A Bit of Marital Wisdom

Posted on February 15, 2009 by Deacon Bob

Men happily married for more than 10 years seem to come to a mutual conclusion:  

“We need to quit trying to understand our wives!”

Now, before I get a backlash from the politically correct among you, let me explain.  Not trying to understand does not imply stop listening, communicating or mastering the art of compromise.  What I am getting at here is our attempts to understand, i.e., “figure them out”, as noble as that may be and necessary at times, always runs the risk of being perceived as criticism or analyzing.

What we need to work on is continually appreciating and enjoying our wives.  

It seems, doesn’t it guys, that if we can do that, we approach our wives with a sense of awe and mystery. It really is consistent with our understanding of Christian sacramental marriage also.  In our wives we are to see Christ, whom we serve.  If any of you can honestly say you really “understand” Christ in his humanity and divinity, body and soul, raise your hand!  Instead, we learn to approach Christ with a deep sense of mystery, appreciation for who he is as he reveals himself, and enjoy his presence among us. 

My two cents worth…. any thoughts from you?

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The Shoah and the Church

Posted on February 14, 2009 by Deacon Bob

From the address of Benedict XVI to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, given on February 12 this year:

“The two-thousand-year history of the relationship between Judaism and the Church has passed through many different phases, some of them painful to recall……The Church is profoundly and irrevocably committed to reject all anti-Semitism and to continue to build good and lasting relations between our two communities….my predecessor Pope John Paul II stood at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, pleading God’s forgiveness….I now make his prayer my own:  ‘God of our fathers….we are deeply saddened by the behavior of those who in the course of history have caused these children of yours to suffer, and asking your forgiveness we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the Covenant’ (26 March 2000)

“The hatred and contempt for men, women and children that was manifested in the Shoah was a crime against God and against humanity…It is beyond question that any denial or minimization of this terrible crime is intolerable and altogether unacceptable…..This terrible chapter in our history must never be forgotten…It is my fervent prayer that the memory of this appalling crime will strengthen our determination to heal the wounds that for too long have sullied relations between Christians and Jews.  It is my heartfelt desire that the friendship we now enjoy will grow stronger, so that the Church’s irrevocable commitment to respectful and harmonious relations with the people of the Covenant will be fruit in abundance.”

Read the entire address at:

www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2009/february/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20090212_jewish-organizations_en.html

Worth your time to read.

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Human Dignity

Posted on February 13, 2009 by Deacon Bob

St. Leo the Great had this to say about human dignity (translated from the Italian):

“…Sinful humanity has found again innocence, the old man caught in sin has reacquired new life; the outcast has received adoption and the stranger has entered into  possession of his inheritance.

“Awaken, O man, and reconsider the dignity of your nature!  Remember that you have been created in the image of God;  that if this resemblance was disfigured by Adam, it has been restored in Christ.  Use the visible creatures in agreeable ways, like you might utilize the things of the earth, sea, heavens, air, the springs of water, of the rivers. Whatever you find of beauty and wonder in them, direct it to the praise and glory of the Creator.”  (Disc. for Christmas, 7, 2.6)

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Papa Luciani (John Paul I) and Pope Benedict

Posted on February 13, 2009 by Deacon Bob

For all you trivia buffs:

I will bet that you didn’t know Pope John Paul I once sent then Cardinal Ratzinger to Ecuador as his personal Legate.  The city of Guayaquil, Ecuador was hosting a Marian Congress in honor of the Marian Year that had been proclaimed back in 1978.  Given that Luciani had only been Pope for a couple of days, he sent Ratzinger in his stead.  His letter of appointment read, in part:

“Indeed, we embrace the people of Ecuador in sincere charity; and desire in some way to participate in these solemnities in order that greater moment and luster may attend them.  Wherefore, by these letters, we choose, make, and proclaim you our Legate Extraordinary, committing to you the office of presiding in our name and with our authority at these Marian celebrations.  We have no doubt but that you will skillfully and fruitfully fulfill the office accredited to you, because of the richness of sacred doctrine which commends you, and the ardent love for the Mother of Christ and our Mother for which you are known.”

If you want to read the letter in its entirety, log on to : 

www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_i/letters/documents/hf_jp-i_let_19780901_ratzinger_en.html

John Paul I had travelled to South America before, especially to Brazil where he became friends with Cardinal Lorshchieder of that country.  Lorschieder had been considered one of the papabile prior to Luciani’s election. 

