Providentia – Providebit (God has provided – God will provide)
I work at a school that is run by the oldest religious order for women of color in the world – The Oblate Sisters of Providence. Founded in 1829 by Mother Mary Lange, OSP (pictured right), the Oblate Sisters are guided by the spiritual precept that God has provided and that God will provide.
Those of us who work with them in their ministries have learned to embrace Providential spirituality as well. At times, I still do not trust God to provide for my needs and thus, I worry. I worry about my school, its students, its teachers and even some of my parents. I frequently walk the hallways wanting everything to go perfect. And I worry.
Be concerned – not worried
Before I knew the Oblates, I thought that being worried about a school was the job of a principal. A few months ago, one of the sisters saw that I was clearly worried. This sister asked, “What’s wrong?” When I told her the problem she laughed. And in her wisdom, she said, “It is God’s school, not yours. If you are CONCERNED, that is OK. But, if you are WORRIED, you are praying all wrong, if at all.”
Divine Providence
Brothers and sisters, as a new school year begins, I know that there are many parents, teachers and principals who are concerned for the spiritual and academic development of the children God has entrusted to our care. But, whatever challenges await, don’t worry – God will provide.
To find out more about the Oblate Sisters of Providence, visit their vocations page at:
I was busy Saturday….A wedding and later another Mass….So I didn’t get to see wall to wall coverage of the funeral for Senator Edward Kennedy. So… I may have missed something and you will correct me if I’m wrong. But here is my question: Did we pray for the happy reposeof his soul? As I went back and forth preparing this and that I saw parts of the funeral on TV. Surely I heard lots of praise for Mr. Kennedy. But did we pray or merely praise? Particularly alarming were the intercessory prayers of the congregation where the congregation prays for the deceased. They were directed not to Mr. Kennedy’s reposeor to the dead in general but rather to praise of his vision and the prayers for various causes. Not wrong per se but out of place at a funeral Mass at the very time we should be praying for the happy repose of of the deceased. Did we pray?
When I die please promise me that you’ll pray for me. You see, I’ll have a journey to make. I have an appointment to keep. The scriptures all say it but we like to ignore it:
Therefore, we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil. (2 Cor 5:10-11)
For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.” So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God. (Rom 14:10-11)
So when we die we are judged. We ought to pray a lot for those who have died. It is an awesome thing to go to God and to render and account. We who remain behind ought to offer heartfelt prayers for the faithful departed. And so I must indicate so frustration with many Catholic Funerals I have observed, both televised and not. Too often there are bold proclamations of how the deceased is in heaven now, in a better place, etc. Confidence in God’s mercy is good, but to completely ignore the judgment that Scripture promises and make no mention of it is poor pastoral practice and robs the dead of the prayers they are due.
Consider this, what if I were to say at a funeral “John Jones is in Hell and there’s no use praying for him.” Now you would be rightfully angry and tell me that I was “judging him.” And you would be right. I would be making a judgement I had no right to make. But don’t you see, if I say “John Jones is in heaven now” and do not ask you to pray, that I am sitting in the very same judgement seat and making a judgment that is NOT mine to make?
“But Father, but Father….What about confidence in God’s mercy and joy?” These are fine and have their place but they should be balanced with a sober appreciation that the dead can use our prayers. AND I actually HAVE God’s mercy in mind when I say we ought to pray for the dead who go to judgement. Remember, God has made a promise to us that when he was finished with us that we would be perfect as the heavenly father is perfect (Matt 5:48) Now are you there yet? What if you died today? Do you think the Lord will leave his work undone in you? That’s not very merciful. St. Paul wrote to the Philippians, “May God who has begun the good work in you bring it to completion.” (Phil 1:6) God is faithful to the promises he has made and he will not leave anything undone in us. But again let me ask you, if you died today are you perfect yet? You know you’re not. We all fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). All of us are carrying things in us that we cannot bring to heaven. Not just our sins, but also sorrows, regrets, painful memories and hurts. You know you can’t bring this stuff to heaven, it wouldn’t be heaven! So the Lord has to purge these things from us. Maybe that is what Scripture means when it says of the dead that Jesus will wipe every tear from their eyes (Rev 21:4).
