Vita Nostra in Ecclesia

God has come down from on High to appear as a Baby. Let us too come down from our high horse and bend down to see Him.

2011-12-25T02:00:00.001-05:00

Homily of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
Midnight Mass
Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord
December 25, 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to Titus that we have just heard begins solemnly with the word “apparuit,” which then comes back again in the reading at the Dawn Mass: apparuit – “there has appeared.” This is a programmatic word, by which the Church seeks to express synthetically the essence of Christmas.

Formerly, people had spoken of God and formed human images of Him in all sorts of different ways. God Himself had spoken in many and various ways to mankind (cf. Heb 1:1 – Mass during the Day). But now something new has happened: He has appeared. He has revealed Himself. He has emerged from the inaccessible light in which He dwells. He Himself has come into our midst.

This was the great joy of Christmas for the early Church: God has appeared. No longer is He merely an idea, no longer do we have to form a picture of Him on the basis of mere words. He has “appeared.”

But now we ask: how has He appeared? Who is He in reality?

The reading at the Dawn Mass goes on to say: “the kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed” (Tit 3:4). For the people of pre-Christian times, whose response to the terrors and contradictions of the world was to fear that God Himself might not be good either, that He too might well be cruel and arbitrary, this was a real “epiphany,” the great light that has appeared to us: God is pure goodness. Today too, people who are no longer able to recognize God through faith are asking whether the ultimate power that underpins and sustains the world is truly good, or whether evil is just as powerful and primordial as the good and the beautiful which we encounter in radiant moments in our world.

“The kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed”: this is the new, consoling certainty that is granted to us at Christmas.

In all three Christmas Masses, the liturgy quotes a passage from the Prophet Isaiah, which describes the epiphany that took place at Christmas in greater detail:

“A child is born for us, a son given to us and dominion is laid on his shoulders; and this is the name they give him: Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace. Wide is his dominion in a peace that has no end” (Is 9:5f.).

Whether the prophet had a particular child in mind, born during his own period of history, we do not know. But it seems impossible. This is the only text in the Old Testament in which it is said of a child, of a human being: His name will be Mighty-God, Eternal-Father.

We are presented with a vision that extends far beyond the historical moment into the mysterious, into the future. A child, in all its weakness, is Mighty God. A child, in all its neediness and dependence, is Eternal Father. And His peace “has no end.” The prophet had previously described the child as “a great light” and had said of the peace He would usher in that the rod of the oppressor, the footgear of battle, every cloak rolled in blood would be burned (Is 9:1, 3-4).

God has appeared – as a child. It is in this guise that He pits Himself against all violence and brings a message that is peace.

At this hour, when the world is continually threatened by violence in so many places and in so many different ways, when over and over again there are oppressors’ rods and bloodstained cloaks, we cry out to the Lord:

O mighty God, you have appeared as a child and you have revealed yourself to us as the One who loves us, the One through whom love will triumph. And you have shown us that we must be peacemakers with you. We love your childish estate, your powerlessness, but we suffer from the continuing presence of violence in the world, and so we also ask you: manifest your power, O God. In this time of ours, in this world of ours, cause the oppressors’ rods, the cloaks rolled in blood and the footgear of battle to be burned, so that your peace may triumph in this world of ours.

Christmas is an epiphany – the appearing of God and of His great light in a child that is born for us. Born in a stable in Bethlehem, not in the palaces of kings.

In 1223, when Saint Francis of Assisi celebrated Christmas in Greccio with an ox and an ass and a manger full of hay, a new dimension of the mystery of Christmas came to light. Saint Francis of Assisi called Christmas “the feast of feasts” – above all other feasts – and he celebrated it with “unutterable devotion” (2 Celano 199; Fonti Francescane, 787). He kissed images of the Christ-child with great devotion and he stammered tender words such as children say, so Thomas of Celano tells us (ibid.).

For the early Church, the feast of feasts was Easter: in the Resurrection, Christ had flung open the doors of death and in so doing had radically changed the world: He had made a place for man in God himself. Now, Francis neither changed nor intended to change this objective order of precedence among the feasts, the inner structure of the faith centred on the Paschal Mystery. And yet through him and the character of his faith, something new took place: Francis discovered Jesus’ humanity in an entirely new depth. This human existence of God became most visible to him at the moment when God’s Son, born of the Virgin Mary, was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.

The Resurrection presupposes the Incarnation. For God’s Son to take the form of a child, a truly human child, made a profound impression on the heart of the Saint of Assisi, transforming faith into love. “The kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed” – this phrase of Saint Paul now acquired an entirely new depth. In the child born in the stable at Bethlehem, we can as it were touch and caress God.

And so the liturgical year acquired a second focus in a feast that is above all a feast of the heart. This has nothing to do with sentimentality. It is right here, in this new experience of the reality of Jesus’ humanity that the great mystery of faith is revealed. Francis loved the child Jesus, because for him it was in this childish estate that God’s humility shone forth. God became poor. His Son was born in the poverty of the stable. In the child Jesus, God made Himself dependent, in need of human love, He put Himself in the position of asking for human love – our love.

Today, Christmas has become a commercial celebration, whose bright lights hide the mystery of God’s humility, which in turn calls us to humility and simplicity. Let us ask the Lord to help us see through the superficial glitter of this season, and to discover behind it the child in the stable in Bethlehem, so as to find true joy and true light.

Francis arranged for Mass to be celebrated on the manger that stood between the ox and the ass (cf. 1 Celano 85; Fonti 469). Later, an altar was built over this manger, so that where animals had once fed on hay, men could now receive the flesh of the spotless lamb Jesus Christ, for the salvation of soul and body, as Thomas of Celano tells us (cf. 1 Celano 87; Fonti 471).

Francis himself, as a deacon, had sung the Christmas Gospel on the holy night in Greccio with resounding voice. Through the friars’ radiant Christmas singing, the whole celebration seemed to be a great outburst of joy (1 Celano 85.86; Fonti 469, 470). It was the encounter with God’s humility that caused this joy – His goodness creates the true feast.

Today, anyone wishing to enter the Church of Jesus’ Nativity in Bethlehem will find that the doorway, five and a half metres high, through which emperors and caliphs used to enter the building, is now largely walled up. Only a low opening of one and a half metres has remained.

The intention was probably to provide the church with better protection from attack, but above all to prevent people from entering God’s house on horseback. Anyone wishing to enter the place of Jesus’ birth has to bend down.

It seems to me that a deeper truth is revealed here, which should touch our hearts on this holy night: if we want to find the God who appeared as a child, then we must dismount from the high horse of our “enlightened” reason. We must set aside our false certainties, our intellectual pride, which prevents us from recognizing God’s closeness. We must follow the interior path of Saint Francis – the path leading to that ultimate outward and inward simplicity which enables the heart to see. We must bend down, spiritually we must as it were go on foot, in order to pass through the portal of faith and encounter the God who is so different from our prejudices and opinions – the God who conceals Himself in the humility of a newborn baby.

In this spirit, let us celebrate the liturgy of the holy night, let us strip away our fixation on what is material, on what can be measured and grasped. Let us allow ourselves to be made simple by the God who reveals Himself to the simple of heart.

And let us also pray especially at this hour for all who have to celebrate Christmas in poverty, in suffering, as migrants, that a ray of God’s kindness may shine upon them, that they – and we – may be touched by the kindness that God chose to bring into the world through the birth of His Son in a stable. Amen.
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Venite Adoremus

2011-12-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

Adeste fideles laeti triumphantes,
Venite, venite in Bethlehem.
Natum videte Regem angelorum.

Venite adoremus,
Venite adoremus,
Venite adoremus,
Dominum.

Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine,
Gestant puellae viscera.
Deum verum, genitum non factum.

Venite adoremus,
Venite adoremus,
Venite adoremus,
Dominum.

Cantet nunc io chorus Angelórum
cantet nunc aula caelestium:
Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Venite adoremus,
Venite adoremus,
Venite adoremus,
Dominum.

Ergo qui natus die hodierna.
Jesu, tibi sit gloria,
Patris aeterni Verbum caro factum.

Venite adoremus,
Venite adoremus,
Venite adoremus,
Dominum.

The Birth of He Who Makes All Things New is Not Something from the Past, but is Ever in the Present

2011-12-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

Catechesis of Pope Benedict XVI
General Audience, 21 December 2011

Dear brothers and sisters,

I am happy to welcome you to the General Audience just a few days from the celebration of the Nativity of the Lord. The greeting on everyone's lips these days is 'Merry Christmas! Best wishes for the holidays!"

Let us do it in a way so that, even in our present society, the greeting we exchange does not lose its profound religious value, and that the celebration does not get absorbed by its exterior aspects but that they should touch the heartsrings.

Of course, the external signs are beautiful and important, as long as they do not take away from Christmas, but rather help us to live Christmas in its truest sense -- the sacred and Christian sense -- and cause our joy to be not superficial, but deep.

With the Christmas liturgy, the Church introduces us to the great Mystery of the Incarnation. Christmas, in fact, is not a mere anniversary of Jesus' birth -- it is also this, but it is more -- it is the celebration of a mystery that has marked and continues to mark mankind's history -- God Himself came to dwell among us (cf. John 1:14), He made Himself one of us; a mystery that concerns our faith and our very lives; a mystery that we experience concretely in the liturgical celebrations, especially in the Holy Mass.

One might ask: How can I live out now an event that took place so long ago? How can I take part fruitfully in the birth of the Son of God which took place more than 2000 years ago?

In the Holy Mass on Christmas Eve, we say the following refrain in the Responsorial Psalm: "Today the Savior is born to us." This adverb of time, "Today," which is used repeatedly throughout the Christmas celebrations, refers to the event of Jesus' birth and to the salvation that the incarnation of the Son of God comes to bring.

In the liturgy, this event transcends all the limits of space and time and becomes actual, present. Its effect continues, even amidst the passing of days, years and centuries. In indicating that Jesus is born "today," the liturgy does not use a meaningless phrase, but underscores that this birth affects and permeates the whole of history -- even today, it remains a reality to which we may attain, precisely in the liturgy. For believers, the celebration of Christmas renews our certainty that God is really present with us, still "flesh" and not far away: being with the Father as well as with us. In that Child born in Bethlehem, God drew near to man: we can encounter Him now -- in a "today" whose sun knows no setting.

I would like to stress this point, because modern man -- a man of "the sensible," of the empirically verifiable -- finds it increasingly more difficult to open his horizons and enter the world of God. The Redemption of mankind certainly took place at a precise and identifiable moment in history: in the event of Jesus of Nazareth. But Jesus is the Son of God -- He is God Himself, who not only spoke to man, showed him wondrous signs and guided him throughout the history of salvation -- but became man and remains man. The Eternal entered into the limits of time and space, in order to make possible an encounter with Him "today."

The liturgical texts of Christmas help us to understand that the events of salvation wrought by Christ are always actual, and of interest to every man and of all mankind. When we hear or proclaim in the liturgy the words "Today a Savior is born to us," we are not using an empty conventional expression, rather, we mean that God offers us "today" -- now -- to me, to each one of us, the possibility of acknowledging and receiving Him like the shepherds in Bethlehem, so that He might be born in our lives and renew them, enlighten them, transform them by His grace, by His Presence.

Christmas, then, while commemorating Jesus' birth in the flesh of the Virgin Mary -- and numerous liturgical texts put before our eyes this or that event -- is an efficacious event for us. Pope St. Leo the Great, in presenting the profound meaning of the Feast of the Nativity, issued an invitation to the faithful with these words:

"Let us exult in the Lord, o my dear ones, and let us open our hearts to the purest joy, because there has dawned for us the day of ever-new redemption, of ancient preparation, of eternal bliss. For as the year rolls round, there recurs for us the commemoration of our salvation, which promised from the beginning and accomplished in the fullness of time, will endure for ever." (Sermon 22, In Nativitate Domini, 2,1; PL 54,193)

And again, in another Christmas homily St. Leo the Great affirms:

"Today the Maker of the world was born of a Virgin's womb, and He who made all things made Himself the son of a woman whom He Himself had created. Today the Word of God has become clothed in flesh, and That which had never been seen by human eyes was made visible and palpable. Today the shepherds learned from angels' voices that the Savior was born in the substance of our flesh and soul." (Sermon 26, In Nativitate Domini, 6,1; PL 54,213)

There is a second aspect that I would like to touch upon briefly. The event of Bethlehem should be considered in the light of the Paschal Mystery: The one and the other are part of the one redemptive work of Christ.

Jesus' incarnation and birth invite us to direct our gaze to His death and resurrection: Christmas and Easter are both feasts of the Redemption. Easter celebrates it as the victory over sin and death: It signals the final moment, when the glory of the Man-God shines forth as the light of day. Christmas celebrates it as God's entrance into history, His becoming man in order to restore man to God: It marks, so to speak, the initial moment when we begin to see the first light of dawn.

And just as the dawn precedes and presages the light of day, so Christmas already announces the Cross and the glory of the Resurrection.

Even the two times of year when we mark the two great feasts -- at least in some parts of the world -- can help us to understand this aspect. So, just as Easter comes at the start of spring, when the sun triumphs over fog and cold, and renews the face of the earth, Christmas falls at the start of winter, when the light and warmth of the sun are unable to reawaken nature, wrapped in cold. Under this blanket, however, life throbs and the victory of the sun and warmth begins again.

The Fathers of the Church always interpreted Christ's birth in the light of the whole work of Redemption, which finds its summit in the Paschal Mystery. The incarnation of the Son of God appears not only as the start and condition for salvation, but as the very presence of the mystery of our salvation. God becomes man, He is born a babe like us, He takes on our flesh to conquer death and sin.

Two important texts of St. Basil illustrate this well. St. Basil tells the faithful:

"God assumes flesh precisely to destroy death, which is hidden in all flesh. Just as the antidotes to a poison annul its effects once they are ingested, and just as the shadows in a house are dissipated by sunlight, so death which dominated human nature was destroyed by the presence of God. And as ice remains solid in water as long as night endures and darkness reigns, but melts at once by the sun's heat, so was death -- which had reigned until the coming of Christ -- as soon as the grace of God our Savior appeared, and the Sun of Justice arose, 'swallowed up in victory' (1 Cor. 15:54), being unable to coexist with Life." (Homily on the Birth of Christ, 2: PG 31,1461)

And again, in another text St. Basil issues this invitation:

"Let us celebrate the world's salvation and mankind's birth. Today Adam's guilt has been remitted. Now we need no longer say: 'you are dust and to dust you shall return' (Genesis 3:19), but rather: united to Him who descended from heaven, you shall be admitted into heaven. (Homily on the Birth of Christ, 6: PG 31,1473)

At Christmas, we encounter the tenderness and love of God who stoops down to our limitations, to our weaknesses, to our sins -- He lowers Himself to our level. St. Paul affirms that Jesus Christ "though He was in the form of God ... emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men" (Phil. 2:6-7). Let us look upon the cave of Bethlehem: God lowers Himself to the point of being laid in a manger -- which is already a prelude of His self-abasement in the hour of His Passion. The climax of the love story between God and man passes by way of the manger of Bethlehem and the sepulcher of Jerusalem.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us joyously live the feast of Christmas, which now draws near. Let us live this wondrous event: The Son of God again is born "today"; God is truly close to each one of us, and He wants to meet us -- He wants to bring us to Himself.

He is the true light which dispels and dissolves the darkness enveloping our lives and mankind. Let us live the Nativity of the Lord by contemplating the journey of God's immense love, which raised us to Himself through the mystery of the incarnation, passion, death and resurrection of His Son, for -- as St. Augustine affirms -- "In Christ, the divinity of the Only Begotten was made a partaker of our mortality, so that we might be made partakers of His immortality" (Letter 187,6,20: PL 33: 839-840).

Above all, let us contemplate and live this Mystery in the celebration of the Eucharist, the heart of Christmas, in which Jesus becomes truly present, true Bread descended from heaven, true Lamb sacrificed for our salvation.

To you and to your families, I wish a truly Christian celebration of Christmas, so that even your exchange of greetings on that day will be expressions of the joy of knowing that God is near and wants to accompany us along life's journey.

Thank you.

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Christmas is Family Time -- So Come Be With Your Family For Christmas

2011-12-23T20:50:00.004-05:00

We've got ten, count 'em, ten Masses to choose from.

BLESSED SACRAMENT CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE

Christmas Eve - Saturday, December 24th ~
4:00 pm - Vigil Mass
6:00 pm - Vigil Mass
11:30 pm - Lessons & Carols ~ 12:00 am - Midnight Mass
9:30 pm - Misa Noche Buena (Spanish)

Christmas Day - Sunday, December 25th ~
7:30 am, 9:00 am, 11:00 am, 12:30 pm, 5:00 pm
2:00 pm - (Spanish)

On the Existence of Santa Claus

2011-12-21T11:12:00.002-05:00

Over at Conversion Diary, the always great Jennifer Fulwiler asks the Santa Clause question.

Guilty confession: We do Santa at our house, but I have misgivings about it. In theory, I think it’s a great tradition. . . . I’m trying to like Santa here. But in practice it just feels kind of weird. On the one hand, I don’t want to associate Santa too closely with Jesus, since, well, one is more real than the other. On the other hand, it’s a constant battle not to let the guy with the shiny gifts overshadow the humble baby in the manger. As much as I try to emphasize Santa as Jesus’ helper, a Christian saint, etc. the pop culture images of him as THE AWESOME DUDE WITH THE INFINITE GIFT-GIVING POWER seem to trump in my children’s collective subconscious.

There are many good comments regarding children and Santa Claus. One mother pointed out a danger about Santa, when her daughter told her, "you told us the Tooth Fairy and Santa were real, and they’re not. So, it’s hard for me to believe God is real.” I responded,

Santa is real, just as God is real. But one is metaphor and the other is the real deal.

Properly understood, “Santa” is not the commercialized guy of the materialistic modern world, but is instead an icon of the Son of God Himself and, hence, a model for us.

Another comment said, "My husband said yesterday, 'This whole debate is crazy. No one is LYING. Santa IS real. He’s a mythical character who represents the spirit of anonymous giving.' Pretty wise, I thought." In response, I wrote,

This is largely right. A better word would be metaphorical or symbolic, rather than mythical.

“Santa Claus” is indeed real — he is representative of the giving and joy that we are each called to, and which originates in God giving Himself to us on Christmas morning.

The only problem is in not locking yourself in by presenting Santa in such a fashion that one cannot then later explain exactly who “Santa” is. Yes, he was an actual real historical person by the name of Nicholas, whose feast day is December 6 (see below). And the clothes that he wears (red suit, white lining) are the real historical clothes worn by bishops. But the “Santa” of today is you and me. Santa is us, who are called to give to others.

Thus, it is probably wise, when kids see all the various “Santas” at the mall, to explain that that is not really Santa, but “Santa’s helper.” That can bridge the gap to later telling the children that “Santa” is symbolic, that the real Santa is each of us and, more importantly, that they are Santa too, they are called to self-giving.

Maybe this is where the Easter Bunny can play an invaluable service.

Like Santa, the Easter Bunny is filled with Christian symbolism. But, generally, it is rather transparent that the "Easter Bunny" is mom and dad, what with him leaving the very same eggs that the kids were painting a couple of days before. Nevertheless, there is, in the Easter Bunny, that symbolism and message of giving (even if it is the giving of eggs and candy). And if kids can "believe" in the Easter Bunny without having a crisis of faith, knowing that it is really just fun and games, that he is really mom and dad, perhaps the example of the Easter Bunny can be used to later explain how Santa is really representative of Jesus and us.

If done right, parents can avoid the two extremes of teaching fantasy and lies to children on the one hand and being a grumpy wet-blanket Grinch on the other. Fostering a belief in "Santa Claus" can be a teaching tool if carefully done, a tool that leads children to Christ and His call to love one another.

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The Real Saint Nicholas

Father, hear our prayers for mercy, and by the help of Saint Nicholas keep us safe from all danger, and guide us on the way of salvation. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

St. Nicholas was born in Lycia, Asia Minor, and died as Bishop of Myra in 352. He performed many miracles and exercised a special power over flames. He practiced both the spiritual and temporal works of mercy, and fasted twice a week.

He is undoubtedly one of the most popular saints honored in the Western world. Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Peter Damian called him the glory of young men, the honor of the elderly, the splendor of priests and the light of Pontiffs. In the United States, his memory has survived in the unique personality of Saint Claus — the jolly, rotund, white-bearded gentleman who captivates children with promises of gifts on Christmas Eve. Considered primarily as the patron saint of children, Nicholas is also invoked by sailors, merchants, bakers, travelers and pawnbrokers, and with Saint Andrew is honored as the co-patron of Russia.

St. Nicholas was born in the last years of the third century in Asia Minor. His uncle, the archbishop of Myra in Lycia, ordained him and appointed him abbot of a nearby monastery. At the death of the archbishop, Nicholas was chosen to fill the vacancy, and he served in this position until his death. Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who persecuted the Christians, St. Nicholas was arrested, taken away from his home by the pagan soldiers, and thrown into a prison at the beginning of the fourth century. He suffered the hardships of hunger, thirst, loneliness, and chains. Released by Constantine the Great, he returned to his city, and he later attended the Council of Nicaea in 325. He died in Myra about 345.

Popular legends have involved Saint Nicholas in a number of charming stories, one of which relates Nicholas' charity. A man of Patara had lost his fortune, and finding himself unable to support his three maiden daughters, was planning to turn them into the streets as prostitutes. Nicholas heard of the man's intentions and secretly threw three bags of gold through a window into the home, thus providing dowries for the daughters. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. The three bags of gold are also said to be the origin of the three gold balls that form the emblem of pawnbrokers.

Saint Nicholas labored in his domains to stop the worship of false gods, still practiced there as elsewhere. With his own hands he cut down a huge tree, site of a sacrilegious cult of the goddess Diana. During a famine his prayers multiplied the provisions of wheat which he had ordered for the port of Myra, to such an extent that what would have sufficed for his people for only a few days, was found to be sufficient for more than two years. He rescued from death, just before they were hanged, three innocents condemned by a judge who had been corrupted by money, reprehended the latter for his crime and sent these liberated ones home, entirely exonerated.

After Nicholas' death on December 6, his body was buried in the cathedral at Myra. It remained there until 1087, when seamen of Bari, an Italian coastal town, seized the relics of the saint and transferred them to their own city.

By the year 1200 St. Nicholas had captured the hearts of all European nations. Many churches, towns, provinces and countries venerate him as their patron saint. Merchants, bankers, seamen and prisoners made him their patron, too. But his main patronage is the one over little children. Countless miracles were attributed to the saint's intercession. His relics are still preserved in the church of San Nicola in Bari; an oily substance, known as Manna di S. Nicola, which is highly valued for its medicinal powers, is said to flow from them.

The story of Saint Nicholas came to America in distorted fashion. The Dutch Protestants carried a popularized version of the saint's life to New Amsterdam, portraying Nicholas as nothing more than a Nordic magician and wonder-worker. Our present-day conception of Santa Claus has grown from this version.
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Hanukkah and the Light of ChristThe Rededication of the Temple and the Festival of Lights

2011-12-20T16:00:00.002-05:00

Hanukkah begins this evening, December 20, 2011, at sundown (remembering that the Jewish day begins at sundown).

The Jewish Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) was instituted in the year 165 B.C. It is celebrated annually as a memorial of the rededication of the Temple with a new altar and purification of the sanctuary. Three years earlier, Antiochus Epiphanes had caused a pagan altar to be set up at the altar of burnt offerings in the Temple and sacrifices to be offered to his idol, called "Zeus Olympius."

The Maccabean revolt followed, led by Judas Maccabeus (Yehuda HaMakabi, "Judah the Hammer"). After many battles, the Holy City of Jerusalem and the Temple were recovered.

1 Maccabees 4:36-59

Judas Maccabeus and his brothers said, "Now that our enemies have been crushed, let us go up to purify the sanctuary and rededicate it." So the whole army assembled, and went up to Mount Zion. They found the sanctuary desolate, the altar desecrated, the gates burnt, weeds growing in the courts as in a forest or on some mountain, and the priests' chambers demolished.

Then they tore their clothes and made great lamentation; they sprinkled their heads with ashes and fell with their faces to the ground. And when the signal was given with trumpets, they cried out to Heaven.

Judas appointed men to attack those in the citadel, while he purified the sanctuary. He chose blameless priests, devoted to the law; these purified the sanctuary and carried away the stones of the Abomination to an unclean place.

They deliberated what ought to be done with the altar of holocausts that had been desecrated. The happy thought came to them to tear it down, lest it be a lasting shame to them that the Gentiles had defiled it; so they tore down the altar. They stored the stones in a suitable place on the temple hill, until a prophet should come and decide what to do with them.

Then they took uncut stones, according to the law, and built a new altar like the former one. They also repaired the sanctuary and the interior of the temple and purified the courts. They made new sacred vessels and brought the lampstand, the altar of incense, and the table into the temple. Then they burned incense on the altar and lighted the lamps on the lampstand, and these illuminated the temple. They also put loaves on the table and hung up curtains. Thus they finished all the work they had undertaken.

Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, that is, the month of Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-eight, they arose and offered sacrifice according to the law on the new altar of holocausts that they had made. On the anniversary of the day on which the Gentiles had defiled it, on that very day it was reconsecrated with songs, harps, flutes, and cymbals. All the people prostrated themselves and adored and praised Heaven, who had given them success.

For eight days they celebrated the dedication of the altar and joyfully offered holocausts and sacrifices of deliverance and praise. They ornamented the facade of the temple with gold crowns and shields; they repaired the gates and the priests' chambers and furnished them with doors. There was great joy among the people now that the disgrace of the Gentiles was removed.

Then Judas and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness on the anniversary every year for eight days, from the twenty-fifth day of the month Chislev. (see also 2 Macc 1:18-2:19; 10:1-8)

Hanukkah, from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", is also known as the Festival of Lights due to a miracle that allowed the Eternal Light of the Temple to burn for eight days, even though there was only enough oil to last one day.

This miracle is recounted in the Talmud (Shabbat 2),

The rabbis taught: On the twenty-fifth day of Kislev, Hanukkah commences and lasts eight days, on which lamenting (in commemoration of the dead) and fasting are prohibited. When the Hellenists entered the sanctuary, they defiled all the oil that was found there. When the government of the House of Asmoneans prevailed and conquered them, oil was sought (to feed the holy lamp in the sanctuary) and only one vial was found with the seal of the high priest intact. The vial contained sufficient oil for one day only, but a miracle occurred, and it fed the holy lamp eight days in succession. These eight days were the following year established as days of good cheer, on which psalms of praise and acknowledgment (of God's wonders) were to be recited.

The Eternal Light of the Temple represented God's everlasting presence, just as the sanctuary lamp placed before the tabernacle containing the Blessed Sacrament in Catholic churches is always kept lit to indicate and honor the constant presence of Christ. In the synagogue, a perpetual lamp signifies the Lord's presence in the Torah, the Word of God. (Similarly, the candles at liturgical services, candles for the Advent wreath, votive candles, candles during Sabbath prayers, etc., are lit to signify the presence of God, as He was present in the burning bush, during those ceremonies.)

Although a Jewish holiday -- one celebrated by Jesus -- Hanukkah can also be a time for Christians to remember that it is God Himself who is a Light that is everlasting and can never be extinguished. These days of rededication and the manifestation of God's eternal light remind us that evil will be defeated and, even if the evil has defiled the good, in the meantime, God cannot be defeated. His light is everlasting. More than light from oil, which runs out, His is the Eternal Light which cannot be extinguished. Thus, this is a time of hope.

It is fitting, then, that we observe this celebration of the Light as we await in Advent the birth and revelation to the world of the Light Incarnate -- God from God, Light from Light.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. What came to be through Him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Why Christmas is Celebrated on December 25

2011-12-18T10:07:00.002-05:00

The Gospel reading for today's Mass, on the fourth Sunday of Advent, is on the Annunciation. And a timely reading it is, too, because it provides an answer to the questions of --

Why is Christmas on December 25? Do we really know that that is the day when Jesus was born?

It turns out that the fixing of Christmas Day on December 25 is not an arbitrary decision, nor is it based on the widespread modern belief that the date was picked in order to displace the celebration of a pagan festival on that date. Rather, the date of Jesus' birth was determined by reference to Jesus' conception which, in turn, was calculated by determining His crucifixion and death.

Now, if you subtract nine months from December 25, you get March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord. On that day, the Church reflects upon Mary's fiat, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done unto me acccording to your word," and upon the Incarnation, the mystery of God coming down from heaven and merging Himself with Man, making Himself small and becoming flesh in the temple and virgin womb of Mary the Immaculate.

So, the question presents itself --
Why do we celebrate the Annunciation on March 25?

Well, that date was fixed in ancient tradition and it is based upon a widespread belief in Judaism at the time of Christ that the prophets of Israel died on the same dates as their birth or conception. By the time of Tertullian, scholars researching the various dates of Passover had concluded that Jesus died on the Cross on March 25. Wrote St. Augustine,

"He is believed to have been conceived on the 25th of March, upon which day also He suffered; so the womb of the Virgin, in which He was conceived, where no one of mortals was begotten, corresponds to the new grave in which He was buried, wherein was never man laid, neither before nor since." (On the Trinity, Book IV, Chapter 5).

Additionally, some Jewish scholars had calculated that the date of Creation was March 25, and it made sense to believe that, since a new creation began upon the Incarnation, Jesus was conceived on the same day as the first creation.

Hence, the tradition arose that, because He was crucified on March 25 and the universe was created on that date, Jesus was conceived on March 25. The day that Mary took her Son's Body into her arms beneath the Cross is the same day that she had taken His Body into her womb at the Annunciation.

And if you add nine months to the date of conception, March 25, you get . . . December 25, Christmas Day.

_________________

See also: Andrew McGowan, How December 25 Became Christmas
William J. Tighe, Calculating Christmas
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Pray for Christopher Hitchens

2011-12-16T01:19:00.005-05:00

We previously considered the question of praying for one such as the late Christopher Hitchens, who at times was not merely atheist, but antitheist.

Love Your Enemy, Pray for Those Who Persecute You

Today, the Anchoress raises again The Hitchens/Prayer Debate. Recently, Christopher Hitchens has learned that he has cancer of the esophagus. Now, Hitchens is a writer who is not so much an atheist as he is an antitheist, he does not simply not believe, he attacks the belief and believers, and often disingenuously so. Nevertheless, we are called to love our enemies and pray for our persecutors. On that issue of whether to pray for Hitchens or not, the Anchoress writes:
It seems the New York Times has noticed the debate as to whether people of faith should pray for Christopher Hitchens. I like this; it reflects my feelings, exactly:
Jeffrey Goldberg, a colleague of Hitchens’s at The Atlantic Monthly, consulted the rabbinical authorities and decided that prayer was O.K. On his blog, Goldberg quoted the advice of David Wolpe, a Los Angeles rabbi who has publicly debated Hitchens on a number of occasions: “I would say it is appropriate and even mandatory to do what one can for another who is sick; and if you believe that praying helps, to pray. It is in any case an expression of one’s deep hopes. So yes, I will pray for him, but I will not insult him by asking or implying that he should be grateful for my prayers.”
The Anchoress wrote on this earlier, Hitchens' Challenge, where she said that she had been called to pray for him, and her post generated a lot of comments, including some opposition.

So, to pray or not to pray? What should one do?

The New York Times story notes, "While Hitchens himself doesn’t seem to have issued any official directives, prayers have rolled in from [the Anchoress] Elizabeth Scalia (no relation to the Supreme Court justice) at First Things, Greg Kandra at The Deacon’s Bench and Pat Archbold at The National Catholic Register."

“While Hitchens himself doesn’t seem to have issued any official directives . . .”

This is the real sticking point.

There are at least three points or perspectives, all of which need to be considered, in answering this question –
(1) Us, the one potentially offering the prayer. That is, do we have a moral obligation or permission to pray (or to not pray)?
(2) Hitchens (or any other person for whom it is to be offered). Is the prayer welcome or unwelcome? Is he receptive or at least neutral, or is he adamately opposed?
(3) The content of the prayer. Just exactly what does one pray for? His physical health, his spiritual health, his conversion?
We are obligated in faith to be charitable toward Hitchens, i.e. to love him, as we love ourselves and as Jesus loves us. BUT, part of love is respecting the free will of the other person. Love, even when expressed by prayer, cannot be forced upon the other against his will. The Samaritan dragging the wounded man out of the ditch when the man demands to be left alone is not “good”; what he does is an act of violence, not charity. Not even God forces His love upon people.

Hence the dillema. Does our prayer end up being a true act of love or an act of unlove against the will of the person? It depends.

Of course, the Samaritan can both love the man in the ditch and still respect his will by doing something else, call 911 perhaps, and let the EMTs come and offer their assistance. Perhaps the man will accept it then.

So, we have an obligation to love Hitchens. The question is how? For many people, we might in good faith and conscience simply assume that our prayers are welcomed. And since Hitchens has not publicly said “no,” perhaps we might assume the same for him, but we might be presuming too much. Which get us to (3) the content of the prayer.

Just exactly what do we or should we pray for in the case of Hitchens? If he welcomes prayer, then we have no problem, we can pray all out for whatever good thing we might want.

