A Word from Your Pastor - May 12

Dear Parishioners:

As I visit the School or celebrate the School Mass on Wednesdays, I engage our children in discussion about matters of Faith and about what is going on in their lives.  I am always amazed and delighted at the way they see connections between things.  Their questions are also very revealing.  Encountering children in this way has been part of my own priestly ministry since my first assignment at St. Mary’s in Lancaster in 1985.   During my years in Lancaster, I also taught at Fisher Catholic High School.

Through the years, as I have visited with children to talk about the Faith, I have noticed several things.  First, our children are asking the “deeper questions” earlier and earlier.  What used to be asked at the College level moved to High School, and High School age questions are being asked in middle school and even earlier.  Second, families are far busier outside the home than ever before.  Religious practice has often been relegated to a secondary place in family life, both at church (Sunday Mass) and at home (religious devotions shared between parents and children).  What this means is that the questions children ask at School or in the PSR classroom about Faith may receive an answer in class, but get little reinforcement at home.  This situation calls for an intentional change in our Catholic family culture in order to ensure that the next generation learns the Faith.

The Solemnity we celebrate today, the Ascension of the Lord (moved in our region from Thursday to Sunday in order to allow a greater number of the faithful to experience the liturgical celebration of this Mystery), speaks to the need to make the connection between our culture and our Faith.  The Ascension tells us that Jesus is always able to be present among us in a real but invisible way because He has taken our human nature into the very Life of God.  His Divinity entered our humanity in the Incarnation. 

Our humanity entered into Divinity through the Ascension.  The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit that takes place on Pentecost is made possible by the “stretching” of our human nature to encompass Divine Life.  What God has done in Jesus Christ is to take our earthly reality into the Divine Reality of the Life of the Trinity.  So, our family life is meant to be lived in the awareness of our eternal destiny.  Family prayer and devotions, and especially the weekly participation in the Mass are necessary to put our Faith into practice in anticipation of what God has in store for us.

 

Year of Faith October 11, 2012 – November 24, 2013

We continue our journey through the Year of Faith.  As one way of observing this year, each week a small section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is read before the start of Mass.  This is a small way of offering some food for growth in Faith throughout this year.

ARTICLE 2     THE TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION

III. The Interpretation of the Heritage of Faith

The dogmas of the faith

88 The Church’s Magisterium exercises the authority it holds from Christ to the fullest extent when it defines dogmas, that is, when it proposes, in a form obliging the Christian people to an irrevocable adherence of faith, truths contained in divine Revelation or also when it proposes, in a definitive way, truths having a necessary connection with these.

89 There is an organic connection between our spiritual life and the dogmas. Dogmas are lights along the path of faith; they illuminate it and make it secure. Conversely, if our life is upright, our intellect and heart will be open to welcome the light shed by the dogmas of faith. (Cf. John 8:31-32.)

90 The mutual connections between dogmas, and their coherence, can be found in the whole of the Revelation of the mystery of Christ.  (Cf. Vatican Council I: DS 3016: nexus mysteriorum; Lumen Gentium 25.) “In Catholic doctrine there exists an order or ‘hierarchy’ of truths, since they vary in their relation to the foundation of the Christian faith.” (Unitatis Redintegratio 11.)

Comment: It has become popular in our modern culture to discount the value and importance of dogma.  Unfortunately, this attitude gets in the way of our understanding of the true meaning of dogma.  It is possible to hold firmly to the dogmas of our Catholic Faith without being “dogmatic” as the culture considers us.  Simply put, dogmas are the road maps of Faith.  They make known to us how to get where we want to go.  They are not chains binding us, but rather, tethers to Eternity, that help us to avoid traps and pitfalls that have proven false.  To believe in the Faith of the Church, the Faith that opens us to the Revelation of Jesus Christ, we must give assent to the dogmas defined by the Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit Who leads us to all Truth.  Only then do we have hope of coming to understand the Faith in its purity and in its completeness.  How do you respond to the Dogmas of the Church?

