Conscience Clauses and President Obama

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Deacon Bob

The USCCB is reporting that President Obama has promised to support conscience clauses in health care facilities.  There had been concern that conscience clauses that exist would have been eliminated with the current administration, putting thousands of Catholic health care providers in positions of having to quit their jobs, or being forced to participate in morally objectionable practices.  Catholic hospitals would have been faced with closure decisions if such clauses were to have been stripped.

Log on to www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2009/09-116.shtml for the report.  I would offer you a quote from that page:

“I am grateful for President Obama’s statement on May 17 that we should all ‘honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion,’ and his support for conscience clauses advancing this goal.

“Since 1973, federal law protecting the conscience rights of health care providers have been an important part of our American civil rights tradition.  These laws should be fully implemented and enforced.  Caring health professionals and institutions should know that their deeply held religious or moral convictions will be respected as they exercise their right to serve patients in need……Catholic providers, in particular, make a large and essential contribution to heath care in our society.  Essential steps to protect these conscience rights will strengthen our health care system and enhance many patients’ access to necessary life-affirming care.” — Cardinal Francis George

Posted in Ethics and Morality, Politics | 1 Comment

St. Philip Neri

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Deacon Bob

Today is the memorial of St. Philip Neri.  He was born in 1515.  He went to Rome where he began working with the youth and gave himself to a truly Christian life.  He founded a religious association to assist the sick and the poor.  He was ordained priest in 1551, founded the Oratory which taught the spiritual exercises and works of charity. He stood out as a example of charity for his neighbors, and evangelical simplicity in service to God.  He died in 1595.

I take note of all the Roman saints, as I walked the same streets many of them walked when I lived there over thirty years ago.  Their churches and residences remain today. In the midst of the cacophony of the modern Roman scene, their influence can still be seen and experienced.

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Thank you

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Deacon Bob

Retreat is over.  Always a little difficult to come back to the daily routines of life after spending days on retreat.  My time away was much needed, and quite rewarding.  Deacon Ken Piechowski from the diocese of Cleveland was our retreat director, and he and his wife Linda did a splendid job.

Thank you to all of you who were praying for me during these days.  I kept you in my prayers also.

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Retreat Time

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Deacon Bob

You won’t be seeing any posts here over the next five days or so.  I will be on retreat.  Keep me in your prayers as I place myself at the feet of the Lord and try to listen to him.

I will pray for all of you who frequent these pages.

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Diaconal Kenosis and Theosis

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Deacon Bob

“By the imposition of the bishop’s hands and the specific prayer of consecration, the deacon receives a particular configuration to Christ, the Head and Shepherd of the Church, who for love of the Father made himself the least and the servant of all.” — John Paul II

The pope’s comment points to the leadership role of the deacon in the church community.  If a deacon is to be a leader in Christ’s image, he must initially and continually surrender power and take the position of the servant, one without power.  This is the kenosis that we all learned of in our formation, an active self-emptying that goes beyond the acceptance of powerlessness and results in an actual strengthening of service. It becomes a source of creative energy for the good of the Church.

Our self-emptying is not something done in order to simply lose ourselves, but rather to find ourselves.  As did Jesus, the more we empty ourselves, the more we find ourselves in God.  In our ministries, then, we do not do social justice ministry simply for the sake of social justice (social workers do this), but we do it so others may be drawn up into the Paschal Mystery, the dying and rising of Christ, along with us.  Here we find the theotic aspect of our diaconal leadership which we hold in dynamic tension with the kenotic.

Let us pray that we bring this kind of leadership to the communities we serve.

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St. Cyril of Alexandria and the Body of Christ

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Deacon Bob

Some thoughts on the unity of the Body of Christ, the Church, are given today by St. Cyril of Alexandria.  Good words to ponder when we think of the challenges to Church unity in contemporary society.

My translation:

“The power of Christ’s sacred humanity brings into one body those in whom it exists.  In the same way, I believe, the one and indivisible Spirit of God who lives in everyone, leads everyone to a spiritual unity.

“All of us are one in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one thing only, I say, by our identity in our human condition, our cohesion in charity, our communion with the sacred body of Christ and our participation in the Holy Spirit.” — St. Cyril of Alexandria, “Comments on the Gospel of John”

May no one, individually or collectively, damage the unity which is ours in the Church. We need to be careful about judging each other, for while we live we all are the Lord’s and when we die we all die as his servants, as St. Paul reminds us in Romans. Our common unity is deeper than the differences in practice of spiritual discipline or lifestyle. Our unity is stronger than what is often seen at first sight. Our unity is grounded in Jesus and the Spirit, in obedience to the Father.

