I have a very close friend who is very friendly and outgoing. She is often the first to say hello to a stranger and greets all who come into her presence with a smile and maybe even a hug. However, she gets easily frustrated by what she calls, “mediocre Christian responses” to her greetings. I have learned to share in this frustration because its source should be obvious. However, it is subtle and hidden.
Here is an example of a mediocre Christian response: When asked, “How are you doing today?” it is common for us to reply, “I am OK” or “hanging in there.” That is a mediocre Christian response. If we are made in the image and likeness of God, then we have to be doing better than “OK.” The Evangelist Matthew tells us that God cares even for the sparrow and therefore, he is deeply concerned for us. (Matthew 10:29). So, we have to be doing better than “Hanging in there.”
My close friend is so deeply bothered by these mediocre Christian responses that she refuses to give any herself. In fact, when asked, “How are you doing?’ she most often says, “Blessed and highly favored!” Even if she is having a bad day, she is blessed and highly favored by God and does not mind saying so.
Last fall during a homily, I challenged members of my parish to avoid mediocre Christian responses. I challenged them to respond to a greeting from each other and even those outside of church with a proclamation of God’s goodness and love. When asked, “How’s it going?” try saying something like, “God loves me, so it’s going great.” I challenged my brothers and sisters to do this because, I had already given this a try and I found, it really works. I tried it at my school. I tried it with my family and neighbors. I even tried it in the grocery store at the check-out counter. Each and every time, my answer was received with a least a smile if not a reciprocal affirmation of faith.
Even at the end of a conversation, rather than saying “good-bye” or “see you later” we said, “God bless!” To date, no one has reported a negative response. No one got offended and no one rejected our good will. In fact, we often get a sincere, heart felt “Thank you” or “God bless you too!”
Brothers and sisters, Christ is everywhere and it is our calling to bring His presence and His grace to the attention of others. I challenge you, just as I challenged my parish, to avoid mediocre Christian responses and to remind yourself and others that you are indeed, “Blessed and highly favored!”
Some were burned alive, others thrown to wild beasts. Some had their skin flayed off. One had her breasts cut off, another, her eyes gouged out. Some were beheaded, others thrust through with swords. These are the Martyrs and great heroes of the early Church. They suffered much and gained everything. Their death was like seed that caused the Church to grow by God’s grace. New life comes from the Cross. Jesus proved it and the martyrs demonstrate it. The more the world hates and kills us the stronger we become. After almost every widespread persecution the Church grows more numerous and more intense. It is the words of Jesus Christ that foretold this: “And I, when I be lifted up from the earth (i..e on the Cross) will draw all people unto me.” (Jn 12:32). Where ever the Church is persecuted, Christ is still lifted up on the Cross in his mystical Body. Sure enough, in this way he draws even more unto him.
So many of us have it easy compared to the martyrs. They were willing to suffer death for the faith, many of us cannot even bear to be unpopular for it. Pray for courage from the intercession of the martyrs. It seems it will become increasingly necessary in the years ahead.
I put this video together to commemorate the Early Martyrs, especially those listed in the Roman Canon. Along with the pictures is a hymn to the Martyrs, Monteverdi’s setting of Deus Tuorum Militum. Here is the translation:
Deus tuorum militumO God, thou who art the portion
Sors et corona, praemiumthe crown and the reward of thy soldiers,
Laudes canentes Martyrisabsolve from the chains of sin, those
Absolve nexu criminissinging the praises of thy martyr.
Poenas cucurrit fortiter Bravely he/she ran the way of torture,
Et sustulit viriliter and suffered courageously,
Fundensque pro te sanguinemand shedding his/her blood for thee,
Aeterna dona possidet.(now) possesses eternal gifts.
