Feast of the Holy Family

Whilst preaching today, I reminded the congregation that the Church is a great advocate of the natural rights of the family, and that parents in particular should familiarise themselves about what the Church has to say about their role. Ironically, on the radio this morning I heard a commentator complain about the Church's role in education. He didn't think it was fitting that the vast majority of Irish primary schools should have the local bishop as patron in 'Post-Catholic Ireland' and thought that the Constitutional provision in this regard needed revision because it was drafted by Archbishop McQuaid of Dublin. What precisely did he regard as needing to be changed? The following which he referenced explicitly:

Article 42.1 The State acknowledges that the primary and natural educator of the child is the Family and guarantees to respect the inalienable right and duty of parents to provide, according to their means, for the religious and moral, intellectual, physical and social education of their children.

Part of this commentator's 'solution' to the 'problem' of most educational provision was a revision of that section of the Constitution which guarantees the rights of parents.

Ahmadinejad's Alternative Christmas Message

There's been quite a fuss in the UK because of Channel 4's decision to broadcast an 'Alternative Christmas Message' from Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. That's an interesting collaboration between radical Islam and a decidedly left-of-centre TV station.
Now, I'm not an expert in Islamic theology, but it's interesting to compare Ahmadinejad's opening paragraphs with the Christian understanding of what Christmas is really about.

"In the Name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Upon the anniversary of the birth of Jesus, Son of Mary, the Word of God, the Messenger of mercy, I would like to congratulate the followers of Abrahamic faiths, especially the followers of Jesus Christ, and the people of Britain.
The Almighty created the universe for human beings and human beings for Himself.
He created every human being with the ability to reach the heights of perfection. He called on man to make every effort to live a good life in this world and to work to achieve his everlasting life.
On this difficult and challenging journey of man from dust to the divine, He did not leave humanity to its own devices. He chose from those He created the most excellent as His Prophets to guide humanity.
All Prophets called for the worship of God, for love and brotherhood, for the establishment of justice and for love in human society. Jesus, the Son of Mary, is the standard-bearer of justice, of love for our fellow human beings, of the fight against tyranny, discrimination and injustice.

The initial impression is of an austere God who, although he does not 'leave humanity to its own devices' is not the Incarnate God of Triune love who is himself our Saviour. Likewise, his description of humanity's struggle "from dust to the divine" has distinct Pelagian tones - a Christian would be much more aware of our need for divine grace and the implications of our fallen state. A prophet can only inform and exhort. Christ establishes a true communion of love between God and man for our salvation.
(Note also - Ahmadinejad says that God created "human beings for Himself". The classical Christian Catechism answer to the question as to why God created us is so that we might know and love him. Our doctrine of God as a Trinity of love does colour our understanding of our own purpose.)

Christmas Homily

After the passage of countless centuries from the creation of the world, when in the beginning God created heaven and earth and formed man and woman in his own image, and very many centuries from the time when after the flood the Almighty had set his bow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant and of peace; in the twenty-first century from the migration of Abraham, our father in faith, from Ur of the Chaldees; in the thirteenth century from the departure of the people of Israel from Egypt under the leadership of Moses; in about the thousandth year from the anointing of David as king according to the prophecy of Daniel; in the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad; in the seven hundred and fifty-second year from the foundation of the City of Rome; in the forty-second year of the rule of Caesar Octavian Augustus; while the whole world was at peace, Jesus Christ, eternal God and Son of the Eternal Father, desiring to consecrate the world by his most gracious coming, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit, and when nine months had passed after his conception, is born as man in Bethlehem of Judah from the Virgin Mary: the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh.[1]

There are many ways in which we could try to date the event we celebrate this evening. The Ancient Greeks counted out the years between one Olympic Games and another, putting the birth of Christ in the 194^th Olympiad. The Romans counted from the year their own great city was founded, and marked out time according to the reigns of their emperors. St Luke, when he was writing the history of Christ pinned down that first Christmas by reference to the fact that Quirnus was governor of Syria. Since then, empires have fallen and risen, and all those ways of marking time have fallen into disuse. We now count our years as AD and BC. AD –in the year of our Lord, BC – before Christ.

Christ was born into a world where dates were marked by reference to the great men of the time, or some historical event. Now, however, every time we read a date or talk about an event in history, we mark the time by reference to what happened on that holy night in Bethlehem. The death of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, the fall of the Roman empire in 476 AD, the great Fire of London in 1666, the 1916 Easter Rising, September the 11th 2001. The way we number our years reminds us that all of human history can be divided into a before and an after… the preparation for the coming of Christ, and the new era which began with His birth. Cardinal Newman once wrote, “Christ … came to make a new and better beginning of all things than Adam had been, and to be a fountain-head from which all good henceforth might flow.”[2] Tonight we celebrate that new and better beginning, when God himself was born into this world as a little baby.

Look at the crib. Step back from the romance of it for a moment, and it does not look like a promising beginning. A family, forced to leave their home so that they might be taxed, a mother who finds no place to give birth to her baby, but a stable. A baby, wrapped up tight in swaddling clothes, unable even to lift his arm. And yet, this baby, this little child is not only the King promised to the Israelites, but is the Son of God Himself.

It is a scene of love, and of joy too, no doubt. Mary and Joseph rejoice in the birth of his child, but to human eyes it seems an unpromising and poor beginning for a child's life, and not at all like God's new beginning for us all.

The angels know better, they sing, “ Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to men who enjoy his favour.” They see what we now know by faith. They see in that little child God’s favour, God’s generosity to us all. They see what we struggle to understand – that God made himself weak so that all men and women might know Him, love Him and receive His peace, His salvation. The angels see that God does not want to gather his straying children by a show of force, but wants to share our human life so that He can transform it from within. He wants to walk with us, so that we can learn from one like ourselves, He wants to suffer for us, so that He will never be far away when we suffer, He wants to die for us, so that we might no longer have anything to fear from sin and death.

