On the memorial of St. John Mary Vianney, patron saint of priests, I've decided to pull a few passages from a letter to priests that was published by Pope John Paul II on Holy Thursday of 1986. In this letter, the Pope reflected on the Curé D' Ars and the value of his example for priests today.

The depth of his love for Christ and for souls

The Cure of Ars is a model of priestly zeal for all pastors. The secret of his generosity is to be found without doubt in his love for God, lived without limits, in constant response to the love made manifest in Christ crucified. This is where he bases his desire to do everything to save the souls ransomed by Christ at such a great price, and to bring them back to the love of God. Let us recall one of those pithy sayings which he had the knack of uttering: "The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus." In his sermons and catechesis he continually returned to that love: "O my God, I prefer to die loving you than to live a single instant without loving you... I love you, my divine Savior, because you were crucified for us... because you have me crucified for you." For the sake of Christ, he seeks to conform himself exactly to the radical demands that Jesus in the Gospels puts before the disciples whom he sends out: prayer, poverty, humility, self-denial, voluntary penance. And, like Christ, he has a love for his flock that leads him to extreme pastoral commitment and self-sacrifice. Rarely has a pastor been so acutely aware of his responsibilities, so consumed by a desire to wrest his people from the sins of their lukewarmness. "O my God, grant me the conversion of my parish: I consent to suffer whatever you wish, for as long as I live." Dear brother priests, nourished by the Second Vatican Council which has felicitously placed the priest's consecration within the framework of his pastoral mission, let us join Saint John Mary Vianney and seek the dynamism of our pastoral zeal in the Heart of Jesus, in his love for souls. If we do not draw from the same source, our ministry risks bearing little fruit!

The specific ministry of the priest

Saint John Mary Vianney gives an eloquent answer to certain questionings of the priest's identity, which have manifested themselves in the course of the last twenty years; in fact it seems that today a more balanced position is being reached. The priest always, and in an unchangeable way, finds the source of his identity in Christ the Priest. It is not the world which determines his status, as though it depended on changing needs or ideas about social roles. The priest is marked with the seal of the Priesthood of Christ, in order to share in his function as the one Mediator and Redeemer. So, because of this fundamental bond, there opens before the priest the immense field of the service of souls, for their salvation in Christ and in the Church. This service must be completely inspired by love of souls in imitation of Christ who gives his life for them. It is God's wish that all people should be saved, and that none of the little ones should be lost (cf. Mt 18:14). "The priest must always be ready to respond to the needs of souls," said the Cure of Ars. "He is not for himself, he is for you." The priest is for the laity: he animates them and supports them in the exercise of the common priesthood of the baptized—so well illustrated by the Second Vatican Council—which consists in their making their lives a spiritual offering, in witnessing to the Christian spirit in the family, in taking charge of the temporal sphere and sharing in the evangelization of their brethren. But the service of the priest belongs to another order. He is ordained to act in the name of Christ the Head, to bring people into the new life made accessible by Christ, to dispense to them the mysteries—the Word, forgiveness, the Bread of Life—to gather them into his body, to help them to form themselves from within, to live and to act according to the saving plan of God. In a word, our identity as priests is manifested in the "creative" exercise of the love for souls communicated by Christ Jesus. Attempts to make the priest more like the laity are damaging to the Church. This does not mean in any way that the priest can remain remote from the human concerns of the laity: he must be very near to them, as John Mary Vianney was, but as a priest, always in a perspective which is that of their salvation and of the progress of the Kingdom of God. He is the witness and the dispenser of a life other than earthly life (cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis, 3). It is essential to the Church that the identity of the priest be safeguarded, with its vertical dimension. The life and personality of the Cure of Ars are a particularly enlightening and vigorous illustration of this.

His intimate configuration to Christ and his solidarity with sinners

Saint John Mary Vianney did not content himself with the ritual carrying out of the activities of his ministry. It was his heart and his life which he sought to conform to Christ. Prayer was the soul of his life: silent and contemplative prayer, generally in his church at the foot of the tabernacle. Through Christ, his soul opened to the three divine Persons, to whom he would entrust "his poor soul" in his last will and testament. "He kept a constant union with God in the middle of an extremely busy life." And he did not neglect the office or the rosary. He turned spontaneously to the Virgin. His poverty was extraordinary. He literally stripped himself of everything for the poor. And he shunned honors. Chastity shone in his face. He knew the value of purity in order "to rediscover the source of love which is God." Obedience to Christ consisted, for John Mary Vianney, in obedience to the Church and especially to the Bishop. This obedience took the form of accepting the heavy charge of being a parish priest, which often frightened him. But the Gospel insists especially on renouncing self, on accepting the Cross. Many were the crosses which presented themselves to the Cure of Ars in the course of his ministry: calumny on the part of the people, being misunderstood by an assistant priest or other confreres, contradictions, and also a mysterious struggle against the powers of hell, and sometimes even the temptation to despair in the midst of spiritual darkness. Nonetheless he did not content himself with just accepting these trials without complaining; he went beyond them by mortification, imposing on himself continual fasts and many other rugged practices in order to "reduce his body to servitude," as Saint Paul says. But what we must see clearly in this penance, which our age unhappily has little taste for, are his motives: love of God and the conversion of sinners. Thus he asks a discouraged fellow priest: "You have prayed..., you have wept..., but have you fasted, have you kept vigil...?" Here we are close to the warning Jesus gave to the Apostles: "But this kind is cast out only by prayer and fasting" (Mt 17:21). In a word, John Mary Vianney sanctified himself so as to be more able to sanctify others. Of course, conversion remains the secret of hearts, which are free in their actions, and the secret of God's grace. By his ministry, the priest can only enlighten people, guide them in the internal forum and give them the sacraments. The sacraments are of course actions of Christ, and their effectiveness is not diminished by the imperfection or unworthiness of the minister. But the results depend also on the dispositions of those who receive them, and these are greatly assisted by the personal holiness of the priest, by his perceptible witness, as also by the mysterious exchange of merits in the Communion of Saints. Saint Paul said: "In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church" (Col 1:24). John Mary Vianney in a sense wished to force God to grant these graces of conversion, not only by his prayer but by the sacrifice of his whole life. He wished to love God for those who did not love him, and even to do the penance which they would not do. He was truly a pastor completely at one with his sinful people. Dear brother priests, let us not be afraid of this very personal commitment—marked by asceticism and inspired by love—which God asks of us for the proper exercise of our Priesthood. Let us remember the recent reflections of the Synodal Fathers: "It seems to us that in the difficulties of today God wishes to teach us more deeply the value, importance and central place of the Cross of Jesus Christ." In the priest, Christ relives his Passion, for the sake of souls. Let us give thanks to God who thus permits us to share in the Redemption, in our hearts and in our flesh! For all these reasons, Saint John Mary Vianney never ceases to be a witness, ever living, ever relevant, to the truth about the priestly vocation and service. We recall the convincing way in which he spoke of the greatness of the priest and of the absolute need for him. Those who are already priests, those who are preparing for the Priesthood and those who will be called to it must fix their eyes on his example and follow it. The faithful too will more clearly grasp, thanks to him, the mystery of the Priesthood of their priests. No, the figure of the Cure of Ars does not fade.

