His Holiness, Blessed John Paul II, Servant of the Servants of God, Returns to the House of the Father

At 10 p.m. (3 p.m. EST) on April 2, 2005, immediately after the crowd had finished praying the Rosary for Pope John Paul II, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, substitute of the Secretariat of State, made the following announcement: "At 9:37 p.m. (2:37 p.m. EST) our Holy Father returned to the House of the Father."

The majority of the faithful knelt down, many of them with tears in their eyes. A few minutes later, the bells of St. Peter's Basilica tolled the death of the Bishop of Rome.





Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
V- Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God
R- That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.





De Profundis
Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice.
Let Thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
If Thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities,
Lord, who shall stand it?
For with Thee there is merciful forgiveness
and by reason of thy law, I have waited for Thee, O Lord.
My soul hath relied on His word,
my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
From the morning watch even until night,
let Israel hope in the Lord.
Because with the Lord there is mercy
and with him plentiful redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.

Ora Pro Eo
Kyrie, eleison, Kyrie, eleison
Christe, eleison, Christe, eleison
Kyrie, eleison, Kyrie, eleison
Sancta Maria, ora pro eo
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro eo
Sancta Maria, Mater Ecclesiæ, ora pro eo
Sancta Maria, Salus populi Romani, ora pro eo
Sancti Michael, Gabriel et Raphael, orate pro eo
Omnes sancti Angeli, orate pro eo
Sancte Ioseph, ora pro eo
Sancte Ioannes Baptista, ora pro eo
Omnes Sancti Patriarchæ et Prophetæ, orate pro eo
Sancti Petre et Paule, orate pro eo
Sancte Andrea, ora pro eo
Sancti Ioannes et Iacobe, orate pro eo
Sancte Thoma, ora pro eo
Sancti Philippe et Iacobe, orate pro eo
Sancte Bartholomaee, ora pro eo
Sancte Matthæe, ora pro eo
Sancte Simon et Thaddaee, orate pro eo
Sancte Matthia, ora pro eo
Sancte Luca, ora pro eo
Sancte Marce, ora pro eo
Sancte Barnaba, ora pro eo
Sancta Maria Magdalena, ora pro eo
Omnes Sancti Discipuli Domini, orate pro eo
Sancte Clemens, ora pro eo
Sancte Calliste, ora pro eo
Sancte Fabiane, ora pro eo
Sancte Corneli, ora pro eo
Sancte Xyste, ora pro eo
Sancte Ioannes, ora pro eo
Sancte Martine, ora pro eo
Sancte Damase, ora pro eo
Sancte Leo Magne, ora pro eo
Sancte Gregori Magne, ora pro eo
Sancte Leo, ora pro eo
Sancte Pie, ora pro eo
Omnes Sancti Pontifices Romani, orate pro eo
.

Miserere

The Tallis Scholars sing Allegri's Miserere at S. Maria Maggiore.

We entrust ourselves to the providence of God

Nevertheless, this is a sad day.

St. Stephen and the New Evangelization

Meditation of Pope Benedict XVI
Angelus, December 26, 2012

Each year, on the day after Christmas, the liturgy celebrates the feast of St. Stephen, deacon and first martyr. . . . Allowing ourselves be drawn by Christ, like St. Stephen, means opening our lives to the light that calls, directs and makes us walk the path of good, the path of humanity according to God’s loving plan. . . .

St. Stephen is a model for all those who want to serve the new evangelization. He shows that the novelty of proclamation does not primarily consist in the use of original methods or techniques, which certainly have their uses, but in being filled with the Holy Spirit and allowing ourselves to be guided by Him. The novelty of proclamation lies in immerging ourselves deeply in the mystery of Christ, the assimilation of His Word and of His presence in the Eucharist, so that He Himself, the living Jesus, can act and speak through His envoy. In essence, the evangelizer becomes able to bring Christ to others effectively when he lives of Christ, when the newness of the Gospel manifests itself in his own life.

Do You Have Room for the Lord? Do You Have Time for Him in Your Life?

Midnight Mass Homily of Pope Benedict XVI
Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Again and again the beauty of this Gospel touches our hearts: a beauty that is the splendour of truth. Again and again it astonishes us that God makes himself a child so that we may love him, so that we may dare to love him, and as a child trustingly lets himself be taken into our arms. It is as if God were saying: I know that my glory frightens you, and that you are trying to assert yourself in the face of my grandeur. So now I am coming to you as a child, so that you can accept me and love me.

I am also repeatedly struck by the Gospel writer’s almost casual remark that there was no room for them at the inn. Inevitably the question arises, what would happen if Mary and Joseph were to knock at my door. Would there be room for them?

