Carl E. Olson's Blog, page 44

Surveys, Statistics and the “Decline” of Christianity

Surveys, Statistics and the “Decline” of Christianity | Thomas M. Doran | CWR Blog

Christians in every age—those faithful disciples of Jesus Christ who strive to conform their lives to the Gospels—were in the minority, and often a negligible minority from a statistical standpoint

A new Pew Research Center survey suggests that those who identify as Christian have dramatically declined in the past decade, while those with no religious affiliation have dramatically increased. Is this a harbinger of the demise—as many hope—of Christianity? Does this suggest that Christianity—as many hope—is irrelevant? Does this mean—as many hope—that there are fewer committed disciples of Jesus Christ?

In a word, no.

The flaw with these surveys and their interpreters is they observe political/social/cultural Christianity declining and, according to their worldview, this means that Christianity is less relevant, or dying. The truth is, Christians in every age—those faithful disciples of Jesus Christ who strive to conform their lives to the Gospels—were in the minority, and often a negligible minority from a statistical standpoint. Some ages had many political/social/cultural Christians (people whose power, fortunes, or reputations were enhanced by identifying with Catholicism—“The crown of France is worth a Mass a week”), making these seem to be "Christian" countries, while some ages had fewer of these cultural Christians. Worse yet is the conscription of Christianity to supply political or mercantile projects a veneer of legitimacy.

Isn’t superficial, or worse—opportunistic, Christianity a spiritual condition that Augustine, Aquinas, Dante, and John Henry Newman confronted in their writings? They clearly understand the gulf between nominally and authentic Christian cultures.

It’s always been dangerous to take Christianity seriously in ones daily life.

Continue reading on the CWR blog.

The Image of Man Has Been Raised Up: On the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord

 

The Image of Man Has Been Raised Up: On the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord | Carl E. Olson  

"You ascended into glory, O Christ our God, and You delighted the disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit. Through this blessing, they were assured that You are the Son of God, the Redeemer of the World."
—Troparion for the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Feast of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ 

"Christ's Ascension is therefore not a spectacle for the disciples but an event into which they themselves are included. It is a sursum corda, a movement toward the above into which we are all called. It tells us that man can live toward the above, that he is capable of attaining heights. More: the altitude that alone is suited to the dimensions of being human is the altitude of God himself. Man can live at this height, and only from this height do we properly understand him. The image of man has been raised up, but we have the freedom to tear it down or to let ourselves be raised." 
— Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, from Images of Hope: Meditations On Major Feasts (Ignatius Press, 2006) 

Readings: 
• Acts 1:1-11
• Psa. 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9
• Eph. 1:17-23 or Heb. 9:24-28; 10:19-23
• Lk 24:46-53

"As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven." (Lk 24:51)

With these simple, matter-of-fact words, Luke describes the Ascension of Jesus, expressed even more concisely in the Creed: "He ascended into heaven." This event is so important for Luke that the Acts of the Apostles opens with a description of the same event. As the disciples looked on, Luke records, Jesus "was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight" (Acts 1:9). Mark's account, heard today, is equally direct and succinct: "So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God" (Mk. 16:19).

This dramatic moment has been celebrated in the Church on the fortieth day after Easter since the earliest centuries. Some of the Church Fathers, including Augustine, said that the feast had been observed since the time of the apostles, although the earliest evidence of its celebration dates to the fifth century. In the Latin Rite in the United States the Feast of the Ascension is one of six solemnities, the others being the solemnities of Mary, Mother of God (January 1); the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15); All Saints (November 1), the Immaculate Conception (December 8), and the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ (December 25). 

Despite being a solemnity and a holy day of obligation, the Feast of the Ascension is sometimes completely overlooked or not given much attention. Ask Catholics what is the significance of the Feast and answers aren't always immediate. The rather mysterious nature of the Feast is heightened in some ecclesiastical provinces by its transference from the sixth Thursday of Easter to the following Sunday. In a way, the Solemnity bears a resemblance to the sacrament of Confirmation, the exact meaning of which is not always understood well and suffers for not being more clearly explained and comprehended. 

