Always There

Dear Blog,

Been working for a month as a tuition teacher, i felt as if it's not the right calling. Yes, I'm working to save money to go there but some how I want to go now! Yesterday, someone came home, somehow I felt awkward around him. I kissed him but still i don't feel comfortable around him. Sorry, not that i hate him or anything, i do love him but i think deep down in my heart, i think i really hated the changes that occur in him and her. I really miss the old moment where things are the "norm" of "home". Now everyone lives in a different side of the "apartment". It cuts my heart really deep knowing i can't do anything because this is out of my control, but I have found someone who just told me to "hang on". It's not easy to hang on to things you know take times to change. People are so easy to adapt to new life just right after an argument or just a little misunderstanding, well i can't because it's just not the same feeling we used to feel among each other. Even though i let go some of my precious angels, they have no idea how much i miss them in my heart because of the memories we had. Now, I am holding on to my Big Brother and Mother and really hoping that someday, my little prayer will be heard, i know, who am i to ask God or even to beg Him for things. He's God but i love Him and Mother too much that i prefer to go confession to confess the same sins over and over rather to say "no" for infinity. I feel as if I am trapped in this canoe in the middle of the sea and everyone else are on small islands that I have to choose to go visit unlike before where the small islands are combine as one big island filled with Love, now, just hatred and revenge and scandals. I know complains are just not right but i really need a friend that can hug me tightly, Jesus and Mom, I need a hug. My tears are just to painful to let go nowadays, I do not know who will ever be there as my real friend on earth. I got Jesus and Mary, They had walk on earth and I am living on a place that's sacred but i need a friend to talk to. The Song from Canadian Tenors titled " Always there " really express how Jesus and Mary means to me but now, i need a friend on earth that really knows myself and spirituality and knows well that I am having a spiritual warfare that only God and Mary can helped me. I'm begging to God with my whole heart all the time that I'll be He's 100% but not everyone can understand but God will give a way.

" When I am less than I should be
And I just can't face the day
When darkness falls around me
And I just can't find my way
When my eyes don't clearly see
And I stumble through it all
You I lean upon, you keep me strong
And you raise me when I fall

You are there when I most need you
You are there so constantly
You come shining through
You always do
You are always there for me

When life brings me to my knees
When my back's against the wall
You are standing there right with me
Just to keep me standing tall
Though a burden I may be
You don't weary, you don't rest
You are reaching out to carry me,
And I know I'm heaven blessed
.
You are there when I most need you
You are there so constantly
You come shining through
You always do
You are always there for me


You are there when I most need you
You are there so constantly
You come shining through
You always do
You are always there for me


You are there when I most need you (you are there)
You are there so constantly (so constantly)
You come shining through
You always do
You are always there for me

For me

"

B

Canadian Anglican Catholic group votes to unite with Rom

Vancouver, Canada, Jul 28, 2010 / 01:10 am (CNA).- With “overwhelming support,” a recent meeting of leaders in the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada (ACCC) voted to unite with the Roman Catholic Church through the Apostolic Constitution created by Pope Benedict XVI.

The ACCC, part of the Continuing Anglican Movement, is made up of more than two dozen congregations. Its Eighth Provincial Synod and Thirteenth Diocesan Synod were held simultaneously at the Rosemary Heights Retreat Center in Surrey, British Columbia.

The website VirtueOnline.org published a letter from Dean Shane B. Janzen detailing the event.

The meeting was attended by four ACCC bishops, including Bishop Peter Wilkinson, the communion’s Metropolitan and Ordinary. Archbishop John Hepworth, the Australia-based Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), was also present.

The discussion included the House of Clergy and the House of Laity and focused on the implementation of a proposed Canadian Anglican Catholic Ordinariate under the Apostolic Constitution “Anglicanorum Coetibus.”

Support for the Ordinariate was unanimous in the House of Clergy and received 25 of 30 votes from lay delegates, with two members opposing the proposal and three abstaining.

The synod then passed a resolution enabling Bishop Wilkinson, with the advice and consent of the Provincial Council, to enact the necessary canonical ordinances and rules to establish the Ordinariate.

The House of Clergy elected members of the Interim Governing Council, which nominated and elected Bishop Wilkinson as the first Bishop Ordinary of the proposed Ordinariate.

According to Dean Janzen’s letter, the Diocesan Council also made financial changes to ensure that the diocese’s restricted funds are protected from “any potential litigation.”

Dean Janzen wrote that the focus of the synod was “the worship and praise of Almighty God; the proclamation of Christ's saving Truth; and faithful witness to the faith, order and discipline to Christ's one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.”

He reported that attendees left with “a renewed sense of optimism for the future and a clear vision for the present.”

“With the overwhelming support of clergy and laity for unity with the See of Peter and the establishment of a Canadian Anglican Catholic Ordinariate, our Diocese is now able to move forward united, renewed, and hopeful,” his letter read, according to VirtueOnline.

Me : Look out people, God is inter venting!

I'm Mary's Client now.

Posted by Frank

I'll probably die when I least expect it. That is my sense, anyway. Death for me will come "as a thief in the night." It almost happened that way for me once already. Then again, I really have no idea.

I do know several people who are close to me who are looking death in the eyes from an illness. The dreaded cancer takes one down this road slowly and tortuously. That path may await me as well. It's the "thief in the night" once again, just in a different guise. But certainly I will die, and I won't have a say in the manner or method. What to do? I intend to go down like a Christian, but I'll need a lot of help to do so.

A while back, I shared the letter Blaise Pascal wrote to his sister upon the death of his father. I liked the way Blaise turned an inevitabilty into a rite of passage for Christians. Not something to fear, but something to celebrate. That's a pretty contrarian idea and always has been. Below are thoughts on how the Blessed Mother can help us prepare for that day. These words were written by St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Doctor of the Church, and founder of the Redemptorists. But, get this, he says we can call him "St. Al" for short. That's him in the portrait below.

St. Al's feast day is coming up on August 1, but I'll be away from the good ship YIMCatholic, on shore leave, at that time. Before I go, though, I'll leave you with a little taste of St. Al's book entitled The Glories of Mary. This particular section provides a window on the "business" of the Blessed Virgin that I, as a recent convert, am unfamiliar with. These words, however, are comforting to me, because when I face this test, I'll need all the support I can get. As far as I'm concerned, she can sign me up as a "client" right this minute. Where is my pen?

Mary renders Death sweet to her Clients.

"He that is a friend loveth at all times; and a brother is proved in distress," says the book of Proverbs. We can never know our friends and relations in the time of prosperity; it is only in the time of adversity that we see them in their true colors. People of the world never abandon a friend as long as he is in prosperity; but should misfortunes overtake him, and more particularly should he be at the point of death, they immediately forsake him.

Mary does not act thus with her clients. In their afflictions, and more particularly in the sorrows of death, the greatest that can be endured in this world, this good Lady and Mother not only does not abandon her faithful servants, but as, during our exile, she is our life, so also is she, at our last hour, our sweetness, by obtaining us a calm and happy death.

For from the day on which Mary had the privilege and sorrow of being present at the death of Jesus her Son, who was the head of all the predestined, it became her privilege to assist also at their deaths. And for this reason the holy Church teaches us to beg this most Blessed Virgin to assist us, especially at the moment of death: Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death!

0 how great are the sufferings of the dying! They suffer from remorse of conscience on account of past sins, from fear of the approaching judgment, and from the uncertainty of their eternal salvation. Then it is that hell arms itself, and spares no efforts to gain the soul which is on the point of entering eternity; for it knows that only a short time remains in which to gain it, and that if it then loses it, it has lost it for ever. "The devil is come down unto you, having great wrath knowing that he hath but a short time."(Rev xii,12)

And for this reason the enemy of our salvation, whose charge it was to tempt the soul during life, does not choose at death to be alone, but calls others to his assistance, according to the prophet Isaias : "Their houses shall be filled with serpents"(Isaias xiii, 21) And indeed they are so; for when a person is at the point of death, the whole place in which he is, is filled with devils, who all unite to make him lose his soul.

