church, while it does not change over time, develops over time, and this shows it is alive. The words of Our Lord are a "living word". They are not a "dead word". Protestants believe that if a theological statement is not stated literally in the Bible, it cannot be true. Catholics believe, on the other hand, that there are two sources of Revelation, Scripture and Tradition. Therefore, as long as a teaching does not contradict something in Scripture, it can be true. The Protestant religion is based on a book that was closed many years ago. The true, Catholic Faith is based on a book that can continue to be understood, and insights gleamed from it.
3) The Church holds up Mary and the Saints as living witnesses who can intercede for us. We can pray to Mary and the Saints as intercessors, because they are "alive" and active in heaven. They are NOT just past historical figures, who we can emulate and admire. Yes, we can and should learn about them, and learn from them, but we can also become friends with them, as much as we are friends with anyone living around us. The Protestant religion has no such role for them. It has it for Christ, but ignores everyone else involved in Salvation history, as if they are no use to us.
4) The Church has the Blessed Sacrament where Christ is just as present now as He was walking on Earth 2000 years ago. In the Blessed Sacrament, Our Lord is truly and substantially present Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, just as He was when He walked among us. No other Christian denomination has this. Our Lord is only present this way in tabernacles in Catholic churches throughout the world. The Church proclaims that what some call the "historical Jesus" is actually alive and well today.
5) The Church has priests who act "in persona Christi" and carry on His ministry today and forever. Priests have the same power to do what Christ did. They can forgive sins. They can confect the Eucharist (change bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ). And once made a priest, one is always a priest, because as it says in Hebrews 7:17, we read, "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." So, is not good to simply be nostalgic and just look back and see all the wonders Christ did in the past; He is still doing it today, through the Priesthood, and priests will continue to do the things they do for all eternity. That is an amazing thought.
So, in the Mass, in Her teaching, in Mary and the Saints, in the Blessed Sacrament, and in Her priests, we see the Church is not a religion of looking back, but rather, is a Church, who, in the spirit of Her Head, is focused on the now, and is forward looking. Those who say Catholics are stuck in the past need to take a closer look at the Lectionary, and study Her teachings (the Catechism of the Catholic Church being a great resource for doing so). They need to listen to what is proclaimed at Mass; in the Readings, and in the homilies that are preached. Once they do, they will realize that the Church is not stuck in the past; it is alive and well, and looking ahead, not back. It is therefore incumbent upon Her members to do the same.
Finally, if the Church is indeed looking ahead, and not looking back, we then need to ask what is it we Her members are looking ahead to? The answer is salvation. There is nothing else worth moving ahead to if the road ahead ends in death. If the woman in today's Gospel was just going to eventually die anyway, and that was that, well, what happened would have still been nice, but not worth much of anything in the end. No, what we are looking ahead to is being saved from the penalty of sin, which is death. We are called to march forward on the journey of salvation, and to help others who are on that same journey, be it if they are stuck, moving slowly, or worse, moving backwards.
So, if salvation is what we are looking ahead to, Catholics and all people must realize something very important about it. We must realize "Outside the Church there is no salvation.", as was stated often by the Church Fathers. While this does NOT mean that only Catholics can be saved, it does mean that all salvation comes through the Church, and thus, everyone in heaven will be Catholic, so if one rejects the Church, explicitly or inexplicitly, while here on Earth, and does not repent of that before his or her death, he or she does put their salvation at risk. We may expound on that point in a future post, but it is important to note for now simply that all who live a life not in accordance with Church teachings, or who reject the Church, put their salvation at risk. The woman in today's Gospel was living a life of sin, but she found Christ, accepted His Mercy, and was able to begin looking forward, and not back. May people today, some of whom perhaps through our very own witness, find and accept that same Mercy and Truth in Christ's Bride, the Church, and look forward, and not back, and make their lives better, and the world a better place.
