The Vatican and Italy

Posted on December 30, 2008 by Deacon Bob

The daily newspaper of Rome, La Repubblica citing the Osservatore Romano (the Vatican daily)  is reporting today that the Vatican, as of January 1, 2009, will no longer automatically assume into its own civil law the laws of the State of Italy.  The Holy See, which is a sovereign nation, finds Italian laws too numerous, changeable, contradictory, and at times contrary to Christian morals.

Prior to this, the Vatican City State as a rule would take Italian civil law and enforce them within its boundaries.  Only by rare exception would it not do so, such as when a law was radically incompatable with fundamental canon law or in violation of bilateral agreements with other nations.  Now, Italian laws will need to be formally accepted by a competent Vatican authority.

If you have been following some of the back and forth between the Vatican and the government of Italy in recent years, you know that the Church has been vigorously speaking out against proposed law regarding euthanasia, abortion, and other issues of great moral significance.

Posted in Ethics and Morality, Politics | 1 Comment

Strange Old Ladies In Church

Posted on December 30, 2008 by Deacon Bob

I tend not to write about current events, even though I suspect I would find a more interested audience to this blog if I were to do so. I write little about what is going on geo-politically because today’s news seldom lasts beyond a few days or weeks and then vanishes in significance.  

(Now, mind you, I do keep up with the daily news.  I have five US news websites I surf daily, plus two Italian newspapers.)  

Some people think my memory is going as I don’t try to hang on to the details of current events anymore. I go for the big, over-arching significance of things, or at least I make a bold attempt.

Our pastor this morning at Mass spoke on the passing of the things of this world in light of the eternal importance of the things of God and of the Spirit. Made me think once again of the “poverty of provisionality” that I wrote about several days ago.  So much of what bombards us with such urgency at the moment, fades so quickly into oblivion.  Patient expectation and waiting is a nearly lost virtue these days.  

The Gospel reading for today spoke of the old woman Anna, who spent her entire day in the Temple praying and waiting. Nowadays, we tend to look at the older women of our churches who spend all their time praying as “strange old ladies”.  Perhaps they are the ones who have really grasped the significance of the eternal and the insignificance of the distractions of daily life.

Some would say I am strange.  I guess I have never claimed to be “normal” in the sense of thinking and living like the majority of society.  I am just trying to keep myself oriented properly.

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Theosis and Kenosis

Posted on December 29, 2008 by Deacon Bob

I have been thinking about the two theological concepts of theosis and kenosis.  In the Latin Church, we have become rather familiar with kenosis, which is, simplistically stated, the self-emptying of God in the Incarnation. Jesus so loved us that he completely emptied himself so as to become one with us and ultimately lead us back to God, our Father.  This radical and complete divesting of worldly power and position was Jesus’ greatest show of power, for from it sin and death were destroyed and Satan defeated completely. All Christians are called by virtue of their baptism to this life of self-emptying, giving their lives in service (diakonia) to others.  Those ordained to the diaconate are called especially to a ministerial diakonia, a sacramentalized self-emptying

Theosis is far more familiar to the Eastern Churches.  This is not to say that great western theologians, including St. Thomas Aquinas, didn’t understand and write about it.  Theosis is the divinization of humanity which is occurring because of Christ’s Incarnation, i.e., his kenosis.  We become more God-like the more we empty ourselves of all grasping and clutching to what the world would deem as power or status.  One of my theology professors would say, “As God humanized man, he divinized him. The more human we become, the more we become as God.”  The Eastern Churches have a grasp of this that we in the West have to struggle to apprehend.  Our liturgies seem to speak of the kenotic, incarnate love of God in Jesus Christ.  The Eastern liturgies seem to eloquently speak of humankind being caught up and drawn into the mystery of divinity.  

As John Paul II said, the Church has two lungs with which she breathes.  It lives a life of self-emptying which in turn leads to the very life of the Trinity.

To me, this is such a great mystery, and the core of Christian belief and life.  Perhaps it also lay at the heart of a theology and spirituality of the diaconate, as Deacon Bill Ditewig suggests in his book, “Emerging Diaconate”.

