Catholic Faith and Reflections

The Holy Father ordained five new bishops today at St. Peter’s.  His homily was noteworthy for he speaks of the centrality of service in the life of the ordained, and cautions against serving one’s own needs or the pursuit of power or prestige in ordained life.

The homily has not yet been translated into English, so I am translating from the original Italian.

“Jesus summarized all these many aspects of his priesthood in a single phrase, ‘The Son of man has come not to be served but to serve and give his very life to redeem the many” (Mk 10,45). To serve, and in doing so to give oneself; to be not for oneself, but for others…. this is the most profound nucleus of the mission of Jesus Christ and also the very essence of his priesthood.  Thus, he has mad the term ‘servant’ his highest title of honor…..the Church is not our Church, but His Church, the Church of God. A servant must render an account of how he has managed the good that has been assigned to him. We don’t bind others to us; we don’t search for power, prestige, esteem for ourselves. We lead men to Christ and thus to the living God. In this way we introduce them to the truth and freedom that derives from the truth.”

Although addressed to bishops, these words are apropos to deacons, priests and all who serve in the Church. I think the devil often uses the temptation of power and prestige to lead those ordained to service in the Church away from the truth, away from the people, away from Jesus.

St. Stephen, patron of deacons, pray for us.

I have to post something also today written by Mr. Joseph Michalak, the director of diaconate formation for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.  The excerpt below is taken from an article he wrote for “The Catholic Spirit”, the archdiocesan newspaper.  The article is entitled:  “Deacons are a living sacramental sign of Christ the servant, today” and dated, September 8. 2009.

Log on to http://thecatholicspirit.com to read the article in its entirety.  It is a really good description of how we deacons think of ourselves, and a basic theology of our vocation.

Here is an excerpt:

“As one thelogian has put it, a priest presides at the Liturgy of the Eucharist that gives rise to charity; the deacon, however, presides at the ‘liturgy of charity’ that culminates in the mystery of the Eucharist. (This, by the way, is why the church envisions a normal Mass to be one with a deacon, alnd it is why you will see after the consecration both the deacon and priest holding up the host and the chalice.  Here is a robust sign, so to speak, of the dimensions of Jesus the head of the body, victim-priest and servant laying down his life in love.)”

A good thing for us to remember, brother deacons:  we preside at the “liturgy of charity” which culminates in the Eucharist.

Thanks, Joe, for the article!

On

I was reading a great letter Bishop  Howard J. Hubbard of the Diocese of Albany wrote to his deacons and published in “The Servant’s Clarion”, the diocesan newsletter for deacons. It was published last July. Worth your time to read. 

www.rcda.org/Offices/deacons/newsletter.html then click on the July issue.

Here is an excerpt:

“Hence, as preachers, deacons must not only be exegetes of the Word found in the Scriptures, but they must interpret how that Word crashes against the cacophony of our present human song. They must articulate how that word resonates with the joys and hopes, the sorrows, fears and anxiety of the hearers of that Word.  Deacons must figure out how that Word speaks to a Catholic population that is increasingly well educated but less catechized in the spiritual life and the theological understanding of our rich faith tradition; how that word touches people who are immersed in a lifestyle which is impossibly busy and distracted, and where juggling multiple responsibilities (family, work, civic and social) is a way of life.

“In Karl Barth’s famous image, to do so requires deacons to preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other, so that their hearers may be challenged to discern what the Scriptures are saying to them and asking of them at the particular moment and in this specific context of their life’s journey.”

Have to love that line, “Preach with the Bible in one hand and the newpaper in the other.”

I didn’t realize until today that September 5 was the feast day of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.  I was able to see Mother Teresa twice during her life, both times in Winona at the Cathedral.  This was back in the 70s when Msgr. Feiten was her treasurer here in the United States.  Msgr. Feiten for years was the director of Catholic Charities in the Winona diocese, and he invited her to come and speak on two occasions.

She insisted that all the priests that processed into the Cathedral genuflect to the tabernacle before assuming their seats for her talk. I’ll never forget that.  A small woman directing the priests of our diocese. I recall being able to barely see her small frame behind the ambo from which she spoke. She spoke with such simplicity.

May we all have at least a small portion of her faith and her zeal for the poor!

I was catching up on my news from the Vatican this evening and began reading the Holy Father’s message on World Mission Day several days ago. A segment I find particularly apropos to us deacons.

“In truth the whole of humanity has the radical vocation to return to its source, to return to God, since in Him alone can it find fulfillment through the restoration of all things in Christ. Dispersion, multiplicity, conflict and enmity will be healed and reconciled through the blood of the Cross and led back to unity.

