Carl E. Olson's Blog, page 147

Priests of the Domestic Church: A Father's Day Homily

 

Priests of the Domestic Church: A Father's Day Homily | Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers | Ignatius Insight 

In the days before global positioning systems, Mapquest, and Google Earth, men were stereotyped as reluctant to ask for directions. You know the scene: a couple is driving somewhere and, unable to find their destination, the wife turns to her husband and says, "Honey, maybe we should stop and ask for directions." The husband, dismayed that his wife would dare challenge his sense of direction, stubbornly says, "I know where I'm going!" This would go on and on until they eventually found the place or fell so far behind schedule that they would have no choice but to stop at the nearest gas station for directions. 

Thanks to modern technology, those days are gone forever! In this day and age it's virtually impossible to get lost. However, a GPS may be able to get you from Portland to Chicago; Mapquest may be able to get you to your favorite downtown restaurant; Google Earth may show you the best route from New York to Australia but no amount of technology in the world will get you from earth to heaven! 

What Jesus says in the Gospel is true of many men today: we are "troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd." [1] When a man would rather spend time looking at pornography or "hanging out with the fellas" than have any meaningful relationship with his wife and children, he is lost. When a man approaches dating as a conquest, where the primary goal is to "hit it and quit it," he is lost. When a man becomes wealthy at the expense of the poor, he is lost. When a man under the influence of drugs or alcohol beats his wife, passing on a legacy of violence and abuse to his children, he is lost. 

Just as Jesus called laborers into the field to reap an abundant harvest of souls, He calls husbands and fathers who are lost to use the navigational tools of prayer, forgiveness, and mercy to find our way back to our Father in heaven. Just as Jesus called men to the priesthood to serve His Bride the Church, the same Jesus calls men through baptism to be priests of the domestic church, the church of the home. A husband and father should exercise his priestly ministry through "the offering he makes of himself and his daily activities." [2] This offering should be united to Christ's offering in the Eucharist "for their work, prayers, and apostolic endeavors, their ordinary married and family life, their daily labor, their mental and physical relaxation, if carried on in the spirit--and even the hardships of life, if patiently borne--all of these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." [3] The main job of the priest is to offer sacrifice, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass should lead fathers to intimate and personal relationship with God, uniting him so closely to Christ that the Eucharist becomes the very soul and center of his spiritual and family life. 


The priest of the home must accept the responsibility of living "the Gospel in faith and proclaiming it in word and deed, without hesitating to identify and denounce evil." [4] Christian parents are the primary and indispensable catechists of their own children. Fathers are not only called to preach the Gospel but also, and above all, to live the Gospel by setting a good example for their children. If our children see us living the Catholic faith with fidelity and joy, then we can be sure that our example will be worth more than a thousand words and have confidence that our love for Christ will be written into the hearts of our sons and daughters. When we do this, the Catholic faith will become more than a fond memory that fades with time. A father's living witness to covenant intimacy will become his enduring legacy, a precious gift for his children, and a sure sign of hope in God's endless mercy and love. 



       


Before any of this can happen, we fathers must have the courage to take the first big step: we must dethrone the reign of sin in our lives so that we can welcome Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives. Any man can be a daddy but it takes a real man to be a father, and the sooner we earthly fathers begin to appreciate the great gift we have been given and begin living the mission of service to our families--when we begin to make a gift of ourselves to our wives and children, and participate deeply and personally in the Fatherhood of God--the faster we will arrive at a civilization of love and a culture of life. 

I remember the day my relationship with my father changed forever. When I informed him of my decision to join the Benedictines, not only was he disappointed; he was angry. What he said went something like this: "You're going to do what?!" He then reminded me: "You are the first person in the family to go to college. I spent all that money sending you to one of the best universities in the country. You studied economics and business, and instead of making something of yourself, you are going to waste your life in that monastery living with a bunch of men? What's wrong with you? What am I supposed to tell my friends?" I won't repeat what I said to him but on that day he became like Lazarus in the tomb; he became dead to me. 

