August 27 - St. Monica
.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy died on Tuesday past. He was a Catholic and as his funeral arrangements are announced it is not surprising that Mr. Kennedy be given a Mass of Christian Burial.
We Catholics are an interesting bunch of believers. We have strict rules of morality and unchangeable Dogmas of Faith. We can be tough on our own and justly call them to accountability. Our Clergy and Laity both do this. We can be vocal about our beliefs and convictions. And there are times when we are painfully silent.
Senator Kennedy did a great deal of good in his almost half century of service in the U.S. Senate. Mr. Kennedy was also very far off the mark on issues that Practicing Catholics find themselves passionate in debate.
Some Catholics will disagree with his final commendation and farewell within the context of Roman Catholic Ritual. Others will have no opinion either way.
In my 36 years as a priest I have presided over countless Funeral Masses. Many I have questioned and questioned deeply:
* drug dealers
* drug addicts
* cases of suicide connected with satanic worship
* ordinary folks, nominal Catholics, who rarely darken the doors of the church
* a high profile member of the mob
* and..you get the drift.
We have accorded them all Christian Burial because, I want to believe, we have a compassionate nature. We make a case for "mercy upon mercy upon mercy".
In the Book of Macabees we read: It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead. No qualifications!
When our President recently met with Pope Benedict XVI it was reported that he hand-delivered a peronal letter from Mr. Kennedy. The contents were never disclosed. I wonder...just wonder...I'll let you fill in the blanks.
So, let God be the final judge and let us be faithful to the words of Macabees and pray for the dead. We Catholics are good at that.
No death in any family is ever a time for sniping, especially within a family of faith.
It is holy to pray for the dead.
Be holy, then, and pray.
Pax et Bonum.
*
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
August 25, 2009 - Year of the Priest
Moving right along and continuing still with kernels from the recently completed bio of Vianney, I wanted to cite a quote that is good for meditation.
Voltaire was educated a Catholic but became terribly tainted by the immorality of the French Revolution. He bitterly attacked the Church, the Sacraments and her Dogma.
Voltaire is said to have been watching a procession with the Blessed Sacrament. As the Divine Presence went by him he tipped his hat. Challenged by another with regard to this gesture he replied, " It is what one gentleman does to another." Voltaire declined the Sacrament on his deathbed only because he would not contaminate God's blood with his own.
As far as he drifted from the Church, something of the old remained within.
It seems to me that he chose not to complicate his grave spiritual condition any further. Receiving the Sacraments in mortal sin is sacrilege. His conscience was at least formed well that much. Is ours???
Pax st Bonum.
Moving right along and continuing still with kernels from the recently completed bio of Vianney, I wanted to cite a quote that is good for meditation.
Voltaire was educated a Catholic but became terribly tainted by the immorality of the French Revolution. He bitterly attacked the Church, the Sacraments and her Dogma.
Voltaire is said to have been watching a procession with the Blessed Sacrament. As the Divine Presence went by him he tipped his hat. Challenged by another with regard to this gesture he replied, " It is what one gentleman does to another." Voltaire declined the Sacrament on his deathbed only because he would not contaminate God's blood with his own.
As far as he drifted from the Church, something of the old remained within.
It seems to me that he chose not to complicate his grave spiritual condition any further. Receiving the Sacraments in mortal sin is sacrilege. His conscience was at least formed well that much. Is ours???
Pax st Bonum.
Monday, August 24, 2009
The Year of the Priest - August 24, 2009
Did you know that there are two kinds of preachers:
+Those who have something to say...and
+ Those who have to say something.
Interesting! I need to think more about that pithy little saying. Again, I am using it in the context of Vianney. It is said that he wasn't a very good preacher, i.e., his delivery. But people listened. That's saying something. Perhaps they listened because his very life was an authentic sermon which said much to his parishioners.
Pax et Bonum.
Did you know that there are two kinds of preachers:
+Those who have something to say...and
+ Those who have to say something.
Interesting! I need to think more about that pithy little saying. Again, I am using it in the context of Vianney. It is said that he wasn't a very good preacher, i.e., his delivery. But people listened. That's saying something. Perhaps they listened because his very life was an authentic sermon which said much to his parishioners.
Pax et Bonum.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Year of the priest\August 22, 2009
In this year of the priest I am learning more and more about Vianney, the patron of the parish priest. Here's a good thought I found in his biography: The Gospel is Good News because it is traumatic news.
Really, to live the Gospel, to be a Christian and an authentic disciple of Jesus, is a unique challenge. No wimps here. Only the strong need apply.
Pax et bonum.
In this year of the priest I am learning more and more about Vianney, the patron of the parish priest. Here's a good thought I found in his biography: The Gospel is Good News because it is traumatic news.
Really, to live the Gospel, to be a Christian and an authentic disciple of Jesus, is a unique challenge. No wimps here. Only the strong need apply.