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Priests on Loan and the Diaconate

Posted on December 28, 2008 by Deacon Bob

I’d like to alert you to a New York Times article about priests from other countries, especially Asia and Africa, filling shortages found in American dioceses. To read it, log on to:

www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/us/28priest.html?_r=2&hp

In my home diocese, we have several priests now from other countries serving our parishes, and doing so well from what I can see. As in many dioceses, pastoral planning has been and continues to be of great importance.

The surge of interest in the permanent diaconate coincides with this.

Diaconal identity and spirituality are developing in the context of an even greater surge of commissioned lay ministers and an increasing priest shortage.  How diaconal identity and spirituality develops in this context is critical. I believe the Holy Spirit has renewed diaconate so as to breathe life into: 1) the diakonia (service) of the Church and 2) the kenosis (self-emptying) of Jesus Christ in word, charity and worship.

I don’t think though the diaconate is here to meet the needs of the shortage of priests in our country.  

Perhaps the Holy Spirit has brought us also “priests on loan” to remind us that we are a Church universal and an American church in need of missionaries from other lands and cultures.

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Benedict XVI – The Holy Family

Posted on December 28, 2008 by Deacon Bob

The Pope said today:

“The family of Jesus truly merited the title of ‘holy’, because it was completely caught up in the desire to fulfill the will of God, incarnate in the adorable presence of Jesus.” (My translation of the Italian original)

Benedict suggests, then, that our families’ holiness comes from being taken up into the desire to fulfill the will of God.  The words the Pope used were, essere preso da, which means “to be taken by”, or if you will, “completely dedicated to”.

The Pope went on to observe that on one hand, our families are very much like the Holy Family in that like us they worked together, sacrificed together, and were a model of “amore coniugale” (conjugal love). He also said the Holy Family was unique in its singular vocation tied to the mission of the Son of God.

The deacon assigned to a local parish last night preached on the similarity of our families with the Holy Family.  He made a point of describing how even the Holy Family was imperfect, by which I believe he meant that it too suffered hardship and disappointment.  It wasn’t the Leave It To Beaver family of the 1950s, or the Father Knows Best family, where everything turned our okay after thiry minutes of air time.  Imagine the three days of anxiety for Mary and Joseph when they lost Jesus in Jerusalem, or Mary’s indescribable pain as she stood near her son as he was tortured and executed. Yet that was her family, and the will of God.

May we dedicate our families to the will of God, however it may become known to us.  May we never be discouraged by the challenges we encounter in following his will for us.

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Thoughts About The Death Penalty

Posted on December 27, 2008 by Deacon Bob

Bishop Taylor of Little Rock, about whom I posted several days ago, once said at the funeral Mass of a parishioner who had been executed for murder (I am paraphrasing):

“It wasn’t the VIrgin Mary who first entered Heaven; it was a repentant executed criminal.”

Clearly, he is referring to Dismas, the repentant thief of Golgotha.

In today’s Office of Readings, St. John reminds us that if we claim to be following Jesus, but believe we are sinless, we are liars and we don’t walk in the light.

Something to keep in mind when we look at our attitudes regarding the imprisoned and those on death row, or our attitude about ourselves.

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Quote of the Day — Deus Caritas Est

Posted on December 26, 2008 by Deacon Bob

“(Jesus’) death on the Cross is the culmination of that turning of God against himself in which he gives himself in order to raise man up and save him.  This is love in its most radical form.”  (Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est 12)

We celebrated yesterday the beginning of Jesus’ salvific entrance into the human condition which was culminated in Benedict’s definition of agape love.

Let us try to imitate he whom we call Jesus our God and brother.

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Fighting Poverty To Build Peace

Posted on December 23, 2008 by Deacon Bob

I was delighted to see this title in Pope Benedict’s message for World Day of Peace 2009, as my thoughts had been about the subject the past few days (see previous post).

There is a lot in the pope’s message, and I would encourage you to read it in its entirety for yourselves at: www.vatican.va/phome_en.htm and click on “Message For Peace 2009” near the upper right corner of the web page.

