Cafe Theology

The Tears of St. Monica: A Wellspring of Hope

Victor Dedaj — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:03:36 +0000

By Rev. Bruno M. Shah, O.P. 8/27/10

Does God really answer our prayers? If He is eternal and unchanging, as the orthodox Christian tradition has always confessed, what’s the point in praying if we can’t actually change His mind?

Medieval theology would develop sophisticated accounts of the way in which human freedom genuinely participates in the execution of God’s sovereign, inviolable will. We do well to pray as we need, for God has ordained that we be given certain blessings, only having prayed for them.

Centuries earlier, St. Augustine had laid the foundations for such insight: “In prayer, there occurs a turning of the heart to Him who is always ready to give if we will but take what He gives.”

Furthermore, in his mother, the Doctor of Grace had a living icon of the way in which our petitions cooperate with the providence of the Creator. While tears are a natural outflow of sorrow for sin, in St. Monica, we see the meritorious power of weeping. Through St. Augustine’s narration in The Confessions, we receive a basic catechesis about what to keep in mind when praying for others who seem beyond all hope.

The Transcendent, Primary Will of God

The absolute transcendence of God is an assurance that He is able to work positively through all of our desires and actions. Even when things don’t go as we think best, God is there, working through our events, precisely because He is not subject to them. Rather, as the God who was and is and ever shall be, He is the transcendent condition for their reality.

St. Monica cries to God that He will not let her son depart from her loving care. “What was it my God that she sought from you with so many tears, except that you would not let me sail away?” But God does allow Augustine to sail away to Rome at this time, contrary to his mother’s expressed desires. Nevertheless, Augustine teaches, “in your deepest counsels O God you heard the crux of her desire” (V.viii.15).

Recognition of God’s absolute transcendence is necessary for an intimate relationship with the unchanging Lord. We make our petitions known to God with the tears of our heart; but we let God be God.

God Hears the Cries of His Faithful

Recognizing the absolute transcendence of God, Augustine is able to ascribe to his mother’s wailing a kind of influence upon God. The judgments of God remain sovereign and inviolable. But man is made according to the image and likeness of God (Gen 1.26). Hence, a created will and its holy, tearful desires are ordered for authentic cooperation with the eternal designs of God.

Even though God had plans for Augustine different from his mother’s, her actual desire was never incidental or occasional. On the one hand, God “had no care for what she then sought”; and yet, God “heard” her petitions and answered them in their uttermost depths, such that God did for Augustine “what [his mother] was always seeking” (V.viii.15).

Think about the revelation of the transcendent God to Moses as “I AM WHO AM.” This God tells Moses, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Ex 3.5). At the same time, He assures Moses that He has heard the cries of His people and attends to their needs. “I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them” (Ex 3.7–8). Hope in God’s merciful attention burns within the experience of His transcendence.

God Is Always Near Us

Because nothing is out of God’s hands, we are never out of His reach. Because He is totally beyond us, He is always with us. The self-revelation of I AM WHO AM is fulfilled in the life of Immanuel.

Eventually, Augustine leaves his mother’s household for Rome and he becomes quite sick — a physical sickness that betrayed a deeper spiritual infirmity. But this twofold distance from his mother and Creator is overcome through Monica’s prayerful tears. Augustine confesses, “You [God] are present in all places, and you graciously heard her where she was, and you had mercy on where I was” (V.ix.16). For a son who was far away from God, the tears of his mother apparently acted in mediation: “Could you, by whose gift she was such, despise and reject from your help those tears, by which she sought… the salvation of her son’s soul? By no means, O Lord! Yes, you were present to help her, and you graciously heard her, and you did this in the order in which you had predestined it to be done” (V.ix.17).

As the product of her own saintly love, Monica’s tears genuinely contributed to her son’s salvation. “My mother, your faithful servant, wept more for me than mothers weep over their children’s dead bodies. By that spirit of faith which she had from you, she saw my death, and you graciously heard her” (III.xi.19). In His own time and way, the eternal God heard the prayers of St. Monica.

God Answers Us

Even if we cannot get our family or friends into communion with the Church on our own time, we can render them present in the sanctuary of our hearts, where we offer a tearful sacrifice of prayer to God.

St. Monica gives us the hope that our tears are heard and effective in the eyes God. God is absolutely transcendent, but He is everywhere, and nowhere is too far for Him to travel —whether it be the depths of our anguished desire or the darkness of a prodigal soul.

St. Monica… cry for us!

Fr. Bruno M. Shah, O.P. is parochial vicar of St. Vincent Ferrer Church in Manhattan, New York (www.csvfblog.org). He co-hosts The Catholic Channel’s weekly radio show, “Word to Life,” which discusses the upcoming readings for Sunday Mass (Sirius 159/XM 117, Fridays 1-2 PM EST).

On Her 100th Birthday — Fond Memories of “One of the Greatest Missionaries of the Twentieth Century”

Victor Dedaj — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:07:12 +0000

8/26/10 by Donna-Marie Cooper Boyle

I don’t think anything could have prepared me for my first encounter with Mother Teresa “one of the greatest missionaries of the twentieth century,” as Pope John Paul II called her. It’s a good thing that the moment I met her was totally unanticipated, because it left me no time to worry about what to say or do when suddenly face-to-face with a “saint!”