(from the Letter of Pope John Paul II To All the Priests of the Church for Holy Thursday 1986)

See also:

Letter of Pope Benedict XVI Proclaiming a Year for Priests - June 16, 2009

Encyclical Letter of Pope John XXIII on Saint John Vianney - August 1, 1959

Labels: conversion, John Paul II, mercy, moral life, paschal mystery, pope benedict xvi, priesthood, saints, vocations, Year for Priests

Digging through my blog archives, I found this post from 2004.

Last night, I had a couple of experiences that caused me to reflect on providence and mercy.

It began as I was walking down Hollywood Boulevard, and saw a homeless man sitting in front of a tourist shop. As I passed by, he called out to me and to another pedestrian, "Hey, could you spare some change... enough change for a kitchen knife, so I can slit my throat?"

A little reversal of sentiment happened in my heart as I heard the second part of his statement. I had already begun fishing for some change, but when I heard him talk about the knife, I immediately decided that a donation might not, in this case, be charity. It might be more like contributing to Planned Parenthood.

I proceeded to board a subway that took me to my parish in the San Fernando Valley, St. Charles Borromeo. I wanted to get there in time to go to confession. I had forgotten that the parish had its annual festival going on this weekend. Confessions are normally heard between 7:30 and 8:30 pm, but when I arrived at the church at 8:10, the doors were locked. A couple of other young adults showed up, and we determined that they must have canceled or rescheduled confessions because of the festival.

Just then, the young associate pastor rounded the corner of the church, heading for the festival in the parking lot. He could see we were hoping to go to confession, so he offered to hear our confessions in the courtyard. There was a line of several people waiting to go to confession after me.

When I left the priest after confession, a young Hispanic man entered the courtyard from the other direction and darted over to the priest. My first thought: one of those people who's willing to confess cutting in front of others in line (isn't that the sin of presumption?). Anyway, I didn't think much of it. I wandered over to the silent auction for a bit and then sat down on the steps of the parish hall to check the voice mail on my cell phone.

While I was checking my voicemail, the same young Hispanic guy came up to me and asked if he could use my cell phone to call his wife. I handed him the phone and he proceeded to place the call.

"Honey, I just got out of jail and I went to the priest for confession. Yeah. How's Esther?" (almost crying) "I know. Okay. Well, I'm gonna try and catch a bus, but where am I going to come up with that kind of money? I don't have anything. I'm just going to trust God."

I felt naturally uncomfortable eavesdropping on this conversation, and then had a jaded Los Angeles moment: He wanted to be within earshot. So one guy tries to get into my wallet by threatening to slit his throat, and this guy is pretending he's making a fresh start. I'm gullible, but even I can see through this one.

The man handed back the cell phone, thanked me, and then walked away toward the festival. After he had gone about ten paces, he returned to me and said, "Hey, do you know where I might find anyone who could get me some money for a bus to Phoenix?"

I thought for a moment. Meanwhile, he said, "The priest said that the offices are closed until Monday. I've been in jail for six months. I have a wife and daughter in Phoenix. I just want to go be with my family. Could you help me? I promise, if you leave me your address, I'll send you the money. I swear."

Suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks. How's Esther?... I have a daughter...

So we went off in search of an ATM together. As we walked the two blocks to the nearest ATM, Reuben gave me more of his story. He was arrested for some gang & drug involvement here in LA, and his wife had moved to Phoenix in the meantime. Every time he talked about his daughter he got very emotional. "She's a year old now, and I haven't seen her for six months." He also told me that this was his first time going to a church and speaking to a priest. "When I got out, I wanted a priest to hear my confession."

Anyway, Reuben let me get him enough money for dinner and his bus fare. "Do you have any kids?" he asked me. No, I replied, and I told him I was thinking about the priesthood. After I said that, he kept calling me "Father." For some reason I didn't correct him. I think he was still dazed from his first experience of confession, in a kind of childlike awe at the mercy of God. I guess I didn't mind, at this particular moment, if he thought I somehow represented the Church as an avenue for that mercy.

It took a lot of courage and a lot of humility for him to approach the priest, and then to approach me, and to tell me - without any reservation and any self-justification - what he had done. Where did he get that kind of confidence, that kind of trust? Somehow I came away feeling that he understood this passage of Scripture far better than I:

Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. Everyone who asks receives; everyone who knocks will have the door opened. Is there anyone among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish? If you, then, evil as you are, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:7-11)

Later on, as I lay in bed falling to sleep, I asked myself, where did Reuben learn to trust the Father like that? One thing he said may provide an answer: I have a daughter.

So if you have a moment, say a prayer for Reuben and his wife. Pray for his daughter.

Labels: fatherhood, mercy

On April 25th of this year, Cardinal James Francis Stafford, the recently-retired head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, released a decree announcing that there will be special indulgences available to both priests and the rest of the faithful during the Year for Priests (which begins tomorrow).

Since there are certain indulgences attached to tomorrow's celebrations, I'm dedicating a blog post to the topic today, in the hope that at least some of you will be able to take advantage of this special opportunity.

Here's the introduction to the decree, which provides some context:

During the Year for Priests established by the Holy Father on the occasion of the anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney, the gift of special indulgences is granted.

Shortly the day will come on which will be commemorated the 150th anniversary of the pious departure to Heaven of St John Mary Vianney, the Curé d'Ars. This Saint was a wonderful model here on earth of a true Pastor at the service of Christ's flock.

Since his example is used to encourage the faithful, and especially priests, to imitate his virtues, the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI has established that for this occasion a special Year for Priests will be celebrated, from 19 June 2009 to 19 June 2010, in which all priests may be increasingly strengthened in fidelity to Christ with devout meditation, spiritual exercises and other appropriate actions.

