Catholic Church
Why the Catholic Church Prays for the Dead
November 4, 2011
Offering Mass for the Poor Souls
November is the month in which we Catholics especially remember those who have gone before us to eternal rest but who have need of additional purification before being admitted to heaven. Monday is the weekday devoted to the Poor Souls throughout the year.
Newsflash: the Catholic Church didn’t invent purgatory. God did. The practice of praying and offering sacrifice for the Poor Souls, called that because they cannot any longer help themselves to acquire that perfect charity necessary for the beatific vision, actually began among the Jews long before the birth of Christ.
The Latin “purgo” means “to cleanse morally, purify, expiate.” Purgatory refers to the process of final sanctification of the soul who has not been directly admitted to heaven upon death.
The Catholic Church teaches from Sacred Scripture and Tradition that:
1. We would die separated from Holy God, except:
2. Jesus died in our place, taking our sins to the cross. Then he rose from the dead, to give us a resurrected life in Heaven.
3. Those who accept this and seek forgiveness will have their sins removed and will live united with Jesus in Heaven.
4. Those who understand this yet reject it will die in their sins, unable to enter Heaven, thereby choosing Hell.
5. The souls who die loving Jesus but have failed to love others fully (what we do unto others we do unto Jesus; see Matt. 25:40) must be purified before they can experience the fullness of Heaven because “nothing unclean shall enter into it” (Rev. 21: 27) When we incur a debt to God through sin, the debt must be fully discharged or we die unclean even though forgiven.
6. We are all sinners; even after we’ve been freed from Original Sin in our baptisms. We cannot become holy by our own efforts.
The necessity of purgatory can be likened to a man who murders another person, whether in cold blood or by accident. When he is caught, he either confesses and is sentenced or is tried and found guilty on the evidence. Even if he apologizes to the family and friends of the one he murdered and is forgiven, he must still go to prison to make atonement for his sin under the law. If we have not atoned for our sins in this life, God, in his mercy provides for that final purification when we die because Christ opened the gates of heaven for us and we must be in perfect charity with God to enter.
When did the belief in purgatory originate?
It is impossible to say exactly when the Jews began to believe the doctrine of purgatory, but we find references to it in the Old Testament. In Wis. 3:1-7, God tells us:
“But the souls of the just are in God’s hand; no torment will touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to be dead; their departure was reckoned as defeat, and their going from us a disaster. But they are at peace, for though in the sight of men they may suffer punishment, they have a sure hope of immortality, and after a little chastisement they will receive great blessings, because God has tested them and found them worthy to be His. He put them to the proof like gold in a crucible, and found them acceptable like an offering burnt whole on the altar. In the hour of their judgment they will shine in glory and will sweep over the world like sparks through stubble.”
We find additional allegorical (see my post on How to Get More From Reading the Bible) or outright references to purgatory in Dan. 12:10, Zechariah 13:9, Malachai 3: 2-3, and 2 Maccabees 12: 43-46. Each of these verses tells of the need for purification or prayers for the dead.
For the sake of validity, we must also say here that all the books of the Old Testament recognized by the Catholic Church were in use and accepted as the Word of God by the Jews a full 200 years before Christ was born. The final ratification of the complete books of the Bible that were in use from the Apostolic age on occurred at the councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397). The bishops and Fathers of the Church present discerned at those councils the canon of the inspired Word of God and so the Bible remained until the 1500s when various individuals under their own authority began excising books that did not support their new theologies.
Purgatory in the Jewish Tradition
The roots of Christianity are Jewish. Before Christ’s birth Rabbi Shammai (50 BC – AD 30), a key major teacher of early rabbinical Judaism, is on record as having interpreted Zechariah 13:9 as referring to a state of purification after death. Rabbinic literature interprets Isaiah 66:15-16 and Malachi 3:2-3 as referring to the purgatorial process, and even the Talmud in Sabbath 33b mentions purgatory. [1]
The Jewish historian Josephus commented on the endurance of the Jews under siege in the year 63: “Just as if deep peace enfolded the city, the daily sacrifices, offerings for the dead, and every other act of worship were meticulously carried out to the glory of God” (The Jewish War).
Observant Jews today chant the Kaddish for their loved ones. The Mourner’s Kaddish asks God’s forgiveness for any sins the departed may have committed, begging Him to grant the departed eternal peace. The Jews also offer alms and good deeds for the dead as is tradition in the Catholic Church. [2] We can see from this that the belief in purgation after death is very ancient. Jesus and the apostles would have considered the doctrine of purgatory a given and all Jews hearing their words would have understood the meaning just as today nobody needs explanations of Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
The New Testament on purgatory
If the Jews were wrong about their belief in a place of purification, Jesus would have surely corrected this in His preaching. However, He reinforced it, as did Matthew, Paul, Peter, John, and the writer to the Hebrews. In Matthew 5: 26 Jesus says: “Amen I say to thee, thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last farthing.”
Note that Jesus does not say “until I pay the last farthing for you.” He justifies us with His blood, and without Him nothing we do of ourselves will merit heaven, but we must take responsibility for our actions and be cleansed before entering the presence of our heavenly Father (Rev. 21: 27). This cleansing may take place on earth or it will take place after death.
St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 says:
“Every man’s work shall be manifest; for the day of the Lord shall declare it, because it shall be revealed in fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work, of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work burn, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.”
The quote is in concordance with the verses of Zechariah and Malachai cited above regarding the refiner’s fire. Other New Testament references are: Timothy 1:16-18, Hebrews 12:14, Hebrews 12:22-23, 1 Peter 4:6.
Early Christian practices expressing belief in purgatory
Church doctrines derive from the written Word and oral Tradition handed down from the Apostles, the last of whom was John and with whom revelation ended. The tombs and catacombs of the early Christians contained graffiti or inscriptions with words of petition for peace and rest. It is also known that the practice in Apostolic times was to use a diptych at the altar which contained the names of the dead to be remembered at Mass. These practices of the early Church show belief in purgatory because those in heaven have no need for our prayers of supplication on their behalf.
