"De Caritate Ministranda" - "On the Service of Charity"...

Released by surprise at Roman Noon this Saturday, the following is the Vatican's official English translation of a motu proprio letter of Benedict XVI on the Catholic identity and ecclesial oversight of the church's charitable efforts.

Initially published in Latin by the Holy See, the text is entitled Intima Ecclesiae natura – in English, "The Church's Deepest Nature," with a subhead "De Caritate Ministranda"; that is, "On the Service of Charity"... and in full, here it is:

* * *

Introduction

 

"The Church’s deepest nature is expressed in her three-fold responsibility: of proclaiming the word of God (kerygma-martyria), celebrating the sacraments (leitourgia) and exercising the ministry of charity (diakonia). These duties presuppose each other and are inseparable" (Deus Caritas Est, 25).

The service of charity is also a constitutive element of the Church’s mission and an indispensable expression of her very being (cf. ibid.); all the faithful have the right and duty to devote themselves personally to living the new commandment that Christ left us (cf. Jn 15:12), and to offering our contemporaries not only material assistance, but also refreshment and care for their souls (cf. Deus Caritas Est, 28). The Church is also called as a whole to the exercise of the diakonia of charity, whether in the small communities of particular Churches or on the level of the universal Church. This requires organization "if it is to be an ordered service to the community" (cf. ibid., 20), an organization which entails a variety of institutional expressions.

With regard to this diakonia of charity, in my Encyclical Deus Caritas Est I pointed out that "in conformity with the episcopal structure of the Church, the Bishops, as successors of the Apostles, are charged with primary responsibility for carrying out in the particular Churches" the service of charity (No. 32); at the same time, however, I noted that "the Code of Canon Law, in the canons on the ministry of the Bishop, does not expressly mention charity as a specific sector of episcopal activity" (ibid.). Although "the Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops explored more specifically the duty of charity as a responsibility incumbent upon the whole Church and upon each Bishop in his Diocese" (ibid.), there was still a need to fill the aforementioned lacuna and to give adequate expression in canonical legislation to both the essential nature of the service of charity in the Church and its constitutive relationship with the episcopal ministry, while outlining the legal aspects of this ecclesial service, especially when carried out in an organized way and with the explicit support of the Bishops.

In view of this, with the present Motu Proprio I intend to provide an organic legislative framework for the better overall ordering of the various organized ecclesial forms of the service of charity, which are closely related to the diaconal nature of the Church and the episcopal ministry.

It is important, however, to keep in mind that "practical activity will always be insufficient, unless it visibly expresses a love for man, a love nourished by an encounter with Christ" (ibid., 34). In carrying out their charitable activity, therefore, the various Catholic organizations should not limit themselves merely to collecting and distributing funds, but should show special concern for individuals in need and exercise a valuable educational function within the Christian community, helping people to appreciate the importance of sharing, respect and love in the spirit of the Gospel of Christ. The Church’s charitable activity at all levels must avoid the risk of becoming just another form of organized social assistance (cf. ibid., 31).

The organized charitable initiatives promoted by the faithful in various places differ widely one from the other, and call for appropriate management. In a particular way, the work of Caritas has expanded at the parish, diocesan, national and international levels. Caritas is an institution promoted by the ecclesiastical Hierarchy which has rightly earned the esteem and trust of the faithful and of many other people around the world for its generous and consistent witness of faith and its concrete ability to respond to the needs of the poor. In addition to this broad initiative, officially supported by the Church’s authority, many other initiatives have arisen in different places from the free enterprise of the faithful, who themselves wish to help in various ways to offer a concrete witness of charity towards those in need. While differing in their origin and juridical status, both are expressions of sensitivity and a desire to respond to the same pressing need.

The Church as an institution is not extraneous to those organized initiatives which represent a free expression of the concern of the baptized for individuals and peoples in need. The Church’s Pastors should always welcome these initiatives as a sign of the sharing of all the faithful in the mission of the Church; they should respect the specific characteristics and administrative autonomy which these initiatives enjoy, in accordance with their nature, as a manifestation of the freedom of the baptized.

Alongside these, the Church’s authority has, on its own initiative, promoted specific agencies which provide institutionally for allocating donations made by the faithful, following suitable legal and administrative methods which allow for a more effective response to concrete needs.

Nevertheless, to the extent that such activities are promoted by the Hierarchy itself, or are explicitly supported by the authority of the Church’s Pastors, there is a need to ensure that they are managed in conformity with the demands of the Church’s teaching and the intentions of the faithful, and that they likewise respect the legitimate norms laid down by civil authorities. In view of these requirements, it became necessary to establish in the Church’s law certain essential norms inspired by the general criteria of canonical discipline, which would make explicit in this sector of activity the legal responsibilities assumed by the various subjects involved, specifying in particular the position of authority and coordination belonging to the diocesan Bishop. At the same time, the norms in question need to be broad enough to embrace the significant diversity of the institutions of Catholic inspiration which are engaged as such in this sector, whether those originating from the Hierarchy or those born of the direct initiative of the faithful, received and encouraged by the local Pastors. While it was necessary to lay down norms in this regard, there was also a need to consider the requirements of justice and the responsibility of Bishops before the faithful, with respect for the legitimate autonomy of each institution.

Dispositive Part

Consequently, upon the proposal of the Cardinal President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, and after consultation with the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, I establish and decree the following.....

Art. 1.

 

§ 1. The faithful have the right to join in associations and to establish agencies to carry out specific charitable services, especially on behalf of the poor and suffering. To the extent that these are linked to the charitable service of the Church’s Pastors and/or intend to use for this purpose contributions made by the faithful, they must submit their own Statutes for the approval of the competent ecclesiastical authority and comply with the following norms.

§ 2. Similarly, it is also the right of the faithful to establish foundations to fund concrete charitable initiatives, in accordance with the norms of canons 1303 of the Code of Canon Law (CIC) and 1047 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO). If foundations of this type correspond to the characteristics set forth in § 1, they will also observe, congrua congruis referendo, the provisions of the present law.

§ 3. In addition to observing the canonical legislation, the collective charitable initiatives to which this Motu Proprio refers are required to follow Catholic principles in their activity and they may not accept commitments which could in any way affect the observance of those principles.

§ 4. Agencies and foundations for charitable purposes promoted by Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life are required to comply with these norms, and they must follow the prescriptions of canons 312 § 2 CIC and 575 § 2 CCEO.

Art. 2.

 

§ 1. The Statutes of each charitable agency referred to in the preceding article must also contain, in addition to its institutional offices and structures of governance in accordance with canon 95 § 1 CIC, the guiding principles and objectives of the initiative, the management of funds, the profile of its workers, as well as the reports and information which must be presented to the competent ecclesiastical authority.

§ 2. A charitable agency may use the name "Catholic" only with the written consent of the competent authority, as laid down by canon 300 CIC.

§ 3. Agencies promoted by the faithful for charitable purposes can have an Ecclesiastical Assistant appointed in accordance with the Statutes, according to the norm of canons 324 § 2 and 317 CIC.

§ 4. At the same time, the ecclesiastical authority must bear in mind its duty to regulate the exercise of the rights of the faithful in accordance with canons 223 § 2 CIC and 26 § 3 CCEO, and thus to avoid the proliferation of charitable initiatives to the detriment of their activity and effectiveness with regard to their stated goals.

Art. 3.

 

§ 1. With regard to the preceding articles, it is understood that the competent authority at the respective levels is that indicated by canons 312 CIC and 575 CCEO.

§ 2. For agencies not approved at the national level, even though they operate in different Dioceses, the competent authority is understood to be the diocesan Bishop of the place where the agency has its principal office. In any event, the agency has the duty to inform the Bishops of other Dioceses where it operates and to respect the guidelines for the activities of the various charitable agencies present in those Dioceses.

Art. 4.

 

§ 1. The diocesan Bishop (cf. canon 134 § 3 CIC and canon 987 CCEO) exercises his proper pastoral solicitude for the service of charity in the particular Church entrusted to him as its Pastor, guide and the one primarily responsible for that service.

§ 2. The diocesan Bishop encourages and supports the initiatives and works of service to neighbour in his particular Church, and encourages in the faithful the spirit of practical charity as an expression of the Christian life and sharing in the mission of the Church, as indicated in canons 215 and 222 CIC and 25 and 18 CCEO.

§ 3. It is the responsibility of the diocesan Bishop to ensure that in the activities and management of these agencies the norms of the Church’s universal and particular law are respected, as well as the intentions of the faithful who made donations or bequests for these specific purposes (cf. canons 1300 CIC and 1044 CCEO).

Art. 5.

 

The diocesan Bishop is to ensure that the Church enjoys the right to carry out charitable activities, and he is to take care that the faithful and the institutions under his supervision comply with the legitimate civil legislation in this area.

