Apr 21 Tue - How can I live the beatitudes?

 

Apr 21 Tue
How can I live the beatitudes?

St. Teresa of Calcutta gives us tips to live them in the midst of our ordinary occupations.

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

When you have nothing left but God, you have more than enough to start over. The spiritual poverty of the Western world is far greater than the physical poverty of our people.

2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

When pain and suffering enter your life, remember that pain, sadness, and suffering are nothing more than Jesus' kiss, a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss you.

3. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Humility is the mother of all virtues: purity, charity, and obedience. When we try to be humble, our love becomes real, devoted, and ardent. If you are humble, nothing will disturb you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are. If you are blamed, you will not be discouraged. If they call you a saint, you will not put yourself on a pedestal.

4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

If you judge people, you don't have time to love them, and I'd prefer that you make mistakes with kindness than work miracles without kindness.

5. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

People are often irrational and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. 
If you're kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. 
If you're honest, people can fool you. Be honest anyway. 
If you find happiness, people might get jealous. Be happy anyway. 
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. 
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. 
You see? In the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

6. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

In this life, we can't do great things. We can only do small things with great love.

7. Blessed are those who labor for peace, for they shall be called sons of God.

Peace begins with a smile.

8. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Mother Teresa was admired by many, but she was also persecuted and constantly criticized for doing her work of evangelization. She was also accused of not doing enough to change things.

She said, " Every abortion is the refusal to receive Jesus. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill each other? Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love each other, but to use any kind of violence to get what they want."

We must speak boldly, without seeking praise and without fear of backlash and persecution, but to tell the truth. 

Apr 20 Mon - Pharisee Asks If It's Normal For Temple Curtain To Suddenly Rip In Half

 

Apr 20 Mon
Pharisee Asks If It's Normal For Temple Curtain To Suddenly Rip In Half

JERUSALEM — A Pharisee by the name of Ahaziah asked his fellow scribes if it was normal for the temple curtain to suddenly and spontaneously rip in half from top to bottom.

The incident occurred on the afternoon of the day of preparation for the Passover, which just so happened to coincide with the execution of a trio of condemned criminals just outside the city.

"Is it, uh, supposed to do that?" asked Ahaziah, staring at the split halves of the massive curtain believed to separate mankind from God's presence. "I haven't been a Pharisee very long, but I sort of had the idea the curtain was supposed to stay put. I'm not sure if four-inch-thick, 60-foot-tall curtains are supposed to just violently split like that. It seems a little strange, is all."

Ahaziah further queried whether anyone knew if earthquakes were common in the region, or if people coming up out of their graves to walk around the city was something that happened frequently.

"Is this out of the ordinary, people getting up out of their own graves?" Ahaziah asked an elder Pharisee, his legs still shaking from the earthquake. "Do they usually do that when we execute a guy for blasphemy? It feels different, at least to me."

At publishing time, Ahaziah had asked if it was typical for three-thousand-pound stones to suddenly move away from a tomb opening.

The above “imaginary” news tells us that, if a person is aware that God has revealed something, he needs some evidence to confirm that it is God who reveals a truth.  

Therefore, we have to know in some way that God is the one speaking. It cannot be known from the content of the revealed truth, since it is not self-evident for us; if it were, it would not be a matter of faith. 

We need some external testimony, similar to the way external signs vouch for the authenticity of a document: a seal, or the signatures of a notary public and some witnesses, even if it can also be confirmed by its content.

It is reasonable to accept a revelation when it meets certain criteria that identify it as such, that is, as something said by God. This is what the First Vatican Council teaches:

For the submission of our faith to be consonant with reason, God has willed that external proofs of his Revelation, namely divine acts and especially miracles and prophecies, should be added to the internal aids given by the Holy Spirit. 

Since these proofs so excellently display God’s omnipotence and limitless knowledge, they constitute the surest signs of divine Revelation, signs that are suitable to everyone’s understanding. Therefore, not only Moses and the prophets but also and preeminently Christ our Lord performed many evident miracles and made clear-cut prophecies. 