Many years later when my EWTN series debuted, my father received lots of phone calls: "Isn't that your son on TV?" My father, who as far as I knew only set foot in a Catholic church on his wedding day, began watching my program. Then he began watching the Mass. Then he started watching reruns of Mother Angelica. Then he started praying. My father, a professional entertainer, decided to stop singing Caribbean music and started singing and recording Gospel music exclusively. Then, like Lazarus coming out of the tomb, he called me and we spoke for thirty-one minutes and twelve seconds, which is the longest conversation we've had in almost twenty years. He spent most of the call talking to me about his relationship with Jesus. 

A few months ago, I was shown the awesome power of prayer, forgiveness, and divine mercy. After years of not having a meaningful relationship with the man who destroyed our family, I met face-to-face with my father. I did not hear the words of repentance that I so longed to hear from him. Instead, this talented and gifted musician who was lost and who only now after seventy-four years is coming to faith in Jesus Christ, showed me the meaning of fatherhood by his example when he sang this song: 

"O Lord, sweet Jesus, have mercy on me. 
My eyes were wide open, yet I failed to see.
Dear Lord, I beg you have mercy; please, have mercy on me. 
I am so sorry. Lord, forgive me. 
Please show me the way. 
I can't go on living this life without you. 
Sweet Jesus, please tell me what to do. 
Lord, I'm depending on you. 
I want to live a life that's honest and true. 
I will let nothing stand in my way. 
Sweet Jesus, please hear my prayer. 
O Lord, teach me how to pray,
I beg you, because at times I know not what to say
but when I think of Calvary I know my Jesus loves me. 
Dear Lord, I beg you have mercy." 

ENDNOTES:

[1] Matthew 9:36. 

[2] Christifideles Laici, n.14

[3] Lumen Gentium, n.31

[4] Christifideles Laici, n.14 




IgnatiusInsight.com Articles by Deacon Burke-Sivers:

•  A Study In Faithful Obedience  | Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers | New Foreword to  From Slave to Priest
•  Black and Catholic in America  | An Interview with Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers
•  Behold the Man!  | An interview with Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers about his new EWTN series
•  Hearing and Living the Truth  | Harold Burke-Sivers
•  The Truth and the Lie  | Harold Burke-Sivers
•  The Meaning and Necessity of Spiritual Fatherhood  | Harold Burke-Sivers




Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, MTS  is a deacon in the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, and the founder of Aurem Cordis, an apostolate dedicated "to promote the truth and beauty of the gospel by encouraging others to submit themselves freely to the life-giving love of the Trinity and to become living witnesses to that love in the world." Deacon Burke-Sivers gives talks around the country on spirituality, family life, lay vocations, and other topics, and has appeared on "Catholic Answers Live", EWTN, and many local television and radio programs. He has a BA in economics from Notre Dame and an MTS from the University of Dallas. He, his wife Colleen, and their four children live in Portland, Oregon. 

"Be a Dad!" by Fr. Larry Richards

 

"Be a Dad!" | Fr. Larry Richards | Adapted and excerpted from Be a Man! Becoming the Man God Created You to Be | Ignatius Insight 

You are going to die!

It doesn't matter how rich we are, or how popular we are, or how powerful we are: we are all going to "kick the bucket" one day. Isn't that a nice thought?

What we have to do is take some time to sit and meditate about taking our last breath. What do you want your wife to say about you? What do you want your kids to say about you? Once you've decided, "Okay, when I am taking my last breath this is what I want", you can start living your life with your end goal in mind. You will start living in such a way that when the day of your death happens, the people who know you will say what you want them to say.

Death is the ultimate thing that takes control out of our hands. Even if we commit suicide, we cannot control what happens after we die. Not one of us had control over our own birth and not one of us has control of what happens after we die.

I have been to a lot of deathbeds throughout my priesthood, so I know what it is going to be like when you are dying. While you are lying there, the thing that is going to be most important to you is your relationships—the people that you loved and the people that in return loved you.

Then why don't we live every day with that in mind? Make the decision to never let your wife or your kids go to bed or walk out the door without telling them first that you love them—life is just too short! It will change your family. It will change the world.