Pax et bonum.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
August 19, 2009
The Year of the Priest
I recently read a biography of St. John Vianney. A quote of his caught my attention and is worthy of reflection:
"The worst cross is not to have a cross."
Think about that one. Through the cross we are closely identified with Jesus. So, why duck the cross! Open your arms and embrace the cross in whatever form it takes for you.
I don't think you have to pray for a cross. They come. That's life. But pray for the grace to carry it without complaint...and...without shouting from the rooftops that you have a cross. No need for "woe is me" cross-bearers.
Pax et bonum.
The Year of the Priest
I recently read a biography of St. John Vianney. A quote of his caught my attention and is worthy of reflection:
"The worst cross is not to have a cross."
Think about that one. Through the cross we are closely identified with Jesus. So, why duck the cross! Open your arms and embrace the cross in whatever form it takes for you.
I don't think you have to pray for a cross. They come. That's life. But pray for the grace to carry it without complaint...and...without shouting from the rooftops that you have a cross. No need for "woe is me" cross-bearers.
Pax et bonum.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
August 11, 2009
I was away last week for a little r&r and used some of the time to catch up on my reading. My goal included some fairly heavy and intense material beginning with Benedict XVI's latest encyclical Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth).
From there I moved on to Dignitas Personae (The Dignity of the Person). which was issued in September 2008 and treats certain Bioethical Questions. For ligher fare, which actually wasn't as light as I thought, I wanted to fulfill the desire of reading a life of the Cure of Ars - St. John Vianney, as we begin this "Year of the Priest". Father George Rutler's book was anything but light reading. But, focusing my powers of concentration, I did it and finished the biography a day or two after the August 4 feast day of John Vianney.
Raeding the encyclical and the Dignity of the Person made me reflect on my Catholic faith and also made me proud of my Church and her leadership. The Pope lays it out quite clearly - no gray areas . Benedict frequently cites the encyclical letter of Pope Paul VI, viz., Populorum Progressio (The Progress of Peoples). It was written some forty years ago and the present Holy Father shows how Paul VI addressed important ethical questions without giving in to the cultural weaknesses of the time. Benedict reinforces what Paul VI wrote about the urgent need for reform in the face of great problems of injustice in the development of peoples. Courageous actions need to be taken without delay.
Papa Ratzinger uses the term "the current crisis" saying it presents an opportunity for discernment in which to shape a new vision for the future. He writes that the world's wealth is growing but so are inequalities and the emergence of new forms of poverty.
In other words, I feel the good Pope is challenging all of us to be honest. Corruption, Illegal ventures and greed have sown the seeds for "the current crisis".
There is much in Caritas in Veritate. Give it a shot. Be patient, it's not an easy read. Benedict does not water down the truth nor does he seek popularity. True charity comes in speaking the truth.
Finally, one thought today on Vianney. While I never really paid a lot of attention to this saint - I think the pictures and statues of him always put me off - in spite of certain eccentricities - there is a human-ness about him that I rather like. He told it like it is. He would have liked Benedict.
I was away last week for a little r&r and used some of the time to catch up on my reading. My goal included some fairly heavy and intense material beginning with Benedict XVI's latest encyclical Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth).
From there I moved on to Dignitas Personae (The Dignity of the Person). which was issued in September 2008 and treats certain Bioethical Questions. For ligher fare, which actually wasn't as light as I thought, I wanted to fulfill the desire of reading a life of the Cure of Ars - St. John Vianney, as we begin this "Year of the Priest". Father George Rutler's book was anything but light reading. But, focusing my powers of concentration, I did it and finished the biography a day or two after the August 4 feast day of John Vianney.
Raeding the encyclical and the Dignity of the Person made me reflect on my Catholic faith and also made me proud of my Church and her leadership. The Pope lays it out quite clearly - no gray areas . Benedict frequently cites the encyclical letter of Pope Paul VI, viz., Populorum Progressio (The Progress of Peoples). It was written some forty years ago and the present Holy Father shows how Paul VI addressed important ethical questions without giving in to the cultural weaknesses of the time. Benedict reinforces what Paul VI wrote about the urgent need for reform in the face of great problems of injustice in the development of peoples. Courageous actions need to be taken without delay.
Papa Ratzinger uses the term "the current crisis" saying it presents an opportunity for discernment in which to shape a new vision for the future. He writes that the world's wealth is growing but so are inequalities and the emergence of new forms of poverty.
In other words, I feel the good Pope is challenging all of us to be honest. Corruption, Illegal ventures and greed have sown the seeds for "the current crisis".
There is much in Caritas in Veritate. Give it a shot. Be patient, it's not an easy read. Benedict does not water down the truth nor does he seek popularity. True charity comes in speaking the truth.
Finally, one thought today on Vianney. While I never really paid a lot of attention to this saint - I think the pictures and statues of him always put me off - in spite of certain eccentricities - there is a human-ness about him that I rather like. He told it like it is. He would have liked Benedict.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)