I can only imagine that John Paul I would have liked to have gone personally, but circumstances prohibited him from doing so. 

A future pope went instead.

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Quotes for the Day

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Deacon Bob

“Viewed superficially the cross appears as the tree of death, but to the one who views it in depth, the mystery of the cross shines forth as the tree of life because of Him who hung upon it.” — St. Bonaventure, OFM

“Put aside your garments, that is worldly riches, so that you may not fall victim to the adversary and that you may enter the kingdom of heaven by the rough road and narrow gate.” — St. Clare of Assissi

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Fr. Thomas Reese, SJ and Vatican Reform

Posted on February 9, 2009 by Deacon Bob

An interesting article written by  Fr. Thomas Reese SJ about his ideas for Vatican reform can be found at:

www.commonwealmagazine.org/article.php3?id_article=2200

I won’t try to summarize it here but leave it for you to read.  As Fr. Reese himself says at the end, the chances of his suggestions coming to fruition are close to zero, and perhaps rightly so, but he has some challenging ideas from Church history.

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In Re: SSPX and the Church

Posted on February 8, 2009 by Deacon Bob

From the Vatican Secretary of State, 4 February 2009

“In the wake of reactions provoked by the recent Decree from the Congregation for Bishops lifting the excommunication on the four prelates of the Society of St. Pius X, and with reference to declarations denying and reducing the Shoah pronounced by Bishop Williamson, a member of that society, it is felt appropriate to clarify certain aspects of the issue:

1.Remission of the excommunication

“As has previously been explained, the Decree from the Congregation for Bishops, dated 21 January 2009, was an act by which the Holy Father benignly responded to repeated requests from the superior general of the Society of St. Pius X.

“His Holiness wished to remove an impediment that hindered the opening of a door to dialogue, and he now awaits a similar readiness to be expressed by the four bishops, in complete adherence to the doctrine and discipline of the Church.

“The extremely serious penalty of excommunication ‘latae sententia’, which these bishops incurred on 30 June 1988, formally announced on 1 July of the same year, was a consequence of their illegitimate ordination by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

“The remission of the excommunication has freed the four bishops from serious canonical penalty, but it has not altered the juridical position of the Society of St. Pius X which, at the present time, enjoys no canonical recognition within the Catholic Church.  Even the four bishops, though released from excommunication, have no canonical function in the Church and cannot legally exercise a ministry within her.”

2. Tradition, doctrine and Vatican Council II

“An indispensable condition for any future recognition of the Society of St. Pius X is their full recognition of Vatican Council II and the Magesterium of Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI.

“As already affirmed in the Decree of 21 January 2009, the Holy See will not fail, in ways considered most appropriate, to join the parties concerned in a profound examination of outstanding issues, so as to be able to reach a full and satisfactory solution to the problems that gave rise to this painful split.

3. Declarations concerning the Shoah

“Msgr. Williamson’s views on the Shoah are absolutely unacceptable, and firmly rejected by the Holy Father as he himself said on 28 January when, referring to that brutal genocide, he reiterated his complete and indisputable solidarity with our Brothers and Sisters who receivedthe First Covenant, affirming that the memory of that terrible event must ‘induce humankind to reflect upon the unpredictable power of evil when it conquers the heart of man’, adding that the Shoah remains ‘an admonition for everyone against oblivion, negation and reductionism, because violence against a single human being is violence against all’.

“In order to be readmitted to episcopal functions within the Church, Bishop Williamson must absolutely, unequivocally and publicly distance himself from his views concerning the Shoah, which were unknown to the Holy Father at the moment he lifted the excommunication.

“The Holy Father asks all the faithful to accompany him in prayer, that the Lord may illuminate the path of the Church.  May all pastors and faithful increase their commitment in support of the delicate and onerous mission of the Successor of the Apostle Peter, the ‘custodian of unity’ within the Church.”

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World Day of the Sick

Posted on February 7, 2009 by Deacon Bob

The 17th World Day of the Sick will be 11 February 2009.  Each year, the Holy Father issues a message to the world to mark this occasion.  This year’s was released today from the Vatican City.  I would encourage you to log onto the Holy See’s website, and read it for yourselves.  Benedict XVI is asking every diocese to celebrate this day in reflection on the reality of suffering in our families and communities.  He speaks of the Church’s obligation to assist families that may have children who are suffering from disease and distress.

