Catholic Faith and Reflections | Faith Seeking Understanding

Is Sexual Difference a Construct of Society?

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Deacon Bob

A common idea floating around our culture today is that sexual differences between men and women are a construct of society, i.e., determined by social norms, expectations and experiences. The idea purports that sexual and gender traits are what society makes them to be and are malleable (subjected to changes). Because of these ideas, many people think the differences between men and women are for all intents and purposes meaningless or even oppressive.

But is sexual and gender differences what we make of them? Are they caused by social experiences or is there a contribution from nature? The lived experiences of so many people certainly suggest at least that sexual differences have something to do with one’s body and that society has less influence on one’s authentic sexual identity than is often assumed. While the interconnection between biology and developmental experiences are difficult to understand, there is something more at the root of one’s sexual identity than the dictate of society.

Sexual differences between men and women form the basis for the complementarity that is fundamental to a marital relationship. This foundation is a necessary condition for the uniqueness of the marital bond. The differences lie not only in personality and psychology, but are enfleshed in a physical complementarity without which a relationship is incapable of entering into a marriage.

For an excellent video on this topic, log on to: http://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/sexual-difference-video

Posted in Fundamental Theology, Marriage and Family, Theology of the Body | Comments Off

Status of the Diaconate in the United States

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Deacon Bob

I ran across a very interesting article today from The Catholic World Reporter (www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/976/servants-of-the-lord.aspx) looking at the permanent diaconate in the United States.

It is well worth your time to read. It discusses the differences in the prevalence of the diaconate in various dioceses throughout the country, as well as some differing thoughts among diocesan officials as to the reasons for the diaconate in their local churches.

Some interesting highlights:

1. The twenty most “deacon rich” dioceses (the number of deacons to Catholics) statistically show no conflict between fostering the diaconate and fostering of priestly vocations. Seven of those twenty “deacon rich” dioceses also had the highest ratio of seminarians to Catholics.

2. Five of the twenty “deacon poor” dioceses are also among the twenty dioceses with the lowest ratio of seminarians to Catholics.

3. Bishops and other diocesan officials of deacon-rich dioceses attribute their high numbers to pastoral need and active recruitment.

4. The United States has 46% of all the permanent deacons worldwide. The Archdiocese of Chicago leads the U.S. in number of deacons (643) with Galveston-Houston coming in a distant second at 386. Twenty dioceses have 200 or more deacons in them.

5. The Archdiocese of Chicago has more deacons than in all of Africa and Asia combined.

6. The future is bright for the diaconate, and is one of the shining successes of Vatican II.

To all my deacon brothers, ad multos annos!

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St. Augustine, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Dignity of the Church

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Deacon Bob

An excerpt from St. Augustine’s Discourses was offered today for our consideration in the Office of Readings for the Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is a feast that is quite ancient in the Eastern Churches and has essentially been celebrated in the western or Latin Church since the 16th Century. I’d like to quote St. Augustine today (my translation of the Italian text I used):

“Let me repeat: it was a greater dignity for her (Mary) and greater joy for her to have been a disciple of Christ that to have been the Mother of Christ…… Holy is Mary, blessed is Mary, but the Church is greater than the Virgin Mary. Why? Because Mary is a part of the Church, a holy member, an excellent member, a member that surpasses all else in dignity but above all she is always a member in respect to the whole body. If she is a member of the whole body, then certainly the body is worth more than one of its members.”

Wow! Think of the humility of our mother Mary. For her, to have been a disciple of her Son was a greater dignity and joy than to have been his mother. Mary, so great is her dignity, yet she humbles herself to the Church, who is of greater dignity than her. Why? Because the Church is the Body of Christ, her Son.

This is a distinguishing mark of Catholicism, and something Archbishop Dolan recently has emphasized: Christ and his Church are one. There can be no separation. That is why there is no salvation outside of the Church. That is why all who follow Jesus Christ inevitably will be drawn to the Church. That is why it is impossible to truly love Christ if you do not love the Church.

This is always Mary’s role…. to lead us to Christ her Son, His Body, the Church.

Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Pray for us now and at the hour of our death! Amen.

Posted in Blessed Virigin, Christology, Ecclesiology, Saints and Prophets | Comments Off

Congratulations, Archbishop Sartain

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Deacon Bob

I read with pleasure this morning that Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle was elected secretary-elect of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Archbishop Sartain was a fellow student at the Gregorian University in Rome in the late 1970s. I have posted on him before on this weblog, and to repeat myself, Sartain is a genuinely good man, a sincere priest and a bishop to whom more and more are looking for leadership. He presents Jesus Christ to our contemporary world.

