One of the struggles we have in the Church today is that we are often divided within over liturgy and what to emphasize. As a priest I am called to pastor people with a wide variety of liturgical preferences, political views, and opinions on social and ecclesial issues. Liturgically, I celebrate a lively Gospel Mass, the Traditional Latin Mass, and also have pastoral duties related to the Maronite Liturgy, and the Geez Rite and the Neocatechumenal liturgies. This evening I had a traditional Latin low Mass, at the altar, followed by Eucharistic Adoration. By Sunday, the same Church will echo with Gospel music.
Three weeks ago I led a march to an abortion clinic where we prayed for over an hour. Two weeks ago I was at the pro-life march here in DC and witnessing to the Pro-Choice demonstrators, seeking their conversion. Earlier this week I was also meeting with our local organizer in the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN) as we plan to engage our neighbors and City Council on matters of affordable housing, jobs, and improvements in our local public housing development.
As a priest I stand with the poor and the rich. I minster to Republicans and Democrats. I have done several bi-partisan and interfaith Bible studies on Capitol Hill and also conducted Bible Study for 5 years in the White House during the George (W) Bush’s Administration.
I often laugh when people try to label me or figure me out. I am against abortion so they call me a Republican. I am troubled by the death penalty (along with the Pope and Bishops) and they call me a Democrat. I am against Gay “marriage” and they call me a Republican. I advocate for the poor, love immigrants and work with the Interfaith Network and they call me a Democrat. I say the Latin Mass and they say I am a conservative. I rejoice at a Gospel Mass and they say I’m off the hook. And all this time I was just trying to be a Catholic and a disciple.
The Church is wide. I think of the Christian journey as a trip up the King’s Highway. Now on this road there are a good number of lanes. The Church permits us to drive in any or all the lanes, but sets up guard rails beyond which we must not go. Hence there is legitimate diversity on the King’s Highway. An old song also says, King Jesus has a garden full of diverse flowers.
It often grieves me when I see the children of the Church squabble over what the Church allows. One may have preferences, and I respect that, but why seek to have everyone conform to my preferences when and where the Church allows diversity? Consider the social and moral issues of the Church. On one wing we have tend to have those who are concerned about abortion and the moral issues of our day: sexuality, stem cell research, euthanasia etc. On the other wing are those concerned with social issues like poverty, injustice, immigrants rights etc. But in the end, all these issues are important and the Church needs two wings to fly. It is fine that one may choose to work in one specific area. But hostility to those who work in other areas is strange. We ought to be glad that Jesus has ALL the bases covered.
I know that my little essay will not end the debates over priorities and emphases, tastes, and preferences. But I am a priest called to serve all God’s people. I walk in the wide Church and and am willing to drive in every lane. Just don’t ask me to go beyond the guard rails set by the Church.
With that in mind, I’d like to share two videos of your truly as I walk the wide Church.
The first video is an interview of me conducted by the USCCB in regard to my organizing work. Now some of you may have concerns about Saul Alinski. But I can assure he never comes up in conversations and I have never been asked to read Rules for Radicals, nor have I read it. Most of our DC parishes are members of the Washington Interfaith Network and our Pastors work with organizers because WIN does effective job in bringing about creative change in line with Catholic Social teaching. We’re staying in the guard rails here!
The second video is a PBS interview featuring my work with the Traditional Latin Mass. Now some will say that I want to “impose” the old Mass and do all that Latin stuff! No, I only do what the Church permits and I choose to serve some of her children who love the older forms. No imposition here, just celebration in the ancient forms, just living and letting live. Just walking the wide road and staying inside the guard rails.
Two videos from very different lanes but all within the guard rails!
I saw the movie “The Rite” today. I am not a professional movie reviewer but I will say, overall, I liked the movie. It’s most fundamental message is a good one: “You have to have faith to defeat the Devil.” The movie follows the journey of a young seminarian who is struggling in his faith. He is sent to Rome to take a course on exorcism. Beginning with great cynicism he is forced in stages to confront his own lack of faith and finds a breakthrough only when forced to decide to believe or not. I’ll leave the conclusion for your viewing.
I have also read the book The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcistby Matt Baglio. The movie is only very loosely based on the book. The main subject in the book is not a troubled seminarian but an experienced priest of strong faith. The greatest strength of the book is that it is carefully researched and draws deeply on the Catechism, scripture, and the official instructions of the Church for exorcists. The movie, as you might expect goes more for the sensational and takes a lot of cinematic liberty with Catholic rites. The book however is careful and balanced, depicting the Church as also careful and balanced when it comes to exorcism. I strongly recommend the book for any who wish to learn more of this ancient Rite of the Church.
I would like to say a few things about exorcism that are important to know and remember, especially when sensationalistic movies etc. take liberties. Allow these observations of mine in no particular order.
