The Archdiocese of Washington has started a blog for the Lenten initiative, “LONGING FOR SOMETHING? MAYBE IT’S GOD.” My dear friend and priest-colleague Father Charles Pope writes most of the posts. He is well known for his offering of the Tridentine Mass and for running a bible study in the White House during the last Bush Administration. It can be found at:
Marked with the Sign of the Cross – “Jesus teaches us that the measure of our love for God is the measure of our love for others— especially the others that we don’t really like” (Susan Timoney). Given the invitations we are suppose to share with others this year, what you say very much hits the mark. I have encouraged parishioners to actively welcome prodigal friends and family back into the fold. I have also surprised them by suggesting that they invite their enemies to come to church with them. Okay, maybe they do not have to sit in the same pew— but true love comes with sharing the kerygma of salvation— and who knows, maybe an enemy can be transformed into a friend?
So What are You Longing For? – “How can a limited, finite world give us unlimited and infinite desire? The answer is that it cannot.” You are so very right, the ultimate meaning and purpose we seek can only be found in God and in his Church. Nothing else lasts or suffices. We can satiate our immediate physical needs, but such satisfaction never endures. If we are thirsty, we can drink. If we are hungry, we can eat. But we also have a desire for life and life everlasting. If God gave us this desire without any way of acquiring it, he would be a monster. Such is contrary to the very definition of a benevolent God. Evil or privation cannot exist in an absolute fashion, only goodness in the infinite perfections found in God. We can trust that if we desire a life, healing, forgiveness and justice (that the world cannot give) — the God of infinite mercy and power can do so. Nature is not deceptive and neither is the Creator of the natural order. We yearn for a banquet that never ends and for a joy that knows no bounds. Such is the promise we receive in the sacraments and the living Word of God.
A New Look – “When you think of the Catholic Church, what do you picture? Something you might not picture is a 20-something young professional female. What’s my point? My point is that the Catholic Church may be very different from the picture you have in your mind. In reality, it’s more universal, more diverse, and more relevant than it has ever been” (Laura Ferstl). Oh my goodness, and to think I knew you when you were still a little girl! Times sure flies! Yes, while some of us are starting to feel old, the Church is ever new and fresh. The young generation of Catholics is in many ways more pious and faithful than the past couple of generations and even their parents. Some pundits are saying the Pope John Paul II kids have come of age! Praise God, such discipleship dedicated to Christ and the sacramental life is desperately needed. The revolution in the Church is over. Now is the time for healing and a renewed faith and obedience. Those tried and true traditions and devotions of the past are new again. Our young people are a sign of contradiction to a selfish and hedonistic world. They live out the Gospel of Life against a culture of death. They proclaim Jesus who is Lord, yesterday, today and tomorrow!
What about Catholics and Mary? – “A truly biblical view does not downplay or minimize Mary’s role in God’s plan. Instead we seek to learn the rich meanings of what Jesus said and did in regard to Mary by His word as well as His example. Hence when Catholics are asked why they honor Mary a rightful answer may be, ‘I love Mary, I honor her and entrust myself to her care because Jesus did all these things and I want to be just like Jesus.’” Your citations from Luke 1:28-29 and 1:48-49 are only a few of the references which prove that Marian devotion is biblical and Christian. However, even if that were all of it, the evidence would be decisive. Those who separate Mary and the saints from the faith equation know little to nothing about the real meaning of the Church. Our Lord did not come into the world merely to establish individual relationships with us; there is also a prevailing corporate dimension. The Pilgrim Church prays for and ministers to her members. She invokes the communion of saints and calls upon the Church of Glory to pray and intercede for us. They are where we hope to go. Mary is the queen of the saints and our great patroness. I have sometimes asked critics, if Jesus was a good Jew, did he obey the commandments? Invariably they will answer, yes! I will ask further, this means that Jesus kept the fourth commandment and honored his mother and foster father, right? Again, a yes will be returned! Well then, if Jesus could love and honor Mary, should we not imitate Christ and do the same? Usually the yes is slower coming and with no little stuttering. But there is no getting around it. All worship and prayer has as its proper object, almighty God. Nevertheless, intercessory prayer is a wonderful expression of our unity with one another in the Church and our solidarity with Christ. Christ established a Church where he joined his friends into his mystical body. The Church is truly the sacrament or mystery of Christ. Mary is the mother of the Church. She is everything we hope to become. Having said all this, her role as the Immaculate Conception and Mother of God gives her a special uniqueness. While a creature like us, she cooperates with the saving work of Jesus— cradling Jesus in her arms both at Bethlehem and at Calvary. She is the first disciple and the one who endures a virtual passion and death in witnessing the crucifixion of her Son. She can say without any guile, this is my flesh, my blood. She offers herself up along with her Son’s redemptive oblation for the salvation of the world. While it took place within human history, that moment erupts beyond any temporality or spatial designation. She is always the mother who receives and gives (or surrenders) her Son. She is presented to John, our emissary at the Cross. The Mother of the Redeemer becomes the Mother of all the Redeemed.
