Novena Prayer for the People of Haiti

Posted on January 19, 2010 by Deacon Bob

All powerful and all-loving God of mercy, look kindly on the people of Haiti in their suffering. Ease their burdens and make their faith strong so that they may always have confidence and trust in your care. Help them face the difficulties of this tragedy of nature with courage. Bring their dead into your eternal rest and comfort those who mourn them. Bring their wounded and all those who suffer into your healing presence and strengthen those who serve them. And, finally, O God, bring us all an abiding sense of your care and compassion that we may respond with generous hearts, open hands and a renewed sense of solidarity with all your children, especially those in greatest need. You are our all-merciful God, forever and ever. Amen.

(Forwarded by Catholic University of America. Our local bishop has asked that we participate in this novena.)

Posted in Church News, Human Development and Life, Prayer and Meditation | Comments Off on Novena Prayer for the People of Haiti

“Bilingual” Christianity

Posted on January 19, 2010 by Deacon Bob

I heard on a talk show this morning a guest saying that we Christians need to be “bilingual” in today’s world. 

He wasn’t referring to speaking a foreign language, even though I personally believe that is an increasingly important skill to have nowadays.

He was talking about Christians need to be able to dialogue with secularists and atheists about our faith. We need to use one language in worship and liturgy (the language of the Scriptures and theology) and another language when speaking to the broader culture, with those who do not have faith.

Seems to me St. Paul did just that with the Greeks. He had mixed success in the immediate moment. His speech in Athens almost got him killed, certainly misunderstood. But he persisted with the basic idea of making Christianity “hearable” to the pagan Greeks by speaking their language and using their conceptual constructs.

A challenge for those of us ordained and sent forth as bearers of the Word, heralds of the Gospel of Christ. Just as needed today as in the 1st Century. Seems to be especially true in the interface between faith and science; in the interface between moral teaching and the realities of modern life; and in the meeting of politics and religion.

Dinesh D’Souza has written a book entitled, Life After Death – The Evidence . I haven’t read it, but I am informed that in it he attempts to bridge the language gap between faith and science in dealing with what we know from physics and from our faith regarding eternal life.

I’ll see if I can get a copy and peruse it, reporting back later.

Posted in Fundamental Theology, Uncategorized | Comments Off on “Bilingual” Christianity

In Re: Saints

Posted on January 18, 2010 by Deacon Bob

Here is a quote from the book, St. Charles of Sezze: An Autobiograpy: “[There is] the opinion, quite common among religious people, that saints are born saints, that they are privileged right from their first appearance on this earth. This is not so. Saints become saints in the usual way, due to the generous fidelity of their correspondence to divine grace. They had to fight just as we do, and more so, against their passions, the world and the devil.”

No excuse, is there, for us to not be saints. Sainthood is for everyone. The part we don’t like is the struggle.

Posted in General Interest, Saints and Prophets | Comments Off on In Re: Saints

Quote for the Day

Posted on January 18, 2010 by Deacon Bob

“Nothing is hidden from the Lord; even our secrets are before his gaze. Let us do everything then with the awareness that he lives in us, so that we may be his temple and he who lives in us may be our God. Thus he is in fact and we will see him with our own eyes if we truly love him.” — St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr

Posted in Prayer and Meditation, Saints and Prophets | Comments Off on Quote for the Day

Carrying the Cross

Posted on January 17, 2010 by Deacon Bob

“One must be prepared to carry the cross with his whole mind and body.” 

I believe Fr. Stephen F. Brett, S.S.J. said wrote that sentence in the latest edition of Homiletic & Pastoral Review (Vol. CX, No.3, pg. 40). Fr. Brett is an adjunct professor of  moral theology at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland, and rector of St.  Joseph Manor in the same city. He was reflecting on the lection for the second Sunday of Lent coming up. 

The sentence jumped up at me when it was read. 

One of the things that the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus has so clearly demonstrated regarding our human nature is that we are incarnate souls. Our souls and bodies are united in a mysterious “oneness”, rendering both holy and carrying the promise of glory when Christ comes again in his glory. Whereas our souls will leave our bodies at the moment of our death, and our bodies will return to the earth only to  rise again on the last day to be reunited with our souls in heaven (should we die in a state of grace), in this present life our souls, our minds and our bodies are united as one. What we do with our bodies, we do with our souls and vice versa. It is sort of like whatever Jesus does, so does the Father and the Spririt.  The Trinity acts as one, though distinct in their divine persons.

Perhaps I am getting older, but I find myself reflecting on the Cross more, especially as I look back on my life history. There has always been the presence of the Cross, from the beginning. The Cross of Christ, the Cross of the Church. At points of my life, it has seemed that cross was carried primarily in my mind as I searched to find the way and the truth of who I am and what was to become of me; or the cross of disappointment and worry when disease, tragedy, or unexpected reversals entered into my world. At other times, it has been the cross carried physically even though God has granted me wonderful health for the most part. I anticipate greater physical crosses as I advance in years.