1. The Church is very careful when it comes to approving an exorcism. Natural causes must be ruled out as a likely cause of the behavior of the afflicted person. Bishops normally will not approve an exorcism unless, and until, psychotherapists and psychiatrists, as well as medical doctors have thoroughly examined the afflicted person and generally concur that natural or organic causes are not at work. There is no rush to perform formal exorcisms if the guidelines are followed. The Ritual stipulates that an exorcist may use these prayers only when he is “morally certain” that the person he is praying over is possessed. Numerous mental illnesses can be mistaken for possession. Hence a careful and thoughtful evaluation is necessary by experts who do not simply reject the notion of possession but who are also not the sort to quickly presume it either.
2. The Ritual mentions three signs that indicate the possible presence of a demon: abnormal strength, the ability to speak or understand a previously unknown language, and the knowledge of hidden things. There are also possible signs in an aversion to the sacred. For example, one may experience the inability to pray or say the name of Jesus or Mary, to go to mass, or to receive communion. Another important sign is some degree of unawareness or refusal in the afflicted one of the notion that they are possessed. If some one comes to a priest and says, “I am possessed.” That is usually a sign they are not.
3. The Devil’s activity is usually distinguished in four ways: infestation, oppression, obsession, and demonic possession.
Infestation is the presence of demonic activity in a location or object. In such cases a simple blessing or saying mass on the premises will be the approach that is used.
Oppression usually involves some form of physical attack. There are noted mysterious blows or scratches inexplicably appearing on the body. Some claim to be pushed down stairs or thrown out of bed by an invisible force.
Obsession has involves an intense and persistent attack on the mind of the victim. Generally these attacks include random and obsessive thoughts that, though often absurd, are so intense that the victim is unable to free himself. There is the torment that completely dominates their thoughts.
Possession. In a demonic possession, the Devil takes temporary control of a person’s body, speaking and acting through it without the person’s knowledge. This doesn’t last indefinitely, but occurs only during moments of crisis in which the victim enters a trance state. Generally speaking, after the crisis passes, the victim will not remember what transpired (cf The Rite, Baglio, Kindle ed Loc. 738-40)
4. At the heart of the Ritual of exorcism lie the prayers of exorcism themselves, which are broken up into two sections, known commonly as “deprecatory” and “imperative” In a deprecatory prayer, the exorcist entreats God to intervene on behalf of the person; the prayer begins “Hear, Holy Father …,” while in the imperative prayer, the exorcist himself commands the demon to depart in the name of Jesus Christ, “I adjure you, Satan…” or “I cast you out.”
5. A new rite of exorcism was issued in 1999which replaced the previous one dating to 1952. The Ritual of 1616 is also in wide circulation. Most exorcist make use of the 1999 ritual as they must but also add the prayers from the 1952 ritual. This is due to a rather wide consensus that the 1999 ritual was “defanged.” The prayers of the 1952 and 1616 rituals are more elaborate and more commanding. To use these prayers seems permitted by the 1999 rite which states Aliae formulae deprecativae et imperativae addi possunt….(other deprecative and imperative formulas are able to be added….).
6. Priests are not simply permitted to undertake a formal exorcism on their own. The prayers of exorcism are “reserved blessings” and may only be undertaken with the permission and direction of the Bishop. Guideline thirteen of the Ritual states that the bishop can only nominate a priest who is “distinguished in piety, learning, prudence, and integrity of life.” In addition, “The priest should carry out this work of charily confidently and humbly under the guidance of the Ordinary.” (cf The Rite, Kindle ed. Loc 1043-45)
7. It is my understanding that the appointed exorcist(s) of a diocese ought generally remain a confidential matter. It is a rather puzzling thing to me that so many exorcists, in recent years, have given public interviews and thus publically revealed their identity to third parties. This may not be strictly forbidden, but my own study and understanding of the matter is that confidentiality is the prudent and expected disposition in such things.
8. The process of an exorcism is not usually the compact, “one and done” event depicted in the movies. Exorcisms may be repeatedly performed over a number of weeks or months, even in some cases years. Sometimes relief will be had, only to have the demon return. It is also essential for the afflicted person to partake of the sacraments except where this is not possible. Confession and communion are an essential part of any deliverance.
9. Demons often hide at first and it may take a number of sessions for the exorcists to call forth a response from the demon. Usually, as the prayers, especially the imperative ones, weary the demon and assault it, it will begin to manifest evidence of its presence. When the demon is finally forced out into the open, the person will lose consciousness and enter into a trance. At this point, all movement and speech are controlled by the demon. During these times the person’s eyes will often roll up or down (the demon can’t bear to look at holy objects, including the priest), the hands will usually curl into claws, and the person will be taken over by a rage directed at sacred or holy objects. Typically, the person remembers nothing upon awakening (The Rite,Loc 1114-18)
10. There are not always strange or surreal things that take place in an exorcism. Often an individual may simply sit still and manifest little other than sighs, coughs or fidgeting. However there are also, in some cases, manifestations of a stronger sort, once the demon has revealed itself. These can include a strange, hoarse or deep voice, a significant change in personality, an argumentative and confrontational nature, the presence of foul odors, a strong aversion to holy water, the cross, or other sacred objects. In some cases the demon may manifest hidden knowledge of others in the room. It may also speak in languages unknown by the afflicted person. In some cases the demon may use the body of the possessed to fight back physically and often will manifest unusual strength. Finally, another sign of possession is that the afflicted person will often have little or no memory of their behavior while the demon was fully manifest.