Hence, when we die we are judged by God. But the judgement is not just between heaven and hell but as to whether Jesus’ work is complete in us yet. If it is not he will see that it is brought to completion. Here is the Catholic Dogma of Purgatory. It is purgatory where we let go of things for the last time, where we have tears wiped from our eyes and we have false notions corrected and where we shed the final vestiges of the world. Does it take tiem? How long? I don’t know. What is time even like after we leave this world and if there is the passage of time there, how does it square up with our assage of time? I don’t know. Just pray. Our beloved dead can use our prayers.
So, when I die, will you pray for me? Don’t talk too much at my funeral about what a great guy I was, only God is good. Don’t make silly statements about how I’m up there leading the music in heaven. Just pray because I’m probably, off to purgatory and could use your prayers. If I died today (not planning on it) I know I’d have some tears to be wiped from my eyes, some rough edges to my personality that need smoothing, some intellectual misunderstandings to be set right, some attachments to be freed of. I cannot judge myself, but applying Catholic doctrine to my situation it’s looks like I’d be bound for purgatory. So pray.
Finally let me ask you again, in the funeral rites yesterday for Senator Kennedy did you pray? Did WE pray? Oh, I know we said the usual prayers in the ritual. But honestly, things seemed more than a little out of balance to me. Celebrate what is good? Sure. But Edward M Kennedy shares the human condition and we all fall short of what God has in store. I am not his judge, but I can pray. If he is like me, purgation may well be necessary. I don’t know what sins or hurts he brought to the grave with him. But he did go to judgement and we ought to pray. And yes, I’ll mention the unmentionable: he was wrong on abortion and several other Catholic Moral teachings. Where we are wrong, the Lord needs to set us right. Mr. Kennedy was right on other moral issues and the Lord can grant reward for that as well. But just pray. Pray for him and all your beloved dead. Our modern understanding of death needs to come back to a proper focus: hope and confidence in God’s mercy? Yes! But balanced with a sober appreciation of judgment that awaits us all.
Thou Shalt not Kill. Many think we’ve probably got that one down. Most of us don’t routinely kill other people each day or even once in a lifetime. So, on to the next commandment! Well….not so fast.
First of all, Jesus warns that the heart of the 5th Commandment not to kill includes not only the act of killing but also the things that lead up to killing. He uses the example of holding on to vengeful anger (cf Matt. 5:22) and of hateful attitudes that depersonalize and dehumanize others (cf Matt 5:22). In some of these matters we may all fall short from time to time. We may not actually have killed but our anger or hatred can be such that some one “might as well be dead for all we care.” We can get to the point where we stop reverencing the dignity of another’s’ life and in this we have transgressed the heart of the 5th commandment according to Jesus.
A second and even more common way we might transgress the 5th Commandment is reckless behavior that endangers the life of others. The most common form of this is reckless driving and also “distracted driving.” Excessive speeding and erratic lane shifting, blowing through stop lights, texting while driving, excessive chatter and banter with other passengers, drunk driving and so forth are all ways we can endanger the lives of others. The catechism teaches the following regarding reckless behavior:
Unintentional killing is not morally imputable. But one is not exonerated from grave offense if, without proportionate reason, he acted in a way that brings about some one’s death, even without the intention of doing so. (CCC 2269).
The following video is difficult to watch. It is NOT for the faint of heart. But it is meant to strongly admonish especially the young, but also the not so young, that distracted driving can have awful consequences. If we are not serious about driving safely then we are reckless and endanger the lives of others. This is a violation of the respect for life demanded by the 5th Commandment.
There’s a lot of talk these days about Catholics who leave the Church. And yet it also remains true that there is a steady stream of very high caliber Anglicans, Protestants and Evangelicals who are entering the Catholic Church. They bring with them a tradition of good preaching, love for God’s word and liturgical traditions as well that enrich us.