Purification
Saint Catherine of Genoa is known for her treatise on the Poor Souls. In Fire of Love!: Understanding Purgatory
“Some recent theologians are of the opinion that the fire which both burns and saves is Christ himself, the Judge and Savior. The encounter with him is the decisive act of judgment. Before his gaze all falsehood melts away…. Yet in the pain of this encounter, when the impurity and sickness of our lives become evident to us, there lies salvation. His gaze, the touch of his heart heals us through an undeniably painful transformation “as through fire”. But it is a blessed pain, in which the holy power of his love sears through us like a flame, enabling us to become totally ourselves and thus totally of God. In this way the inter-relation between justice and grace also becomes clear: the way we live our lives is not immaterial, but our defilement does not stain us for ever if we have at least continued to reach out towards Christ, towards truth and towards love. Indeed, it has already been burned away through Christ’s Passion. At the moment of judgment we experience and we absorb the overwhelming power of his love over all the evil in the world and in ourselves. The pain of love becomes our salvation and our joy.” [3]
From both Scripture and Tradition we can say confidently that the doctrine of purgatory is true; some souls do endure a state of final purification because they have not died in perfect charity; it is temporary; the people in this state have been assured of salvation; and we can help them in their purification with our prayers, almsgiving, sacrifices, and good deeds on their behalf. By remembering the Poor Souls this way, we are exercising charity and participating in the communion of saints which we profess in the Apostles’ Creed.
The Church prays in the Tract of All Souls Day (1962 liturgical books):
Absolve, O Lord, the souls of all the faithful departed from every bond of sin. And by the help of Thy grace may they be enabled to escape the avenging judgment and enjoy the bliss of everlasting light.
[1] http://www.fisheaters.com/purgatory.html
[2] http://www.yahrzeit.org/qak.html#Catholics%20do
[3] http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi_en.html
Vocations Are Not…
November 2, 2011
Sometimes when we’re exploring something deeply, we need to not only say what something is, but also say what it is not. That is, differentiate what is from other, perhaps similar things that could cause confusion in our thinking. This is especially important when we are looking at something that affects our eternal life. If we end up making false assumptions about our vocation we will inevitably make mistakes in decisions and judgments that will cause us trouble.
What vocations are not
Carpenter at work
Vocations are not occupations. An occupation is what we do for a living and implies certain times when we engage in it and certain times, like vacations or coming home from work, when we don’t. A married person doesn’t get a vacation from being married and a priest doesn’t get a vacation from being a priest and so on. It is a state in life proper to an individual. We can change jobs and occupations, but marriage is until death do us part. A priest is always a priest and a religious with solemn vows is always a religious. We don’t get time off from our vocations.
An example:
In speaking with priests who were formed in diocesan seminaries of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, I have heard a number of times that they were trained to think of themselves as social workers and their vocation as an occupation. The ownership of homes, boats, cabins at nearby lakes and other such worldly things came to be customarily sought after by priests in certain dioceses as a reward for dispensing the sacraments. Thus, men who were naturally compassionate and caring came to see themselves as a man just like any other man and not one specifically ordained to offer sacrifice and to serve as the alter Christus in a permanent relationship with the Bride of Christ. It became all to easy to justify giving up the sacred priesthood for other pursuits in the same way a married man who starts keeping company with a woman other than his wife justifies divorce.
Michael Rose’s book Goodbye, Good Men: How Liberals Brought Corruption into the Catholic Church
Donna Steichen’s Ungodly Rage: The Hidden Face of Catholic Feminism
You can read the public records of the civil courts to see case after case of how marriages went wrong, vows were broken, and lives upended because vocations were abandoned.
Sometimes we have to look hard at what goes wrong in following a state in life in order to rediscover the original meaning and purpose of a vocation as opposed to an occupation.
Vocations are not apostolates.
An apostolate is usually associated with a charism – a gift that one uses for the salvation of souls. This is why we can have diocesan priests, religious priests, hermit priests, etc. Apostolates are exercised under obedience to a superior such as a bishop, religious head such as an abbot or abbess, or director of an institute of apostolic life such as the Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. An individual may be called by God to exercise a particular apostolate while following his vocation. Judie Brown, by vocation a married woman, founded American Life League which is her apostolate, for example.
In our lives we may, over time, have many different apostolates. For awhile my apostolate was to educate people concerning the traditional sacred liturgy and seek the restoration of the 1962 liturgical books according to the wishes of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. Before that I had an apostolate as director of sacred music at a parish while I fulfilled my occupation as a professional photographer living in the married state. Now my apostolate is this blog.
In our vocations, our occupations, and our apostolates the one thing common to all is doing God’s will, cultivating a solid prayer life, and exercising self denial in imitation of Christ. We will always have problems to overcome, days of darkness and feelings of despondency, and moments of great joy. It’s all part of the journey to eternal life. The one thing we don’t and mustn’t do is put our hands to the plow and then look back (Lk. 9:62).
The next post in this series will probe the process of discernment of one’s vocation.
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R. Now and forever. Amen.
(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)
Distinct Vocations
November 1, 2011
One of the biggest challenges to us in our lives as Christians is doing God’s will, listening to His voice, and trusting in His loving leadership. Our fallen nature is selfish and narcissistic. Through living out our vocation we obtain the necessary graces to keep ourselves in check. So what are the states in life that God might call us to?