It is related of St. Andrew Avellino, that ten thousand devils came to tempt him at his death. The conflict that he had in his agony with the powers of hell was so terrible, that all the good religious who assisted him trembled. They saw the Saint's face swelled to such a degree from agitation, that it became quite black, every limb trembled and was contorted; his eyes shed a torrent of tears, his head shook violently; all gave evidence of the terrible assault he was enduring on the part of his infernal foes. All wept with compassion, and redoubled their prayers, and at the same time trembled with fear, on seeing a Saint die thus.

They were, however, consoled at seeing, that often, as if seeking for help, the Saint turned his eyes towards a devout picture of Mary; for they remembered that during life he had often said that at death Mary would be his refuge. At length God was pleased to put an end to the contest by granting him a glorious victory; for the contortions of his body ceased, his face resumed its original size and color, and the Saint, with his eyes tranquilly fixed on the picture, made a devout inclination to Mary (who it is believed then appeared to him), as if in the act of thanking her, and with a heavenly smile on his countenance tranquilly breathed forth his blessed soul into the arms of Mary. At the same moment; a Capuchiness, who was in her agony, turning to the nuns who surrounded her, said, "Recite a Hail Mary; for a Saint has just expired."

Ah, how quickly do the rebellious spirits fly from the presence of this queen! If at the hour of death we have only the protection of Mary, what need we fear from the whole of our infernal enemies? David, fearing the horrors of death, encouraged himself by placing his reliance in the death of the coming Redeemer and in the intercession of the Virgin Mother. "For though," he says, " I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me(Psalm xxiii, 4).

Cardinal Hugo, explaining these words of the royal prophet, says that the staff signifies the cross, and the rod is the intercession of Mary; for she is the rod foretold by the prophet Isaias: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root"(Isaias, xi, 1). "This Divine Mother," says Saint Peter Damian, "is that powerful rod with which the violence of the infernal enemies is conquered."

And therefore does St. Antoninus encourage saying, "If Mary is for us, who shall be against us?" When Father Emanuel Padial, of the Society of Jesus, was at the point of death, Mary appeared to him, and to console him, she said: "See at length the hour is come when the angels congratulate with thee, and exclaim: 0 happy labours, 0 mortifications well requited! And in the same moment an army of demons was seen taking its flight, and crying out in despair: Alas ! we can do nought, for she who is without stain defends him."

In like manner, Farther Gaspar Haywood was assaulted by devils at his death, and greatly tempted against faith: he immediately recommended himself to the most Blessed Virgin, and was heard to exclaim, "I thank thee, Mary; for thou hast come to my aid." St. Bonaventure tells us that Mary sends without delay the prince of the heavenly court, Saint Michael, with all the angels, to defend her dying servants against the temptations of the devils, and to receive the souls of all who in a special manner and perseveringly have recommended themselves to her. The Saint, addressing our Blessed Lady, says,

"Michael, the leader and prince of the heavenly army, with all the administering spirits, obeys thy commands, 0 Virgin, and defends and receives the souls of the faithful who have particularly recommended themselves to thee, 0 Lady, day and night."

The prophet Isaias tells us that when a man is on the point of leaving the world, hell is opened and sends forth its most terrible demons, both to tempt the soul before it leaves the body, and also to accuse it when presented before the tribunal of Jesus Christ for judgement. The prophet says, "Hell below was in an uproar to meet thee at thy coming; it stirred up the giants for thee"(Isaias xiv. 9).

But Richard of Saint Lawrence remarks, that when the soul is defended by Mary, the devils dare not even accuse it, knowing that the judge never condemned, and never will condemn, a soul protected by his august Mother. He asks, "Who would dare accuse one who is patronised by the Mother of Him who is to judge ?" Mary not only assists her beloved servants at death and encourages them, but she herself accompanies them to the tribunal-seat of God. As St. Jerome says, writing to the virgin Eustochia, "What a day of joy will that be for thee, when Mary, the Mother of our Lord, accompanied by choirs of virgins, will go to meet thee.'

The Blessed Virgin assured Saint Bridget of this; for, speaking of her devout clients at the point of death, she said, "Then will I, their dear Lady and Mother, fly to them, that they may have consolation and refreshment." St. Vincent Ferrer says, that not only does the most Blessed Virgin console and refresh them, but that "she receives the souls of the dying." This loving Queen takes them under her mantle, and thus presents them to the Judge, her Son, and most certainly obtains their salvation.

This really happened to Charles the son of St. Bridget, who died in the army, far from his mother. She feared much for his salvation on account of the dangers to which young men are exposed in a military career; but the Blessed Virgin revealed to her that he was saved on account of his love for her, and that in consequence she herself had assisted him at death, and had suggested to him the acts that should be made at that terrible moment.

At the same time the Saint saw Jesus on His throne, and the devil bringing two accusations against the most Blessed Virgin: the first was, that Mary had prevented him from tempting Charles at the moment of death; and the second was, that this Blessed Virgin had herself presented his soul to the Judge, and so saved it without even giving him the opportunity of exposing the grounds on which he claimed it. She then saw the Judge drive the devil away, and Charles's soul carried to heaven.

Ecclesiasticus says, that "her bands are a healthful binding,"(Eccl. vi, 31) and that "in the latter end, thou shalt find rest in her" (Eccl. vi, 29). 0, you are indeed fortunate, my brother, if at death you are bound with the sweet chains of the love of the Mother of God! These chains are chains of salvation and they are chains that will insure your eternal salvation, and will make you enjoy in death that blessed peace which will be the beginning of your eternal peace and rest.

Father Binetti, in his book on the perfections of our blessed Lord, says, "that having attended the death-bed of a great lover of Mary, he heard him, before expiring, utter these words: "0 my father, would that you could know the happiness that I now enjoy from having served the most holy Mother of God; I cannot tell you the joy that I now experience."

Father Suarez (in consequence of his devotion to Mary, which was such that he used to say that he would willingly change all his learning for the merit of a single Hail Mary) died with such peace and joy, that in that moment he said, "I could not have thought that death was so sweet;" meaning, that he could never have imagined that it was possible, if he had not then experienced it, that he could have found such sweetness in death.

You, devout reader, will, without doubt, experience the same joy and contentment in death, if you can then remember that you have loved this good Mother, who cannot be otherwise than faithful to her children who have been faithful in serving and honoring her, by their visits, rosaries, and fasts, and still more by frequently thanking and praising her, and often recommending themselves to her powerful protection.

You can read more of The Glories of Mary at the YIM Catholic Book Shelf. Here too is a link to many prayers asking Our Blessed Mother to pray for us.

Even canon law is dangerous in the hands of amateurs

The answer to a canonical question is seldom found in a single canon.

A simple observation, one would think, but it is routinely overlooked by canonical amateurs, often with inconsequential results of course, but sometimes with ludicrous ones. Take, for example, a recent post by one “skellmeyer” who, citing Canon 253, suggests that Dr. Janet Smith is unqualified to teach in a Catholic seminary!

Skellmeyer, apparently upset with Christopher West’s presentations of TOB, has attacked Smith, a prominent West defender, on the basis that, if she is unqualified to teach in a Catholic seminary, she's probably also unqualified to defend West. We’ll come back to what one’s teaching in a seminary doesn’t have to do with one’s defense of West/TOB below, but for now, let’s look at Skellmeyer’s questioning of Smith’s eligibility to teach in a seminary.

Canon 253 § 1, upon which Skellmeyer relies, states “The bishop or bishops [in charge of a seminary] are to appoint to the function of teacher in philosophical, theological, and juridic disciplines only those who are outstanding in virtue and have obtained a doctorate or licentiate from a university or faculty recognized by the Holy See.” Obviously this canon is relevant to assessing credentials for seminary appointments, although how exactly Skellmeyer concludes that Canon 253 is “among the most roundly ignored canons [sic] in canon law”, escapes me. I can think of several other candidates for that dubious distinction. But let that pass.

