feminine-genius

In the home at Nazareth

The Holy Father gave a splendid homily in Nazareth, in honour of the Holy Family, of course.

This stage of my pilgrimage, I am confident, will draw the whole Church’s attention to this town of Nazareth. All of us need, as Pope Paul VI said here, to return to Nazareth, to contemplate ever anew the silence and love of the Holy Family, the model of all Christian family life. Here, in the example of Mary, Joseph and Jesus, we come to appreciate even more fully the sacredness of the family, which in God’s plan is based on the lifelong fidelity of a man and a woman consecrated by the marriage covenant and accepting of God’s gift of new life. How much the men and women of our time need to reappropriate this fundamental truth, which stands at the foundation of society, and how important is the witness of married couples for the formation of sound consciences and the building of a civilization of love!

In today’s first reading, drawn from the book of Sirach (3:3-7, 14-17), the word of God presents the family as the first school of wisdom, a school which trains its members in the practice of those virtues which make for authentic happiness and lasting fulfilment. In God’s plan for the family, the love of husband and wife bears fruit in new life, and finds daily expression in the loving efforts of parents to ensure an integral human and spiritual formation for their children. In the family each person, whether the smallest child or the oldest relative, is valued for himself or herself, and not seen simply as a means to some other end. Here we begin to glimpse something of the essential role of the family as the first building-block of a well-ordered and welcoming society. We also come to appreciate, within the wider community, the duty of the State to support families in their mission of education, to protect the institution of the family and its inherent rights, and to ensure that all families can live and flourish in conditions of dignity.

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Colossians, speaks instinctively of the family when he wishes to illustrate the virtues which build up the “one body” which is the Church. As “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved”, we are called to live in harmony and peace with one another, showing above all forbearance and forgiveness, with love as the highest bond of perfection (cf. Col 3:12-14). Just as in the marriage covenant, the love of man and woman is raised by grace to become a sharing in, and an expression of, the love of Christ and the Church (cf. Eph 5:32), so too the family, grounded in that love, is called to be a “domestic church”, a place of faith, of prayer and of loving concern for the true and enduring good of each of its members.

I'm sure you can see how important your own homes and hearths are in the Mystical Body. He showed his appreciation for the beautiful (if often hidden) work of women:

Whether as mothers in families, as a vital presence in the work force and the institutions of society, or in the particular vocation of following our Lord by the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience, women have an indispensable role in creating that “human ecology” (cf. Centesimus Annus, 39) which our world, and this land, so urgently needs: a milieu in which children learn to love and to cherish others, to be honest and respectful to all, to practice the virtues of mercy and forgiveness.

He extolled the essential generosity of men who imitate the sacrificial industriousness of Saint Joseph, and appealed for the intercession of Our Lady as he returned to his overriding theme of peace:

“Let it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). May our Lady of the Annunciation, who courageously opened her heart to God’s mysterious plan, and became the Mother of all believers, guide and sustain us by her prayers. May she obtain for us and our families the grace to open our ears to that word of the Lord which has the power to build us up (cf. Acts 20:32), to inspire courageous decisions, and to guide our feet into the path of peace!

Amen!

Clarifying that "Cloud"

Father Stephen has an excellent post on the "cloud of witnesses" that is comprised of those believers who have gone before us. Beginning with an answer to a woman who feared that her deceased husband wouldn't be as attuned to her life now that he was with God, the holy priest reminds us:

If you read the Revelation of St. John, it becomes clear that the primary concern of the inhabitants of heaven, within the great saint’s vision, is with the battle here on earth. There is a battle here and there is a war there. The “place of verdure, a place of rest, etc.” found in the Church’s prayers (particularly for the departed) are, in holy Scriptures, a place with a great deal of turmoil. I suspect that the place described in our prayers for the departed are “eschatological” visions of what will be when the battle is over and the strife is past.

 

But it is quite clear that Scripture has no notion of a two-storey world in which part of us are struggling for the salvation of our souls, while the rest can wipe their brows and say, “I’m glad that’s over.”

