Author: Msgr. Charles Pope

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Cain’s Conscience – A Reflection on the Truth That We Really DO Know What We Are Doing

In today’s reading from Genesis at Mass Cain is angry, murderously angry. And God speaks to Cain in the depths of his soul. The text is from Genesis 4:

The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not. Cain greatly resented this and was crestfallen. So the LORD said to Cain: “Why are you so resentful and crestfallen. If you do well, you can hold up your head; but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master.” (Gen 4:4-7)

One of the glories of Genesis is how descriptively it deals with primordial human realities such as our very existence, the foundation of marriage and family, the subsequent and terrible fall from grace and the struggle with sin that ensues. In this passage we see not only described the internal struggle with anger and sin in Cain, but also another primordial reality in man, the existence of our conscience.

What is the conscience? The Catechism describes it this way:

Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment. . . . For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. . . . His conscience is man’s most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths.”  (Catechism of the Catholic Church(CCC) # 1776)

Notice therefore that “conscience” is the innate sense of the law of God in each one of us. The conscience exists because God has written his law in everyone’s heart. His voice echoes in our soul. It is there and we cannot ultimately deny it or silence it, though many do try. It is this reality that is powerfully and poetically described in the Genesis account of Cain. God’s voice echoes in Cain’s depths and warns him of the demonic presence of sinful anger. God also summons Cain to hope indicating he can master it.

Tragically Cain refused to heed his conscience. He refused to heed the voice of God echoing in him. But note well, he knew what he was doing and he knew it was wrong. Though Cain had a fallen nature and was living in fallen predominated by fallen angel, he still had a conscience. He still heard God’s voice echo in his soul. He still knew what he was doing.

It is common to hear today, even among some clergy, that people really don’t know any better when it comes to moral teaching. Since they have not been properly taught they cannot be expected to understand important moral concepts nor should be held very accountable for the poor moral decisions they might make. I don’t agree and think that this sort of thinking amounts to a denial of the existence of the conscience. It is my experience that deep down inside, most people know exactly what they are doing. It is true that the voice of one’s conscience can either be intentionally suppressed or that competing voices can vie for our attention. But, still, under all the layers of denial, suppression, and contrary voices that may occur, we know well the basics of right and wrong.

The existence of the conscience clearly taught by this text from Genesis 4. There are other Scriptures that also affirm  the fundamental presence of conscience and the Law of God within every individual. For example:

  1. When the Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, or at times even defending them (Romans 2:14-15).
  2. By the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to every one’s conscience in the sight of God. (2 Cor 4:2)
  3. We know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and trust it is also plain to your conscience (2 Cor 5:11).
  4. And thy ears shall hear the voice of one admonishing thee behind thy back: This is the way, walk ye in it: and go not aside neither to the right hand, nor to the left. (Is. 30:21)
  5. See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him (Ex 23-20-21)

Yes, the voice of God echoes in us and this is the heart of our conscience. Scripture teaches that every human person has a conscience.

Towards a Rediscovery – There is little reference to the conscience today, even among clergy. I suppose this is because the word was misused a great deal in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Many people would misuse the term to justify sinful behavior, saying, “I am only following my conscience.” But in this sense they equating their opinion or their own stinking thinking with conscience. Conscience surely accesses the intellect but it is deeper than that. It is a basic and innate sense of fundamental moral principles. Because it is so deep people will often construct elaborate rationalizations to try and suppress its voice. They will surround themselves with false teachers to tickle their ears. But in the end, deep down they know what they do is wrong.

 Consider some examples and thoughts from pastoral experience:

  1. I have sat in the parlor during marriage preparation with couples that are either co-habiting or fornicating. And despite all the stinking thinking of the world that such behavior is fine, despite whatever attempts they may have made to tell themselves it really OK, despite trying not to think about it, despite all attempts to call it something else….Despite it all, when I speak frankly with them about it, they know what they are doing,  and they know it’s wrong. They know.
  2. I have walked the streets of Southeast and talked with the “boys in the hood.” And when in conversation I tell them they ought to stop selling and using and stealing and get themselves into God’s house, they too know what they are doing, they know it is wrong and that they ought to get to God’s house. They know!
  3. I have spoken with pro-choice demonstrators in front of the Supreme Court and told them directly that they know in their heart that abortion is wrong. They argue back and often get quite verbally hostile, may attack me personally for being a priest and a man. But I can see it in their eyes and in their hyper-defensive anger that they know it really IS wrong. They do know.
  4. I have become quite convinced that a lot of the intense anger directed against the Church whenever we speak against abortion, euthanasia, premarital sex, homosexual activity and homosexual marriage is evidence that we have reached the conscience and pricked it. I am convinced that a lot of that anger comes from the fact that deep down inside, they know that these things are wrong and that what we are saying is true.
  5. Attempts to suppress our conscience are not usually all that successful and when someone endangers the zone of insulation we attempt to erect, we can easily get mad. But deep down inside we know the Church and the Scriptures are right. We know.
  6. Some people attempt to surround themselves with teachers and experts who will “tickle their ears” with false teaching and unsound doctrine. But deep down inside, they know better. They know.

We who teach and try hand on the faith need to rediscover the fact of the conscience and never loose heart when we teach and appeal. We are ultimately appealing to things people already know. This is so at least in terms of basic and fundamental morality. There may be certain advanced topics that require informed discourse, but as to the basics, they are written in their hearts. All the protesting and anger are not necessarily signs that we have failed at all. It may be just the opposite. We may have struck more than a nerve, we may have touched the conscience. Don’t lose heart.

A few basic teachings on conscience may help since, as I have stated, I think a lot of us have neglected to meditate much on the existence of the conscience and what it really is. Here are a few teachings from Scripture and the Catechism

