Our Cross - Venerable Fulton Sheen

Turning against the "inexhaustible surprise of divine love"

The best book I have read in months is The Yes of Jesus Christ by the Pope Emeritus, written in 1989, when he was Cardinal Ratzinger.

I started it as it was a gift from a grateful reader, but it has proved to be a goldmine of spirituality for us in this culture of death and despair.

I cannot give a complete review, although there are some tidbits on my blog. But, on this blog, during this holiest of weeks, I want to highlight one major point.

How many lapsed Catholics have we all met who complain about the Church? I can understand someone complaining who is still in the Church, but if someone has decided to leave, why bother?

The Pope Emeritus has the answer.

It is man's fundamental disconnectedness with himself that as it were takes its revenge on other people because they do not provide what could only be provided by a new opening up of one's own soul. Today it can often be observed in numerous variants even within the Church but it always stems ultimately from the fact that people do not want from the Church what it is its to impart, the grace of being a child of God, and that they are then found to regard as inadequate everything else that the Church is offering, so that one disappointment follows another."

In other words, those who want the Church for social reasons, sound like this, "I am single and find no one my age in my parish. Why should I go?"  Those who want the Church to be that of perfect saints sound like this, "All Catholics are hypocrites, as I know some."

Those who want the Church to be full of social workers and politicians complain about social justice issues, and those who want the Church to be made in their own image of immorality and soft consciences, want the Church to change her stand on marriage or contraception.

The Church exists to impart grace through the sacraments first and foremost, and the preaching of the Gospel. All else follows as is right and true.

Some want to make the Church into their own images and likenesses.

The Pope Emeritus writes later in this section, "Such people now deem this new interpretation both to themselves and to others as the true content of the Christian message, because no one can bear to have to regard himself of herself as an apostate."

In order not to be called an apostate, Luther, Henry VIII, and others created their own churches, made in their images and likenesses.

So as not to wear the condemnation which is justly theirs, they left the great calling of humility and purity of heart, and became hateful towards those who followed Christ and His Church. Hence, the English Age of the Catholic Martyrs.

Benedict notes that the "self-justification in which such a person has taken refuge after the loss of faith" , (which is the same as a holder of a bad conscience), this person wants all to live as he does, in darkness and in sorrow. "Misery loves company" could be the motto of the society of agnostics in which we live.

Horrible, but the society at large has come to this point wherein the majority, who no longer believe, want to drag down into their spitefulness all those who strive to be holy.

Benedict, quoting St. Thomas Aquinas, outlines that apathy, faintheartedness, nursing grudges and spitefulness are the great daughters of accidie, that sin of inertia which gives up on the path to perfection.

Such were the sins of Judas which led him to his rejection of love, the Love which he witnessed daily.

One substitutes such morbidity for what Benedict calls, "the inexhaustible surprise of divine love".

How beautiful is the constant call of the Bridegroom to His beloved. Behold my beloved speaketh to me: Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come. Song of Songs 2:20 DR

This is my faith, that of a loving God who calls all to Him over and over, even in our darkness.

I choose that love and want to be surprised daily. Therefore, I choose to turn my back on the society of the agnostics, or engage with such, if anyone in that culture of death really wants an "out".  Love conquers all...really, truly.

Elgar: The Apostles (Boult) by Helen Watts, Sheila Armstrong, Robert Tea...

Pope Francis Condemns Slaying of Dutch Jesuit in Syria

Dutch Jesuit Fr. Francis van der Lugt was brutally murdered in Homs, Syria by masked gunman. The septigenarian cleric was beaten by a masked man on the street in front of the Jesuit monastery in Bustan al-Diwan, a Christian portion of the Old City,  and then he was shot twice in the head.

Fr. van der Lugt who was a trained psychotherapist, had spent fifty years living in Syria ministering to disabled people at the Al Ard Center near Homs.  The Center also took in refugees from the Syrian Civil War, but that mission curtailed as the staff fled since they could not ensure the safety of their guests.  Fr. van der Lugt tried to be a companion to those in mental distress and give them as much food as possible.