But if he does not welcome prayer, what then? We can still be charitable, and still pray, but we would seem to be limited in what we pray for, or at the very least, would need to make the petition conditional (e.g. “if he is willing to accept it Lord . . .”). We cannot go so far as to drag him out of the ditch and pour oil on him against his wishes, but we can call 911. We can stand by, ready to assist if he later wants it. We can tell him that lodging is available to him when and if he is willing to accept it.

It is not as easy a moral question as it might seem. It would be a lot easier if all we had to consider was (1) us. But (2) and (3) are factors we must consider as well.

The one thing that we CANNOT do is reflexively and arbitrarily say, “to hell with Hitchens, he’s only getting what he deserves.”

Love Your Enemy, Pray for Those Who Persecute You: Part Two

Some questions and objections have arisen with respect to the prior post Love Your Enemy, Pray for Those Who Persecute You.

You're confusing me. How do you pray for someone like Hitchens?

That's what I mean, it's not as easy a question as it first looks.

Love means respecting the other person as a person, as one with free will, and not as an object, a thing that we can manipulate or ask God to manipulate.

Hitchens is a person, not a puppet, and we should not treat him like a puppet. And God is Love, and we should not pray that God act contrary to Himself.

The same Jesus that said “pray for your persecutors” also said “shake the dust from your feet.”

To pray for a gross violation of another person’s free will is NOT an act of love. It is an act of violence.

Love cannot be forced upon another and still be love. And we are called to love, not to force ourselves on others. That means respecting their free will.

God gave them free will. We should respect His will to give them their will.

By no means am I saying “screw him, I’m not praying for him, period.” No, we should pray. But what I am suggesting is that we should actually think about what we pray for. That we make our prayer an act of love, and not an act contrary to love.

Of course, EVERY prayer of ours should include the proviso — “if it be thy will.” Maybe that in itself solves the dillema?

I respectfully disagree that it is not an easy moral question. On the contrary, it is quite simple to pray for Christopher’s mercy and forgiveness. We should even pray that God forgive against Hitchens’ will. After all, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”

Jesus did not simply say, “forgive them,” and stop. He added “they know not what they do.” This additional aspect is important.

He previously taught on blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The Church has understood this to mean that forgiveness is something that must be accepted in order to be accomplished, and consistent with the understanding that God is Love, and love cannot be forced upon someone, and that God gave us free will precisely for that reason, to freely choose to love Him or not to love Him, the Church has consistently taught that God will not, indeed, cannot forgive such person (Mt. 12:31-32).

Sure, pray that God forgive Hitchens — but NOT against his will. That is not love, that is the theological equivilent of rape. It is contrary to Love, it is contrary to Truth, the truth of God.

Rather, pray that God forgive Hitchens, but adding the proviso, if and when Hitchens accept it. Pray that God offer forgiveness, but do not pray that God act contrary to Himself and impose that love upon Hitchens. God cannot do so, being Love, He cannot act contrary to love, and it is important that we understand that.

Okay then – specifically – tell me how you would offer a prayer to God for him. And how does that differ from, say, someone who has left the church but maybe not left God?

One could simply pray that God be who He is — Love and Truth — and that He act accordingly. One could pray that God be there for him, that God, who is Divine Mercy, be merciful and loving and compassionate.

I would suppose He can be compassionate (from the Latin “to suffer with”) with or without Hitchens’ consent, but implicit in that prayer is our understanding that love and mercy, from the Latin miserere, meaning to allievate misery, cannot be imposed. Those who have chosen Hell over Him must be respected in that choice. Of course, it is still not yet a definitive choice for Hitchens, but it is his choice to make, not ours.

Or I suppose one could pray for whatever one wants to pray for, so long as there is the added provisos of “if it be Thy will Lord” and “if he is willing to accept it Lord . . .” That might accomplish the requisite need to respect the other’s free will.

I disagree that the other person’s feelings should be considered. Hitchens’ free will is not involved in this matter. Nobody is pointing a gun at him or conning him into anything.

If someone tells a non-believer that they don’t care what he thinks or wants, that they are going to “pray” for him even against his wishes and consent — does that sentiment cause him to want to draw closer to God? Or does it cause resentment and drive him away?

Respect for the other person -- which is a part of love -- requires that one consider his wishes. To be sure, "love" means seeking the good of the other, and not necessarily what makes him happy, but if going against his wishes leads him away from the good, then it obviously needs to be taken into account.

Consider the younger son who asked his father for his inheritence and then left home. What did the father do? He gave the son his interitence and let him go. He did not bind the son in chains, he did not lock him in his room. And the father did not go after him and drag him back home. Rather, the father respected his son's decision.

Had the older son implored their father to go after his brother and forcibly try to bring him home, it may have only served to set the younger son permanently against their father.

Sorry, I think you are over-thinking this one. We should not have to think twice about this one: pray for Hitchens, and trust God’s wisdom.

Ours is not an unthinking Faith. Rather, ours is a Faith that seeks understanding, that seeks to know the Logos.

Believer #1: “I’ll pray for you.”
Nonbeliever: “What does that mean?”
Believer #2: “Yeah, I’m curious too. What does that mean?”
Believer #1: "It means . . . um . . ."

“Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.” 1 Pet. 3:15. Furthermore, we should be ready to give ourselves a reason for our hope, for our faith.

It is not enough to simply hear Jesus say, “love your enemy, pray for those who persecute you.”

We should ask “What does that mean?” Before praying, we should actually think about what it is we are praying for and why. We should think about what “love” is, what it means.

As set out in the prior post and above, I submit that “love” is not self-centered; it is not merely a matter of what we do. We MUST consider the other person. We cannot simply stop at (1) ourselves, we must also take into account (2) the other, in this case, the non-believing if not anti-believing Hitchens. But that brings into our consideration (3) as well — what to pray for and how and why.

Maybe the first prayer of petition we offer should be for ourselves, to ask for the grace to understand how best to love, how best to simultaneously offer up prayers on behalf of another and still respect them as a person, that is, respecting their freedom to reject us and our love expressed in prayer.

But we cannot, I further submit, not even bother to think about such things.

It's Number One!

2011-11-11T11:11:00.001-05:00

Love! Love is number one. And there's lots of love over at Cinema Catechism at 11:11 on 11/11/11.

"The Bridegroom is coming."

2011-11-06T00:00:00.003-04:00

In Act Two of his play, The Jeweler's Shop, Blessed Karol Wojtyla tells the story of Anna, whose marriage to Stefan began with promise, but has turned to the bitterness of disappointment and disillusionment. They have become like strangers in the same house, and she believes that their love is dead. But the mysterious jeweler will not take her wedding ring when she tries to sell it -- her husband still being alive, her ring alone does not weigh anything when he places it on his scales, which "weigh not the metal, but man’s entire being and fate." Ashamed, but still desperate for love, she leaves the jeweler's shop and meets a "chance interlocutor" who speaks to her of the Bridegroom who is coming.

In the parable of the Bridegroom and the Ten Virgins, which is the Gospel reading at Mass for this Sunday (Mt 25:1-13), we usually think of its lesson of constant readiness, but Pope John Paul uses it to add a couple of insights to our understanding of love.

Adam – I told Anna, “The Bridegroom will come shortly.” I said this thinking of the love which had so died in her soul. The Bridegroom passes through so many streets, meeting so many different people. Passing, he touches the love that is in them. It if is bad, he suffers for it. Love is bad when there is a lack of it. . . .

Anna – Isn’t what one feels most strongly the truth? . . . Is not love a matter of the senses and of a climate which unites and makes two people walk in the sphere of their feeling?
Adam, however, did not fully agree with this. Love is, according to him, a synthesis of two people’s existence which converges, as it were, at a certain point, and makes them into one. And then again he repeated that the Bridegroom would walk down this street shortly. This news, heard for the second time, not only fascinated me, but suddenly awoke a longing in me. A longing for someone perfect, for a man firm and good, who would be different from Stefan -- different, different . . . And with the feeling of this sudden longing, I must have started running, looking closely at the men I passed.

[Anna begins to encounter various men passing by.]

Adam – This is just what compels me to think about human love. There is no other matter embedded more strongly in the surface of human life, and there is no matter more unknown and more mysterious. The divergence between what lies on the surface and the mystery of love constitutes precisely the source of the drama. It is one of the greatest dramas of human existence. The surface of love has its current – swift, flickering, changeable. A kaleidoscope of waves and situations full of attraction. This current is sometimes so stunning that it carries people away – women and men. They get carried away by the thought that they have absorbed the whole secret of love, but in fact, they have not yet even touched it. They are happy for a while, thinking that they have reached the limits of existence and wrested all its secrets from it, so that nothing remains. That’s how it is: on the other side of that rapture, nothing remains, there is nothing left behind it. But there can’t be nothing, there can’t! Listen to me, there can’t. Man is a continuum, a totality and a continuity – so it cannot be that nothing remains! . . .

Anna – [meets a second passerby] I was almost ready to cling to his arm . . . I longed so much for a man’s arm and a walk along the avenue of wilting chestnut trees. He went on to say, “How about stepping into that club?” . . . “And then?” I asked. He did not reply, and I seemed to take fright at that “then.” He must have had a wife . . . Suddenly, I realized what the expression “a casual woman” could mean. . . . I kept walking, however, still thinking about the same thing, coming forward, as it were, toward every passing man. . . .
Now I’m on the edge of the pavement. On the curb.... There’s a car; an expensive one. The window is partly lowered, a man at the wheel. I stopped.

Adam – Love is not an adventure. It has the taste of the whole man. It has his weight. And the weight of his whole fate. It cannot be a single moment. Man’s eternity passes through it. That is why it is to be found in the dimensions of God, because only He is eternity. . . .

Anna – I stopped and fixed my eyes on the car, the windows, the man. . . . The man looked. I approached. He had a low, warm voice when he said, “Won’t you join me?” He indicated the seat next to him. In a while, he will start the engine. We shall move off. We’ll drive into the unknown. . . . I shall be somebody again. . .
I want to, I think I want to very much. I think I had already put my hand on the door handle. I only had to press it. Suddenly I felt a man’s hand on mine. I looked up. Adam was standing above me. I saw his face, which was tired; it betrayed emotion. Adam looked me straight in the eyes. His hand was just lying on mine. Then he said, “No.” I felt the car moving past us. In a moment, it was gone. “It’s strange that you should come back; I thought you’d disappeared for good.”

Adam – I came back to show you the street. It is strange. Not because it is full of shops, neon lights and buildings, but because of the people. Look, on the other side of the street there are some girls passing by; they are walking, laughing and talking loudly among themselves. . . . Their lamps are out, so they are on their way to buy some oil. They will fill the lamps, and the lamps will burn again. . . .
They are the wise virgins.... And now look over there. Those are the foolish virgins. They are asleep and their lamps are lying by the wall. One has even rolled across the pavement and fallen into the gutter. To you it seems they are asleep in those recesses, but in reality, they too are walking down the street. They are walking in their sleep. They are walking in a lethargy – they have a dormant space in them.
You now feel that space in you, because you too were falling asleep. I have come to wake you. I think I am in time.

Anna – Why did you wake me? Why?

Adam – I’ve wakened you because the Bridegroom is to walk down this street. The wise virgins want to come forward and meet him with their lights; the foolish virgins have fallen asleep and lost their lamps. I promise you they will not wake in time, and even if they do, they will not be able to find and light their lamps. . . .
The Bridegroom is constantly waiting. He constantly lives in expectation. Only this is, as it were, on the far side of all those different loves without which man cannot live. Take you, for instance. You cannot live without love. I saw from a distance how you walked down this street and tried to rouse interest. I could almost hear your soul. You were calling with despair for a love you do not have. You were looking for someone who would take you by the hand and hug you.
Oh, Anna, how am I to prove to you that on the other side of all those loves which fill our lives, there is Love! The Bridegroom is coming down this street and walks every street! How am I to prove to you that you are the bride? One would now have to pierce a layer of your soul, as one pierces the layer of brushwood and soil when looking for a source of water in the green of a wood. You would then hear him speak: “Beloved, you do not know how deeply you are mine, how much you belong to my love and my suffering” – because to love means to give life through death; to love means to let gush a spring of water of life into the depths of the soul, which burns or smolders, and cannot burn out. Ah, the flame and the spring. You don’t feel the spring, but are consumed by the flame. Is that not so?

Anna – I don’t know. I only know that you have been talking to my soul. Don’t be afraid! It goes with my body. How can it be embraced or possessed without my body? I am a foolish virgin. I am one of the foolish virgins. Why did you wake me? …
There they are again, those girls. Their faces are not even attentive. Are they really pure and noble, or is it just that they have fared better in life than I? …

Adam – The Bridegroom is coming. This is his precise hour. Oh, look – the wise virgins have just gone by, holding their freshly lighted lamps. Their light is bright, because they have cleaned the glass in the lanterns. They walk gaily, almost dancing as they walk. . . .

Anna – I went on looking. A man was walking, dressed in a light coat, he was not wearing a hat. I did not notice his face at first, because he walked lost in thought, his head lowered. On impulse I began to walk in his direction. But when he lifted his face, I nearly gave a shout! It seemed to me I clearly saw Stefan’s face. And I immediately withdrew ... I have seen the face I hate, and the face I ought to love. Why do you expose me to such a test?

Adam – In the Bridegroom’s face, each of us finds a similarity to the faces of those with whom love has entangled us on this side of life, of existence. They are all in him.

[Act Three - several years later, during which Anna had begun the process of healing her marriage]

Adam – That evening I saw Anna again. The memory of her encounter with the Bridegroom was still vivid to her. Anna had entered the road of complementary love. She had to complement, giving and taking in different proportions than before. The turning point occurred that night many years ago. At that time everything threatened destruction. A new love could begin only through a meeting with the Bridegroom. What Anna felt of it at first was only the suffering. In the course of time a gradual calm came. And something new that was growing, was still intangible, and, above all, did not “taste” of love. One day they may learn to relish the taste of that something new . . .
_______________

Excerpts from The Jeweler's Shop (1960), translated by Boleslaw Taborksi (1980)

In our exegesis of scripture, we know the Bridegroom to be Christ, and His Bride is the Church. In many parables, we are the guests at the wedding banquet or the virgins awaiting the Bridegroom's arrival. But although the Bride is the Church and we appear to be bystanders, who is the Church?

We the faithful make up the Church. We are the Bride. You are the Bride. "Oh, Anna, how am I to prove to you that on the other side of all those loves which fill our lives, there is Love! The Bridegroom is coming down this street and walks every street! How am I to prove to you that you are the bride?" Each of us is the Bride that Jesus loves with such a fierce deep passion, if only we would realize it and accept it. “Beloved, you do not know how deeply you are mine, how much you belong to my love."

However, to be the Bride, one with Christ, means also to be one with His Passion. “Beloved, you do not know how deeply you are mine, how much you belong to . . . my suffering.” The spousal love of Jesus for us, and that we ought have for Him, passes through the Cross. But in that encounter of love comes not the death of love, but new life for our relationships of love with others. "A new love could begin only through a meeting with the Bridegroom."

At first, it may appear that there is only the suffering. But in the course of time, a transformation occurs, something new grows. At first, it may seem intangible and not have the “taste” of love that we are accustomed to. But in Him, in the Bridegroom, we can learn to relish the taste of that something new, the eternity and absolute of love.

(Cross-posted at Cinema Catechism)
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The Nature, Origin, and Cause of Love

2011-11-05T13:42:00.002-04:00

(The following has been posted over at Cinema Catechism as a follow-up to an earlier post What is this thing called “love”? )

What is "love" and where does it come from?

Ultimately, love comes from God, who is Love, as do all things come from Him. But more immediately for the individual person, the question of "where" is illuminated by the question of "what." What is love? In its purest and truest and fullest, love is a gift, a gift of self, and it is something which is given unconditionally, without concern for whether the other "deserves" it, or what we may or may not receive in return, although it is a joy when it is reciprocated.

In recognizing that it is something selflessly given, not merely something experienced, we can also see that the immediate cause of love in us is our decision to give it. It is not something that overcomes us or is imposed upon us, or something that "just happens." That is, in the individual sense, love comes from our free choice of the will. And in choosing to love, in choosing to give of oneself, we ultimately are choosing to accept God, who is, after all, Love itself. Conversely, not loving is not something that "just happens," not loving is also a choice.

However, love in its fullest sense is not all about such agape love of noble self-sacrifice, which many might see as joyless duty, it is also about the brotherly, fraternal, friendship kind of love that is philia, as well as being about the love of purified eros, the thirsting kind of love that naturally seeks an “other,” a joyous, passionate, ascending, intimate kind of love, longing to be with the other.

And, as we have discussed in previous weeks and months, there is a spousal meaning in the human body, so we are all called to a spousal love that is both unitive and creative, as exemplified by husband and wife, God and Israel, Jesus and the Church, a loving communion of persons in one fruitful being. The fullness of love is, by its nature, dynamic and fertile, it bears fruit.

Still, in all of these, even in the attractive love of eros, there is an element of free choice. There is only one “love,” notwithstanding its multiple aspects and dimensions. And this is true whether it is love of a sweetheart or love of an enemy.

“Fundamentally, ‘love’ is a single reality, but with different dimensions; at different times, one or other dimension may emerge more clearly.” – Deus Caritas Est

If love were merely a positive feeling, then how could we love our enemy, whom we do not even like?

“Love is not merely a sentiment. Sentiments come and go. A sentiment can be a marvelous first spark, but it is not the fullness of love.” – Deus Caritas Est

The greatest gifts that God gave us in addition to our existence are reason, free will, and the capacity to love. We were created by God out of love, we were made through the Logos by an act of creative reason, and for love. Our purpose, the reason that we are here, is to love and be loved. Does it make sense that, in that area for which we are created, love, God would deprive us of those other gifts of reason and free choice of the will?

Love is not love if it is not freely given. Love is not love if it is not the fruit of a conscious decision. It may be suggested that love is a feeling, an emotion, an attraction, a desire for the other, a sense of fulfillment. And certainly these things often do accompany love, but they are not love in and of itself. Feelings come and go. Sentiments come and go. Attraction comes and goes. And yet love -- if it truly is love -- remains. Indeed, this is seen when Jesus tells us that we must love not only those close to us, but our neighbors, that is, total strangers we don’t even know, and even our enemies, people we don’t even like.

True love is not merely pleasure or sentiment. Love is more than just an emotional feeling, more than attraction and affection, and more than a desire for personal happiness or fulfillment. Love is a conscious, decisive choice of the other as the focus of affection, a commitment of the will to subordinate yourself, and to seek the good and welfare of the other, including the gift of yourself for the other’s benefit. In short, in all its aspects, love is a free choice.

And such a love is secure because it does not depend upon and is not contingent upon the other person -- it only depends on you.

“The ‘commandment’ of love is only possible because it is more than a requirement. Love can be ‘commanded’ because it has first been given [by God]. Some people object and say that love cannot be commanded, that it is ultimately a feeling which is either there or not, nor can it be produced by the will. However, God has loved us first and he continues to do so; we too, then, can respond with love. God does not demand of us a feeling which we ourselves are incapable of producing. In God and with God, I love even the person whom I do not like or even know. This can only take place on the basis of an intimate encounter with God, an encounter which has become a communion of will, even affecting my feelings.” – Deus Caritas Est

So, how do you love – truly love? You make a conscious decision, an act of the will, that you will love no matter what, freely and unconditionally. Love is a gift of self, accepting the person who is loved as they really are, without the merits of whether or not they “deserve” to be loved. And if you feel that you do not have that power within you, ask for a little help, which we call grace, from God.

The paradox of love. It is by having such a complete loving disposition toward gift of self that we are able to obtain a level of contentment and happiness that is permanent. It is another one of those curious paradoxes -- by sacrificing yourself, even your personal happiness and security, you gain an even greater happiness and security; by letting go of your self-centered ego, you find yourself; by emptying yourself, you become fulfilled. Agape and eros in one.

Such love is not all drudgery and duty, but leads to joy, real heart-soaring joy and contentment and fulfillment. The more that you are disposed to love, the better you are able to love and find love in male-female and other interpersonal relationships. The more you are disposed to love, the more you will be able to see the good qualities in others. These others become more physically attractive, more intelligent, more humorous, more enjoyable. Such a loving disposition is also something which approaches the divine.

Let us consider the love of God -- God is perfect; He is Truth itself. Therefore, the highest and most perfect and truest love is God’s love. And what kind of “love” is that? Deus caritas est. God is caritas; God’s love is love as caritas, charitable gift. God does not love us because we are attractive and pretty, funny and smart, or because we are so likeable. He loves us regardless of these things, and even in the absence of these things. He loves us, God gives Himself to us, even though we do not deserve it. He gives us His love because He seeks the good for us, because we need love. Love is life.

Indeed, if we were to honestly and justly consider the matter, we must concede that none of us "deserve" such love. After all, mankind has given God little more than rejection and infidelity throughout history. And yet, He continues to love us, fully, completely, and unconditionally. He refuses to stop loving us, even when we torture Him and murder Him. He continues to give.

But it is through the Cross that one attains the Resurrection. It is by and through the Lord's gift of self, first by becoming man, and then on the Cross, that "all things are made new." Love is by its very nature dynamic and fertile, it is life itself, and it is this fullness of love that has the power to transform dull and social lifelessness to a new life of authentic happiness, true ecstasy, and even bring new life into a love that which was once dead. But we, like He, must first choose to make that gift of self.

If we would have others love us, if we would seek to enjoy the joyous fruits of love for ourselves, we must love perfectly and truly as He loves. We must choose not to be selfishly focused on our own wants and desires by eating from the Tree of Knowledge, but must instead freely choose to eat from the Tree of Love.

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See also the comment section below in What is this thing called “love”?
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We Are All Called To Be Saints Day

2011-11-01T20:34:00.009-04:00

Everyone's Call to Be a Saint
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
General Audience of April 13, 2011

The whole of the Church’s history is marked by men and women who, with their faith, with their charity, and with their life, have been beacons for so many generations, as they are for us too. These saints expressed in various ways the powerful and transforming presence of the Risen One. They let Jesus so totally overwhelm their life that they could say with St. Paul “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). Following their example, seeking their intercession, entering into communion with them, “brings us closer to Christ, so our companionship with the saints joins us to Christ, from whom, as from their fountain and head, issue every grace and the life of the People of God itself.” (Lumen Gentium 50)

What does it mean for us to be saints (holy)? Who is called to be a saint (holy)?

Often it is thought that holiness is a goal reserved for a few chosen ones. St. Paul, however, speaks of God's great plan and affirms: "[God] chose us in Him [Christ], before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before Him. In love He destined us." (Ephesians 1:4) And He was speaking about all of us. At the center of the divine design is Christ, in whom God shows His Face. The Mystery hidden in the centuries has been revealed in the fullness of the Word made flesh. . . .

Therefore, the whole of Christian life knows one supreme law, which St Paul expresses in a formula that recurs in all his holy writings: Jesus Christ. Holiness, the fullness of Christian life, does not consist in carrying out extraordinary enterprises, but in being united with Christ, in living His mysteries, in making our own His example, His thoughts, His behaviour. The measure of holiness stems from the stature that Christ achieves in us, inasmuch as, with the power of the Holy Spirit, we model our whole life on His. . . .

However, the question remains: How can we journey on the path of holiness, how can we respond to this call? Can I do so with my own strength?

The answer is clear: A holy life is not primarily the fruit of our own effort, of our actions, because it is God, the thrice Holy, who makes us saints, and the action of the Holy Spirit who encourages us from within; it is the life itself of the Risen Christ, which has been communicated to us and which transforms us. . . .

Holiness has its main root in baptismal grace, in being introduced into the paschal mystery of Christ, with which His Spirit is communicated to us, His life as the Risen One. . . . However, God always respects our liberty and asks that we accept this gift and that we live the demands it entails. He asks that we allow ourselves to be transformed by the action of the Holy Spirit, conforming our will to the will of God.

How can we make our way of thinking and our actions become thinking and acting with Christ and of Christ? What is the soul of holiness?

Once again the Second Vatican Council explains; it tells us that Christian holiness is nothing other than charity lived to the full.
“'God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.' (1 Jn 4:16) Now God has poured out His love in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (cf. Rom 5:5); therefore the first and most necessary gift is charity, by which we love God above all things and our neighbour through love of Him. But if charity, like a good seed, is to grow and fructify in the soul, each of the faithful must willingly hear the word of God and carry out His will with deeds, with the help of His grace. He must frequently receive the sacraments, chiefly the Eucharist, and take part in the holy liturgy; he must constantly apply himself to prayer, self-denial, active brotherly service and the exercise all the virtues. This is because love, as the bond of perfection and fullness of the law (cf. Col 3:14; Rom 13:10) governs, gives meaning to, and perfects all the means of sanctification.” (Lumen Gentium 42)
Perhaps this language of the Second Vatican Council is a little too solemn for us, perhaps we should say things even more simply. What is the essential?

The essential means never leaving a Sunday without an encounter with the Risen Christ in the Eucharist; this is not an additional burden but is light for the whole week. It means never beginning and never ending a day without at least a brief contact with God. And, on the path of our life it means following the “signposts” that God has communicated to us in the Ten Commandments, interpreted with Christ, which are merely the explanation of what love is in specific situations. It seems to me that this is the true simplicity and greatness of a life of holiness: the encounter with the Risen One on Sunday; contact with God at the beginning and at the end of the day; following, in decisions, the “signposts” that God has communicated to us, which are but forms of charity.

"Hence the true disciple of Christ is marked by love both of God and of neighbor.” (Lumen Gentium 42) This is true simplicity, grandeur and profundity of the Christian life, of being saints. This is why St. Augustine, commenting on the fourth chapter of the First Letter of St. John can affirm an astonishing thing: "Dilige et fac quod vis" (Love and do as you will). And he continued:
"If you are silent, be silent out of love; if you speak, speak out of love; if you correct, correct out of love; if you forgive, forgive out of love, may the root of love be in you, because from this root nothing can come that is not good" (7, 8: PL 35).
He who lets himself be led by love, who lives charity fully is led by God, because God is love. This is what this great saying means: "Dilige et fac quod vis."

Perhaps we might ask ourselves: Can we, with our limitations, our weakness, reach so high? During the liturgical year, the Church invites us to recall a line-up of saints, who have lived charity fully, have been able to love and to follow Christ in their daily lives. In all the periods of the history of the Church, in every latitude of the geography of the world, the saints belong to all the ages and to all states of life; they are the concrete faces of all peoples, languages and nations. And they are very different among themselves.

In reality, I must say that also, according to my personal faith, many saints, not all, are true stars in the firmament of history. And I would like to add that for me not only the great saints that I love and know well are "road signs," but also the simple saints, that is, the good persons that I see in my life, who will never be canonized. They are ordinary people, so to speak, without a visible heroism, but in their everyday goodness I see the truth of the faith. This goodness, which they have matured in the faith of the Church, is for me a sure defense of Christianity and the sign of where the truth is.

In the communion with saints, canonized or not canonized, which the Church lives thanks to Christ in all her members, we enjoy their presence and company and cultivate the firm hope of being able to imitate their way and share one day the same blessed life, eternal life.

Dear friends, how great and beautiful and also simple, is the Christian vocation seen from this light! We are all called to holiness: It is the very measure of the Christian life. . . .

I would like to invite you to open yourselves to the action of the Holy Spirit, who transforms our life, to be, we also, pieces of the great mosaic of holiness that God is creating in history, so that the Face of Christ will shine in the fullness of its brilliance. Let us not be afraid to look on high, to the height of God; let us not be afraid that God will ask too much of us, but let us be guided in all our daily actions by His Word, even if we feel that we are poor, inadequate, sinners: He will be the one to transform us according to His love.

Solemnity of All Saints

2011-11-01T11:54:00.003-04:00

Kyrie eleison
Christe eleison
Kyrie eleison
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us
St. Joseph, pray for us
St. Augustine, pray for us
St. Bernadette, pray for us
St. Brother Andre Bessette, pray for us
All you Holy Angels and Archangels, pray for us
All you Holy Patriarchs and Prophets, pray for us
All you holy Apostles and Evangelists, pray for us
All you holy Disciples of the Lord, pray for us
All you holy Martyrs, pray for us
All you holy Virgins and Widows, pray for us
All you holy Saints of God, pray for us +
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Happy Hallows' Eve

2011-10-31T18:00:00.001-04:00

October 31 is Halloween. The word “Halloween” is a corruption of the words “Hallows' Eve,” and the word “hallow” is, in turn, derived from the word “holy.” In Latin, the word “holy” is “sanctus,” from which we get the word “saint.” Thus, October 31, Halloween, is actually “Saints' Eve.”

Accordingly, on November 1, we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints, both those who are known and formally canonized, and those who are known but to God. The Solemnity is a Holy Day of Obligation and, as Pope Benedict explained last year, it "invites us to raise our eyes to heaven and to meditate on the fullness of the divine life that awaits us. . . . Holiness – imprinting Christ on ourselves – is the purpose of Christian living."

In the Apostle’s Creed, we profess our faith in the “communion of saints.” And, as the name suggests, on this Solemnity, we celebrate all of the saints, that is, all of the holy men and women in heaven. (On Wednesday, November 2, we pray for all of the faithful departed in purgatory, All Souls Day.) Tomorrow, on All Saints Day, we also ask the saints in heaven to intercede on our behalf, to pray for us. The saints do not "rest in peace" - they continue to work in the vineyard of the Lord, loving us and praying for us.

Here is a very beautiful and traditional Litany of the Saints, which was prayed at the funeral for Blessed Pope John Paul II of happy memory (santo subito).

Holy Days of Opportunity

2011-10-31T12:00:00.003-04:00

One of the precepts of the Church under canon law is to attend and participate in the Sacred Liturgy on Sundays and specified Holy Days of Obligation. The word "obligation" is unfortunate; it makes it sound as if Mass is a cumbersome duty or hassle or burden. But it is not really a hassle, it is not merely one of the "rules" that we must obey. Or, at least, it should not be. If it is, it’s not God’s fault.

It’s not a burden, and really need not be seen as an “obligation,” because it should rightly be seen an an opportunity. It should not be thought of as having to go to Mass, but as getting to go to Mass. An opportunity to be with God and love Him.

If we love God, and if we want to be with Him in heaven, then we should want to be with Him for a little bit while we are still sojourning down here on earth. If we purposely do not go to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days, we are saying that we do not want to be with God, we do not want to spend a measly one-hour in His presence, and that would be what we call "a sin." A serious sin that is necessarily mortal* since to not want to spend time with God is to not want to spend time with Life itself.

To purposely fail to go to Mass on these days would be contrary to the First Commandment (we would be putting our own earthly gods, including ourselves, before Him) and, in the case of Sunday Mass, it would be contrary to the Third Commandment (by failing to keep holy the Lord’s Day). And if we refuse to go to Mass, not because we do not love God, but because we cannot stand the other people at Mass (what they sing, how they act, how boring they are), then that is contrary to the commandment to love one another as Jesus loves us, and it would be a rupture of the communion of the Church. In any case, it would be a rejection of the Blessed Sacrament and Jesus’ request that we participate in the Eucharist in memory of Him.

Now, it is true that we don’t need to go to Mass to pray to God. We can pray to God at home. We can form a spiritual communion with Jesus at home. But one thing that we cannot do at home is to establish full communion with Him, communion in the entirety of our being. Prayer away from Mass accomplishes only a partial communion with Him, a spiritual communion. But we are more than spiritual beings, we have bodies as well. Only do body and spirit together make up the entire person.

And we can obtain full communion with Jesus, spirit and body, only at Mass in the Eucharist, the actual Body and Blood of Christ. Only at Mass can we be one with Him fully, and in a profoundly intimate way, our soul one with His, our body one with His. Holy Communion is the only true communion, everything else falls short.

Mass on Sundays and Holy Days and every other day of the year (technically Mass is not celebrated on Good Friday or Holy Saturday) are not “obligations,” they are unique opportunities for Communion with the Lord.

Moreover, ours is not an individual faith, but a communal faith. Our relationship with Christ is not a limited one-on-one relationship. Rather, we are one with Him, and He is one with everyone else, such that we are meant to be one in communion with all the other faithful in heaven, on earth, and in purgatory. When we pray at Mass, we celebrate one liturgy, we pray as one, with the entirety of the Church, both across geography and across time. (That is also why, as Catholics, even when we are alone, we often pray these standardized prayers, rather than always being extemporaneous. As good as individualized prayer is, the standardized prayers are the prayers of the Church, so when we pray them, we pray not alone, but with all the faithful.)

When we do our own thing, staying at home because we think that we do not “need” Mass to have a relationship with God, we rupture that communion with the Church, which is the Body of Christ.

If the liturgy is poorly done, or if the music is bad, or the homily is boring, or the other people are dressed inappropriately, or the priest/deacon/ministers are too liberal or too conservative or too this or too that, or you stayed out too late the night before, or you’ve done some things that you shouldn’t have done and thus are in a state of sin, or you don’t understand some of the teachings of the Church, or you think you know better and oppose the Church, or whatever million other excuses you can come up with, even when you are fully justified in your dissatisfaction, none of that is God’s fault. None of that is on Jesus. Maybe it is on other people, maybe it is on us. Maybe it is on YOU. Maybe it is on me.

But it’s not God’s fault. So don’t take it out on Him. He is the remedy to all these problems. He is the priceless pearl. The Eucharist is “the source and summit” of our faith. The Blessed Sacrament is Emmanuel, God with us. No matter how lousy everything else is, do not let that keep you from Him. If you must, go to a different parish, but do not go to a different “god.” Do not stay away altogether.