  1. Everyone has a conscience  – For Man has in his heart a law inscribed by God, This is his conscience, there he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths… (Catechism of the Catholic Church(CCC) # 1776)  Conscience” is the innate sense of the law of God in each one of us. God has written his law in everyone’s heart. His voice echoes in every soul. We have seen above how Scripture also affirms this truth.
  2. We must listen carefully to our conscience for its voice can lose its proper influence if we do not take time to listen – It is important for every person to be sufficiently present to himself in order to hear and follow the voice of his conscience. This requirement of interiority is all the more necessary as life often distracts us from any reflection, self examination or introspection. (CCC # 1779) Ignoring the voice of our conscience does not mean it goes completely away. There can be many things that tweak our conscience and stir us to hear its voice. Some react well to these reminders, others with anger. But the point of the Catechism is that our conscience should not have to be tweaked or awakened, we should be in touch with it at all times by living a reflective life.
  3. Conscience must be formed and reinforced– It is true that we have a basic and innate sense of right and wrong and that God has written his law in our hearts. But the Catechism also reminds us that, due to sin, we must also be open to having our conscience formed and its judgments refined: Though human reason is, strictly speaking, truly capable by its own natural power and light of attaining to a true and certain knowledge of the one personal God…and of the natural law written in our hearts by the Creator; yet there are many obstacles which prevent reason from the effective and fruitful use of this inborn faculty…The human mind…is hampered in the attaining of such truths, not only by the impact of the senses and the imagination, but also by disordered appetites which are the consequences of original sin. So it happens that men in such matters easily persuade themselves that what they would not like to be true is false or at least doubtful. That is why man stands in need of being enlightened by God’s revelation about…religious and moral truths…so that they can be known by all men with ease, with firm certainty and with no admixture of error (CCC #s 37-38). Notice that the catechism does not speak of the conscience as being removed but rather that the intellect, influenced by sin and disordered appetites, tries to persuade us of other ways of thinking. Hence we attempt either to suppress the truth, or at least consider it doubtful and open to alternative interpretation. This is why we stand in need of the Scriptures and the teaching of the Church to help us overcome our tendency to suppress and confuse the truth.
  4. What then should the pastor, catechist, teacher, parent and evangelizer do? Speak the truth in love. Speak it with confidence, knowing that every person has to dignity of having a conscience and that even when that conscience has been suppressed or ignored, it can be reached. St. Paul gave good advice to Timothy in this regard: In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:1-5)

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On the Gift of Doing Just One Thing

One of the great lies of the world is that we “can have it all!” We live in the age of great and seemingly endless possibilities and the fact is we want too many conflicting things. We want to be popular but we want to stand for something. We want our kids to be raised well but we want double incomes. We want good health but we want to eat rich foods and avoid exercise. We want God but we want the world too.

The fact is we cannot have everything and we must make choices. In choosing certain things we preclude other things.

But the real key in life is to learn to do just one thing, to want just one thing. This theme of unicity, of doing and wanting one thing is a consistent theme of Scripture. Lets look at some passages and see what they have to tell us.

  1. This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, be thus minded…(Phil 3:13)
  2. “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,  but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”  (Luke 10:41)
  3. One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple. ( Ps 27:4)
  4. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8 )
  5. Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the regin of God (Lk 9:62)
  6. No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money (Matt 6:24)
  7. Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing (1 Kings 18:21)
  8. O adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God (James 4:4)
  9. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you would turn to the right or to the left. (Isaiah 30:21)

Well, you get the point. We have a decision to make. We are to choose God and thereby forsake the world. But the problem is that most of us want both. And if most are honest there will be an admission that the world is actually desired more than God.

But true serenity can only be found by seeking God, alone and above every desire. Our hearts were made for God. He has written his name on our heart and He alone can fulfill us.  Yet, we waver, we want everything. And, frankly these endless desires torture us. They are in conflict with each other and ultimately they are never satisfied anyway.

The grace for which to pray is to be single-hearted, to want only one thing, to want only God. The beatitude for which to pray is:  Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God (Matt 5:8) Most people miss the inner meaning of this beatitude.  The Greek word in this passage,  καθαροὶ (katharoi) is usually and properly translated as clean or pure in the usual sense. But a more extended meaning refers to something that is pure in the sense of being  unmixed with anything foreign, unalloyed. Hence there is the concept here of being single-hearted, having a pure and single motive, the desire to see God.  This is a very great blessing and God can give it to us.  Psalm 86:11 says,  Give me an undivided heart O Lord, that I may fear your name. The Latin Vulgate renders this verse as simplex fac cor meum. This is a great gift for which to pray: a simple, undivided heart. A heart that desires only God and what would lead me to him.

And by this one desire every other decision and desire is subsumed. This is what Paul means when he says, this one thing I do. He does not mean that he does not go here and there, or eat, or sleep. He simply means that everything he does is focused on, and supports the one thing: his goal to be with God forever.

A man journeying from Washington to New York would be on a fool’s errand if he took a road heading south. His destination is north. He may pull aside to get gas, or rest his eyes, but these things are only done to help him toward his goal.

A marathon runner does not stop to talk with friends, or step into a local bookstore to browse. He does one thing, he runs, he pursues the goal. Perhaps he will accept water offered. He might stop for brief moment to tie his shoe, but he only does these things because they help him to his goal.

But too many Christians who say heaven is their goal are heading south and stepping out of the race on fool’s errands.

The gift to be sought from the Lord is to be single-hearted, to have an undivided heart, the gift to do just one thing. Otherwise we are compromised, double-minded and just plain tired.

Impossible you say? With God, nothing is impossible.

OK, here’s one of the stranger videos I have posted to illustrate a point. But consider it. Its object is wrong, but its message is right. In the video there is a man who is so focused on just one thing that nothing else matters. He doesn’t even notice anything else. It’s just the one thing, that’s all he sees, that’s all that matters. Again, the object is wrong, but the idea is right, it’s all about one thing.

UPDATE – Thanks to a couple of readers who called my attention also to this movie clip from City Slickers (a movie I saw years ago but had forogtten). Please note there is one bad word in the clip but it “helps” make the point –

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Slideshow of Sanctity – A Meditation on the Gospel for the Sixth Sunday of the Year

In the Gospel for this Weekend’s Mass we are well into the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), and today we cover a good deal of Chapter 5. In a way the Lord is drawing a picture for us of the transformed human person. He is presenting a kind of slide show of what sanctity really is. In understanding this rather lengthy text we do well to reflect on it in three parts.

I.  The Power of New Life in Christ – We have discussed before that an important principle of the Christian moral vision is to understand that it is essentially received, not achieved. Holiness is a work of God. The human being acting out the power of his flesh alone cannot keep, and surely not fulfill, the Law. The experience of God’s people in the Old Testament bears this out. True holiness (and not mere ethical rule keeping) is possible only by and through God’s grace.

In this sense we must understand the moral vision given by Jesus as a description rather than a mere prescription. Notice what the text says here: I have come not to abolish but to fulfill [the Law]. It is Jesus who fulfills the Law. And we, who are more and more in him, and He in us do what He does. It is His work.

Thus, what Jesus is doing here is to describe what a transformed human being is like:

  • When Jesus Christ really begins to live his life in us (Gal 2:20),
  • When the power of His cross goes to work in us and puts sin to death (Rom 6:2),
  • When Jesus increases and we decrease (Jn 3:30),
  • When our old self is crucified with him so that sin will no longer master us (Rom 6:6-7),
  • When and as all this takes place we are transformed.

This is a work of God, the power is in the Blood and the cross. The power comes to us by grace. It is all a work of God.