Moreover, we read of the Apostles: “But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the preaching by the signs that followed.” 

Apr 19 Sun - What does Kerygma mean?

 

Apr 19 Sun
What does Kerygma mean?

In Acts, Peter says to the Jews in Jerusalem, “Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs.” Saint Luke reports that the two disciples on the road to Emmaus say, “Jesus the Nazarene… was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people.” Jesus publicly proved he was a great prophet by his sublime teachings and by his miracles.

But prophets can die: in fact, they are usually executed.

Jesus himself teaches the disappointed disciples that He is the one who has redeemed Israel and that doing so was God’s “set plan” from the beginning. It was necessary “that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory.” This plan was foretold in the Jewish scriptures. Now Jesus shows them what was there that they had never seen.

The Greek word kerygma, or preaching, refers to the most fundamental proclamation of the Gospel. It tells us who Jesus Christ is, what He has done for us, and how we should respond.

It is essential and answers the question of why we are followers of Christ.

We have heard the glad tidings that God the Father out of love sent God the Son to become man; and that through his life, death, and resurrection the Son Jesus Christ has redeemed us from sin and death; and that God the Holy Spirit is pouring out graces on us so we can repent and live transformed lives until we enjoy eternal life with the Blessed Trinity and all the saved forever.

The Greek word Didache, or teaching (or catechesis or formation), is the ongoing total formation we need to deepen our understanding of the Gospel and to live it more faithfully.

How do kerygma and catechesis (or Didache) relate? Pope Francis explains: “All Christian formation consists of entering more deeply into the kerygma, which is reflected in and constantly illumines, the work of catechesis.”

This ever-deeper formation is doctrinal (knowing the faith better), scriptural (knowing what God has spoken in his Word), moral (living according to Christian morality and the virtues), sacramental (the basic means by which we receive grace), ascetical (having a personal relationship with Christ through prayer), and communitarian (we are a people, not a collection of individuals).

In sum, we need Christian formation.

It is impossible to do everything at once, but we can begin to do one thing at a time for ourselves and others in our family, parish, or diocese. Here are some ways to become better formed:

- Deepen our knowledge of the doctrine of the faith by attending some classes.
- Read the New Testament a few minutes daily.
- Struggle to obey the moral law as the Church teaches it.
- Work on acquiring a particular virtue, especially the one you need most.
- Frequent the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and regular confession.
- Spend time in prayer each day, talking with Our Lord.
- Be involved with other people in acts of service. 

Apr 18 Sat - Am I obliged to do apostolate?

 

Apr 18 Sat
Am I obliged to do apostolate?
The Lord has risen from the dead, as He foretold. Let there be happiness and rejoicing for He is our King forever. Now that we are filled with Easter joy, the Church wants us to realize that this joy has to be passed on to others.

The Gospel describes how the women left the tomb quickly, filled with fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples. The risen Christ Himself meets them and confirms their mission: 'Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.'

Each Christian also must be an apostle who has found Christ and who feels the urgency to spread the kingdom of his love everywhere. “St Paul gave a motto to the Christians at Ephesus: to fill everything with the spirit of Jesus, placing Christ at the center of everything. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself. Through his Incarnation, through his work at Nazareth and his preaching and miracles in the land of Judea and Galilee, through his Death on the Cross, and through his Resurrection, Christ is the center of the universe, the firstborn and Lord of all creation."

“Our task as Christians is to proclaim this kingship of Christ, announcing it through what we say and do. Our Lord wants men and women of his own in all walks of life. Some [the religious] He calls away from society, asking them to give up involvement in the world, so that they remind the rest of us by their example that God exists. To others [the priests], He entrusts the priestly ministry. But He wants the vast majority [the laity] to stay right where they are, in all the earthly occupations in which they work: the factory, the laboratory, the farm, the trades, the streets of the big cities, and the trails of the mountains."

If you are cold and lazy, and are only concerned with yourself and live content with that, and even say in your heart, "What are the others to me? I have enough with my own soul; I only hope to keep it intact for God." Come now! Do you not remember the servant who hid the talent and did not want to trade with it? Was he condemned for losing it, or was it not rather because he did not want to trade with it? Think of this, my brethren, and never rest satisfied.