I didn’t first run into Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India among the dying she was known to serve at Nirmal Hriday (Pure Heart) where those in their last moments lie on simple mats, lovingly attended to by the Missionaries of Charity Sisters. I didn’t visit with Mother Teresa at the Motherhouse where she spent much time at 54 A Lower Circular Road in Calcutta — that address that became instantly recognizable to me every time I spotted it on the corner of the envelopes of the letters I would later receive from her.

No, I first met the “saint of the gutters” in the capital of one of the richest nations in the world. I found her “by chance” in Washington, DC. Mother Teresa was visiting her Sisters and helping to care for the terminally ill cancer and AIDS patients lying on simple beds in their “Gift of Peace” home at the convent located in a poorer section of that great city and command center of the U.S. government.

I actually caught my first glimpse of Mother Teresa one summer morning when she walked quietly past me and knelt down for Mass celebrated in the Missionaries of Charity’s modest chapel. The Sisters had invited my family to Mass at their private chapel in DC. How fortunate we were that Mother Teresa happened to be visiting the country at that time! Straight after Mass, rendering me speechless, Mother Teresa walked directly towards me asking about my little daughter nestled in my arms and stretching her worn, wrinkled hand to touch Jessica tenderly. Being in the same chapel was blessing enough for me — it was more than enough, I thought. You can imagine my delight when I understood as she approached, that I was also given the gift to personally meet and speak with Mother Teresa in the intimate setting of the convent.

Awestruck and Startled

I had always considered Mother Teresa (now referred to as “Blessed Teresa of Calcutta” because of her beatification) to be a living “saint.” I admired her decades of selfless holy service caring for the “poorest of the poor” all over the world.

Suddenly, there she was, the hero of the poorest of the poor, caring for my family — giving us her time — touching us — speaking to us — blessing us! I didn’t even have to leave the U.S. to encounter this inspiring and remarkable woman. After the initial shock of meeting Mother Teresa, I was struck by her height, or lack thereof. Not much taller than one of my daughters, she stood before us with a prominent looking hump on her back. It startled me. I hadn’t noticed it in photos of her I had seen. My mind quickly attributed the severe protrusion to her constant stooping to care for the dying. She appeared frail, even ordinary. But, I knew in my heart that appearances can be very deceptive and that she was indeed a “power house” of faith, hope, and love.

In the Apostolic Exhortation, Christifideles laici, Pope John Paul II has told us, “The saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult moments in the Church’s history.” Thanks to God’s providence, I lived in the time of Mother Teresa and came to know the virtuous “saint” through at least a dozen more meetings and a couple of dozen personal letters from her and even a phone conversation between Calcutta and the U.S. Mother Teresa was not an unreachable or abstract saint of hundreds of years ago, but a real live, flesh and blood woman, no stranger to the realities of modern day life, someone whom I could speak and correspond with, one whom God had given to our era to raise up other saints and essentially teach us how to truly love the poor.

God used a simple, small, frail woman who called herself a sinner and “just a stubby little pencil in God’s hands” to win thousands upon thousands of souls for Heaven. Mother Teresa didn’t achieve this by getting involved in politics, or trying to analyze systems, ideologies, or economic patterns. Rather, she accomplished her amazing work through her one-by-one approach — of meeting each person face-to-face joyfully and ministering to them with Christ’s love. This she did even when heavily burdened with suffering herself including physical ailments and also a dark night of the soul, a secret suffering she carried quietly close to her heart. Her example of “loving until it hurts” is utterly edifying.

Mother Teresa allowed Jesus to live through her as she served Jesus who she earnestly believed lived in the poorest of the poor and in each and every person she met — even me, an ordinary suburban housewife. Everyone mattered. As a matter of fact, she constantly preached about the sublime dignity of every human being and fought tirelessly against abortion and euthanasia. She begged for all unwanted babies and said she’d care for them herself. She truly lived the Gospel of Matthew — “Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of the family, you do to me” (Matthew 25: 31-46) and she beckoned us to do the same telling us that “holiness is not a luxury of a few, but a duty for us all.”

When asked why she didn’t try to fight for injustice and human rights or change structures, she explained that, while she and the Missionaries of Charity were not unaware of those things, “Our mission is to look at the problem more individually and not collectively. We care for a person and not a multitude. We seek the person with whom Jesus Christ identified himself with when he said, ‘I was hungry, I was sick.’” This was her approach with everyone and everything she came in contact with. Her simple trustful outlook may have come up against criticism, but it never failed.

Mother Teresa summed up the way she cared for the poor by saying, “To know the problem of poverty intellectually is not to understand it. It is not by reading, taking a walk in the slums, admiring, and regretting that we come to understand it and discover what it has of bad and good. We have to dive into it, live it, share it.” And this is exactly what she did.

