Thanksgiving with the Holy Spirit and Bishop Loverde

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The turkey and wine we will eat and drink on Thanksgiving Day will be deliciously good, but they are pale imitations of the real food, the real drink that the Lord invites us to receive to have life in abundance. More than merely saying what we are thankful for, we need to give that thanks to Him, and beyond saying grace, we need to open our hearts to the grace of the Holy Spirit, to dwell within us and be a light of the Lord to others. More than merely inviting others to share turkey on Thanksgiving, we need to invite others to share in our Lord, the fullness of life, in the Eucharist. In love, with the graces of the Holy Spirit we received in Confirmation, we need to invite them to join us at the real Thanksgiving meal, not merely once a year, but to join in the joyous feast everyday of our lives.
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See also, The First Thanksgiving Day Proclamation of President Washington (1789)

(cross-posted at Adoramus Te)

Anointing for Confirmation and the Battle Ahead

Bishop Paul Loverde will confer the Sacrament of Confirmation on adults from throughout the Diocese of Arlington on Pentecost and the preceding Vigil this coming weekend. As part of the Rite of Confirmation, the recipient is anointed by a sign of the cross on the forehead with chrism oil, together with the words, "(Name taken in Confirmation), be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit."

A question arises with respect to this anointing -- Should you leave the oil on your forehead or wipe/wash it off right after Mass?

I don't know that there is any "official" answer. Certainly, it would seem inappropriate to immediately wipe off the oil as the newly confirmed is walking back to his seat, and it should remain throughout the Mass. But beyond that, I suppose the same considerations apply as when the question was asked about the ashes received on Ash Wednesday. However, especially in these times, I would think it good to keep it on as long as possible as a reminder to yourself for the remainder of the day.

What do you mean, "especially in these times"?

Society, the nation, the world, are facing difficult days ahead. The world has great need for witnesses of Jesus Christ. We need to keep that in mind, and keep the sign of the cross and keep the sign of Christ in the oil (the name "Christ" means "anointed one" in Greek) upon our very being.

Pope Benedict was not speaking of Confirmation specifically on Monday, but he did provide some wise words, which are directly applicable to our Confirmation duty, in thanking various cardinals for the congratulations they gave on the occasion of his birthday and anniversary of his papacy.

At this moment my word can be only a word of gratitude. Gratitude first of all to the Lord for the many years he has given me; years with so many days of joy, splendid times, but also dark nights. However, in retrospect one understands even the nights were necessary and good, a motive for gratitude.

Today the word ecclesia militans (the Church Militant) is somewhat out of fashion, but in reality we can understand ever better that it is true, that it bears truth in itself. We see how evil wishes to dominate the world and that it is necessary to enter into battle with evil. We see how it does so in so many ways, bloody, with the different forms of violence, but also masked with goodness and precisely this way destroying the moral foundations of society.

Saint Augustine said that the whole of history is a struggle between two loves: love of oneself to contempt of God; love of God to contempt of self, in martyrdom. We are in this struggle and in this struggle it is very important to have friends. And, in my own case, I am surrounded by the friends of the College of Cardinals: they are my friends and I feel at home, I feel safe in this company of great friends, who are with me and all together with the Lord.

Thank you for this friendship. Thank you, Eminence, for all that you have done for this moment today and for all that you do always. Thank you for the communion of joys and sorrows. Let’s go forward, the Lord said: courage, I have overcome the world. We are in the Lord’s squad, hence in the victorious squad. Thanks to you all. May the Lord bless you all. And let’s toast.

Be a Missionary of Love

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
A reflection on Redemptoris Missio
L'Osservatore Romano, April 8, 1991

God is Love. Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die but may have eternal life (Jn 3:16). Like us, in all things except sin—in Jesus, with Jesus and through Jesus we go to the Father.

A missionary must be a missionary of Love. A missionary is one who is sent. God sent his Son. Today God sends us. Each one of us is sent by God and his Church. Sent for what? Sent to be his love among men. Sent to bring his love and compassion among men. We have to carry our Lord to places he has not walked before. In Melbourne, once, the sisters picked up a man from the street. He was an alcoholic with no name, no work, nothing, a real street case. After a week, he came up to the sister and said: "Now I am all right and I am going home. I will never drink again. I have realized God loves me". Then he went back to his home, to his wife, his children and to his work. After a month he returned with his first salary saying: "Use this to show God's love to others like me".

Once a man came to Nirmol Hridoy, Home for the Dying Destitutes, Calcutta. He just walked in—right into the ward. I was there. After a little while he came back and said to me: "I came here with so much hate in my heart, hate for God and hate for man. I came here empty, faithless, embittered and I saw a sister inside, giving her whole-hearted attention to that patient there. I realize that God still loves. Now I go out a different man. I believe there is a God and he loves us still".

In Ethiopia, the Apostolic Delegate told us during the homily at Mass: "I thank you, in the name of the Holy Father because by your presence you are making the Church fully present here". We make the Church present by proclaiming the Good News. What is the Good News? The Good News is that God still loves the world through each one of us. You are God's Good News; you are God's love in action. Through you God is still loving the world. Each time people come into contact with us, they must become different and better people because of having met us. We must radiate God's love. By our living and working together as God's family, we proclaim that unity in the Church, as well as by working with all people, serving all people, of any religion, colour, caste or race. . . .

On the night before he died—Jesus left us himself in the Eucharist, under the appearance of bread and wine. So is he also present in the distressing disguise of the poor, though in quite a different way.