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Notre Dame, one last time

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Deacon Bob

I’d like to direct your attention to a post (Obama and ND – a last gasp) made by Deacon Scott Dodge over at  www.scottdodge.blogspot.com 

He succinctly describes the basic issue for this whole affair, and he does so well.

Kudos to Deacon Dodge.

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Quote for the Day

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Deacon Bob

“My only concern is to carry out what God wants of me.  In a word, I desire to be as perfect a likeness of my Lord Jesus Christ as I possibly can be.” — Bl. Didacus Joseph of Cadiz, OFM Cap.

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Pope Benedict and the Holy Land

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Deacon Bob

The Holy Father, in his Regina Caeli address from the Vatican yesterday, made some interesting comments on the Holy Land which I would like to share with you.  There is no official English translation, so here is mine from the Italian original.  If you can read la bellissima lingua, log on to the the vatican website, www.vatican.va  and click on the link for the “Sala Stampa” and read for yourselves.

“…The Holy Land has been called a ‘Fifth Gospel’, because here we can see, even touch, the reality and history that God made with men…. Yes, God entered this land, moved among us in it.  But we can say more: the Holy Land, because of its own history can be considered a microcosym that takes up into itself the laborious walk of God among humanity.  A walk that because of sin includes the Cross, but always with the abundance of divine love and the joy of the Holy Spirit.  The Resurrection, though already begun, is also a walk among the valley of our suffering toward the Reign of God. A reign not of this world, but in this world; a reign that must penetrate with the force of justice and peace….. To fear God and to practice justice so as to learn this fear of God and to open the world to the Reign of God —  this is the most profound aim of all interreligious dialogue.”

It seems the pope is making some theological points about the political and religious realities afflicting the the Holy Land in the past sixty years.  Even today, the Holy Land is a living example of the presence of God, the presence of intolerance among various peoples, and examples of “the Cross”.

If we believe that the poor are the face of Jesus Christ among us, then truly Christ dies again in the lives of so many Palestinian and Jewish men, women and children in Gaza, the West Bank, the Golan Heights and the various other places that marked the lived presence of Jesus in the flesh over two thousand years ago.

The aim of all interreligious dialogue is the open the world to the Reign of God through the practice of justice and the worship the God whom we all seek.

Good words for us to remember.

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Psalm 34(35)

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Deacon Bob

Today’s Office of Readings asks us to pray Psalm 34(35).  It is a prayer asking God to save us in times of persecution.  The Italian translation offers some wonderful phrases that are very descriptive.  My translation into English follows:

Lord, judge those who accuse me, fight those who fight me. Grab your shield and rise to my aid. Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”

I however esult in my Lord for the joy of his salvation. All my bones say, “Who is like you, Lord, who frees the weak from the strong, the miserable one and the poor from the predator?”

Violent witnesses rise up and interrogate me on things of which I am ignorant; they render evil for good, desolation for my life.

I, when they were sick, I dressed in sackcloth, I afflicted myself with fasting, in my chest my prayers echoed. I was in anguish as for a brother, in mourning as for my mother, I prostrated myself in sadness.

But they enjoy my fall, they gather together, they gather against me to strike me all of a sudden. They tear at me without pause, the put me to the test, mockery upon mockery, against me they grind their teeth.

How long, Lord will you stand by and watch? Free my life from their violence, from the fangs of the lion, free my one and only well being.

I will praise you in the grand assembly, I will celebrate you in the midst of a numerous people. May lying enemies not exult over me, do not let them wink their eyes they who hate me without reason.

Lord, you have seen, do not be quiet. God, don’t stand far from me. Awaken, awaken yourself for my judgment, for my cause, Lord my God.

May he esult and rejoice who loves my right, may he forever say, “Great is the Lord who desires peace for his servant.” 

My tongue will celebrate your justice, will sing your praise forever.”

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Quote for the Day

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Deacon Bob

“Let us desire nothing else, let us wish for nothing else, let nothing else please us and cause us delight except our Creator and Reedemer, and Savior, the one true God.” — St. Francis of Assissi

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Another Bishop’s Response to the Notre Dame Problem

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Deacon Bob

Bishop Samuel J. Aquila of the Diocese of Fargo wrote to Fr. Jenkins, president of Notre Dame on April 5, expressing his thoughts on President Obama’s invitation to speak and receive an honorary degree from Notre Dame in the next few days.  I would like to quote a section of the letter I found particularly incisive.  Please log on to the Diocese of Fargo’s website to read the letter in its entirety.

