Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Knowing God
In this time of commencement speeches, here is one from First Things that is truly beautiful and is certainly a reminder of one of the first things the newly minted graduates of a Catholic university need to remember; that Catholics are all, because of our baptism, called to the greatest calling of all; that of helping the world know—though often appearing unknowable—God, creator of all, and of our Church first.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Spinning the Pope
One thing that is very common with the institutional Catholic response to what the pope says—at least I have found it so from the US response—is to spin it as if the pope has supported your position and while this is clearly how politics operates and how much of the Church operates, it is not how it should operate.
Though the pope often speaks very compassionately about issues, he also speaks clearly and though careful attention ahs to be paid to the entirety of what he says, we Catholics are right to expect our institutional Church to expend that effort, but as George Weigel shows, some of them, in Catholic education circles, apparently will not.
This is an issue that also resonated around the first (1992) and second (1997) edition of the Catechism concerning capital punishment.
The first edition continued the clear traditional support of the Church for it while the second was quite a bit more subtle, though still continuing the traditional support.
The US institutional Church though, utilized this subtle change in words—which the Vatican official in charge, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, stated signaled no doctrinal change—to continue their attempt, still continuing, to change the doctrine.
Supreme Court Justice Scalia put this effort into very tidy context in First Things during the discussion.
Though the pope often speaks very compassionately about issues, he also speaks clearly and though careful attention ahs to be paid to the entirety of what he says, we Catholics are right to expect our institutional Church to expend that effort, but as George Weigel shows, some of them, in Catholic education circles, apparently will not.
This is an issue that also resonated around the first (1992) and second (1997) edition of the Catechism concerning capital punishment.
The first edition continued the clear traditional support of the Church for it while the second was quite a bit more subtle, though still continuing the traditional support.
The US institutional Church though, utilized this subtle change in words—which the Vatican official in charge, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, stated signaled no doctrinal change—to continue their attempt, still continuing, to change the doctrine.
Supreme Court Justice Scalia put this effort into very tidy context in First Things during the discussion.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Amy & Fr. Hardon
Here are a couple more Catholic blogs I visit regularly and sometimes post on.
Amy Welborn is a published author, mother, great student of the Church, and has one of the most widely read Catholic blogs out there; really well worth your interest. Amy is the ultimate Catholic blogger, keeping so many of us informed and in touch with the Catholic world through her work and global network of fellow Catholics.
Fr. Hardon—for those of you not familiar with him—was an incredible catechist, and Archbishop Raymond Burke, archbishop of St. Louis (the archdiocese that had one of the largest group of priestly ordinations this year, 112), has been appointed to take charge of the Cause for Canonization of Fr. Hardon.
The home for Fr. Hardon’s catechetical materials is Eternal Life, an apostolate for which Archbishop Burke, along with Father Roger Arnsparger of the diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, serve as spiritual directors.
The Real Presence is a website that has archived many of the writings of Fr. Hardon.
Amy Welborn is a published author, mother, great student of the Church, and has one of the most widely read Catholic blogs out there; really well worth your interest. Amy is the ultimate Catholic blogger, keeping so many of us informed and in touch with the Catholic world through her work and global network of fellow Catholics.
Fr. Hardon—for those of you not familiar with him—was an incredible catechist, and Archbishop Raymond Burke, archbishop of St. Louis (the archdiocese that had one of the largest group of priestly ordinations this year, 112), has been appointed to take charge of the Cause for Canonization of Fr. Hardon.
The home for Fr. Hardon’s catechetical materials is Eternal Life, an apostolate for which Archbishop Burke, along with Father Roger Arnsparger of the diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, serve as spiritual directors.
The Real Presence is a website that has archived many of the writings of Fr. Hardon.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Benedict & the Press
It is heartening to see the good press that Pope Benedict has gotten, given the negativity that hovered around at the start of his papacy; but it is no surprise to those who have known him for some time or those who have been fortunate to have been reading his work, whether books, article or reports from the CDF.
He is a sweetly gentle soul, with steel inside, and I think he will become one of our greatest popes, and it is truly a wonder that we can have two such in one lifetime.