And he gave us a new commandment: "Love one another as I have loved you".

And to make it easy for us to love, he said: "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me"; for I was hungry, thirsty, naked, homeless, unwanted, untouchable,—and you did it to me. I call this the Gospel on five fingers - five words: You did it to me. Jesus cannot tell a lie. In your five fingers you have your love for Jesus. And St. John tells us that "if anyone says, I love God, yet hates his brother, he is a liar. One who has no love for the brother he has seen—cannot love the God he has not seen". Look at your fingers often and remind yourself of this love. . . .

Every human being is created in the image and likeness of God, and Christ, by his Incarnation, is united with each human person. In the beginning when I first started the work, some people passed remarks that the Church is not made of rubbish. That meant the poor, the sick, the dying, the crippled, the homeless, etc. Now everyone seems to have turned towards what was considered rubbish. Yes, the poor are worthy of respect and human dignity. Human beings cannot become conscious of their own dignity unless they have experienced love. . . .

We need to be pure of heart to see Jesus in the person of the poor, for a pure heart can see God. This purity means that our heart "has to be emptied of all self-seeking, of all sin. Once we take our eyes away from ourselves, from our interests, from our own rights, privileges, ambitions—then they will become clear to see Jesus around us. Impurity is present whenever we are proud or bitter, harbouring uncharitable thoughts, words or deeds, unforgiving, jealous or blocked by earthly riches. The people at the time of Jesus rejected him because his poverty threatened their riches. Jesus was sent by his Father to the poor and, to be able to understand the poor, Jesus had to know and experience that poverty in his own body and soul. We too must experience poverty if we want to be true carriers of God's love. To be able to proclaim the Good News to the poor we must know what poverty is. . . .

Let us not make a mistake—that the hunger is only for a piece of bread. The hunger of today is much greater: for love — to be wanted, to be loved, to be cared for, to be somebody.

Feeding the hungry—not only for food but also for the Word of God.
Giving drink to the thirsty—not only for water, but for peace, truth and justice.
Giving shelter to the homeless—not only a shelter made of bricks but a heart that understands, that covers, that loves.
Nursing the sick and the dying—not only of body but also of mind and spirit.

I do not agree with the big way of doing things. To us, what matters is an individual. To get to love the person, we must come in close contact with him. If we wait until we get the numbers, then we will be lost in the numbers, and we will never be able to show that love and respect for the person. I believe in a person-to-person relationship. Every person is Christ for me, and since there is only one Jesus, there is only one person in the world for me at that moment. Humility always radiates the greatness and glory of God. Let us not be afraid to be humble, small, helpless to prove our love for God. The cup of water you give to the sick, the way you lift a dying man, the way you feed a baby, the way in which you teach an ignorant child, the way you give medicine to a leper, the joy with which you smile at your own at home--all this is God's love in the world today. I want this to be imprinted in your minds: God skill loves the world through you and through me today. We must not be afraid to radiate God's love everywhere. . . .

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. . . .

Let us pray that we be pure and humble like Mary so that we can become holy like Jesus. All for Jesus through Mary.

God bless you.

Mother Teresa

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St. Thomas Aquinas on the Sacrament of Confirmation

Summa Theologica III, q. 72

art. 1 Now it is evident that in the life of the body a certain special perfection consists in man's attaining to the perfect age, and being able to perform the perfect actions of a man: hence the Apostle says (1 Corinthians 13:11): "When I became a man, I put away the things of a child." And thence it is that besides the movement of generation whereby man receives life of the body, there is the movement of growth, whereby man is brought to the perfect age. So therefore does man receive spiritual life in Baptism, which is a spiritual regeneration: while in Confirmation man arrives at the perfect age, as it were, of the spiritual life. . . . Christ instituted this sacrament not by bestowing, but by promising it, according to Jn. 16:7: "If I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you, but if I go, I will send Him to you." And this was because in this sacrament the fullness of the Holy Ghost is bestowed, which was not to be given before Christ's Resurrection and Ascension; according to Jn. 7:39: "As yet the Spirit was not given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." * * *

Those who receive Confirmation, which is the sacrament of the fullness of grace, are conformed to Christ, inasmuch as from the very first instant of His conception He was "full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). This fullness was made known at His Baptism, when "the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape . . . upon Him" (Luke 3:22).

art. 5 * * * just as Baptism is a spiritual regeneration unto Christian life, so also is Confirmation a certain spiritual growth bringing man to perfect spiritual age. But it is evident, from a comparison with the life of the body, that the action which is proper to man immediately after birth, is different from the action which is proper to him when he has come to perfect age. And therefore by the sacrament of Confirmation man is given a spiritual power in respect of sacred actions other than those in respect of which he receives power in Baptism. For in Baptism he receives power to do those things which pertain to his own salvation, forasmuch as he lives to himself: whereas in Confirmation he receives power to do those things which pertain to the spiritual combat with the enemies of the Faith. This is evident from the example of the apostles, who, before they received the fullness of the Holy Ghost, were in the "upper room . . . persevering . . . in prayer" (Acts 1:13-14); whereas afterwards they went out and feared not to confess their faith in public, even in the face of the enemies of the Christian Faith. . . .

