| |
Tuesday, April 30, 2002
Is Donatism rearing its head? (part II)
The question of whether, in the midst of The Situation, there might be a re-emergence of some aspects of Donatism was a product of my reflection on a letter of a reader. In this person's initial letter to me she stated '...Anyone who claims to be called by God to the priesthood and then abuses a child is no priest.' In reply, I wrote that such a statement was close to Donatism (even if it was not intended to be so).
She then wrote back to clarify her earlier statement:
'...my "he is no priest" comment relates to my belief that priests found guilty of sexual abuse should be defrocked rather than be permitted to continue on in another ministry under the same principles as those that guide marriage annulments. Did this man fully understand the commitment he was making? Was he in a position both mentally and emotionally to make such a commitment?
These comments raise some interesting fundamental questions. Although I would like some more clarity as to the reader's understanding of 'defrock' (see my earlier 'OED' postings), it would appear that she is likening it to a marriage annulment. Following that line of thinking, is the extreme poor (or evil) behavior of a priest evidence of the invalidity of his ordination? If it is invalid, then are the bestowal of the sacraments over which he presided also invalid? See, this gets right to the essence of Donatism. I would appreciate some feedback from some of you readers on these questions.
'To Laicize', according to the OED
Continuing our meandering through the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), we now come to some other terms related to The Situation. According to the OED, the word 'laicize' means 'to make lay; to deprive of a clerical character; to secularize, especially to commit (a school, etc.) to the direction of laymen; to make (an office) tenable by laymen.' The entry also referred to other forms of the verb such as 'laicizing', 'laicizer', and 'laicism.'
The emphasis in the definition and in virtually all of the quotations cited was on the laicization of institutions. In such a process, for example, a school might go from being controlled by an ecclesiastical body to being controlled by a group of that would not necessarily have any ties with the faith community in question.
However, there was one quotation, from a historical journal published in 1796 that referred, if somewhat obliquely, to the laicization of the functions of a priest: 'This occasional exercise of the priestly function was denominated laicism and represented as sacrilegious usurpation of the sacerdotal rights.' Although the focus in this quotation is on an occasional exercise of priestly functions, the force behind seems to come from an opposition to the fact that this exercise is only occasional. It is something that is temporary, can be taken up and then set down.
It is apparent, though, that the author of this line opposed such an understanding of the priesthood and its functions. Without being to see the writing in full, I presume the author felt that the sacerdotal rights that he or she was defending were part of a permanent priestly character and inherent to the priesthood alone. Such an understanding is referred to in the OED's definition where it says that to laicize is 'to deprive of a clerical character.' Even though the word primarily refers to institutions, it would appear that it can also be applied to persons.
But the heart of this whole matter that I'm going on at length about are questions such as these 'Is to defrock (or to unfrock) the same thing as to laicize.' Well, according to the OED, it is not. The former terms relate more to functions while the latter refers to a priestly character. The former relates to what a priest does while the latter refers to who a priest is.
Now if you have already gone on to another, more interesting blog, you might be asking yourself, 'Does Nota Bene translate to 'navel gazing'? But I think that it is important to note that such matters as function vs. character in the priesthood were emphasized when I was in the seminary, and with good reason, reasons which can be discussed at another time.
In the meantime, maybe this distinction might help bridge the gap between the ordained leaders of the Church who have a natural (if not always supernatural) tendency to protect their own and the vast majority of the faithful (including the ordained) who want to put a priority on protecting children from priests who have been justly accused of abuses. He need not be laicized in order to keep him away from children or others who could be abused.
Now you may be thinking, 'That was an awful lot of work to come to a fairly simple conclusion.' And you may be right...
Thanks for the Links!
I've noticed today that a number of my fellow Catholic bloggers have added my little blog to their list of links. Thanks. The hits, as they say, just keep on coming...Now I just have to get to work to edit my own list of links.
Defrocking and Unfrocking
Well, according the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), 'defrock' literally and simply means 'to deprive of the priestly garment.' It seems to have been derived from a 15th century French defrocuer. If you know anything about Church history, then you won't be surprised that a term like this emerged in the 15th century. Our more recent English usage of this term seems to have come about in an 1891 edition of The Tablet (leave it to those progressive English Catholics...) where it was written: "The eloquent defrocked have denounced...the vows which they failed to keep."
In our own day, defrock seems to be ubiquitous. However, according to the OED, the term 'unfrock' has a much longer and more colorful history in the English language. It is derived from the same French word from which defrock came. But its definition is more precise than the former: "to strip (an ecclesiastic) of his frock as a sign of degredation; hence to deprive of priestly function or office."
Milton used the term in his pamphlet Areopagitica in which he asked (rhetorically?): "It is not the unfrocking of a priest...that will make us a happy nation?"