Our Own Call

The life of working amongst the poor and outcasts drew me in — it intrigued me immensely. I even felt an intense call. Yet, I was a mother of five growing children. I knew my place was here in the U.S. and not in Calcutta or another poverty stricken area. After all, it was Mother Teresa who often preached, “Love begins at home.” Mother Teresa inspires us all to answer God with our own “Yes” to His plan for us for wherever we are. God asks us to care for the “poor” whom He places in our midst.

I would later found an apostolate called “Friends of Veronica” as an outreach to the lonely and forgotten in imitation of St. Veronica’s loving and courageous gesture of making her way through the crowd to console Our Lord by wiping Jesus’ bloody and swollen Sacred Face.

There’s much we all can do to alleviate the sufferings of the “poor” wherever we are located. A smile, an outstretched hand, a listening ear, words of consolation and care are all seemingly little things which are actually huge in God’s eyes when we offer them to others in love. Mother Teresa was famous for telling us “Small things done with great love bring peace” as well as “if we could only remember that God loves me and I have an opportunity to love others as he loves me, not in big things, but in small things with great love.”

Every word from Mother’s letters to me and every additional encounter with Mother Teresa that unfolded in the years that followed my first meeting with this modern-day saint pierced my heart and drove home a very essential and formative lesson for me. I didn’t need to traipse off to Calcutta to do Mother Teresa’s work. My spiritual mentor dressed in her simple cotton sari trimmed in Blessed Mother blue taught me that the poor may very well be the person in the cubicle beside us in the workplace, a lonely neighbor, or a family member starving for love right under our own roof. She showed us all that the poorest of the poor are not only those starving in third world countries, but they are the folks right here in our affluent country craving attention, love, and care. The work is indeed cut out for us in our own homes, neighborhoods and communities when we are willing to open our eyes, ears, and especially our hearts to Christ’s call to love.

In my book Mother Teresa and Me: Ten Years of Friendship, I set out to share my blessings and further the work of Mother Teresa by telling the world who she was and what she preached in an attempt to draw others closer to God and inspire them to love Jesus in the poor as Mother Teresa did so beautifully. The publisher encouraged me to “tell the whole story.” So, the book became part biography, part memoir. I have woven in many true stories of people I met along the way and my own experiences as my life unfolded in ministry after meeting Mother Teresa.

If we will bear in mind an insight that Blessed Mother Teresa had intimately understood and expressed, “Prayer makes your heart bigger, until it is capable of containing the gift of God himself,” we may then be able to offer our own prayer-filled hearts to all in need, starting first within our own homes to continue dear Mother Teresa’s work.

As we go about our daily duties, let us remember, “Calcutta is all over the world for those who have eyes to see” as Mother Teresa has often said. Fr. John A. Hardon S. J., my former spiritual director and a friend of hers and mine (now up for beatification), has said to me on many occasions, “There’s work to be done!”

Let’s do that vital work of evangelization with joy and love — by serving Jesus in one another — in both small and big ways. God bless you!

Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle, noted as one of the top ten most fascinating Catholics in 2009 by Faith & Family Live is a Catholic wife, mother of five, catechist, award-winning journalist, best-selling author, and Lay Missionary of Charity (Mother Teresa’s Order). She is the author of Catholic Prayer Book for Mothers, The Heart of Motherhood: Finding Holiness in the Catholic Home, and Prayerfully Expecting: a Nine-Month Novena for Mothers to Be (with a foreword by Blessed Teresa of Calcutta). All were endorsed by Blessed Teresa and blessed by Pope John Paul II.

Her latest books are Catholic Saints Prayer Book, The Domestic Church: Room By Room: A Mother’s Study Guide, and Grace Café: Serving Up Recipes for Faithful Mothering. Her most recent book is: Mother Teresa and Me: Ten Years of Friendship (December 09). All available through her website: www.donnacooperoboyle.com and she offers free shipping on group study orders.

Donna-Marie also offers daily inspiration at her blogs: “Daily Donna-Marie: A Dose of Inspiration”, “Embracing Motherhood,” “Moments of Inspiration with Your Favorite Saints” and “View from the Domestic Church.” Her work can be seen in several magazines, newspapers, and Catholic websites. Watch for Donna-Marie’s EWTN television series: Everyday Blessings for Catholic Moms which premiered on April 12, 2010 and her new book, coming in September: A Catholic Woman’s Book of Prayers.

Speaking Out About An Abortion

Victor Dedaj — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:46:02 +0000

August 23, 2010 Theresa Bonapartis

The pain of abortion is often shrouded in silence and shame manifesting itself in unhealthy ways on many levels for those who are post abortive. In John 8:32 we are told, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free”. The truth about our abortion experience is no exception. Sharing our story with others is both healing and freeing, but does this mean you have to go public to be healed?

In recent times there seems to be a push for those who are post abortive to share their testimonies in public, and oftentimes there is an implication that unless you do so, you will not be healed. Is this true? Do all alcoholics speak of their actions in public, or adulterers? Of course not! While there are some who openly discuss their sinfulness, most only share their experience in the rooms of AA, with a clergy person, a friend or a professional therapist, so why the push for those post abortive?