This occasional murkiness is unfortunate because the Ascension is such a joyful event in the work and life of Jesus Christ, as well as being a vital reality in the ongoing life and mission of the Church. To appreciate this joy and vitality we should keep in mind what the Catechism of the Catholic Church states about the liturgical calendar: The Church, "in the course of the year, . . . unfolds the whole mystery of Christ from his Incarnation and Nativity through his Ascension, to Pentecost and the expectation of the blessed hope of the coming of the Lord" (CCC, 1194).

Hinted at here are revealing parallels between the Incarnation and the Ascension and between the Nativity and Pentecost. In the Incarnation the eternal Son of God took on human nature in order to save mankind. By the power of the Holy Spirit, divinity and humanity were united in one Person; the Word became flesh (Jn 1:14) and lowered Himself to the level of dust and death. The Nativity is the physical, outward revelation of this reality: the Christ Child is born and history and the world are never the same.

At the Ascension the crucified, risen Son of God returns to His Father. Having descended to dusty earth, He now returns to heavenly glory. Having conquered death, He ascends to eternal life. But He returns to the right hand of the Father not just as the Word, but as the Incarnate Word. The doors of heaven are now open and humanity can now approach the throne room of God, the way having been paved by the life, death, and resurrection of the God-man. Pentecost, finally, is the manifestation of the God-man's Church, which is both human and divine. The Church was revealed to the world on that day—fifty days after Easter—by the power of the Holy Spirit.

All of this theology is nice enough, but what does it mean for us? It means the Feast of the Ascension is a celebration of salvation won. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that "in the Eastern Church this feast was known as analepsis, the taking up, and also as the episozomene, the salvation, denoting that by ascending into His glory Christ completed the work of our redemption." The tendency is often to think of the Resurrection as the culmination of Jesus' salvific work, but it is the Ascension that places the final stamp of approval on the sacrificial and victorious work of our Savior. This is beautifully expressed in the first chapter of Paul's epistle to the Ephesians:

May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might: which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens ... (Eph. 1:17-20).

Now that the Incarnate Son of God has ascended into heaven and sits in the throne room of God, mankind can follow. United to the Son through baptism and deepening communion with Him through reception of the Holy Eucharist and the other sacraments, the hope of heaven is ours. 

"The ascension of Christ is our elevation," declared Leo the Great in a sermon on the Ascension, "Hope for the body is also invited where the glory of the Head preceded us. Let us exult, dearly beloved, with worthy joy and be glad with a holy thanksgiving. Today we not only are established as possessors of paradise, but we have even penetrated the heights of the heavens in Christ." Where the sin of the first Adam closed the gates of Paradise, the righteousness of the new Adam has opened them wide. 

Jesus promised His disciples that He would prepare a place for them (Jn. 14). Because of the Ascension, we know He has prepared a place for those who are His. Because of the Ascension, we have the hope of His return and of our future passage into glory. "The Ascension, then," Pope John Paul II explained in May 2000, "is a Trinitarian epiphany which indicates the goal to which personal and universal history is hastening. Even if our mortal body dissolves into the dust of the earth, our whole redeemed self is directed on high to God, following Christ as our guide."

Our Guide has come, died, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven. Let us celebrate the Feast!

Joseph Ratzinger on the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord

A short excerpt from "The Ascension: The Beginning of a New Nearness," from Images of Hope: Meditations on Major Feasts (Ignatius, 2006):

You are surely familiar with all those precious, naïve images in which only the feet of Jesus are visible, sticking out of the cloud, at the heads of the apostles. The cloud, for its part, is a dark circle on the perimeter; on the inside, however, blazing light. It occurs to me that precisely in the apparent naïveté of this representation something very deep comes into view. All we see of Christ in the time of history are his feet and the cloud. His feet—what are they? We are reminded, first of all, of a peculiar sentence from the Resurrection account in Matthew's Gospel, where it is said that the women held onto the feet of the Risen Lord and worshipped him. As the Risen One, he towers over earthly proportions. We can still only touch his feet; and we touch them in adoration. Here we could reflect that we come as worshippers, following his trail, close to his footsteps. Praying, we go to him; praying, we touch him, even if in this world, so to speak, always only from below, only from afar, always only on the trail of his earthly steps. At the same time it becomes clear that we do not find the footprints of Christ when we look only below, when we measure only footprints and want to subsume faith in the obvious. The Lord is movement toward above, and only in moving ourselves, in looking up and ascending, do we recognize him. When we read the Church Fathers something important is added. The correct ascent of man occurs precisely where he learns, in humbly turning toward his neighbor, to bow very deeply, down to his feet, down to the gesture of the washing of feet. It is precisely humility, which can bow low, that carries man upward. This is the dynamic of ascent that the feast of the Ascension wants to teach us.