Art. 6.

 

It is the responsibility of the diocesan Bishop, as indicated by canons 394 § 1 CIC and 203 § 1 CCEO, to coordinate within his territory the different works of charitable service, both those promoted by the Hierarchy itself and those arising from initiatives of the faithful, without prejudice to their proper autonomy in accordance with their respective Statutes. In particular, he is to take care that their activities keep alive the spirit of the Gospel.

Art. 7.

 

§ 1. The agencies referred to in Article 1 § 1 are required to select their personnel from among persons who share, or at least respect, the Catholic identity of these works.

§ 2. To ensure an evangelical witness in the service of charity, the diocesan Bishop is to take care that those who work in the Church’s charitable apostolate, along with due professional competence, give an example of Christian life and witness to a formation of heart which testifies to a faith working through charity. To this end, he is also to provide for their theological and pastoral formation, through specific curricula agreed upon by the officers of various agencies and through suitable aids to the spiritual life.

Art. 8.

 

Wherever necessary, due to the number and variety of initiatives, the diocesan Bishop is to establish in the Church entrusted to his care an Office to direct and coordinate the service of charity in his name.

Art. 9.

 

§ 1. The Bishop is to encourage in every parish of his territory the creation of a local Caritas service or a similar body, which will also promote in the whole community educational activities aimed at fostering a spirit of sharing and authentic charity. When appropriate, this service is to be established jointly by various parishes in the same territory.

§ 2. It is the responsibility of the Bishop and the respective parish priest to ensure that together with Caritas, other charitable initiatives can coexist and develop within the parish under the general coordination of the parish priest, taking into account, however, the prescriptions of Article 2 § 4 above.

§ 3. It is the duty of the diocesan Bishop and the respective parish priests to see that in this area the faithful are not led into error or misunderstanding; hence they are to prevent publicity being given through parish or diocesan structures to initiatives which, while presenting themselves as charitable, propose choices or methods at odds with the Church’s teaching.

Art. 10.

 

§ 1. It is the responsibility of the Bishop to supervise the ecclesiastical goods of the charitable agencies subject to his authority.

§ 2. It is the duty of the diocesan Bishop to ensure that the proceeds of collections made in accordance with canons 1265 and 1266 CIC and canons 1014 and 1015 CCEO are used for their stated purposes [cf. canons 1267 CIC, 1016 CCEO].

§ 3. In particular, the diocesan Bishop is to ensure that charitable agencies dependent upon him do not receive financial support from groups or institutions that pursue ends contrary to Church’s teaching. Similarly, lest scandal be given to the faithful, the diocesan Bishop is to ensure that these charitable agencies do not accept contributions for initiatives whose ends, or the means used to pursue them, are not in conformity with the Church’s teaching.

§ 4. In a particular way, the Bishop is to see that the management of initiatives dependent on him offers a testimony of Christian simplicity of life. To this end, he will ensure that salaries and operational expenses, while respecting the demands of justice and a necessary level of professionalism, are in due proportion to analogous expenses of his diocesan Curia.

§ 5. To permit the ecclesiastical authority mentioned in Article 3 § 1 to exercise its duty of supervision, the agencies mentioned in Article 1 § 1, are required to submit to the competent Ordinary an annual financial report in a way which he himself will indicate.

Art. 11.

 

The diocesan Bishop is obliged, if necessary, to make known to the faithful the fact that the activity of a particular charitable agency is no longer being carried out in conformity with the Church’s teaching, and then to prohibit that agency from using the name "Catholic" and to take the necessary measures should personal responsibilities emerge.

Art. 12.

 

§ 1. The diocesan Bishop is to encourage the national and international activity of the charitable agencies under his care, especially cooperation with poorer ecclesiastical circumscriptions by analogy with the prescriptions of canons 1274 § 3 CIC and 1021 § 3 CCEO.

§ 2. Pastoral concern for charitable works, depending on circumstances of time and place, can be carried out jointly by various neighbouring Bishops with regard to a number of Churches, in accordance with the norm of law. When such joint activity is international in character, the competent Dicastery of the Holy See is to be consulted in advance. For charitable initiatives on the national level, it is fitting that the Bishop consult the respective office of the Bishops’ Conference.

Art. 13.

 

The local ecclesiastical authority retains the full right to give permission for initiatives undertaken by Catholic agencies in areas of his jurisdiction, with due respect for canonical norms and the specific identity of the individual agencies. It is also the duty of the Bishop to ensure that the activities carried out in his Diocese are conducted in conformity with ecclesiastical discipline, either prohibiting them or adopting any measures needed in cases where that discipline is not respected.

Art. 14.

 

Where appropriate, the Bishop is to promote charitable initiatives in cooperation with other Churches or Ecclesial Communities, respecting the proper identity of each.

Art. 15.

 

§ 1. The Pontifical Council Cor Unum has the task of promoting the application of this legislation and ensuring that it is applied at all levels, without prejudice to the competence of the Pontifical Council for the Laity with regard to associations of the faithful as provided for in Article 133 of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus, the competence of the Secretariat of State’s Section for Relations with States, and the general competences of other Dicasteries and Institutes of the Roman Curia. In particular, the Pontifical Council Cor Unum is to take care that the charitable service of Catholic institutions at the international level is always to be carried out in communion with the various local Churches.

§ 2. The Pontifical Council Cor Unum is also competent for the canonical establishment of charitable agencies at the international level; it thus takes on the responsibilities of discipline and promotion entailed by law.

I order that everything I have laid down in this Apostolic Letter issued Motu Proprio be fully observed, notwithstanding anything to the contrary, even if worthy of particular mention, and I decree that it be promulgated by publication in the daily newspaper L’Osservatore Romano and enter into force on 10 December 2012.

Given in Rome, at Saint Peter’s, on 11 November, in the year 2012, the eighth of my Pontificate.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

Christine completely echoes my sentiments

http://acatholicview.blogspot.com/2012/11/mcshane-needs-refresher-course-in-true.html

Practical Atheism. Beware.

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/practical-atheism-more-destructive-than-disbelief-pope-says

Reflection on the election. | Fr. Z's Blog – What Does The Prayer Really Say?

Reflection on the election. | Fr. Z's Blog – What Does The Prayer Really Say?

Isaiah, Chapter One

For anyone who is deeply disappointed in the results of the presidential election, please read Isaiah, Chapter One.  I had never read this book, let alone the first chapter.  I was sitting at House of Java this morning studying my second chapter of readings for Pillars of Catholicism being offered by John Paul the Great University in San Diego, CA.  Once I finished, I opened my Bible.  I fanned through the pages asking for guidance to be led to just what I needed in that moment. 

 

Here is what I found

Isaiah 1: 1-31

 

Painting of The Prophet Isaiah by Raphael



Holy Father's Message To Our Re-Elected President

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/pope-sends-message-to-president-obama

Letter to a friend

Dear Friend,

It's very hard to love your church and find yourself unable to reconcile the behavior of its representatives. It is an incontestable truism that we hold our priests to a higher standard and when they fail (in this case perhaps epically), the sense of abandonment must be monumental.

I remember when I first returned to the church over 25 years ago, I had an idealist's view of what I could expect of Catholic behavior. I was disabused of the notion of  that mythical creature after I enrolled my kids in Catholic school. Take one part small school population; add one part privileged vs. the have nots; mix with insider legacy mentality; and simmer until you have a noxious mess.

Yes, that is how I felt after a while. A lot of what I was feeling was a sense of exclusion and a feeling that somehow I had gotten it wrong; that my expectations were set too high. In reality, I was depending too much on relationships with others and not enough on my relationship with God. I felt if I didn't fit in, than my kids didn't fit. Well, I didn't so they didn't and the principal was a real disappointment in problem solving between the haves and have nots. Solution? I took the kids out of the situation and therefore, myself as well. It was the best decision I ever made.

Funny how perspective and hindsight show one how unimportant these things are. Hindsight also shows us missed opportunities. It took me a while but I'm now seriously studying the Faith; not the Faith as it's lived daily. It can get pretty polluted with day to day influences from commerce, politics, media, distortion of the arts, etc. But the Faith as it was given to us by scripture and tradition and its completeness and compatibility with the ideal of what we can achieve as individuals and as a species.

I guess what I'm trying to say, dear friend, is that perhaps there is an opportunity here. Your work environment was a satisfying one for many years. Now it has changed and you've been disappointed by the people whom you expect to have the extra something that comes from hearing the Call and answering it. Unfortunately, they come with all the same insecurities and failings we humans all deal with and your new boss isn't managing things very well.