All have to wage the spiritual combat with our invisible enemies. But to fight against visible foes, viz. against the persecutors of the Faith, by confessing Christ's name, belongs to the confirmed, who have already come spiritually to the age of virility, according to 1 John 2:14: "I write unto you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and you have overcome the wicked one." And therefore the character of Confirmation is a distinctive sign, not between unbelievers and believers, but between those who are grown up spiritually and those of whom it is written: "As new-born babes" (1 Peter 2:2).

art. 6. The character of Confirmation, of necessity supposes the baptismal character: so that, in effect, if one who is not baptized were to be confirmed, he would receive nothing, but would have to be confirmed again after receiving Baptism. The reason of this is that, Confirmation is to Baptism as growth to birth, as is evident from what has been said above. Now it is clear that no one can be brought to perfect age unless he be first born: and in like manner, unless a man be first baptized, he cannot receive the sacrament of Confirmation.

The Divine power is not confined to the sacraments. Hence man can receive spiritual strength to confess the Faith of Christ publicly, without receiving the sacrament of Confirmation: just as he can also receive remission of sins without Baptism. Yet, just as none receive the effect of Baptism without the desire of Baptism; so none receive the effect of Confirmation, without the desire of Confirmation.

art. 7. In this sacrament, as stated above (1 and 4), the Holy Ghost is given to the baptized for strength: just as He was given to the apostles on the day of Pentecost, as we read in Acts 2; and just as He was given to the baptized by the imposition of the apostles' hands, as related in Acts 8:17. * * * the Holy Ghost is not sent or given except with sanctifying grace. Consequently it is evident that sanctifying grace is bestowed in this sacrament.

Sanctifying grace does indeed take away sin; but it has other effects also, because it suffices to carry man through every step as far as eternal life. * * * Therefore sanctifying grace is given not only for the remission of sin, but also for growth and stability in righteousness.

Further, as appears from its very name, this sacrament is given in order "to confirm" what it finds already there. And consequently it should not be given to those who are not in a state of grace. For this reason, just as it is not given to the unbaptized, so neither should it be given to the adult sinners, except they be restored by Penance. . . .

art. 10. As stated above, this sacrament is given to man for strength in the spiritual combat. Now, just as one newly born requires someone to teach him things pertaining to ordinary conduct, according to Hebrews 12:9: "We have had fathers of our flesh, for instructors, and we obeyed [Vulgate: 'reverenced']" them; so they who are chosen for the fight need instructors by whom they are informed of things concerning the conduct of the battle, and hence in earthly wars, generals and captains are appointed to the command of the others. For this reason he also who receives this sacrament, has someone to stand for him, who, as it were, has to instruct him concerning the fight.

Likewise, since this sacrament bestows on man the perfection of spiritual age, as stated above (2 and 5), therefore he who approaches this sacrament is upheld by another, as being spiritually a weakling and a child.

art. 11. The sacrament of Baptism is more efficacious than this sacrament as to the removal of evil, since it is a spiritual birth, that consists in change from non-being to being. But this sacrament is more efficacious for progress in good; since it is a spiritual growth from imperfect being to perfect being.

Love and Truth – the Nature and Attributes of God

Adult Confirmation Class One
May 4, 2011

A. Knowledge of the Nature of God

The unavoidable question of life is whether or not God exists. To arrive at a correct answer to that mystifying question, one must, of course, have a proper conception of whom or what God is. It is quite easy to reject any belief in God if all you know is a caricature of Him, rather than the reality. The problem is that, while the mere existence of God is knowable by reason, reason is necessarily limited by what is already known or by what can be imagined. However, reason can be enlightened by revelation -- someone simply revealing truth to us -- helping us to know who and what it is that we seek, that is, helping us to have that proper conception of God, at least to the extent that we can comprehend, conceding that the full extent of the nature of God is beyond our limited human comprehension, which we call "mystery."

Of course, to accept such revelation as reliable, one must necessarily have faith. That said, faith and reason are not incompatible. Faith helps reason to discover itself. As Pope Benedict has pointed out, the search for truth in any endeavor never starts from zero, but always presupposes a trust in knowledge, ideas, and data which we cannot always control by ourselves. Faith implies reason and perfects it, and reason, illuminated by faith, finds the strength to rise to knowledge of the transcendent, God and other spiritual realities. Human reason loses nothing when it is open to the contents of revealed faith.

Also, when one simply "takes it on faith" that God exists, then it all starts making sense. As St. Augustine discovered, belief leads to understanding, which in turn
leads to greater belief. Once we simply flip the switch of faith, the light comes on, and we can see, thereby confirming that we were right to trust. Thus, in
answering the question of God, it is good to consult revelation as a starting point from which our reason can determine whether this is a truth to which we should
give our assent. It is only by Divine Revelation (the Bible and Sacred Tradition, as authoritatively interpreted and understood by the Magisterium, which is guided by the Holy Spirit) that we can have a greater and proper understanding of the mystery of the nature of God.

B. Divine Revelation – God Reveals to Mankind What and Who He is

(1) The Fullness of Being – Truth itself – “I am” – God is
Ex. 3:13-15 – Moses said to God, "When I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' if they ask me, 'What is His name?' what am I to tell them?" God replied, "I am who am." Then He added, "This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you." God spoke further to Moses, "Thus shall you say to the Israelites: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. "This is my name forever; this is my title for all generations.”

(2) The Word – Logos – Creative Reason
John 1:1-4 – 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.

(3) Deus Caritas Est – God is Love
1 Jn. 4:7-9 – Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him.

(4) Creator – source of all that exists
Gen. 1:1-3 – In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

(5) Beginning and end of all, making all things new
Rev. 21:5-6 – The one who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." Then He said, "Write these words down, for they are trustworthy and true." He said to me, "They are accomplished. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.”