The Holy Father discusses poverty from so many angles: Demographics, disease, child poverty, disarmament and arms development, food accessibility and food being used as a commodity for speculation, globalization, international solidarity, commerce and finance, and ethical approaches to economics, politics and participation.  The message is jam-packed with good stuff.

For me, the most notable quote in the message was this:

“What the fight against poverty really needs are men and women who live in a profoundly fraternal way and are able to accompany individuals, families and communities on journeys of authentic human development.” (Sect. 13)

What a challenge that is for all of us. To walk with the poor.  Jesus himself said in Luke 9:13, “Give them something to eat yourselves.”  Jesus command here is one demanding personal sacrifice.

I might add that the Holy Father refers not only to material poverty but also poverty of spirit.  There is plenty of that here in America.

I also appreciated his comments about HIV and other pandemics, as this was a topic of recent posts here. He said: 

“…countries afflicted by some of these pandemics find themselves held hostage, when they try to address them, by those who make economic aid conditional upon the implementation of anti-life policies.  It is especially hard to combat AIDS, a major cause of poverty, unless the moral issues connected with the spread of the virus are also addressed.”

Bravo, Holy Father!

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Poverty of Provisionality and Finiteness

Posted on December 23, 2008 by Deacon Bob

Many years ago, a friend gave me the little book, Poverty of Spirit, by Johannes Metz.  A short read, but one you want to take your time and savor.  One of the ideas Metz had was there are various poverties with which we are afflicted.  

I was left thinking of one of those poverties today as I stood waiting for my wife to pick me up at a nearby “men’s mall” (as a fellow male shopper named it, i.e., a large farm/ranch/clothing store).  I had to wait for over two hours as we are down to one vehicle now, and in the spirit of simplicity along with ecomonic reality, we have not replaced my broken-down pickup. The poverty to which I am referring today though is the poverty of provisionality and finiteness.

Without a cell phone to call, over 20 miles from my home, and with the outdoor temperatures hitting a high of 2 degrees above zero, I had no choice but wait at the exit door of the facility and watch people enter and exit.

And I thought,

“So much of what we do seems provisional and limited. We need do it over and over again. Despite the wealth that we enjoy (yes we are rich, even with today’s economic problems), we are slaves to the provisional, the finite.  We must eat over and over again.  We shave everyday.  We must sleep each day. We must comb our hair, and brush our teeth each day, for what we did yesterday doesn’t last. We buy new furnace screens and light bulbs and gallons of milk because they don’t last or they get used up. And this is what life is all about for so many of us.  We enter and we exit whatever we are doing and are about.”

The richness of the spiritual life lay in the intersect between the finite and the eternal.  The richness of the God’s gifts, his grace, redeems that which is finite, provisional and repetitive.  Those who have studied contemplative spirituality have come to know this.  Those living a contemplative-oriented life live this as they go about every day completing provisional and finite tasks with a richness of the divine peeking through.  

A great mystery in Christianity is how God himself took our poor provisional and finite selves and divinized it through the power of Jesus in the Spirit.  We celebrate this at Christmas.

Posted in General Interest, Prayer and Meditation | 1 Comment

Winter Solstice and Galileo

Posted on December 21, 2008 by Deacon Bob

The Holy Father’s Sunday Angelus message made reference to today being the winter solstice.  He also mentioned Galileo, who as we know was forced in his day to retract his scientific findings, and to whom the Church very recently offered an apology.  

