4.25.2008

Pope Benedict XVI's Message to Young People and Seminarians Followed by My Summary and Thoughts

Subtitle: “What matters most is that you develop your personal relationship with God.”

It was almost a week ago when the Pope spoke to young people and seminarians in New York a day before he left the U.S. I have wanted to write about it since then, but I have only just now made the time. I will provide the full text of his address, and at the end I will summarize parts of it and include my thoughts. Following is the full text as found on the Vatican website:
Address to Seminarians and Young People, St. Joseph's Seminary (Dunwoodie), New York
On Saturday 19 April 2008, the Holy Father gave the following address to the seminarians and youth gathered at St. Joseph's Seminary (Dunwoodie), New York.
Your Eminence,
Dear Brother Bishops,
Dear Young Friends,
“Proclaim the Lord Christ … and always have your answer ready for people who ask the reason for the hope that is within you” (1 Pet 3:15). With these words from the First Letter of Peter I greet each of you with heartfelt affection. I thank Cardinal Egan for his kind words of welcome and I also thank the representatives chosen from among you for their gestures of welcome. To Bishop Walsh, Rector of Saint Joseph Seminary, staff and seminarians, I offer my special greetings and gratitude.
Young friends, I am very happy to have the opportunity to speak with you. Please pass on my warm greetings to your family members and relatives, and to the teachers and staff of the various schools, colleges and universities you attend. I know that many people have worked hard to ensure that our gathering could take place. I am most grateful to them all. Also, I wish to acknowledge your singing to me Happy Birthday! Thank you for this moving gesture; I give you all an “A plus” for your German pronunciation! This evening I wish to share with you some thoughts about being disciples of Jesus Christ ─ walking in the Lord’s footsteps, our own lives become a journey of hope.
In front of you are the images of six ordinary men and women who grew up to lead extraordinary lives. The Church honors them as Venerable, Blessed, or Saint: each responded to the Lord’s call to a life of charity and each served him here, in the alleys, streets and suburbs of New York. I am struck by what a remarkably diverse group they are: poor and rich, lay men and women - one a wealthy wife and mother - priests and sisters, immigrants from afar, the daughter of a Mohawk warrior father and Algonquin mother, another a Haitian slave, and a Cuban intellectual.
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Saint John Neumann, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, Venerable Pierre Toussaint, and Padre Felix Varela: any one of us could be among them, for there is no stereotype to this group, no single mold. Yet a closer look reveals that there are common elements. Inflamed with the love of Jesus, their lives became remarkable journeys of hope. For some, that meant leaving home and embarking on a pilgrim journey of thousands of miles. For each there was an act of abandonment to God, in the confidence that he is the final destination of every pilgrim. And all offered an outstretched hand of hope to those they encountered along the way, often awakening in them a life of faith. Through orphanages, schools and hospitals, by befriending the poor, the sick and the marginalized, and through the compelling witness that comes from walking humbly in the footsteps of Jesus, these six people laid open the way of faith, hope and charity to countless individuals, including perhaps your own ancestors.
And what of today? Who bears witness to the Good News of Jesus on the streets of New York, in the troubled neighborhoods of large cities, in the places where the young gather, seeking someone in whom they can trust? God is our origin and our destination, and Jesus the way. The path of that journey twists and turns ─ just as it did for our saints ─ through the joys and the trials of ordinary, everyday life: within your families, at school or college, during your recreation activities, and in your parish communities. All these places are marked by the culture in which you are growing up. As young Americans you are offered many opportunities for personal development, and you are brought up with a sense of generosity, service and fairness. Yet you do not need me to tell you that there are also difficulties: activities and mindsets which stifle hope, pathways which seem to lead to happiness and fulfillment but in fact end only in confusion and fear.
My own years as a teenager were marred by a sinister regime that thought it had all the answers; its influence grew – infiltrating schools and civic bodies, as well as politics and even religion – before it was fully recognized for the monster it was. It banished God and thus became impervious to anything true and good. Many of your grandparents and great-grandparents will have recounted the horror of the destruction that ensued. Indeed, some of them came to America precisely to escape such terror.
Let us thank God that today many people of your generation are able to enjoy the liberties which have arisen through the extension of democracy and respect for human rights. Let us thank God for all those who strive to ensure that you can grow up in an environment that nurtures what is beautiful, good, and true: your parents and grandparents, your teachers and priests, those civic leaders who seek what is right and just.
The power to destroy does, however, remain. To pretend otherwise would be to fool ourselves. Yet, it never triumphs; it is defeated. This is the essence of the hope that defines us as Christians; and the Church recalls this most dramatically during the Easter Triduum and celebrates it with great joy in the season of Easter! The One who shows us the way beyond death is the One who shows us how to overcome destruction and fear: thus it is Jesus who is the true teacher of life (cf. Spe Salvi, 6). His death and resurrection mean that we can say to the Father “you have restored us to life!” (Prayer after Communion, Good Friday). And so, just a few weeks ago, during the beautiful Easter Vigil liturgy, it was not from despair or fear that we cried out to God for our world, but with hope-filled confidence: dispel the darkness of our heart! dispel the darkness of our minds! (cf. Prayer at the Lighting of the Easter Candle).
What might that darkness be? What happens when people, especially the most vulnerable, encounter a clenched fist of repression or manipulation rather than a hand of hope? A first group of examples pertains to the heart. Here, the dreams and longings that young people pursue can so easily be shattered or destroyed. I am thinking of those affected by drug and substance abuse, homelessness and poverty, racism, violence, and degradation – especially of girls and women. While the causes of these problems are complex, all have in common a poisoned attitude of mind which results in people being treated as mere objects ─ a callousness of heart takes hold which first ignores, then ridicules, the God-given dignity of every human being. Such tragedies also point to what might have been and what could be, were there other hands – your hands – reaching out. I encourage you to invite others, especially the vulnerable and the innocent, to join you along the way of goodness and hope.
The second area of darkness – that which affects the mind – often goes unnoticed, and for this reason is particularly sinister. The manipulation of truth distorts our perception of reality, and tarnishes our imagination and aspirations. I have already mentioned the many liberties which you are fortunate enough to enjoy. The fundamental importance of freedom must be rigorously safeguarded. It is no surprise then that numerous individuals and groups vociferously claim their freedom in the public forum. Yet freedom is a delicate value. It can be misunderstood or misused so as to lead not to the happiness which we all expect it to yield, but to a dark arena of manipulation in which our understanding of self and the world becomes confused, or even distorted by those who have an ulterior agenda.
Have you noticed how often the call for freedom is made without ever referring to the truth of the human person? Some today argue that respect for freedom of the individual makes it wrong to seek truth, including the truth about what is good. In some circles to speak of truth is seen as controversial or divisive, and consequently best kept in the private sphere. And in truth’s place – or better said its absence – an idea has spread which, in giving value to everything indiscriminately, claims to assure freedom and to liberate conscience. This we call relativism. But what purpose has a “freedom” which, in disregarding truth, pursues what is false or wrong? How many young people have been offered a hand which in the name of freedom or experience has led them to addiction, to moral or intellectual confusion, to hurt, to a loss of self-respect, even to despair and so tragically and sadly to the taking of their own life? Dear friends, truth is not an imposition. Nor is it simply a set of rules. It is a discovery of the One who never fails us; the One whom we can always trust. In seeking truth we come to live by belief because ultimately truth is a person: Jesus Christ. That is why authentic freedom is not an opting out. It is an opting in; nothing less than letting go of self and allowing oneself to be drawn into Christ’s very being for others (cf. Spe Salvi, 28).