The Cross though is the same cross however it is carried. 

There is only one Cross, that of Jesus Christ, who died on it. We are called to share his experience in the ways God has planned for us in his wonderful mysterious plan.

For me, it helps to meditate on the Cross by considering that when I carry it in the particular circumstances of my life, I am nailed on the same wood, with Jesus. I am with him on his cross. My distress becomes less as I meditate on the scene of Calvary, and envision myself looking down from upon the cross on the crowd below. Jesus and I are together at those moments.

That is what is meant when we are told that suffering is salvific.

The cross is just around the corner.  It always has been in my life, and I assure you it will be for you. Walk in faith and expectant hope, loving Jesus enough to carry his cross, which is yours, in mind and body.

The resurrection is soon to come!

Posted in Prayer and Meditation | 1 Comment

The Paradoxes of Forgiving

Posted on January 14, 2010 by Deacon Bob

The Great Paradoxes of Forgiveness

  • Easy but often inaccessible
  • Available but often forgotten
  • Liberating for the other and even more so for ourselves
  • On everyone’s lips and yet misunderstood
  • Innate to the human heart and yet illusory
  • Vital for humans but so often feared
  • Bestowed upon the soul and yet menacing
  • Mysterious and yet an everyday occurrence
  • Utterly divine and utterly human

(Taken from: How to Forgive, by John Monbourquette; Page43, St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2000)

Posted in General Interest, Spirituality | Comments Off on The Paradoxes of Forgiving

Prayer for Haiti

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Deacon Bob

God of all creation, as we weep with our family in Haiti, console us. In this time of crisis, open our eyes to look beyond the disaster to see Christ in our brothers and sisters in Haiti, as Christ sees us. Be with us as we stand in solidarity with those living and working in Haiti. Be with us in our mourning and guide our efforts to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, comfort the grieving and stand for justice. With your mercy, sustain us at this time as we continue to workfor peace and justice. Amen. (Prayer forwarded from Catholic Relief Services)

Posted in Church News, Human Development and Life | 2 Comments

Haiti

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Deacon Bob

If you have turned on the news this morning you are aware that a powerful earthquake has devastated the Carribean nation of Haiti.  It is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. Some reports are saying that in the capital city of Port au Prince there are more buildings down than standing.  This includes the hospital and the presidential palace.

These people are our brothers and sisters. We need to show them our solidarity through prayer and fasting today and in the days ahead.

For the dead on that nation: “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.  May their souls and all the souls of the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen”

Posted in General Interest | Comments Off on Haiti

Susanna Maiolo and the Pope

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Deacon Bob

As I am sure you are aware, on Christmas Eve at the beginning of Midnight Mass at St. Peter’s, Susanna Maiolo jumped the barricades separating the faithful from the Holy Father, grabbed his vestments and took him to the floor amid a rush of security personnel and onlookers.  The pope was unhurt and continued with the Mass. 

Ms. Maiolo had attempted to do the same thing last year, but was prevented from doing so.  Somehow she got through security this year despite her past attempt. It is reported she has a history of unspecified mental illness and was involuntarily confined to a psychiatric hospital for treatment following the assault on the pope. She has been released in recent days and this morning it is being reported by the Italian news agencies that the pope has met with her privately following his general audience. She expressed her sorrow and the pope forgave her.

If only all of us, especially those of us who have been victims of crimes, could approach injustices done in the way both Susanna and the pope have done:  asking forgiveness and being willing to forgive.

God bless both of them!

Posted in Church News, Ethics and Morality, Popes | Comments Off on Susanna Maiolo and the Pope

Virtue and Vice

Posted on January 12, 2010 by Deacon Bob

Here is a good definition of vice and virtue, as described by Saint Basil the Great. My translation to English:

“In fact, the definition of vice is this: to use in an evil manner, or in a manner alien from the precepts of the Lord those abilities given to us to do good. Contrarily, the definition of virtue, that God wants from us, is: the upright use of these same capabilities, which derives from a good conscience according to the teaching of the Lord.” (St. Basil the Great, Regole piu ampie, Risp. 2, 1: PG 31)

Goes back to what we all were taught in catechism.  Everything God created was good, and an expression of his love for us. All of creation, then, give back to God what has been given to us, to his greater glory and praise. His gifts are for doing good which is virtue on a natural level, holiness on a supernatural level.

Posted in Ethics and Morality, Saints and Prophets | Comments Off on Virtue and Vice

Byzantine Catholic Convert

Posted on January 12, 2010 by Deacon Bob

Thanks to Deacon Greg Kandra at his blog (www.blog.beliefnet.com/deaconsbench) I ran across this interesting article in the Catholic Anchor, the newspaper for the diocese of Anchorage, Alaska on the conversion of a Lutheran minister to the Byzantine rite of the Catholic Church and then becoming a priest. He now serves a parish in the Anchorage area.