You should underline John 15:12 in your Bible, where Jesus commands us, "Love one another as I have loved you." This is not an option. He also said, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you" (Jn 15:9). Jesus told the people He loved that He loved them.



Why is it that men do not do that? Men are embarrassed. They are afraid. It makes them vulnerable. They think to be a man, you don't go around telling the people you love that you love them; but Jesus told twelve men that He loved them. Then He told us to love others in the same way.

Let me give you a hint: you will never in your life regret that you told your wife and your kids and the people you love that you love them—never. You won't be lying on your deathbed one day saying, "I can't believe that I daily told my loved ones that I loved them. What is the matter with me?" 

Now, how do you fall in love with someone? You know that you did not get to know your future wife by meeting her once and giving her forty five minutes to an hour once a week. You spent time with her. You got to know her. The same is true with our relationship with God. It might take you months—it might take you years—but you have to do it. You have to keep spending time with God until the answer to the question of whether or not you know God is unequivocally yes.

We need to know who our true Father is. There's only one Father for everybody: God the Father! That guy you call your dad, he's the instrument of fatherhood, but he's not your true Father.

When we talk about our fathers—whether we had a good father, a bad father, a close and supportive father, or a distant and unsupportive father whom we did not know at all—it doesn't matter as much because the reality is, we all have the same Father in heaven. It's that Father Who will bring healing to us.

Husbands are called to love God primarily through their wives. Your wife is the sacrament of Christ to you. You are the sacrament of Christ to your wife. When she looks at you, she is supposed to see Jesus Christ. That is why Ephesians 5:22–24 is such a wonderful passage. It says, "Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church, his body, and is himself its Savior. As the Church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands." Many of us remember the translation that said that wives were to be "submissive to their husbands". The problem is that many men just stop with their wives being "submissive". The men love that part, which is why so many women go crazy.

I make this very explicit when I am preaching at a marriage ceremony. I start with the bride and I say, "Sweetheart, you read the Bible every day, don't you?" At first I usually get a "Yes, Father", and then I say kiddingly, "If you lie to a priest, you know, you go to hell." Then she will usually quickly say, "Okay, no, Father." Then I continue, "Well, there is a verse in Ephesians that says, 'Wives, be submissive to your husbands, as to the Lord.' " And then I ask, "Do you think it means what it says?" And I always get an emphatic "No, Father!" Then I literally jump up and down and scream, "Yes, it means what it says!" When I say this, all the feminists in the crowd become very upset and say things like, "This is another reason I hate the Catholic Church." And the bride thinks, "Why did we ever get this priest to marry us?" I love this!

Then, as anyone who knows me knows, I am an equal opportunity offender, so I turn to the groom, who usually likes all of this. Now it is time for the other shoe to fall. I then ask the groom, "You read the Bible every day, right?" He always responds, "No, Father." Then I ask, "Well, do you know what it says in Ephesians after 'Wives, be submissive to your husbands'?" The groom always shakes his head and says, "No." Then I continue, "It says, 'Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her.' " Then I ask, "Do you know what that means?" I then continue kiddingly, "Your life is over!" Then I tell them that every day they need to be more concerned about each other than they are about themselves! That is what marriage is about!

So you need to start to do at least one unselfish act for your wife every day. Surprise her. When was the last time you treated her the same way you did when you were still trying to get her to marry you?

Next, let us focus on your children, which I think is easier because they are a part of you. Do we allow our children to be themselves? Some people think that the best father you can be is a strong disciplinarian. Absolutely, I agree. But just as much as you discipline your children, you must also build them up.

Sometimes we are just harsh and we think this is what God wants, but that isn't the way God is. God loves us. He gives away His life for us. And then He always tells us He loves us. Correct?

One of the roles that men have, given to them by God (see Gen 3:16; 1 Cor 11:3; Eph 5:23), is to be the spiritual leaders of their families. Now this is where I have called men "spiritual wimps" for many years. Many men have let their wives be the spiritual leaders of their families, but this is not the way God created it to be. Now this does not mean that you are the master of your wife and family; it means, like Jesus Christ, you are the servant leader of your family. 