Even if it is not proper for you to receive Holy Communion because you’ve done something you shouldn’t, but like it and intend to keep on doing it, so that you’re not ready to go to Confession yet, then don’t go up for Communion, but do still go to Mass! Jesus Christ is there!

If you have been away for a while, for whatever reason you left and/or have stayed away, do not be afraid to admit that you are starving. Come home. The father will slaughter the fatted calf and all of heaven will rejoice and celebrate.

Mass is not an “obligation,” if by obligation one means a burden or bother or hassle. Rather, it is an opportunity. It is the ability to receive the “medicine of immortality,” i.e. the Eucharist. It is hope, the hope by which we are already saved.
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*There are some exceptions to this – if the Sunday obligation cannot be met due to illness, caring for someone sick, no Mass to attend, etc., then one is not under penalty of mortal sin because it is not intentional. (CCC 1857 For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: “Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.”)
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Marriage and Family at Cinema Catechism

2011-10-29T12:35:00.002-04:00

Cinema Catechism concludes its three-part Fall 2011 season with the film The Jeweller's Shop: A Meditation on the Sacrament of Matrimony, Passing on Occasion into a Drama , together with catechesis and discussion on the theme of Marriage and Family: Nature and Sacrament.

The movie was adapted from the three-act play by Karol Wojtyla (Blessed Pope John Paul II) and it challenges us to reflect upon love and the relationship between man and woman in marriage.
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Adoramus Te

2011-10-09T14:48:00.002-04:00

All of us here at Vita Nostra in Ecclesia and our sister blog Cinema Catechism are pleased to welcome Adoramus Te, the blog of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, to the world of the blogosphere!

May you be a light of love and truth to a world sorely in need of it, and may the Lord bless and keep you always.
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Marriage and Family: Vocation to Love

2011-10-08T12:54:00.002-04:00

Marriage and family, vocation to love, theology of the body, and St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, all over at Cinema Catechism.

“Conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the Gospel of Christ”

2011-09-18T11:47:00.008-04:00

As most people know, the readings at Mass follow a three-year cycle. Today, we read from Is 55:6-9, Phil 1:20c-24, 27a, and Mt 20:1-16a.

These are the same readings that were said for the first papal Mass I attended, when Blessed Pope John Paul II came to Detroit in 1987. As such, I was keenly interested in listening to and remembering his homily. I can still remember his voice in giving this homily, with his characteristic Polish accent.

"Conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the Gospel of Christ," this is something that we do well to remember and to repeat to ourselves constantly. It is so easy, so very easy, to conduct ourselves in a way unworthy of the Gospel of Christ, so we need to repeat to ourselves, again and again, "Conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the Gospel of Christ."

Homily of Blessed Pope John Paul II
Apostolic Journey to the United States
September 19, 1987

“Conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the Gospel of Christ” (Phil. 1:27).

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

1. The apostle Paul addresses this appeal to the Christians of Philippi. And today the Church’s liturgy repeats this appeal to all who believe in Christ. As my visit to your country comes to an end, it is my special joy this evening to reflect on those words with you, the people of the Church in Detroit, as well as visitors from elsewhere in Michigan, from nearby Canada and from other areas.

From the humble beginnings of the foundation of Detroit in the year 1701, the proclamation of God’s word in this region has continued unbroken, despite hardships and setbacks, and has reached a level of maturity and a fruitfulness unimagined by the early missionaries. Many years separate us from the first celebration of the Eucharist by the priests who accompanied Cadillac, the founder of Detroit, and yet we know that our communion this evening in the Body and Blood of Christ also links us with them and with all who have gone before us in faith.

With you I give thanks to God for the courage, dedication and perseverance of the many clergy, religious and laity who worked so hard during all these years, first to share their faith with the Native Americans of this area, and then to preserve and spread the faith among those of almost every race and nation who settled here. I also give thanks with you for the intrepid Catholic faith of so many of your parents and grandparents who came to Michigan in order to find liberty and in order to build a better life for themselves and especially for you, their children and grandchildren. Whatever may be the path by which you have received the gift of your Catholic faith, it is due in some measure to those who have gone before you here. Their voices are joined to that of Saint Paul when he says to us: "Conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the Gospel of Christ."

2. We read this exhortation this evening in the light of the Gospel parable of the workers sent by the owner of an estate into his vineyard, after he has agreed with them on the daily wage. Our Lord often taught through parables like this one. By using images from daily life, he led his hearers to insights about the Kingdom or Reign of God. Using parables, he was able to raise their minds and hearts from what is seen to what is unseen. When we remember that the things of this world already bear the imprint of God’s Kingdom, it is not surprising that the imagery of the parables is so well suited to the Gospel message.

On the one hand, the vineyard of which Jesus speaks is an earthly reality, as is the work to be done in it. On the other hand, the vineyard is an image of the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom is described in the Gospel as "the vineyard of the Lord."

3. Let us reflect for a moment on the first of these realities - the earthly vineyard - as a workplace, as the place where you and I must earn our daily bread. As I said in the encyclical Laborem Exercens:
"Man must work, both because the Creator has commanded it and because of his own humanity, which requires work in order be maintained and developed. Man must work out of regard for others, especially his own family, but also for the society he is a child, and the whole human family of which he is a member since he is the heir to the work of generations and at the same time a sharer in building the future of those who will come after him in the succession of history" (Ioannis Pauli PP. II Laborem Exercens, 16).
Accordingly, the Church considers it her task to focus attention on the dignity and rights of workers, to condemn violations of that dignity and those rights, and to provide guidance for authentic human progress (Cfr. ibid. 1). The Church’s goal is to uplift ever more the family of mankind in the light of Christ’s word and by its power.

Central to the Church’s teaching is the conviction that people are more important than things; that work is "for man" and not man "for work"; that the person is both the subject and purpose of all work and cannot be reduced to a mere instrument of production; that the person is to be valued for what he or she is rather than for what he or she owns (Cfr. ibid. 6. 12; Gaudium et Spes, 35). This last truth in particular reminds us that the only gift we can offer God that is truly worthy of him is the gift of ourselves, as we discover in the message of today’s Gospel parable.

4. That message, as I mentioned, has to do with a spiritual reality, the Kingdom of God, towards which Jesus seeks to raise the minds and hearts of his listeners. He begins today’s parable with the words: "The reign of God is like the case of the owner of an estate who went out at dawn to hire workmen for his vineyard" (Mt. 20:1). That our Lord is speaking about more than just human work and wages should be clear from the owner’s actions and the ensuing conflict between him and some of the workers. It is not that the owner refuses to honour the agreement about wages. The dispute arises because he gives the same pay to everybody, whether the person worked all day or only part of the day. Each receives the sum which had been agreed upon. Thus the owner of the estate shows generosity to the latecomers, to the indignation of those who had worked all day. To them this generosity seems to be an injustice. And what response does the owner give? “I am free,” he says, “to do as I please with my money, am I not? Or are you envious because I am generous?” (Mt. 20:15).

In this parable we find one of those seeming contradictions, those paradoxes, that appear in the Gospel. It arises from the fact that the parable is describing two different standards. One is the standard by which justice is measured by things. The other standard belongs to the Kingdom of God, in which the way of measuring is not the just distribution of things but the giving of a gift, and, ultimately, the greatest gift of all - the gift of self.

5. The owner of the estate pays the workers according to the value of their work, that is, the sum of one denarius. But in the Kingdom of God the pay or wages is God himself. This is what Jesus is trying to teach. When it comes to salvation in the Kingdom of God, it is not a question of just wages but of the undeserved generosity of God, who gives himself as the supreme gift to each and every person who shares in divine life through sanctifying grace.

Such a recompense or reward cannot be measured in material terms. When a person gives the gift of self, even in human relations, the gift cannot be measured in quantity. The gift is one and undivided because the giver is one and undivided.

How can we receive such a gift? We look to Saint Paul for an answer. His words in the Letter to the Philippians are fascinating:
"I firmly trust and anticipate that I shall never be put to shame for my hopes... Christ will be exalted through me, whether I live or die. For, to me, ‘life’ means Christ; hence dying is so much gain" (Phil. 1:20-21).
With these words of Saint Paul we find ourselves at the very heart of that standard of measurement which belongs to the kingdom of heaven. When we receive a gift, we must respond with a gift. We can only respond to the gift of God in Jesus Christ - his Cross and Resurrection - in the way that Paul responded - with the gift of ourselves. All that Paul is, is contained in this gift of self, both his life and his death. The gift of a person’s life cannot be valued merely in terms of the number of hours spent in an earthly vineyard.

Saint Paul, and everyone like him, realizes that one can never match or equal the value of God’s gift of himself to us. The only measure that applies is the measure of love. And love’s measure, as Saint Bernard says, is to love without measure (S. Bernardi, De Diligendo Deo, I, 1). This makes it possible for the last to be first, and the first last (Cfr. Mt. 20:16).

6. There is another episode, in the Gospel of Luke, when Jesus says to one of the Pharisees who is scandalized at the behaviour of a woman known to be a sinner: her many sins are forgiven "because of her great love” (Lk. 7:47). We do well to reflect upon the love in the heart of this woman, who washed the Lord’s feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. We can imagine the bitter sorrow that led her to such an extravagant gesture. Yet by giving herself humbly to God, she discovered the far greater and underserved gift of which we have spoken, namely, God’s gift of himself to her. Through this exchange of gifts, the woman found herself once again, only now she was healed and restored. “Your sins are forgiven,” Jesus says to her, “... go in peace” (Ibid. 7, 48).

For us too, sinners that we are, it is all too easy to squander our love, to use it in the wrong way. And like the Pharisee, we do not easily understand the power of love to transform. Only in the Life, Death and Resurrection of Christ do we come to see that love is the measure of all things in the Kingdom of God, because "God is love" (1 Jn. 4:8). We can fully experience love in this life only through faith and repentance.

7. "Conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the Gospel of Christ." As Christians we live and work in this world, which is symbolized by the vineyard, but at the same time we are called to work in the vineyard of the Lord. We live this visible earthly life and at the same time the life of the Kingdom of God, which is the ultimate destiny and vocation of every person. How then are we to conduct ourselves worthily in regard to these two realities?

In the Credo of the People of God proclaimed by my predecessor Paul VI, we find an answer to that question, an answer that reflects the faith of the Church in the light of the Second Vatican Council, particularly the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World:
"We confess that the Kingdom of God... is not of this world... and that its growth cannot be confused with the progress of civilization, science or technology. The true growth of the Kingdom of God consists in an ever deeper knowledge of the unfathomable riches of Christ, in an ever stronger hope in eternal blessings, in an ever more fervent response to the love of God... But this same love also leads the Church to show constant concern for the true temporal welfare of people . . . Although the Church does not cease to remind her children that here they have no lasting city, she also urges them to contribute, according to their vocation and means, to the welfare of this their earthly home . . . and to devote themselves to helping the poorest and neediest of their brothers and sisters. This intense solicitude of the Church... for the needs of people, their joys and hopes, their griefs and labours, is nothing other than her great desire to be present with them in order to illuminate them with the light of Christ and gather them into one in him who alone is their Saviour" (Pauli VI, "Credo" Populi Dei, die 30 iun. 1968: Insegnamenti di Paolo VI, VI (1968) 289ss).
Dear brothers and sisters: these words tell us what is meant by conduct worthy of the Gospel of Christ - that Gospel which we have heard and believed, and are called to live every day. And today in this Eucharistic sacrifice we offer our work, our activities, our whole lives to the Father through his Son, Jesus Christ. We call upon God to accept the gift of ourselves.

8. "The Lord is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The Lord is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth" (Ps. 145(144):17-18).

In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah speaks in the name of the Lord, who in the Gospel parable is symbolized by the owner of the vineyard. The Lord says:
"my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways... As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above our thoughts" (Is. 55, 8-9).
And so, my brothers and sisters, “Conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the Gospel of Christ," that is to say, measure the things of this world by the standard of the Kingdom of God.
Not the other way around!
Not the other way around!

“Seek the Lord while he may be found, call to him while he is near" (Ibid. 55, 6).
He is near! The Lord is near!
The Kingdom of God is within us. Amen.

September 11: Never Forget

2011-09-11T08:46:00.002-04:00

O God of love, compassion, and healing,
look on us, people of many different faiths and traditions,
who gather today to remember the attacks on our nation,
that day of incredible violence and pain ten years ago.

We ask you in your goodness
to give eternal light and peace
to all who died in Arlington, New York, and Pennsylvania -—
the heroic first-responders: our fire fighters, police officers, emergency service workers, and Port Authority personnel,
along with all the innocent men and women
who were victims of this tragedy
simply because their work or service
brought them there on September 11, 2001.

We ask you, in your compassion
to bring healing to those
who, because of their presence there that day,
suffer from injuries and illness.
Heal, too, the pain of still-grieving families
and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy.
Give them strength to continue their lives with courage and hope.

We are mindful as well
of those who suffered death, injury, and loss
in the days and years following in the on-going battle against terrorism.
Our hearts are one with theirs
as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering.

God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world:
peace in the hearts of all men and women
and peace among the nations of the earth.
Turn to your way of love
those whose hearts and minds
are consumed with hatred.

God of understanding,
overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy,
we seek your light and guidance
as we confront such terrible events.
Grant that those whose lives were spared
may live so that the lives lost here
may not have been lost in vain.
Comfort and console us,
strengthen us in hope,
and give us the wisdom and courage
to work tirelessly for a world
where true peace and love reign
among nations and in the hearts of all.

--See Prayer His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI at Ground Zero, New York
Sunday, 20 April 2008

Letter From Pope Benedict XVI on the Occasion of the Tenth Anniversary of September 11

2011-09-10T13:18:00.003-04:00

To my Venerable Brother
The Most Reverend Timothy M. Dolan
President
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

On this day my thoughts turn to the somber events of September 11, 2001, when so many innocent lives were lost in the brutal assault on the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the further attacks in Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania. I join you in commending the thousands of victims to the infinite mercy of Almighty God and in asking our heavenly Father to continue to console those who mourn the loss of loved ones.

The tragedy of that day is compounded by the perpetrators’ claim to be acting in God’s name. Once again, it must be unequivocally stated that no circumstances can ever justify acts of terrorism. Every human life is precious in God’s sight and no effort should be spared in the attempt to promote throughout the world a genuine respect for the inalienable rights and dignity of individuals and peoples everywhere.

The American people are to be commended for the courage and generosity that they showed in the rescue operations and for their resilience in moving forward with hope and confidence. It is my fervent prayer that a firm commitment to justice and a global culture of solidarity will help rid the world of the grievances that so often give rise to acts of violence and will create the conditions for greater peace and prosperity, offering a brighter and more secure future.

With these sentiments, I extend my most affectionate greetings to you, your brother Bishops and all those entrusted to your pastoral care, and I gladly impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of peace and serenity in the Lord.

Benedictus PP XVI
.

Father Cregan - Semper Fi

2011-09-02T23:03:00.009-04:00

At 71, Fr. Cregan Attends Sixth World Youth Day
by Gretchen R. Crowe
Arlington Catholic Herald
August 30, 2011

Kneeling in an adoration tent at the outdoor site of the final vigil and Mass with the pope at World Youth Day in Madrid, Father John C. Cregan, pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Alexandria, was told he would have to leave.

A storm was coming, the Spanish police told Father Cregan and three other priests, and it was too dangerous to be in the tent that held nothing but a makeshift altar, a candle and the exposed Blessed Sacrament.

“(He said) you must leave,” Father Cregan said. “We said, ‘No, we must stay.’ The police officer left after he realized we had the Blessed Sacrament and weren’t leaving.”

Following his departure, one of the Spanish priests said: “Do not worry, brothers. We are in the hands of God.”

This proved to be the case as the time kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament amid wind and rain was a “peaceful experience,” Father Cregan said. And the storm passed by “fairly quickly.”

Maybe it was his strong faith or the presence of the exposed Eucharist or the fact that he is a former Marine that helped Father Cregan keep his cool under pressure. Or maybe it was, more simply, that this World Youth Day wasn’t his first. While for many pilgrims last month’s event marked their first time at the spiritual get-together that attracted millions of young people from across the globe, for the 71-year-old Father Cregan, it marked his sixth — and probably not his last.

As a spiritual director for Youth 2000, an international organization that develops Eucharist-centered retreats for young people, Father Cregan attended World Youth Days in Paris, Rome, Toronto, Cologne and Sydney before going to Madrid — and he’s used to expecting the unexpected.

So what keeps him going back?

“Probably the interval in-between,” Father Cregan joked in a recent interview. Also, the presence of the young people and the evidence of their faith.

“As the time goes by you look forward to it,” he said. “It’s a great thing. It’s a great moment for our Church.”

Involved with Youth 2000 since the early 1990s, Father Cregan said he believes frequent exposure to the Blessed Sacrament is a powerful way for youths and young adults to grow more deeply in their faith.

“I think the young people have a hunger for the reality of spirituality, for things that give real meaning to their life,” he said. “They feel a peace, I think, when they are in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.”

In Madrid, Youth 2000 offered events at the Iglesia de San José, including Holy Hours throughout the day organized by different groups from around the world.

“We had them from Hong Kong, Germany, Burma, Ireland,” Father Cregan said. “We had one from Russia. I never thought I’d be in a church bursting with Russian youths singing and praying. It was awesome. It brought tears to my eyes.”

At the church, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed continuously throughout the day, except for when Mass was celebrated, and the youths brought a piety into the space.

The church was filled, even the aisles, Father Cregan said. “If you looked around, you could see the reverence in their faces.”

“It gives me great hope for the future to see all those young people with faith and a desire to do what’s right,” he said. “They really cared and they made an effort to pray. All of us couldn’t help but be graced by them.”

So, with six World Youth Days in the bag, will Father Cregan be packing for Rio de Janeiro in 2013?

A pause.

“Yeah, I think I will,” he said. “It keeps me young.”

© Arlington Catholic Herald 2011

___________________

See also Fr. Cregan: ‘A Marine for Christ’
Podcast of Fr. Cregan at Theology on Tap, Saying Yes to Christ: Your Call to Serve

Following Jesus in Faith, Together

2011-08-21T10:51:00.005-04:00

Words of Pope Benedict at the Beginning of Holy Mass
on the Occasion of the 26th World Youth Day
Cuatro Vientos Airport
August 21, 2011

Dear young friends, I have been thinking a lot about you during this time in which we have been separated. I hope you have been able to get some sleep in spite of the weather.

I am sure that since dawn you have raised up your eyes more than once, and not only your eyes but above all your hearts, turning this occasion into prayer. God turns all things into good. With this confidence and trusting in the Lord who never abandons us, let us begin our Eucharistic celebration, full of enthusiasm and strong in our faith.

Homily of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

Dear young people,

In this celebration of the Eucharist, we have reached the high point of this World Youth Day. Seeing you here, gathered in such great numbers from all parts of the world, fills my heart with joy. I think of the special love with which Jesus is looking upon you. Yes, the Lord loves you and calls you His friends (cf. Jn 15:15). He goes out to meet you and He wants to accompany you on your journey, to open the door to a life of fulfilment and to give you a share in His own closeness to the Father.

For our part, we have come to know the immensity of His love and we want to respond generously to His love by sharing with others the joy we have received. Certainly, there are many people today who feel attracted by the figure of Christ and want to know Him better. They realize that He is the answer to so many of our deepest concerns. But who is He really? How can someone who lived on this earth so long ago have anything in common with me today?

The Gospel we have just heard (cf. Mt 16:13-20) suggests two different ways of knowing Christ. The first is an impersonal knowledge, one based on current opinion. When Jesus asks: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”, the disciples answer: “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” In other words, Christ is seen as yet another religious figure, like those who came before Him.

Then Jesus turns to the disciples and asks them: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter responds with what is the first confession of faith: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Faith is more than just empirical or historical facts; it is an ability to grasp the mystery of Christ’s person in all its depth.

Yet faith is not the result of human effort, of human reasoning, but rather a gift of God: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.”

Faith starts with God, who opens His heart to us and invites us to share in His own divine life. Faith does not simply provide information about who Christ is; rather, it entails a personal relationship with Christ, a surrender of our whole person, with all our understanding, will and feelings, to God’s self-revelation. So Jesus’ question: “But who do you say that I am?”, is ultimately a challenge to the disciples to make a personal decision in His regard. Faith in Christ and discipleship are strictly interconnected.

And since faith involves following the Master, it must become constantly stronger, deeper and more mature, to the extent that it leads to a closer and more intense relationship with Jesus. Peter and the other disciples also had to grow in this way, until their encounter with the Risen Lord opened their eyes to the fullness of faith.

Dear young people, today Christ is asking you the same question which He asked the Apostles: “Who do you say that I am?”

Respond to Him with generosity and courage, as befits young hearts like your own. Say to Him:
“Jesus, I know that you are the Son of God, who have given your life for me. I want to follow you faithfully and to be led by your word. You know me and you love me. I place my trust in you and I put my whole life into your hands. I want you to be the power that strengthens me and the joy which never leaves me."
Jesus’ responds to Peter’s confession by speaking of the Church: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church.” What do these words mean?

Jesus builds the Church on the rock of the faith of Peter, who confesses that Christ is God.

The Church, then, is not simply a human institution, like any other. Rather, she is closely joined to God. Christ himself speaks of her as “His” Church. Christ cannot be separated from the Church any more than the head can be separated from the body (cf. 1 Cor 12:12). The Church does not draw her life from herself, but from the Lord.

Dear young friends, as the Successor of Peter, let me urge you to strengthen this faith which has been handed down to us from the time of the Apostles. Make Christ, the Son of God, the centre of your life. But let me also remind you that following Jesus in faith means walking at His side in the communion of the Church. We cannot follow Jesus on our own. Anyone who would be tempted to do so “on his own,” or to approach the life of faith with that kind of individualism so prevalent today, will risk never truly encountering Jesus, or will end up following a counterfeit Jesus.

Having faith means drawing support from the faith of your brothers and sisters, even as your own faith serves as a support for the faith of others. I ask you, dear friends, to love the Church which brought you to birth in the faith, which helped you to grow in the knowledge of Christ and which led you to discover the beauty of His love. Growing in friendship with Christ necessarily means recognizing the importance of joyful participation in the life of your parishes, communities and movements, as well as the celebration of Sunday Mass, frequent reception of the sacrament of Reconciliation, and the cultivation of personal prayer and meditation on God’s word.

Friendship with Jesus will also lead you to bear witness to the faith wherever you are, even when it meets with rejection or indifference. We cannot encounter Christ and not want to make Him known to others. So do not keep Christ to yourselves!

Share with others the joy of your faith! The world needs the witness of your faith, it surely needs God. I think that the presence here of so many young people, coming from all over the world, is a wonderful proof of the fruitfulness of Christ’s command to the Church: “Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation” (Mk 16:15). You too have been given the extraordinary task of being disciples and missionaries of Christ in other lands and countries filled with young people who are looking for something greater and, because their heart tells them that more authentic values do exist, they do not let themselves be seduced by the empty promises of a lifestyle which has no room for God.

Dear young people, I pray for you with heartfelt affection. I commend all of you to the Virgin Mary and I ask her to accompany you always by her maternal intercession and to teach you how to remain faithful to God’s word. I ask you to pray for the Pope, so that, as the Successor of Peter, he may always confirm his brothers and sisters in the faith.

May all of us in the Church, pastors and faithful alike, draw closer to the Lord each day. May we grow in holiness of life and be effective witnesses to the truth that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God, the Saviour of all mankind and the living source of our hope. Amen.

"If you abide in the love of Christ, rooted in the faith, you will encounter, even amid setbacks and suffering, the source of true happiness and joy."

2011-08-20T19:16:00.012-04:00

Abide in the love of Christ and you will persevere through the trials of life, including sudden rainstorms. Those dark clouds you see in the video later turned into a driving rain with strong winds, which prevented Pope Benedict from reading his entire homily to the estimated two million young people gathered for the prayer vigil, but did not dampen their spirits in the slightest.

This is the report from Vatican Radio --

“Esta es la joventud del papa! This is the Pope’s youth!”, the chant erupted spontaneously from the multitudes as the winds and rain beat down upon them in the aptly named Cuatro Vientos airport, the airport of the Four Winds. After days of incessant and stifling heat, not even the tempest that interrupted the Holy Father mid-homily could quench the enthusiasm of Benedict XVI’s generation, an estimated 2 million strong on Saturday night.

“We know you were all out in the sun this afternoon and asking for more water...well here it is!” the young presenter announced. And as the Pope waited patiently seated before the giant altar for the storm to pass, organisers invited the jubilant pilgrims to pray for the rain to cease. Instead, their voices rose as one in a continuous chorus “This is the Pope’s youth!” and that chorus rang out across Madrid.

They had begun arriving mid morning, many on travelling the 24 kms to the airport on foot under a searing sun with temperatures hitting 40° Celsius. Madrid’s bomberos, on top of fire trucks, directing water hoses over the crowds in an effort to bring some relief.

The liturgy of the Word had just begun, following the procession of the World Youth Day Cross and icon. The five young people, from the UK, Kenya, the USA, the Philippines, and Germany had only just posed their questions to Pope Benedict when the storm begun, ripping the zucchetto from the Pope’s head.

Michael from the UK, a convert to Catholicism had asked the Pope who Christ really is and whether he was for all of humanity or only for Christians. Roselyne from Kenya, spoke of her work on behalf of the victims of famine in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia and asked the Pope how can she help the poor and suffering understand that God has not forgotten about them. Robert from the USA, spoke of how he will marry in a month’s time and asked Pope Benedict for advice on how to faithfully live the vocation to marriage. Kirtzia from the Philippines spoke of how it was difficult at times to witness her faith in society, while the young German Kathleen, a non-believer attracted by the figure of Christ, asked for guidance.

Pope Benedict never got to pronouncing his homily, instead when the winds and rain had calmed, the Holy Father proceeded to pronounce his greetings to pilgrims in diverse languages and then left the raised altar to change vestments for the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. As he left the stage, firemen clambered onto the scaffolding to ensure its safety, while the young people continued to chant.

The Pope emerged shortly afterwards, and once the crowds had quietened, invited the millions who had answered his call to join him in a night of Eucharistic adoration. As he knelt before the altar, the XVth century monstrance “Custodia di Arfe” from the Toledo Cathedral rose from centre of the stage to the clamour of two million voices, for the heat, the Pope, the rain. Then, silence descended on Cuatro Ventos.

When the rain finally relented, His Holiness said to the crowd, "Thank you for your joy and resistance. Your strength is stronger than the rain. Thank you. The Lord is sending us his blessings with the rain. With this, you're leading by example."

Liturgy of the Word

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love." (John 15:1-10)

Prepared Text of the Homily of Pope Benedict XVI
World Youth Day Prayer Vigil with Eucharistic Adoration
Cuatro Vientos Airport
August 20, 2011

Dear Young Friends,

I greet all of you, especially the young people who have asked me their questions, and I thank them for the sincerity with which they set forth their concerns, that express the longing which all of you have to achieve something great in life, something which can bring you fulfilment and happiness.

How can a young person be true to the faith and yet continue to aspire to high ideals in today’s society?

In the Gospel we have just heard, Jesus gives us an answer to this urgent question: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love” (Jn 15:9).

Yes, dear friends, God loves us. This is the great truth of our life; it is what makes everything else meaningful. We are not the product of blind chance or absurdity; instead our life originates as part of a loving plan of God. To abide in His love, then, means living a life rooted in faith, since faith is more than the mere acceptance of certain abstract truths: it is an intimate relationship with Christ, who enables us to open our hearts to this mystery of love and to live as men and women conscious of being loved by God.

If you abide in the love of Christ, rooted in the faith, you will encounter, even amid setbacks and suffering, the source of true happiness and joy. Faith does not run counter to your highest ideals; on the contrary, it elevates and perfects those ideals.

Dear young people, do not be satisfied with anything less than Truth and Love, do not be content with anything less than Christ.

Nowadays, although the dominant culture of relativism all around us has given up on the search for truth, even if it is the highest aspiration of the human spirit, we need to speak with courage and humility of the universal significance of Christ as the Saviour of humanity and the source of hope for our lives -- He who took upon Himself our afflictions, is well acquainted with the mystery of human suffering, and manifests His loving presence in those who suffer. They in their turn, united to the passion of Christ, share closely in His work of redemption. Furthermore, our disinterested attention towards the sick and the forgotten will always be a humble and warm testimony of God’s compassionate regard.

Dear friends, may no adversity paralyze you. Be afraid neither of the world, nor of the future, nor of your weakness. The Lord has allowed you to live in this moment of history so that, by your faith, His name will continue to resound throughout the world.

During this prayer vigil, I urge you to ask God to help you find your vocation in society and in the Church, and to persevere in that vocation with joy and fidelity. It is a good thing to open our hearts to Christ’s call and to follow with courage and generosity the path He maps out for us.

The Lord calls many people to marriage, in which a man and a woman, in becoming one flesh (cf. Gen 2:24), find fulfilment in a profound life of communion. It is a prospect that is both bright and demanding. It is a project for true love which is daily renewed and deepened by sharing joys and sorrows, one marked by complete self-giving. For this reason, to acknowledge the beauty and goodness of marriage is to realize that only a setting of fidelity and indissolubility, along with openness to God’s gift of life, is adequate to the grandeur and dignity of marital love.

Christ calls others to follow Him more closely in the priesthood or in consecrated life. It is hard to put into words the happiness you feel when you know that Jesus seeks you, trusts in you, and with His unmistakable voice also says to you: “Follow me!” (cf. Mk 2:14).

Dear young people, if you wish to discover and to live faithfully the form of life to which the Lord is calling each of you, you must remain in His love as His friends. And how do we preserve friendship except through frequent contact, conversation, being together in good times and bad? Saint Teresa of Jesus used to say that prayer is just such “friendly contact, often spending time alone with the one who we know loves us” (cf. Autobiography, 8).

And so I now ask you to “abide” in the adoration of Christ, truly present in the Eucharist. I ask you to enter into conversation with Him, to bring before Him your questions and to listen to His voice.

Dear friends, I pray for you with all my heart. And I ask you to pray for me. Tonight let us ask the Lord to grant that, attracted by the beauty of His love, we may always live faithfully as His disciples. Amen.

[French] Dear young French-speakers, be proud of the gift of faith which you have received, as it will illumine your life at every moment. Draw strength from the faith of your neighbours, from the faith of the Church! Through faith we are grounded in Christ. Gather with others to deepen it, be faithful to the celebration of the Eucharist, the mystery of faith par excellence. Christ alone can respond to your aspirations. Let yourselves be seized by God, so that your presence in the Church will give her new life!

[English] Dear young people, in these moments of silence before the Blessed Sacrament, let us raise our minds and hearts to Jesus Christ, the Lord of our lives and of the future. May He pour out His Spirit upon us and upon the whole Church, that we may be a beacon of freedom, reconciliation and peace for the whole world.

[German] Dear young Christians from the German-speaking countries! Deep in our hearts we yearn for what is grand and beautiful in life. Do not let your desires and aspirations dissipate, but ground them in Jesus Christ. He Himself is the sure foundation, the point of reference, for building up your life.

[Italian] I now turn to the Italian-speaking young people. Dear friends, this vigil will remain as an unforgettable experience in your lives. Guard the flame which God has lit in your hearts tonight. Never let it go out, renew it each day, share it with your contemporaries who live in darkness and who are seeking a light for their way. Thank you! Until tomorrow morning!

[Portuguese] My dear friends, I invite each of you to enter into a personal dialogue with Christ, sharing with Him your hesitations and above all listening to His voice. The Lord is here and He is calling you! Young friends, it is good to hear within us the word of Jesus and to follow in His footsteps. Ask the Lord to help you to discover your vocation in life and in the Church, and to persevere in it with joy and fidelity, knowing that He never abandons you or betrays you! He remains with us until the end of the world.

[Polish] Dear young friends from Poland! This prayer vigil is filled with the presence of Christ. Grounded in His love, draw near to Him with the flame of your faith. He will fill your hearts with His life. Build your lives on Christ and on His Gospel. I willingly bless all of you.

Final Remarks of the Holy Father

Before taking his leave, Pope Benedict, inviting a group of young people onto the stage, bid the throng before him goodnight:

Dear young people, together we have experienced an adventure. Firm in the faith in Christ, you have resisted the rain! Before leaving, I want to tell all of you good night. Rest well. Thank you for the sacrifice you are making. And which I don't doubt you will offer generously to the Lord. We'll see each other tomorrow, God willing. I await you all. I thank you all for the marvelous example that you've given. Just like tonight, with Christ you will always be able to take on the tests of life. Never forget that! Thank you to all.

Helping to Build the Civilization of Love

2011-08-20T18:01:00.004-04:00

Remarks of Pope Benedict XVI
Visit to San José Foundation for Disabled Youth
Madrid, 20 August 2011

I thank you most sincerely for your kind greeting and heartfelt welcome.

This evening, just before the Prayer Vigil with the young people from throughout the world gathered in Madrid for this World Youth Day, we have this chance to spend time together as a way of showing the Pope’s closeness and esteem for each of you, for your families and for all those who help and care for you in this Foundation of Saint Joseph’s Institute.