Fr. Frans refused to be part of the February 2014 UN supervised evacuation of 1,400 people from the city, which had been besieged for a year and a half.  In the Old City of Homs, the Christian population had shrunk from tens of thousands to just 66.  Christians used to make up 10% of the Syrian population before the Civil War, but Christians have been brutalized for their faith during the conflict Fr. van der Lugt reasoned that he was the only priest remaining to minister to his people so how could he leave.

In January, Fr. van der Lugt made pleas through the media that gained world-wide attention to have humanitarian aid sent to the city to feed the starving Muslim and Christian population.




This led to meeting with UN officials to receive aid and hear first hand accounts of the humanitarian trials in Homs. Fr. van der Lugt procured four kilos of kilos of flour a week from a Muslim charity so that he could make bread and distribute half a loaf to the enclaves neediest 30 people.

[***]

Fr. van der Lugt's selfless dedication to his fellow man and openness to serve the Lord even unto death
echos the ultimate sacrifice that our Lord Jesus Christ which we will celebrate next week in the Triduum.

SEE MORE at DC-LausDeo.US

Redemption is Real

1 Cor. 10 

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Do not seek your own advantage, but that of the other. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience, for “the earth and its fullness are the Lord’s.” If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, out of consideration for the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— I mean the other’s conscience, not your own. For why should my liberty be subject to the judgment of someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why should I be denounced because of that for which I give thanks? So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be saved." [8]

One of the growing problem with traditional Catholics is Jansenism and a neo-Puritanism. As Catholics, we have been free of the chains of seeing nature and especially humans in terms of depraved flesh. We are not Puritans, nor are we those few odd religious people, such as Christian-Scientists, who believe all matter is either evil or illusion.

Being a Catholic has given us some freedom with regard to art, especially "fine art".

But, the judgmental attitude of many trad Catholics has infected the Catholic beliefs as to enjoying life. Yes, we are in a vale of tears, but God has not only redeemed us, but nature.

And, as being made in the Image and Likeness of God, although as St. Bernard states, we have kept the Image but lost the Likeness, we have creative instincts, as well as reason and free will.

The likeness we have lost is grace. I contend that most of the unhappiness in the blogosphere has to do with expectations of either a Puritanism, or a seeping Jansenism. In a depraved world, it is too easy to emphasize depravity and man's fallen nature instead of the grace of God.

We cannot believe in irresistible grace. Nor, can we believe in relativism. The path of Catholicism means that we walk a path of prudence and temperance, not one of unnecessary strictures or gross freedoms.

There is enough Puritanism in some popular religions. Catholics can avoid such by concentrating on the Resurrection and the Redemption of Christ, rather than on our own sorry sins.

Be Careful; Travel in Twos

As I have grown older, I have become more patient. Physical suffering brings about a resignation, as does financial suffering, or being separated from those one loves.

What is also necessary is a resignation towards some things in the Church. Too often, we lay people think we have to fight all the battles. Some battles belong to our area of expertise, and some do not.

Patience is bearing with the imperfection of a situation, or the bearing with the faults of others.

I see many single people not bearing with the faults of others, but wanting to change everything.

Choose your battles wisely. Even St. Paul walked away from conflict.

If you are single and want to change the direction of the Church, you have many options besides writing.

Prayer is the first line of battle.

Second, one could become a monk or a nun and pray more intensely for the Church. In days of chaos in the past, many single people entered monasteries in order to pray more effectively.

Third, if a man, you could become a holy priest, and, perhaps, a holy bishop. We need both desperately.

Fourth, if you are single, you can get married to a holy person, and change your parish by becoming a holy couple, raising children in the virtues. Raise priests and nuns.

Some of the problems with my dear single friends is that they are fighting battles by themselves, in their own spheres, without back-up. Even online, one is isolated.

Strength lies in numbers, even in spiritual warfare.

St. Michael did not cast out Satan by himself. Joshua did not conquer the Holy Land by himself.