How then can we as believers help others to walk the path of freedom which brings fulfillment and lasting happiness? Let us again turn to the saints. How did their witness truly free others from the darkness of heart and mind? The answer is found in the kernel of their faith; the kernel of our faith. The Incarnation, the birth of Jesus, tells us that God does indeed find a place among us. Though the inn is full, he enters through the stable, and there are people who see his light. They recognize Herod’s dark closed world for what it is, and instead follow the bright guiding star of the night sky. And what shines forth? Here you might recall the prayer uttered on the most holy night of Easter: “Father we share in the light of your glory through your Son the light of the world … inflame us with your hope!” (Blessing of the Fire). And so, in solemn procession with our lighted candles we pass the light of Christ among us. It is “the light which dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy, casts out hatred, brings us peace, and humbles earthly pride” (Exsultet). This is Christ’s light at work. This is the way of the saints. It is a magnificent vision of hope – Christ’s light beckons you to be guiding stars for others, walking Christ’s way of forgiveness, reconciliation, humility, joy and peace.
At times, however, we are tempted to close in on ourselves, to doubt the strength of Christ’s radiance, to limit the horizon of hope. Take courage! Fix your gaze on our saints. The diversity of their experience of God’s presence prompts us to discover anew the breadth and depth of Christianity. Let your imaginations soar freely along the limitless expanse of the horizons of Christian discipleship. Sometimes we are looked upon as people who speak only of prohibitions. Nothing could be further from the truth! Authentic Christian discipleship is marked by a sense of wonder. We stand before the God we know and love as a friend, the vastness of his creation, and the beauty of our Christian faith.
Dear friends, the example of the saints invites us, then, to consider four essential aspects of the treasure of our faith: personal prayer and silence, liturgical prayer, charity in action, and vocations.
What matters most is that you develop your personal relationship with God. That relationship is expressed in prayer. God by his very nature speaks, hears, and replies. Indeed, Saint Paul reminds us: we can and should “pray constantly” (1 Thess 5:17). Far from turning in on ourselves or withdrawing from the ups and downs of life, by praying we turn towards God and through him to each other, including the marginalized and those following ways other than God’s path (cf. Spe Salvi, 33). As the saints teach us so vividly, prayer becomes hope in action. Christ was their constant companion, with whom they conversed at every step of their journey for others.
There is another aspect of prayer which we need to remember: silent contemplation. Saint John, for example, tells us that to embrace God’s revelation we must first listen, then respond by proclaiming what we have heard and seen (cf. 1 Jn 1:2-3; Dei Verbum, 1). Have we perhaps lost something of the art of listening? Do you leave space to hear God’s whisper, calling you forth into goodness? Friends, do not be afraid of silence or stillness, listen to God, adore him in the Eucharist. Let his word shape your journey as an unfolding of holiness.
In the liturgy we find the whole Church at prayer. The word liturgy means the participation of God’s people in “the work of Christ the Priest and of His Body which is the Church” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 7). What is that work? First of all it refers to Christ’s Passion, his Death and Resurrection, and his Ascension – what we call the Paschal Mystery. It also refers to the celebration of the liturgy itself. The two meanings are in fact inseparably linked because this “work of Jesus” is the real content of the liturgy. Through the liturgy, the “work of Jesus” is continually brought into contact with history; with our lives in order to shape them. Here we catch another glimpse of the grandeur of our Christian faith. Whenever you gather for Mass, when you go to Confession, whenever you celebrate any of the sacraments, Jesus is at work. Through the Holy Spirit, he draws you to himself, into his sacrificial love of the Father which becomes love for all. We see then that the Church’s liturgy is a ministry of hope for humanity. Your faithful participation, is an active hope which helps to keep the world – saints and sinners alike – open to God; this is the truly human hope we offer everyone (cf. Spe Salvi, 34).
Your personal prayer, your times of silent contemplation, and your participation in the Church’s liturgy, bring you closer to God and also prepare you to serve others. The saints accompanying us this evening show us that the life of faith and hope is also a life of charity. Contemplating Jesus on the Cross we see love in its most radical form. We can begin to imagine the path of love along which we must move (cf. Deus Caritas Est, 12). The opportunities to make this journey are abundant. Look about you with Christ’s eyes, listen with his ears, feel and think with his heart and mind. Are you ready to give all as he did for truth and justice? Many of the examples of the suffering which our saints responded to with compassion are still found here in this city and beyond. And new injustices have arisen: some are complex and stem from the exploitation of the heart and manipulation of the mind; even our common habitat, the earth itself, groans under the weight of consumerist greed and irresponsible exploitation. We must listen deeply. We must respond with a renewed social action that stems from the universal love that knows no bounds. In this way, we ensure that our works of mercy and justice become hope in action for others.
Dear young people, finally I wish to share a word about vocations. First of all my thoughts go to your parents, grandparents and godparents. They have been your primary educators in the faith. By presenting you for baptism, they made it possible for you to receive the greatest gift of your life. On that day you entered into the holiness of God himself. You became adoptive sons and daughters of the Father. You were incorporated into Christ. You were made a dwelling place of his Spirit. Let us pray for mothers and fathers throughout the world, particularly those who may be struggling in any way – socially, materially, spiritually. Let us honor the vocation of matrimony and the dignity of family life. Let us always appreciate that it is in families that vocations are given life.
Gathered here at Saint Joseph Seminary, I greet the seminarians present and indeed encourage all seminarians throughout America. I am glad to know that your numbers are increasing! The People of God look to you to be holy priests, on a daily journey of conversion, inspiring in others the desire to enter more deeply into the ecclesial life of believers. I urge you to deepen your friendship with Jesus the Good Shepherd. Talk heart to heart with him. Reject any temptation to ostentation, careerism, or conceit. Strive for a pattern of life truly marked by charity, chastity and humility, in imitation of Christ, the Eternal High Priest, of whom you are to become living icons (cf. Pastores Dabo Vobis, 33). Dear seminarians, I pray for you daily. Remember that what counts before the Lord is to dwell in his love and to make his love shine forth for others.
Religious Sisters, Brothers and Priests contribute greatly to the mission of the Church. Their prophetic witness is marked by a profound conviction of the primacy with which the Gospel shapes Christian life and transforms society. Today, I wish to draw your attention to the positive spiritual renewal which Congregations are undertaking in relation to their charism. The word charism means a gift freely and graciously given. Charisms are bestowed by the Holy Spirit, who inspires founders and foundresses, and shapes Congregations with a subsequent spiritual heritage. The wondrous array of charisms proper to each Religious Institute is an extraordinary spiritual treasury. Indeed, the history of the Church is perhaps most beautifully portrayed through the history of her schools of spirituality, most of which stem from the saintly lives of founders and foundresses. Through the discovery of charisms, which yield such a breadth of spiritual wisdom, I am sure that some of you young people will be drawn to a life of apostolic or contemplative service. Do not be shy to speak with Religious Brothers, Sisters or Priests about the charism and spirituality of their Congregation. No perfect community exists, but it is fidelity to a founding charism, not to particular individuals, that the Lord calls you to discern. Have courage! You too can make your life a gift of self for the love of the Lord Jesus and, in him, of every member of the human family (cf. Vita Consecrata, 3).
Friends, again I ask you, what about today? What are you seeking? What is God whispering to you? The hope which never disappoints is Jesus Christ. The saints show us the selfless love of his way. As disciples of Christ, their extraordinary journeys unfolded within the community of hope, which is the Church. It is from within the Church that you too will find the courage and support to walk the way of the Lord. Nourished by personal prayer, prompted in silence, shaped by the Church’s liturgy you will discover the particular vocation God has for you. Embrace it with joy. You are Christ’s disciples today. Shine his light upon this great city and beyond. Show the world the reason for the hope that resonates within you. Tell others about the truth that sets you free. With these sentiments of great hope in you I bid you farewell, until we meet again in Sydney this July for World Youth Day! And as a pledge of my love for you and your families, I gladly impart my Apostolic Blessing.