All our activity must have an apostolic value.
“We must always have a lively desire to give others the joy the Lord puts into our lives. Thus, none of God's children can be at ease if they do not continually feel the hunger for winning new apostles, like their own heartbeat."

Each of us should be like a burning coal, continually setting fire to everything it touches or, at least, raising the spiritual temperature of those around them, leading them to lead a more intense Christian life. We must set all earthly paths aflame with the fire of Christ. 

Apr 17 Fri - Should I care for others?

 

Apr 17 Fri
Should I care for others?
St John relates how the soldiers on Calvary saw that Jesus was already dead; they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers opened his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 

He did not say that the soldier "wounded" or "struck" his side or some similar expression, but rather "opened". Thus, he makes us understand that there the door to life was opened, and from that door poured forth the sacraments of the Church, without which no one enters into true Life.

In the Mass we live again “the drama of Calvary, which I would dare to describe as the first, the original Mass, celebrated by Jesus Christ." 

As He did on the Cross, Christ offers himself to God in the Holy Mass, being both Priest and Victim. One and the same is the Victim, and He who now offers himself through the ministry of the priests is the same who at that time offered himself on the Cross. Only the manner of offering himself is different. On the Cross, Jesus suffered death, with the real shedding of his blood; on the altar, because of the glorified state of his human nature, "death no longer has dominion over him", and so the shedding of Blood is impossible.

As we meditate on the fact that Jesus Christ is immolated for us every day in the Mass, we see very clearly the need to be well prepared to attend this Holy Sacrifice. We should ask for “a living faith in these moments, because we are drawing near to the mystery of Faith, to the Holy Eucharist; because we are about to participate in our Lord's Pasch, which sums up and brings about the mercies of God among men."

The best way to respond to Christ's sacrifice can be summarized in one phrase: “We must give our life for others. That is the only way to live the life of Jesus Christ and to become one and the same thing with him." 

We will share in his life to the degree that we have “a big heart to love God and love others." We should never forget how much God had to suffer for us.

We will learn to love other people by imitating the self-giving of Christ, who loved me and gave himself up for me, “Feel in your souls this blessed fraternity, which comes down to really loving each other, because we are all children of God, washed and purified in his blood and called with an identical Christian vocation."

We must make life pleasanter for others, sacrificing our own legitimate preferences if there is even a chance others might find them slightly off-putting. “When I preach that we have to make ourselves into a soft carpet for the others to walk on, I am not simply being poetic: it has to be a reality! It's hard, as sanctity is hard: but it's also easy, because, I insist, sanctity is within everyone's reach." 

Apr 16 Thu - What do we ask in the Lord’s Prayer?

 

Apr 16 Thu
What do we ask in the Lord’s Prayer?
The Lord wished us to repeat this prayer in God’s sight, to call Him our Father and, as Christ is God’s Son, be called in turn sons of God. None of us would ever have dared to utter this name unless He himself had allowed us to pray in this way, to become members of the big family of the children of God, gathered in Christ by the Holy Spirit. 

“The Lord uses us as torches to make that light shine out. Much depends on us; if we respond, many people will remain in darkness no longer, but will walk instead along paths that lead to eternal life.” 

During the day, we can ponder each of the seven petitions of the Lord’s Prayer. These will give us abundant material for our prayer and meditation. 

Hallowed be Thy name. We ask God that his Name may be made holy in us. We desire to obtain the highest degree of sanctity for all, to give glory to God, and that all may love Him. 

Thy kingdom come. We desire that God may reign in everybody’s will. We ask that we all may happily reach our destination in his kingdom. We, who formerly were slaves in this world, will reign from now on under the dominion of Christ, in accordance with his promise: “Come, O blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom which was prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” 

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We pray that all men serve and obey God on earth as He is served by the angels in heaven, carrying out his will.