Vocations in the Church
Broadly speaking we can identify six distinct vocations God uses to bring about His plans for the salvation of souls:
1. The sacred priesthood which also includes permanent deacons.
2. The religious life
3. The married life
4. Consecrated virgins
5. Hermits
6. The single life
God’s grace enables us
Since God never asks the impossible from anyone, we can rightfully assume that whatever vocation He calls us to, He will generously provide all the necessary graces to fulfill it. Some vocations look nearly impossible to fulfill, especially when examined through the lens of the world. Really, who wants to be a hermit and not have access to radio, TV, movies, parties, hot cars and gourmet foods? Who wants to go into a convent or monastery and be told when to get up, when to eat, when to be silent, what to do, who to associate with, and, if contemplative, be locked behind walls and only go out in public to the doctor or dentist?
As long as we’re on the subject, who wants to be told to stick with a spouse through thick and thin, never look at the opposite sex with lust, raise a bunch of kids, pay for their schooling, change messy diapers, wipe bloody noses, worry about paying bills, keep the children out of trouble with bad companions, put up with irritating habits of a spouse, etc.? My point is, every single vocation has its corresponding sacrifices and unattractive aspects as well as its appeal to those called to it.
If any of us had to live our vocations without God’s help we would fail miserably. The grass is never greener on the other side of the fence no matter how delicious it looks. But if we are already on that other side, it is indeed delicious and nutritious if that’s where we belong.
Sequential vocations
God does call certain people to more than one vocation as their life goes on, but the call is always to build on the past and take on the more difficult in terms of personal sacrifice and the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience. For example, God may call a widower who has met all his family responsibilities to his children to enter the sacred priesthood. He may call a married man to the permanent diaconate. In both cases, the new calling exacts more renunciation of self for the many than the first. A woman or man in religious life or the sacred priesthood may be called to the solitary life of the hermit. The renunciation of life in community is for an even stricter way of living.
God does not revoke a calling nor does He issue a new calling that would cause an abandonment of the duties and obligations of one’s current state in life. I think often of the several times St. John Vianney began a trip to abandon his parish and seek entrance to the cloister. In each case, he turned back, recognizing a temptation from the devil.
The heart of all vocations
The heart of all callings is obedience: to God’s will, His laws, the laws of the Church, one’s superior or spiritual director, and the two great commandments. We can’t be obedient if we’re not humble and and if we’re not humble we will always think we know more than we really do, leading to spiritual blindness and a rebellious spirit.
One of the most important things we can do to stay focused and resolute in answering God’s call is to pray often, live simply, and put the good of others ahead of our own as Christ did. Then our vocation is truly a path to sanctification as God intends.
Our next post will explore what vocations are not.
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R. Now and forever. Amen.
(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)
What is a Vocation?
October 31, 2011
This is the first in a series of posts on vocations: what they are, are not, and how to discern one, prompted by a video and post at Evan’s Cove titled Monday Message. I hope readers will find this series useful whenever the subject of vocations comes up, and that it may even prompt an exploration of some of these callings on a personal level.
In recent weeks I posted on the vocations of the consecrated virgin and the hermit, something I’ve had in the back of my mind to do for some time. Afterwards it occurred to me that the word “vocation” ought to be defined. We use the word freely in the Church, but I’ve found that it doesn’t mean the same thing to everybody. Yet the Church does have a defined meaning. It just takes a little digging to find it.
When I looked at the Catechism of the Catholic Church I saw the word used, but not defined. Same with the Baltimore Catechism, the Catholic Encyclopedia and Father John Hardon, S.J.’s most excellent The Catholic Catechism: A Contemporary Catechism of the Teachings of the Catholic Church
However, Father Hardon’s Pocket Catholic Dictionary
A call from God to a distinctive state of life, in which the person can reach holiness. The Second Vatican Council made it plain that there is a “universal call [vocatio] to holiness in the Church” (Lumen Gentium, 39).
Prior to 1965, in Catholic schools and parishes the word “vocation” was used exclusively to mean a calling to the sacred priesthood or the religious life. We had a general idea what hermits were, but thought they had died out centuries ago, while the vocation of the consecrated virgin actually had disappeared. Nobody referred to the married state or the single state as a vocation. Lumen Gentium reawakened vocation’s Biblical meaning. The 1983 Code of Canon Law, the final Vatican II document, along with liturgical rites proper to most vocations give structural clarity to the various distinctive callings.
The Spiritual Meaning of Vocation
The Calling of St. Matthew, 1621, Hendrick Terbrugghen (b. 1588, Deventer, d. 1629, Utrecht), oil on canvas, Centraal Museum, Utrecht
The word “vocation” comes from the Latin noun vocation meaning “a calling, a summoning”, derived from the Latin verb vocare, meaning “to call.” The Person who summons us is God. If we don’t understand this basic idea, we aren’t going to understand why marriage is “until death do us part” and why priests and religious cannot abandon their calling for whatever reason. The Church takes the meaning of vocation so seriously, only the Apostolic See can dispense some religious from their vows, laicize a priest, or declare a marital union “null.”
In The Catholic Catechism: A Contemporary Catechism of the Teachings of the Catholic Church
In the Catholic Tradition, holiness has always been mainly and pre-eminently the result of God’s gracious mercy. “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you” [Jn. 15:16] is written large across the portals of the Church’s history of sanctity. Nevertheless, though divine grace is prior and paramount, it is not isolated from man’s free response and much less coercive of his deeply personal liberty. No doubt Christ called the apostles to follow Him, but they had to decide to follow him. Their commitment was the answer to His vocation. And the tasks to which He called them became their mission from Him to the world they were to evangelize in His name.
Vocations are personal
Everybody has a vocation. But if we dig deeper into the matter of vocation, we cannot escape the fact that our vocation is completely personal and individual. God infused a soul into us at the very moment our parents cooperated with Him in our creation – when the sperm and egg united to form us. He chose our parents, the exact time and country we were to be born into, our particular sex, the talents He gave us, and all with one purpose in mind: that we should one day join Him in heaven and that through our life on this earth we should bring others to know, love, and serve Him so that they might gain heaven, too (cf. Is. 49:1, 5-6, Mt. 5:14).