Laus et perennis gloriaPraise and continual glorybe
Deo Patri et Filio to God the Father and Son,
Sancto simul Paraclito likewise the Holy Spirit
In sempiterna saecula. Amen unto eternal ages. Amen
In the article just below, Susan Timoney has called to our attention that latest notion of the “culture of death.” What is the “culture of death” you might ask. Essentially what it amounts to is that the “solution” to problems seems (increasingly) to be the death(or non-existence) of a human being, or of human beings in general. If a baby is inconvenient or has birthdefects or is in somehow not preferred, abort (kill) the baby. If a prisoner has committed serious crimes, kill him. If a person is in the final stages of life and has difficulties that minimize the quality of life, kill the patient, or let him kill himself. Even our entertainment is deadly in nature. The typical adventure movie begins by some injustice or act of violence. Then our hero steps on the scene and, after about an hour and a half of killing people, breaking things, crashing cars, blowing up stuff etc., justice is restored and our hero walks off the scene with the girl in his arms. What was the solution to injustice? Why of course, death.
Save the Planet by Dying! And now, in order to save the planet what is the solution? Our old friend, death, or in this case, the premeditated non existence of people through contraception. You see we have to minimize our “carbon footprint” as a species so to “save the planet” we should block the existence of new human beings. (Ever notice how, only people who are already alive suggest that others should not exist?) OK, so lets all agree that a clean planet with well managed resources is a good thing. But not if no one is around to enjoy it. The secular worldview sees the planet as an end in it itself. The Judeo/Christian worldview sees the earth has having been made for the human race and given to us by God (cf Gen. 1:28) who told us to be fruitful and multiply.
Malthus was Wrong – For well over a century now the alarmists have told us we would run out of food and other resources. We have not. We have gotten smarter. We farm more efficiently and manage our resources better. There is plenty of food to go around. It is corruption and injustice that keeps some of the poor from being well fed, not a lack of resources. But the culture of death insists on death and non-existence as a solution. Most of this kind of talk comes from the affluent West and western-style cultures.
Getting What We Want? – Well, perhaps the affluent West is about to get what it wants to dole out to others: increasing non-existence. It seems we are slowing going out of business. With birthrates plummeting throughout Europe and other Western democracies the writing is on the wall as never before: non-existence is looming ever larger. In France the birthrate is 1.8 children per family, well below the replacement level of 2.1 Ah! Good News! says the culture of death crowd. Not so fast. There is another birthrate in France that is quite different. Muslim families in France have a birthrate of 8.1 children per family. Europeans who have lost their love for life are simply being replaced by others who do love life. Europe as we know it today is going out of existence. Everywhere, in Germany, Italy, England and Spain, Japan too and other western style democracies too are being replaced.
Committing Suicide – And What of the Church? Last year the Roman Catholic Church was displaced as the largest religion in the world by Muslim believers who have taken the top spot. Not only is Western Culture committing a kind of suicide but so are the Catholics and other Christians there. The Catholic Church has warned of the dangers of contraception for years and the world, even many Catholics, have laughed at this “archaic” teaching. Well, it is time to wake up. We are committing suicide, we are going out of existence. It is almost as if the judgement of God is upon us, saying, “If you do not love life, you will be replaced by those who do.” God often strengthened Israel’s opponents in the Old Testament in order to punish and purify Israel. I wonder if something similar isn’ t happening here. The Christian West has cast aside its love of life and kicked faith to the curb. The Muslims who DO love life and have NOT kicked faith(though not our faith) to the curb are thriving. Pay attention.
Can’t Happen?? “Well”, you say, “It cannot happen. The Cathedrals of Europe will not become Mosques.” Think again. Ephesus was once the thriving center of a large Christian community in Asia Minor. This great city had some superstar Bishops. Paul had been there three years, possibly Peter, Then John the Beloved Apostle became its Bishop and Mother Mary according to tradition lived there in John’s household. But the Lord warned Ephesus: Yet I hold this against you: you have lost the love you had at first. Realize how far you have fallen. Repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. (Rev 2:4-5). Today the Church in Ephesus is gone, the city lies in ruins. The other six Churches are also gone. Modern Day Turkey, though officially secular is predominately Muslim. North Africa was once a thriving Catholic area. There were over 500 bishops, among them the great Augustine and Cyprian. Many Church Fathers too: Athanasius, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, and Cyril. Today the ruins of the north African Church lie buried under the sand now trod by a population that is almost 100% Muslim. At least these ancient parts of the Church had the “dignity” of being conquered. We, it seems, at least in the Christian West, have prefered the more cowardly way of suicide instead of courageously living our Catholic Faith and insisting on its truth in the midst of ridicule and opposition.