Following is my summary and my thoughts:

The Holy Father’s main theme is being disciples of Jesus Christ and that when we walk in the Lord’s footsteps our own lives become a journey of hope. He then tells of the “six ordinary men and women who grew up to lead extraordinary lives.” These six were very different, and yet they did have something in common: “Inflamed with the love of Jesus, their lives became remarkable journeys of hope….For each there was an act of abandonment to God….”

People today are looking for someone they can trust. How do we bear witness to the One to be trusted? “God is our origin and our destination, and Jesus the way. The path of that journey twists and turns ─ just as it did for our saints ─ through the joys and the trials of ordinary, everyday life: within your families, at school or college, during your recreation activities, and in your parish communities.” That is the second time the word “ordinary” was used by the Pope in this document; only one paragraph separated the two usages. We bear witness to Jesus in faithfully living our ordinary life.

Our country has wonderful opportunities, and we tend to have a strong sense of generosity, service and justice. Yet there is a common mindset among many that promises to lead to happiness but only results “in confusion and fear.” This darkness overtakes both our hearts and minds. Our hearts are darkened by such things as “drug and substance abuse, homelessness and poverty, racism, violence, and degradation – especially of girls and women.” These, too, are different realities, and yet they “all have in common a poisoned attitude of mind which results in people being treated as mere objects ─ a callousness of heart takes hold which first ignores, then ridicules, the God-given dignity of every human being.” Our hearts are darkened when we treat ourselves or others as an object for our use or pleasure.

Darkness also burdens our minds; this entire paragraph is worth repeating: “The second area of darkness – that which affects the mind – often goes unnoticed, and for this reason is particularly sinister. The manipulation of truth distorts our perception of reality, and tarnishes our imagination and aspirations. I have already mentioned the many liberties which you are fortunate enough to enjoy. The fundamental importance of freedom must be rigorously safeguarded. It is no surprise then that numerous individuals and groups vociferously claim their freedom in the public forum. Yet freedom is a delicate value. It can be misunderstood or misused so as to lead not to the happiness which we all expect it to yield, but to a dark arena of manipulation in which our understanding of self and the world becomes confused, or even distorted by those who have an ulterior agenda.”

Freedom is a delicate reality, very easily misunderstood and misused. We over-exalt freedom and worship it above all other realities, even that of the truth. “Some today argue that respect for freedom of the individual makes it wrong to seek truth, including the truth about what is good. In some circles to speak of truth is seen as controversial or divisive, and consequently best kept in the private sphere.” Truth causes divisions and makes judgments, and what is seen as most important is freedom and not infringing on anyone else’s ideas. This steroid-laden freedom exalts the individual and each individual’s beliefs, making everyone’s views equally valid and important. We are not allowed to judge ideas or beliefs; there is no absolute truth; each of us has to create our own truth for ourselves: “This we call relativism.” Truth is the enemy. Freedom is the liberator.

That sort of freedom is a deep darkness leading to a lifeless despair. “Dear friends, truth is not an imposition. Nor is it simply a set of rules. It is a discovery of the One who never fails us; the One whom we can always trust. In seeking truth we come to live by belief because ultimately truth is a person: Jesus Christ. That is why authentic freedom is not an opting out. It is an opting in; nothing less than letting go of self and allowing oneself to be drawn into Christ’s very being for others (cf. Spe Salvi, 28).” Jesus is the Truth, and we are truly free when we abandon ourselves into His hands and follow His footsteps. With a paragraph in between, the Holy Father restates this point: “Sometimes we are looked upon as people who speak only of prohibitions. Nothing could be further from the truth! Authentic Christian discipleship is marked by a sense of wonder. We stand before the God we know and love as a friend, the vastness of his creation, and the beauty of our Christian faith.” True Christians are truly free and freely seek the truth because they are in love with the Truth. We are in love with Jesus.

The majority of the remainder of this address is focused on “four essential aspects of the treasure of our faith: personal prayer and silence, liturgical prayer, charity in action, and vocations.” The very next sentence is: “What matters most is that you develop your personal relationship with God.” What a great sentence. Silent contemplation is essential to develop this relationship with God and gives us space to hear His whisper. Liturgical, sacramental prayer, especially the Mass and Confession, are the sources of abundant grace wherein the Holy Spirit “draws you to himself, into his sacrificial love of the Father which becomes love for all.”

Flowing out of our deep love of Christ deepened and nourished by our personal prayer, silent contemplation, and liturgical and sacramental life, we are prepared and moved to serve others and live a life of charity. This practical laying down of our lives for others in service and sacrifice, leads to vocations. Each person’s vocation is the particular way God has called an individual to lay down his life, to love, trust and obey God, and to be a person for others. “Let us honor the vocation of matrimony and the dignity of family life. Let us always appreciate that it is in families that vocations are given life….I urge you to deepen your friendship with Jesus the Good Shepherd. Talk heart to heart with him….Remember that what counts before the Lord is to dwell in his love and to make his love shine forth for others.”

Skipping a paragraph on religious life, I move on, finally, to the Holy Father’s concluding paragraph. This paragraph is worth repeating as well and marks a fine end to this rather long summary of his address: “Friends, again I ask you, what about today? What are you seeking? What is God whispering to you? The hope which never disappoints is Jesus Christ. The saints show us the selfless love of his way. As disciples of Christ, their extraordinary journeys unfolded within the community of hope, which is the Church. It is from within the Church that you too will find the courage and support to walk the way of the Lord. Nourished by personal prayer, prompted in silence, shaped by the Church’s liturgy you will discover the particular vocation God has for you. Embrace it with joy. You are Christ’s disciples today. Shine his light upon this great city and beyond. Show the world the reason for the hope that resonates within you. Tell others about the truth that sets you free. With these sentiments of great hope in you I bid you farewell, until we meet again in Sydney this July for World Youth Day! And as a pledge of my love for you and your families, I gladly impart my Apostolic Blessing.”


Thanks for reading and your prayers.
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4.17.2008

Pope Benedict XVI's Message to Catholic Educators and My Thoughts

I will include the full text of the Holy Father given today at the Catholic University of America, and then I will make some comments. (Check out my own philosophy of Catholic Education.) Here is the full text which is rather long:

Address of Pope Benedict XVI to Catholic Educators of the United States
Thursday 17 April 2008, Catholic University of America
Your Eminences,
Dear Brother Bishops,
Distinguished Professors, Teachers and Educators,
"How beautiful are the footsteps of those who bring good news" (Rom 10:15-17). With these words of Isaiah quoted by Saint Paul, I warmly greet each of you - bearers of wisdom - and through you the staff, students and families of the many and varied institutions of learning that you represent. It is my great pleasure to meet you and to share with you some thoughts regarding the nature and identity of Catholic education today. I especially wish to thank Father David O'Connell, President and Rector of the Catholic University of America. Your kind words of welcome are much appreciated. Please extend my heartfelt gratitude to the entire community - faculty, staff and students - of this University.
Education is integral to the mission of the Church to proclaim the Good News. First and foremost every Catholic educational institution is a place to encounter the living God who in Jesus Christ reveals his transforming love and truth (cf. Spe Salvi, 4). This relationship elicits a desire to grow in the knowledge and understanding of Christ and his teaching. In this way those who meet him are drawn by the very power of the Gospel to lead a new life characterized by all that is beautiful, good, and true; a life of Christian witness nurtured and strengthened within the community of our Lord's disciples, the Church.
The dynamic between personal encounter, knowledge and Christian witness is integral to the diakonia of truth which the Church exercises in the midst of humanity. God's revelation offers every generation the opportunity to discover the ultimate truth about its own life and the goal of history. This task is never easy; it involves the entire Christian community and motivates each generation of Christian educators to ensure that the power of God's truth permeates every dimension of the institutions they serve. In this way, Christ's Good News is set to work, guiding both teacher and student towards the objective truth which, in transcending the particular and the subjective, points to the universal and absolute that enables us to proclaim with confidence the hope which does not disappoint (cf. Rom 5:5). Set against personal struggles, moral confusion and fragmentation of knowledge, the noble goals of scholarship and education, founded on the unity of truth and in service of the person and the community, become an especially powerful instrument of hope.
Dear friends, the history of this nation includes many examples of the Church's commitment in this regard. The Catholic community here has in fact made education one of its highest priorities. This undertaking has not come without great sacrifice. Towering figures, like Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton and other founders and foundresses, with great tenacity and foresight, laid the foundations of what is today a remarkable network of parochial schools contributing to the spiritual well-being of the Church and the nation. Some, like Saint Katharine Drexel, devoted their lives to educating those whom others had neglected - in her case, African Americans and Native Americans. Countless dedicated Religious Sisters, Brothers, and Priests together with selfless parents have, through Catholic schools, helped generations of immigrants to rise from poverty and take their place in mainstream society.
This sacrifice continues today. It is an outstanding apostolate of hope, seeking to address the material, intellectual and spiritual needs of over three million children and students. It also provides a highly commendable opportunity for the entire Catholic community to contribute generously to the financial needs of our institutions. Their long-term sustainability must be assured. Indeed, everything possible must be done, in cooperation with the wider community, to ensure that they are accessible to people of all social and economic strata. No child should be denied his or her right to an education in faith, which in turn nurtures the soul of a nation.
Some today question the Church's involvement in education, wondering whether her resources might be better placed elsewhere. Certainly in a nation such as this, the State provides ample opportunities for education and attracts committed and generous men and women to this honorable profession. It is timely, then, to reflect on what is particular to our Catholic institutions. How do they contribute to the good of society through the Church's primary mission of evangelization?
All the Church's activities stem from her awareness that she is the bearer of a message which has its origin in God himself: in his goodness and wisdom, God chose to reveal himself and to make known the hidden purpose of his will (cf. Eph 1:9; Dei Verbum, 2). God's desire to make himself known, and the innate desire of all human beings to know the truth, provide the context for human inquiry into the meaning of life. This unique encounter is sustained within our Christian community: the one who seeks the truth becomes the one who lives by faith (cf. Fides et Ratio, 31). It can be described as a move from "I" to "we", leading the individual to be numbered among God's people.
This same dynamic of communal identity - to whom do I belong? - vivifies the ethos of our Catholic institutions. A university or school's Catholic identity is not simply a question of the number of Catholic students. It is a question of conviction - do we really believe that only in the mystery of the Word made flesh does the mystery of man truly become clear (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 22)? Are we ready to commit our entire self - intellect and will, mind and heart - to God? Do we accept the truth Christ reveals? Is the faith tangible in our universities and schools? Is it given fervent expression liturgically, sacramentally, through prayer, acts of charity, a concern for justice, and respect for God's creation? Only in this way do we really bear witness to the meaning of who we are and what we uphold.
From this perspective one can recognize that the contemporary "crisis of truth" is rooted in a "crisis of faith". Only through faith can we freely give our assent to God's testimony and acknowledge him as the transcendent guarantor of the truth he reveals. Again, we see why fostering personal intimacy with Jesus Christ and communal witness to his loving truth is indispensable in Catholic institutions of learning. Yet we all know, and observe with concern, the difficulty or reluctance many people have today in entrusting themselves to God. It is a complex phenomenon and one which I ponder continually. While we have sought diligently to engage the intellect of our young, perhaps we have neglected the will. Subsequently we observe, with distress, the notion of freedom being distorted. Freedom is not an opting out. It is an opting in - a participation in Being itself. Hence authentic freedom can never be attained by turning away from God. Such a choice would ultimately disregard the very truth we need in order to understand ourselves. A particular responsibility therefore for each of you, and your colleagues, is to evoke among the young the desire for the act of faith, encouraging them to commit themselves to the ecclesial life that follows from this belief. It is here that freedom reaches the certainty of truth. In choosing to live by that truth, we embrace the fullness of the life of faith which is given to us in the Church.
Clearly, then, Catholic identity is not dependent upon statistics. Neither can it be equated simply with orthodoxy of course content. It demands and inspires much more: namely that each and every aspect of your learning communities reverberates within the ecclesial life of faith. Only in faith can truth become incarnate and reason truly human, capable of directing the will along the path of freedom (cf. Spe Salvi, 23). In this way our institutions make a vital contribution to the mission of the Church and truly serve society. They become places in which God's active presence in human affairs is recognized and in which every young person discovers the joy of entering into Christ's "being for others" (cf. ibid., 28).
The Church's primary mission of evangelization, in which educational institutions play a crucial role, is consonant with a nation's fundamental aspiration to develop a society truly worthy of the human person's dignity. At times, however, the value of the Church's contribution to the public forum is questioned. It is important therefore to recall that the truths of faith and of reason never contradict one another (cf. First Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith Dei Filius, IV: DS 3017; St. Augustine, Contra Academicos, III, 20, 43). The Church's mission, in fact, involves her in humanity's struggle to arrive at truth. In articulating revealed truth she serves all members of society by purifying reason, ensuring that it remains open to the consideration of ultimate truths. Drawing upon divine wisdom, she sheds light on the foundation of human morality and ethics, and reminds all groups in society that it is not praxis that creates truth but truth that should serve as the basis of praxis. Far from undermining the tolerance of legitimate diversity, such a contribution illuminates the very truth which makes consensus attainable, and helps to keep public debate rational, honest and accountable. Similarly the Church never tires of upholding the essential moral categories of right and wrong, without which hope could only wither, giving way to cold pragmatic calculations of utility which render the person little more than a pawn on some ideological chess-board.
With regard to the educational forum, the diakonia of truth takes on a heightened significance in societies where secularist ideology drives a wedge between truth and faith. This division has led to a tendency to equate truth with knowledge and to adopt a positivistic mentality which, in rejecting metaphysics, denies the foundations of faith and rejects the need for a moral vision. Truth means more than knowledge: knowing the truth leads us to discover the good. Truth speaks to the individual in his or her the entirety, inviting us to respond with our whole being. This optimistic vision is found in our Christian faith because such faith has been granted the vision of the Logos, God's creative Reason, which in the Incarnation, is revealed as Goodness itself. Far from being just a communication of factual data - "informative" - the loving truth of the Gospel is creative and life-changing - "performative" (cf. Spe Salvi, 2). With confidence, Christian educators can liberate the young from the limits of positivism and awaken receptivity to the truth, to God and his goodness. In this way you will also help to form their conscience which, enriched by faith, opens a sure path to inner peace and to respect for others.
It comes as no surprise, then, that not just our own ecclesial communities but society in general has high expectations of Catholic educators. This places upon you a responsibility and offers an opportunity. More and more people - parents in particular - recognize the need for excellence in the human formation of their children. As Mater et Magistra, the Church shares their concern. When nothing beyond the individual is recognized as definitive, the ultimate criterion of judgment becomes the self and the satisfaction of the individual's immediate wishes. The objectivity and perspective, which can only come through a recognition of the essential transcendent dimension of the human person, can be lost. Within such a relativistic horizon the goals of education are inevitably curtailed. Slowly, a lowering of standards occurs. We observe today a timidity in the face of the category of the good and an aimless pursuit of novelty parading as the realization of freedom. We witness an assumption that every experience is of equal worth and a reluctance to admit imperfection and mistakes. And particularly disturbing, is the reduction of the precious and delicate area of education in sexuality to management of 'risk', bereft of any reference to the beauty of conjugal love.
How might Christian educators respond? These harmful developments point to the particular urgency of what we might call "intellectual charity". This aspect of charity calls the educator to recognize that the profound responsibility to lead the young to truth is nothing less than an act of love. Indeed, the dignity of education lies in fostering the true perfection and happiness of those to be educated. In practice "intellectual charity" upholds the essential unity of knowledge against the fragmentation which ensues when reason is detached from the pursuit of truth. It guides the young towards the deep satisfaction of exercising freedom in relation to truth, and it strives to articulate the relationship between faith and all aspects of family and civic life. Once their passion for the fullness and unity of truth has been awakened, young people will surely relish the discovery that the question of what they can know opens up the vast adventure of what they ought to do. Here they will experience "in what" and "in whom" it is possible to hope, and be inspired to contribute to society in a way that engenders hope in others.
Dear friends, I wish to conclude by focusing our attention specifically on the paramount importance of your own professionalism and witness within our Catholic universities and schools. First, let me thank you for your dedication and generosity. I know from my own days as a professor, and I have heard from your Bishops and officials of the Congregation for Catholic Education, that the reputation of Catholic institutes of learning in this country is largely due to yourselves and your predecessors. Your selfless contributions - from outstanding research to the dedication of those working in inner-city schools - serve both your country and the Church. For this I express my profound gratitude.
In regard to faculty members at Catholic colleges universities, I wish to reaffirm the great value of academic freedom. In virtue of this freedom you are called to search for the truth wherever careful analysis of evidence leads you. Yet it is also the case that any appeal to the principle of academic freedom in order to justify positions that contradict the faith and the teaching of the Church would obstruct or even betray the university's identity and mission; a mission at the heart of the Church's munus docendi and not somehow autonomous or independent of it.
Teachers and administrators, whether in universities or schools, have the duty and privilege to ensure that students receive instruction in Catholic doctrine and practice. This requires that public witness to the way of Christ, as found in the Gospel and upheld by the Church's Magisterium, shapes all aspects of an institution's life, both inside and outside the classroom. Divergence from this vision weakens Catholic identity and, far from advancing freedom, inevitably leads to confusion, whether moral, intellectual or spiritual.
I wish also to express a particular word of encouragement to both lay and Religious teachers of catechesis who strive to ensure that young people become daily more appreciative of the gift of faith. Religious education is a challenging apostolate, yet there are many signs of a desire among young people to learn about the faith and practice it with vigor. If this awakening is to grow, teachers require a clear and precise understanding of the specific nature and role of Catholic education. They must also be ready to lead the commitment made by the entire school community to assist our young people, and their families, to experience the harmony between faith, life and culture.
Here I wish to make a special appeal to Religious Brothers, Sisters and Priests: do not abandon the school apostolate; indeed, renew your commitment to schools especially those in poorer areas. In places where there are many hollow promises which lure young people away from the path of truth and genuine freedom, the consecrated person's witness to the evangelical counsels is an irreplaceable gift. I encourage the Religious present to bring renewed enthusiasm to the promotion of vocations. Know that your witness to the ideal of consecration and mission among the young is a source of great inspiration in faith for them and their families.
To all of you I say: bear witness to hope. Nourish your witness with prayer. Account for the hope that characterizes your lives (cf. 1 Pet 3:15) by living the truth which you propose to your students. Help them to know and love the One you have encountered, whose truth and goodness you have experienced with joy. With Saint Augustine, let us say: "we who speak and you who listen acknowledge ourselves as fellow disciples of a single teacher" (Sermons, 23:2). With these sentiments of communion, I gladly impart to you, your colleagues and students, and to your families, my Apostolic Blessing.