The latest example of this is a group of ten Religious Sisters from the Anglican Church who have decided to come into the Church as a group and a community. Here are some excerpts from the Catholic Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Baltimore The Catholic Review, George P. Matysek is the author:
After seven years of prayer and discernment, a community of Episcopal nuns and their chaplain will be received into the Roman Catholic Church during a Sept. 3 Mass celebrated by Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien. The Archbishop will welcome 10 sisters from the Society of All Saints’ Sisters of the Poor when he administers the sacrament of confirmation and the sisters renew their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in the chapel of their Catonsville convent. Episcopal Father Warren Tanghe will also be received into the church and is discerning the possibility of becoming a Catholic priest. …
Mother Christina Christie, superior of the religious community, said the sisters are “very excited” about joining the Catholic Church and have been closely studying the Church’s teachings for years. Two Episcopal nuns who have decided not to become Catholic will continue to live and minister alongside their soon-to-be Catholic sisters. Members of the community range in age from 59 to 94. …Wearing full habits with black veils and white wimples that cover their heads, the sisters have been a visible beacon of hope in Catonsville for decades. The American branch of a society founded in England, the All Saints’ Sisters of the Poor came to Baltimore in 1872 and have been at their current location since 1917. In addition to devoting their lives to a rigorous daily prayer regimen, the sisters offer religious retreats, visit people in hospice care and maintain a Scriptorium where they design religious cards to inspire others in the faith. Throughout their history, the sisters worked with the poor of Baltimore as part of their charism of hospitality. Some of that work has included reaching out to children with special needs and ministering to AIDS patients….Orthodoxy and unity were key reasons the sisters were attracted to the Catholic faith. Many of them were troubled by the Episcopal Church’s approval of women’s ordination, the ordination of a gay bishop and what they regarded as lax stances on moral issues. …“People who did not know us looked at us as if we were in agreement with what had been going on (in the Episcopal Church),” she said. “By staying put and not doing anything, we were sending a message which was not correct.” ….The sisters acknowledged it hasn’t been easy leaving the Episcopal Church, for which they expressed great affection. Some of their friends have been hurt by their pending departure, they said. “Some feel we are abandoning the fight to maintain orthodoxy,” said Sister Emily Ann Lindsey. “We’re not. We’re doing it in another realm right now.” In addition to worshipping in the Latin rite, the sisters are expected to receive permission to attend Mass celebrated in the Anglican-use rite – a liturgy that adapts many of the prayers from the Episcopal tradition. Mother Christina said 10 archdiocesan priests, including Auxiliary Bishop Denis J. Madden, have stepped forward to learn how to celebrate the Anglican-use Mass.
So there you have it. We do have many leaving the Church today but the Lord is still blessing us with wonderful additions who appreciate the beauty of truth and of Catholic unity and order. They add to our diversity our depth and appreciate our distictiveness. God be praised.
The following video shows what an Anglican-use Mass looks like. There is a two minute introduction and then some video footage of the Anglican Use Mass. It looks a lot like the Old Latin Mass except that everything is in impeccable English.
Deacon Andrew Morkunas is part of the priesthood class of 2009 for the Archdiocese of Washington, which had seven new priests ordained on June 20th of this year. Andrew was skiing this past winter and had a pretty nasty fall. A routine scan shockingly revealed a brain tumor which required surgery and Andrew was therefore unable to be part of the June ordination. Andrew had surgery before the scheduled ordination, and thanks be to God, and the many prayers offered for him, his recovery has gone very well. Andrew is very ready and able to join the presbyterate of the Archdiocese of Washington and will be ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Wuerl this Saturday Aug. 29 at 10 am in the crypt of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC.
If you have a moment please say a prayer for Deacon Andrew that the good work God has begun in him may be brought to completion.
If you are interested in learning more about Andrew and his experience of dealing with a brain tumor and preparing for ordination to the priesthood, here is an article on Andrew that was run in the Washington Post this past Saturday.
Today is the memorial of St. Monica, mother of Saint Augustine. A family who produces two saints must look more like the holy family than your family or my family, but this family may surprise you. Monica married a man who was an alcoholic and as often happens with alcoholism, violent and abusive. She lived in the home of her mother-in-law, who was also an alcoholic and so it is not hard to imagine how difficult her family life must have been. Monica, however, had one great defense and that was that she was a woman of great faith and a powerhouse of prayer.