Youth, as I have said more than once, is the age when life discloses itself to us with all its rich possibilities, inspiring us to seek the lofty goals which give it meaning. So when suffering appears on the horizon of a young life, we are shaken; perhaps we ask ourselves: “Can life still be something grand, even when suffering unexpectedly enters it?”

In my Encyclical on Christian Hope, I observed that
“the true measure of humanity is essentially determined in relationship to suffering and to the sufferer … A society unable to accept its suffering members and incapable of helping to share their suffering and to bear it inwardly through ‘com-passion’ is a cruel and inhuman society” (Spe Salvi, 38).
These words reflect a long tradition of humanity which arises from Christ’s own self-offering on the Cross for us and for our redemption. Jesus and, in His footsteps, His Sorrowful Mother and the saints, are witnesses who shows us how to experience the tragedy of suffering for our own good and for the salvation of the world.

These witnesses speak to us, first and foremost, of the dignity of all human life, created in the image of God. No suffering can efface this divine image imprinted in the depths of our humanity. But there is more: because the Son of God wanted freely to embrace suffering and death, we are also capable of seeing God’s image in the face of those who suffer.

This preferential love of the Lord for the suffering helps us to see others more clearly and to give them, above and beyond their material demands, the look of love which they need. But this can only happen as the fruit of a personal encounter with Christ.

You yourselves – as religious, family members, health care professionals and volunteers who daily live and work with these young people – know this well. Your lives and your committed service proclaim the greatness to which every human being is called: to show compassion and loving concern to the suffering, just as God Himself did. In your noble work, we hear an echo of the words found in the Gospel: “just as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40).

At the same time, you are also witnesses of the immense goodness which the lives of these young people represent for those who love them, and for humanity as a whole. In a mysterious yet real way, their presence awakens in our often hardened hearts a tenderness which opens us to salvation. The lives of these young people surely touch human hearts and for that reason we are grateful to the Lord for having known them.

Dear friends, our society, which all too often questions the inestimable value of life, of every life, needs you: in a decisive way, you help to build the civilization of love. What is more, you play a leading role in that civilization. As sons and daughters of the Church, you offer the Lord your lives, with all their ups and downs, cooperating with Him and somehow becoming “part of the treasury of compassion so greatly needed by the human race” (Spe Salvi, 40).

With great affection, and through the intercession of Saint Joseph, Saint John of God and Saint Benito Menni, I commend you to God our Lord: may He be your strength and your reward. As a pledge of His love, I cordially impart to you, and to your families and friends, my Apostolic Blessing. Thank you very much.

To be Modeled on Christ

2011-08-20T13:29:00.004-04:00

Homily of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
WYD Mass with Seminarians
Cathedral of Santa María la Real de la Almudena
Madrid, 20 August 2011

I am very pleased to celebrate Holy Mass with you who aspire to be Christ’s priests for the service of the Church and of man, and I thank you for the kind words with which you welcomed me. Today, this holy cathedral church of Santa María La Real de la Almudena is like a great Upper Room, where the Lord greatly desires to celebrate the Passover with you who wish one day to preside in his name at the mysteries of salvation. Looking at you, I again see proof of how Christ continues to call young disciples and to make them his apostles, thus keeping alive the mission of the Church and the offer of the Gospel to the world. As seminarians you are on the path towards a sacred goal: to continue the mission which Christ received from the Father. Called by him, you have followed his voice and, attracted by his loving gaze, you now advance towards the sacred ministry. Fix your eyes upon him who through his incarnation is the supreme revelation of God to the world and who through his resurrection faithfully fulfills his promise. Give thanks to him for this sign of favour in which he holds each one of you.

The first reading which we heard shows us Christ as the new and eternal priest who made of himself a perfect offering. The response to the psalm may be aptly applied to him since, at his coming into the world, he said to the Father, “Here I am to do your will” (cf. Ps 39:8). He tried to please him in all things: in his words and actions, along the way or welcoming sinners. His life was one of service and his longing was a constant prayer, placing himself in the name of all before the Father as the first-born son of many brothers and sisters. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews states that, by a single offering, he brought to perfection for all time those of us who are called to share his sonship (cf. Heb 10:14).

The Eucharist, whose institution is mentioned in the Gospel just proclaimed (cf. Lk 22:14-20), is the real expression of that unconditional offering of Jesus for all, even for those who betrayed him. It was the offering of his body and blood for the life of mankind and for the forgiveness of sins. His blood, a sign of life, was given to us by God as a covenant, so that we might apply the force of his life wherever death reigns due to our sins, and thus destroy it. Christ’s body broken and his blood outpoured – the surrender of his freedom – became through these Eucharistic signs the new source of mankind’s redeemed freedom. In Christ, we have the promise of definitive redemption and the certain hope of future blessings. Through Christ we know that we are not walking towards the abyss, the silence of nothingness or death, but are rather pilgrims on the way to a promised land, on the way to him who is our end and our beginning.

Dear friends, you are preparing yourselves to become apostles with Christ and like Christ, and to accompany your fellow men and women along their journey as companions and servants.

How should you behave during these years of preparation? First of all, they should be years of interior silence, of unceasing prayer, of constant study and of gradual insertion into the pastoral activity and structures of the Church. A Church which is community and institution, family and mission, the creation of Christ through his Holy Spirit, as well as the result of those of us who shape it through our holiness and our sins. God, who does not hesitate to make of the poor and of sinners his friends and instruments for the redemption of the human race, willed it so. The holiness of the Church is above all the objective holiness of the very person of Christ, of his Gospel and his sacraments, the holiness of that power from on high which enlivens and impels it. We have to be saints so as not to create a contradiction between the sign that we are and the reality that we wish to signify.

Meditate well upon this mystery of the Church, living the years of your formation in deep joy, humbly, clear-mindedly and with radical fidelity to the Gospel, in an affectionate relation to the time spent and the people among whom you live. No one chooses the place or the people to whom he is sent, and every time has its own challenges; but in every age God gives the right grace to face and overcome those challenges with love and realism. That is why, no matter the circumstances in which he finds and however difficult they may be, the priest must grow in all kinds of good works, keeping alive within him the words spoken on his Ordination day, by which he was exhorted to model his life on the mystery of the Lord’s cross.

To be modeled on Christ, dear seminarians, is to be identified ever more closely with him who, for our sake, became servant, priest and victim. To be modeled on him is in fact the task upon which the priest spends his entire life. We already know that it is beyond us and we will not fully succeed but, as St Paul says, we run towards the goal, hoping to reach it (cf. Phil 3:12-14).

That said, Christ the High Priest is also the Good Shepherd who cares for his sheep, even giving his life for them (cf. Jn 10:11). In order to liken yourselves to the Lord in this as well, your heart must mature while in seminary, remaining completely open to the Master. This openness, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit, inspires the decision to live in celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of heaven and, leaving aside the world’s goods, live in austerity of life and sincere obedience, without pretence.

Ask him to let you imitate him in his perfect charity towards all, so that you do not shun the excluded and sinners, but help them convert and return to the right path. Ask him to teach you how to be close to the sick and the poor in simplicity and generosity. Face this challenge without anxiety or mediocrity, but rather as a beautiful way of living our human life in gratuitousness and service, as witnesses of God made man, messengers of the supreme dignity of the human person and therefore its unconditional defenders. Relying on his love, do not be intimidated by surroundings that would exclude God and in which power, wealth and pleasure are frequently the main criteria ruling people’s lives. You may be shunned along with others who propose higher goals or who unmask the false gods before whom many now bow down. That will be the moment when a life deeply rooted in Christ will clearly be seen as something new and it will powerfully attract those who truly search for God, truth and justice.

Under the guidance of your formators, open your hearts to the light of the Lord, to see if this path which demands courage and authenticity is for you. Approach the priesthood only if you are firmly convinced that God is calling you to be his ministers, and if you are completely determined to exercise it in obedience to the Church’s precepts.

With this confidence, learn from him who described himself as meek and humble of heart, leaving behind all earthly desire for his sake so that, rather than pursuing your own good, you build up your brothers and sisters by the way you live, as did the patron saint of the diocesan clergy of Spain, St John of Avila. Moved by his example, look above all to the Virgin Mary, Mother of Priests. She will know how to mould your hearts according to the model of Christ, her divine Son, and she will teach you how to treasure for ever all that he gained on Calvary for the salvation of the world. Amen.

Announcement of the Holy Father after Mass

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

With great joy, here in this Cathedral Church of Santa María La Real de la Almudena, I announce to the People of God that, having acceded to the desire expressed by Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela, Archbishop of Madrid and President of the Bishops’ Conference of Spain, together with the members of the Spanish episcopate and other Archbishops and Bishops from throughout the world, as well as many of the lay faithful, I will shortly declare Saint John of Avila a Doctor of the universal Church.

In making this announcement here, I would hope that the word and the example of this outstanding pastor will enlighten all priests and those who look forward to the day of their priestly ordination.

I invite everyone to look to Saint John of Avila and I commend to his intercession the Bishops of Spain and those of the whole world, as well as all priests and seminarians. As they persevere in the same faith which he taught, may they model their hearts on that of Jesus Christ the good Shepherd, to whom be glory and honour for ever. Amen.

Truth - the Authentic Idea of the University

2011-08-19T15:02:00.001-04:00

Address of Pope Benedict XVI
WYD Meeting with Young University Professors
Basilica de San Lorenzo de El Escorial
August 19, 2011

I have looked forward to this meeting with you, young professors in the universities of Spain. You provide a splendid service in the spread of truth, in circumstances that are not always easy. I greet you warmly and I thank you for your kind words of welcome and for the music which has marvellously resounded in this magnificent monastery, for centuries an eloquent witness to the life of prayer and study. In this highly symbolic place, reason and faith have harmoniously blended in the austere stone to shape one of Spain’s most renowned monuments.

I also greet with particular affection those of you who took part in the recent World Congress of Catholic Universities held in Avila on the theme: “The Identity and Mission of the Catholic University.”

Being here with you, I am reminded of my own first steps as a professor at the University of Bonn. At the time, the wounds of war were still deeply felt and we had many material needs; these were compensated by our passion for an exciting activity, our interaction with colleagues of different disciplines and our desire to respond to the deepest and most basic concerns of our students. This experience of a “Universitas” of professors and students who together seek the truth in all fields of knowledge, or as Alfonso X the Wise put it, this “counsel of masters and students with the will and understanding needed to master the various disciplines” (Siete Partidas, partida II, tit. XXXI), helps us to see more clearly the importance, and even the definition, of the University.

The theme of the present World Youth Day – “Rooted and Built Up in Christ, and Firm in the Faith” (cf. Col 2:7) can also shed light on your efforts to understand more clearly your own identity and what you are called to do. As I wrote in my Message to Young People in preparation for these days, the terms “rooted, built up and firm” all point to solid foundations on which we can construct our lives (cf. No. 2).

But where will young people encounter those reference points in a society which is increasingly confused and unstable?

At times, one has the idea that the mission of a university professor nowadays is exclusively that of forming competent and efficient professionals capable of satisfying the demand for labor at any given time. One also hears it said that the only thing that matters at the present moment is pure technical ability. This sort of utilitarian approach to education is in fact becoming more widespread, even at the university level, promoted especially by sectors outside the University.

All the same, you who, like myself, have had an experience of the University, and now are members of the teaching staff, surely are looking for something more lofty and capable of embracing the full measure of what it is to be human. We know that when mere utility and pure pragmatism become the principal criteria, much is lost and the results can be tragic: from the abuses associated with a science which acknowledges no limits beyond itself, to the political totalitarianism which easily arises when one eliminates any higher reference than the mere calculus of power. The authentic idea of the University, on the other hand, is precisely what saves us from this reductionist and curtailed vision of humanity.

In truth, the University has always been, and is always called to be, the “house” where one seeks the truth proper to the human person. Consequently it was not by accident that the Church promoted the universities, for Christian faith speaks to us of Christ as the Word through whom all things were made (cf. Jn 1:3) and of men and women as made in the image and likeness of God. The Gospel message perceives a rationality inherent in creation and considers man as a creature participating in, and capable of attaining to, an understanding of this rationality. The University thus embodies an ideal which must not be attenuated or compromised, whether by ideologies closed to reasoned dialogue or by truckling to a purely utilitarian and economic conception which would view man solely as a consumer.

Here we see the vital importance of your own mission. You yourselves have the honour and responsibility of transmitting the ideal of the University: an ideal which you have received from your predecessors, many of whom were humble followers of the Gospel and, as such, became spiritual giants. We should feel ourselves their successors, in a time quite different from their own, yet one in which the essential human questions continue to challenge and stimulate us. With them, we realize that we are a link in that chain of men and women committed to teaching the faith and making it credible to human reason. And we do this not simply by our teaching, but by the way we live our faith and embody it, just as the Word took flesh and dwelt among us.

Young people need authentic teachers: persons open to the fullness of truth in the various branches of knowledge, persons who listen to and experience in own hearts that interdisciplinary dialogue; persons who, above all, are convinced of our human capacity to advance along the path of truth. Youth is a privileged time for seeking and encountering truth. As Plato said: “Seek truth while you are young, for if you do not, it will later escape your grasp” (Parmenides, 135d). This lofty aspiration is the most precious gift which you can give to your students, personally and by example. It is more important than mere technical know-how, or cold and purely functional data.

I urge you, then, never to lose that sense of enthusiasm and concern for truth. Always remember that teaching is not just about communicating content, but about forming young people. You need to understand and love them, to awaken their innate thirst for truth and their yearning for transcendence. Be for them a source of encouragement and strength.

For this to happen, we need to realize in the first place that the path to the fullness of truth calls for complete commitment: it is a path of understanding and love, of reason and faith. We cannot come to know something unless we are moved by love; or, for that matter, love something which does not strike us as reasonable. “Understanding and love are not in separate compartments: love is rich in understanding and understanding is full of love” (Caritas in Veritate, 30). If truth and goodness go together, so too do knowledge and love. This unity leads to consistency in life and thought, that ability to inspire demanded of every good educator.

In the second place, we need to recognize that truth itself will always lie beyond our grasp. We can seek it and draw near to it, but we cannot completely possess it; or put better, truth possesses us and inspires us. In intellectual and educational activity, the virtue of humility is also indispensable, since it protects us from the pride which bars the way to truth. We must not draw students to ourselves, but set them on the path toward the truth which we seek together. The Lord will help you in this, for He asks you to be plain and effective like salt, or like the lamp which quietly lights the room (cf. Mt 5:13).

All these things, finally, remind us to keep our gaze fixed on Christ, whose face radiates the Truth which enlightens us. Christ is also the Way which leads to lasting fulfilment; He walks constantly at our side and sustains us with His love. Rooted in Him, you will prove good guides to our young people.

With this confidence, I invoke upon you the protection of the Virgin Mary, Seat of Wisdom. May she help you to cooperate with her Son by living a life which is personally satisfying and which brings forth rich fruits of knowledge and faith for your students. Thank you very much.

The Gospel Radicalism of Consecrated Life

2011-08-19T11:25:00.005-04:00

Remarks of Pope Benedict XVI
WYD Meeting with Women Religious
Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial
August 19, 2011

Dear Young Women Religious,

As part of the World Youth Day which we are celebrating in Madrid, I am delighted to have this opportunity to meet you who have consecrated your youth to the Lord, and I thank you for the kind greeting you have given me. I also thank the Archbishop of Madrid, who arranged for this meeting in the evocative setting of the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Its famous library preserves important editions of the sacred Scriptures and the monastic rules of various religious families, yet your own lives of fidelity to the calling you have received is itself a precious means of preserving the word of the Lord, which resounds in your various spiritual traditions.

Dear Sisters, every charism is an evangelical word which the Holy Spirit recalls to the Church’s memory (cf. Jn 14:26). It is not by accident that consecrated life “is born from hearing the word of God and embracing the Gospel as its rule of life. A life devoted to following Christ in His chastity, poverty and obedience becomes a living ‘exegesis’ of God’s word… Every charism and every rule springs from it and seeks to be an expression of it, thus opening up new pathways of Christian living marked by the radicalism of the Gospel” (Verbum Domini, 83).

This Gospel radicalism means being “rooted and built up in Christ, and firm in the faith” (cf. Col 2:7). In the consecrated life, this means going to the very root of the love of Jesus Christ with an undivided heart, putting nothing ahead of this love (cf. Saint Benedict, Rule, IV, 21) and being completely devoted to Him, the Bridegroom, as were the Saints, like Rose of Lima and Rafael Arnáiz, the young patrons of this World Youth Day.

Your lives must testify to the personal encounter with Christ which has nourished your consecration, and to all the transforming power of that encounter. This is all the more important today when “we see a certain ‘eclipse of God’ taking place, a kind of amnesia which, albeit not an outright rejection of Christianity, is nonetheless a denial of the treasure of our faith, a denial that could lead to the loss of our deepest identity” (Message for the 2011 World Youth Day, 1). In a world of relativism and mediocrity, we need that radicalism to which your consecration, as a way of belonging to the God who is loved above all things, bears witness.

This Gospel radicalism proper to the consecrated life finds expression in filial communion with the Church, the home of the children of God, built by Christ: communion with her Pastors who set forth in the Lord’s name the deposit of faith received from the apostles, the ecclesial Magisterium and the Christian tradition; communion with your own religious families as you gratefully preserve their authentic spiritual patrimony while valuing other charisms; and communion with other members of the Church, such as the laity, who are called to make their own specific calling a testimony to the one Gospel of the Lord.

Finally, Gospel radicalism finds expression in the mission God has chosen to entrust to us: from the contemplative life, which welcomes into its cloisters the word of God in eloquent silence and adores His beauty in the solitude which He alone fills, to the different paths of the apostolic life, in whose furrows the seed of the Gospel bears fruit in the education of children and young people, the care of the sick and elderly, the pastoral care of families, commitment to respect for life, witness to the truth and the proclamation of peace and charity, mission work and the new evangelization, and so many other sectors of the Church’s apostolate.

Dear Sisters, this is the witness of holiness to which God is calling you, as you follow Jesus Christ closely and unconditionally in consecration, communion and mission. The Church needs your youthful fidelity, rooted and built up in Christ. Thank you for your generous, total and perpetual “yes” to the call of the Loved One. I pray that the Virgin Mary may sustain and accompany your consecrated youth, with the lively desire that it will challenge, nourish and illumine all young people.

With these sentiments, I ask God to repay abundantly the generous contribution which consecrated life has made to this World Youth Day. In His name, and with great gratitude, I give you my affectionate blessing.

Building on Rock with the Word

2011-08-18T18:05:00.004-04:00

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to His disciples: “Anyone who hears my words and puts them into practice is like the wise man who built his house on rock. When the rainy season set in, the torrents came and the winds blew and buffeted his house. It did not collapse; it had been solidly set on rock. Anyone who hears my words but does not put them into practice is like the foolish man who built his house on sandy ground. The rains fell, the torrents came, the winds blew and lashed against his house. It collapsed under all this and was completely ruined.” (Mt. 7:24-27)

Address of Pope Benedict XVI
WYD Welcome Ceremony with Young People
Plaza de Cibeles, Madrid
August 18, 2011

Dear Friends,

Thank you for the kind words addressed to me by the young people representing the five continents. And I salute with affection all of you gathered here, young people from Oceania, Africa, America, Asia and Europe; and also those unable to be here. I always keep you very much in my heart and pray for you. God has given me the grace to see and hear you for myself and, as we gather together, to listen to His word.

In the reading which has just been proclaimed, we heard a passage from the Gospel which talks of welcoming the words of Jesus and putting them into practice.

There are words which serve only to amuse, as fleeting as an empty breeze; others, to an extent, inform us. Those of Jesus, on the other hand, must reach our hearts, take root and bloom there all our lives. If not, they remain empty and become ephemeral. They do not bring us to Him and, as a result, Christ stays remote, just one voice among the many others around us which are so familiar.

Furthermore, the Master who speaks teaches, not something learned from others, but that which He Himself is, the only one who truly knows the path of man towards God, because He is the one who opened it up for us, He made it so that we might have authentic lives, lives which are always worth living, in every circumstance, and which not even death can destroy.

The Gospel continues, explaining these things with the evocative image of someone who builds on solid rock, resistant to the onslaught of adversity, and in contrast to someone who builds on sand - we would say today in what appears a paradise - but which collapses with the first gust of wind and falls into ruins.

Dear young people, listen closely to the words of the Lord, that they may be for you “spirit and life” (Jn 6:63), roots which nourish your being, a rule of life which likens us - poor in spirit, thirsting for justice, merciful, pure in heart, lovers of peace - to the person of Christ. Listen regularly every day as if He were the one friend who does not deceive, the one with whom we wish to share the path of life. Of course, you know that when we do not walk beside Christ our guide, we get lost on other paths, like the path of our blind and selfish impulses, or the path of flattering but self-serving suggestions, deceiving and fickle, which leave emptiness and frustration in their wake.

Use these days to know Christ better and to make sure that, rooted in Him, your enthusiasm and happiness, your desire to go further, to reach the heights, even God Himself, always hold a sure future, because the fullness of life has already been placed within you. Let that life grow with divine grace, generously and without half-measures, as you remain steadfast in your aim for holiness. And, in the face of our weaknesses which sometimes overwhelm us, we can rely on the mercy of the Lord who is always ready to help us again and who offers us pardon in the sacrament of Penance.

If you build on solid rock, not only your life will be solid and stable, but it will also help project the light of Christ shining upon those of your own age and upon the whole of humanity, presenting a valid alternative to all those who have fallen short, because the essentials in their lives were inconsistent; to all those who are content to follow fashionable ideas, they take shelter in the here and now, forgetting true justice, or they take refuge in their own opinions instead of seeking the simple truth.

Indeed, there are many who, creating their own gods, believe they need no roots or foundations other than themselves. They take it upon themselves to decide what is true or not, what is good and evil, what is just and unjust; who should live and who can be sacrificed in the interests of other preferences; leaving each step to chance, with no clear path, letting themselves be led by the whim of each moment.

These temptations are always lying in wait. It is important not to give in to them because, in reality, they lead to something so evanescent, like an existence with no horizons, a liberty without God.

We, on the other hand, know well that we have been created free, in the image of God, precisely so that we might be in the forefront of the search for truth and goodness, responsible for our actions, not mere blind executives, but creative co-workers in the task of cultivating and beautifying the work of creation.

God is looking for a responsible interlocutor, someone who can dialogue with Him and love Him. Through Christ we can truly succeed and, established in Him, we give wings to our freedom. Is this not the great reason for our joy? Isn’t this the firm ground upon which to build the civilization of love and life, capable of humanizing all of us?

Dear friends: be prudent and wise, build your lives upon the firm foundation which is Christ. This wisdom and prudence will guide your steps, nothing will make you fear and peace will reign in your hearts. Then you will be blessed and happy and your happiness will influence others. They will wonder what the secret of your life is and they will discover that the rock which underpins the entire building and upon which rests your whole existence is the very person of Christ, your friend, brother and Lord, the Son of God incarnate, who gives meaning to all the universe.

He died for us all, rising that we might have life, and now, from the throne of the Father, He accompanies all men and women, watching continually over each one of us.

I commend the fruits of this World Youth Day to the most holy Virgin Mary, who said “Yes” to the will of God, and teaches us a unique example of fidelity to her divine son, whom she followed to His death upon the Cross. Let us meditate upon this more deeply in the Stations of the Cross. And let us pray that, like her, our “Yes” to Christ today may also be an unconditional “Yes” to His friendship, both at the end of this Day and throughout our entire lives. Thank you very much.

Pope Benedict Arrives in Madrid for World Youth Day

2011-08-18T12:14:00.007-04:00

Address of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
WYD Welcome Ceremony, Barajas Airport, Madrid
Thursday, 18 August 2011

I have come here to meet thousands of young people from all over the world, Catholics committed to Christ searching for the truth that will give real meaning to their existence. I come as the Successor of Peter, to confirm them all in the faith, with days of intense pastoral activity, proclaiming that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life; to motivate the commitment to build up the Kingdom of God in the world among us, rooted in His person; to exhort young people to become faithful followers and valiant witnesses.

Why has this multitude of young people come to Madrid? While they themselves should give the reply, it may be supposed that they wish to hear the word of God, as the motto for this World Youth Day proposed to them, in such a way that, rooted and built upon Christ, they may manifest the strength of their faith.

Many of them have heard the voice of God, perhaps only as a little whisper, which has led them to search for Him more diligently and to share with others the experience of the force which He has in their lives.

The discovery of the living God inspires young people and opens their eyes to the challenges of the world in which they live, with its possibilities and limitations. They see the prevailing superficiality, consumerism and hedonism, the widespread banalization of sexuality, the lack of solidarity, the corruption. They know that, without God, it would be hard to confront these challenges and to be truly happy, and thus pouring out their enthusiasm in the attainment of an authentic life. But, with God beside them, they will possess light to walk by and reasons to hope, unrestrained before their highest ideals, which will motivate their generous commitment to build a society where human dignity and true brotherhood are respected.

Here on this Day, they have a special opportunity to gather together their aspirations, to share the richness of their cultures and experiences, motivate each other along a journey of faith and life, in which some think they are alone or ignored in their daily existence. But they are not alone. Many people of the same age have the same aspirations and, entrusting themselves completely to Christ, know that they really have a future before them and are not afraid of the decisive commitments which fulfill their entire lives.

That is why it gives me great joy to listen to them, pray with them and celebrate the Eucharist with them. World Youth Day brings us a message of hope like a pure and youthful breeze, with rejuvenating scents which fill us with confidence before the future of the Church and the world.

Of course, there is no lack of difficulties. There are tensions and ongoing conflicts all over the world, even to the shedding of blood. Justice and the unique value of the human person are easily surrendered to selfish, material and ideological interests. Nature and the environment, created by God with so much love, are not respected. Moreover, many young people look worriedly to the future, as they search for work, or because they have lost their job or because the one they have is precarious or uncertain. There are others who need help either to avoid drugs or to recover from their use. There are even some who, because of their faith in Christ, suffer discrimination which leads to contempt and persecution, open or hidden, which they endure in various regions and countries. They are harassed to give Him up, depriving them of the signs of His presence in public life, not allowing even the mention of His holy name.

But, with all my heart, I say again to you young people: let nothing and no one take away your peace; do not be ashamed of the Lord. He did not spare Himself in becoming one like us and in experiencing our anguish so as to lift it up to God, and in this way He saved us.

In this regard, the young followers of Jesus must be aided to remain firm in the faith and to embrace the beautiful adventure of proclaiming it and witnessing to it openly with their lives. A witness that is courageous and full of love for their brothers and sisters, resolute and at the same time prudent, without hiding its Christian identity, living together with other legitimate choices in a spirit of respect while at the same time demanding due respect for one’s own choices.

Your Majesty, as I reiterate my thanks for the kind welcome which you gave to me, I in turn wish to express my esteem for and nearness to all the peoples of Spain, as well as my admiration for a country so rich in history and in culture through the vitality of its faith, which has borne fruit in so many saints over the centuries, in numerous men and women who, leaving their native land, brought the Gospel to every corner of the globe, and in people through all this land who act with rectitude, solidarity and goodness. It is a great treasure which should be cared for constructively, for the common good of today and in order to offer a bright horizon to future generations. Although there are currently some reasons for concern, the greatest one is the desire for the betterment of all Spaniards with that dynamism which characterizes them and to which their deep and very fruitful Christian roots have contributed so much down through the centuries.

From this place I send very cordial greetings to you all, dear friends of Spain and Madrid, and those of you from other lands. During these days I will be with you, thinking of all young people in the world, in particular those who are going through various kinds of trial. Entrusting this Meeting to the most holy Virgin Mary, and to the patron saints of this Day, I ask God always to bless and protect the sons and daughters of Spain. Thank you very much.

Living Ark of the Covenant

2011-08-15T18:54:00.001-04:00

Homily of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
Solemnity of the Assumption
San Tomasso de Villanova, Castel Gandolfo
August 15, 2011

Dear brothers and sisters,

We are gathered together once again to celebrate one of the most ancient and beloved feasts dedicated to the Most Blessed Mary, the feast of her assumption to the glory of heaven in body and soul - that is, in her whole being as a human, in the full integrity of her person.

So we are given the grace of renewing our love for Mary, to admire her and to praise her for the 'great things' that the Almighty did for her and had worked in her.

In contemplating the Virgin Mary, we are given yet another grace: that of being able to see in depth even our own life. Yes, because even our daily existence, with its problems and hopes, receives light from the Mother of God, from her spiritual path, from her destiny of glory -- a journey and a destination that can be and should become, in some way, our own journey and our own destination.

We can let ourselves be guided by the passages from Sacred Scriptures that the liturgy offers us today. I wish to dwell especially on an image which we find in the first reading, taken from the Apocalypse, and which is echoed in the Gospel of Luke, namely, that of the Ark.

In the first reading, we heard: "Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant could be seen in the temple" (Ap 11,19).

What is the significance of the Ark? What is it that appeared? In the Old Testament, the ark is the symbol of the presence of God among His people. But the symbol has given way to reality.

The Ark of the Covenant is a living concrete person: the Virgin Mary. God does not live in a building, God lives in a person, in a heart: Mary who carried in her womb the eternal Son of God-made-flesh - Jesus our Lord and Redeemer.

In the Ark [of the Old Testament], as we know, were kept the two tables of the law handed down to Moses, which manifested the will of God to keep His covenant with His people, indicating the conditions for them to be faithful to their pact with God, in order to conform themselves to the will of God and therefore to the profound truth about ourselves.

Mary is the Ark of the Covenant, because she harbored Jesus in herself - she received into herself the living Word, everything that is contained in the will of God. She received into herself Him who is the new and eternal covenant, which culminated in the offering of His own flesh and blood - flesh and blood that He received from Mary.

Rightly, therefore, Christian piety, in the litanies that honor the Madonna, address and invoke her as Foederis Arca - Ark of the Covenant, ark of the presence of God, ark of the alliance of love that God wished to establish definitively with all mankind in Christ.

The passage from the Apocalypse also indicates another important aspect of Mary's reality. She, the living ark of the covenant, has an extraordinary destiny of glory because she is so united to the Son whom she had received in faith and generated in the flesh, that she would fully share with Him the glory of heaven.

It is suggested to us by the words we heard: "A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child... (and) she gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations..." (12,1-2; 5).

The greatness of Mary, Mother of God, full of grace, fully obedient to the action of the Holy Spirit, now lives in God's heaven, her entire self, body and soul.

St. John Damascene referred to this mystery in a famous homily, saying: "Today the holy and unique virgin was led to the celestial temple... Today, the sacred ark is animated by the living God, the Ark which carried in her womb the Creator Himself, now rests in the temple of the Lord, that which is not constructed by the hand of man" (Homily II on the Dormition of Mary, 2, PG 96, 723).

He went on: "It was necesary that she who had hosted in her womb the divine Logos now trasnfers to the tabernacles of her Son... It as necessary that the Spouse chosen by the Father should inhabit the nuptial chamber of Heaven" (ibid., 14, PG 96, 742).

Today, the Church sings of God's immense love for this creature: He had chosen her as the true Ark of the Covenant who would continue to generate and give Christ the Savior to mankind - she who in heaven shares the fullness of glory and rejoices in God's own happiness, while at the same time, she invites us to become, in our modest way, an 'ark' in which the Word of God is present, which is transformed and revitalized by His presence, a place of God's presence such that man can find in other men the nearness of God, and thus live in communion with God and get to know the reality of heaven.

The Gospel of Luke that we heard (cfr Lk 1,39-56) shows us this living ark, who is Mary, on the move: Leaving her house in Nazareth, she travels in haste to the hill country to get to the home of Elizabeth and Zachariah in a city in Judea.

I think it is important to underscore the expression 'in haste': The things of God require haste - indeed, the only things in the world that merit haste are those of God, which have true urgency for our life.

So Mary enters the house of Zachariah and Elizabeth, but she does not enter by herself. She is carrying her son in her womb, who is God Himself become flesh.

Of course, they were expecting her and her assistance in that house, but the evangelist leads us to understand that this expectation points to another, more profound one.

Zachariah, Elizabeth and the baby she bore, who would be John the Baptist, are in fact the symbol of all the just people of Israel, whose hearts, rich with hope, have been awaiting the arrival of the Savior Messiah.

And it is the Holy Spirit who opens the eyes of Elizabeth and makes her recognize in Mary the true Ark of the Covenant, the Mother of God, who had come to visit her.

That is why her elderly relative welcomes her, crying out 'in a loud voice': “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Lk 1,42-43).

It is the same Holy Spirit who, in the presence of she who is carrying God-made-man, opens the heart of John in the womb of Elizabeth, who exclaims: "At the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy" (v. 44).

Here, the evangelist Luke uses the term skirtan, which means 'to skip' or 'to hop' [even more graphically, 'to dance a jig'], the same term that we find in one of the ancient Greek translations of the Old Testament to describe the dance of King David before the holy Ark when it finally returned home (2Sam 6,16).

John the Baptist, in his mother's womb, dances in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant like David, thus recognizing that Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant, before whom the heart exults with joy - she is the Mother of God who is present in the world, who does not keep the divine presence to herself but offers Him to all so that everyone may share in God's grace.

Thus, as the prayer says, Mary is truly the 'causa nostrae laetitiae' (the reason for our joy, the 'Ark' in which the Savior is truly present among us.

