“…do this, and you will live.”

15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

at St. James’, Spanish Place, London

10:30 am - 10 July 2016

Deuteronomy 30: 10-14

Colossians 1: 15-20

Luke 10: 25-37

Permit me to focus on one exchange from today’s Gospel, from the Parable of the Good Samaritan:

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” (Luke 10: 25-28)

“…do this, and you will live.” There is something to be said for the idea that not much in our world really changes. The conversation just cited, from almost 2000 years ago, could easily have taken place in our day and time. There is a difference in so far as our media tend to drown out the people who ask that ultimate question: “Teacher… what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Even so, the lawyer or scholar of the law who posed the question to Jesus is not unlike those today who ask. Whether they ask the question as he did or not, whether they ask out of a certain skepticism or not, we are still left with the impression that for many in society the Christian life is far from something self-evident, that it must be something obscure or esoteric, something less than straightforward. Make no mistake about it; that impression is wrong: that is not what the faith is about. As profound as our faith is, there is nothing remote or puzzlingly mysterious about it. Although spiritual elders make up part of our tradition, gurus just do not. No, as the first reading says, what the faith requires of us if we would come to God is not a dream quest; rather, it is very near, already in your mouth and in your heart.

Maybe what has changed in 2000 years of history is the general notion of what we mean by common sense, of what we mean by close at hand. One hears all too much from people who promote the notion of tolerance (which is not the same as genuine love of neighbor); they sing the praises of tolerance as if it were a virtue. They are mistaken even if they are many and tend to intimidate those who know better. They would have us bound by the command to political correctness in speech, because of an affirmation of pluralism seen somehow as a value (as if love in the Christian sense did not bind me rather to speak a word of correction when necessary). We know the danger of succumbing to such popular opinions: Pope Benedict was among those who in this context spoke about the tyranny of relativism.

Relativism should be labeled indifferentism, what some of my favorite authors lament as a symptom of a loss of culture or of a need to recover our sure points of reference, our cultural roots. The goal or hope would be that what should be always and everywhere understandable would once again belong to us all. Already back in 1939 people like T.S. Elliot were talking about the need for a shared Christian patrimony, something less than a shared faith, but still a basis which would allow us to talk to each other and enjoy a measure of mutual understanding. However, as important as such is for society, it is not really an appropriate Sunday message. No, in matters of faith, the individual must take precedence; the question of obedience to the law and of what are the great commandments goes to the heart of who I am as a person before God. We will leave the crisis of culture thing to the intellectuals and the classroom.

Real hope of victory exists if we but hold steadfastly to the “Exhortation to Choose Life” which we just heard from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy:

“…when you obey the LORD your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law, because you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away.” (Deut. 30: 10-11).

So speaks the Old Testament. If we were to obey God’s law that would be a mighty step forward, but Christ asks something more of us the baptized. In the New Testament He has placed the accent on the twofold command to love God and neighbor and to do so united to Him in His teaching and witness. We need to understand and confess just who Jesus is for each of us individually and for the sake of the life of the world. We need to hold fast to the God Whom we can see, to the only Son of our Heavenly Father. If we are true to Christ and to Him in His Kingly Supremacy, we need not face alone the burden of the law or the daunting challenge of restoring culture and a common language to society. It is a matter of truth and right order; we are in Christ and therefore not estranged from the world as created and willed by God; in God’s world, rather we are at home. Because of Jesus, we can affirm that the foreign lies elsewhere and not in us:“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;” (Col. 1:15) Jesus is simply there and He is ours. Seeing and loving Jesus for Who He is, confessing Him as Lord, is the path to life eternal, the foundation and motor for the call to obey the two great commandments of love of God and love of neighbor. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

It could very well be true what people say about atheism being more militant or aggressive today; I have no doubt that we need to invest more as believers in the study and exercise of apologetics; we need to know our faith better and share it more naturally, especially within the circle of our family and friends. We need better to be able to speak out about the reason for our hope in Christ. Even so, Jesus’ answer to the lawyer, pointing out the obvious to him, is also directive for us.

That is the point, really, of the parable of the Good Samaritan: it is in fact one of the constant pillars of the preaching and teaching of Pope Francis. We are called to draw close to our neighbor and not to pass him by. “…do this, and you will live.”  The notion of tolerance misses the point of what our loving Lord wills for us in this life and beyond. We need to start by spurning the empty darkness, which those without Jesus would propagate in a world rather created by God for eternity in light, life and love. Simple basics, simple catechism, if you have neglected them, go back to them! Turn away from the mantras of those who do not know God living and true. “Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away.”

Go and Be Reconciled (Father's Day Edition)

5^th Sunday after Pentecost

St. Mary’s in Salem

19 June 2016

1 Peter 3: 8-15

Matthew 5: 20-24

I am really going to have to be more careful about choosing the time period when I come home for vacation each year and perhaps vary it a bit more. Thanks to the kind invitation of your pastor, I find myself here in Salem two years in a row on Father’s Day. My worry is that Father Martin might start talking about an unbroken tradition since time immemorial and expect to see me every year on this date! Either that or all the dads in Salem will come to expect me on this date. Not a bad thing, but I am just saying.