And then it occurs to us that Saint John takes up this seemingly chance comment about the lack of room at the inn, which drove the Holy Family into the stable; he explores it more deeply and arrives at the heart of the matter when he writes: "he came to his own home, and his own people received him not" (Jn 1:11).

The great moral question of our attitude towards the homeless, towards refugees and migrants, takes on a deeper dimension: do we really have room for God when he seeks to enter under our roof? Do we have time and space for him? Do we not actually turn away God himself?

We begin to do so when we have no time for him. The faster we can move, the more efficient our time-saving appliances become, the less time we have. And God? The question of God never seems urgent. Our time is already completely full. But matters go deeper still. Does God actually have a place in our thinking? Our process of thinking is structured in such a way that he simply ought not to exist. Even if he seems to knock at the door of our thinking, he has to be explained away. If thinking is to be taken seriously, it must be structured in such a way that the "God hypothesis" becomes superfluous. There is no room for him. Not even in our feelings and desires is there any room for him. We want ourselves. We want what we can seize hold of, we want happiness that is within our reach, we want our plans and purposes to succeed. We are so "full" of ourselves that there is no room left for God. And that means there is no room for others either, for children, for the poor, for the stranger.

By reflecting on that one simple saying about the lack of room at the inn, we have come to see how much we need to listen to Saint Paul’s exhortation: "Be transformed by the renewal of your mind" (Rom 12:2). Paul speaks of renewal, the opening up of our intellect (nous), of the whole way we view the world and ourselves. The conversion that we need must truly reach into the depths of our relationship with reality.

Let us ask the Lord that we may become vigilant for his presence, that we may hear how softly yet insistently he knocks at the door of our being and willing. Let us ask that we may make room for him within ourselves, that we may recognize him also in those through whom he speaks to us: children, the suffering, the abandoned, those who are excluded and the poor of this world.

There is another verse from the Christmas story on which I should like to reflect with you – the angels’ hymn of praise, which they sing out following the announcement of the new-born Saviour: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased."

Thanksgiving with the Holy Spirit and Bishop Loverde

This week we celebrate Thanksgiving, our nation's oldest holiday, but the parish of Blessed Sacrament got an early start with the Turkey Dinner we held last Saturday evening.

On Thursday (and on Friday too for many people), we will gather with family and friends for a feast of succulent turkey, gravy, potatoes, stuffing, corn and green beans, cranberry sauce, pies and cookies, delicious wine, and more. Before eating, many will "say grace" and go around saying what they are thankful for.

But even though many gathered around the table do have this tradition of saying what they are thankful for, we do not call this Thankfulness Day, but Thanksgiving Day. Even for nonbelievers, this day is Thanksgiving Day. And to give thanks, rather than being merely thankful, means giving that thanks to someone.

Who is that someone to whom we give thanks on this holiday? Sure, some of the thanks will go to family and friends, but primarily our "thank you" is given to God. (Indeed, the word "holiday," even though used in a civic setting, is derived from "holy day.") "Thank you" not only for the food around the table, but for all of the blessings of our lives, even if we do not recognize them to be blessings.

The word for "thanksgiving" in Greek is, as you may already know, "eucharistia." This is the name we give to the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, Holy Communion, the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom we receive at the holy sacrifice of the Mass.

Bishop Paul Loverde came to our parish of Blessed Sacrament on Monday evening, November 19, for a Eucharistic celebration to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation upon many members of our parish community. Noting his own nervousness that the bishop might call on him when he was confirmed in 1950 at the age of ten, Bishop Loverde sought to reassure the confirmandi that one of the graces received from the Holy Spirit in Confirmation was that of strength and fortitude to not be afraid to give witness to the Lord, especially out there in the world, "where it really counts." In Confirmation, the Holy Spirit would come to dwell within the recipient; He would be a helper, a guide, and thereby transform the recipient into a clearer image of Jesus Christ to others and bind him or her more closely to the Church and her mission to be a witness of Jesus to others in everything we say and think and do.

Being a witness for the Lord in this world will not be easy for the newly-confirmed, Bishop Loverde said, but out there in the world is where this witness really counts, that is, that is where it is so necessary. From the many attacks on the sanctity of life to the scourge of drugs, alcohol, and pornography, to a culture of violence and injustice, and the many other failings or outright evils of humanity, the world is a cold and dark place, and it needs the Light of Christ that can shine through us by our witness of Him. The Holy Spirit is stronger than all the vices and evils of the world and with Him in our hearts, we can be heralds of hope to others. To do that, Bishop Loverde said, all one needs do is open his heart to receive the Holy Spirit in Confirmation, and then to allow Him to remain there, dwelling within you.

These graces received in Confirmation are crucial to being an effective witness, including the grace of strength to resist peer pressure to engage in any number of wrongful things that the world tempts us to do and, by having this strength to say "no" to these things, and "yes" to God instead, we provide a witness and example that encourages others to avoid the wrong and do the good, we can be Good News to them.