 

A Word from Your Pastor - May 5

Dear Parishioners:

 Many have been absorbed in the media of late concerning Bishop Watterson, one of our local Catholic High Schools for which St.Timothy Parish is a feeder parish.   As Pastor, I want you to know that I am aware of the concerns and have done my best to come to an understanding of the various issues involved.  If anyone wants to speak to me in person about these matters, I will be happy to visit with you.  I want to assure you of my prayers, especially for those who are associated with Watterson as students, parents of students, and alumni.

This past week, I attended the Watterson School Board meeting and from that I can offer just a few points that may be helpful.  First, as most realize the matter that started the current controversy is a personnel issue.  Steps have been taken on the part of those involved that have been highly publicized.  Personnel disputes are handled by processes worked out by the Teachers’ Union, and by the Law (Federal, State and City), and they are underway.  These things take time and as long as a process is in motion, nothing further can be said.  This causes frustration, no doubt, but the only comment possible is “No comment.”  When questions like this were reached in the trial of St. Joan of Arc, her response was “Passez outre,” that is, “move on to another question.”

Second, a major concern has been that of the safety of our children and ensuring that they are able to discuss with helpful adults what needs to be discussed to give them an understanding of the situation.  There have been messages received that law enforcement officials called “menacing,” rather than “threatening.”  Rumors have escalated what has been received.  There is one police officer present on premises (at the Diocesan expense, not Watterson’s) and the School is, as usual, under “level one security,” which means access to the building is limited.  (This is the usual condition of our schools, including St. Timothy School.)  The children are safe; special precautions are taken to be sure, but it is “business as usual” with the end of year activities.  It is not true that the principal is escorted daily to and from school.  Reasonable caution is taken and academic life goes on.  Members of the pastoral staff at the School are available to students to talk with them and answer questions, with the limitation mentioned above that personnel matters are not free to be discussed while processes are in motion.  In particular, the students are being given information concerning the Catholic Teachings on Marriage and Family life in their classes, and opportunities for interested adults will be made available as well.

Finally, the question of communication has been raised both at the level of the School and of the Diocese.  Bishop Campbell was interviewed personally by the media and information has been published.  The School and the Diocesan Office of Education have agreed to ensure that parents and others get information in a timely fashion.  Questions and concerns can be sent to the Watterson School Office and they will be addressed as soon as possible.

For all of us, this is a moment to choose to maintain our unity in the Faith and in our support for one another.  We are a family and we owe it to one another not to “abandon ship” when we need each other the most.  The world will use such painful experiences to divide and conquer.  God can use the same experience as He used the Cross – to open the door to a new Life and to deepen our understanding of how close He is to us.

 

Year of Faith October 11, 2012 – November 24, 2013

 We continue our journey through the Year of Faith.  This week’s selection is offered to bring clarity to some current issues.

The Vocation to Chastity  2337 Chastity means the successful integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being. Sexuality, in which man’s belonging to the bodily and biological world is expressed, becomes personal and truly human when it is integrated into the relationship of one person to another, in the complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman.  The virtue of chastity therefore involves the integrity of the person and the integrality of the gift.

The integrity of the person  2338 The chaste person maintains the integrity of the powers of life and love placed in him. This integrity ensures the unity of the person; it is opposed to any behavior that would impair it. It tolerates neither a double life nor duplicity in speech.  (Cf. Matthew 5:37.)

2339 Chastity includes an apprenticeship in self-mastery which is a training in human freedom. The alternative is clear: either man governs his passions and finds peace, or he lets himself be dominated by them and becomes unhappy.  (Cf. Sirach 1:22.)  “Man’s dignity therefore requires him to act out of conscious and free choice, as moved and drawn in a personal way from within, and not by blind impulses in himself or by mere external constraint. Man gains such dignity when, ridding himself of all slavery to the passions, he presses forward to his goal by freely choosing what is good and, by his diligence and skill, effectively secures for himself the means suited to this end.”  (Gaudium et Spes 17.)