There are two excellent takeaways from his piece:

1. Our loved ones are still intimately entwined with our life; either in purgatory where they depend on every prayer we offer or in heaven where they interceded for us in every detail;

2. Our prayers and fidelity matter -- both here and in the hereafter.

I can recall a conversation with one of my brothers some years back. He wondered about the hermits in the desert. He had an admiration for the asceticism of their lifestyle. His question however was, “But what is the value when no one knows they are there.” The truth is that God knows they are there. The devil knows they are there and he trembles. And we all know they are there whether it is a conscious knowing or not. For their prayers permeate us and our prayers and join with them as they rise before God.

I know many of you feel like hermits yourselves -- praying madly for family members, your community and the wider world gone mad. Keep the faith and trust in the power of prayer.

The Body of Christ is one -- and every member matters, whether still here or proceeding on to glory. It's a privilege to be a part, and we must make that clear to those around us.

Oblation, then transformation

My brothers and sisters in Christ, it is the Holy Spirit that allows the seed of faith to take root and grow in us, and if we freely and lovingly cooperate with what God wants to do in us, our lives will bear much fruit. Like the woman who broke the jar of oil over Jesus, we must break ourselves open and pour ourselves out in love before the Lord (Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers).

To see a lovely application of this in one life, visit Jennifer:

And then I stumbled into Christianity. I never intended for my attempts to live as a Christian to bring about much change in my life. I saw it as an intellectual endeavor rather than self-improvement project.... [but] it was like the foundation of my life started crumbling below me and I found myself riding a landslide to a totally different existence. Rather than the surface-level, temporary changes I'd seen in my life when using secular methods that relied on self alone, with Christianity I experienced a deep transformation that went down to the root of my soul. It was not something I could have brought about on my own.

Finally, remember to pray for all priests, who recall their own anointing this week in the Chrism Masses said throughout the world.

Mary and the Passion

Father Mark reminds us that our journey is not undertaken alone. Amidst wonderful reflections on the call to Lazarus to come out of his tomb, Father reminds us that each of us requires help in extricating himself completely from the bonds of sin:

In the Communion of the Church

There is, for all of that, a detail not to be overlooked. Christ leaves us free to respond or not to his cry, "Veni foras! -- Come forth!" Is it possible to prefer the stench and darkness of the tomb -- isolation and death -- to life, to light, to communion with Christ and with one another? You have not forgotten, I am sure, that Lazarus came forth from the tomb "his hands and feet bound with bandages" (Jn 11:44). He emerged from the darkness into the light of day having need of others to "unbind him and let him go" (Jn 11:44). The new life, the risen life cannot be lived outside the community of the Church, nor apart from the fraternal communion of the monastery. When we withdraw, preferring the isolation of the bands that bind us, to the ministrations of fraternal charity, we refuse life. We have need of the communion of the Church, need of the hands and feet of others, need of the compassionate unbinding of the Mother of God. We find all of this -- communion with whole Body of Christ -- in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Cleave to the Church for your own good -- but not only that. For all the good that others have done for you along the steps of this pilgrimage -- especially Our Lady, take the time to be attentive to your neighbours who are still bound. Allow the wisdom of your own wounds to guide you, and join it all to the Passion of Christ, our only hope.

Turn and be saved

Let us fix our attention on the blood of Christ and recognise how precious it is to God his Father, since it was shed for our salvation and brought the grace of repentance to all the world.

  If we review the various ages of history, we will see that in every generation the Lord has offered the opportunity of repentance to any who were willing to turn to him. When Noah preached God’s message of repentance, all who listened to him were saved. Jonah told the Ninevites they were going to be destroyed, but when they repented, their prayers gained God’s forgiveness for their sins, and they were saved, even though they were not of God’s people.

  Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the ministers of God’s grace have spoken of repentance; indeed, the Master of the whole universe himself spoke of repentance with an oath: As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner but his repentance. He added this evidence of his goodness: House of Israel, repent of your wickedness. Tell the sons of my people: If their sins should reach from earth to heaven, if they are brighter than scarlet and blacker than sackcloth, you need only turn to me with your whole heart and say, “Father,” and I will listen to you as a holy people.

  In other words, God wanted all his beloved ones to have the opportunity to repent and he confirmed this desire by his own almighty will. That is why we should obey his sovereign and glorious will and prayerfully entreat his mercy and kindness. We should be suppliant before him and turn to his compassion, rejecting empty works and quarrelling and jealousy which only lead to death.