God intended from the moment of our creation the specific vocation He has called us to. We have, by our free will, the ability to refuse Him and go do our own thing, but if we turn God down, we will not receive certain graces He intended for us had we followed His call, and we will also not be a source of grace to those He intended for us to meet and serve had we answered His call.
Can we go to heaven by going our own way? Yes, but it’s going to be a lot harder. Why mess up a perfectly good arrangement intended by a loving God whose plans are always perfect for us? The Master Planner has His reasons for everything and those reasons are not only for our personal good but for the common good of all mankind. While God can always bring good out of evil and bring a positive effect out of our mistakes, wouldn’t it be better not to make it necessary for God to fix something we broke? Therefore, discerning one’s vocation is a matter to be taken most seriously and one we will take up in another post after we explore the subject of vocations a little more.
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R. Now and forever. Amen.
(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)
Sunday Snippets
October 30, 2011
Welcome to Sunday Snippets, a meme hosted by RAnn at This That and the Other Thing. Please join us at her place to read other Catholic bloggers’ posts for the week.
26 Martyrs is a link to a trailer for a short that will accompany All That Remains. The animators have done a great job bringing this small part of Church history to us.
A Hermit in Our Midst is about the vocation of present day hermits. This first person account opens a window onto something rare but growing in the Church today.
Sabbath Moments mentions a few times this week when God was with us in a special way.
God bless all my readers and have a beautiful Sunday.
A Hermit in Our Midst
October 26, 2011
St. Basil the Young, hermit, d. 952
In the November, 2006 issue of Una Voce Arkansas Ozarks Regional Newsletter I published an article by Sister Judith Ann Marie, h.s., a hermit in the Little Rock diocese. I’m offering it again here to prompt more thinking about this particular vocation which seems to be on the rise again in the Church.
A religious hermit or solitary is ordinarily understood to be a religious living alone (not in community) – who according to Canon Law 603 ” …is recognized in law as one dedicated to God in a consecrated life if he or she publicly professes the three evangelical counsels (poverty, chastity, and obedience)…into the hands of the diocesan bishop (who is the superior according to obedience); and observes his or her own rule of life under his direction”. In addition “they devote their life to the praise of God and salvation of the world through stricter separation (not in community or bound in community life); the silence of solitude (not using radio, television or even music for companionship); prayer and penance”.
The spiritual life of the hermit has always involved to a great extent
1) a profound liturgical life;
2) meditation upon Holy Scriptures (the Word of God – The Tablets);
3) adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (The Manna); 4) devotion to the Mother of God (Ark of Covenant).
The hermit life was the very first form of religious life and dates back to the early centuries of the Church. This vocation to silence and solitude witnesses to the fact that life is not measured by doing but by being. The work of prayer and penance is not only for the local church (the local parish/diocese in which the hermit resides), but for Christ’s Body everywhere. This vocation as all Christian vocations, calls each one to holiness of life.
The life of the hermit is not mystical or “otherworldly”- just as the life of those who called to religious life in community (whether active or contemplative), is not mystical or “otherworldly”. My “work” is to pray and do penance for the glory of God, for salvation of souls and to “strive” toward total transformation into the likeness of Christ. This is the vocation of all Christian Catholics – to be transformed into the likeness of Christ. In addition, I have been called to dedicate this vocation for the sanctification and salvation of priests and for a greater outpouring of holy vocations to the priesthood. [Sister's personal charism.]
In the Diocese of Little Rock, there are three publicly vowed hermitesses. Each one lives in a different part of the diocese. We have been formed in religious communities prior to being called to this life and have spent several years in formation for the eremitic vocation prior to making our solemn vows.
During this time of formation and discernment – we develop a Rule and way of living that rule which governs our daily life. As the life is lived, this rule gets fine-tuned. The Bishop must approve the Rule and Way of Life prior to public profession as hermit. This rule and plan of life spells out our daily “horarium” – what we do and how we do it (even the limitations of social interaction). The Rule and Plan of life spells out how and when to communicate; the work we may do to support ourselves as well as all other decisions that come with daily living.
Why this life, many might ask? Simply because one hears God’s call and in love respond to the small voice calling within. The hermit is not an escapist running away from the responsibilities of the world. We remain part of the world even as we pray, do penance and live that silence of solitude for our brothers and sisters all over the world.
Solitude is not a method for achieving anything. It is simply an expression of one’s total gift of self to God. There is a risk to saying yes to this life. Unlike those vowed to communal life, there is no security. We have no salary, no insurance, except through the work of our hands. At one time Christian hermits could take themselves to the desert or claim a bit of land and subsist. This is not possible in our day because someone owns the land, the cave or the desert.
How to assure income and not be a burden and remaining “apart” is a constant struggle.
Some hermits produce crafts to support themselves (as I do). Others are able to use other skills learned – such as doing work on a computer in the hermitage. One hermit in Philadelphia rides his bike (his only means of transportation) to work one day a week and lives in a house he bought years ago for $1.00 that he has renovated!
When I entered a cloistered community years ago, my intention was – with God’s help – to remain there until death. But over a period of time, I began to hear a voice calling – and like Samuel, one I did not recognize at first. But with spiritual counsel and discernment, I finally was able to “hear” the call to solitude and to be “alone with the Alone”. I was given permission to test the call to the eremitic life. I was given three years to make a decision.
Thirteen years ago I came to Arkansas to begin “my novitiate” and to “test this call” to the eremitic life. A year later, I wrote to the community, thanking them for helping me to discern God’s voice – that I would not need the three years, and to be released from vows. (One cannot be in vows within community and make additional vows under a Bishop).