Earlier, Queen Elizabeth herself was reputed to have threatened a priest, saying: "If you do no forthwith fulfill your engagement...I will immediately unfrock you."
And then in the mid-19th century, the sometime novelist of English Church matters, Anthony Trollope, wrote in Barchester Towers: "Clergymen have been unfrocked for less than what you have been guilty of."
From these quotations (and other similar ones to be found in the OED) it would seem that the word unfrock refers to a public governmental or ecclesiatical (its hard to make that distinction in England, of course...) act whereby a priest is deprived of any priveleges that go with his priestly state and are forbidden to function as a priest. Presumably the same understanding that was applied to unfrock is now being applied to defrock.
I will discuss soon what the OED has to say about the terms laicize, and faculty. But, until then, this thought about the two terms discussed above comes to mind . They both seem to refer more to what the priest does than on who he is. If a priest is unfrocked or defrocked, is he still a priest? If these terms are in any way equivalent to the canonical term 'laicization', then I would have to answer the question with 'No.' If, however, it merely does refer to the functions and priveleges of a priest, then I would have to say 'Yes.'
This all strikes at the heart of some important aspects of sacramental theology and the nature of holy orders. I'll let your mind stew over these words, questions, and issues. Then I'll come back later for another installment.
Reflection on today's Mass readings
Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Today's Readings
Acts 14:19-28
Ps 145:10-11, 12-13ab, 21
Jn 14:27-31a
All along his first journey through Asia Minor Paul made enemies seemingly in every town that he visited. And they seemed to have caught up with him in Lystra where they stoned him, dragged him out of the town, and left him for dead. Yet he survived and the very next day he and Barnabas made their way to Derbe. Were they on the road to preach the Gospel or to escape from their enemies?
I suspect that there was a place in their minds and hearts for both the boldness of their evangelization and the fear of their enemies. Nevertheless, the peace of Christ, a peace not of this world, ruled over both of these emotional motivations.
The author of Acts (presumably Luke) wrote that Paul and Barnabas 'retraced their steps' back through the towns where they had earlier preached the Gospel.. I suppose that this retracing was as much a mental as a physical process. As they would re-enter a town where they had been, vivid memories of powerful preaching, stunning conversions, but also fearful persecutions would rush to the forefront of their minds.
The peace of Christ which ruled their hearts would have helped them be free of other emotions or other human tendencies that could have, in the end, hindered the life of the Church which they had started in these places. It might have been hard for Paul to appoint elders in these Churches and, in the process, hand over the authority to someone else. Likewise, Paul and Barnabas would not have been blamed for having felt anxiety when entering these towns where they earlier experienced persecutions.
Yet once again, over and above any reasonable reaction, 'the peace of God' 'guarded their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus' (Phil 4:7). Maybe in the midst of these anxieties, Paul and Barnabas were, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, able to focus their minds and hearts instead on 'whatever is true,...honorable,...pure,...lovely,...gracious,' or on anything that had 'excellence...' or was 'worthy of praise.' (Phil 4:8)
Surely this is something of what the peace of God is about. Jesus had it and gave it to his disciples in the face of a trial far greater than anything Paul would experience. And is this what I am experiencing in the face of the birth of the first child of Cindy and I? Many people, mostly parents, have asked me if I am scared or nervous. And I have honestly told them that I am not. Explain it in whatever way you will: naivety, the relative detachment of a father during pregnancy in comparison with a mother, or maybe, the peace of God that guards my heart and my mind through Christ Jesus.
I know that many unkown and heretofore unexperienced challenges await me in he coming days. And I fully admit that my calm in the face of them is born out of all of these merely human factors mentioned above. But I also believe in my heart that the grace of God will help Cindy and I face, endure, and thrive in the midst of the challenges. Surely it is also through this faith that the peace of God is guarding my heart in Christ Jesus.
Monday, April 29, 2002
Its 10:00, do you know where your expectant father is?
Having just finished my post on 'defrock', I'm now going to take my fellow blogger, Peter Nixon's advice and get some sleep.
Reflections and Questions on the word 'defrock'
In various print articles, Catholic blogs, television, and radio reports over the past several weeks, I've heard the word 'defrock' used quite often. It seems to be most often used to describe what has, will, or should happen to a priest justly accused of some sort of sexual abuse. However, the real implications of such an event are rarely discussed in any detail.
I presume that when most writers, bloggers, and television and radio reporters use the term 'defrock', they are implying that a priest who is defrocked is no longer a priest afterward. Canonically this would more accurately be called 'laicization.' But my presumption might not be entirely correct. I can see how various definitions of this word could apply. It could also refer to the action whereby a priest has lost his authority to bestow the sacraments, also know as losing his 'faculties.' This action might also be attached to the priest's being taken out of any pastoral ministry (including but also going beyond the sacraments). Finally, I could see how defrock could simply mean forbidding a priest to enter into any pastoral ministry but where he is still a priest and his faculties have not been revoked.