At any rate, best wishes to all the dads here present, as today we thank God for our earthly fathers, both the living and the deceased. We pray fervently for those who have preceded us in death and for those still on this earth we pray they might always better reflect the love of God our Heavenly Father and help to draw us their children into the mystery of the Eternal One, Living and True, from Whom all that is draws life and being. Happy Father’s Day!

To my way of thinking, on this the 5^th Sunday after Pentecost, St. Matthew’s Gospel presents us one the toughest daily challenges which is ours as Catholics and that is: living reconciled with those who are given to us in this life. It is a great challenge because it does not depend upon one side alone; it is very much a two-way street as these two lines from the Gospel show:

“So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.”

“…and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.”

People who live in the real world often know better than some of us clergy and understand quite clearly the import of what the Lord Jesus is demanding of us with these words “…leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister…” You and I might just deceive ourselves into thinking that what Christ commands we can accomplish by personal resolve, by the force of our own will: “…gee I’m sorry, no, honestly I am!” First be reconciled to your brother or sister: how often have we encountered among family, extended relation, friends and neighbors, situations which just don’t resolve themselves with an “I am sorry” no matter how sincere? Reconciliation has two sides to it and if the other party is unwilling, it is almost as if the gift or sacrifice is destined to remain permanently sitting there on the altar waiting to be offered until the difference between us finally be resolved.

In terms of the importance of reconciliation, which is intimately bound to the two great commands of love of God and neighbor, another very familiar passage comes to mind: sacrifices and oblations you want not, holocausts and sin offerings you sought not, but rather a heart ready to do your will, O God. And what is God’s will? That we would put on His mind, that our hearts would be one with the heart, with the love of Christ. What about that estranged brother or sister, that workmate or neighbor? I can freely say I am sorry and in a big hearted way I can even forgive. Right? Great! But Christ’s point in today’s Gospel is how does the other party feel towards us. Do they still hold something against us and keep their distance? As prudent as it is to avoid conflict by keeping our distance, it does not seem to me that the Lord is going to let us off the hook with a simple, “Well, I’ve done my part”. For admission to the altar of sacrifice, for participation in the oblation which the priest offers on our behalf something more is required. I am not the judge of when satisfaction has been made for past transgression. I don’t determine myself when I have done enough to be admitted to Divine worship.

“So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.”

The Lord Jesus is being eminently fair in so far as He promises eternal damnation to those who refuse to forgive, who express disdain for the other, even if our differences don’t go beyond calling that brother or sister a fool. Nonetheless, having wronged the brother or sister, or at least in some way being responsible for that resentment, I cannot force the other to forgive and be reconciled. God is demanding something heroic of us; the sacrifice, the oblation required of us must touch our very being.

I cannot help but think of the meditation by Thomas a` Kempis on the unjust condemnation of the Son of God before Pilate:

“LORD JESUS CHRIST, everlasting Joy of the saints, I bless and thank you for enduring that angry crowd’s loud and arrogant cry against you, as the people furiously shouted: Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him! How intense was the rage of that miserable crowd! How inhuman the cruelty of those chief priests and Pharisees! No fear whatsoever could deter them from killing you, and no reason could restrain them from shedding your innocent blood. Though the heathen judge was disposed to show some compassion on your behalf, nevertheless, the hearts of the people were so hardened that they demanded further brutality.” [Tylenda,  Joseph N. On The Passion Of Christ According To The Four Evangelists (p. 48). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.]

One of the great scandals held against us as practicing Catholics would be our failure to accept undeserved suffering and take earnestly Christ’s command that we seek reconciliation with our brother or sister before approaching the altar of God to offer our gift. Too little attention is paid to the condemnation which falls on the other who judges and holds us at arm’s length. That the forgiveness, that the desire to make up and place divisions aside involves both parties is clear. Sadly, those who rightly or wrongly see themselves as having been offended hold back out of a false sense of what is their due in justice. Angry with a brother, insulting a sister, classing somebody a fool: they all deserve hellfire says the Gospel. The thing cannot be whitewashed, without in imitation of Christ the humble sacrifice of my own very life the gift might as well remain on the altar.

My worthy and fruitful participation in the Holy Sacrifice of this Altar depends upon my heart. My expression of love for the invisible Godhead can only be corroborated by the love of the brother or sister whom I can see. The brother or sister who holds a grudge against you may be in the wrong, but even to the point of enduring gross injustice, we move first in Christ to mend the broken and wounded, to establish through whatever personal sacrifice it may cost that oneness of mind and heart which is the will of our Heavenly Lord for our worthy participation in that sacrifice which alone gives glory to God. ...sacrifices and oblations you want not, holocausts and sin offerings you sought not, but rather a heart ready to do your will, O God.