The “vocation within the vocation” had been confirmed. Nine years ago on Divine Mercy Sunday, I made solemn vows as a hermit in the Diocese of Little Rock. Spring of 2004, it became necessary to find a new hermitage. After prayer and discernment with Bishop Sartain the final decision to come to St. Michael’s was made after a parishioner donated land to build the hermitage. Aside from the donation of the land, the major reason for coming to St. Michael’s was because of Perpetual Adoration. And this alone makes St.Michael’s is a very special Parish – as many of you already know. Along with Perpetual Adoration, there is available within the Parish so many different ways of living our faith/spirituality. God has given so many such deep desires to grow and mature in the Lord. This parish is so full of life. It is a family of deep faith and commitment.
The hermit stands before God with arms outstretched – seeking to lead others to that same prayer of silence, penance and compassion. I leave you with a quote from another hermit monk Thomas Merton: “Unless we learn to listen in silence, we shall have nothing to say that is worth saying. Our lives are so cluttered with words that we no longer know how to handle silence. For our society, silence is simply a fruitless pause between words rather than a creative movement out of which deep and authentic words may emerge. If our life is poured out in useless words, we will never hear anything, will never become anything, and in the end, because we have said everything before we had anything to say, we shall be left speechless.”
N.B. “h.s.”after Sister’s name stands for “hermit sister”. A man would be “h.b.”, “hermit brother”.
Do you know of any hermits in your diocese? Do you know someone who you could point in the direction of this vocation?
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R. Now and forever. Amen.
(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)
26 Martyrs
October 24, 2011
On September 26 I wrote about All That Remains, a film in the making about Dr. Paul Takashi Nagai whose cause for sainthood is advancing through the efforts of the diocese of Nagasaki, Japan. Accompanying this film is an animated short titled 26 Martyrs.
Click on the link to see the trailer of the companion film to All That Remains. The art and music is beautiful.
The history of Catholicism in Japan begins in Nagasaki and the story of the 26 martyrs links over the centuries to the life of Dr. Nagai, as it does to all Catholics who kept the faith through the hundreds of years when the Shogun forbade its practice and banished the missionaries.
If today we didn’t have access to priests and the sacraments, were denied free assembly to practice our faith, and were killed for being Christian, would we be able to pass on our faith and remain steadfast as long as the Nagasaki Catholics did? Would we be prepared to die or would we compromise? The story of Christianity surviving in Japan is one of the most remarkable in the history of the Church and one we may, in the not too distant future in America, be required to imitate.
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R. Now and forever. Amen.
(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)
Sunday Snippets – A Catholic Carnival
October 23, 2011
Welcome to Sunday Snippets, a meme hosted by RAnn at This That and the Other Thing. I’ve met so many really neat bloggers participating in this roundup, and learned a lot, too. Why not join us with your contributions and comments?
This week I excerpted some of Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.’s exegesis on last Sunday’s Gospel, The Man Sick of Palsy. Any time I can understand the Bible better, it’s exciting and my prayer life improves. The post led me to dust off an old article and rewrite it for this blog on How to Get More from Reading the Bible.
I’ve been meaning for quite some time to write about The Vocation of the Consecrated Virgin, something the Church revived in 1970. If you’ve never heard of it, don’t be surprised. I hadn’t either until I met one and we got to talking. Every diocese should have as many of these wonderful women as possible.
At Sabbath Moments I wrote a little about friendship with God and our apostolate as Christians.
Finally, the Rule of St. Benedict prompted me to write a short post on Refraining from Doing Good? A quote from St. Bernard puts everything into perspective.
God bless all my readers.
Want to subscribe to posts by email? Visit the third box in the sidebar.
R. Now and forever. Amen.
(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)
How to Get More from Reading the Bible
October 19, 2011
Reading the Bible
I was, unfortunately, well into my late 50s before I learned to read the Bible according to a method or structure quite evident in the writings of the early Fathers of the Church but which I had never had explained to me. Thanks to the Catechism of the Catholic Church which explains in #115-119 the senses of Scripture, I had now a key to crack open the Bible in a more complete way.
The Holy Bible is the Word of God, the same Word who is God, Jesus Christ. He himself said in John 8:12, “…I am the light of the world: he that followeth me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” When we read the Bible, we are in a personal, intimate encounter with Christ who wishes to give us the light of life.
Getting Started
Before starting to read the Bible, it is important to remember we are in the presence of God, and to ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten us on the truths contained in it. Remove all distractions such as television, music, etc. because God does not yell at us over worldly noise, He speaks in a quiet voice ever inviting us to “Come follow me.” (Luke 18: 22) By opening the Bible we are inviting God to be our guest and we must give Him our full attention.
The senses of Scripture
Whether we read the Old Testament or the New, we can gain considerable insight by doing it according to ancient tradition which distinguishes between two senses of Sacred Scripture, the literal meaning and the spiritual meaning. [1]
According to St. Thomas Acquinas, “All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal.” [2] The literal sense is the meaning of the words. When we read in Genesis that God created everything in six days and on the seventh He rested, the literal meaning takes the words at face value.
We can’t stop at the literal meaning, though. We must continue with the spiritual sense, which according to ancient tradition is divided into three ways of looking at a passage:
1. the allegorical sense,
2. the moral sense, and
3. the anagogical sense (Greek “anagoge” which means “leading”. Leading to our final end, that is).
This spiritual sense of the Bible is the answer to our longing to know and follow Jesus better every day of our lives so that we may join Him in heaven some day.
The allegorical sense
When thinking about the allegorical sense of a Bible passage, we can develop a much more profound understanding of it by asking the simple question, “Where is Jesus in this?” For example, when God tells the Israelites in Exodus 12 the rules for the Passover and what He will do for them, it prefigures the sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God on the cross.