I'm thinking that rather than struggle with how their behavior reflects on the church and your faith in the church, perhaps it's time for you to reflect on how you react to this challenge. And you are definitely being challenged. I think there is a door opening for you here. You have made contacts. You know people. What you do can be done elsewhere???? With another agency????

Or perhaps this is the time for you to go inward, study and reconnect with relationships without the job in your way. It's interesting how retirement opens you up to a world of possibilities that work blinds you to.

Our priests are supposed to be the stewards of the Gospel. If they fail, it doesn't mean that God failed. There is no darkness that God's word cannot overcome. I have to remind myself that persecution of the Church comes from within and without. The persecution from within is a lot harder to deal with because it comes from a direction we don't expect. So pray, friend. And pray to His Mother. Ask them what they want of you. Persevere. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

All my best,

Annie

Today in Cardinal Dolan's Blog

Double Standard

Last week, the New York Times published a column and an editorial about an incident at Saint Catherine of Siena parish. In response, Father Ray Rafferty, pastor of Corpus Christi parish, wrote a letter to the editor of the Times. As of today, the letter has not been published, and he has heard nothing from the Times. With Father Rafferty’s permission, I’d like to share the letter with you. Here it is, verbatim.

To The Editor:

I agree that it was wrong of the clergyman at St. Catherine of Siena Church to print a seeming endorsement in the parish bulletin.

However, for many years, every Monday in the weeks leading up to the elections, THE NEW YORK TIMES frequently contains an article about a political candidate who is welcomed and who speaks at the Sunday worship service of Protestant churches, often ones that have large African-American congregations.

I have never seen your paper denounce this. Usually the article and photos are laudatory. Is it not using a double standard to denounce this one incident in a Catholic church and not denounce similar actions in non-Catholic churches that operate under the same tax law?

Raymond M. Rafferty
Pastor, Corpus Christi Church

A Plague on Man

Religious hate is a disease. Muslim fanaticism has lead to destruction and murder throughout the Muslim world. The crazy Baptist preacher (in Florida these days???) spews his hate and provokes others and stirs their fear into hate. Now we have the Nepalese protesting and demanding the safety of an artist who has received death threats over his depiction of Hindu deities. Religious hate is no different from a plague. One kills the body. The other kills the soul.

A Nepalese artist appears with his face painted in
protest outside Katmandu, Nepal, on Thursday.
The protesters demanded safety for Nepalese artist
Manish Harijan, who has received death threats over
his depiction of Hindu deities.
(© Niranjan Shrestha/AP)

A final thought on the DNC Benediction

I recorded the last three hours of the DNC convention so that I wouldn't miss Cardinal Dolan. I was impressed by his simple and prayerful Benediction at the RNC convention. I had mixed feelings about him doing the same at the DNC. I struggled with the idea and came to the the realization (again) that we are here for all and there were many hearts there willing to hear and many more who NEEDED to hear
As I fast-forwarded two hours and 55 minutes, I felt like I was speeding towards an even bigger revelation. And there it was. Power. Voice of authority. Clarity of message. The man doing what he was born to do - be used as a clearly understood conduit of God message to us all.

Thank you, God, for your son, Timothy Cardinal Dolan.

Cardinal Dolan Admonishes Democrats on Abortion, Religious Liberty | LifeNews.com

Cardinal Dolan Admonishes Democrats on Abortion, Religious Liberty | LifeNews.com

A simple Facebook comment grew into this.

I POSTED THIS ON FACEBOOK TODAY - The word "God" is back in the DNC platform. And the affirmation of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is back in. It caused a way bigger dust up at the convention, more than the DNC expected. Jewish votes and religious black voters were being chiseled away by this action. There was an immediate backlash. Bad management is alive and well at the convention in North Carolina.

JOHN'S Reply: It is silly to put so much emphasis on a word being printed or said. Putting the word God into a speech or printing it on a dollar bill does not make us a Godly nation, only our actions can do that and as a nation both parties are dropping the ball as far as honesty and compassion go.......God would rather not have his name on a dollar and have everyone follow his word.

MY Reply: Removing the name of God won't cause a crisis of faith in believers. Removal is symptomatic of the humanistic secular road our country is on. The farther down that road we go, the farther away we are from the completeness of truth. Secularism tells us what we can do and those permissions (from man) are subject to change based on who is making the decisions and dispensing permission. Basing our rights on God's gift of truth to us is steadfast. Those permissions will never be taken from us because God gave these truths freely to all humanity whether they believe or not.

JOHN'S Reply: It just seems that in an equal society where every citizen has the same rights many Christians do not want to give equal rights to those who are not Christian. I see more political oppression done in this country "in God's name" than in any others. Hindu's do not protest for Kali or Shiva to be on the dollar, I see no one asking for Buddha or the Dali Llama on a coin.

Christians seem to always cry victim when someone wants to separate church and state but when another groups rights come into play that differs then we can deny them rights because "it is God's word".

MY Reply: John, I'm not talking about equality. I'm talking about the discernible difference between a free society based on religious beliefs and a secular society. One has the freedom to be as it will; the other is permitted its freedoms only at the will of whoever has the power. Secular societies do not last.

Christianity does not teach or promote the suppression of other religions. There is absolutely nothing is scripture or tradition that promotes it. Anyone can believe as they will and when Christianity is truly suppressed here, it will only be a matter of time before other religions are targeted. Take down the Catholic Church and you are half way home. The history of the Church in this country shows that it takes a lot to get the Church's back up. Now we are standing up against the HHS mandates and attacks on Christianity here and we are standing for everyone, not just Christians.

Atheists are attacking every public cross they see. Ask yourself this. How long will it take for them to go after the presence of menorahs or any other publically displayed religious symbol once they are ready to move on from crosses?  The effort to exclude the mention of God at military funerals was an actual action. When did military cemeteries lose their status as hallowed ground? Fortunately, that didn't succeed but that doesn't mean they won't try again. There is always another time.

And since we are on the subject of crying victims, let's talk about the Muslim persecution of Christians everywhere; India where the Hindus and Muslims hated each other so much India became India and Pakistan; the Sudan where the power was in the Muslim north and they destroyed their country in an effort to eradicate the Christian south.

There is plenty of blame to go around for every religious group but the fact is when you take God out of the equation in any society, you are sounding the death knell of that society.

Acknowledging and Embracing the New Counterculture

G. K. Chesterton and John Paul the Great Catholic University are keeping me pretty busy. I'm following a study course on G. K. Chesterton (as noted in previous posts) but along with that I've started an 11 week course on the basics of the Catholic Faith.

Being a cradle Catholic who took a long break and then returned home, I did all the usual things you do when you are raising your kids in the Faith but after they were launched and in the world there wasn't as much learning going on - you know - the nitty gritty stuff; the who, what, when, where, and how of it all. Oh, I knew quite a lot but something seemed missing, how to express that deeper understanding, the sources of understanding.

Discovering this study program through JP the Great U. came at a time when I was really searching, asking, and praying from direction and understanding. Going back to school was no option; online learning wasn't an option. Too much of life now is fluid and refuses to be committed to timelines and deadlines and structure. I wasn't interested in starting a program and finishing it with the idea of having something to show for it for any larger purpose than what it could do for me. And, by extension, what that knowledge could provide to me to share with others.

In addition, I am seeking a balance. Day to day life is accompanied by a constant din of hollow values; values without spirit; values missing the element of God as the source - the idea that something is bigger at work, making it all happen. Humanism and aethism have a strong grip on our society; mainline Protestant churches aren't growing; big box churches are. Big box churches, lead by a charismatic leader, are only as secure as the person at the center of it all and since that person is not Christ, are very fragile.

Split upon split happens. Leaders and their faithful followers come and go. Disappointment and searching is compounded by more of the same. Even among Catholics, the following of one popular priest from parish to parish is in evidence. This sort of splitting off is as weakening upon faith and community as the split of a big box church. I've seen it happen.

The past year has revealed to me a surprising realization from my internal musings. I've become countercultural. Me, a teen/young adult of the 60's/70's, missed it the first time it came around in my life. Age and wisdom has taught me that I didn't miss a lot. The Woodstock Generation was a messy one. But now another countercultural wave has come around and I've determined that there is a lot I will not comply with. As Chesterton said in "The Everlasting Man"

“A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.”

Equality and Catholicism | Crisis Magazine

Equality and Catholicism | Crisis Magazine

Rural Mission in the service of teen moms and single mothers

Over the years, I have had the privilege of organizing book drives for the establishment of a Cook Islands library and a winter clothing drive for the children of Afghanistan in the province of Ghor. Each time I did this, I was more successful than I could have hoped and all because of the generosity of people like you. But as much as I loved doing this work, a little voice whispered to find something closer to home. It took a while but finally, I have found that place.