Dear friends, we are speaking of Mary, but in a way, we are also speaking of ourselves, of each of us: We too are destined to receive that immense love that God reserved for Mary - though, of course, in an absolutely unique and unrepeatable way for her.

On this Solemnity of the Assumption, let us look to Mary: She opens us to hope, to a future full of joy, and she shows us the way to reach it: to welcome her Son in faith, never to lose friendship with Him, but to allow ourselves to be enlightened and guided by His Word; to follow Him every day, even during the times we feel that our crosses have become too heavy.

Mary, the Ark of the Covenant who is enshrined in Heaven, shows us with luminous clarity that we are on a journey towards our true home - the communion of joy and peace with God. Amen!

Reflection of Pope Benedict
Angelus, Solemnity of the Assumption
August 15, 2011

Dear brothers and sisters,

In the heart of the month of August, Christians of the East and the West celebrate together the Feast of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Mary to heaven.

In the Catholic Church, the dogma of the Assumption, as we know, was proclaimed in the Holy Year of 1950 by my venerated predecessor, the Servant of God Pope Pius XII. But this commemoration has its roots deep in the faith of the first centuries of the Church.

In the Christian Orient, it is still called the Dormition of Mary. An ancient mosaic in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore here in Rome, which was inspired precisely by the Oriental icon of the 'Dormitio', depicts the Apostles, who, having been informed by the angels about the end of the earthly life of the Mother of Jesus, are gathered around the Virgin's bed. In the center is Jesus who holds a girl in His arms - it is Mary who has become a child again for the Kingdom, and is led by the Lord to heaven.

In the pages of the Gospel of St. Luke in today's liturgy, we read that "During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah" (Lk 1,39). In those days, Mary left Galilee in haste to visit her relative Elizabeth.

Today, we contemplate her ascending the mountain of God to enter the celestial Jerusalem, "clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars" (Ap 12,1).

The Biblical page of the Apocalypse that we read in the liturgy of today's Solemnity speaks of a battle between the woman and the dragon, between good and evil. St. John seems to be reminding us of the very first pages of Genesis, which narrate the dark and tragic episode of the sin of Adam and Eve,

Our forefathers were defeated by evil. In the fullness of time, Jesus, the new Adam, and Mary, the new Eve, definitively conquer the enemy, and this is the joy of this feast day.

With the triumph of Jesus over evil, even interior and physical death have been defeated. Mary was the first to take into her arms the Son of God, Jesus as a baby. And now, she is the first to be beside Him in the glory of Heaven.

What we celebrate today is a great mystery, which is above all, a mystery of hope and joy for all of us. In Mary, we see the goal towards which arre headed all those who can read their own life and that of Jesus, those who can follow Him as Mary did.

Thus, this feast day speaks about our future - it tells us that even we shall be with Jesus in the glory of God, and it invites us to have courage, to believe that the power of the Resurrection of Christ can work even in us and make us men and women who, every day, seek to live as 'resurrected' ones, bringing the light of good to the darkness of evil that is in the world.

World Youth Day 2011 is Almost Here

2011-08-12T16:16:00.002-04:00

August 16-21, 2011, Madrid, Spain
Official Website

Message of Pope Benedict XVI
for the 26th World Youth Day 2011

Dear Friends,

I often think back on the World Youth Day held in Sydney in 2008. There we had an experience of a great festival of faith in which the Spirit of God was actively at work, building deep communion among the participants who had come from all over the world. That gathering, like those on previous occasions, bore rich fruit in the lives of many young people and in the life of the whole Church.

Now we are looking forward to the next World Youth Day, to be held in Madrid in August 2011. Back in 1989, several months before the historic fall of the Berlin Wall, this pilgrimage of young people halted in Spain, in Santiago de Compostela. Now, at a time when Europe greatly needs to rediscover its Christian roots, our meeting will take place in Madrid with the theme: “Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith” (cf. Col 2:7).

I encourage you to take part in this event, which is so important for the Church in Europe and for the universal Church. I would like all young people – those who share our faith in Jesus Christ, but also those who are wavering or uncertain, or who do not believe in Him – to share this experience, which can prove decisive for their lives. It is an experience of the Lord Jesus, risen and alive, and of His love for each of us.

1. At the source of your deepest aspirations

In every period of history, including our own, many young people experience a deep desire for personal relationships marked by truth and solidarity. Many of them yearn to build authentic friendships, to know true love, to start a family that will remain united, to achieve personal fulfilment and real security, all of which are the guarantee of a serene and happy future.

In thinking of my own youth, I realize that stability and security are not the questions that most occupy the minds of young people. True enough, it is important to have a job and thus to have firm ground beneath our feet, yet the years of our youth are also a time when we are seeking to get the most out of life. When I think back on that time, I remember above all that we were not willing to settle for a conventional middle-class life. We wanted something great, something new. We wanted to discover life itself, in all its grandeur and beauty.

Naturally, part of that was due to the times we lived in. During the Nazi dictatorship and the war, we were, so to speak, “hemmed in” by the dominant power structure. So we wanted to break out into the open, to experience the whole range of human possibilities. I think that, to some extent, this urge to break out of the ordinary is present in every generation. Part of being young is desiring something beyond everyday life and a secure job, a yearning for something really truly greater.

Is this simply an empty dream that fades away as we become older? No! Men and women were created for something great, for infinity. Nothing else will ever be enough.

Saint Augustine was right when he said “our hearts are restless till they find their rest in You”. The desire for a more meaningful life is a sign that God created us and that we bear His “imprint”. God is life, and that is why every creature reaches out towards life.

Because human beings are made in the image of God, we do this in a unique and special way. We reach out for love, joy and peace. So we can see how absurd it is to think that we can truly live by removing God from the picture! God is the source of life. To set God aside is to separate ourselves from that source and, inevitably, to deprive ourselves of fulfilment and joy: “without the Creator, the creature fades into nothingness” (Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, 36).

In some parts of the world, particularly in the West, today’s culture tends to exclude God, and to consider faith a purely private issue with no relevance for the life of society. Even though the set of values underpinning society comes from the Gospel – values like the sense of the dignity of the person, of solidarity, of work and of the family – we see a certain “eclipse of God” taking place, a kind of amnesia which, albeit not an outright rejection of Christianity, is nonetheless a denial of the treasure of our faith, a denial that could lead to the loss of our deepest identity.

For this reason, dear friends, I encourage you to strengthen your faith in God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. You are the future of society and of the Church!

As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians of Colossae, it is vital to have roots, a solid foundation! This is particularly true today. Many people have no stable points of reference on which to build their lives, and so they end up deeply insecure. There is a growing mentality of relativism, which holds that everything is equally valid, that truth and absolute points of reference do not exist. But this way of thinking does not lead to true freedom, but rather to instability, confusion and blind conformity to the fads of the moment. As young people, you are entitled to receive from previous generations solid points of reference to help you to make choices and on which to build your lives: like a young plant which needs solid support until it can sink deep roots and become a sturdy tree capable of bearing fruit.

2. Planted and built up in Jesus Christ

In order to highlight the importance of faith in the lives of believers, I would like to reflect with you on each of the three terms used by Saint Paul in the expression: “Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith” (cf. Col 2:7).

We can distinguish three images: “planted” calls to mind a tree and the roots that feed it; “built up” refers to the construction of a house; “firm” indicates growth in physical or moral strength. These images are very eloquent. Before commenting on them, I would like to point out that grammatically all three terms in the original text are in the passive voice. This means that it is Christ Himself who takes the initiative to plant, build up and confirm the faithful.

The first image is that of a tree which is firmly planted thanks to its roots, which keep it upright and give it nourishment. Without those roots, it would be blown away by the wind and would die.

What are our roots? Naturally our parents, our families and the culture of our country are very important elements of our personal identity. But the Bible reveals a further element. The prophet Jeremiah wrote:

“Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit” (Jer 17:7-8).

For the prophet, to send out roots means to put one’s trust in God. From Him we draw our life. Without Him, we cannot truly live.

“God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son” (1 Jn 5:11). Jesus Himself tells us that He is our life (cf. Jn 14:6). Consequently, Christian faith is not only a matter of believing that certain things are true, but above all a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is an encounter with the Son of God that gives new energy to the whole of our existence. When we enter into a personal relationship with Him, Christ reveals our true identity and, in friendship with Him, our life grows towards complete fulfilment.

There is a moment, when we are young, when each of us wonders: what meaning does my life have? What purpose and direction should I give to it?

This is a very important moment, and it can worry us, perhaps for some time. We start wondering about the kind of work we should take up, the kind of relationships we should establish, the friendships we should cultivate.

Here, once more, I think of my own youth. I was somehow aware quite early on that the Lord wanted me to be a priest. Then later, after the war, when I was in the seminary and at university on the way towards that goal, I had to recapture that certainty. I had to ask myself: is this really the path I was meant to take? Is this really God’s will for me? Will I be able to remain faithful to Him and completely at His service? A decision like this demands a certain struggle. It cannot be otherwise. But then came the certainty: this is the right thing!

Yes, the Lord wants me, and He will give me strength. If I listen to Him and walk with Him, I become truly myself. What counts is not the fulfilment of my desires, but of His will. In this way life becomes authentic.

Just as the roots of a tree keep it firmly planted in the soil, so the foundations of a house give it long-lasting stability. Through faith, we have been built up in Jesus Christ (cfr Col 2:7), even as a house is built on its foundations.

Sacred history provides many examples of saints who built their lives on the word of God. The first is Abraham, our father in faith, who obeyed God when he was asked to leave his ancestral home and to set out for an unknown land. “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness, and he was called the friend of God” (Jas 2:23).

Being built up in Jesus Christ means responding positively to God’s call, trusting in Him and putting His word into practice. Jesus Himself reprimanded His disciples: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’, and do not do what I tell you?” (Lk 6:46). He went on to use the image of building a house:

“I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them. That one is like a person building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built” (Lk 6:47-48).

Dear friends, build your own house on rock, just like the person who “dug deeply”. Try each day to follow Christ’s word. Listen to Him as a true friend with whom you can share your path in life. With Him at your side, you will find courage and hope to face difficulties and problems, and even to overcome disappointments and set-backs.

You are constantly being offered easier choices, but you yourselves know that these are ultimately deceptive and cannot bring you serenity and joy. Only the word of God can show us the authentic way, and only the faith we have received is the light which shines on our path.

Gratefully accept this spiritual gift which you have received from your families; strive to respond responsibly to God’s call, and to grow in your faith. Do not believe those who tell you that you don’t need others to build up your life! Find support in the faith of those who are dear to you, in the faith of the Church, and thank the Lord that you have received it and have made it your own!

3. Firm in the faith

You are “planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith” (cf. Col 2:7). The Letter from which these words are taken was written by Saint Paul in order to respond to a specific need of the Christians in the city of Colossae. That community was threatened by the influence of certain cultural trends that were turning the faithful away from the Gospel.

Our own cultural context, dear young people, is not unlike that of the ancient Colossians. Indeed, there is a strong current of secularist thought that aims to make God marginal in the lives of people and society by proposing and attempting to create a “paradise” without Him.

Yet experience tells us that a world without God becomes a “hell”: filled with selfishness, broken families, hatred between individuals and nations, and a great deficit of love, joy and hope. On the other hand, wherever individuals and nations accept God’s presence, worship Him in truth and listen to His voice, then the civilization of love is being built, a civilization in which the dignity of all is respected, and communion increases, with all its benefits.

Yet some Christians allow themselves to be seduced by secularism or attracted by religious currents that draw them away from faith in Jesus Christ. There are others who, while not yielding to these enticements, have simply allowed their faith to grow cold, with inevitable negative effects on their moral lives.

To those Christians influenced by ideas alien to the Gospel, the Apostle Paul spoke of the power of Christ’s death and resurrection. This mystery is the foundation of our lives and the centre of Christian faith. All philosophies that disregard it and consider it “foolishness” (1 Cor 1:23) reveal their limitations with respect to the great questions deep in the hearts of human beings.

As the Successor of the Apostle Peter, I too want to confirm you in the faith (cf. Lk 22:32). We firmly believe that Jesus Christ offered Himself on the Cross in order to give us His love. In His passion, He bore our sufferings, took upon Himself our sins, obtained forgiveness for us and reconciled us with God the Father, opening for us the way to eternal life. Thus we were freed from the thing that most encumbers our lives: the slavery of sin. We can love everyone, even our enemies, and we can share this love with the poorest of our brothers and sisters and all those in difficulty.

Dear friends, the Cross often frightens us because it seems to be a denial of life. In fact, the opposite is true! It is God’s “yes” to mankind, the supreme expression of His love and the source from which eternal life flows. Indeed, it is from Jesus’ heart, pierced on the Cross, that this divine life streamed forth, ever accessible to those who raise their eyes towards the Crucified One.

I can only urge you, then, to embrace the Cross of Jesus, the sign of God’s love, as the source of new life. Apart from Jesus Christ risen from the dead, there can be no salvation! He alone can free the world from evil and bring about the growth of the Kingdom of justice, peace and love to which we all aspire.

4. Believing in Jesus Christ without having seen him

In the Gospel, we find a description of the Apostle Thomas’s experience of faith when he accepted the mystery of the Cross and resurrection of Christ. Thomas was one of the twelve Apostles. He followed Jesus and was an eyewitness of His healings and miracles. He listened to His words, and he experienced dismay at Jesus’ death. That Easter evening when the Lord appeared to the disciples, Thomas was not present. When he was told that Jesus was alive and had shown Himself, Thomas stated: “Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in His side, I will not believe” (Jn 20:25).

We too want to be able to see Jesus, to speak with Him and to feel His presence even more powerfully. For many people today, it has become difficult to approach Jesus. There are so many images of Jesus in circulation which, while claiming to be scientific, detract from His greatness and the uniqueness of His person. That is why, after many years of study and reflection, I thought of sharing something of my own personal encounter with Jesus by writing a book. It was a way to help others see, hear and touch the Lord in whom God came to us in order to make Himself known.

Jesus Himself, when He appeared again to His disciples a week later, said to Thomas: “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe” (Jn 20:27).

We too can have tangible contact with Jesus and put our hand, so to speak, upon the signs of His Passion, the signs of His love. It is in the sacraments that He draws particularly near to us and gives Himself to us. Dear young people, learn to “see” and to “meet” Jesus in the Eucharist, where He is present and close to us, and even becomes food for our journey. In the Sacrament of Penance the Lord reveals His mercy and always grants us His forgiveness. Recognize and serve Jesus in the poor, the sick, and in our brothers and sisters who are in difficulty and in need of help.

Enter into a personal dialogue with Jesus Christ and cultivate it in faith. Get to know Him better by reading the Gospels and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Converse with Him in prayer, and place your trust in Him. He will never betray that trust!

“Faith is first of all a personal adherence of man to God. At the same time, and inseparably, it is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 150). Thus you will acquire a mature and solid faith, one which will not be based simply on religious sentiment or on a vague memory of the catechism you studied as a child. You will come to know God and to live authentically in union with Him, like the Apostle Thomas who showed his firm faith in Jesus in the words: “My Lord and my God!”.

5. Sustained by the faith of the Church, in order to be witnesses

Jesus said to Thomas: “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (Jn 20:29). He was thinking of the path the Church was to follow, based on the faith of eyewitnesses: the Apostles. Thus we come to see that our personal faith in Christ, which comes into being through dialogue with Him, is bound to the faith of the Church.

We do not believe as isolated individuals, but rather, through Baptism, we are members of this great family; it is the faith professed by the Church which reinforces our personal faith. The Creed that we proclaim at Sunday Mass protects us from the danger of believing in a God other than the one revealed by Christ: “Each believer is thus a link in the great chain of believers. I cannot believe without being carried by the faith of others, and by my faith I help support others in the faith” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 166). Let us always thank the Lord for the gift of the Church, for the Church helps us to advance securely in the faith that gives us true life (cf. Jn 20:31).

In the history of the Church, the saints and the martyrs have always drawn from the glorious Cross of Christ the strength to be faithful to God even to the point of offering their own lives. In faith they found the strength to overcome their weaknesses and to prevail over every adversity. Indeed, as the Apostle John says, “Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 Jn 5:5). The victory born of faith is that of love.

There have been, and still are, many Christians who are living witnesses of the power of faith that is expressed in charity. They have been peacemakers, promoters of justice and workers for a more humane world, a world in accordance with God’s plan. With competence and professionalism, they have been committed in different sectors of the life of society, contributing effectively to the welfare of all. The charity that comes from faith led them to offer concrete witness by their actions and words.

Christ is not a treasure meant for us alone; He is the most precious treasure we have, one that is meant to be shared with others. In our age of globalization, be witnesses of Christian hope all over the world. How many people long to receive this hope!

Standing before the tomb of his friend Lazarus, who had died four days earlier, as He was about to call the dead man back to life, Jesus said to Lazarus’ sister Martha: “If you believe, you will see the glory of God” (cf. Jn 11:40). In the same way, if you believe, and if you are able to live out your faith and bear witness to it every day, you will become a means of helping other young people like yourselves to find the meaning and joy of life, which is born of an encounter with Christ!

6. On the way to World Youth Day in Madrid

Dear friends, once again I invite you to attend World Youth Day in Madrid. I await each of you with great joy.

Jesus Christ wishes to make you firm in faith through the Church. The decision to believe in Jesus Christ and to follow Him is not an easy one. It is hindered by our personal failures and by the many voices that point us towards easier paths. Do not be discouraged. Rather, look for the support of the Christian community, the support of the Church!

Throughout this year, carefully prepare for the meeting in Madrid with the bishops, priests and youth leaders in your dioceses, parish communities, associations and movements. The quality of our meeting will depend above all on our spiritual preparation, our prayer, our common hearing of the word of God and our mutual support.

Dear young people, the Church depends on you! She needs your lively faith, your creative charity and the energy of your hope. Your presence renews, rejuvenates and gives new energy to the Church. That is why World Youth Days are a grace, not only for you, but for the entire People of God.

The Church in Spain is actively preparing to welcome you and to share this joyful experience of faith with you. I thank the dioceses, parishes, shrines, religious communities, ecclesial associations and movements, and all who are hard at work in preparing for this event. The Lord will not fail to grant them His blessings.

May the Virgin Mary accompany you along this path of preparation. At the message of the angel, she received God’s word with faith. It was in faith that she consented to what God was accomplishing in her. By proclaiming her “fiat,” her “yes,” she received the gift of immense charity which led her to give herself entirely to God. May she intercede for each one of you so that, in the coming World Youth Day you may grow in faith and love.

I assure you of a paternal remembrance in my prayers and I give you my heartfelt blessing.

From the Vatican, 6 August 2010, Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
.

The Good Conscience of a Catholic

2011-07-12T22:23:00.005-04:00

Church Principles in the Public Square
Bishop Paul S. Loverde, Diocese of Arlington
June 29, 2011

Summer is a time when many things slow down, including politics and governmental activities. Yet, at the same time, it is also a patriotic season when we remember with gratitude the great legacy of a democratic republic given to us by our Founding Fathers. In this time of relative calm, I would like to address some issues regarding Catholicism, electoral politics and the public life, and invite you to reflect upon them.

The Catholic Church is not a political party nor does She endorse political parties or candidates. She does not take sides in elections and political debates as would an interest group or civil association. However, the Church does have a place in the public square, but Her place is unique. Her role is to inform public debate about the universal truths and principles of a just society rather than to make specific policies or to promote candidates for office. The Church serves as a conscience for civil society. The principles that the Church defends in public life are not strictly religious principles knowable only through supernatural revelation, but are derived from the natural law, which can be known by right reason. These natural law principles can be discussed by all people of good will who are open to rational discourse and truth. Thus, the Church reminds voters and those in public life of the law written in their hearts and of that law’s necessary role in maintaining an equitable and harmonious society.

Often, the way that the Church contributes to political debates is by drawing upon basic principles about human dignity and the common good. For example, in the debate over undocumented immigration in the United States, the Church reminds all involved to balance the rights of national sovereignty and legal borders with respect for the dignity of each person and family. She does not propose specific political solutions to the problem, but calls for those deliberating these policies to be guided by humane principles as they strive to do what is best.

While most issues debated in the public square are matters of prudential judgment, there are others that touch on intrinsic evil and thus require the Church in Her prophetic mission to take an absolute stand against them. In our age, these issues especially concern the respect for human life and the definition of marriage and family. It is always, and at all times, evil to willfully take an innocent human life, or to willfully assist someone in those acts. Therefore, witnessing to the truth, the Church must call for an end to all forms of abortion, euthanasia and embryonic stem cell research.

Another clear-cut truth is that marriage between a man and a woman is not a societal construct, but a reality that exists because of the nature inherent in each human person. Human beings did not invent or define marriage; therefore we should accept and live out the reality that truly exists. Life and marriage do not attain their meaning and dignity from government or even from a democratic vote, because they are more elemental than these institutions. Life, marriage and family exist first and then governments of various kinds gain their being from them. Governments are instituted to aid and protect life and the family — not to decide what they are. The Church resists all attempts to redefine these fundamental human realities and invites all to enter into a rational dialogue about the full meaning of these God-given realities.

As a communion of brothers and sisters in Christ, the Church enjoins all her members to embrace the fullness of the truth and to live in accord with it. Catholics are called to a unity of life in which they uphold the natural law through their personal relationships and their participation in the civil arena. They are to oppose intrinsic evil and to defend the good in the public square. A faithful Catholic should protect the unborn and the aged, and stand for the truth of marriage in his or her political life, whether he or she is a politician or a voter.

In a world that rejects such basic truths of life and existence, it is not surprising that Catholics, as adherents to the truth, have become targets of a new bigotry. This prejudice, born of a relativistic ethos which denies the existence of absolute truth, questions the capacity of Catholics to participate as societal leaders and rejects their views out-of-hand as religious and unreasonable. Bigotry is an unfounded prejudice that seeks to marginalize, discredit and exclude individuals because they belong to a particular group. There have certainly been attempts in politics to smear Catholics as unfit to lead because they profess their Faith in its fullness and to dismiss their positions without reasoned debate as irrational religious convictions. However, the governmental principles proposed by the Catholic Church in the public square are based on natural law which, as we have discussed, is known through reason. These attacks are often subtle and may not always be intentionally bigoted. Regardless of intent, however, they are an assault against the truth that seeks to prevent a real dialogue based on reason. This new bigotry is part of what our Holy Father has called the “dictatorship of relativism.” As Bishop of the Church of Arlington, I recognize the need to identify publicly this form of injustice and call for its cessation.

Sadly, there are some Catholics who have used these discriminatory attacks against their brothers and sisters in public life. This is neither charitable nor just and falls short of how a Catholic is called to treat others. As members of the Church, we need to challenge this bigotry when we see it in public life or hear it in private conversation. We need to challenge others who use these methods or agree with them. We must always challenge with kindness, and invite them to discuss these false assertions on the basis of reason. In this dialogue, we can help them discover the true basis of our convictions. In order to do this, we have to be prepared to defend our position with reasoned knowledge and a dispassionate discourse, free from rancor. Because of this obligation, all Catholics are to deepen continually their understanding of the Church’s social and moral teaching.

Each of us is called toward a unity of life. We must seek to understand the truth that the Church teaches and then to uphold that truth by the example of our lives. This witness, however, must be visible not only in our private lives, but also in our participation in the public square. As citizens, we have the privilege and the responsibility to protect the common good. This common good is a reality, which we seek to know in a deepened way through prayer and through reasoned discourse.

Science, Theology, and the Question of Truth

2011-07-02T13:29:00.006-04:00

Discourse of Pope Benedict at the Ratzinger Prize Award Ceremony
June 30, 2011

Theology is the science of faith, tradition tells us. But here the question immediately arises: Is this really possible? Is this not, in itself, a contradiction? Is not science, perhaps, the contrary of faith? Does faith not cease to be faith when it becomes science? And does not science cease to be science when it is ordered or even subordinated to faith?

Such questions -- which already for medieval theology represented a serious problem -- with the modern concept of science, have become even more difficult, at first glance, even unsolvable. Hence we understand why in the modern age, in vast ambits, theology retracted primarily to the field of history, in order to demonstrate in this area its serious scientific nature. It is necessary to acknowledge, with gratitude, that grandiose works were carried out in this vein, and the Christian message received new light, rendering visible its profound richness. However, if theology withdraws totally into the past, it leaves faith today in darkness.

In a second phase, theology then concentrated on praxis, to show how theology, in connection with psychology and sociology, is a useful science that gives concrete indications for life. This is also important. But if faith, the foundation of theology, does not become at the same time an object of study, if praxis refers only to itself, or lives only by borrowing from the human sciences, then praxis becomes empty and deprived of foundation.

Hence, these paths are not sufficient. For as useful and important as they might be, they become escapes if the true question remains unanswered. The real question is this: Is what we believe true or not? The question of truth is at stake in theology; it is its ultimate and essential foundation.

Something Tertullian said can bring us to take a step forward here; he wrote that Christ did not say: "I am custom," but, "I am the Truth" -- non consuetudo sed veritas (Virg. 1,1).

Christian Gnilka has shown that the concept consuetudo can refer to the pagan religions that, according to their nature, were not faith, but were "custom": what is done is what has always been done; the traditional forms of worship are observed and one thus hopes to remain in the right relationship with the mysterious ambit of the divine. The revolutionary aspect of Christianity in antiquity was precisely the break with "custom" for love of the truth. Tertullian speaks here above all on the basis of the Gospel of John, in which is found the other fundamental interpretation of the Christian faith, which is expressed in the designation of Christ as Logos.

If Christ is the Logos, the truth, man must correspond to Him with his own logos, with his reason. To arrive at Christ, man must be on the path of truth. He must open himself to the Logos, to creative Reason, from which derives his own reason and to which his reason refers back. In this way we see that Christian faith, by its very nature, must give rise to theology, must question itself on the reasonableness of faith, even if, of course, the concept of reason and that of science encompass many dimensions, and thus the concrete nature of the nexus between faith and reason should and must always be plumbed anew.

Thus, even when the fundamental nexus between Logos, truth and faith is clearly presented in Christianity, the concrete form of this nexus has aroused and always arouses new questions. It is clear that at this moment such a question, which has occupied and will occupy every generation, cannot be treated in detail, and not even broadly. I would like to proposes only a very small note.

In the Prologue to his Commentary on the Sentences, St. Bonaventure spoke of a double use of reason -- of a use that is irreconcilable with the nature of faith and of a use that instead belongs precisely to the nature of faith. There exists, he says, the violentia rationis, the despotism of reason, which makes itself the supreme and ultimate judge of everything. This kind of use of reason is certainly impossible in the ambit of faith.

What does Bonaventure mean by this? An expression of Psalm 95:9 can show us. Here God says to his people: "In the wilderness ... your fathers tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work." Here there is reference to a double encounter with God: they "saw." This, however, was not enough for them. They put God "to the proof." They want to subject him to experiment. He is, as it were, subjected to a questioning and must submit Himself to a procedure of experimental testing.

This way of using reason has reached the culmination of its development in the modern age in the realm of the natural sciences. Experimental reason widely seems today to be the only form of rationality declared scientific. What cannot be scientifically verified or falsified falls outside the scientific ambit. With this approach, great works have been accomplished, as we know, and no would dare to seriously deny that this approach is right and necessary in the realm of knowledge of nature and of its laws. However such a use of reason has a limit: God is not an object of human experimentation. He is Subject and manifests himself only in the person to person relationship, which is part of the essence of person.

In this perspective Bonaventure refers to a second use of reason, which is valid for the ambit of the "personal," for the great questions regarding man himself. Love wants to know better the one it loves. Love, true love, does not make one blind but seeing. Part of it is a thirst for knowledge, true knowledge of the other. Because of this, the Fathers of the Church found precursors and forerunners of Christianity -- outside the world of revelation to Israel -- not in the ambit of conventional religion, but in men searching for God, searching for truth, in the "philosophers": in persons who were thirsting for truth and hence were on the path to God.

When there is not this use of reason, then the great questions of humanity fall outside the ambit of reason and are left to irrationality. Because of this authentic theology is so important. Right faith orients reason to its openness to the divine, so that, guided by love for the truth, it can know God more closely. The initiative for this path is with God who has put in man's heart the search for his Face. Hence, part of theology, on one hand, is humility that lets itself be "touched" by God, and on the other hand, discipline that is linked to the order of reason, which preserves love from blindness and which helps to develop its strength for seeing.

I am well aware that with all this an answer has not been given to the question about the possibility and the task of correct theology. Only the greatness of the challenge innate in the nature of theology has been held up for consideration. However, it is precisely this challenge that man needs, because it pushes us to open our reason, asking ourselves about truth itself, about the face of God.

That is why we are grateful to the prize winners who have shown in their work that reason, walking on the path traced by faith, is not an alienated reason but is reason that responds to its very lofty vocation. Thank you.

Corpus Christi: Assimilating Us into Him to Transform the World

2011-06-26T01:45:00.003-04:00

Pope Benedict is, of course, the master teacher, making the complex simple and easy to understand. But also in his teaching, he not infrequently uses the words of a poet. His homily for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi this year is no exception, "Without illusions, without ideological utopias, we walk the streets of the world, bringing within us the Body of the Lord, like the Virgin Mary in the mystery of the Visitation."

Corpus Christi is, of course, the feast day for the parish of Blessed Sacrament, and on this Sunday, at 3 p.m., parishioners are invited to join the outdoor procession of the Holy Eucharist around the neighborhood and grounds of Blessed Sacrament Church. All children who received Holy Communion for the first time this year are especially invited to participate in the procession.

Homily of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano
June 23, 2011

Dear brothers and sisters!

The feast of Corpus Domini is inseparable from the Holy Thursday Mass of Caena Domini, in which the institution of the Eucharist is also celebrated.

While on the evening of Holy Thursday we relive the mystery of Christ who offers Himself to us in the bread broken and wine poured out, today, in celebration of Corpus Domini, this same mystery is proposed for the adoration and meditation of God's people, and the Blessed Sacrament is carried in procession through the streets of towns and villages, to show that the risen Christ walks among us and guides us toward the kingdom of heaven. Today, we openly manifest what Jesus has given us in the intimacy of the Last Supper, because the love of Christ is not confined to the few, but is intended for all.

This year during the Mass of Our Lord's Last Supper on Holy Thursday, I pointed out that the Eucharist is the transformation of the gifts of this land -- the bread and wine -- intended to transform our lives and usher in the transformation of the world. This evening, I would like to return to this point of view.

Everything starts, you might say, from the heart of Christ, who at the Last Supper on the eve of His Passion, thanked and praised God and, in doing so, with the power of His love, transformed the meaning of death, which He was about to encounter. The fact that the sacrament of the altar has taken on the name "Eucharist," "thanksgiving," expresses this: that the change in the substance of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is the fruit of the gift that Christ made of Himself, a gift of a love stronger than death, the divine love that resurrected Him from the dead. That is why the Eucharist is the food of eternal life, the Bread of life.

From the heart of Christ, from His "Eucharistic Prayer" on the eve of His Passion, flows the dynamism that transforms reality in its cosmic, human and historical dimensions. Everything proceeds from God, from the omnipotence of His love One and Triune, incarnate in Jesus. The heart of Christ is immersed in this love; because of this He knows how to thank and praise God even in the face of betrayal and violence, and thus changes things, people, and the world.

This transformation is possible thanks to a communion stronger than division, the communion of God Himself. The word "communion," which we use to designate the Eucharist, sums up the vertical and horizontal dimension of the gift of Christ. The beautiful and eloquent expression "receive Communion" refers to the act of eating the bread of the Eucharist. In fact, when we carry out this act, we enter into communion with the life of Jesus Himself, in the dynamism of this life that is given to us and for us.

From God, through Jesus, to us: a unique communion is transmitted in the Holy Eucharist. We have heard as much, in the second reading, from the words of the Apostle Paul to the Christians of Corinth:
"The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one bread." (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)
St. Augustine helps us to understand the dynamics of Holy Communion when referring to a kind of vision he had, in which Jesus said to him:
"I am the food of the mature: grow, then, and you shall eat me. You will not change me into yourself like bodily food; but you will be changed into me." (Confessions, VII, 10, 18)
Therefore, while the bodily food is assimilated into the body and contributes to its sustenance, the Eucharist is a different bread: It is not we who assimilate it, but it assimilates us, so that we become conformed to Jesus Christ, members of His body, one with Him.

This passage is decisive. Indeed, precisely because it is Christ who, in Eucharistic communion, transforms us into Him, our individuality in this encounter is opened up, freed from its self-centeredness and placed in the Person of Jesus, who in turn is immersed in the Trinitarian communion. Thus, while the Eucharist unites us to Christ, we open ourselves to others making us members of one another: We are no longer divided, but one entity in Him. Eucharistic communion unites me to the person next to me, and with whom perhaps I might not even have good relations, and even to distant brothers and sisters in every part of the world.

Thus, the deep sense of social presence of the Church is derived from the Eucharist, as evidenced by the great social saints, who have always been great Eucharistic souls. Those who recognize Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament recognize their brother who suffers, who is hungry and thirsty, who is a stranger, naked, sick, imprisoned, and they are attentive to every person, committing themselves, in a concrete way, to those who are in need.