My thoughts and summary of the Holy Father, and I am looking at it primarily as a teacher and what I need to do as a teacher based on his message:

One point is that since "The Church's primary mission [is] evangelization," and since "educational institutions play a crucial role" in evangelization, "Education is integral to the mission of the Church to proclaim the Good News." Then, if a Catholic school is really an institution strongly concerned with evangelization, it would follow that, "Christian educators...ensure that the power of God's truth permeates every dimension of the institutions they serve." We are not talking just about religion class here, and we are not talking about a little decoration on the side; we are talking about everything and about something of a saturation.

If a teacher himself is not permeated and saturated with Catholicism, it is impossible to have all dimensions of the school be so. I cannot give away what I do not possess myself. That is why the Pope concludes his message with these words: "Nourish your witness with prayer. Account for the hope that characterizes your lives (cf. 1 Pet 3:15) by living the truth which you propose to your students. Help them to know and love the One you have encountered, whose truth and goodness you have experienced with joy." It is because we pray and encounter Jesus and love Him that we are able to share that with our students.

It is for this reason that he can say, "We see why fostering personal intimacy with Jesus Christ and communal witness to his loving truth is indispensable in Catholic institutions of learning." If teachers and administrators have a deep intimacy with Jesus, which is what Catholicism is all about, then they will be able to participate in the evangelizing mission of the Church. This is what makes a Catholic school Catholic. "Clearly, then, Catholic identity is not dependent upon statistics. Neither can it be equated simply with orthodoxy of course content. It demands and inspires much more: namely that each and every aspect of your learning communities reverberates within the ecclesial life of faith." It is not about getting the Catholic thing "down," so to speak, or having good Catholic curriculum, but it has to do with each staff person being filled with the faith of the Church.

In another place the Holy Father puts it this way: "A university or school's Catholic identity is not simply a question of the number of Catholic students. It is a question of conviction - do we really believe that only in the mystery of the Word made flesh does the mystery of man truly become clear (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 22)? Are we ready to commit our entire self - intellect and will, mind and heart - to God? Do we accept the truth Christ reveals? Is the faith tangible in our universities and schools? Is it given fervent expression liturgically, sacramentally, through prayer, acts of charity, a concern for justice, and respect for God's creation? Only in this way do we really bear witness to the meaning of who we are and what we uphold." Do we really believe in Jesus, do we really commit our whole self to God, do we fully accept all that Christ reveals in the teachings of the Church, and do we whole-heartedly express our faith in all we do in the school so that that faith is palpable? This is what makes a school Catholic.

Yet another time the Holy Father says the same thing: "Teachers and administrators, whether in universities or schools, have the duty and privilege to ensure that students receive instruction in Catholic doctrine and practice. This requires that public witness to the way of Christ, as found in the Gospel and upheld by the Church's Magisterium, shapes all aspects of an institution's life, both inside and outside the classroom. Divergence from this vision weakens Catholic identity and, far from advancing freedom, inevitably leads to confusion, whether moral, intellectual or spiritual."

No teacher or administrator can do this without a deep prayer life and personal love of Jesus Christ and His Church.

Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.