David needed an army, and the prophets frequently had their scribes, such as Baruch, or even the schools of prophets.

Being single in the Church is a hard and dangerous journey. One can lose sight of the truth without companions.

Remember, the apostles and disciples went out with a minimum of one companion each.

Think about this. Perhaps some of the impatience has to do with learning to bear with one another, and work together.

And as they were ministering to the Lord, and fasting, the Holy Ghost said to them: Separate me Saul and Barnabas, for the work whereunto I have taken them. Acts 13:2 DR

What Is Heaven?

Earlier this year, on this blog, I wrote two posts: one on hell, and one on purgatory.

Because we live in this "vale of tears", writing about sin and sorrow, pain and purification, seems an easier task than writing about the goal of our lives, heaven.

Indeed, heaven is the goal of all Catholics. The Baltimore Catechism question and answer on this fact remains stuck in my memory:

Question: Why did God make you?

Answer: God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.

If the goal is heaven, and if the focus of our actions is union with God, do we understand what heaven really is? 

The popular view, repeated over and over and over in paintings and even cartoons, reveals not only a lack of imagination, but a lack of understanding as to our ultimate goal, if we merit heaven.

People gliding around in white robes on clouds seems dull to the last three generations which grew up on over-stimulated, high-tech movies and television shows. Our reaction to the seemingly dullness of heaven may be one reason why some atheists just are not interested.

But, what if we knew that heaven was a sharing in the Divine Life of God? That God in the Beatific Vision shares with us His Love, in intimacy and a completeness we cannot experience on earth, seems too vague for some to grasp the meaning of joy and peace.

We were created to know and love God. That focus remains in the cores of our beings whether we acknowledge this focus or not. Humans are enobled by love and the love of God will make us perfect.

I think of the Apollo Belvidere, one of the most beautiful statues ever created by man. One can see this in the Vatican Museum. I have seen it and it is indescribably transcendent. The Greeks knew that humans reflected a perfection not found in other natural creatures. That humans reflected the ideal of the gods and the fullness of a life of virtues was known to them through reason. But, the cracks in their philosophy had to be filled in by the Revelation to the Jews in both the Old and the New Testaments.

Within all humans resides a love of happiness and a love of order, an order which can only be brought about through the life of the virtues. All disorder is sin, and in heaven, there is no sin, only perfect order.

The deepest desires of our hearts, minds and bodies will be fulfilled in heaven, but not in the material way described by some religions. 

The theologians use the term visione intuitivâ et etiam faciali. We shall see God as He is, face to face.

Pope Benedict XII in the 14th century made this a dogma of faith. We do not need to doubt that we shall see God face to face in the fullness of His Essence.

Those of us who have experienced human love understand the import of those words. When we love someone, we long to see them face to face. We long to know them and to cherish them. We long to be with them constantly. 

I know a couple who have been married for 35 years and daily, this busy doctor-husband phones his wife to say hello. He works up to twelve hours a day, but always takes time to reveal his love and honor for his wife.

We crave this type of attention and recognition. We crave love and knowledge of who we are. The most terrible loneliness for some people is to never have been known, loved, and cherished by another.

God will reveal Himself to us and our intellects will be illuminated. The phrase, lumen gloriae, refers to this illumination. Some people experience this on earth, just as some experience union with God on earth, as far as possible. These people we call "saints". But, we are all called to this journey of perfection.

Our desire for heaven may be found in the Song of Songs 8:6-7.

6 Put me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy as hard as hell, the lamps thereof are fire and flames.

7 Many waters cannot quench charity, neither can the floods drown it: if a man should give all the substance of his house for love, he shall despise it as nothing.

If one can being in love for all eternity, one can imagine heaven. If one has not experienced the love of the Bridegroom-God, ask His perfect Bride, Our Lady Mary, for guidance. She, alone, of all humans, experienced heaven on earth and was raised up, body and soul into the Beatific Vision.

Dante attempts a description of this in . Cantos 30.106 to 32.138.

If we love the Mother, we shall find the Son, and thereby, the Trinity.