In Confirmation, we join in the mission of the Church to share the Lord with others. The word "thanksgiving" is "eucharistia" in Greek. The Lord is our Eucharist, our Grace, and as Confirmed Catholics, we should seek to invite others to our feast with Him and in Him.

The turkey and wine we will eat and drink on Thanksgiving Day will be deliciously good, but they are pale imitations of the real food, the real drink that the Lord invites us to receive to have life in abundance. More than merely saying what we are thankful for, we need to give that thanks to Him, and beyond saying grace, we need to open our hearts to the grace of the Holy Spirit, to dwell within us and be a light of the Lord to others. More than merely inviting others to share turkey on Thanksgiving, we need to invite others to share in our Lord, the fullness of life, in the Eucharist. In love, with the graces of the Holy Spirit we received in Confirmation, we need to invite them to join us at the real Thanksgiving meal, not merely once a year, but to join in the joyous feast everyday of our lives.
_________________

See also, The First Thanksgiving Day Proclamation of President Washington (1789)

(cross-posted at Adoramus Te)

The Church: Christ's Mystical Body

Episode Six of Fr. Robert Barron's Catholicism series --



Father Barron explores the Catholic Faith’s unique understanding of the relationship of Jesus Christ and the Church and presents the reality of the Church as a truly global culture. From the Church’s center in Rome to the cities of New York, Lagos, Manila and Rio de Janeiro, Father Barron explores the Catholic conviction that the life and presence of Christ continues to embrace humanity in all its joys and sorrows through the presence of the Church.

Living the Faith: Conscience and Election Day 2012

Tuesday, November 6, 2012, is election day. Part of living the faith -- everyday, in all aspects of our lives -- is the question of how to apply the truths of the faith, most especially the truths of the inherent dignity of the human person, in that part of civil society known as the political and electoral process. (See Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est 28-29)

Who should you vote for?

The Church will not tell you who to vote for. Instead, it calls you to have an adult faith, such that, as with all decisions in life, your ballot should be based upon a properly-formed good conscience and well-informed prudent judgment. However, it must be understood that conscience is not the same as one’s opinions or feelings, and one cannot choose or create his own conscience. That is not the conscience, that is the will. Rather, conscience is a judgment of reason in the application of objective moral truth to a particular case.

A major objective of the New Evangelization is to explain the faith more effectively, including correcting misconceptions and misunderstandings that might present obstacles to conversion and people fully accepting and living the Good News of Jesus Christ. And one enormous area of misunderstanding in the modern day is this concept of conscience, an error which has led many astray. The word "conscience" comes from the Latin "con-scientia," meaning "with knowledge." Knowledge of what? Knowledge of something other than our subjective selves, something that is beyond the self -- it is knowledge of objective and eternal truth, the "anamnesis" of the Creator who exhorts us to love in truth. Rightly understood, conscience is not the voice of self or the personal will, but is the voice of God within our hearts, our very souls; it is the light of objective moral truth which is given us so that we might make our way in the dark. (See Blessed Pope John Paul II, Dominum et Vivificantem 43, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship 17)

The task of conscience is not to create moral truth, but to perceive it and then apply it, not ignore it. In our perception of such moral truth, we are assisted by the Magisterium of the Church, by the Pope and bishops, who are in turn specially guided and protected from error by the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete promised to us by Jesus Christ. Thus, as Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman noted, a properly-formed good conscience cannot be one that is in contradiction with the teachings of the Church.

Prior to the obligation of conscience is the obligation to properly form one's conscience, or more specifically, "an actual conscience, conscience understood as a 'co-knowing' with the truth," in the words of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (before he became Pope Benedict) in his 1991 talk, Conscience and Truth. If we have a false, improperly-formed conscience, one that is not "with knowledge" of objective truth, but is instead one that is "with ignorance" of objective truth, including knowing contradiction with authoritative Church teaching, including those teachings on the inviolability of human life, then we cannot assert a right to follow it. The obligation to follow one’s conscience is an obligation to follow a good conscience, one that is "with knowledge" of transcendent objective truth, and not a bad or malformed counterfeit "conscience." Conscience is meant to accuse one of error in sin, not justify it, and conscience is most emphatically not a license to delude ourselves to truth so as to justify doing, facilitating, or participating in that which is intrinsically wrong or mala in se (evil in and of itself). One's "subjective conviction and the lack of doubts and scruples which follow therefrom" are not sufficient, explains Cardinal Ratzinger in Conscience and Truth, "it will not do to identify man's conscience with the self-consciousness of the I, with it subjective certainty about itself and its moral behavior," especially in a relativistic age when so many can no longer see moral fault and sin. (see also Blessed John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae 24)