First off, this means that you lead by example. You must be a man of prayer. For it is only as a son who listens to his heavenly Father that you can bring the will of the Father to your family. You cannot be a good and true leader unless you are a true and good follower. You must daily spend committed time in prayer with God, then lead your family in prayer. Do you have daily committed time with your family in prayer? And no, grace before meals is not enough!

You need to be the spiritual leader by being a man of sacrifice. You exist to give your life away for others, like Jesus did. That means you give your life for your family first and foremost.

My good friend Danny Abramowicz loves to tell men at men's conferences: "Men, your kids will always love their mother, but they want to become just like you!" If we are not holy ourselves, then our families will not be holy. It is that simple. God is going to speak to men, women, and children, but He is speaking especially to men to help us be His very image.

You are the sacrament of Fatherhood to your children just like St. Joseph was the sacrament of Fatherhood to Jesus. Just as God used St. Joseph to form Jesus Christ in His humanity, so too does He want to use you to form your children. So I would encourage you before you read any further to stop and ask St. Joseph for his intercession for you so you can grow in holiness.

The Lord God of the universe is calling all of us to be great men, men that are examples of Him and who use Him as our example. We are called to become another Christ in this world. Our goal is to bring others to Him.

Do it and you will live forever. 




Be a Man! Becoming the Man God Created You to Be | Fr. Larry Richards 

• Also available in downloadable e-book format 

Men are rediscovering the importance of the spiritual life. And Father Larry Richards is helping them do it. While some writers apply a one-size-fits-all approach to the Christian life, Father Richards draws on his many years of ministry and his own experience as a man to inspire other men as men. 

In Be a Man!, he recounts his struggles to learn true manhood, as well as the inspiring stories of others he has served in his decades as a priest. He tells men how to focus on the right goal, how to live as a beloved son of God, of the need to acknowledge one's faults and to live according to the Holy Spirit, to be a man of true love and of wisdom, to appreciate properly the differences between men and women, to pursue holiness, and to make a difference in the world. Not preachy but direct, Father Richards challenges men to be strong, without putting on a mask of false strength or machismo. He calls men to admit their weaknesses and limitations, while urging them to find strength in faith and genuine love to overcome their sins and faults. 

Although a celibate priest, he minces no words when it comes to the place of sexuality--for the unmarried man as well as for the married man. He shows that true manliness is not opposed to love but thrives on it. Father Richards stresses that a relationship with Christ reveals the meaning of a man's life and his identity as a man. He inspires men to become the true heroes they long to be--men of authentic courage, compassion and integrity. This is a highly readable book for men by a man who knows how to talk to men about the things that matter most. 

"Father Larry talks straight to men in his own manly style. He pulls no spiritual punches--I don't think he knows how to! He pokes, pushes, sometimes verbally slaps men into being God's men, all with an obvious love for them and faith in their ability to persevere to heaven." -- Dr. Ray Guarendi, radio host and author 

"Be a Man is a must-read for all men who are serious about strengthening their relationship with God. This exceptional book speaks clearly and directly, challenging men to live their faith with courage and conviction. Be a Man is a spiritual wake-up call that offers a refreshingly honest presentation of what it means to be a man of God. With a unique blend of humor, passion, and frankness that has become his trademark style, Fr. Larry Richards explores how a Christ-centered male spirituality fosters growth in holiness, and inspires men to become loving servants of their wives, families, and the Church." -- Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, Aurem Cordis apostolate 




Fr. Larry Richards, a popular speaker at men's conferences around the country, is the pastor of an inner city parish in Erie, Pennsylvania. He hosts his own daily national radio show on Relevant Radio, and is the founder ofThe Reason for Our Hope Foundation. 

Sinners, Prophets, and the Business of Heaven

A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, June 16, 2013 | Carl E. Olson

Readings:

2 Sm 12:7-10, 13
Ps 32:1-2, 5, 7, 11
Gal 2:16, 19-21
Lk 7:36—8:3 or 7:36-50

What did the most famous king in the Old Testament and a poor, anonymous woman in the Gospels have in common? They were both sinners. They were both in need of forgiveness. And they both knew it.