Give us this day our daily bread. We ask for whatever is necessary for nourishment, clothing, and other temporal needs; for our daily food, which, for a Christian, is, principally, the body of Christ. Thus, we can understand this petition in a spiritual and a literal sense. For in the divine plan, both senses may help toward our salvation. With Christ’s help, we, who live and abide in him, will never be separated from his body and his grace. 

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive ... We ask God pardon for our sins. No one should complacently think himself innocent, lest his pride may lead to further sin. 

We cannot obtain what we ask unless we do the same for those who trespass against us. We make an act of contrition and of sincere love towards our enemies and all who have caused us any harm. We wholeheartedly love them in the Lord. 

Lead us not into temptation. We ask God to keep us from falling into temptations, for we should not trust our own strength alone. 

Deliver us from evil. We ask for deliverance from the evils that afflict us and may set us away from his fatherly love. We ask to be liberated from the guilt and punishment of sin, from all snares that the devil and the world set up against us. 

To finish, the priest alone develops the last petition of the Lord’s Prayer in the Embolism. He begs, on behalf of all of us, for deliverance from the power of evil: Deliver us, Lord, from every evil… 

Apr 15 Wed - Why do I have to go to confession? Can the Lord forgive my sins directly, in private?

 

Apr 15 Wed
Why do I have to go to confession? Can the Lord forgive my sins directly, in private? 

During a 2011 visit to a prison, Pope Benedict XVI clearly explained why it is necessary to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 

Gianni, an inmate at Rome’s Rebibbia addressed the then-Pope, asking a question that many Catholics have asked themselves at some point:

My name is Gianni. Your Holiness, I was taught that the Lord sees and reads inside us. I wonder why absolution is delegated to priests? If I asked for it on my knees alone in my room, turning to the Lord, would He absolve me? Or would it be another kind of absolution? What would the difference be?

With empathy, Pope Benedict said he understood the prisoner’s doubts.
“First of all, we must keep in mind these two connections everyone has: the vertical one, with God, and the horizontal one, with the community of the Church and humanity."

“Naturally, if you kneel down and, with true love for God, pray that He forgives you, He will forgive you. It has always been the teaching of the Church that if a person, with true repentance — that is, not only to avoid punishment, difficulty, but for love of the good, for love of God — asks for forgiveness, he could be pardoned by God." 

“Thus, if I honestly acknowledge that I have done evil, and if I love goodness, repentance is born within me for not having responded to God’s love. And I ask forgiveness from Him, who is the Good; He gives it to me." 

Benedict XVI went deeper and explained why the act by itself is not enough: “But sin is not only a 'personal', individual thing between myself and God. Sin always also has a social dimension, a horizontal one. With my personal sin, even unaware of it, I have damaged the communion of the Church, I have damaged humanity.”

“This social, horizontal dimension of sin requires that it be absolved also at the level of the human community, by the community of the Church. Thus, this second dimension of sin, which is not only against God but concerns the community too, demands the Sacrament." So, the two dimensions cannot be separated.

“The Sacrament is the great gift in which, through confession, we can free ourselves from sins, and we can really receive forgiveness and full readmission into the community of the Church." 

“And so, the necessary absolution by the priest, the Sacrament, is not an ‘imposition’ on the limits of God’s goodness, but, on the contrary, it is an expression of the goodness of God because He wants to show me, also concretely, that I have received pardon, back in the communion of the Church, and can start anew."

“Thus, hold on to these two dimensions: the vertical one, with God, and the horizontal one, with the community of the Church and humanity."

“The sacramental absolution of the priest is necessary to really absolve me of this link with evil, and to fully reintegrate me into the will of God, into the vision of God, into his Church, and to give me sacramental, almost bodily, certainty." 

He concluded, “I think that we must learn how to understand the Sacrament of Penance in this sense: as a way of finding again, almost physically, the goodness of the Lord, the certainty of reconciliation." 

Apr 14 Tue - What should I do when I commit a mistake?

 

Apr 14 Tue
What should I do when I commit a mistake?
When we make a mistake, we must correct it, always being ready to start anew.

In Bethany, Lazarus fell ill, and his sisters sent word to Jesus saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." 