As set out above, Divine Revelation informs us that:
(1) God told Moses that He is the "I am." What does this reveal about God? It means that God, as the "I am," is the Ultimate Reality, complete in Himself and, therefore, One. He is Being itself and is therefore Truth itself. Indeed, if something lacks truth, it lacks reality and existence. This Truth is the first principle, from which all else follows. Referring to Himself as the "I am," shows that God is a transcendent conscious reality that has a name, an identity, that is, He is not merely philosophical truth, not merely a cosmic force, but a personal being. He is not merely a what, but a who.
(2) God, that is to say, Jesus Christ, is also the Word, that is, Logos (Creative Reason), and as such, is again Truth itself from which everything that exists proceeds. And yet again, He is (5) the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of all things. In Him, all things are made new.
(3) However, Revelation informs us that God is not merely Truth, He is also Love. And this is demonstrated again and again in salvation history, in our creation and in our salvation. And it is in and by the power of that Love, that He is (4) the Creator and ultimate source of all that is.

C. The Nature of God

From Revelation, reason allows us to discern the nature of God --

(1) One and Complete in Himself – noncontingent, dependent upon nothing, in need of nothing beyond Himself

(2) Only Necessary Being – the creator, source and sustainer of all that exists

(a) God created the universe ex nihilo (out of nothing)
(b) Divine Providence – God continues to sustain and interact with His creation
(c) God is Life itself – we are not the accidental products of an impersonal universe, rather, we are each created by the thought of God as an act of love, and we have life because He has breathed His Spirit into us.

(3) God has a Name – He is not merely a what, but is a who, that is, God is a conscious, intelligent, and personal being; He is not a mere cosmic force.

(4) Transcendent Spirit

(a) noncorporeal, nonmaterial
(b) God exists in and beyond space (the physical universe) and time

(5) God is Truth – God "is"

(a) His name reveals Him to be Being itself, existence itself – Ultimate Reality
(b) The Word – Logos, a Greek term meaning “reason” (from which we get “logic”)
(c) As truth, God embodies justice and order

(6) God is Total Perfect Love in Person

(a) The Love of God is 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.
(b) The Love of God is unitive - love is by its very nature relational, and total perfect love in its truest and fullest sense involves not merely a relation of persons, but a communion of persons, whereby many become one.
(c) The Love of God is fruitful (procreative) – love in its fullest sense is naturally fruitful, it is not stagnant or sterile, but instead seeks to spread outward and grow and generate new love and life.
(d) Divine Mercy – God is ever merciful

D. The Perfections of God

Assisted by Revelation, reason also informs us of certain perfections of God --

(1) Holy and All Good
(2) Omnipotent (almighty, all powerful)
(3) Omniscient (all knowing)
(4) Transcendent and Infinite

This One Truth who is also Love is eternal and transcendent, not bounded by time or space. He is pure, infinite, unbounded spirit. The only “limit” to the all-powerful God is that He cannot be contrary to Himself – He is not and cannot be or act contrary to truth or love because He is Truth and Love. Thus, He cannot be unreasonable or irrational or unjust or the source or cause of evil.
(5) Omnipresent - God transcends and is not bounded by the physical universe, such that He can and does exist in all places
(6) Eternal – God transcends and is not bounded by temporality

God exists beyond and outside of space - the physical universe - and because time is a measurement of changes in space, He exists both in and outside of time. He is simultaneously the beginning and the end. For God, time is not linear, as for humans, but is both a singularity and a totality. All moments are for Him in the present. "Eternity" does not mean "forever," but instead means being above and beyond time. Thus, God is not some ancient being who is more than 20 billion years old, but is instead always "new." For Him, all things exist simultaneously, and each moment exists in perpetuity -- thus, for example, Jesus was not merely crucified 2,000 years ago (as it appears from a human perspective), but rather, being eternal, He is hanging on the Cross even now and yet, He is simultaneously also rising from the dead, and leading us into the New Jerusalem.

E. The Holy Trinity – one God in three persons

Most importantly, 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 this could not be known purely by observation and reason. 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 Love. Because God is Truth and Complete, He is One. But He 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.

Such complete and perfect love, love in its truest and fullest sense, is both unitive and fruitful. It 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, and it bears fruit. Thus, this loving communion of three persons in one divine being, although complete in Himself, chose to share His love even more and create mankind.

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

On the Existence of God

Adult Confirmation Class One
May 4, 2011

The existence of God is not an irrational proposition. To be sure, one can come to know the existence of a Creator-God -- to prove His existence -- by observation and reason, including the observation of the existence and nature of the universe.

In Love and in Truth, God created the universe. By His Word, He created it ex nihilo and ab initio temporis (out of nothing and at the beginning of time). We know this from divine (written) revelation, but even without written revelation, God reveals Himself in nature, such that knowledge that the universe was created by God can be attained by reason and observation of the orderly universe. Indeed, the very word "cosmology," meaning the study of the universe, is derived from the Greek cosmos (order) and logos (reason). (Technically, cosmology is the study of the universe, while cosmogony answers the question as to how the universe first came to be, and that word is derived from the Greek cosmos (universe) and gonia (come about)).

But are not faith and science necessarily in conflict with each other? How can reason and observation alone lead to the conclusion that the universe was created by God?