Catholics – Secret Service Evangelizers – “Why is it so hard for Catholics to evangelize? We say it is not part of our tradition, yet, Jesus can be heard saying “Come and see.” We say, oh, I don’t want to seem pushy, or faith is too personal. Evangelization is sharing the Good News. Who has ever heard good news and thought, gosh, I’m not going to say anything, she might feel like I’m imposing” (Susan Timoney). Your post was an utter delight to read and it touches a serious point. Except for marriages and infant baptisms, Catholics do a poor job at bringing others to Christ and to his Church. A symptom of the problem shows itself in the political sphere when certain Catholic moral positions conflict with secular modernity. Many Catholics will privatize their faith, almost as if they are embarrassed by it. It is argued that we should not “inflict” our morality and/or our faith upon others, dismissing the Church’s truth claims as relativistic and stamping Catholicism as a disease or handicap. Obviously the 50% to 75% of Catholics who are lapsed will not be good evangelizers; indeed, they need to be converted all over again. Churchgoers, themselves, may be faithful to the rudiments, but lack specificity in their appreciation of Catholic teachings. Reaching out to others makes them uncomfortable because they do not know how to respond to questions which inquirers might ask. The Paulist fathers well understand this problem and lamenting the catechetical shortcomings that touched generations of Catholics in the 1960’s, 70’s and early 80’s, run programs to re-charge faith batteries and educate properly those who want to bring the Good News to their neighbors. Similarly, continuing religious education efforts in parishes are vital; we have doctors, lawyers, scientists, and others with a grammar school education in the faith. Many potential converts may have serious questions to be answered; we need to be able to speak about our faith in a credible way. It is not enough to say, “Talk to the priest.” Protestant critics of Catholicism often engage gullible Catholics in apologetics which they cannot handle; among their swipes is that priests spoon-fed and indoctrinate Catholics who are not encouraged to think for themselves. We have to demonstrate that this is a fallacy. It may be that most converts and returnees do not come to church for intellectual reasons; if this is the case, other aspects of our house must also be in order. If we invite people to “come and see”, well, we better have something in which they will find meaning (even among the accidentals of faith). Parishes should preach the truth, offer the sacraments with genuine orthodoxy and piety, be aesthetically pleasing, have music which moves us deeper into prayer and worship, and offer a welcoming fellowship. Of course, even if many of these traits should be lacking, we need to encourage a love for the Eucharist which will forestall defection and tardiness.