Again, the following is my translation of the Italian original, as no official English translation is available:

“The Gospel of the fourth Sunday of Advent proposes for us again the account of the Annunciation, the mystery to which we return every day in reciting the Angelus…..We are only a few days from Christmas, and we are invited to fix our gaze on the ineffable mystery that Mary kept in her virginal womb for nine months: the mystery of God made man.  This is the first pillar of redemption.  The second is the death and resurrection of Jesus. These two inseparable pillars manifest one divine plan….. Christmas is tied to the winter solstice, when days in the northern hemisphere begin again to lengthen….perhaps not everyone knows that in the piazza of St. Peter’s there is a sundial. The great obelisk throws its shadow along a line that runs on the cobblestones toward the fountain under this window, and today the shadow is its longest of the year…..the winter solstice offers me an opportunity to greet all those that are participating … in the year of astronomy announced for the four hundred year anniversary of the first observations by telescope of Galileo Galilei. (Benedict XVI, 21 Dec. 08)

Not many scientists are theologians, and not many theologians are scientists (although some do exist from what I understand), but mutual recognition and respect is so important for the advancement of humankind. Perhaps in our modern era they are two “pillars” on which the human person and human society can peacefully advance and mature, if only both have ears and a language with which to hear and understand each other.

Let us in our hearts give place for the mystery of God-Man, and for the mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection.  This mystery we begin to celebrate on Christmas morning.

Posted in General Interest, Popes | 2 Comments

“Let It Be”, as Mary

Posted on December 21, 2008 by Deacon Bob

St. Ambrose wrote something that caught my eye today.  He was reflecting on Mary, Elizabeth, Jesus and John the Baptist in his writing on the Gospel of Luke.  He  wrote that we are to be as was Mary.

I quote: 

“You are blessed  because you have heard and believed.  A soul that believes both conceives and brings forth the Word of God and acknowledges his works.

Let Mary’s soul be in each of you to proclaim the greatness of the Lord.  Let her spirit be in each to rejoice in the Lord.  Christ has only one mother in the flesh, but we all bring forth Christ in faith.  Every soul receives the Word of God if only it keeps chaste, remaining pure and free from sin, its modesty undefiled.   The soul that succeeds in this proclaims the greatness of the Lord, just as Mary’s soul magnified the Lord….” (Ambrose, Lib.2, 19.22-23.26-27:  CCL 14, 39-42)

How often do we think of ourselves as being a mother of the Word of God, giving life the the Word within us, a Word we have received from others, handed down to us by the generations, and received anew each day we approach our lives with purity and freedom?  We need only say, “Yes! Let it be!” to the Lord’s plan for our lives, regardless of  what we thought our plan may have been.

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Pope Benedict and Children

Posted on December 20, 2008 by Deacon Bob

The pope today met a group of children from Italian Catholic Action.  I found it interesting that a man like Pope Benedict, who is such a theologian, could speak as directly and simply as he did to these kids. Here is what he said (my translation from the Italian original as I cannot find an official English translation for you to reference):

“Dear children of  A.C.R.,

I am very pleased that in this year, as Christmas approaches, you have come here to celebrate with your presence in these solemn palaces where there is always joy in serving the Lord.  Greetings to you and your teachers, the President of the Italian Catholic Action, the assistant general and your new national director, Fr. Dino.

Many say that children are capricious, that they are contented with nothing but consumed by games, one after another, without being content with any of them.  You however say to Jesus:  “You are enough for me!”  This means: “You are our dearest friend, our companion when we play and when we go to school, when we are home with our parents, uncles and aunts, little brothers and sisters and when we go outside with our friends.”  You open our eyes to recognize our sad companions, and so many babies in the world that suffer hunger, sickness and war.  You are enough for us, Lord Jesus, you give us true joy, which doesn’t end like our games, but enters our souls and makes us good.  You are enough for us most of all when we pray, because you always hear our prayers which we pray so that the world becomes more beautiful and better for all.  You are enough for us because you forgive us when we are in trouble; you are enough for us because if we get lost, you come looking for us and you take us in your arms like you did for the lost sheep. You are enough for us because you have a most beautiful Momma who, before you died on the cross, you wanted to make our Momma too.”

My dear little friends, do you want to help your friends to be like this with Jesus?  A child from A.C.R. is one who, when he goes with Jesus, loves to carry with himself a friend also, because he wants him to know Jesus; he doesn’t think only of himself, but has a big heart and pays attention to others.  You have many teachers that help you to live, pray and grow in the knowledge of the Gospel. The Italian Catholic Action has a true aim of helping you become saints; by this you will meet Jesus, and love the Church and become interested in the world’s problems.  Isn’t it perhaps true that you are to help children more unfortunate than you?  Isn’t it perhaps true that with the “month of peace”, you are able to appreciated peace with so many adults because you live in peace with each other?