11. Finally, a balance is evident and necessary in this matter and official Church teaching and policy reflects this careful balance.
On the one hand we, in the West, have become extremely rationalistic and reductionist. We seem to want to insist that EVERYTHING has a physical cause. With this mentality, every possible manifestation of demonic influence is usually dismissed as such and explained in terms of organic brain problems and mental illness. In many cases this may be true. But there are demons, Scripture is clear on this, and they do afflict us.
We must also avoid the tendency to easily attribute everything to the devil or demons.
The Church’s insistence on reasonably ruling out organic or natural causes is an important and cautionary measure. Making these investigations are like rumble strips that avoid a rush to conclude demons where there may be none. Great spiritual harm can be done to someone in rashly concluding possession, where there is none. Not only will other important medical and physcotherapeutic treatments be possibly delayed, but a person’s self-understanding can also be seriously distorted as well.
Careful, thorough and pastoral attention is due to those who are suspected of possible possession. The initial assessment is usually made by a parish priest. If he comes to suspect a possible case of possession, his next step ought to be to request an assessment under the auspices of the diocese. Only after a panel of experts, (to include a trained priest), recommends an exorcism , would the case come before the Bishop for a final decision. If he concurs, then the Bishop appoints the exorcist who begins the process and stays in suitable communication with the bishop. Sadly, by my reading, many dioceses are not well set up for such a process. In the west we have largely forsaken exorcism as a practice and such procedures have fallen by the wayside. Many American Bishops recently attended a workshop on the Rite of Exorcism and so we may see a careful process like to one describe re-established in more diocese. Time will tell.
In the end, see movies like “The Rite” as an exotic and extreme depiction of what is ultimately a pastoral ministry of the Church. At the heart of all ministry is love and mercy, the care of a Church who loves her children, the ministry of shepherds who tend to their flock with strength and gentleness.
ABCs 20/20 did a piece on exorcism a number of years ago. If you have the time, these videos are well worth watching. Overall the piece is fair and features an actual exorcism that the Archdiocese of New York allowed to be filmed with limits.
The Nicene Creed fittingly noted four marks of the True Church: one, holy, catholic and apostolic. These marks identify four essential qualities and characteristics the Church has and they distinguish the True Church from any false claimants. Now we, of course cannot add authoritatively to this venerable list. Nevertheless permit me a couple of “prayerful additions” to the four marks of the Church. These cannot join the official list but I humbly submit these “marks” for your consideration to serve in a similar way to distinguish the True Church from false claimants and to give insight into the Church’s truest identity.
The 5th Mark of the Church: Hated. Jesus consistently taught us to expect the hatred of the world if we were true disciples.
If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. (John 15:18-20).
Or Again: All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub,how much more the members of his household! (Matt 10:22-24)
Or yet again, Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets. (Luke 6:26)
One of the more painful aspects of Church life, yet also one of the aspects of which I am most “proud” is that we are hated especially by the world. It is true that some of the Evangelicals are ridiculed but few can deny that a very special and intense hatred for the Catholic Church and is widely on display. It’s never OK in our society (nor should it be) to scorn Jews or Muslims and to mock or attack their faith traditions. Most of the other Christian denominations (except the Evangelicals) also escape much hatred. But the Catholic Church, ah the Catholic Church, now it seems open season on her. We are scorned, badly portrayed in movies, our history is misrepresented, our sins (and we do have them) are exaggerated, our teachings called bigoted, backward, unrealistic, and out of date. And no matter how ugly, bigoted and inaccurate the world’s hatred is, very few if any express any outrage at how were are treated and misrepresented. Try any of this on the Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, et al. and the outrage and claims of bigotry are echoed by the media (and well they should be). Meanwhile Dan Brownet al. get to go on and on about “evil” priests and bishops, a crucifix can be submerged in urine or the Blessed Mother smeared with dung and this is praised as “art” and funded by government grants.
I am not complaining (though these things are wrong). I am actually quite hopeful that this means we are doing something right. We are a sign of contradiction to the world and we are hated for it. We speak the truth to a world gone mad and we hold on to that “old time religion.” That we are hated puts us in good company with Jesus and the prophets and martyrs who stood with him. If we are really doing what we should be doing, the Church ought to experience significant hatred from the world. So hatred by the world is an essential mark of the Church if you ask me. We do not look to be hated. Neither do we look for conflict. But in preaching Christ crucified, in preaching the whole counsel of God and not some watered down version of it we surely do find hatred and conflict comes to us. Some people and denominations try to fit in with the world. They accept its ways and comprise the clear teaching of Christ. But the True Church speaks the whole truth of God in love and does not cave to the world’s demands. The true Church, by Christ’s promise, is hated by the world and those allied and wedded to it. But no need to fear…the sixth “mark” is here!