  Brothers, we should be humble in mind, putting aside all arrogance, pride and foolish anger. Rather, we should act in accordance with the Scriptures, as the Holy Spirit says: The wise man must not glory in his wisdom nor the strong man in his strength nor the rich man in his riches. Rather, let him who glories glory in the Lord by seeking him and doing what is right and just. Recall especially what the Lord Jesus said when he taught gentleness and forbearance. Be merciful, he said, so that you may have mercy shown to you. Forgive, so that you may be forgiven. As you treat others, so you will be treated. As you give, so you will receive. As you judge, so you will be judged. As you are kind to others, so you will be treated kindly. The measure of your giving will be the measure of your receiving.

  Let these commandments and precepts strengthen us to live in humble obedience to his sacred words. As Scripture asks: Whom shall I look upon with favour except the humble, peaceful man who trembles at my words?

  Sharing then in the heritage of so many vast and glorious achievements, let us hasten toward the goal of peace, set before us from the beginning. Let us keep our eyes firmly fixed on the Father and Creator of the whole universe, and hold fast to his splendid and transcendent gifts of peace and all his blessings (Saint Clement, Office of Readings for Ash Wednesday).

The glass is half-full

There are many things over which to legitimately wring our hands, but consider how the new Patriarch-elect of Russia answered this question from Der Spiegel:

SPIEGEL: It's clear to see that many Russians have adopted a liberal Western lifestyle. Sex before marriage is normal for many people, and only a small minority attends church services regularly. How firmly established are Christian values in Russia?

Kyrill: Spirituality can't be measured with statistics. Nevertheless, we aren't afraid of comparisons. Less than 20 years after the fall of the Soviet Union, the number of churches has quadrupled, we now have twice as many dioceses, and the number of monasteries has grown by a factor of 32 -- to 700 -- today. Fifteen thousand young people are studying theology. On the other hand, even though 80 percent of newborns are baptized in Russia, only 60 percent of Russians call themselves Orthodox Christians, and less than 10 percent attend church regularly -- even fewer in some provinces. In other words, we don't have to build any new churches, but what we must do is help our people understand how important it is to adhere to Christian values. Whether we succeed also depends on whether we can rid ourselves of outside influences.

He began with praising all that was good, which included some remarkable facts. Rome wasn't built in a day and likewise authentic renewal takes time. There are opposing forces countering efforts at evangelisation which will not simply disappear, but his positive answer takes into consideration both the very good start since 1989, and the obstacles which God knows are part of the plan.

It brings to mind the reading from Hebrews from today's Mass:

Remember all the sufferings that you had to meet after you received the light, in earlier days; sometimes by being yourselves publicly exposed to insults and violence, and sometimes as associates of others who were treated in the same way. For you not only shared in the sufferings of those who were in prison, but you happily accepted being stripped of your belongings, knowing that you owned something that was better and lasting. Be as confident now, then, since the reward is so great. You will need endurance to do God’s will and gain what he has promised.

Could we incorporate this realistic view that is grounded in hope and trust into the way we see our families and friends? In the struggle is both our testing and purification. Not too late for another New Year's resolution -- we are a people grounded in hope!

Holy Family -- not

I hate to spoil the mood, dears, but three stories have been in a holding pattern here on my desk and the Feast of the Holy Family is as good a time as any to remind people why Christianity exalts women, safeguards children and holds fast to the domestic environment best suited to the preservation of humanity.

We'll begin with polygamy, which is outrageously degrading to women -- who deserve one-on-one relationships in which both partners can give themselves totally to the other and provide a gift of self that honours each as a dignified subject. Finding that Mr Right has another Mrs Handy in his back pocket does little to foster marital bliss and can even lead one to drastic responses:

The death of a model who learnt that her husband was already married has shone a light into the murky world of Muslim polygamy in Britain. Sahar Daftary, 23, fell 150ft from the twelfth storey of a block of flats where she had gone to collect her belongings at the home of a businessman whom she had married in a religious ceremony last year.

Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, the head of the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain, told The Times: “This story is very common, unfortunately. We have tried to plug some of the holes in the whole system, but unfortunately our clerics do not live on this planet.

Unfortunate, yes. Ironically, in a beauty pageant, Sahar Daftary was chosen as the "Face of Asia" -- all the more telling, given her tragic suicide (she was quite a beauty, which gave this story its legs). And remember that the Archbishop of Canterbury had endorsed the shari'a laws that these "extraterrestrials" insist on using, which only makes sense since his church has already abandoned ship on contraception, abortion, and same-sex unions. What's a little polygamy after that?