Yes, dear children, you can pray to the Lord to change the hearts of the makers of war, to bring terrorists to their senses, to convert the hearts of those who always think of war, and to help humankind to build a better future for all the children of the world.  I am sure that you will pray with me, help me with the not too easy job that the Lord has given to me.  For me, I assure you of my affection, my prayers, while I bless you together with all people who care for you.  Merry Christmas to you, your families and to all children of the Catholic Action!”  (Pope Benedict XVI, 20 Dec. 08)

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Why Stay Catholic?

Posted on December 19, 2008 by Deacon Bob

I have been asked on occasion, “Why remain a Catholic?”.  Usually the person asking the question is someone who has experience some injustice in the Church, or may have been a practicing Catholic but lukewarm or perhaps no longer practicing the faith.

Here is my personal response to their question.

I am and will remain a Catholic primarily because I have met Jesus Christ in the Catholic Church.  I have seen him, spoken with him and listened to him.  No, I am not psychotic, but I have met him here in the Catholic Church.  Once I met him I could no more turn away from him and his Church than I could turn away from my very self.  I cannot deny him or the Catholic Church which is his body on earth. 

Secondarily, I am and remain Catholic because it is the faith of my father and mother, and my father’s father and mother, and their fathers and mothers, for generations.  I cannot dishonor my father and mother by abandoning that which they so generously strove to hand on to me.

For any reader who may be questioning their reasons for staying with the Catholic Church, a Church no doubt weighed down by its own humanity and sin and imperfection, I say that if you are open, you will find Jesus Christ in the Catholic Church in a most powerful and personal way.  You need only be open to him and come and meet him!

Posted in Ecclesiology, General Interest | 1 Comment

God’s Time

Posted on December 18, 2008 by Deacon Bob

I have been thinking about how difficult it can be to allow for God’s time in our lives. 

We seem to want to avoid God’s time.  We get ourselves immersed in the world’s time, in the sense that one event runs into another and we end the day with a sense of insignificance or obscurity.  “Le tenebre”, literally the darknesses in Italian, and meaning in English that which distracts and holds us in confusion and sin.

God’s time is kairos, the infusion of meaningfulness and light into our lives. It comes from an openess to the presence of God in everyday circumstances.  How difficult it is, I repeat, for us to allow for God’s time in our day.  We can’t make it happen, it just does, when God wills, if we are open.

Isn’t this the whole message and purpose of Advent?  Opening ourselves, and allowing for God’s time, kairos, the infusion of the divine presence into our daily lives….the coming of our incarnate Lord Jesus.

Come, Lord Jesus!  Maranatha!

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“I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me….”

Posted on December 17, 2008 by Deacon Bob

A former classmate and friend of mine from my Roman days is now the bishop of Little Rock, Bishop Tony Taylor.  Bishop Tony has always been an advocate for the poor, even as he and I worked in the Trastevere area of Rome over 30 years ago.  He continues to advocate strongly, especially for the immigrant.

He just issued his first pastoral letter to the people of his diocese, entitled:“I Was a Stranger and  You Welcomed Me…. A Pastoral Letter on the Human Rights of Immigrants“.  In it, he directly addresses the injustices rendered to those immigrating to our country from Mexico.  From Scripture, from current socio-economic and geo-political circumstances, from the US Declaration of Independence, from the US Constitution, from papal teaching and documents, and from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Bishop Taylor advocates for the human rights and obligations of the immigrant. 

His references to Scripture are particularly powerful. 

His arguments from a political and  economic viewpoint are substantial.  A worthy document for all of us to read and ponder.

Good job, Bishop Tony.   God bless you!

To read the entire letter, log on to:  www.dolr.org/bishop/iwasastrangerpastoralletter.php and note the pdf file you can click on mid-article.

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