King David’s sin is as well-known as the woman’s sin in today’s Gospel reading is unknown. David, having witnessed the beauty of the wife of Uriah the Hittite, one of David’s loyal warriors, arranged to have Uriah put on the front lines of battle, where he was killed. It was the darkest moment of David’s often magnificent and noble life, and the king finally confessed to the prophet Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” In the Psalm written after Nathan had confronted him about his murderous actions, the repentant David wrote, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. … Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance” (Psa. 51:10, 14).



David’s life and sin were chronicled in great detail, by others and by himself. His remorse was expressed with poetic poignancy by his own pen. It is quite a contrast to the sinful woman who came to the house of the Pharisee where Jesus was invited to dine. Her name is not given, her sins are not described or listed, and if she uttered any words, they are not recorded. She may have been a prostitute; whatever the case, her sins were apparently public and well-known. 

These various facts and details are not of primary concern to Luke the Evangelist because he is intent on revealing Christ’s mercy, love, and power to forgive sins. “You perceive,” wrote St. Peter Chrysologus about this particular story, “that Christ came to the Pharisee’s table not to be filled with food for the body but to carry on the business of heaven while he was in the flesh.” 

A significant amount of this business of heaven was worked out within the earthly context of Jesus’ ongoing debates and confrontations with the Pharisees. The host, the Pharisee Simon, was concerned with judging—was Jesus a true prophet?—which is why Jesus asked him a question that required his judgment as a Pharisee, an interpreter of the Law. Simon, in judging rightly the answer to Jesus’ question, rendered judgment upon his own actions, or lack of actions. The problem was that Simon, like many of the Pharisees, was fixated on the letter of law, while failing to love the Giver of the law.



Put another way, Simon had asked Jesus into his home in order to judge Jesus, while the sinful woman sought out Jesus in order to kiss and anoint his feet. The Pharisee wished to stand face to face with the Incarnate Word in stubborn wariness; the woman desired only to worship at his feet in a silent act of vulnerable love. She did not have to give verbal expression to her sorrow and repentance for her actions spoke louder than words. Her sins, Jesus said, were forgiven “because she has shown great love” and because of her faith: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

We are not saved by faith alone but, as the Apostle Paul told the Galatians, who were being tempted to embrace a form of Pharisaism: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love” (Gal. 5:6). Faith, James emphasized, is dead without works—and those works are animated by charity and oriented toward God and neighbor (James 2:8-18). 

“To err human,” wrote Alexander Pope, “to forgive divine.” That is the essential message of today’s readings, which unflinchingly point out man’s sinful ways while rejoicing in God’s merciful ways. All of us—famous kings and unnamed women and everyone between—are sinners, and Christ died for us so that we, as Paul writes, can be crucified with Christ and thus truly live by faith and love.

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the June 13, 2010, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.) 

Appearances and interviews by Mother Dolores Hart, OSB, author of "The Ear of the Heart"

The Ear of the Heart: An Actress' Journey from Hollywood to Holy Vows keeps garnering positive reviews as Mother Dolores Hart, OSB, continues to give print, radio, and television interviews. Here are some recent pieces about the book and Mother Hart.

• Mother Dolores was interviewed by Raymond Arroyo on the June 6th edition of EWTN's "The World Over" (the interview begins at about the 41:00 mark).

• "Mother Dolores Hart has a new book out" (June 7), by WJLA, ABC News’ Washington, D.C., affiliate.

• Sister Rose Pacatte’s “Sr. Rose at the Movies” blog on Patheos announced that "The Daughters of St. Paul in Culver City and Catholics in Media are sponsoring a book signing event with Mother Dolores Hart, OSB, on Saturday, June 29, 2013 at their bookstore, 3908 Sepulveda Blvd, 90230." Visit her blog for more details.

 • Nell Minow has an interview with Mother Dolores on her "Movie Mom" blog on Beliefnet. "The experience of living in a monastic community allows you to see that every single moment is all you’ve got.”

