Unity with the Pope

Last June, in his address to new archbishops, Pope Benedict said the greatest harm to the Church comes not from persecution from outside the Church but rather from that which "pollutes the Christian faith and the life of its members and its communities, eroding the integrity of the Mystical Body, weakening its ability to prophecy and witness..." Even at the beginning of the Church's history, St. Paul specified some of the dangers within the Church such as negative attitudes that belong to the world, selfishness, vanity, pride, love of money, etc. (cf. 3.1 to 5 )

The Body of Christ continues our Lord's redemptive mission today and throughout history. There have been many persecutions against the Church over the last twenty centuries; some were quite harsh and cruel. Yet, they strengthened the Church. The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church. The sins of the members of the Body of Christ impede its mission. Those who teach false doctrine as well as those who live immorally damage and make the Church less effective. This gives all the more reason to avoid everything that is contrary to the Faith no matter how attractively it is presented or how charismatic the speaker might be. We want the truth and have a right to it. The authentic truth of Christ is guaranteed by the Pope. No Pope throughout history has ever formally taught anything contrary to faith and morals.

When bishops, priests, religious, theologians and the faithful are in union with the Holy Father, we are kept free from errors in the area of faith and morals. We can rest in the assurance that we have the true Gospel handed on to us.

The papacy is a great gift to us -- to the world. Let us never forget to pray for the Pope each day.

Father Stanley

Labor Day

"The Angelus" by Jean-Francois Millet, 1814-1875

It was nice to have a different change of pace in the previous two months. The days were longer; the weather was warm and hot. Perhaps some of us had the opportunity to get away for a few days or to make some day trips. I hope that you had some time to relax and enjoy this time.

God wants us to relax. He taught us so when the Bible says that God rested on the seventh day. His Son, Jesus, had to get away from the crowds to pray and rest awhile. He was truly human and needed this.

We know that rest and relaxation are desirable and that almost everyone looks forward to this. Some would consider it ideal if they could do this all the time without any work. But, it would be so boring because we are human, and work is part of our human make-up.

As we celebrate Labor Day, we recall that God made us to work. The first sin of Adam and Eve did not bring work into our world along with all the other undesirable things such as concupiscence and a weakened will. Work would always be with us. Whatever work a person has to do should never be hated. Out of work comes good -- the good of society and the building up of one's own character.

A job can be hard and or distasteful by its very nature. Yet, it should have joy within it because of the accomplishment gained for those who benefit from it. Cleaning up a dreadful mess or performing invasive surgery are just two examples of jobs we would not consider pleasant. Yet, the successful completion of them brings happiness.

The thing which makes a job bad is unwholesomeness or immorality. When someone is disrespected by being forced to take unjust wages or to work in unsafe or demeaning conditions. It is also very wrong when a job's purpose is to take advantage of others, particularly involving sins against honesty and purity.

So, this Labor Day we thank all of us who have worked to bring about a nicer country in which to live. We pray for just wages, good working conditions and respect for the working person.

Father Stanley

The Queenship of Mary

One week after the commemoration of our Lady's Assumption into Heaven, the Church recalls her coronation as Queen of all creation. The Mass today, however, is that of the twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time. Nevertheless, it is a good day to reflect on Mary's role in our lives.

Pope Pius XII instituted this feast in 1954. The faithful have been meditating on this honor bestowed upon Mary in the fifth glorious mystery of the rosary. She is rightly called the Queen of Heaven and earth, of Angels, Saints and men.

The Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all guilt of original sin, on the completion of her earthly sojourn, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen of the universe, that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, "the Lord of Lords" (Rev. 19:16) and the Conquerer of sin and death. (Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, no. 59)

She is the Mother of Christ Who is King of all. As mother of the King , she is properly Queen. More importantly, she served her Son perfectly. She conformed her will to God's will. Our Lord said "...Blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it." (Luke 11:28) Mary certainly kept the word of God. She bore the Word in her womb.

What a perfect example our Lady is for us. She is our mother who leads us to do what God wants and what is good for us. By Baptism each of us is incorporated into Christ's Body, the Church. Mary is the Mother of Christ; she is the Mother of the Church. It is to our benefit to have recourse to her every day.