www.fargodiocese.org

“Inviting President Obama to award him a degree and to speak at a Catholic University implicitly extends legitimacy to his views on these issues in the minds of the average onlooker. Your actions and that of the Board of Trustees of Notre Dame do real harm to the mission of Catholic education in this country and further splinters Catholic witness in the public square. Your actions provide a forum for an advocate of abortion, in a university which is committed to teaching truths known to reason and science, and most of all to our faith in Jesus Christ and the teachings of His Church. This places commitment to these truths on an equal plane with a commitment to an intrinsic evil which destroys innocent human life. Your judgment in this matter is seriously flawed, with damaging consequences, for “…you are not on the side of God, but of men” (Mt 16:23)”

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Pope Benedict and the Palestinians

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Deacon Bob

The Holy Father visited Bethlehem today.  He spoke of the rights of the Palestinian people and offered to them a challenge.  I am quoting from the English original as reported by the Vatican website, www.vatican.va

“Mr. President, the Holy See supports the right of your people to a sovereign Palestinian homeland in the land of your forefathers, secure and at peace with its neighbors, within internationally recognized borders.  Even if at present that goal seems far from being realized, I urge you and all your people to keep alive the flame of hope, hope that a way can be found of meeting the legitimate aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians for peace and stability….”

He concludes his remarks with the following challenge to the young:

“I make this appeal to the many young people throughout the Palestinian Territories today: do not allow the loss of life and the destruction that you have witnessed to arouse bitterness or resentment in your hearts. Have courage to resist any temptation you may feel to resort to acts of violence or terrorism. Instead, let what you have experienced renew your determination to build peace….. I pray fervently that the song which the angels sang here in this place will be fulfilled: peace on earth, good will among men.”

May the Pope’s journey of peace come to fruition.

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Homily for Friday’s Vespers

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Deacon Bob

My homily for Vespers this Friday:

God will give you glory, if you lend him your ears!

That is the message I think we can take from tonight’s reading. (Heb. 5, 8-10)

God gives glory to those who listen and obey.

Such a compact reading.  A reading filled with meaning.  Something we can take with us for the rest of the week and use for our meditation.

So, I would ask you, “Do you cling to glory?  Or do you listen to the poor?”

Divine Son though he was, Jesus stripped himself of all glory, of every semblance of his divinity when he became one with us in our humanity.  And his Father restored that glory when he listened and obeyed.

And Jesus most clearly obeyed his Father when he could no longer sense his Father’s presence.  “My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?  It  is finished.”

Yes, it was on Calvary that Jesus’ obedience was perfected, not on Tabor, not in the river Jordan. And it was in his Resurrection that his glory was restored by the Father.

Jesus Christ is the source of our eternal salvation! If we are to be saved, then he is to be our model and guide.

“If you wish to be perfected,” Jesus said to the rich young man, “go, sell what you have, give to the poor, come follow me and you will have glory in heaven.”

God will GIVE us the glory, if we but lend him our ears!

The glory that is to be ours is given, not taken; received, not coveted.

So, I ask you again, “Are you more enamored in this world by the glory, the power, the prestige, signs and wonders, visions?” — for if you are, you will be governed by them.

Or, are you more attentive to the cries of the poor?  To the hundreds of unborn children today whose cries were terminated?   To the muffled cry of the abused woman who this very night weeps in her bed because she knows it is only a matter of time before she receives another beating?  To the silence of the man returning from war, who has done so much, and seen even more that he can no longer cry but is silent?

For you see, I believe God never forgets those to whom we listen.

Those to whom we listen eventually define us and determine our character.

And the poor are Jesus.

And to Jesus we must listen!

O yes!  God will give us glory…. glory so great we can only begin to immagine it….if we only lend him our ears……….and obey!

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A New Heavens and a New Earth

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Deacon Bob

St. Gregory of Nyssa was speaking today of the new heavens and the new earth of Christianity.  I have always likened that phrase to the Parousia, but St. Gregory has a different twist to it. 

In his Discourse on the Resurrection, he speaks of the new heavens and the new earth generated by the Resurrection of our Lord.  The new heaven is faith in Christ.  The new earth is a good heart, a heart eager for the rains of heaven, the teachings of the faith, that give rise to an abundant harvest in the lives of men and women.

A good meditation for us today.  The new heaven and the new earth is among us, in us.  Our hearts are renewed and fertile by the resurrection of Jesus. Our lives are fed by the gifts of the new heaven, the sun and the rain of faith that nourish us each day.

Let us enjoy our new freedom by listening attentively the new law of God which calls us, in faith, to love one another.  For faith accepted and nourished in our hearts will bear much fruit if we direct ourselves toward the law of God, which is revealed to us in Jesus.  This is our ultimate freedom and happiness.

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