2340 Whoever wants to remain faithful to his baptismal promises and resist temptations will want to adopt the means for doing so: self-knowledge, practice of an ascesis adapted to the situations that confront him, obedience to God’s commandments, exercise of the moral virtues, and fidelity to prayer. “Indeed it is through chastity that we are gathered together and led back to the unity from which we were fragmented into multiplicity.”  (St. Augustine, Confessions 10, 29, 40.)

2343 Chastity has laws of growth which progress through stages marked by imperfection and too often by sin. “Man... day by day builds himself up through his many free decisions; and so he knows, loves, and accomplishes moral good by stages of growth.”  (Familiaris Consortio 34.)

2344 Chastity represents an eminently personal task; it also involves a cultural effort, for there is “an interdependence between personal betterment and the improvement of society.”  (Gaudium et S 25 § 1.) Chastity presupposes respect for the rights of the person, in particular the right to receive information and an education that respect the moral and spiritual dimensions of human life.

2345 Chastity is a moral virtue. It is also a gift from God, a grace, a fruit of spiritual effort.  (Cf. Galatians 5:22.)  The Holy Spirit enables one whom the water of Baptism has regenerated to imitate the purity of Christ.  (Cf. 1 John 3:3.)

The integrality of the gift of self  2346 Charity is the form of all the virtues. Under its influence, chastity appears as a school of the gift of the person. Self-mastery is ordered to the gift of self. Chastity leads him who practices it to become a witness to his neighbor of God’s fidelity and loving kindness. 2347 The virtue of chastity blossoms in friendship. It shows the disciple how to follow and imitate him who has chosen us as his friends,  (Cf. John 15:15.)  who has given himself totally to us and allows us to participate in his divine estate. Chastity is a promise of immortality.   Chastity is expressed notably in friendship with one’s neighbor. Whether it develops between persons of the same or opposite sex, friendship represents a great good for all. It leads to spiritual communion.

The various forms of chastity  2348 All the baptized are called to chastity. The Christian has “put on Christ,”  (Galatians 3:27.)  the model for all chastity. All Christ’s faithful are called to lead a chaste life in keeping with their particular states of life. At the moment of his Baptism, the Christian is pledged to lead his affective life in chastity.

2349 “People should cultivate chastity in the way that is suited to their state of life. Some profess virginity or consecrated celibacy which enables them to give themselves to God alone with an undivided heart in a remarkable manner. Others live in the way prescribed for all by the moral law, whether they are married or single.”  (Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Persona humana 11.) Married people are called to live conjugal chastity; others practice chastity in continence: “There are three forms of the virtue of chastity: the first is that of spouses, the second that of widows, and the third that of virgins. We do not praise any one of them to the exclusion of the others.... This is what makes for the richness of the discipline of the Church.”  (St. Ambrose, De viduis 4, 23.)

2350 Those who are engaged to marry are called to live chastity in continence. They should see in this time of testing a discovery of mutual respect, an apprenticeship in fidelity, and the hope of receiving one another from God. They should reserve for marriage the expressions of affection that belong to married love. They will help each other grow in chastity.

2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

Comment:  This section of the Catechism is included to bring some light concerning Catholic Church teaching on Marriage and Sexuality.  It is the Church’s firm belief that God offers grace to live in accord with the call to chastity according to one’s state in life.  Much of the current culture calls the Church’s teaching into question because it doubts the possibility of living up to such a call and of receiving the grace to put it into practice.  While it is true that such an ideal is high, it is also true that human beings are capable of great achievement only when they aim high.  Our aim is Eternity and a living relationship with God.  Can you see the wisdom of the Church’s teaching even if you have questions about it?

