Category Archives: Catholic Church

Pope Francis Turns 79!

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Pope Francis 79Yesterday, Pope Francis celebrated his 79th birthday.  And I am sure that the majority of Catholics, other Christians, and peoples of other faiths are all wishing him: “Ad multos annos!”  (Many more years!)  However, it cannot be denied that there are those within the Church who are hoping for a short pontificate.  Nicole Winfield of the Associated Press has a interesting article posted on Crux; which looks into this undercurrent of hostility aimed at the Pope, by the every ones who are suppose to be assisting him.

When, in 2013, the College of Cardinals elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio to the papacy, the conventional wisdom was that they were looking for a reformer.  They saw a Vatican Curia mired in scandal, inefficiency, and dysfunction.  They expected Pope Francis to “clean the stables,” and reorganize the Curia to be more responsive to the needs of today’s universal Church.  Shortly after his election, Pope Francis established a “Council of Cardinals”, one of it’s members is Boston’s own Cardinal Sean O’Malley OFM Cap.  He gave it the task of proposing structural changes to the Curia, and other suggestions on dealing with issues affecting the Church.  He began the structural reform of the Vatican financial institutions, appointing the strong willed Cardinal Pell of Australia to insure the reforms take hold.

At the same time, Pope Francis has said and done things that may have made some of the cardinal electors wondering what they have themselves into.  Traditionalists are up arms at what they see as his reversal of liturgical trends put in place by his predecessors.  Others are concerned that he is taking a more pastoral approach, at the cost of watering down Church teachings.  And then there are those bureaucrats in the Curia, who are more interested in preserving their positions, perks, and power; then in actually serving the members of the Church.

I am among those who wish the Pope “ad multos annos;” but I fear that it may be a short pontificate.  I am afraid that the expected reforms may not be finalized.  And that Pope Francis may not have enough time to appoint those bishops and cardinals who will ensure that his reforms will survive his passing.  Part of me wishes that he would spend more time in Rome; and not on these strenuous trips; that tax his health, and puts him in harms way.

However, the Pope will do, what he believes God is guiding him to do.  And those of us who support him, and wish him well; will pray that God’s hand will be on him, protecting him, and strengthening him.  “Ad Multos Annos!”

 

Third Sunday of Advent – A Reflection

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Third Sunday of Advent 2015Zephaniah 3: 14-18a

Philippians 4: 4-7

Luke 3: 10-18

 

 

“Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!  The Lord has removed the judgment against you, he has turned away your enemies; the King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear.”  (Zephaniah 3)

“Rejoice in the Lord always.  I shall say it again: rejoice!  Your kindness should be known to all.  The Lord is near.  Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.  Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4; 4-7)

 

We are in the third week of the penitential season of the Advent; the time of preparation for day of Christmas, to celebrate the coming of the Son of God into this world.  It is a time of expectation; anticipating the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, at the end of time.  The third candle on the Advent wreath is pink; most priests celebrated Mass this day, wearing pink rose colored vestments.  It is the Church telling us that the time of preparation, of more intensive prayer, of reflecting on Scripture, of ascetic practices are almost at end.

Truth be told, it is hard to live a penitential lifestyle during the days leading up to Christmas.  The somber liturgical purple colors are overwhelmed by the bright colors of red, white, and green.  The bright Christmas lights decorating our city streets, the stores, and our office spaces; yes, even our homes; tell us Christmas is here!  During a time when we are asked to curb our desires, we are encouraged to consume more and more.  Whether it is buying lots of Christmas gifts, or the eating of Christmas candy and pastries, we are told the celebrations start now.

Yet, sometimes I think we are being feed a false message by the merchants, the politicians, and city fathers.  We see in the news of tragic events, the murder of innocents, both at home and abroad; and we experience fear.  We see, and hear, the messages of hate, whether spoken by terrorists, or our politicians, filling the airwaves and the internet.  Many of us are feeling the burden of an uncertain economy, feeling the anxieties of making ends meet, of keeping shelter over our heads.  And we have our own inner anxieties, which keep us up at night.  The “Christmas Season,” only adds to the anxieties.

