Carl E. Olson's Blog, page 40

Turin and Manoppello: "Resurrexit sicut dixit"

The Holy Face of Manoppello, with the hand of Cardinal Koch behind it. (Photo courtesy of author)

Turin and Manoppello: "Resurrexit sicut dixit" | Paul Bade | CWR

Why does the greatest opposition to the recognition of the authenticity of the shroud of Christ come from those within the Church?

Many people still look at me as if I were telling them, without embarrassment, that the Cathedral in Cologne has three towers, when I recount for them for the first time the story of the sudarium of Christ of Manoppello. “Is it possible" I always read in their eyes "that throughout our whole life we have overlooked something?" Yes, it is, I have to always say. But they should not feel alone, because all of us often neglect the most important thing in the most important passages.

Or, which of us has not heard at least once from our pastor, or our bishop, the phrase "He saw and believed" during the Easter homily? This phrase is a critical passage in the Gospel of John which we have heard since childhood. Yet, in Christian exegesis it becomes almost invisible, as if it weren’t there at all. Like a "third tower" in the Cologne cathedral. This is understandable. After all, what does this phrase mean? The empty tomb, by itself, is not the thing that would bring about believing. A half an hour before, in the same place, Mary Magdalene - according to John - had only seen that “the Lord has been taken away”. Nothing was there for believing.

It was therefore necessary for the linguistic genius of a Martin Luther to point out this contradiction. Recently Pastor Clausnitzer from Worms showed me a translation of the Bible dating from 1545, where Doctor Martinus supplemented this fundamental passage of the Gospel of John (20: 5-10) in this way: "After him came Simon Peter, who entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths on the ground and also the cloth that Jesus had on his head, not with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in and he saw and believed (he had been taken away, as Magdalene had said). Yet they did not understand the scripture that he would have to rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes"

Being the genius of the language which he was, Luther had clearly seen here in the text that John had not said everything. Therefore he attempted to resolve the apparent contradiction as if it were a damaged parchment -- that it was necessary to lightly "mend” this passage and also supplement it. After him, the only comparable cunning was that of Rudolf Bultmann, who, in order to resolve the many contradictions of the Gospels that he could not explain, concluded that here his Rabbi Jeshua was not raised from the dead, but only in the kerygma, i.e. in the preaching of the disciples, they only said that he had risen.

Continue reading on the CWR blog.

We've Been Here Before: Marriage and the Room of Tears

Pope Pius VI (left), reigned from 1775-99, and Pope Pius VII, who reigned from 1800-23 [Images: Wikipedia]

We've Been Here Before: Marriage and the Room of Tears | Fr. Robert Barron | CWR

Cardinal George often warned against the incursions of an increasingly aggressive secular state, which will first force us off the public stage into privacy and then seek to criminalize those practices of ours that it deems unacceptable

Just last week, I had the privilege of spending four hours in the Sistine Chapel with my Word on Fire team. Toward the end of our filming, the director of the Vatican Museums, who had accompanied us throughout the process, asked whether I wanted to see the "Room of Tears." This is the little antechamber, just off of the Sistine Chapel, where the newly-elected Pope repairs in order to change into his white cassock. Understandably, tears begin to flow in that room, once the poor man realizes the weight of his office.

Inside the small space, there were documents and other memorabilia, but what got my attention was a row of impressive albs, chasubles, and copes worn by various Popes across the years. I noticed the specially decorated cope of Pope Pius VI, who was had been of the longest serving Pontiffs in history, reigning from 1775 to 1799. Pius was an outspoken opponent of the French Revolution and its bloody aftermath—and his forthrightness cost him dearly. French troops invaded Italy and demanded that the Pope renounce his claim to the Papal States. When he refused, he was arrested and imprisoned in a citadel in Valence, where he died six weeks later.