The Sixth Mark of the Church – Perduring – To perdure means to permanently endure. Here too Christ firmly established this principle and promise to the true Church:
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it(Matt 16:18).
There are no governments or nations that have lasted 2000 years. Very little else in this world can claim such antiquity and even if it does can it claim to have remained essentially unchanged in its dogma or teaching? The Catholic Church is one, even after 2000 years. An unbroken line of Popes back to Peter and an unbroken line of succession for all the Bishops back to the Apostles through the laying on of hands. Not bad. Now consider that this is a miracle! If the Church were depending on human beings to exist and stay unified how long do think she would have lasted? Probably about twenty minutes, max. Our history is not without some pretty questionable moments, in terms of the human elements of the Church. That the gates of hell would never prevail against the Church certainly suggests they would try again and again. But here we are, a miracle. Still standing after all these years. Christ is true to his promise to remain with us all days unto the consummation of the world. We, the human elements of the Church may not live teachings of Christ perfectly, but the Church has never failed to teach what Christ taught even (as now) when the world hated us for it. At times we are tepid and struggle to find our voice, but Christ still speaks and ministers even in our weakness. Yes the Catholic Church is a miracle, the Work of Jesus Christ. And thus the sixth Mark of the Church is that she perdures. By God’s grace we exhibit this sixth mark. Nations have come and gone, empires risen and fallen, eras opened and closed, but through it all we perdure.
So there it is, I believe in one, holy, catholic, apostolic, (and if you don’t mind me saying), hated and perduring Church.
Here’s a very interesting hip hop song by the rapper Akalyte on these two additional “marks” of the Church.
There is a tendency to see the Church in institutional ways, to describe her in terms of her structure and governance only. And yet the Church is far more personal than buildings and structures of governance. The Church is the Bride of Christ and the Body of Christ at once. And if you see this as confusing and insist that the Church must be either bride or body, then you do not understand the mystical marriage of Christ and his Church, who are not two but one. For Scripture says, Have you not read that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one (Matt 19:4-6). And in this way the Church is both the Bride of Christ and the Body of Christ, for the Bride and the Groom are one. I
In this post I would like to present a picture of the Church as the Body of Christ. It is clear that every body has a head. And Christ is the head of the body, the Church (Col 1:18). But every body also has members (or parts) with various functions and roles. And we are individually members (or parts) of Christ (Eph 5:30).
St. Paul’s Classic development of the Church as the Body of Christ is found in 1 Cor 12:
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ….If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? (1 Cor 12:12-31)
Hence, like any body the Church is both one and diverse (e pluribus unum). With this Scripture in mind we do well to recall how glorious the gifts and diversity, yet also the unity of the Church is. The following description of the Church is a classic one from the from the 1951 novel Dan England and the Noonday Devil by Myles Connolly. It is a wonderful reminder to us that the Church is not an institution but is a Body, made up of members who, in their own unique way, give witness to the one Body, which is Christ. I am presenting a summary here but you can read the whole quote here: What is the Church.
The Church to me is all important things everywhere. It is authority and guidance. It is love and inspiration. It is hope and assurance. It is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It is our Lady and St. Joseph. It is St. Peter and Pius XII. It is the bishop and the pastor. It is the catechism and it is our mother leaning over the crib teaching us our evening prayers. It is the cathedral at Chartres and the cross-tipped hut on Ulithi. It is the martyrs in the Colosseum and the martyrs in Uganda, the martyrs at Tyburn and the martyrs at Nagasaki. It is the wrinkled old nun and the eager-eyed postulant. It is the radiant face of the young priest saying his first Mass, and the sleepy boy acolyte with his soiled white sneakers showing under his black cassock….
It is the spire glimpsed from a train window and the cruciform miniature of a church seen far below on the earth from an airplane. It is six o’clock Mass with its handful of unknown saints at the communion rail in the gray dark and it is pontifical High Mass with its crowds and glowing grandeur in St. Peter’s….It is the Sistine Choir and it is the May procession of Chinese children singing the Regina Coeli in Peking.
It is the Carthusian at prime on Monte Allegro and the Jesuit teaching epistemology in Tokyo. It is the Scheutveld Father fighting sleeping sickness in the Congo and the Redemptorist fighting prejudice in Vermont. It is the Benedictine, the Augustinian, the Passionist, the Dominican, the Franciscan. It is all religious and especially the great unnamed Order of the Parish Priest.