Yet our Lord stayed two days longer in the place where He was. “This could sometimes happen to us. Lord, see, I am sick. Lord, you died on the Cross out of love for me: come and heal me. 
And it seems as though Jesus does not hear our prayer. Trust, my child, and persevere in calling upon that loving Heart. 
Our Lord understands that we can fall asleep. He wants us to trust in him. No matter what happens, He can bring us back to life."

At other times, Jesus does not wait for us to tell him anything. It is enough for us to be humble and weep over our own wretchedness and the fact that we are made of clay. “Our Lord's mercy is infinite, and He knows all our good desires. And we must do what is usually done to broken clay vessels: the pieces are put back together, and it takes on a special charm once the staples that hold the pieces together are in place. The clay vessel continues to be useful."

“Do not let your past falls, nor the possibility of future mistakes, worry you. Let's abandon ourselves into God's hands."

Two days later, Lord was on his way to Bethany, four days after Lazarus had been buried. Martha was unable to control herself and went to meet Jesus, saying: Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

“Have you seen how affectionately and trustingly Christ's friends addressed him? Lazarus' sisters reproached him naturally for his absence. ‘We sent you word! If only you'd been here!’ Don't you feel like saying, ‘Lord Jesus, come and teach me how to treat you in the same friendly, loving way as Martha, Mary, and Lazarus did."

A large stone covered the entrance to the tomb. Lazarus was dead and decaying. The air was foul. “Don't you see? Apparently, there was no more that could be done. How often have I told you that our faithfulness is forged out of the struggle of every moment, with all our wretchedness and errors! Woe betides those who do not fight! They lose their interior life, and it's very difficult to raise a dead person to life. Nevertheless, you have seen how the dead do come back to life when they hear the voice of God: ‘Lazarus, come out.’"

“Lazarus came back to life because he heard God's voice, and he wanted to get out of that state. If he had not wanted to move, he would not have come back to life. And what about you? Do you want to?"

“Always love God. He will never abandon us, even if we seem rotten."

As a man like us, Jesus wept for Lazarus, his friend. As the eternal God, He raised Lazarus from the dead. In his love for us all, he lifts us up to everlasting life. 

Apr 13 Mon - Is the priesthood a right for all Christian Catholics?

 

Apr 13 Mon
Is the priesthood a right for all Christian Catholics?

Some, comparing the Catholic Church with the Anglican Communion, argue that the Church would not have fully "rehabilitated" women. This implies that the Church would have deviated from Christ's intention. It is a Protestant supposition that directly confronts the divine constitution of the Church.

From the Catholic perspective, that hypothesis does not hold up. The Church needs purification in her members, but she has not betrayed her essential constitution. To try to correct the Church according to external categories is to introduce a "hermeneutical rupture" that Benedict XVI has already denounced as "discontinuity and rupture."

The hierarchical structure of the Church is not a later construction or a form of domination. Christ himself instituted a concrete organization by choosing the Twelve and conferring a unique mission on Peter.

"Priesthood is not about sociological domination," the Dominican Divry explains, but about "a service-oriented ministry of sacramental order." To confuse this fact with that of the fundamental equality of all the baptized leads to errors of interpretation. As St Paul reminds us, "there is no longer male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:28), which does not eliminate the diversity of functions within the Church.

One of the points where these distortions are most evident is in the interpretation of the female figures. To present the Virgin Mary as a symbol of forced submission is, according to Divry, a clear theological error.

Mary's "fiat" is not passivity, but a decisive act of freedom. The yes of the Virgin commits all humanity to the history of salvation. God does not want slaves. Rather, the relationship between Christ and the Church is based on freedom.

Introducing categories such as "patriarchy" or "equality of functions" transfers to the interior of the Church some socio-political schemes that do not respond to her nature. Thus, the priesthood is presented as a right or a promotion, when in reality "it is not part of the rights of the person," but belongs "to the mystery of Christ and of the Church." The priesthood is not a right, not even for men.