• "Primacy in Love": The Chair Altar of Saint Peter's in Rome | Also from Images of Hope 

The New Gnosticism of the Homosexual Movement

(Graphic: us.fotolia.com | Rawpixel)

The New Gnosticism of the Homosexual Movement | Robert R. Reilly | CWR

Success for the homosexual dream requires the obliteration of the real and the removal of those who insist on the existence of reality

Ideas that are not true are dangerous to our souls and to our polities, whether we like it or not.” — Rev. James V. Schall, SJ

If Eric Voegelin (1901-85) were alive today, I think that he would see the homosexual movement as a form of Gnosticism—a spiritually pathological, magical reconstruction of reality, or of a “second reality.” Voegelin wrote that, “All gnostic movements are involved in the project of abolishing the constitution of being, with its origin in divine, transcendent being…” Does this seem too extreme a charge to bring against the homosexual movement? As I will attempt to show, this is not about some sexual peccadillo that we can wink at and push off into a corner—it is a lie about humanity itself. Lesbian advocate Paula Ettelbrick proclaimed that, “transforming the very fabric of society… [and] radically reordering society’s view of reality” is the goal of the homosexual movement. This is typical Gnostic rhetoric about constructing a substitute reality.

Voegelin said that, “Gnosticism… has produced something like the counterprinciples to the principles of existence; and, insofar as these principles determine an image of reality for the masses of the faithful, it has created a dream world that itself is a social force of the first importance in motivating attitudes and actions…” Such counter principles are active and evident in every aspect of the promotion of the homosexual cause. And we have seen the power of its social force as it moved against the religious freedom protection law in Indiana. As a society we have moved from the point where the rationalization for homosexual misbehavior has been accepted as normative to the point where that rationalization will now be imposed and enforced, legally and by social forces at large, on everyone. If you speak out about this, you most likely will lose your job or your business and, most certainly, your social standing. You may be sued. You will become an embarrassment. These have become new forms of censorship, with a strong dose of self-censorship already at play. “This movement,” libertarian journalist John Stossel said, “has moved from tolerance to totalitarianism.”

Voegelin analyzed the Nazi movement as a form of Gnosticism. I do not think it is a stretch to point to Nazi Germany in 1935 as an analogy to current events and their similarly Gnostic nature. That is when the Nuremberg Laws were passed, stripping Jews of their German citizenship and forbidding marriage between non-Jews and Jews. No doubt, there were still many fine and upstanding people in Germany at the time, including many Catholics, but from then on they had to keep their mouths shut about the Nazi racial superiority teachings because they were state law. I am sure there were many people opposed to the race theory of history who said to themselves, as people do today regarding homosexual “marriage,” ‘well, this is a losing issue. Let’s leave it alone and move on.’ They were probably too frightened to consider what they were moving on to, just as people today avoid thinking about the consequences of the complete denial of reality involved in homosexual “marriage.” Anyone who thinks that we are involved in a denial of reality any less profound than that of 1935 Germany is kidding themselves. Success for the homosexual dream requires the obliteration of the real and the removal of those who insist on the existence of reality.

Gnosticism does not accept the evidence of reality. It is not a matter of what Gnostics do not know, but of what they refuse to acknowledge.

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

1968: The Year of Revolution in American Catholic Education

1968: The Year of Revolution in American Catholic Education | CWR Staff | Catholic World Report

Since the successful coup at CUA in the late Sixties, says Fr. Peter Mitchell, "the theology of dissent against Church teaching has remained normative and prevalent in American Catholic institutions of higher education..."

Fr. Peter Mitchell's book The Coup at Catholic University: The 1968 Revolution in American Catholic Education, recently published by Ignatius Press, is a detailed studied of revolutionary events that took place in the late Sixties at Catholic University of America. The revolution was led by Fr. Charles Curran, professor of Theology at CUA, who with more than 500 theologians signed a “Statement of Dissent” declaring that Catholics were not bound in conscience to follow the Church's teaching in Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae.