This holy period will begin with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a day of priestly sanctification on which the Supreme Pontiff will celebrate Vespers in the presence of the holy relics of St John Mary Vianney, brought to Rome by the Bishop of Belley-Ars, France.

The Most Holy Father will likewise preside at the conclusion of the Year for Priests in St Peter's Square, in the presence of priests from across the world who will renew their fidelity to Christ and the bond of brotherhood.

May priests commit themselves, with prayer and good works, to obtaining from Christ the Eternal High Priest, the grace to shine with Faith, Hope, Charity and the other virtues, and show by their way of life, but also with their external conduct, that they are dedicated without reserve to the spiritual good of the people, something that the Church has always had at heart.

The gift of Sacred Indulgences which the Apostolic Penitentiary, with this Decree issued in conformity with the wishes of the August Pontiff, graciously grants during the Year for Priests will be of great help in achieving the desired purpose in the best possible way.

Before describing the particular requirements for the indulgences, I should acknowledge that there are many people who either are not familiar with the Church's teaching on indulgences, think the Church has abandoned the practice of granting them, or have objections to what they think the Church teaches about them. To all such people, I recommend the following two articles: Indulgences: the treasures of the Catholic Church and Myths about Indulgences. I also cover the topic briefly at the beginning of an RCIA Hollywood podcast on a Catholic vision of the moral life.

The decree continues by spelling out the particulars, which I'll summarize here:

• For priests:
  
  A plenary indulgence is available on any day of this Year for Priests.
  
  The conditions are:
  • praying Morning or Evening Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament (either exposed or reposed);
  • offering themselves with ready and generous hearts to celebrating the sacraments, especially Confession; and
  • observing the normal conditions for an indulgence: being truly repentant for sin; going to confession, participating in the Eucharist, and praying for the Pope's intentions.
  
  A partial indulgence is available to priests "every time that they devoutly recite the prayers duly approved so as to lead a holy life and to carry out in a holy manner the offices entrusted to them."



• For all of the faithful:
  
  A plenary indulgence is available:
  • on the days which open and close the Year for Priests;
  • on the 150th anniversary of the death of St John Vianney (August 4);
  • on the first Thursday of each month; and
  • on any other days established by the local bishop.
  
  The conditions are:
  • attending Mass;
  • offering prayers and good works to Jesus Christ, the Eternal High Priest, on behalf of the Church's priests; and
  • observing the other normal conditions for an indulgence: being truly repentant for sin; going to confession and praying for the Pope's intentions.
  
  On the same days, the elderly, sick, and homebound can obtain the indulgence by:
  • reciting prayers for the sanctification of priests;
  • offering their sufferings to God through Mary, Queen of Apostles; and
  • fulfilling the conditions prescribed for all of the faithful as soon as they are able.
  
  A partial indulgence is available to all the faithful whenever they devoutly recite five Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glorias (or another expressly approved prayer) in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with the intention that priests be preserved in purity and holiness.

During this Year for Priests, may the first sign of our solidarity with the Church -- and with priests, in particular -- be our prayers and offerings to God, along with the witness of a holy life.

Labels: charity, conversion, events, mercy, moral life, prayer, priesthood, suffering, Year for Priests

So there's this Catholic university in Indiana. Maybe you've heard of it. Maybe you've also heard that the President of the United States has been invited to speak at commencement tomorrow, and to receive an honorary law degree. It's been in the news. A little.

I haven't blogged about it at all. There have been plenty of others to do so.

(If you follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Delicious, you've read plenty about it there.)

If you want to follow the coverage of the prayerful demonstration that has been officially sanctioned by the University, you can see the schedule of events here, which begins with all-night adoration tonight.

Tomorrow, John Norton of Our Sunday Visitor will be live-blogging the event.

Pray for everyone at the University, for the President of the United States, for the Catholic Church in America, for our nation as a whole, and for the unborn. Our Lady, intercede for us all. Obtain for us all the mercy of your Son.

O Mary,
bright dawn of the new world,
Mother of the living,
to you do we entrust the cause of life:
Look down, O Mother,
upon the vast numbers
of babies not allowed to be born,
of the poor whose lives are made difficult,
of men and women
who are victims of brutal violence,
of the elderly and the sick killed
by indifference or out of misguided mercy.
Grant that all who believe in your Son
may proclaim the Gospel of life
with honesty and love
to the people of our time.
Obtain for them the grace
to accept that Gospel
as a gift ever new,
the joy of celebrating it with gratitude
throughout their lives
and the courage to bear witness to it
resolutely, in order to build,
together with all people of good will,
the civilization of truth and love,
to the praise and glory of God,
the Creator and lover of life.

Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae

Labels: human life, Mary, mercy, moral life, politics, prayer

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, a time to remember in a special way the message of our Lord to St. Faustina Kowalska, a simple nun from Krakow in early part of the 20th century.

When I was studying in Europe as part of a semester-abroad program in 1992, I had a chance to visit Krakow and visit the convent where Sister Faustina lived. I remember leaving from Steubenville's Austrian campus early that day -- which meant skipping out of the end of a talk given by Cardinal Schönborn, who was reading to us from the latest draft of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Just one more thing to lay before God's mercy...

When we arrived in Krakow, it was hard to find Sr. Faustina's convent -- although the fact that none of my classmates spoke Polish might have had something to do with it... We just pulled out our holy cards with the image of the Divine Mercy on it, and first were directed to the wrong church! But we eventually got there, and the sisters were kind enough to show us around... we saw the sisters' cemetery, the chapel that contains the image, and the tomb of St. Faustina. Here are a few photos...

The sister's cemetery

Praying at the tomb of St. Faustina

The Divine Mercy image in the chapel

A Polish holy card

Labels: Easter, liturgy, mercy, saints

The feast of Divine Mercy is this coming Sunday. Visit the website of the National Shrine of Divine Mercy for all kinds of information about Saint Faustina, the Divine Mercy chaplet, and John Paul II's special devotion to the Divine Mercy.