Secondly, since I posted a lovely icon representing the birth of Christ, a friend brought to my attention the stark differences in the way that Christians and Muslims see Christ here through a study of that image:

1. It is an image of human beings, which violates the traditional Islamic prohibition of images;

2. It depicts Jesus not as a Muslim prophet but as the incarnate Son of God (his halo reads ο ων, the One Who Is, a title of divinity derived from the name of God that God gives to Moses in Exodus 3:14), in violation of the oft-repeated Qur'anic injunction that Allah has no Son (4:171; 9:30; 25:2; 39:4; 72:3; etc. etc.);

3. In line with #2, it depicts what Muslims would consider to be idolatry, as the holy child's mother kneels and adores him;

4. In the beam or spear coming from heaven down to the child in the cradle, it depicts the activity of the Divine in the world, assuming the doctrine of the Trinity, which is rejected somewhat imprecisely in Qur'an 4:171 and 5:116;

5. The cradle resembles a casket, foreshadowing the redemptive death of Christ, which is denied in Qur'an 4:157.

Then the writer goes on to remind us that the free will so cherished in Christianity -- indeed that characteristic through which we most mirror God Himself -- is nowhere in Islam, which exercises force to bring about "faith," which is all about coerced submission. (Remember our dear sister Martha, still imprisoned and probably listening to the whimpering cries of her starving children.)

Finally, Diana West sheds light on a dastardly dimension of US intelligence gathering operations here. It seems that Afghan's tribal chieftans would quickly sell each other out for a handful of little blue pills.

For some U.S. operatives in Afghanistan, Western drugs such as Viagra were just part of a long list of enticements available for use in special cases. Two veteran officers familiar with such practices said Viagra was offered rarely, and only to older tribal officials for whom the drug would hold special appeal. While such sexual performance drugs are generally unavailable in the remote areas where the agency's teams operated, they have been sold in some Kabul street markets since at least 2003 and were known by reputation elsewhere.

"You didn't hand it out to younger guys, but it could be a silver bullet to make connections to the older ones," said one retired operative familiar with the drug's use in Afghanistan. Afghan tribal leaders often had four wives -- the maximum number allowed by the Koran -- and aging village patriarchs were easily sold on the utility of a pill that could "put them back in an authoritative position," the official said....

 As a firm supporter of our troops and their mission, I must say that this is wretched stuff indeed. I understand the difficult trade-offs that need to be made constantly, but this seems to be done without any moral qualms. None [shrug.] God will not be mocked, guys. This -- to me -- is far worse than water-boarding. Where is the outrage, the discussion, the chatter?

The link includes a collection of photos of the some of the unfortunate children who will only suffer more because of the availability of these "man-treats." Imagine the beloved GI's who hand out candy to the little ones who sidle up to them on duty, giving sweets to the girls while slipping the vile pills to their geriatric husbands. Shame.

Love enfleshed

A dear priest friend was privileged to say Mass in Saint John Lateran on this feast of Saint John the Evangelist. He has posted his homily, which is particularly lovely:

We know that we are not just physical beings, not merely bodies occupying space. We are also spiritual; we have a soul.

But what does a soul look like? You cannot tell what another person’s soul looks like because it is invisible. You do not know if it is dark, occupied with hatred, anger or jealousy. Perhaps it is a soul filled with light, surrendered completely to love and compassion. We could never know such a thing.

But when persons express themselves—using their speech, actions, mannerisms—then we begin to catch a glimpse of what is happening in the soul. We cannot know everything, and we should always be careful not to make hasty judgments, but we can begin to see that which had been hidden.

I will give you an example. Let us say that a father has a deep and abiding love for his daughter. Well, what does that mean? What does it look like? But imagine that this little girl is out playing in the back yard, and suddenly she falls and is hurt. The father rushes out to her, scoops her up in his arms and holds her close to himself. Now we can see, in a concrete way, what it means to say that this father has a deep and abiding love for his daughter.

The body, in fact, and only it, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine.

His point is that the theology of the body, which we're finally hammering out at this stage of salvation history, is very much present in the Gospels, especially in that of Saint John. It has come to light due to our rampant abuse of the body -- especially in the sexual realm -- but it is far more than that. The body is both sacramental and gift, being both sign and essence. Only with the sacramental vision can we see the love of God made flesh and manifest in our own lives.