The article does a pretty good job at explaining who our Byzantine brothers and sisters are in relation to the universal Church. (The Catholic Church is composed not only of the Latin Rite, of which most of us are members, but other rites also, including the Byzantines.)

Read more at: www.catholicanchor.org/wordpress/?p=313

Posted in Church News, Ecclesiology | 2 Comments

Quote for the Day

Posted on January 11, 2010 by Deacon Bob

“If we wish to build true peace, how can we separate, or even set at odds, the protection of the environment and the protection of human life, including the life of the unborn? It is in man’s respect for himself that his sense of responsibility for creation is shown. As Saint Thomas Aquinas has taught, man represents all that is most noble in the universe (cf. Summa Theologiae, I, q.29, a.3)” — Benedict XVI in his audience to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, Jan. 11, 2010 

Posted in General Interest, Popes | Comments Off on Quote for the Day

Make Haste for God

Posted on January 11, 2010 by Deacon Bob

Do we make haste when it comes to the things of God? Not often, do we. Except when death is near, and not even then for some of us.

The Holy Father at Christmas Mass this past year spoke on this theme. Here is an excerpt from the English translation made available by the Osservatore Romano.

“Let us return to the Christmas Gospel. It tells us that after listening to the Angel’s message, the shepherds said one to another: “‘Let us go over to Bethlehem’…. they went at once” (Lk 2: 15f.). “They made haste” is literally what the Greek text says. What had been announced to them was so important that they had to go immediately. In fact, what had been said to them was utterly out of the ordinary. It changed the world. The Saviour is born. The long-awaited Son of David has come into the world in his own city. What could be more important? No doubt they were partly driven by curiousity, but first and foremost it was their excitement at the wonderful news that had been conveyed to them, of all people, to the little ones, to the seemingly unimportant. They made haste; they went at once.

“In our daily life, unfortunately it is not like that. For most people, the things of God are not given priority, they do not impose themselves on us directly. And so the great majority of us tend to postpone them. First we do what seems urgent here and now. In the list of priorities God is often more or less at the end. We can always deal with that later, we tend to think. The Gospel tells us: God is the highest priority. If anything in our life deserves haste without delay, then, it is God’s work alone.” — Benedict XVI, December 24, 2009 as reported in the Osservatore Romano.

For a complete text of the Pope’s homily, log on to: 

www.vatican.va/news_services/or/or_eng/text.html#3

Posted in Popes | Comments Off on Make Haste for God

Benedict XVI to the North American College Alumni

Posted on January 9, 2010 by Deacon Bob

The Pope met today with alumni of the North American College in Rome. The college, called NAC by its students, has graduated hundreds in the past 150 years of its existence.  There is a reunion going on there now in celebration of its 150th anniversary, and the Pope met with them today at the Vatican.

One quote from the Holy Father: “… the Church in America is called to cultivate ‘an intellectual culture’ which is genuinely Catholic, confident in the profound harmony of faith and reason, and prepared to bring the richness of faith’s vision to bear on the pressing issues which affect the future of American society.”

Amen to that.  We desperately need church leaders who are prepared to show how our faith and our ability to reason work in harmony to show us the path to take in so many thorny social and moral issues of our day.

As an aside, I studied at NAC and the Gregorian University from 1977-1978. Men who have studied at NAC are called “bags” derived from the Roman word, “bagarocci” (cockroachs). The native Romans thought that seminarians looked like cockroaches, dressed in their cassocks and the particular round hats that were required for so many years, so the name stuck. A student who prematurely discontinued his studies was called a “paper bag.” A student who studied there during a papal election and coronation is called a “golden bag.” I am both. I saw the deaths, funerals, elections and installation of three popes:  Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II.

I prefer to think of myself as a “golden bag”!

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Immigration Violence – Italy

Posted on January 9, 2010 by Deacon Bob

Italy has been racked with violence in the past couple of days. In Calabria, which is in southern Italy, there have been confrontations between African immigrants and the locals. Multiple injuries from guns and clubs.  The government is trying to settle it down.

There is no doubt that Italy has been beset with a wave of immigrants from various places, but most especially from Africa.  When I visited Italy three years ago, I was struck by the number of African people on the streets and buses of Rome. When I lived there thirty years ago, I scarcely saw one.

In many ways, I fear, the Italian people are experiencing what we Americans faced in the 1960s. We were faced with our racial biases, and the economic injustices that perpetuated these biases in part. Italians for decades were a fairly homogeneous people. Their experience of Africa was during their conquest of Libya and Ethiopia in the early part of the Twentieth Century.

Let us pray for an end to violence on both sides. Let us pray that the immigrants to that country do not resort to violence to address their grievances. Let us pray that the local Italians do not for long fall into the trap of racism. 

If you read Italian, log on to the either of these websites for information:

www.repubblica.it

www.corriere.it

Posted in Politics | Comments Off on Immigration Violence – Italy