It is at this moment, we need to hear the booming voice of St. Paul, saying to us: “Rejoice in the Lord always.  I shall say it again: rejoice!” We are not an abandoned people; Emmanuel!  “God is with us!”  The Son of God came into this world to free us from fear; from sin and death!  Jesus Christ has come to give us his Spirit, to cleanse us with fire, to energize us with the fire of the Holy Spirit.  He invites us to enter into an intimate relationship with God, through Scripture, through prayer, and receiving his Body and Blood in the Eucharist.  If we are able to do that, strive to do that, St. Paul promises that our anxieties and our fears will have no power over us: “Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

So we have one more week before Christmas Day, a week to enter again into a time of true preparation to celebrate that wondrous day!  To prepare our minds, our hearts, our souls to hear, really hear, the “Good News” of Jesus Christ.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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“The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.  And coming to her, he said, ‘Hail, full of grace!  The Lord is with you.’ ” (Luke 1)

Today, we remember and celebrate the fact, that since she was to be the mother of the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God; Mary was born without the stain of original sin.  It is the first act, that culminates in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; and our liberation from the power of sin and death.

Good Press, Bad Press

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catacombsI have been scanning the Religion News Service online, when I came across this article by David Gibson, about the Pact of the Catacombs.  It tells the story of what happened, when on November 16th, 1965, close to the conclusion of the Second Vatican, around forty bishops gathered in a chapel located in the Catacombs of Domitilla.  At the end of the liturgy, each of the bishops affixed their signatures to a document that came to be known as the Pact of the Catacombs.  In signing it they “pledged … to ‘try to live according to the ordinary manner of our people in all that concerns housing, food, means of transport, and related matters.’

The signatories vowed to renounce personal possessions, fancy vestments and ‘names and titles that express prominence and power,’ and they said they would make advocating for the poor and powerless the focus of their ministry.

In all this, they said, ‘we will seek collaborators in ministry so that we can be animators according to the Spirit rather than dominators according to the world; we will try to make ourselves as humanly present and welcoming as possible; and we will show ourselves to be open to all, no matter what their beliefs.’  ”

The ideals outlined in that ecclesial manifesto were adopted by many of the South American prelates, Dom Helder Camara, Archbishop of Olinda and Recife, of Brazil, a leading advocate for the poor, was one of the original signatories.  About 500 Latin American bishops would eventually sign the Pact; among them the assassinated Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero.  These bishops strived to be shepherds of a church of, and for the poor.  Many found guidance in liberation theology, which placed them at odds with conservative clergy, their countries’ dictators, and eventually the Vatican.

The original signed document of the Pact has been lost, though its contents have been widely disseminated.  Only one of the original signers is still with us.  But its spirit is very much alive in the person of Pope Francis.  He has called on the Church’s bishops to adopt a simpler lifestyle, to be true shepherds, to have the “smell of the sheep.”  And he seeks to make real the desire of St. Pope John XXIII, and the other bishops to have a Church of the poor.

The Catholic Church is going to have some rough days ahead; this weekend, the movie, “Spotlight” will open in American theaters.  It will tell the story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the extant of clergy abuse of children in the Archdiocese of Boston.  It was that reporting that opened the floodgates, and revealed a scandal that continues affect the Church.  Also, two books will be published and released in Italy, which will “reveal” continuing financial scandals in Vatican City.

In the days ahead, we are going to need to examples of the lives of those bishops, who truly committed themselves to living the Gospel, to be servants of all.  And we are going to accept the challenge of the Gospel ourselves, to be servants for each other, and the world.  To seek to replace hatred with love, and war with peace, if we can do that, try to do this, perhaps we can show the world the true face of the Church.

All Souls Day in Beverly – 2015

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“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day.”  (John 6:40)

All Souls a 2015On the Catholic Church calendar, yesterday, November 2, 2015, was the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed; also known as All Souls Day.  The Beverly Catholic community celebrated an evening Mass of Remembrance for all the deceased members of the three parishes in the city: St. Mary, Star of the Sea, St. Margaret of Scotland, and St. John the Evangelist.  The Mass was celebrated at St. Mary’s, with our pastor, Father Mark, our parochial vicar, Father Karlo, and one of our two deacons, me!  St. Mary’s is one of those 19th century churches that no one can afford to build anymore; with a high vaulted ceiling, beautiful stain glass windows, and an impressive sanctuary.