PROPERANTES ADVENTUM DIEI DEI

Pfingstmontagpredigt - 2016 - Maria Vesperbild

Pfingstmontag

16. Mai 2016

Maria Vesperbild

„Da kam plötzlich vom Himmel her ein Brausen, wie wenn ein heftiger Sturm daher fährt, und erfüllte das ganze Haus, in dem sie waren. Und es erschienen ihnen Zungen wie von Feuer, die sich verteilten; auf jeden von ihnen ließ sich eine nieder. Alle wurden mit dem Heiligen Geist erfüllt und begannen, in fremden Sprachen zu reden, wie es der Geist ihnen eingab.“

Pfingsten und Klausur: die Dynamik des Abendmahlssaales

Betrachten wir eine Weile die ersten Jünger im Abendmahlssaal in Jerusalem, wo sie sich im Auftrag des auferstandenen Christus zum Gebet versammelt hatten. Dieses war die Voraussetzung, um den Heiligen Geistes zu empfangen. Ihr Abendmahlssaal unterscheidet sich nicht von dem Euren, Eure Mission unterscheidet sich nicht sehr von der Mission der Apostel, der Welt den auferstandenen und siegreichen Christus zu bringen, ausgehend vom Abendmahlssaal in Jerusalem, vom Raum, in dem der Herr vor seinem Tod am Kreuz, die Eucharistie und das Amtspriestertum eingesetzt hat. Was für die Apostel galt, gilt auch für Euch, liebe Schwestern: die erste Verkündigung des Evangeliums bereiten die Jünger durch intensive Tage des Gebetes vor, versammelt um die Muttergottes. Die Jünger machen sich die nachösterliche Verkündigung durch den auferstandenen Herrn während der vierzig Tage vor seiner Himmelfahrt, zu eigen und vertiefen diese in der Gebetsnovene vor Pfingsten.

Wenn wir den Worten Christi folgen, dürfen wir darauf vertrauen, dass unser Bemühen, Jesus durch unser Gebetsleben zu suchen, sei es einzeln oder in Gemeinschaft hier im Abendmahlssaal, uns auf das vorbereitet, was fehlt, das heißt: auf „dieses Brausen“, diesen göttlichen Ausbruch der Gnade des Heiligen Geistes. Dieser macht unser Leben im Dienst des Evangeliums vollkommen und fruchtbar zum Wohl jener, die noch nichts von der Frohen Botschaft vernommen haben.

Von der tiefsten Vertrautheit des Gebetes, verbunden mit jenem der jungfräulichen Mutter, bricht der Heilige Geist laut und deutlich in die Szene dieser Welt ein: jeder hörte sie in seiner Sprache reden. So sieht das Werk Gottes in uns aus, das gewirkt wird durch den Heiligen Geist, der nach dem Sieg Christi einbricht in die Geschichte durch den Willen des Vaters. Euer Leben des Gebetes, der Busse und der Betrachtung ist der Eckstein; Euer fiat, Eures gemeinsames Tun in voller Freiheit, wie jene der Jungfrau in Nazaret, lässt Pfingsten aufbrechen in unserer heutigen Gesellschaft.

In der Dynamik des Abendmahlssaales versteht man die Berufung der heiligen Theresia von Lisieux zur Patronin der Missionen besser. Euer Leben ist die Voraussetzung, ist Ausgangspunkt, ist jenes Wesentliche für die Kirche, die aus Christus lebt, das heisst: die Lebens- und Gebetsgemeinschaft mit der Muttergottes im Abendmahlssaal, die Ihr in der Klausur lebt, macht alles andere in der Kirche erst möglich. Hier in Maria Vesperbild ist es Eure Berufung und Eure besondere Aufgabe für die Kirche, durch das Gebet und die Busse jenen Faden zu finden, der uns in den Abendmahlssaal zurückführt. Da ist es, wo wir gemeinsam mit der Jungfrau Maria unsere Herzen, Augen und Ohren bereiten können, um durch Christus Gottvater zu bitten, die Gabe des Heiligen Geistes zu senden, den Ausbruch jenes Brausen, das die gute Nachricht in die ganze Welt hinausgetragen hat.

Wallfahrtpredigt - Pfingsten - 2016

Pontifikalamt Pfingstsonntag Abend

15. Mai 2016

Maria Vesperbild

Apg 2, 1-11

Joh 20, 19-23

Friede sei mit euch! Wie mich der Vater gesandt hat, so sende ich euch.

Als sich das Getöse erhob, strömte die Menge zusammen und war ganz bestürzt; denn jeder hörte sie in seiner Sprache reden.

Pfingsten! Evangelisation und Mission

In gewissem Sinn versuchen wir auch heute noch, im 21. Jahrhundert, die ersten Jünger im Abendmahlssaal in Jerusalem nachzuahmen. Dort, wo wir heute leben, machen wir die Erfahrung der Anhänger Jesu. Diese hatten sich im Auftrag des auferstandenen Christus zum Gebet versammelt. Dieses war die Voraussetzung, um den Heiligen Geistes zu empfangen. So erfahren auch wir heute die Fülle jenes strahlenden Tages vor fast zweitausend Jahren. Es handelt sich dabei nicht um einen Automatismus, oder um ein unfehlbares Rezept für ein neues Pfingsten und damit für einen Erfolg im Leben als Christen. Vielmehr handelt es sich um einen Akt des Gehorsams gegenüber dem Herrn, der uns fähig macht, das Geschenk von Gott, dem Heiligem Geist zu empfangen, das uns das Tor zum Himmel öffnet.