I've already started to research the word 'defrock', and some related terms ('unfrock', 'laicize', 'faculty') by going to the good old reliable OED (I'd provide a link to its site, but you have to pay to use it--killjoys). Unfortunately, the copy of it that my local public library owned had was a one volume edition with an extremely small font. I had to place it under what I lovingly called an electron microscope in order to read it. The words were reproduced in night-vision glowing green on a computer monitor. I then took the dictionary over to copy machine and blew it up to 200%. I then took the copy of the pages and blew them up another 200%.
Now at this point you may be concluding that I'm close to legally blind and that I shouldn't be driving or using any power equipment. Now both of these recommendations may fit me very well, but not because of my eyesight (my skills in driving and using power tools are another story...). Yes I've worn glasses since kindergarten, but I still have what I would call average vision.
Anyway...no miniscule type set was going to get in the way of this determined blogger. I'll report tomorrow what the OED had to say about these words. I also hope tomorrow to do some research in the latest edition of the 1982 CIC in regards to these various terms.
If you have any thoughts, suggstions, or commentaries on these words or their use or lack thereof in the reporting on The Situation, drop me a line.
Preview of Coming Attractions...
I've been intrigued about the use of the word 'defrock' and hope to do some research on that word and its current useage soon. Got any thoughts on it? It seems to be an ambiguous word at best. I also hope to post later on this evening another installment of 'Is Donatism rearing its ugly head?'
Getting More Hits
Welcome to all newcomers! Its amazing what a little free publicity from other bloggers will do. I encourage you to scroll down to some of my postings from the past few days. I'd like to read some of your thoughts on them, especially the one entitled 'Is Donatism rearing its ugly head (part I)?' And, at any rate, I encourage you to send me any comments on my writing. One of the reasons I'm doing this blog is to get some feedback on my thoughts, ideas, writing styles, etc.
So, once again, welcome aboard!
Reflecting on Today's Mass Readings
Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena
Today's Readings
(Please note: I may have gone against convention and reflected upon the first reading from the propers instead of using the first reading for the Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter. The Gospel reading, however, is the Easter reading.)
1 Jn 1:5-2:2
(Please note: there are two links here, one for I John 1, one for I John 2)
Ps 115:1-2, 3-4, 15-16
Jn 14:21-26
So much of the writings of John is cast in sharp shades of black and white: if you walk in the light, you have fellowship with God, if you walk in darkness, you do not, those who love God keep his commandments, those who do not love God do not keep his word. If this were the entirety of John's presentation of the life of faith, then it would be hard for many of us to fit ourselves into these extremes. Personally, on the one hand I feel blessed that, through faith, I have been given and strive to realize a vision of what I and all believers have been called to as a community of disciples. On the other hand, I am also keenly aware every day of how my thoughts, words, and deeds fall short of this vision.
But, thanks be to God, this is not the whole of John's vision of the life of faith. He also has a place for those of us caught in the middle between his two extremes. In a very comforting way, he tells us in his first letter that if we acknowledge our sins, then we can trust that God will forgive us and cleanse us of our sins. He assures us us that, in Jesus, we have an intercessor with the Father. IN Jesus we have an offering for our sins.
The ideal life of faith that John offers to us cannot be realized through our own power alone. If we try to do it that way we will fail and fail quickly. It is only through the grace of God that we can start to experience this life of faith and actively take part in it. And yet our tendency to fail in our attempts to live this life, i.e., our tendency toward sin, will separate us from this grace. Therefore, it might seem that the acknowledging of sin and the receiving of forgiveness is a means to an end. It will restore us to God's grace and help us live the life of faith to which he has called us.
But I am starting to suspect that this interchange--our acknowledgement of our sin and God's forgiveness of us and restoring us to his grace--is not merely a means to an end. Indeed, it is in itself, an essential part of that end. I and everyone else will always have a tendency toward sin on this side of the grave. And so a fundamental part of our relationship with God here on earth will be this interplay of reconciliation.
Now this does not mean that we are not called to share in God's life more and more through our thoughts, words, and deeds. It just simply is a reminder to us that, on the one hand, to cling to hope always in the midst of our failures, and, on the other hand, to avoid unrealistic pride when I do respond to God's grace.
Maybe John isn't so idealized after all. Maybe he was quite in tune with the paradox of living the life of faith in a broken world.
Sunday, April 28, 2002
Perspectives on Patience at Babies-R-Us
After a long day which included a First Communion Mass, a baptism service in which seven children were baptized, and a baptism reception in a fairly small house with a large number of people, my wife Cindy and I made our way from the northwest side of Indianapolis to a Babies-R-Us on the south side of town.