Skellmeyer then correctly lists Smith’s academic credentials: her Bachelor’s in Classics from Grinnell College; a Master’s in Classical Languages from the University of North Carolina; and a Ph.D. in Classical Languages from the University of Toronto, noting finally that Smith holds the Fr. Michael J. McGivney Chair in Life Ethics (at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit). Here’s where the trouble begins.

First, Skellmeyer rephrases the canon incorrectly ( “Wow. Can't teach in a seminary without a doctorate, eh?” ) but worse, mistakenly assuming that Canon 253 is the sole criterion by which seminary appointments are assessed, and amid sarcasm that has no place in the public discourse of Catholics, then launches an attack on Smith (and, while he’s at it, against the esteemed Ralph Martin and George Weigel as well!)

Says Skellmeyer: “No good Catholic would violate the sacred canons of the Church, would they? Would they? . . . Not only does Janet [sic] appear to be missing a Ph.D. or licentiate in from an ‘institution recognized by the Holy See’, none of her degrees appear to actually be in theology at all. Could someone tell me how one gets the Michael J. McGivney Chair in Life Ethics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary without having a degree in theology? It's certainly a poser.”

Well folks, it’s not a “poser”, not for anyone who knows canon law or Dr. Janet Smith.

Canonically, the credential requirement of Canon 253 is unquestionably among those many norms subject to dispensation in accord with Canons 10, 85-87, and 149 § 2. Cito, Exegetical Comm., II/1: 273. If, therefore, competent archdiocesan authorities concluded that Dr. Smith was qualified to teach in a seminary, they were fully authorized to appoint her.

Nor is this opinion conveniently offered just to aid my friend*: During the lengthy post-Conciliar canonical revision process, the requirement newly proposed for Canon 253, that seminary faculty have “pontifical degrees”, was criticized as being unnecessary in certain cases and unduly burdensome in many others. This criticism was effectively conceded and remedied when the pontifical Revision Commission expressly confirmed that the newly proposed credential requirement could be dispensed from by local authorities. Communicationes 14 (1982) 166. Smith’s seminary appointment therefore falls wholly within canon law and Skellmeyer is simply rash to assert that she "appears to be in violation of canon law."**

Notwithstanding the patent legality of Smith’s appointment, Skellmeyer could, I suppose, still complain about it to the Holy See. But in complaining to Rome—and here we come to our second point—Skellmeyer should keep in mind a few salient points about Smith.

Janet Smith: (1) was appointed in the mid 1990s by Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith to a three-person team charged with investigating the highly controversial Grammick–Nugent materials on Church teaching regarding homosexuality; (2) was appointed in 2005 by the Congregation for Catholic Education to serve as a US seminary visitor; and (3) was reappointed in 2009 to her third five-year term as a consultant to the Pontifical Council on the Family. I am, frankly, hard-pressed to think of an American lay woman who has been called upon to serve more Roman dicasteries than has Janet Smith!

Yet Skellmeyer, having looked up a canon, questions her qualifications to teach in a seminary. See what I mean by "ludicrous"?

A last thought: by personally attacking Janet Smith, Skellmeyer has done a disservice not only to Smith, obviously, but also to the other critics of Christopher West. At a minimum, I seriously doubt that any of the West/TOB critics I’ve read so far would want to join Skellmeyer in questioning the suitability of Smith’s seminary appointment or in twisting her academic credentials into a basis to ignore her arguments on West/TOB. Put another way, I won't assume that West’s other critics are as hapless as “skellmeyer”, and I will suggest that arguments for West/TOB offered by scholars as distinguished as Janet Smith cannot be so cavalierly brushed aside. + + +

* In the interest of full disclosure: I carpool with Smith about once a week and if, per absurdum, she lost her teaching position at SHMS, I would have to arrange for alternative transportation on Wednesdays. Which I’d really prefer not to have to do. ;)

** Moreover, as should be obvious to anyone who reads the plain text of Canon 253, if Skellmeyer doesn’t like Smith teaching in a seminary, his beef is not with Smith, but rather, with the present archbishop of Detroit (who, btw, as Rector of SHMS, hired Smith in 2001!)

Through the ‘Our Father,’ we are never alone, teaches Pope Benedict

Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Jul 25, 2010 / 10:27 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The “Our Father” helps us to confront the difficulties in our lives, said the Holy Father on Sunday. In reciting the prayer, we never find ourselves alone as our voices are "intertwined with that of the Church."

This Sunday’s Angelus took place amidst the festive atmosphere of Castel Gandolfo’s "Sagra delle pesche," an annual festival celebrating the local peach production. For the occasion, the Holy Father was presented with a basket of local white peaches which were blessed at a nearby parish, shortly before the Angelus.

During his catechesis, the Pope reflected on Sunday’s Gospel from Luke in which Jesus is asked by the disciples to teach them how to pray. To this, Benedict XVI said, "Jesus does not make objections, He does not speak of strange or esoteric formulas, but with great simplicity He says: 'When you are praying, say, “Father...,' and he taught the Our Father, taking it from his own prayer, with which he addressed God, his Father."

We learn these words from St. Matthew's Gospel from the time we are young, he pointed out. "They imprint themselves in our memory, mold our lives, they accompany us up to our last breath. They reveal that we are not already completely children of God, but we must become them and be them ... through our ever deeper communion with Jesus.

"Being children becomes the equivalent of following Christ," he said, quoting a passage from the first "Jesus of Nazareth" book.

The Our Father prayer "takes and also expresses” our human and spiritual needs, he explained, alluding to the phrase "Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins."

The Pontiff noted that this “is not an 'asking' to satisfy one's own wishes, as much rather as gaining from it friendship with God, who - as the Gospel says - "will give the Holy Spirit to those that ask it of him.

People throughout history have become "friends of God" through prayer, he added, saying that among them was St. Teresa of Avila. And it was she, he pointed out, "who invited her sisters to 'beseech God to deliver us from these perils forever and to keep us from all evil! And although our desire for this may not be perfect, let us strive to make the petition. What does it cost us to ask it, since we ask it of One Who is so powerful?'

"Whenever we recite the Our Father, our voice is intertwined with that of the Church, so that he who prays is never alone.“

Concluding the thought with a quotation from a 1989 document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on Christian meditation, Pope Benedict said, "From the rich variety of Christian prayer as proposed by the Church, each member of the faithful should seek and find his own way, his own form of prayer.... therefore, let himself be led ... by the Holy Spirit, who guides him, through Christ, to the Father."

He ended his catechesis in prayer for the pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela, the location of the tomb of St. James, whose feast is celebrated on Sunday. He also asked that the Virgin Mary "help us to rediscover the beauty and the depth of Christian prayer."

Avia Dei

Saint Anne is one of the greatest saints who is neglected in our day. She bore the Immaculate Conception in her womb and raised the Blessed Virgin in all reverence and holiness. She is also the grandmother of God: Avia Dei.

Saint Anne is also a great inspiration to those of us who are parents. The greatest thing that Saint Anne ever did was conceive a child with her husband. Conceiving a baby was the most meritorious act of her life!

Below is a wonderful sermon from Saint John Damascene on the glories of Saint Anne:

Anne was to be the mother of the Virgin Mother of God, and hence nature did not dare to anticipate the flowering of grace. Thus nature remained sterile, until grace produced its fruit. For she who was to be born had to be a first born daughter, since she would be the mother of the first-born of all creation, in whom all things are held together.
Joachim and Anne, how blessed a couple! All creation is indebted to you. For at your hands the Creator was offered a gift excelling all other gifts: a chaste mother, who alone was worthy of him.

And so rejoice, Anne, that you were sterile and have not borne children; break forth into shouts, you who have not given birth. Rejoice, Joachim, because from your daughter a child is born for us, a son is given us, whose name is Messenger of great counsel and universal salvation, mighty God. For this child is God.