In the room of tears, there was also a stole worn by Pius VI's successor, Pius VII. This Pope Pius also ran afoul of the French, who, under Napoleon, invaded Italy in 1809 and took him prisoner. During his grim exile, he did manage to get off one of the greatest lines in Papal history. Evidently, Napoleon himself announced to the Pope that he was going to destroy the Church, to which Pius VII responded, "Oh my little man, you think you're going to succeed in accomplishing what centuries of priests and bishops have tried and failed to do!"

Both popes find themselves, of course, in a long line of Church people persecuted by the avatars of the regnant culture.

Continue reading on the CWR blog.

Death: Uncomfortable Fact and Conquered Foe

"Resurrection of Jairus' Daughter" (1871) by Vasily Polenov [WikiArt.org]

Death: Uncomfortable Fact and Conquered Foe | A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, June 28, 2015 | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24
• Psa 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13
• 2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15
• Mk 5:21-43

In his satirical work, The Devil's Dictionary, the nineteenth-century journalist and satirist Ambrose Bierce—no friend of religion—wrote these dark lines in the entry for the word, “Dead”:

Done with the work of breathing; done
With all the world; the man race run
Through to the end; the golden goal
Attained—and found to be a hole!”

Macabre, yes. But also fairly honest, coming from a man once described as an “asthmatic, superstitious, bilious atheist”. Bierce is to be commended, to some degree, for his willingness to often face squarely (and with a smirk) the many inconvenient elephants in the murky parlor of modern skepticism. How often do people today really talk about death with anything resembling honesty? How ingeniously does our society work to avoid the reality of the grave?

Scripture, on the other hand, not only mentions death often, it actively takes on death as a fact that cannot be avoided and a foe that can, through Christ’s death and resurrection, be overcome and conquered. The author of the Book of Wisdom wrote, “God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.” He is a God of life, and “he fashioned all things that they might have being…” This echoes the strong words of the prophet Ezekiel: “As I live, says the Lord God, I swear I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man…” What, then, does God desire? His pleasure is “in the wicked man’s conversion, that he may live” (Ez 33:11).

The emphasis is, ultimately, on spiritual death over physical death. The author of Wisdom, like the later prophets, distinguished between two deaths: natural and unnatural. “Natural death,” explained Fr. Hans Urs von Balthasar, “is a corollary of the finitude of existence; unnatural death is the result of man’s resistance to God.” Unnatural death, in other words, is damnation, the eternal separation of oneself from the holy presence and divine life of God.

The “destructive drug” mentioned in Wisdom is sin, which entered the world via the devil’s rebellious envy. The devil is the accuser who seeks to destroy God’s creatures and creation—especially men, as St. Peter warned the early Christians: “Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8).

The “envy of the devil” is likely a reference to the temptation of Adam and Eve. The Catechism, in discussing the temptation in the Garden of Eden, refers to the “seductive voice” that is opposed to God and seduces the man and woman into sin and “makes them fall into death out of envy” (par 391). Envy is a capital sin and must be “banished from the human heart” for it is a refusal to be charitable, it is prideful, and often leads “to the worst crimes” (CCC, par 2538).

Compare the shadowy state of envy with the bright hope that accompanies faith in Christ. The synagogue official was filled with heart-broken concern for his daughter, but he brought his deep anguish to the feet of Christ: “Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.” Others tried to stop Jairus. After all, the girl was dead—he would make a fool of himself. But faith is demonstrated in fortitude, especially in the face of death and suffering.

Jesus’ miracle brings to mind the miraculous deeds of the prophets Elijah (1 Kgs 17:17-24) and Elisha (2 Kgs 4:27-38), who each brought children back to life. Yet they were mere men, granted power by God. Jesus is God-incarnate, possessing power over both physical and spiritual death. And so he spoke of his coming death—and of his triumph over the grave through his Resurrection (Mk 8:31-38; 9:30-32; 10:32-34).

Bierce also described death as the “Ignoble end to all the strife”. For those who die in Christ, death is indeed an end to all the strife. But is also the beginning of eternal communion with God in heavenly glory.