We were obviously already tired to begin with. But with the prospect of our baby being born in a matter of days, we felt that it was important that we get a diaper pail for our house. After getting it and another item in fairly short order, we went to the cash registers, only to find long, slow moving lines at all of them. I later learned that the chain's nationwide computer system was down and that they were basically having to do manual price checks on every item being purchased. In addition, if a customer paid for his or her purchase with either a check or credit card, the cashier had to go directly to a member of management to do some sort of check.
Aside from the fact that this reminded me of the fact that so much of the efficiency of our economy is dependent upon relatively fragile computers and that this efficiency has made the vast majority of American consumers spoiled (including myself), I also learned some important things about patience and parenthood.
Cindy and I are expecting our first child in a matter of days. We are, in a real sense, already parents, but certainly not in the same sense as those who are caring for newborns or toddlers. As we waited in line, Cindy's physical condition led her to leave the store and sit down in our car. I, still in line, tried to put on a good face despite the fact that I was finding it more and more difficult to be patient.
At the same time I glanced around to the other folks waiting to pay for their goods at the numerous cash registers. Many of them were mothers or fathers of newborns or toddlers, carrying them in tow. While I was losing patience with only having to cope with a malfunctioning computer system, these folks had to deal with this and with babies that were crying, or throwing toys here or there, or wanting to run around, or any number of other activities that their parents had a hard time controlling.
And yet for the most part I saw these parents accepting, in a very ordinary way, the slowness of the lines and the rambunctiousness of their children. These things didn't phase them. A nationwide computer glitch wouldn't bring them to the boiling point. Neither would the equally unpredictable exploits of a fidgety child.
When setting my own reaction to this situation alongside those of the parents who surrounded me I felt that, once I was one of them, one of two things would happen: either my lack of patience in a situation like this would only intensify, or I would gain the practical patience that I was starting to lose today. Being ever the optimist, I tend to believe that the latter of the two will be the case when, inevitably (and probably within the first day of our child's life outside the womb), I will be faced with a situation where my patience will be tested.
Taking a dose of my own medicine
On Friday in my posting about First Communions I argued that young people understand more about serious matters of faith than older folks often give them credit for. I encouraged those who grumble about various aspects of First Communion to consider the possibility that second graders might grasp some of the weighty reality that is the Eucharist.
Well, I had a dose of my own medicine poured down my throat this morning. About half an hour before the second graders in my parish's Religious Education Program were to begin their First Communion Mass, I encouraged all of them to use the restroom. I didn't want them to get up in the middle of the Mass to go the bathroom. I told them that they were the 'stars of the show' (admittedly in hindsight a poor choice of words on my part...) and that all of the folks who were interested in seeing them wouldn't want them to leave right in the middle of Mass.
Well, at that point, a little second grade girl named Katherine looked me in the face, spoke up clearly and said, 'A show? This isn't a show. We aren't in a play, are we?' Maybe I'm reading too much into her words, but as soon as she said them, I realized that this, indeed, was not 'a show.' I realized that what these second graders, along with the rest of the folks in the congregation, and, mystically, all other believers around the world and in heaven, were celebrating, in actuality, was Christ's gift of himself to us two thousand years ago. It was just a show or a play. It was reality.
Now I don't think that this explanation was in Katherine's mind when she spoke up half an hour before this reality was celebrated once again. However, I do believe that she and her classmates had some sort of intuitive understanding of this important part of our worship, this essential part of our faith. As I said on Friday, if you listen carefully to young people, you might just hear the Word of God spoken to you. I certainly heard that Word loud and clear this morning.
Saturday, April 27, 2002
Is Donatism rearing its ugly head (part I)?
In the midst of this crisis of confidence in the leadership of the Church, I am beginning to wonder if the old heresy of Donatism is rearing its ugly head. I will give what I believe is a summary of what makes them distinct, since the old Catholic Encyclopedia article for which I provided a link is a long one. Essentially, Donatists, in any age, believe that the validity of the sacraments bestowed are contingent upon the holiness of the person bestowing them.
Now I do not necessarily believe that a large dispute is brewing over sacramental theology. Would that it would be so. That would mean that people were valuing the role sacraments in their day-to-day lives to a much higher degree than they seem to at present. Many of those outside the Church as well as many within place more importance on the holding and using of power and authority than on opening oneself to conversion through cooperation with divine grace.