Joachim and Anne, how blessed and spotless a couple! You will be known by the fruit you have borne, as the Lord says: By their fruits you will know them. The conduct of your life pleased God and was worthy of your daughter. For by the chaste and holy life you led together, you have fashioned a jewel of virginity: she who remained a virgin before, during and after giving birth. She alone for all time would maintain her virginity in mind and soul as well as in body.

Joachim and Anne, how chaste a couple! While safeguarding the chastity prescribed by the law of nature, you achieved with God’s help something which transcends nature in giving the world the Virgin Mother of God as your daughter. While leading a devout and holy life in your human nature, you gave birth to a daughter nobler than the angels, whose queen she now is. Girl of utter beauty and delight, daughter of Adam and mother of God, blessed the loins and blessed the womb from which you come! Blessed the arms that carried you, and blessed your parents’ lips, which you were allowed to cover with chaste kisses, ever maintaining your virginity. Rejoice in God, all the earth. Sing, exult and sing hymns. Raise your voice, raise it and not be afraid.

Saint Anne, pray for us!

Risk It! A Meditation on the Sin of Human Respect and the Holy Fear of the Lord

At one level “human respect” seems a good thing. After all we ought to respect, honor and appreciate one another. What then is meant by the “sin of human respect?” At its core, the sin of human respect is that sin wherein we fear man more than God; where we more concerned with what people think of us and what we do, than what God thinks. This is an unholy fear, a sinful fear which is at the root of a lot of sins we commit as well as of many sins of omission.

Consider some examples:

1. A man goes up to a group of other men who are gossipping and also speaking inappropriately about certain women in the office. Perhaps he knows that their disparaging comments about the boss are unfair or even untrue. He knows too that speaking of the women in the office using crude sexual imagery and lustful references is wrong. But, because he has walked up to this group and wants to “fit in” he joins the conversation as contributes to what he knows is wrong. He laughs at off color jokes and makes no attempt to steer the conversation in more appropriate directions. He does this because he fears rejection and is more more anxious as to what his co-workers think of him than what God thinks. He fears man more than God. That God is displeased with his actions is less of a fear and grief than that any of these men should be displeased.
2. A young woman knows that sex before marriage is wrong and that this displeases God. However, she has dated a number of men now and has slept with most of them. She does this partly because she fears rejection. Perhaps if she does not give way to the desires of the young men she dates they will reject her and she will be alone. She thinks that a woman “has to do this” in order to be popular and desirable. She fears man more than God. What human beings think is more important to her than what God thinks. She may well minimize the displeasure of God by saying. “Oh well, God understands” but at the same time she maximizes possible displeasure of weak and fallible human beings by thinking that displeasing them would lead to catastrophe. She respects, that is, fears man more than God.
3. A pastor of a parish has a mandate from God and the Church to preach the whole counsel of God. But over the years he has struggled to preach the hard things. After all teaching on things like abortion, fornication, divorce, contraception, homosexuality, euthanasia, Capital Punishment, and so forth, causes some people to be upset. He fears this anger, he fears offending people, he fears being misunderstood. Once, when he spoke about abortion, (because the Bishop said he had to) three parishioners came up to him and told him he should not bring politics into the pulpit. Once, early in his priesthood, he had mentioned divorce since the gospel was about that. A woman came up to him after Mass and said that she was divorced and felt hurt and “excluded” by his mentioning that divorce was problematic. Experiences like these have led the priest to “play it safe.” He always finds joke to start the homily and people love it (him). He chooses to preach only in abstractions and generalities. It is enough to exhort people to be a little more kind, a little more generous, but specificity he avoids. He does this because he fears man more than God. That God might be displeased that his people are not hearing the truth on the important moral issues of the day, or receiving proper instruction in the disciplines of discipleship is a vague and distant fear to this priest. But one person raising an eyebrow at what he says is enough to ruin his whole week. Thus he goes silent as a prophet and becomes a people-pleaser instead. He respects, he fears man more than God. This is the sin of human respect.
4. A parent knows somehow that she is to raise her children in the fear of the Lord and train them in godly ways. But Oh, the protests when she tells them to clean their room or to go to bed, or to do their homework. It is just such a hassle to endure their anger and disappointment. Then too she remembers how stern her parents were and how she had vowed she would be nicer to her children. So, little by little, she lets her authority erode and the kids more often get their way. Her husband too is not a strong disciplinarian and he too wants to be thought of as a “cool” dad by his kids and his kids’ friends. Thus, God’s insistence on prayer, discipline and respect for elders, gives way to what the kids want. The oldest, a teenager, doesn’t even want to go to Church any more. But after all, “You can’t force religion on kids” they think. Here too, the parents fear their children more than God. They have greater respect for their children than for God.

So here are some examples of the “Sin of Human Respect.” This sin runs very deep in our wounded nature and, as we have seen, causes many other sins. Many people are desperate for attention, respect, acceptance and approval from human beings. Many of these same individuals, even the religiously observant, struggle to be nearly as concerned with what God thinks, or if He approves.

God has a simple solution to this: that we should fear Him and thus not fear anyone else. There is an old saying, “If I kneel before God I can stand before any man.” It makes sense that it is a lot easier to fear (respect) one, than many. Hence, the more we learn to fear (respect) God, the less concerned we become with what others think. Now, to be sure this is not an invitation to become a sociopath who cares not one whit what others think. We are to remain polite, groom ourselves, and not intentionally pick fights. But in the end we are instructed by the Lord to be freed of all the fearful trepidation of what others think.

To say this is a simple solution is a bit of an intellectualism to be sure. It is not easy to extract ourselves from this very deep drive of human respect. In fact it takes a life time. But the first step to any healing is to admit we may have a problem and begin to see it for what it is, understand its moves, and let the Lord steadily free us.

Perhaps some scripture quotes that address various aspects of this problem will be a fitting conclusion to this reflection

1. Through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil. (Prov 16:6)
2. Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. (Prov 23:17)
3. Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil. (Prov 15:16)
4. The fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” (Ex 20:20)
5. You alone are to be feared O Lord (Psalm 76:7)
6. God is more awesome than all who surround him. (Psalm 89:7)
7. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side. (Psalm 3:4-5)
8. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. (Jer 32:39)
9. The Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.” (Mark 12:14)
10. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets (Luke 6:26)
11. If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. (Luke 9:26)
12. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna (Matt 10:28).
13. If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you(Jn 15:18-19)
14. It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human tribunal; I do not even pass judgment on myself; I am not conscious of anything against me, but I do not thereby stand acquitted; the one who judges me is the Lord. (1 Cor 4:3)
15. From now on, let no one make troubles for me; for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body. (Gal 6:17)
16. We know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience (2 Cor 5:11).

In this video Fr. Frank Pavonne exhorts us to risk all as prophets of God and not to fear any one or anything more than God.

Two teachings on the Lord's Prayer

In today’s Gospel the Lord Jesus gives two fundamental teachings on prayer. First he gives us a pattern for prayer and then teaches the importance of persistence. Let’s look at both in turn.

As the Gospel opens we hear the request of the apostles: Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples(Lk 11:2). in answer to their request the Lord gives what has come to be called the Lord’s Prayer.

Teaching 1- The Pattern of Prayer Now it is important to understand what the Lord is doing here lest we misunderstand the wider point. He is not just giving a set of words to say. He is not teaching: “When you pray, say these words.” If the exact words were the main point then you can be sure that Luke’s version would be exactly the same, word for word, with Matthew’s version. It is essentially the same but there are many variances as well. Most all of us have memorized the more familiar Matthean version and Luke’s version is different:

Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.

Now the point here is not to dwell on the differences but simply to note that the exact wording does not seem to be what Jesus has in mind in teaching this prayer. Rather, what he does here is to teach, by these phrases, a kind of pattern for prayer, a description of the basic components of prayer and the spiritual life.

