Bio-Technology and the Recapitulation of Original Sin

I thank my brother, Deacon Scott Dodge (www.scottdodge.blogspot.com) from the diocese of Salt Lake City for the following. I never was able to put my concerns about bio-technology in these terms even though I have struggled at times to express my worries where this whole area of medicine is heading (ask any of my family who have heard me more than once go on and on about it) so I thank Deacon Dodge for articulating it for me. I quote him:

All of this is to more than hint at that in no realm more than in bio-technology do human beings run the risk of re-capitulating the original sin, which is our constant human desire to reject our creaturliness and establish ourselves as supreme. As with so many things, bio-technology is a two-edged sword, which is often to put to use to accomplish good ends by means that are not morally objectionable. Nonetheless, we must be careful not to fall into the trap that just because we can do something by means of technology, we should.
 
 
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Thoughts for the Day: Praying Unceasingly

Back in 1977-78, Fr. Henri J. Nouwen was the resident scholar at the North American College. I was living there at the time, so I got to see him frequently and to listen to his lectures on various topics over the course of the year. He collected all those lectures and published them in a book he entitled, Clowning in Rome. I would encourage you to buy a copy if you can find it in print.

There was a part of one of the lectures where he spoke of praying unceasingly. I recently reread it and used it as a foundation for my homily last night at the parish, where I presided over a Holy Hour that included Exposition and Benediction.

Nouwen had said that prayer is not introspection, an effort to plumb the depths of our thoughts so as to analyze them and purify them. No, rather prayer is the offering of all our thoughts to God in conversation. It isn’t so important what we think when we pray, but what is important is that we offer all our thoughts, dreams, fears, concerns, distractions and temptations to God. Jesus never withheld anything from the face of his Father. Each and every moment of his life, he offered all that he was to the Father who loved him and knew him. So too need we so offer our inner lives to God. This is no task for the timid, for it requires a great vulnerability and willingness to be exposed to God for all that we are. It is a great act of faith and hope.

Prayer, then, is not a fearful monologue with ourselves; it is not an anxious attempt to think only of God and of holy things. Rather, prayer is a fearless offering of our entire inner life to the Father in the hope and firm belief that he will make all things new if we expose it to the light of his love.

Prayer is a conscious living in the presence of God at all times and places. It is not a portioning of time or energy, to the exclusion of the mundane aspects of life, from the God who surrounds us with his love and presence.

How many of us when we pray do so anxiously? How many of us see it as a discipline of the mind in which we try to suppress certain thought or affects and in doing so hide them from God?

Might we pray better is we simply took whatever was there within us and placed it at the feet of the Father?

A simple handing on of the reality of who we are at any given moment to the Holy One who loves.

If we can nurture that internal prayer posture, we might be closer to doing what our Lord Jesus has asked us to do, pray unceasingly!

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Take a Look at the Widget!

If you haven’t noticed it yet, there is a new widget here at Catholic Faith and Reflections. It is direct from the Vatican and find it at the lower right of your screen after scrolling down a bit. It will give you all the links to the current news coming from the Holy See. I hope you find it an efficient way of being informed of our Holy Father’s messages and the Vatican’s doings on a daily basis.

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Quote for the Day

“Behold the Cross of the Lord! Begone, you evil powers! The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered! Alleluia!” — St. Anthony of Padua

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Minnesota for Marriage Video: Marriage and Small Business

Here is the latest of the series of videos explaining the importance of voting “Yes” on the Marriage Protection Amendment on the Minnesota ballot this November. Please view, be informed, and vote this fall!

http://youtu.be/8dXJaGGp6_w

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Congratulations, Diocese of Steubenville!

At noon today, Rome time, the Holy Father appointed Msgr. Jeffrey M. Monforton the new bishop of Steubenville.

The 49 year old Detroit priest studied philosophy at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, then theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome receiving his doctorate in Spiritual Theology from the Gregorian in 2002. He was ordained a priest in 1994 and has held various diocesan positions since that time.

Congratulations, Diocese of Steubenville!

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Papa Luciani (Pope John Paul I) on Poverty and the Church

Papa Luciani, on September 23, 1978 as he took possession of his diocesan cathedral St. John Lateran, delivered a wonderful homily.