There is a personal diversity of functions within the Church. Yet difference is not inequality. The priest is not “more” Christian (or automatically holier) than the layman. 
The diversity of vocations in the Church does not imply inferiority. The Church fully recognizes the dignity of women and their irreplaceable role in Christian life, but without confusing roles.

We must recall that the mission of figures such as Mary Magdalene – "apostle to the apostles" – is not equivalent to the priestly ministry. These are different areas within the same communion.

The truth is clear: fidelity to the Gospel does not consist in adapting it to the fleeting categories of the time, but in accepting the mystery of the Church in all her depth, where the equality of the baptized coexists with the diversity of vocations.
Excerpts from Fr. Édouard Divry, OP 

Apr 12 Sun - Where can I find peace?

 

Apr 12 Sun
Where can I find peace?
We have Christ, who is our peace and our light.
The Lord appeared to the Apostles and greeted them: PEACE. Jesus destroyed the dividing wall between God and the sinner, and brought us together in himself, thus making peace. He gives us peace, but more importantly, He is our peace, who has made both of us one.

Since Christ is our peace, we shall be really Christians if Christ is seen in our lives because peace reigns in our hearts. Thus, we must not allow conflict to come back to us. God has destroyed sin for our salvation. We must not, then, allow ourselves to give way to sin, for this would place our souls in danger. We must not revive what is truly dead, calling it back to life by our sins.

Since we bear the name of Christ, who is Peace, we too must end up all resentment, so that we may declare with our lives what we believe.

We, too, then, should be reconciled with those who attack us, and also bring together the warring factions within us, so that our flesh may no longer be opposed to the spirit, and the spirit to our flesh. When the mind –that should control the flesh– is subject to the divine law, then we become a new creature, one of peace. When mind and flesh walk in the same direction, we have peace within ourselves.

When we consider that Christ is the true Light, far removed from all falsehood, we realize that our lives too should be lit by the rays of this Sun of justice. These rays are the virtues by which we cast off the works of darkness and behave as one in the light of day. When we refuse to have anything to do with the darkness of evil and do everything in the Light, we ourselves become light, and our works give light to others.

But if we look at Christ, then we shall be free from all that is wicked and impure, both in thought and in deed. We shall prove ourselves worthy to bear Christ’s name, not with words, but in our actions and in our lives.
Thus, fight; do not be disheartened by any failure as long as you have done your best.

If we keep this marvelous supernatural perspective, no suffering in this life will discourage us. On the contrary, we will be filled with optimism, because we are fulfilling a divine mission, united to Christ on the Cross. As St. Josemaría told us, “to find the Cross is to find Christ. And with him there is always joy, even when we are faced with injustice, misunderstanding, or physical suffering. Hence, optimism! Yes, always! Even when things seem to turn out badly, perhaps that is the time to break into a song, with a Gloria, because you have sought refuge in him, and nothing but good can come to you from Him."

Our Mother Mary, who encourages us and assures us of her constant, all-powerful intercession on our behalf. 

Apr 11 Sat - Why are there priests and bishops in the Church?

 

Apr 11 Sat
Why are there priests and bishops in the Church?

All baptized persons (the faithful) are equally called to the fullness of sanctity and apostolate—this call is their unity or principle of equality.

Because of this radical unity of God’s people, all the faithful share in the mission that Christ passed on to his Church. They all share in Christ’s priesthood: the common (or royal) priesthood of all the faithful.

Furthermore, “to shepherd the People of God and to increase its members without cease, Christ the Lord set up in his Church a variety of offices, which aim at the good of the whole body.” In the Church, there is a diversity of ministries sharing in the same mission. Among these, the hierarchical ministry stands on top.

Christ founded the Church. He made it clear that the Church was to be a visible institution with a hierarchical structure. Thus, He prayed to the Father, “and called to him those whom He desired.… And He appointed twelve, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach.”

Thus, the hierarchical dimension is not a later element or an addition to the People of God, but rather has accompanied the community of the redeemed from its very beginning. The Apostles were simultaneously “the seed of the new Israel and the origin of the sacred hierarchy.”