The battle at Catholic University was focused on the nature, purpose, and limits of academic freedom. Curran and other dissenting theologians insisted they should be free to teach as they wished, without direction or oversight from the authority of the bishops. The bishops, in turn, said that the American tradition of religious freedom guaranteed the right of religiously-affiliated schools to require professors to teach in accord with the authority of their church. Fr. Mitchell used never-before published material from the personal papers of the key players to tell the inside story of the conflict at CUA; his account begins with the 1967 faculty-led strike in support of Curran.

Fr. Peter Mitchell received his doctorate in Church History from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, in 2009. He is a priest of the of the Diocese of Green Bay and has spent much of his priesthood working in Catholic education. He recently corresponded with Carl E. Olson, editor of Catholic World Report, about The Coup at Catholic University.

CWR: You present the events at CUA in the late Sixties as the result, in large part, of a revolutionary clash between a short-sighted, authoritarian stance by Church leaders and the dissenting, “freedom first” approach by theologians and others. What events and movements inside and outside the Church led to that situation?

Fr. Mitchell: The immediate aftermath of Vatican II saw an unprecedented and largely unexpected release of frustration on the part of Catholic intellectuals with the attitude of the hierarchy towards priests and professors. Prior to Vatican II, there had been several incidents of censorship at CUA imposed by the bishops who made up the university board of trustees. The clerical authority that ran the university was perceived, not without good reason, as extremely controlling and fearful of genuine academic debate.

By contrast, the young, unified and highly motivated generation of priests who took control of the School of Theology self-consciously defined themselves as devotees of “post-conciliar theology” and relevance, which primarily meant that they equated the pronouncements of the hierarchical Magisterium with a narrow-mindedness that was to be eschewed for the sake of a supposedly more relevant and modern approach to faith and truth.

In turn, post-conciliar theology found a willing and powerful ally in the AAUP, the American Association of University Professors, whose principles had developed into a quasi-religious ideology of academic freedom that rejected the validity of any and all creedal statements of a priori dogmatic truth. The larger cultural context of the Vietnam War and the Sexual Revolution also contributed to a climate in which protesting and “freedom” was in and obedience to authority was out.

CWR: In what ways did the resulting controversy reveal deeper issues and tensions? And how have they informed various conflicts between bishops and theologians since then?

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

Six Ways the Catholic Church Is Like an Italian Mamma

(Photo: us.fotolia.com | Ciaobucarest)

Six Ways the Catholic Church Is Like an Italian Mamma | Carrie Gress, Ph.D. | CWR

Like mamma’s lap, Holy Mother Church is where truth, solace, guidance, peace and love are found, come what may

The face of the Catholic Church is often a masculine one, whether it be the pope, bishops, or local priests, and in recent decades this has been viewed by many as a bad thing. The widespread and wholesale effort to feminize the Church, through music, liturgical flourish, and more females on the altar has failed to produce the ecclesial popularity (particularly among men) promised by its promoters. Perhaps a better model than pastel streamers, saccharine hymns, and squishy homilies is closer at hand than Catholics might think: the Church as Mother.

Although there are many external reminders of the Church’s motherhood, such as the embrace of St. Peter’s Square and the feminine references to “her” in romance languages, it is easy to lose sight of just how maternal our Church truly is. This is a theme mentioned more than once by Pope Francis. “The joy of the Church is to give birth,” he said in a homily last December, “the joy of the Church is to go out of herself to give life; the joy of the Church is to go out to seek the sheep that are lost; the joy of the Church is precisely the tenderness of the shepherd, the tenderness of the mother.” And, in a September 3, 2014 general audience, the Holy Father said the Church “is a true mother who gives us life in Christ and, in the communion of the Holy Spirit, brings us into a common life with our brothers and sisters. … This is the Church: a mother who has at heart the good of her children.”

For the two years I lived in Rome I—like most ex-pats—spent large swaths of time just watching the culture around me. I was able to see that there is something special about Italian mothers and grandmothers. These Mediterranean mammas are determined, passionate, attentive, devoted, and tough-as-nails. In their unique character many of the eternal truths of what our Mother the Church wishes to give us are illuminated.