Why Does the Church Not Ordain Women as Priests – “The most immediate answer as to why the Church does not ordain [women] to the priesthood is that the Church cannot do so.” That really says it all. We must remain true to the apostolic tradition. Equality in grace and holiness does not oblige entry into holy orders. Baptismal priesthood and the ordained priesthood are different animals. There is no social justice issue because a vocation to the priesthood cannot be earned or merited. It is a gift from God. Just because a woman might think she should be a priest holds no weight whatsoever. Even most men are not called to the priesthood and some who think they are called may be found unfit and/or called to something else. The Church herself must authenticate the calling to the priesthood. It is a sacrament and the sacraments belong to the Church and are governed by the bishops and Pope. Gender is not an accidental but is a core element to our personhood. Those who deny this are falling into the old heresies against matter. The ancient Gnostics had women priests, but they were not Christian. The incarnation itself is threatened by such wrong-minded revisionists. They reduce our Lord to a myth and reimage him as a female upon the cross. The passion is likened to a rape and the Romans to the males in the Church who supposedly oppress them. It is all quite ludicrous. The priest stands at the altar as “another Christ” and he acts “in the person of Christ, head of the Church.” The priest signifies our Lord the bridegroom and the congregation stands as his bride, the Church. A woman priest (actually the word is “priestess,” a pagan designation) would breech this symbolism and it would illustrate a bizarre sacramental lesbianism of a bride to bride relationship. We really do not want to go there, and if anyone does, there is still the Episcopal community (Church?), although it is sinking fast. If the Church should ordain women and it is not the will of Christ, the heart of the Church would be destroyed. A false priest cannot consecrate the bread and wine. The sacrifice would be a sham. We would forfeit the Eucharist, Confession and Absolution, and the Priesthood. The stakes are too high. If there was the slightest uncertainty, we could not do it. As things stand, Pope John Paul II has spoken through his Magisterium and there can be no doubt. It is not the will of Christ that women be ordained priests. This is immutable. The priesthood serves men and women. All benefit from it. But only a very select few are called to be ordained.
As for the allegation that priestesses would have forestalled the pedophile crisis, this is nonsense. Even convents with nuns have faced charges. Women may have a heightened capacity for holiness, but their potential for mischief and sin is no better than that of men. Remember, it was Eve who gave Adam the apple.
Unless…. - “But Jesus teaches something very profound in John’s Gospel when he was teaching about Holy Communion (the Eucharist). In effect he says that without Holy Communion we will starve and die spiritually. Here is what Jesus says, ‘Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you’ (John 6:53). The clip from the Gospel of John movie is excellent. After watching it, I immediately ordered a copy of the film. The reason why the Church requires our participation at Mass each week is because we regard the Eucharist as so precious. The Eucharist is both spiritual medicine and heavenly food. Holy Communion constitutes the rations from that Promised Shore to which we travel as Christians. The Church clings to this sacrament as her heart because we would have none starve; the tragedy is that many have made themselves strangers at the Lord’s Table. A number of non-Catholic churches rarely or never celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Those that do, usually regard it as a quaint nostalgia with grape juice and crackers. Lacking a valid priesthood, their communion is a pale shadow of what we know as Catholics. Catholics regard the bread and wine as transformed into the very reality of the risen Christ. We receive our Lord’s body and blood, literally the living Christ who wants us to share in his life. The Memorial prayer (anamnesis) and acclamation reminds us that the sacrament makes present that which it signifies. The Jews murmured because the notion of drinking blood and eating human flesh was offensive to them. Jesus repeats himself over and over again. If he meant symbolic flesh and blood there would be no problem, but our Lord was graphic. He is establishing a new covenant and covenants cannot be made with fake blood. He would not take back his strong words and so many walked away from Jesus. Christianity without the Catholic Eucharist is crippled and tainted with a lethal form of atheism. Just as many of Christ’s Jewish followers refused to believe, many Christians today also deny this truth or attempt to soften or redefine it out of existence. The Church is faithful to Christ and to the successors of St. Peter. When our Lord turned to the Twelve, and asked if they would abandon him, too, Peter retorted, “Where would we go? You have the words of eternal life.” There is still nowhere else to go. We believe in the “real presence” of the Eucharist for one very simple reason, JESUS SAYS IT IS SO.