I remember reading St. Faustina's diary about fourteen years ago, after visiting her convent outside of Krakow, and being very moved not only by her mystical experiences but also her deep and abiding love for God and for sinners. Two of my favorite quotes:

Only love has meaning; it raises up our smallest actions into infinity (Notebook I, #502)

Almost every feast of the Church gives me a deeper knowledge of God and a special grace. That is why I prepare myself for each feast and unite myself closely with the spirit of the Church. What a joy it is to be a faithful child of the Church! Oh, how much I love Holy Church and all those who live in it! I look upon them as living members of Christ, who is their head. I burn with love with those who love; I suffer with those who suffer. (Notebook I, #481)

So why not prepare yourself for this feast of the Church? Many parishes will be having Divine Mercy devotions this Sunday at 3 pm, the hour of mercy. While the Divine Mercy novena began on Good Friday, it's not too late to join in. You can also download a talk on Divine Mercy to your computer or MP3 player, compliments of Fr. Jay Finelli, the iPadre.

Labels: Easter, liturgy, mercy, multimedia, podcasts, prayer, saints

The Good Friday prayer vigil sponsored by Pro-Life Action Ministries took place today at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Highland Park. I've audio recorded and posted four of the reflections by Catholic clergy, and you'll find links below, as well as some photos. (Unfortunately, I pressed the wrong button on my iPhone voice recorder app after the Archbishop's reflection, so I don't have that audio.)

Planned Parenthood call for participants is posted here:

This year, we are incorporating 2 new elements to our event.

At 10am, a multi-faith, pro-choice prayer service will be open to all of our supporters. This service will last approximately 20 minutes and will include a variety of faiths. Additionally, we will be collecting food items for local food shelves; please bring a non-perishable food item to donate and Planned Parenthood will collect and deliver them.

A few of my own thoughts from the day:

I was on site on and off from 9 am until around 1 pm. The number of pro-life participants was high early on, and remained pretty steady as time went on. The Planned Parenthood contingent started off with quite a few people, but had tapered down to several dozen by noon.

Good reflections from the pastors. Beautiful weather (actually overheard one pro-lifer say "This isn't nearly penitential enough!"). It made me wonder if the Planned Parenthood numbers would have been as impressive if the weather had not been nice; I'm thinking not, since their platform caters to convenience and comfort.

It was disconcerting to see a Christian pastor of some stripe among the Planned Parenthood crowd, identifiable by his black clerical neckband shirt (you'll see him in the Flickr gallery below).... I believe I saw him addressing them all at one point, but I didn't hear what he said, other that to notice that he was obviously offering them encouragement for what they were doing. What kind of mental/moral gymnastics do you need to go through to get to this position?

As I was crossing the street, I overheard a conversation between a mother and her daughter (who was probably no more than eight years old). I heard the mom say to her, "When you grow up, you don't want those people deciding for you what you can and can't do with your body." Parents are the primary educators of their children. Very sobering. I felt like approaching the daughter and saying, "Don't you feel fortunate that your mom happened to decide to have you?"

I also overheard a couple of teenage girls across the street from the protest, talking to each other as they walked by. "A protest of a protest? How lame is that? Like, 'Yes, I am proud of my right to kill my babies.' Whatever."

The most surreal moment in the day for me was when I was walking up the sidewalk past the Planned Parenthood crowd, and noticing that a number of the protesters brought their small dogs with them; not many of them brought children. I felt like I was back in LA for a minute. I had my rosary in one hand as I walked by, and suddenly one of these dogs charged me, going right for my rosary, not my hand. It was weird... like a little Mel Gibson satanic baby moment. That poor puppy may need some deliverance ministry. The woman who had the dog on the leash immediately pulled him back, and was very apologetic. I told her not to worry.

The Planned Parenthood supporters were boisterous and cheering, playing to the traffic as cars passed by and honked. Very different sort of demeanor from the pro-lifers. Many of the PP supporters had these brittle grins on their faces; I've seen this before. I don't know exactly how to describe this brittle joy, other than to say that it gives the impression of being very fragile... even a slight wind could knock it over and it would shatter. Very different from the sober joy of those who have embraced their suffering. The spirit of this brittle joy reminds me of people who are intoxicated.. the joy of escape, I suppose you might say, rather than the joy of facing reality squarely, with the grace and mercy of Christ.

Some background on the event, from Brian Gibson of Pro-Life Action Ministries:

A quick last note regarding our All-Day Good Friday Prayer Vigil in front of Planned Parenthood's abortuary in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul. Every year I hear back from participants of the significant deepening of their commemoration of Christ's passion and death because of our prayer vigil. If there is any way you join with us please do. Come for an hour or two, half a day or the whole day. Come anytime morning or afternoon. I have re-listed the schedule of pastors for the day:

9:00 am. - Most Reverend John Neinstedt, Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

9:30 - Reverend Roger Barcus, Pastor of St. Paul Apostolic Tabernacle

10:00 - Reverend Andrew Cozzens, Assistant Director of the Archdiocesan Office of Worship - audio here

10:30 - Reverend Kevin Finnegan, Pastor of Divine Mercy Catholic Church - audio here

11:00 - Reverend Anthony Vanderloop, Pastor of St. Peter and St. James Catholic Churches - audio here

11:30 - Reverend James Livingston, Catholic Chaplain at North Memorial Hospital - audio here

12:00 pm - Reverend Leo Reck, Pastor of Word of Grace Baptist Church

12:30 - Reverend Christopher Kneen, Pastor of North Branch United Methodist Church

1:00 - Reverend Brian Lother, Pastor of Hope Community Church

1:30 - Reverend Thomas Parish, Administrative Pastor of Hope Lutheran Church

2:00 - Reverend Fred Thoni, Pastor of Elmwood Evangelical Free Church

2:30 - Reverend Ned Berube, Pastor of Christ Community Church

3:00 - Reverend David Fronsoe, Pastor of Evangelist Crusaders Church

3:30 - Reverend Elijah Layfield, Associate Pastor of Outreach Ministry at Bethlehem Baptist Church

3:45 - Closing Prayer -- Everyone in attendance

Planned Parenthood's abortuary is located at 1965 Ford Parkway, St. Paul, MN.

Here are some photos from this morning's vigil. Gallery with comments here.

Labels: human life, mercy, multimedia, prayer

At the foot of the Cross, Mary lovingly receives the lifeless body of her Son. She kisses Him, and then gazes out at us as she holds Him. Her eyes are filled with grief but no bitterness. “This is for you,” her eyes say to us. She is the gracious hostess of the divine meal, expressing a hospitality that has cost her everything.

Mary is… the Mother of Mercy because it is to her that Jesus entrusts his Church and all humanity. At the foot of the Cross, when she accepts John as her son, when she asks, together with Christ, forgiveness from the Father for those who do not know what they do, Mary experiences, in perfect docility to the Spirit, the richness and the universality of God’s love, which opens her heart and enables it to embrace the entire human race. Thus Mary becomes, for each and every one of us, the Mother who obtains for us divine mercy.