To be sure the words of the Matthean version are precious to the Church and she has recited them faithfully for two millennia. But more than the words we can and should also learn the five fundamentals of prayer that can be discerned in Jesus teaching on prayer. They are these:

1. RELATE – Father When we pray we are not praying to the deity, the force, or higher power. We are praying very personally to the Father who loves us. Hence this first teaching is that we should relate to the Father! When Jesus lives his life in us and His Spirit dwells in us we will experience God as our Father. The deeper Christian word of AbbaAbba is the family word for the more generic and formal word “father.” Why the word Abba is not used here is uncertain. Rom 8:15 says For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” Gal 4:6 says And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” The first prescription for prayer is that we pray in a personal way to the Father who loves us. By extension we are also to relate personally to the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Deep intimate, personal prayer is norm to be sought and is the first pattern of Prayer. underlies the prayer.
2. REJOICE - hallowed be your name- The praise and love of God is the foundation of our lives. He is the giver of every good and perfect gift and to Him our praise is due. Praise and thanksgiving make us people of hope and joy. It is for this that we were made: We who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory. (Eph 1:11) Regular, frequent praise of God is the second pattern of prayer.
3. REFLECT – your kingdom come- A kingdom is where the will of the King is manifest. To ask for God’s kingdom to come is to ask that his will be made known to us and that we accomplish it by his grace. In order for this to happen we must reflect on God’s will as manifested in the Scriptures and Teachings of the Church. One aspect of prayer is to thus prayerfully and thoughtfully meditate on God’s will by prayerfully and thoughtfully reading scripture, studying the faith, engaging in spiritual reading and meditating on God’s actions in our life. At the heart of this petition is an openness to God’s will, to his word of instruction, to his plan for us and for this world. When Jesus lives in us we hunger for God’s word and strive to know his will and have it operative in our life.”My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” (John 4:34) The reflective prayer of listening where we allow God to teach us and seek to apply his truth in our life is the third pattern of prayer.
4. REQUEST – Give us each day our daily bread- At one level allow bread to symbolize all our needs. And thus Jesus instructs that we ought to pray for our needs to be met and the needs of others. Intercessory prayer is at the heart of the Christian life. This prayer flows from our love and solidarity with others. We see the World with the compassion of Christ and pray. In another and related sense, our daily bread is a reference to the Eucharist as some of the Fathers of the Church see it. Clearly we ought to seek Holy Communion, the Body and Blood of our Lord for our nourishment. Hence to live a sacramental life in Communion with the Lord is an essential fourth pattern for for prayer as is our obligation to pray for others with who we also share communion in Christ.
5. REPENT - forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test. Debts? – historically this is how a Semite spoke of sin. Hence financial obligations are not meant here, rather the debt of sin. Sin is understood at two levels here: sin – our personal sins and transgressions, referred to here as our sins and debts. In another sense the word “test” is also used - it is the whole climate of sin, the structures of sin that reinforce and underlie our own sins. What is referred to here as the “final test” is probably the culmination of this whole climate and the structures of sin that will come at the end of time. Meanwhile, it is proper for us that we ought to beg deliverance from being overwhelmed by the temptations of this present evil age. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God, (Eph 6:12) Repentance from sin and request for deliverance from its power is the fifth pattern of prayer.

Teaching 2 – Insistence on persistence. – The second fundamental teaching on prayer is that we must be persistent. Jesus tells the parable of the grouchy neighbor:

Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence (Lk 11:5-8)

Jesus tells a similar parable in Luke 18 of an unjust judge and a persistent widow. Finally the judge gives her justice because of her demanding persistence. The upshot of both of these parables is that if even a grouchy neighbor and an unjust judge will respond to persistence, how much more will God the Father who is neither unjust or grouchy respond to those who call out to him day and night.

Now in the end, the teaching that we persist in prayer is something of a mystery. God is not deaf, he is not forgetful, he is not stubborn. But yet, he teaches in many places that we are to persevere, even pester him, in our prayer. Why he teaches this cannot be for his sake, it must be for ours. Perhaps he seeks to help us clarify what we really want, perhaps he wants to strengthen our faith, perhaps he wants to instill appreciation in us for the finally answered prayer. What ever it may be there is something of a mystery here as to the exact reason. But persistent prayer is taught and insisted upon by Jesus, here and elsewhere.

Some may ponder as to why our prayers are not always effective. Some of the usual explanations are:

1. Our faith is not strong enough - Jesus said: “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21:22) And the Book of James says, But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; (James 1:6-7) There is also the sad fact of Nazareth where the Lord could work few miracles so much did their lack of faith disturb him (Matt 13:58)
2. We ask for improper things or with wrong motives - The Book of James says : “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures”
3. Unrepented sin sets up a barrier between us and God so that our prayer is blocked - “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities (sins) have separated you from God; your sins have hidden his face from you so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).
4. We have not been generous with the requests and needs of others - “If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered” (Proverbs 21:13)
5. God cannot trust us with blessings for we are not conformed to his word or trustworthy with lesser things - If you remain in me and my word remains in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you” (John 15:7) and Again: So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? (Lk 16:11-12)

Now all these explanations are fine. But even if none of them apply God often delays anyway. A man one day prayed to God and asked: “How long is a million years to you?” And said, “About a minute.” And the man said, “How much is a million dollars to you?” And God said, “About a penny.” The man said, “Can I have a penny?” And God said, “In a minute.” God’s “delay” and our need to persist and persevere in prayer are mysterious aspects of God’s providence but they are taught, there is no doubt about that.

Pray, Pray Pray – The insistence on persistence is taught to us all, not only to the sinful and weak in faith. The Lord says here quite simply: pray, pray, pray pray, pray. Realize that this is part of what is required of the Christian. Prayer is about more than “calling and hauling” or “naming and claiming.” It is also about persevering, about persisting. Monica prayed 30 years, it would seem, for Augustine to accept the Faith. Some of us have prayed even longer for loved ones. In the end God seems to require persistence for some things and we dare not give up or become discouraged. We just have to keep praying: Pray, pray, pray.

The Audio Version of this Homily is here: http://frpope.com/audio/17%20OT%20C.mp3

This song says: You can’t hurry my God; No, You just gotta wait. You’ve gotta trust God and give him time; No matter how long it takes.
He’s a God you can’t hurry; But he’ll be there, don’t you worry, He may not come when you want him, But he’s “right on time!”

This video is a bit homespun but the song is well done.

The "Collar" Part II

Msgr. Charles M. Mangan & Father Gerald E. Murray. “Why a priest should wear his Roman collar.”

1. The Roman collar is a sign of priestly consecration to the Lord. As a wedding ring distinguishes husband and wife and symbolizes the union they enjoy, so the Roman collar identifies bishops and priests (and often deacons and seminarians) and manifests their proximity to the Divine Master by virtue of their free consent to the ordained ministry to which they have been (or may be) called.
2. By wearing clerical clothing and not possessing excess clothes, the priest demonstrates adherence to the Lord’s example of material poverty. The priest does not choose his clothes – the Church has, thanks to her accumulated wisdom over the past two millennia. Humble acceptance of the Church’s desire that the priest wear the Roman collar illustrates a healthy submission to authority and conformity to the will of Christ as expressed through his Church.
3. Church Law requires clerics to wear clerical clothing. We have cited above number 66 of the Directory for priests, which itself quotes canon 284.
4. The wearing of the Roman collar is the repeated, ardent desire of Pope John Paul 11. The Holy Father’s wish in this regard cannot be summarily dismissed; he speaks with a special charism. He frequently reminds priests of the value of wearing the Roman collar.In a September 8, 1982 letter to Ugo Cardinal Poletti, his Vicar for the Diocese of Rome, instructing him to promulgate norms concerning the use of the Roman collar and religious habit, the Pontiff observed that clerical dress is valuable “not only because it contributes to the propriety of the priest in his external behavior or in the exercise of his ministry, but above all because it gives evidence within the ecclesiastical community of the public witness that each priest is held to give of his own identity and special belonging to God.”In a homily on November 8, 1982 the Pope addressed a group of transitional deacons whom he was about to ordain to the priesthood. He said that if they tried to be just like everyone else in their “style of life” and “manner of dress,” then their mission as priests of Jesus Christ would not be fully realized.