Pfingsten, als Endpunkt der Heilsgeschichte und als Moment der Fülle im Leben der Kirche, ist immer aktuell in unserem Leben. In Pfingsten sind die Verheissungen des Alten Testamentes erfüllt. Wenn wir den Worten Christi folgen, können wir mit dem Vertrauen leben, dass unser Bemühen in unserem Gebetsleben Christus zu suchen – sei es einzeln oder in einer Gemeinschaft –, dass dieses Bemühen uns auf das vorbereitet, was fehlt, also auf „dieses Brausen“, diesen göttlichen Ausbruch der Gnade des Heiligen Geistes. Dieser macht unser Leben im Dienst des Evangeliums vollkommen und fruchtbar zum Wohl jener, die noch nichts von der Frohen Botschaft vernommen haben.

Oft spricht man vom heutigen Fest als dem Geburtstag der Kirche: Ja, heute ist wirklich die Kirche geboren; die neue Schöpfung durch die Sendung des Heiligen Geistes ist heute auf der Bühne der Geschichte erschienen. Heute ist die Taufgnade durch den Tod und die Auferstehung Christi in uns bestätigt worden durch den Heiligen Geist, der das Leben gibt. In diesem Sinn gibt es das Sakrament der Firmung nicht nur, um unseren Glauben zu stärken, uns zu ermutigen tugendhaft zu leben, indem wir den Geboten folgen, sondern auch, um etwas zu entfesseln! Es handelt sich um die Stärkung jedes einzelnen Christen, die uns rettet, jedoch nicht für uns alleine. Die unauslöschliche Gnade der Firmung ist uns gespendet, um durch uns diese Gnade des Heiligen Geistes bis an die Enden der Erde zu verbreiten!

Pfingsten! Evangelisierung und Mission!

Im Kompendium des Katechismus der Katholischen Kirche kann man lesen:

„265: Welchen Platz hat die Firmung im göttlichen Heilsplan?

... Das ganze Leben und die Sendung Jesu verlaufen in völliger Gemeinschaft mit dem Heiligen Geist. An Pfingsten empfangen die Apostel den Heiligen Geist und verkünden ‚Gottes grosse Taten’ (Apg 2,11). Durch Handauflegung vermitteln sie den Neugetauften die Gabe ebendieses Geistes. Die Kirche hat die Jahrhunderte hindurch weiter vom Geist gelebt und in ihren Kindern mitgeteilt“.

268. Welche Wirkung hat die Firmung?

Die Wirkung der Firmung ist die besondere Ausgiessung des Heiligen Geistes, wie einst an Pfingsten. Diese Ausgiessung prägt der Seele ein unauslöschliches Siegel ein und führt zum Wachstum der Taufgnade. Sie verwurzelt tiefer in der Gotteskindschaft; sie vereint fester mit Christus und mit seiner Kirche; sie stärkt in der Seele die Gaben des Heiligen Geistes; sie schenkt eine besondere Kraft, um für den christlichen Glauben Zeugnis abzulegen.“

Es gibt im liturgischen Kalender kein anderes Fest oder eine andere Feierlichkeit, die so den missionarischen Auftrag der Kirche in den Mittelpunkt stellt, wie Pfingsten. Der Beginn der Mission der Apostel, durch die der auferstandene und siegreiche Jesus in die Welt getragen wird, befindet sich im Abendmahlssaal in Jerusalem, in jenem Ort also, in dem der Herr vor seinem Tod am Kreuz die Eucharistie und das Amtspriestertum eingesetzt hat. Die erste Verkündigung des Evangeliums wird dort vorbereitet und zwar durch intensive Tage des Gebetes der Jünger, gemeinsam mit der Muttergottes. Die nachösterliche Verkündigung durch den auferstandenen Herrn während der vierzig Tage vor seiner Himmelfahrt, findet ihre Vertiefung in der vorpfingstlichen Novene. Der versprochene Heilige Geist führt den Rest in den Herzen der Jünger zu Ende und macht die Predigt des Petrus fruchtbar: „Als sich das Getöse erhob, strömte die Menge zusammen und war ganz bestürzt; denn jeder hörte sie in seiner Sprache reden“.

Unser Glaube, unser Botschaft an die Welt, unsere pfingstliche Hoffnung auf die Erlösung in Christus, die Rettung von der Sünde und vom ewigen Tod, ist keine dunkle Doktrin, gewonnen aus nur mangelhaft entschlüsselten Schriften. Von der Intimität des Gebetes, verbunden mit jenem der Jungfrau Maria, tritt der Heilige Geist auf die Bühne dieser Welt mit Brausen und mit Klarheit: Jeder hörte sie in seiner eigenen Sprache reden. Das ist das Werk Gottes, das der Heilige Geist infolge des Sieges Christi nach dem Willen des Vaters in uns gewirkt hat.

Diese Tatsache ist einfach und jeder mit ehrlichem Herzen, der sich vom Geheimnis von Pfingsten berühren lässt, kann es einsehen. So können wir die spontane Reaktion einer vollkommenen Verfügbarkeit der Menschen, die der Predigt des Petrus zuhörten verstehen.

