Happy Birthday, Robert Frost

Posted on March 26, 2010 by Deacon Bob

Today is the birthday of the late Robert Frost, a great American poet, of whose poetry we all in my generation needed to read in high school and in undergraduate American Literature courses.

He was born in San Francisco on March 26, 1874 and died on January 29, 1963.  He was a master of the American rural life and the colloquialisms of American English.

I find this simple poem a poignant description of the street children of our time.

IN NEGLECT

by Robert Frost

They leave us so to the way we took,

As two in whom them were proved mistaken,

That we sit sometimes in the wayside nook,

With mischievous, vagrant. seraphic look,

And try if we cannot feel forsaken.

 

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Health Care Reform Bill and the Common Good

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Deacon Bob

With the passage of the health care reform bill, many are left with a great deal of ambivalence. Yes, there are many others of sharp opinion both pro and con, but many of us simply really don’t know what the details are and how they will play out in the short and long run.

Catholic social teaching speaks of the common good. We all would do well to pick up a copy of the Compendium of Catholic Social Teaching and become familiar with this term and its meaning.

I want to share an excerpt from an email I received on March 23, 2010, from Marie T. Hilliard, Ph.D., JCL, RN who is the Director of Bioethics and Public Policy at the National Catholic Bioethics Center. Thank you, Dr. Hilliard for this message.

“When the common good  takes back seat to political and corporate interests, all, especially the vulnerable, are at risk. As the largest provider of non-governmental, non-profit health care in this country, the Catholic Church, and those who work as Catholic agencies and organizations, have a special obligation to vulnerable populations, such as the unborn, those with disabilities, and those at life’s end. These populations cannot be compromised in an effort to secure “the greater good.” This is utilitarianism, seeking the greatest good for the greatest number, and never equates to the common good.

“It is undeniable that the enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act includes public funding of programs that provide abortion on demand…. Furthermore, there is no restriction on converage of assisted suicide costs. President Obama’s executive order cannot override federal law…… There is no evidence of conscience protections for individuals or employers…. There is limited evidence of conscience protections for providers, and the legislation does not provide for protection against coercion of health care providers and employers related to contraceptives or abortifacients….

“One is left to ask, does this health care legislation truly advance the common good? More importantly, when members of a divided house make compromises with principle, has the common good been advanced? The answer is contained in Caritas in Veritate, within which all of the hallmarks of a sound health care reform policy are contained: integral human development; fundamental rights to life and religious freedom; charity in truth; humanistic synthesis; the common good; earth as a gift to humanity to use and protect; civilizing the economy; subsidiarity; a person-based and community oriented culture; people-centered development programs; cooperation on the human family; recognition that every migrant is a human person; and bioethics and human responsibility in human technology. As the encyclical states, in charity and truth, “when a society moves towards the denial or suppression of life, it ends up no longer finding the necessary motivation and energy to strive for man’s true good.” (N.28)

(Caritas in Veritate is Pope Benedict’s recent encyclical)

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Quote for the Day

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Deacon Bob

“Keep heart and mind alert to fresh learning about your faith. We will never exhaust the mystery of God.” — Lester Bach, OFM

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Remembering Archbishop Oscar Romero

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Deacon Bob

Today is the 30th anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador.  You probably recall that he was shot in the heart while saying Mass.  He was a champion of the poor and disenfranchised of that country.

He is reported to have said the following a few days before his death, almost in premonition:

“You can tell the people that if they succeed in killing me, that I forgive and bless those who do it. Hopefully, they will realize they are wasting their time. A bishop will die, but the church of God, which is the people, will never perish.”

He also reported to have said the following, which all of us ordained need well heed:

“A church that suffers no persecution but enjoys the privileges and support of the things of the earth – beware! – is not the true church of Jesus Christ. A preaching that does not point out sin is not the preaching of the gospel. A preaching that makes sinners feel good, so that they are secured in their sinful state, betrays the gospel’s call.”

Finally, the following:

“When the church hears the cry of the oppressed it cannot but denounce the social structures that give rise to and perpetuate the misery from which the cry arises.”

I thank the Collaborative Ministry Office of Creighton University for the information above. Read more at: www.onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/romero.html

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A Prayer from Papa Luciani

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Deacon Bob

Here is a simple prayer, attributed to Papa Luciani, that we all could include in our night prayer.

I am asking you a grace, my Lord. I would like you to be nearby me when I close my eyes on the earth. I would llke you to hold my hand in yours, as a mother with her child in the hour of danger. Thank you, my Lord.

Papa Luciani, pray for us!