In recent years I have seen more than a few women run full force into full disclosure in the quest for healing. Often they are nowhere near ready or healed enough to withstand the scrutiny of public speaking and become even more wounded. Some speak out before family members even know of the abortion, causing deep pain to family members. Others speak so that they can attain the promised healing they are so desperate to achieve. Recently, a woman shared with me how her relationship with her son was strained. She has been active in giving her public abortion testimony. When I asked how her son felt about it she told me she did not know, she had never spoken to her son privately about her abortion. He had learned of the death of his sibling from her public witness. She is not the first, or the only person I have heard stories like this from.

While I support and even participate in the wonderful organizations that have done tremendous good in bringing the pain of abortion through public testimony to the forefront of the debate showing its harm to countless people, they are not for everyone. Just as every alcoholic does not announce his addiction to the world, not every post abortive person is called to give public witness.

I worry sometimes, that in our eagerness to end abortion we exploit those who have had them. Are we ministering to one soul at a time? Is our concern for the good of that individual soul or only for an end to abortion? Do we see the dignity of each of these souls in the sight of God recognizing His love for them?

The quest for healing from abortion is intense because the pain is intense. The desire for acceptance and forgiveness can cloud a person’s view and pull them full force ahead without a real concept of God’s will. Only God can reveal if a person truly should go public with their abortion story. Under the guidance of a good spiritual director and the aid of a healing program, women and men who are thinking of speaking out can discern God’s will for them. He may call some to go public; others may be used in other ways, one on one sharing, work in a ministry, writing, or perhaps a commitment to prayer. Healing comes in doing God’s will, not in public speaking or with other costs or prerequisites. The price has already been paid by Mercy Himself.

Theresa Bonopartis is the director of Lumina/Hope&Healing After Abortion, a program of Good Counsel Homes founded by Rev Benedict Groeschel, CFR, and Chris Bell. She is also the co-developer, with The Sisters of Life ,of “Entering Canaan “, a post abortion ministry , and has begun, with The Frqnciscan Friars of the Renewal, retreat days for siblings of aborted babies, and for men and couples who aborted because of an adverse diagnosis.

Theresa is also an international speaker sharing her personal journey of healing from abortion. She can be contacted at lumina@postabortionhelp.org.

For more information or for help, visit www.postabortionhelp.org or call 1-877-586-4621

Everything Depends on These Two Commandments

Victor Dedaj — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:53:38 +0000

Daily Gospel From Daily Gospel.org

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 22:34-40.

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them (a scholar of the law) tested him by asking, Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest? He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB

Commentary of the day :

Pope Benedict XVI
Encyclical « Deus caritas est », § 18 (trans. © copyright Libreria Editrice Vaticana)

“Everything… depends on these two commandments.”

There is a necessary interplay between love of God and love of neighbour… If I have no contact whatsoever with God in my life, then I cannot see in the other anything more than the other, and I am incapable of seeing in him the image of God. But if in my life I fail completely to heed others, solely out of a desire to be «devout» and to perform my «religious duties», then my relationship with God will also grow arid. It becomes merely «proper», but loveless. Only my readiness to encounter my neighbour and to show him love makes me sensitive to God as well. Only if I serve my neighbour can my eyes be opened to what God does for me and how much he loves me.
The saints—consider the example of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta—constantly renewed their capacity for love of neighbour from their encounter with the Eucharistic Lord, and conversely this encounter acquired its real- ism and depth in their service to others.
Love of God and love of neighbour are thus inseparable, they form a single commandment. But both live from the love of God who has loved us first. No longer is it a question, then, of a «commandment» imposed from without and calling for the impossible, but rather of a freely bestowed experience of love from within, a love which by its very nature must then be shared with others. Love grows through love. Love is «divine» because it comes from God and unites us to God; through this unifying process it makes us a «we» which transcends our divisions and makes us one, until in the end God is «all in all» (1 Cor 15:28).

The Happy Priest on the Assumption of Mary

Victor Dedaj — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:26:47 +0000

Father James Farfaglia

Not everything was clear for the Blessed Virgin Mary. Just as in any manifestation of the divine, there is often a profound moment of light followed by long and trying times of darkness. Mary was enveloped in the light of God’s presence during the Annunciation. However this brilliance of clarity was followed by the night of faith. She fulfilled her unconditional yes within the many trials and difficulties of her journey towards eternity.True devotion to Mary gives us the answer to all of the challenges of our times: fidelity to God’s will.

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (Catholic Online) – Mary is a young, beautiful, pure and humble woman chosen before the beginning of time to be the Mother of the Incarnate Word. This calling is announced to her by the Angel Gabriel who appears to her. Mary, although she has been chosen, could have said no to God’s will; however, it is her profound love of God that allows her to say yes unconditionally. “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1: 38).

It is clear that the mysteries of the Annunciation and the Incarnation indicate man’s relationship with God. God is our creator and our relationship with him is through our response of loving obedience to his will. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the most perfect embodiment of this relationship between God and man. Through faith, she listens to the voice of God and freely submits her entire being to the plan of God over her life.