The existence of a Creator is not a purely religious question, as demonstrated by the fact that, since ancient times, non-religious scholars, such as Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero have posited reason-based theories for a Creator-God. Historically, such theories based on reason and observation, leading to the conclusion that the universe was made by a Creator, have included the cosmological argument, the teleological argument, and the anthropic principle.

The cosmological argument is a metaphysical argument for the existence of God as a first cause or first mover of the universe. The teleological argument, or argument from design, is an argument for the existence of God or a creator based on order or perceived purpose. The more modern anthropic principle is a variation of the teleological argument, and it examines the extreme complexity of the human organism and the highly delicate balance of conditions necessary for human life, and posits that it is infinitely unlikely that such conditions could have happened randomly.

The very first premise of science is that truth exists, and that reason exists. It is a premise of science that the universe is ordered, and that it strictly operates according to rational laws, including cause and effect, Newton’s first law of motion (inertia), conservation of energy/matter, and the second law of thermodynamics (entropy).

One cannot get something out of nothing. A thing cannot have itself as its own cause, a thing at rest stays at rest unless moved by another thing, and entropy (disorder) in a closed system tends increase over time. The physical reality that is the universe did not and could not have created itself. It did not and could not have set itself “in motion.” Indeed, a universe of chance and arbitrary randomness – a universe detached from reason -- could not have created the ordered and reasonable universe that exists today. Chance and arbitrary randomness cannot account for matter that exists in a stable, ordered form, or for the fact that some of that matter is alive. Chance and arbitrary randomness cannot account for the infinite complexity of the human organism, much less the capacity for thought, free will, and autonomous action. Rather, the universe, order in the universe, and mankind had a cause independent of themselves, and that cause was the First Cause and First Mover of all things – God.

Variations of the cosmological argument were advanced by the Greeks Plato and Aristotle. Plato argued that motion in the world and in the cosmos was "imparted motion" that would have required some kind of "self-originated motion" to set it in motion and to maintain the motion. Aristotle also put forth the idea of a first cause, often referred to as the "Prime Mover" or "Unmoved Mover" in his work Metaphysics. Meanwhile, variations of the teleological argument were advanced by the Roman Cicero, who utilized the familiar "clock in the wilderness" scenario. "When you see a sundial or a water-clock, you see that it tells the time by design and not by chance. How then can you imagine that the universe as a whole is devoid of purpose and intelligence, when it embraces everything, including these artifacts themselves and their artificers?" (Cicero, De Natura Deorum, ii. 34)

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that, with respect to the universe and its origin, the existence of God can be proved in five ways. The first and more manifest way is the argument from motion -- whatever is in motion is put in motion by another. The second way is from the nature of the efficient cause. There is no case known (neither is it, indeed, possible) in which a thing is found to be the efficient cause of itself; for so it would be prior to itself, which is impossible. The third way is taken from possibility and necessity. The fourth way is taken from the gradation of perfection to be found in things. The fifth way is taken from the governance and design of the world. (Summa Theologica, I, q. 2, art. 3)

And yet, some insist that the universe and reality itself sprung into existence by an arbitrary and accidental act. Not only did the universe just spring into existence all by itself, it was and is just coincidental that certain sub-atomic particles react with other particles in particular fashion, and that they are thus bound together, so as to permit the existence of atoms, molecules, and compounds, not to mention galaxies, stars, and planets. But the existence of these things, and the fact that they follow rational laws, would dictate as a matter of science that they were caused by something rational and true.

The fact that one of those planets just happened to be so lucky so as to be just the right distance away from the sun, which radiated just the right kind and intensity of light and heat, and the temperature of the planet was just right and that planet had just the right kind of elements in the right proportions so as to be able to form oxygen and water, shows that we are either extra-ordinarily lucky, like hitting the Lotto every single day for 100 years, or we are here because of some rational creative act of reason.

Moreover, some of this matter became animated, that is, alive, which also points to a rational cause; it points to the conclusion that life is not simply the result of haphazard events. Life is not the result of the random collision of molecules and electro-magnetic pulses. And the fact that some of that life actually has the capacity for sentience and thought, an ability to form and create ideas and to exercise independent agency, i.e. free will, which actually transcends the physical, points to the possibility that reality is not limited to the physical universe, but there is a reality beyond it. Indeed, science has repeatedly postulated the existence of realities beyond the known universe, or even the existence of non-corporeal life.

There was a cause to all of these things. That cause was necessarily "Creative Reason," i.e. Logos (God). As we can see, the basis for believing in the existence of God merely from simple observation of the world around us, experience, and reason, is compelling. To be sure, the Big Bang Theory only confirms what revealed scripture has said all along. But as far as reason takes us, it does not take us all the way. Revealed faith, on the other hand, does allow man to reach for and attain the transcendent.
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Preparation for Adult Confirmation 2011:Class One

“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 4, 2011

Introduction to Catechesis – “to make resound like an echo”

• remembering the events of salvation history and making them known, so as to provoke an "echo" of the faith in the mind and in the heart of the listener, and thereby transform his or her life

I. God, Man, and Salvation History

A. The Lord God (CCC 26-50, 74-354)

1. Knowledge of God

• reason and observation and natural revelation in the universe, the world, our bodies
• Divine Revelation, the Living Word of God – (written) Sacred Scripture and (oral) Tradition
• Revelation is God making it easier for us to know Him and know ourselves
• inspired, guided, and protected by the Holy Spirit
• interpret scripture as a whole, OT in light of NT and vice versa
• assistance of Magisterium in interpreting Revelation

