Artificial Nutrition and Hydration

Posted on January 14, 2009 by Deacon Bob

The most recent issue of Ethics and Medics,  published by the National Catholic Bioethics Center on Health Care and the Life Sciences, wades into the whole area of the ethics of withdrawing tubing feeding and hydration of a patient who is “permanently unconscious”.   Ethics and Medics contains two articles, one by Stephen Napier, a staff ethicist for The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, and another by  William E. May, Ph.D., professor emeritus at the John Paul II Institute of Marrriage and Family and senior fellow of the Culture of Life Foundation in Washington, D.C.

This is a very thorny issue, and difficult to wade through. 

Napier indicates that there are three principles endorsed by Catholic ethicists and/or orthodox moral theologians:  1) One ought to respect a patient’s wish to refuse artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH); 2) ANH is proportionate treatment; and 3) Proportionate treatment is morally obligatory.  He states that these three principles are seemingly inconsistent with each other, and then goes on in the article to explain how they may not be.  He cites John Paul II’s address to the International Congress on “Life Sustaining Treatments and the Vegetative State:  Scientific and Ethical Dilemmas” in March, 2004.  He also refers to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s Declaration on Euthanasia.  He makes some very interesting distinctions in moral decision-making.

May responds claiming Napier’s article is marred by ambiguities.  He refers to Napier’s distinction between spiritual suffering and physical suffering.  He suggests that John Paul II was speaking not only to medical professionals in his 2004 address but also to all of us.

The whole thing is far too dense for me to summarize well, so I would encourage all of you to read it for yourselves.  This is very important stuff, especially for us who may be in a position where patients come to us for moral guidance in these areas.

You can get Ethics and Medics online at:  www.ncbcenter.org  and click on publications.

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Quote for the Day

Posted on January 13, 2009 by Deacon Bob

“The sooner we realize our predicament, that we are indeed lost, then the sooner God can put us to work for Him.”  –Warren Rose, OFM

I agree with Warren to a degree.  We truly are lost without Christ whom we find in our Catholic communities.  Our Catholic church is the Body of Christ.  The people are the Church and we the people of God, the Church, make up the Body of Christ.  We are lost without Him, which is also to say we are lost without each other in the Catholic church. 

But I also believe that Jesus came to this earth to show us the way.  If we look to Him, whom we find in the faces and lives of the people of God, we have our way back home.  We are found; we no longer are lost.

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Wisdom and Awe of God

Posted on January 12, 2009 by Deacon Bob

The Office of Readings for the start of Ordinary Time begins with the book of Sirach, and Sirach begins with a discourse on Wisdom. Most of us have read and heard this before, but it is worth reading and hearing again.

Sirach emphasizes the importance of “fear of the Lord”, which some translate as “awe and wonder of God”. He says that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, the fullness of wisdom, the crown of wisdom and the root of wisdom. Wisdom was created “in the maternal womb”, he says; an interesting comment and perhaps an allusion to Jesus and the womb of Mary.  He says wisdom is intoxicating for those devoted to her.  From wisdom comes peace, health and greatness.  Wisdom’s roots give rise to a long life.

All these blessings, all of wisdom, are identified with “fear of the Lord”.  What this means is that all the blessings and gifts of God come only to a humble heart, a heart that knows itself only in relation to the wonder and awe of God himself.  Greatness comes from humility.  Wisdom comes from acknowledging the truth of ourselves.  Wisdom is given to those who practice true humility; not self-depreciation but rather true humility in which we see ourselves as God sees us.

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Miracles and Faith

Posted on January 11, 2009 by Deacon Bob

Our pastor this morning, fresh from retreat, put this question to us at Mass:  “Is our faith deep enough to expect a miracle in answer to our prayers?”  He said God never forces his love on us; we must be open to it in faith.  He also said that the only way God can love us is perfectly and completely, and he loves each of us as much as he loved the great saints, including our Blessed Mother, Mary.  He asked, “Do you believe that?”

The same Spirit that descended on Jesus in his baptism in the Jordan, the feast we celebrate today, is the Spirit that comes to each of us every day.  He is given to us completely.  He is completely capable of working miracles in our lives and wants to do so according to his plan.  We though, need to be well disposed to his gifts of love.  We need to be open, by faith, to the abundance of his love that is most suredly offered to us for the asking.

I must admit, when he asked those questions, I silently thought, “Father, do you really expect the sick person you anoint to rise from his or her sick bed perfectly restored to health?  Don’t you think you may be setting some of these people up for disappointment?  What if someone goes home today as a result of your homily and prays that their relative sick from terminal cancer be cured, and discovers their loved one dies?”