Hence, Jesus, in today’s Gospel is not giving us a rigorous set of rules to follow (and they are rigorous) but, is describing what the transformed human person is like. Clearly his description is not some merely impossible ideal, but is set forth as the normal Christian life. The normal Christian is a transformed human person. The normal Christian, to use Jesus description from today’s Gospel, has authority over his anger and sexuality, loves his wife and family and is a man of his word. All this comes to him as the fruit of God’s grace.

It is very important to understand that this is a life offered to us by God. Otherwise we are simply left with moralism here: “Stop being so angry and unchaste, stop getting divorced, and stop lying.”  Rather, what is offered here is new life in Christ where, on account of an inner transformation by the power of grace, we see anger abate, unchastity diminish, the love of others increase, and we speak the truth in love. So the power to do this is not from our flesh, but from the Lord, through the power of his cross to put sin to death and bring forth new life in us.

II. The Principle of New Life in Christ – The key word in Jesus’ moral vision is that, by his grace we do not merely keep the Law, but fulfill it. The key word is “fulfill” and to fulfill means to fill something full, to meet more than what is minimally required and to enter into the full vision and meaning of the Law.

Thus, to use Jesus’ examples in today’s Gospel:

  • It is not enough to refrain from killing, true life in God means that vengeful hatred is removed from me and I love even my enemy and am reconciled with people I have wrongfully hurt or offended.
  • It is not enough merely to avoid adultery, true life in Christ means that I am chaste and pure even in my thoughts, that by God’s grace I have authority over what I am thinking and shun unchaste thoughts.
  • It is not enough to merely follow proper divorce law. True life in Christ means I don’t even want to divorce my wife. I actually love her, and my children. I am reconciled to her and accepting that she is not perfect and neither am I.
  • It is not enough to simply refrain from swearing false oaths. True life in Christ means speaking the truth in love, being a man of my words. The grace of God keeps me from being duplicitous and deceitful.

In all these ways the law is not merely kept, it is fulfilled. It is filled full in that all this implications are abundantly and joyfully lived as Jesus Christ transforms me. Christ came to fulfill the Law and in Christ, as our union with him grows more perfect we also fulfill the Law. For what Christ does we do, for we are in him and he is in us. As he says,  I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

III.  The Picture of New Life in Christ. – The Lord then goes on to six pictures of what a transformed human being looks like. In the Gospel for today’s Mass we look at only four. These pictures are often called “antitheses” since they are all formulated as:  You have heard that it was said……but I say to you. But the key point is to see then as pictures of what happens to a person in whom Jesus Christ is really living. Let’s look at each.

A.  On Anger – The text begins: You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with brother will be liable to judgment; and whoever says to brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Thus the Lord teaches us that the commandment not to kill has a deeper meaning that must be filled full. For, what leads to murder? Is it not the furnace of anger, retribution, and hatred within us? We may all experience a flash of anger and it passes. Further there is such a thing as righteous anger which is caused by the perception of injustice and sin. The Lord himself exhibited this sort of anger a lot. These sorts of anger are not condemned. Rather the anger that is condemned is the anger that is born on hate and a desire for revenge, an anger that goes so far as to wish the other were dead and to deny that they possess any real human dignity. This is what leads to murder.

That the Lord has this sort of anger in mind is revealed in the examples he uses of the expression of this anger: Raqa and fool. These words express contempt and hatred. Raqa is untranslatable, but seems to have had the same impact as the “N-word” today. It is a very hurtful word expressing deep contempt. Now this has to go. It cannot remain in a person in whom the Lord authentically lives. And it will go, to the degree that we allow Christ to live in us. If that be the case then increasingly we cannot hate others, for the Lord is in us and he died for all out of love. How can I hate someone he loves?

The Lord makes it clear that if this doesn’t go, we are going to jail: Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny. Thus, either we allow the Lord to effect this reconciliation in us or we’re off to jail. Whether the jail is hell or purgatory (for it would seem there is release from this jail after the last penny is paid), jail it is. We are not going to heaven until and unless this matter is resolved. Why delay the issue? Let the Lord work it now. Don’t  go to jail because of your grudges and stubborn refusal to admit your own offenses.

B. On Lust – The text begins: You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. – Thus the Lord teaches us that the commandment against adultery has a deeper meaning beyond merely transgressing marriage bounds. To fill this Law full means to be chaste in all matters and in mind and heart.

It is wrong to engage in any illicit sexual union, but if one is looking at pornography, and fanaticizing about others, sexually, beyond the bounds of marriage, one is already in adultery. What the Lord is offering us here is a clean mind and pure heart. He is offering us authority over our sexuality and thoughts. To some in the world, such a promise seems impossible. But God is able to do and increasingly for those who are in Christ, self-mastery increases and purity of mind and heart become a greater reality. Our flesh alone cannot do this, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory in Christ. It is his work in us to give us these gifts.

The text goes on to say: If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna. Therefore we have to be serious about these matters. The Lord is using hyperbole, but he is using it to make a firm point. It is to say that it is more serious to sin in this matter than to lose your eyesight, or limbs from your body.

Now, most moderns don’t think this way. They make light of sin, and sexual sin, in particular. But God does not make light of it. Jesus here teaches that it is worse to lose our soul than to lose parts of our body. If we were losing our eyesight or a limb to cancer we would probably be begging the Lord to deliver us. But why do we not think of sin in this way? Why are we not horrified by sexual sin in the same degree? We are clearly skewed in our thinking. Jesus is clear that these sorts of sins can land us in hell (which is here called Gehenna). Lustful thinking, pornography, masturbation, fornication, adultery, contraception and homosexual acts have to go. They are not part of life in Christ who wants to give us freedom and authority over our sexual passions.

Let’s be clear, a lot of people today are in some pretty serious bondage when it comes to sexuality. Jesus stands before us all and says, “Come let me live in you and give you the gift of sexual purity. It will be my gift to you, it will be my work in you to set you free from all disordered passion.”

C. On Divorce – The text says, It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife – unless the marriage is unlawful – causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery – At the time of the Lord Jesus, divorce was permitted in Israel, but a man had to follow the rules. But the Lord says to fulfill marriage law is to love your wife, love your husband. He teaches that when He begins to live his life in us, love for our spouse will grow, love for our children will deepen. The thought of divorce won’t even occur! Who wants to divorce someone they love?

If the Lord can help us to love our enemy he can surely cause us to love our spouse. It is a true fact that some of the deepest hurts can occur in marriage. But the Lord can heal all wounds and help us to forget the painful things of the past.

Here too the Lord is blunt. He simply refuses to recognize all this little pieces of paper people run about with saying that some human judge approved their divorce. God is not impressed with the legal document and may well still consider the person married!