1. Passionate Love

Italians in general are given credit for being passionate. Operas, wild gesticulation, and yelling tones give witness to the depth of their feelings. These unrestrained emotions are showered upon children – particularly small children. I was amazed to watch as a women who didn’t strike me as very maternal become transformed in the presence of child – the focus, the being present, the cascade of physical affection and joy all said to the child, “I adore you, I’m present to you, I’m here to meet your needs and every desire of your heart.”

The Church, following the rhythms of the liturgical year, follows the unfolding drama of God becoming man and dying on the cross. Vacillating between feasting and fasting, highs and lows, these passions are evident in processions, devotions, but particularly in Christ’s Passion and death, offered daily in the Mass. Through all of these, the Church reminds us that Christ did these for us. That he loves us, is present to us, and wants to give us life in abundance, and not simply pleasant platitudes.

2. Mamma isn’t afraid to tell you when are wrong

Continue reading on the CWR site.

True Love Starts at the Foot of the Cross

Detail from "Christ on the Cross with the Virgin, Mary Magdalene, St. John and St. Francis of Paola” by Nicolas Tournier (1590-1639) [WikiArt.org]

A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, May 10, 2015, the Sixth Sunday of Easter | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48
• Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
• 1 Jn 4:7-10
• Jn 15:9-17

“Did I read the same encyclical as The New York Times?”

That was the title of a piece I wrote for the Insight Scoop blog shortly after Pope Benedict XVI’s first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est (“God Is Love”) was released in late December 2005. America’s most famous newspaper ran a piece stating, “Pope Benedict XVI issued an erudite meditation on love and charity on Wednesday in a long-awaited first encyclical that presented Roman Catholicism's potential for good rather than imposing firm, potentially divisive rules for orthodoxy.” It then expressed evident surprise that the encyclical “did not mention abortion, homosexuality, contraception or divorce, issues that often divide Catholics.”

It spoke volumes about the serious misconceptions that exist about the nature of love and Catholicism. For many outside the Church (and, sadly, some inside the Church), being a loving person and being a serious Catholic are not always compatible; some insist they are completely incompatible. After all, goes the wisdom of the day, Catholicism is so exclusive, has so many rules, is so eager to say, “Don’t do this!” and “Don’t do that!” Doesn’t the Church understand that love is in the eye of the beholder—or, more accurately, in the desire of the beholder?

Benedict, of course, was aware of these perspectives. He noted that the word “love” has “become one of the most frequently used and misused of words, a word to which we attach quite different meanings” (par 2). He wrote “to clarify some essential facts concerning the love which God mysteriously and gratuitously offers to man, together with the intrinsic link between that Love and the reality of human love” (par 1). In doing so, he drew deeply from 1 John 4 and from the Last Supper Discourse in the Gospel of John (chapters 13-16), from which come today’s Epistle and Gospel readings.

One of Benedict’s essential points is that human love, without a transcendent point of reference, is ultimately incomplete and frustrated. All love comes from the Source of Love, and any attempt—whether intentional or not—to separate love from that Source results in damaging, perverting, and even destroying the love between spouses, family members, friends. Without a vertical, supernatural dimension, love becomes thin and fragile; it begins to crack and crumble under the pressure of everyday life and the ultimate questions that nip at our mental tails.

“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you,” Jesus told his disciples as he prepared to demonstrate his love on the altar of the Cross. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” This is authentic love. It is not rooted in emotion or sentiment, nor is it concerned with mere appearance and respectability. Jesus’ death on the Cross, wrote Benedict, “is love in its most radical form” (par 12). It shows the world that “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8). Any real definition of love must begin at the foot of the Cross, for to look upon and to really see the One who is an expiation for our sins is to know perfect love—not in an abstract way, but in a real and transforming way.

Jesus speaks of love, but also of commandments. This is befuddling to modern man, for he considers love to be freedom from stricture, liberation from directives. But if there is one thing man needs direction in, it is in knowing how to really love, how to die to oneself and to live for others.

God’s commandments are meant to keep us from embracing falsehoods about love; they guide us through the dangerous straits of fleshly temptations and unruly passions. If man followed God’s commandments, there would be no abortions, homosexuality, contraceptives, or divorce. Those evils exist because fallen creatures have pursued faulty notions of love.