“This new beginning can already be seen in the resurrection and exaltation of Christ, who draws all things to himself, renewing them and enabling them to share in the eternal joy of God. The future of the new creation is already shining in our world and, despite contradictions and suffering, it enkindles hope for new life. The Church’s mission is to spread hope ‘contagiously’ among all peoples. This is why Christ calls, justifies, sanctifies and sends his disciples to proclaim the Kingdom of God, so that all nations may become the People of God. It is only in this mission that the true journey of humanity is understood and attested. The universal mission should become a fundamental constant in the life of the Church. Proclamation of the Gospel must be for us, as sit was for the Apostle Paul, a primary and unavoidable duty.” (Italics in original; bold lettering mine)

Let us deacons take seriously and prepare well for our mission to preach the Word. Let us work hard at developing our abilities to preach well and boldly.

I was pleased this morning to read in Morning Prayer the selection from St. James. It followed nicely the reflection of yesterday regarding justice and mercy. Here it is:

“Speak and act like people that must be judged according to the law of freedom, for judgment will be without mercy to those who have not shown mercy; mercy, however, is always the better in judgment.” — James 2: 12-13

Here St. James again mentions the “law of freedom.” Until I began to study moral theology in earnest, I never really understood what that meant. But as we mentioned yesterday, the law of freedom is the living of the beatitudes, the kingdom of God as proclaimed by Jesus Christ which frees us from the old Mosaic law, and obliges us to orient ourselves toward excellence and the freedom to pursue it. The law of freedom is the fulfillment of the law. It is the law of love and mercy. 

Let us live in mercy to all who have harmed us or acted unjustly toward us. Mercy grounded in just living, giving everyone what is rightfully theirs, not taking or coveting or stealing or defaming others. Let us strive for peace.

Today’s Office of Readings has an excerpt from St. Leo the Great’s discourse on the Beatitudes.  The Beatitudes are the perfection of the moral life. The natural law is the foundation of all morality and the Ten Commandments are God’s revelation of the eternal unchanging basis for our moral life. The Beatitudes are the ways of excellence.

Today, St. Leo says (my translation from Italian):  “‘ You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your spirit and with all your strength.’ In fact, to love God is none other than to love justice. But as loving God is associated with care for one’s neighbor, so the desire for justice joins itself with the virtue of mercy. Therefore, the Lord says, ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will find mercy.'” — St. Leo the Great, Disc. 95; PL 54.

Mercy and justice are partners in the moral life. Amazing isn’t it? When we are the ones to be on the receiving end of things, we desire mercy.  When we are on the giving end, we want justice. Justice and mercy are not mutually exclusive.  They are completely linked. Justice is foundational; mercy is excellent.

If we want to be truly free, if we want the freedom of excellence, we in justice pursue mercy.

To me, it is disturbing to see and hear that there are some out there who object to the Church having buried Senator Kennedy with the Mass of Christian Burial. How can we stand in such judgment as to say he should have been denied these rites?

As those who know me will attest, I am about as pro-life as one can get.  I fully and unequivicably support and preach the Church’s teaching on the sanctity of every human life, even those we find most difficult to embrace. I have been and continue to oppose the pro-death policy Senator Kennedy actively espoused by advocating laws supporting abortion during his political career. He was wrong in his advocacy of abortion.

But I believe in the mercy of God, and I personally know of God’s forgiveness.

None of us knows the state of the soul of Senator Kennedy at the moment of his death. What we do know is he was with priests and the Eucharist in the days just prior to his death. I know he had written to Pope Benedict and received a reply.

It is never permissible to take pleasure in the thought that someone may be damned. The Church always entrusts the souls of the departed to the mercy of God.  We hope that we will be so entrusted when we die. Senator Kennedy was born a Catholic. He was buried as a Catholic. 

Let us pray for him, as we must do for all the departed.

If you have read ahead and reviewed the Gospel for the Sunday after next, you will hear Jesus ask, “Who do people say that I am?”

Who do people say that you are?

It is an age-old question.  We are often asking it in reference to ourselves, for our own limited reasons.  Often because of fear and uncertainty.

But Jesus asked the question too.  Why do you suppose he did so?

How will we answer it? 

Who do people say Jesus is? Who do we say Jesus is?

Good question. Lets make sure we approach the answer from the position of discipleship, not willful self-assertion. Let’s get behind Jesus and follow.

We pray today in Midday Prayer, at least in the Italian translation of the Divine Office, the responsory to the scripture verse: ” In God my salvation and my glory; he is my defense.”