The word obey comes from the Latin ob-audire which means to hear or listen to. It is Mary’s faith, humility and simplicity that allow her to listen to God and to put his plan into practice.

Today we celebrate the Assumption of Mary into heaven. What exactly does this mystery of our faith mean? In order to answer this question, let us turn to the solemn infallible proclamation made on November 1, 1950 by Pope Pius XII.

“In their homilies and sermons on this feast the holy fathers and great doctors spoke of the assumption of the Mother of God as something already familiar and accepted by the faithful. They gave it greater clarity in their preaching and used more profound arguments in setting out its nature and meaning. Above all, they brought out more clearly the fact that what is commemorated in this feast is not simply the total absence of corruption from the dead body of the Blessed Virgin Mary but also her triumph over death and her glorification in heaven, after the pattern set by her only Son, Jesus Christ.
Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more full conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death.”
Sometimes people get confused when they do not understand the difference between the assumption of Mary and the ascension of Jesus. Jesus ascended into heaven by his own divine power because he is true God and true man. Mary is human and not divine. Therefore, she is assumed into heaven by God’s power.

The dogma of the Assumption is directly linked to the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. The Immaculate Conception means that Mary was conceived without Original Sin. Since Mary, through a special privilege of grace did not have any sin, including Original Sin, her body did not suffer the normal consequences of death that we do. The Tradition, both of the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church maintain that Mary died in the presence of the Apostles. Thomas was not present. When he did join them a few days later, they took him to her tomb. When the Apostles opened her tomb, her body was not present. Moreover, in the subsequent years of Church history, no relics of Mary’s body were ever venerated. However, it is recorded that at one time the veil and the belt of the Virgin Mary were venerated in Constantinople.

The Immaculate Conception of Mary in the womb of her mother was defined as a dogma of our Catholic Faith by Blessed Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1854. In the solemn proclamation, the Pope said: “We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.”
As we contemplate the mystery of the Assumption, we also contemplate the tremendous number of challenges in our own country and throughout the world. More and more people tell me that they have stopped reading the news, fearing what they will read next.
True devotion to Mary gives us the answer to all of the challenges of our times: fidelity to God’s will.There will be no solutions to the unraveling and disintegration of everything around us until we all become good disciples of the One who came to save us. Mary is that perfect disciple. As the ever-virgin Mother, she gave birth to the

Incarnate Word, but as the perfect disciple, she gave birth to all of the sons and daughters of Jesus Christ.
As St. Augustine once wrote, “Mary is more blessed because she embraces faith in Christ than because she conceives the flesh of Christ”. Nevertheless, sometimes people seem to have difficulty identifying with the example of the fidelity of Mary. They have the impression that everything was very easy for Mary because she was conceived without Original Sin.
Not everything was clear for the Blessed Virgin Mary. Just as in any manifestation of the divine, there is often a profound moment of light followed by long and trying times of darkness. Mary was enveloped in the light of God’s presence during the Annunciation. However this brilliance of clarity was followed by the night of faith. She fulfilled her unconditional yes within the many trials and difficulties of her journey towards eternity.
Pope John Paul II said, “It is easy to be consistent for a day or two. It is difficult and important to be consistent for one’s whole life. It is easy to be consistent in the hour of enthusiasm; it is difficult to be so in the hour of tribulation. And only a consistency that lasts throughout the whole of life can be called faithfulness. Mary’s ‘fiat’ in the Annunciation finds its fullness in the silent ‘fiat’ that she repeats at the foot of the Cross”.
Fidelity is an austere virtue. Fidelity demands self-knowledge, generosity, sacrifice and a lot of courage. Mary is our model of fidelity. The daily struggle and the failures can be overwhelming at times. But, fidelity is an adventure, and the “good fight” is exhilarating. As time goes on, we can become weary of the battle. Personally, I believe it is far better to drag an exhausted body and spirit through the difficulties of life, rather than to give in to the promptings of the flesh which make us yearn for an easier life. Rather than to give in to the sirens of comfort, I prefer to hear these words from my Lord at the moment of death: “I know too that you have perseverance, and have suffered for my name without growing tired” (Revelation 2: 3).

I have much for which to thank the Blessed Mother. Throughout my life she has always been close to me, even though at times I have not always been the attentive son I should have been. Every day I give thanks to my Blessed Mother who has been intimately present in my vocation to the priesthood.

Mary, my Mother, has always been there for me. More than twenty-two years of priesthood have been filled with tremendous blessings and great victories for the Kingdom, but they have been accompanied by much suffering and persecutions. Through it all, Mary has always been there to comfort me, and urge me on to fulfill my mission until the end. I long to see her one day in heaven. When we embrace and kiss, the suffering of the cross will give way to the bliss of the resurrection.

The Assumption of Mary is the oldest Marian celebration within Christianity. As we celebrate this day, we should also remember with profound affection our Orthodox brothers and sisters who celebrate this day as the Dormition of the Theotokos.

Let us pray today and every day that through the intercession of the Theotokos, the walls of theological and nationalistic disputes will be overcome so that unity may be restored fully.