Pope John Paul II, The Splendor of Truth

Labels: John Paul II, Lent, Mary, mercy, stations of the cross

Veronica boldly steps forward to offer some relief. No one stops her: the guards are too consumed with the chaos of the crowds. Jesus accepts this gesture gratefully, and wipes His Face on her cloth. The cloth receives the imprint of the New Adam. We, too, received that imprint when the waters of baptism poured down on us. In the veil of Veronica, we see, as in a mirror, our true selves and our high calling.

Remember, Christian, the surpassing worth of the wisdom that is yours. Bear in mind the kind of school in which you are to learn your skills, the rewards to which you are called. Mercy itself wishes you to be merciful, righteousness itself wishes you to be righteous, so that the Creator may shine forth in his creature, and the image of God be reflected in the mirror of the human heart…. The faith of those who live their faith is a serene faith. What you long for will be given you; what you love will be yours forever.

Saint Leo the Great, Pope, from a sermon on the Beatitudes

Labels: charity, Lent, mercy, stations of the cross

Though I didn't have the opportunity to travel to World Youth Day in Sydney, I did have the chance to accompany some pilgrims virtually, via Xt3, the official social networking site for WYD 2008. There were a number of very active discussion threads; the most active threads were, not surprisingly, those that touched on the Church's teaching on human sexuality.

Here's a few of the questions that were posed, and my responses.

on contraception / overpopulation

Xt3 pilgrim writes:
The so-called "pro"creation policies that the catholic institution has in place are not actually "pro" to creation at all, as they will be detrimental to our world, the one that God so lovingly created. An even larger human population will not help global warming, which may be inconvenient, but is definitely here. We need a smaller human population. If people are going to insist on sexual intercourse I hope they use contraceptive methods. But they won't, and our population will grow. Another war will break out. God's earth will be even more destroyed. The catholic institution will do what? Nothing.

I respond:
Here's a short response to your question about contraception and overpopulation.

1) The Church doesn't say that people must have as many children as possible, although it does encourage couples to be generous when planning family life. The Church speaks of natural regulation of family size using a method called Natural Family Planning (NFP). Father John Flynn has a link to more information about Natural Family Planning here:
http://www.xt3.com/discussion/thread.php?id=2095
The difference between artificial contraception (condoms, the Pill, etc) and NFP is that artificial contraception says "no" to new life when it would naturally occur during intercourse. NFP says "yes" to life but simply avoids intercourse during the woman's fertile time of the month. It respects the natural rhythm of the woman's body.

2) Not everyone agrees that the world is over-populated. Problems of world hunger are more certainly tied to selfish governments, etc, than too many people on the face of the earth. Similarly, it's probably not the sheer number of people on the planet that is leading to a shortage of natural resources. It's the way we have been carelessly exploiting these resources. I think you'll be hearing Pope Benedict XVI address issues of ecology while he's in Australia.

Janet Smith is a bioethicist who has a great talk -- Contraception: Why Not -- that covers some of these issues and other considerations. I heard it in audio form a while back, and it's available to read online now. When you have time, check out her talk here:
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0002.html

Another thing to recognize: true solutions to problems in the world never come by violating God's design for sexuality and human life, but always by way of respect for these things. Those who suggest otherwise are usually looking for shortcuts to paradise... that is, solutions that don't involve responsible use of creation, human sexuality, etc. The Church knows we're capable of love and responsibility, while the wider culture tends to operate on motives of fear and a desire to avoid the sacrifices/responsibilities that love demands.

One last thought: Artificial contraception does not respect what God has made, any more than rampant deforestation, etc.

on the interpretation of the Bible in relation to homosexual acts

Xt3 pilgrim writes:
A lot of what you have said... is taken from the Bible. Please don't quote the Bible at me, because we all know the Bible cannot be taken as a contempoary novel. For example Leviticus and Paul have very different ideas about whether eating bacon will 'bring the wrath of your Lord-God upon yourself'. I believe, and this is very post-modern (hardly surprising as I was brought up in the post-modern context), that we must interpret the Bible the way WE think God would want us to, as shaped by the interpetations we hear as one half of our Mass, and such dicussions as this. For example, from the Bible I can find direct quotes saying slavery is commendable (for those who didn't do history this was a major factor in why America had slavery for so long) and I can find other direct quotes saying it is a disgusting practice.

I respond:
The immorality of homosexual acts is often contested by those who express concern about the fundamentalist habit of proof-texting from certain Old Testament passages.

It's true that the scriptures can be used to support almost any position (think, for instance, of the way Satan interpreted the sacred texts when tempting Jesus in the desert). So how can we know what is a correct/authentic interpretation of the scriptures? Can the scriptures interpret themselves / vouch for their own authority? Why do we turn to the Bible at all? Why is it considered authoritative?

The short answer would be that the Bible was written, collected and recognized as canonical by the community of the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit. We wouldn't even have the Bible without the Church. So the Church's teaching authority has protected / passed on the Scriptures to us, and has offered an authentic interpretation of them.

If someone wrote you a letter, don't you think the person who wrote the letter would be the best authority re: what was meant by the letter? See the Vatican II document Dei Verbum (especially sections 9 and 10) for further discussion of the relationship between the Bible and the Church's living teaching office.

on masturbation

Xt3 pilgrim writes:
So apparently masturbation is evil? How ridiculus is that?... It just seems SO alien to me. Not to mention I imagine that every single male teenager has done it before they even knew what it was!

I respond:
First of all, yes, the Church teaches that masturbation is wrong. From the Catholic Catechism, paragraph 2352:

"By masturbation is to be understood the deliberate stimulation of the genital organs in order to derive sexual pleasure. Both the Magisterium of the Church, in the course of a constant tradition, and the moral sense of the faithful have been in no doubt and have firmly maintained that masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered action. The deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose. For here sexual pleasure is sought outside of the sexual relationship which is demanded by the moral order and in which the total meaning of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true love is achieved. To form an equitable judgment about the subjects' moral responsibility and to guide pastoral action, one must take into account the affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety or other psychological or social factors that lessen, if not even reduce to a minimum, moral culpability."

* * *

Granted, our culture doesn't consider it a sin, and you might even find people in the Church, even priests, who would be dismissive of calling it serious sin.

The Church doesn't point out sin to shame us, but to try to lead us toward happiness by showing us where the dead-ends are along the way.