Hopefully you can see the common thread; look to what is ahead, not the past. In this Year of Mercy, we should not be focused on our sin, but focus on what is presented to us; Mercy Himself. (The priest today at Mass, commenting on the Gospel, says the woman was misery, and Our Lord was Mercy, two "M's", a beautiful way of saying it.) Now we need to acknowledge our sin, as the woman did, but we cannot keep looking at it; rather, we have to look ahead at what is in front of us. And what is in front of us, especially this Year, is Mercy. This is true in all aspects of our life; we are healthier when we focus on what is front of us, rather than what is behind us, or has happened and is done with.
In many ways, I think, these readings show us yet another beautiful aspect of Catholicism, and how it is different from other Christian denominations, and other religions. The beautiful thing is this; Catholicism is not stuck in the past, everything about Her is "alive". (Many might think so, but the reality is different.) Think about these realities that are proclaimed by the Catholic Church alone among the different Christian churches.
1) The Mass represents Christ's Sacrifice on the Cross, making it present to us here and now. The Church teaches that the Paschal Mystery is not something that just happened 2000 years ago. Our Protestant brothers and sisters believe that the sacrifice happened, and ended long ago. No, rather, the sacrifice is eternal, and that why it is not illogical to believe the Sacrifice can be represented Catholic altars throughout the world today.
2) The teaching of the Church, while it does not change over time, develops over time, and this shows it is alive. The words of Our Lord are a "living word". They are not a "dead word". Protestants believe that if a theological statement is not stated literally in the Bible, it cannot be true. Catholics believe, on the other hand, that there are two sources of Revelation, Scripture and Tradition. Therefore, as long as a teaching does not contradict something in Scripture, it can be true. The Protestant religion is based on a book that was closed many years ago. The true, Catholic Faith is based on a book that can continue to be understood, and insights gleamed from it.
3) The Church holds up Mary and the Saints as living witnesses who can intercede for us. We can pray to Mary and the Saints as intercessors, because they are "alive" and active in heaven. They are NOT just past historical figures, who we can emulate and admire. Yes, we can and should learn about them, and learn from them, but we can also become friends with them, as much as we are friends with anyone living around us. The Protestant religion has no such role for them. It has it for Christ, but ignores everyone else involved in Salvation history, as if they are no use to us.
4) The Church has the Blessed Sacrament where Christ is just as present now as He was walking on Earth 2000 years ago. In the Blessed Sacrament, Our Lord is truly and substantially present Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, just as He was when He walked among us. No other Christian denomination has this. Our Lord is only present this way in tabernacles in Catholic churches throughout the world. The Church proclaims that what some call the "historical Jesus" is actually alive and well today.
5) The Church has priests who act "in persona Christi" and carry on His ministry today and forever. Priests have the same power to do what Christ did. They can forgive sins. They can confect the Eucharist (change bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ). And once made a priest, one is always a priest, because as it says in Hebrews 7:17, we read, "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." So, is not good to simply be nostalgic and just look back and see all the wonders Christ did in the past; He is still doing it today, through the Priesthood, and priests will continue to do the things they do for all eternity. That is an amazing thought.
So, in the Mass, in Her teaching, in Mary and the Saints, in the Blessed Sacrament, and in Her priests, we see the Church is not a religion of looking back, but rather, is a Church, who, in the spirit of Her Head, is focused on the now, and is forward looking. Those who say Catholics are stuck in the past need to take a closer look at the Lectionary, and study Her teachings (the Catechism of the Catholic Church being a great resource for doing so). They need to listen to what is proclaimed at Mass; in the Readings, and in the homilies that are preached. Once they do, they will realize that the Church is not stuck in the past; it is alive and well, and looking ahead, not back. It is therefore incumbent upon Her members to do the same.
Finally, if the Church is indeed looking ahead, and not looking back, we then need to ask what is it we Her members are looking ahead to? The answer is salvation. There is nothing else worth moving ahead to if the road ahead ends in death. If the woman in today's Gospel was just going to eventually die anyway, and that was that, well, what happened would have still been nice, but not worth much of anything in the end. No, what we are looking ahead to is being saved from the penalty of sin, which is death. We are called to march forward on the journey of salvation, and to help others who are on that same journey, be it if they are stuck, moving slowly, or worse, moving backwards.