Focolare Word of Life May 2013

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be put into your lap. (Lk 6:38)

http://www.focolare.us/us/spirituality/word-of-life/242-2013/578-focolare-word-of-life-may-2013

 

A Word from Your Pastor - April 28

Dear Parishioners:

Over the course of several weekends, I included a bit of personal sharing about my silent prayer at Mass.  Just before the homily, I bow before the altar and I pray, “Lord, give me the homily You want me to have for this congregation.”  Of course I have done my preparation and I have an idea of what I want to say, based on the Scriptures and on whatever is happening in the life of the community and the world around us.  However, I am open to the Spirit and to the assembly in front of me to lead me down a different path in the proclamation of the Word for the present moment.  I am not sure when I learned to do this prayer, but I have prayed it for many years.  As a result, I have never delivered the same homily twice.  Even if I celebrate several Masses, the homily comes out a bit differently each time.

Pope Francis, in the first moments of his papacy, just before he gave his first blessing to the City of Rome and to the World, bowed and asked the people to pray that God bless him before he gave the blessing to the people.  Taking my cue from this act, I am inviting the assembly to pray in silence before the homily is given.  Here is what I invite you to pray before the homily at each Mass you attend: “Lord, give him the homily You want me to hear; give me the ears to hear it, the heart to receive it, and the grace to live it.”

With this prayer, you are invited to make a personal investment in the act of receiving the homily.  Note, this is not the same as a prayer for a short homily or even for a good homily.  Rather, it is far more intimate: it is a request to the Lord Himself to speak His Word to you through the homilist no matter what his skill.  It is also an expression of your willingness to hear what the Lord wants you to hear.  It expresses your commitment to have an open heart, a heart ready to receive whatever the Lord gives, whether it meets your own preferences or perceived need.  It also looks toward what will be happening after Mass, asking for the grace for you to put into practice what you hear.

We are living at a time when the burdens we carry near and far are too heavy for us.  As I look out at a congregation, I am aware of some of the struggles being faced.  The desire of my heart is to speak a word of comfort and encouragement, and to offer a challenge to renew your commitment to Faith and to a witness of trust in the Lord to meet whatever you may experience.  The only One Who can speak to all that is going on among us and in our world is the Lord.  I trust in Him.  Each homily I give is meant to be an expression of my trust also in you to hear the Word He speaks and to live it in such a way as to invite the world to come to meet Jesus in His Church.  The Good Shepherd will show us the way, if we follow Him.

 

Year of Faith October 11, 2012 – November 24, 2013

We continue our journey through the Year of Faith.  As one way of observing this year, each week a small section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is read before the start of Mass.  This is a small way of offering some food for growth in Faith throughout this year.

ARTICLE 2 THE TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION

III. The Interpretation of the Heritage of Faith 

The Magisterium of the Church  85 “The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living, teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ.” (Dei Verbum 10 § 2.) This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.

86 “Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it with dedication, and expounds it faithfully. All that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is drawn from this single deposit of faith.”  (Dei Verbum 10 § 2.)

87 Mindful of Christ’s words to his apostles: “He who hears you, hears me,”  (Luke 10:16; cf. Lumen Gentium 20.) the faithful receive with docility the teachings and directives that their pastors give them in different forms.

Comment: Hearing the voice of Jesus in Church leaders today is not always easy.  There are so many voices that speak in opposition to what we hear from such leaders.  Our secular culture is under the sway of what Pope Benedict XVI called “the tyranny of relativism.”  The Word of God, interpreted and proclaimed by the Magisterium, the living teaching authority of the Church, speaks with the voice of Jesus for us.  How do we respond to Jesus’ own promise: “He who hears you, hears Me”?

A Word from Your Pastor - April 21

Dear Parishioners:

The call to the New Evangelization is being heard all around the world.  It is now addressed directly to us at St. Timothy Church through seminarians at the Pontifical College Josephinum.  This year, a number of students have decided to form a special organization at the Seminary, the “New Evangelization Club” (NEC), and they have asked to partner with us to take the message door to door in the neighborhoods of our parish.