I want this morning to share only a very brief portion of it in which he references the poor of the city of Rome. This is the official English translation from the Vatican.

“Rome will be a true Christian community if God is honoured by you not merely with private life that is lived morally, but also with love for the poor. These, the Roman deacon Lawrence said, are the true treasures of the Church. They must be helped, however, by those who can, to have more and to be more, without becoming humiliated and offended by ostentatious riches, by money squandered on futile things and not invested — in so far as possible– in enterprises of advantage to all.”

How I wish Luciani would have had the time to develop this vision for his diocese! You are aware, perhaps, that he sold a couple of expensive gold pectoral crosses, one of which was given to him by Pope John XXIII, and used the proceeds to help an orphanage. I can’t help but wonder if he might have done more of the same with the material riches of the Holy See. He declined to be crowned with the papal tiara to forsake a certain temporality and wealth that had been associated with the papacy. He had promised his father decades before that he would never forget the poor and the marginalized. I suspect the diocese of Rome would have been a very spiritually rich diocese — although materially poorer — had John Paul I had a decade long reign. We will never know.

As I have said in previous posts, I think we can look to his successor, John Paul II, to see the fruition of Luciani’s call to a new evangelization of the world. What may have differed between the two popes was their respective visions of how the Church’s poverty would be made more evident. Neither of them was right or wrong; rather, they were two facets to this aspect of the Church.

Recall that Luciani’s catechesis in his Wednesday audiences that month centered on the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. These were the theological underpinnings to  the life of poverty he apparently entertained for the diocese of Rome, and by extension I could imagine, for the whole Church. He also saw as equally important the charitable works of the Church, i.e., the preferential option of the poor, and the individual moral lives of its people. We have a harder time today to grasp this than we did nearly 35 years ago, as for many today living a moral life is tantamount and superlative to a charitable life. Perhaps we should meditate a bit more on the needs of the poor in our midst.

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Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Venerable

Two days ago in the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI named Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Venerable a Servant of God, recognizing in him a “life of heroic virtue.” Bishop Sheen was, as many of you know either from personal experience (if you are old enough!) or from other sources, a well-recognized television Catholic evangelist who hosted a long-running and very popular TV series, Life is Worth Living, on ABC back in the 50s and 60s. The man knew how to use the media to spread the Gospel. His explanations of the faith were sound yet understandable to all who listened. His humor was catching, his conviction evident. He used the authority of his episcopal office effectively and respectfully to all whom he encountered.

To give you an idea of his television presence, here is a video of a show he did on the three greatest Confessions in history. I believe it is about nine minutes long.

Fulton J. Sheen was born in El Paso, Illinois on May 18, 1895 and died in New York, NY on December 9, 1979. He was bishop of Rochester, NY during which time he ordained the very first permanent deacon in the United States. Later, he became titular archbishop of Newport.

His public life is well documented by his inteviews, books and television recordings. His private life is less well-known for it is said he did much in secret aiding the poor.

Servant of God Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, pray for us!

UPDATED!! – I goofed! Sheen is now Venerable Fulton J. Sheen. My apologies for not doing my homework better. I have corrected the post.  Deacon Bob

Posted in Church News, Evangelization, Saints and Prophets | 2 Comments

Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul

Today we celebrate the great solemnity of the apostles Peter and Paul. How much this day reminds me of Rome and the two great basilicas there, St. Peter’s and St. Paul Outside-the-Walls!

Peter and Paul are considered the two great pillars of the Church. They shed their blood in Rome and are buried there. Millions of pilgrims over the years have made their way to their tombs to pay them homage and respect, as did I in the 70s and then again with my wife six years ago.