2. Faith and Reason

• faith and reason are not contrary or incompatible, but assist each other
• faith itself is reasonable, being arrived at by revelation assisted by right reason
• pure reason is necessarily limited, and it is also impaired by influences of the world and sin
• reason’s search for truth always relies on and trusts (takes on faith) prior revealed knowledge
• religious faith helps reason to discover itself and open it to transcendence

3. Existence and Nature of God - Who and What is God?

• “I AM” – Logos – Creative Reason – Being itself – Perfect Complete Truth
• Perfect Complete Love - philia, purified eros, and agape, a "spousal" type of love that is both unitive and fruitful
• Alpha and Omega - Complete in Himself and only Necessary Being
• Transcendent of Space and Time, thus omnipresent and eternal, singularity and totality of time
• Personal Being

4. The Trinity – One and Three - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

• God is Love, and love, by its very nature, is relational – total perfect love is communion
• God is Truth – One and complete in Himself
• In God, there is an everlasting personal love, the Holy Spirit, that proceeds from and between the persons of the Father and Son
• a loving communion of three distinct persons in one undivided divine nature, substance, and essence

5. God the Father – Creator

• creation of universe ex nihilo and ab initio temporis
• the universe and human beings are not accidental or arbitrary products of chance, but willed by God
• Divine Providence sustaining what God has created

B. Existence and Nature of Man (CCC 355-421, 1846-1876)

1. Who and What is Man?

• created by God in Love and Truth, contingent and dependent upon Him
• Man, male and female, equal and complementary, made in the image of the Triune God
• “not good for the man to be alone” – emptiness of individual solitude
• social-relational beings, incomplete in ourselves, in need of an other and Other in order to be true to ourselves
• body and soul, having one nature of matter and spirit, which is temporal and transcendent
• human personhood – a free subject with an inherent dignity, not an object or thing, possessed with sentience and free will, as well as the capacity for reason and for love

2. What is the Meaning of Life?

• “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself”
• love one another, as Jesus loves us, so too should we love one another
• God reveals meaning of life in scripture and in our very bodies, male and female
• we are made to love and be loved in truth
• made in love and truth, we are naturally drawn toward God, who is Love and Truth
• made in the image of the Trinity, this love is not merely relational, but spousal in nature
• meant to exist both in general society and in a specific loving communion of persons
• spousal-type communion with another human in marriage, or with God alone, is both unitive and fruitful (procreative)

3. Love and Truth and the Freedom of Mankind

• love is not love if it is not freely given and freely received
• God does not force His love or truth on us against our will – God does not even save us without our consent, we are free to choose to return His love or to reject Him and live our lives apart from Him
• Man has independent agency, with rational control and freedom to think and act - the universe is not purely materialistic and pre-determined
• the existence of a free will not pre-determined by physical factors suggests the existence of an extra-corporeal aspect to the person
• it is the spirit that allows one to transcend and overcome the mere biological electro-chemical reactions in the brain and thereby choose our actions
• the existence of free will means that we are morally responsible for our own willful choices

4. The Fall of Man – Original and Individual Sin

• sin, Original and personal, necessarily is in opposition to God, who is Truth and Love
• Adam and Eve erroneously believed that they did not need God, but could be gods themselves with the power to choose their own truth, their own concepts of right and wrong
• this Original Sin has affected and infected us all, leaving a stain on our very being
• the stain of Original Sin cannot be removed by our own efforts, but requires the transformative power of God, which we receive in Baptism
• a wide gulf of separation between humanity and God was created, so great that man is incapable of crossing it on his own
• mankind forgot knowledge of God
• individual and social nature and consequence of sin
• corruption of human nature, including ability to love and discern truth
• weakened will and impairment of reason, judgment, and ability to see and know God, rejection of Light has thrown us into darkness
• intrinsic punishment of being a slave to error and further sin, temptations overwhelm us
• ultimately, sin so removes us from Truth and Love, that is, Life, that we are “doomed to die”
• poisons all relations with others, both other humans and God
• types of sin – mortal and venial
• mortal sin involves a grave/serious matter, full knowledge, and deliberate consent, such that it destroys love in the heart and turns one away from God, thereby resulting in eternal death if forgiveness is not sought and accepted
• venial sin wounds love in the heart and weakens grace, but is not so serious as to break the covenant with God, warranting temporal punishment and purgation, but not eternal death

C. Salvation History: God – Who is Divine Mercy – Calls Humanity Back to Himself (CCC 50-73, 484-511)

• Preparing Mankind for the Coming of Jesus Christ
• Establishing Relationships with Specific Peoples, and Gradually Revealing Himself, with Christ and the Church Prefigured Repeatedly Throughout History

1. Salvation History While Still in the Garden

• in breathing His Spirit into us and making us in His image, God imprinted upon our very being a natural desire for God
• the proto-evangelium, a promise of deliverance

2. The Covenant with Noah

• the Flood and the Ark

3. The Covenant with Abraham

• revelation of One God, the God of all peoples and all places
• a chosen people and a promised land
• called out of a far country
• sign of the covenant
• the meaning of total faith – offering to sacrifice Isaac

4. The Covenant with Jacob/Israel

• the suffering of Joseph leads to saving the people of God

5. Moses and Freedom from Bondage in Egypt

• the blood of the Passover lamb saves God’s people from death
• God leads His people out of bondage – passage through the waters of the Red Sea
• God protects His people, manna and water in the desert
• God gives His people freedom by giving them the Law - Torah