However, some aspects of Donatism might re-emerge in the wake of this scandal. I will explore some of these aspects later. But, at this point, I will simply lay out some questions for you (and me) to think about. What impact will this have (if any) on how believers accept or do not accept the teaching authority of the Church's leadership? Will The Situation individualism in the practice of the faith(something which has happened in other ages of the Church when the moral authority of its leadship was brought into question, e.g., the later Middle Ages)? If the confidence of a large number of believers in the leadership of the Church has indeed been significantly undermined, then how can the current group of bishops (or those to follow them) try to restore it?
I'd be interested to read your thoughts on these questions and on the overall issue of Donatism (of a sort...) and The Situation.
Keeping the Faith in The Situation
Fr. James Martin, SJ, an associate editor at America had a nice commentary(I wish I could have found a transcript) on All Things Considered on Friday afternoon. He tried to explain why so many Catholics in America still claim that their faith is unshaken even if their trust in the leadership of the Church has been.
He placed this crisis within a good historical context, even pointing to the mixture of saints and sinners that have made up the Church throughout its history. He explained how this paradox was there at the very start in the person of Peter, the man chosen to lead the Church and one who also was quite fallible.
Finally, Martin tried to present some good reasons for the optimism of many Catholics who are hoping that the Church will ultimately emerge from this scandal in a stronger state than it was at the start. And, of course, in the midst of this Easter season, he explained how we believe that God brings 'new life out of suffering.' Well, if that indeed is true (and I do believe it is...), then with the suffering upon us now, we all have an abundance of new life waiting in store for us.
I'm glad that NPR decided to broadcast this commentary. While it acknowledged the horror of the abuses committed and the poor leadership present in our Church, it also did not limit the Church just to the crisis or the leadership, and it presented a reasonable hope for its future. Hopefully some NPR's listeners, who often see themselves as being open to diversity of thought, can hear such a broadminded commentary, take it to heart, and be a little less closeminded about the Church.
What a hopefilled, optimistic wish. Wow, I must be a Catholic.
Friday, April 26, 2002
I'm in print!
I have now had my first piece of writing published! In today's edition of The Criterion (the weekly newspaper for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis) I have the first installment of what will likely become a monthly column entitled 'Faith and Family.'
Since I don't as of yet have my own homepage and since the website of The Criterion didn't post it, I'll just go ahead and post the column here. Let me know what you think!
Spiritual Reflections of a Newborn Father
“…the saving water was both your tomb and your mother.”
Jerusalem Catecheses
My wife Cindy and I are observing this season of Easter with joyful-filled anticipation. Sometime in the first or second week of May we expect to welcome our first child into the world. In my reflections upon the significance of this life-changing event, I have become more and more thankful that is occurring during the season of Easter. This is a beautiful season for us all to enter more joyfully into the spiritual meaning of parenthood. Easter is a time when we are invited to experience anew the resurrected life of Christ into which all of us were born through the waters of baptism. And surely God gives a sacramental sign of this new life in the birth of all newborns.
Although you may not have known it at the time, all you mothers and fathers have come close to this new life given to us in baptism when you witnessed your own child being born. When you held your child in your arms for the first time it was as if you were at the tomb when Jesus came forth in glory.
This connection between childbirth, Jesus’ resurrection, and our share in it through baptism is brought to our attention on Thursday of Easter Week in the Church’s celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours during the Office of Readings in which we are asked to read an excerpt from the Jerusalem Catecheses. These were addresses given to the newly baptized in Jerusalem some 1700 years ago. There the neophytes (a Greek word meaning ‘newborn’) were told that “the saving water” in which they had just been baptized “was both your tomb and your mother.” Through entering the waters of baptism, they experienced, in both body and soul, entering into the tomb with Christ by dying to sin and being born again from it to Christ’s new and eternal life.
And so when a mother and father witness, with eyes wide open and filled with tears, their newborn child coming forth from the womb, the barrier between heaven and earth, between life and death, is once again broken down. Jesus comes forth once again from the tomb with his new and unending life. Their own sharing in that life through their baptism is renewed. When Cindy and I will embrace in our arms our newborn for the first time, we ourselves will be embraced with Christ’s gift of eternal life, just as all of the Church’s neophytes were during the Easter Vigil in the waters of baptism.
I invite all parents to observe this season of Easter with a special joy. Look upon your children as the gifts of God that I’m sure you already you know they are. But see them anew as a sacramental sign of the unending life given to all of us in the saving waters of baptism. And begin to share this message with your children in a way that is appropriate for their age. As we all take this message more and more into ourselves, our celebration of Easter won’t simply be a remembrance of Christ’s resurrection 2000 years ago, it will be transformed into our experiencing anew his new life given to us, here and now through the waters of baptism.
Reflections on First Communion
The parish where I serve as DRE is celebrating First Communion at the two Sunday Masses this weekend. I have been busy over the past couple of weeks helping to get things prepared. And as it has been at or near the top of my priority list in my work recently, I have done some reflecting on the meaning of this annual spring event (at least in a lot of parishes).