A Very Different Future is on the Doorstep – Ah, but some may say, Msgr. Pope is bigoted in suggesting that there is anything wrong with Muslims replacing Christians. Well, I have nothing personally against the Muslims. I have just praised their zeal for their faith and zest for life. But the fact is, they do not, as a group, share our most basic beliefs and values. The Muslim World and faith are not known for accepting pluralistic societies. Religious tolerance is not a widespread concept among them. It could get very difficult for Christians and other religious traditions in the future. We just have to be sober about this. Western style democracy and Islam have had a troubled co-existence. It is not an unknown pair but it is rarer. Sharia law will likely replace many western notions of Law. And frankly, I wonder how much the cultures that replace the West will really care about environmental issues. I hope to be wrong about all of this but the world of the future is going to be very very different. And the future isn’t that far away. In less than 40 years France and most of Europe will be majority Muslim. The fact is I do love my Christian and Western Culture and DO want to preserve it. This does not make me a bigot. We have something worth saving, something different and to my mind much better than Islam. Western culture is ailing to be sure but if we can return to our Judeo/Christian roots there is something great to be saved and preserved. We ought to be alarmed to see our way of life so sick. We ought to seek healing from our God and hope to preserve the best of what we have achieved by God’s Grace.
Shame on Us – And we Christians collectively have brought most of this on ourselves. This has happened on our watch in a culture where Christians are the vast majority. We have ignored our own Christian tradition that forbids contraception and embraced the culture of death. It looks like we are getting just what we want: death and non-existence. The Church has warned us but we have rejected her teaching and, at least collectively in the West, seem bent on contracepting and aborting our selves right out of existence. Shame on us.
The Remnant – If you are reading this you may be an exception. There ARE Christians who still love life. My brother and sister-in-law are expecting their 6th child. My other other brother and his wife have three. Both famlies practice their faith. Perhaps you who read this are doing your part too. But too many Christians, too many Catholics have allowed themselves to be deceived, to prefer death to life.
The following video depicts the demographic implosion at work in Europe and other Western cultures. It presents some very sobering truth. Watch it if you dare. Share it if you care.
When you hear a phrase like “culture of death” do you think it seems a bit exaggerated? I tend to like to err on the side of optimism. However, that is sorely tested when I read stories like the one in today’s Wall Street Journal titled ” America’s Babies Are Ruining Everything.” Two researchers from Oregon State have written a study that suggests that having less children will greatly help reducing the world’s carbon foot print.
If you are someone who recycles, installs energy efficient windows, cuts back on the number of miles you drive in an energy efficient car, but chooses to have two children, you add nearly 40 times the amount of carbon dioxide emissions you had saved on the above measures. William McGurn writes “The basic premise of the study is that a person is responsible for emissions of his or her descendants.”
The Culture of Death
This kind of thinking is an example of what Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI mean when they speak of a “culture of death.” This research wants us to believe that the world is worse off for the birth of children, that somehow we have to get serious about limiting births. Gases aside, Japan, China and Western Europe are facing serious societal problems for having encouraged or legislated the limiting of the number of children a family can have or limiting and placing a higher value on boy babies. This is a serious moral issues with a profound lack of faith at its foundation.
The Gift of Life
God is the author of life and so every human life is both intended by God and a gift. Surely, when God gave stewardship of the earth and its resources to man and woman, God envisioned a partnership in which life can flourish (human, animal and plant). To be sure there are serious challenges we face is making food, water and resources available to all people, but people on all sides of the political debate agree that there are solutions to those problems.