“Thou Virgin Mother, daughter of thy Son, Humble and high beyond all other creature, The limit fixed of the eternal counsel,

Thou art the one who such nobility To human nature gave, that its Creator Did not disdain to make himself its creature.

Within thy womb rekindled was the love, By heat of which in the eternal peace After such wise this flower has germinated.

Here unto us thou art a noonday torch Of charity, and below there among mortals Thou art the living fountain-head of hope.

Lady, thou art so great, and so prevailing, That he who wishes grace, nor runs to thee, His aspirations without wings would fly.

Not only thy benignity gives succour To him who asketh it, but oftentimes Forerunneth of its own accord the asking.

In thee compassion is, in thee is pity, In thee magnificence; in thee unites Whate’er of goodness is in any creature.

Now doth this man, who from the lowest depth Of the universe as far as here has seen One after one the spiritual lives,

Supplicate thee through grace for so much power That with his eyes he may uplift himself Higher towards the uttermost salvation.

And I, who never burned for my own seeing More than I do for his, all of my prayers Proffer to thee, and pray they come not short,

That thou wouldst scatter from him every cloud Of his mortality so with thy prayers, That the Chief Pleasure be to him displayed. 

See the Catholic Encyclopedia online for more info.

More here....http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2012_08_19_archive.html

Egos in the Church

In America, the phrase "a chip on your shoulder" means that kids put wooden chips, not a potato chip, on their shoulders and others had to knock these off. The phrase now means something else, as the poster.

disputandi pruritus ecclesiarum scabies

Sir Henry Wotton, (d. 1639) said this and it will be the death of the Church in Great Britain, from the inside out. As an American observer, who lived in England for almost 13 years, I can say that the biggest obstacle to the power and strength of the one, true, holy, apostolic and Catholic Church is the propensity to argue, constantly.

Arguing about things that matter belongs to the conference table, where things hammered out behind closed doors, such as pro-life policies for lay groups, or the necessity for women to either stay-at-home or work, which must be a personal decision, creates a climate of hatred and ill-will.

Until the laity learn to work together in England, Wales, Scotand, Northern Ireland, and, indeed, Ireland, the Church will stumble along like a sick, old man, instead of like the warrior Church Militant.

Why the squabbling? One reason. Egos out of control.

There is in classical argument and debate, both of which I have taught, three absolutely necessary techniques or skills for excellence in disputing points.

The first is complete objectivity. One cannot argue from a subjective position, the "me" position.

The second involves facts, not emotions, not opinions, but facts based on truths. The person or debate team with the better facts wins.

The third is humility. Humility allows one to listen and learn.

The stubborn mind cannot be open enough to stop talking long enough to listen and grow.

For the Catholic lay person, male or female, the bottom line of humility comes in prayer. Prayer brings self-knowledge and self-knowledge leads to repentance.

I suspect the person who must argue about something all the time. This is a person with either the proverbial chip on the shoulder, or one who has fallen into a state of constant dispute, looking for arguments, looking for enemies.

Too many trads fall into the argumentative mode. This mode defines them after a while. No longer can such a  person love, as love comes from humility.

Egos get hurt, persons feel left out, persons have to be heard, over and over and over.

I, for one, have little time for the person who is always in a state of argument, debate, or pique.

A person whose vanity lies so close to the surface that intelligent debate descends into subjectivity, both feeling put out and name calling, weakens the Church by continuing this type of edginess in the market place.

Sadly, twitter and com boxes are full of such the chip-on-the-shoulder types.

But, Holy Mother Church suffers from the immaturity and hissy fits of Her children.

Even Christ had something to say about this point.

Luke 9:46-62

Douay-Rheims 

46 And there entered a thought into them, which of them should be greater.

47 But Jesus seeing the thoughts of their heart, took a child and set him by him,

48 And said to them: Whosoever shall receive this child in my name, receiveth me; and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth him that sent me. For he that is the lesser among you all, he is the greater.