So from the gift of Christ's love comes our special responsibility as Christians in building a cohesive, just, and fraternal society. Especially in our time when globalization makes us increasingly dependent upon each other, Christianity can and must ensure that this unity will not be built without God, without true Love. This would give way to confusion and individualism, the oppression of some against others. The Gospel has always aimed at the unity of the human family, a unity not imposed from above, or by ideological or economic interests, but from a sense of responsibility toward each other, because we identify ourselves as members of the same body, the body of Christ, because we have learned and continually learn from the Sacrament of the Altar that sharing love is the path of true justice.

Let us return to Jesus' act in the Last Supper. What happened at that moment? When He said: This is my body which is given to you, this is my blood shed for you and for the many, what happened?

In that act, Jesus anticipates the event of Calvary. Out of love, He accepts all of the Passion, with its travails and its violence, even to death on the Cross; by accepting it in this way He transforms it into an act of giving. This is the transformation that the world needs because it redeems it from within, opens it to the dimensions of the Kingdom of heaven. But God always wishes to realize this renewal of the world through the same way that Christ followed, that is, the way which is Himself.

There is nothing magic about Christianity. There are no shortcuts, but everything passes through the patient and humble logic of the grain of wheat that is broken to give life, the logic of faith that moves mountains with the gentle power of God.

This is why God wants to continue to renew humanity, history, and the cosmos through this chain of transformations, of which the Eucharist is the sacrament. Through the consecrated bread and wine, in which His Body and Blood is truly present, Christ transforms us, assimilating us in Him: He involves us in His redeeming work, enabling us, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, to live according to His same logic of gift, like grains of wheat united with Him and in Him. Thus unity and peace, which are the goal for which we strive, are sown and mature in the furrows of history, according to God's plan.

Without illusions, without ideological utopias, we walk the streets of the world, bringing within us the Body of the Lord, like the Virgin Mary in the mystery of the Visitation.

With the humble awareness that we are simple grains of wheat, we cherish the firm conviction that the love of God, incarnate in Christ, is stronger than evil, violence, and death. We know that God is preparing for all people new heavens and new earth where peace and justice prevail -- and by faith we glimpse the new world, that is our true home.

Also this evening as the sun sets on our beloved city of Rome, we set out again on this path: With us is Jesus in the Eucharist, the Risen One, who said, "I am with you always, until the end of world" (Mt 28:20). Thank you, Lord Jesus! Thank you for your fidelity, which sustains our hope. Stay with us, because the evening comes.

"Jesus, good shepherd and true bread, have mercy on us; feed us and guard us. Grant that we find happiness in the land of the living." Amen.

___________________

Following the Mass, the Holy Father led a Eucharistic Procession from the Basilica of St. John Lateran to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

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Truth and the Legal Fiction of "Same-Sex Marriage" in New York

2011-06-25T15:19:00.006-04:00

To marry - to bring together and conjoin two diverse yet complementary and compatable things to become a single unit.

St. Thomas More, pray for us.
St. John Fisher, pray for us.

Pray for us here, in New York, and throughout the land.
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The Birth of the Herald of New Birth

2011-06-24T14:04:00.007-04:00

Today is the Solemnity of the Nativity of John the Baptist.

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. . . . When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child . . . Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:
"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for He has come to His people and brought about their redemption. He has raised up the sign of salvation in the house of His servant David, as He promised through the mouth of the holy ones, His prophets through the ages: to rescue us from our enemies and all who hate us, to take pity on our fathers, to remember His holy covenant and the oath He swore to Abraham our father, that He would give Himself to us, that we could serve Him without fear – freed from the hands of our enemies – in uprightness and holiness before Him, for all of our days.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High: for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His path, to let His people know their salvation, so that their sins may be forgiven. Through the tender mercies of our God, One born on high will visit us to give light to those who walk in darkness, who live in the shadow of death; to lead our feet in the path of peace."
The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel. (Luke 1:57, 59, 67-80)

Born into the priestly class as a descendant of Aaron, John the Baptist would have been instructed in priestly duties and would have known the Temple well. Indeed, his very birth was announced by God's messenger to his father in the Temple when he was serving as priest. However, instead of serving in the Temple, John's ministry was conducted in the desert, where the people of Israel began after being led out of bondage in Egypt and where the Lord appeared to them and made His covenant with them.

There was a reason that John went out into the desert wilderness. In order to see him, the people were required to return to that desert. And there was a reason that John baptized in the Jordan River, the place where the people of Israel had crossed into the promised land, led by Joshua. John's ministry and baptism of repentence was a call for the people to reaffirm their identity, to reaffirm their fidelity to God, by going back into the desert, where they relied totally on God for their very sustenance and survival, so as to symbolically reenter the Promised Land through water, leaving behind sin and death. It was a new Exodus, but instead of bondage in Egypt, they were led out of the bondage of sin and death into new life.

To further manifest his purpose and identity, John wore the same clothing that was worn by the prophet Elijah, a hairy garment with a leather girdle. His food in the desert, locusts and honey, combined the judgment of God on sin (the plague of locusts in Egypt) with His mercy in promising a land of milk and honey. And like Elijah, who was persecuted by the wicked Queen Jezebel and King Ahab, John was persecuted by the wicked Queen Herodias and cowardly King Herod.

The Lord said to the prophet Malachi,

"I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me; And suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek, And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. . . . I will send you Elijah, the prophet, Before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with doom." (Mal. 3:1, 23-24)

The people of Israel had waited a long time. It had been hundreds of years since the last of the prophets had revealed to them the word of God. But in John the Baptist, who leapt for joy in the womb when he was filled with the Holy Spirit upon the coming of Jesus, likewise in the womb, "Elijah" had come again. It was the beginning of the new age.

Jesus of Nazareth (2007)
Chapter One
Pope Benedict XVI

The Baptist’s appearance on the scene was something completely new. The Baptism that he enjoined is different from the usual religious ablutions. It cannot be repeated, and it is meant to be the concrete enactment of a conversion that gives the whole of life a new direction forever. It is connected with an ardent call to a new way of thinking and acting, but above all with the proclamation of God’s judgment and with the announcement that one greater than John is to come. The Fourth Gospel tells us that the Baptist “did not know” (cf. Jn 1:30-33) this greater personage whose way he was to prepare. But he does know that his own role is to prepare a path for this mysterious Other, that his whole mission is directed toward him. * * *

We can imagine the extraordinary impression that the figure and message of John the Baptist must have produced in the highly charged atmosphere of Jerusalem at that particular moment of history. At last there was a prophet again, and his life marked him out as such. God’s hand was at last plainly acting in history again. John baptizes with water, but one even greater, who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, is already at the door. Given all this, there is absolutely no reason to suppose that Mark is exaggerating when he reports that “there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins” (Mk 1:5). John’s baptism includes the confession of sins. * * * The goal is truly to leave behind the sinful life one has led until now and to start out on the path to a new, changed life.

The actual ritual of Baptism symbolizes this. On one hand, immersion into the waters is a symbol of death, which recalls the death symbolism of the annihilating, destructive power of the ocean flood. The ancient mind perceived the ocean as a permanent threat to the cosmos, to the earth; it was the primeval flood that might submerge all life. The river (Jordan) could also assume this symbolic value for those who were immersed in it. But the flowing waters of the river are above all a symbol of life. The great rivers—the Nile, the Euphrates, the Tigris—are the great givers of life. The Jordan, too, is—even today—a source of life for the surrounding region. Immersion in the water is about purification, about liberation from the filth of the past that burdens and distorts life—it is about beginning again, and that means it is about death and resurrection, about starting life over again anew. So we could say that it is about rebirth. * * *

St. Thomas More and Political Authority

2011-06-22T18:00:00.005-04:00

Today, June 22, is the feast day for St. Thomas More. Over at Cinema Catechism, we have posted clips from A Man for All Seasons, as well as some thoughts of Blessed John Paul II on St. Thomas.

Here, however, let us take up the address that Pope Benedict gave during his trip to Great Britain to various dignitaries in Westminster Hall, where St. Thomas was tried in 1535 and condemned of high treason for refusing to repudiate the Church. Before being put to death, he declared, "I die the king's good servant, but God's first."

Address of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
Meeting with British Leaders and Dignitaries
Apostolic Journey to the United Kingdom
Westminster Hall - City of Westminster
Friday, 17 September 2010

As I speak to you in this historic setting, I think of the countless men and women down the centuries who have played their part in the momentous events that have taken place within these walls and have shaped the lives of many generations of Britons, and others besides. In particular, I recall the figure of Saint Thomas More, the great English scholar and statesman, who is admired by believers and non-believers alike for the integrity with which he followed his conscience, even at the cost of displeasing the sovereign whose “good servant” he was, because he chose to serve God first. The dilemma which faced More in those difficult times, the perennial question of the relationship between what is owed to Caesar and what is owed to God, allows me the opportunity to reflect with you briefly on the proper place of religious belief within the political process.

This country’s Parliamentary tradition owes much to the national instinct for moderation, to the desire to achieve a genuine balance between the legitimate claims of government and the rights of those subject to it. . . .

And yet the fundamental questions at stake in Thomas More’s trial continue to present themselves in ever-changing terms as new social conditions emerge. Each generation, as it seeks to advance the common good, must ask anew: what are the requirements that governments may reasonably impose upon citizens, and how far do they extend? By appeal to what authority can moral dilemmas be resolved?

These questions take us directly to the ethical foundations of civil discourse. If the moral principles underpinning the democratic process are themselves determined by nothing more solid than social consensus, then the fragility of the process becomes all too evident - herein lies the real challenge for democracy. . . .

Just as “every economic decision has a moral consequence” (Caritas in Veritate, 37), so too in the political field, the ethical dimension of policy has far-reaching consequences that no government can afford to ignore. A positive illustration of this is found in one of the British Parliament’s particularly notable achievements – the abolition of the slave trade. The campaign that led to this landmark legislation was built upon firm ethical principles, rooted in the natural law, and it has made a contribution to civilization of which this nation may be justly proud.

The central question at issue, then, is this: where is the ethical foundation for political choices to be found?

The Catholic tradition maintains that the objective norms governing right action are accessible to reason, prescinding from the content of revelation. According to this understanding, the role of religion in political debate is not so much to supply these norms, as if they could not be known by non-believers – still less to propose concrete political solutions, which would lie altogether outside the competence of religion – but rather to help purify and shed light upon the application of reason to the discovery of objective moral principles.

This “corrective” role of religion vis-à-vis reason is not always welcomed, though, partly because distorted forms of religion, such as sectarianism and fundamentalism, can be seen to create serious social problems themselves. And in their turn, these distortions of religion arise when insufficient attention is given to the purifying and structuring role of reason within religion. It is a two-way process. Without the corrective supplied by religion, though, reason too can fall prey to distortions, as when it is manipulated by ideology, or applied in a partial way that fails to take full account of the dignity of the human person. Such misuse of reason, after all, was what gave rise to the slave trade in the first place and to many other social evils, not least the totalitarian ideologies of the twentieth century.

This is why I would suggest that the world of reason and the world of faith – the world of secular rationality and the world of religious belief – need one another and should not be afraid to enter into a profound and ongoing dialogue, for the good of our civilization.

Religion, in other words, is not a problem for legislators to solve, but a vital contributor to the national conversation. In this light, I cannot but voice my concern at the increasing marginalization of religion, particularly of Christianity, that is taking place in some quarters, even in nations which place a great emphasis on tolerance. There are those who would advocate that the voice of religion be silenced, or at least relegated to the purely private sphere. There are those who argue that the public celebration of festivals such as Christmas should be discouraged, in the questionable belief that it might somehow offend those of other religions or none. And there are those who argue – paradoxically with the intention of eliminating discrimination – that Christians in public roles should be required at times to act against their conscience.

These are worrying signs of a failure to appreciate not only the rights of believers to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, but also the legitimate role of religion in the public square. I would invite all of you, therefore, within your respective spheres of influence, to seek ways of promoting and encouraging dialogue between faith and reason at every level of national life. . . .

I am convinced that, within this country too, there are many areas in which the Church and the public authorities can work together for the good of citizens, in harmony with this Parliament’s historic practice of invoking the Spirit’s guidance upon those who seek to improve the conditions of all mankind. For such cooperation to be possible, religious bodies – including institutions linked to the Catholic Church – need to be free to act in accordance with their own principles and specific convictions based upon the faith and the official teaching of the Church. In this way, such basic rights as religious freedom, freedom of conscience and freedom of association are guaranteed.

The angels looking down on us from the magnificent ceiling of this ancient Hall remind us of the long tradition from which British Parliamentary democracy has evolved. They remind us that God is constantly watching over us to guide and protect us. And they summon us to acknowledge the vital contribution that religious belief has made and can continue to make to the life of the nation.

Mr Speaker, I thank you once again for this opportunity briefly to address this distinguished audience. Let me assure you and the Lord Speaker of my continued good wishes and prayers for you and for the fruitful work of both Houses of this ancient Parliament. Thank you and God bless you all!

The Holy Trinity – One God in Three Persons

2011-06-19T01:02:00.007-04:00

-- Updated below --

Revelation informs us that the Lord God is a Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Here, we see the necessity for revealed truth, for although the existence of God can be discerned by observation and reason, that He is a Trinity could not be known purely by these methods. But having been revealed to us, reason allows us to now have a greater understanding that God is a loving communion of three distinct persons in one undivided nature, substance, and essence – each possesses the fullness of the other and each has always existed.

The Trinity is a mystery - one that we should always respect in trying to understand it, so that our imperfect attempts at explanation do not inadvertently lead us to stray into error. Nevertheless, since ours is a faith that seeks understanding, we should not simply come to a halt when confronted with a mystery, but should instead proceed ahead to seek understanding, but with caution.

Although a mystery, we can begin to grasp some understanding of the Trinity by understanding that God is Truth and God is Love.

God told Moses that He is the "I am." What does this reveal about God? It means that God simply "Is." That is, He is Truth in person, the Ultimate Reality who is complete in Himself and, therefore, He is One.

But the One who Is is also Love and love is by its very nature relational – it requires an “other.” That is, love is not self-oriented, but must extend outward -- an "other" is required for love to exist, one who loves and one who is loved. Love does not exist in a vacuum.

Accordingly, God is not a one-dimensional being who exists in solitude, but, rather, being Truth and Love, and complete in Himself, He exists as one person (Father) who loves and is loved by a second person (Son), and this everlasting Love proceeding from and to each of them is not merely a sentiment, but is a person as well, namely, the Holy Spirit.

This Love of God is complete, total, and perfect love in its truest and fullest sense -- a “spousal” type of love that is unitive and fruitful/procreative, encompassing both the unconditional, gratuitous, and sacrificial love of agape (caritas), and the joyous wanting love of a purified and ennobled eros.

The perfect love of God (to which we also are called) involves not merely a relation of persons, but a communion of persons -- three are one. This love is also fruitful, that is, it is creative. Love is dynamic, not static, stagnant or sterile, and it bears fruit, seeking to spread outward and grow and generate new love and life. Accordingly, this loving communion of three persons in one divine being, although complete in Himself, chose to share His love even more and create mankind -- the God of Truth and Love is, by His nature, the Creator.

There is only one source of true love, and that is God. Saint John makes this clear when he declares that "God is love" (1 Jn 4:8,16). He was not simply saying that God loves us, but that the very being of God is love. Here we find ourselves before the most dazzling revelation of the source of love, the mystery of the Trinity: in God, one and triune, there is an everlasting exchange of love between the persons of the Father and the Son, and this love is not an energy or a sentiment, but it is a person; it is the Holy Spirit.

--Pope Benedict XVI, Message for World Youth Day 2007

Thanks to the Holy Spirit, who helps us understand Jesus' words and guides us to the whole truth (cf. Jn 14: 26; 16: 13), believers can experience, so to speak, the intimacy of God himself, discovering that He is not infinite solitude but communion of light and love, life given and received in an eternal dialogue between the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit - Lover, Loved and Love, to echo St Augustine.

--Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus, 11 June 2006

By understanding the Trinity, we understand not only who and what God is, but we also gain an understanding of who we are as human persons because man, male and female, is made in the image and likeness of God, that is, we are each made in the image and likeness of the Trinity. To be made in the image of the Triune God means to be made in the image of truth and love. We are made to love and be loved in truth.

As demonstrated by the fullness of love in the Trinity, and as revealed by the spousal meaning of the human body, male and female, this love we are made for is not merely relational, but is a love which is unitive and procreative, a love which draws the individual toward a communion of persons and bears the fruits of not only new biological life, but also eternal life, as well as more and new love, and generosity, kindness, gentleness, patience, goodness, faithfulness, chastity, modesty, self-control, joy, and peace.

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See also --
Immaculate Mary, the Virgin Mother
St. Joseph and the Fullness of Love in the Theology of the Body
Our Father in Heaven
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UPDATED:

Homily of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
Pastoral Visit to the Diocese of San Marino-Montefeltro
Holy Trinity Sunday, June 19, 2011

Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When one thinks of the Trinity, what comes to mind is the mystery of the God who is Three in One, one God in three Persons. But today's liturgy draws our attention to the reality of love that is contained in this first and greatest mystery of our faith. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one, because God is love: the Father gives everything to the Son, the Son receives everything from the Father with gratitude, and the Holy Spirit is like the fruit of this mutual love between the Father and Son.

The texts of today’s Holy Mass speak of this love; they do not dwell so much on the three divine Persons - there is only one sentence in the Second reading which refers to them - but on the love which constitutes their essence.

The first passage that we heard from the Book of Exodus, and on which I focused in a recent Wednesday catechesis, is surprising because the revelation of God’s love takes place after the people had committed a serious sin. The covenant of Mount Sinai has just been sealed, and already the people are lacking in faithfulness to God. As Moses is kept away, the people ask Aaron to make a god who is visible, accessible, manageable, made to man’s measure. Aaron agrees and makes a golden calf.

Coming down from Mount Sinai, Moses sees what has happened and breaks the tablets of the covenant, the two stones on which the "Ten Commandments" were written, the concrete content of the covenant with God. All seems lost, all friendship broken. Yet, despite having committed the gravest of sins, God, through the intercession of Moses, decides to forgive His people and calls Moses to ascend the mountain once more to receive His law, the Ten Commandments.

Moses then asks God to reveal Himself, to show him His face. But God does not reveal His face, rather He reveals the fullness of His goodness with these words: "The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity" (Ex 34.8). This self-definition of God manifests His merciful love, a love that conquers sin, covers it, eliminates it. There can be no clearer revelation. We have a God who renounces the destruction of the sinner and wants to show His love in an even more profound and surprising way right in front of the sinner in order to always offer the possibility of conversion and forgiveness.

The Gospel completes this revelation, because it indicates the extent to which God has shown His mercy. The evangelist John refers to this statement of Jesus: "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life" (3:16).

In the world there is evil, there is selfishness, there is wickedness, and so God might come to judge the world, to destroy evil, to punish those who work in darkness. Instead He shows He loves the world, He loves man, despite his sinfulness, and sends what is His most precious possession: His only begotten Son. He not only sends Him, but He makes a gift to the world.

Jesus is the Son of God who is born for us, who lived for us, who healed the sick, forgave sins, welcomed everyone. Responding to the love that comes from the Father, the Son gave His life for us: on the cross the merciful love of God comes to a climax. And it is on the cross that the Son of God obtains for us the possibility of sharing in eternal life, which is communicated to us with the gift of the Holy Spirit.

So, in the mystery of the cross, there are three Divine Persons: the Father, who gave his only begotten Son for the salvation of the world, the Son, who carries out the will of the Father to the very end and the Holy Spirit - poured out by Jesus at the moment of his death - who comes to render us participants in divine life, to transform our lives, so that our lives are animated by divine love.

Dear brothers and sisters! Faith in the Triune God has also characterized this church of San Marino-Montefeltro, in the course of its ancient and glorious history. . . . You are rightly proud of and grateful for what the Holy Spirit has worked through the ages in your church. But you also know that the best way to appreciate a legacy is to cultivate and enrich it. In fact, you are called to develop this precious deposit in one of the most decisive moments in history.

Today, your mission is having to deal with profound and rapid cultural, social, economic and political transformations that have determined new reference points and changed attitudes, customs and sensibilities. Even here, in fact, as elsewhere, there are difficulties and obstacles, mainly due to hedonistic models, which cloud the mind and threaten to undo all morality. The temptation has crept in to believe that the wealth of man is not the faith, but his personal and social power, his intelligence, his culture and his ability to manipulate scientific, technological and social realities. Thus, in these lands, the Christian faith and values have begun to be replaced with a presumed wealth, which in the end reveals itself inconsistent and incapable of containing the great promise of truth, goodness, of beauty and justice, which for centuries your ancestors identified with the experience of faith. Moreover the many families in crisis must not be forgotten, compounded by a widespread psychological and spiritual fragility of spouses, as well as the fatigue experienced by many educators in their attempts to ensure continuity in the formation of young people, conditioned by various uncertainties, first among all their role in society and employment opportunities.

Dear friends! I know well the commitment of every member of this Church, especially in promoting Christian life in its various aspects. I urge all the faithful to be like leaven in the world, showing both in Montefeltro and San Marino that you are present, proactive and consistent Christians. . . . I invoke God's blessing on your journey of today and tomorrow and I recommend all to "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit" (2 Cor 13:11). Amen!

Human Life, Higher Law, and the Obligation of Conscience

2011-06-17T17:12:00.003-04:00

We have a duty under the higher law, as a matter of good conscience, to oppose and resist the evils of today: the attacks, in thought and deed, on the instrinsic dignity, value, and sanctity of human life.

More at Cinema Catechism.

The Slumbering Conscience

2011-06-14T01:01:00.002-04:00

We have said multiple times now that, when confronted with evil, we have an obligation in conscience, written as law upon our hearts, to do the good and resist and fight the evil. However, sometimes it is very difficult to discern the right from the wrong, or discern conscience from personal will, so as to engage in the judgment of reason to apply objective moral truth to a particular case.

And one reason why, even in the face of great evil, it might be hard to hear the voice of conscience is that, in too many cases when that danger is lurking, our consciences are fast asleep. That was the problem that Sophie Scholl and the White Rose faced, trying to awaken the slumbering consciences of the German people.

We are now celebrating the period of Pentecost, the new age of the Holy Spirit, who "convinces the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment" by, among other things, speaking to our hearts, our consciences. But before Pentecost came the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ, and before that came the Agony in the Garden, when the Lord's friends slept as evil approached.

Reflection of Pope Benedict XVI
General Audience, April 20, 2011

Having left the Upper Room, Jesus withdrew to pray, alone before the Father. At that moment of deep communion, the Gospels recount that Jesus experienced great anguish, such acute suffering that it made Him sweat blood (cf. Mt 26:38).

In the knowledge of His imminent death on the Cross, He felt immense anguish at the closeness of death. In this situation an element appeared that was of great importance to the whole Church. Jesus said to His followers: stay here and keep watch; and while this call to vigilance refers in a precise way to this moment of anguish, of menace, in which the betrayer arrives, it concerns the whole history of the Church. It is a permanent message for every era because the sleepiness of the disciples was not only the problem of that moment, but is a problem for the whole of history.

The question is what this lethargy consists of, and what is the vigilance to which the Lord invites us. I would say that the disciples' somnolence in the course of history is a certain insensitivity of soul to the power of evil, an insensitivity to all the evil of the world. We do not want to let ourselves be too disturbed by these things, we want to forget them. We think that perhaps it is not so grave, and we forget.

Moreover, it is not only insensibility to evil, when we should be watchful in order to do good, to fight for the force of goodness. Rather it is an insensibility to God: this is our true sleepiness, this insensibility to God’s presence that also makes us insensible to evil. We are not aware of God — He would disturb us — hence we are naturally not aware of the force of evil and continue on the path of our own convenience.

Nocturnal adoration of Holy Thursday, our being vigilant with the Lord, should be precisely the moment to make us reflect on the somnolence of the disciples, of the defenders of Jesus, of the Apostles, of ourselves, who do not see, who do not wish to see the whole force of evil, and we do not wish to enter His passion for goodness, for the presence of God in the world, for the love of our neighbour and of God.

Then the Lord began to pray. The three Apostles — Peter, James and John — slept, but they awoke intermittently and heard the refrain of this prayer of the Lord: “not my will, but your will be done.” What is this will of mine, what is this will of yours of which the Lord speaks?

My will is that I "should not die,” that He be spared this cup of suffering: it is the human will, human nature, and Christ felt, with the whole awareness of His being, life, the abyss of death, the terror of nothingness, the menace of suffering.

Moreover, He was even more acutely aware of the abyss of evil than are we who have a natural aversion to death, a natural fear of death. Together with death, He felt the whole of humanity’s suffering.

He felt that this was the cup He was obliged to drink, that He Himself had to drink: accept the evil of the world, all that is terrible, the aversion to God, the whole weight of sin. And we can understand that Jesus, with His human soul, was terrified before this reality, which He perceived in all its cruelty: My will would be not to drink the cup, but my will is subordinated to your will, to the will of God, to the will of the Father, which is also the real will of the Son. And thus Jesus transformed, in this prayer, the natural reluctance, the aversion to the cup and to His mission to die for us. He transformed His own natural will into God’s will, into a “yes” to God’s will.

On his own man is tempted to oppose the will of God, to seek to do his own will, to feel free only if he is autonomous; he sets his own autonomy against the heteronomy of following the will of God. This is the whole drama of humanity. But in truth, this autonomy is mistaken; entering into God’s will is not opposition to the self, it is not a form of slavery that violates my will, but rather it means entering into truth and love, into the good.

And Jesus draws our will — which opposes God’s will, which seeks autonomy — upwards, towards the will of God. This is the drama of our redemption, that Jesus should uplift our will, our total aversion to God’s will and our aversion to death and sin, and unite it with the will of the Father: “Not my will but yours.” In this transformation of “no” into “yes,” in this insertion of the will of the creature into the will of the Father, He transforms humanity and redeems us. And He invites us to enter into this movement of His: to emerge from our “no” and to enter into the “yes” of the Son. My will exists, but the decisive will is the will of the Father, because the will of the Father is truth and love. . . .

In reliving the Sacred Triduum, let us also prepare ourselves to welcome God’s will in our life, knowing that our own true good, the way to life, is found in God’s will even if it appears harsh, in contrast with our intentions. May the Virgin Mother guide us on this itinerary and obtain from her divine Son the grace to be able to spend our life for love of Jesus, in the service of our brethren. Thank you.

In order to do the good and resist evil, we must be sure that our consciences are awake when evil comes upon us. We must remain watchful, being careful to make sure that we do not "avoid evil" merely by not allowing ourselves to notice it, by allowing our consciences to become sluggish and listless until they finally fall asleep, but instead by remaining eternally vigilant, looking out not only for the evil that menaces, but listening to voice of the Lord within us, open to making His will our own will.
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The Conscience at Pentecost

2011-06-12T01:20:00.003-04:00

Lord, you insist on sincerity of heart; in my inmost being teach me wisdom. Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure; wash me, make me whiter than snow.

Create a pure heart in me, God, put a steadfast spirit into me. Do not send me away from your presence, or withdraw your Holy Spirit from me; give me again the joy of your salvation, and be ready to strengthen me with your Spirit. (Ps. 51:8-9, 12-14)

Our discussion on Sophie Scholl over at Cinema Catechism has led us to take up the matter of the conscience, and how one cannot, in all good conscience, acquiesce or do nothing in the face of evil, much less give into and cooperate with it, but must instead oppose it. And one cannot justify doing that which is objectively evil by insisting that such conduct does not violate his “conscience,” as if he could choose or create his own conscience. That is not the conscience, that is the will.

It is true that sometimes discerning right from wrong, good from evil, can be difficult, and even when it is clear, sometimes listening to the voice of conscience and resisting evil can be difficult because it might bring with it adverse consequences. But God does not leave us alone to fend for ourselves. Rather, as His Holiness Pope John Paul II teaches us, He has sent us the Holy Spirit to guide us, to be a light for our conscience and the grace of fortitude to follow it.

Encyclical Letter Dominum et Vivificantem
Blessed Pope John Paul II

27. When Jesus during the discourse in the Upper Room foretells the coming of the Holy Spirit "at the price of" His own departure, and promises "I will send Him to you," in the very same context He adds: "And when He comes, He will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment." (Jn 16:7f) . . .

30. Christ's prophecies in the farewell discourse found their most exact and direct confirmation on the day of Pentecost, in particular the prediction which we are dealing with: "The Counselor...will convince the world concerning sin." On that day, the promised Holy Spirit came down upon the Apostles gathered in prayer together with Mary the Mother of Jesus, in the same Upper Room, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles. . . .

33. According to the witness concerning the beginning, sin in its original reality takes place in man's will -- and conscience -- first of all as "disobedience," that is, as opposition of the will of man to the will of God. This original disobedience presupposes a rejection, or at least a turning away from the truth contained in the Word of God, who creates the world. . . .

36. According to the Book of Genesis, "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" was to express and constantly remind man of the "limit" impassable for a created being. God's prohibition is to be understood in this sense: the Creator forbids man and woman to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The words of the enticement, that is to say the temptation, as formulated in the sacred text, are an inducement to transgress this prohibition -- that is to say, to go beyond that "limit": "When you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God ["like gods"], knowing good and evil." (Gen 2:9, 17)

"Disobedience" means precisely going beyond that limit, which remains impassable to the will and the freedom of man as a created being. For God the Creator is the one definitive source of the moral order in the world created by Him. Man cannot decide by himself what is good and what is evil -- cannot "know good and evil, like God." In the created world God indeed remains the first and sovereign source for deciding about good and evil, through the intimate truth of being, which is the reflection of the Word, the eternal Son, consubstantial with the Father. To man, created to the image of God, the Holy Spirit gives the gift of conscience, so that in this conscience the image may faithfully reflect its model, which is both Wisdom and eternal Law, the source of the moral order in man and in the world.

"Disobedience," as the original dimension of sin, means the rejection of this source, through man's claim to become an independent and exclusive source for deciding about good and evil. The Spirit who "searches the depths of God," and who at the same time is for man the light of conscience and the source of the moral order, knows in all its fullness this dimension of the sin inscribed in the mystery of man's beginning. . . .

37. According to the witness of the beginning, God in creation has revealed Himself as omnipotence, which is love. At the same time He has revealed to man that, as the "image and likeness" of his Creator, he is called to participate in truth and love. . . .

42. The words of the Risen Christ on the "first day of the week" give particular emphasis to the presence of the Paraclete-Counselor as the one who "convinces the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment." . . . By becoming "the light of hearts," that is to say the light of consciences, the Holy Spirit "convinces concerning sin," which is to say, He makes man realize his own evil and at the same time directs him toward what is good. . . .

The Holy Spirit undertakes [this "convincing concerning sin"] by virtue of the Redemption accomplished by the Blood of the Son of Man. Hence the Letter to the Hebrews says that this "blood purifies the conscience." It therefore, so to speak, opens to the Holy Spirit the door into man's inmost being, namely into the sanctuary of human consciences. (Heb 9:14)

43. The Second Vatican Council mentioned the Catholic teaching on conscience when it spoke about man's vocation and in particular about the dignity of the human person. It is precisely the conscience in particular which determines this dignity. For the conscience is "the most secret core and sanctuary of a man, where he is alone with God, whose voice echoes in his depths." It "can ...speak to his heart more specifically: do this, shun that." (Gaudium et Spes 16)

This capacity to command what is good and to forbid evil, placed in man by the Creator, is the main characteristic of the personal subject. But at the same time, "in the depths of his conscience, man detects a law which he does not impose upon himself, but which holds him to obedience." (GS 16)

The conscience therefore is not an independent and exclusive capacity to decide what is good and what is evil. Rather there is profoundly imprinted upon it a principle of obedience vis-a-vis the objective norm which establishes and conditions the correspondence of its decisions with the commands and prohibitions which are at the basis of human behavior, as from the passage of the Book of Genesis which we have already considered.

Precisely in this sense the conscience is the "secret sanctuary" in which "God's voice echoes." The conscience is "the voice of God," even when man recognizes in it nothing more than the principle of the moral order which it is not humanly possible to doubt, even without any direct reference to the Creator. It is precisely in reference to this that the conscience always finds its foundation and justification.

The Gospel's "convincing concerning sin" under the influence of the Spirit of truth can be accomplished in man in no other way except through the conscience. If the conscience is upright, it serves "to resolve according to truth the moral problems which arise both in the life of individuals and from social relationships"; then "persons and groups turn aside from blind choice and try to be guided by the objective standards of moral conduct." (GS 16)

A result of an upright conscience is, first of all, to call good and evil by their proper name, as we read in the same Pastoral Constitution:
"whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or willful self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where people are treated as mere tools for profit, rather than as free and responsible persons" (GS 27);
and having called by name the many different sins that are so frequent and widespread in our time, the Constitution adds:
"All these things and others of their kind are infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm to those who practice them than to those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a supreme dishonor to the Creator." (GS 27)
By calling by their proper name the sins that most dishonor man, and by showing that they are a moral evil that weighs negatively on any balance-sheet of human progress, the Council also describes all this as a stage in "a dramatic struggle between good and evil, between light and darkness," which characterizes "all of human life, whether individual or collective." (GS 13) . . .

44. "Convincing the world concerning sin" does not end with the fact that sin is called by its right name and identified for what it is throughout its entire range. In convincing the world concerning sin the Spirit of truth comes into contact with the voice of human consciences. . . .