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the July 1, 2012 edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

America's Golden Calf Moment

(Photos: us.fotolia.com | tunedin & davidevison)

America's Golden Calf Moment | Carl E. Olson | CWR Editorial

Led by the murky metaphysics of Judge Anthony Kennedy, the U.S. plunges ever deeper into the dictatorship of relativism

“There is no true liberty except the liberty of the happy who cleave to the eternal law.” — St. Augustine, On Freewill

“Conservative commentator, and Blaze contributor, S.E. Cupp broke down on-air Friday after the Supreme Court decided in favor of same-sex marriage. Cupp was overjoyed, and said Republicans have to accept gay marriage or risk becoming 'relics.'” — The Blaze, June 26, 2015

I.

The great division in modern politics, argued Russell Kirk in The Politics of Prudence, “is not between totalitarians on the one hand and liberals (or libertarians) on the other; instead, it lies between all those who believe in a transcendent moral order, on the one side, and on the other side all those who mistake our ephemeral existence as individuals for the be-all and end-all.”

There is, however, a third possibility—although it is, in fact, just a devilish riff on the latter, liberal stance: the belief that the language of the transcendent moral order can be conveniently applied, like a sort of cheap and convenient paint, over the relativistic “order” that now, in so many ways, dominates the United States. It is a sort of metaphysics, but without any cohesive understanding of first things or vision of the transcendent order, something like an arrogant man awkwardly holding a hammer and saw and claiming to be “a carpenter,” but with little or no idea how to build—or even why to build.

Justice Anthony Kennedy is one such carpenter, having written the now infamous and risible line (in 1992, in “Planned Parenthood vs. Casey”): “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.” In “Obergefell v. Hodges”, sent down yesterday from the enlightened mountaintops of the same blind but liberty-loving universe, Kennedy deigned to explain to us somnolent citizens the ways of the cosmos and, secondarily, the court:

It is demeaning to lock same-sex couples out of a central institution of the Nation’s society, for they too may aspire to the transcendent purposes of marriage. The limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples may long have seemed natural and just, but its inconsistency with the central meaning of the fundamental right to marry is now manifest.

This aspiration to transcendence via marriage is apparently important to Kennedy, for he repeats it: “Same-sex couples, too, may aspire to the transcendent purposes of marriage and seek fulfillment in its highest meaning.” This builds on his earlier assertion that “the annals of human history reveal the transcendent importance of marriage. … Marriage is sacred to those who live by their religions and offers unique fulfillment to those who find meaning in the secular realm. Its dynamic allows two people to find a life that could not be found alone, for a marriage becomes greater than just the two persons. Rising from the most basic human needs, marriage is essential to our most profound hopes and aspirations.”

And what are those hopes and aspirations?

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

The Church and the “New Normal”

An opponent of same-sex marriage protests outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington June 18.(CNS photo/Carlos Barria, Reuters)

The Church and the “New Normal” | George Weigel | CWR

The marriage battle was lost in the culture long before it was lost in the courts

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s marriage decision, these sober thoughts occur:

(1) The Supreme Court of the United States [SCOTUS] has rendered a decision that puts the Court at odds with the Constitution, with reason, and with biblical religion.

(2) SCOTUS has gotten it wrong before. It got it wrong on race in Dred Scott and it repeated the mistake in Plessy vs. Ferguson (which upheld segregated public facilities). It got it wrong by concocting a constitutional “right” to abortion-on-demand in Roe vs. Wade and doubled-down on that mistake by getting it wrong on abortion again in Casey vs. Planned Parenthood. Now SCOTUS has gotten it wrong on marriage. There are remedies to SCOTUS getting it wrong; one of them is a careful re-examination, during the 2016 campaign, of the theory of “judicial supremacy,” which holds that the Constitution means whatever a majority of the Court says it means.

(3) The marriage battle was lost in the culture long before it was lost in the courts.