This Thursday, August 26, marks the 100th birthday of Bl. Teresa of Calcutta. She had a great devotion to the Mother of God. Each day, she got her strength from the Holy Eucharist in order to help the sick and the dying in India. She was helped also by the intercession of our Lady. We, too, are aided by Mary in doing whatever God asks of us.

Father Stanley

The Solemnity of Our Lady's Assumption

In honor of the Solemnity of Our Lady's Assumption, the following is an excerpt from Conversation with God by Fr. Francis Fernandez, Scepter Publishers, New York, 1990:

Let us look at Our Lady, already taken up into heaven. Just as a traveler, gazing out to contemplate a vast panorama, seeks some human figure in his surroundings to bring the distant objects into perspective, so do we look towards God with amazement, but can identify and welcome a purely human figure at the side of his throne. A ship has finished its passage, a destiny has been fulfilled, a human perfection has existed Through her, his masterpiece, we see God's relations with humanity more clearly and with greater insight.

Our Lady's privileges are related to her Motherhood and, as such, with our redemption too. Taken into heaven, Mary is an image and forerunner of the Church, still on the way towards eternal life. From heaven, she shines forth until the day of the Lord shall come, as a sure sign of hope and solace for the people of God during its sojourn on earth. By the mystery of the Assumption into heaven, there were definitively accomplished in Mary all the effects of the one mediation of Christ the Redeemer of the world and Risen Lord.. In the mystery of the Assumption is expressed the faith of the Church, according to which Mary is united by a close and indissoluble bond to Christ: She is the assurance and proof that, as her children, we will one day be in our glorified bodies beside the glorious Christ. Our aspiration to eternal life gains impetus as we meditate on our heavenly Mother above. She sees and watches over us, with a look full of tenderness, with more love the greater our need. She also has the specifically motherly role of mediatrix of mercy at the final coming'.

She is our great advocate before God most High. Truly, life on earth is a valley of tears, we are called to make sacrifices and do endure suffering. Above all though, we are not in heaven yet. At the same time, the Lord gives us many joys, and we have the hope of heaven so that we may look ahead with optimism. Mary is one of our reasons for happiness. She is our life, our sweetness, and our hope: We feel the affection of our Mother in our lives as Christians. We tell her, Turn, then, your eyes of mercy toward us.... Like her Son, she is full of mercy and compassion. She never withholds her helping hand from anyone who turns to her for help: Remember O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection... May we make ever more of an effort to seek the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, Queen of heaven and earth. May we fly to her, Refuge of sinners, and say to her: Show to us Jesus, whom we are in need of above all else.

For those who look to Mary in every circumstance, with the simplicity and confidence of a child before his mother, there is great security and joy. A Father of the Church writes:

Just as the Virgin Mary was a most docile instrument in the hands of the Lord, I desire greatly to be subject to her service. Grant me this request Jesus, God and Son of man, Lord of all creation and Son of your Handmaid Allow me to serve your Mother in such a way that You will acknowledge me as your servant. May she be my sovereign on earth, so that You may be my Lord for all eternity.

We need to examine the quality of our daily dealings with her. If you feel proud to be a Son of Our Lady, ask yourself: How often do I express my devotion to the Virgin Mary during the day, from morning until night? - the Angelus, the Holy Rosary, the three Hail Mary's before going to bed.

Saint Dominic and the Rosary

Although today is called the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 8 is the feast of a well known Saint, namely Dominic de Guzman. He was born in 1270 in Spain. His parents were devout Catholics. Having been ordained to the priesthood, he had a desire to preach the truth and to combat a heresy Albigensianism which was running rampant in Europe at that time. The Albigensians believed that there was a duality in the world: the spirit was good while matter was evil. Therefore, they lived austerely, ate and drank minimally and even abstained from procreation.

St. Dominic formed a group of men and went about preaching the truth in the manner of our Lord in the Gospels. They themselves lived poverty; they owned nothing and begged for their daily sustenance. In time. they were recognized as a religious order, he Order of Preachers also called Dominicans.

What helped immensely in St. Dominic's conversion of the Albigensians was a vision of our Lady. She appeared to him and showed him a wreath of roses which represented the rosary. Mary asked him to say the rosary daily and to encourage everyone to do the same. In saying this prayer, one had to meditate upon the fact that our Lord took on flesh (the Annunciation), that He was born, that his Body underwent the passion and that He rose bodily on the third day after his death. This led people to understand that the material realm was not evil and that conception and birth were good things. It is not the body that is bad, but the abuse of the body that is wrong.