So, if salvation is what we are looking ahead to, Catholics and all people must realize something very important about it. We must realize "Outside the Church there is no salvation.", as was stated often by the Church Fathers. While this does NOT mean that only Catholics can be saved, it does mean that all salvation comes through the Church, and thus, everyone in heaven will be Catholic, so if one rejects the Church, explicitly or inexplicitly, while here on Earth, and does not repent of that before his or her death, he or she does put their salvation at risk. We may expound on that point in a future post, but it is important to note for now simply that all who live a life not in accordance with Church teachings, or who reject the Church, put their salvation at risk. The woman in today's Gospel was living a life of sin, but she found Christ, accepted His Mercy, and was able to begin looking forward, and not back. May people today, some of whom perhaps through our very own witness, find and accept that same Mercy and Truth in Christ's Bride, the Church, and look forward, and not back, and make their lives better, and the world a better place.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
The Church and politics
The Holy Father has asked there to be Catholic churches throughout the world that stay open for 24 hours for Confession preceding the Fourth Sunday of Lent, which is next weekend, as a special initiative for Mercy during this Jubilee Year of Mercy. I am happy to say that Saint Joseph the Worker Shrine will be one of the churches doing this. There will be at least one priest available to hear Confession from 4pm Friday 3/4 through 4pm Saturday 3/5. (So yes, this means you could walk in the Shrine at 3am Saturday morning, and a priest will be there to hear your Confession!)
In addition, there will be Eucharistic Adoration throughout this time. If you are in the Merrimack Valley, please consider coming and receiving the wonderful Mercy of God during this time, and spending time with Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. This "24 hours for the Lord" can be wonderful for not just our own souls, but for the souls of countless many whom we pray for during this especially graced time during this Year of Mercy. Pray many souls come home to the Lord during this special event next week throughout the Catholic world.
As a Catholic, it has been discouraging watching this election so far. I am disappointed that the men and women I respect have done not (or did not do) better. The leading candidates of both major parties, in my opinion, cannot be voted for in good conscience by any faithful Catholic. Faithful Catholics may be forced to turn to another candidate, or not vote all together, which means one of those two individuals will be elected President, which does not bode well for Catholic interests to be represented in our government.
We have never been called as Catholics to put our ultimate faith and hope in any political system. However, we are called to be participants in the political process. Why? Because we are called to "proclaim the Good News" (Mark 16:15) by Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This "Good News" embodies the full truth about God, and man. Man has an exalted heavenly dignity because Christ Incarnated Himself, and died and rose for our salvation. We need to ensure then, that people in power respect this dignity of the human person that is revealed in nature, but only fully revealed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the "Good News".
What has gone wrong where we have reached the point where it is looking so glum that there is a real chance that neither major party candidate can be counted on to respect that human dignity, so fully revealed and dignified by Christ who took on human nature and become one of us? Why have we reached that point?
I think the answer is this:
The fullness of Catholic truth is not being pursued in the political process. Both major political parties are guilty of this. This is why we are where we are today.
Here is some proof of this, in my opinion.
Joseph, glory of home life, pray for us.
In addition, there will be Eucharistic Adoration throughout this time. If you are in the Merrimack Valley, please consider coming and receiving the wonderful Mercy of God during this time, and spending time with Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. This "24 hours for the Lord" can be wonderful for not just our own souls, but for the souls of countless many whom we pray for during this especially graced time during this Year of Mercy. Pray many souls come home to the Lord during this special event next week throughout the Catholic world.
As a Catholic, it has been discouraging watching this election so far. I am disappointed that the men and women I respect have done not (or did not do) better. The leading candidates of both major parties, in my opinion, cannot be voted for in good conscience by any faithful Catholic. Faithful Catholics may be forced to turn to another candidate, or not vote all together, which means one of those two individuals will be elected President, which does not bode well for Catholic interests to be represented in our government.