Here too the Lord says, “Come to me, bring me your broken marriage, your broken heart and let me bring healing. It is a true fact that sometimes one has a spouse who simply leaves or refuses to live in peace. Here too the Lord can heal by removing the loneliness and hurt that might drive one to a second marriage where (often) there is more trouble waiting. Let the Lord bring strength, healing and restore unity. He still works miracles, and sometimes that is what it is going to take.

D. On Oaths – The text says, Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one. The people of Jesus’ time had lots of legalism associated with oaths and lots of tricky ways of watering down the truth. The Lord says, just cut it all out, and be a man or a woman of your word. When Jesus begins to live his life in us, we speak the truth in Love. When we make commitments we are faithful to them, we do not lie and we don’t play games with the truth. God is truth, and as he lives in us, we too become the truth, speak the truth and live the truth. This is the gift that Jesus offers us here.

So then, Here are four pictures of a transformed human being. Remember, the Sermon on the Mount is filled with promises more than prescriptions, descriptions more than prescriptions. The Lord is promising us here what he can and will do for us.

I am a witness to the transformative power of Jesus’ grace and love. And I promise you brethren, in the Lord Jesus Christ,  that everything he offers us here, he will do. It is already happening and taking deep root in my life. How about you? Are you a witness?

This song speaks of the power of Jesus to transform us and of our need for that grace. The text says:

You breathe in me, And I’m alive with the power of your holiness.
You breathe in me, And you revive feelings in my soul
That I have laid to rest
 –
Chorus: So breathe in me, I need you now.
I’ve never felt so dead within, So breathe in me. Maybe somehow
You can breathe new life in me again
–
I used to be so sensitive to the light that leads to where you are
Now I’ve acquired these callouses with the darkness of a cold and jaded heart.
–

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On Becoming What God Made You to Be As a Road to Glory

There was movie some years ago that most of you have seen called Toy Story. It had a deep impact on me for it came out a critical moment in my life.

It was my 33rd  year of life and my 6th year of priesthood. I had suffered a nervous breakdown that required a week in the hospital, and a month off recuperate. What drove me there was being asked to take an assignment I really wasn’t ready for.  I was asked to pastor a parish that was in serious financial trouble.

Invincible? But I was a young priest at the time and was still emerging from my “invincible” stage where I thought I could do anything. I guess it’s pretty common for men in their twenties to figure they can handle anything. In those years opinions are strong, dreams are still vivid, and hard experience has not always taught its tough lessons yet.

So the young priest in me said yes to the assignment, even though I had reservations. It’s proper to say yes to the bishop, but he had asked me to discern not simply obey. Soon enough the panic attacks came, followed by waves of depression, and days where I could barely come out of my room. All this and I hadn’t even reported to the assignment yet. A priest friend, my pastor, reached out and helped me discern I wasn’t ready and that it was OK to ask the Bishop to reconsider. I did so, but felt I was an utter failure. My personal sense of this humiliation had me further decline into depression and that’s when I sought help,  with the encouragement of others. A week in the hospital for evaluation, a month off to recuperate, and years of good spiritual direction, psychotherapy and sacraments  have been God’s way of restoring me to health.

Somewhere in the early stages of all this I saw Toy Story. And right away I know I was Buzz Lightyear.  Buzz begins the movie as a brash, would be hero, and savior of the planet. Buzz Lightyear’s theme was, To infinity….and beyond!  The only problem was that he seemed to have no idea he was just a toy. He actually thought he had come from a distant planet to save the earth. He often radios to the mother ship and, hearing nothing, concludes she must be just out of range.

At a critical point in the movie  it begins to dawn on Buzz that he is just a toy and may not be able to save the day. He struggles with this realization and resists it, leaping  to the rescue not knowing he can’t actually fly. He falls from the second floor and his arm breaks off. (See the second video below) Suddenly he realizes he is just a toy, that all his boasting was based on an illusion. He then sinks into a major depression since his sense of himself has been destroyed.

But God wasn’t done with Buzz Lightyear. In the end Buzz saves the day by simply being what he was made to be, a toy. One of the kids takes him up and attaches a rocket to him. In the end that enables Buzz to fly and save the day at a critical moment, with the help of friends.

The lesson of the movie is a critical one and certainly the lesson I learned in my own mid-life crisis.  And the lesson is that our greatness does not come from our own self-inflated notions, but from God. And God does not need us to pretend to be something we are not. What he needs is for us to be exactly what he made us to be. Buzz succeeds by realizing that he is a toy and being just that, a toy. As such he saves the day. For me  too, I have come to realize that I am but a man. I have certain gifts and lack others. Certain doors are open to me and others are not. But when I accept that, and come to depend on God to fashion and use me according to his will, then great things are possible. But if we go on living in sinful illusion and grandeur we miss our truest call and place in God’s kingdom. Ultimately we must come to discover the man or woman that God created us to be. That is our true greatness.

All from a cartoon.

Here is another very brief video from the Superbowl ads that makes a similar point. A young boy thinks he is invincible and strives to order about inanimate creatures. But then, like Buzz Lightyear (and me), he discovers his limits and doubts. In the end he actually succeeds. But what we know, and he still has to learn, is that the power is really from his “Father.”

Here is the clip from Toy Story where Buzz discovers he is just a toy:

And here is where buzz saves the day. A kid had attached a rocket to his back, meaning it for ill, (but God intended it for good!).

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Enduring Correction Gladly. A Meditation by a Saint of the Church on the "Difficult Gift"

One of the harder things to accept in life is when others correct us. Usually when confronted by a shortcoming of ours we are fearful, and our egos, which tend to be fragile, react with anger and resentment. But Scripture reminds us in many places that to be corrected is in fact a gift:

  1. When the Just man corrects me it is kindness. Let him rebuke me–it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it. (Psalm 141:5)
  2. It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools. (Eccl 7:5)
  3. He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored. (Prov 13:18)
  4. He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding.. (Prov 15:31-32)
  5. To one who listens, valid criticism is like a gold earring or other gold jewelry. (Prov 25:12)

So correction, even if not perfectly given, is a gift. But it is a hard gift, in which our flesh struggles to rejoice. We are easily hurt and offended, or perhaps we are angry, because we see the person who corrects us as far from perfect himself and wonder why we are being singled out. So correction is hard for our flesh (our sin nature) to endure.

In the modern age there seem to be additional cultural obstacles to accepting correction.

  1. It is widely held that this current age has attained a kind of enlightenment that previous ages lacked. We are very mesmerized by our technology and science and maintain an illusion of greatness. Hence the teachings and traditions of the elders are often rejected as relics from a time more rude, bigoted, and ignorant.
  2. We also live in a culture that celebrates youth and often isolates its elders.
  3. Respect of elders is not as taught or insisted upon as in previous times.
  4. In an age dominated by the notion that truth is relative, everything is thus reduced to the level of opinion, and my opinion is just as good as yours.