„Als sie das hörten, traf es sie mitten ins Herz, und sie sagten zu Petrus und den übrigen Aposteln: Was sollen wir tun, Brüder? Petrus antwortete ihnen: Kehrt um und jeder von euch lasse sich auf den Namen Jesu Christi taufen zur Vergebung seiner Sünden; dann werdet ihr die Gabe des Heiligen Geistes empfangen. Denn euch und euren Kindern gilt die Verheissung und all denen in der Ferne, die der Herr, unser Gott, herbeirufen wird. Mit noch vielen anderen Worten beschwor und ermahnte er sie: Lasst euch retten aus dieser verdorbenen Generation! Die nun, die sein Wort annahmen, liessen sich taufen. An diesem Tag wurden (ihrer Gemeinschaft) etwa dreitausend Menschen hinzugefügt. Sie hielten an der Lehre der Apostel fest und an der Gemeinschaft, am Brechen des Brotes und an den Gebeten. Alle wurden von Furcht ergriffen; denn durch die Apostel geschahen viele Wunder und Zeichen“ (Apg 2, 37-43).

Tatsächlich braucht es in unserer Welt von heute nicht viel, um Pfingsten ausbrechen zu lassen. In unseren Familien und Gemeinschaften, aber ach, dieses Wenige ist grundlegend: die Verbundenheit im Leben und im Gebet mit der Muttergottes im Abendmahlssaal; die Reue, gegebenenfalls durch das Wasser der Taufe und für jene, die nach der Taufe durch die Sünde gefallen sind, durch die Tränen der Busse, durch das Sakrament der Versöhnung. Der wahre Sinn der Wallfahrt zu einem marianischen Heiligtum, wie hier nach Maria Vesperbild, ist jener, durch das Gebet und die Busse den Faden wiederzufinden, der uns zu jenem Abendmahlssaal zurückführt, der ganz nahe bei uns Zuhause ist. Ich meine damit die Pfarrkirche und die Stube unseres eigenen Hauses, die eucharistische Orte sein müssen und intime Orte, wo wir in Gemeinschaft mit der Jungfrau Maria Herz, Augen und Ohren bereiten können, um jenes Brausen ausbrechen zu lassen, das die Gute Nachricht in die ganze Welt verkündet hat.

Die Modernität, die Leere unserer Gegenwart möge sich durch das marianische Gebet verändern, durch das beharrliche Warten auf dieses Brausen, das die Wiederkehr des Menschensohnes auf den Wolken des Himmels ankündigt.

Confirmation on Vigil of Pentecost

Pentecoste - Cresime

14 maggio 2016 - Missione Italiana, Berna

Atti 2: 1-11

Rm 8: 8-17

Gv. 14: 15-16. 23-26

Venuto quel fragore, la folla si radunò e rimase sbigottita perché ciascuno li sentiva parlare la propria lingua.

E se siamo figli, siamo anche eredi: eredi di Dio, coeredi di Cristo, se veramente partecipiamo alle sue sofferenze per partecipare anche alla sua gloria.

“Se mi amate, osserverete i miei comandamenti. Io pregherò il Padre ed egli vi darà un altro Consolatore perché rimanga con voi per sempre.”

Pentecoste! Il Sacramento della Cresima!

Ho ricevuto la Confermazione con l’età di 10 anni e una mia sorella con 9 anni. Questo è successo in parte perché il vescovo veniva nella nostra parrocchia solo ogni due anni. Siamo stati preparati con impegno in mezzo alle altre lezioni alla scuola parrocchiale. Eravamo fortunati, direi, in paragone con la situazione di oggi dove molti non ricevono più il sacramento. Forse perciò sia meglio essere cresimato giovanissimo? Non saprei dirvi. Una cosa però è certa: 55 anni fa abbiamo sperimentato il sacramento come dono gratuito di Dio a noi attraverso le ministrazioni della Sua Chiesa. Con questo, voglio solo dire come la Chiesa intende la Confermazione, cioè che va percepito tale quale come la Festa di Pentecoste.

Pentecoste è il punto di arrivo della storia di salvezza. La Croce e la Risurrezione di Gesù è la nostra liberazione dal vecchio nemico dell’umanità, dal diavolo, dal peccato e dalla morte per sempre. Come il Signore Risorto insegnava ai suoi, mancava solo l’invio dello Spirito Santo, la pienezza della vita trinitaria, la nostra intimità con Dio che ci ama, Padre, Figlio e Spirito Santo. Pentecoste, come il Sacramento della Confermazione, è un momento di pienezza nella vita di ogni persona battezzata.

Si parla spesso della festa di oggi come il compleanno della Chiesa; oggi sì, la Chiesa è nata; la nuova creazione per l’invio dello Spirito Santo è oggi comparsa sulla scena della storia. Oggi la grazia del battesimo nella morte e risurrezione di Cristo è confermata in noi per lo Spirito Santo che dà la vita; Cresima/Pentecoste è grazia di Dio, grazia pura, è Dio che fa dono di se stesso a noi e senza qualifica. In questo senso, il Sacramento della Confermazione esiste non solo per rafforzare la nostra fede, per incoraggiarci di vivere nella virtù, nell’osservanza dei comandamenti, ma, per vero, per scatenare qualcosa! Si tratta non solo del rafforzamento nel singolo cristiano della grazia che ci salva. La grazia indelebile della Confermazione è conferita per estendere attraverso di noi questa grazia dello Spirito Santo ai confini della terra!