5. The Roman collar prevents “mixed messages”; other people will recognize the priest’s intentions when he finds himself in what might appear to be compromising circumstances. Let’s suppose that a priest is required to make pastoral visits to different apartment houses in an area where drug dealing or prostitution is prevalent. The Roman collar sends a clear message to everyone that the priest has come to minister to the sick and needy in Christ’s name. Idle speculation might be triggered by a priest known to neighborhood residents visiting various apartment houses dressed as a layman.
6. The Roman collar inspires others to avoid immodesty in dress, words and actions and reminds them of the need for public decorum. A cheerful but diligent and serious priest can compel others to take stock of the manner in which they conduct themselves. The Roman collar serves as a necessary challenge to an age drowning in impurity, exhibited by suggestive dress, blasphemous speech and scandalous actions.
7. The Roman collar is a protection for one’s vocation when dealing with young, attractive women. A priest out of his collar (and, naturally, not wearing a wedding ring) can appear to be an attractive target for the affections of an unmarried woman looking for a husband, or for a married woman tempted to infidelity.
8. The Roman collar offers a kind of “safeguard “for oneself. The Roman collar provides a reminder to the priest himself of his mission and identity: to witness to Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest, as one of his brother-priests.
9. A priest in a Roman collar is an inspiration to others who think: “Here is a modern disciple of Jesus.” The Roman collar speaks of the possibility of making a sincere, lasting commitment to God. Believers of diverse ages, nationalities and temperaments will note the virtuous, other-centered life of the man who gladly and proudly wears the garb of a Catholic priest, and perhaps will realize that they too can consecrate themselves anew, or for the first time, to the loving Good Shepherd.
10. The Roman collar is a source of beneficial intrigue to non-Catholics. Most non- Catholics do not have experience with ministers who wear clerical garb. Therefore, Catholic priests by virtue of their dress can cause them to reflect – even if only a cursory fashion – on the Church and what she entails.
11. A priest dressed as the Church wants is a reminder of God and of the sacred. The prevailing secular morass is not kind to images which connote the Almighty, the Church, etc. When one wears the Roman collar, the hearts and minds of others are refreshingly raised to the “Higher Being” who is usually relegated to a tiny footnote in the agenda of contemporary culture.
12. The Roman collar is also a reminder to the priest that he is “never not a priest.” With so much confusion prevalent today, the Roman collar can help the priest avoid internal doubt as to who he is. Two wardrobes can easily lead – and often does – to two lifestyles, or even two personalities.
13. A priest in a Roman collar is a walking vocation message. The sight of a cheerful, happy priest confidently walking down the street can be a magnet drawing young men to consider the possibility that God is calling them to the priesthood. God does the calling; the priest is simply a visible sign God will use to draw men unto himself.
14. The Roman collar makes the priest available for the Sacraments, especially Confession and the Anointing of the Sick, and for crisis situations. Because the Roman collar gives instant recognition, priests who wear it make themselves more apt to be approached, particularly when seriously needed. The authors can testify to being asked for the Sacraments and summoned for assistance in airports, crowded cities and isolated villages because they were immediately recognized as Catholic priests.
15. The Roman collar is a sign that the priest is striving to become holy by living out his vocation always. It is a sacrifice to make oneself constantly available to souls by being publicly identifiable as a priest, but a sacrifice pleasing to Our Divine Lord. We are reminded of how the people came to him, and how he never turned them away. There are so many people who will benefit by our sacrifice of striving to be holy priests without interruption.
16. The Roman collar serves as a reminder to “alienated” Catholics not to forget their irregular situation and their responsibilities to the Lord. The priest is a witness – for good or ill – to Christ and his Holy Church. When a “fallen-away” sees a priest, he is encouraged to recall that the Church continues to exist. A cheerful priest provides a salutary reminder of the Church.
17. The wearing of clerical clothing is a sacrifice at times, especially in hot weather. The best mortifications are the ones we do not look for. Putting up with the discomforts of heat and humidity can be a wonderful reparation for our own sins, and a means of obtaining graces for our parishioners.
18. The Roman collar serves as a “sign of contradiction” to a world lost in sin and rebellion against the Creator. The Roman collar makes a powerful statement: the priest as an alter Christus has accepted the Redeemer’s mandate to take the Gospel into the public square, regardless of personal cost.
19. The Roman collar helps priests to avoid the on duty/off duty mentality of priestly service. The numbers 24 and 7 should be our special numbers: we are priests 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are priests, not men who engage in the “priest profession.” On or off duty, we should be available to whomever God may send our way. The “lost sheep” do not make appointments.
20. The “officers” in Christ’s army should be identifiable as such. Traditionally, we have remarked that those who receive the Sacrament of Confirmation become “soldiers” of Christ, adult Catholics ready and willing to defend his name and his Church. Those who are ordained as deacons, priests and bishops must also be prepared – whatever the stakes – to shepherd the flock of the Lord. Those priests who wear the Roman collar show forth their role unmistakably as leaders in the Church.
21. The saints have never approved of a lackadaisical approach concerning priestly vesture. For example, Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), Patron Saint of Moral Theologians and Confessors, in his esteemed treatise The Dignity and Duties of the Priest, urges the wearing of the appropriate clerical dress, asserting that the Roman collar helps both priest and faithful to recall the sublime splendor of the sacerdotal state instituted by the God-Man.
22. Most Catholics expect their priests to dress accordingly. Priests have long provided a great measure of comfort and security to their people. As youths, Catholics are taught that the priest is God’s representative – someone they can trust. Hence, the People of God want to know who these representatives are and what they stand for. The cherished custom of wearing distinguishable dress has been for centuries sanctioned by the Church; it is not an arbitrary imposition. Catholics expect their priests to dress as priests and to behave in harmony with Church teaching and practice. As we have painfully observed over the last few years, the faithful are especially bothered and harmed when priests defy the legitimate authority of the Church, and teach and act in inappropriate and even sinful ways.
23. Your life is not your own; you belong to God in a special way, you are sent out to serve him with your life. When we wake each morning, we should turn our thoughts to our loving God, and ask for the grace to serve him well that day. We remind ourselves of our status as His chosen servants by putting on the attire that proclaims for all to see that God is still working in this world through the ministry of poor and sinful men.

The "Collar"

How often do you see priests without collars? (Can you even tell?) Why should they wear them? I stumbled on this compelling explanation. (Full disclosure: It was written by two priests. I know one of them, Fr. Gerald Murray, who's been on a guest on "Currents" a time or two).

Take a look, and share it with a priest you know:

#1 The Roman collar is a sign of priestly consecration to the Lord. As a wedding ring distinguishes husband and wife and symbolizes the union they enjoy, so the Roman collar identifies bishops and priests (and often deacons and seminarians) and manifests their proximity to the Divine Master by virtue of their free consent to the ordained ministry to which they have been (or may be) called.

#2 By wearing clerical clothing and not possessing excess clothes, the priest demonstrates adherence to the Lord's example of material poverty. The priest does not choose his clothes - the Church has, thanks to her accumulated wisdom over the past two millennia. Humble acceptance of the Church's desire that the priest wear the Roman collar illustrates a healthy submission to authority and conformity to the will of Christ as expressed through his Church.

#3 Church Law requires clerics to wear clerical clothing. We have cited above number 66 of the Directory for priests, which itself quotes canon 284.