I want to draw you attention to one segment of his message, which I have translated from the Italian:

“The dedication and responsibility we have unceasingly every day to serve sick children constitute an eloquent witness to the love for human life, in particular for the life of the weak and who are completely dependent on others.  This demands, in fact, a vigorous affermation of the absolute and supreme dignity of every human life. The teaching that the Church incessantly proclaims, without change, throughout the passage of time is this:  Human life is beautiful and is seen in its fullness even when it is weak and clothed by the mystery of suffering.  It is to Jesus crucified that we must turn our attention:  dying on the cross, he wanted to share the suffering of all of humanity.  In his suffering in love, we see a supreme participation with the pain of the little ones who suffer and their parents.” (Italics original)

I sense the Holy Father may be referring to a current case in Italy very similar to the Terry Schiavo case here in the United States.  In Italy, there is a young women (pictures of whom have an uncanny resemblance of Terry Schiavo) who is being starved and deprived of fluids.  The House of Deputies and the Italian Senate have intervened and passed a decree requiring food and water be given to the young woman, but the Italian president refuses to sign the decree and without his signature, it fails to become law.

Regardless of contemporary Italian circumstances, the Pope’s words are worth our recall.  Even the sickest, weakest and most vulnerable and dependent are of equal dignity to the healthiest, strongest and most independent of our families and communities.  As Benedict indicates at the end of the excerpt, in them we see Christ crucified.  Him alone do we adore.

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Current Events

Posted on February 6, 2009 by Deacon Bob

If you have been keeping up on recent news you are aware of the admission by the Legionaires of Christ that their founder, Fr. Marcial Maciel, lived a double life, keeping a mistress and fathering a daughter, now twenty years old, I believe.  That, in addition to other accusations over the years of abusive behavior on Fr. Marcial’s part, has left not only the Legionaires reeling, but has deeply wounded the Church.  There is question as to whether the Legionaires will need to dissolve and reorganized under a new and different charism.

Then there is the continued SSPX controversy.  After Pope Benedict lifted the excommunications on the four bishops, Bishop Williamson’s denial of the realities of the Holocaust has come to light.  This draws into real focus the whole of the SSPX and whether they will in obedience and integrity accept the whole of the Church’s authority, the nature of the Church as defined in Vatican II, the teaching on ecumenism and the Church’s condemnation of  Anti-Semitism.  Even though the excommunications have been lifted, the SSPX remains in schism.  They, the SSPX, will have to come to terms with themselves also, and recognize they cannot be “cafeteria Catholics” of the far right, picking and choosing Church teachings to which they will adhere.

Finally, there is the very sad news of the abortion clinic in Florida which threw out with the trash a newly born infant.  As you know, few things anger and hurt me more than this kind of thing, and I ask each of us, “How can we, even in the remotest manner, support this with our votes and other political actions?”

Let us pray for each other, the Church, and all those harmed by anyone of the Church.

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Psalm of the Day

Posted on February 4, 2009 by Deacon Bob

We prayed this psalm in Morning Prayer today.  A lovely psalm for all deacons, and everyone else dedicated to service to the poor.

Psalm 146

Praise the Lord, my soul

I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing songs to my God while I live.

Do not rely on the powerful, on a man who cannot save. The Spirit goes forth and returns to the earth; on that day, all of his designs vanish.

Blessed is he who has the God of Jacob as his help, who hopes in the Lord his God, the Creator of heaven and earth, of the sea and all that it contains.

His is faithful for ever; he gives justice to the oppressed, food to the hungry.

The Lord frees prisoners, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord raises up the fallen, the Lord loves the just ones.

The Lord protects strangers, he sustains the orphan and the widow, but overturns the ways of the impious.

The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Sion, for every generation!

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More On Williamson

Posted on February 4, 2009 by Deacon Bob

La Repubblica, the daily newspaper of Rome, is reporting today that the Vatican’s Secretary of State has indicated that for Bishop Williamson to exercise his priestly office, he must retract his statements of denial of the Holocaust.  He also stated that the Holy Father was unaware of Williamson’s statements at the time he lifted the excommunication on Williamson. 

Let us hope Williamson is obbedient to the Holy Father in mind and heart.

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Germany Weighs In on Pope’s Response to Williamson

Posted on February 3, 2009 by Deacon Bob

Il Corriere della Sera, the Italian daily from Milan, is reporting today that Chancellor Merkel of Germany spoke somewhat critically of the Pope’s response to the ongoing controversy stirred up by Bishop Williamson of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) when Williamson denied on Swedish television that six million Jews were gassed by the Nazis.  The Pope lifted the excommunications on Williamson and three other SSPX bishops recently.