Dr. Darlene is a religious of the Glenmary Sisters - Home Mission Sisters of America. Don and I adopted her several years ago and support her mission work in one of the poorest counties in the state of Missouri, Pemiscott County. Our original attraction, when we learned of Sister Darlene, was based on the fact that the work was centered out of Caruthersville, MO where Don grew up.

As time went by, we were continually impressed with how much Sr. Darlene accomplished with so little at hand. She works with food banks, assistance to the needy for utility payments, after school programs for children, and teaching youngster who are studying for their GEDs.

Every summer she also supervises groups of young people who come from various urban area high schools to offer their services for two weeks of mission work. While there, these young people clean homes, yards, repair buildings and residences and work with young children.

Sr. Darlene truly is charity and love in action and it is her most recent work that has caught my attention. Here, in her own words is the newest ministry she has undertaken.

I am so excited to share with you about a new ministry we will be beginning here in the county. As you know, we have a high teenage pregnancy rate and many single mothers. I have been praying about a way to reach out to these expectant moms and their children. I have found a place in nearby Hayti, MO and plan to open an outreach center/thrift store that will offer maternity clothes, toddler clothing up to size 6, and baby supplies. It will provide a way to get to know these young moms and many opportunities to minister to them I cannot wait to see how God unfolds this new adventure!

My purpose and what I am asking of you is assistance in starting up the stocking of the store. One of the things they really need are maternity clothes.

For children who are in school, there is a dress code as the schools have the students in uniforms - the need is: Khaki or black pants and Red, White, or Blue polo shirts.

For babies we need Bibs, Diapers, T-Shirts, Onesies, Plastic Pants, Booties, Socks, Blankets, Sleepers, Rattle, Baby Wipes, Baby Lotion, Baby Shampoo, Baby Powder.

For this first step in my contact process, I would like to hear back from each you. Donations can be made in several ways however I'm still gathering up the mailing information for direct donations so for the time being, as I have done in the past, I am happy to receive donations of clothing or gift cards (there is a Walmart in the area). I will box up the donations and send them to Sr. Darlene.

In the next couple of days, though, I will have a physical address for USPS and UPS mail service so that you can mail items directly to Sr. Darlene if you like.

I look forward to hearing from you. God is good and through His servants, we can serve Him.

God Bless you,
Annie

Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day

Chick-fil-A lines out the door, done the road, across the country.

 Government vs. Private views. 0 - home run.

 Tolerance sledge hammer vs. the truly tolerant 0 - home run.

Stockton, CA Diocese - Bishop Blair

Bishop Blair at Our Lady of the Assumption Basilica closing YATOL Mass



YATOL stands for Young Adult Teams of Our Lady.

2012 International meeting as held on the CSU Stanislaus campus in Turlock, CA. This is the home of YATOL in America.  My daughter was at this meeting and met young adults for France, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Canada, and Lebanon.  YATOL also meets in Mozambique, Cameroon, Haiti, Syria,

The 2014 international meeting will be in Portugal, birthplace of YATOL.  She is saving for it now.

Thoughts on Tolerance

Genuine tolerance sometimes requires you to grit your teeth. If you are baring your teeth instead, trust me, you are doing it wrong.





http://www.ncregister.com/blog/pat-archbold/the-mark-of-the-beast-and-chick-fil-a#ixzz227Xu22Q2

and another add now in follow-up


http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/chick-fil-a-backlash-important-moment-for-religious-freedom-catholic-league

Redefining Lively

New San Francisco archbishop a strong opponent of same-sex marriage

Things have always been lively in San Francisco.  I'm guessing that lively is going to be redefined.

Cardinal Dolan on Cultivating Freedom

By Donald DeMarco, Ph.D.

As any horticulturalist knows, you cannot cultivate roses merely by plucking weeds and killing aphids. One must plant rose seeds. No matter how hospitable the garden is for the cultivation of roses, if there are no seeds, there will be no roses. Negative horticulture is, in itself, unproductive.

This simple, incontrovertible notion has direct applicability to human beings and their desire for freedom. No amount of negative freedom, removing barriers that would inhibit the cultivation of freedom, will ensure the cultivation of positive human freedom. This latter freedom must grow from an interior seed which is the human will.

What do we mean by ‘negative’ and ‘positive’ freedom? The modern world has expended considerable effort in its attempt to clear away various barriers that appear to be obstacles to freedom. The Enlightenment sought to free reason from faith, believing that faith is an obstacle to freedom. The Marxists, also enemies of faith, were further committed to liberating man from the oppression of the ruling class. Freud wanted to free man from his restricting inhibitions, Darwin from the illusion that man was unique among animals. Friedrich Nietzsche was passionately dedicated to ridding the world of a non-existent god whose specter prevented man from becoming truly himself. None of these attempts to enlarge human freedom, however, all being negative, contributed one iota to the cultivation of positive freedom which is indispensable for the proper fulfillment and flourishing of the human person.

The distinguished theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar made the observation that “human beings only become truly human when they have chosen and actuated themselves in freedom; when the ‘nature’ in them has been totally and freely appropriated and responsibly worked through.” No one can choose freedom for us. Freedom must be willed from the inside in order for its seed to germinate. Yet, the modern apostles of negative freedom continue to have their appeal since they promise to deliver an automatic freedom, one that can be attained without personal effort.

The notion of “freedom fifty-five,” therefore, has become a popular idea because it represents the anticipated enjoyment of freedom simply because one has been emancipated from the work force at 55 years of age. Modern emancipatory movements will continue to have more influence than is justified as long as people neglect the more important freedom that requires effort and discipline, along with a realistic sense of one’s self and one’s place in the world.

The issue of freedom is being hotly contested at present in American society. In order to shed some valuable light on the issue, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, has produced an eBook entitled, True Freedom: On Protecting Human Dignity and Religious Liberty. Central to the book’s thesis is the argument that there can be no freedom without recognition of the positive value of human dignity. The Cardinal refers to a number of examples that indicate a “rampant disregard” for human dignity: the approval of embryonic research, the torture of prisoners, abortion, the dismissal of the meaning of marriage, and the federal contraception mandate. “We can see,” writes the Cardinal, “that there is a loss of a sense of truth and objective moral norms—rules of conduct that apply always, to everyone.” Instead of grounding morality in the Natural Law, which is valid and liberating for all people, society has substituted “pragmatism, utilitarianism, and consumerism,” all of which have no higher goal than the satisfaction of individual preferences.

Human dignity is an essential value. It cannot be disregarded. Indeed, justice demands that the human person be accorded his appropriate freedom. Human dignity is a moral value. Laws that violate human dignity are not just. Citing Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Dolan points out that the separation of law from morality “fails to recognize the full breadth of human nature, and in fact both diminishes man and threatens humanity.” Cardinal Dolan is indicating that laws that violate human dignity, no matter how much they appear to make people free (the freedom to be relieved of an unwanted pregnancy through abortion, for example), contribute to the Culture of Death.

If negative freedom continues unchecked, there comes a point when there is nothing left to remove. Removing every factor that appears to be a restriction on freedom–the Natural Law, faith, inconvenience, any reference to God, and unwanted human life–does not allow the person to flourish, it suffocates him. Roses will not grow, as we mentioned at the outset, by plucking weeds and killing aphids. But here, the negative horticulture is at least opposing the enemies of roses. We are not talking about their benefactors: water, soil, and sunlight. In our present situation in America, what is at risk is actually beneficial to the flourishing of the human being – the positive freedom that is concomitant with human dignity.

People would be gravely mistaken if they viewed the Cardinal’s eBook as exclusively Catholic: He is addressing all human beings and underscoring the essential importance of their human dignity. He is appealing to the interior core of the human person, that capacity to choose the positive freedom that allows him to flourish precisely as a person. It is a journey worth undertaking. As G. K. Chesterton once said, “If seeds in the black earth can turn into such beautiful roses, what might not the heart of man become in its long journey toward the stars?”

Donald DeMarco, Ph.D., is a Senior Fellow of Human Life International (HLI). He is Professor Emeritus at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ontario and adjunct professor at Holy Apostles College and Seminary. He writes for HLI’s Truth and Charity Forum.

Holy Cow. What an awesome mom!!

Brad Pitt’s mom slams Obama on abortion | LifeSiteNews.com

Great story and a surprising one.  There must be some interesting and spirited conversations when the Pitt/Jolie clan gets together. 

What I Believe

I have no objection to individual choice. I would never deny anyone that right. Individual choice is just that - individual - and it's one of the cornerstone foundations of our country.

But giving everyone a choice isn't what President Obama is doing. He is mandating that religious institutions participate in coverage that they have not offered up to this time. This puts all religions in direct conflict with the mandate. Many religious institutions will roll with it because they already are anyway. But many more, whether Jewish, Muslim, or Christian, would and will resist this. That is why the Church has instituted A Fortnight for Freedom.