Proclaiming the Word on Why Going to Church Matters

More than nine in ten Americans believe in God, but less than half of those Christian believers attend weekly church service. Corporate worship may not feel as imperative for Protestants who prize a personal relationship with their Savior and who may feel that private scriptural study may suffice.

Traditionally, Catholics attended weekly Mass around 75% in 1955 as the Magisterium stressed the “Sunday Obligation”.  As of 2009, Gallup reports that 45% of Catholics make it to Mass every Sunday. It is a facile conclusion that  that Vatican II alienated the Catholic faithful, however  there was already a precipitous decline in weekly Catholic worship in 1964, which was before most of the “Spirit of Vatican II” was implemented.  Of course, some traditionally oriented Catholics bristled at Novus Ordo “vulgar” (local  language) liturgies.  But it would be mistaken not to attribute factors which effect the overall culture, such as mobility negating community pressure, increasing agnosticism in secular society et cetera.

This weekend, I was visiting with a friend who is a mother of a child who is resistant to going to Church because it is “boring”.  Later, lack of church attendance can be rationalized as unbelief or knowing it already.

Shortly after this conversation, I had a reminder of why actually going to Church matters.  As I have a sacramental religiosity, I know that I am receiving the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist at any Mass.  Worshiping at my home parish, I can connect with acquaintances with whom I have developed a relationship.   But what particularly impressed me, was how even familiar scripture can have new life breathed into them through thoughtful homilies.

This past Sunday’s Gospel was the Third Sunday of Lent, where we heard the Gospel of John’s version of the Samaritan woman at the well.   In less than twelve hours, I heard three different and thoughtful takes on this Johannine Gospel.

In the morning, I listened to Word To Life on SiriusXM's The Catholic Channel, where several Dominicans analyzed the scripture in a traditional manner. Their message focused on how Jesus knew the sin of the Samaritan woman serial husbands, yet invited her to take from the well where she would never thirst again.   This take seemed sensible for Lent, as the faithful come to terms with our sinful nature and are invited to use prayer, fasting and abstinence to better participate in the salvific redemption of the Easter miracle.

Prior to the liturgy which I worshiped , I chatted with the lay sacristan.  He shared his academic understanding that the five husbands may refer to the five gods that Samaritans historically worshiped as the word ‘baal’ could refer to “god, lord, king, or husband” which tainted their worship of Yahweh.  This would jibe with Jesus instance that Jews following the Mosaic code were worshiping correctly.  Yet Jesus offers an invitation to a true seeker, such as the Samaritan woman at the well, to follow the Messiah thus opening up God’s Kingdom to more than just the Jews.  This was an insightful academic exegesis.

During the Liturgy of the Word at Mass, the priest preached a more meta-view message.  The homily not that woman of the well is the first of three dialogic gospels before Passion Sunday.  These Johannine Gospel stories  may only be heard once every three years in the regular church liturgical readings cycle but they are part of the scrutinies every year for new Catechumens.  The meta-message of water, blindness and death emphasize the Paschal symbols of baptism, light and resurrection.

Another aspect of the young priest’s homily was the literary virtues of these readings from John’s gospels.  These scrutiny stories all are dialogic in character.  The dialog element was further impressed at this liturgy by having several voices proclaim this Gospel to have it sound more like a dialog.  The priest considered how rare real communication, in which interlocutors are really listening and interacting with each other rather than mentally rehearsing their retort or waiting to share their bon mot.  The priest quoted theologian Fr. David Tracy’s pearl of wisdom (from Plurality and Ambiguity: Hermaneutics, Religion and Hope (1994) ) that:

A conversation is a rare phenomenon, even for Socrates.  It is not a confrontation. It is not a debate.  It is not an exam.  It is questioning itself.  It is a willingness to follow the question wherever it may go.  It is dia-logue.

This “wordy” homily suggested that the Johannine dialogic gospels underlined the opening of the fourth gospel in JN 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

By speaking person-to-person without pretense, Jesus was able to help a true seeker find The Way, even though she was a person (a Samaritan woman) with whom society would have expected a Jewish rabbi (much less the Messiah) would associate.   This demonstrates how God comes to us in our imperfectness to offer relationship.