Going Green with God
Pope Benedict is committed to going green because it is the responsible stewardship to which God pledged us at the moment of the creation of man and because Pope Benedict knows that the only real reason for “going green” is to enhance the quality of life for all women and men and to exercise good stewardship of God’s gifts.
Witnesses to the Culture of Life
Learning about studies like this one, carefully reading the news, getting involved in the complicated process of healthcare reform and what it will say with regard to abortion, learning about euthanasia , getting involved in the same-sex marriage debate, is a responsibility of discipleship and in particular the lay mission and vocation. There are people in many segments of society who are chipping away fundamental Judeo-Christian values that have shaped our country from its beginning. We have be prepared to witness to the Good News and to the culture of life.
Today we have a post from a guest blogger: Anthony Lickteig is one of our seminarians from the Archdiocese of Washington. He is entering his fourth year of Theology and will be ordained a transitional deacon in the Fall.
Today is the 150 Anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney, patron saint of parish priests. Since this is the year the Pope has dedicated for Priests, the Holy Father has offered Catholics the opportunity to earn a Plenary Indulgence on this feast day. In fact, during this whole “Year for Priests”, the Pope has declared that any lay Catholic may earn a Plenary Indulgence every first Thursday of the month from now until the close of the Year on June 19, 2010, as well as on the close of the Year itself. See the following link (especially Section B) for more information: Enchiridion of Indulgences
So what does this mean? Well, it means that contrary to popular belief, the Church still believes in indulgences. The practice of selling indulgences during part of the Church’s history was wrong, not the belief in indulgences. The Church’s understanding of indulgences is tied to the understanding of sin and the authority of the Church as the Body of Christ to forgive sin. If one doesn’t believe in either of these, then of course one will not believe in indulgences.Now God is all-Holy and through the gift of Jesus Christ, he has called us to that same Holiness, and has even given us the ability to reach that same Holiness. Sin is choosing to reject this gift and not respond to that call. This free choice has consequences. If this choice destroys our communion with God, it causes death to the soul (mortal sin). However, all sin, even venial sin, has consequences. “It disrupts our communion with God and the Church, weakens our ability to resist temptation, and hurts others. The necessity of healing these consequences, once the sin itself has been forgiven, is called temporal punishment. Prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and other works of charity can take away entirely or diminish this temporal punishment.” (U.S. Catechism for Adults, p.244). God desires our ultimate perfection, but he wants us to cooperate with him to remove these imperfections of temporal punishment. It is still his grace in Christ working, but we are freely responding to it.
The bottom line is that prayer and works of charity really do change things; they help the one praying and the one for whom the prayers are offered. See Tobit 12:9 – “almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin” and James 5:16 – “pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.” And Jesus himself said, But as to what is within [i.e. unrighteousness] give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.” (Luke 11:41)
If these temporal punishments are not removed before death, a final purification or Purgatory is needed. So in addition to prayer, fasting, almsgiving and other works of charity, the Church also “attaches to certain prayers and actions an indulgence or pardon, that is, the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due to sin.” (p. 244). A Plenary Indulgence is the full remission of temporal punishment due to sin. These indulgences can be applied to ourselves or to a deceased person.
So go out today (and every first Thursday until June 19th) and cooperate with this great gift that God wants to give us and our deceased relatives and friends! However, certain conditions must be met to receive this indulgence today (and in the future). See the following link to know how you can meet them: Conditions for Plenary Indulgence
Over the weekend, I got into a discussion with a friend about the priesthood and celibacy that went something like this:
Is it possible and appropriate nowadays to observe such an obligation? Has the time not come to break the bond linking celibacy with the priesthood in the Church? Could the difficult observance of it not be made optional? Would this not be a way to help the priestly ministry and facilitate ecumenical approaches? And if the golden law of sacred celibacy is to remain, what reasons are there to show that it is holy and fitting?