He is also a great theologian, and his encyclicals and his many books are providing the type of catechesis sorely needed in a Church struggling with the burden of relativism, sexual scandals, and a confused bureacracy, particulalry in the United States.
He is a sweetly gentle soul, with steel inside, and I think he will become one of our greatest popes, and it is truly a wonder that we can have two such in one lifetime.
He is also a great theologian, and his encyclicals and his many books are providing the type of catechesis sorely needed in a Church struggling with the burden of relativism, sexual scandals, and a confused bureacracy, particulalry in the United States.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Catholic Blogs
There are many blogs portraying the beauty and wisdom of the Catholic Church and faith, but two I am particularly fond of, for their apostolate of visualization with only enough words to bring the images some context if needed, are Hallowed Ground, which continually presents innumerable and wonderful images from the history and present of the Church, and Holy Cards, which gives us cards of art that are absolutely beautiful.
The visuals of these two sites are always sublime, often profound, and sometimes wondrous beyond words, which is what all great religious art is about, and I would think that these sites will be treasured by you, as they are by me.
The visuals of these two sites are always sublime, often profound, and sometimes wondrous beyond words, which is what all great religious art is about, and I would think that these sites will be treasured by you, as they are by me.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Politics, Religion, & the Responsibility to Protect
I think it was very significant that Pope Benedict seemed to go out of his way to ensure that, in the eyes of the world, and Catholics, that his position regarding the role of the United States in Iraq, was much closer to that of President Bush than what many have speculated it was over the past few years.
In the Bush Doctrine, the National Security Strategy of the United States of America, the overwhelming focus is on the protection of human dignity, human freedom, religions freedom, powerful marks for a great power to assume and ones very congruent with those of another great power in the world, the Catholic Church.
Pope Benedict reinforced these principles in his speech to the United Nations, and reminds us of how important it is that we Catholics—who are voting in the United States for leaders of our city, county, and country—remember that being congruent with the basic principles of our faith and our nation, should be a major ingredient in the decision process that leads to our final vote.
In the Bush Doctrine, the National Security Strategy of the United States of America, the overwhelming focus is on the protection of human dignity, human freedom, religions freedom, powerful marks for a great power to assume and ones very congruent with those of another great power in the world, the Catholic Church.
Pope Benedict reinforced these principles in his speech to the United Nations, and reminds us of how important it is that we Catholics—who are voting in the United States for leaders of our city, county, and country—remember that being congruent with the basic principles of our faith and our nation, should be a major ingredient in the decision process that leads to our final vote.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Poor in Spirit
This teaching from the Beatitudes has always been difficult for me to understand, yet in this reflection from the wonderful book by Reverend Gerald Vann, O.P., The Divine Pity: A Study in the Social Implications of the Beatitudes, it is summed up nicely.
“You are only a steward of all that you have and all that you are; a steward for God and for His family. But you are meant to be more than stewards of God’s things: you are meant to be lovers as well. If you hurt anything of the things that God has made—by lust, or tyranny, or blindness, or by using things in any way as mere means to your pleasure or profit—you hurt yourself and all the world, because to that extant you continue to destroy the unity of the family. But if you love, and therefore can serve as well as use, can reverence as well as master; if you are a contemplative and have learnt to see and love instead of grabbing, and if your love is worship of God and not of yourself, if your love is as deep as the sea but as carefree as the wind, then you return to the integrity of God’s family, and, having nothing, you are at peace, because you have nothing to lose, and at the same time you possess all things, for yours is the kingdom.” (p. 41)
“You are only a steward of all that you have and all that you are; a steward for God and for His family. But you are meant to be more than stewards of God’s things: you are meant to be lovers as well. If you hurt anything of the things that God has made—by lust, or tyranny, or blindness, or by using things in any way as mere means to your pleasure or profit—you hurt yourself and all the world, because to that extant you continue to destroy the unity of the family. But if you love, and therefore can serve as well as use, can reverence as well as master; if you are a contemplative and have learnt to see and love instead of grabbing, and if your love is worship of God and not of yourself, if your love is as deep as the sea but as carefree as the wind, then you return to the integrity of God’s family, and, having nothing, you are at peace, because you have nothing to lose, and at the same time you possess all things, for yours is the kingdom.” (p. 41)
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