• The Christian Post included “The Ear of the Heart” on its Book Stop summer reading list, writing, "You don’t have to be Catholic to appreciate how faith kept Hart from falling prey to the violence and alcohol addiction that plagued her home and led her to sacrifice future fame."

• The Anchoress, Elizabeth Scalia, posted her two-part Q-and-A with Mother Dolores, "All love relationships don't end at the altar!" and "A Chanting Coffin-Maker: Mother Dolores & the Gift of Agape".

•  Catholic News Service uploaded its video interview with Mother Dolores Hart to YouTube.

• Catholic News service posted a story, "For Mother Dolores Hart, it's time for her close-up -- again", on June 10th. Several Catholic newspapers ran the story, including Catholic Philly (Archdiocese of Philadelphia), The Catholic Sentinel (Archdiocese of Portland), The Tablet (Diocese of Brooklyn), The Dialog (Diocese of Wilmington), and The Catholic Sun (Diocese of Phoenix).

• "At Home With Jim and Joy” on EWTN Radio posted its interview with Mother Dolores Hart. The interview begins at approximately at 10:20.

• “The Bishop’s Radio Hour” on Immaculate Heart Radio posted its interview with Mother Dolores Hart. The interview begins at approximately 44:20.

• Business Wire reports that Mother Hart will be appearing at Elvis Week 2013 to be held at Graceland in Memphis, Tenn., the week of August 10-17. She will be one of the guests interviewed for "Conversations on Elvis", "one of the most popular Elvis Week events," which will be held on Wednesday, August 14, at 1:00 p.m. at the Elvis Week Main Stage. Following Conversations, Mother Dolores will be signing copies of her book, The Ear of the Heart.

Related articles

Mother Dolores Hart on discerning her vocation, leaving Hollywood, learning Latin, loving chant
Mother Dolores Hart, former Hollywood starlet, stopping here on book signing tour
Mother Dolores Hart book-signing event June 29, 2013 Culver City
The nun who kissed Elvis, Dolores Hart, finally decides to talk
The Nun who kissed Elvis: From Hollywood to holy vows

Fighting the Culture of Death, One Katie At a Time

Fighting the Culture of Death, One Katie At a Time | Michael Coren | CWR

As Belgium and other countries embrace euthanasia for children, Catholics must stand up for the most vulnerable among us.

Belgium is a troubled country on any number of levels. Its unity has been
tenuous for decades, it is increasingly challenged by an Islamic immigrant
community that rejects European virtues, and just like its neighbor, Holland,
it is clumsily eager to embrace the latest in eugenics and social engineering.
Only last month the Belgian Federal Parliament seriously considered legalizing
euthanasia for children and it
now appears it is “about to expand its controversial ‘right to die’
policies to include access to euthanasia for some gravely ill children.”

Don’t be shocked. I have debated “assisted suicide” zealots
who believe that if depressed teenagers want to take their own lives—and,
tragically, many teens travel that bumpy road of despair at some troubled
point—they should be empowered by the state to do so. Poor old Belgium, once so
faithful and brave.

I mention this because I have, I suppose, a particular
insight into how terrifying euthanasia can be and into the vulnerability of
those who it especially horrifies.



Let me introduce you to Katie, who is what society describes as “handicapped”.
She was born several months premature and spent a long time in hospital. She
came home accompanied by a nursing team, to a house wired for oxygen. It’s
ironic, in that the same hospital advised Katie’s mother to abort her because
there were likely, they said, to be “complications.”

I know all this because her mother is my sister, and Katie
is my niece.

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

G.K. Chesterton Book Collection Giveaway

Today is the 77th anniversary of the death of G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936), and in honor of the great author, Brandon Vogt and Ignatius Press are going to give away five Chesterton classics and collections. From Brandon's site:

Thanks to
the good folks at Ignatius Press, the primary publisher of Chesterton's
works today, I'm devoting this week's giveaway to the life and legacy of
G.K. Chesterton. One reader will receive FIVE books by and about the
Apostle of Common Sense.

The books are:

Go to Brandon's site to find out how to participate and possibly win the five books.