Here's the basic logic of the Church: masturbation is the misuse of one of God's greatest gifts, our sexuality. The language of sexual activity is meant to be the language of love, of union and communion, of self-gift for the sake of one's beloved. Its proper home is in the context of marriage. Between a man and a woman, this "language" can be spoken in truth. When a man gives himself sexually to his wife, his action can really mean for her: "I make a free, faithful, total gift of myself to you, and I am willing for this gift to have the consequence of bringing new life into the world. I love you in such a committed way that I am not only willing to be one with you at this moment, but for our oneness to become so real that it begins a family... which requires our oneness for many years to come. I choose to be one with you in this total, vulnerable, unique way, a way which will require many sacrifices of me, and of you... sacrifices that I am ready to make, because I love you and have committed myself to you." So that is the context of the Church's teaching.

Masturbation speaks a different language. For one thing, it doesn't require a spouse at all. Doesn't lead to new life. Doesn't necessarily lead to the two becoming one flesh, which is the great sacrament of love. It can destroy happiness by leading a person into a spiral of loneliness, isolation, and selfishness. It offers momentary pleasure, but delivers nothing lasting. While it is true that some couples masturbate together, by doing so, they're changing what they communicate to each other. It introduces selfishness in what was meant to be an act of total self-gift, a renewal of marriage vows, and an openness to new life. The partners can end up using each other for pleasure, and the desire for self-gratification can blur the focus on the good of the other. If it is mutually satisfying, it is so by matter of coincidence, not by the nature of the act. The act says "me first" and "I will use this incredible gift in a way that I choose that is not in keeping with the desire of the One who gave me this gift."

I want to make one other very important point: just because masturbation is always wrong, doesn't mean that the person who commits it is necessarily in serious sin (sometimes called "mortal" or "grave"; the kind that requires confession). For a person to be culpable/responsible of a serious sin, three things must be present: 1) grave matter - the action, in itself, must be evil; 2) full knowledge - he must know it is seriously wrong; 2) full consent - he must choose freely to do it anyway. If any of these three things is missing, it wouldn't be mortal sin, but venial sin. Now notice that when discussing masturbation, the Church specifically makes this point about not everyone being fully culpable: "To form an equitable judgment about the subjects' moral responsibility and to guide pastoral action, one must take into account the affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety or other psychological or social factors that lessen, if not even reduce to a minimum, moral culpability."

If masturbation has become a habit, this can diminish responsibility. Doesn't mean it's a good thing, but it can make you less responsible. Remember, the Church is a mother, and she understands human weakness. For some, it can take a long time to overcome a habit that carries with it so much comfort and/or pleasure. Some use it as an escape from pain, etc. But the Church wants us to have the grace of Christ, which is a grace that can help us break habits that keep us in chains.

Long story short, the Church recognizes that someone who masturbates doesn't necessarily do it out of hatred for God, etc. Nevertheless, she calls us to the freedom of love... the self-possession that is the pre-condition for giving ourselves away in love. We can't give what we have not come to possess.

In summary, masturbation represents a failure to understand/participate in what is essentially a relational capacity of man -- human sexuality is ordered to relationship. One of the essential ends of genital expression is to unite a man and a woman to each other... each making a gift of self to the other. Masturbation is a mockery of this end... it is to intercourse what bulimia is to healthy habits of eating. Maybe masturbation does not exploit someone else, but it certainly does exploit oneself. And it does exploit someone else, in a sense, because the time spent in this solpsistic activity is robbing the energy and love that could have been spent in love of another. Remember that there is something called a sin of omission...

One last thing: If you struggle with this, don't be afraid, and don't let shame paralyze you. Keep your eyes firmly fixed on the mercy of God which is always pursuing you. Don't let falls discourage you. And don't listen to the voice that says "everybody is doing it." Even if this were true, would it really matter? What everyone does is not the ultimate point of reference for love.

Labels: mercy, respect, social networking

The Servant of God John Paul II, valuing the spiritual experience of a humble religious, St. Faustina Kowalska, wanted the Sunday after Easter to be dedicated in a special way to divine mercy, and providence disposed that he should die precisely on the vigil of that day (in the hands of Divine Mercy).

The mystery of the merciful love of God was at the center of the pontificate of my venerated predecessor. Let us recall, in particular, the encyclical Dives in Misericordia of 1980, and the dedication of the new shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow, in 2002.

The words he pronounced on that last occasion were as a synthesis of his magisterium, evidencing that devotion to Divine Mercy is not a secondary, but an integral dimension of a Christian's faith and prayer.

May Mary most holy, mother of the Church... obtain for all Christians to live in fullness Sunday as the "week's Easter," relishing the beauty of the encounter with the risen Lord and drinking from the source of his merciful love, to be apostles of his peace.

Source: ZENIT

Labels: mercy

Mercy... provides a touchstone more infallible perhaps than the test of any other virtue for a life conceived and molded in Christ. Hence, the question whether we have been merciful must play a decisive part in our examination of conscience. Many are the occasions for mercy which we miss. Only too often do we, as did the Pharisee, pass by a wounded one—clinging to our personal concerns, circumscribed by our lack of freedom.

Yet, the virtue by which we live hourly is precisely the one of which we ought to be most mindful. And the mercy of God is what we live by. It pervades our life integrally; it is the primal truth on which the whole being of a Christian rests. "For his mercy endureth forever" (Ps 135:1)....

The way to attain the virtue of mercy lies in our constant awareness of being encompassed by mercy: of the fact that mercy is the air we children of God are breathing. May the mercy of God... pierce and transform our hearts. May it draw us into the orbit of its all-conquering, liberating, suave power, before which all worldly standards collapse.

For according to the words of the Lord's Prayer ("Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us"), only insofar as we become merciful ourselves may we harvest the fruits of His mercy and taste, on a day to come, the last word of His mercy "that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard: neither hath it entered into the heart of man" (1 Cor 2:9).

"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."

from Transformation in Christ by Dietrich von Hildebrand, "Holy Mercy"

Labels: mercy

Mary shares our human condition, but in complete openness to the grace of God. Not having known sin, she is able to have compassion on every kind of weakness. She understands sinful man and loves him with a Mother's love. Precisely for this reason she is on the side of truth and shares the Church's burden in recalling always and to everyone the demands of morality. Nor does she permit sinful man to be deceived by those who claim to love him by justifying his sin, for she knows that the sacrifice of Christ her Son would thus be emptied of its power. No absolution offered by beguiling doctrines, even in the areas of philosophy and theology, can make man truly happy: only the Cross and the glory of the Risen Christ can grant peace to his conscience and salvation to his life.