It is the Carmelite Sister lighting the tapers for vespers in the drear cold of Iceland and the Sister of Notre Dame de Namur making veils for First Communion in Kwango. It is the Vincentian Sister nursing a Negro Baptist dying of cancer in Alabama and the Maryknoll Sister facing a Communist commissar in Manchuria. It is the White Sister teaching the Arabs carpetmaking in the Sahara and the Good Shepherd Sister in St. Louis giving sanctuary to a derelict child, a home to a lamb who was lost. It is the Little Sister of the Poor salving the sores of a forgotten old man in Marseilles, the Grey Sister serving the destitute in Haiti, the Blessed Sacrament Sister helping a young Negro write poetry in New Orleans. It is the Sister of Charity… It is all the Sisters everywhere.
It is the crippled woman who keeps fresh flowers before our Lady’s altar and the young woman catechist who teaches the barefooted neophytes in the distant hills. It is the girl who gives up her bridge game to drive the Sisters to the prisons and the homes of the poor, and it is the woman who goes from door to door begging for help for the orphanage. It is the proud mother of the priest and the heartbroken mother of the criminal. It is all mothers and sisters everywhere who weep and suffer and pray that sons and brothers may keep the Faith.
….It is the bad sermon and the good, the false vocation and the true. It is the tall young man who says the Stations of the Cross every evening and it is the father of ten who wheels the sick to Mass every Sunday morning at the County Hospital.
It is St. Martin and Martin de Porres, St. Augustine and St. Phocas, Gregory the Great and Gregory Thaumaturgus, St. Ambrose and Charles de Foucauld, St. Ignatius and Ignatius the Martyr, St. Thomas More and St. Barnabas. It is St. Teresa and St. Philomena, Joan of Arc and St. Winefride, St. Agnes and St. Mary Euphrasia. It is all the saints, ancient and new, named and unnamed, and all the sinners.
It is the bursting out of the Gloria on Holy Saturday and the dim crib at dawn Mass on Christmas. It is the rose vestments on Laetare Sunday and the blue overalls of the priest working with the laborers in a mine in the Ruhr.
It is the shiny, new shoes and reverent faces of the June bride and groom kneeling before the white-flowered altar at nuptial Mass, and it is the pale, troubled young mother at the baptismal font, her joy mingled with distress as she watches her first-born wail its protest against the sacramental water. It is the long, shadowy, uneven line of penitents waiting outside the confessional in the dusk of a wintry afternoon, each separate and solemnly alone with his sins, and it is the stooped figure of a priest, silhouetted against the headlights of a police car in the darkness of the highway as he says the last prayers over a broken body lying on the pavement beside a shattered automobile.
It is the Magnificat and it is grace before meals. It is the worn missal and the chipped statue of St. Anthony, the poor box and the cracked church bell. It is peace and truth and salvation. It is the Door through which I entered into the Faith and the Door through which I shall leave, please God, for eternity.
So there it is, The Church. Somewhere in this picture, is you, sharing your gift and serving your role. The Church is Christ. And all of us who are baptized are baptized into Christ, members of his body. St Augustine speaks of how Christ desires to reunite humanity, scattered by sin, in Himself and that, in the end, the Church will be Unus Christus, amans seipsum (One Christ, loving himself). All of us made one in him.
I would like to leave you with a visual and musical image of the Church, the Body of Christ. In the video below an organist plays Bach’s Fugue in C Major. Like any musical fugue the organist begins by announcing the theme, playing it with his right hand. Soon enough the left hand answers and eventually the feet play the theme in the pedal. The fugue then takes the theme through a series of math-like progressions. But always the basic theme is being developed.
Now consider that the organist is Christ, the head of the body, and that the organ is the the Body of Christ. The organ, like a body has many parts and makes many different sounds. There are diapasons, the reeds, the flutes and the string pipes. The reeds are made up of various sounds like the trumpet, oboe, and vox humana. The string pipes make different sounds too such as viola, salicional, dulciana and so forth. The Flutes too come in many varieties as do the diapasons. And there are wonderful mixtures that give brightness and the deep low notes of the pedal sometimes as low as the 32′ contra Bombarde that makes the whole building shake. Yes, this too is an image of the Church. And Christ is able to make beautiful music with this wonderful variety.
And how does he make this music? Just like with a fugue, he announces the basic fugal theme that underlies every other aspect of the song. And this theme is the truth of the Gospel. And every voice of the Church takes up that theme and sings it out, but it is Christ who plays. And he develops and enriches the theme in a kind of development of doctrine that he leads the Church to proclaim. But always there is the basic theme, the fundamental truth.
Yes, here too is an image of the Church in a fugue and in virtuoso organist making beautiful music through unity with a wondrous instrument.