This is what the members of the New Evangelization Club propose:

“The Church has, for decades, been encouraging the Faithful to engage in a New Evangelization, preaching, and re-preaching, the Gospel at all times, in all places.  One time-tested method is that of door-to-door evangelization.  By bringing the Gospel to people in their homes and speaking of Christ and His Church at the individual and personal level, a great harvest of conversion, re-conversion, and holiness could be reaped.” 

The goals of the New Evangelization Club are “to organize and educate interested seminarians so as they will be able to into the Columbus community and begin preaching the Name of Christ.  This activity will have a three-fold purpose.  First, participation in the NEC will help spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those with whom we come into contact.  Second, it will contribute to a seminarian’s own formation in all four areas, most especially the Pastoral Pillar.  Third, it will give the seminarian the experience, knowledge, and desire to bring this necessary tool of evangelization back to his own parish and diocese.”

The first date for visitation set is Saturday, April 27, so this is a matter requiring a quick response from our Parish.  Members of the Parish Council met with some of the members of the Club at the March meeting of the Council and approved the idea.  Now we need parishioners and their families who are interested in participating.  This first effort will help us to make plans through the summer in order to develop a systematic approach when the Fall comes.  If you are willing to be part of this effort, please contact Mary Ballantyne, Chair of the Parish Council.  At present, we have nine Seminarians who are planning to be with us.  Our hope is to get something started now and to continue when the Seminarians return in the Fall.  Do you hear the Lord’s and the Church’s Call to share your Faith in Jesus Christ?

Here is a bit more information from the Josephinum about the new Club:

Who We Are

The Pontifical College Josephinum’s New Evangelization Club is a brand new organization modeled after successful programs that have been established at other seminaries around the country. Inspired by Pope Benedict’s call to re-propose the Gospel in a time of increasing secularization, the club seeks to cultivate the seeds of our Catholic faith within individual parishes in the Columbus area.

Our Mission

Prior to the arrival of the seminarians at the parish, some preparation would need to be done at the parish.  First, the areas/neighborhoods within the parish boundaries where the mission would take need to be established.  Second, the materials that are to be handed out at the houses (information on the parish’s time for Sacraments, etc.) need to be compiled.  Lastly, an invitation to the parish community to join in the door-to-door mission needs to be extended so that all who are interested may participate.

Keeping close to heart our Lord’s command to his twelve disciples, whom he sent out two by two (Mark 6:7), the New Evangelization Club will send seminarians in pairs into the parish community. Families within the parish, selected by the pastor, may volunteer to take two seminarians into their homes for one night. This will give the seminarians a chance to establish rapport with ordinary Catholics and encourage them in a prayerful bond to continue the spirit of evangelization in their day-to-day living. Ideally, some members of the household would then accompany the seminarians the next day as they venture door to door to invite other families to attend Mass and other parish functions, and remind them of the power of Jesus’ sacramental presence in the Church, especially in the Eucharist.

With God’s help, we hope to ignite a new zeal for the faith within your parish. We hope also that you will see this as a wonderful opportunity for the Josephinum to establish a further presence within the parish, and arm the future pastors of the Church with tremendous experience – practical and spiritual – that will allow them to better communicate the Good News to a generation in great need. Thank you for your attention. May God bless you and inspire us all to continue his work.

 

 

Year of Faith October 11, 2012 – November 24, 2013

 

We continue our journey through the Year of Faith.  As one way of observing this year, each week a small section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is read before the start of Mass.  This is a small way of offering some food for growth in Faith throughout this year.

ARTICLE 2     THE TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION

III. The Interpretation of the Heritage of Faith 

The heritage of faith entrusted to the whole of the Church  84 The apostles entrusted the “Sacred deposit” of the faith (the depositum fidei),  (Dei Verbum 10 § 1; cf. 1 Timothy 6:20; 2 Timothy 1:12-14 as in theVulgate.) contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, to the whole of the Church.