Of note in the same report (www.thecatholicspirit.com/news/nation-and-world/archbishop-sartain-of-seattle-to-become-usccb-secretary-in-2012) is that Bishop Tony Taylor of Little Rock was elected to the CLINIC (Catholic Legal Immigration Network) board. Bishop Tony and I worked together in Rome visiting the elderly in the slums of the Trastevere area of that city back in 1977-78. He is an ardent defender of the marginalized and the undocumented in our country.

Of local note, Archbishop Nienstedt of St. Paul/Minneapolis was elected to the Committee on Doctrine. He is the Metropolitan for the diocese of Winona. Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin was elected to the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis.

Let us pray for these men that they carry out well the duties assigned to them.

Posted in Church News | Comments Off

Married Saint for the Day: St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Deacon Bob

I’d like to highlight occasionally married saints who exemplify so well the dignity and nature of marriage. Today it will be St. Elizabeth of Hungary.

St. Elizabeth was born in 1207 in a castle in northern Hungary. At a very early age of 14 years she was married to Louis of Thuringa, who was 21, and became the mother of three children: Hermann, Sophia and Gertrude who was born shortly after Louis’ death. St. Elizabeth gave herself to her children, her marriage and most noteworthily, to the poor. She gave much of her possessions away to them; she built hospitals and tended to the sick.

Pope Benedict XVI spoke of St. Elizabeth in his weekly audience on October 20, 2010, saying: “Elizabeth’s marriage was profoundly happy; she helped her husband to raise his human qualities to a supernatural level and he, in exchange, stood up for his wife’s generosity to the poor and for her religious practices…. A clear witness to how faith and love of God and neighbors strengthen family life and deepen ever more the matrimonial union.”

St. Elizabeth’s feast day was just last week, November 17. She is the patroness of the Secular Franciscans.

You can read even more of her at: www.newadvent.org/cathen/05389a.htm

St. Elizabeth of Hungary, wife and mother, pray for us!

P.S. There is a movie being released about St. Elizabeth, produced by Tau Cross Media. Look for it and view it. It promises to be an excellent film.

Posted in Marriage and Family, Saints and Prophets | Comments Off

Marriage: Unique for a Reason

Posted on November 19, 2011 by Deacon Bob

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have launched a new website entitled: Marriage: Unique for a Reason (www.marriageuniqueforareason.org). It is a fabulous place to visit and learn of the Church’s teachings on marriage and its defense as a union of one man and one woman. I will include a link under “Good Websites” at the lower right of this page and have also added a banner linking you to it below.

It it contains much needed information that will help all of us to understand the natural and sacramental nature of marriage, and provide us language that we may use to speak to others about this crucial issue of our day.

The bishops of Minnesota have asked all deacons and priests, as well as the laity, to stand up and defend marriage in our State. We have a constitutional amendment slated to be voted on by the people of the State next year. I beg you to inform yourselves, vote and explain eloquently how vital it is for society to uphold marriage as a natural and divine institution between a man and woman oriented toward the well being of children.

Thank you.

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The Church Thrives Where Persecution Reigns

Posted on November 19, 2011 by Deacon Bob

The Catholic News Agency (www.catholicnewsagency.com) reports this morning on an official with the Vietnamese bishop’s conference, who foresees a confident future for the Church in Vietnam.

He cites “flourishing” priestly vocations as one reason for this hope. They have over 1,500 seminarians out of a Catholic population of seven million. Do the math. That sure beats us here in the United States.

After the communist takeover in 1975, all seminaries were closed. They were allowed to reopen in 1986, but the government severely restricted the number of seminarians admitted. Those restrictions were lifted in 2008, but the local government must still receive a list of candidates and approve it.

Our diocese of Winona is blessed with the presence of Fr. Thien Van Nguyen, who has a remarkable story to tell of his life starting in Vietnam, seminary there, then fleeing for his life with his family on a boat, only to end up in southern Minnesota and resuming his seminary studies and being ordained many years ago.

Yes, the Church thrives in places of persecution. We in America would do well to model ourselves after the faith and bravery of our persecuted brothers and sisters in various parts of the world.