I say “something like this” because I’ve just quoted the exact questions which the encyclical The Celibacy of the Priest sought to answer…in 1967! I was surprised as I was reading the first few paragraphs, because more than forty years later it sounded as if it were written yesterday.
In light of recent scandals, plenty of opinions about the priestly obligation to “perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (Canon 277 §1) have been featured on the news, yet the disagreements are rather old and worn. Can we disagree with the fact that Christ lived celibately? “Like Christ Himself, His minister is wholly and solely intent on the things of God and the Church, and he imitates the great High priest who lives ever in the presence of God in order to intercede in our favor.” (28, The Celibacy of the Priest)
The encyclical answers each of the disagreements in a orderly fashion to reveal the truth and beauty of the gift of celibacy. If you have questions about priestly celibacy or have friends that are asking about it, I highly recommend that you read it.
With the many distractions, temptations, and seductions faced by priests in our culture today, let’s continue to pray that they nurture their gift of celibacy.
St. John Vianney, pray for us and our priests! (Feast Day: August 4th)
In the Middle Ages the Cathedral was the true skyscraper of most ancient cities. It could be seen for miles and dominated not only the skyline but occupied the central square of the town. As the Renaissance set in, Palaces and government buildings began to dominate the central square and even the skyline as the Churches shrunk in stature and moved to the side streets. Today, our great cities such as New York and Chicago have skylines dominated by great buildings of commerce and industry. The Cathedrals of these great cities would be hard to find by most visitors. What does all this say about our culture? How are we known by our buildings? What are the priorities and central focus of our time?
Fr. Barron, in this video makes an interesting observation in the recent renaming of the Sears Tower to the Willis Building. It now appears that the three tallest buildings in Chicago are all named for and owned by Insurance companies! What does this say? It seems to say that the more affluent we become the more anxious we become. With all our stuff we have much to protect, much to insure, much to be anxious about. And in whom do we trust to bring us this protection? Surely God, you will say! But look again, by our buildings you will know the answer! Jesus saves, but man insures. There is nothing evil about insurance but our buildings tell us we are quite anxious about many things and that we must insure to ensure looms large in our culture.
In my first three years of college I had a summer job working for a Lewis and Hitchcock and company that built and serviced pipe organs. What a great job it was! I went all over the city helping to tune and repair pipe organs in some of the grandest churches of the area, both Catholic and Protestant. When you build and service Pipe Organs you have to know a little of everything: electrical, HVAC, carpentry (for the casework), plumbing (for the pipes and tubing that supply the wind), electrical motor repair (for the blower), even leather work for the air reservoirs and pipe valves. It also helps to know music and architecture to bring it all together. It was a great job it was. I learned so much.
These days, Pipe Organs are still being built but more often Electronic Organs are chosen by churches. Truth be told, with digital sampling, the sound of the newest electronic organs isn’t bad. But nothing beats the sound of a true pipe organ, the king of instruments.
When I was young and in high school I was a rock ‘n’ roll fan. It had to be loud and in your face. Then one day I walked into a large church and the organist was practicing with all the stops pulled. The loud organ shook the building and resonated through my very body. I was hooked! I said, “I have to learn to play that!” And I was off on my adventure. Alas, I am no virtuoso but I can play hymns well and I do all the footwork. I love to play the organ and make the whole build shake with the big 32 Foot in the pedal.
The first video shows you some of the basics of how a pipe organ works. The second video shows you the work of a true virtuoso as he plays Boellmann’s Tocatta from Suite Gothique. This was the piece that I heard that day over 30 years ago that hooked me on the pipe organ as the building shook all around. The greatest virtuoso is the organist and you will see why! Not only does he play all sorts of notes with his hands and feet, he’s also switching back and forth to different keyboards, controlling the volume with the black pedals at the center of his feet and switching stops using the toe buttons above the pedal keyboard. It takes ALOT to be a good organist.