“By adhering to [this heritage] the entire holy people, united to its pastors, remains always faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. So, in maintaining, practicing, and professing the faith that has been handed on, there should be a remarkable harmony between the bishops and the faithful.” 
(Dei Verbum 10 § 1; cf. Acts 2:42 (Gk.); Pius XII, apostolic constitution, Munificentissimus Deus, November 1, 1950: AAS 42 (1950), 756, taken along with the words of St. Cyprian, Epist. 66, 8: CSEL 3, 2, 733: “The Church is the people united to its Priests, the flock adhering to its Shepherd.”)

Comment: When Tradition is understood as the activity of passing on the Deposit of Faith, the heritage of the Holy People of God, we can see that it is not merely about the past.  In fact, it is forward-looking.  The act of passing on the Faith is meant to open each new generation to the Message of the Gospel and to the invitation to the life of Grace, the call to set our sights on Heaven.  In order to pass on the Faith, we need to be one with those who have come before and those whose charge it is to guard the Sacred Deposit.  We are faithful when we adhere to the teaching of the Apostles, the common life of the Spirit, the Sacraments, and the Liturgy we celebrate.  How attentive are you and your family to the Faith?  Do you guard it as a real treasure, a “sacred deposit”?

 

A Word from Your Pastor - April 14

Dear Parishioners:

Easter’s message is simple:  Jesus Christ is Risen!  This one Truth changes everything.  The Easter Season, which lasts 50 Days – from Easter to Pentecost – is a time to deepen our grasp of the import of the Resurrection.  It is also a time to enter into the movement created by the Holy Spirit Who is at work forming us for the Mission entrusted to us.  We are called to bring others to the Risen Lord.

St. Timothy Parish is being called to evangelize, that is, to bring the Good News to others.   If you wish to be a true witness of the Faith for our world today, now is the time to throw in your lot with your brothers and sisters, and to make a personal commitment to seek out the lost, those who are in need of the Good News.

Have you given God and His Church first place in your life?  This is the starting point: to choose God as your Ideal, to put God first.  Have you done this in your own heart and told God directly in your prayer that you want Him to be the center of your life?  Does your life show this by how you spend your time?

Do you know your own Faith well enough to give a reason for it to others, especially in the face of the world’s rejection?  Are you able to give in simple terms the meaning of the Creed, the Sacraments, Moral Teachings and Prayer in the life of the Church?

Do you experience a call to go deeper with the Lord?  Do you understand your own “mission” within the great Mission entrusted to all of us?

Who are the people around you waiting for an invitation to explore the Faith?  Begin now to make a personal list.  Who are your neighbors who could/should be involved in the life of St. Timothy Parish?  Are there particular friends or co-workers that might be waiting to hear the Good News from you?  Make a list and begin to pray for them by name.  Then, await further instructions….

 

Year of Faith October 11, 2012 – November 24, 2013

We continue our journey through the Year of Faith.  As one way of observing this year, each week a small section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is read before the start of Mass.  This is a small way of offering some food for growth in Faith throughout this year.

ARTICLE 2     THE TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION

II. The Relationship Between Tradition and Sacred Scripture

Apostolic Tradition and ecclesial traditions

83 The Tradition here in question comes from the apostles and hands on what they received from Jesus’ teaching and example and what they learned from the Holy Spirit. The first generation of Christians did not yet have a written New Testament, and the New Testament itself demonstrates the process of living Tradition.

Tradition is to be distinguished from the various theological, disciplinary, liturgical, or devotional traditions, born in the local churches over time. These are the particular forms, adapted to different places and times, in which the great Tradition is expressed. In the light of Tradition, these traditions can be retained, modified or even abandoned under the guidance of the Church’s magisterium.