The moral sense
St. Paul shows us the moral sense of Scripture when he tells us in 1 Corinthians: 10:11, after giving us a perfect example of the allegorical sense of Biblical interpretation, that these things “are written for our correction, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”
Considering the moral sense of a Scriptural reading leads us to act justly towards God and others. Understanding that “justice” in the Christian sense means to give others their due according to their dignity as human beings and God His due as our creator and Supreme Being, we can examine our consciences to discover how to be a better person. The Two Great Commandments are our litmus test. The question here is, “What does Jesus want me to do now in light of this passage to behave more justly towards God and others?”.
The anagogical sense
Resurrection, 1520, Marco Basaiti (active 1496-1530 in Venice), Oil on canvas, Accademia Carrara, Bergamo
When we add the anagogical sense of interpretation to a Bible passage, we consider it within its eternal significance, how it points us toward our final heavenly destiny. The raising of Lazarus is allegorical to the Resurrection of Christ. The Resurrection of Christ and his ascension into heaven is anagogical to our being raised up by Christ on the last day and taken up with him to our permanent home if we have been His faithful followers. The question to ask ourselves when interpreting a Bible passage anagogically is, “How does this lead me to my final end of union with God and the saints for all eternity?”
A few more thoughts
Nearly everything in the Bible is linked. We must take passages within context and not as isolated phrases independent of what is written before and after. This approach applies both to Bible study and to simple, prayerful reading which often leads us into mental prayer or meditation where we have a conversation with God over how He wishes us to apply His Word in our lives.
If we stop at the literal meaning of the Bible we’re missing a lot of points God is making to us. If I were a dog, I’d be a bloodhound because I have a mania for following something to its end. I can’t stand to have unanswered questions about the meaning of sacred scripture. That’s why I bought the Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aquinas. In these volumes, one for each of the Gospels, he has collected the writings of the various Fathers of the Church on each Gospel passage. Another very valuable resource is McKenzie’s Dictionary of the Bible which I bought in the 1960s and is a fabulous work. I also use Biblos for research, especially when I want to trace the meaning and usage of Hebrew and Greek words and find the context in which they’re used. Occasionally I use the Jerome Biblical Commentary, too, and a Bible concordance.
Most people won’t want to go to the lengths I do for various reasons. A book of meditations on the liturgical year may be a better option, such as Divine Intimacy by Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, O.C.D., and Dom Prosper Guéranger, O.S.B.’s The Liturgical Year.
And you can’t go wrong by reading the writings of the saints on biblical passages. Saints Augustine and John Chrysostom, both Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and St. Bernard, a Doctor of the Church come to mind.
Smaller Manhattans
I want to plug a blog that is a great example of linking Biblical passages to Church teaching – one from which I’ve learned a great deal. Christian at Smaller Manhattans teaches catechism to sixth graders and often blogs the lessons. They are always entertaining and thought provoking. For example, he’s opened my eyes more than once to specific links between Scripture and Tradition, such as the one between Moses on the mountain, the Pope, and the Church structure we have of bishops and priests in A Royal Priesthood. Plus, you get a lot of Catholic/Christian culture from him.
How Christian approaches catechesis is also another way to understand what God is showing us in the Bible without necessarily using specific words such as “contraception”, “abortion”, “purgatory”, etc. We can learn a lot about the spiritual meaning of passages with his approach.
When all is said and done, our final goal is eternal friendship with Christ. Reading the Holy Bible according to its spiritual senses is an important way to know, love, and serve Him better to achieve that goal.
[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church #115-118
[2] Summa Theologica, I, 1,10, ad 1
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R. Now and forever. Amen.
(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)
The Man Sick of Palsy
October 18, 2011, Feast of St. Luke, evangelist, physician, and painter
Today seems like a perfect day to write about the sacred liturgy from last Sunday. Jesus healed a palsied man, evangelized the people because he did it in public, and in so doing, painted us an image of who we are as repentant sinners.
About ten years ago we bought Dom Prosper Guéranger’s (1805-1875) The Liturgical Year collection. Although it was expensive, I’ve never regretted the investment in what is a good resource for understanding the sacred liturgy for each day, especially Sundays.
I try to keep in mind thoughts from the scriptural themes of every Sunday throughout the week so that I may more faithfully walk in the footsteps of Christ. Of course, I fail, but the words of the sacred liturgy always revive me. This past Sunday was the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost and the Gospel reading is Matt. 9:1-8.
And entering into a boat, he passed over the water and came into his own city.
And behold, they brought to him one sick of the palsy lying in a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the man sick of the palsy: be of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven thee.
And behold some of the scribes said within themselves: He blasphemeth.
And Jesus seeing their thoughts, said, Why do you think evil in your hearts?
Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee: or to say, Arise, and walk?
But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then said he to the man sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house.
And he arose, and went into his house.
And the multitude seeing it, feared, and glorified God that gave such power to men.
According to ancient tradition, the Church urges us to distinguish between two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual (CCC #115), with the spiritual sense subdivided into the allegorical, moral, and anagogical senses. I’ll post on this another time, but you can always grab your Catechism and read more about this now.
Guéranger cracks open the Gospel for us, linking this passage to the sacred priesthood and the meaning of the healing of the palsied man to us sinners. You can find all three spiritual meanings of the passage in his exegesis. Also, the more I consider it throughout the week, the more meaning I find. But to bring you the expert’s writing from volume 11 of The Liturgical Year:
The Gospel (Matt. 23:1-12) which speaks of the scribes and Pharisees who were seated on the chair of Moses has now been appointed for the Tuesday of the second week of Lent. But the one which is at present given for this Sunday equally directs our thoughts to the consideration of the superhuman powers of the priesthood, which are the common boon of regenerated humanity.
The faithful…are now invited to meditate upon the prerogative which these same men have of forgiving sins and healing souls. Even if their conduct be in opposition to their teaching [are we not all hypocrites ourselves?], it in nowise interferes with the authority of the sacred chair, from which, for the Church and in her name, they dispense the bread of doctrine to her children. Moreover, whatever unworthiness may happen to be in the soul of a priest, it does not in the least lessen the power of the keys which have been put into his hands to open heaven and to shut hell.