I was struck at the moment I prayed that line by the thought that perhaps it is a rare thing for one to live with that as an anchor, an adherence, an assurance.  God is our defense.  Whatever the trials or problem, God is our defense.  He will supply our needs. He will give us the words and the ways of seeing through to its completion the difficulties of life we encounter.

God disciplines every son and daughter of his.  We are his children if we accept the Truth and are baptized into his life and love. God will allow us to have our troubles. Jesus, his Son, faced enormous pain, suffering and even death…. should we expect anything less? But for Jesus, God was his defense.  He called out to his Father, with whom he was one in his divine nature, and relied completely on Him for his defense before Pilate and the Sanhedrin.

It is to Jesus, to the Truth, that we must listen and come to know. If we do, we will be able to drop our own feeble defenses, our defensiveness, and rely on the Divine Assistance that is always ready to support us, defend us and lead us.

“Stay with me, Lord, for you are my light, and without you, I am in darkness.”  — St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Today is the memorial of St. Augustine. A section of his “Confessions” is the patristic reading in the Office today. Perhaps his most famous paragraph is given for our reflection. 

My translation of the Italian:

“Slow have I loved you, O beauty so ancient and new, slow have I loved you. Behold, you were within me and I lived in the world and there I was searching for you. I, ugly me, threw myself onto the beautiful things you created. You were with me but I was not with you. These creatures held me far from you, creatures that had they not been sustained by you they would not have existed. You called to me, you shouted out to me, you broke my sordid way of life. You illuminated me, you shocked me and finally you healed my blindness. Your sweet scent hovered over me and I breathed it in, and now I long for you. I tasted you and now I hunger for you. You have touched me and I burn with desire to obtain your peace.” — St. Augustine of Hippo, “Confessions”, LIb. 7, 10, 18, 27; CSEL 33

I have resisted posting on Senator Ted Kennedy. We are already saturated with other blogs and various other sources of opinion about this undoubtedly hugely influential man in American culture and politics.

Yet, I will offer a couple of thoughts. 

First, I pray for his soul that he may be quickly admitted to heaven and enjoy the vision of God, face to face.

Second, I mourn what could have been had he not compromised his faith and moral integrity by advocating and pushing abortion rights. I am told he made the big switch from pro-life to pro-abortion after having met with some Catholic theologians who misled him into thinking it was permissible to accept an individual choice for abortion if one takes the entire context of the individual’s life and spiritual orientation into account, that somehow one can be Catholic and in the political and social arena support the idea that others have the right to choose abortion.  Had Sen. Kennedy used his enormous influence in the Congress to advocate for the unborn (as he so admirably did for the disabled, the poor and the disenfranchised), I believe we would be a better country today.

Third, I am afraid political power eroded this man’s person, and I feel for him. Seeking political power may have been his response to the horrible tragedies that beset his larger family.

Fourth, we cannot forget the great good that he accomplished in his 48 years in the Senate. God uses flawed men and women to accomplish great things. The history of the world is replete with examples, and Kennedy is a wonderful example.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.  May his soul, and the souls of the all the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

I hope you had the chance to read St. John Chrysostom’s homily yesterday in the Office of Readings. Having read it in years past, I am eager to reread it as the liturgical cycle brings it to my attention.

He spoke of the Five Ways to God.

The first is detesting and confessing one’s own sins.  This is sufficient for freedom. It develops one’s conscience.

The second is forgetting the sins others have committed against you and controlling your anger so as to not seek revenge.

The third is fervent prayer from the heart.

The fourth is giving alms to the poor and needy. 

The fifth way is through humility in one’s station in life.

Confession, forgiveness, prayer, almsgiving and humility.  The roads to heaven. The way of the beatitudes. Christian perfection.

With which of these do you find most difficulty? With which does the world at large seems to struggle?

I wish to mention my favorite “saint to be” (I hope), Pope John Paul the First.  His motto was “Humilitas”. His life and his writings always reflected these five roads to paradise. I think he would have agreed with St. John.

St. John Chrysostom, pray for us.

Papa Luciani, pray for us.

Ordination day for me and ten other brother deacons for the Winona diocese was last Saturday. As so many before me have testified, that stone floor of the Cathedral can be hard and cold, but it did not stop the tears from flowing while I was prostrate and the entire Church, both local and celestial, was praying for us deacons-to-be. The tears stopped only after the laying on of hands by Bishop Quinn and the Prayer of Ordination.

An event I would have thought years ago would never occur in my life. But as is usually the case, God works his plan in his own time and in his own way. He is doing that in my life, for sure.

I am simply amazed that I am a deacon of the Catholic Church and sent to preach the Gospel everywhere!

A thousand thanks to all who have been praying for me during these years.