Monica prayed for the conversion of her husband and indeed he did convert at some point in his life. Monica is an inspiration for all mothers who fervently pray for their children, particularly when all seems hopeless. She felt that way about Augustine, who was smart, talented, successful, but also a self-described lover of wine and women and the good life. He joined, for a time, a crazy religious sect, and he fathered a child with a woman to whom he was not married. Monica prayed for his conversion, seemingly without ceasing, as St. Paul would say. Augustine, in the true style of an obstinate young man, decided to flee their home in North Africa and go to Italy, in part, to get away from his mother. But Monica was on a mission and not to be deterred, she actually got on the next boat that left after his and followed Augustine to Europe!
The Power of Prayer
Monica is a witness to the strength and fortitude that can come from prayer. She gives all mothers of temperamental teenagers and young adults hope that one day, they will again have a close relationship with their children.
In the spirit of Monica
Today, many mothers are inspired by Monica. I wrote recently about the two planes that crashed over the Hudson. In that story is a subplot which brought the story of Monica and Augustine to mind. The pilot of the helicopter, though baptized Catholic had stopped practicing the faith. This did not keep his mother and his fiancee from praying for him and his return to the faith. Last Easter he was confirmed. His mother commented at the time of his death, “It was the perfect time.”
Seeking the intercession of Monica
tomb of Saint Monica
I have a great love for Monica as she is buried in the church of Saint Augustine in Rome. It was my parish while I was studying at the Angelicum. I would often visit the tomb and ask her intercession for situations that seemed hopeless and for my friends who were struggling with their kids. The stories of the prayer of these two mothers are a reminder to me that God’s time is not always our time and that our prayer is never in vain.
The next time you feel like GOD can’t use you just remember:
Noah was a drunk, Abraham was too old. Isaac was a daydreamer. Jacob was a liar, Leah was ugly. Joseph was abused. Moses had a stuttering problem. Gideon was afraid. Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer. Rahab was a prostitute. Jeremiah and Timothy were too young. David had an affair and was a murderer. Elijah was suicidal. Isaiah preached naked. Jonah ran from God. Naomi was a widow. Job went bankrupt. John the Baptist ate bugs. Peter denied Christ! The Disciples feel asleep while praying. Martha worried about everything. The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once. Zaccheus was too small. Paul was too religious. Timothy had an ulcer. Lazarus was dead!
No more excuses now. God can use you to your full potential. Besides, you aren’t the message, you are just the messenger.
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Here’s another more soul searching meditation by Nelson Mandela:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Last week, I was riding METRO with nothing to read and so I found myself listening in on the conversations around me. One conversation caught my attention immediately. Two young adults were discussing the practice of building shrines in the family home to honor ancestors. One friend asked the other if he would do this in his home and he said “no, because I don’t believe in any kind of life after death. ” His friend responded,” how can you not believe in life after death, you have to believe that!”
The young man asked, “Do you believe in something like heaven because you think you have to or because you really believe?”
Do you think you have to believe?
This is such a great question. We grow in our faith, we experience deeper conversion when we continue to ask ourselves not only what we believe but why we believe. My experience in sharing my faith is that people are really interested in knowing why we believe even more than what we believe. Do we have good answers for the difference what we believe makes in our own lives? I was stopped in my tracks one night at RCIA when a woman asked me to share from my own experience why I believe the Eucharist is really the body of Christ. She even said “don’t use any of your theological words, just tell me why you believe it is!”
Back to my story
So, the friend, when confronted with the question about why she believes in life after death said, “I think there is life after death because love doesn’t die.” I thought to myself, well, that is exactly what God thinks!
Today is the memorial of St. Monica, mother of Saint Augustine. A family who produces two saints must look more like the holy family than your family or my family, but this family may surprise you. Monica married a man who was an alcoholic and as often happens with alcoholism, violent and abusive. She lived in the home of her mother-in-law, who was also an alcoholic and so it is not hard to imagine how difficult her family life must have been. Monica, however, had one great defense and that was that she was a woman of great faith and a powerhouse of prayer.