#4 The wearing of the Roman collar is the repeated, ardent desire of Pope John Paul 11. The Holy Father's wish in this regard cannot be summarily dismissed; he speaks with a special charism. He frequently reminds priests of the value of wearing the Roman collar.In a September 8, 1982 letter to Ugo Cardinal Poletti, his Vicar for the Diocese of Rome, instructing him to promulgate norms concerning the use of the Roman collar and religious habit, the Pontiff observed that clerical dress is valuable "not only because it contributes to the propriety of the priest in his external behavior or in the exercise of his ministry, but above all because it gives evidence within the ecclesiastical community of the public witness that each priest is held to give of his own identity and special belonging to God."In a homily on November 8, 1982 the Pope addressed a group of transitional deacons whom he was about to ordain to the priesthood. He said that if they tried to be just like everyone else in their "style of life" and "manner of dress," then their mission as priests of Jesus Christ would not be fully realized.

#5 The Roman collar prevents "mixed messages"; other people will recognize the priest's intentions when he finds himself in what might appear to be compromising circumstances. Let's suppose that a priest is required to make pastoral visits to different apartment houses in an area where drug dealing or prostitution is prevalent. The Roman collar sends a clear message to everyone that the priest has come to minister to the sick and needy in Christ's name. Idle speculation might be triggered by a priest known to neighborhood residents visiting various apartment houses dressed as a layman.

#6 The Roman collar inspires others to avoid immodesty in dress, words and actions and reminds them of the need for public decorum. A cheerful but diligent and serious priest can compel others to take stock of the manner in which they conduct themselves. The Roman collar serves as a necessary challenge to an age drowning in impurity, exhibited by suggestive dress, blasphemous speech and scandalous actions.

#7 The Roman collar is a protection for one's vocation when dealing with young, attractive women. A priest out of his collar (and, naturally, not wearing a wedding ring) can appear to be an attractive target for the affections of an unmarried woman looking for a husband, or for a married woman tempted to infidelity.

#8 The Roman collar offers a kind of "safeguard "for oneself. The Roman collar provides a reminder to the priest himself of his mission and identity: to witness to Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest, as one of his brother-priests.

#9 A priest in a Roman collar is an inspiration to others who think: "Here is a modern disciple of Jesus." The Roman collar speaks of the possibility of making a sincere, lasting commitment to God. Believers of diverse ages, nationalities and temperaments will note the virtuous, other-centered life of the man who gladly and proudly wears the garb of a Catholic priest, and perhaps will realize that they too can consecrate themselves anew, or for the first time, to the loving Good Shepherd.

#10 The Roman collar is a source of beneficial intrigue to non-Catholics. Most non- Catholics do not have experience with ministers who wear clerical garb. Therefore, Catholic priests by virtue of their dress can cause them to reflect - even if only a cursory fashion - on the Church and what she entails.

And that's just for starters. There are more than a dozen other good reasons

Read more: http://blog.beliefnet.com/deaconsbench/2010/07/why-a-priest-should-wear-the-collar.html#ixzz0uqOdZKhd

Harry Potter-sin?

From a reader:

Recently very good friends of mine told me that is is probably a sin to have read the Harry Potter books – even as a child with no intent of getting involved in "magic" or anything of that sort. They have heard from a priest that the names used in the book are the names of real demons and that reading it somehow attaches these demons to you.

I’ve done some research and I really can’t find much credible information to back up what they’ve said.

While it seems that individual priests/bishops have held a wide variety of opinion on whether or not one should read the books, I can’t find any authoritative Church teaching that says you should confess having read the books.

Am I correct in assuming that this is not a big deal?

There is no authoritative Church teaching that says you cannot read these books. Furthermore, for good or for ill, there is no longer any office Index of Prohibited Books (and my merely mentioning that will have all sorts of people posting here comments about how we need the Index).

At the same time, I won’t say it isn’t a big deal when it comes to children. What children read, in those formative years, is a big deal.

It seems to me that this is a case in which parents should make the choice. They should be reading their children’s books before their kids read them and then decide what to do.

The fine author Michael O’Brian – who did not like the first Harry Potter books at all - suggests that there are some books that are perfect for kids to read on their own, some that cannot ever be read, many that kids can read together with parents so that parents can help them sort things through. I think the Harry Potter books are in this third category.

I have read all of them. "But Father! But Father!", some are saying even now. "Why did you waste your time on those? Shouldn’t you be reading… I dunno…. Spinoza?"

Frankly, I rather like espionage books. The last one I read was a ripping good yarn by Alan Furst, who has an amazing ability to set a scene. It’s like reading a film noir, if that makes sense. Right now I am reading The Grand Jihad: How Islam and the Left Sabotage America by Andrew C. McCarthy. I do not recommend it for junior, but perhaps college age students should get this. I digress.

I think it behooves priests to be aware of powerful influences in society, popular culture. Also, I read fast. And these are children’s books we are talking about. They are not exactly text books on string theory. Moreover, I checked the Harry Potter books out of the library rather than buy them.

But I admit that I have not been inclined to listen to Lady Gaga. A lacuna, surely, in my cultural formation. Still, I am able to pronounce on her music. BAD. Don’t waste your time on her stuff until you have memorized all the lyrics of Frank Sinatra’s opera omnia. But I digress.

I found that, as they went along – we are back to the Potter books now - there were some good elements in them. For example, the kids involved, while making mistakes (and I think kids make mistakes) eventually were faced with making choices involving self-sacrifice for high purposes. Also, there was little question about who was bad and who was good, which is important. One character winds up being a bit ambiguous in that regard, but in the end you sort out the puzzle. It seems to me that the author herself evolved in their writing.

About the magic thing. Many good books have magic in them. I wouldn’t deprive children of the great experience of reading, for example, Tolkien’s books. I would only be concerned were children to want in any way to play at casting spells in any serious way, etc., or be a witch in the worse sense… I mean even worse than some of the staff of the seminary I was in, that sort of thing. I would absolutely forbid children to have anything to do with things associated with black magic. Some will say that the Potter books are in fact associated with black magic. I am not convinced that they are, except when the bad guys are up to their nefarious plots. And when Harry himself uses a dark spell – things go terribly wrong and he learns a horrible lesson.

Kids make mistakes.

Back to the question: No, unless your Mommy told you not to read those books, and you read them anyway, you don’t have to confess that you read about Harry Potter and his adventures.

For additional reading on the confusion surrounding the books, you might want to look at this story on Lifesite.

I am sure there could be a good, vigorous and spirited discussion in the combox, so long as people stay on target and remain more concise than I have been in answering.

Me : Well, if your children started to show bad signs after reading them, don't you think you should stop them from reading it?

Catholic Mass in 155A.D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J_bamuM_4k&feature=player_embedded#at=98

Here is a letter from St. Justin Martyr in 155 A.D. describing the weekly Christian liturgy of the Early Church. Anyone familiar with the modern Catholic Mass--and therefore the Eucharist--will immediately recognize its roots in these words

Sperm Donations

It’s sad but not surprising—the children of sperm donors are having problems. The Commission on Parenthood’s Future has released a new study titled “My Daddy’s Name Is Donor,” in which 485 adult offspring of sperm donors were surveyed.

Compared with both adopted children and children raised by their biological parents, donor offspring are struggling—and they’re struggling in ways that should have been foreseen.

The authors of the study write, “[O]n average, young adults conceived through sperm donation are hurting more, are more confused, and feel more isolated from their families. They fare worse than their peers raised by biological parents on important outcomes like depression, delinquency and substance abuse.”

They also note, “Donor offspring express significant pain over the loss of their biological father, significantly more even when compared to those who are adopted.”

And as it turns out, sperm donation, which we were supposed to think was harmless, is damaging parents’ lives as well. The study reports that the married heterosexual parents of donor-offspring are more likely to divorce than are parents of adopted children and the parents of children raised by their biological parents.

All I can say is—how did we, as a society, not see this coming? I think the answer may be that we didn’t want to see it coming.

It is too much, it seems, for post-modern humans to accept the fact humans are made in God’s image; that God provided for the healthy and proper way of conceiving and rearing children within the context of marriage. Within, dare I say, a Trinitarian-like relationship of love between child, mother, and father. Not in the context of anonymity.