Continue reading on the CWR site.

"Laudato Si'" and Romano Guardini

The developments and changes around Lake Como in the early 20th century inspired the essays in "Letters from Lake Como", written in 1923-25 by Msgr. Romano Guardini (1885-1968) [Photos: Wikipedia]

Laudato Si' and Romano Guardini | Very Rev. Robert Barron | CWR

The influence of the theologian and cultural critic Guardini and his distinctive take on modernity is evident throughout Pope Francis' encyclical

In 1986, after serving in a variety of capacities in the Jesuit province of Argentina, Jorge Mario Bergoglio commenced doctoral studies in Germany. The focus of his research was the great twentieth century theologian and cultural critic Romano Guardini, who had been a key influence on, among many others, Karl Rahner, Henri de Lubac, and Joseph Ratzinger. As things turned out, Bergoglio never finished his doctoral degree (he probably started too late in life), but his immersion in the writings of Guardini decisively shaped his thinking.

Most of the commentary on Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si' has focused on the issue of global warming and the Pope's alignment with this or that political perspective, but this is to miss the forest for one very particular tree. As I read through the document, I saw, on practically every page, the influence of Romano Guardini and his distinctive take on modernity.

To get a handle on Guardini's worldview, one should start with a series of essays that he wrote in the 1920's, gathered into book form as Letters from Lake Como.

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

New: " When Is Marriage Null? Guide to the Grounds of Matrimonial Nullity for Pastors, Counselors, and Lay Faithful"

Now available from Ignatius Press:

When Is Marriage Null? Guide to the Grounds of Matrimonial Nullity for Pastors, Counselors, and Lay Faithful

By Paolo Bianchi

Paperback. 320 pages.

Many marriages are “ended” by separation or divorce, but for the baptized Christian they remain valid marriages forever.

There are, however, cases in which a Christian marriage can be recognized as null, i.e. it never existed.

This book, written by a specialist with a gift for clarity on a complicated, sensitive issue, is a guide for a first approach to the problems related to the conditions for eventually declaring the nullity of a canonical Christian marriage.

This work is an indispensable aid for the pastors of souls, for Catholic counselors, and can be very useful also for anyone who has serious questions about the validity of his own marriage.

The primary purpose of this work is to provide clear, well-founded information in sufficient quantity to parish priests and to all who will act as counselors in these matters, either in formally organized parochial counseling services, or in other possible forms of collaboration with the parish priest, or else in the ecclesiastical tribunals themselves as a step previous to the possible introduction of the case.

Among the areas he covers are: Violation of the freedom of consent; Error about a person; Exclusion of offspring; Exclusion of fidelity; Incapacity to consent; Incapacity to assume the essential obligations of marriage; Conditional consent.

Paolo Bianchi, born in Milan, Italy in 1954, holds a degree in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University and is judicial vicar for the ecclesiastical region of Lombardy. He is the author of many articles on matrimonial law.

Concerning the "Ecological" Path to Salvation

(Photo: us.fotolia.com | f9photos)

Concerning the "Ecological" Path to Salvation | Fr. James V. Schall, SJ | CWR

The most problematic issue that Pope Francis’ earth-warming advocacy brings up is its scientific status; at best, it is opinion backed by some evidence 

“For Christians, all creatures of the material universe find their true meaning in the incarnate Word, for the Son of God has incorporated in his person part of the material world, planting in it a seed of definitive transformation.” — Pope Francis, Laudato Si', June 17, 2015.

“But Christian utopia is a spiritual concept, for Christians have the insight to grasp that man, in his earthly existence, is an incorrigibly flawed creature, that his earthly constructs invariably end up in disappointment at best; that he cannot, in fact, attain satisfaction and fulfillment on earth, and that the utopian kingdom is not of this world. Christians, therefore, should be in no danger of first supposing that perfectibility can be attained in human societies, and then advocating the appalling measures which invariably mark efforts to erect earthly utopias… Environmental policies are also on the progressive agenda…. But it is significant that those who have made it their business to wage environmental politics have sought to associate pollution and other anti-social effects of modern industry exclusively with capitalism and the profit motive, and have virtually ignored the often far more serious ravages of state-owned industries in the Communist block and third world socialist states.” — Paul Johnson. “Is Totalitarianism Dead?” (Crisis, Feb. 1, 1989)

I.