We had a good turnout of parishioners from all three parishes.  St. Mary’s choir beautifully provided music for the service.  I proclaimed the Gospel reading, which was taken from Matthew 11: 25-30.  Father Mark then gave a very moving homily.  After the homily, he read a roll of those from the Beverly Catholic community, who passed away since November, 2014 till now.  Every votive candle in the church had been gathered in front of the sanctuary; as a deceased person’s name was announced, a candle was lit.  Should a member of the deceased’s family, or a close friend was present; they were invited to light a candle.  Soon, the majority of the candles were lighted, quite a few family members had come up.

A couple of years ago, my mother had passed away; I was an ordained deacon, and I preached at her funeral Mass.  I took as my text, John 14: 1-14 (I think).  I focused on John 14: 2-3: “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.”  I focused on the theme of pilgrimage; that from the moment we are born, the moment we are baptized, we begin a pilgrimage; a journey of exploration as to what it means to be an adopted child of God the Father.  And this pilgrimage does not end when we die, but it becomes a journey of purification; helped by the prayers of the loved ones we left behind.  Our pilgrimage will end when we finally reach the place that Jesus Christ has prepared for us; and we are in the Holy Presence of our God.

All Souls Day expresses our hope, that those who have gone before us will find the final destination of their pilgrimage soon.  And that they will be praying for us, when we ourselves will begin the next leg of our own life journeys.

All Souls 2015l

Feast of All Saints

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“After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.  They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.  They cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.”  (Revelation 7: 9-10)

All SaintsToday, the Christian world, especially the Catholic Church, celebrates the Feast of All Saints.  The Church remembers all those who are saints; those officially recognized by the Church and those who are unknown but to God.  The Church believes that when we die, our souls are in need of purification before we can enter into heaven.  This purification takes place in purgatory.  There are those, however, because of how well they lived the Gospel life, are admitted into heaven; come face to face with God, and experience perfect happiness.  These individuals are considered saints.

How does one become a saint; the Gospel reading for today’s Mass, the Beatitudes shows a starting point for one to begin the process.  So is living the two greatest commandments, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and the first commandment.  The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Matt 22: 37-39).  To become a saint is no easy task; it requires a radical interior change, a conversion.  Trying to do it on our own is impossible.  But we are not alone, God is with us.  If we open our hearts to him, he will give us the strength, the grace, to achieve the goal of sainthood.  Jesus Christ, coming to us in the Eucharist, gives us the food for this journey; the Holy Spirit gives us the guidance, the inspiration to continue the journey.

There is no measure that will tell us how successful we are.  We can only continue to strive to live the teachings of Jesus, to strive, through prayer, to be in a close relationship with God.  And we must accept the fact, that there will be times when we will fail.  There will days of dryness, disappointments, feelings of failure.  It is at moments like these, that the lives of saints can be a source of inspiration for us.  In particular, those biographies that reveals both the successes and failures of a saint trying to live the Gospel; because we can identify with them.  We can learn how they overcome their obstacles, and begin thinking about starting again.

I like to think of the communion of saints, something like those crowds of people gathered at the end of a race.  They have run their race; and now they are calling out to us, urging us on to the finish line.

“Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord?

or who may stand in his holy place?

One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,

who desires not what is vain.

He shall receive a blessing from the Lord,

a reward from the God his savior.

Such is the race that seeks him

that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.  “(Psalm 24)

Finish Line

New Executive Council Elected for the National Fraternity (USA) of the Secular Franciscan Order!

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“The Secular Franciscan Order holds a special place in this (Franciscan) family circle.  It is an organic union of all Catholic fraternities scattered throughout the world and open to every group of the faithful.  In these fraternities the brothers and sisters, led by the Spirit, strive for perfect charity in their own secular state.  By their profession they pledge themselves to live the gospel in the manner of St. Francis (of Assisi) by means of this rule approved by the Church”  (Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order, Art. 2)

“The Secular Franciscan Order is divided into fraternities of various levels-local, regional, national, and international.  Each one has its own moral personality in the Church.  These various fraternities are coordinated and united according to the norm of this rule and the constitutions.