The famous prayer called the Memorare was composed by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153). Let us conclude with his beautiful prayer which has consoled millions of people.

“Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly to thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee do I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.”
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Father James Farfaglia, the Happy Priest, is the pastor of Saint Helena of the True Cross of Jesus Catholic Church in Corpus Christi, Texas. Father has a hard hitting blog called Illegitimi non carborundum. He has also published a book called Man to Man: A Real Priest Speaks to Real Men about Marriage, Sexuality and Family Life. You can contact Father at fjficthus@gmail.com.

Love & Responsibility in NYC Tomorrow!

Reynor — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:00:36 +0000

Taking place right in the heart of NYC, in downtown SoHo, this weekly social discussion forum for young adults in their 20’s and 30’s, will inspire them to grow in their understanding of love and flourish in their relationships. The primary text for discussion will be “Men, Women and the Mystery of Love: Practical Insights from John Paul II’s Love and Responsibility” by Dr. Edward Sri.

In an age of confusion, the needs of young adults often go unmet. Relationships begin and end with arbitrary ease, hearts are broken, and the most common piece of advice is the old adage, “Just do what feels right”.

It will be held at 32 Prince St at the outdoor setting at 7:30pm. In case of bad weather, we have a rain venue at 263 Mulberry st (just around the corner).

It’d be much appreciated if you could bring along chips, dips and/or sips as well!

Bring friends and coworkers, it’ll be a great night out! We’ll also be heading after to a place nearby for food and drinks.

The reading for Tuesday, August 17, is “Sense and Sentimentality” and can be read here:

http://catholiceducation.org/articles/parenting/pa0111.html

You can join the Facebook group here:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=136852883003070

Date: Tuesday, August 17
Time: 7:30pm
Place: 32 Prince st (b/w Mott and Mulberry St)
Reading: Sense and Sentimentality

*We’d encourage you to read this chapter in advance of our discussions. Copies will also be made available every week.

Today The Blessed Virgin Mary: Gateway to Liturgical Renewal

Victor Dedaj — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:32:33 +0000

August 13th, 2010 by Louie Verrecchio

After the Council closed, no small number of Catholics began treating Marian devotion as an outdated form of piety, one that is somehow out of step with the “spirit of Vatican II.” So pervasive had this mindset once become that a priest once shared with me that as a seminarian in the early 90’s he succumbed to praying the Rosary in secret just to avoid being ostracized by both his peers and his professors alike!

Since that time as more and more Catholics are slowly discovering what the Council Fathers actually taught, Marian devotion is making a welcome resurgence, and in no place do we need it more than in our approach to the sacred liturgy.

Speaking directly to the laity as to how they may best participate in the mission of the Church, the Council Fathers said, “All should devoutly venerate Mary and commend their life and apostolate to her maternal care” (AA 4).

Even so, far too many Catholics — including some members of the clergy — remain so uncomfortable with Marian devotion that they not only shy away from it personally, they sometimes even go so far as to discourage it in others. “Uncomfortable” to me is wearing a turtleneck, but devotion to the Mother of Jesus? This is a garment that all of us are called to wear proudly as a people clothed in Christ by Baptism. The two simply go together.

According to the Council Fathers, Marian devotion is not just one optional expression of piety among many; it’s truly a solemn obligation that every single one of us share:

“The faithful must in the first place reverence the memory of the glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord Jesus Christ” (LG 52). [Emphasis added]

For some, tentativeness concerning Marian devotion is due to a sincere fear that it might in some way detract from the worship that is due to Jesus alone. For others it is due to a lack of awareness as to who Mary truly is and her unique role in God’s plan of salvation. The remedy in both cases is the same — to discover all that we can about the Blessed Virgin Mother – and a good starting point is the place where Jesus began His earthly ministry, the Wedding Feast at Cana as described in John 2: 1-11.

On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast.” So they took it. When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

A close examination of this passage reveals a great deal about our Blessed Lady and the gift that awaits those who turn to her. For starters, it is reasonable for us to believe that Jesus was fully aware of the needs of the wedding party even before He was approached by Mary. Yet in spite of this, He chose to meet this need only at His Mother’s suggestion. What does this tell us?

Consider this; even you and I who are sinners are moved to act at the behest of our mothers who are also sinners. How much more should we expect Jesus to be moved by love to meet the requests placed before Him by His Immaculate Mother?

Jesus addressed His mother as “woman” at Cana, language that has been both misunderstood and at times even exploited as evidence that Jesus rebuked her. Not only do His actions tell quite another story, however, the very origin of the title reveals something much more profound; namely, Mary’s spiritual motherhood of all believers.

In addressing His mother as “woman,” Jesus is calling our attention back to Eden and to what is sometimes called the protoevangelium (the first gospel) as recorded in Genesis 3:15 in which God said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, between her seed and your seed.”

And who is this woman? She is, of course, none other than the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redeemer, and Jesus is confirming this for us at Cana.

“OK, fine,” you might ask, “but what has this to do with Mary’s spiritual motherhood?”

