Thirty-two years ago today, Papa Luciani died 33 days after assuming the papacy. I was in Wiesbaden, Germany that day, and one of the lay ministers of the Army base there called me with the news. I was stunned as was the whole world.
I would again encourage all of you to take the time to read about this remarkably humble and holy man who was the Servant of the Servants of God.
Dr. Lori Pieper has posted another wonderful article about Luciani’s thought and life at her blog On Pilgrimage.
Over 170,000 visitors have logged on to this weblog since its inception several years ago. Catholic Faith and Reflections is currently averaging about 15,000 visits a month. I am pleased so many find something of interest here.
Please feel free to leave your comments. All comments are moderated by me, but only once have I edited one. I know it takes a little time to write a sentence or two, (or better yet, a paragraph!) but we all benefit when you do.
Blessings on you and your families.
Deacon Bob
The Holy Father, in today’s Angelus address to the pilgrims in Rome, mentioned Blessed Chiara Badano. Just yesterday she was proclaimed one of the Blessed.
Chiara Badano was born in 1971 and died at age 19 years and was sick most of her life. Her nickname was “Chiara Luce” which translated means “bright light”. The Pope called her a ray of light for all of us, especially for the young who can find in her an example of Christian life. It is said that her final words were, “Mom, good bye. Be happy for I am happy.” Despite her illness, she maintained her joy.
She belonged to the “Movimento dei Focolari” a movement founded by Chiara Lubich in the 1940s and approved by the pope in 1962. Its spirituality focuses on unity of all men and women.
She truly will be a saint of our times, and not only that, but a saint with whom our teenagers and other youth will identify.
To learn more about Blessed Chiara Badano, log on to Focolare Movement Share her story with your children!
“To practice the virtues of meekness and humility I need only look at Jesus crucified and I learn how I must act in various circumstances.” — St. Conrad of Parzham, OFM Cap.
So much clamor nowadays is heard from various sectors about having the “right” to marry.
It is true that men and women have a natural right to marry as long as there are no impediments to it. Such impediments include, but are not limited to, consanguinity (close blood relationships), existing marriage to another person, not of sufficient age, psychological immaturity, lack of freedom, impotency, or unwillingness to accept children naturally born from the conjugal act between the marital couple. If one is free from impediments and have the proper intention and preparation, one has a right to marry.
As mentioned in a previous post, society has the responsibility to support and safeguard this right and in doing so, protect marriage and family as it is the natural foundation of society. Married couples have a right to expect such safeguards and social support.
But have we ever thought about the responsibilities married men and women have to society? Do we consider that there is a reciprocal responsibility between society and married couples?
We who are married have the responsibility to maintain and secure a stable relationship with our husbands or wives for several reasons. Certainly to provide an enriching environment for our children so they may mature and develop into healthy individuals capable of adding to the common good of society as a whole, but also, to provide stability and continuity to the communities and societies in which we live. We not only enjoy the benefits of social recognition and protection, but we have the responsibility to add to the common good of our brothers and sisters.
The recognition of marriage as a union of one man with one woman is not only about a personal commitment, but also about the social commitment that the husband and wife make to the well-being of society.
These questions then arise: “What contribution can and ought a union of man with woman make to the common good of society? What contribution can and ought a committed relationship between same-sex persons make to the common good?”
I would argue that they essentially differ, for they are essentially different relationships. Because of this essential difference, they do not share a common definition, nor should they enjoy a common recognition.
At the lower right of this webpage, under Blogroll, you will find an additional blog listed. It is entitled On Pilgrimage, authored by Dr. Lori Pieper who has done wonderful research on Pope John Paul I, translating much of his writings from the original Italian into English. She also has created a couple of films and adds interesting posts to her blog about our Catholic faith and Church news.
Take a look. You will find it worth your while.
“The family is the first essential cell of human society.” — Blessed Pope John XXIII
The strenuous and multiple efforts by many of us to protect the family has taken a new turn: protecting the definition of marriage as a permanent union of one man with one woman. The Minnesota Catholic bishops are stepping forward in this effort and catechizing all of us regarding the natural and sacramental natures of marriage. They are feeling the need to do so because of the political pressure to alter basic social structures on which the common good is established.