Our Lady, the rosary and St. Dominic's persistence in his vocation transformed Europe. The heresy abated.

The rosary is a powerful prayer. Not only do we ask for our Lady's intercession, but we gain a greater insight into the mysteries of our holy Faith. We grow more rooted in what God has revealed which leads to even more love for Him.

St. Dominic is a help for us too. He is an example of accomplishing God's will by his obedience and fidelity. He can be our champion in praying for us so that we can do the same things that he did in our own little way. May each of us always have the desire to know God better and to share the truth with everyone.

Father Stanley

Faith and Reason

Last week, I reflected on the need for faith, reason and love in our dialogue with the world. Pope John Paul II wrote an encyclical on this very subject just twelve years ago. In his conclusion he said:

I ask everyone to look more deeply at man, whom Christ has saved in the mystery of his love, and at the human being's unceasing search for truth and meaning. Different philosophical systems have lured people into believing that they are their own absolute master, able to decide their own destiny and future in complete autonomy, trusting only in themselves and their own powers. But this can never be the grandeur of the human being, who can find fulfillment only in choosing to enter the truth, to make a home under the shade of Wisdom and dwell there. Only within this horizon of truth will people understand their freedom in its fullness and their call to know and love God as the supreme realization of their true self. (Fides et Ratio, no. 107. Sept. 14, 1998).

There can be no happiness and fulfillment without the truth. This means we need the Faith and our understanding of it correctly through reason. Denial of God is a denial of who and what we are. Each of us is created by God. He has made each person in His own image and likeness. If we denigrate this image and likeness, we cannot arrive at the truth of who we are.

Without God, people are the arbiters of what is right and what is wrong, of what is good and what is bad. It boils down to the ones who hold the most power and wealth to make judgments for the rest of us. And who can say if this is really for the good of us all?

Because we have a relationship with God that may not be abjured, it is wrong to exclude Him from the public sphere. It is not helpful to compartmentalize Him only to churches and our homes. We should not park God and our Faith at the front door. We are who we are wherever we go and whatever we do. We are sons and daughters of God Who has a plan for each one of us.

Pope John Paul ended the encyclical with this invocation:

May Mary, Seat of Wisdom, be a sure haven for all who devote their lives to the search for wisdom. May their journey into wisdom, a sure and final goal of all true knowing, be freed of every hindrance by the intercession of the one who, in giving birth to the Truth and treasuring it in her heart, has shared it forever with all the world.

Father Stanley

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Faith, Reason, and Love...

Faith and reason complement each other. Faith enlightens reason, and reason helps us to explain and understand Faith. A secularist will see the two as opposed to each other. This is a misunderstanding. The Church has always used man's intellectual gifts to help us know the Faith that God has given us. Divine love is an intrinsic part of this. The knowledge and acceptance of the Faith leads to love.

On July 1, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Italian bishops' conference, in his homily on Blessed Antonio Rosmini (1797-1855) made a number of interesting points. He said that faith, reason, and love are the way to converse with the world today. They help to work through the difficulties that a Godless environment creates.

He said that Faith "does not take away responsibility, weights or crosses, but illumines everything with meaning and saves with mercy and with love," the prelate added.

He continued: "No one is alone anymore. God takes care of us. Every situation becomes a place of encounter and grace, is charged with eternity and the infinite, of redemption for oneself and for the world... The present takes on the hue of the future and looks at the earth with the eyes of Christ; it is filled with hope... man discovers himself not condemned to death but destined to life, not a vagabond going toward nothing but a pilgrim going toward the whole of love and happiness."

Essentially, this means that God gives meaning to life and to all that we encounter in life, even the obstacles. In denying God, the world falls into darkness and calls true what is actually false. No matter what you label error, it can never answer our questions. Only the truth can satisfy man's longings to know. An openness to the Faith brings us to a desire to understand God and Revelation and to know His love. Even in adverse situations, such as illness and pain, we have peace; we know that God loves and cares for us.

Two things are especially helpful in understanding this: prayer and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Through these means we will have an increasing appreciation of our Faith and a deeper love for God.

Fr. Stanley