Merkel is reported to have declared that the clarifications of the Vatican on the reintegration of Williamson are “insufficient”.  She is asking the Pope to clarify in certain terms that it is not possible to deny the Holocaust and that there must be a positive relationship with the Jewish world.  She said that the Pope’s lifting of the excommunication of Williamson leaves the impression that one can deny the Holocaust, and the Vatican must affirm very clearly that there cannot be here any denial.  Apparently, Cardinal Karl Lehmann, the ex-president of the German Bishops’ Conference stated that this controversy can be resolved only by apologies at “a high level”.  Lehmann sees the Pope’s decision to readmit Williamson to the Church as a “catastrophe for the survivors of the Holocaust”.  He has asked for the resignation of Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, a member of the Commission “Ecclesia Dei”, who has indicated he had been unaware of Williamson’s denials of the Holocaust.

Unfortunately, this controversy is not going away. 

I don’t know how one can accuse the Pope of anything improper here.  The problem seems squarely in the lap of Williamson and the SSPX.  The Church has brought back into communion a former member in a way only the Pope could accomplish, given the reason for the excommunication in the first place. 

Forgiveness is good. 

The impression of some is the Church tacitly condones Williamson’s ignorance and prejudices, which it certainly does not.  Any fair reading of Church documents and teaching in the past many decades reveal this, as do Pope Benedict’s own statements, present and past.

Let us pray for all victims of prejudice and persecution, especially our Jewish brothers and sisters.

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Pope Benedict and Permanent Deacons

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Deacon Bob

I was surfing through the archives of Radio Vaticana today, and came across the Pope’s words to the deacons of the diocese of Rome on February 18, 2006.  They were, in part, as follows:

“Union with Christ, cultivated by prayer, the sacramental life and in particular Eucharistic adoration, is of greatest importance for your vocation so that it may authentically give witness to the love of God….Dear deacons, you receive with joy and gratitude the love that our Lord has for you and pours out in your lives, and with generosity you give to men and women that which you have gratuitously received….Announcing the Gospel, you will give the Word the capacity to illumine and give significance to human labor,  to the suffering of the afflicted, and you will assist a new generation to discover the beauty of the Christian faith.  You will be….deacons of the Truth who will free and lead the inhabitants of this city to encounter Christ Jesus….You will be, therefore, servants of the Truth so as to be carriers of the joy that God wished to give to everyone.” (Original language:  Italian)

Isn’t it interesting that the Holy Father seems to emphasize the diaconal call to convey joy to a new generation, a joy that comes from union with Christ through prayer, sacrament, and contemplative time before the Eucharist.  Deacons of the Truth will be deacons of joy, according to Benedict.

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Attention Deacons!

Posted on February 1, 2009 by Deacon Bob

St. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians has a verse that speaks to the heart of the diaconate.

“We were so solicitous of you that we desired to give you not only the Gospel of God, but our very life, because you had become so dear to us.”  –1 Thes 2: 8

The vocation of the deacon is to proclaim the Gospel, to give it to the people complete and unabridged. St. Paul knew that that can only be done well if we give our very lives in love to the People of God.

The kenosis, the self-emptying love of others, which is essential in a deacon’s life and spirituality, is difficult to get one’s hands around.  It is “life in progress”, a daily conformation to the life of Jesus the Servant. 

May the Spirit guide us always in the ways of service.

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A Lesson from Moses

Posted on January 31, 2009 by Deacon Bob

We read today from Deuteronomy in the Office of Readings.  God was talking to Moses right before his death on Mount Nebo.  God said:

“You will die on the mountain which you are about to ascend….because you did not manifest my holiness. You will see the land before you, but there, in the land I am about to give the Israelites, you will not enter!” Dt. 32, 50-51.

Moses was not condemned, for God promised him that he would join his ancestors, but he could not enter into the Promised Land either. Why?  Because “…you did not manifest my holiness.” 

This is worth a few hours of meditation, I think.  The call to show forth to everyone the holiness of God by the manner of our lives.  To enter the Promised Land will require that we manifest the sanctity of God.

How important it is, then, that we all discern well the vocation to which we are called by God, for it is in living out that call that we will most clearly and fully display God’s sanctity to all we meet. God has called us to a unique mission within the context of married, single, ordained and/or vowed life. We are to be reflections of God’s love in all that we do. 

Reflections of the very holiness of God himself!

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