I began by saying that many of us have been strenuosly working to protect the family. This certainly is the case of those in my profession as a social worker and a marriage and family therapist. While I clearly disagree with some of the positions my professional credentialing organizations have taken in this area, I also am aware of the amount of time, energy and money that is being spent on trying to keep families and marriages functioning in our contemporary society.
We reap what we have sown. I believe the seeds of the assault on the definition of marriage were planted back in the 1960s, when we began to see a loosening of the fabric of the nuclear family, an acceptance of divorce as being a rather natural and expected outcome of marriage, and the rise of the contraceptive/abortion mentality among so many. We began to devalue children, and more and more misread their needs, in our effort to free ourselves from responsibilities and obligations. We rather quickly, in the broad scope of human history, moved to a disavowal of the natural law embedded in our human nature, and an acceptance of the tyranny of indifference, succinctly defined as I and my personal experience are the author of what is good and right and I am indifferent to any other authority that may draw me out of myself and toward an objective common good for all.
To destroy marriage as uniquely a relationship between one man and one woman is in effect to destroy what is good for our children and what is fundamentally and naturally good for all of us.
Many will want to make this out to be an issue of civil rights. It is not. Marriage and same-sex unions are essentially different realities and thus demand different legal recognitions. Civilly and morally, society must recognize this difference. The married conjugal union of a man and a woman is essentally different from the relationship of two men or two women.
Society has a vital interest recognizing and supporting marriage as a union of one man with one woman. It has a vital interest in supporting what is necessary for healthy human development in our children — the presence of a father and a mother. For too long, we have seen the results of absent fathers and mothers in the lives of children.
“Ultimately, the sacramental character of the deacon is based in the mystery of Christ’s relationship to the church….. mystery signifies God’s ultimate plan or way of being….” — Fr. Bill Donovan, Ph.D., Understanding Diaconal Spirituality
This quote left me thinking about how similar is some ways the life of a deacon and the life of a husband truly are. So much is written and spoken about the tensions that can exist between the vocation of marriage and the vocation to the permanent diaconate, that we are perhaps negligent in writing and speaking about how each vocation supports and nourishes each other.
Both vocations are vocations of service to others. Just as Christ’s relationship to the Church is reflected in sacramental marriage, so too his relationship to the Church is manifested in the diaconal call. While all are called to service by virtue of baptism, the deacon’s service is a sacramentalizing of the life of service constitutive of the Church universal, and marriage a sacramentalizing of the Church’s life of service in the context of the “domestic church” which is, in fact, the Christian family. Both are mysteries in the sense of ways God makes himself known, a breaking forth into our world of the divine presence. Both in marriage and in the diaconate, we are given a certain vigor specialis, that is a special strength or gift through sacramental grace to render service in Jesus’ name to others. That is why a married man is often well prepared to be a deacon, for he has already demonstrated a call to service to his wife and children, and now from this marriage flows the opportunity to serve the diocesan church as an Icon of Jesus – Servant.
(I am always pleased to see former classmates of mine from Rome and elsewhere writing and doing good things. Bill was a couple of years ahead of me, but I remember him well. If any deacons out there haven’t had a chance to read his book referenced above, I would recommend it. Published by Alt Publishing Co., De Pere, WI. You can order it through the National Association of Diaconate Directors, 1204 North Church Street, Rockford, Ill 61103)
“Love means loving the unloveable – or it is no virtue at all.” — G.K. Chesterton, 1905
A couple of weeks ago, I posted on the common good. The common good is a basic principle in Catholic social teaching. Today, I want to mention another essential principle in understanding the Church’s social doctrine, the principle of subsidiarity.