Enmity is simply another way of expressing “active and complete opposition.” When Catholics are baptized, as well as when we renew our baptismal vows, the first questions we are asked are: “Do you reject Satan? And all his works? And all his empty promises?”

Clearly, there are none who call Jesus, Lord – including our Protestant friends and neighbors – who would answer with anything other than a resounding YES! Those who struggle with the idea of Mary’s spiritual motherhood should take a moment to ponder the fact that in proclaiming our enmity to Satan, we are also necessarily affirming that we are “seeds of the woman.” We are, in other words, proclaiming ourselves to be the children of Mary.

Of all of the guests present in Cana that day, Mary had a singularly profound knowledge that Jesus is the Son of the Most High God, and in presenting the needs of the people to Him that day, she revealed her Son’s glorious nature as He who deserves our adoration.

Now, some may be tempted to respond, “Yes, that was useful to those at Cana, but I already know that Jesus deserves my adoration.” As true as that may be, one should notice that present with Jesus that day were those men who had already made the decision to leave everything behind to follow Him. Even so, the story of Cana ends with John telling us, “Jesus manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” In other words, thanks to Mary’s intercession, even the Apostles’ saw their faith increased.

You see, just as the disciples’ time with Jesus on earth was a journey, so too is our life of faith. No matter where we are in our journey today, there is a road to travel tomorrow. If we but humbly turn to Mary in our own moments of dryness, she will lead us just as she led those at Cana, directly to her Son.

In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we are invited to encounter Christ, the Source of Living Water, in the most profound way possible in the Most Holy Eucharist. It only makes sense then that we should draw near to Mary each and every time we participate in the sacred liturgy.

Did you happen to notice who, among all of the people at the wedding feast at Cana, were the first to realize that Jesus is more than just an ordinary man? It was the servants, the lowest of all who were present and likely the only ones there who were not among the invited guests. This brings to mind a number of Jesus’ teachings: “The last shall be first. He that is the greatest among you shall be your servant. Let the little ones come to me.” This realization should underscore for us the necessity of humility in all that we do, and this includes of course our approach to Holy Mass – the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.

Think about it; in Holy Mass the faithful are invited to encounter the Lord at the Wedding Feast where He renews the covenant with His Bride in the Eucharist. If this doesn’t inspire awe and engender humility, what will? Yet, fallible human beings that we are, many of us have lost sight of what we are doing and into what we are invited at Holy Mass, sometimes even to the point of asserting what we think are our rights in the sacred liturgy!

The only “rights” that any of us have in Holy Mass properly speaking, clergy included, is the right to a liturgy celebrated according to the norms established by the Holy See by the authority of Christ. As for a right to serve or to participate in this “ministry” or that, a right to certain kinds of music, a right to the sort of language that we personally find most palatable, etc…, no such rights exist.

Let’s be honest though, the “liturgical rights” mindset has held tremendous sway over the way Holy Mass is celebrated in many places over the last forty plus years. The pushback that we are now seeing with regard to the new English translation of the Roman Missal is a lamentable example.

Spiritual dryness is the problem, and just as at Cana, turning to Mary is the remedy.

Allowing the Blessed Virgin Mary – Mother of both Bridegroom and Bride alike – to lead the way at Holy Mass can help all of us find our bearings once again and to come away from our participation in the sacred liturgy as did those at the Wedding Feast at Cana, with an increased faith in Him.

In future columns I will expound upon the ways in which we might ask Mary to lead the way in Holy Mass, until then, the lesson of Cana is clear; the Blessed Mother intercedes in love for all of her children, but it is the lowly, the servant and those who are willing to exercise the humility that it takes to acknowledge our absolute need for a Mother who are first in line to witness the glory of her Son.

Prayer, Part II

Victor Dedaj — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:26:27 +0000

August 11th, 2010 by Mark Shea

One of the most curious facts about prayer is that we do it at all. Believers often overlook this fact because prayer is such an integral part of life that it’s just part of our mental furniture.

But prayer is not at all obvious to people who stand outside a religious tradition. I speak from experience here, having been raised with no church upbringing at all. I was never an atheist (not enough faith for that audacity) but I was somebody who believed that God was basically unknowable. I figured he was pretty busy, what with a whole universe to run, and that our puny little problems were our responsibility to figure out and solve. So, on principle, I didn’t pray when I was a teenager because it seemed to me sort of like the religious equivalent of going on the dole. I was a big believer in the American ethic of “God helps those who help themselves” and saw prayer as a sort of foxhole Christianity in which we human screwups tried to get God to clean up our messes for us.

I have, of course, learned since that this is not what prayer is about, but I think the motivation for not praying was not entirely ignoble and prideful. There are indeed times when prayer can act as a cover for irresponsibility and Jesus points this out (most famously in his story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 8:9-14)). What is curious, though, is that it is not the tax collector, screwup extraordinaire, who Jesus condemns. There’s not a word about his childishness in running to God to clean up the mess of his life. Instead, it is the very correct Pharisee who uses prayer as a cover for his irresponsibility. Note that he prays “to himself”. That’s the point. His highest responsibility is to the God who made him. But he makes no effort to offer himself back to God. He’s got it together. He’s not like that loser of a tax collector. He makes all the right moves and hits all the right marks. He doesn’t need anybody, including God.