The Church has also told its members to be prepared for active civil disobedience. Ghandi defeated the British Empire, the Civil Rights Movement blew the doors of equality wide open, and civil disobedience against the Viet Nam War ended the war and drove a President to not run for a second term. All this has happened in my lifetime (though I don't recall Ghandi in any meaningful, I-was-there, sort of way). I appreciate the willingness of some of my more liberal friends to talk about this in a dispassionate way.  I have more in common with people I like than anything that might be construed as differences.

I have learned over time that people often agree on a goal but disagree on how best to get there. So, for me, it really doesn't matter what side of the political fence a person lands on as long as there is respect. 

Pray

Soros will learn that money doesn't always succeed in buying victory.

http://www.catholicleague.org/soros-funded-group-set-to-nail-bishops/

And so it goes

We said this would happen.  They said it wouldn't.  And here we are.  Fortnight for Freedom got here just in time.

‘Get in line’ or ‘resign’ Admiral tells military chaplain | LifeSiteNews.com

A Journey Home

This is my last post for the Patheos Atheist Portal

For several years, a lot of my friends have been telling me I had an inconsistent and unsustainable philosophy. ”A virtue ethicist atheist whose transhumanism seems to be rooted in dualism? Who won’t shut up about moral lapses as wounds to the soul and keeps trying to convince us it’s better to be sinned against than sinning? Who has started talking about mortifying her pride and keeps pulling out Lewis and Chesterton quotes? C’mon, convert already.”

 

 

I could see where they were coming from, but I stayed put. I was ready to admit that there were parts of Christianity and Catholicism that seemed like a pretty good match for the bits of my moral system that I was most sure of, while meanwhile my own philosophy was pretty kludged together and not particularly satisfactory. But I couldn’t pick consistency over my construction project as long as I didn’t believe it was true.


While I kept working, I tried to keep my eyes open for ways I could test which world I was in, but a lot of the evidence for Christianity was only compelling to me if I at least presupposed Deism.

 Meanwhile, on the other side, I kept running into moral philosophers who seemed really helpful, until I discovered that their study of virtue ethics has led them to take a tumble into the Tiber. (I’m looking at you, MacIntyre!).


Then, the night before Palm Sunday (I have excellent liturgical timing), I was up at my alma mater for an alumni debate. I had another round of translating a lot of principles out of Catholic in order to use them in my speech, which prompted the now traditional heckling from my friends. After the debate, I buttonholed a Christian friend for another argument. During the discussion, he prodded me on where I thought moral law came from in my metaphysics. I talked about morality as though it were some kind of Platonic form, remote from the plane that humans existed on. He wanted to know where the connection was.


I could hypothesize how a Forms-material world link would work in the case of mathematics (a little long and off topic for this post, but pretty much the canonical idea of recognizing Two-ness as the quality that’s shared by two chairs and two houses, etc. Once you get the natural numbers, the rest of mathematics is in your grasp). But I didn’t have an analogue for how humans got bootstrap up to get even a partial understanding of objective moral law.


I’ve heard some explanations that try to bake morality into the natural world by reaching for evolutionary psychology. They argue that moral dispositions are evolutionarily triumphant over selfishness, or they talk about group selection, or something else. Usually, these proposed solutions radically misunderstand a) evolution b) moral philosophy or c) both. I didn’t think the answer was there. My friend pressed me to stop beating up on other people’s explanations and offer one of my own.


“I don’t know,” I said. ”I’ve got bupkis.”


“Your best guess.”


“I haven’t got one.”


“You must have some idea.”


“I don’t know. I’ve got nothing. I guess Morality just loves me or something.”
“…”


“Ok, ok, yes, I heard what I just said. Give me a second and let me decide if I believe it.”


It turns out I did.


I believed that the Moral Law wasn’t just a Platonic truth, abstract and distant. It turns out I actually believed it was some kind of Person, as well as Truth. And there was one religion that seemed like the most promising way to reach back to that living Truth. I asked my friend what he suggest we do now, and we prayed the night office of the Liturgy of the Hours together (I’ve kept up with that since). Then I suggested hugs and playing Mumford and Sons really, really loudly.


After I changed my mind, I decided to take a little time to make sure I really believed what I thought I believed, before telling my friends, family, and, now, all of you. That left me with the question of what to do about my atheism blog. My solution was to just not write anything I disagreed with. Enough of my friends had accused me of writing in a crypto-Catholic style that I figured no one would notice if I were actually crypto-Catholic for a month and a half (i.e. everything from “Upon this ROC…” on) . That means you already have a bit of a preview of what has and hasn’t changed. I’m still confused about the Church’s teachings on homosexuality, I still need to do a lot of work to accept gifts graciously, and I still love steam engines.


Starting tomorrow, this blog is moving to the the Patheos Catholic channel (the url and RSS will remain unchanged). Meanwhile, I’m in RCIA classes at a DC parish, so you can look forward to more Parsing Catholicism tags (and after the discussion of universalism we had last week, I think it will be prudent to add a “Possibly Heretical” category).


This post isn’t the final word on my conversion. I’m sure there’s a lot more explaining and arguing to do, so be a little charitable in your read of this post and try to give me a little time to expand my ideas over the next few weeks. (Based on my in-person arguments to date, it seems like most of my atheist friends disagree two or three steps back from my deciding Morality is actually God. They usually diverge back around the bit where I assert morality, like math, is objective and independent of humans. As one of my friends said, “Well, I guess if I were a weird quasi-Platonist virtue ethicist, this would probably convince me”).


And how am I doing? Well, I’m baking now (cracking eggs is pretty much the least gnostic thing I can do, since it’s so, so disgusting to touch, and putting effort into food as more than the ransom my body demands for continued function is the second least gnostic). I’ve been using the Liturgy of the Hours and St. Patrick’s Breastplate for most of my prayer attempts. and, over all, I feel a bit like Valentine in this speech from Arcadia.

It makes me so happy… A door like this has cracked open five or six times since we got up on our hind legs. It’s the best possible time to be alive, when almost everything you thought you knew is wrong.

A Word or Few from Fr. Longenecker

The Smoke of Satan

There are many problems in the Catholic Church that might be thought to be the ‘smoke of Satan’ entering the church, but for my money one thing, above all others, has been the successful work of Satan, which has undermined the church, emasculated her ministry, sabotaged the aims of the Holy Spirit and captured a multitude of souls.

It is the modernist re-interpretation of the Catholic faith. The reductionist results of modern Biblical scholarship and the infiltration of a modernist, rationalistic and materialistic mindset meant that the supernatural was assumed to be impossible, and therefore the Bible stories (and also any supernatural elements of the faith) had to be ‘de-mythologized.’ Everything supernatural within the Biblical account and within the lives of the saints and within the teaching of the church were assumed to be impossible and had to be ‘re-interpreted’ so they would make sense to modern, scientifically minded people.

So the feeding of the five thousand wasn’t a miracle. Instead the ‘real miracle’ was that everyone shared their lunch. Everything had to be questioned and ‘re-interpreted’ in such a way that it could be accepted and understood by modern people. So when we call Jesus Christ “God Incarnate” what we really mean was that he was so fully human, and that as he reached his potential as a man that he shows us what divinity looks like. When we speak of the Blessed Virgin we mean she was ‘a very good and holy Jewish young woman.’ When we speak of the ‘Real Presence’ we mean that we see the ‘Christ that is within each one of us.”

I hate this crap.

It’s the smoke of Satan, and it’s virtually triumphant within the mainstream Protestant churches, and sadly, the modern Catholic Church in the USA is riddled through with the same noxious heresy. The reason it is so obnoxious and disgusting is because priests and clergy of all sorts still use all the traditional language of the liturgy, the Scriptures and the creeds, but they have changed the meaning of it altogether. They never actually stand up and say that they have changed the meaning, and that they no longer believe the faith once delivered to the saints. They don’t discuss the fact that they have not only changed the meaning, but robbed it of meaning altogether. Instead they still stand up week by week and recite the creed as if they think it is true, but what they mean by ‘true’ is totally different from what their people mean.

So Father Flannel stands up on Easter Day and says, “Alleluia! Today we rejoice in the glorious resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead.” His people think he really believes that Jesus’ dead body came back to life by the power of God and that he went on to live forever. In fact what Father Flannel really means is that “in some way the beautiful teachings of Jesus were remembered and continued by his followers long after his tragic death.” The people don’t know why Father Flannel’s Catholic life is so lightweight and limp and they don’t know why his style is so lacking in substance, and they go on in their muddled way thinking that he really does believe the Catholic faith when, in fact, he doesn’t at all.