4.14.2008

My Philosophy of Catholic Education

I wrote this paper shortly before graduating with my undergraduate degree from the Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1993. I wrote this for my "Catholic Philosophy of Education" course, which cross-listed as either theology or education.
I found this on my old Mac, and it took some fancy work to bring it back to life in a Word document. For this blog, however, the footnotes did not follow very well, so I stuck them at the end of each page. I will add numbers so it is easier to figure out which footnote belongs to which quote, but the numbers will not be in superscript.
This is the first time that I have looked at this paper since 1993, fifteen years ago.

Also check out my thoughts on what Benedict XVI said about Catholic education when he visited the U.S. recently.

My Personal Philosophy of Catholic Education


We are in the midst of war, a spiritual war for souls.1 It is essential to educate and arm the members of Christ’s Church, especially our children. In today’s world the obstacles placed against forming strong characters in our children are particularly fierce, pervasive and ruthless; therefore, “the Church is prompted to mobilize her educational resources in the face of the materialism, pragmatism and technocracy of contemporary society.”2 We must do whatever it takes to fully present Christ and His Church to our children and our children to Christ and His Church.

The Essence of a Distinctly Catholic Education

“The proper and immediate end of Christian education is to co-operate with divine grace in forming the true and perfect Christian, that is, to form Christ Himself in those regenerated by baptism....”3 It is essential to keep before our eyes the end of education in a distinctly Catholic manner--forming Jesus Christ in our children. The end and corner stone of the Catholic school is Christ; it is built on Him and He is its completion, goal, and prize.
“In fact, since education consists essentially in preparing man for what he must be and for what he must do here below, in order to attain the sublime end for which he was created, it is clear that there can be no true education which is not wholly directed to man’s last end, and that...there can be no ideally perfect education which is not Christian education.”4 A distinctly Catholic education must have Christ as its corner stone and end. Losing sight of, ignoring, or being antagonistic toward Christ as the end and foundation of education is in no sense Catholic. I seek an ideally perfect (but not impossible) education which, by enabling students to live holy lives in the know-ledge and wisdom of God, will help them along the steep and narrow path of becoming sons in the Son, of becoming more fully “partakers of the divine nature,”5 of becoming mature “children of God,"6 of becoming other Christ's spreading His light and love.
The Catholic school is a family, a small body of the Body. As the Catholic Church’s life is centered on the Eucharist, so is this family. Out of the Eucharistic celebration flow the life of our community in unity, and, as such, serves not only as a superabundant source of grace, but also as the inspiration, encouragement and primary teacher of the life of Christ lived in His Body the Church. We need to comprehend and utilize the reality that “The liturgy is one of the most powerful educational instruments at the disposal of the Church.”7

1 See Ephesians 6:10-20.
2 The Catholic School, The Congregation of Catholic Education; Daughters of Saint Paul, Boston MA, 1977; p. 7.
3 Christian Education of Youth, Pope Pius XI; Daughters of Saint Paul, Boston MA, 1983; pgs. 50-51.
4 Ibid, p. 6.
5 2 Peter 2:4
6 1 John 3:1
7 To Teach as Jesus Did: A Pastoral Message on Catholic Education; National Conference of Catholic Bishops; November 1972; #45.


Because the Catholic school “is a genuine community bent on imparting, over and above an academic education, all the help it can to its members to adopt a Christian way of life,”8 “The school must be a community whose values are communicated through the interpersonal and sincere relationships of its members and through both individual and corporate adherence to the outlook on life that permeates the school.”9 The common outlook on life is the life of Christ as set down by the teachings of the Catholic Church, His one and only Body. Catholicism is the very blood in the body of the Catholic school; it is the food we eat; it is the very air we breathe. The Catholic school, wholly given over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, is, first and foremost, a community of believers living in Christ, living out Christ, living through Christ, and living for Christ.
The Catholic school is not a place for non or anti-religious “objective instruction.” Nor is religion simply an isolated class taken in isolated moments throughout the week. I firmly believe that, “It is necessary not only that religious instruction be given to the young at certain fixed times, but also that every other subject taught, be permeated with Christian piety. If this is wanting, if this sacred atmosphere does not pervade and warm the hearts of masters and scholars alike, little good can be expected from any kind of learning, and considerable harm will often be the consequence.”10 Knowledge tends to puff-up and pervert when it is not received in an atmosphere drenched in righteousness. The fire of Christian love is the focal-point and life of the entire school: students, teachers, religion, science, history, English, sports, plays, free time, lunch time--all are burning with this love. There are no exceptions.
This saturation of love and piety is needed and essential to the Catholic school. Within this distinct atmosphere, “Disorderly inclinations then must be corrected, good tendencies encouraged and regulated from tender childhood, and above all the mind must be enlightened and the will strengthened by supernatural truth and by means of grace, without which it is impossible to attain to the full and complete perfection of education intended by the Church, which Christ has endowed so richly with divine doctrine and with the Sacraments, the efficacious means of grace.”11 The Catholic school seeks the total perfection of education, the increase of the Christian spirit, in the fruitful bosom of Holy Mother Church.
I do not seek to develop minds filled only with facts, figures and dates. It is essential that students develop the ability to think for themselves; “For the sole true end of education is simple this: to teach men how to learn for themselves: and whatever instruction fails to do this is effort spent in vain.”12 In a Christian atmosphere students will learn how to think for themselves within the fullness of truth; they will have, “the search for truth, and the certainty of already knowing the fount of truth.”13 They will have boundaries and guidance14 within which they will have the freedom to develop and strengthen their mind, to increase self-control, and to be inflamed in love. Further, they will take the knowledge they have acquired and embrace it as their own, living it out, meditating on it day and night, developing it further, all of which sets them free to fully be the mature children God desires.

8 The Catholic School, p. 26.
9 Ibid, p. 15.
10 Christian Education of Youth, p. 44.
11 Ibid, p. 33.
12 Lost Tools of Learning, Dorothy L. Sayers; “Journal of Christian Reconstruction”; p. 16.
13 John Paul II, Discourse to the “Institute Catholique de Paris,” June 1, 1980: Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, Vol. VII 1 (1980), p. 1581.
14 See Orthodoxy, especially chapter IX, “Authority and the Adventurer,” G.K. Chesterton.


The Proper Responsibility and Role of the Catholic Teacher

“Teachers must remember that it depends chiefly on them whether the Catholic school achieves its purpose.”15 For, “The extent to which the Christian message is transmitted through education depends to a very great extent on the teachers.”16 It is primarily the teachers themselves who influence and instruct their students in a school. They are the ones who help, “to form human persons.”17 Thus, “The teacher can form the mind and heart of his pupils and guide them to develop a total commitment to Christ, with their whole personality enriched by human culture.”18 It is the teachers who are in direct contact with the students, and thus, it is the teachers who are imparted with the joy and responsibility of teaching students the truth, and drawing them deeper into Christ and His Church. The teacher must lead and direct, not follow, his students, or he will deform them into “infantile followers of false leaders”19 unable to consider the truth or know the way of the Catholic life.
“The fundamental aim of teaching is...a personal integration of faith and life,”20 because one cannot impart to another what one does not already possess. Teachers who are not faith-filled should not be members of a Catholic school, at least, and primarily, in the formative pre-college years of education. These tender years cannot withstand well the admixture of significant and influential non-Catholic formation. A non-Catholic teacher tends to form non-Catholic students. Teachers impart what they are to their students. Teachers need “to be witnesses and educators of authentic Christian life, which evidences an attained integration between faith and life, and between professional competence and Christian wisdom.”21 Christian life lived in the community of the Catholic school imparts Christian life to its members, especially to its students.
What is needed for a perfect school? “Perfect schools are the result not so much of good methods as of good teachers, teachers who are thoroughly prepared and well-grounded in the matter they have to teach; who possess the intellectual and moral qualifications required by their important office; who cherish a pure and holy love for the youths confided to them, because they love Jesus Christ and His Church, of which these are the children of predilection; and who have therefore sincerely at heart the true good of family and country.”22

15 Gravissimum Educationis, Vatican II, article 8.
16 The Catholic School, p. 18.
17 Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith; The Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Daughters of Saint Paul, Boston MA; p. 11.
18 The Catholic School, p. 19.
19 Christ and the Catechist, Michael Leary; San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1987; p. 65.
20 The Catholic School, p. 18.
21 Ex Corde Ecclesiae, John Paul II; Washington D.C., 1990; p. 19.
22 Christian Education of Youth, Pius XI; p. 48.



Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.

4.13.2008

Why We Were Made: Infused Prayer

Going back to my little book, The Spirituality of Saint Faustina, it says that Saint Faustina was often in the prayer of infused contemplation. It gives this example from the saint’s diary: “I more often commune with the Lord in a more profound manner. My senses sleep and, although not in a visible way, all things become more real and clearer to me than if I saw them with my eyes. My intellect learns more in one moment than during long years of thinking and meditation, both as regards the essence of God and as regards revealed truths, and also as regards the knowledge of my own misery” Diary #882. When God infuses Himself in a person through contemplative prayer, the person’s knowledge and love and all the other virtues grow very rapidly, much faster and far deeper than one can ever achieve without infused contemplation. This is evidenced by the fact that Saint Faustina had no theological training, and yet she had many and deep theological insights and a profound understanding. Her heroic virtue was also do to this infusion of God.

In another place in her diary, she wrote: “My communion with the Lord is now purely spiritual. My soul is touched by God and wholly absorbs itself in Him, even to the complete forgetfulness of self. Permeated by God to its very depths, it drowns in His beauty; it completely dissolves in Him—I am at a loss to describe this, because in writing I am making use of the sense; but there, in that union, the sense are not active; there is a merging of God and the soul; and the life of God to which the soul is admitted is so great that the human tongue cannot express it. When the soul returns to its habitual form of life, it then sees that this life is all darkness and mist and dreamlike confusion, an infant’s swaddling clothes. In such moments the soul only receives from God, for of itself it does nothing; it does not make even the slightest effort; all in her is wrought by God” Diary #767.

The sense are not able to contain God, so deep prayer requires that the sense be bypassed in order that the true receptacle of God, the soul, may be ready and waiting for whenever the Lord decides to act and infuse Himself into one well prepared for His wondrous self-gift. If one is inordinately attached to anything, he will not be able to be free to be attached to the only True Attachment, the Divine Bridegroom. Penance, suffering, humiliation, and deprivation all help prepare our sense to be bypassed so that we can get on with the real reason we were made. Obedience and trust prepare our wills so that it can come into perfect union and harmony with God, and so that He can infuse Himself into our wills. When one gives such a love to God, the Lord always gives so much more in return because He gives Himself, and He is God, the Almighty, Eternal One.


Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.

4.08.2008

Pope Benedict XVI's Preliminary Message to America

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the United States of America,
The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you! In just a few days from now, I shall begin my apostolic visit to your beloved country. Before setting off, I would like to offer you a heartfelt greeting and an invitation to prayer. As you know, I shall only be able to visit two cities: Washington and New York. The intention behind my visit, though, is to reach out spiritually to all Catholics in the United States. At the same time, I earnestly hope that my presence among you will be seen as a fraternal gesture towards every ecclesial community, and a sign of friendship for members of other religious traditions and all men and women of good will. The risen Lord entrusted the apostles and the Church with his Gospel of love and peace, and his intention in doing so was that the message should be passed on to all peoples.
At this point I should like to add some words of thanks, because I am conscious that many people have been working hard for a long time, both in Church circles and in the public services, to prepare for my journey. I am especially grateful to all who have been praying for the success of the visit, since prayer is the most important element of all. Dear friends, I say this because I am convinced that without the power of prayer, without that intimate union with the Lord, our human endeavors would achieve very little. Indeed this is what our faith teaches us. It is God who saves us, he saves the world, and all of history. He is the shepherd of his people. I am coming, sent by Jesus Christ, to bring you his word of life.
Together with your bishops, I have chosen as the theme of my journey three simple but essential words: "Christ our hope." Following in the footsteps of my venerable predecessors, Paul VI and John Paul II, I shall come to United States of America as Pope for the first time, to proclaim this great truth: Jesus Christ is hope for men and women of every language, race, culture, and social condition. Yes, Christ is the face of God present among us. Through him, our lives reach fullness, and together, both as individuals and peoples, we can become a family united by fraternal love, according to the eternal plan of God the Father.
I know how deeply rooted this Gospel message is in your country. I am coming to share it with you, in a series of celebrations and gatherings. I shall also bring the message of Christian hope to the great assembly of the United Nations, to the representatives of all the peoples of the world. Indeed, the world has greater need of hope than ever: hope for peace, for justice, and for freedom; but this hope can never be fulfilled without obedience to the law of God, which Christ brought to fulfillment in the commandment to love one another. Do to others as you would have them do to you, and avoid doing what you would not want them to do. This "golden rule" is given in the Bible, but it is valid for all people, including non-believers. It is the law written on the human heart; on this we can all agree, so that when we come to address other matters we can do so in a positive and constructive manner for the entire human community.
[I removed the paragraph in Spanish]
Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends in the United States, I am very much looking forward to being with you. I want you to know that, even if my itinerary is short, with just a few engagements, my heart is close to all of you, especially to the sick, the weak, and the lonely. I thank you once again for your prayerful support of my mission. I reach out to every one of you with affection, and I invoke upon you the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.


My thoughts:
First of all, the Holy Father asks us for our prayers for his upcoming visit; that I will surely do. He goes on to make a powerful statement: "without the power of prayer, without that intimate union with the Lord, our human endeavors would achieve very little [emphasis added]." The only way to achieve much of lasting value, to become holy, to be a saint, is a close, personal, intimate love relationship with Jesus our Lord. Apart from our union with Him, we are capable of very little. God made us for Himself, He made us to be holy, and the only way to be vessels of God and be holy is to have that union with Him that is only possible with a deep, daily prayer life.

The theme of his journey here to America is: "Christ our hope." Our deepest hope is to be completely and utterly happy forever and ever; this is not an impossible and unrealistic fantasy; it is the God-given hunger for Him. He is the fulfillment of our deepest hope, and, as such, Christ is our hope. He is the hope for every person individually and the hope for the entire human family; only in Him can we become a united family in fraternal love. The world has never had a greater need for hope, "but this hope can never be fulfilled without obedience to the law of God, which Christ brought to fulfillment in the commandment to love one another." There is no true hope apart from the truth and obedience to that truth given to us in the law of God. The Holy Father goes on to say that the golden rule is valid for everyone, regardless of their beliefs, for it is written on our hearts by God Himself. Hope is only possible if we obey that God-written law inscribed on our hearts. With this universal truth as our foundation, all peoples can work together for the benefit of the whole world.

As he stated the other day, the Holy Father again said, "I know how deeply rooted this Gospel message is in your country." We have much to be proud of in our founding and our history. He will remind us of the treasures we have been given. Lastly, he regrets that his stay is so short, but, he said, "my heart is close to all of you," and " I reach out to every one of you with affection." Let us reach out to him in return with our prayers and our loving affection.

Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.