Yet, our faith does teach that God’s love is infinite.  Grace is poured out on us without limit in each sacrament.  It is poured out for us in every moment of our lives.  It keeps us alive.  Infinite love, infinite grace can only be miraculous. The only limit is the capacity of the recipient of that grace, i.e., ourselves.  Our hearts, minds, wills and spirits need be open for God’s miraculous Spirit to do his work in us.

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Wisdom as We Conclude the Christmas Season

Posted on January 10, 2009 by Deacon Bob

I was struck by the reading for Morning Prayer today. Tomorrow ends our Christmas season, and today, the second to the last day, our scripture from Lauds is taken from the book of Wisdom.  It reads:

“Wisdom is the refulgence of eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of his goodness.  And she, who is one, can do all things, and renews everything while herself perduring, and passing into holy souls from age to age, she produces friends of God and prophets.” Wisdom 7: 26-27

I find that to be so poetic and beautiful.  It speaks of the Holy Spirit. The Jewish people a few hundred years before Christ almost personified Wisdom. I realize how close they came to understanding the Trinity right before Jesus was born.  They certainly knew of the Father; they anticipated the Son in their waiting for the Messiah; and here in the Wisdom literature they were coming to understand the Holy Spirit.

In our own lives, how often do we ask for wisdom, as did Solomon of old? How often do we reflect on the spirit of our parents, of the generations that preceded us, and find wisdom?  If what today’s reading speaks is true, how can we not ask for such a gift?  

“(She) pass(es) into holy souls from age to age, she produces friends of God and prophets.”

May we all be spotless mirrors of the power of God.  May the Holy Spirit renew us and all of creation. Amen.

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Immigration and Catholic Social Teaching – An archbishop’s thoughts

Posted on January 9, 2009 by Deacon Bob

I ran across another very interesting address about Catholic social teaching and immigration in this country.

This one was given by Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, S.T.D., of San Antonio at the Annual Assembly of the Missouri Catholic Conference on October 4, 2008.  Here are some quotes:

“…I believe immigration is the great civil rights test of our generation.”

“”…for the first Christians…to be a Christian was to practice hospitality to the stranger….This teaching of hospitality and doing good works for strangers comes from Jesus himself.  Jesus taught that in the stranger we have an encounter with the living God.”

“To be a Catholic is to be a person who welcomes the stranger in need.  This is who we are….It is part of our original religious identity as Catholics…We must defend the immigrant if we are to be worthy of the name Catholic.”

“In Catholic teaching, the right to migrate is among the most basic human rights.  It’s very close to the right to life.”

Archbishop Gomez talked about the concern he has, as a pastor of souls, about the anger and resentment Americans have today about immigrants.  He spoke of the hate and fear that only eats up the soul of America around this issue. 

Whereas he speaks of the right to migrate as near to the right to life in importance, he does indicate that the right to migrate is not an absolute right.  As a pastor, he seemed in the address to be trying to speak to all sides and concerns.

Read the entire account online by logging on to:  www.archdiosa.org  scroll down to “Keynote address Missouri Catholic Conference Annual Assembly – Archbishop Gomez.”

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Quote of the Day

Posted on January 9, 2009 by Deacon Bob

“The more you lose yourself in contemplation of God, the more yourself do you really become” –Murray Bodo, OFM

I would be interested in how my readers would describe their own experiences of contemplation and becoming more fully who they are called to be.

Don’t let the word “contemplation” throw you off course.  Think of it as seeing God and speaking to him in whatever way he has revealed himself to you.

For me, my experience of contemplation has changed over the years.  For a while, it was a very personal experience of God and me. Then it developed into God’s self-revelation in creation and relationships with others.  Now, it has a lot to do with marital spirituality and the incarnated Body of Christ in his Church.  At each step, I have become a little more fully human, hopefully, and an instrument of God’s love for the world.

God’s self-revelation was most complete in his Son Jesus.  We need only to look to him to comtemplate God.  The first reading from Mass this morning reminds us of this.  St. John said that God’s testimony to us was his Son Jesus, and God’s testimony is true.  If we acknowledge (contemplate) Jesus as the Son of God, we have eternal life within us, which is in many ways a sharing of the beatific vision of the saints in heaven.  God’s testimony is true.  Jesus is the witness, the face of the Father, the one we can see, and hear, and touch in our lives.  I do this through reception of his Body and Blood, hearing the Gospel proclaimed, and recognizing him in the lives of the poor and marginalized of our world.