From POLITICO comes the news that school vouchers (aka opportunity scholarships) will re-emerge as a key political and social issue in the aftermath of the State of the Union Speech tonight. Vouchers allow students who qualify to leave failing public schools and attend parochial or private schools. They take with them most of the tax money set aside for their education and that money pays their tuition in the private or parochial school. In the District of Columbia a limited voucher program had helped a number of Catholic Schools in the city to survive. Their survival has been gravely threatened when the Democratic Congress refused to renew the program in 2008. The Obama Administration completely defunded the program in the 2010 budget. With yet another sea change in congressional power back to Republican control, it looks like vouchers stand a good chance of renewal in the District and perhaps elsewhere. Here are excerpts from the Politico article:
The day after President Barack Obama makes education a centerpiece of his State of the Union address, House Speaker John Boehner will try to force his hand on the issue of school vouchers in Washington, D.C. as a test of the White House’s commitment to bipartisanship.
The Ohio Republican, along with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), will introduce legislation on Wednesday to reauthorize the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, the speaker’s office said Monday, making a school voucher initiative that Democrats, including Obama, have strongly opposed as a bargaining chip for beginning discussions on the administration’s desired education proposals.
“If the president is sincere about working together on education reform, we should start by saving this successful, bipartisan program that has helped so many underprivileged children get a quality education,” Boehner said in a statement to POLITICO…..
Teachers unions have fought against the voucher program and Obama’s budget pulled funding for new scholarships after 2010…..
Obama is unlikely to showcase the program in his State of the Union address Tuesday night when he calls for reform and additional spending on education initiatives. But Boehner is planning to make it difficult for the president to ignore the issue.
The speaker’s guests in the House gallery will include a student, parent and teacher from each of the four D.C. Catholic schools that participate in the program. About 50 D.C. schools participate in the program overall.
The GOP’s outline of its top priorities, the “Pledge to America,” does not mention education. The D.C. vouchers funding could be the only bill Boehner authors all year, his office said to stress how important he views the program, and he is not co-sponsoring any legislation this Congress
This is hopeful news for poor children in DC and is also a potential lifeline for Catholic Schools in the city many of which are struggling financially. Stay tuned and pray!
Imagine 25,000 young Catholics cheering for their bishops, priests, religious and deacons! Imagine a standing ovation at the mere mention of the Holy Father. Then imagine a moment in the Mass when those same 25,000 young people come together in a perfect silence while praying for the safety of the unborn.
That was the scene at the Mass for Life in Washington’s Verizon Center. Here is the really neat part. About four miles away the same thing was happening with another 10,000 young Catholics in the DC Armory building. Now, add the rest of us older folks attending Mass in dozens of parishes throughout the city and you had a pretty exciting day to be Catholic.
I have been to several hockey and basketball games in the Verizon Center but no professional athletic team could excite me more than that many teens worshiping Christ and resolving themselves to fight for the rights of the unborn.
You were created for a purpose
This week, we mark the sad anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that legalized the murder of the unborn. Please continue to pray for and end to abortion. Pray for the women who have suffered an abortion and certainly pray for the children who never got a chance at life.
The Church has a future
Finally, if you get discouraged, please know that future of our Church is brighter than you might think. I know of at least 35,000 young people who are ready and willing to be workers in the vineyard.
It has been said that if we want to discover what we really value most we need to look honestly at what we spend our time and money on. Most Christians, if asked what they value most will answer, “God.” But that is the expected answer. The truest answer can be found by looking at our calendars and spending habits.
Disclaimer – The text that follows makes use of the collective “we.” The use of this collective pronoun is not to be interpreted as the “absolute” as in “Every single one of us does this without exception.” Rather the collective “we” bespeaks a general human tendency that will, in fact vary from person to person. Hence not all of what you read may apply to you. Nothing should be taken personally. There is a saying, “If the shoe fits wear it. Otherwise, let it pass over you.” With this disclaimer in mind let’s look at how “we” make use of money and time and what this might saying about what we truly values and what our priorities truly are.
If we look to our spending habits we discover that, at least in the modern American setting, our greatest love is creature comforts and entertainment. Even the necessities we purchase like food, clothing and shelter are riddled with comfort. For example we buy a lot of food that soothes and merely appeals to taste but is otherwise junk. We buy homes that do far more than shelter us, but feature vast entertainment areas, widescreen TVs, large open kitchens, great rooms, cathedral ceilings, pools and patios. Our clothes too must come in every variety, matching shoes and ensembles. Even our cars have plush and adjustable seats, and have entertainment centers installed to include: fine Bose sound, mp3 players, Satellite radio, even flat screen TVs that play movies. All of this adds a hefty price tag to our increasingly high and comfortable standard of living, and we pay it! It goes a long way to show how highly we value comfort and entertainment.
But as for God, he too easily gets the financial leftovers. We may spend hundreds of dollars at a fine restaurant, 20 to 30 dollars going to the movies, hundreds more to go to a cold wet stadium and watch football and eat over-priced hotdogs. We will plop down large amounts for video games and Wii accessories, and yet feel like a hero if we drop $10 in the collection plate instead of our usual $5. Never mind that Scripture says that God is to get the first 10% of our income (e.g. Malachi 3:8-12), the fact is, he usually gets the leftovers. After the mortgage, car note, cable bill, magazine subscription and credit card bill are paid, after all the impulse spending, we figure out what, if anything is left and from that give to God. But truth be told He doesn’t get paid upfront like the like Mr. Walmart, God gets the leftovers.