Comment: The distinction between Tradition (big T) and traditions (small t) is central to the life of the Catholic Church.  Often those who criticize us for our following Tradition have no real understanding of this distinction.  Every human being follows traditions – familial, ethnic and cultural, religious, etc. – but only those who are open to it can follow the Tradition.  As Catholics, we have to make sure that we live in accord with Tradition by putting into practice in concrete circumstances, the traditions shared with us by the Church and our particular cultures, and by the way each family chooses to live the Faith.  What are your family traditions that express Catholic Tradition?

A Word From Your Pastor - April 7

Dear Parishioners:

Divine Mercy is God’s Gift of His Love renewed after it has been rejected. 

Shakespeare expresses the freedom of the gift of Mercy in his play, The Merchant of Venice:

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. . . .,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That, in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy.

God’s Mercy is offered to us in a special way this Sunday, the Octave of Easter, and we are invited to contemplate how it can become a part of our lives ever more fully. 

We need to Ask for Mercy.  Pope Francis says God is always ready to give us Mercy, but at times we may tire of asking for it.  We can ask for Mercy for ourselves, our world and for those who are in Purgatory. 

We need to Be Merciful.  The Beatitudes tell us that those who are merciful will find Mercy for themselves as well.  God Who is our Just Judge is also the Merciful Father.  But what He gives us is meant to be passed on.  Mercy, to be Divine Mercy, must flow.  Forgive and it will be forgiven you.

We need to Completely Trust in the Mercy of God, relying not on ourselves but on God.  St. Therese of Lisieux and many other Saints remind us that we can have Confidence in God.  He is utterly trustworthy.

The Resurrection of Jesus shows us that God has the power to accomplish what He promises.  The Promises given concerning Divine Mercy are beyond our grasp.  And yet, they are ours, if we have hearts open to receive.  Let us live in awareness of the Mercy of God for ourselves and for the whole world.

 

Year of Faith October 11, 2012 – November 24, 2013

 We continue our journey through the Year of Faith.  As one way of observing this year, each week a small section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is read before the start of Mass.  This is a small way of offering some food for growth in Faith throughout this year.

ARTICLE 2     THE TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION

II. The Relationship Between Tradition and Sacred Scripture

One common source...

80 “Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing and move towards the same goal.”  (Dei Verbum 9.) Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain with his own “always, to the close of the age.”  (Matthew 28:20.)

...two distinct modes of transmission

81 “Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit.” (Dei Verbum 9.)

“And [Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It transmits it to the successors of the apostles so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound, and spread it abroad by their preaching.”  (Dei Verbum 9.)

82 As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, “does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.”  (Dei Verbum 9.)

Comment: The Church receives the Word of God, Jesus Christ, in the Fullness of His Person.  The same Church has the capacity to share Jesus with everyone through all ages.  Scripture and Tradition, in relationship to the Living Teaching Authority (the Magisterium) are the means by which Christ is shared individually and communally.  To receive Christ means to receive Him as He gives Himself to the Church.  How do you understand your own relationship to Jesus as He is revealed to you in and through the Church by way of Scripture and Tradition?

A Word from Your Pastor - March 31 Easter

Dear Parishioners and Guests:
 

A Blessed Easter to all of you!  Jesus Christ our Lord is Risen from the dead and Life Eternal is given a place in our world.  That makes all the difference.  If we can open our hearts to this Truth of truths, everything else falls into place.

Catholics do look at the world differently from everyone else.  We see the same world, but we see it through different eyes.  In a sense, we see all that happens through Resurrection-colored glasses.  Death and Suffering are real to us.  But they do not have the last word.

The seemingly meaningless and random violence and disasters that occur in the end are taken up into the Mystery of Christ and given a new meaning, a purpose.  “Everything happens for a reason” is a popular way of expressing this truth.  However, it is more precise to say that “Everything that happens is given over to God’s Wisdom.”  It is not that God sends tragedies, but that He makes sense of the tragic in this world by filling it with a Divine Comedy that is the Victory of the Resurrection.