There is no way that I would have garnered this insight resting upon my own  laurels with the conceit that “I’m already familiar with that scripture.”  These faithful encounters with scripture really deepened my faith, giving increased historical, sacramental, seasonal and scriptural insight.

While such a testimony might not make it seem less boring to an argumentative adolescent, it should lend credence to how we can hear the Proclamation of the Word differently at different stages of life and through different hermaneutic lenses which compliment rather than contradict each other. The more profound challenge is to live the Word in our everyday lives.

Cardinal Burke to Ordain Priests in the Traditional Roman Rite in St. Louis, 5 August 2014

Priestly Ordinations for the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest

Tuesday, 5 August 2014
Feast of Our Lady of the Snows

St. Francis de Sales Oratory
2653 Ohio Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri

The Sacrament of Holy Orders will be conferred by His Eminence, Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, during a solemn Pontifical Mass.

See here for details.






Knights of Columbus Latin Mass

Lynette Burrows to address the 'Inn Catholics' on 'The Anarchy of Government'...

Lynette in full flow at the Oxford Union

Venue: The Greencoat Boys Pub, 2 Greencoat Place, London SW1P 1PJ.

Time: Wednesday the 2nd of April at 19.30. 

Lynette used to be a features writer for the Telegraph but, eventually, got tired of it and now writes only when asked about something specific. Two of her books (the first one, 'Good Children', is being published for the fourth time later this year) defend the right of parents to smack their children on the grounds that it is far less bullying than nagging - because children understand it! 

Dr Burrows has run a small language school for the last twenty years in her garden. She has six children, twenty-five grandchildren and, tragically, was widowed last year.

https://www.facebook.com/events/205207846356632/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

The Glue of Apathy And The Ugly Word "Zeal"

One of the problems with modern day Catholics seems to be a huge propensity to apathy. Those of us who blog find that our readers seem isolated in their EU communities-being the few among the many; the many who simply do not care or do not get the signs of the times. Apathy glues the mouth shut, clogs up the brain, and gums up the soul.

Catholics, by baptism, have a duty to go out into the world and spread the Gospel. That most Catholics do not do this at work, or even in their families, seems obvious by the fact that the Church in the EU is so weak.

One diocese with which I am familiar has so few seminarians that church closings will happen in the future. The glue of apathy in families stops talk about sacrifice and giving back to God. The noblesse oblige of the old Catholic families has disappeared.

Apathy means that evil grows daily in various forms. Ennui and cynicism among Catholics leads to a black hole where the light of the Gospel should burn brightly. Small pockets of light-those who blog the truth, and those who stand up against the enemies of the Church-seem fewer and fewer.

To continue fighting in the Church Militant takes energy, both spiritual and physical. The glue of apathy joins couch-potato Catholics to the enemy camps. Sadly, if one is not for Christ and His Church openly and strongly, one is cooperating with evil. Bloggers will be silenced. We have seen this already. The powers that be have many ways to silence bloggers, and the enemy we do not see, the evil one, gives power to those who hate the Church.

In my temporary county exile, I pray for British Catholics, who I hope to serve more directly in the future. I have zeal for the Church. For many British Catholics, zeal is an ugly, contentious word. I have posted comments on two blogs of late in England and my comments were not published because of "zeal".

Too many Catholics want to continue pretending that there is a safe middle ground in spiritual warfare. I suppose that zeal is a dirty word to the inhabitants of the small island which saw the ravages of a civil war-families by the sword divided.

Can we not see that the civil war in Great Britain was merely an acting out of what is behind the scenes-hatred for the Church? No, there is no middle ground.

And his disciples remembered, that it was written: The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up. John 2:17 DR

Christ showed us how to be zealous. We have no choice in this matter. Either we love the Church and are zealous for the spreading of the Gospel, or our mouths are glued shut with apathy, and maybe fear. Does anyone think that the Kingdom of God is worth fighting for on this earth?  

The zeal of Thy house consumes me....