Consequently, Fr Flannel doesn’t really have much of a message at all. He doesn’t believe any of the gospel except as some sort of beautiful story which inspires people to be nicer to each other. All that is left of his priesthood, therefore, is to be a nice guy to entertain people with inspirational thoughts and get everyone to be nicer to one another and try to save the planet.

The poor faithful have swallowed this stuff for two or three generations now, and they don’t even know what poison they’re swallowing because the lies are all dressed up in the same traditional language the church has always used. It’s like someone has put battery acid into a milk bottle and given it to a baby, and never imagined that there was anything wrong with doing so–indeed thought it was the best thing for baby.

The faithful don’t know why their church has become like a cross between a Joan Baez concert and a political activism meeting. They don’t understand why they never hear the need for confession or repentance or hear about old fashioned terms like ‘the precious blood’ or ‘ the body, blood, soul and divinity of Our Lord and Savior” The fact of the matter is Father Flannel doesn’t really think that sort of thing is ‘helpful’.

This is why evangelization of the American Catholics in the pew is probably the most difficult task of all. They don’t know what they don’t know. For three generations now they have been given watered down milk and been told it was wine. They actually think that Catholic lite is what it’s all about, and are astounded to think that there are some of us who think that they have actually been fed a version of Christianity that is scarcely Christianity at all.

Gay Brits Come to U.S. for Sex Selection

Gay Brits Come to U.S. for Sex Selection

Well aren't we just the lucky duckies.  Less than one month after our gutless wonder elected officials in Washington D.C. refused to ban abortion based on sex selection, we are now seeing what will no doubt become the new popular reason to visit our country.  Wow.  It will redefine and give a whole new sub-meaning to our tourist industry.

Gay, straight, single female or single male - ya'll come and get it.  We are here to serve up whatever you want.

I am so DAMN mad.

Catholics Could Help Elect a Mormon President - Meridian Magazine - LDS, Mormon and Latter-day Saint News and Views

This is a seriously good article of the powerful vs the powerful.

Catholics Could Help Elect a Mormon President - Meridian Magazine - LDS, Mormon and Latter-day Saint News and Views

Reflection from Holy Father

Pope Reflects on the Power of Prayer

The Holy Father reminded the faithful May 9 to trust God like Peter did and thanks everyone for their prayers for him as the Successor of Peter.

BY EWTN NEWS

| Posted 5/9/12 at 2:42 PM

Pope Benedict XVI says he has been sustained during his seven years as Pontiff by the prayers of people around the world.

“From the first moment of my election as the Successor of St. Peter, I have always felt supported by the prayers of you all, by the prayer of the Church, especially by your prayers at moments of greatest difficulty, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart,” he told pilgrims in St. Peter's Square during his May 9 general audience.

“Unanimous and constant prayer is a precious instrument in overcoming all of the trials that may arise in the path of life, because it is our being deeply united with God that allows us to also be deeply united to others,” the Pope said before thanking everyone again.

Pope Benedict’s prepared remarks for the day focused on the prayer life of the early Church, continuing a series of teachings he has been giving. This morning, along with approximately 10,000 pilgrims, he examined the episode in the life of his predecessor, St. Peter, who was released from imprisonment by an angel on the eve of his trial in Jerusalem.

“The strength of the unceasing prayer of the Church rises to God, and the Lord hears and carries out an unthinkable and unhoped-for deliverance, sending his angel,” he said.

The liberation of Peter has overtones of both the Jewish exodus from slavery in Egypt and the resurrection of Christ, the Pope noted. It also highlights “a pressing invitation” to follow Christ, since “only by coming out of yourself in order to start walking with the Lord and doing his will will you experience true freedom.”

Pope Benedict also noted that even though Peter was in “such a critical and dangerous situation,” the Acts of the Apostles informs us that he was asleep and had to be woken by the angel.

“This attitude may seem odd, but it denotes trust and confidence: He trusts in God; he knows he is surrounded by the solidarity and support of his followers and abandons himself totally into the hands of Lord,” the Pope said. “This is how our prayer must be: assiduous, united with others, an expression of complete trust in God, who knows us in our most intimate selves and looks after us.”

Pope Benedict concluded by saying that the story of the liberation of Peter “tells us that the Church, each of us, goes through the night of trial, but it is the unceasing vigilance of prayer that sustains us.”
For this reason, he taught, every believer should cultivate a “constant and trusting” prayer in the Lord, who “frees us from our chains and guides us. ... He gives us serenity of heart to face the difficulties of life, even rejection, opposition and persecution.”

Fr. Longenecker has it right

The teenaged guys are down in the basement on X-box and when I go down I realize they are playing some horrible game where they have to slaughter everybody in sight. When I remonstrate they call out cheerfully, “It’s okay Dad. They’re Nazi Zombies.”

Have you ever thought about the meaning behind horror movies and games? Why do we like to hate the Nazi Zombies? Why does Count Dracula turn into a blood sucking monster? Why do werewolves transmogrify? What is it about the living dead? The movies are, of course, make believe (although there are some pretty creepy stories from exorcists of people who do actually transmogrify and become like beasts) but I like stories that make me believe, and what I believe from the horror movies is that real, ordinary people can be transformed into monsters. They really can be transformed into the “living dead”. They really can become mere shells of human beings with their humanity extinguished. They can become Nazi Zombies.

I can’t help thinking of these truths as I witness the gathering storm clouds in our society. The extreme, radical feminists, abortionists, homoexualists and perverts are starting to roam about in our society seeking whom they may devour. We mustn’t forget the greedy corporate executives, the bankers who earn obscene amounts of money from crooked deals, get government buy outs and then reward themselves with million dollar bonuses. We can’t forget the drug barons, the pushers and pimps, the thieves–the gang members who roam our streets or who lurk just beyond our borders. They are out there, and they are growing more and more relentless in their rage.

Click the link below for the whole story

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/standingonmyhead/zombies-are-real

Debunking an Urban Legend

Isn't it funny how stories get created out of nothing? I dare say that Ryan's critics have all read Ayn Rand in their youth. I suppose that makes them all uber-capitalists and Objectivist, and, oh yes, let's not forget, atheists.

Click on title of post got story.

Why I'm Catholic

I'm currently reading A People of Hope by John L. Allen, Jr.  I started reading this book so I could learn more about the American Cardinal, Timothy Dolan, and get a deeper understanding of why I connect with him so completely as a leader of our church in America today.

On page xx of the Introduction, Allen completely encapsulates why I remain Catholic in a secular and increasingly antagonistic world.  These are his words and I am making them mine.

"When I say 'faith', what I mean instead is that at some level, most Catholics really do believe that there's something supernatural about the Church, that it's where God calls them to be despite the well-documented failures to live up to its lofty ideals.  As a result, most Catholics, most of the time, don't make decisions about the Church based primarily on ideological considerations -- i.e., that they happen to agree with the political priorities of the current leadership class -- or on the consumerist logic that the Catholic Church meets their perceived needs better than its competitors in the dynamic American religious marketplace.  Instead, with eyes wide open, they still believe the Catholic Church is their spiritual home.  Given that frame, they see the Church not as a debating society or a multinational enterprise, but a family -- with all the flaws and dysfunction, but also all the joy and life, of families everywhere."

Vanderbilt University policy forces Catholic group off campus :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Sadly, we will be seeing more and more of this sort of thing.  We are facing hard time but we are up to the challenge.

Vanderbilt University policy forces Catholic group off campus :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Former atheist promises encounter with God through saints' relics :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

A truly inspiring story of the journey back to Fair as we approach Holy Week.

Former atheist promises encounter with God through saints' relics :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

coverage largely non-existent. Heart-sick.

Media Ignores Large Religious Freedom Protest In San Francisco

This is my world today

Truth. Self-Delusion. Honesty.

This week's Lenten Reflection can be found HERE.

Ash Wednesday - Concern

Holy Father reminds us that Lent is an opportunity to reflect on the heart of Christian life - Charity.  We reflect on charity both as an individual and as a community.  Our journey to charity is a journey of prayer, sharing, silence, and fasting.

Today Holy Father reflects, in part, on v. 24 of the Letter to the Hebrews - "Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works” (Heb 10:24).  The focus is concern for others, reciprocity, and personal holiness.  My post today will focus on his discussion of concern for others. 

The Greek verb, katanoien, is used in these writings.  Its deep meaning is to scrutinize, be attentive, to observe carefully, and take stock of something. 

We are reminded in Lk: 6:41 to observe the plank in our own eye before looking at the splinter in the eye of our brother. 

In Heb 3:1 we are told to turn our minds to Jesus.  Then to concern for others, and not to be indifferent to the needs of others.

Gen. 4:9 tells us to be guardians of our brothers and sisters.