This past week in the breviary we have been  reading from the Abbot, St Dorotheus of Gaza and, specifically  his work De accusatione sui ipsius (Concerning the accusation of one’s very self). He has some important insights I would like to share and reflect on. Allow me to quote, and then comment. His text is in bold, black italics, my comments are in normal text red.

The man who finds fault with himself accepts all things cheerfully – misfortune, loss, disgrace, dishonor and any other kind of adversity. He believes that he is deserving of all these things and nothing can disturb him. No one could be more at peace than this man….. [Again] the reason for all disturbance, if we look to its roots, is that no one finds fault with himself. This is the source of all annoyance and distress [in the matter of correction]. . This is why we sometimes have no rest.” 

In our psychotherapeutic culture we tend to consider most notions of our own guilt as an unhealthy, morbid guilt. Thus, one might conclude that Abbot Dorotheus was giving unsound advice. Now there is such a thing as morbid guilt, but this is not what our author commends. Rather he is commending a healthy and sober notion that we are all sinners and that we offend in many ways, both hidden and open.

Scripture says, In many ways all of us give offense (James 3:2) and the righteous falls seven times and daily rises again (Prov  24:16) and yet again, There is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins (Eccles 7:20). The good Abbot is commending a sober realization of this fact and indicating it is a source of peace for us.

Hence we are not exempt from the need for correction and, if we have a lively understanding of this fact, nothing can disturb us. The just man or woman will assess his life properly and conclude, “I am more blessed than I deserve. I have offended in many ways, but God who is merciful has spared me the full impact of my sinful choices. Hence, when I am corrected, I realize that I more than need and deserve correction. Even when I am not corrected perfectly, or may feel singled out, it remains true that I have often escaped rebuke when I DID deserve it.”

This sort of thinking and premise helps steel the soul against the resentfulness that sometimes comes when we are rebuked. There is a kind of serenity that comes when we say, “My marriage is not perfect because I am in it….The Church is not sinless, because I am a member, this situation is messy because I am involved. There is an inner peace and we are far less disturbed by life’s imperfections when we own our own stuff and stay in our lane. Correction is much more easily received by a serene person aware that they are in need of assistance and correction.

But perhaps you will offer me this objection: “Suppose my brother injures me, and on examining myself I find that I have not given him any cause. Why should I blame myself?” Certainly if someone examines himself carefully and with fear of God, he will never find himself completely innocent. He will see that he has given some provocation by an action, a word or by his manner. If he does find that he is not guilty in any of these ways, certainly he must have injured that brother somehow at some other time. Or perhaps he has been a source of annoyance to some other brother. For this reason he deserves to endure the injury because of many other sins that he has committed on other occasions.

Our flesh, our sin nature, is so quick to want to declare ourselves innocent. Too often we carelessly go through life unaware of the grief and harm we cause, unaware of how difficult we can be to live with.

Scripture says, Who of us can discern his own errors? Forgive my hidden faults, O Lord (Psalm 19:12), and again, You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence (Psalm 90:8).

We think our side of the story is the only side. Well, a one sided pancake is pretty thin.  And even if is true that I do not deserve blame in this exact instance, I am still serene by the knowledge that I never got half the stripes and criticism I really deserved. More often than not I escaped rebuke, punishment and correction. It’s OK to let the scale tip back a bit.

The attitude of what I “deserve” that robs us of a lot or serenity and makes us difficult to correct. Expectations of what I “deserve” are premeditated resentments and cause all sorts of protests to issue from me that make me incorrigible (incapable of correction).  The truth is, if God were “fair” and we all really got what we “deserve” we’d all be in Hell right now. We ought to be very careful of announcing what we deserve for we have quite a debt in this department.

We must not be surprised when we are rebuked by holy men. We have no other path to peace but this. ….If a person is engaged in prayer or contemplation, he can easily take a rebuke from his brother and be unmoved by it. On other occasions affection toward a brother is a strong reason; love bears all things with the utmost patience. Here then are two other helps to being able to accept correction and rebuke cheerfully.

When one prays, he is anchored and not easily disturbed by contrary seas. When one prays she begins to discover he dignity is from God and not merely what others think. The soul who prays is delivered, in stages, from serving two masters and from the obsession with popularity and seeming to be perfect in the eyes of others. Hence rebuke and correction are no longer devastating. One seeks only to please God and the correction and reality checks others can offer are seen as helps on the journey to God. Others can help me to see myself as I really am. And whatever rebuke or correction is offered, it can be taken back to prayer and discerned in terms of its accuracy and application. For, not every correction we receive is always of God. Through prayer and spiritual direction the soul is not vexed by correction, it is glad for the revelation and eager to discern it with God. 

Note too how St. Dorotheus indicates that love can help us bear the difficulty of being corrected. When we love others we are more able to hear even difficult things from them. Mutual love, respect, and trust are a good environment for fraternal correction to find its mark.

Just some advice from an old saint, St. Dorotheus, an Abbot who lived a monastery in the Gaza desert in the 7th Century. More his teachings are here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorotheus_of_Gaza

 Here’s a charming and clever Ad from this year’s Super Bowl. It shows two border guards barely enduring each other’s existence. But for a moment the ice breaks through a shared interest and we think perhaps the scorn will give way to mutual respect and mutual correction of one another’s perceptions. Something to hope for anyway:

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To Re-Propose Rather than to Impose – A Reflection on The Latin Mass and Traditional Forms

I had the privilege of being on the Catholic Answers Live radio program on Monday. The topic was the Traditional Latin Mass. The Host, Patrick Coffin, presents an excellent show each night and is heard on most Catholic radio stations 6-8 pm Eastern Time.

You can hear the whole, hour long interview here: Catholic Answers Live – The Latin Mass.

I would like to mention a few of the topics that came up in the show either by Mr. Coffin, or by callers.

Mark your Calendar – And while we discuss some Liturgical topics please also mark your calendar for a splendid celebration of a Pontifical Solemn High Mass at the High Altar of the Great Upper Church of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception here in Washington DC. It will Take place Saturday, April 9, 2011 at 1:00pm. The Celebrant will be Archbishop Joseph DiNoia, OP, Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Liturgy. Here’s a flyer you can print: Pontifical Mass Flyer. The picture from last year’s Mass is to upper right of this post.

Among the issues discussed in the radio interview are some of these:

1. To Re-propose tradition rather than to impose – Several of the questions surrounded the issue of how far to go with diversity in the liturgy and what can be done to root the Church more deeply in traditional forms of the liturgy. In this matter  I have found that Pope Benedict has taken an approach wherein he has chosen to re-propose traditional elements, and the extraordinary form of the Mass rather than to impose them.