Photo of White Rose from Wikipedia

With this connection to transcendent objective moral truth, in all things, including when making electoral decisions, we have an obligation in conscience, written as law upon our hearts, to do the good and resist evil. (Gaudium et Spes 16) This obligation to follow a good conscience, properly formed in conformity with the teachings of the Church, does not restrict human freedom, but instead calls the person to genuine freedom in truth, for only in truth will one be set free. On the other hand, Cardinal Ratzinger continues in Conscience and Truth, "the identification of conscience with superficial consciousness, the reduction of man to his subjectivity, does not liberate but enslaves. It makes us totally dependent on the prevailing opinions and debases these with every passing day."

O Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, at this most critical time, we entrust the United States of America to your loving care.
Most Holy Mother, we beg you to reclaim this land for the glory of your Son. Overwhelmed with the burden of the sins of our nation, we cry to you from the depths of our hearts and seek refuge in your motherly protection.
Look down with mercy upon us and touch the hearts of our people. Open our minds to the great worth of human life and to the responsibilities that accompany human freedom.
Free us from the falsehoods that lead to the evil of abortion, other assaults on the truth of the fundamental dignity of the human person, and whicht threaten marriage, family life, and fundamental rights of conscience. Grant our country the wisdom to proclaim that God’s law of Love and Truth is the foundation on which this nation was founded, and that He alone is the True Source of our cherished rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
O Merciful Mother, give us the courage to reject the culture of death and the strength to build a new Culture of Life.

(cross-posted in large part at Adoramus Te)

__________________

See also -
Letters from Bishop Paul Loverde:

Church Principles in the Public Square
Bearing Witness in the Public Square
Conscience and Faithful Citizenship
Our Faith is Challenged

From the USCCB, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship
From the Virginia Catholic Conference:

Know the Positions of the Presidential Candidates
2012 U.S. Senate Candidates’ Survey Response Chart

Doctrinal Note, On Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Human Life and the Obligation of Conscience

Santo Subito: Answering the Call to be a Saint

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen. (Apostle's Creed)

Pope Benedict celebrated Mass one week ago for the canonization of seven saints and we are soon approaching the Solemnity of All Saints on November 1. Thus, this is an opportune time to begin a new continuing series on the saints and sainthood.

We are invited in this Year of Faith to rediscover and receive once again the precious gift which is our faith, including studying, meditating upon, and praying in communion with the saints. In this Year, we might seek to learn more about those saints whose names we took in Baptism and/or Confirmation, those saints whose feast day we celebrate on a particular day, those saints for whom we already have a certain affection, and those saints who we know little or nothing about.

By faith, across the centuries, men and women of all ages, whose names are written in the Book of Life (cf. Rev 7:9, 13:8), have confessed the beauty of following the Lord Jesus wherever they were called to bear witness to the fact that they were Christian: in the family, in the workplace, in public life, in the exercise of the charisms and ministries to which they were called. (Porta Fidei 13)

By their lives and testimony of faith, those saints who reside now in Heaven provide excellent examples for us to follow in addition to interceding for us before God. This is an exceedingly good thing. Yet, at the same time, it does present some difficulties for many people.

Read the rest of Santo Subito: Answering the Call to be a Saint at Adoramus Te.

Let Us Pray

From Adoramus Te, the blog of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church:

It begins . . . with prayer. It begins as it should, as it must if it is to be fruitful, with prayer.

Most appropriately, the Year of Faith was inaugurated at Blessed Sacrament with that most special prayer which involves adoration of our Lord in the most Holy Eucharist, the source and summit of our faith. There is a great need in this Year of Faith, together with the New Evangelization, for a better appreciation of the Real Presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, Father Anthony Killian said in his sermon at the Holy Hour on Thursday, October 11. He noted how St. Faustina recounts in her diary when Jesus had sadly told her that, all too often, with respect to the Eucharist, people "treat me as a dead object." But He is alive -- in Him, all things are made new, and we can ourselves be renewed in receiving the living Risen Christ, "the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live forever in Jesus Christ." (CCC 1405, quoting St. Ignatius of Antioch)

Renewal in Him and through Him is a major reason for the Year of Faith. It is an exhortation to be renewed, Fr. Killian said, so that we can then joyously take that renewed and reinvigorated faith to others.

It must be a living faith and a lived faith that we take to others, rather than treating our Lord and our faith as if they are dead objects. We must open our hearts to Him, to His Spirit of Love and Truth, and worthily receive His Body in Holy Communion with Him, so that His Light might more clearly shine through us, through our lives and witness of Him.

How might we open our hearts in this Year of Faith? What are some of the activities we might engage in during this Year? How might we better inform our intellects and prepare ourselves for the New Evangelization, for our actively participating in the mission of the Church to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to a cold and dark world sorely in need of some good news?