The first public reaction that I saw to the new Encyclical was in some web site, I forget where. Two initial comments were identical: “I am leaving the Church”!

“This will never do!” I thought. A New York Times editorial, contrary to its usual practice, chided Catholic politicians for not obeying the Pope now that he appears to agree with policies the Times approves.

In a June 17th column in the San Francisco Chronicle, Debra Saunders compared organized religion to earth warmers. “Climate change alarmism has always had a lot in common with organized religion. What’s the message of hard-core environmentalists? ‘The end is near’. ‘Repent’!.... To the true believer, the most important thing is not whether people stop contributing to greenhouse gases, but that they believe they should.” A lineal relationship between secular eschatology, the transferal of Christian four last things from transcendence to this-worldly projects has been noticed at least since J. B. Bury’s The Idea of Progress (1920). How this phenomenon worked was the central import of Benedict XVI’s Spe Salvi and Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life.

Whether or not we need church leaders also “believing” this ecological doctrine is probably not so clear. Still, the most problematic issue that Pope Francis’ earth-warming advocacy brings up is its scientific status. At best, it is opinion backed by some evidence. The document does not mention contrary evidence. Satellite readings of the planet’s temperature are different from UN computer generated statistics. The planet’s temperature has not changed in recent decades. Most of the controverted issues can plausibly be explained by natural causes. Climate changes have occurred on this planet since its beginning, long before man. The burning of fossil fuels does not produce any significant change in the already very low percentage (0.035%) of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Not a few observers draw a parallel between the Galileo case and this one. It is a useful caution. The damage potential to the Church’s credibility is great if all the scientific evidence is not in or considered. The best we can say for putting one’s eggs in the climate warmer basket is that many scientists, mostly those dependent on government subsidies to prove it is true, say it is so. The Pope’s own plea for “humility” in this document would seem to apply here concerning scientific questions that are at best hypotheses subject to change.

II.

What are we to make of this document, now that we see it?

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

Death, disease, demons and the deep

"Christ in the Storm" (1633) by Rembrandt [WikiArt.org]

A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for June 21, 2015, the Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Readings:
• Ez 2:2-5
• Psa 123:1-2, 2, 3-4
• 2 Cor 12:7-10
• Mk 4:35-41

Death, disease, demons and the deep.

What do they have in common? Yes, they all begin with the same letter. However, it's not the beginning, but the end, that is significant, for each of these is meant to end the life of man (or, in the case of death, to be the end).

Scripture is filled with stories of grim confrontations with cold seas, terminal disease, demonic oppression and possession, and, of course, death itself. These enemies, along with the continual assaults of foreign invaders, were ever present in the lives of the chosen people of Israel. Would there ever be deliverance from these ills and evils? How best to respond to the difficulties and dangers of life? Where was God in the midst of man's trials? Job, Solomon, the psalmists and many others grappled with these daunting questions.

Mark the Evangelist provides the answer. Today's reading is the start of a section (Mk 4:35-5:43) describing how Jesus confronts and conquers each of these four foes. The point of each of these narratives is to reveal both the power and divinity of Jesus Christ. "Throughout his public life," the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "he demonstrated his divine sovereignty by works of power over nature, illnesses, demons, death and sin" (No. 447).

Today's Gospel reading recounts how Jesus calmed the storm while he and his disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee.Violent storms were common on that body of water because of how the wind funneled down the steep hills surrounding it. Even as the terrified disciples -- several of them experienced fishermen -- fought to keep the boat afloat, Jesus slept. In the words of the Psalmist, "In peace I shall both lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me secure" (Ps 4:9).