I know that a number of priests and catechetical leaders feel frustration in regards to various aspects of First Communion. They don't like the commercialization of it. They bewail the fact that many families see it primarily as a pageant for their children. And they question whether, even in the best of circumstances, children in the second grade can understand the importance of what they are celebrating. I understand these frustrations, these questions, and, honestly, I share in them to a certain degree.
But as I have prayed over the past week or so for our first communicants and their families, I have come to a greater realization that First Communion can be seen as an opportunity for blessings rather than the curse of the cross. Yes, aunts and uncles and grandmas and grandpas may get all sorts of nice gifts for little Joey or little Mary. And these second graders have probably even been expecting these gifts for a while. Priests and DREs can do little to change the buying habits of these relatives. But maybe we can help our 2nd graders understand the reason why these gifts are being given to them in the first place, even if the relatives themselves have given little thought to those reasons.
Maybe we can help them see that the beautiful dreses, vails, and gloves, the dapper suits, ties, and wingtips are all meant to show our respect and reverence toward and gratitude for the Eucharist. Maybe we can help these young people see, in a way that they can understand, that when their relatives give them great gifts on their First Communion that these people are, in some small way, being gracious to them like Jesus is in giving himself to us in the Eucharist.
Such explanations might be difficult to make to children in the 2nd Grade. But can it be any more difficult than explaining the Eucharist itself? Yes, little children might have a hard time understanding the ins and outs, the overall importance of the Eucharist to our faith. However, on the one hand, lets not sell them short. Listen carefully to young people when speaking to them about matters of faith. You just might hear the Word of God spoken to you. Remember the words of Zechariah on the occasion of the naming of his son, John the Baptist: "And you, my child, shall be the prophet of the Most High." On the other hand, none of us, no matter how old we are or how many degrees we have, cannot plumb all of the depths of the great mystery that is the Eucharist.
In my prayers for our parish's young people who will be celebrating their First Communion, I have asked that God, in the midst of all the dresses and suits and presents and cameras, would shower his Spirit upon them, letting this great mystery start to sink down within them and become part of who they are. I have prayed that they may share with others--with their families, their classmates, and even those they do not know--the greatest gift which they will ever receive: the loving presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
A Reflection on Today's Mass Readings
Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Today's Readings
Acts 13:26-33
Ps 2:6-7, 8-9, 10-11ab
Jn 14:1-6
Paul certainly believed that he was living in a time of fulfillment. In his discourse to the congregation at a synagogue in Antioch in Pisidia, he spoke of prophecies being fulfilled and promises being realized. Taken as a whole, they show how gracious God is to us. We humans were involved in many the prophecies being realized through our complicity in the passion and death of Jesus. Yet God still remained faithful to his promises to us by raising Jesus from the dead and offering us a share of that eternal life.
Certainly the way of humanity leads to death, even to the death of God’s only Son. It brings about anxiety in us and, in Jesus’ words, makes our ‘hearts be troubled.’ We, as individuals, are interested in preparing our own places and none other. We are anxious about our own concerns and how the concerns of others may impinge upon us. But isn’t this part of the American dream? Aren’t we all supposed to work hard enough that we can have a house of our own? Although many might find it laudable, I think that working first for the good of others is not part of most Americans’ ambitions.
Yet this is what all Christians, including those living in America, are called to do in their day-to-day lives. We are offered the endless grace of God to raise us above the low road of humanity in order to climb ever higher along the way that is Jesus. This life of self-giving is usually a ‘non-starter’ for most Americans. Its really not even given any consideration at all.
And yet the irony in all of this is that if we who are often so focused on our own self-interest would take time to examine Jesus’ way, we would learn that in giving of ourselves to others we are, in the end, working for our own good as well. Now this is no Prayer of Jabez stuff, for the more we truly forget about our own interests, the more Jesus will raise us up.
I only say that the way of Jesus that leads to our greatest gain—eternal life—can appeal initially to good, old fashioned American self-interest. True conversion can take a long time. Just look at Paul. Yes, Jesus revealed himself to Paul in an instant on the road to Damascus, but it took several more years for Paul to start living out the life as the ‘chosen instrument’ that God had planned out for him.
In the same way, we self-interest driven Americans (and I am aware that we don’t have a monopoly on this character trait) may be drawn initially to live ‘the way’ for the gain that we are promised. Let us all pray, though, that God’s grace continues to work on all of us, turning us more and more to seek the good of others before our own. Then surely we will be witnesses to the fulfillment of God’s promises of glory rather than participants in the prophecies of death.