Another curious paradox of prayer is that we pray to an omniscient God. Think about that. Not a few unbelievers find that to be prima facie evidence that Christianity is nonsensical rubbish, and it has, truth to tell, a certain prima facie appeal as an anti-Christian argument. What, after all, is the sense of telling an all-knowing God what you need? If you merely think of God as a Great Mind or a Vending Machine in the sky, then it’s not surprising if you conclude that (if there is a God) he knows everything and you don’t need to tell him anything. If you conceive of prayer primarily as the communication of information so that a job can get done, then why do it? Since the Central Control Unit already has access to the information, it does not need our input. So prayer appears to be an unnecessary hypothesis.

Jesus’ way is more subtle. He basically says, “God knows everything, so you can tell him anything.” Prayer is not about informing God of stuff he doesn’t know and then applying sufficient threats, begging, pleading and vanity-stroking to get him to answer. It is about revealing who you are to him and receiving his gift of himself through the creatures he has made.

That, by the way, is why Jesus also teaches us to be importunate in prayer. In short, he urges us to bug God and not give up. That, again, seems pretty weird if you are not a Christian. Why would God not just answer you the first time? Why make you keep coming back (sometimes for years) with the same seemingly fruitless prayer? It seems to the outsider like a mind game that is either being played on us by God or by ourselves.

But the problem of importunate prayer is really no different, in the long run, than the problem of prayer itself. God made us without us, says Augustine, but he does not save us without us. In the struggle of prayer, we don’t change God. He changes us. We find out who we really are as we go through the long process of learning how to die. We may start off saying we want to meet God face to face, but in the long battle of prayer we discover the truth spoken by C.S. Lewis: we cannot meet God face to face till we have faces. Every part of life, even the frustrating periods of waiting for something to happen (like Advent) get taken up in the human drama and offered to God, who uses it to change us into the image of his Son. They also pray who only stand and wait.

Mark Shea is Senior Content Editor for Catholic Exchange and a weekly columnist for the National Catholic Register. You may visit his website at www.mark-shea.com check out his blog, Catholic and Enjoying It!, or purchase his books and tapes here.

YCNY Bible Study 8/14

Reynor — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:28:07 +0000

Meeting Details:

What: YCNY Study Meeting, Saturday 8/14

Where: Basement of St Patrick’s Parish House, 14 East 51st Street, between Fifth and Madison Aves. Meet at the basement door of the House at the end of the 5:30 Mass, roughly 6:30.
What Time: 6:30-8:00 PM

How: 6 Train to 51st Street station, or B/D/F trains to 47-50 Rockefeller Center stop.

Before: 5:30 Mass in Cathedral.

After: Inexpensive group dinner for those who are interested.

What to Read: Exodus 1 + one or more of the online introduction essays mentioned in recent emails.

What to Bring: any translation of the Bible, Catechism of the Catholic Church

Who: Victor is leading.

Questions: Call Craig at 917-655-0834.

Website: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/YCNYBible/

Cardinal Mahony: Prop. 8 ruling based on feelings, not God’s plan for mankind

Victor Dedaj — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 19:09:23 +0000

8/7/2010
Catholic News Agency (www.catholicnewsagency.com)

The judge wrongly assumed that marriage is of human origin

“The union of a man and of a woman in a life-long loving and caring relationship is of divine origin. No human nor civil power can decree or declare otherwise,” Cardinal Mahony wrote. “For many of us, we will continue to believe that God is the origin of marriage, and we will follow God’s constant revelation to that effect.”

LOS ANGELES, CA (CNA) – A federal judge’s decision overturning Proposition 8 relied solely on feelings and not God’s plan for human society, Cardinal Roger Mahony said on Wednesday. He added that the judge wrongly assumed that marriage is of human origin and can mean “anything any person wishes.”

Writing in a Wednesday statement, the Archbishop of Los Angeles responded to U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker’s ruling that Prop. 8, which restored California’s legal definition of marriage to be a union of a man and a woman, was unconstitutional.
The cardinal characterized the prime question as whether marriage is of divine or human origin.
“Judge Walker pays no attention to this fundamental issue, and relies solely upon how Prop 8 made certain members of society ‘feel’ about themselves,” Cardinal Mahony wrote.
He said that those who supported Prop. 8 did so because they “truly believe that Marriage was instituted by God for the specific purpose of carrying out God’s plan for the world and human society. Period.”
The belief in marriage has been unanimous across cultures and histories and is “embedded deeply” into the spirit of human beings, he noted.
The cardinal further stated that Judge Walker was wrong to assume that marriage is of human and civil origin and “can mean anything any person wishes to ascribe to the institution.”
“The union of a man and of a woman in a life-long loving and caring relationship is of divine origin. No human nor civil power can decree or declare otherwise,” Cardinal Mahony wrote. “For many of us, we will continue to believe that God is the origin of marriage, and we will follow God’s constant revelation to that effect.”

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