As the Council teaches: "A monumental struggle against the powers of darkness pervades the whole history of man. The battle was joined from the very origins of the world and will continue until the last day, as the Lord has attested." (GS 37) "But the Lord Himself came to free and strengthen man." (GS 13) Man, therefore, far from allowing himself to be "ensnared" in his sinful condition, by relying upon the voice of his own conscience, "is obliged to wrestle constantly if he is to cling to what is good. Nor can he achieve his own interior integrity without valiant efforts and the help of God's grace." (GS 37)

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days

2011-06-09T10:55:00.004-04:00

Over at Cinema Catechism --

Lots of talk of Sophie Scholl and the White Rose.

Monday, June 6, was the 67th anniversary of D-Day, when Allied Forces stormed the beaches of Normandy to liberate Europe from one of the great evils the world has known. In observance of this, it is fitting that Cinema Catechism conclude its Winter/Spring series with a showing of the feature film, Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, about the heroic young German woman who, together with her fellow members of the White Rose, and inspired by the words of Blessed John Henry Newman and Blessed Clemens August von Galen, Catholic Bishop of Münster, sought to awaken the conscience of the German people so that they might liberate themselves from the great evil of Adolf Hitler and National Socialism.

We have an obligation, written as law upon our hearts, to do good and avoid evil. One cannot stand idly by in the face of evil. To simply go along and avoid having to confront evil can quickly become cooperation with evil, especially since evil often will not leave you alone, but will demand your involvement and approval. Many otherwise "good" Germans merely went along, afraid of the consequences if they were to resist that evil, but not Sophie Scholl. Her love of what is right and good and just, building on rock by placing her faith in God, rather than in a twisted anti-God despot whose hatred for the inherent dignity of man offered only the hopelessness of Hell to the people of the world, gave Sophie the grace and fortitude to defiantly shine the light of truth on the evils of the Nazi regime.

This is a good lesson to learn. Although we might not live in a totalitarian regime such as Nazi Germany, there are other evils in the world, other attacks on the inherent dignity of the human person.

Can we, in all good conscience, do nothing or merely go along? Or should we, like Sophie, be a light to a dark world?

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Compulsion to Participate in Evil

2011-06-06T19:30:00.006-04:00

Over at Cinema Catechism, we are examining the life of Sophie Scholl, the young German woman who was part of the White Rose resistence group that tried to awaken the consciences of the German people against the Nazi regime. Her story sheds light on those good Germans who found themselves in the midst of an oppressive and evil totalitarian state. Not every German in the 1930s-40s was a twisted moral monster; many were good and decent people.

This leads us to imagine the horror if we had been forced to be involved in such evil, if, for example, we had been conscripted and compelled against our consciences to fight in the German war machine. And we should imagine ourselves in that situation because, in too many cases today, in the midst of a culture of death, people in our own country are also placed in the position of being pressured to act against their conscience, to go along with and participate in what they know to be wrong and sinful and evil.

In that light, we might reflect on a few words said by Cardinal Ratzinger at a German cemetery in Normandy on the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion by Allied Forces.

Address of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
Sixtieth Anniversary of D-Day
June 6, 2004

In this hour, at the German military cemetery at La Combe near Caen, we reverently bow before the dead of the Second World War and remember the many young men from our country whose future and hope perished in the bloody battles of the war. As Germans, we must be painfully moved by the way in which their idealism and their obedience to the state were misused by an unjust regime. But this does not lessen the honor due to these young men; only God can see their consciences. And each one stands alone before God with the path he took in his life and with his dying. We know that all our dead are kept safe in the merciful kindness of God. They attempted quite simply to do their duty, often with terrible inner conflicts, doubts, and questions.

Now they look at us and speak to us: What about you?

What are you going to do to prevent young men from being driven again into such battles? What are you going to do to prevent the world from being laid waste anew by hatred and violence and falsehood?

The Ascension of the Lord

2011-06-02T13:45:00.004-04:00

Here is a piece that I wrote as a guest contributor for the blog Runs With Angels . . . Lives With Saints --

Today, Ascension Thursday*, the Church celebrates the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ to heaven, proclaiming, "Sing to the Lord, sing psalms to His name. Make a path for Him who rides on the clouds. Alleluia."

What can we learn from the Ascension? Is there anything important to take away from this other than the historical fact of the event?

Let's start with a prayerful, thoughtful reading of scripture. The Acts of the Apostles (1:1-11), gives this account:

In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day He was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen. He presented Himself alive to them by many proofs after He had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While meeting with them, He enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for "the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

When they had gathered together they asked Him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"

He answered them, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

When He had said this, as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him from their sight.

While they were looking intently at the sky as He was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen Him going into heaven."

In the Gospel, Luke then reports,

As Jesus blessed them, He parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did Him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy. (Lk 24:51-52)

From these passages, the question arises, what does it mean to say that Jesus was "taken up" to heaven, that "He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him from their sight" or, as it says elsewhere in scripture, that the ascended Jesus is "seated at the right hand of the Father"?

The presence of the cloud is telling here. It is not meant to be understood as a physical place. Rather, it is used in the same sense as are the cloud that signified the Lord's presence on Sinai and over the holy tent in the Old Covenant, and the cloud that came upon Jesus at the Transfiguration. That is, the presence of the cloud means the presence of God. Jesus being lifted up on a cloud does not mean that heaven is in some physical location up in the sky, but that heaven is "where" God is. And God, the "I am," is not bounded by space and time, but instead transcends space and time.

"[This] does not refer to some distant cosmic space, where God has, as it were, set up his throne and given Jesus a place beside the throne. God is not in one space alongside other spaces. God is God -- he is the premise and the ground of all the space there is, but he himself is not part of it. God stands in relation to all spaces as Lord and Creator. His presence is not spatial, but divine." (Pope Benedict, Jesus of Nazareth, Book Two, pp. 282-83)

Understanding now that, when we say that Jesus "ascended to heaven," that He was lifted up on a cloud to heaven, we mean that Jesus did not go to a "place," but that He went to God, what can we learn from the Ascension?

One thing we learn from the Ascension is that, in being lifted up to heaven, Jesus raised up the human body to heaven and, thus, raised up mankind to heaven. Jesus is not merely transcendent Spirit, He is both God and Man. His Resurrection was not merely a spiritual one, rather, His Body rose from the dead. And, in the Ascension, that glorified physical body entered into heaven to be eternally present "at the right hand" of God the Father. Jesus, in His ascended Body, enters that other plane of existence, that other level of reality which lies beyond the physical universe, such that not merely does the Spirit of God transcend space and time, but His Body does as well.

Likewise, human beings are not pure spirit, as are the angels, rather, we are both spirit and body. This bodily aspect is essential to the fullness of our being.

And in Jesus, God literally merged with mankind. God became man so that men and women might become like Him. Thus, in His Ascension, as we learn in the Assumption of Mary, we can glimpse the eschatological destiny of the faithful. If we remain in a state of grace when we end our earthly journey, our bodies too will be resurrected and raised up to new life in the presence of God. In the resurrection of the body, Jesus making "all things new," we too will have glorified bodies, not the weak, sickly, and fallible bodies we have now. Bodies that are capable of "ascending" with Jesus to be in the presence of God, bodies capable of entering into another dimension of being, that other realm of reality that transcends space and time.

"In Christ ascended into heaven, man has entered in a new and unheard of way into the intimacy of God; man now finds space in God forever. 'Heaven' does not indicate a place beyond the stars, but something more bold and sublime: it indicates Christ Himself, the divine Person that completely and forever takes on humanity, He in whom God and man are united forever." (Pope Benedict, Homily, May 24, 2009)

"He who took flesh and now retains his humanity forever . . . has eternally opened up within God a space for humanity." (Jesus of Nazareth, Book Two, p. 287) In the Ascension, a space being opened up within God, it is now possible for man to be with God and to enter into communion with God, not merely partially, not merely spiritually, with the physical part of us being separate and apart from Him, but to be with Him in the entirety of our being, both spirit and body. Thus, we see that the Ascension is not merely a farewell by Jesus, but is a culmination of the work of redemption and salvation that occurred at the Crucifixion and Resurrection. It is part of that redemption of man so that, in the resurrection of the body, we are not merely raised to live another life in this world as if a form of reincarnation, but are instead "lifted up" to live with God Himself in that other world that is the New Jerusalem.

But we can enter into that life with God in heaven, achieve that fullness of communion with God, only by ascending with Jesus. However, we do not have to wait until "the end" to begin that journey.

Another thing that we can learn from the Ascension is that, in "ascending" to heaven, Jesus did not abandon us. Indeed, He did not even leave the Apostles or us.

"The departing Jesus does not make his way to some distant star. He enters into communion of power and life with the living God, into God's dominion over space. Hence he has not 'gone away,' but now and forever by God's own power he is present with us and for us." (Jesus of Nazareth, Book Two, p. 283)

As Jesus had assured them, "behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." (Mt. 28:20) That is why, instead of feeling sadness and grief, the Apostles were joyous after the Ascension.

But if Jesus is still with us, where is He, where can we find Him?

The most obvious answer is, of course, in the Eucharist, which is His Real Presence, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. That is where He may be found. In the Eucharist, we have not only spiritual communion with Jesus, as we might praying at home, we are capable of ascending to have full communion with Him in the totality of our being, body and soul, hence the name "Holy Communion." In the profoundly intimate encounter with Jesus that is receiving His Body into our body in the Eucharist, in the fullness of Love which is both unitive and fruitful, we are joined in a mystical fashion so as to become one in a communion of persons and to receive life.

Returning to a few points made above, our "ascending" does not mean simply rising up to some new physical location, but to entering into a different plane of existence that lies beyond and transcends physicality, a different dimension of being.

"[It] is not a matter of space travel of a cosmic-geographic nature: it is the "space travel" of the heart, from the dimension of self-enclosed isolation to the new dimension of world-embracing love." (Jesus of Nazareth, Book Two, p. 286)

Just as, in the Ascension, Jesus entered into the heart of the Father, so too do we ascend by entering into His heart. And we "ascend" to Him by allowing Him to enter into our hearts and finding Him there, by conforming our hearts to Him who is Love.

As St. Augustine writes in his Confessions, Book IV, ch. 12, we need only look for Him in our hearts,

Our Life Himself came down into this world and took away our death. He slew it with His own abounding life, and with thunder in His voice He called us from this world to return to Him in heaven. From heaven He came down to us, entering first the Virgin’s womb, where humanity, our mortal flesh, was wedded to Him, so that it might not be forever mortal.

He came “as a bridegroom coming out his chamber, rejoicing as a strong man to run a race." He did not linger on His way but ran, calling us to return to Him, calling us by His words and deeds, by His life and death, by His descent into hell and His ascension into heaven.

He departed from our sight so that we should turn to our hearts and find Him there. He departed, but He is here with us. He would not stay long with us, but He did not leave us. He went back to the place which He had never left, because He, through whom the world was made, was in the world, and He came into the world to save sinners.

To Him my soul confesses, and He heals it, because it had sinned against Him. O sons of men, how long will you be so slow of heart? Even now after Life itself has come down to you, will you not ascend and live?

In a sermon, Augustine further teaches,

While in heaven, He is also with us; and we while on earth are with Him. He is here with us by His divinity, His power and His love. We cannot be in heaven, as He is on earth, by divinity, but in Him, we can be there by love.

He did not leave heaven when He came down to us; nor did He withdraw from us when He went up again into heaven. The fact that He was in heaven even while He was on earth is borne out by His own statement: No one has ever ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.

These words are explained by our oneness with Christ, for He is our head and we are His body. No one ascended into heaven except Christ because we also are Christ: He is the Son of Man by His union with us, and we by our union with Him are the sons of God. . . .

Out of compassion for us He descended from heaven, and although He ascended alone, we also ascend, because we are in Him by grace.

In conforming our hearts to His, in allowing Jesus into our hearts so that we might find Him there and thereby ascend with Him, making His Love our love as well, we join with Him in the work of salvation. Another point to learn in the Ascension is that, in loving Him so that we might ascend with Him, we must love others as He has loved us. We must be concerned not only with our own salvation, but must work toward reconciling others to God.

Before being lifted up, Jesus said to us, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." We are called to be His witnesses, to spread the Good News and be a light to others in a dark world.

He who took flesh and now retains his humanity forever, he who has eternally opened up within God a space for humanity, now calls the whole world into this open space in God, so that in the end God may be all in all and the Son may hand over to the Father the whole world that is gathered together in him. (cf. 1 Cor 15:20-28). Herein is contained the certainty of hope that God will wipe away every tear, that nothing meaningless will remain, that every injustice will be remedied and justice restored. The triumph of love will be the last word of world history. (Jesus of Nazareth, Book Two, p. 287)

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* The Solemnity of the Ascension is a Holy Day of Obligation. However, in most dioceses in the United States, the observance of the Solemnity is moved to next Sunday.

See also, Mass at Monte Cassino, Homily of Pope Benedict, May 24, 2009
Mass in Kraków, Poland, Homily of Pope Benedict, May 28, 2006
Installation in the Chair of the Bishop of Rome, Homily of Pope Benedict, May 7, 2005
The Ascension: A Mystery Announced Beforehand, General Audience of Pope John Paul II, April 5, 1989
The Ascension is the Fulfillment of the Mystery of the Incarnation, General Audience of Pope John Paul II, April 12, 1989
Jesus is Lord, General Audience of Pope John Paul II, April 19, 1989

cross-posted at Runs With Angels, Lives With Saints
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We Remember

2011-05-30T00:58:00.002-04:00

"War is all hell."

--William Tecumseh Sherman

See also Mansions of the Lord, at Cinema Catechism
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On Resistance to Evil

2011-05-28T14:33:00.003-04:00

This weekend, we remember and honor those who have given their lives to defend and protect us from threats to our lives and liberties.

In that light, over at Cinema Catechism, there is an interesting discussion about Sophie Scholl, the anti-Nazi White Rose German resistance group, and us -- What does one do, what should one do, what can one do, when faced with evil?
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The Theology of the Body is a Theology of the Fullness of Love

2011-05-17T06:03:00.001-04:00

While Blessed John Paul II, in his addresses on the Theology of the Body, spoke often of human sexuality, it is not so limited as to be a theology of sexuality. Rather, as Pope Benedict explains, it is more properly understood as a Theology of Love, which applies not only to sexuality, but the whole of understanding of who we are as human persons, beings made to love and be loved in fruitful communion in a multitude of relations, and especially with God.

Address of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
On the Occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the Establishment of the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family
May 13, 2011

. . . The new Blessed, John Paul II, who as we recall was the object of an assassination attempt 30 years ago today, entrusted to you for study, research and dissemination his "Catecheses on Human Love," with his profound reflections on the human body.

Conjugating the theology of the body with the theology of love to find the unity of man’s journey: This is the theme that I would like to indicate as the horizon of your work.

Shortly after the death of Michelangelo, Paolo Veronese was called before the Inquisition, accused of having painted inappropriate figures in depicting the Last Supper. The painter replied that there were nude bodies with little reverence even in the Sistine Chapel. The Inquisitor who came to the defense of Michelangelo made the famous reply: "Don't you know that there is nothing but spirit in those figures?"

As modern men, we find it difficult to understand these words because the body appears to us as inert matter, almost dead weight, compared to knowledge and freedom which pertain to the spirit.

But the bodies painted by Michelangelo are inhabited by light, life, splendor. He wished to show in this way that our bodies conceal a mystery: that the spirit manifests itself and works in the body. And that physical bodies are called to become spiritual bodies, as St. Paul says (1 Cor. 15:44).

We can therefore ask ourselves: Can this destiny of the body illuminate the stages of its own journey? If our body is called on to be spiritual, should its story not be that of an alliance between body and soul?

In fact, far from being opposed to the spirit, the body is the place where the spirit may dwell. In light of this, it is possible to understand that our bodies are not just inert, heavy matter, but that they speak, if we know how to listen, the language of true love.

The first word of this language is found in the creation of man. The body speaks to us of an origin that we did not confer on ourselves. "You knit me together in the womb of my mother," says the Psalmist to the Lord (Ps 139:13).

We can affirm that the body, in revealing the Origin to us, bears in itself a filial meaning because it reminds us of our generation, which is derived through our parents, who transmitted life to us, from God the Creator. Only when he acknowledges this Original Love that gave him life is man able to accept himself - only then can he reconcile himself with nature and with the world.

The creation of Adam was followed by that of Eve. Flesh, received from God, makes possible the union of love between man and woman, and thus, to transmit life. The bodies of Adam and Eve, before the Fall, appeared to be in perfect harmony. Their bodies had a language they did not create, an eros rooted in their nature which invited them to receive each other mutually, from the Creator, so that they could give reciprocally.

We understand then how, in love, man is "re-created." Incipit vita nuova (a new life begins), Dante wrote (Vita Nuova I,1), the life of the new union of two in one flesh.

The true fascination of sexuality is born from the grandeur of this horizon which opens: that of integral beauty, the universe of the other person and the "we" which is born from union, the hidden promise of communion, the new fruitfulness, the path which love opens towards God, the source of love. Union in one flesh thus becomes union with life so that man and woman also become one spirit. In this way, a path is opened in which the body teaches us the value of time, of the slow maturation in love.

In this light, the virtue of chastity receives a new meaning. It is not a "no" to the pleasures and joy of life, but the great "yes" to love as the profound communication between persons, which requires time and respect, as a journey together towards fullness, and as love which becomes capable of generating life and generously welcoming the new life which is born.

Of course, the body also has a negative language. It speaks to us of oppressing the other, of the desire to possess and to exploit. Nonetheless, we know that this language does not belong to God's original plan, but is a fruit of sin.

When the body is detached from its filial meaning, from its connection to the Creator, the body rebels against man, it loses its capacity for communion and becomes the ground for appropriating the other. Is this not perhaps the tragedy of sexuality today, which remains enclosed in the narrow confines of the body and the emotions, but which really can only fulfill itself in a call to something greater?

In this regard, John Paul II spoke of the humility of the body. A character in Paul Claudel’s play “The Satin Slipper” says to his lover: "I am incapable of fulfilling the promise that my body has made to you." And the response was, "The body is broken, but not the promise." (Day 3, Scene 13).

The power of this promise explains how the Fall is not the last word on the body in salvation history. God also offers man a way of redemption through the body, whose language is preserved in the family. If, after the Fall, Eve received the name "Mother of the living," this testifies that the power of sin has not succeeded in cancelling the original language of the body - the blessing of life that God continues to offer when man and woman unite to be one flesh.

The family - that is the place where the theology of the body and the theology of love intersect. Here one learns the goodness of the body, its witness of an origin in goodness, the experience of love that we receive from our parents. Here is lived the gift of self in one flesh, in the conjugal charity that joins the spouses. Here one experiences the fruitfulness of love, and life is interwoven with that of other generations. It is in the family where man discovers his relationality, not as an autonomous individual who is self-actualized, but as a child, spouse, parent, whose identity is based on being called to love, to receive it from others and give himself in love to others.

This path of creation finds its fullness in the Incarnation, with the coming of Christ. God took on a body - He revealed Himself in a body. Here the upward movement of the body is integrated into a more primordial movement - the humble movement of God who brings Himself down towards the body in order to elevate the human body toward Himself.

As the Son, He has received a filial body in gratitude and obedience to the Father. He then gave His body for us, to thereby generate the new body of the Church. The liturgy of the Ascension sings this story of the flesh, which was sinful in Adam, then assumed and redeemed in Christ. It is flesh that becomes increasingly full of light and the Spirit, full of God. Here appears the profundity of the theology of the body.

This, when read with the whole of Tradition, avoids the risk of superficiality and allows us to grasp the grandeur of the vocation to love, which is a call to communion of persons in two forms of life - virginity or matrimony.

Dear friends, your Institute was placed under the protection of Our Lady. Dante wrote words about Mary that are illuminating for a theology of the body: "In your womb, love is rekindled." (Paradiso XXXIII, 7). In her woman's body, that Love which generates the Church took flesh. May the Mother of the Lord continue to protect your journey and make fruitful your study and teaching in the service of the Church's mission for the family and society.

My Apostolic Blessing goes with you, which I impart with all my heart. Thank you.

The Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell

2011-05-16T08:01:00.002-04:00

Adult Confirmation Class Four

The Last Things - Salvation . . . or Not (CCC 988-1065)

In Love and in Truth, God created us. The meaning of life, the purpose for which we were made and the reason we exist, is to live in and for truth and love. In God, who is Love and Truth, all things are possible. Love and Truth can even defeat death and, so, part of our purpose for being is to live with and in God's love for all time. Thus, we proclaim our faith and hope in "life everlasting."

Our life on this earth is not the "be all and end all," but is a preparation for eternal life with God. The eternal life can even begin now if we definitively choose to respond to God and accept the gift of the Holy Spirit. The problem is that many of us do accept God, but not definitively, and we then go on to be unfaithful to Him. But, we must return to Him while there is still time. Indeed, the time for making a definitive choice to accept the grace of salvation is during this life -- it ends upon death, which, as Jesus reminds us, could come at any moment. At the moment of death, each person is subject to a "particular judgment," whereby if you die in mortal sin and unrepentant, having failed or refused to seek and accept God's mercy and forgiveness, then you will have necessarily not chosen eternal life, but eternal death instead.

Hell exists as an actual state of being, although precisely what Hell is like is a mystery. Given that we are bodily creatures who experience things by our senses and understand things in a physical manner, scripture describes Hell in various physical terms, such as physical pain from fire or coldness and darkness. Whatever else Hell may be like, the worst aspect of it is eternal separation from God. And it is not God who sends us to Hell, we necessarily send ourselves there.

Why would anyone choose Hell?

Well, by rejecting God, by saying "I don't want God, I never want God," by dying in mortal sin, which separates us from Him, one necessarily chooses to be separate from God. And since true love is never imposed upon someone, God being Love, He does not impose Himself on anyone against their will. He does not save them against their will. He does not force them to spend eternity with Him against their will. One need not actively hate God or directly reject Him; by choosing to remain in mortal sin, by choosing not to be restored to a state of grace, one necessarily chooses to be apart from God, and that is what Hell really is in its essential aspect, that is what damnation is -- eternal separation from God -- God who is Love and God who is Truth, in Whom is Life itself -- eternal separation from love and truth and life. But God does not cause that separation, God does not cause that damnation out of a petulant fit of pique, He does not use His divine boot to crush, like ants, those that tick Him off. That is not who or what God is.

God is Love, and He remains Love whether you are a saint or a sinner, whether you love Him in return or whether you hate Him. God does not return hate for hate, or anger for rejection. He will always remain faithful to you and offer love in return for your infidelity, but He will not make you take His love. If you are willing to accept His love, including seeking and receiving the sacraments, including the Sacrament of Confession, such that, upon death you are not in a state of mortal sin, God will always extend to you mercy, forgiveness, redemption, and the joyous gift of eternal life with Him in Heaven. The Lord delights not in the death of anyone, He is a God of the living and desires that all be saved and reconciled to Him.

Now, in order to be able to enter the perfection of Heaven, we must ourselves be in perfect grace, or made perfect. If we are not already totally pure when we leave this world, if we are not in a perfect state of grace, we must be purified. If you die in the grace of the Lord, but with the stain of some "venial" sin, if you sincerely seek to conform yourself to God's will, yet die without full healing and repentance from sin, then the fire of the Holy Spirit must purge that imperfection from you. However, purgatory is not a "second chance" to choose to be saved after death. The time for choosing is here and now.

Although we must choose God to be saved, we must be clear that our mere choice is not the cause of salvation. We are not our own saviors (that is the error of the fruit of the Tree), we cannot earn salvation, and we cannot justly demand salvation as a right. Nothing we do, think, or believe, merits forgiveness and salvation. Only Christ is our Savior, and redemption is a completely gratuitous gift. But salvation, like love and forgiveness, is not a unilateral action. It is a transaction. The graces of salvation and forgiveness are something that is offered and given, but to be complete, they must be accepted. We must choose to accept and then actively accept forgiveness and the salvation of being with God eternally. If someone is disposed to reject what is offered, and not make that choice of being with God, then they have necessarily chosen to be apart from God. And He will respect and grant that choice.
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The Holy Church

2011-05-15T20:15:00.003-04:00

Adult Confirmation Class Three and Four

To help accomplish His mission of reconciling man to God, to redeem us and sanctify us, our Savior and Lord established the Church as His Holy Bride, two become one, and He gave us the sacraments, which are administered by the Church. Man was created as a social creature, intended to exist in relationship, not in solitude. Thus, Jesus also established the Church so that we might fulfill our purpose of being in communion with each other, as well as Him. To be one with Jesus, who is the one and only savior, means to be one with the one holy Church, which is also the Body of Christ. Accordingly, we see that both Jesus Christ and the Church are absolutely necessary for salvation.

To guide and protect the Church and us, Jesus sends us His Holy Spirit, thereby assuring that He will be with us to the end of time. By His Holy Spirit, Jesus provides us graces, both sanctifying and actual, including the graces of the sacraments. We are not merely. spiritual, but also bodily creatures, who experience things and know things by the senses of our bodies. To help us understand the reality of the provision of certain graces, Jesus instituted the sacraments. A "sacrament" is an outward visible sign of the invisible reality of grace being imparted. A sacrament is also an efficacious sign, that is, a sign that brings about that grace. By the use of certain words and matter upon the body, we are thus able to know and understand that the Holy Spirit of Christ is acting upon us. Without such an outward, tangible sign, we might not fully realize or appreciate that God has done anything or that we have actually received these graces.

Jesus gave the authority to confer the sacraments on the Church. However, it is Christ who acts in the sacraments and communicates through the Holy Spirit the sanctifying grace they signify, not the priest or bishop administering them. Thus, the efficacy of the sacraments does not depend upon the personal holiness, or lack thereof, of the minister. On the other hand, the fruits of the sacraments do depend on the dispositions of the one who receives them.

(1) Sinful man is redeemed and saved from death by the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. In Baptism, one is immersed into this death of Christ, so as to rise again with Him. This baptism of the Triune God gives us sanctifying grace, so that the stains of Original Sin and individual sin are wiped away, and we are initiated into the communion of the Church. (Mt. 28: 19) As Abraham was marked with the sign of the covenant, so too is the soul of the baptized person marked with the indelible seal of Christ.

(2) In Confirmation, we receive the power of the Holy Spirit to be witnesses for Christ in love and truth. The Holy Spirit descends upon us, completing and bringing an increase and deepening of baptismal grace. Just as when the Spirit descended upon the faithful at Pentecost, we too are given the strength and grace and perseverance to go out and spread the Good News and even endure persecution. (Acts 1:8; 2: 11) If even only as a seed, the Holy Spirit, if you accept Him, will dwell within you and graces will grow within you, and, like the Apostles, disciples, martyrs, and saints, you will be able to do that which is impossible to do on your own. The water and chrism oil of the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation are sanctified by Jesus and the Cross. The very being of recipient is radically altered as he or she is anointed and joined with the Christ, which means "anointed one."

(3) While Baptism cleanses us of Original Sin, it does not abolish the weakness of our impaired human nature nor our inclination to personal sin. If we examine our conscience and confess our personal sins with a contrite heart and a determination to avoid further sin, through the Sacrament of Penance, by the Crucifixion and Resurrection, we are absolved of our individual sins and reconciled to God. Furthermore, grace is given, if we accept it, to avoid further sin. (Jn. 20:22-23)

(4) While He was present amongst us, Jesus healed many who were sick. After Pentecost, Peter and the other Apostles similarly healed the sick. The Anointing of the Sick is a sacrament of healing, if not physically, then spiritually. Mostly, the Sacrament prepares us for the final journey in order to join God in heaven. (James 5:14-15) This sacrament confers a special grace which unites the sick person more intimately to the Passion of Christ. It gives comfort, peace, courage, and even the forgiveness of sins if the sick person is not able to make a sacramental confession.

(5) Man, male and female, is not merely a relational creature, but a spousal creature made in the image of the Triune God, who exists as a loving communion of persons in one being. Similarly, in the Sacrament of Matrimony, a man and woman are two made one in a communion of persons by the power of the Christ's Holy Spirit of Love. (Gn. 1:28, 2:24; Mt. 19:4-6) This communion of persons is not only unitive, but fruitful and procreative, just as the love that is God is unitive, fruitful, and procreative.

(6) Those who do not marry are still, by human nature, called to love. We all exist to love and be loved in truth. We are made complete only by and in love. Thus, if we are not called to marry, we may receive a calling to follow Christ, who is the fullness of Love. By the Sacrament of Holy Orders, instituted by Jesus calling His apostles, the Church is passed on to the generations throughout time. (Mt. 16:18-19; Jn 15:16) The one priesthood of Christ is made present in this ministerial priesthood. The anointing by the Spirit in ordination to this priesthood seals the priest with an indelible, spiritual character that configures him to Christ the priest and enables him to act in the name of Christ the Head. Episcopal ordination of a bishop as a successor of the Apostles confers the fullness of the Sacrament on him, including the offices of teaching, sanctifying, and ruling.

(7) Before ascending to heaven, Jesus said that He would be with us always, to the end of the age. In the most obvious sense, Jesus is with us in the Eucharist. (Lk 22: 19-20; Jn 6:48-58) The Eucharist as the source (beginning) and summit (end) of the Faith, inasmuch as this Blessed Sacrament is the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Jesus, even though under the appearance of bread and wine. In the Eucharist, the substance is transformed, that is to say, the fundamental basis of its being. This genuine transformation is called transubstantiation. As described by Pope Benedict, Christ takes possession of the bread and the wine, and He lifts them up out of the setting of their normal existence into a new order. Even if, from a purely physical point of view, they remain the same, they have become profoundly different.

Through the Eucharist in the one Mass, according to His Word, Jesus is with us, not merely spiritually or theoretically or as a philosophy, but physically, such that we, as bodily creatures who experience things through our senses, can be united with Him bodily as well as spiritually.

In a profoundly intimate way, we take His glorified Body and Blood into our bodies. The encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist is not the encounter of a friend or a mentor or a teacher. It is a parental and spousal encounter. It is because the Eucharist is the Real Presence that such an encounter is the most intimate of intimate touchings. The person literally takes Christ within him- or herself both bodily and spiritually, so as to become one with Him in a mystical fashion, as in marriage, which also involves entering into another bodily and spiritually so as to become one in a communion of persons (unitive) and so as to receive life (procreative).

Only in this way is the totality of our person, body and spirit, able to be one with Him, Body and Spirit, fully and completely. Again, because we are creatures of both spirit and body, to receive Him in the entirety of our person, it is essential that we also experience the Body and Blood of Christ, which can be received only at Mass, in addition to His Spirit, which can be experienced at home. In this way, the Eucharist can truly be called Holy Communion.

The consecration of the bread and wine at Mass to become the Blessed Sacrament is not a re-sacrificing of Jesus. There is only One Mass, and there is only One Sacrifice, which is re-presented, that is, presented again. Remember, God transcends time and space, so that, not only does He extend across our concept of linear time, but for Him, specific points in time continue to exist forever. Thus, the Passion and Crucifixion were not isolated events in some distant past. Rather, His sacrifice is an on-going event. He is not crucified again and again, but is one sacrifice. He is perpetually being scourged, eternally on the Cross. In the Mass, in some mystical but true way, we transcend space and time and are made present at the Last Supper, we are made present at the foot of the Cross. And because we partake of His glorified Resurrected Body and Blood, so too are we made present at the Resurrection, and made One with He who rose to eternal life.

In establishing His Church, Jesus called certain men as apostles, from the Greek word for "emissary." To the Apostle Peter, who was the first Pope, Jesus gave a special supreme authority. The original Apostles later appointed successors, whom we know today as bishops, and assistants, such as priests, who have the authority and power of administering the sacraments in persona Christi. Each bishop is the spiritual shepherd for a specific area, which is called a diocese, and he in turn delegates certain authority to pastors over a smaller area, which is called a parish.

The Church was established not only to confer the sacraments, but to teach and proclaim the Faith to the faithful and the entire world. For example, at Mass, we also celebrate the Liturgy of the Word, and thereafter receive, in the homily, a teaching on the readings. Jesus not only calls certain men to be priests and bishops, who sustain and hand on the Faith, He also calls some to be religious sisters, who dedicate themselves to the Lord like Mary and Martha. And while bishops and priests have a special authority to preach, lay catechists are given authority to teach, and all the faithful are called to be a light of Jesus to the world.

Jesus told his apostles and disciples to spread the Good News and convert all nations, and He sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to guide and protect this apostolic Church always, so that not even the gates of Hell would prevail against Her -- One Holy Church that exists universally, that is, "catholic" -- not only in history, but eternally and transcendent, not only horizontally, across nations, but vertically, a communion of the faithful in this world with the faithful in purgatory, and God and interceding saints in heaven above.

The Church, as Bride of Christ, who abides with us always, is protected by the Holy Spirit and is necessarily perfect, just as Her Spouse, Jesus, is perfect. And like Jesus, the Church does not hate; She has only love for all, including sinners. Members may and do sin, and in doing so, they may cause scandal, leading others to question the Faith or the Church, or to fall away from the Church. As members of the Body of Christ, we must be very careful in our words and actions, so that we do not reflect poorly on the Church and cause scandal.