Nel Compendio del Catechismo della Chiesa Cattolica si legge:

“265. Qual è il posto della Confermazione nel disegno divino della salvezza? (1285-1288; 1315)

… Tutta la vita e la missione di Gesù si svolgono in una totale comunione con lo Spirito Santo. Gli Apostoli ricevono lo Spirito Santo nella Pentecoste e annunziano «le grandi opere di Dio» (At 2,11). Essi comunicano ai neo battezzati, attraverso l'imposizione delle mani, il dono dello stesso Spirito. Lungo i secoli la Chiesa ha continuato a vivere dello Spirito e a comunicarlo ai suoi figli.”

“268. Qual è l'effetto della Confermazione? (1302-1305; 1316-1317)

L'effetto della Confermazione è la speciale effusione dello Spirito Santo, come quella della Pentecoste. Tale effusione imprime nell'anima un carattere indelebile e apporta una crescita della grazia battesimale: radica più profondamente nella filiazione divina; unisce più saldamente a Cristo e alla sua Chiesa; rinvigorisce nell'anima i doni dello Spirito Santo; dona una speciale forza per testimoniare la fede cristiana.”

Pentecoste ed il nostro compito cresimale!

La Cresima apre la porta ai due sacramenti vocazionali: al matrimonio e al sacerdozio. Il sacerdote rende presente Gesù, soprattutto attraverso l’amministrazione dei sacramenti: Eucaristia, Penitenza, Unzione degli Infermi. L’altro sacramento vocazionale, il matrimonio è soprattutto, per la grazia di Dio, testimonianza all’amore di Dio che non muore e non cede, e che accoglie figli nel grande mistero della presenza divina nell’intimità di casa.

Non v’è sul calendario liturgico un’altra festa o solennità così incentrata sul compito evangelizzatore della Chiesa come Pentecoste. L’inizio della missione apostolica di portare Gesù Risorto e Vittorioso al mondo parte dal cenacolo a Gerusalemme, dalla stanza dove il Signore, prima della sua morte in Croce, ha istituito l’Eucaristia ed il Sacerdozio ministeriale. La prima proclamazione del Vangelo si prepara lì con giorni intensi di preghiera dei discepoli attorno alla Madre di Dio. La catechesi post-pasquale condotta dal Signore Risorto nei quaranta giorni prima della sua Ascensione al Cielo trova il suo approfondimento, la sua ricezione nella novena di preghiera pre-pentecostale. Il promesso Spirito Santo fa il resto nei cuori dei discepoli e rende fruttificante la predicazione di S. Pietro: Venuto quel fragore, la folla si radunò e rimase sbigottita perché ciascuno li sentiva parlare la propria lingua.

La nostra fede, il nostro messaggio al mondo, l’esperienza nostra pentecostale di salvezza in Cristo, la salvezza dal peccato e dalla morte eterna, non è una dottrina oscura ricavata da scritti bisognosi di decifrazione. È in primo luogo qualcosa che si vive per necessità a casa, nell’intimità della famiglia che prega. Nel Cenacolo (sia di famiglia, sia di parrocchia) all’intimità di preghiera giunta a quella della Vergine Madre, lo Spirito Santo irrompe sulla scena di questo mondo con fragore e chiarezza: ciascuno li sentiva parlare la propria lingua.  Il piano divino prevede il primo incontro con il suo amore per noi proprio in famiglia. Anche a casa, sì, è l’opera di Dio fatta in noi attraverso lo Spirito Santo che irrompe nella storia in seguito alla vittoria di Cristo, per volontà di Dio Padre.

Ci manca poco, per vero, in questo nostro mondo di oggi per far scoppiare la Pentecoste nelle nostre famiglie e società, ma ohimè, quel poco è l’essenziale, cioè: la comunione di vita e preghiera con la Madre di Dio; il pentimento, secondo il caso con le acque del Battesimo e per chi dopo il Battesimo è ricaduto nel peccato con le lacrime della penitenza, con il Sacramento della Riconciliazione. Il vero senso è proprio quello di ritrovare quel filo attraverso la preghiera e la penitenza che ci riconduce alla nostra chiesa parrocchiale e alla propria camera a casa nostra, che devono essere luoghi intimi dove in compagnia con Maria Vergine possiamo preparare cuore, occhi ed orecchi, per l’irrompere di quel fragore che ha lanciato la buona novella in tutto il mondo.

La mondanità, la vacuità del nostro quotidiano si trasformi attraverso la preghiera mariana, attraverso la perseveranza in attesa di quel fragore che preannuncia l’arrivo del Figlio dell’Uomo sulle nubi del cielo. Prego soprattutto per voi, cresimandi, ma per noi tutti confermati nella grazia di Dio, che possiamo giocare anche la nostra parte nello scatenamento dello Spirito per la salvezza del mondo.