There are some in more traditional circles that would like him to use a heavier hand and simply abolish what they consider less desirable things such as modern instruments, Mass facing the people, communion in the hand, and so forth. There are others who fear that some of the freedoms they now enjoy in the ordinary form of the Mass will be simply taken away by the Pope.

But in all this Pope Benedict has a pastor’s heart. He has written clearly of his concerns over certain trends in modern liturgical practice. However, it would seem that his approach has been to re-propose more traditional practices and allow them greater room in the Church. In so doing he signals bishops and priests that they should be freer make use of such options. With the faithful more widely exposed to traditional elements, their beauty and value can be appreciated anew by the wider Church, and they will also excerpt increasing influence. But this will be done in an organic way that does not shock some of the faithful or provoke hostile reaction.

I must say that I have come to appreciate the value of this approach. As a diocesan priest I minister to a wide variety of the faithful, many of whom would not easily understand or accept a sudden imposition of the things preferred by Catholics of a more traditional bent. Mass said, ad orientem  is appealing to me for a wide variety of reasons. But many are not ready for a shift back. The Pope has modeled the option in the Sistine Chapel for the new Mass. I have made occasional use of this option at my own parish by using side altars for smaller Masses. The wider use of the extraordinary form in my own parish and throughout the world will also reacquaint the faithful with this posture. Little by little (“brick by brick,” shall we say) there will be a greater comfort with this eastward orientation. The same can be said for the use of Latin, Gregorian Chant having pride of place, communion on the tongue, kneeling for communion and the like. If the Pope were merely to impose such things we might find that pastoral harm was caused and open dissent might also be a problem.

2.  The silence of the Traditional Latin Mass was praised but also raised some questions. It is obviously harder for the faith to follow the Mass when much of it is whispered. Indeed, it had often been the practice of the faithful to quietly pray rosaries while Mass was going on, or say private prayers. The bells would signal them as to important moments requiring their attention. By the late 1940s and into the 1950s there was strong encouragement made for the faithful to use missals and follow along with the Mass while reading vernacular translations. The widely viewed black and white video of a Solemn High Latin Mass narrated by Fulton Sheen, (HERE),  was an attempt to teach the faithful more about the Mass and get them to use their hand missals. There were also experiments with using microphones on the altar, and beginning “dialogue” Masses wherein the faithful were encouraged to make the responses along with the server. So, while the silence of the Traditional Latin Mass is prayerful for some, others find it challenging to follow along. It takes a while to learn the visual cues as to where the priest is in the Mass and be able to follow. Some who experience this quietness are even provoked to anger that they are so “left out” of the Mass. Hence there are many different reactions to it.

3. The use of a sacred language. Some are bewildered by the use of a language that “no one understands” for the the Mass. But to this there are three answers.

First, the prayers are directed to God who understands Latin perfectly well. There is a tendency in modern liturgy to think its “all about me.” But the use of Latin makes it very clear we are directing our prayer to God, rather than to the edification of the congregation per se.

Second, liturgical Latin is not that hard and most of the faith have a familiarity with many of the responses. Some of the collects and other changeable prayers were obviously less well understood. But the English translation is readily available with the use of a hand missal.

Third, the use of a “sacred” language is not uncommon in human history. Notably, at the time of Jesus, the people spoke Aramaic in the streets and houses, but Hebrew in the synagogue and temple. There is no evidence that Jesus ever railed against such a practice and he, himself, read the Hebrew Scriptures in the synagogue. He had many concerns he expressed over the elitist and scornful religious leaders of his day and over certain religious practices. But the use of a sacred language in the liturgy was not among his listed concerns.

Balance – The use of the vernacular has many benefits, to be sure. But the loss of a common liturgical language is sad. Greater familiarity with the “mother tongue” of the Roman Catholic Church should be encouraged. Those who call the use of Latin “wrong” go too far. Latin can and should have a more frequent use than it currently does while not neglecting to appreciate the value that the vernacular has also brought.

4. One caller had an interesting question about the pronunciation of  Latin. He had been trained in classical Latin, and found that Church Latin sounds more like Italian. I got the sense that this grated on his ears! To be fair, the classical method of pronunciation has scholarly roots, but to me it sounds like Castilian Spanish. Theories abound about how the ancient Romans pronounced Latin. What puzzles me is why anyone thinks there was one way it was pronounced. Latin was spoken over a wide area from one end of the Mediterranean to the other, and north into Europe, later. Just as here in America, English is spoken with a wide variety of accents and pronunciation, surely Latin must also have had a wide variety of “sounds.” Church Latin simply took up the accent common in and around Rome. No doubt it does sound like Italian,  for the Italians are descendants of the Romans who lived in that region.

5. Problems in the Past – When I learned the Traditional Latin Mass back in the mid 1980s I interviewed a number of older priests and wondered why their generation had discarded something I thought was so beautiful. Most of them told me that in fact the Mass was often poorly celebrated. The Mass was hurried, the Latin was mumbled, the genuflections were half-hearted. There was great pressure to get things done. Low Mass on a  Sunday morning could be as short as 18 minutes. The more beautiful sung forms were rarely done and choirs had little skill when it came to executing the Chants.

There were exceptional parishes where things were done with greater solemnity and care, but the older guys told me the big picture was pretty bleak. Thus most welcomed the changes and found that the English imposed on them a more careful celebration in terms of how they said the prayers. It would seem therefore, before we idealize the past, we ought to have some sobriety that certain lacks and abuses may have given rise to the felt need for reform.

That said, we have tragically suffered and whole new series of abuses and problems. And the hoped for reforms were dashed on the rocks by a cultural storm that was blowing through the West. Continuity was lost and most have experienced a great tearing away from tradition and the Mass that the saints knew. With God’s grace we will find our way back to a greater continuity as the Pope re-proposes the tradition and seeks to knit together what is currently good with what has been lost.

Listen to the show if you get a chance, the link is above.

Plan as well to come the Pontifical Solemn High Mass here in DC if you live here or nearby. You won’t regret that you did. There is just nothing more splendid than a Solemn High Pontifical Mass. Archbishop DiNoia is also a fine homilist. Last year’s Mass was a great blessing with Bishop Slattery who is also a fine homilist. Here is a video clip of the day and info on how you can order the DVD if you so wish.

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Evangelical Author Sees Strengths in the Catholic Church

It is not uncommon among Catholics that we look to Evangelicals and, though deeply concerned about some of the theological stances, we admire the vibrancy of their communities. Some of their “megachurches” attract tens of thousands of worshippers. We see them as having a tradition of strong preaching and a good stance on the moral issues of our day. These communities attract many former Catholics who claim the strong, biblical preaching and sense of community and joy was what they found lacking in the Catholic Church. We  also see them as attracting many young adults, both single and married, a thing we are struggling in the Catholic Church to do.  At least, these are the perceptions.