God's greatest commandment of loving one another demands we acknowledge our responsibility towards others.  As we see others as our brothers and sisters, we experience solidarity, justice, mercy and compassion.  In populorum Progressia, 66, Paul VI states, "Human society is sorely ill. The cause is not so much the depletion of natural resources, nor their monopolistic control by a privileged few; it is rather the weakening of brotherly ties between individuals and nations."

Concern entails desiring what is good for others, physical, moral, and spiritual.  Contemporary culture seems to have lost it sense of good and evil.  In Ps 119:68 we read You are generous and act generously, teach me your will.  We are guided to reaffirm our generosity, to act generously.  It affairs that good exists.

Concern for others means being aware of the needs of others.  But often we fail because of our attachment to material possessions, or a sense of self-sufficiency, or perhaps, we put our self-interest above all.  But by nurturing our capacity for showing mercy towards others, we humble ourselves.  Our own experience of suffering can awaken within us a sense of compassion and empathy.

Our call to show concern for others also applies to their spiritual well-being.  We are commanded to not be silent before evil.  We must recover our capacity to not remain silent before the evil we see in an individual, a community, or in those who govern us.  Spiritual well-being demands that we reject adapting to the prevailing mentality of society if evil is its direction.  We are told to warn our brothers and sisters against actions that are contrary to the truth and do not follow the path of goodness.

We do this, not in a spirit of accusation, but rather be moved by love and mercy, a desire for the genuine good of others. (Gal 6:1) Brothers, even if a person is caught in some transgression, you who are spiritual should correct that one in a gentle spirit, looking to yourself, so that you also may not be tempted.

In the closing of Benedict XVI's message on Ash Wednesday, he says - Scripture tells us that even “the upright falls seven times” (Prov 24:16); all of us are weak and imperfect (cf. 1 Jn 1:8). It is a great service, then, to help others and allow them to help us, so that we can be open to the whole truth about ourselves, improve our lives and walk more uprightly in the Lord’s ways. There will always be a need for a gaze which loves and admonishes, which knows and understands, which discerns and forgives (cf. Lk 22:61), as God has done and continues to do with each of us.

Denver Theology on Tap inspires controversy, venue change

Denver Theology on Tap inspires controversy, venue change

And so it goes. Speak OUT on discrimination.

I Knew it Would Be hard but . . .

I knew it would get progressively harder to be a faithful Catholic, not to say that it would be too hard to remain Catholic, but, to keep up the strength to stay on my feet.  Between the "entertainment" industry and what passes for government these days in our country, it's amazing we Catholics don't get knocked out for the count.  Oh, but wait!  This is the era of tolerance and respect.  We all have a right to live our lives openly and freely without criticism or mockery or violence done upon us.  Uhuh. 

That is, unless you are Catholic.  How embarrassing for Mr. Obama that his little assault of religious freedom backfired.  Nothing like an irreligious President to united Catholics in a way that no Catholic leader in recent memory has been able to.  We may fight amongst ourselves but you were not invited to the fight and except for your lackeys, we, as a united group along with our religious brethren, are turning against you. 

And Nicki, Nicki . . . you may have found the front seat howlers at the Grammy's reassuring but have you read or listened to the news since Sunday?  I predict you are going to have a career crisis very soon.  A little personal reflection might be helpful to you eventually.  In fact, to the industry at large - are you paying attention?  Buying records and going to movies is optional.

Yeah, I knew it would be hard to continue being a faithful Catholic, but, you know what?  I'm up for the fight.  Bring it on.

Origianally reading in the National Catholic Register

Secularism's Toll on Catholic Americans

Father Robert Barron on HHS mandate: 'I would hope that American Catholics would argue against the Obama administration move, not only because they are Catholics, but also because they are Americans.'

BY FATHER ROBERT BARRON
Some years ago, Holy Cross Father James Burtchaell published a seminal book entitled The Dying of the Light. The central thesis of this study was that hundreds of universities that began under religious auspices and for religious purposes —the University of Chicago, Princeton, Harvard, Yale, to name just some of the most prominent —have undergone so thorough an erosion of their original identities that now they are utterly secular in orientation.

A particularly interesting feature of Burtchaell’s book was his analysis of the slow, subtle process by which the change from fervently religious to blandly secular took place: slight changes, little adjustments, tiny concessions barely noticed at the time, but all of them conducing finally toward the inevitable secularization. The Dying of the Light was meant to be a sobering lesson and a wake-up call to many Catholic universities today, which find themselves on a similar path to compromise.

I won’t follow that part of Burtchaell’s argument now (perhaps another time), but I bring up his book because it sheds a good deal of light on an analogous situation today. Decades ago, priests, religious brothers and religious sisters were colorfully visible features of Catholic hospitals, serving as nurses, chaplains, business officers and chief administrators. With the decline in vocations, this obviously religious leadership largely disappeared, but Catholic values, for the most part, still animated these institutions.

What has begun to concern a number of observers is that, as today’s medical personnel, staffers and administrators at Catholic hospitals have accommodated themselves more and more to secularist assumptions, even those values are in danger of disappearing. And what exacerbates the situation is that the leaders of many Catholic health-care facilities feel obligated not to overstress their religious distinctiveness, precisely because they are so reliant upon government funding.

In short, the slow but steady creep toward secularization of Catholic health-care has already been, for some time, a reality. But now the process has been given a massive push by the Obama administration’s recent mandate that all health-care agencies and institutions must pay for insurance that covers contraception, sterilization and certain kinds of abortifacient drugs —all of which are repugnant to Catholic teaching.

Here is what is particularly worrisome: The state seems no longer satisfied with a slow but steady evolution toward secularity; it is aggressively forcing Catholic hospitals off the stage, for it is creating for them an impossible situation. If they cave in and provide insurance for these verboten procedures, they have effectively de-Catholicized themselves; and if they refuse to provide such insurance, they will be met with fines of millions of dollars, which they cannot possibly pay. In either case, they are forced out of business as Catholic.

And this seems, sadly, to be precisely what the Obama administration wants. At the University of Notre Dame, on the occasion of his receiving (controversially enough) an honorary degree of laws, President Obama publicly and vociferously pledged that he would provide for a “conscience clause” for those who wanted, for religious reasons, to opt out of a policy they find objectionable. But with this recent mandate, he has utterly gone back on his word.

The secularist state recognizes that its principle enemy is the Church Catholic. Accordingly, it wants Catholicism off the public stage and relegated to a private realm where it cannot interfere with secularism’s totalitarian agenda. I realize that in using that particular term, I’m dropping a rhetorical bomb, but I am not doing so casually.

There is a modality of secular liberalism that is not aggressive toward religion, but rather recognizes that religion makes an indispensable contribution to civil society. This more tolerant liberalism allows, not only for freedom of worship, but also for real freedom of religion, which is to say, the expression of religious values in the public square and the free play of religious ideas in the public conversation.

Most of our Founding Fathers advocated just this type of liberalism. But there is another modality of secularism —sadly on display in the current administration —that is actively aggressive toward religion, precisely because it sees religion as its primary rival in the public arena. Appreciating certain moral convictions as disvalues —think here especially of Catholic teachings concerning sexuality —it seeks to eliminate religion or at the very least to privatize and hence marginalize it. In doing so, it indeed reveals itself as totalitarian, for it allows no room in the public space for anything but itself.

The reason that the Bill of Rights —the first 10 amendments to the Constitution —is so important is that it holds off the tendency, inherent in any government, toward totalitarianism, even if that means the totalitarianism of the majority.

The very first amendment, of course, guarantees the free exercise of religion in our country. Our founders obviously feared that even a democratic system, predicated upon a repudiation of tyranny, could become so tyrannical itself that it would seek to intrude upon the sacred realm of the religious conscience. As Jefferson, Toqueville, Lincoln and many others have seen, our democracy is especially healthy when it disallows a concentration of power —political, economic or cultural —in any one place.

I would hope that American Catholics would argue against the Obama administration move, not only because they are Catholics, but also because they are Americans.

Good Read and a Bit of Humor too.

How the Catholic Church Became Cool Overnight

Yet more proof of the goodness of Pope Pius XII

The article below is very important to me personally. I have always believed that Pius XII was not guilty of Nazi collaboration. I've clung to this belief through my faith and the historic testimony of Jewish survivors who were not listened to. Since the Vatican archives have been open to this matter, I can only believe that if anyone continues to spread this lie, than they are doing so willfully. I hope to see Pope Pius XII canonized in my lifetime or, at the least, formally recognised, to the world, for the lives he was able to save.

Researcher thinks Pius XII went undercover to save Jews

By David Kerr

Rome, Italy, Nov 4, 2011 / 06:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).