Read the rest of Let Us Pray at Adoramus Te.

Her Immaculate Heart Will Triumph

Today is the 13th day of October, the day that Our Lady of Fatima made her final appearance to the humble shepherd children Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta, the day that a reported 70,000 people witnessed the "Miracle of the Sun." At that time, 1917, the world was suffering horribly in the slaughter of so many millions of people in World War I and our Lady warned of even worse horrors and death in a war that was to follow. Nevertheless, with a call for prayer and penance, she promised that her Immaculate Heart would triumph in the end. This is a very important thing to keep in mind as we engage in the New Evangelization.

Read the rest of Her Immaculate Heart Will Triumph at Cinema Catechism.

Being on Fire with Truth and Love in the New Evangelization

Again, part of the New Evangelization is finding better, that is, more effective, ways to proclaim the faith, whether it be to people in places where secularization has taken hold in traditionally Christianized areas or out in the greater world. This means speaking the language that our intended audience of today speaks, rather than persisting in using "church speak" or the language of the 13th century.

Actually, this aspect of the "New" Evangelization is anything but new. The Church has sought to speak in the language of our audience since the very beginning, including appropriating various concepts from Greek and Roman philosophy to better explain Christian theology. An earlier example of using the words our intended audience uses is the very term "evangelize," which is not derived from the Aramaic and Hebrew used by Jesus and the Apostles, but is instead rooted in Greek. The word itself first appears, not in Salvation History, but in Greek literature and it is only later used in scripture by the prophet Isaiah to express more effectively, and to a larger audience, the announcement from God of a reason for His people to rejoice, that He would rescue them from exile and bondage.

Pope Benedict opened the first session of the Synod of Bishops with an explanation of the history and meaning of this term "evangelization," which interestingly shows itself to be implicit in the New Evangelization in and of itself. The Holy Father also meditated upon other various terms in his address, which was something of a lectio divina on the hymn for the "mid-morning" prayer (Terce) of the Liturgy of the Hours. (thanks to the incomparable Teresa Benedetta of the Benedetto XVI Forum for the translation)

Although God is all-powerful and thus is not dependent upon anything, Pope Benedict reminds us that the Lord has chosen to seek our help in the work of salvation. Jesus is our one and only Savior, but He also wants this to be a group effort. However, in making this effort, we must remember that the Church belongs to the Lord and we are mere servants, we can only cooperate with Him and not act solely on our own.

The Pope recalls the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in teaching that we must allow the Faith to so penetrate our being that it resounds through us, that we confess the Lord with our very lives, that we become witnesses of Christ even to the point of following Him to the Cross. We must know Him in our hearts so that we might speak of Him to others from our hearts in addition to speaking of Him intellectually from the head. This means working with the Spirit of Truth and Love, allowing our living faith to become enflamed and not merely lukewarm and passive.

The fullness of love, love to the extent of being on fire, is by its nature creative and transformative. We must allow ourselves to burn with this fire, the Fire that is the Lord, and only in this way will we be able to be effective in being not only a light to the world, but to help Him in the redemptive and sanctifying work of transforming the world from one of suffering and death to one of joy and eternal life.

Reflections of Pope Benedict XVI
Opening Session of the Synod on the New Evangelization
9 October 2012

My meditation refers to the word "evangelium", ("euangelisasthai" in Greek) (cf Lk 4:18). In this Synodal assembly, we wish to know more what the Lord is telling us and what we can and should do. The reflection is divided in two: the first, on the significance of these words, and then, I wish to try and interpret the hymn of the Third Hour, "Nunc, Sancte, nobis Spìritus," on Page 5 of the Book of Prayers.

The word "evangelium," "euangelisasthai," has a long history. It appears in Homer as the announcement of victory, therefore, an announcement of something good, of joy, of happiness. Then it appears in the "Second Book" of Isaiah [the the Deutero-Isaiah] (cf Is 40:9), announcing the joy of God, to say that God has not forgotten his people, that God who had apparently retreated from history is around and present. God has power, God gives joy, he opens the doors that lead from exile. After the long night of exile, his light appears, the possibility of his return to his people, renewing the story of goodness, the story of his love.

In the context of evangelization, three other words appear most frequently: dikaiosyne, eirene, soteria - justice, peace, salvation. Jesus himself reprised the words of Isaiah when he spoke of this "Evangelo" in Nazareth, bringing them to those who were excluded, to those in prison, to the suffering and to the poor.