Posted in Church News, Politics | Comments Off

Church of the Week

Posted on November 19, 2011 by Deacon Bob

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church

San Francisco, California

Posted in Churches of the United States | Comments Off

Benedict XVI in Benin

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Deacon Bob

The Holy Father begins a three-day apostolic visit to the West African country of Benin today. He is doing so to mark 150 years of Christianity in that country and to present a document entitled Africae Munus on the Church’s future in that continent. The country has some personal significance to the Pope, as he was good friends with the late Cardinal Gatin with whom he worked for many years in the Vatican.

I will post on the document after I have read it. I have a sense it will be talked about for quite sometime in the next number of years because the Church on that continent is thriving in many ways, and beset with mammoth problems on the other.

Catholic News Service (www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1104552.htm) is reporting on the trip. Log on to read.

One interesting thing the Holy Father is saying is that the Church’s message must be simple and concrete, and not seen as something European and unintelligible to Africans. By extension, I would suspect he would say the same if talking to other cultures. I was happy to read this, for it brings to mind the call for evangelization from the Church Fathers at Vatican II, and echoes the manner of speaking that Papa Luciani used so often in his preaching to the people entrusted to him.

God bless the Holy Father in his travels.

Posted in Church News, Papa Luciani (Pope John Paul I), Popes | Comments Off

Blessed Fr. Carl Lampert

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Deacon Bob

You may not have noticed this in the news of late, but Fr. Carl Lampert was beatified four days ago in his native country, Austria.

Bl. Fr. Lampert was a diocesan priest of the diocese of Innsbruck Feldkirch in Austria. When the Nazi persecution began in 1939, he was arrested three times and sent to the Dachau concentration camp. On February 4, 1943 he was arrested along with forty others and accused of high treason, espionage and other crimes. Together with two other priests, Fr. Herbert Simoleit and Fr. Friedrich Lorenz, he was beheaded on November 13, 1944. He died speaking the names of Jesus and Mary.

The Catholic News Agency (www.catholicnewsagency.com) has an article you can read about him.

Blessed Carl, pray for us!

Posted in Saints and Prophets | Comments Off

The Week of the Maccabees

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Deacon Bob

All this week we have been hearing read at daily Mass excerpts from the books of Maccabees. The setting was described on Monday; on Tuesday we heard of Eleazar; yesterday we heard of the mother and her seven sons; today it was Matathias; tomorrow the conclusion.

Wonderful stories of the Jewish people’s struggles during the Greek occupation. It leaves me with two thoughts.

The first is in the Scriptures it is written: Zeal for your house consumes me! Certainly, we cannot help but be struck by the zeal for the house of God, his Law and Covenant, that many of the Jews had at the time of the Maccabees.

The second comes from one small piece of yesterday’s reading in which we heard that by the Spirit of God the mother of the seven sons had a womanly heart and manly courage.

Food for thought as we approach the end of the Church’s liturgical year and as we approach all the challenges in today’s world that is increasingly growing hostile to the teachings of Jesus. Oh, would that all of us would develop a womanly heart and manly courage! A heart open, receptive, loving and reflective coupled with the courage to act boldly in engaging the culture of our time and transforming it.

The Apostles, after our Lord’s resurrection and ascension, and after receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, boldly went forth with manly courage to preach the Gospel to a hostile world. They acted first, then reflected on their experience. The Church today is in need of such manly courage to balance its inward reflection. I think that spirituality of those charged with preaching the Gospel is too often marked only by the passive, receptive and reflective, lacking the outward, active, giving and expressive boldness indicative of courage.

Zeal for the house of the Lord.

A womanly heart coupled with manly courage.

The definition of a true disciple of the Lord. For Jesus himself lived all of this perfectly.

Posted in Scripture, Spirituality | Comments Off

New Optional Memorials for Bl. John Paul II and Bl. Marianne Cope, OSF

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Deacon Bob

The US bishops at their annual meeting yesterday decided by a large margin to add two optional memorials to the Church calendar for the United States.

October 22 will be the date for Blessed Pope John Paul II. That date was chosen as it is the anniversary date of his election as pope in 1978.

The date for Blessed Marianne Cope, OSF has not yet been determined. The bishops are in conversation with the Holy See as to an appropriate date.

We all are aware of John Paul II. Most of us are unaware of Blessed Marianne Cope. She was a Franciscan who worked with the lepers in Hawaii. She followed in the footsteps of St. Damian who did the same on Molokai.

You can read more about this at www.catholicnews.com

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