And yet, while we each fail to love, we all desire to fall in love. It starts at the Cross and continues by remaining in the One who is Love.

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the May 17, 2009, issue of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

“Created for Greatness”: The Emerging Catholic Men’s Movement

Matt Fradd speaks to a group of Catholic men.

“Created for Greatness”: The Emerging Catholic Men’s Movement | Joseph M. Hanneman | CWR

Conferences and faith-based groups are helping men know, defend, and live their Catholic faith.

Flanked by candle-bearing acolytes, the priest held the monstrance aloft and processed through the aisles of the massive Milwaukee Theatre. More than 2,500 men were on their knees in adoration as the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ passed before them, bedecked in gold. The solemn Eucharistic procession was the culmination of the ninth annual Men of Christ conference: a day of prayer, speakers, reflection, and Mass. In the halls outside the theater, the line for confession was 200 deep much of the day, even with more than 75 priests hearing confessions. Men waited an hour or more to confess their sins and be forgiven. For some, it was their first confession in years, even decades.

On a Saturday when the highly ranked Wisconsin Badgers were playing tournament basketball on television, a small city of Catholic men instead gathered in downtown Milwaukee to get closer to Christ. From ages 8 to 90, they filled the sprawling, ornate theater for more than eight hours of Catholic enrichment. The chorus of deep, resonant voices seemed to lift the roof during the Lord’s Prayer. Extended applause greeted Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki when he announced his support for concealed carry — then pulled out a Rosary as his weapon of choice. It seemed every man in the audience had one.

What’s going on here? The leaders of this emergent movement say the goal of events like this is nothing less than complete restoration of the Catholic man. Think “band of brothers” over pockets of loners; would be-martyrs instead of has-been quitters. Virtue and service over vice, sin, and addiction. Every Catholic Caspar Milquetoast is being called to emulate Don John of Austria, who with the Holy League saved Christendom from the Ottoman Turks. Yesterday’s average Joe is being remolded as priest, prophet, and king—a bold and self-sacrificing leader in the model of Jesus and St. Joseph. The call has gone out: real Catholic men wanted. Rosary-praying, faith-defending spiritual warriors. Education and training will be provided.

“Men need support and friendship of other Catholic men,” said Steve Ray, Catholic author, apologist, and creator of the Footprints of God documentary series. “We’re in a war, and men are starting to realize it. Life is getting tougher. We can no longer consider ourselves part of the flow of American culture.” Ray, who has spoken at the Men of Christ conference, said the timing is right for men to reclaim their Catholic faith and be prepared to defend it.

“Our society today is becoming very anti-Christian and especially anti-Catholic,” Ray said. “Our steeples go very high. We have very strong standards on morals and the world is going to hate us for it. Any man who stands up and says he is a Catholic and he believes what the Church teaches, he better be ready for a fight. That is why men are banding together. They are realizing we are going into a very difficult time in our country.”

Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, host of “Behold the Man” on EWTN, said Catholic men need to be challenged to embrace leadership roles.

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

The Pope, the Poet, and the Year of Mercy

Pope Francis prays during his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican May 6. (CNS photo/Paul Haring); right: "La Divina Commedia di Dante" (Dante and the Divine Comedy), the 1465 fresco by Domenico di Michelino (Wikipedia).

The Pope, the Poet, and the Year of Mercy | Lauren Enk Mann | CWR blog

Dante is, as Pope Francis explained, “a prophet of hope, herald of the possibility of redemption, liberation and the profound transformation of every man and woman, of all humanity.”

Pope Francis recently recommended Dante’s tripartite epic poem The Divine Comedy as a fitting “spiritual guide” for the upcoming Year of Mercy. For many, mention of Dante calls to mind only the first portion of his Divine Comedy—the Inferno, depicting his tour of Hell and lurid punishments for condemned souls. The poet's graphic descriptions of eternal torments—from the fierce windstorms that plague lustful souls, to the thorny trees imprisoning the suicides—have made the Inferno, unfortunately, the most familiar of the series. In popular memory, the Inferno overshadows the two counterparts: Purgatory (Purgatorio) and Heaven (Paradiso).

It is understandable, then, that some may be puzzled to hear that Dante is recommended reading for the Year of Mercy. Dante? The man who wrote about the seven circles of Hell? With the sinners writhing in agony and the gargantuan frozen Satan at the end? 