6. Judges and Kings

• military rulers
• the people desire a king, Saul is anointed, followed by David
• the covenant with David – promise of the Messiah
• psalms and other writings describe marital and parental relationship with God
• Solomon builds the first Temple

7. Repeated Infidelities of God’s People

• God’s people turn away and fall into sin, and God allows them to suffer the consequences
• enemies and invaders threaten and conquer Israel
• God mercifully forgives when the people seek to return to Him
• the Temple is defiled and razed
• the Diaspora and Babylonian exile
• the Prophets remind people of God’s mercy, encouraging them to have hope and return to Him
• the messianic prophecies of Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel

8. Prophecy of a New Covenant

• prophets Jeremiah and Joel announce the coming of a New Covenant, which includes the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit upon all mankind

9. Return from Exile

• the land of Israel is heavily influenced by Greeks and other foreigners
• Maccabean revolt and Jewish independence
• the eternal light of the Temple
• Rome conquers “Palestine” and installs Herod the Great as king

D. The Culmination of Salvation History – Jesus Christ

1. St. Mary, the Handmaid of the Lord

• “Hail, Full of Grace”
• Immaculate Conception
• Mary’s “Yes”
• Theotókos, the Mother of God, living temple of God
• Ever Virgin
• New Eve
• Assumption into Heaven

2. St. Joseph, Protector of Jesus and Mary

• model of faith and love – selfless sacrifice and love without possessing
• wise and faithful servant
• Joseph’s “Yes” – the love and mercy of the just and righteous man
• teacher and provider for Jesus

3. The Incarnation and Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ

• God merges into humanity, the Fruit of Mary’s womb, flesh of her flesh, bone of her bone
• the mystery of the eternal, omnipresent, and all-powerful God entering time and becoming small and dependent

4. St. John the Baptist

• last and greatest of the prophets
• prepares the way for the Lord
• announces to the world that the long wait is over, salvation has come

Preparation for Adult Confirmation 2010:Class Four

“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 8, 2010

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

CCD Confirmation Prep Takes a Break for the Summer

Seventh grade CCD had it's last class of the school year tonight. Following Mass, which included the Crowning of our Blessed Mother Mary, Queen of Heaven, the students have been sent off for a time to be a light of Christ to the world in word and in deed.

The Lord appointed seventy-two disciples whom He sent ahead of Him in pairs to every town and place He intended to visit. He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.
"Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
"Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, say to them, 'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'
"Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the One who sent me."

--Luke 10:1-3, 8-9, 16
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Preparation for Adult Confirmation 2010:Class Two

“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 April 24, 2010

II. Jesus Christ – Redeemer of Mankind – Complete Revelation of God

A. Existence and Nature of Jesus - Who and What is Jesus?

1. Tried for blasphemy – “I AM”

• guilty as charged, not guilty by reason of insanity, fictional character, or Son of God?

2. The Word (Logos)

• “Emmanuel,” God with us
• only begotten Son of God, consubstantial with the Father, through whom all things were made
• fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets
• Light of the World, Bread of Life
• the Way, the Truth, and the Life
• Judge of the living and the dead

3. Fully God and Fully Human

• God incarnate, God become man – one divine person with two complete natures, both human and divine, and two wills
• like us in all ways except for sin, with fully human freedom, frailties, and limitations
• the Son of God became a man to sanctify us, to make us partakers of His divine nature; that is, Jesus assumed our nature so that He, made man, might make men gods

4. Savior of the World

• “Jesus,” Yeshua, God saves
• the Messiah King, the “Christ,” anointed one
• Son of Man
• the Suffering Servant
• the Lamb of God, sacrificed in atonement for sin, reconciles mankind with God

B. The Life and Ministry of Jesus – Healer, Teacher, and Testifier to the Truth

1. Early Life of Jesus

• adoration of shepherds and Epiphany
• circumcision and presentation in the Temple
• slaughter of innocents, flight into Egypt, and departure out of Egypt
• teaching in the Temple
• hidden family life in Nazareth

2. Signs, Miracles, and Healings

• bearing witness to who He is and to the fact that the Kingdom of God is present within Him

3. Master Teacher

• utilizes different methods
• teaching on a variety of topics, including --
• testifying to Truth and to Love
• revealing who God the Father is, revealing who He is, revealing who the Holy Spirit is
• revealing who we are as human persons
• instructing us how to pray and how to serve God
• revealing the Kingdom of God, of heaven, of the last things
• giving us assurance and trustworthy hope to overcome all hardship
• commanding us to love God and love one another, to be perfect in love and truth, just as our heavenly Father is perfect, including giving of ourselves and being merciful

C. The Cross and Resurrection – the Paschal Mystery and the Transformative Power of Love

1. Perpetually Crucified, Eternally Resurrected

• the Crucifixion and Resurrection stand at the crossroads and center of human history
• God transcends time and space, so that specific points in human time, including the Crucifixion and Resurrection, continue to exist forever in His "present"
• the Passion of Jesus is an on-going event, He is eternally being scourged and crucified
• sin is a reality in the world, with real consequences – in the Passion and Crucifixion of Jesus, the truth of that reality and those consequences are made manifest in His flesh
• we are the ones who crucify Him - every sin of ours is another lash on His flesh, another pound of the hammer driving nails into His hands and feet
• through the Cross, by His eternal, on-going Resurrection, He “makes all things new”