China’s Modern Martyrs: From Mao to Now

China’s Modern Martyrs: From Mao to Now | Anthony E. Clark, Ph.D. |
Catholic World Report

The untold story of the Communist destruction of the Our Lady of Consolation Trappist Abbey at Yangjiaping in 1947

Part
1, Accusations

“He
was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not
recognize him.” John 1:10

I have just returned from another year in China where I have
witnessed the Church grow. I have seen churches struggle to accommodate the
crowds who come for Holy Mass, and I have listened to countless stories of
Christian suffering under China’s Communist rule. Over the years I have
traveled with, worshipped with, and prayed with Chinese Catholics. Priests have
risked their safety to meet me at secluded places, accompany me on
peasant-filled busses to remote places of Catholic martyrdom, and send me
surreptitious messages about the continued suppression, suffering, and
humiliation that China’s Catholics endure every day.

I once sat across from a crippled underground bishop, his spine
permanently stooped over from 20 years of torture in a Communist prison because
he refused to denounce the pope. The bishop’s eyes beamed with joy, despite his
distorted face, and he said over and over, “Thank you, Lord.” At such times,
when I am with holy Chinese Catholics who have suffered tortures for their
faith, I recall the famous line from St. Augustine: “God had one Son on earth
without sin, but never one without suffering.” This holy bishop, Hu Daguo
(1920-2011), was divinely connected to the suffering Son for whom he too had
suffered.

For nearly a decade I have preserved testimonies, handwritten
accounts, and archival documents that outline how China’s Church has suffered
under its Communist authorities, and in the following series I will highlight
some of those stories, stories that will help Catholics better understand
China’s modern martyrs, from Mao to now.

Looking
ahead: His Excellency, Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin 馬達欽主教

While most
Westerners hear only of China’s “economic miracle” and its appalling
persecution of Tibetan Buddhists, few news sources or university courses
discuss the government’s consistent maltreatment and discrimination against
Catholic Christians.

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

Why do some Catholic schools require students to read lousy, vulgar books?

by Carl E. Olson | CWR blog

A reader recently sent an e-mail which opened with this question: "Has St. Ignatius High School never heard of Ignatius Press?"

The institution in question is a Jesuit preparatory school in Cleveland, Ohio. I know very little about it (I'm told that tuition is around $11,000 a year), but I see that the school's website features the following quote:

"The purpose of our education is to give a young man the tools whereby he can answer the question What does God want from me?" -- Rev. Robert J. Welsh, S.J., '54

Very nice. But, having read the school's required summer reading list, I wonder, "Does God really want teenagers to be reading books filled with numerous vulgarities, sexually-explicit language and references, and perspectives that are amoral and hedonistic?"

For example, the novel, The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, which is required summer reading for "English I" and "Honors English I", contains the following passage, uttered by the book's central character, Junior, a teenage boy growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation (warning: sexual language):

I spend hours in the bathroom with a magazine that has one thousand pictures of naked movie stars:

    Naked woman right hand = happy happy joy joy

Yep, that’s right, I admit that I masturbate.

I’m proud of it.

I’m good at it.

I’m ambidextrous.

If there were a Professional Masturbators League, I’d get drafted number one and make millions of dollars.

And maybe you’re thinking, “Well, you really shouldn’t be talking about masturbation in public.”

Well, tough, I’m going to talk about it because EVERYBODY does it. And EVERYBODY likes it.
And if God hadn’t wanted us to masturbate, then God wouldn’t have given us thumbs.

Yeah, yeah, I get it: this is real teen talk written to engage teens who live in the real world and who want tough, straight, honest fiction that takes on controversial and difficult topics. That's the usual line trotted out in defense of such overrated pieces of fiction. Junior also expresses his anger at God and Jesus (after the death of his grandmother's death) by doodling cartoons that are stupid at best and certainly offensive. There is also the dubious revelation that Indians, according to Junior, used to be supporters of gay marriage--until their open-mindedness was corrupted:

Continue reading on the CWR blog.