For things we really like, money is no object, Charge it! But giving to the Archbishop’s Lenten Appeal, or increasing our offertory to afford the new parish education building is considered an odious imposition and our soul cries out, “Not again?!” Catholic School education has surely gone up in price and that is a factor in the dropping enrollment but many Catholic families still manage to afford some pretty nice stuff.
The fact is we just don’t value God and the things of God like we value comfort and entertainment. It may be a hard truth but it’s right there in our spending habits, plain as day. At the end of the day our priorities are pretty plain.
And as for our time – here too the overall portrait is pretty bleak. The vast majority of Catholics give NO time to God at all. 3/4 s don’t even go to Mass. Quite certainly they don’t pray either on any regular basis, if at all. As for the 20-25% who do go to Mass God gets 45 – 60 minutes a week. But beyond that, how much does the average Catholic pray each day? How much time do they spend with Scripture or the study of their faith. To be fair, many Catholics do attend bible studies, adult ed and/or other Church activities, but many do none of this.
Time for everything else – Now, of course, everyone is busy in these stress filled times. But we find time for everything else. We find time to sleep and eat, time to watch our favorite shows. We find time for vacations and other diversions. Many people can spend hours shopping, watching sports games, movies and the like. But when it comes to prayer, study of the faith, teaching the faith to children, reading Scripture, or helping the poor…., well, you know, “I’m just so busy.”
At the football game everyone is excited when it goes into overtime. But if Mass runs long, there is irritation. Football is about a bag full of air being pitched around a field. But Mass is about eternal verities and soul-saving grace. But never mind, five hours on football is reasonable, but a Mass longer than 45 minutes is unreasonable.
The truth, as told by time, is that many value leisure and worldly activities far more than God or the faith. We may wish to doubt this but it is written right into our calendars and the balance isn’t even close. For most people God gets nothing of their time, for some he gets an hour a week, only a very small percentage give more.
Disclaimer 2 – It is a true fact that we cannot spend all day in a chapel or give all our money to God. Most people have significant and serious obligations they must meet financially and temporally toward others. Meeting obligations IS part of our holiness. Yet most of us do have disposable income and leisure time. It is how we make use of these resources that we must most look to discover how highly God really ranks in our world.
Telling the truth by time and money remains very instructive for us. Very instructive indeed.
From CBS News comes the following story related to the question of Christian brotherhood. These are only excerpts the full story is HERE. In these excerpts, the original text is in black, bold, italics and my comments are in normal text red.
Alabama Republican Governor Robert Bentley said….that he does not consider Americans who do not accept Jesus Christ as their savior to be his brothers and sisters.
Technically, and in the strict religious sense of the term, “brother,” he is right. It is Baptism, incorporation into Christ, that makes us brethren. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, Baptism constitutes the foundation of communion among all Christians, including those who are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church: “For men who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in some, though imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church. Justified by faith in Baptism, [they] are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church.” “Baptism therefore constitutes the sacramental bond of unity existing among all who through it are reborn (CCC # 1271)
However, Gov. Bentley is likely ill-advised to talk of this sort of thing in a civic setting where the term “brother” is not used in the strict religious sense. It is true that he spoke in a Baptist Church, (Dexter Ave Baptist) but the gathering was a civic gathering to Honor Dr. Martin Luther King for his Civil Rights legacy. In civil discourse, terms like “brothers and sisters” are more reflective of a common humanity and, to some extent, the notion of a shared citizenship. In the common expression “My fellow Americans” it will be noted that “fellow” is a synonym for “brother” or “common family member.” It is important to understand how words are used and understood in different settings. Failing to do this can cause misunderstanding and give offense, as the Governor has done.
“There may be some people here today who do not have living within them the Holy Spirit,” Bentley said shortly after taking the oath of office….But if you have been adopted in God’s family like I have….It makes you and me brothers. And it makes you and me brother and sister.”Yes, perhaps in the strict religious sense the term that is true, but, as stated, there are other notions of brotherhood that are used and accepted outside religious circles that the Governor does not seem to recognize. While the unbaptized present may not be his religious brethren, they can be said to be brethren in the wider and more common, civic, and general use of the term.
”Now I will have to say that, if we don’t have the same daddy, we’re not brothers and sisters,” he continued. “So anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I’m telling you, you’re not my brother and you’re not my sister, and I want to be your brother.” Here too, some distinctions are in order. We can use the term “Father” for God in at least two senses.
In one sense he is Father, for He is the origin of all things. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, In Israel, God is called “Father” inasmuch as he is Creator of the world. Even more, God is Father because of the covenant and the gift of the law to Israel, “his first-born son”. God is also called the Father of the king of Israel. Most especially he is “the Father of the poor”, of the orphaned and the widowed, who are under his loving protection. By calling God “Father”, the language of faith indicates two main things: that God is the first origin of everything and transcendent authority(CCC # 238-239). From this point of view we DO share a common “daddy” and all are made in the image and likeness of God.