4.07.2008

Infused Prayer: God-"Poured" Prayer

What is infused prayer? In response to a comment I received about a week ago, I posted this:

Infused prayer is not a technique; rather, it refers to who the acting agent is. In discursive prayer, we are the acting agent, and in infused prayer, God is the one primarily acting. He infuses Himself into us to a greater or lesser degree, depending on how prepared we are to receive Him. We have no ability to influence the infusion, for it comes from and is initiated by God; we are only able to prepare ourself.

Thomas Dubay says, "Infused contemplation is by no means a dry or sterile intellectualism, a platonic gazing upon abstract essences. Nor is it an oriental, impersonal awareness. Rather, it is a 'loving awareness of God...a loving contemplation...a loving wisdom...a loving light and wisdom'. Indeed, it becomes 'a fire of loving wisdom'. When we put these traits together, a yearning or delightful loving with a cognative contact touching the divine, we have, as John [of the Cross] so well puts it, an inflow of God Himself. Contemplation is a deepening self-communication of the Trinity, a self-communication that we are given to experience."

He continues his explanation: "Though we have said it already, the point must be made explicitly and with some development: the prayer of which we are speaking can in no way be originated, intensified or prolonged by anything we can do. It is divinely given in its entirety. This is the literal meaning of infused, a word stemming from the Latin infudere, infusum, to pour in, that which is poured in. John therefore writes of a 'tranquil reception of this loving inflow...the touch of burning in the will...the touch of understanding in the intellect...an inflaming of love'. These expressions make it clear that the prayer is not a result of our efforts, our reading, imagining or reasoning. It is not of human origin" (p.63 of Fire Within).

In the beginning stages of this prayer, people usually do not even know that it is happening. It is so subtle and gentle that for those just beginning down this path, it doesn't seem like anything.

I will write more on this topic in the days to come.

Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.

4.06.2008

Pope Benedict XVI is Coming to America

What will the Pope say to us when he arrives for his visit? That is one question many are asking and one question that I have some ideas about. As with any good shepherd, he will encourage the good and redirect the wayward. A little more than a month ago, February 29, he welcomed Mary Ann Glendon as the new US ambassador to the Holy See. On that occasion, he praised America as "a nation which values the role of religious belief," and went on to say that a just government, "must be the fruit of a deeper consensus based on the acknowledgment of universal truths." Valuing religious belief and basing society on universal truths, which is how America was founded, is essential to building and maintaining a good and just society. In this way, the Pope will call Americans back to their roots and to the traditions that have made us a great country.

What is endangering America and the entire world, especially Europe, is the attempt to eradicate religion, especially Christianity, from all aspects of public discourse and life. Truth is reduced merely to what is empirically verifiable. Anything beyond the five senses is, at best, considered subjective, and it has nothing to do with universal truths, so it is seen. This is the message the Pope made in his famous Regensburg address, in which toward the end he said: "For philosophy and, albeit in a different way, for theology, listening to the great experiences and insights of the religious traditions of humanity, and those of the Christian faith in particular, is a source of knowledge, and to ignore it would be an unacceptable restriction of our listening and responding." Faith is a source of knowledge which all too often is ignored or despised. Reasonableness is reduced to the sensory while religion is reduced to the garbage heap.

He continues: "The West has long been endangered by this aversion to the questions which underlie its rationality, and can only suffer great harm thereby. The courage to engage the whole breadth of reason, and not the denial of its grandeur--this is the programme with which a theology grounded in Biblical faith enters into the debates of our time." For a long time, the universal truths upon which our country is founded, have been cut off from the Christian heritage out of which they grew. The Pope lives within the European Union which has decided to build its unity without any connection to Christianity and so has no lasting anchor for its foundation. To do whatever he can to encourage us to avoid that deadly mistake, the Pope will reiterate one of the primary messages of Regensburg; he will tell us that the only way we will overcome the dangers and evils of the world are, "if reason and faith come together in a new way, if we overcome the self-imposed limitation of reason to the empirically falsifiable, and if we once more disclose its vast horizons." The rationality of faith is the anchor for the world to thrive and avoid self-destruction.



Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.

4.05.2008

Saint Thomas Aquinas: Mystical Marriage and Mary

I was wondering about Saint Thomas Aquinas and mystical marriage the other day, and so I googled it. I came across this short article by Sister Thomas Mary Mc Bride, O. P., entitled: "The Marian Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas." The full article may be found here.

Toward the end of the article it states this:
"In the contemplation of St. Thomas the virginal body of Mary, as well as her soul, overflowed with grace. 'The soul of the Blessed Virgin was so full of grace that it overflowed into her flesh, thus fitting it for the conception of God's Son.'1 Her immaculate heart, her feelings, mind and will were all involved in the conception and care of her Son, just as it is in helping each of us conceive and bring forth Christ in our soul."

As Mary's soul overflowed with grace into her body to prepare a place for Jesus and then nourish Him as a baby, so she is the conduit of God's grace to you and me to conceive Christ in our soul, give birth to Him, and nourish our relationship with Him through prayer and the sacraments.

The article continues:
"Mary not only brings Christ to us, she also brings us to Christ. St. Thomas, in interpreting the mystical meaning of the wedding of Cana considers that Mary is present in the mystical marriage of the soul with God and that it is she who 'arranges the marriage, because through her intercession, the soul is joined to Christ through grace.'2 St. Thomas points out that it was the fiat of Mary which allowed the spiritual marriage between the Son of God and human nature to take place. In the plan of God, Mary's "yes" stood for the "yes" of all God's people thereby making it possible for every person to pronounce his or her own fiat and attain intimate union with the divine nature.3 St. Thomas calls Mary mediatrix and consolatrix4 and in his prayer he entrusts his entire person to the intimacy of her pure, grace-filled and loving heart."

It is interesting to note that the author of this article and Saint Thomas Aquinas assume that souls are mystically married to God; the point Saint Thomas is making here is that Mary is present and is the one who arranges the marriage between the soul and God. It was Mary's yes to God that allowed God to become man, that wedded divinity to humanity forever in Jesus, and so now we are all able to say yes to God and enter into intimate union with Him. As children of Mary, you and I are introduced to her preeminent Son Jesus, and it is her sole desire that we become intimate with Him. We, too, are to become houses, temples and spouses of her Divine Son. Entrusting ourselves into her care, she protects our heart and encourages us to love, trust and obey God. She cooperates with God to help form Christ in us so that we can become other Christs.

Notes:
1. St. Thomas Aquinas, The Three Greatest Prayers: Commentaries on the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Apostles' Creed, trans. Laurence Shapcote, O.P. with intro. by Thomas Gilby, O.P. (Westminster, Maryland: The Newman Press, 1956), Commentary on the Angelic Salutation, Namely, the Hail Mary! , 32.
2. St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John, ed. James A. Weisheipl, O.P. (Albany, N. Y.: Magi Books, Inc., 1980),1,10, n.201, 98; and 2,1, n.336, 338, and 343, 151-152.
3. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, 3a, 30, 1.
4. St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John, 2,I,n.344, 152. See also St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, vol. 51, Our Lady, Appendix 1, ed. and trans. with Appendices by T. R. Heath, O.P (N.Y.: Blackfriars-McGraw Hill, 1969) 94.

Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.

4.03.2008

Saint John Vianney Seminary: The Largest College Seminary in the U.S.

These are my very first posts that have YouTube videos embedded in them. I was emailed these videos, and I wanted to share them with you. This seminary is in my backyard, as it were, and some of my old friends are priests there. If you are looking for an excellent, faith-filled and faithful place of formation for men, Saint John Vianney Seminary is a must see.






Thanks for reading and your prayers.
Copyright 2007.
All rights reserved.

Copyright 2007

Thanks for reading.