But every now and then I happen upon a video or article that sheds light some of the struggles the Evangelicals have as well. And, as we look to them with an ocassional sneaking admiration for what we see, some of them look back at us with some admiration as well.  Last week an article appeared at the Patheos Website written by David French, an Evangelical author entitled: As Evangelicals Falter, Catholics and Mormons Lead. I want to share some excerpts of the full article (which you can read here: Evangelicals Falter?), and focus particularly on what he says regarding Catholics. As self-critical as we can sometimes be, it is helpful also to know how others see us as strong. Pray God we actually have these strengths and will continue to see them build. The text of the original article is in bold, italic, black text. My comments are in normal text red.

For years I’ve traveled the country, speaking to thousands of evangelical students, and find myself—even in front of “activist” organizations—virtually pleading for a sliver of courage or a trace of commitment in support of life or marriage. In response, I get encouragement, good words, and all too often nothing else.[But], on January 23, 2011, I stood, overwhelmed, in front of almost 2,000 pro-life students. I was overwhelmed by their energy, by their commitment to defending the defenseless, and by their gracious and Godly spirit….It was different. Instead of inspiring, I was inspired. Rather than exhorting others to greater levels of engagement, I was admonished for my own compromises…..And this audience was largely Catholic, and the Catholic Church for almost forty years has been the beating heart of the American pro-life movement. [What a great testimony to those young people with whom he met. It is a great tribute also to the Catholic Church to be described as the beating heart of the pro-life movement. To God be the Glory. While it is true that among us there are debates about whether we focus enough on abortion, and how we can better manifest an even stronger protest and and commitment to fight it, it is also true that others see us as great and prophetic leaders in the pro-life cause.

In the past 15 years we have gotten clearer and bolder. The faithful have insisted that priests and bishops be bolder and unqualified in this matter. And the focused battle has (paradoxically) been a source of renewal for us. God can make a way out of no way.  We are not as strong as we should be, but we are strong, and God has anointed us to this task: to be the beating heart of the American pro-life movement. All the more that we should avoid “heart disease” and stay as strong as others see us and be as strong as we know we grow to be.

There are, to be sure, dissenters, but they are fewer, and it’s getting harder and harder to be seen as a true Catholic if you support legal abortion. The faithful are insisting that bishops and priests draw the line in terms of disciplining pro-choice legislators who vote to fund abortion. While the debate continues about the prudential way to do this, it is clear the direction in which the Church is headed. Whatever ambiguity we may have sadly had in the past, it is giving way daily to a clearer stand].

As devout Catholics and faithful Mormons step forward boldly, evangelical Protestants appear in cultural disarray. The most popular of the new generation of evangelical pastors—Rick Warren and Joel Osteen—stay out of the cultural fray. Evangelical youth may have orthodox opinions on marriage or life, but they’re increasingly reluctant to voice those opinions, lest they appear “divisive” or “intolerant.” In fact, at times it appears as if much of the evangelical world has retreated into a defensive crouch, eager to promote its universally-loved work for the poor while abjectly apologizing for the cultural battles of years past. [There seems to be an over-correction the Evangelicals may be experiencing. Rev Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and others often took strong and public stands on the moral issues of the day. As a Catholic, I admired them for this but at times I cringed when they were less nuanced than I wished, or failed to make some necessary distinctions. Further, they often strayed a little closer to politics than I would and often used Old Testament texts in a mechanistic way that did always respect how Jesus recast them.

Sure enough, their action caused a strong and often strident backlash from secularists and progressivist theologians. At some level the backlash was deserved for the reasons already stated and also the perception that some of  their involvement in politics was too cozy. It would seem our author is noting that within Evangelicalism this took something of a toll. Some are weary and wary of the strident battles of the past and, it appears, have sought less controversial terrain. But the correction, according to French has gone too far].   

Why are Catholics and Mormons increasingly bold when so many evangelicals are increasingly timid? Why are Catholics so often leading on life and Mormons so often leading on marriage? The answer, I think, is theological and cultural, two words that expose profound weaknesses in American evangelicalism. [I would like to say I think Catholics are also showing something of a lead on marriage issues, but in an incomplete way. It is clear we are against Gay “marriage.” But how well do we really uphold true marriage in our lives? Our doctrine is clear enough, but in practice we have high numbers of divorce and annulments. Whereas the Mormans have large, strong,  and stable families, our witness in the actual way we live is sore comprimised. Hence,  our author does not see us as the strong witnesses to marriage we ought to be].

First, theology. One cannot spend five minutes with thoughtful Catholics without understanding how the defense of life is a fundamental and integral part of the DNA of the church. Since the defense of life is theologically-grounded, it is functionally and practically independent of any secular ideology. Nuns who one day attend a sit-in for immigrant rights may the next day do sidewalk counseling outside of Planned Parenthood. Bishops, “progressive” or conservative, defend life in Catholic hospitals. Catholics who study church doctrine, who immerse themselves in the teachings of the church, understand that to defend life is to imitate Christ. Life is not just an “issue,” for a Catholic; it is at the core of the Gospel. [Well, I wish what he said here was wholly true. There are unfortunately some aspects of  politics that separate Catholics out into two wings as we have discussed elsewhere on this blog. On one wing are Catholics who are pro-life and focused on the great moral issues of our time: Abortion, Euthanasia, Embryonic Stem cell research, sex education and so forth. On the other wing are Catholics  focused on the social issues: poverty, immigrant rights, capital  punishment, health care and so forth.

Our author’s picture of the nun sitting in for immigrant rights and protesting later in front of the PP “clinic” is beautiful but rarer than I would like. Not all Catholics easily stride back and forth between the two wings. I know many who do and would like to think I am one who does, but the truth is there ARE secular ideologies that negatively impact our ability to be truly prophetic. But pay attention fellow Catholics, someone sees us as strong in this area. Why don’t we strive to live up to the powerful image our Evangelical brother sees?

Thank God, too our theology IS very clear on life, seeing it not merely as an issue but as deeply rooted in the Gospel and the Tradition going all the way back to the Didache. Recall the strong reaction to Nancy Pelosi by ALL the bishops when she said it was something less than settled doctrine and only of recent origin. But it is long standing doctrine.  Abortion is an intrinsic moral evil without exception (ex toto genere suo). The doors are quickly closing on any Catholic who would hold otherwise].