But for the meaning of the word evangelium in the New Testament, beyond the Deutero-Isaiah (Isa 40-55), which opens the door - equally important is the use of the word in the Roman Empire, starting with Emperor Augustus, in which the word evangelium refers to a message coming from the emperor. Thus, the emperor's message, in itself, meant something good - a renewal of the world, salvation. An imperial message and therefore a message of power and might, as well as a message of salvation, renewal and well-being.

The New Testament accepts this situation. St. Luke explicitly confronts the Emperor Augustus with the Baby born in Bethlehem. Evangelium, he says, is a word from the emperor, the true emperor of the world. The true emperor of the world has made himself heard - he speaks to us.

This word evangelium, as such, is redemption, because man's great suffering - then, as now - is this: Behind the silence of the universe, behind the haze of history, does God exist or not? And if there is a God, does he know us, does he have anything to do with us?

This question is as relevant today as it was then. So many people want to know: Is God just a hypothesis? Or is he a reality? Then why doesn't he make himself heard?

"Evangelium" means God has broken his silence, God has spoken, God exists. This in itself is salvation: God knows us, he loves us, he has entered human history. Jesus is his Word, God-with-us, God who shows us that he loves us, who suffered with us to his death and then resurrected. This is the Gospel itself. God has spoken, he is no longer the great unknown, he has shown himself to us, and this is salvation.

The question for us is this: God has spoken, he has broken the great silence, he has shown himself to us - How can we make this reality reach men of today so that it becomes their salvation? In itself, the fact that he has spoken is salvation, it is redemption. But how can we let contemporary man know this?

Communication of the Faith is an Interactive, Collaborative Process

Effective communication of ideas is not a one-way street, it requires the active involvement of both the speaker and the listener. Even if the listener is rather silent, as opposed to engaging in a dialogue, still in his passivity he must at least be as active as a sponge to receive and absorb the information, and not be so completely passive as to be like an inanimate stone, where the information simply washes over him. The most effective conveyance of information, however, requires that the listener be more than a sponge, that he provide signals or otherwise engage with the speaker, ideally having a conversation with him (the word "conversation" being from the Latin for "taking turns with").

Monsignor Charles Pope writes today of how important it is for good and effective preaching that the priest have some level of interactivity with his listening congregation.

I have commented elsewhere on the problem of poor preaching in our beloved Catholic Church. What I would like to do here is to note that the quality of preaching is not only dependent on the preacher but is also dependent upon the congregation. In our critique of Catholic preaching we tend to weigh in heavily on the priests’ shortcomings. But in this article I’d like to propose that our congregations in our parishes also have a role improving Catholic preaching.

My own experience as a priest powerfully underscores the role of congregation in helping to craft the preaching moment. I have served almost all of my 20 years in African American parishes. In these settings the congregation takes an active part in the preaching moment. Acclamations and affirmations such as “Amen!” “Go on!” “Make it plain preacher” “Hallelujah,” and the like are common. Hands are often raised in silent affirmation, nods of the head move through the congregation. Now all of this affects the preaching moment powerfully for me and helps it take shape and come to life.

Can I hear an "Amen"? What Msgr. Pope says about preaching proper can also be said about catechesis, on-going religious education and formation, especially because part of that role of the congregation in not leaving the priest hanging, leaving it all up to him to preach the Word, is the faithful laity being collaborators in that mission and helping to spread the Faith by evangelization and catechesis, etc.

In that respect, going into the Year of Faith, when we are all going to become more involved in our parishes and attending (or giving) the various talks and programs that are being offered for adults (or becoming more pro-active and involved in our kids’ education in CCD, etc.) — and we are all going to become more involved, right? right?? — in going to these talks and programs by priests and lay catechists, most of these are intended to be interactive, in other words, ask questions, help to get an actual group discussion going. Our priests and catechists are just that, they are not dentists, it shouldn’t be like pulling teeth with their audience.

Yesterday, in his address at the opening of the Synod of Bishops in Rome, Donald Cardinal Wuerl said an essential part of the New Evangelization is “a willingness to share [our faith] with others.” I know that the Monsignor has a fairly active and charismatic congregation, but many (most) other Catholics are notoriously reticent to express themselves and are all too often bumps on a log. But our faith is, by its very nature and at its foundational level, interactive, not passive. We need to get over our inwardness and become outward when it comes to sharing the faith.

I know that some of this is due to a feeling that to speak of our faith is to be an imposition upon people, but in proclaiming the Good News, we do not impose, we only propose. We offer them something better than what this cold world has given them. But that feeling of imposing ourselves on others certainly should not even be an issue when we are amongst fellow Catholics, especially Mass-going Catholics. Instead, we should be all too eager to share the joy of our faith and thereby confirm and strengthen our brothers and sisters in their own faith. Especially men — there was a period when I was not all that active and did not go to Mass regularly because church looked all too much like the stereotype of being something for old women — but with more men being active and speaking out, it will strengthen (and give “permission” to) other men to become more active.