And it is certainly too much for post-modern humans to believe that conceiving and raising children is all about the children—that children aren’t merely a collection of genetic “stuff.” They do not exist for my or your self-gratification. They are not products; they are people.

Of course a lot of people conceived through sperm donation are going to feel troubled over the fact that “money was exchanged in order to conceive [them],” as the study reported. Who wouldn’t feel a little troubled over owing their very existence to a business transaction?

Ironic, isn’t it, that we have discussed on our blog, that a slew of movies are coming out this year that make sperm donation look like a pretty great thing. But now this new study is making headlines, those movies are looking dated even before they hit the screen.

But friends, this is a great apologetic opportunity. Remember Barbara Bush’s famous comment, “However you define family, that’s what we mean by family values”? Well, unfortunately, that’s become a popular notion today. But it’s false. But you can start explaining to people how important family relationships are—no matter how complicated or messy, they’re vital to the well being of the individual and for humanity as a whole.

And those family relationships are the same across the sweep of human history and cultures—not something we can create or dismantle artificially, according to the whims of our own desires. Not without suffering the consequences. It always turns out in the end, doesn’t it? That following God’s design turns out best.

Lesbianism to Christianism

In this short video from the Christian Broadcasting Network, we hear the moving life story of former lesbian Janet Boynes.

Boynes, a victim of a dysfunctional family life and sexual abuse as a child, thought she had found love and meaning in a lesbian lifestyle. Ultimately, though, her life left her wanting.

“Although she had had a conversion to Christianity, Boynes says her lesbian experience led her to reject her faith and to enter into the homosexual lifestyle, with all of its turbulence and pain. She moved from one relationship to the next, became a cocaine addict, and developed bulimia, she says.

‘My life was miserable. It was starting to go literally down the tubes,’ says Boynes. ‘But I was refusing to come back to God.’”

When she finally made a move to return to her Christina faith, Boynes did not know what to expect from the women she would meet there. Because she feared judgement and anger, she hesitated to share her sexuality with others at her church. But their Christ-like reaction to her confession and need surprised her:

“Everyone introduced themselves, and when they got to me, they asked me my name, and I said, my name is Janet.’ and I said, ‘I’m living a homosexual life. But if you help me, I will live my life for the Lord.’”

Boynes says she was shown compassion and understanding, and given support by the church’s members in her struggle to free herself from her addictive lifestyle. Eventually, a couple offered to take her into their home, where she lived for a year and received the love she had never experienced as a child. She abandoned lesbianism permanently, and recovered her heterosexual identity.

Janet now shares her story of conversion and recovery in an attempt to reach out to others who are suffering with that same kind of love and compassion.

I’m sure that advocates of homosexuality will sneer at Janet Boynes’ story and ministry. Why offer hope and healing, after all, to people who need nothing of the kind?

But Boynes knows better. Having come to her lesbianism as a reaction to the pain of abuse and dysfunction, she knows all too well that homosexuality itself is dysfunctional:

“I want everybody else that’s living the homosexual life who didn’t have a great mother or who didn’t have a great father to experience that God is a father to the fatherless or motherless,” says Boynes. “That what he’s done for me, he will do for them also.”

Eleven years later, Boynes runs a ministry that offers help to those seeking to escape from the homosexual lifestyle. She also recently testified before the Minnesota Senate’s Judiciary Committee against the creation of homosexual “marriage.”

Noting that she and one of her lesbian partners wanted to “marry” and adopt children, she told the committee: “I’m so thankful that we did not go through with the plan and perpetuate another dysfunctional family. Children need one mother, and one father.”

This story is a good reminder of the importance of responding with Christian charity to those in need. God bless Janet Boynes for using her own painful past as a means of bringing hope and healing to others.

Preachers fallen from Grace

A recent headline in a Catholic website caught my attention: “Trust evaporating – Poll finds clergy trustworthiness slips precipitously.” The poll surveyed attitudes about the clergy in Canada.

According to the survey, 61 percent of Canadians trust church representatives, far below the 97 percent who trust firefighters and the 94 percent who trust nurses. The good news in this poll, if there is any, is that clergy still rank above the pollsters themselves (59 percent), journalists (48 percent) and politicians (just 15 percent). Small comfort it seems.

Although this particular story doesn’t report it, without a doubt, the trustworthiness of clergy in the United States has suffered a similar sharp decline in recent years.

Most of this, of course, is related to the well-documented clergy sexual abuse crisis. And while Catholic priests have received most of the attention, there have been abuses and scandals in just about every church and denomination – evangelicals, mainline Protestants, Jewish, Muslim, and homemade religions to be sure.

The failure of clergy to live up to their calling is sad, but not new. One historian observes, “If polls could have been taken during the Reformation in the 15th and 16th centuries, or during the 18th century in Western Europe, the clergy might have ranked lower in the trust scale than they do now.”

But my question is this: Does misbehavior of the messengers invalidate the truth of their message? And should it?

When I was in the minor seminary, we had very strict rules about the care of our dormitory rooms. They had to be neat and clean all the time – beds made, clothes in closets, windows spotless, sinks shining and floors dust free. We were subject to room check at any time and a messy room could result in a couple of dreaded demerits.

The priest prefect on our corridor was a holy terror, especially demanding of clean rooms. But, we learned quickly, his personal faculty suite was a pigsty, a total disaster. When we objected that his messy room invalidated his strict enforcement of the law in our rooms, he said without apology, “Gentleman, even the lawbreaking judge must uphold the law.”

And that, it seems to me, is how we have to approach the reality of imperfect preachers. Every preacher is a weak, flawed, sinful creature, “an earthen vessel” in Pauline terminology. But if we wait for perfect preachers our pulpits will be empty. Nonetheless, the truth of their message stands or falls on its own merits.

In more philosophical terms, the validity of the message comes from its inherent truth, not the personal worthiness of the messenger.

Catholic theology has an analogous situation, when we speak about “ex opere operato” in the dispensation of the sacraments. That means that the grace of the sacrament comes from the work itself, not from the sanctity of the minister. Even a priest in mortal sin can validly confer baptism, forgive sins, and celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

So too, an unworthy preacher can deliver a truthful message. I’m conscious of this in my own ministry all the time. When I speak about abortion, stem cell research, gay marriage, immigration or any other public issue, I make no claim to personal sanctity or moral superiority. I could be (and in fact am) an abject sinner but the message I present is valid because it’s rooted in the Gospel of Christ and the teachings of the Church, realities strong enough to overcome my personal peccability.

An angry caller to a radio talk show I was on a few weeks ago challenged me on this precise point. “You’re a hypocrite” he fairly shouted. If he was expecting a fight he was disappointed. “You’re probably right,” I agreed. “I think there’s some hypocrisy in all of us whenever we fall short of what we want to be.”

Objective truth has staying power. That’s why Pope John Paul could speak of the Splendor of the Truth in his magnificent encyclical. Truth is a splendid reality that endures despite human sinfulness. “No darkness of error or sin can totally take away from man the light of God the Creator. In the depths of his heart there always remains a yearning for absolute truth and a thirst to obtain full knowledge of it,” the Pope wrote.

People in other walks of life besides clergy know the importance of teaching regardless of their personal shortcomings. Parents are far from perfect yet they try to give good example to their children. Police officers aren’t always award-winning citizens yet they have to arrest others. And, as our seminary prefect reminded us, even a lawbreaking judge must uphold the law.

This apparent dichotomy shouldn’t be construed as a submission to moral complacency or an acceptance of personal hypocrisy. If we deliberately say one thing and do another, that’s hypocrisy. But it’s not hypocrisy to do our work and fulfill our obligations though we’re scarred by personal imperfection.

So, when you read about or hear about the moral failures of the clergy, in any denomination, you have every right to be disappointed. When they fail, pray for them, encourage them and demand that they do better. But don’t use their sins as an excuse to walk away from the church or deny the truth of their message. When you do that, their failure becomes your problem.