Thursday, April 25, 2002
Goof on the due date
Earlier I said that the due date of our baby is May 9. I was wrong--its May 7. Better not let Cindy know about that little slip up. Well, anyway, I'll just use her words, 'The baby will come when the baby will come...'
Oh, now I remember. The parish golf outing is on May 9. Can't miss that....
A Change in Nota Bene's URL
I've just started and already I'm changing things.
Starting today the URL for Nota Bene is:
http://seangallagher.blogspot.com/
Why the change? Maybe its because I'd like for those poor fools who stumble across this blog to who the joker is who's putting out this drivel. Or maybe I'm just a self-serving writer wannabe who wants to get his name out there. You make the call...
Anyway, for those of you who have already made a bookmark for this, put it in your favorites, or made a link to this blog (yeah right--to all of them...), you might want to do the appropriate changes. Thanks.
A Reflection on Today's Mass Readings
Please Note: This may very well become a regular feature of Nota Bene, as writing these reflections is a part of my daily prayer routine, at least it will be until the baby arrives...
Feast of St. Mark
Today's Readings
1 Pt 5:5b-14
Ps 89:2-3, 6-7, 16-17
Mk 16:15-20
Maybe the Mass readings lately have been providential in their applicability to The Situation, or maybe this whole mess is just in the forefront of my mind and is the lens through which I am viewing much of my spiritual life during this time. At any rate, much of today's first reading speaks directly to a good way that we can understand and live out our faith during this challenging period. In fact, I believe that they speak so directly that there really needs little or no 'breaking open' for us to apply them to the life of the Church today. I only ask that when you apply them, relate them broadly to the whole Church, including yourself, and not just to one group or another.
So, then, I will simply quote a few lines from this reading and let the message hit you in all its obviousness:
"Clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another..."
"Cast all your worries upon him [God...who else?] because he cares for you."
"The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ Jesus
will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little."
As I noted earlier, I think that most of us can see the clear relevance of these and other lines from today's first reading (and I could have chosen more...) for the life of the Church today. But I suppose that an overarching meaning that we should try to remember and try to take some solace in, is that the body of believers that is the Church is destined to suffer if it is indeed to be the body of Christ on earth. This is true now. It was true when the First Letter of Peter was written. And it was true in the many ages and places of the Church in her history from then until now.
I realize that this does not address the sad fact that some of this suffering originates in some of the leaders who make up the body of believers. However, I believe that this reality, like the more general one that I described above, was also as true in the day of the apostles as well as in every age of the history of the Church as it is now.
Such realities might lead one to despair of the good that the Church has claimed and still claims to be. However, at such a point of despair, I would hope that one would then spend some time with today's Gospel. There is indeed, in faith, much Good News in the person of Jesus, such Good News that it impels us who believe to proclaim it to all of creation. It is Good News that is proclaimed through wondrous signs that are still being worked in our own midst.
In the midst of this time when our minds might be focusing on so much sadness and suffering, let us try to take some moments and look around us with the eyes of faith. Let us strive, with the grace of God, to see the Good News being revealed for all to see in the simple dedication of so many good believers--be they laity, religious, deacons, priests, or bishops. Let us all stand firm in the belief that Jesus, in his abiding presence in the Church, "will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us after [we] have suffered a little", or maybe even more than a little...
The days are getting closer...
Today is the first day of my wife's maternity leave. She was certainly glad yesterday after her last day at her job, working as an ER nurse. We're now officially two weeks away from what the doctor determined as the baby's due date: May 9.
Wednesday, April 24, 2002
Cardinal McCarrick, please THINK about what you say in front of the world's press!
There I was, at the gym, getting ready to do some work on a stationary bike. I usually do a step aerobics workout on Wednesday afternoon, but it was cancelled today. Why did it have to be cancelled? Why? If it weren't, then I wouldn't have been watching CNN. I wouldn't have seen some of the cardinals come in for a press conference in Rome.
'Oh, that looks interesting,' I said to myself. And because the stereo wasn't blarring as it usually does in the gym and since there were very few people there, I asked the owner, working behind the counter if he can turn up the volume. He said 'Sure' and did it.
It was then that I wished that the aerobics class had not been cancelled. For it was then that I heard Cardinal McCarrick say that the Holy Father had called he and his colleagues to Rome because of his concern for young people. He spoke of how Pope John Paul loves young people. And then he said the sentence that will echo in my head for a long time, "The Holy Father really gets turned on by young people.' Again, why did the aerobics class have to be cancelled?
Sheesh, I don't know whether to laugh or to cry...
Oh well, here goes...