The Jewish New Yorker who has made it his life’s work to clear the name of Pope Pius XII of being anti-Semitic believes the wartime pontiff actually went undercover to save the lives of Jews in Rome.
Gary Krupp came across the evidence in a letter from a Jewish woman whose family was rescued thanks to direct Vatican intervention.

“It is an unusual letter, written by a woman who is alive today in northern Italy, who said she was with her mother, her uncle, and a few other relatives in an audience with Pius XII in 1947.” Next to Pope Pius during the meeting was his Assistant Secretary of State, Monsignor Giovanni Montini, the future Pope Paul VI.

“Her uncle immediately looks at the Pope and he says, ‘You were dressed as a Franciscan,’ and looked at Montini who was standing next to him, ‘and you as a regular priest. You took me out of the ghetto into the Vatican.’ Montini immediately said, ‘Silence, do not ever repeat that story.’”

Krupp believes the claim to be true because the personality of the wartime Pope was such that he “needed to see things with his own eyes.” “He used to take the car out into bombed areas in Rome, and he certainly wasn't afraid of that. I can see him going into the ghetto and seeing what was happening,” says Krupp.

Krupp and his wife Meredith founded the Pave the Way Foundation in 2002 to “identify and eliminate the non-theological obstacles between religions.” In 2006 he was asked by both Jewish and Catholic leaders to investigate the “stumbling block” of Pope Pius XII’s wartime reputation.

Krupp, a very optimistic 64-year-old from Long Island, N.Y., thought he had finally hit a wall. “We are Jewish. We grew up hating the name Pius XII,” he says. “We believed that he was anti-Semitic, we believed that he was a Nazi collaborator—all of the statements that have been made about him, we believed.”

But when he started looking at the documents from the time, he was shocked. And “then it went from shock to anger. I was lied to,” says Krupp.

“In Judaism, one of the most important character traits one must have is gratitude, this is very important, it is part of Jewish law. Ingratitude is one of the most terrible traits, and this was ingratitude as far as I was concerned.”

Krupp now firmly agrees with the conclusions of Pinchas Lapide, the late Jewish historian and Israeli diplomat who said the direct actions of Pope Pius XII and the Vatican saved approximately 897,000 Jewish lives during the war. Pave the Way has over 46,000 pages of historical documentation supporting that proposition, which it has posted on its website along with numerous interviews with eye-witnesses and historians.

“I believe that it is a moral responsibility, this has nothing to do with the Roman Catholic Church,” says Krupp, “it has only to do with the Jewish responsibility to come to recognize a man who actually acted to save a huge number of Jewish lives throughout the entire world while being surrounded by hostile forces, infiltrated by spies and under the threat of death.”

Krupp explained that Pope Pius used the Holy See’s global network of embassies to help smuggle Jews out of occupied Europe. In one such instance, the Vatican secretly asked for visas to the Dominican Republic– 800 at a time – to aid Jewish rescue efforts. This one initiative alone is estimated to have saved over 11,000 Jewish lives between 1939 and 1945.

Closer to home, the convents and monasteries of Rome—neutral territory during the war—were used as hiding places for Jews. Krupp speculates that the wartime actions of Pope Pius XII, whose birth name was Eugenio Pacelli, can be further understood in the light of his own personal history. His great boyhood friend was Guido Mendes who hailed from a well-known Jewish family in Rome. Together they learned the Hebrew language and shared Shabbat dinners on the Jewish Sabbath.

Later, upon his election to the papacy in 1939, A.W. Klieforth, the American consul general in Cologne, sent a secret telegram to the U.S. Department of State explaining Pope Pius’s attitude towards Nazism in Germany.

The new Pope “opposed unalterably every compromise with National Socialism,” Klieforth wrote, after a private chat with the pontiff in the Vatican. The two men had got to know each other during Archbishop Pacelli’s 12 years as nuncio in Germany.
Pope Pius, explained Klieforth, “regarded Hitler not only as an untrustworthy scoundrel but as a fundamentally wicked person,” and “did not believe Hitler capable of moderation.” Hence he “fully supported the German bishops in their anti-Nazi stand.”

Krupp describes the reputation of the wartime Pope as both glowing and intact until 1963, when German writer Rolf Hochhuth penned his play “The Deputy.” It portrayed Pope Pius as a hypocrite who remained silent about Jewish persecution.
The Pave the Way website carries evidence from a former high-ranking KGB officer, Ion Mihai Pacepa, who claims that the tarnishing of the Pope’s reputation was a Soviet plot.

Krupp explains how the communists wanted to “discredit the Pope after his death, to destroy the reputation of the Catholic Church and, more significantly to us, to isolate the Jews from the Catholics. It succeeded very well in all three areas.”

But he also firmly believes that a fundamental revision of Pope Pius’s wartime record is now well underway. “The dam is cracking now, without question,” he says.
Ironically, perhaps, Krupp says he meets more resistance when he speaks at Catholic parishes than in Jewish synagogues. “Many Jews,” he explains, “have been extremely grateful, saying, ‘I’m very happy to hear that. I never wanted to believe this about him,’ especially those of us who knew him, who were old enough to know him.”

And the verdict is . . .

It's been two weeks since the blow up regarding the continuation of the Life Teen ministry at our parish. After talking to friends, lots of thinking and finally - praying - I've settled into a place of peace if not total acceptance. As usual, I left going to Jesus last. I followed my own meandering and emotional path and finally, finally, eventually got to Him who should be my first stop, not my last, when my heart is troubled.

I started waking up when I prepared for this past Monday's first Arise meeting of our 3rd season of Arise. The title of this week's theme was "Called to Follow in Christ's Footsteps", a clear reminder to me of what I need to do when troubled by temporal matters. So, that was the beginning of the calming of my heart and mind. And now, for the next six weeks, it will be this following I will focus on.

The reading this week - Luke 24: 13-35, talks about recognizing the truth. In verse 25, Luke gives us Jesus' words that we are foolish men and slow of heart to believe. The key words, foolish and slow of heart resonated. How foolish I am to not turn immediately to Christ when I am troubled. My slowness of heart underscores, not my lack of faith in His guidance but, my weakness and enslavement to my emotions. Instead of railing as I'm asking why this has happened, I need to by-pass the emotions and go directly to He who has all the answers.

That turn of heart and mind lead me to pickup my copy of The Treasury of Catholic Wisdoma resource filled with the writings of many of our greatest Catholic writers. It was here that I found inspiration in the counsel of St. John of the Cross. One of the four maxims he counsels us to follow is "resignation". St. John, in these writings, is addressing his brother members of his religious community (of their monastery). Since we regard our parishes as our communities, we can easily take these words for our own good guidance.

. . . he should never intermeddle, either in word or in thought, with the things that happen in the community, nor with those of individuals, nor must he take note of anything concerning them, be it good or evil, nor of their personal qualities . . . in order to preserve his tranquility of soul . . .

Two of St. John's sayings were especially beneficial as a reminder of our inability to deal with problems easily if we overlook Jesus' presence in our life.

He who wants to stand alone without the support of a master and guide, will be like the tree that stands alone in a field without a proprietor. No matter how much the tree bears, passers-by will pick the fruit before it ripens.

AND - The virtuous soul that is alone and without a master is like a lone burning coal; it will grow colder rather than hotter.

As I read Blessed is he who, setting aside his own liking and inclination, considers things according to reason and justice before doing them, I thought of my lack of humility, the feeling I carried within myself that my thoughts and feelings on the situation that disturbed me so much were feelings of righteousness; that my pastor was wrong in what he did and how he did it. It's not my business to judge what is right or wrong. I am an observer of these events, once removed from direct involvement.

As I read The soul that journeys to God, but does not shake off its cares and quiet its appetites, is like one who drags a cart uphill and accepted the importance of this message, I was able to shrug off the unnecessary load I was carrying.

See that you do not interfere in the affairs of others, nor even allow them to pass through your memory, for perhaps you will be unable to accomplish your own task reminded me of the importance of resignation. The modern equivalent to St. John's words might be "don't go borrowing trouble". We all have enough of our own troubles to deal with; we don't need to take up the burden of others and make it our own. We CAN offer prayer and emotional support but that is very different from making the problem ours.

I am reminded again and yet again to trust in God. Rest in His protection. In tribulation, immediately draw near to God with confidence, and you will receive strength, enlightenment, and instruction . . . Abide in peace, banish cares, take no account of all that happens, and you will serve God according to His good pleasure, and rest in Him.

And so I turned, finally, to the Answerer of All and I found my clear path to what I needed to do and not do. 1.) Don't church hop. There is no perfect place. 2.) Focus on prayer and my relationship with God. 3.) Ask for words that will console others. And 4.) Always ask what He wants of ME, not what I want from Him.