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Quote for the Day

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Deacon Bob

“I gratefully accept both joy and tribulation from our heavenly Father for He knows best what is good for us.” — St. Conrad of Parzham, OFM Cap.

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Pope Benedict’s Pastoral Letter to Ireland – follow up post

Posted on March 20, 2010 by Deacon Bob

I want to include in today’s posting section 7 of the Pope’s letter to the Church of Ireland in which he addressed priests and religious who are or have been perpetrators of abuse.

“You betrayed the trust that was placed in you by innocent young people and their parents, and you must answer for it before Almighty God and before properly constituted tribunals. You have forfeited the esteem of the people of Ireland and brought shame and dishonour upon you confreres. Those of you who are priests violated the sanctity of the sacrament of Holy Orders in which Christ makes himself present in us and in our actions. Together with the immense harm done to victims, great damage has been done to the Church and to the public perception of the priesthood and religious life.

“I urge you to examine your conscience, take responsibility for the sins you have committed, and humbly express your sorrow. Sincere repentance opens the door to God’s forgiveness and the grace of true amendment. By offering prayers and penances for those you have wronged, you should seek to atone personally for your actions. Christ’s redeeming sacrifice has the power to forgive even the gravest of sins, and to bring forth good from even the most terrible evil. At the same time, God’s justice summons us to give an account of our actions and to conceal nothing. Openly acknowledging your guilt, submit yourselves the demands of justice, but do not despair of God’s mercy.”

Amen, I say.

Posted in Church News, Ethics and Morality, General Interest, Popes | 2 Comments

Sexual Abuse – An Apology

Posted on March 20, 2010 by Deacon Bob

The Holy Father today release a pastoral letter to the people of God in Ireland. His words in this letter can well be applied to all countries where the sexual abuse by clergy and religious has occurred.  I want to share with you just one section of this letter, the most poignant and heart felt expression of sorrow I have heard from the Pope on this tragedy.

“To the victims of abuse and their families: You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated. Many of you found that, when you were couragious enough to speak of what happened to you, no one would listen. Those of you who were abused in residential institutions must have felt that there was no escape from your sufferings. It is understandable that you find it hard to forgive or be reconciled with the Church. In her name, I openly express the shame and remorse that we all feel. At the same time, I ask you not to lose hope. It is in the communion of the Church that we encounter the person of Jesus Christ, who was himself a victim of injustice and sin. Like you, he still bears the wounds of his own unjust suffering. He understands the depths of your pain and its enduring effect on your lives and your relationships, including your relationship with the Church. I know some of you find it difficult event to enter the doors of a church after all that has occurred. Yet Christ’s own wounds, transformed by his redemptive suffering, are the very means by which the power of evil is broken and we are reborn to life and hope. I believe deeply in the healing power of his self-sacrificing love – even in the darkest and most hopeless situations – to bring liberation and the promise of a new beginning.

“Speaking to you as a pastor concerned for the good of all God’s children, I humbly ask you to consider what I have said. I pray that, by drawing nearer to Christ and by participating in the life of the Church – a Church purified by penance and renewed in pastoral charity – you will come to rediscover Christ’s infinite love for each of you. I am confident that in this way you will be able to find reconciliation, deep inner healing and peace.”

There are other sections this letter address to parents, priests, and others — all worth your time to read.

Log on to www.vatican.va   click on “English” and then click on the link to the Pastoral Letter to Ireland.  The button is prominently displayed on the upper center of the page.

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Wanna See the Sistine Chapel?

Posted on March 19, 2010 by Deacon Bob

Thanks to Villanova University, you can take a wonderful tour of the Sistine Chapel right from your home. I have been to the Sistine Chapel three times, and I can tell you the virtual tour provided at the Vatican website is as close as you can come to actually being there.

Log on and enjoy!

www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/index_en.htm

Posted in General Interest | 2 Comments

The Health Care Debate – Statement of Cardinal Francis George, President of the USCCB

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Deacon Bob

If you are news aware at all you know that the Congress is nearing some decision on the health care reform bill before it. I would like to share with you an excerpt from a statement of the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago.