PROPERANTES ADVENTUM DIEI DEI

Homily for Wednesday of 2nd Week of Easter (fr.)

Mercredi de la deuxième semaine de Pâques

Uni-Fribourg, Messe à Midi

6 avril 2016

Act 5, 17-26

Le pauvre crie et le Seigneur entend

Jean 3, 16-21

« Et le jugement, le voici : quand la lumière est venue dans le monde, les hommes ont préféré les ténèbres à la lumière, parce que leurs œuvres étaient mauvaises. En effet, tout homme qui fait le mal déteste la lumière : il ne vient pas à la lumière, de peur que ses œuvres ne lui soient reprochées ; mais celui qui agit selon la vérité vient à la lumière, afin que ses œuvres soient reconnues comme des œuvres de Dieu.»

Il peut sembler étrange que l’évangile de la liturgie de Pâques parle justement du jugement et dans la lecture des Actes sont rapportés de forte différence dans la communauté juive concernant la personne de Jésus, notre Sauveur. Il faut dire que, à ce point dans l'histoire de la Bonne Nouvelle du Christ ressuscité et victorieux sur le péché et la mort, les apôtres ne se distinguent pas de la communauté juive ; ils font partie de cette communauté. Pour une brève méditation de la Parole de Dieu aujourd'hui et dans la semaine, je veux juste insister sur un point : c’est le jugement de Dieu sur ce monde qui est toujours actuel, même à Pâques. Il est actuel dans ma propre vie et dans les conflits qui surgissent entre moi-même et les autres, même dans ma famille, parce que le Fils unique est envoyé par le Père dans ce monde.

Récemment, un prêtre m'a dit qu'il y a quelques années, il y avait ici en Suisse des vallées à 98% catholique, où plus de 60% de la population allait à la messe tous les dimanches. Pour expliquer la baisse du nombre de pratiquants en dessous de 8% on pourrait dire que ce chiffre était élevé avant l'arrivée du tourisme et le bien-être dans ces vallées. On pourrait dire aussi qu'il y avait une société homogène où une certaine pression sociale (dans le bon sens) a encouragé la pratique de la foi catholique. Aujourd'hui une telle homogénéité ne se produit plus, même dans les petits villages, et la conséquence est cette réduction de pratique.

Cependant, il est peut être utile de se concentrer davantage sur le principe établi dans les Saintes Ecritures : « Et le jugement, le voici : quand la lumière est venue dans le monde, les hommes ont préféré les ténèbres à la lumière, parce que leurs œuvres étaient mauvaises ». L’important n’est pas aujourd'hui, ou hier, ou il y a deux mille ans. L’entourage social n’est pas le critère décisif, mais il peut faciliter ou empêcher le choix qui est en premier lieu personnelle et individuelle. C’est le choix entre la lumière, qui est le Christ, et l'obscurité qui entoure ce monde. Le jugement particulier à sa place dans chaque génération et pour chaque personne. Telle est la grande souffrance des parents qui font tout dans la vie pour donner la foi à leurs enfants et plus tard ils doivent voir les enfants rejeter ce don précieux.

Un des défis de notre société, en particulier en Europe, est centré sur le refus de reconnaître le jugement divin sur notre choix. Si le choix est de ne pas suivre la lumière du Christ, alors il serait de se conformer à ce monde. Devant nous il y a un choix, lequel malheureusement va trop souvent en faveur de l'obscurité et de la mort, peut-être parce qu'on ne veut pas se mettre en conflit avec le monde qui nous entoure, un monde sécularisé qui nie le rôle propre du Christ, le juge. Il est à nous de choisir le Christ Lumière du monde, de nous détacher de la foule, et de ne pas mourir sans Dieu et pour toujours.

Pour chacun d'entre nous qui veut vivre et pour toujours avec le Christ, le défi est de choisir le chemin étroit qui mène à la vie.

The Struggle Against Protagonism

The First Reading (1 Chronicles 17:1-15) from today's office of the Solemnity of the Annunciation, where at Holy Mass we have the other time in the OF, besides Christmas, when in the Credo we genuflect at the "et Verbum Caro factum est", reassured me greatly in terms of Christ's will to carry me and His Church.

"Once David had settled into his house, he said to the prophet Nathan, ‘Here am I living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the Lord’s covenant is still beneath the awning of a tent.’ Nathan said to David, ‘Do all that is in your mind, for God is with you.’

"But that very night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, ‘Go and tell my servant David, “The Lord says this: You are not the man to build me a house to dwell in. I have never stayed in a house from the day I brought Israel out until today, but went from tent to tent, from one shelter to another. In all my journeying with the whole of Israel, did I say to any one of the judges of Israel, whom I had appointed as shepherds of my people: Why have you not built me a house of cedar? This is what you must say to my servant David: the Lord of Hosts says this: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader of my people Israel. I have been with you on all your expeditions; I have cut off all your enemies before you. I will give you fame as great as the fame of the greatest on earth. I will provide a place for my people Israel; I will plant them there and they shall live in that place and never be disturbed again; nor shall the wicked continue to destroy them, as they did in the days when I appointed judges over my people Israel; I will subdue all their enemies. I will make you great; the Lord will make you a House. And when your days are ended and you must go to your ancestors, I will preserve your offspring after you, a son of your own, and make his sovereignty secure. It is he who shall build a house for me and I will make his throne firm for ever. I will be a father to him and he a son to me. I will not withdraw my favour from him, as I withdrew it from your predecessor. I will preserve him for ever in my house and in my kingdom; and his throne shall be established for ever.”’