In a second and religious sense however, no one knows the Father except the Son. Hence only Jesus is the Son of the Father in the truest and strictest sense. We therefore can only expereince God as Father fully by being incorporated into Christ by baptism. Then, as members of Christ’s body, we share in Christ’s perfect sonship and experience God as Father in the truest and fullest sense. In this sense the Catechism states plainly, We can invoke God as “Father” because the Son of God made man has revealed him to us. In this Son, through Baptism, we are incorporated and adopted as sons of God (CCC # 2798). While this gives a certain gift, enjoyed only the baptized, the Catechism also reminds us: The baptized cannot pray to “our” Father without bringing before him all those for whom he gave his beloved Son. God’s love has no bounds, neither should our prayer….. [We pray] with and for all who do not yet know him, so that Christ may “gather into one the children of God.” (Jn 11:52) God’s care for all men and for the whole of creation…should extend our prayer to the full breadth of love whenever we dare to say “our” Father. (CCC # 2793) Hence the Governor’s final sentiment is a good one, in desiring all to be his brethren. But in failing to make proper distinctions and understand common from strict usage he unecessisarily offends.
American Atheists President David Silverman told Hotsheet that the comments were “bigoted” and show that Bentley “puts his Bible above the Constitution of the United States……Being the governor of all people means that you are a representative of all people. It certainly does not mean that you abuse your position to push your religion on people who differ from your faith.”It doesn’t seem fair to say he is pushing his religion on people. It was probably wrong for the Governor to make such acute religious remarks in a civic setting, but it does not mean he is pushing his religion.
The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish rights group, also condemned the comments. “It is shocking that Governor Bentley would suggest that non-Christians are not worthy of the same love and respect he professes to have for the Christian community,”….His comments…. also raise serious questions as to whether non-Christians can expect to receive equal treatment during his tenure as governor.”Here too it doesn’t seem fair to interpret the Governor’s remarks as to “suggest that non-Christians are not worthy of the same love and respect he professes to have for the Christian community.” Even if his notions are flawed by being improperly distinguished, it does not follow that he considers others are not worthy etc. And while, the ADL leader is not wrong to have concerns about equal treatment under the Law, this is monitored through the political process and the balance of power. It is unlikely that any human being is wholly exempt from experiencing a special closeness to certain members of his constituency who share similar backgrounds. For example, a Jewish Governor would likely experience a special closeness to fellow Jews. However, whatever special affinity a Governor might feel, he must be judicious and even handed in his decisions. This is clear. Frankly Governor Bentley was not very smart to voice his special affinity with Christians, even though it is likely and understandably there. There are just some things you shouldn’t say.
Nigut added: “Governor Bentley’s remarks suggest that he is determined to use his new position to proselytize for Christian conversion. If he does so, he is dancing dangerously close to a violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which forbids government from promoting the establishment of any religion.” This is fair enough. The Governor was acting in an official capacity at a swearing in, and should not have engaged in this sort of sectarian reflection, articulated religious divisions or expressed wishes for conversions. As a private citizen he is free to do so, but not as the Governor at a public and civic function. General expressions of prayer and support, commending the state to the care of God are all fine, and part of the American tradition. But extended comments about the theology of faith and baptism and the use of terms in their strict religious sense, is going too far.
Bentley’s….communications director, Rebekah Caldwell Mason, told the Birmingham News, “He is the governor of all the people, Christians, non-Christians alike.” While Bentley, a deacon at a Baptist church, drew a distinction between Christians and non-Christians in his comments, he also said he was “color blind” and would represent all the people in his state.OK, fine. But the bottom line is that a lot of unnecssary things were said that ultimately required reassurances that would have been unnecessary had the Governor used a bit more prudence. His remarks were appropriate at a Catechism class, but not a swearing in where he was bound to be misunderstood.
Most of you who read this blog regularly know that I am a big believer in evangelization and think that all of us need to witness to Christ more than we currently do. That said, prudence is also necessary and the evangelizer will do well to know a bit of his audience and acknowledge the setting. Words and expressions, that may be properly understood in the Church setting, are not always the first way we speak to the secular world. Further, beginning with what divides us is not always the best way to begin. Seeking common ground and building trust is often a more fruitful approach. Beginning by saying “Well you’re not really my brother and God really isn’t your Father” is not likely going to move the conversation very far. People tend to shut down or react upon this sort of talk. There are times to discuss our differences frankly, but not in this sort of setting.
Finally, there are some legitimate limits that civil officials should observe when acting in their official capacity. These days there are clearly too many limits imposed. But Governor Bentley went too far in his reflections and provoked more than he prophesied.
And now some pointers from the great evangelizer, Fr. Barron