So, the hierarchical structure is not a human construct, something functional merely, but a divine institution destined to perpetuate the mission given by Christ to the Apostles until the end of time. It is Christ’s will for the Church to have a hierarchy—to teach, rule, and sanctify. Christ endowed the hierarchy with the power and mission to teach doctrine, guard the deposit of the faith, govern the life of the Church, and administer the sacraments. This embodies the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood of those who have received the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

The episcopate, the priesthood, and the diaconate are degrees of the one sacrament of Holy Orders.

The ministerial priest, by the sacred power that he has, forms and rules the priestly people; in the person of Christ, he effects the eucharistic sacrifice and offers it to God in the name of all the people. The faithful indeed, by virtue of their royal priesthood, participate in the offering of the Eucharist. They exercise that priesthood, too, by the reception of the sacraments, prayer and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, self-denial, and active charity.

The hierarchy is “a reality born of the charity of Christ, to fulfill, spread, and guarantee the complete and fruitful transmission of the treasure of faith, examples, precepts, and charisms left by Christ to his Church.”

The ministerial priesthood is at the service of the common priesthood to develop the baptismal grace of all Christians; it is one of the means by which Christ builds and guides his Church.

“Let us pray to the Lord that He may send to His Church ministers who are ardent with evangelical charity, dedicated to the good of all the baptized, and courageous missionaries in every part of the world.” 

Apr 10 Fri - Should I strip off my religious identity to participate in public life?

 

Apr 10 Fri
Should I strip off my religious identity to participate in public life?

In many countries, there exists the “naked public square,” an anti-democratic standard that requires citizens to strip off their religious identities as the price of admission to public life.

Thus, for the church and state to have good relations, the majority of citizens, who are believers, must disavow their basic identity to participate in political and social life. Religion needs to be hidden from public view. In public life. In schools. On the subway.
And I’m not speaking of ostentatious public displays of religion. Catholics would only go to their rooms, close the door, and pray. If it were so, what could Christians do every Lord’s Day?

Prayer and worship are not just commandments; they are also basic human needs because, actually, there is no such thing as an atheist. Every man is a believer because everybody holds to certain absolute core principles – even, ironically, relativism and atheism – as matters, not of proof, but truisms of faith.

Everyone believes in one’s “Absolute,” in one’s personal “god”. That god may be the true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or a god like sex, money, or power… or one’s reason. But it is a god with which one identifies and by which one’s life is ordered.

The naked public square does not exclude all believers from the public square, only those adherents of traditional faiths that do not make gods of the goods of this world.  

Contrary to its proclaimed goal of protecting religious liberty by excluding explicit religion from public affairs, it in fact fosters a preferential approach to religion, canonizing the inner option of secularism that pretends not to be a religion.

And, in the end, it promotes people living double lives. It does so by privileging certain identities – secular identities – in the public sphere, while other convictions of one’s identity must remain hidden.

Observant Christians and Jews must engage in some form of spiritual self-mutilation (or at least spiritual hormonal therapy) to conform to the expectations of the ‘naked public square’.  Those beliefs and values are supposed to stay in the closet because they are religious.

Grisez included “authenticity” as a basic human good.  By “authenticity,” he meant that what one held inside and what one showed were the same.

‘Integrity’ unites the various parts within man (reason, will, passions); ‘authenticity’ unites the inner and outer man; ‘friendship’ connects him to his human peers; and ‘religion’ to his God.

Authenticity and religion are, therefore, not optional, “feel-good” things, nor only for believers.  They are basic goods necessary for all human beings to flourish.

Social, cultural, and legal expectations that somehow imagine religion as an “optional extra” best confined to the sacristy are, therefore, fundamentally anti-human and in conflict with genuine human flourishing.  

I’m wondering why we have to conceal so many people’s core identities to be something normal and even desirable.

Perhaps an even more pernicious effect is the idea that persons of faith should live double lives.

Some excerpts from John M. Grondelski
Pic: Eucharistic banquet (detail of an early 3rd century wall painting), Catacombs of Saint Callixtus, Rome