O Mary,
Mother of Mercy,
watch over all people,
that the Cross of Christ
may not be emptied of its power,
that man may not stray
from the path of the good
or become blind to sin,
but may put his hope ever more fully in God
who is "rich in mercy" (Eph 2:4).
May he carry out the good works
prepared by God beforehand (cf. Eph 2:10)
and so live completely
"for the praise of his glory" (Eph 1:12).

from the conclusion to Veritatis Splendor ("The Splendor of Truth") by Pope John Paul II

Labels: mercy

Here's an excerpt from a meditation I wrote after seeing The Passion of the Christ:



At the foot of the Cross, Mary lovingly receives the lifeless body of her Son. She kisses Him, and then gazes out at us as she holds Him. Her eyes are filled with grief but no bitterness. “This is for you,” her eyes say to us. She is the gracious hostess of the divine meal, expressing a hospitality that has cost her everything.

Mary is… the Mother of Mercy because it is to her that Jesus entrusts his Church and all humanity. At the foot of the Cross, when she accepts John as her son, when she asks, together with Christ, forgiveness from the Father for those who do not know what they do, Mary experiences, in perfect docility to the Spirit, the richness and the universality of God’s love, which opens her heart and enables it to embrace the entire human race. Thus Mary becomes for each and every one of us, the Mother who obtains for us divine mercy.

Pope John Paul II, The Splendor of Truth

Labels: mercy

Ever since the 2004 HIV scare shut down the porn industry in Southern California for several weeks, I have been wondering: has anyone considered (or, better yet, developed) a ministry to those seeking to leave the world of pornography?

I do know of a couple of internet apostolates: the most impressive I have seen is xxxchurch.com, and there is also the Catholic pornnomore.com, which has good content, despite the unattractive layout. (An aside here: Sin doesn't need good production values in order to sell -- if you've ever seen pornographic materials, this is quite self-evident. However, I think it's difficult to make an effective appeal to truth and beauty without a design consistent with the message. Sin is ugly - and porn proves that. Goodness, truth and beauty are awe-inspiring, and materials that want to make an appeal on behalf of these things ought to testify to their attractiveness, rather than provide a counter-witness. I really have to pick up Fr. Thomas Dubay's book, The Evidential Power of Beauty: Science and Theology Meet).

My sense is that many Christians just find the whole business of pornography distasteful and beyond the possibility of missionary endeavor. Of course, it is a healthy instinct to recoil at the notion of porn, but recoiling from those who are the day-to-day casualties of the porn industry seems to me a deficient attitude, especially for Christians.

Last year, an article in the Los Angeles Times gave a bit of backstory about the actors in a nightmarish, oppressive industry that presents itself as victimless and, at times, even glamorous. I can't help but believe that some of these actors would be especially open to what John Paul II has to say about the dignity of the human person, the destructive power of lust, the false freedom of shamelessness, and the desire to be loved as an unrepeatable person instead of being desired as a reproducible object.

And that is only to consider the ones producing the content. What about all of those people receiving it? Judith Reisman has done extensive research on Dr. Alfred Kinsey and the effects of pornography. I recommend a visit to her website, www.judithreisman.org. She's done her homework. Particularly compelling is her testimony last year before the Senate: The Brain Science Behind Pornography Addiction and the Effects of Addiction on Families and Communities. Here is a brief excerpt:

Thanks to the latest advances in neuroscience, we now know that emotionally arousing images imprint and alter the brain, triggering an instant, involuntary, but lasting, biochemical memory trail.

This applies to so-called "soft-core" and "hard-core" pornography, which may, arguably, subvert the First Amendment by overriding the cognitive speech process.

Once our neurochemical pathways are established they are difficult or impossible to delete. Erotic images also commonly trigger the viewer’s "fight or flight” sex hormones producing intense arousal states that appear to fuse the conscious state of libidinous arousal with unconscious emotions of fear, shame, anger and hostility.

These media erotic fantasies become deeply imbedded, commonly coarsening, confusing, motivating and addicting many of those exposed.

So Dr. Reisman has done the research. Now who will enter the mission field? Or will no one do as St. Francis once did, when he went out to be among the lepers? The words of John Paul II haunt me:

"Am I my brother's keeper?" (Gen 4:9). Yes, every man is his "brother's keeper," because God entrusts us to one another. And it is also in view of this entrusting that God gives everyone freedom, a freedom which possesses an inherently relational dimension. This is a great gift of the Creator, placed as it is at the service of the person and of his fulfillment through the gift of self and openness to others...
Evangelium Vitae, paragraph 19

Granted, John Paul II was writing talking about abortion and contraception in this passage, but he also referenced all of the other expressions of the culture of death. Pornography certainly falls within that camp.

So here are a few questions for discussion and reflection:

• Do you know of anyone engaged in an outreach to those who have been used by the porn industry?
• An outreach in this arena has special demands and spiritual perils. What sort of people would best be suited for this mission field?
• Am I praying for those in the porn industry: directors, producers, actors, and viewers/addicts? Or does my disgust with the whole business make me avoid the call of charity in this regard?

Labels: hollywood, human life, John Paul II, mercy, suffering, theology of the body

It seems fitting that John Paul II has passed from this life to the next on the eve of the feast of Divine Mercy. He wrote an encylical letter on the mercy of God, and canonized Sister Maria Faustina.

Right from the beginning of my ministry in St. Peter’s See in Rome, I consider this message [of Divine Mercy] my special task. Providence has assigned it to me in the present situation of man, the Church and the world. It could be said that precisely this situation assigned that message to me as my task before God.
— November 22, 1981 at the Shrine of Merciful Love in Collevalenza, Italy

Here's a short quote from his encylical letter:

The Church proclaims the truth of God's mercy revealed in the crucified and risen Christ, and she professes it in various ways. Furthermore, she seeks to practice mercy towards people through people, and she sees in this an indispensable condition for solicitude for a better and "more human" world, today and tomorrow. However, at no time and in no historical period-especially at a moment as critical as our own-can the Church forget the prayer that is a cry for the mercy of God amid the many forms of evil which weigh upon humanity and threaten it. Precisely this is the fundamental right and duty of the Church in Christ Jesus, her right and duty towards God and towards humanity. The more the human conscience succumbs to secularization, loses its sense of the very meaning of the word "mercy," moves away from God and distances itself from the mystery of mercy, the more the Church has the right and the duty to appeal to the God of mercy "with loud cries" (cf. Heb. 5:7). These "loud cries" should be the mark of the Church of our times, cries uttered to God to implore His mercy, the certain manifestation of which she professes and proclaims as having already come in Jesus crucified and risen, that is, in the Paschal Mystery. It is this mystery which bears within itself the most complete revelation of mercy, that is, of that love which is more powerful than death, more powerful than sin and every evil, the love which lifts man up when he falls into the abyss and frees him from the greatest threats.
— Dives in Misericordia (Rich in Mercy), encyclical of Pope John Paul II, 11/30/1980