God is a Poet Who writes our human experience into His own Story.   We are invited to share Divine Life and so to allow God to write His Story into our own history as well.  The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is the pivotal event of human history.  Easter celebrations all around the world gather together believers as a sign of the ongoing power of the Resurrection among us.  The Resurrection opens our common history to the horizon of Eternity and tells us that we will live a life beyond this life.

This weekend, we welcome our Neophytes – those received into the Catholic Church through the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil.   May their Faith continue to grow and may all of us become an ever more convincing witness to the Truth of Jesus Christ.

I will be on my annual Priest’s Retreat this week.  Please keep me in your prayers and be sure that you will be in mine as well.

 

Year of Faith October 11, 2012 – November 24, 2013

We continue our journey through the Year of Faith.  As one way of observing this year, each week a small section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is read before the start of Mass.  This is a small way of offering some food for growth in Faith throughout this year.

The Meaning and Saving Significance of the Resurrection

651 “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”  (1 Corinthians 15:14) The Resurrection above all constitutes the confirmation of all Christ’s works and teachings. All truths, even those most inaccessible to human reason, find their justification if Christ by his Resurrection has given the definitive proof of his divine authority, which he had promised.

652 Christ’s Resurrection is the fulfillment of the promises both of the Old Testament and of Jesus himself during his earthly life.  (Cf. Matthew 28:6; Mark 16:7; Luke 24:6-7, 26-27, 44-48.) The phrase “in accordance with the Scriptures”  (Cf. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; cf. the Nicene Creed.) indicates that Christ’s Resurrection fulfilled these predictions.

653 The truth of Jesus’ divinity is confirmed by his Resurrection. He had said: “When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he.”   (John 8:28.) The Resurrection of the crucified one shows that he was truly “I Am,” the Son of God and God himself. So St. Paul could declare to the Jews: “What God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’”  (Acts 13:32-34; cf. Psalm 2:7.) Christ’s Resurrection is closely linked to the Incarnation of God’s Son and is its fulfillment in accordance with God’s eternal plan.

654 The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life. This new life is above all justification that reinstates us in God’s grace, “so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”  (Romans 6:4; cf. 4:25) Justification consists in both victory over the death caused by sin and a new participation in grace.  (Cf. Ephesians 2:4-5; 1 Peter 1:3.) It brings about filial adoption so that men become Christ’s brethren, as Jesus himself called his disciples after his Resurrection: “Go and tell my brethren.”  (Matthew 28:10; John 20:17.) We are brethren not by nature, but by the gift of grace, because that adoptive filiation gains us a real share in the life of the only Son, which was fully revealed in his Resurrection.

655 Finally, Christ’s Resurrection—and the risen Christ himself—is the principle and source of our future resurrection: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.... For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”  (1 Corinthians 15:20-22) The risen Christ lives in the hearts of his faithful while they await that fulfillment. In Christ, Christians “have tasted... the powers of the age to come”  (Hebrews 6:5) and their lives are swept up by Christ into the heart of divine life, so that they may “live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” (2 Corinthians 5:15; cf. Colossians 3:1-3.)

IN BRIEF

656 Faith in the Resurrection has as its object an event which is historically attested to by the disciples, who really encountered the Risen One. At the same time, this event is mysteriously transcendent insofar as it is the entry of Christ’s humanity into the glory of God.

657 The empty tomb and the linen cloths lying there signify in themselves that by God’s power Christ’s body had escaped the bonds of death and corruption. They prepared the disciples to encounter the Risen Lord.

658 Christ, “the first-born from the dead” (Col 1:18), is the principle of our own resurrection, even now by the justification of our souls (cf. Rom 6:4), and one day by the new life he will impart to our bodies (cf. Rom 8:11).

Comment: Each human being is meant to be addressed personally by the proclamation of the Resurrection of Jesus.  How do you understand the Resurrection of Jesus?  How do you share this Good News with others?  What serves to nourish your personal Faith and commitment to the Risen Lord?