With respect to working with the preacher, during the homily, even if you are not saying aloud “Amen,” etc., there are forms of non-verbal communication to help the preacher see that he is being heard and understood, one of which is actually paying attention and not flipping through the bulletin, or nodding or even just facial expressions can demonstrate if the priest is being understood and accepted or if there are possible objections to what he is saying, which allows him to then further explain and assuage any possible doubts. After Mass, rather than running for the car, give the priest encouragement by taking a moment or two to thank him for the good points he made in the homily, things that gave you something to think about. Better yet, rather than remaining a stranger with a vaguely familiar face, establish a personal relationship with your pastor and associate priests so that they at least know your name, and then when you discuss the homily with him, or offer constructive ideas for the future, you will be able to really engage with each other and he will know if he is on the right track, if his message is getting through effectively. Go to daily Mass now and then, rather than just on Sunday, and thereby help yourself as well as helping others in prayer and grace.

During the week, go to the talks and programs and workshops offered by your parish (or some nearby parish) and participate. Blessed Sacrament in Alexandria has something going on all the time, as do many of our neighboring parishes -- look in your parish bulletin or look in the diocese or archdiocese newspaper for scheduled events. Few things are worse than to see some speaker give a presentation, periodically asking questions, trying to draw people out, and hearing nothing but crickets in response. So, even if you already know the answer, help him or her out, and ask some question. Don't be a dead audience so that the speaker does not have to suffer a slow death up there. Involvement in the Church, both at Mass and on-going faith formation, should not be like going back to high school or college, where people are in fear that the teacher might cold call on people to say something.

In prayer and reading scripture and other works of faith, here too be interactive. Have an actual conversation with God in prayer, not a rote and mindless monologue, and notwithstanding the response that Job received, do not be afraid to ask questions and sincerely seek understanding, and then be willing to shut up and let God get a word in edgewise. Learn about lectio divina to similarly actively engage with the word of God, rather than just passively reading the text, resulting in the words being seeds that just sit there and never take root and sprout in you.

If we are to succeed in turning things around in this world, we must have “a willingness to share [our faith] with others,” as Cardinal Wuerl said. We must take the cover off the lamp and allow the Light of Christ to shine. Help out our priests in their preaching, help out our catechists in their teaching, help out our Lord in spreading His Good News.

(largely cross-posted at the ADW blog website)

We were Made for a Fullness of Love That is by its Very Nature Unitive and Fruitful

The Mass readings for today, which happens to be Respect Life Sunday, answer the questions that have been asked since the beginning: Why do we exist? What is the meaning of life?

Philosophers and men and women of all stripes have struggled with those questions, but the answer is quite simple and reveals itself to be rather obvious once it is known -- the meaning of human life is to love and be loved in truth, more particularly, not an impoverished love or partial truth, but in the fullness of love and truth.

This answer proves itself to be clear when we consider our own personal experience and observe our own bodies, made male and female, such that even non-believers should be able to understand it. But for those of use who are believers, we have the benefit of the answer being further enlightened by the divine revelation contained in today's readings, which include passages that Blessed Pope John Paul II referred to extensively in presenting the theology of the body. I will not here repeat that teaching, which we have been considering recently over at Cinema Catechism, but will instead invite you to read the following previous posts:

The Existence and Nature of Man and the Meaning of Life
Having a Spousal Relationship with Christ
Beyond Salvation: Becoming One with the Lord
St. Thérèse and Our Relationship with the Lord
Respect for Human Life and Contraception: An Application of Theology of the Body
The Theology of the Body is a Theology of the Fullness of Love

See also - The Church's Positive Teachings on Human Sexuality, Contraception, and Life Issues
The Lie that is Contraception and the Truth of Authentic Feminism

The Good Life of Gift-of-Self in Love to Others, but Loving God First

If something is holding you back from God and a more holy life, you must let it go even if you get some good benefit from it. This is a hard lesson to learn, as we discussed in considering the Gospel reading for last Sunday's Mass. We must let these things go and detach ourselves from an undue attachment to worldly things and concerns, especially if those things involve sinful activities, but even if they are non-sinful, yet are not on the path that we are called to follow. No matter how essential you may think the fruits of this activity or practice are, if they are preventing you from a closer relationship with the Lord, you must cut it off, amputate that hand diseased by sin, chop off that well-intentioned foot that keeps taking you in the wrong direction and down the wrong path.

This brings us to the Gospel reading for Wednesday, which involves a similar lesson:

As Jesus and His disciples travelled along they met a man on the road who said to Him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered, "Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

Another to whom He said, "Follow me," replied, "Let me go and bury my father first." But He answered, "Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the kingdom of God."