For it is the Son of Man, Jesus, who, by the priest, be he a saint, or be he a sinner, rids of their sins His brethren and His creatures, whose miseries He has taken upon Himself, and whose crimes He has atoned for by His Blood.
The Healing of the Paralytic, c. 1560-1590, Netherlandish 16th century, oil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Chester Dale collection, 1943.7.7
The miracle of the cure of the paralytic [who represents everyman], which gave an occasion to Jesus of declaring His power of forgiving sins inasmuch as he was Son of Man has always been especially dear to the Church….The catacomb frescoes, which have been preserved to the present day [and continue to be discovered], equally attest the predilection for this subject, wherewith she inspired the Christian artists of the first centuries. From the very beginning of Christianity, heretics had risen up denying that the Church had the power, which her divine Head gave her, of remitting sin.
Such false teaching would irretrievably condemn to spiritual death an immense number of Christians, who, unhappily, had fallen after their Baptism, but who, according to Catholic dogma, might be restored to grace by the sacrament of Penance.
With what energy, then, would our mother the Church defend the remedy which gives life to her children! She uttered her anathemas upon, and drove from her communion, those Pharisees of the new law, who, like their Jewish predecessors, refused to acknowledge the infinite mercy and universality of the great mystery of the Redemption.
…The outward cure of the paralytic was both the image and the proof of the cure of his soul, which previously had been in a state of moral paralysis; but he himself represented another sufferer, viz., the human race, which for ages had been a victim to the palsy of sin….At once, to the astonishment of the philosophers and skeptics, and to the confusion of hell, the world rose up from its long and deep humiliation; and to prove how thoroughly his strength had been restored to him, he was seen carrying on his shoulders, by the labor of penance and the mastery over his passions, the bed of his old exhaustion and feebleness, on which pride, lust, and covetousness had so long held him.
From that time forward, complying with the word of Jesus, which was also said to him by the Church, he has been going on towards his house, which is heaven, where eternal joy awaits him!
Let us also give thanks to Jesus, whose marvelous dower, which is the Blood He shed for His bride, suffices to satisfy, through all ages, the claims of eternal justice. It was at Easter time that we saw our Lord instituting the great Sacrament, which thus in one instant restores the sinner to life and strength. But how double wonderful does its power seem, when we see it working in these times of effeminacy and of well-nigh universal ruin!
Iniquity abounds; crimes are multiplied; and yet, the life-restoring pool, kept full by the sacred stream which flows from the open side of our crucified Lord, is ever absorbing and removing, as often as we permit it, and without leaving one single vestige of them, those mountains of sins, those hideous treasures of iniquity which had been amassed, during long years, by the united agency of the devil, the world, and man himself.
Servant of God Dom Prosper Guéranger, O.S.B.’s cause for beatification was opened by the diocese of LeMans in December of 2005.
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R. Now and forever. Amen.
(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)
Showcasing the Beauty of the Catholic Faith
September 16, 2011
I’m shocked, I tell you. Shocked. 
PBS will be running a documentary by an orthodox Catholic priest about the Church. With all the anti-Catholicism out there in the media, those of us who get edgy over any broadcast purportedly to be accurate about the Church feel a rush of skepticism. Not to worry. Not to worry.
National Catholic Register ran a story this week about a two year project that fulfilled a dream of Father Barron, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Father Barron holds the Francis Cardinal George Chair of Faith and Culture at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois. You can find his many short, refreshing and informative videos of the Faith on Fire series explaining Catholicism and sacred Scripture on You Tube. Now he has rocketed to another level completely.
Father’s dream was to produce a documentary on the Church showcasing the beauty of the Faith. His ten part series costing about $250,000 per episode took him to sixteen different countries and fifty locations on twelve trips and will begin airing on PBS near the end of September and continue through the fall. EWTN will broadcast it in November.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who once said that those who hate the Catholic Church don’t know her, would thoroughly approve of this venture were he with us today. As the first Catholic televangelist, he would have been thrilled to bring such a quality program to the English speaking world.
NCR’s Tim Drake writes:
Utilizing high-definition cinematography, the documentary explores the beauty and the truth of the Catholic faith by journeying with Father Barron to more than 50 locations to illuminate the spiritual and artistic treasures of the Church. Father Barron uses art, architecture, literature, music and all the riches of the Catholic tradition to explain what Catholics believe.
Among the episodes, the series explores a variety of topics: Christ, the mystery of God, Mary, Peter and Paul, the Church, liturgy, the communion of saints, prayer and “The Last Things.” Viewers are brought to the Holy Land, Uganda, Italy, France, Poland and Spain, as well as the streets of Brazil, the Philippines, Mexico, Calcutta and New York City.
One thing makes this series different from the usual documentary. Mike Leonard, the show’s executive producer acts as a voice of skepticism, raising questions about the Faith that many people have. Father Barron in his usual comfortable style answers them without dodging any issues.
Doubleday has issued a 300 page companion book and study guide to accompany the videos so that groups studying the Catholic faith will have a valuable teaching tool in the combined media.
I’m looking forward to seeing a truthful representation of the Catholic Faith by a priest who is a good teacher and who holds to all the teachings of the Church. May skeptics, seekers of the truth, fallen-away Catholics, faithful Catholics, atheists and agnostics as well as those indifferent to religion find peace, truth, and God in this series – the personal and loving God who walks every day by our side even when we don’t sense His presence.
To read more interesting items about this series visit Word on Fire. To see the new trailer, go here. To buy the box set, book and a study guide, go here.
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R. Now and forever. Amen.
(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)
Sunday Snippets – A Catholic Carnival
September 11, 2011
Welcome to Sunday Snippets, a meme hosted by RAnn at This That and the Other Thing. Thanks to RAnn for doing this every week.