How about you?

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Live Without Fear!

Posted on January 6, 2009 by Deacon Bob

Life’s events of late have brought me to thinking about finding the will of God by letting go of my attempts to control the future. 

The attempts I often make to control only lead to increased fear and anxiety despite the fact I would hope for a diffferent result.  How to “let go and let God”, as they say in Alcoholics Anonymous, seems to be a key in discovering who God is in my life and the plan he has for me.  It also may be the way to greater peace and serenity.

One of my New Year’s resolutions is:  “Live without fear!  Trust and be at peace!”  For me it will mean letting go of my feeble attempts to manage what I cannot manage or to control the future.  To do otherwise is actually a form of pride (one of those seven deadly sins).  Funny isn’t it, how we are ill-at-ease when we play God.

I have actually been able to live this new resolution for several hours at a time, and it really is freeing, opening the door for God to enter and do his work through me. 

Now, if I can only extend the period of time I give him my trust!

Posted in General Interest, Prayer and Meditation | 2 Comments

Lessons from the Magi

Posted on January 4, 2009 by Deacon Bob

There is a lot to meditate on when it comes to the three wise men, but the one thing I would like to suggest is how each of them, kings according to legend, somehow knew that they themselves had to follow the star to Bethlehem.  Being men of great wealth, they certainly could have sent an ambassador or two but no, they had to come themselves at considerable expense and risk.  I could imagine them wondering what would become of their homes when they were away following a star.  What would their subjects think of them? What if their inner sense of calling was to lead them no where?  Certainly, they must have expected a child king in some sort of palace or regal surroundings.  What did they think when they entered a poverty-stricken stable?

In my own life, then, I take from them the following: 1) I myself must make the journey and I myself must bring the gift of myself.  I myself must adore the Lord.  I cannot expect someone else to do it for me. My presence is needed.  God expects it; and 2) I will not be afraid. God does not lead me somewhere where he won’t supply the strength, grace, and love necessary to complete the journey.  I will trust and not fear.

The journey is worth it, even if it ends in a poor man’s stable.

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Abortion and a Catholic Political Family

Posted on January 2, 2009 by Deacon Bob

A fellow blogger has posted an interesting piece on the Kennedys and their support of abortion rights despite their Catholicism. He cites a Wall Street Journal article, and references a 1964 meeting in Hyannisport, Mass. where several well-know Jesuit theologians “coached” the Kennedys on how to accept and promote abortion with a “clear conscience”. One of the Jesuits identified was Fr. Joseph Fuchs, a moral theologian who taught me moral theology in Rome in the 1970s.

I never knew Fr. Fuchs to support abortion rights. It was rumored his lectures were monitored closely by the Vatican. He did talk about how difficult it is, in his opinion, to thwart the radical and powerful grace of baptism.  He was of the opinion that if we believe that baptism is a fundamental, radical and powerful turning from evil toward God, (in other words, complete conversion by the power of Christ in the Spirit), then it takes an awful lot to turn us back toward condemnation and eternal death. More simply, a baptized person would have a much harder time committing mortal sin than is commonly believed.  Whether Fuch’s theology lends itself to abortion rights advocacy is a good question.

I am not sure if the other Jesuit theologians mentioned in the post shared that theology.

I would encourage you to log on to read Deacon Kandra’s post for yourselves. The post is entitled, “The Kennedys and abortion: where a Catholic dynasty went wrong.”

http://deacbench.blogspot.com

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Saint of the Day Quote

Posted on January 2, 2009 by Deacon Bob

January 2 is the feast day of Sts. Basil and Gregory. St. Basil, in his tract on the Holy Spirit, has a beautiful line about divine nature.

He wrote,  “As the Father is made visible in the Son, so is the Son made present in the Spirit.”

I think that is a wonderful way of understanding the Trinity.

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Daily Reflections

Posted on January 2, 2009 by Deacon Bob

If you haven’t already discovered it, the United States Council of Catholic Bishops provides a daily video reflection on the Mass readings. 

Today’s reflection is about John the Baptist knowing who he is and who he isn’t, and how we need to know ourselves well if we are to be effective instruments in God’s hands.