Another said, "I will follow you, sir, but first let me go and say goodbye to my people at home." Jesus said to him, "Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:57-62)

We've been speaking a lot about the New Evangelization, and will speak of it a lot more as we begin and live the Year of Faith, and a large part of the New Evangelization is finding more effective ways to spread and explain the Good News of Jesus Christ. Now, this aspect of the New Evangelization promises to be rather tricky, requiring us find ways to get around the pre-built defenses that many people of today have against the Christian faith. It is not as if we are in a society where people have never heard of Jesus before, they have -- practically everyone has heard of His name, and of course those Catholics and non-Catholic Christians who have fallen away from the faith have certainly heard of Him, but they have built up a "wall of separation" against Him due largely to the fact that what they have heard and learned about Christianity is false and wrong. So we need to find ways to speak to former believers and non-believers in ways that they will listen to us and thus get to know the truth about Jesus and the Faith. And it is in the light of such truth that they will be set free of their pre-conceived opposition and objections to the Good News. And the people of this world are in great need of some good news right now.

In learning how to best speak to non-believers, one of the best resources is to talk to converts, to read their conversion stories and discover exactly what it is that finally clicked, that drew them in to want to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Perhaps the most famous of these conversion stories is St. Augustine's Confessions, and because of his experiences in decadent Roman society, what with the modern world increasingly becoming like Rome, he is a person that the modern person can relate to very much. But then again, Augustine did live 1600 years ago, so maybe there are some more recent models we can turn to?

An excellent resource for learning about conversion of non-believers to believers is Jennifer Fulwiler, who writes at Conversion Diary. She was a long-time atheist who believed that God and Christianity were rather irrational and absurd, but who, after embarking upon a search for truth like Augustine, later entered the Catholic Church with her husband at the Easter Vigil in 2007. Jennifer and her husband are celebrating their ninth wedding anniversary, which is made all the more joyous with the news that they are expecting baby number six. She recounts how, before their conversion, they thought that they had the good life, a life of comfort and freedom, but in all that comfort, something was missing, they felt a sense of emptiness which they tried to fill with even more worldly things.

Now, a few years later, they have five children ranging from 8-years-old to 15-months, with a sixth on the way, and Jennifer reflects on her current life:

We’re so busy and tired, I’m not sure if we’ll even do anything to celebrate. Between homeschooling, dance class, soccer, scouts, general chaos management and me feeling astoundingly exhausted and vaguely sick all the time, I think that what we’d both like for our ninth anniversary is the opportunity to get 12 straight hours of sleep (that is the traditional nine-year gift, right?).

This is not the easiest phase of life I’ve ever been in.

But she then goes on, after remembering their past life, to remark that all of this living and doing for other people is the real good life. Following her profound conversion, Jennifer understands that

the way to be happy isn’t to amass nice stuff or go on awesome vacations or even to think about yourself much at all. The way to be happy is to love. And real love always involves self-sacrifice; in fact, love and self-sacrifice are basically the same thing.

Yes, life is hard when all of your time is filled with doing things for and with other people. It can be loud and chaotic and messy and more work than you've ever had to do in your life.

But life is harder still when all of your time is empty and alone, and you struggle to find something to do to fill that abyss in your life, even though you might have various material possessions that promise you comfort, but never really fulfill that promise. Our temporal existence can be excruciating without something, or more specifically, someone, to help us live it. To have what some might think is the ultimate freedom, the radical autonomy to be without any duty or obligation to others, is actually a taste of Hell.

To be with others who have need of you, need of your love, need of your self-giving, is the more authentic freedom, paradoxical as it may seem, because it is more true to our nature as human persons — we are made to love and be loved in truth, and it is in such truth that we are set free. We are free to be who we are made to be, social creatures made for fruitful loving communion with others in one being.

The further paradox, though -- and to return us to our original point -- is that to fully love the other, to better love our spouse or our children, we must in a sense, put them second, not first. That is, we must love God first, before we love them. Our first priority is to follow Jesus, even before burying our dead father, even before saying goodbye to the family at home. (Luke 9:57-62)

The way to be happy, the way to the good life, is to love. But if we feel that we should or must love our spouse first and foremost, even before loving God, we end up giving them an impoverished love. Rather, we must love God first before we love others, we must put our love of God before our love for our spouse or children or friends or any other worldly thing. But in so doing, we do not love our family members less, but more. In following Jesus before first burying our dead father, we do not leave his corpse there to rot in the roadside, we do not abandon our beloved family members. Quite the contrary. In loving God before loving them, we love them even more.

To love our spouse or children or parents or others more perfectly, we must love them through the Lord. In loving God before we love them, God takes our love, purifies it, multiplies it by His own, and gives it to the other in an even greater and fuller measure than we could on our own. In love, God is not a competitor, He is a multiplier.