“The Catholic Bishops of the United States have long and consistently advocated for the reform of the American health care system…. throughout the discussion on health care over the last year, the bishops have advocated a bipartisan approach to solving our national health care needs. They have urged that all who are sick, injured or in need receive necessary and appropriate medical assistance, and that no one be deliberately killed through an expansion of federal funding of abortion itself or of insurance plans that cover abortion…… What do the bishops finds so deeply disturbing about the Senate bill? The points at issue can be summarized briefly. The status quo in federal abortion policy, as reflected in the Hyde Amendment, excludes abortion from all health insurance plans receiving federal subsidies. In the Senate bill, there is the provision that only one of the proposed multi-state plans will not cover elective abortions – all other plans (including other multi-state plans) can do so, and receive federal tax credits. This means that individuals or families in complex medical circumstances will likely be forced to choose and contribute to an insurance plan that funds abortions in order to meet their particular health needs….. Additionally, no provision in the Senate bill incorporates the longstanding and widely supported protection for conscience regarding abortion as found in the Hyde/Weldon amendment. Moreover, neither the House nor Senate bill contains meaningful conscience protection outside the abortion context…. The bishops…. judge that the flaws are so fundamental that they vitiate the good that the bill intends to promote. Assurances that the moral objections to the legislation can be met only after the bill is passed seem a little like asking us, in Midwestern parlance, to buy a pig in a poke…… Two basic principles, therefore, continue to shape the concerns of the Catholic bishops: health care means taking care of the health needs of all, across the human life span; and the expansion of health care should not involve the expansion of abortion funding and of forcing everyone to pay for abortions.”

I agree with the bishops.

For the entire statement, log on to: www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2010/10-043.shtml

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Quote for the Day

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Deacon Bob

” The poet Rilke was afraid that if he got rid of his demons, he would lose his angels as well. Of course, the danger of clinging to our demons to save our angels is that our demons may well take over.” — Tim Farrington

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Quote for the Day

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Deacon Bob

“Let us ask the Lord for the grace that a new wave of love for our neighbor may sweep over this poor world.”  — Pope John Paul I (Papa Luciani), September 24, 1978

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Quote for the Day

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Deacon Bob

“It is Jesus you want to see, to gaze upon, to think about deeply and with desire to imitate.” — St. Clare of Assissi

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The Continuity of the Church

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Deacon Bob

The Holy Father had an interesting comment during last Wednesday’s general audience. He spoke of St. Bonaventure and the Franciscans, but then tied into that the reality of the continuity of the Church throughout the centuries. I have translated the pertinent comments from the Italian original below.

“…perhaps it is useful to say that even today there exist visions of the Church that suggest that the whole history of the Church in the second millenium is in a state of permanent decline; others see the decline immediately after the New Testament. In reality,’Opera Christi non deficiunt, sed proficiunt’, the works of Christ do not retreat, but progress…. Even today this affirmation is important: ‘Opera Christi non deficiunt, sed proficiunt,’ ‘it moves forward’….. And while it repeats itself, this idea of decline in the Church, there is another idea, a ‘spiritualistic utopia’ that also repeats itself — in fact, after the Second Vatican Council some were convinced that all would be new, that there would be another Church, that the pre-Vatican II Church would end and we would have another Church, totally ‘other’. A utopia of anarchism! Thanks be to God that the wise helmsmen of the ship of Peter, Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II, on one hand defended the innovations of the Council and on the other hand, at the same time, defended the oneness and continuity of the Church, always the Church of sinners and always the place of grace.”  

The Holy Father is stating what should be obvious to us all:  we are one Church, one faith, one in hope, and one in love. The Second Vatican Council didn’t create a new Church; it renewed an existing Church, a Church which continues and is formed by over two centuries of saints, sinners, and the working of the Holy Spirit.

Those of us who glory in the Mass as we have know it for the past 45 years are as Catholic as those of us who glory in the Tridentine extraordinary form of the Mass recently re-authorized by the Holy Father. We are one with our Eastern Catholic brothers and sisters of the Byzantine rite, the Chaldean rite, the Maronite rite, and others. We are one. We cannot separate one from the other. We all would do well, I think, to enter into the other’s experience from time to time.

What do you think?

Posted in Church News, Ecclesiology, Popes | 2 Comments

Faithfulness in Prayer

Posted on March 11, 2010 by Deacon Bob

The minor Office of None today has a reading from the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb. 10: 35-36) that one needs to reflect on once in a while when prayer turns dry and distracted.

“Do not abandon your faithfulness, for which is reserved a great reward. You have only to be constant in fidelity so that after having done the will of God you might obtain his promises.”

The Lord only asks us to be faithful to the tasks he assigns us. He alone will bring forth the fruit of our fidelity. Blessed Mother Teresa was fond of saying the God doesn’t ask for great successes, only faithfulness.

The Liturgy of the Hours is a great way of expressing our faithfulness in prayer, even if we are lacking in fervor or concentration on any particular day.

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