The Church is Mother and Teacher (CCC 85-87; 2030-2051)

The Church is also Mater et Magister (Mother and Teacher), where the successors of Peter (the pope) and the apostles (bishops) are guided by the Holy Spirit, and the Faith is protected from error. That is, Jesus conveyed teaching authority upon the Apostles and their successors, commanding them to go and preach the Good News, while promising that the Holy Spirit would continue to guide and protect His Bride, the Church, from error.

The teaching office of the Church is known as the Magisterium. The teachings of the Magisterium, be they on matters of faith or morals, are not the personal opinions of the pope, and they are not the "policy positions" of the Church, although they are often erroneously described as such in the media. Because God is Love and Truth, the pope and the Church are bound in their moral teachings by love and truth. Moreover, because She was founded by Christ, we are not free to change the Church as we wish. Not even the pope is free to change the Church to suit his own tastes. Faith and Truth are not arbitrary, and they are not matters of opinion to be decided by majority vote. The Church is His Church before it is ours. She is the One, Holy, Catholic (universal), and Apostolic Church of Christ, not the "Church of do your own thing."

The Magisterium provides the authoritative interpretation of Divine Revelation, both Holy Scripture and Tradition, and assures the truth of the Faith by use of Revelation and right reason, i.e. truth, as guided and protected by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus calls us to holiness, to live a moral life of love of God and love of one another. Thus, in addition to helping to form our faith, another function of the Magisterium, as guided by the Holy Spirit, is to teach us and assist us in the formation of our consciences, which involves an act of reason, not feeling. That is, moral conscience, present in the heart of the person, is a judgment of reason which at the appropriate moment enjoins him to do good and to avoid evil. Whereas the natural law discloses the objective and universal demands of the moral good, conscience is the application of the law to a particular case. In helping us to properly form our moral consciences, the Church does not really teach anything new, anything that was not previously revealed by God or is not already written as the natural law on men's hearts and therefore discoverable and knowable by reason. Under the natural law, the concepts of truth, justice, good and evil, and values of right and wrong are deemed fundamental, absolute, and transcendent. As a component of transcendent truth, morality is objective, not subjective, relative, or situational.

However, this call to holiness is a voluntary one. The Lord does not force it or the grace of the Holy Spirit upon us. We have the free choice of the will to decline His offer to provide a light to guide us on our way. But if we insist on doing things our own way, insisting that we can choose our own truth instead of that which is lovingly given to us by the Holy Spirit through the Church, we will find it much more difficult to find our way through life in the darkness. And if we resist the Light too long, if we do not turn back to Love and Truth before it is too late, we will find ourselves in the darkness forever.

Next - The Last Things
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The Call to Universal Holiness

2011-05-15T07:43:00.000-04:00

Adult Confirmation Class Four

The Holy Spirit and Sanctification of Man (CCC 1691-2051)

Jesus calls us to universal holiness, to be perfect in love and truth, just as His Father in heaven is perfect. For this reason, so that we might not only be saved, but that we might become more like God ourselves, Jesus sends us His Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation.

The teachings of Christ and His Church to be holy and perfect are very simply this - we are called to love and be loved in truth. (1) Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind; and (2) Love one another, as Jesus loves us, so we should love one another. Those are the teachings of Christ and His Church in a nutshell. This is our general vocation.

So what does that mean in practical terms?

(1) Love the Lord thy God. God is Truth, God is Transcendent, God is Reason (Logos), and God is Love, and we ourselves are not gods. So we should be humble; admit and know that there are things greater than ourselves. We should follow Truth; take love into our heart; take Christ and the Holy Spirit into our very being, spiritually and bodily, through the sacraments.

We should remain in communication with God, pray to Him in thanks for what we have and ask Him for what we need. We can do some of this ourselves, but it is on ly by prayer and receiving the power of the Holy Spirit that we humans can do the impossible and be perfect like God.

We must pray to God, especially in the liturgical prayer that is the Holy Mass, wherein we participate in the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross and receive Him through the Eucharist.

God does not force Himself on us; He does not save us against our will or without our consent. Thus, when we do wrong, we should be contrite and formally ask his forgiveness, generally and in the Sacrament of Confession. The only unforgiveable sin is the refusal to ask for or accept forgiveness, and thereby "blaspheme" the Holy Spirit. God will not force forgiveness on us and, thus, it is not He who sends us to Hell, which is separation from God; rather, we choose it by our own will.

(2) Love one another. We should love - truly love as God loves, for His is the most perfect and complete kind of love. The Latin word for the kind of love that God is is caritas, from which we get the word "charity." Such a love is more than an emotional feeling, more than an attraction or desire for personal happiness. Such true and total love is a conscious act of the will to subordinate oneself and unconditionally and selflessly seek the good and welfare of the other, including the gift of self for the other's benefit, whether that love is returned or not and whether or not the other "deserves" to be loved.

The command that we should love "one another" means that we should acknowledge that we are not alone in the world -- there are other people, brothers, sisters, neighbors. Instead of being selfishly focused inward, our love must be selflessly turned outward. And because they too are children of God, we are all equal. If we wish to be forgiven our sins, we must forgive others when they injure us.

In all things, we should do good and avoid evil. To do good and avoid evil is to think and act in a manner which is consistent with truth and love. This is part of the natural law that is written on men's hearts. We should endeavor to live a life of virtue, rather than vice, embracing virtues like the theological virtues of faith, hope, charity, and the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance, while rejecting vices and capital sins like undue pride, covetousness, lust, vengeful anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth.

In charitable love, we should affirm and respect the inherent dignity of every human person, no matter how seemingly insignificant, undesirable, or useless, from the very beginning of his or her creation, from the instant of existence. Love seeks the good of the other, including the good which is truth, namely, the truth of the other as a "person," and not as a thing to be used for our amusement, a subject and not an object, an end in his or herself, and not merely a means to be exploited by us or used up and then tossed aside or thrown away as if they are trash. We all have intrinsic meaning, everyone of us.

Charity means that we should give of ourselves to others, not take from them, help others, not hinder them. We should be willing to show compassion toward others, that is, to suffer with them, and not abandon them. We should also be merciful, that is, have compassion for, and, if possible, alleviate another's misfortune or misery (the Latin word miserere means "have mercy"), including the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. For example, we should feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, bury the dead, counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, comfort the afflicted, forgive offenses, bear wrongs patiently, and pray for the living and the dead.

These are not harsh prohibitions or restrictions on our freedoms, but instead are truths that lead us to authentic freedom. Freedom necessarily is dependent and contingent upon truth. Thus, it is necessarily limited by truth, including moral truth. That is, authentic freedom is the ability to do what is right, and not the ability to do as one pleases. This is because one ought to do good, and what is good and right is that which is consistent with truth. And to do that which is inconsistent with truth is not freedom, but is instead being confined and controlled by error. Error causes disorder and leads to more error. The consequence of sin is that, by embracing a false and counterfeit "freedom," we necessarily become a slave to error, even if we erroneously continue to insist that we are still free.

These truths are already written on our hearts, but because our ability to reason and discover these truths ourselves has been corrupted by sin and the temptations of the world, in order to help, the Holy Spirit guides the Church in teaching us and explaining these truths. And to help individuals overcome that temptation to sin and to attain sanctification, the Holy Spirit provide us grace - if we seek it and accept it. At times, it may be very difficult to love or forgive, it may seem to be impossible, but whatever may be lacking in our own will or power, God will give by grace to those who ask. These graces or powers of the Holy Spirit include wisdom, counsel, understanding, knowledge, fortitude, piety, fear of the Lord, charity, generosity, kindness, gentleness, patience, goodness, faithfulness, chastity, modesty, self-control, joy, and peace.

Now, a gift -- any gift -- is not completed and is totally useless unless it is accepted by the recipient. If a gift is returned to sender, or is simply put in a closet, unopened, it is as if it was never received. Thus, it is necessary that you accept the gifts that are the graces of God.

Grace presupposes nature, it does not replace it. God does not simply wipe out our humanity in offering us his grace. He does not impose Himself upon us against our will and treat us as puppets. Rather, grace builds on and works within our nature to heal it, to perfect, elevate, and transform it. We must pray to God and say "yes" to Him, as Mary said "yes" to Him. We must allow the Holy Spirit and gift of grace to come into our hearts, and not simply set that grace aside and ignore it. And we must allow the fruits of that grace to grow within us. If we do, we will be not only redeemed, but sanctified.

If we resist and ignore those graces, if we shut ourselves off from the Truth and Love which are the Holy Spirit, then life becomes much harder and unsatisfactory. If we turn away from the Light, it is much more difficult to find our way through life in the darkness. And if we resist too long, we will find ourselves in the darkness forever.

Next - The Holy Church
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Preparation for Adult Confirmation 2011: Class Four

2011-05-14T19:20:00.005-04:00

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.” (Acts 1:8)
Preparation for Adult Confirmation

Class Outline for May 14, 2011

IV. The Holy Spirit and the Universal Call to Holiness
– our Heavenly Father and Jesus both call us to holiness, to be perfect, but God does not tell us to do something and then not give us the power to do it

A. The Holy Spirit – the Lord, the Giver of Life

1. Who and What is the Holy Spirit?

(a) The Third Person of the Trinity

Spirit of Love and Truth in Person who proceeds from and between the Father and the Son
called “Holy” because He consecrates and sanctifies
the Holy Spirit first gives us life, then through His grace, even though He is the last of the persons of the Trinity to be revealed, He is the first to awaken faith in us and to communicate to us the new life with and in God
He is the Spirit of the New Covenant who, as promised by the Father, is poured out on mankind – the New Covenant is (i) a law of love because it makes us act out of the love infused by the Holy Spirit, rather than from fear; (ii) a law of grace, because it confers the strength of grace to act, by means of faith and the sacraments; and (iii) a law of freedom, because it sets us free from the ritual and juridical observances of the Old Law, inclines us to act spontaneously by the prompting of charity
He is the Spirit of Truth, the Paraclete promised by Jesus to guide and protect His Church
the Holy Spirit is sent by the Father in the name of the Son, and by the Son from the Father
although the Holy Spirit was not poured out on mankind until Pentecost, He has been at work from the beginning, including speaking through the Prophets

(b) Titles of the Holy Spirit

Lord, the Giver of Life
Sanctifier
Spirit of Truth, Spirit of Love
Paraclete, a Greek word which means advocate, counselor, comforter

2. Symbols and Manifestations of the Holy Spirit or His presence

water, which cleanses and both destroys and maintains life – water is sprinkled in Ezekiel and Psalms to purify God’s people; the water of Baptism, recalling the Flood and Red Sea, making us dead to sin and reborn to new life; and the living water that springs from the side of the Crucified Jesus
fire, which transforms, purges, and purifies – the burning bush; fire on Mt. Sinai; column of fire at the exodus from Egypt; tongues as of fire descending at Pentecost
dove – at the end of the Flood, a dove is released by Noah; at His Baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove, thereby anointing Him and consecrating Him in His humanity
breath and wind – the word "Spirit" is from the Hebrew word ruah and the Latin word pneuma, which means breath, air, wind – at Creation, a mighty wind swept over the waters; God gave man life by breathing into him; Jesus breathed on the Apostles; at Pentecost, there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind
cloud – reveals the presence of God in the Old Testament; a cloud overshadows the mountain of the Transfiguration; Jesus ascends to heaven on a cloud
hands and fingers – the law is written on tablets of stone and human hearts by the finger of God; Jesus heals by laying on of hands; the Apostles and their successors confer the Sacraments by imposition of hands; the priest at Mass holds his hands over the bread and wine
chrism (anointing oil) – a symbol of consecration, dedication to God, and sanctification

3. The Actions and Mission of the Holy Spirit

the Spirit gives life and grace, including the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are permanent supernatural qualities that are given so that the faithful might bear the fruit of the Spirit
as the Spirit of Love, He restores to the baptized the divine likeness that was lost through sin and gives them a rebirth into the Church – “Through the Holy Spirit we are restored to paradise, led back to the Kingdom of heaven, and adopted as children, given confidence to call God ‘Father’ and to share in Christ's grace, called children of light and given a share in eternal glory.” – St. Basil, De Spiritu Sanctu
the Spirit acts to convince the world concerning sin
the Spirit builds, animates, and sanctifies the Church – He inspired the human writers of the scriptures; He inspired the oral teachings (Tradition) of the Church; He guides and protects the Church from doctrinal error throughout history; He is the principal agent of the Church’s mission of evangelization
the Spirit is communicated by Christ through the Sacraments
the Holy Spirit is the agent of the Confirmation duty of the faithful to be a witness for Christ and to serve the Church in her mission

4. The Holy Spirit and Grace

Jesus says to be holy and perfect, to be true to our being man and woman made in the image and likeness of God, as He originally intended, and so that we imperfect humans might be able to be perfect, He gives us the grace of the Holy Spirit
justification by the grace of the Holy Spirit is not only the remission of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior person
grace is the Spirit poured into our hearts – it is a form of divine favor, assistance, help, or power so that we are able to be or do or attain something
all grace is completely gratuitous, a gift that is not earned by us or demanded as of right, but given to us by God as a matter of love and truth
the types of graces include (i) sanctifying (or habitual) grace, which purifies and perfects the state of the soul and provides a stable and supernatural disposition to live in holiness and attain salvation; (ii) sacramental graces, the various gifts that are proper to the different sacraments; (iii) special graces, also called charisms; and (iv) actual grace, the transient everyday forms of help to act in a given situation
the quintessential models of grace and righteousness are the Blessed Virgin Mary, full of grace, and Joseph

5. The Holy Spirit at the Annunciation and Pentecost

fifty days after the Resurrection, at Pentecost, the glorified Jesus Christ poured out the Spirit in abundance and, on that day, the Holy Trinity is fully revealed
the Church was born at Pentecost by virtue of her anointing by the Holy Spirit, and the mission of Jesus and of the Spirit became the mission of the Church
what took place in Mary’s womb when the Holy Spirit came upon her at the Annunciation happens again at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descends upon the people and the Body of Christ comes into the world
by His coming, which never ceases, the Holy Spirit causes the world to enter into the “last days,” the time of the Church, the Kingdom already inherited though not yet consummated

6. The Unforgiveable Sin – Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

“I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” – Mt. 12:31-32
God loves us and seeks our love in return, but love, by its very nature, is something that must be freely given and freely received
God does not force His love or forgiveness on us, He does not save us against our will or without our consent – “He who made you without your participation does not justify you without your participation. He has made you without your knowledge; He justifies you if you will it.” – St. Augustine
the gifts of God’s forgiveness and salvation, like any gift, must be actually accepted, if we refused to accept a gift, it is necessarily not received
the refusal or failure to ask for or accept forgiveness for sin – whether out of obstinance, an erroneous belief that God lacks the power to forgive, or from a claim that one has a “right” to persist in sin – is to “blaspheme” the Holy Spirit, and such rejection of God and His forgiveness is, by its very nature, an unforgiveable sin
if one refuses to be forgiven, he cannot be forgiven; if one fails to accept the salvation offered to him, he cannot be saved – “The inner rejection of the Holy Spirit is the rejection of the very source of life and holiness.” – Pope John Paul II
God does not send anyone to Hell, which is eternal separation from God; rather, we choose it by our own will by not seeking or accepting His merciful love and forgiveness
by dying in a state of mortal sin, which separates us from God, one necessarily chooses to be separate from God – to be with Him eternally in Heaven, we must affirmatively choose to return to Him and be restored to a state of grace

B. The Sacrament of Confirmation – the Outpouring of the Spirit as at Pentecost

1. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.” - Acts 1:8

The Sacrament of Confirmation is probably the least understood sacrament other than Anointing of the Sick, in part because of its breadth, such that its description is not easily reduced to a single phrase, as are the others, but this statement of Jesus from Acts comes as close to summing up Confirmation as we might find in scripture
In the Sacrament of Confirmation, we receive the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as was promised by God the Father in the Old Testament (Jer. 31:31-34; Joel 3:1-5; Ez 36:25-28) and by Jesus in the Gospels (John 14:15-26, 15:26-27, 16:13-14), and as happened to the faithful at Pentecost (Acts 1:8-9, 2:1-33)
In the Sacrament, by the visible outward sign of the laying on of hands, anointing, and the words, “be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit,” the recipient (confirmand) receives the invisible reality of the grace of the Holy Spirit in order to be sanctified and made perfect in love and truth, as our Father in heaven is perfect, including being a better servant and witness for the Son, and joining in the redemptive mission of Christ and His Church
Confirmation completes what began at Baptism – making us complete Christians – uniting us more firmly to Christ and binding us more perfectly to the Church
By Confirmation, instead of being merely passive members of the Church, we are called to actively participate in the redemptive mission of the Church to be a witness for Jesus. Instead of being merely concerned with our own personal welfare and salvation, we are concerned with the welfare and salvation of others, helping Jesus in the work of salvation

2. The Who of Confirmation

the Holy Spirit – the Sanctifier and Paraclete promised to us by Jesus
the bishop or priest acting in persona Christi
the confirmand and sponsor
the communion of the entire faithful of the Church

3. The Where of Confirmation

in and by the Holy Catholic Church
preferably in the Mass, although those in danger of death may be confirmed outside of the Mass

4. The When of Confirmation

after Baptism, while the confirmand is still in a state of grace
in the Western Latin Church, Confirmation is conferred after the age of discretion and after a period of catechetical preparation (children in danger of death should be confirmed even if not yet at the age of discretion)
although Confirmation is received only once, it is not a one-time Sacrament, but is instead an everyday Sacrament – the graces received in Confirmation can and should be used in our everyday lives

5. The How of Confirmation – “the Holy Spirit has come upon you”

the minister first extends his hands over the whole group of confirmands (imposition of hands) while invoking the outpouring of the Spirit with prayer
the minister anoints the forehead of the confirmand with sacred chrism oil saying, “be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit,” while the sponsor lays his or her right hand on the right shoulder of the confirmand
the rite is concluded with a sign of peace signifying ecclesial communion with the bishop and all the faithful
a gift – any gift – is not completed and is totally useless unless it is accepted by the recipient and then actually used, so that for us to fully benefit from Confirmation, we must allow the Holy Spirit and gift of grace to come into our hearts and grow within us, and then utilize those graces in our everyday lives

6. The What of Confirmation – “you will receive power”

In Confirmation, we receive power, that is, certain graces from the Holy Spirit, to help us participate in the mission of the Church to be a witness for Jesus. The recipient of Confirmation is given whatever power (grace) is needed in order to be an effective witness to others on behalf of Christ – the right tool for the job at hand.

(a) Sacramental Graces

alters our very being in a fundamental way by imprinting on the soul an indelible spiritual seal and character, which marks us as belonging to Christ and perfecting us in the common priesthood of the faithful to profess faith in Christ publicly

(b) Sanctifying Graces

an increase and deepening of sanctifying graces completing what began in Baptism and uniting the recipient more firmly to Christ
provides the strength, fortitude, and perseverance that are necessary to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ – we are made “soldiers of Christ” in order to fulfill our duty of witnessing to and defending the Faith and fighting against evil
the Spirit of Love and Truth dwells within us, even if we do not immediately perceive Him, planting graces in our heart which, if we nourish them, will grow and bear such fruit as to permit us to be perfect and do that which otherwise might be impossible to do on our own

(c) Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Is. 11:1-2)

wisdom, counsel, knowledge, and understanding

wisdom helps us to evaluate things properly; counsel helps us to solve moral problems and choose rightly; knowledge helps us to know truth and perfect our faith; and understanding gives us insight to grasp the truths of religion as far as is necessary

fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord

fortitude gives us strength and courage to persevere in the faith and do what is right even in the face of hardship; piety inspires us with a tender and filial confidence in God; and fear of the Lord, far from meaning making us afraid of God, helps us understand His greatness, so as fill us with a reverential awe and concern to avoid being unfaithful to Him

the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit are specifically intended for the sanctification of the recipient – they are used by Isaiah to describe the Messiah, the Christ, and we too are anointed with them in a special way in Confirmation so as to be made a complete Christian
these gifts bring the virtues to perfection and help us share in the life and nature of God

(d) The Gifts of the Holy Spirit in turn lead to the Twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23)

charity, generosity, kindness, gentleness, and patience
goodness, faithfulness, chastity, modesty, and self-control
joy and peace
the fruits of the Holy Spirit have the character of both qualities and acts, they are the effect of grace, but also give us a greater ability to do virtuous acts

(e) Actual Graces and Virtues

grace presupposes nature, it does not replace it – grace builds on and works within our nature to heal, perfect, elevate, and transform it
we should strive to do what we can, but whatever may be lacking in our own will or power, God will give by grace to those who ask – “God does not command what is impossible; but when He commands, He exhorts you to do what you can and to ask for what you cannot do” – St. Augustine
actual grace is granted by God for the performance of specific salutary acts and is present and disappears with the action itself
the Spirit of Truth and Love in Confirmation helps us to recognize and know the moral truths that God has written on our hearts and thereby properly form our consciences and overcome temptation to sin
a virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good, and the graces of Confirmation strengthen us in living a virtuous life and thereby be a more perfect witness for Christ, including –

the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love (charity) (1 Cor. 13:13)
the cardinal virtues of prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice

(f) Examples of the Effects of Receiving the Holy Spirit in Confirmation

after the arrest and Crucifixion of Jesus, the Apostles were afraid to go out in public, but after the Spirit descended upon them at Pentecost, they had the fortitude and perseverance to come out of hiding and immediately go out and loudly proclaim the Good News and even endure persecution and martyrdom
prior to receiving the Holy Spirit, the Apostles and other disciples often struggled with understanding the teachings of Jesus, but afterward, they began for fully comprehend what He taught them so that they could faithfully preach the Gospel to the world
by the power of the Spirit, the martyrs of the Church, like Saints Lawrence, Polycarp, Perpetua, and Felicity have been able to joyfully accept and endure the suffering of martyrdom for the sake of Christ
with God, all things are possible and, with His grace, we can do that which otherwise would be very difficult or impossible for us to do on our own, including the power to –

endure and withstand hardship, carry those crosses which are far too heavy for humans to carry, and accept suffering so as to transform it by the love and redemptive power of the Cross
love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us
forgive those who have committed “unforgiveable” and unspeakable crimes against us
love our families, neighbors, and strangers as God loves, truly, perfectly, and fully, without conditions or the selfishness that stems from our fallen nature
choose Christ, rather than the world, when we are pressured to do something which is contrary to the Faith or else suffer some sanction, such as the loss of a job

7. The Why of Confirmation – “you will be my witnesses”

we receive the anointing and graces of Confirmation in order to fully become a “Christian” and be able to join in the mission of the Church to serve and witness for Christ
to be a witness for Jesus means to (i) testify to the truth of the faith and (ii) to share the love of Christ with others

(a) Testifying to the Truth

Testifying to the truth of the faith means, first, learning the deposit of faith and, secondly, spreading that Good News of Jesus Christ to the world – being a light of truth and love in a dark world and making disciples of all nations. (Mt. 28:19)

(b) The Commandments of Love – Summation of the Whole Law and Prophets (Mt. 22:36-40)

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind

Jesus asks us for complete and total love, but He will accept a lesser love if that is all we think we can give, and He will offer us the grace to perfect that lesser love to a complete and total love

You shall love your neighbor as yourself – as Jesus loves us, so too should we love one another
love can be “commanded” by God because it has first been given to us by God – the commandment to love is no more than a command to be true to ourselves inasmuch as we are made to love and be loved in truth

(c) What is Love?

(i) Types of Love

“Fundamentally, ‘love’ is a single reality, but with different dimensions; at different times, one or other dimension may emerge more clearly” – Pope Benedict, Deus Caritas Est, 8
eros – a joyous, passionate, ascending, intimate kind of love, longing to be with the other
philia – love between family, close friends
agape (caritas) – unconditional, outward-looking, subordinate love that seeks the good of the other and is prepared and willing to sacrifice oneself for the other
genuine (true) love is necessarily consistent with truth, including the truth of the other as a human person, and not that counterfeit “love” which seeks to possess, use and/or objectify the other

(ii) Perfect and Complete Love

authentic, pure love involves the whole person, body and soul, and it embraces and transcends the whole of existence in each of its dimensions, including time and space
God is Love and God is Truth, so the highest, truest, and most perfect and complete kind of love is God’s love – to love perfectly and truly, we must love as God loves
God’s relationship with His chosen people, and Christ’s relationship with His Bride the Church, is repeatedly described in scripture in terms of betrothal and marriage, an elective, personal, monogamous eros-type of love
God’s love for mankind, especially as shown by Christ on the Cross, is also described as the unconditional, gratuitous, and sacrificial love of agape (caritas) – “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends”
mankind has given God little more than rejection and infidelity throughout history, and yet, He continues to love us fully, completely, and unconditionally – He refuses to stop loving us, even when we torture Him and murder Him
“God loves, and His love may certainly be called eros, yet it is also totally agape” – Pope Benedict, Deus Caritas Est, 9
God’s love is both (a) a purified and supremely ennobled eros, a joyous, wanting, ascending, passionate kind of love, even a spousal/conjugal kind of love, a communion of two become one that is both unitive and fruitful, and (b) agape (caritas), a conscious, everlasting, merciful, radically oblative gift of self
genuine love is not merely a human sentiment, which comes and goes, or may not happen at all; rather, love is an action, it is a choice
love in its truest and fullest sense is a conscious act of the will to subordinate yourself, and to unconditionally and selflessly seek the good and welfare of the other, including the gift of yourself for the other’s benefit, including the ultimate sacrifice of your life, whether or not the other “deserves” it, and without concern for what you may or may not receive in return, although there is great joy when it is reciprocated
if we find that such complete love is difficult, if we cannot find the strength within ourselves to do this, then we must choose to ask God for help, we must ask for grace
we most become like God, not by eating from the Tree of Knowledge, but by eating from the Tree of Love, and true happiness in love is paradoxical because it is obtained, not by seeking happiness for yourself, but by giving of yourself

(d) Love of God and Neighbor Necessarily Means Sharing with Them the Truth and Love of Christ

it is part of God’s plan to depend on His people to help Him in the salvation of mankind – whether He is dwelling in the womb of Mary, growing up as a child, or now, Jesus has chosen to need our assistance in His redemptive mission, including building up the Church as the universal sacrament of salvation
Jesus calls those in the Church to be His witnesses –

to go out and testify to the Truth and proclaim the Good News
to make disciples of all nations
to be a light of truth and love to the world – the light does not come from us, but comes from Jesus and is reflected by us, and from the Holy Spirit which dwells within us

Jesus promised us that, in being His witness, the world would hate us and persecute us, but that He would send the Spirit to give us strength, consolation, and perseverance
Jesus calls us to be perfect in love and truth as our heavenly Father is perfect
the most fundamental way to be a witness for Him is to love Him and love one another in truth as He has loved us

(e) Our Vocation to Beatitude – Life in the Spirit (Mt. 5:3-10)

the Beatitudes are paradoxes, a transformation of worldly values, they bring hope and joy amidst affliction and hardship
the Beatitudes are words of both promise and spiritual direction, indicating the way of conversion and reform of life – teaching how to love God and one another and thereby be a light of truth to the world

(i) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
- the “poor in spirit” are not those who are spiritually deficient, but those who humbly are in need of God, who are detached from worldly things and rely on Him, unlike those who have no want or need for God

(ii) Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted

those who “mourn” are sorrowful, they have compassion for, and therefore suffer with, others and, in comforting others, they receive comfort as well

(iii) Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth (the land)

one who is “meek” is humble and, as with the descendents of Abraham, their inheritance is the promised land of a secure home in which to live and worship God in peace

(iv) Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied

those who look for good, who seek true justice, will find it in Christ

(v) Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy

to be forgiving and merciful to others is to show our love for the Lord who is Divine Mercy

(vi) Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God

we see God with the eyes of the heart, not the eyes of the head – if we humbly seek Him, with love and truth in our heart, only then can we see and hear God

(vii) Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God

those who help overcome enmity, especially with God, are reconciled to Him, such that, just as the Prince of Peace is the Son of God, so too are we allowed to be called children of God

(viii) Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

in steadfastly keeping the faith and being one with the Crucified Christ, we will be one with Him in heaven

(ix) Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of Jesus, rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven

Jesus invites us to follow Him, even to the Cross

(f) “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” – the only acceptable sacrifice is sacrifice of the human heart

charity (love) for others includes being merciful – as the Crucified Jesus in His mercy loves us, so too should we love one another
mercy is also an act of justice, giving others what they are due as children of God and doing unto others as we would have them do to us
God, who is “rich in mercy,” wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others, He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does to us
the Church’s mission is a mission of mercy – “the Church cannot neglect the service of charity any more than she can neglect the Sacraments and the Word” – Pope Benedict XVI
mercy is a virtue influencing one's will to have compassion for, and, if possible, to alleviate another's misfortune or misery (the Latin word miserere means “have mercy”)
- the three ways of exercising mercy toward others is by deed, by word, and by prayer
we should do works of mercy because even the strongest faith is of no use without works of love

The Corporal Works of Mercy (Mt. 25:31-46)

feed the hungry
give drink to the thirsty
clothe the naked
shelter the homeless
visit the sick
visit the imprisoned
bury the dead

The Spiritual Works of Mercy

counsel the doubtful
instruct the ignorant
admonish sinners
comfort the afflicted
forgive offenses
bear wrongs patiently
pray for the living and the dead

“Charity begins today. Today somebody is suffering, today somebody is in the street, today somebody is hungry. Our work is for today, yesterday has gone, tomorrow has not yet come—today, we have only today to make Jesus known, loved, served, fed, clothed, sheltered, etc. Today — do not to wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow might not come. Tomorrow we will not have them if we do not feed them today.”
– Blessed Mother Teresa

Blogger is back up

2011-05-13T13:39:00.002-04:00

The blogging platform is back up, after having been down for quite a while, but it appears that some of the comments were lost.

UPDATE --

Word to the wise blogger --
Because we all know that computers like to crash and burn, it is a good idea to periodically save the webpages of your own blog/website.

Why God Became Man

2011-05-12T15:57:00.001-04:00

In our Lord Jesus Christ, God became man -- Jesus is fully God, yet fully man.

Why did God become man?

In his book, The Belief of Catholics, Msgr. Ronald Knox writes, "God became Man in order that, dying, he might atone for our sins, and win us the graces normally necessary to the attainment of salvation."

This is one hundred percent, absolutely fundamental, true Church doctrine. To be sure, the name Jesus (Joshua or Yeshua in Hebrew) means "God saves."

That being said, if Adam and Eve had never sinned, if all of mankind was still totally innocent, even frolicking fancy free in the Garden (with no shame), would God still have become man?

Certainly He would not do so for salvation purposes, there would be no need to, but could there be another reason that God became man?

Despite the "what if" and highly speculative nature of the question, there are good reasons for thinking that He would have. Salvation is not the only reason for Emmanuel, God with us. It seems that He because man also because He loves us and wanted to join us to Him more fully.

Pope Benedict speaks of the Annunciation as a marriage proposal. There is something in that -- that Jesus wanted to "marry" humanity. God wanted to establish, not merely a parental relationship with us, but a spousal relationship as well, the fullness of love in a communion of persons that is both unitive and fruitful. In love, He wanted to join fully with humanity, not merely spiritually, which is only partially, but in the fullness of our being, spirit and body, two become one, wholly apart from the issue of salvation. (See also CCC 456 et seq.)

We have need of a savior, of course, because of mankind rejecting God. Early on, Adam and Eve, not satisfied with being mere creatures, ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge because they wanted to be like gods themselves. It was this Original Sin that ushered in death -- real death, not merely death of the physical body, but eternal death -- because the very nature of sin is to separate us from God, who is Life itself. Consequently, because He loves us, God sent us His only Son, Jesus Christ, who is the salvation of the world.

The irony of Adam and Eve sinning by wanting to be like gods (which ultimately is the root of every sin that we commit) is that it didn't have to be that way. It did not have to be a sin. The irony is that God Himself wants us to be like gods! (CCC 460)

As St. Athanasius wrote, "The Son of God became man so that we might become God." (De Incarnatione Verbi Dei 54, 3: PG 25, 192B) Likewise, St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that He, made man, might make men gods." (Opusc. 57, 1-4)

The problem is that we (mankind) wanted and want to be gods on our own terms. We want to be gods by our own will, by our own doing. We want our divinity to be self-actualized, without the involvement of He who is already God.

God does want us to be "gods," but He wants us to be gods on His terms, He wants us to be gods by His doing. Not because He is a "jealous God" who can't bear to have competition, but because He is Truth. He is the One and only God, thus, only He can make us like "gods."

For us to be gods on our own, by our own doing (or for us to be our own saviors, to attain salvation all by our own merits) would not be consistent with truth, it would be a lie, it would be contrary to the very idea of God. No, to be true, man can become gods only by the action of the God who is Truth.

We can become gods only by God joining us to Himself, by Him taking us unto Himself in the entirety of our being -- our soul joined to His Spirit, our body joined to His Body -- so that we are in Him and He is in us to such a degree that we truly are a loving communion of persons, no longer separate and apart, but two become one, not merely in a symbolic or poetic sense, but in a very real, authentic and true sense.

"Be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect," Jesus said. Only God is perfect, but by joining fully in communion with Him, in allowing ourselves to be truly sanctified by the Spirit of Sanctification, we can be made perfect as commanded by Jesus. The Lord does not demand the impossible of us, He makes the "impossible" possible. He makes us imperfect humans perfect, He -- and only He -- makes us like gods.
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