That is what we celebrate tonight. Our ancestors knew how to celebrate this feast, even when they lived in a hardship we can’t imagine. There is the old custom of lighting a candle in the window each Christmas so that Mary and Joseph might have light to guide them on their journey. There was also the custom of setting food out on the table so that the Holy Family might have something to sustain them in their travels. The light of that candle also promised safety to the priest in times of persecution and a welcome to the wanderer in times of hardship. The food was not only for the Holy Family, but was to be shared with anyone who had need.

These customs show that those who went before us realised two things. In their concern for the Holy Family they realised that when Christmas is celebrated, the events which happened in Bethlehem are not trapped in the past… The birth of Christ still matters today, still has effects for us today, and if we celebrate Christmas well, we can, in a sense, be brought back to that stable, to gaze on the Child Jesus and welcome Him with joy!

The second thing they realised is that the celebration of this feast should lead us into a greater love and generosity for those around us. The new and better beginning must take hold in our hearts… If we welcome Christ at Christmas, and if we welcome him in the Eucharist, then we must give birth to Christ ourselves, by having a more Christ-like heart. We must not be afraid to be more generous, more forgiving, more loving, more prayerful, more humble. We must not be afraid to let the idealism and the joy of Christmas touch our hearts. Christ came into the world poor so that our souls might be made rich through him.

“Mary treasured all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” May her prayers help us to give Christ a true welcome this Christmas.

---

[1] Roman Martyrology (The Proclamation of Christmas)

[2] Lectures on the Doctrine of Justification

Holy Father's Christmas Address to the Roman Curia

I like to keep an eye on the Pope's Christmas address to his collaborators in the Roman Curia. Remember, it was in the context of his first such address that he coined the term Hermeneutic of Continuity.
Well, this year's address (link to Italian version) was interesting, with the Pope making a number of sharp points. Rocco analyses what he had to say about World Youth Day.

"The uniquness of the [World Youth] days and the particular character of their joy, their creative force of communion, can find no explanation. Above all it's important to take into account the fact that the World Youth Days do not consist solely in just the one week where they're publicly rendered visible to the world. It is a long road, interior and exterior, that leads to them. The Cross, accompanied by the image of the Mother of the Lord, makes a pilgrimage across countries. Faith, in its way, needs to see and touch. The encounter with the cross, which comes to be touched and carried, becomes an internal encounter with the One who took up the cross and died for us. The encounter with the Cross sustains in the soul of the young the memory of that God who wanted to make himself man and suffer alongside us. And we see the woman given us as our Mother. The solemn Days are but the culmination of a long road, along which we find one another and go together to encounter Christ. Not just in Australia did the long Via Crucis cross the city and become the culminating event of these days. It likewise reflected again all that happened in the years preceding it and pointed to Him who reunites together all of us: that God who so loved us even to the Cross. So, too, the Pope is not the star around which it all unfolds. He is totally and merely the Vicar. He returns to the Other who is in our midst. Finally the solemn liturgy is the center of this togetherness, for in it comes that which we cannot realize and which, still, we are always awaiting. He is present. He enters among us. The heavens are torn and the earth is made luminous. It's this that renders life light and open and unites the many ones with others in a joy that is incomparable with the ecstasy of a rock festival. Frederich Nietzsche once said: "The ability is not in organizing a party, but in finding the people able to bring it joy." According to Scripture, joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (cf Gal 5:22): this fruit was abundantly perceivable in the days of Sydney. And just as a long road precedes the World Youth Days, a path following it is likewise drawn. Friendships are formed that encourage a different lifestyle and that sustain it from inside. The great days have, not an ending, but the scope of sustaining these friendships and of making places of life in the faith rise in the world where, together, hope and love can be seen.

And what's the subtext? Rocco speculates as follows:

During WYD Sydney, a leader of the Aussie branch of the Society of St Pius X -- the schismatic traditionalist group -- knocked the weeklong event as a "happy party" with "very little that is truly holy and sacred and prayerful" in it.

Interesting! WYD 2000 in Rome was a crucial event for myself personally and a major help in encouraging me to pursue my priestly vocation.
Also of interest is the following passage:

Poiché la fede nel Creatore è una parte essenziale del Credo cristiano, la Chiesa non può e non deve limitarsi a trasmettere ai suoi fedeli soltanto il messaggio della salvezza. Essa ha una responsabilità per il creato e deve far valere questa responsabilità anche in pubblico. E facendolo deve difendere non solo la terra, l’acqua e l’aria come doni della creazione appartenenti a tutti. Deve proteggere anche l’uomo contro la distruzione di se stesso. È necessario che ci sia qualcosa come una ecologia dell’uomo, intesa nel senso giusto. Non è una metafisica superata, se la Chiesa parla della natura dell’essere umano come uomo e donna e chiede che quest’ordine della creazione venga rispettato. Qui si tratta di fatto della fede nel Creatore e dell’ascolto del linguaggio della creazione, il cui disprezzo sarebbe un’autodistruzione dell’uomo e quindi una distruzione dell’opera stessa di Dio. Ciò che spesso viene espresso ed inteso con il termine "gender", si risolve in definitiva nella autoemancipazione dell’uomo dal creato e dal Creatore. L’uomo vuole farsi da solo e disporre sempre ed esclusivamente da solo ciò che lo riguarda. Ma in questo modo vive contro la verità, vive contro lo Spirito creatore. Le foreste tropicali meritano, sì, la nostra protezione, ma non la merita meno l’uomo come creatura, nella quale è iscritto un messaggio che non significa contraddizione della nostra libertà, ma la sua condizione. Grandi teologi della Scolastica hanno qualificato il matrimonio, cioè il legame per tutta la vita tra uomo e donna, come sacramento della creazione, che lo stesso Creatore ha istituito e che Cristo – senza modificare il messaggio della creazione – ha poi accolto nella storia della salvezza come sacramento della nuova alleanza. Fa parte dell’annuncio che la Chiesa deve recare la testimonianza in favore dello Spirito creatore presente nella natura nel suo insieme e in special modo nella natura dell’uomo, creato ad immagine di Dio. Partendo da questa prospettiva occorrerebbe rileggere l’Enciclica Humanae vitae: l’intenzione di Papa Paolo VI era di difendere l’amore contro la sessualità come consumo, il futuro contro la pretesa esclusiva del presente e la natura dell’uomo contro la sua manipolazione.

In brief, the Pope is reminding us that the Church has a responsibility for creation. However, this isn't only about protecting the environment - we are also called to develop an "ecology of man" whereby we stop ourselves from destroying ourselves. Central to this understanding of humanity is the Church's recognition of the relationship between man and woman. The reduction of 'gender' to the status of a social construct is to ignore God's plan and the fact that God speaks to us through creation - man being the image of God, for example, and the analogy between marriage and the covenant.

I'll try and post an English translation of the more important bits when it's available.

My favourite Christmas Carol

Here.

Written by St Alfonsus Liguori, no Italian Christmas gathering is complete without an enthusiastic singing of Tu scendi dalle stelle.

Pastoralia: Christmas Family Mass

I don't often blog about the goings-on in my parish, but I thought that the following might be worth a mention. Like many other parishes, in addition to the 'Midnight' Mass on Christmas eve, we celebrate the Vigil Mass of Christmas at a more family-friendly hour. The placing of the Infant Jesus into the crib is a very special moment during our Midnight Mass, but this means that the children who attend the earlier Mass miss out on this. So, we're encouraging the families who come to the earlier Mass to bring along the figure of the Child Jesus from their cribs at home so that it might be blessed. I don't mind admitting that I shamelessly swiped this idea from the Holy Father who blesses hundreds of crib figures every Gaudete Sunday. Thanks to Rocco Palmo, we also have the text of the blessing used by the Pope.

God our Father,
you loved man so much
to send us your only Son Jesus,
born of the Virgin Mary,
to save us and lead us back to you.

We pray that, with your blessing
these images of Jesus, soon to come among us,
might be, in our homes,
a sign of your presence and love.

Good Father,
give your blessing to us, too,
to our parents, our families and friends.

Open our hearts,
that we might know to receive Jesus in joy,
always do what he asks of us
and see him in all those
who need our love.

We ask this in the name of Jesus,
your beloved Son, who came to give peace to the world.

You who live and reign forever and ever.
Amen.

Dignitatis Personae

The Bolletino from the Holy See press office gives a synthesis (in English) of the CDF's latest bio-ethical document, Dignitatis Personae.

What did he say?

I don't trust the Irish Times to adequately report what any bishop has to say, and find myself puzzled by some aspects of this report:

Yesterday, the Archbishop of Dublin Most Rev Diarmuid Martin said that, while he didn't feel any of his fellow bishops were opposed to what Cardinal Seán Brady said about the Bill at the recent Céifin conference in Ennis, they might have said it differently.
"We haven't expressed an opinion as an Episcopal Conference (on the Bill)," he said. "I don't think anyone in the conference is against what Cardinal Brady said, but they may have said it in different ways."
The Archbishop also said that while the Catholic Church favoured marriage, "it is not against other forms of intimacy".
Catholic teaching "is linked to the complementarity of the sexes", he said, "and this was not something it was possible for any individual to change. It is part of the order of things since Creation." He noted that while "the Catholic Church is in favour of marriage, it is not against other forms of intimacy". He added that "consistently, all Christian churches emphasise the uniqueness of marriage based on the complementarity of the sexes", but they addressed other forms of intimacy on other bases.

What did Archbishop Martin mean by 'other forms of intimacy'? He can hardly mean that Catholic teaching is okay with the cohabitation of hetrosexual or homosexual couples, but this reference to 'other forms of intimacy' leaves things vague. What's going on here? Inadequate reporting, an exceptionally poor use of language by the Archbishop of Dublin or a major capitulation by one of Ireland's senior churchmen?

God bless Cardinal Brady for his analysis of the situation:

In his address to the Céifin conference on November 4th, Cardinal Brady indicated that the Government could face a legal challenge if the Civil Partnership Bill became law. "Those who are committed to the probity of the Constitution, to the moral integrity of the word of God and to the precious human value of marriage between a man and a woman as the foundation of society may have to pursue all avenues of legal and democratic challenge to the published legislation if this is the case," he said.
The Bill was "perhaps the greatest revolution in the history of the Irish family" and the Government was obliged by the Constitution to guard the institution of marriage "with special care", he said.
The Civil Partnership Bill is expected to become law next year and will give greater protection to cohabiting and same-sex couples in areas such as pensions, inheritance and tax. Cardinal Brady said a complete assessment could not be made until the legislation was published, but that it appeared the Government was prepared to grant to cohabiting and same-sex couples the status of marriage in all but name. Apart from the restrictions on adoption by same-sex couples, "it is difficult to see how anything other than the introduction of de facto marriage for cohabiting and same-sex couples is envisaged", he said.
The cardinal said he found it "remarkable" that "Ireland looks set to repeat the mistakes of societies like Britain and the US by introducing legislation which will promote cohabitation, remove most incentives to marry and grant same-sex couples the same rights as marriage in all but adoption".

Café Theology, Limerick

Fr. Phonsie Cullinane, chaplain at the Institute of Technology in Limerick has dropped me a line to let me know about this event... and I'm sure he won't mind me giving it a plug here:

Fr Vincent Twomey, a former doctoral student and personal friend of Pope Benedict, will present a talk on The Antidote to Boredom for CAFÉ THEOLOGY on Tuesday next, November 25th at 7pm in the Bella Italia Bistro, Thomas St.

Fr. Twomey is the first priest to speak at Café Theology. He is a former Prof. of Moral Theology in St. Patrick’s College Maynooth, author and regular guest on radio and TV, and one of the finest commentators in Ireland on matters religious and cultural. Come along, listen and ask your questions.

Archbishop Clifford on UCC Stem Cell Decision

From the Irish Times:

THE ARCHBISHOP of Cashel, Dr Dermot Clifford, a member of UCC's governing body, has distanced himself from its decision on stem-cell research.
In a brief statement last night, Dr Clifford said he had informed the governing body of Catholic Church teaching on stem-cell research "and reiterated that human life is sacred from the moment of conception until death".
He said he believed that "it is wrong to conduct research on embryonic stem cells and such research should be prohibited by law. It is contrary to the ethical and moral teaching of the Catholic Church because it is contrary to the common good."
The Pro-Life Campaign has accused the UCC governing body of gross misrepresentation and hypocrisy, while Senator Ronán Mullen said the decision was "irresponsible" and "to be deplored".
Dr Audrey Dillon of the Pro-Life Campaign said it was "a gross misrepresentation for UCC to claim it has found an 'ethical solution' to embryo research that does not involve destroying human life".
She added: "Under the UCC proposal, human embryos are destroyed somewhere else. The university imports the stem cells to use in their research, hypocritically denying their complicity in the killing that produced them."
Dr Dillon said: "The onset of induced pluripotent stem cells [iPS] offers the prospect of a win-win solution, where science and ethics can successfully coexist. Shamefully, UCC has chosen to ignore these possibilities and opted for a socially divisive stance.
"It has absolutely no authority to speak for the Irish people on such sensitive matters. Clearly, it is the preserve of the legislature and electorate to decide these issues," Dr Dillon said.

I've tried in vain to locate a copy of Archbishop Clifford's statement. I'm a little puzzled by his reference to the 'common good' rather than the dignity of human life, but without the full statement it's difficult to assess his statement.
On this issue, I think it's important to stress that Catholic opposition to embryonic stem cell research is based on the natural law rather than simply referring to Catholic doctrine. Our Catholicism should make us passionate in our defence of the unborn, but the basis for that defence is rationally defensible.
UCC's decision is doubly-flawed. It obviously fails to respect the dignity of the embryonic human person. Additionally, the idea that one can avoid the moral problems of embryonic stem cell research by having the 'dirty work' of destroying embryos performed outside the State is a fudge... and an inherently contradictory one at that. If there were no moral reservations about using embryonic stem cells, UCC would not be stipulating that the cells come from outside the State. However, once one admits that there are moral difficulties, then the fact the destruction of the embryo happens abroad changes nothing. It seems to be a case of keeping the embryos out of sight and out of mind.

Unholy row?

Via the Irish Times:

A Minister of State was booed off the altar in St Andrew's Church on Westland Row this morning when he tried to address the Age Action meeting called to protest over the abolition of the automatic entitlement to medical cards for the over 70s.

More than 1,000 older people attended the meeting and there were angry shouts of protest every time the Government and Fianna Fáil were mentioned.

Minister of State for Health John Moloney was the Government's representative at the meeting, but when he stood up to speak, he was loudly heckled and he eventually left the microphone.

The meeting was due to be held in a room in a hotel with a capacity for 300, but when hundreds of older people began to turn up, the meeting was moved to the nearby church.

More than two dozen older people addressed the meeting before political leaders were given two minutes each to speak.

PD senator Fiona O'Malley was also heckled but addressed the crowd and said it was wrong that the minister was not allowed to speak. Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore and Sinn Féin's Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin all received a warm welcome.

I'm baffled by the fact that someone at the parish or diocesan level thought it fit to give permission for a political meeting of this sort in a church. It doesn't seem to respect the sacred nature of the building.

Religious Reporting...

There's another example of the poverty of religious reporting in today's Irish Times. This piece deals with Opus Dei's first parish in Ireland...

In attempts to soften concerns, it was noted that 42 of Dublin's 200 parishes are already in the care of religious orders. That, however, is disingenuous. Opus Dei - aka The Work - is an entirely different creature, a highly traditionalist lay organisation, guided by an authoritarian ideology, that happens to have its own priests. It is also an organisation that has been shot through with obsessive secrecy and elitism up to recent times. Far from rubbing along with the traditional religious orders, Opus Dei is perceived as the vanguard of an other-worldly view of Christianity, replacing the influence of the religious orders which had become more grounded in their support of an experiential faith.

Quite apart from the editorial swipe ('disingenuous'), in terms of describing various orders and associations, Opus Dei falls under the 'conservative' rather than the 'traditionalist' banner.
I was also struck by the following:

It is the only Roman Catholic organisation, other than the church itself, that believes it was created by God. This view of itself was copper-fastened by the 2002 canonisation of its founder, Josemaría Escrivá, and its placing at the heart of the Catholic church by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

That's hardly accurate... Firstly, the legenda of many religious orders bring out their being founded according to the divine will. Secondly, I'm pretty sure that Opus Dei doesn't see its role in the Divine plan as being comparable to that of the Church herself. Thirdly, note the misuse of the word 'created'.

(Should I note that I have absolutely no connection with Opus Dei?)

A very apt letter on funerals...

From the letters page of Irish Times:

Madam, - Last year I returned to Ireland for the funeral of my late father. He was a practising Catholic and his funeral took place in his local parish church.

At that time we had hoped that several pieces of Dad's favourite music might form part of the celebration, as well as a short tribute from my eldest brother.

We encountered a young(ish) priest who while extremely polite and sympathetic absolutely refused to permit any "secular" elements in the Mass, quoting liturgical correctness as the main reason. While deeply unhappy, we had no option but to acquiesce. I was enraged therefore to see that Ronnie Drew had a "send-off" like no other complete with a congregational rendering of Wila wila wallya, and all presided over by an auxiliary bishop of Dublin. Perhaps celebrity ensures an appropriately robed bishop as chorus master.

It is either permitted or not to have "secular elements" and one's status should have no bearing on the matter. This is another example of the hypocrisy which is turning many from holy mother church. - Yours, etc,

LAURENCE LACEY, Rue de Blayes, Toulouse, France.

It's difficult not to sympathise with the letter-writer in this case. Many of our dioceses have regulations about acceptable music and the giving of eulogies at funerals. They're sensible, and mean that the deceased and the bereaved receive the benefit of the Church's liturgy and the care of the parish community. Whether clergy are applying these regulations consistently or not is another issue.
For those who do, it's therefore disheartening when celebrity and political funerals come along which don't seem to follow best practice. It gives the impression that the Church has one set of rules for the famous and another for the ordinary man. It obscures the fact that all are equal before the judgement of God. It diffuses a misleading and false impression about what the funeral liturgy is, and gives rise to unreasonable expectations about what is acceptable in a Catholic Church. Pastorally, it makes the planning of funerals more traumatic than it need be, and (as in this case) has the potential to upset the bereaved who will feel that they have been treated unjustly by their local priest.
Adherence to the rubrics is about more than a desire for the abstract value of 'liturgical correctness' - rather, it is also an eminently pastoral approach which is aimed at giving the People of God the benefit of the Church's liturgy.

I didn't see any of the media coverage of Ronnie Drew's funeral, so I can't really say how out-of-line the liturgy was. Nor, in these cases, is every detail of the liturgy approved by the presiding cleric in advance. Sometimes these things can be 'sprung' on a celebrant. One can hardly imagine the idea of Weela weela wallia being sung in a church being approved by anyone with a sensitivity to the liturgy.

Wonderful Vocations Poster

Thanks to Fr Z for publicising this poster which was issued by the Diocese of Raleigh. (Click image to enlarge)

The quotation from Sacramentum Caritatis is especially apt :

The pastoral care of vocations needs to involve the entire Christian community in every area of its life. Obviously, this pastoral work on all levels also includes exploring the matter with families, which are often indifferent or even opposed to the idea of a priestly vocation. Families should generously embrace the gift of life and bring up their children to be open to doing God's will. In a word, they must have the courage to set before young people the radical decision to follow Christ, showing them how deeply rewarding it is.

Do we appreciate this sufficiently in Ireland? Year of Vocation notwithstanding, I wonder how much the shortage of priests will have to 'hurt' parishes before the Holy Father's point is taken. What can we do in parishes to ensure that our young people are brought up in homes where the idea of a priestly or religious vocation is something which would be seriously and supportively considered?

Newman on the Assumption

From his Meditations and Devotions:

Mary is the "Rosa Mystica," the Mystical Rose

MARY is the most beautiful flower that ever was seen in the spiritual world. It is by the power of God's grace that from this barren and desolate earth there have ever sprung up at all flowers of holiness and glory. And Mary is the Queen of them. She is the Queen of spiritual flowers; and therefore she is called the Rose, for the rose is fitly called of all flowers the most beautiful.

But moreover, she is the Mystical, or hidden Rose; for mystical means hidden. How is she now "hidden" from us more than are other saints? What means this singular appellation, which we apply to her specially? The answer to this question introduces us to a third reason for believing in the reunion of her sacred body to her soul, and its assumption into heaven soon after her death, instead of its lingering in the grave until the General Resurrection at the last day.

It is this:—if her body was not taken into heaven, where is it? how comes it that it is hidden from us? why do we not hear of her tomb as being here or there? why are not pilgrimages made to it? why are not relics producible of her, as of the saints in general? Is it not even a natural instinct which makes us reverent towards the places where our dead are buried? We bury our great men honourably. St. Peter speaks of the sepulchre of David as known in his day, though he had died many hundred years before. When our Lord's body was taken down from the Cross, He was placed in an honourable tomb. Such too had been the honour already paid to St. John Baptist, his tomb being spoken of by St. Mark as generally known. Christians from the earliest times went from other countries to Jerusalem to see the holy places. And, when the time of persecution was over, they paid still more attention to the bodies of the Saints, as of St. Stephen, St. Mark, St. Barnabas, St. Peter, St. Paul, and other Apostles and Martyrs. These were transported to great cities, and portions of them sent to this place or that. Thus, from the first to this day it has been a great feature and characteristic of the Church to be most tender and reverent towards the bodies of the Saints. Now, if there was anyone who more than all would be preciously taken care of, it would be our Lady. Why then do we hear nothing of the Blessed Virgin's body and its separate relics? Why is she thus the hidden Rose? Is it conceivable that they who had been so reverent and careful of the bodies of the Saints and Martyrs should neglect her—her who was the Queen of Martyrs and the Queen of Saints, who was the very Mother of our Lord? It is impossible. Why then is she thus the hidden Rose? Plainly because that sacred body is in heaven, not on earth.

Fr Ladaria Ordained Bishop

I was delighted to learn that one of my former professors, Luis Ladaria SJ, was appointed secretary of the CDF. This page carries the news story and a brief video of the occasion of his episcopal consecration.

Ladaria as Secretary at the CDF

I was delighted to learn of the appointment of Fr Luis Ladaria as Secretary of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. I had the privilege of being his student on a number of occasions and he sat on the Examining Commission for my STL degree. John Allen has an excellent article on him and it's hard to disagree with the overall conclusion. Ladaria is one of the finest theologians to have taught in the Greg in recent years, and his popularity testifies to his gracious and genial personality. Allen notes:

It was impossible to find anyone who doesn't seem fond of Ladaria on a personal level -- for his work ethic, his scholarly achievement, and his warm disposition.

Eucharistic Congress - Dublin 2012

The Holy Father has just announced that the next International Eucharistic Congress will be in Dublin in 2012. This will be the 80th anniversary of the 1932 Congress, also held in Dublin. I pray that we will use the next 4 years well in order to revive our country's zeal for this most Holy of Sacraments.

What I did this afternoon...

I dropped by the Gesù and saw the Pozzi altarpiece in action [video]. That's 17th century technology at work!

Fr Ragheed Ganni

The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep...

This Tuesday marks the 1st Anniversary of the killing of Fr Rageed Ganni and three sub-deacons of the Chaldean Church in Iraq after the celebration of the Eucharist at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul. The news came through to Rome on the evening of that Trinity Sunday, and I'll never forget being called over by an acquaintance to receive a phone-call for me on her mobile phone. At first I didn't understand... Ragheed shot? How seriously was he wounded? 'No, no,' I was told. 'He's dead. They've killed him.' I was attending a concert of sacred music when the news came through and had just had time to pass the news on to a few of Ragheed's friends before it started. Knowledge of the tragedy quietly percolated amongst Ragheed's friends as the choir got into place. Their first piece was a Te Deum - evoking memories of similar Te Deums sung in Rome as news reached the city of martyrdoms in the post-reformation period.
Those who knew Ragheed will remember his high spirits, his infectious laugh, and, above all his love for his people and his Church. There was very little nonsense with Ragheed - he had been called and he would serve his people without making a fuss about it. His very matter-of-factness may have made it difficult for us to understand what it was that he was getting in to as he returned to Iraq after his studies had ended and conflict was well underway in that unfortunate country. News filtered through of his church being attacked, of his sister being injured. He made his way back to Italy for some few short visits, and we noted how pale and thin he had become. Invited to speak at an Italian Eucharistic Congress in 2005, he said:

There are days when I feel frail and full of fear. But when, holding the Eucharist, I say ‘Behold the Lamb of God Behold, who takes away the sin of the world’, I feel His strength in me. When I hold the Host in my hands, it is really He who is holding me and all of us, challenging the terrorists and keeping us united in His boundless love.

Some few months before his killing, he was briefly back in Rome again, and presided at Vespers for us at the Pontifical Irish College. He made an impassioned appeal that the crucified Church in Iraq not be forgotten. He told us what things were like on the ground. He spoke of a gun and rocket attack near to his church whilst he was celebrating First Holy Communion for the children of his parish. The children were terrified, of course, but he calmed them down by explaining that the noises were fireworks marking their First Holy Communion, and kept them calm until the danger passed. He had the heart of a shepherd and always put his flock first.

In the year since his killing, little seems to have changed for the Christians of Iraq. To the death-toll, to the roll of honour has been added Fr Ragheed's Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho and his companions. As a sign of the Holy Father's closeness and affection for the Church in Iraq, the Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, Emmanuel III Delly has been made a Cardinal. The red of the Cardinal's robes symbolises willingness to shed blood for Christ. For Christians in Iraq, that's not an empty symbol.

Martyrdom challenges our utilitarian and superficial understanding of what it means to be a Christian, what it means to be part of the Church. Our regular complaints and dissatisfaction with ourselves, our neighbours, and our brothers and sisters both inside and outside the Church, mean so little when we consider those who have shed their blood for the faith. I am humbled by Ragheed. I am humbled to have known a martyr. It is a struggle to reconcile my outrage at those who slaughtered him, and my absolute conviction that by his death he has been conformed totally to the Christ who begged forgiveness for those who crucified him. I'll never truly understand what Ragheed thought while he was alive. I do know that he shared in and was drawn strongly enough by that Pure Love enough to put himself in harm's way in order that he might bring the Eucharist, and teach the logic of the Eucharist to his suffering people. I know that he is now totally conformed to that love, and is with Christ, praying that his brothers and sisters in this world might have some small idea what that Love truly is, and how powerful and sweet it is. His life and his death make him an icon of that Love, and a true alter Christus.

Farewell, Fr Ragheed! I beg your intercession to bring me to the home that you have found with the Father!

Listen to Fr Ragheed singing a hymn to Our Lady.

The Voyage of St Brendan

Evangelium Conference 2008 - for Young Adults

There aren't many opportunities like this available in Ireland, so I'm happy to be able to publicise this English event which is being organised by a couple of priests who were a few years ahead of me in seminary.

Young adults (18 to 35) are invited to attend this new weekend residential conference on ways of explaining the Catholic faith in the modern world. It is organised by Fr Marcus Holden and Fr Andrew Pinsent (authors of the Evangelium course on the Catholic faith published by CTS, who are sponsors of the event).

* dynamic talks by a number of excellent speakers
* mix with other young people who share your faith
* discuss and talk informally with our speakers
* daily Mass and eucharistic adoration in the shrine
* opportunities for confession
* relax in the beautiful grounds or walk by the river
* optional opportunities for sport, evening entertainment, cruising on the river, excursion to Stonor Park (the famous recusant country manor which held the printing press of St Edmund Campion)

Our Speakers:

* Roy Schoeman Jewish - convert, author of Salvation is from the Jews
* Fr Jerome Bertram CO - historian, spiritual writer, author of The People of the Gospel and other works
* Fr Thomas Crean OP -author of A Catholic Replies to Professor Dawkins
* Fr Reto Nay -top Scripture Scholar at the International Theological Institute at Gaming, founder of gloria.tv
* Fr John Saward -Oxford University theologian, writer, author The Beauty of Holiness and the Holiness of Beauty
* Joanna Bogle -broadcaster, writer, author of Feasts and Seasons
* Walter Hooper -C.S. Lewis’s former secretary and biographer, editor of numerous editions of his works
The Venue:

Fawley Court is the home of the national shrine of the Divine Mercy. Set in beautiful grounds on the banks of the River Thames in Henley, Fawley Court is a listed building featuring stunning interiors. The venue is close to London and within easy reach of the M40, M4, M3, M25, and Heathrow Airport. Nearest railway station: Henley-on-Thames. For full details, visit Fawley Court.
Price:

Standard accommodation (full board): £85

Application form, etc. available at their website.

Another Wedding Homily

I celebrated my second wedding recently. Again, I've changed the name of the bride and groom. (I wonder if posting these homilies is 'keeping me honest' - it makes it less likely that I'll be tempted to recycle them.)
Jer 31:31-34 Ps 144:8-10.15.17-18 1 Jn 4:7-12 Matt 5:1-12

The Exchange of Hearts
After Jennifer and George exchange their vows, they will symbolise this new commitment to each other by the exchange of tokens. And when we were discussing the ceremony, and running through the various options in the rite they told me that they would be exchanging heart-shaped tokens, this brought to mind a few half-forgotten verses:

My true-love hath my heart, and I have his,
By just exchange one for the other given.
I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss:
There never was a bargain better driven.
His heart in me keeps me and him in one;
My heart in him his thoughts and senses guides:
He loves my heart, for once it was his own;
I cherish his because in me it bides.

In this prayer by the Elizabethan courtier Sir Philip Sidney, the dividing line between religious devotion and romantic poetry seems to fade away. And this is no surprise, because, as we heard in the second reading, God is love. This is the great truth which underpins all of Scripture. A German theologian called Joseph Ratzinger once described the Bible as being the great love story between God and humanity. Creation, the coming of Jesus Christ, his sacrifice for us, and his promises to us; they only makes sense in as much as we understand them as being an expression of love.

Something Ordinary and Extraordinary
Now, I don't want you to think that I’m ‘up in the clouds’ or talking about abstractions when I speak about God and love. Nothing could be further from the truth! When the Bible talks about God and love, it does so in order that we might understand the real meaning of the most basic and important things that we come up against everyday.

Love makes the Difference
You see, we are here to witness George and Jennifer exchange their vows – to commit themselves to life-long faithful companionship as husband and wife. On one level, this is the most natural thing in the world, on another it is an extraordinary act of trust and hope in the future. Because Jennifer and George are making a big commitment to each other. I’m sure they’re a little bit nervous… but they’re also happy, able and willing to make these promises to each other. Precisely because they have grown to love each other, they have come to make this big commitment and make it joyfully. When we speak about the power of love, we’re not speaking empty words… in George and Jennifer we see that this God-given power of love, has prepared them and made them capable of making a real commitment that we applaud them for.

The Meaning of the Marriage Vows
And when they make this commitment, they’ll be using some very realistic and down-to-earth words:

for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health

The future is unpredictable… and one might be tempted to take the negative point of view, and ask whether it’s possible for a couple to commit themselves

for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health

However, love comes first… and love prevails over all circumstances… and if we bear that in mind we realise that the vows that they make to each other come before these circumstances of better or worse, richer or poorer, sickness and health. It is because they have bound themselves to each other that they can faithfully face whatever life has in store for them knowing that because of the exchange of hearts they will have the other to rely upon. The bond of marriage is a binding-together that makes them both stronger. George, you will always have Jennifer to support you. Jennifer, you will always have George to rely on.

A Sacramental Writing on Each Other's Heart
Our first reading speaks of God writing on the hearts of the people he has chosen – a sign of love and closeness. When George and Jennifer exchange their vows, they write on each other’s heart. Their life together will be a communion of hearts. What they do today is the beginning of something which they will be continuing for the rest of their lives.

The Life-long Necessity to Renew this Sacrament
George and Jennifer – I encourage you to cherish this day. Keep the memories of this day alive to remind yourselves of where your priorities lie, and where joy is to be found in this life. Remember to keep giving your hearts to each other, and to always cherish the gift of the other’s heart.

The Vocation of Married Love
This is how you will continue to grow more deeply in love as a couple, how you will best face life with confidence, how you will learn to be good parents, friends, family-members and neighbours to those around you. The living-out of this day is where your joy and satisfaction are to be found. It will involve hard work, there will be ups and downs, but the important thing is to remember that from this day forth you will always have each other.

Our second reading ends with the following words:

As long as we love one another
God will live in us
And his love will be complete in us.

Take these words to heart, know that this congregation is with you and that you have a special place in the thoughts and prayers of those friends and family who cannot be here today.
Your family and friends support and encourage you, the Church blesses you with the blessing of Christ.
May the adventure of married love which you begin today, bring you joy and fulfilment, in this world and the world to come.

Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests

The Congregation for Clergy has issued a letter [PDF format] regarding the Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests on the Feast of the Sacred Heart this year.

Words which could have been addressed to Ireland...

The Holy Father's words to the American bishops on vocations could just as aptly be applied to the Irish situation:

The Holy Father is asked to comment on the decline in vocations despite the growing numbers of the Catholic population, and on the reasons for hope offered by the personal qualities and the thirst for holiness which characterize the candidates who do come forward.

Let us be quite frank: the ability to cultivate vocations to the priesthood and the religious life is a sure sign of the health of a local Church. There is no room for complacency in this regard. God continues to call young people; it is up to all of us to to encourage a generous and free response to that call. On the other hand, none of us can take this grace for granted.

In the Gospel, Jesus tells us to pray that the Lord of the harvest will send workers. He even admits that the workers are few in comparison with the abundance of the harvest (cf. Mt 9:37-38). Strange to say, I often think that prayer - the unum necessarium - is the one aspect of vocations work which we tend to forget or to undervalue!

Nor am I speaking only of prayer for vocations. Prayer itself, born in Catholic families, nurtured by programs of Christian formation, strengthened by the grace of the sacraments, is the first means by which we come to know the Lord's will for our lives. To the extent that we teach young people to pray, and to pray well, we will be cooperating with God's call. Programs, plans and projects have their place; but the discernment of a vocation is above all the fruit of an intimate dialogue between the Lord and his disciples. Young people, if they know how to pray, can be trusted to know what to do with God's call.

It has been noted that there is a growing thirst for holiness in many young people today, and that, although fewer in number, those who come forward show great idealism and much promise. It is important to listen to them, to understand their experiences, and to encourage them to help their peers to see the need for committed priests and religious, as well as the beauty of a life of sacrificial service to the Lord and his Church. To my mind, much is demanded of vocation directors and formators: candidates today, as much as ever, need to be given a sound intellectual and human formation which will enable them not only to respond to the real questions and needs of their contemporaries, but also to mature in their own conversion and to persevere in life-long commitment to their vocation. As Bishops, you are conscious of the sacrifice demanded when you are asked to release one of your finest priests for seminary work. I urge you to respond with generosity, for the good of the whole Church.

Finally, I think you know from experience that most of your brother priests are happy in their vocation. What I said in my address about the importance of unity and cooperation within the presbyterate applies here too. There is a need for all of us to move beyond sterile divisions, disagreements and preconceptions, and to listen together to the voice of the Spirit who is guiding the Church into a future of hope. Each of us knows how important priestly fraternity has been in our lives. That fraternity is not only a precious possession, but also an immense resource for the renewal of the priesthood and the raising up of new vocations. I would close by encouraging you to foster opportunities for ever greater dialogue and fraternal encounter among your priests, and especially the younger priests. I am convinced that this will bear great fruit for their own enrichment, for the increase of their love for the priesthood and the Church, and for the effectiveness of their apostolate.

Wedding Homily

I celebrated my first wedding today, and preached the following homily. The name of the Bride and Groom have been changed.

1 Cor 12:31-13:8; Ps 102; Jn 15:9-12

Love the Foundation
It is a central truth of the Christian faith that love is the foundation of all there is. St John tells us that God is love, and we learn that it is out of love that God made the world. In making the world, he crowned his work by creating human beings, male and female, and in making man and woman for each other he showed that it is in love and through love that happiness and new life may be found.

The Redeemer restores the Original Plan
We all realise that this great truth about love is easily forgotten. Sin, selfishness and human weakness blind us to this fact, and it is for this reason that we need a Redeemer. This Redeemer, Christ Jesus, was sent to remind us of this great truth and to enable us to live according to the Law of Love. And in considering this mission of Jesus we see that it is no coincidence that the first public miracle he performed at the wedding feast of Cana. We see too that he caused quite a stir when he spoke of the importance of the permanence marriage and the fact that marriage finds its true meaning in the light of God’s original plan of love. Nor is it a coincidence that St Paul compares the love of Christ for the Church with the love of man and wife. The message is clear – marriage tells us something about God’s love, and God’s love is the foundation and the ideal for marriage.

Marriage and Growth in Christ
Marriage is the way in which most Christians are called to live out their vocation – growing in love and growing to be more like Christ is what you Maria, and you Michael are called to. Through your marriage you will follow Christ and grow in his love by loving each other and the family that God might send you. Therefore, this is a joyful day for us gathered here and for the Church as a whole.

Joy
Jesus speaks to us of love in the gospel you have chosen for this ceremony. When speaking about the love the disciples should have for each other he makes it quite clear that such love brings joy. So too it is with marriage. Maria and Michael, the joy you find in each other’s love has brought you to this church to be joined in holy matrimony. You do so with the legitimate and praiseworthy intention that marriage will bring you an increase in this joy. Never forget this connection between love and joy; never forget to keep this joyful day frequently in your mind and never forget the fact that happiness in marriage, true happiness in marriage, comes from the continual decision of husband and wife to keep loving each other joyfully.

Sacrifice
The joy of marriage does not mean that life will always be easy. Love is not just a vague uplifting emotion that is experienced apart from the challenges and struggles and crises of human life. With Christ as our example, we note that love always carries with it some sacrifice. When St Paul speaks to us of love we recognize in his words a challenge – we must be “patient and kind”; we need to put aside boastfulness, conceitedness, selfishness and resentment. And we know from experience that this is not always easy, but we also know that any temporary happiness or satisfaction we might get from being boastful, conceited, selfish or resentful is short-lived compared to the true happiness of those who learn to excuse, to trust and to hope. And so, if marriage involves making sacrifices for each other, be reassured that this is not simply a burden, but rather the foundation of the happiness that comes from love; this is the only sort of happiness which endures.

The Bond
Finally, we approach the big moment. Maria, you are entrusting yourself to Michael; Michael, you are entrusting yourself to Maria. You are making a life-long commitment of fidelity to each other, forming a bond that cannot be dissolved. This is both something solemn and joyful, and if you are feeling a little nervous I certainly wouldn’t blame you. Just bear in mind that the bond of marriage is not a bond that imprisons, but rather binds you two together in such a way that makes you both stronger, more free, and opens up new opportunities and a new adventure in your lives. Michael, from this day forth you will live your life knowing that Maria is your support. Maria, Michael will now be your strength. The joy you find in each other will help you face life and to live it to the full; the joy you find in each other will be a foretaste of the everlasting joy of heaven.
In a few brief moments, when you exchange vows, a new family will come into being. The Church rejoices in this, shares in your happiness, and promises you, through this holy sacrament, Christ’s blessing, not just today but every day you live hereafter as husband and wife.

Epiphany Proclamation for Ireland (2008)

Dear brothers and sisters,
the glory of the Lord has shone upon us,
and shall ever be manifest among us,
until the day of his return.

Through the rhythms of times and seasons
let us celebrate the mysteries of salvation.

Let us recall the year’s culmination, the Easter Triduum of the Lord:
his last supper, his crucifixion, his burial, and his rising,
celebrated between the evening of the 20th of March
and the evening of the 23rd of March.

Each Easter —as on each Sunday—
the Holy Church makes present the great and saving deed
by which Christ has for ever conquered sin and death.
From Easter are reckoned all the days we keep holy.

Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent,
will occur on the 6th of February.
The Ascension of the Lord will be commemorated
on the 4th of May.
Pentecost, the joyful conclusion of the season of Easter,
will be celebrated on the 11th of May.
And this year the First Sunday of Advent
will be on the 30th of November.

Likewise the pilgrim Church proclaims the Passover of Christ
in the feasts of the holy Mother of God,
in the feasts of the Apostles and Saints,
and in the commemoration of the faithful departed.

To Jesus Christ, who was, who is, and who is to come,
Lord of time and history,
be endless praise, for ever and ever.
Amen.