This week I wrote a meditation on last Sunday’s Mass prayer: Run Without Stumbling.
The Nativity of Mary is a link to a great reflection on the Blessed Mother at Rorate Caeli blogspot. I also put a beautiful painting by Ghirlandaio: The Birth of Mary in the post.
Fooling Ourselves is about how to know if we are really doing God’s will or not.
The Catholic Thing is a link to a post over at that blog on The Anti-Catholic Moment along with a comment.
Sabbath Moments is mostly about the virtue of justice.
Consolation in Darkness contains some great stuff from Abbot Gregory Polan, OSB, of Conception Abbey. Love the Benedictines!
I will remember when I’m at Mass all those who died in the 9/11 attacks and their families. Also all the rescue workers and those who survived impaired in some way.
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R. Now and forever. Amen.
(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)
The Catholic Thing
September 9, 2011
Every now and then in my scanning of articles related to the Catholic Church I find one that seems to fire on all cylinders – a perfect, incisive view of how things are and what we need to do to confront the errors of today. Such an article is Robert Royal’s The Anti-Catholic Moment over at The Catholic Thing. All Christians should be concerned with this subject.
If you aren’t familiar with this site, please visit it. The columnists are insightful people who can open eyes and delight minds. Very stimulating.
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R. Now and forever. Amen.
(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)
Run Without Stumbling
September 6, 2011
The Collect for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost evokes such beautiful images of a right relationship with God I find myself rejoicing every time I repeat it at the end of each hour of the Divine Office most days this week.
O almighty and merciful God, of whose gift it cometh that Thy faithful do unto Thee worthy and laudable service: grant us, we beseech Thee, that we may run without stumbling towards the attainment of Thy promises. Through our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.
I cannot help but read this prayer as a little child speaking with her loving Father in total trust. It takes me to Matt. 18:3-4:
Amen I say to you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
We begin with the vocative case: O almighty and merciful God. This places me in the position of lowliness, of one who lacks power of my own but who has great needs only Someone of great power can provide out of a loving benevolence and mercy. These great needs above all are the forgiveness of sins and the building of virtue. My heavenly Father listens for my voice. He waits for my call.
He holds out to me a richly wrapped present I open in delight. Inside is the bright light of grace as shining from a globe. This grace/gift is the power to do worthy and laudable deeds that give my Father pleasure. He has given me a treasure that will never fade or be used up – a treasure I must safeguard if I am to follow His commands.
I see, as in Psalm 23 v.5-6: You spread the table before me…my cup overflows a beautifully decorated banquet table set with every good a child of God could desire. My Father has prepared it for me – these promises of eternal life and joy are within reach. As I see it, I run toward it as a young child runs with a somewhat wobbly step. My Father heeds my call to guide my feet without stumbling.
The prayers of the sacred liturgy belong to the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, which offers them to the Father on behalf of all men. I am comforted every time I pray them, knowing they are inspired by the Holy Spirit and infused with the charity of Christ. This week I will hold on to the image of me as a child running without stumbling toward the beauty and perfection of heaven.
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R. Now and forever. Amen.
(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)
On the Road to Sanctity
August 23, 2011
In this “time after Pentecost” which I like to call “The time of the Holy Spirit”, I am exploring how He works in us so that I will have a greater appreciation of this gift of the Father and the Son to us. Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, O.C.D. writes in Divine Intimacy:
The Holy Spirit, who “searcheth…the deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2:10), has a perfect knowledge of the divine nature and mysteries; He who penetrates all things and knows perfectly the delicacy and secrets of the highest virtue, as well as the needs and deficiencies of our souls, comes to take us by the hand and lead us to sanctity.
As long as we advance by our own initiative, our orientation toward God will always be imperfect and incomplete, because we shall be acting in a human manner, but when the divine Spirit intervenes, He operates as God, in a divine manner; that is why He draws us and directs us completely toward Himself.
In Human actions, thought precedes the determination of the will, and since our capacity for thought is so limited, our actions are, of necessity, limited too. This is especially true in regard to divine things.
But when the Holy Spirit intervenes, He acts directly on the will by drawing it to Himself. He inflames our heart and enlightens our mind. This is the genesis of that “sense of God” which is impossible for us to express, but which makes us know God and taste Him; it directs us toward Him, more than any reasoning on our part could ever do. Then we feel that God is “the only One,” that all creatures are infinitely distant from Him, that He is worthy of all our love — which is nothing compared with His infinite, divine lovableness; we feel that any sacrifice, even the greatest, is but a trifle when made for such a God.
This is how the Holy Spirit guides us on the road to sanctity. At the same time, He helps us to overcome actual difficulties. For example, we very often find ourselves struggling against a fault which we seem unable to overcome, or trying unsuccessfully to acquire a certain virtue, or endeavoring to solve some problem; but at a certain point, without our knowing how, things change: our former doubt is resolved and we are able to accomplish with ease what at first seemed impossible. This, too, is the result of the action of the Holy Spirit in our soul; it explains why His initiatives are so precious for us, and why we should desire Him and invoke Him with so much confidence.
I am struck in this passage by how important humility is to prepare ourselves for the Holy Spirit to act in us. Also how important inner quiet is, even if we have only 15 minutes a day to stop everything and listen to Him. In all honesty I have to ask myself:
Am I trying for what I want in holiness, or am I listening to what God wants for me?
Am I devoting some quiet time to God each day, or is prayer something “to be gotten over with” – God being put on the shelf and taken off whenever I feel like it?
What do I need to surrender to God every day? What am I doing to develop an attitude of surrender?
Am I practicing daily sacrifices to prepare myself to lose everything important to me if God wishes it – even my life?
Do I indulge myself in “giving up” because I am not perfect?
Even if I am suffering, can I find humor in life and in God?
Prayer: Veni Sancte Spiritus
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.
V. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray. O God, Who didst instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise, and ever to rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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