On various levels, each fraternity is animated and guided by a council and minister (or president) who are elected by the professed according to the constitutions.”  (Rule OFS, Art. 20-21)

National Council NAFRA OFS

When the Secular Franciscan Order was first established in 1221, it was a movement that was lead by laypersons, elected by the professed members.  As time went on, for various reasons, the Franciscan Friars began to exercise more authority over the movement.  The Order was divided among the First Orders’ provinces.  After the Second Vatican Council, with its directive for religious orders to rediscover their roots and charism, the Seculars took a new look at their founding history and documents.  A renewal took place; the various worldwide OFS fraternities were united under one Minister General and international council.  Nationally and regionally, fraternities were united, governed by their own elected ministers and councils, with guidance from Franciscan friars and sisters.

On October 17th, representatives from the regional fraternities gathered in Clinton, New Jersey, in a Chapter of Elections.  The results being that Jan Parker, OFS, is our new National Minister.  The names of the rest of the National Executive Council are available at this link.  Through the intercession of St. Francis, may God bless them with wisdom, charity, and inspiration, which will guide us well in coming years.

A Very Different Way of Outreach!

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From Catholic News Agency.

From Catholic News Agency.

There have been many polls that indicate that there are many Catholics, both in the United States and other countries, who have fallen away from regular Church attendance, and receiving the Sacraments.  Many dioceses are trying to figure out ways of bringing people back; how to engage with them.  The Catholic News Agency has reported on one very imaginative approach.  At a shopping mall in Bogata, Columbia, 350 priests participated in a “Confess-a-Thon,” that ran from October 6th to the 7th.  The priests set up Confession stations throughout the mall, and anyone who wished, could receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Many took advantage of the opportunity.  Other individuals took the opportunity to just be able to talk to a priest.  Think of how many persons were touched by these priests, who were willing to think, and act outside the “box!”

Feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

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“Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,

my memory, understanding, my entire will,

all that I have and call my own.

You have given all to me.

To you, Lord, I return it.

Do with it as you will.

Give me only your love and your grace;

That is enough for me.”

(Suscipe, written by St. Ignatius of Loyola)

Today, the CIgnatius of Loyolaatholic Church remembers and celebrates the life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.  He was a Spanish knight from the Basque country.  Wounded in battle, as he recovered in the ancestral castle, he read a book about the life of Jesus Christ.  Reflecting on, meditating on those stories, he had a conversion experience.  Giving up his sword, he became a pilgrim, journeying to the Holy Land.  In the Spanish town of Manresa, he stayed for a period of time, living as a hermit in cave, along a river bank.  It was there that he had a powerful vision; he never described what he experienced.  He later, after mastering Latin, went to the University of Paris to study theology.  Reflecting on his spiritual journey, he wrote the Spiritual Exercises.  He used them to help guide his companions, and others, who were seeking to get closer to God.  He and his companions formed the Society of Jesus, popularly known as the Jesuits.  This congregation, under the guidance of Ignatius, as Superior General, would go out into world, as preachers, spiritual directors, missionaries, and educators.

I think though that among the great gifts from Ignatius to the Church is his Spiritual Exercises.  Hundreds of individuals have followed the Practices, either in 30 day retreats, or over extended periods of times.  They have been guided into a more intimate relationship with God, and discern what God was calling them to do with their lives.  Thanks to Basque former warrior, a priest, and mystic, a new guide has opened up for those seeking the Lord.

One of My Favorite Catholic Bloggers Interviewed

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For quite some time now, I have enjoyed reading posts from Mercy Sister Camille D’Arienzo, who writes for the National Catholic Reporter website, NCRonline.org.  She does interviews with various CathDeacon Greg Kendraolics, delving into their faith and spiritual lives.  Today, I discovered that she had interviewed one of my favorite Catholic bloggers, Deacon Greg Kandra.   He is a Permanent Deacon, ordained for the Diocese of Brooklyn, NY.  In 2007, he created “The Deacon’s Bench.”  It currently exists on the Patheos.com website, which has blogs from many faith perspectives.  In the interview, Deacon Kandra shares some of his history, especially his faith life.  And how he began blogging and what being a blogger has meant for him.

I have enjoyed reading his postings, ever since I entered formation for the Diaconate.  He has his finger on the pulse of the Catholic world, the Catholic blogosphere, and the Catholic Diaconate.  I have his posted homilies and commentaries both thought provoking and inspiring.  I really believe that reading his blog placed the seed in my head about maybe blogging myself.  I would recommend “The Deacon’s Bench” to anyone, but especially to my fellow deacons.