I would like to provide you with an English translation of some of the Holy Father’s comments today marking this feast day. The translation is mine, which I make from the original Italian:

With joy we celebrate the solemn liturgy of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, a feast day throughout the 2000 year history of the Christian people. They are called pillars of the infant Church. Renown witnesses to the faith, they expanded the Kingdom of God with their differing gifts and, with the example of the Divine Teacher, sealed with their blood their evangelical preaching. Their martyrdom is a sing of the unity of the Church, as St. Augustine says, “One day only is consecrated to these two apostles as a feast. But they were united as one. Even though they were martyred on different days, they were united as one. Peter led, Paul followed.” (Disc. 295, 8: PL 38, 1352)

In this journey of salvation, the Christian community, sustained by the presence of the Spirit of the living God, finds itself encouraged to firmly and serenely follow the road of faith that leads to Christ and to announcing his Gospel to men of every age. In this fruitful spiritual and missionary journey the archbishops and metropolitans are given the Pallium, which I did this morning in the Basilica. ………

Dear pilgrims, coming here from all parts of the world! In this feast day, we pray the expressions of the Eastern liturgy, “May Peter and Paul be praised, these two great lights of the Church; they shine in the firmament of faith.”

St. Peter and St. Paul, pray for us!

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Supreme Court Upholds Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare

 The Supreme Court today upheld the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare. The United States Council of Catholic Bishops has released the following statement regarding it.

DATE: June 28, 2012

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 BISHOPS RENEW PLEA TO CONGRESS AND ADMINISTRATION TO REPAIR AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

 

Supreme Court decision does not address fundamental flaws in the law

Legislation still needed to fix conscience, abortion funding, immigration problems

 WASHINGTON—Today the United States Supreme Court issued a decision upholding as a tax the provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires individuals to purchase a health plan—the so-called “individual mandate.”

            For nearly a century, the Catholic bishops of the United States have been and continue to be consistent advocates for comprehensive health care reform to ensure access to life-affirming health care for all, especially the poorest and the most vulnerable.  Although the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) did not participate in these cases and took no position on the specific questions presented to the Court, USCCB’s position on health care reform generally and on ACA particularly is a matter of public record.  The bishops ultimately opposed final passage of ACA for several reasons.

            First, ACA allows use of federal funds to pay for elective abortions and for plans that cover such abortions, contradicting longstanding federal policy.  The risk we identified in this area has already materialized, particularly in the initial approval by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of “high risk” insurance pools that would have covered abortion.

            Second, the Act fails to include necessary language to provide essential conscience protection, both within and beyond the abortion context.  We have provided extensive analyses of ACA’s defects with respect to both abortion and conscience.  The lack of statutory conscience protections applicable to ACA’s new mandates has been illustrated in dramatic fashion by HHS’s “preventive services” mandate, which forces religious and other employers to cover sterilization and contraception, including abortifacient drugs.

            Third, ACA fails to treat immigrant workers and their families fairly.  ACA leaves them worse off by not allowing them to purchase health coverage in the new exchanges created under the law, even if they use their own money.  This undermines the Act’s stated goal of promoting access to basic life-affirming health care for everyone, especially for those most in need.

            Following enactment of ACA, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has not joined in efforts to repeal the law in its entirety, and we do not do so today.  The decision of the Supreme Court neither diminishes the moral imperative to ensure decent health care for all, nor eliminates the need to correct the fundamental flaws described above.  We therefore continue to urge Congress to pass, and the Administration to sign, legislation to fix those flaws.

Keywords: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Affordable Care Act, ACA, bishops, Supreme Court, conscience

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Usnewswire, sec, dds, healthcare, congress, pol reporters, radio-religion

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Diaconal Spirituality and Marriage

Diaconal spirituality is one of dynamic tension between irrevocable change of Holy Orders and the graces of marriage.

Theologically, we speak of the indelible mark that cannot be erased on the very being of a man who receives Holy Orders. We deacons are so marked. There is no doubt that this is not just a theological construct; it is a very real and lived out each day. Because our wives do not share in this ontological change, this change of being, it places us in a sort of dynamic tension with them. This tension can be fruitful or not, depending on how well one’s marital spirituality undergirds one’s diaconal spirituality.

There seems to be a real possibility that deacons and their wives avoid the tension, or redefine it as something other than it is. This is a big mistake. Denial of its existence in this way, I believe, only leads to problems.

For example, there are some married deacons whose wives are envious of the deacon’s function and his reception of Holy Orders, wishing they too were ordained and both deacon and wife live as if she was a deacon also. There are also those situations where the deacon’s wife wants nothing whatsoever to do with her husband’s diaconal ministry and thus withdraws from him. She sees nothing in it for her.