The Anticlerical Pope

Pope
Francis greets Slovenia's Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek during a
private audience at the Vatican June 13. (CNS photo/Maria Grazia
Picciarella, pool)

The Anticlerical Pope | Russell Shaw | CWR blog

Is
Pope Francis our first anticlerical pope? Technically speaking, he isn't--his
two predecessors also were more or less critical of clericalism--but he is well
on his way to being the most outspoken one.

Consider
a widely circulated quote from a 2011 interview he gave while he was still
Cardinal Bergoglio of Buenos Aires. In case you haven't seen it or have
forgotten it, the key passage goes like this:

"As
I have said before, there is a problem: the temptation to clericalism. We
priests tend to clericalize the laity. We do not realize it, but it is as if we
infect them with our own thing. And the laity--not all but many--ask us on
their knees to clericalize them, because it is more comfortable to be an altar
boy than the protagonist of a lay path….

"The
layman is a layman and has to live as a layman with the strength of his
baptism, which enables him to be a leaven of the love of God in society…not
from his pulpit but from his everyday life. And the priest--let the priest
carry the cross of the priest, since God gave him a broad enough shoulder for
this."

These
are strong, bracing words. But besides the words, Francis's manner and
lifestyle--unpretentious, simple, direct--constitute a kind of living
repudiation of certain clericalist conventions. (Lest there be any doubt--many
other good priests also speak and live this way.)

The
essence of clericalism in the sense in which Pope Francis (and I) use the word
is a way of thinking that takes for granted that the clerical vocation and
state in life are both superior to and normative for all other Christian
vocations and states.

Continue reading on the CWR blog.

What’s Love Got To Do With it? Lessons in Love from William Shakespeare

What’s Love Got To Do With it? Lessons in Love from William Shakespeare | Joseph Pearce | CWR



The sobering lesson of Romeo and Juliet falls today on deaf modern ears

Oh what’s
love got to do, got to do with it,

What’s love but a second-hand emotion;
What’s love got to do, got to do with it,

Who needs a heart

When a heart can be broken.

— Tina Turner

Love is a
smoke rais’d with the fume of sighs;

Being purg’d, a fire sparkling in lovers’ eyes;

Being vex’d, a sea nourish’d with loving tears.

What is it else? A madness most discreet,

A choking gall, and a preserving sweet...

I have lost myself; I am not here:

This is not Romeo, he’s some other where.

— Romeo

… if love be blind,

It best agrees with night. Come, civil night,

Thou sober-suited matron, all in black …

Come, night; come, Romeo …

Come, gentle night, come, loving, black-brow’d night,

Give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die,

Take him and cut him out in little stars,

And he will make the face of heaven so fine

That all the world will be in love with night,

And pay no worship to the garish sun.

— Juliet

What is love? For Tina Turner it’s
an emotion, second-hand and second-rate. For Romeo, it’s mere madness;
something sweet and bitter on which we choke; something that makes us lose
ourselves and our senses. For Juliet it’s a blindness that makes us prefer the
darkness to the light.

For John Lennon, it’s all we
need.... 

All we need is love, love, love is
all we need; all we need is tawdry emotion and the bitter-sweet madness that
makes us blind to everything except the darkness of the Night. If this is love,
it can go to Hell. Indeed, if this is love it’s already going there.

But is this love?

For St. Paul, love is the greatest
of all the virtues. For Christ, the two great commandments are to love God and
to love our neighbor. On the deepest theological level, God is love. God and Love are One. It is ironic, therefore, that
Jesus Christ and John Lennon are in apparent agreement. Love is all we need.

The problem is that John Lennon
does not mean the same thing as Jesus Christ when he speaks of love. For Lennon
and his legion of admirers, love is about doing our own thing; it’s about
marching to our own drum. In other words, it’s ultimately self-centered. It’s
about me and not the other. For Christ, love is about laying down our lives for
our friends—and for our enemies. It’s ultimately selfless and self-sacrificial.
It’s about the other and not me. In short, and to put the matter bluntly, the
“love” that Lennon espouses is the very opposite of the love that Christ
practices and preaches.

This primal difference between the
two loves—one true, the other false—is at the heart of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

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