I suppose that if I'm going to be a real blogger on all things Catholic, then I'll have to post some sort of opinion on 'The Situation.' Well, as you might be able to guess from this opening, I don't relish doing this. Why? I suppose because I feel so sad about it all. If my time at Notre Dame and St. Meinrad instilled anything in me, it was a love of my Church. And I simply am saddened when the Church as a whole is suffering such a crisis as this. And that saddness (and my hesitation to enter the fray) is only increased when I feel that, no matter what opinion I present on The Situation, the emotions of those who care about it are so strong that a reasoned reflection on it will have little effect. But, faith, hope, and love springing eternal, I will start to collect my wide and varied thoughts here and now.
I thought that it was very interesting that on this previous Sunday and Monday, presumably the days on which the cardinals were travelling to and arriving in Rome, the Gospel readings for those days (Sunday and Monday) were, in large part, reflections upon the wicked people who harm the flock and the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Hopefully these readings were food for thought and prayer for these men as they sat in their uncomfortable seats on a long transatlantic flight (hopefully they weren't on Alitalia). And I hope, with all due respect, that, like the scroll that John had to eat in his Revelation, it was sour in their stomach, as sour as much airline food can be.
Who am I? Why am I here? (part II)
Every person of faith has opinions about that faith. Some are well formed and quite complex. Some are well formed but beautifully simple. Others have very little thought or reflection behind them and can be either complex or simple. Where do my opinions fit within this spectrum? Well, I humbly (....oh really?) believe that they are well formed, born out of my prayer, work, family, educational and ministerial experiences. In order for you to appreciate more fully the opinions that I post here, it might be useful for you to know a little bit about some of these contexts out of which my opinions emerge.
I am 31, was born and raised in the Catholic faith in Shelbyville, IN and, after various wanderings (basically within Indiana), I have returned to my hometown to serve my home parish of St. Joseph as its director of religious education. I am married to my wife Cindy. We are expecting our first child in a matter of weeks and will be celebrating our first anniversary on June 9.
But, as I alluded to above, my journey to the point where I married my wife was a relatively long one. I met and dated her when we were both students at Marian College--I was 20 at the time, she was 19. We dated for about 6 months before 'breaking up' and essentially having no contact with each other for another 10 years. After graduating from Marian, with a BA in history and music, I studied medieval history at Notre Dame and earned an MA there.
While in South Bend, I discerned a call to live a deliberate life of faith in the diocesan priesthood. I affiliated with the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and studied for two years at St. Meinrad School of Theology. While there, I discerned that I was truly being drawn to living a life of faith in a community, one which would be difficult to do with my potential priest brothers were I to be ordained as a diocesan priest. And so in 1997 I entered St. Meinrad Archabbey as a novice. I professed temporary vows in August 1998 and took the name 'Br. Paul.'
But over the course of my 2 1/2 years in the monastery, I came to realize that, while I was indeed called to live a life of faith in community, the kind of community to which I was truly called was that of a husband and wife. After much prayer and consultation with my superiors, I requested and was granted a dispensation from my temporary vows. Approximately a year and a half later I was married to Cindy, the woman that I had dated about 10 years earlier. How I got back in touch with her is another long, drawn out story that I'll save for another time.
So, at any rate, hopefully this bit of background about me will help you understand the ground from which my opinions spring...
Tuesday, April 23, 2002
Who am I? Why am I here? (part I)
Greetings and welcome to my weblog. I am Sean Gallagher. And through this weblog I hope to offer those reading it what its title suggests: a 'good word.' I hope to offer my humble opinions and perspectives on some of life's persistent questions (thanks Garrision Keillor, aka Guy Noir).
I, by no means, claim to have in my possession any of the answers to these questions. I simply want to make a small contribution to the work in which humans have been engaged since time immemorial in their search for a clearer understanding of the truth and what consequences such knowledge brings about.
When examining this basic human yearning from the perspective of Catholic Christian faith, I think of how John Henry Cardinal Newman described the development of Christian doctrine. He argued that the ideas embodied in Christian doctrines were very complex. Coming to a full knowledge of such ideas require the work of many people over many generations. In describing these ideas and this process of development, Newman likened the idea to a diamond and the process to one coming to know the diamond by examining it, facet by facet.
In order for us all to arrive at a greater and more effective understanding of divine truth, we need each others' reflections that emerge out of our own ponderings of these beautiful diamonds with which God has blessed us. I have appreciated the perspectives that others have offered to me and others through their own weblogs. I now wish to offer my own humble, cloudy point of view on some small facet on a large, beautiful diamond.
Now you may conclude that all of this is very stilted language to be using when reflecting on matters of faith as they are lived in America in the 21st century, especially on the internet where, seemingly, anything goes. However, I still believe that, despite our best attempts to depart from the path that leads us to the fullness of God's truth, there are many of us (if I may be so presumptuous to include myself among them) that are still being led by grace to gain a little bit more insight than we may have had yesterday. Thats why I still look forward to tomorrow...
|
|