In both of these situations, both the diaconal spirit and the marital life erode and wither.

Diaconal spirituality lies in living out the tension. It is never an either-or scenario. It is always a both-and.

A deacon’s spirituality arises from the ontological change of ordination. It grows in maturity in the context of the precedential graces of marriage. The unifying thread is the self-giving in service, giving so others may have life and have it fully. For the deacon himself there is no end to diaconal and maritial spirituality understood in this way. One never stops and the other begins. For the deacon’s wife, her spirituality is altered for he whom she now loves is now claimed by God and the Church in an irrevocable way, and her love for her husband now includes in a more profound way Jesus Christ the Servant. 

Deacons, when people look at us, do they see Jesus the Servant? Do they also see the face of our wives reflected in who we are and what we do? Yes, do they see the face of our wives reflected in us….. we spiritually bring our wives into all we do as deacons; we carry them everywhere for that is what our promise of love and fidelity to them is about.

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Social Doctrine of the Church – The Right to Work

The Second Vatican Council stated in Gaudium et Spes, and Pope John Paul II afterward affirmed, that work is a fundamental right and a good for humankind. It expresses and enhances the human dignity of the individual. The value of work is rooted not only the nature of the human person, but also in its necessity. Without it, the human family would suffer. Work is needed to maintain a family, to have a right to private property and to contribute to the common good.

Work must be made available to all who are capable of engaging in it. Because maintaining one’s work depends increasingly on one’s professional capabilities, educational systems must attend to both human and technological formation of the individual.

John Paul II said in his encyclical Laborem Exercens that work is “a foundation for the formation of family life, which is a natural right and something that man is called to do.” (Laborem Exercens 10: AAS 73)

Women have an indispensable role in the world of work. Their contribution is needed in all expressions of social life, including work. Work, then, must be structured in such a way that women do not have to pay for work advancement by abandoning that which is specific to them. In other words, the work of women must not be structured in such a way that penalizes them, demeans them, or relegates them to the margins of society.

For a more detailed discussion of this topic, refer to the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, nos. 287-295

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Quote for the Day

“The true peacemakers are those who preserve peace of mind and body for love of our Lord Jesus Christ, despite what they suffer in this world.” – St. Francis of Assisi

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“Muddy Thinking”

I  posted a few days ago on “muddy thinking” and how it bothers me. Here are a few more thoughts.

The more experienced I get in whatever I do, the more I seem to see so many either unable or unwilling to hold in mind pensieri limpidi which translated means clear thinking.

How often do we really take into account centuries of human effort to understand the world? How well do we know the history of philosophy, sociology, biology, psychology, ethics and religion? (I am referring to people who claim to be experts in their fields.) How well do we give due credit to the wide expanse of disciplines that can inform us as to who we are, where we are going and from whence we have come?

We worship too frequently at the altar of “specialization” to the detriment of knowledge of the truth. A microscope is very helpful, but never explains the entire organism under examination. Specialists in their field are needed, but good ones know what they don’t know and rely on colleagues in other disciplines to inform them.

The ability to think critically lies in each of us. This ability needs to be developed by means of a disciplined effort to obtain a truly human education in which mind, body and spirit are all approached with respect. The priest has as much to say about the human person as does the biologist. The philosopher’s insight is just as informative as is the physician’s.

You might think that with specialization comes clarity. Perhaps in a very narrow sense. But I submit that in the long run an overemphasis on narrowness of observation or overreliance on one source of knowledge leads to “muddy thinking.”

Would you drink a glass of muddy water? Should we drink in, then, the muddy arguments and rationalizations who see things only from one point of view and reject out of hand what is not within their subjective focus?

Your thoughts?

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Hats Off to Fr. Ted

There is an 18 minute video making its way around the blogsphere of a conversation a woman had with a young priest from the diocese of Kalamazoo, Michigan about a whole host of things ranging from Vatican II, the whole controversy over women religious in the United States, birth control, collegiality, and more.

Perhaps the dialogue may be better described as an attempt at a conversation on the priest’s part and an opportunity to vent her concerns on the part of the woman.

I think it is worth your time to view. Drop a comment on your thoughts.

http://youtu.be/qqfpAGKzpHw

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