The one who had created the world and then divided the waters and the land (Gn 1:1-10) was fully aware and in control of the situation. Yet the disciples, much like the Israelites being chased by Pharaoh's swift horse and chariots (Ex 14:10-12), cried out in fear and despair to the Lord. The sea, for them, was more than a mere body of water; it represented chaos and the presence of evil. God alone was able to control, contain and subdue it, as today's reading from Job relates: "Who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb."

Christ's rebuke of the raging waters was given with the same language as his rebuke of evil spirits (see Mk 1:25). Not only is he Lord over nature, he is Lord over supernatural powers and beings. After giving two sharp commands to wind and sea -- "Quiet! Be still!" -- he uttered two penetrating questions to the disciples: "Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?" He was pushing and testing them, opening up their querulous, quivering hearts to the truth about who he was and what he was able to accomplish.

The early Church and the Fathers saw this dramatic event as a profound metaphor for the Christian life. The boat, of course, represents the Church, fighting to stay afloat in the dark waters of human history, oppressed by the Roman Empire and beset by persecution.

Many centuries have passed, but the crashing waves and fierce winds are ever present, physical and spiritual disease is all around us, and the chaotic forces of evil are still at work. Reflect, then, on the words and advice of Origen, who wrote the following:

"For as many as are in the little ship of faith are sailing with the Lord; as many as are in the bark of the holy church will voyage with the Lord across this wave-tossed life; though the Lord himself may sleep in holy quiet, he is but watching your patience and endurance: looking forward to the repentance, and to the conversion of those who have sinned. Come then to him eagerly, instant in prayer."

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the June 10, 2009, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

This Father’s Day: Vow to be a Committed Catholic Father

This Father’s Day: Vow to be a Committed Catholic Father | Matthew James Christoff | CWR

While there are numerous ways to categorize and analyze Catholic fatherhood, one way is to consider how Catholic men live out truth and mercy as fathers

It is mid-June, so it is time for the annual national “head nod” to fathers on Father’s Day. For many, Father’s Day will pass unrecognized; for others, Father’s Day will be celebrated with “man-gifts” (e.g. tools, sports gear, etc.) and perhaps with a pleasant BBQ with family. But how many will ponder the dismal state of fatherhood and what each father could do better?

For Catholic men, rather than just a day of only happy moments, Father’s Day should include a sober reflection on each man’s commitment to Catholic fatherhood. The sad fact is large numbers of men are failing at their duties as Catholic fathers. Christ expects Catholic fathers to seek holiness and perfection as each Catholic man will ultimately face the King and give an accounting for how they shepherded their children. This is a call for Catholic men to prayerfully assess their effectiveness as fathers for Christ on Father’s Day and vow to become Committed Catholic Fathers.

The Failing of Catholic Fathers

There is a growing awareness of the devastating Catholic “man-crisis” (see the New Emangelization Project Man-crisis Fact Sheet). One in three baptized Catholic men have left the faith. Of those who remain “Catholic”, over half are Casual Catholic Men, who neither know nor practice the faith. About a third of Catholic men practice regularly, but vary in their commitment to engage in the required call to make disciples. Only about one in ten Catholic men are Committed Catholic Men, men who practice the faith and are committed to pass the faith along to their children and actively evangelize others. The Catholic “man-crisis” is a crisis of catastrophic proportions.

The Catholic “man-crisis” matters, for large numbers of Catholic men are failing in their duties as fathers to pass along the faith to their children. At a child’s baptism, a Catholic father makes the solemn and irrevocable promise to God that he will do his utmost best to faithfully raise the child in the Catholic faith. The Catholic father’s commitment to pass along the faith is essential for research shows, while the faith of a mother is important, the faith of the father has the most influence on if a child will continue in the faith as they reach adulthood.

Sadly, Catholic fathers are failing to pass along the faith:

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.