Next, culture. The Mormon church knows what it is like to live outside the mainstream…..the Mormon culture is inherently resilient in the face of cultural headwinds… Evangelicals, by contrast, are often shocked when co-workers turn on them, or when the country drifts from its heritage. Mormons aren’t so easily shaken. After all, the country wasn’t theirs to begin with. [Note that Mr. French does not include Catholics in his description of the culture of persecution and how it steels one against compromise. At one time he could have said this of Catholics, prior to the 1950s. But as Catholics have emerged from the Catholic Ghetto and had a desire to join the mainstream we have struggled to avoid many compromises. Too many Catholics have as a goal that everyone like them.

There was a time when Catholics were widely hated and feared. We were strong and cohesive in those days. Our parishes were full, our families intact, our schools filled. Slowly we must recover our ability to experience the world’s hatred.

And it IS returning. Little by little, anger at the Church for her stance on the moral issues is building. It’s going to take strong Catholics to endure and stay. We are going to be tested in the years ahead. Bring it on! It may well be what the Church needs to be more deeply reformed and become more prophetic. I think Mr. French is right, the Mormons have not lost this, but I add that I think most Catholics have. But the times are already here when we’re going to have very little choice about rediscovering persecution if we choose to keep the faith in an uncompromised way].

For all our many virtues (and there are many: American evangelicals are among the most generous and loving people in the world), we generally have no conception of—or particular loyalty to—”church teaching” and tend to see marriage and life as “issues” rather than integral parts of our core theology. Since we’re busy being spiritual entrepreneurs, revolutionizing the whole concept of church every 90 seconds, we don’t have the kind of (relative) theological stability that has marked almost 2,000 years of Catholic history, and we can’t come close to matching the (again, relative) uniformity of teaching that marks the Mormon experience….[Well said. There is an ephemeral (passing, or transitory)  quality to evangelicalism that I think leads to a lack of depth and stability. Zeal and excitement have their place, but without roots, a mere wind carries one off to the next thing, and the next thing].  

We’re more unified than we’ve been in the past, but we’re a collection of subcultures that comprise a shaky, larger whole. And we are often desperate for acceptance. We view the transient scorn of popular culture as a virtual cataclysm, and our distressingly common health and wealth gospels wrongly teach us that Christian faith carries with it measurable earthly pleasures. We lack a theology of suffering. [Without a Pope or even fundamental liturgy to unite them, Evangelicals are really a loose-knit confederation. The Bible alone can’t unite them or focus them as a group. Niche marketing has compartmentalized them in many ways. 

Mr. French also has some very good insights as to the deep flaws of the prosperity gospel. If the point in life is to have God bless you with material things as a sign of favor, then it becomes hard to go up against the world. For everyone instinctively knows that to do so threatens the flow of the world’s blessings. 

A clear theology of suffering IS a Catholic strength that well captures Christ’s  fundamental demand that we take up our cross and follow him, that we endure the hatred of the world as he did. If we are looking to the world for blessings we are already compromised, and it is unlikely we will ever take the risk to be prophets, for we have too much to lose].   

Simply put, we evangelicals are blown and tossed by the cultural winds. Right now, the winds are blowing against us, and our young people are reluctant to engage. But God is sovereign, and the fate of the nation is in His hands, not ours. And if we fail, there are others—some from an ancient tradition, some from a new one—who may very well carry out His work with more faith and courage than we ever could.

An excellent article by Mr. French that both encourages us as Catholics but also challenges us to live up the good goals and qualities that others see in us.

Paul Washer is an Evangelical who also has a lot to say about some of the trends in Evangelicalism:

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On the Preventative Medicine of The Church’s Wisdom and Experience

As a teenager I remember resenting how adults would try and prevent me from doing what I pleased. They would often warn me not to “learn the hard way” that something was wrong. I would often be told that I should learn from them and their experiences not to make the same mistakes they did. The rebel in me thought that it might be fun and pleasurable to “make a few mistakes of my own.” Of course I pridefully thought that I would escape the consequences.

In the end of course they were right, and one the most valuable gifts I have received from others to have learned from their experience. As a pastor too I must say that my staff has preserved me from innumerable errors through their expertise and long experience with the parish.

The word “experience” comes from the Latin experientia, meaning the act of trying or testing. More deeply it comes from two Latin words,  ex (out of) + periri  (which is akin to periculum, meaning peril or danger). Hence “experience” refers to those have endured trials, perils, testing, and dangers,  and speak out of these to us so we don’t have to endure such things. It is a very great gift!

The Church too offers us the great gift of long experience. Indeed, one of the great advantages of making our home in the Catholic Church is that we are at the feet of a wise and experienced teacher who has “seen it all.” The Scriptures, the Catechism, the lives of the Saints, all the Church’s teaching,  is a wealth of knowledge and collected experience for us. Through this vast treasury The Church, as a good mother and teacher, helps us to learn from the experiences of others.

At this point I would like for G.K. Chesterton to do the talking:

The other day a well-known writer, otherwise quite well-informed, said that the Catholic Church is always the enemy of new ideas. It probably did not occur to him that his own remark was not exactly in the nature of a new idea. …Nevertheless, the man who made that remark about Catholics meant something….What he meant was that, in the modern world, the Catholic Church is in fact the enemy of many influential fashions; most of which … claim to be new. [But] nine out of ten of what we call new ideas, are simply old mistakes.

The Catholic Church has for one of her chief duties that of preventing people from making those old mistakes; from making them over and over again forever, as people always do if they are left to themselves….There is no other case of one continuous intelligent institution that has been thinking about thinking for two thousand years. Its experience naturally covers nearly all experiences; and nearly all errors.

The result is a map in which all the blind alleys and bad roads are clearly marked, all the ways that have been shown to be worthless by the best of all evidence: the evidence of those who have gone down them. On this map of the mind the errors are marked…[but] the greater part of it consists of playgrounds and happy hunting-fields, where the mind may have as much liberty as it likes. But [the Church] does definitely take the responsibility of marking certain roads as leading nowhere or leading to destruction…
By this means, it does prevent men from wasting their time or losing their lives upon paths that have been found futile or disastrous again and again in the past, but which might otherwise entrap travelers again and again in the future.

The Church does make herself responsible for warning her people against these; she does dogmatically defend humanity from its worst foes… Now all false issues have a way of looking quite fresh, especially to a fresh generation. ..[But] we must have something that will hold the four corners of the world still, while we make our social experiments or build our Utopias. (From Twelve Modern Apostles and Their Creeds (1926). Reprinted in The Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton, Vol. 3 Ignatius Press 1990)

Yes, what a gift. Many may take of the role of a pouty teenager and be resentful at any warning from the Church. But in the end, It’s a mighty fine gift to be able to learn from others and benefit from their experience. Here’s a funny ad  from yesterday’s Super Bowl that illustrates this: