Do They Even Know It's Christmas Time

There are different circumstances in our lives during the Christmas Season. Christmas with financial problems. Christmas with sicknesses. Christmas with family members missing. Christmas with broken relationships. Yet, Christmas remains. Remembering Jesus' birth. Remembering love. Finding hope and joy amidst the vicissitudes of life.

Yet, Alzheimer is totally different. It's dementia knows not it's Christmas. Not the Christmas songs, traditional food, greetings, or Christmas gifts help to bring the spirit of Christ' birth. The dementia sufferer belongs to a world of its own we cannot escape. The song, "do they know it's Christmas time at all" is so apt for them.

It is tremendously challenging for one who lives and cares for an Alzheimer sufferer. There is the consciousness of the very special day, yet had to contend with dementia that has no holidays. The sadness that one can not give a joyful gift for Jesus but a tear of frustration or even anguish. When the only thing one can offer is bearing and carrying the cross on Christmas day. When the only thing one can give others is to keep one's self for blaming self or anyone. When the only celebration is to make it through the day and be grateful for it.

A Christmas present when we receive God's gift of the Crucified Messiah. A Christmas present when accepted will bring the greater gift of resurrection and redemption. A Lent on Christmas, combining the two precious moments in history that leads to Easter.

It's terrible to be a killjoy on Christmas day, but it's a reality to live with for some people. Please pray for those who do not even know it's Christmas time at all.

Make Haste, I will Stay in your Home Today

How's our home? How's our house? How do we respond if someone says to us "today, I will stay in your house"?

- "No way, I can not let a stranger in our house."
- "Oh no, I have to find an excuse, I am so ashamed of the mess and dirt. I can't let anyone see it."
- "No, I don't have the time to take care of any visitor. It's difficult to think of what food to serve and I have to fix the bedding."
-"No, I cannot afford another mouth to feed."
-"No, can't do. There's no one at home to attend to you. Gosh, I can't stand just staying at home."
-"Can you tell me a week in advance?"

What have we really done with our home?
Is it still a home or had it become a warehouse to store your collection of things?
Is it a museum to display your awards and all that promotes who you are?
Is it a bedspacing unit, just for sleepover?
Is it a common place where to each his own?
Is it all about you, insensitive to the people you live with and to your neighbors?
What is home?

Jesus offers to stay in our house. He knows us and calls by name in the same way He called Zacchaeus. He knows our iniquities, our shame, our sins, our guilt yet He offers to stay and be a part of our home.

When we allow Jesus to have room in our lives and in our homes, we are transformed because He knows also our possibilities.

Dear Lord Jesus,
You said, "Zacchaeus, come dowm, make haste for I must stay in your house today".
I hear You, Lord. And yes, Jesus, please stay in our house today. We need You. Without You, our home is crumbling. We need Your mercy for our home reflects the bondages that chain us. We need Your love for we desire love and to love.
We desire a familiar and intimate relationship with You and by Your grace, may we have authentic relationship with each other. Helping each other to journey into the depth, widths and length of Truth until we arrive into our eternal home.
You have given us a Church that reflects what home is, and with the intercession of Mother Mary, the communion of saints, may our home be transformed into a domestic church.
Yes, Lord, let it be today that You stay and remain in our home.
Amen.

Lessons for Today

What lessons are there for me today?
First. Often, a person doesn't see herself acccurately. L sees the messy things of others but she does not see the huge mess of her attachment to things that had left no room for other people and their meager possession. It also coincides with the gospel reading of recent days. She really doesn't see. And I hope to avoid not seeing my own faults by examining my conscience.

Second. I had been sick and need to see a doctor. Many have offered to accompany me but here I go again. I can do it in my own. That arrogance of self-sufficiency that won't allow myself to be the recipient of the kindness and goodness of other people. I am the one who is supposed to be the do-gooder and that is pride. Yes, it is good to bring out the goodness and kindness in other people and so I accepted the generosity of another to accompany me. God will be much happier with that.

Third. How far should we be merciful as the tough question came in blogs as to the death of the Nazi war criminal. The decease was denied funeral mass in Catholic Churches. That is difficult and I still wrestle with that. What if the late-term abortionist Gosnell would ask for a Catholic funeral mass when he dies? Difficult decisions.

Fourth. The trauma of the people and the devastation of historical Churches in Bohol due to the earthquake was heart-breaking. The Churches at first glance were uttetly collapsed because the walls turned into rubbles. But with professional engineers inspecting the site, there were many instances when the inside was intact. Retablos unscathed. Amazing were free-standing images of Jesus and our Lady remained standing amidst the rubbles. Yes, amidst our brokenness, something inside can remain untouched.

Our Lady of Fatima at the Vatican

Our Lady of Fatima at the Vatican

TG2 ore 20:30 del 12/10/2013 Servizio 09 TG2 12/10/2013 20:30 of Service 09 http://www.rai.tv/dl/RaiTV/programmi/media/ContentItem-f85db25f-ba84-4629-8006-96c765c1ae8e-tg2.html via @Tg2rai

Vatican Rewind

Another wonderful rewind of Vatican News from TeresaBenedetta Forum Here, she recalls the October 11 candle lit procession with Pope John XXIII with his moonlight discourse. Then, she presents the candle lit procession with Benedict XVI, October 11, 2012 and his moving discourse. There are also beautiful photographs of the said events in the forum.

Benedict XVI's address

Dear brothers and sisters,

Good evening to all of you, and thank you for coming here. Thank you to Catholic Action for organizing this candlelight procession.

Fifty years ago, on this day, I too was in St. Peter's Square, looking towards the window where the 'good Pope' had appeared and spoke to us with unforgettable words, full of poetry and and of goodness, words from the heart. We were all happy and, I would say, full of enthusiasm.

The great Ecumenical Council had been inaugurated and we were sure that a new springtime for the Church would come, a new Pentecost, a new strong presence of the liberating power of the Gospel.

Even today we are happy, we carry joy in our heart, but I would say it is a more moderate joy, a humble joy. In these fifty years, we have learned and experienced that original sin does exist and is always translated anew into personal sins that can grow into structures of sin.

We have seen that in the field of the Lord, there are always weeds. We have seen that Peter's net also includes bad fish. We have seen how human frailty is present even in the Church, but that the ship of the Church continues to navigate through contrary winds, despite tempests that threaten the ship. Sometimes we may have thought - Where is the Lord? Has he forgotten us? But this is just one part of the experiences we have had in the past 50 years.

We have also had a new experience of the presence of the Lord, of his goodness, of his strength. The fire of the Holy Spirit, the flame of Christ, is not a devouring and destructive fire - it is a silent fire, a flame of goodness and of truth that transforms, of light and warmth.

So we have seen that the Lord has not forgotten us. Even today, in his humble way, the Lord is present among us and warms our hearts, our lives - he creates charisms of goodness and charity that illuminate the world. and are, for us, a guarantee of the goodness of God.

Christ lives, and is with us, so we can be happy today because his goodness can never be extinguished and will always be powerful.

Finally, I dare to make mine the unforgettable words of Pope John: Go home and kiss the children, and say it is a kiss from the Pope. And with all my heart, I impart to you my blessing.

Does Religion Matter

My protestant friends and family believe and would say so categorically that religion isn't important. It is the personal relationship with God and the confession of faith that matters. And it is the Bible alone that has the sole authority. Then, there is the viral video of "I am spiritual but not religious". And Pope Francis often reiterates that even atheist can go to heaven.

Yes, I can imagine some people going to heaven. And I understand the teaching of the Church regarding salvation outside the Church. And I really like to leave that unto God to choose who He would allow to enter heaven. But all these can leave one asking, does religion matter?

I remember posting this question to Bishop (now Cardinal) Tagle in the Word Exposed Discussion Board: "There are good and bad atheists. There are good and bad Protestants. There are good and bad Moslems. There are good and bad Catholics. And so on... I guess you would know where this is leading to... does religion matter?"

Bishop (Cardinal) Luis Antonio Tagle answered it in his TV show (Youtube) "The Word Exposed". I can not recall his verbatim answer but I remember that he pointed out that it is better to ask if it is his/her Christianity (atheism, Protestanism, and so on) that brought about the goodness in that person. The crucial thing, too, is the question of Divine Revelation.

If one truly believes that the Catholic Church was and is Divinely instituted by God, why wouldn't we want to be a part of it. And if God deems it necessary to institute a Church or a Religion, then, He has a purpose for doing so. The Church has a commission from God - to be the bearer of the deposit of Truth and to make it available for all peoples and all nations.

Sometimes we can not see or feel the divinity of the Church. Seems like Jesus is asleep as the storm rages and shakes the boat. Even at such times, we continue to plea and to trust in Him.

Does religion still matter? An excerpt on love over dogma from Archbishop Emeritus Oscar V. Cruz (with my emphasis):

"Does genuine love in fact belittle, undermine or underrate dogma? Is genuine dogma not in effect the product of real love? Is there a contest between true love and solid dogma? Does love lessen the dogma about the existence of God, the dogma that Christ is true God and true Man. The dogma that there is heaven and inferno, salvation and damnation – among many other dogmas? One thing is to love all men – saints and sinners alike. Quite another is to love criminality and vice, graft and corrupt practices, war, killing, and destruction".

"In other words, according to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, there are only Two Commandments: Love of God and Love of Neighbor. But both loves in no way say that the truth – such as a dogma – may be loved less. Why? Because God is Truth – a dogma. Because the truth is that man is created from the Image of God – a dogma. In other words, there is no contest between dogma and love."

So when people dismiss religion because we are saved not by dogma but by love, we can agree. We are saved by a love borne out of Truth. A way of love which is a way to life. For God is love and He is also the Way, the Truth, and the Life. God saves, Amen.

Changing Church?

Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz on the changes in the Catholic Church. He went on to explain the meaning of the Local Bishop's Conference and the Dicastery. He concluded with...
"The novel thinking of Pope Francis is that instead of sending to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican for their resolutions, all questions, issues and doubts about local doctrinal matters and practices, these could be left instead to the competence of the likewise local Bishops’ Conference to decide on. This would be a real and interesting novelty in the Universal Church. And this demonstrates the expanded and creative thinking of Pope Francis!"

I hope this doesn't make the Catholic Church just a confederation of national churches or else, it would be the Traditional Catholic Church that would turn out to be the umiversal church. "Expanded and creative thinking"... hopefully for the best as Pope Benedict XVI had reminded us during his last days in office that the Church is Christ's. It's not Benedict's, not Francis'.

Fr. Thomas Rosica must like Pope Francis' papacy a lot. He called a NYTimes article "great" when it trashes Pope Benedict. I thought he works for the Vatican Press. Maybe it's like showbusiness wherein "any publicity is good publicity" because it puts the actors and actresses in the news and in the public's attention. Then, no wonder, the deluge of publicity had kept people ranting, defending, praising, hurting, enjoying, laughing.

And to take things lightly, from a Spanish blog of Fr. Jorge from Madrid. It's really funny, and the idea of a Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Papal "off the cuff" remarks. Perhaps, it will now be the task of the different Local Bishops Conferences.

Still, we can not forget what is happening in the MiddleEast as Cardinal Rai reiterates Christians always pay the highest price.

Finding Jesus

“You can’t know Jesus in first class. You get to know Jesus out and about in your everyday, daily life. You can’t know Jesus where it’s peace and quiet, or in the library.” - Pope Francis

Oh, but Holy Father, I was out there. Out with real people- of different economic status and various belief system. I was using my talent, not just in self-serving ways. I volunteer in helping the poor. In the eyes of other people, I may actually be perceived as good.

But, Holy Father, there is the danger of 'busy'ness which afflicts the modern world. It is not that we are unbelievers. It is not even the lack of desire for God. It's just that the 'busy'ness gives a false sense of purpose and a false sense of self-sufficiency. We are not really in touch with our emotions or our thoughts. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI described it well,
"This, however, is the beginning of a sort of "justification through works": the human being justifies himself and the world, in which he does what clearly seems necessary yet completely lacks the inner light and spirit."

I became less mobile, less out there because I had to take care of my mother in her progressive Alzheimer. It was difficult, I need to be Martha who is moving about and not Magdalene who was just sitting at the foot of Jesus. But in time, I realized what a precious gift it was from God- to be just still and quiet.

It was about PRESENCE. It was simply "being there". Not trying to cure. Not even advising. Not trying to change the situation. It was the still and quiet power of presence. And Jesus had deemed to be that way, too, for us in His Real Presence in the Eucharist. Jesus is there. Just simply there in stillness and quiet. Yet, how life-changing a presence can be. We, somehow, are faced with our woundedness and the woundedness of others. We are confronted with the problems that had been there that our 'busy'ness ignored. We are in touch with God, a loving Creator, a suffering Messiah, a faithful Spirit. So, in as much as we are beset with the woundedness, we are also infused with the gifts.

It is a lifestyle that our utilitarian age would look down upon but I have no regrets for the choice I have made. If St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Tereesa Benedicta in their monastic life can be saints like Blsd. Mother Teresa of Calcutta who is out there with there; We all have a chance, and that is God's divine justice.

I have no doubt that Jesus can be found out there, in here, in the library, or in the dumps because Jesus initiates the reaching out; and He will never give up on us.

More Words After the 12000

After the 12,000-word interview were more words from all over the world including the Philippines. In the Philippine setting, the spin is that the Philippine Catholic Bishops are acting not in accord with the Pope with its strong opposition to Reproductive Health, Same-sex marriage, Divorce. Naturally, Catholic defenders had to explain it away. Fr. Nono Alfonso, S.J. likewise, also interpreted the Pope on Radio Veritas846.

The article on Rorate Cæli featuring an article of a Conservative non-Trad Spanish writer, Juan Manuel de Prada was perhaps the most touching of all. It reminds me of some heart breaking reactions when Pope Benedict XVI renounced the papacy. The papacy is a vocation of fatherhood and it is of greater import in a fatherless society- a Papa, it must be, to the universal church..

Then, there is the spin on the "parable of the Prodigal Son". The Pope is the good, merciful father who welcomes with a feast the atheists, divorcees, gays, pro-abortion. On the other hand, the Catholics who react negatively to the pope's words are likened to the other son filled with interior sins. Well, there is a prodigal son and the other son in each of us, but the Pope, though the Vicar of Christ, is not God. The Sensible Bond is a great piece. It is neither defensive nor offensive.

Ultimately, we will be confronted with what we are truly convicted of.
Do we really believe that Jesus is God who instituted the Catholic Church?
Do we really believe in Jesus' promise that "the gates of hell will not prevail against it"?
Do we really believe in the teachings of the Church on Contraception, Abortion, Marriage, Family?

It is an ever increasing challenging times for Catholics, demanding white martyrdom and in many places, red martyrdom. Things are not going to get easier. Somehow, I predict this will be a short pontificate but a highly visible one. It is after this pontificate wherein the simmer reaches a boiling point and schism will happen.

Continually, we must pray, reflect, and keep aflame the thirst and quest for Truth. Do I stand with Jesus, Mary, the saints, the Church, the Bible, the magisterium, and the valid Pope?

Church Alive and Kicking Each Other

Oh, the exchanges in the internet world! I wonder which blogs and articles St. Jerome and St. Augustine would be responding, too. Today, must be like the time of Luther when pamphletering abound, and there were many voices. Should I laugh, be sad or must I be worried? Majority of Catholics do not read encyclicals, Pope's addresses, or homilies. They simply rely on quotes from priests and Catholic speakers. And they persevere in the faith, knowing deep down that it was the Church established by Christ Himself. The first encyclical I ever read was Pacem en Terris. I do like reading including spiritual books like Henri Nouwen and books about or by the saints but rarely would I be interested in papal documents. It was when I was convicted of the wisdom of the Church regarding artificial contraception [admitting to myself that I was wrong and the Church got it right] that I became more interested in what the Church has to say. But even then, it was just a few that I read: Cathechism, Humanae Vitae, Splendour of the Truth, and Familiaris Consortium. It was Benedict XVI who got me hooked on reading more including homilies and addresses. I read/listen to Benedict XVI because his words and messages are beautiful, educational, and inspiring. He is an outstanding writer. With the new papacy, others kept on reading everything Pope Francis says even when they can't seem to grasp the message. I guess they have to because they are Catholic writers. And then there are the writers who just can't accept any negative commentaries on the Pope... because they are Catholic apologists. Are all these making the Church crumble from within? I hope not. As always, there will be converts, reverts and there will be fallen away. Will the great apostasy happen or will the great mass conversion happen as we near the end times? I don't know, we all have our deaths to reckon with. Maybe what is happening is just a cultural gap. When Pope Francis was elected, I felt orphaned because he was just like our parish priest. Benedict XVI was a pope. However, Pope Francis is the pope and I accept. In the Third World, a priest must only have old, impractical cars which he can rant about. Car is a big deal. Bishops from rugged countryside were castigated for accepting/ soliciting SUVs from the PCSO. Our parish priest when he bought a motorcycle was readily petitioned for ousting. There is great divide between the "have" and "have not" in the Third World. The "have" has BMW, Benz, Porsche. The locally manufactured vehicle would be the Sarao jeepney for the "have not". The "have" use signature apparels- bags, clothes, shoes since they are all imported from the "first world". The "have" has helpers, drivers, and nannies. The "have not" does everything for themselves and if in a much worse situation, be the helpers, drivers, and nannies of the "have". Pope Francis is a politically and socially correct Third World priest. In the Third World, charity is associated with giving something to the poor. The sharing of truth in words (like Benedict's) would hardly pass as an act of charity. In the Third World, the Church is the watchdog of the government. So priests are very political and social justice is often the shout out. And hardly would a Third World Priest be concerned about the Liturgy. He just appears for the Liturgy. A Third World Priest is focused in giving hope amd reaching out. Street, Mall, TV Masses so as to accomodate the bustling Third World people who have to labor much and need rest or shopping. Even the homilies of Pope Francis are quite typical. Like Mother Mary lets in everyone to heaven while St. Peter was away. Then, there's the sermon about gossipers which is a burden to Third World priests. I am not sure if the pope had a sermon about corruption which is often a theme in homilies. A "Third World" priest attends processions, watches the Choir's concert and the Youth group's play. A priest must be game; Sing, dance, clap, and joke with the people. These make for a vibrant church with many religions around. All these are in no way indicative of a good priest or a bad priest. It is just the social setting they are placed. But how about the Pope of the Universal Church? Maybe in time, Pope Francis will be less of himself. Or perhaps, this is what Jesus wants for our time. No matter what, we have the Word of God, the Sacraments, and the Magisterium. We can pray. So we go on, allowing God to transform us that we may be conformed to Him.

Sharing Benedict

Vatican releases a free ebook of Pope Benedict XVI's World Communications Day Addresses. A beautiful mind and heart must be shared and disseminated. I never tire reading Benedict, such a wonderful gift from God to have him as pope for eight years.

Where is the Peace?

I received a message today that my sister-in-law's two sisters and their husbands were among the hostages of Nur Misuari and the Moro National Liberation Front in Zamboanga. The siege of a number of towns had brought terror. Many have taken refuge in the Churches, schools, gymnasium, and elsewhere.

Syria. Egypt, Holy Land, Central African Region are likewise suffering from civil wars. While the generation of my mother is still haunted by the wounds of World War II, the threat of another World war is always in the horizon.

Pope Francis had called for a day of prayer and fasting last September 7 and Pope Benedict XVI had pleaded for peace in so many occasions during his pontificate; Yet, world leaders are not keen on this. But how can they, when most governments have devalued human life from the moment of conception?

I don't like wars... even the thought of it; Yet, I am aware that this earthly pilgrimage is a battlefield of good and evil. Still, we try. And most of all, we try to keep the flame of hope burning that serenity may be had in our hearts.

In the many challenges of our daily lives, I again turn to Pope Benedict XVI's words. His messages are always Biblical and focused on Jesus. They are beautiful and clear. Always illuminating and speaking to the heart. It always lead to prayer and contemplation seeking to encounter Jesus again and again, closer and closer.

This is taken from Sandro Magister's article of July 26, 2006. The Pope's extemporaneous reflection on Ephesians 2:13-18, held at a little church on his visit to Rhenes Saint-Georges, July 2006.

How to be a force for peace in the world
by Benedict XVI

Just a quick word of meditation on the reading we have just listened to. What is striking, against the background of the dramatic situation in the Middle East, is the beauty of the vision illustrated by the apostle Paul: Christ is our peace. He has reconciled us with one another, Jews and gentiles, uniting them in his body. He overcame enmity in his body, upon the cross. With his death he has overcome enmity, and has united us all in his peace.

But what strikes us even more than the beauty of this vision is its contrast with the reality we experience and see. And we can do nothing, at first, but say to the Lord: “But Lord, what does your apostle say to us – ‘We are reconciled’?” We see in reality that we are not reconciled... There is still war among Christians, Muslims, and Jews; and there are others who foment war and are still full of enmity and violence. Where is the efficacy of your sacrifice? Where in history is this peace of which your apostle speaks?

We human beings cannot solve the mystery of history, the mystery of human freedom to say “no” to God’s peace. We cannot solve the entire mystery of the revelation of the God-man, of his activity and our response. We must accept the mystery. But there are elements of an answer that the Lord gives to us.

A first element – this reconciliation from the Lord, his sacrifice – has not remained without efficacy. There is the great reality of the communion of the universal Church, found among all the peoples, the fabric of Eucharistic communion that transcends the boundaries of culture, civilization, peoples, and times. There is this communion, there are these “islands of peace” in the Body of Christ. They exist. And they are forces of peace in the world. If we look at history, we can see the great saints of charity who have created “oases” of this divine peace in the world, who have always rekindled his light, and were always able to reconcile and create peace. There are the martyrs who have suffered with Christ, have given this witness of peace, of the love that places a limit on violence.

And seeing that the reality of peace is there – even if the other reality also remains – we can go more deeply into the message of this Letter of Paul to the Ephesians. The Lord has triumphed upon the cross. He did not triumph with a new empire, with a power greater than the others and capable of destroying them; he triumphed, not in a human way, as we would imagine, with an empire more powerful than the other. He triumphed with a love capable of reaching even to death. This is God’s new way of winning: he does not oppose violence with a stronger form of violence. He opposes violence with its exact opposite: love to the very end, his cross. This is God’s humble way of winning: with his love – and this is the only way it is possible – he puts a limit on violence. This is a way of winning that seems very slow to us, but it is the real way to overcome evil, to overcome violence, and we must entrust ourselves to this divine way of winning.

Entrusting ourselves means entering actively within this divine love, participating in this work of peacemaking, in order to conform with what the Lord says: “Blessed are the peacemakers, those who work for peace, because they are the children of God.” We must bring, as much as possible, our love to all those who suffer, knowing that the judge of the last judgment identifies himself with the suffering. So whatever we do to the suffering we do to the ultimate judge of our lives. This is important: that in this moment we can bring this victory of his to the world, participating actively in his charity.

Today, in a multicultural and multireligious world, many are tempted to say: “It is better for peace in the world among religions and cultures that one not speak too much about the specifics of Christianity, about Jesus, the Church, the sacraments. Let us be satisfied with the things that can be held more or less in common...” But it’s not true. At this very moment – at a moment of a great abuse in the name of God – we need the God who triumphed upon the cross, who wins not by violence, but by his love. At this very moment, we need the face of Christ, in in order to know the true face of God and thus to bring reconciliation and light to this world. And so together, with love, with the message of love, with all that we can do for the suffering in this world, we must also bring the witness of this God, of the victory of God precisely through the nonviolence of his cross.

So let’s go back to the starting point. What we can do is give the witness of love, the witness of faith; and above all, raise a cry to God: we can pray! We are certain that our Father hears the cry of his children. At the Mass, preparing for holy communion, to receive the Body of Christ who unites us, we pray with the Church: “Deliver us, O Lord, from all evil, and grant us peace in our day.” Let this be our prayer in this moment: “Deliver us from all evil, and give us peace.” Not tomorrow or the next day: give us peace, Lord, today! Amen.

The Poor Church

An excellent blog from UK, Fr. Ray Blake on the Poorer Church.Excerpts:
In brief, our catechesis, like our sacramental celebrations have been person centred rather than God centred. We have emphasised human skill, human ingenuity, the human nature of worship, the human-centredness of catechesis and avoiding anything to do with God. Ratzinger spoke of the 'closed circle' not just of contemporary worship but of contemporary Church life, similarly of "the community celebrating itself", of "self reverentialisam".

Ratzinger's answer was 're-orientation'. It is the dependency on the uniqueness of Jesus Christ which is lacking.

A poorer Church therefore is one that recognises its need for re-orientation because centred on itself it is heading to ruin. For Benedict the symbolic re-orientation of worship was of absolute significance because it was about the Church looking beyond itself towards God as true believers rather than looking inwards to itself as a congregation of self sufficient Pelagians.

Arrogance is undermining God while overestimating one's self. A truly humble Church acknowledges God as the source of all that is good and beautiful. She can be comfortable with the gifts endowed to her because she is conscious of the Giver and is committed to the purpose for which the gift is given. When we recognize the grandeur of God and His love, we realize our poverty. Yet, at the same time, we are being raised up in our worth... and being opened up to our greater possibilities. And in this kind of poverty, we find a sense of equality with others. We need not be other people's savior.

Missing Benedict

From Rafaella is a photo video of Pope Benedict XVI's mass with his former students last September 1, 2013..

May Peace Reign

With the escalating tension in Syria, Egypt, and Zamboanga (Philippines), world peace is threatened. There is fear of World War III. It is good to reread the
MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE BENEDICT XVI
FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE
WORLD DAY OF PEACE
1 JANUARY 2013

BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS

1. EACH NEW YEAR brings the expectation of a better world. In light of this, I ask God, the Father of humanity, to grant us concord and peace, so that the aspirations of all for a happy and prosperous life may be achieved.

Fifty years after the beginning of the Second Vatican Council, which helped to strengthen the Church’s mission in the world, it is heartening to realize that Christians, as the People of God in fellowship with him and sojourning among mankind, are committed within history to sharing humanity’s joys and hopes, grief and anguish, [1] as they proclaim the salvation of Christ and promote peace for all.

In effect, our times, marked by globalization with its positive and negative aspects, as well as the continuation of violent conflicts and threats of war, demand a new, shared commitment in pursuit of the common good and the development of all men, and of the whole man.

It is alarming to see hotbeds of tension and conflict caused by growing instances of inequality between rich and poor, by the prevalence of a selfish and individualistic mindset which also finds expression in an unregulated financial capitalism. In addition to the varied forms of terrorism and international crime, peace is also endangered by those forms of fundamentalism and fanaticism which distort the true nature of religion, which is called to foster fellowship and reconciliation among people.

All the same, the many different efforts at peacemaking which abound in our world testify to mankind’s innate vocation to peace. In every person the desire for peace is an essential aspiration which coincides in a certain way with the desire for a full, happy and successful human life. In other words, the desire for peace corresponds to a fundamental moral principle, namely, the duty and right to an integral social and communitarian development, which is part of God’s plan for mankind. Man is made for the peace which is God’s gift.

All of this led me to draw inspiration for this Message from the words of Jesus Christ: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Mt 5:9).

Gospel beatitude

2. The beatitudes which Jesus proclaimed (cf. Mt 5:3-12 and Lk 6:20-23) are promises. In the biblical tradition, the beatitude is a literary genre which always involves some good news, a “gospel”, which culminates in a promise. Therefore, the beatitudes are not only moral exhortations whose observance foresees in due time – ordinarily in the next life – a reward or a situation of future happiness. Rather, the blessedness of which the beatitudes speak consists in the fulfilment of a promise made to all those who allow themselves to be guided by the requirements of truth, justice and love. In the eyes of the world, those who trust in God and his promises often appear naïve or far from reality. Yet Jesus tells them that not only in the next life, but already in this life, they will discover that they are children of God, and that God has always been, and ever will be, completely on their side. They will understand that they are not alone, because he is on the side of those committed to truth, justice and love. Jesus, the revelation of the Father’s love, does not hesitate to offer himself in self-sacrifice. Once we accept Jesus Christ, God and man, we have the joyful experience of an immense gift: the sharing of God’s own life, the life of grace, the pledge of a fully blessed existence. Jesus Christ, in particular, grants us true peace, which is born of the trusting encounter of man with God.

Jesus’ beatitude tells us that peace is both a messianic gift and the fruit of human effort. In effect, peace presupposes a humanism open to transcendence. It is the fruit of the reciprocal gift, of a mutual enrichment, thanks to the gift which has its source in God and enables us to live with others and for others. The ethics of peace is an ethics of fellowship and sharing. It is indispensable, then, that the various cultures in our day overcome forms of anthropology and ethics based on technical and practical suppositions which are merely subjectivistic and pragmatic, in virtue of which relationships of coexistence are inspired by criteria of power or profit, means become ends and vice versa, and culture and education are centred on instruments, technique and efficiency alone. The precondition for peace is the dismantling of the dictatorship of relativism and of the supposition of a completely autonomous morality which precludes acknowledgment of the ineluctable natural moral law inscribed by God upon the conscience of every man and woman. Peace is the building up of coexistence in rational and moral terms, based on a foundation whose measure is not created by man, but rather by God. As Psalm 29 puts it: “May the Lord give strength to his people; may the Lord bless his people with peace” (v. 11).

Peace: God’s gift and the fruit of human effort

3. Peace concerns the human person as a whole, and it involves complete commitment. It is peace with God through a life lived according to his will. It is interior peace with oneself, and exterior peace with our neighbours and all creation. Above all, as Blessed John XXIII wrote in his Encyclical Pacem in Terris, whose fiftieth anniversary will fall in a few months, it entails the building up of a coexistence based on truth, freedom, love and justice.[2] The denial of what makes up the true nature of human beings in its essential dimensions, its intrinsic capacity to know the true and the good and, ultimately, to know God himself, jeopardizes peacemaking. Without the truth about man inscribed by the Creator in the human heart, freedom and love become debased, and justice loses the ground of its exercise.

To become authentic peacemakers, it is fundamental to keep in mind our transcendent dimension and to enter into constant dialogue with God, the Father of mercy, whereby we implore the redemption achieved for us by his only-begotten Son. In this way mankind can overcome that progressive dimming and rejection of peace which is sin in all its forms: selfishness and violence, greed and the will to power and dominion, intolerance, hatred and unjust structures.

The attainment of peace depends above all on recognizing that we are, in God, one human family. This family is structured, as the Encyclical Pacem in Terris taught, by interpersonal relations and institutions supported and animated by a communitarian “we”, which entails an internal and external moral order in which, in accordance with truth and justice, reciprocal rights and mutual duties are sincerely recognized. Peace is an order enlivened and integrated by love, in such a way that we feel the needs of others as our own, share our goods with others and work throughout the world for greater communion in spiritual values. It is an order achieved in freedom, that is, in a way consistent with the dignity of persons who, by their very nature as rational beings, take responsibility for their own actions.[3]

Peace is not a dream or something utopian; it is possible. Our gaze needs to go deeper, beneath superficial appearances and phenomena, to discern a positive reality which exists in human hearts, since every man and woman has been created in the image of God and is called to grow and contribute to the building of a new world. God himself, through the incarnation of his Son and his work of redemption, has entered into history and has brought about a new creation and a new covenant between God and man (cf. Jer 31:31-34), thus enabling us to have a “new heart” and a “new spirit” (cf. Ez 36:26).

For this very reason the Church is convinced of the urgency of a new proclamation of Jesus Christ, the first and fundamental factor of the integral development of peoples and also of peace. Jesus is indeed our peace, our justice and our reconciliation (cf. Eph 2:14; 2 Cor 5:18). The peacemaker, according to Jesus’ beatitude, is the one who seeks the good of the other, the fullness of good in body and soul, today and tomorrow.

From this teaching one can infer that each person and every community, whether religious, civil, educational or cultural, is called to work for peace. Peace is principally the attainment of the common good in society at its different levels, primary and intermediary, national, international and global. Precisely for this reason it can be said that the paths which lead to the attainment of the common good are also the paths that must be followed in the pursuit of peace.

Peacemakers are those who love, defend and promote life in its fullness

4. The path to the attainment of the common good and to peace is above all that of respect for human life in all its many aspects, beginning with its conception, through its development and up to its natural end. True peacemakers, then, are those who love, defend and promote human life in all its dimensions, personal, communitarian and transcendent. Life in its fullness is the height of peace. Anyone who loves peace cannot tolerate attacks and crimes against life.

Those who insufficiently value human life and, in consequence, support among other things the liberalization of abortion, perhaps do not realize that in this way they are proposing the pursuit of a false peace. The flight from responsibility, which degrades human persons, and even more so the killing of a defenceless and innocent being, will never be able to produce happiness or peace. Indeed how could one claim to bring about peace, the integral development of peoples or even the protection of the environment without defending the life of those who are weakest, beginning with the unborn. Every offence against life, especially at its beginning, inevitably causes irreparable damage to development, peace and the environment. Neither is it just to introduce surreptitiously into legislation false rights or freedoms which, on the basis of a reductive and relativistic view of human beings and the clever use of ambiguous expressions aimed at promoting a supposed right to abortion and euthanasia, pose a threat to the fundamental right to life.

There is also a need to acknowledge and promote the natural structure of marriage as the union of a man and a woman in the face of attempts to make it juridically equivalent to radically different types of union; such attempts actually harm and help to destabilize marriage, obscuring its specific nature and its indispensable role in society.

These principles are not truths of faith, nor are they simply a corollary of the right to religious freedom. They are inscribed in human nature itself, accessible to reason and thus common to all humanity. The Church’s efforts to promote them are not therefore confessional in character, but addressed to all people, whatever their religious affiliation. Efforts of this kind are all the more necessary the more these principles are denied or misunderstood, since this constitutes an offence against the truth of the human person, with serious harm to justice and peace.

Consequently, another important way of helping to build peace is for legal systems and the administration of justice to recognize the right to invoke the principle of conscientious objection in the face of laws or government measures that offend against human dignity, such as abortion and euthanasia.

One of the fundamental human rights, also with reference to international peace, is the right of individuals and communities to religious freedom. At this stage in history, it is becoming increasingly important to promote this right not only from the negative point of view, as freedom from – for example, obligations or limitations involving the freedom to choose one’s religion – but also from the positive point of view, in its various expressions, as freedom for – for example, bearing witness to one’s religion, making its teachings known, engaging in activities in the educational, benevolent and charitable fields which permit the practice of religious precepts, and existing and acting as social bodies structured in accordance with the proper doctrinal principles and institutional ends of each. Sadly, even in countries of long-standing Christian tradition, instances of religious intolerance are becoming more numerous, especially in relation to Christianity and those who simply wear identifying signs of their religion.

Peacemakers must also bear in mind that, in growing sectors of public opinion, the ideologies of radical liberalism and technocracy are spreading the conviction that economic growth should be pursued even to the detriment of the state’s social responsibilities and civil society’s networks of solidarity, together with social rights and duties. It should be remembered that these rights and duties are fundamental for the full realization of other rights and duties, starting with those which are civil and political.

One of the social rights and duties most under threat today is the right to work. The reason for this is that labour and the rightful recognition of workers’ juridical status are increasingly undervalued, since economic development is thought to depend principally on completely free markets. Labour is thus regarded as a variable dependent on economic and financial mechanisms. In this regard, I would reaffirm that human dignity and economic, social and political factors, demand that we continue “to prioritize the goal of access to steady employment for everyone.”[4] If this ambitious goal is to be realized, one prior condition is a fresh outlook on work, based on ethical principles and spiritual values that reinforce the notion of work as a fundamental good for the individual, for the family and for society. Corresponding to this good are a duty and a right that demand courageous new policies of universal employment.

Building the good of peace through a new model of development and economics

5. In many quarters it is now recognized that a new model of development is needed, as well as a new approach to the economy. Both integral, sustainable development in solidarity and the common good require a correct scale of goods and values which can be structured with God as the ultimate point of reference. It is not enough to have many different means and choices at one’s disposal, however good these may be. Both the wide variety of goods fostering development and the presence of a wide range of choices must be employed against the horizon of a good life, an upright conduct that acknowledges the primacy of the spiritual and the call to work for the common good. Otherwise they lose their real value, and end up becoming new idols.

In order to emerge from the present financial and economic crisis – which has engendered ever greater inequalities – we need people, groups and institutions which will promote life by fostering human creativity, in order to draw from the crisis itself an opportunity for discernment and for a new economic model. The predominant model of recent decades called for seeking maximum profit and consumption, on the basis of an individualistic and selfish mindset, aimed at considering individuals solely in terms of their ability to meet the demands of competitiveness. Yet, from another standpoint, true and lasting success is attained through the gift of ourselves, our intellectual abilities and our entrepreneurial skills, since a “liveable” or truly human economic development requires the principle of gratuitousness as an expression of fraternity and the logic of gift.[5] Concretely, in economic activity, peacemakers are those who establish bonds of fairness and reciprocity with their colleagues, workers, clients and consumers. They engage in economic activity for the sake of the common good and they experience this commitment as something transcending their self-interest, for the benefit of present and future generations. Thus they work not only for themselves, but also to ensure for others a future and a dignified employment.

In the economic sector, states in particular need to articulate policies of industrial and agricultural development concerned with social progress and the growth everywhere of constitutional and democratic states. The creation of ethical structures for currency, financial and commercial markets is also fundamental and indispensable; these must be stabilized and better coordinated and controlled so as not to prove harmful to the very poor. With greater resolve than has hitherto been the case, the concern of peacemakers must also focus upon the food crisis, which is graver than the financial crisis. The issue of food security is once more central to the international political agenda, as a result of interrelated crises, including sudden shifts in the price of basic foodstuffs, irresponsible behaviour by some economic actors and insufficient control on the part of governments and the international community. To face this crisis, peacemakers are called to work together in a spirit of solidarity, from the local to the international level, with the aim of enabling farmers, especially in small rural holdings, to carry out their activity in a dignified and sustainable way from the social, environmental and economic points of view.

Education for a culture of peace: the role of the family and institutions

6. I wish to reaffirm forcefully that the various peacemakers are called to cultivate a passion for the common good of the family and for social justice, and a commitment to effective social education.

No one should ignore or underestimate the decisive role of the family, which is the basic cell of society from the demographic, ethical, pedagogical, economic and political standpoints. The family has a natural vocation to promote life: it accompanies individuals as they mature and it encourages mutual growth and enrichment through caring and sharing. The Christian family in particular serves as a seedbed for personal maturation according to the standards of divine love. The family is one of the indispensable social subjects for the achievement of a culture of peace. The rights of parents and their primary role in the education of their children in the area of morality and religion must be safeguarded. It is in the family that peacemakers, tomorrow’s promoters of a culture of life and love, are born and nurtured.[6]

Religious communities are involved in a special way in this immense task of education for peace. The Church believes that she shares in this great responsibility as part of the new evangelization, which is centred on conversion to the truth and love of Christ and, consequently, the spiritual and moral rebirth of individuals and societies. Encountering Jesus Christ shapes peacemakers, committing them to fellowship and to overcoming injustice.

Cultural institutions, schools and universities have a special mission of peace. They are called to make a notable contribution not only to the formation of new generations of leaders, but also to the renewal of public institutions, both national and international. They can also contribute to a scientific reflection which will ground economic and financial activities on a solid anthropological and ethical basis. Today’s world, especially the world of politics, needs to be sustained by fresh thinking and a new cultural synthesis so as to overcome purely technical approaches and to harmonize the various political currents with a view to the common good. The latter, seen as an ensemble of positive interpersonal and institutional relationships at the service of the integral growth of individuals and groups, is at the basis of all true education for peace.

A pedagogy for peacemakers

7. In the end, we see clearly the need to propose and promote a pedagogy of peace. This calls for a rich interior life, clear and valid moral points of reference, and appropriate attitudes and lifestyles. Acts of peacemaking converge for the achievement of the common good; they create interest in peace and cultivate peace. Thoughts, words and gestures of peace create a mentality and a culture of peace, and a respectful, honest and cordial atmosphere. There is a need, then, to teach people to love one another, to cultivate peace and to live with good will rather than mere tolerance. A fundamental encouragement to this is “to say no to revenge, to recognize injustices, to accept apologies without looking for them, and finally, to forgive”,[7] in such a way that mistakes and offences can be acknowledged in truth, so as to move forward together towards reconciliation. This requires the growth of a pedagogy of pardon. Evil is in fact overcome by good, and justice is to be sought in imitating God the Father who loves all his children (cf. Mt 5:21-48). This is a slow process, for it presupposes a spiritual evolution, an education in lofty values, a new vision of human history>/b>. There is a need to renounce that false peace promised by the idols of this world along with the dangers which accompany it, that false peace which dulls consciences, which leads to self-absorption, to a withered existence lived in indifference. The pedagogy of peace, on the other hand, implies activity, compassion, solidarity, courage and perseverance.

Jesus embodied all these attitudes in his own life, even to the complete gift of himself, even to “losing his life” (cf. Mt 10:39; Lk 17:33; Jn 12:25). He promises his disciples that sooner or later they will make the extraordinary discovery to which I originally alluded, namely that God is in the world, the God of Jesus, fully on the side of man. Here I would recall the prayer asking God to make us instruments of his peace, to be able to bring his love wherever there is hatred, his mercy wherever there is hurt, and true faith wherever there is doubt. For our part, let us join Blessed John XXIII in asking God to enlighten all leaders so that, besides caring for the proper material welfare of their peoples, they may secure for them the precious gift of peace, break down the walls which divide them, strengthen the bonds of mutual love, grow in understanding, and pardon those who have done them wrong; in this way, by his power and inspiration all the peoples of the earth will experience fraternity, and the peace for which they long will ever flourish and reign among them.[8]

With this prayer I express my hope that all will be true peacemakers, so that the city of man may grow in fraternal harmony, prosperity and peace.

From the Vatican, 8 December 2012
BENEDICTUS PP XVI


[1] Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, 1.

[2] Cf. Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris (11 April 1963): AAS 55 (1963), 265-266.

[3] Cf. ibid.: AAS 55 (1963), 266.

[4] BENEDICT XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate (29 June 2009), 32: AAS 101 (2009), 666-667.

[5] Cf. ibid, 34 and 36: AAS 101 (2009), 668-670 and 671-672.

[6] Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Message for the 1994 World Day of Peace (8 December 1993): AAS 86 (1994), 156-162.

[7] BENEDICT XVI, Address at the Meeting with Members of the Government, Institutions of the Republic, the Diplomatic Corps, Religious Leaders and Representatives of the World of Culture, Baabda-Lebanon (15 September 2012): L’Osservatore Romano, 16 September 2012, p. 7.

[8] Cf. Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris (11 April 1963): AAS 55 (1963), 304.

Sex, Scam, Salaries, and Syria

Entertainment personalities having sex videos are in the news lately. Surely they are culpable for what they do, but the more saddening thing are the people who upload these. Whatever faults, sins, or even perversions those personalities may have, they are still someone's father/mother, son/daughter, brother/sister. Sometimes the ones who are not involved directly are the ones who are hurt the most. As far as I know, one of those personalities has a daughter who is gravely ill. What a heartbreaker.

Then, there's the PDAF Pork Barrel Scam. Millions and millions of pesos spent for a "life of the rich and the famous". This poverty of the rich is far more pathetic than material poverty. It is an endless neediness and unquenchable wanting even to the point of deceit and corruption. While we often talk about doing something for the (materially) poor, it is greed that we should curb. The CBCP addresses the pork barrel scam.

Then, there is the tension between Fr. Dwight Longenecker and Michael Voris, which brought into focus the salaries of Catholic Answer's Jimmy Akin and company, EWTN's Doug Keck and company. Ron Conte has a good point that what is of more import is their teachings. I am not a follower of Jimmy Akin, but when it comes to EWTN, I think they have done a lot of good for the Church and for many souls. Who knows, maybe the people at EWTN are good stewards of the salaries they receive. It isn't bad to be rich if gained in honest and righteous way. But for every gift, much is required of us, too.
However, the deeper issue in Fr. Dwight and Voris conflict is the ensuing friction between Conservatives and Traditionalists.

The more disturbing news is the war in Syria and the military intervention being proposed. Pope Francis had called for a vigil on September 7- prayer and fasting for peace. The Pope urges for a peaceful solution to the situation. Hopefully our prayers may turn the situation around and halt the escalating conflict in the world. There are no winners in war... only woundedness remain.

Am I the Institution's Keeper

Supertradmum
explores our tendency to protect an institution's existence. She calls it "institution think" wherein the survival and continuance of the institution is of utmost important. She can't.
I would surmise that many of those bishops who failed to respond effectively to the sexual abuses of priests were thinking of what it will do to the church if it be found. They thought by ignoring it or moving the offender to another location will put an end to it. In governments, offices, organizations, and clans would also have an "institution think" wherein the image of the institution is protected at all cost even at the expense of truth and justice.

It is not just about loyalty to an institution but there is also that
kinship that develops in our circles of affiliation. One person's sin becomes the sin of the whole. That is what sin is, it stains everything it touches.
So we ask, am I the institution's keeper? Am I my brother's keeper? And in our human frailty, what we often thought as the best for the institution or another person can turn out to be the opposite. Thus, we go back again to the alpha and omega of everything - the Truth, Jesus Christ. It is only in and through God's grace and guiding will that we can truly love and care and truly be a proper keeper of all that there is.

The Media and the Catholic Church in 1971

TERESA BENEDETTA 8/28/2013 1:34 AM


I've decided to re-post this item from one year ago because of its continuing relevance, and because it revealed a side of Paul VI that was quite unexpected. The gentle, reserved Pope could be sever and blunt when he had to be, as in his famous remark about 'the fumes of Satan' having infiltrated the Church after Vatican-II.

Paul VI's unscripted reproach
to irresponsible media in 1971
by Angela Ambrogetti
Translated from

August 27, 2012

Contemporary information media often create what they report. When, in fact, media should not create but describe things as they are. But in creating stories, they also create - or better, shape - public opinion.

The more the media system develops, the more the media is able to create stories which lead the [gullible] media consumer to "think according to what the media tell them". Even if it is not true [And most of it often is not].

It is an old trick to 'muddy up the water', which provoked public criticism of the media even by Pope Paul VI, son of a Catholic journalist.



It was 1971, and times were different from today. [The media system was far simpler and far less pervasive, without the 24/7 instant convenience of the Internet.] A program on RAI, the Italian state TV, carried interwoven interviews with Cardinal Jean Danielou and Father Ernesto Balducci. [I had to look him up - apparently, Balducci (1922-1992) was quite a prominent peace activist in Italy whose ideal was a supranational world community in which there would be social justice ad peace for everyone.] It was a post-Conciliar debate which continues to be very actual: the 'contrast' between the Church apparatus and the 'Church of the poor'.

The program was aired in connection with an upcoming Synodal assembly of bishops which was to open September 30, 1971, with a Mass in the Sistine Chapel. The Synod's theme was "Justice in the world and the priestly ministry" but the theme was hardly discussed in the program, which was dominated by the Danielou-Balducci 'debate'.

The French cardinal spoke for the 'institutional' Church, while Balducci spoke about a Church 'remote' from the oppressed, not open to social justice and not concerned about peace. [It is always appalling how sanctimonious Catholics, including priests and bishops - and assorted types like Paolo Gabriele - can see nothing but evil in the Church and ignore the good it does!]

Balducci generalized without considering the good work of so many priests, religious and bishops, and the cardinal [an academic theologian, above all, professor, author and Church historian whose career did not include much pastoral work] appeared unable to answer effectively.

However, the newspapers at the time picked up and reported not so much the TV program itself but the reaction of Paul VI. The day after the broadcast, Sept. 29, the Pope had a General Audience. It so happened that the discourse prepared for the day was precisely on the subject of how the Church had come to be commonly thought about for her 'negative' aspects rather than for what she actually is.

A reflection that, just six years after Vatican II, was meant to tell the faithful, in direct language, the salient points of the dogmatic constitution on the Church Lumen gentium.

Paul VI's reaction was unusually direct, especially for him. At a certain point in his address, he departed from the text and said extemporaneously: "Even yesterday, on Italian TV, there were strong attacks against the Church because of the way she is constituted, the way she is built. What has entered into the soul and brain of so many people, otherwise good and honest, who feel that they must turn against the Church and criticize her despite all the good that they themselves have received from the institutional Church? If there had not been this Church constituted by Christ, what would happen to their souls?" [In fairness to RAI, the attacks against the Church in the program apparently came from the priest, Balducci, not from RAI, who can be faulted for creating an 'unequal' debate by juxtaposing two separate interviews in which Cardinal Danielou was most likely unaware that his answers to an interview with him alone were to be matched against charges made by an activist-polemicist.]

He then resumed reading his written text which, read today, despite Paul VI's not easy way with language, is very much actual. The Pope spoke to pilgrims coming to the tomb of St. Peter "seeking a sensible as well as spiritual impression of this central point for the Church... (as well as) to enjoy the positive aspects of the Church" , He went on:
Whereas today, through what has become an almost habitual deformation, we see too many persons predisposed to see only her negative aspects - or those that are reputed to be negative - such that too many observers of the Church have a tendency to be critical and intolerant of ecclesial reality, and on the pretext of being oriented towards an ideal Church, they find it boring to even consider any positive contact with the Church as she is...

They would like a Church that is spiritually pure which fits into their own ideas of what she should be. This critical, disputatious, and discontented attitude, is widespread, and is fundamentally decadent, incapable of admiration, enthusiasm or love, and therefore devoid of joy and of the spirit of sacrifice.
The official published text includes but does not indicate the impromptu words inserted by the Pope, though these were reported as such by the newspapers in the following days.

It was clear that the issue was very much a concern for Paul VI, who was disappointed that the media - in this case, RAI-TV - were contributing to confuse the faithful.

Some commentators saw in his reaction a 'nervous release' of pent-up feelings, while others criticized the broadcast harshly, saying "The Pope could not have acted otherwise".

Re-reading the accounts 41 years later, it is evident that many issues in the internal Catholic debate are far from resolved. [What an understatement! And yet, perhaps, it is inherent to have an internal debate for as long as there exist two extremely polarized sides, i.e., the progressivists on the left, and the rigid traditionalists on the other, both seemingly unmindful of the broad conservative and orthodox center that is open to necessary practical changes but always respectful of tried-and-tested Tradition - in short, those who advocate 'renewal in continuity'.]

Equally evident is that often, the way the media report on the Church is intended to generate controversy, even to the point, in fact, of creating what they purport to describe.

The question we can ask today is the same one Paul VI asked: What is it that gets into the heart and mind of so many good and honest persons who feel that they must speak only of the 'evil and corruption' in the bosom of the Church? What is triggered in the minds of those who, like Paolo Gabriele, reading media reports constructed to pre-condition simple minds, think, "Seeing evil and corruption everywhere in the Church... I was sure that a shock, like one from the media, would help to put the Church back on the right track".

[Gee, would it not be the devil, whose workshop is idle minds - not to mention minds that are incapable of thinking for themselves, happy to let others think for them? Paolo Gabriele was/is simple-minded enough to mistake the sanctimonious, presumptuous spirit that 'infiltrated' him to be the Holy Spirit, unable to discern the devil himself in the guise of media sanctimony and censoriousness of the Church, nor to remember the age-old adage that pride (hubris - presumptuous arrogance - in his case) always precedes a fall.]

Man's Relationship with the Infinite

This is beautiful from Teresa Benedetta Forum . A letter addressed to Communion and Liberation on their Meeting of Friendship in Rimini.

To my Venerated Brother
Monsignor FRANCESCO LAMBIASI
Bishop of Rimini

I wish to extend my heartfelt greeting to you, to the organizers and all the participants of the Meeting for Friendship among Peoples which has reached its 33rd year.

The theme chosen for this year - "The nature of man is a relationship with the infinite" - is particularly significant in view of the imminent start of the Year of Faith which I decreed to mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council.

To speak of man and his yearning for the infinite means first of all to acknowledge his constitutive relationship with the Creator. Man is a creature of God. Today, this word "creature' seems almost out of fashion: The preference is to think about man as a self-fulfilling being and absolute master of his own destiny.
-
To think of man as a creature seems 'inconvenient' because it implies an essential reference to something else, or better, to someone else - not under man's control - who defines his identity in an essential way. It is a relational identity, whose first given is man's original and ontological dependence from He who wanted us and created us.

And yet this dependence, which modern contemporary man has been trying to free himself, does not just hide or diminish but reveals in a luminous way the grandeur and supreme dignity of man, who is called to life in order to enter into a relationship with life itself, with God.

To say that "the nature of man is his relationship with the infinite" means that every person was created so that he can enter into a dialog with God, with the Infinite.

At the start of the history of the world, Adam and Eve were the fruit of an act of love by God, made in his image and likeness - their life and their relationship with the Creator coincided: "God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them" (Gen 1,27).

And original sin had its ultimate root precisely in our original progenitors withdrawing themselves from this constitutive relationship, wishing to take the place of God, believing they could do without him.

But even after sin, there remains in man an aching desire for this dialog, almost as if it was a sign branded on his soul and his flesh by the Creator himself. Psalm 63(62) helps us to enter into the heart of the matter: "O God, you are my God - it is you I seek! For you my body yearns; for you my soul thirsts, In a land parched, lifeless, and without water" (v 2).

Not just my soul, but every fiber of my flesh is made to find peace and realization in God. This tension is incancellable in the heart of man. Even when he rejects or denies God, the thirst for the infinite that inhabits man does not vanish.

Instead, there begins s labored and sterile search, of 'false infinities' that could satisfy at least for a moment. The thirst of the soul and the yearning of the body that the Psalmist speaks of cannot be eliminated. And thus man, without knowing it, is reaching out for the infinite, but in the wrong directions - in drugs, in disordered sexuality, in totalizing technology, in success at any cost, and even in deceptive forms of religiosity.

Even the good things that God has created as ways that lead to him often run the risk of being absolutized and thus become idols that replace the Creator.

To acknowledge that one is made for the infinite means following a path of purification from what I have called 'false infinities', a path of conversion of the heart and the mind. It is necessary to eradicate all the false promises of infinity that seduce man and thus enslave him.

In order to truly find himself and his true identity, to live up to the level of his being, man must return to acknowledging that he is a creature, dependent on God. Acknowledgment of this dependency - which is basically the joyous discovery of being children of God - brings the possibility of a life that is truly free and full.

It is interesting to note how St. Paul, in the Letter to the Romans, sees the opposite of slavery not so much in freedom but in our sonhood, in having received the Holy Spirit that makes us adopted children of God and allows us to cry out to him, "Abba! Father!"[/gG (cfr 8,15).

The Apostle of the Gentiles speaks of a 'bad' slavery - to sin, to the law, to the passions of the flesh. But to these, he does not oppose autonomy but rather 'the slavery of Christ" (cfr 6,16-22). , describing himself as "Paul, servant of Jesus" (1,1).

The fundamental point, therefore, is not to eliminate the dependency, which is constitutive of man, but to direct it to Him who alone can make us truly free.

At this point, a question arises. Is it not perhaps structurally impossible for man to live up to the level of own nature? And is his yearning towards the infinite not a condemnation that he senses but can never totally satisfy?

This question brings us directly to the heart of Christianity. In fact, the infinite itself, to give an answer that man can experience, took on a finite form. The Incarnation, the moment when the Word became flesh, nullified the unbreachable distance between the finite and the infinite: the eternal infinite God had left his heaven and entered time and immersed himself in human finiteness. After which nothing is banal or insignificant in the journey of life and the world.

Man is made for an infinite God who became man, who took on our humanity to draw it towards the grandeur of his divine being. Thus we discover the truest dimension of human existence, that to which the Servant of God Luigi Giussani [founder of C&L] continually called attention: life as vocation.

Everything, every relationship, every joy, as well as every difficulty, finds its ultimate reason in being an occasion of relationship with the Infinite - the voice of God which continually calls is and invites us to lift our gaze, to discover in adherence to him the full realization of our humanity.

"You made us for yourself," Augustine wrote, "and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you" (Confessions I(, 1,1). We should not fear what God asks of us through the circumstances of life, even if it is the dedication of all oneself in a particular form of following and imitating Christ in the priesthood or religious life.

The Lord, calling each of us to live totally in him, demands that we acknowledge the essence of our proper nature as human beings: that we were made for the Infinite. God has at heart our happiness, our full human realization.

Let us therefore ask to enter and remain with this outlook of faith that has characterized the saints, in order to discover the seeds of good that the Lord sows along the journey of our life and adhere with joy to our vocation.

While I hope that these brief thoughts may be of help to those who are taking part in the meeting, I assure everyone of my nearness in prayer, and I hope that the reflections from these days may introduce everyone to the certainty and joy of the faith.

To you, Venerated Brother, to the officials and to the organizers of the meeting, as well as to all present, IO gladly impart a special Apostolic Blessing.

From Castel Gandolfo
August 10, 2012

Mystery Round-up

History Channel featured Pope Francis, the pope from the end of the world. It briefly mentioned St. Malacchi's prophecy of popes and the prophecy of the black king. But the feature wasn't really of any mystery, it just showcased the expectations and delight of Pope Francis' admirers and those who continually wished for a new church that will suit them.

More interesting is Missouri's mystery priest that appeared and disappered in an automobile accident, and the search for him.

Yes, there are lots of times in our lives when persons would be a part of our life for just a moment. We would never know their names or thank them enough. They would never even know the worth of what they have done. I can recall a few in my life like the local airport worker who picked a rose and simply gave it to me. Or that Maryknoller who gave me bus fare money when I realized too late that I was not able to bring one with me. Then, there was that seminarian who congratulated me when I passed the Architectural Licensure Exam, for him to take interest and look for my name in the list. People do come and go, and we will never know what would become of them.

But the greatest mystery of all is the Holy Eucharist. God had chosen to become Incarnate and then, institute the Sacrament that He may forever be present and Incarnate for all of us. Not just a symbol, but a Real Presence- an everyday miracle so many take for granted.

Moving Forward with Benedict XVI

At Loreto (01Sept 2007), part of BXVI's answer to a question of the youth when feeling marginalized; "Being in the great company of the Saints and moving FORWARD with them can change the world, creating centres in the periphery, so that the company of Saints may truly become visible and thus the hope of all may become realistic, and every one may say: 'I am IMPORTANT in the TOTALITY of HISTORY'. The Lord will help us". Thank you."



On being talked about badly by others in a Q&A with inmates at the Rebibbia Prison Sunday, 18 December 2011 : "We fell, but we are here to stand up again. This is important, this courage to stand, to go FORWARD with the HELP of the LORD and with the help of all your FRIENDS. You also said that they speak in a “cruel” way about you. Unfortunately it is true, but I would like to say that that is not all, there are others who speak well of you and think well of you. I am thinking of my little papal family; I am surrounded by four “lay sisters” and we often speak of this problem; they have friends in different prisons, we even receive gifts from them and we send gifts ourselves. So this situation is present in a very positive way in my family and I think it is in many others as well. We have to tolerate some speaking in a “cruel” way, they speak in a “cruel” way about the Pope, too, and, yet we go FORWARD. It seems important to me to encourage everyone to think well, to find meaning in your suffering, to aim to help you in the process of rising again. And, let us say, I will do my part to invite all to think in this just way, not disparagingly but humanely, realizing that anyone can fall, but that God wants everyone to come to him, and we must cooperate in the spirit of brotherhood and awareness of our own fragility,"


On the final chapter of one's earthly pilgrimage during Benedict XVI's 2012 birthday: "I face the final stretch of my journey in life, and I do not know what awaits me. But I know that God's light is there, that Christ has risen, that the light of God is stronger than any darkness, that God's goodness is stronger than all the evil in the world. And that allows me to GO ON with certainty. It allows us to CARRY ON, and at this time, I thank everyone from the heart who have given me the certainty of God's Yes through their faith."


On retirement at his final public appearance, 28 Feb 2013: "And I feel greatly supported by your affection. Let us move FORWARD TOGETHER WITH the LORD for the good of the Church and the world."

The Pauper who became a Prince

The Pauper had been cleaning up the Kingdom for years. It was no easy task. Some people in the kingdom would insist that there is no filth in them and this pesky pauper just wants to meddle in everything. On the other hand, the enemies of the kingdom will blame the pauper for all the filth, it is his responsibility. Times were quite confusing and people don't know what to consider filth or not. Many just want to let everything be.

As the pauper goes about doing his job; The Prince and the Queen Mother were able to reach more people winning the love of the people. The Prince and the Queen Mother showed their appreciation of the pauper and the pauper was consoled by the knowledge that it was the king's wish that he be the cleaning man in the kingdom. It was his joy that the prince and the Queen Mother are drawing hearts back into the King's fold. He was tired but he is but a servant of the King. In his heart, he awaits the King to dismiss him.

The Prince soon found himself ill, and in the Kingdom there was much wrangling. The Prince wanted to retire but the Queen-Mother insisted, "No, my son, you will live for many years. If you retire now, the door-breaker will become the Prince." The Prince cried in tears for he loved the Queen-Mother and all the people. The Queen-Mother assured him, "It will be alright. Am I not your mother? ...the door-breaker will have power from the grave but not now."
So the ailing Prince continued and the Pauper continued his work, too. He, too, asked the Queen-Mother if he could retire, but the Queen-Mother won't let him. And the Pauper obeyed for he loved the King, the Queen-Mother, and all the people.

The Prince died. The Pauper and the people grieved. It was a heavy pain for all but the Queen-Mother reassures them all. The Queen-Mother talked to the Pauper, "You will be Prince." The Pauper was shocked, "But my Lady, who would want me to be a Prince. I am but a Pauper, and in their eyes.. that I will be." The Queen-Mother replied, "I do want it. I want you to be the Prince." The Pauper couldn't understand, in his mind, "What can I possibly do as a Prince?"
The Queen-Mother spoke, "You know the King is coming soon. You have to imitate me and herald His coming." The Pauper was quite afraid, but he trusts the Queen-Mother, and so he obeyed, "Let the King choose my poverty."

The Pauper became a Prince and he talked about the King to the people. The Queen-Mother summoned him, "this you have to put on." The Pauper Prince was startled, "But my Lady, the Prince never wear that. And I am a Pauper, it is not fitting for me to do so. The Queen-Mother replied, "And I am but a Handmade, yet if the King wants me to be His Queen-Mother. I obey." The Queen-Mother continued, "You will decrease and He will increase. You will show them and lead them. You will restore the awe for the Kingdom. You will herald the coming of the King."
The Pauper-Prince abided, and he pointed to the Truth. Pouring everything out. He must reach as much as he can... even to the ends of the earth ...even the hardest of hearts ...even the most vicious of them all.

The Pauper Prince was much opposed, ridiculed, and used, but he found real family. The more he decreased, the more the King is known and loved. The more pleased the Queen-Mother is.

But the Pauper-Prince, too, was getting old. He knew his days are numbered. He worked so hard because of his limited time. He awaits for the Queen-Mother's guidance. Then suddenly, the Queen-Mother said, "My son renounced the crown." The Pauper Prince was surprised because She did not allow the former Prince to do so. The Queen-Mother knew his apprehension, "Trust me, my son. You must stay a little while but you will remain hidden in me." The Queen-Mother smiled, "You are a faithful son. Just a little while, we have to watch the people. We can not let them forget easily." The Pauper Prince replied, "Yes, my Lady. Together, we will forge forward in Christ, with Christ, thru Christ."

The Queen-Mother smiled, "Yes, they have to see with their hearts and minds. The road is there to meet the King, let them choose and say their 'yes'."

Reactions to Pope's Restrictions on FI's TLM

Rorate Cæli reported the Pope's restrictions on the Latin Masses officiated by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate. Although, I don't attend EF Masses, I was saddened that somehow it will hold back the propagation of the TLM which of yet has not flourished. Its presence would certainly bring back the solemnity and sacredness of the Holy Mass in the Novus Ordo and bring Jesus as the Center and Source of the Mass.

I have not read Fr. Z's article on this but it seems, he got more passionate reactions than the Pope's actuation. It surely did for Ars Orandi, I find Ars Orandi a beautiful website that posts the Collect of the Day. Another reaction and a sobering one was from Australia Incognita.

Dr. Taylor Marshall also wrote about the TLM and FI and advised readers not to go to Traditionalists' blogs like Rorate Cæli. Somehow, I like the Traditionalists' blogsites, even the satirical ones. They don't gloss over Church events and personalities. They critique or praise when warranted. And to me, it shows their conviction of the True Church that remains holy and fount of truth not because of its members but because of its founder - Jesus Christ.

Kiss the Hands of Your Mother

Kiss the Hands of Your Mother

Kiss the hands of your mother-
wrinkled and dry;
The hands that changed diapers,
wiped and cleansed.

Roughened by time and labor,
cradled you to sleep.
Hands that tried to give comfort
times you were listless.

Kiss the hands of your mother,
praying to God in tears.
Your safety and your welfare,
is always in her plea.

The hands that had to let go,
so you can grow.
Arranging mementos of you,
all she has now.

Kiss the hands of your mother,
cherish and caress.
The hands brought you this far,
in love and sacrifice.

Kiss the hands of your mother,
while it is still warm.
Place your hand in her hand,
Thank God for mothers.

CDF on Homosexual Union

Mater Ecclesiae Monastery prepares for Benedict XVI's return to Vatican on May 2. Historic times indeed, a pope praying for the pope. Times must really be tough that we need two popes, a pope emertus praying hard and a new pope talking tough. I love BXVI and his leaving Vatican last February 28 was a tender and moving moment. He will be returning by helicopter around 4:30 or 5:00 in the afternoon. Hopefully, there will be some media coverage.

Reading the CDF document on homosexual unions. 2. The Church's teaching on marriage and on the complementarity of the sexes reiterates a truth that is evident to right reason and recognized as such by all the major cultures of the world. Marriage is not just any relationship between human beings. It was established by the Creator with its own nature, essential properties and purpose.(3) No ideology can erase from the human spirit the certainty that marriage exists solely between a man and a woman, who by mutual personal gift, proper and exclusive to themselves, tend toward the communion of their persons. In this way, they mutually perfect each other, in order to cooperate with God in the procreation and upbringing of new human lives. (Cardinal Ratzinger, CDF)

A Fil-Am's Warning to Filipino Voters

A letter from a Fil-am Friend of one of our pro-life groupmates posted on 1:14pm Apr 24

"This is EXACTLY why we Must have political parties in the Philippines describe their ideology. Right now, Filipinos vote for pretty faces and nice people and DO NOT understand their elected officials positions on the issues and laws of the day that are being presented in Congress everyday! How do those same people vote on legislation during their elected career!
We HAVE a Liberal party, and MANY other parties linked with the Liberal party in this coming election! ALL of these people are PROGRESSIVES! They are destroying this country. When will the people wake up? Where is the CONSERVATIVE PARTY in the Philippines?
WAKE UP PEOPLE! The Liberal party already HAS nearly half of the elected officials in their camp! Now that Noynoy has campaigned to link the Liberal Party WITH the UNC and other parties, the LIBERAL PROGRESSIVES have over half of the House and Senate and therefore THEY CONTROL (DICTATE) new laws and public policy!
WAKE UP PEOPLE! Where are the CONSERVATIVES? WHY do you allow this deception and continued oppression by the tyrants in office? Filipinas have had such a hard time trying to ESCAPE Tyrant rule in the past 60 years; why do you continue to allow a corrupt political system that keeps the people enslaved and under the Progressive political control and NOT A FREE PEOPLE?
Until the party ideology is described in the party name, the people will be enslaved by the Liberal Progressives already in power! Does anyone care that they maintain control by murder, bribes and coercion?
WAKE UP PEOPLE! Look at what happened in Quezon to a political rival and recently AGAIN in Mindanao. These people ARE Ruthless murdering Liars and they WILL maintain control over the people at ANY expense!
The majority of these Liberal Progressive people also voted FOR the recent RH Bill. They are ALL making promises they will NEVER follow through on! Case and point; Noynoy PROMISED to dredge the rivers and Laguna Bay after severe flooding of the Metro-Manila area and towns adjacent to Laguna bay. When will that start? What money was set aside to do that? Remember Noynoy going to these towns and personally PROMISING to start this action in order to eliminate this problem in the future? Does he REALLY care for our people? As long as we keep him dry and safe and living in luxury he does NOT care for the people of the Philippines and neither do ANY of the elected officials in his party or those associated with Liberal Progressive ideals.
having said all of this; yet we have the money required to hand out condoms and perform abortions in direct opposition to God's laws! This flooding was something that kept business from functioning for 4-6 months after the storm and thousands from re-entering their homes as well and also caused millions of pesos damage by loss of the people's hard-earned property; furniture, appliances, clothing, food, etc.
Do the Filipina people care that these Progressives, led by Noynoy, LIED to them about this one life threatening issue? This problem STILL exists, and it will create the same devastation next season! But by then these Progressives will be re-elected and the pressure of doing something FOR the people won't be on their heads! Wake up people!"

Indeed, it is quite unfortunate that the political powers presently in place seemed bent on catching up with the rest of the world's culture of death. It is quite unfortunate, too, that electorates will still be voting for personalities that can be their 'padrinos".

But there is always hope, the bishops in the Philippines are still advocates of life and family, maybe voters will listen to them.