And that is precisely what St. John the Evangelist is saying in our first reading this morning. We listen to those words here, in this basilica dedicated to St. John, on his feast day. We hear his own words, his eyewitness account of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ:

Beloved: What was from the beginning,what we have heard,what we have seen with our eyes,what we looked uponand touched with our handsconcerns the Word of lifefor the life was made visible;we have seen it and testify to itand proclaim to you the eternal lifethat was with the Father and was made visible to us (1 John 1:1-2).

We have seen Him, St. John declares. We listened to His voice, we touched His body. The invisible God has been made visible to us, and now we proclaim this Christ to you! This is John’s message to all the world. He burns within to make it known, to announce to every person this Good News about the God who first loved him.

Do we share that ardour, that burning desire to share God's love? I have always been intrigued with the way that John defined himself, not by name, but by the appellation, "the one whom God loved." That we could all make that the defining detail of our lives -- unworthy as we are. Without receiving that love, what would we share with others?

In the heart of darkness--find Light

As we find ourselves in the darkest part of the year, tomorrow marking the winter solstice (in our hemisphere), the poignancy of Christmas is all the more evident -- in which we prepare for the Light of the world. Ironically, the nature of our celebration -- centering on family and loved ones -- is often the time when the fissures and pitfalls in our relationships come into broader focus. No Norman Rockwell cards here, but more often tense corners, painful memories and echoes of disappointments. Joy? Meh.  Our dear young Father Mahar preached on joy last weekend:

With all the suffering and sorrow in the world around us, the trials in our own personal lives, and the brokenness we experience so often, are we not deluding ourselves? What right does St. Paul have to say to us, “Rejoice,” and what obligation do we have to follow such counsel?

Father then goes on to remind us of the story of a most joy-filled man of God:

St. John of the Cross is a 16th century Spanish mystic and Doctor of the Church. He had an intense and intimate relationship with God and he possessed a unique gift for communicating that relationship to others through poetry and prose. John was called by God, along with his dear friend St. Teresa of Avila, to reform the Carmelite Order at that time.

The Carmelites are a contemplative religious order founded on a commitment to God in silent-as well as communal-prayer. John’s attempt to bring the focus more completely back to this original foundation was met with much resistance. His own contemporaries rejected him, and even had him abducted and brought to the Carmelite monastery in Toledo, where he was placed in a tiny cell with little food, little water and almost no light at all. He was treated miserably.

Yet it was there, alone and in the darkness of that prison cell, that St. John of the Cross made a remarkable discovery. He found joy—even there, of all places—and understood well that our rejoicing in God is not dependent upon anyone or anything else around us. We do not depend upon the way others treat us, or on what is happening in the world around us, or on any other thing. Our joy, St. John of the Cross would attest, comes from God.

And there, in the darkness, John began to write the most beautiful poems about the depths of God’s love and the soul’s remarkable journey towards union with Him. We still have those poems today…

As we come closer to the Holy Crib this week, let us bring our sadness, our disappointments and our disillusionment to lay them there once and for all. It would be good to let the distillation of these dark spots on our soul percolate to the surface, where they can be identified and nailed for what they are: human failings that mask God's love, expectations placed in the wrong place, and palpable pain that was borne up in the suffering of this Sinless Child on Calvary. Give it to Him, ask for peace, and do not put your trust in the wrong place. Only in the promises of God will such trust never be betrayed. Only in the humble manger will the hopes be adequately met.

Do not let others create obstacles to your Creator -- forgive and find joy. Let that be your primary gift this Holy Season.

Your sorrows for His joy -- is there any exchange more marvelous?!

Provoking memories

This blog account calls to mind the years of home-schooling in our own family. We had many such days. Her lovely anecdote about a faithful monk is so instructive for every pilgrim, no matter the circumstances of one's vocation, for all will be tested by God's own fire at Judgment Day.

Won’t the majority of our work, the laundry, the housecleaning, the meal-making, while necessary acts of service, just too burn up?

“But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames” (1 Cor. 3:13-15).

Invest your chores with love. Receive neighbouring souls with sincere affection. Take the time to assess whether your work is part of God's plan or your own private detour. Our kingdom is not of this world.