2. The Lamb of God, Who Takes Away the Sins of the World

• Jesus is Divine Mercy, who gives His life in forgiveness of mankind
• Jesus freely offers His life as an expiatory sacrifice, that is, He makes reparation for our sins out of love for God and mankind, so as to reconcile them and repair the rift that had been caused by man’s infidelity and rejection of God
• rather than conferring forgiveness by simply denying the reality of sin or pretending that it did not happen, and ignoring its consequences, Jesus freely offers His life as a sacrifice in justice and witness to the truth of the real and destructive effects of sin in the world
• by sin, we are held captive to sin and death, by the Cross, Jesus pays our ransom
• Jesus takes the sins of mankind upon Himself, not merely taking them upon Himself spiritually, much less philosophically, but He takes the sins of mankind upon Himself in the totality of His being, that is, upon His Body as well
• the spotless Passover Lamb, who is sacrificed by the high priests for the sins of the people, and who blood is sprinkled so that death would pass over, and we would be lead from the bondage of sin and death to freedom and life

3. The Compassion of Jesus

• Jesus offers Himself as ransom and accepts death on the Cross out of love for us
• as fully man, with all the frailties of humanity, Jesus, God Himself, profoundly knows what it means to suffer horrible pain, fear, and anguish – as such, He suffers with us (com-passion) in all of our own individual hardships
• His joining in our human suffering allows us to join in His suffering, thereby to give meaning to our suffering and to join in His redemptive purpose, our agonies can be transformed and overcome

4. The Destruction of Death and Restoration of Our Life

• the Resurrection is the crowning truth of the Faith
• the Resurrection is the work of the Trinity – Father manifesting His power, Son taking up again the life which He freely offered, and the Holy Spirit bringing that life and glorification
• Love is stronger than death
• death could not be destroyed by simply avoiding it, death could only be destroyed by descending into it and transforming it
• in His resurrected and glorified Body, Jesus carries the wounds of His Passion and Crucifixion

D. The Eucharist – Source and Summit of the Faith

1. Real and Substantial Presence

• Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ
• transubstantiation – genuine transformation of the whole fundamental substance of bread and wine into the substance of His actual flesh and blood, while still remaining under the appearance of bread and wine
• instituted to perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross, and be a memorial of His death and Resurrection
• recalls the unleavened bread of the Passover meal
• rightly called “Eucharist,” from the Greek for “thanksgiving”
• Blessed Sacrament, Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper
• recalling the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, Jesus is fully present in each part even in the breaking of the bread

2. Fullness of Communion

• intimately receiving Him in the entirety of our being, body and spirit
• unites us to His Glorified Resurrected Body and Blood
• as in His Incarnation, when Jesus united Himself with humanity, the Eucharist unites God to man and His Creation by utilizing bread and wine, materials that are taken from the earth, but into which man has put a part of himself in his labors by changing grain and grape to bread and wine
• a sign of unity – communion, joining as one with Him in the entirety of our being, joins us in communion with all the faithful on earth and in purgatory and the saints in heaven

3. One Mass, One Sacrifice

• Crucifixion and Resurrection transcend time, such that those moments continue in perpetuity
• in the Eucharistic sacrifice in the Mass, Christ is not sacrificed again and again, rather, the Crucifixion and Resurrection are re-presented, that is, made present again
• At Mass, the bread and wine are consecrated and transubstantiation is brought about in the Eucharistic prayer through the efficacy of the word of Jesus and by the action of the Holy Spirit
• bread and wine are made Body and Blood in the same manner as the creation of the universe, when God said “Let there be light” – by the Breath and Word of God

4. The Fruits of Holy Communion

• the Eucharist is “the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live forever in Jesus Christ” (St. Ignatius of Antioch)
• reception of the Eucharist preserves and renews the life of grace and makes us grow in love of neighbor while strengthening us in charity, wiping away venial sin, and giving grace to live a virtuous and holy life

E. Christ the Bridegroom and His Bride, the Church

1. Jesus Established the Church

• Jesus promised that He would be with us always, until the end of the age
• Jesus established the Church as His Holy Bride, two become one
• being one with Her Bridegroom Christ, the Church is also the Body of Christ
• to be in communion with the Church is to be one with Christ
• the word “church” is derived from the Greek word “kyriake,” meaning “what belongs to the Lord,” which is also called an “ecclesia” in Latin, “an assembly set apart”
• Jesus called His Apostles – the word “Apostle” is from the Greek for “emissary”
• the Apostles given special authority and power to act in persona Christi
• authority to teach
• authority to confer the Sacraments
• to build up and govern the Church
• the Apostle Peter, the first pope, was given a special supreme authority

2. Mission of the Church - Jesus Calls All His Disciples to be His Witnesses

• Jesus said to love God and love others as He has loved us
• Jesus has instructed us to go and make disciples of all nations
• the mission of the Church is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world
• to testify to truth and to love
• to serve Him and help Him in the reconciliation of man with God and the salvation of mankind
• all of the faithful, the people of God who make up the Church, are called by Jesus to be a light to the world

3. Jesus Promises to Send the Holy Spirit

• the institution of a New Covenant, with an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, had been announced by the prophets Jeremiah and Joel
• Jesus fulfilled the scriptures in promising to send the Holy Spirit to the Church and faithful
• to guide and protect the Church
• to sanctify and make men and women more like God
• to confer the grace and power to be holy and perfect in love and truth, as God is perfect
• Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount that we should be perfect, just as our heavenly Father is perfect

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