But Dante’s tour of Hell is merely a prelude to his breathtaking, eye-opening journey through the redemptive climb of Purgatory and the divine dance of Paradise. Dante is, as Pope Francis explained, “a prophet of hope, herald of the possibility of redemption, liberation and the profound transformation of every man and woman, of all humanity.” Dante’s trilogy is deeply imbued in a world-shattering vision of God’s mercy in action, of His redemptive grace saving souls who will accept it.

If Dante's character more than once expresses surprise at who has chosen Hell, he also is frequently surprised at who has accepted the mercy of God. The oft-misused and misunderstood phrase “Who am I to judge" fits well with Dante's understanding of salvation: only God can pass final judgment on a soul, and our earthly presumptions about others' salvation can be quite wrong. And while giving plenty of attention to politicians, patricians, and even popes, Dante also filled his Divine Comedy with ordinary people: sinners, repentant souls, and saints. It is not only the famous or the canonized, Dante insists, who receive God’s boundless mercy.

Purgatorio portrays mercy with particular vividness. Filled with hope for heaven, sorrow for sin, and the joy of receiving forgiveness, the souls in Purgatory proclaim the mercy of God with undying zeal. Take this moving scene (from Anthony Esolen's wonderful translation published by Modern Library Classics), when a soul tells Dante of God’s mercy coming in the final seconds of his earthly life:

Continue reading on the CWR blog.

"Sacra Liturgia” Is Coming to New York City in June

"Sacra Liturgia” Is Coming to New York City in June

Dom Alcuin Reid discusses Sacra Liturgia USA 2015, hosted in New York City from June 1-4 and with a keynote address by Cardinal Raymond Burke

From June 1-4 New York City will be host to Sacra Liturgia USA 2015, the first Sacra Liturgia initiative in the United States. It follows on from its international conference in Rome in 2013 on liturgical formation, celebration, and the role of the liturgy in the mission of the Church, convened by Bishop Dominique Rey of Fréjus-Toulon, France. The proceedings of the Rome conference, Sacred Liturgy: The Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church, were published by Ignatius Press in 2014.

Catholic World Report recently corresponded with Dom Alcuin Reid, Sacra Liturgia’s international coordinator,about the upcoming conference in New York City.

CWR: How did the initiative for a Sacra Liturgia conference in New York come about?

Dom Alcuin: Following our conference in Rome in 2013, at which a large number of American clergy, religious and laity were present, an approach was made through me to Bishop Rey to see if a similar initiative could be organized in the USA. We were delighted at the request and have done all that we can to support an event in the States.

Once New York City was identified as the most appropriate location for a conference Bishop Rey wrote to the Archbishop, His Eminence, Timothy Cardinal Dolan. The Cardinal welcomed the initiative immediately; indeed, he will honor us by presenting an address of welcome at the opening session on Monday afternoon, June 1st.

CWR: Have you found much support for Sacra Liturgia in the USA?

Dom Alcuin: Yes indeed; a great deal. The Knights of Columbus, who sponsored the Rome conference, have been most generous once again. So too, other 2013 sponsors such as the Cardinal Newman Society, Arte Granda and DeMontfort Music are very keen to do all that they can to ensure the success of Sacra Liturgia USA. We have been delighted to receive the support of new sponsors as well.

We have also been blessed with a great local organizing team led by Dr Jennifer Donelson, the Director of Sacred Music at St Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie, NY, and Fr Richard Cipolla, Pastor of St Mary’s, Norwalk, CT. Fr Jordan Kelly, OP, pastor of the parish of St Catherine of Siena (E 68th St) has graciously welcomed us to his beautiful Church for our liturgical celebrations and additionally has given us invaluable administrative help. The team at the excellent venue for the presentations—the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College (68th St between Park & Lexington)—has been most welcoming also.

CWR: What do you hope to achieve through this conference?

Dom Alcuin: I think the reason people wanted a Sacra Liturgia conference in the USA was because they saw that what we did in Rome was to further peoples’ formation in what the Sacred Liturgy is, in how to celebrate and pray it, and in appreciating its utterly fundamental role in living the Christian life of witness and mission in the world of the twenty-first century.

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