Take a look:   www.usccb.org/video/reflections.shtml

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Quotes From the Holy Father

Posted on January 1, 2009 by Deacon Bob

A couple of quotes from Pope Benedict’s homily for the Mass of the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God (my translation from Italian original):

“…the earthly history of Jesus…is the beginning of a new world, because he really inaugurated a new humanity, always capable only by the grace of Christ, to work a peaceful ‘revolution’.   Not an ideological revolution, but a spiritual one, not utopic but real, and for this one needs infinite patience and a long time, avoiding all shortcuts and moving down the more difficult way, the way of maturation of responsible consciences.”

“…I have chosen for my message this year: ‘To combat poverty, build peace‘. A theme that presents a double level of considerations…. On one hand, the poverty chosen and proposed by Jesus; on the other hand, the poverty one needs to fight to render the world more just..”

“The first aspect is found in the ideal context of these days, in the time of Christmas. The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem reveals to us that God has chosen poverty for itself in his coming in our midst. This poverty God has chosen. He wanted to be born like this – but we need to add: he wanted to live, and to die poor. Why? …love for us spurred Jesus not only to become man, but to make himself poor. In the same way… to cite…. St. Paul in the second letter to the Corinthians:  ‘Jesus Christ… made himself poor for you so that you might become rich through his poverty.”

“the second aspect: there is a poverty, an extreme poverty, that God does not want and was ‘combatted’…a poverty that impedes persons and families from living according to their dignity…also the poverty, not of material things, that are found in rich and developed societies:  marginalization, relationship problems both moral and spiritual.”

“It is needed, therefore, to establish a ‘virtuous circle’ between poverty ‘chosen’ and poverty ‘to combat’.”

I find it interesting that the Pope makes a connection between the virtues of chosen poverty for the sake of others and the abject poverty of so many peoples. He calls it a virtuous circle. If I understand him correctly, he is calling on us to willing choose poverty in some manner for the sake of justice and thereby, peace in the world.  In effect, to live as Jesus lived.  To be poor for the sake of others.  He is calling this a spiritual revolution.

How to do this in the concrete realities of our lives is part of the challenge.

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New Year Blessing and a Word of Concern

Posted on January 1, 2009 by Deacon Bob

I wish all of you a Happy New Year!  May it be one filled with the strength of the Holy Spirit, the Truth who is Jesus, and the providential protection of our Father.  And may Mary, the Mother of God, Theotokos, intercede for us always.

My wife and I were talking last night over dinner, and she commented that 2008 was a good year for her. That is always so good to hear. Yes, a good year all in all.

I am concerned though by the victory of those who espouse advancing abortion rights and other issues contrary to our pro-life values.  The culture of death is present, and seems on the rise.  This culture is evil. We must overcome it.

I want to be clear, I am not saying anyone person is evil.  I am especially not saying President-elect Obama is evil.  I am just commenting how evil uses any opportunity it can to move into human anxiety and work its way, thwarting life and goodness.

May God generously bless our new government leaders with his wisdom, strength, prudence and presence!

May God bless us and keep us.  May he let his face shine on us and be gracious to us. May God look upon us kindly and give us a year of peace. Amen!

Posted in Politics | 2 Comments

History, Current Events, and Belief

Posted on December 31, 2008 by Deacon Bob

I would wonder how each of us would order history on a spectrum of events of importance to humanity, from most important to least significant. I suspect it would rank low.

I predict we would rank on the high end technology, politics, terrorism, economics and the like.  But good old history would be near the bottom.

One aspect of Catholicism that is of great importance is history.  We are a Church deeply appreciative of history.  We build upon history.   To understand Catholic belief requires a certain appreciation of the historical roots from which it came.  I submit this is true even for the child.  The child believes because he or she come to know that what they believe has come from their immediate ancestors.  Thinking adults deepen their understanding of Catholic belief by learning about the various councils, saints,  and theologians who have shaped the language of belief.

When one considers contemporary social issues such as same sex marriage, euthanasia, abortion, racism, economic disparity, how often do we complete an historical analysis of these issues before forming an opinion about them, or before criticizing the teaching of the Church?  Sadly, many form such opinions or offer such strident criticism with little or no understanding of the issue’s history.

My Jesuit education has formed me in in such a way to  look at whatever issue may be present from an historical view. My Jesuit professors always walked me through the subject matter from the beginning to the present, illustrating the development of thought and understanding.

Of course, to do this runs counter to the relativism in our society, and the importance of personal experience versus self-sacrifice for the sake of something greater.  History is some sense calls us to obedience.  We have to be willing to listen (obey) if we look at history.  It also calls us to belief.

It is not too hard to believe in God because His footprints are all over history. What is difficult is being willing to turn our lives over to Him.

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