We have never been called as Catholics to put our ultimate faith and hope in any political system. However, we are called to be participants in the political process. Why? Because we are called to "proclaim the Good News" (Mark 16:15) by Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This "Good News" embodies the full truth about God, and man. Man has an exalted heavenly dignity because Christ Incarnated Himself, and died and rose for our salvation. We need to ensure then, that people in power respect this dignity of the human person that is revealed in nature, but only fully revealed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the "Good News".
What has gone wrong where we have reached the point where it is looking so glum that there is a real chance that neither major party candidate can be counted on to respect that human dignity, so fully revealed and dignified by Christ who took on human nature and become one of us? Why have we reached that point?
I think the answer is this:
The fullness of Catholic truth is not being pursued in the political process. Both major political parties are guilty of this. This is why we are where we are today.
Here is some proof of this, in my opinion.
- We are willingly or unwillingly practicing the heresy of Americanism, which promotes separation of Church and state, and individual initiative over obedience. America may be the greatest nation on Earth, but it is far from the glory that is the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is the only major religion that has condemned this heresy. Many other religions seem to put love of God and love of country on the same level, even if they are not intentionally doing this. No, God must be first, and men must be clearly second. The separation of Church and state is not necessarily a good thing. The word catholic means "universal", which means it is for all people. The Church exists for the salvation of all men and women. The Church teaches the truth about every human person on the face of the Earth. If this is true, why do we fear so much a closer alignment between the Church and the State? A monarchy, for example, ruled by a faithful Catholic person, could work just as fine as a democracy. All human rights would be respected, and the common good would be pursued. This is a shocking proposition, I am sure to many, but the fact that it is shocking, even to many Catholics today, just shows how defensive and compromising we have become in our beliefs, which leads to the next point.
- We love to compromise and make deals. We say things like "OK, I am willing to accept an exception to an abortion ban in the case of etc. Think how one of the two leading candidates often talks about "making deals"; people are loving it. This is reflective of the condition of our nation today. The Catholic Church in her teaching never compromises truth. (Contrast this with Christian denominations who have accepted things like birth control, ordain women, or even accept actively homosexual persons as leaders.) Jesus Christ never compromised truth either. When his followers began to walk away after He proclaimed Himself the "Bread of Life" (John 6:35) He I am sure was sad, but He did not compromise on this truth. The more Truth is compromised, the worse things become.
- We look to the past, rather than to the future. One of the leading candidates says he will make America "great again." This statement resonates with a lot of people. Other candidates talk about a past political revolution. Our Lord, however, warns us about being nostalgic when He says “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62) Many like to render the "glory days of America". They are dead, however, if they ever existed. Only the Church is glorious. Everything fades with time, however, and we cannot "go back".
- We are seeking to end abortion, but not contraception. Many religions, and some secular groups as well, are "pro-life", and wish to end abortion, but only the Catholic Church holds that contraception, which proactively ends a human life, is evil, as well. Only when the full truth and dignity of the sexual act is proclaimed, taught, understood, and accepted, do we have any chance of winning this battle. Right now, it is not being any of those things, by either sides of the debate, and thus, abortion doesn't stand a chance of becoming illegal. We have been fighting this battle with one hand tied behind our back. It is easy to see why so many are discouraged, and have given up. It is easy to see why so many now do not seem to consider this issue urgent or important, based on whom they are backing. We are where we are today with this issue because people do not understand and accept the fullness of Catholic teaching on this matter, in large part because we have failed to teach it.
- We are going totally opposite of the four "marks" of the Church. "Marks" are the defining characteristics of the Church. They are traditionally four; one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. We pray this in the Nicene Creed every Sunday at Holy Mass. While no government could ever be 100% in any of this as the Church is, for a government to be fruitful for everyone, it should strive to emulate those four qualities. It should seek to be one unified body. Its members should seek to be holy. It should seek to be universal, for all people, and build bridges with all countries, and not become closed in on itself. Finally, it should seek to hold firm to the teaching about God and the human person that have been handed down through the centuries. Can anyone say that our current government or our current political system is reflective of these qualities? Can we not say that we have become just the opposite? We are not one, not united. We are not holy. We have become closed in our ourselves. We have no regard and respect for traditional teaching.
Joseph, glory of home life, pray for us.
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