To understand what this principle means, keep in mind that “the human person… is and ought to be the principle, the subject and the end of all social institutions.” Gaudium et Spes (GS) 25;1 Yet individuals have the need and tendency to socialize with one another for the sake of attaining material, emotional and religious needs and aspirations. This socialization, while good and necessary in itself, does present some danger for the state can excessively interfere with this process and thereby threaten personal freedom and initiative. Thus, the Church has developed the principle of subsidiarity, according to which a social group/community of higher order should not interfere with the internal life of a community/group of a lower order, depriving it of its functions. Instead, higher order communities should support the activities and initiatives of the lower community, help coordinate its activities with the rest of society, always with an eye on fostering the common good. (See Catechism of the Catholic Church[CC], 1883)
The Catechism states that this principle is opposed to all forms of collectivism, sets limits for state intervention, harmonizes the relationships between individuals and societies and tends toward the development of true international order. (CC, 1885)
Practical application of the principle of subsidiarity has so many implications. Perhaps the first which comes to mind is protecting the rights of parents to teach and provide for their children without undue state interference. Many of us undoubtedly will emphatically and naturally support that of course, but with deeper reflection, it leaves us with a real challenge to do just that – educate and instruct our children, especially in the ways of the Faith. How many of us just delegate that to the local public school, or expect Father or Deacon or Sister to take care of that responsibility which is solidly our own? Another challenging aspect of this is in the area of social justice and charity. The principle of subsidiarity demands that we involve ourselves with the care of the poor and those unjustly maligned in our local communities. We cannot, in justice, pawn off these responsibilities solely to the county, state, or federal government. This principle also requires that we involve ourselves politically, and actively work toward a more just response from our government to the needs of our day. We cannot justly fail to cast our ballots or advocate politically for the needs of other. This principle also guides us in our relationships with our adult children who have formed their own families, keeping us from interfering in their internal affairs, yet assigning to us the responsibility to support them. How that plays out in the concreteness of everyday life will vary, family to family.
How do you see the principle of subsidiarity applying in your life?
In the midst of his homily today in Scotland, Pope Benedict included the following at he addressed the bishops of that country:
“Have a care also for your deacons, whose ministry of service is associated in a particular way with that of the order of bishops. Be a father and a guide in holiness for them, encouraging them to grow in knowledge and wisdom in carrying out the mission of herald to which they have been called.” www.ewtn.com/library/papaldoc/b16ukbella.htm
It is good to be mentioned, especially in relation to the ministry of the bishop, as the Holy Father does. Ours is a ministry of service, but also of herald of the Gospel.
I just learned that Bishop J. Peter Sartain, currently bishop of Joliet in Illinois, has been appointed archbishop of Seattle, Washington. Congratulations, Archbishop Peter!
The new archbishop and I were students together at the Gregorian University and at the North American College in Rome back in the seventies. He was a great friend who never forgets a face or a name. After nearly 25 years, he remembered me by sight down in Little Rock several years ago, and subsequently several times since. He is a quality human being and a good pastoral man. Seattle is lucky.
Peter was noted in the seventies also for his guitar playing. I most remember for some reason his playing “Mister Bojangles” in the college lounge to the delight of many of my comrades. His draw is his joy and his smile. He reminds me of Papa Luciani in that way…..
Deacon Anthony Gooley from the archdiocese of Brisbane, Australia has authored an article published in The Pastoral Review in which he argues that the deacon as “servant” called to charitable and social justice ministry is a reflection of a misunderstanding of the diaconal identity as found in Scripture and the early Church writings. He draws from the work of John N. Collins and other sources in doing so.
I am not endorsing his work or the conclusions he draws, but I am including a link to the article for your review. It is an interesting read for all deacons.
www.thepastoralreview.org/cgi-bin/archive_db.cgi?priestsppl-00127
Today’s feast of the Exaltation of the Cross includes a wonderful reading in the Office written by St. Andrew of Crete. I have translated a segment below from the Italian text I use.
We celebrate the feast of the holy cross by which darkness is scattered and light returns. We celebrate the feast of the holy cross, and thus, we are exalted and sublimated along with the Crucified One. We distance ourselves from the world of sin and we rise to the heights…. In it resides our complete salvation. It is the means and the way to return to our original state.
If there were not the cross, there would not be Christ crucified. If there were not the cross, Life would not have been affixed to the wood. If Life would not have been nailed to the wood, from his side would not have flowed those sources of immortality, blood and water, that purify the world. The sentence of condemnation written for our sin would not have been written, we would not have been freed, we would not have been able to rejoice in the tree of life, paradise would not have been opened for us. If there were not the cross, hell would not have been defeated….
The cross is the glory of Christ, the exaltation of Christ. The cross is the precious and inestimable chalice that holds all the sufferings of Christ, it is the complete synthesis of his passion.
Keep a crucifix within sight wherever you may find yourself frequently spending time, especially in the rooms of your home, in your office, and in your car. Look at it often. On it hung your savior and brother Jesus. You were on his shoulders that day, that first Good Friday. Say a prayer of thanksgiving…..