Labels: John Paul II, mercy

Have you ever showed up at a parish for confession, during the regularly scheduled time, and found that no priest was available in the confessional? It's happened to me three times - at two different parishes - in the eight months I have lived in the archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Of course, there is no way for me to know for certain the reasons for the priest's absence. It could be that the priest was called away due to an emergency. In other cases, maybe no one showed up at the scheduled time, but does that mean the priest should simply leave before the end of the scheduled time for confessions?

Regardless of the reasons for the vacant confessional, I will say that the impression it left with this aspiring penitent was that the celebration of the sacrament was not considered to be very important to the priests (and parishioners) at these parishes. When a parish has only two scheduled opportunities for confession each week, and then no one shows up at these times, perhaps we are witnessing a case of mutual "de-evangelization," in which the indifference of parishioners leads to indifference of priests, and vice versa.

Maybe offering the sacrament more frequently would lead some parishioners to think: "hmm... maybe this sacrament is not just for wanton murderers." In the Pope's 2002 letter On Certain Aspects of the Celebration of the Sacrament of Penance, he writes:

All priests with faculties to administer the Sacrament of Penance are always to show themselves wholeheartedly disposed to administer it whenever the faithful make a reasonable request. An unwillingness to welcome the wounded sheep, and even to go out to them in order to bring them back to the fold, would be a sad sign of a lack of pastoral sensibility in those who, by priestly Ordination, must reflect the image of the Good Shepherd....

It is particularly recommended that in places of worship confessors be visibly present at the advertised times, that these times be adapted to the real circumstances of penitents, and that confessions be especially available before Masses, and even during Mass if there are other priests available, in order to meet the needs of the faithful.

The practice of making confessions available before or during Mass is also mentioned in the recent instruction on the Eucharist (Redemptionis Sacramentum, paragraph 76).

Last Friday, the Pope addressed the bishops of California, Nevada, and Hawaii and exhorted them to a renewal of the sacrament of Penance. Among other things, he noted that:

• we are all called to a profound conversion of heart and mind
  
• the credibility of the Church's proclamation is closely tied to the holiness of her members
  
• the loss of the sense of sin urgently needs to be addressed
  
• recognizing oneself as a sinner is the "first and essential step in returning to the healing love of God"
  
• the priest is to express the mercy of God - rather than "a mere sense of favor" - toward sinners
  
• there is a need for priests to give more emphasis to the beauty and power of the sacrament of Penance
  

Here are some of my favorite passages from last Friday's address:

The courage to face the crisis of the loss of the sense of sin, to which I alerted the whole Church early in my Pontificate (cf. Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, 18), must be addressed today with particular urgency. While the effects of sin abound – greed, dishonesty and corruption, broken relationships and exploitation of persons, pornography and violence – the recognition of individual sinfulness has waned. In its place a disturbing culture of blame and litigiousness has arisen which speaks more of revenge than justice and fails to acknowledge that in every man and woman there is a wound which, in the light of faith, we call original sin (cf. ibid., 2).

Saint John tells us: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves" (1 Jn 1:8). Sin is an integral part of the truth about the human person. To recognize oneself as a sinner is the first and essential step in returning to the healing love of God. Given this reality, the Bishop’s duty to indicate the sad and destructive presence of sin, both in individuals and in communities, is in fact a service of hope. Far from being something negative, it strengthens believers to abandon evil and embrace the perfection of love and the fullness of Christian life. Let us boldly announce that indeed we are not the sum total of our weaknesses and failures! We are the sum of the Father’s love for us, and capable of becoming the image of his Son!....

We all can be lured by the temptation to separate ourselves from the Father and thus suffer loss of dignity, humiliation and shame, but equally so we all can have the courage to turn back to the Father who embraces us with a love which, transcending even justice, manifests itself as mercy....

Christ, who reveals the abounding mercy of God, demands the same of us, even when confronted with grievous sin. Indeed mercy "constitutes the fundamental content of the messianic message of Christ and the constitutive power of his mission" (ibid., 6) and thus can never be set aside in the name of pragmatism. It is precisely the father’s fidelity to the merciful love proper to him as a father that sees him restore the filial relationship of his son who "was lost and is found" (Lk 15:32). As pastors of your flock it is with this merciful love – never a mere sense of favor – that you too must "reach down to every prodigal son, to every human misery, and above all to every form of moral misery, to sin" (Dives in Misericordia, 6). In this way you will draw good from evil, restore life from death, revealing anew the authentic face of the Father’s mercy so necessary in our times.

Dear Brothers, I particularly wish to encourage you in your promotion of the Sacrament of Penance. As a divinely instituted means by which the Church offers the pastoral activity of reconciliation, it is "the only ordinary way for the faithful to reconcile themselves with God and the Church" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1484). Though it cannot be denied that the profound power of this Sacrament is often considered today with indifference it is also the case that young people in particular readily give testimony to the graces and transforming benefits it bestows. Strengthened by this encouraging message I again appeal directly to you and to your priests: arm yourselves with more confidence, creativity and perseverance in presenting it and leading people to appreciate it (cf. Novo Millennio Ineunte, 37). Time spent in the confessional is time spent in service of the spiritual patrimony of the Church and the salvation of souls (cf. Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, 29)

As Bishops, it is of special importance for you to have frequent recourse to the Sacrament of Reconciliation in order to obtain the gift of that mercy of which you yourselves have been made ministers (cf. Pastores Gregis, 13 ). Since you are called to show forth the face of the Good Shepherd, and therefore to have the heart of Christ himself, you more than others must make your own the Psalmist’s ardent cry: "A pure heart create for me, O God, put a steadfast spirit within me" (Ps 51:12). Sanctified by the graces received in your regular reception of the sacrament, I am confident that you will encourage your brother priests and indeed all the faithful to discover anew the full beauty of this sacrament.

Labels: mercy