Old Testament or New, Christ is King and establishes His Throne forever in our midst. Our challenge is to cooperate with His grace and do His bidding, just as Mary, the humble maid, the chosen one, did and conceived by the Holy Spirit.

By chance I ran across and read a book about the so-called "catacomb pact" of 1965 involving people committed to the so-called "Church of the poor". Here's a brief description of its negligible status today and with reference to the support it still enjoys seemingly from the Bologna School:

"Der Pakt fällt in Europa dem Vergessen anheim. Wenn wir den Erzählfaden über den Katakombenpakt wieder aufnehmen, leitet uns das Interesse, den Katakombenpakt als „geheimes Vermächtnis des Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzils“ wieder ans Licht zu heben und zu erinnern. „Heute, über fünfunddreißig Jahre nach diesem Ereignis, wurde noch nicht einmal der Versuch gewagt, eine Bilanz über den konkreten Einfluss dieser ‚Selbstverpflichtungen‘ zu ziehen“, stellt der bedeutende Konzilshistoriker Giuseppe Alberigo im Jahr 2000 fest."  (Arntz, Norbert (2015-11-05). Der Katakombenpakt: Für eine dienende und arme Kirche (Topos Taschenbücher) (German Edition) (Kindle Locations 80-84). Topos. Kindle Edition.)

I happened upon this book in German (no idea if there are other language editions), which tells the story of the so-called "catacomb pact" which was signed by nearly sixty Council Fathers in 1965 just before the close of the Second Vatican Council. It was one of the results or fruits of the "Church of the Poor" movement during the Council and bound its signatories, among other things, to live poor in solidarity with the poor upon their return to their dioceses. I picked up and read the book simply because I had never heard of this pact.

I don't recommend the book, because to a great extent its reading of the developments in the Church and in society in the latter part of the 20th Century is at best partial and often skewed. Moreover, it represents just one more example from another quadrant on the political spectrum of a profound misreading not only of the Second Vatican Council but more importantly of what is needed for reform in the Church. 

Much of the argument in favor of constructing the Church of the poor draws its authority from the Gospel scene of the Last Judgment, of separating sheep from goats, exalting sheep and damning the goats to hell on the basis of how each treated his neighbor and hence Christ. What has always struck me about the Last Judgment passage from the Gospel is how oblivious the "goats" are to the Lord's presence in their midst. In the parable of poor Lazarus at the rich man's door a similar obliviousness to the neighbor in need is at work. Obviously the "catacomb pact" has much about it of the mendicant movement (St. Francis and St. Dominic) and of identification with Christ in His disguise of poverty. Nevertheless, as we are taught about the nature of fasting and penance, to please God it is not enough to go around bent over and subdued, with a dirty face. A fundamental change of heart is required. Just choosing to "live poor" is not enough; it may be no more than a charade. Job's friends sat in the ashes with him but still failed to recognize him as righteous before God.

Arntz makes big of Karl Rahner's ecstatic acclamation of the birth of a "world Church" in replacement of something which was Europe-centered as the great departure or acquisition of Vatican II. The author goes on to chronicle something in terms of protagonism on the world stage, which hardly seems gain. As pretentious as tiaras and ostrich plumes may be, leaving them behind in favor of a continuance of willfulness which still fails to give the Gospel and the Kingship of the Lord Christ center stage hardly seems gain, growth or sanctification. 

In his blog MondayVatican, my friend Andrea Gagliarducci styles this week as a sort of moment of truth, with another session of the Vatileaks 2 trial on the docket and the presentation of the post-synodal apostolic exhortation scheduled for 8 April. He makes a somewhat oblique reference to attempts by dark forces to undermine the moral authority on the world stage of the papacy and the Holy See. Here too, I have my doubts as to whether we haven't drifted too far afield from the great mystery of what God accomplished through the consent of His lowly handmaid, in the mystery of the Incarnation, starting today with the conception of the God Man in the spotless womb of the Virgin Mary.

If we took a "wrong turn" as Church at some point in the last half century, it certainly was not for failing to sustain the momentum of the "catacomb pact", nor was it for other ways or for lack of skill and commitment to the fullness of Gospel truth. As important as all four marks of the Church are: one, holy, catholic and apostolic, oneness and universality are not simply played out by maximizing papal protagonism, by centering everything on the person of the Holy Father as the ultimate and best Catholic point of reference.

I can remember from his election in 1978 rejoicing with many Catholics at the success of Pope St. John Paul II at breaking through the glass ceiling which had amounted to an almost total media censorship of Bl. Pope Paul VI, at the very latest dating from the publication of Humanae vitae in 1968. With the Pontificate and travels of John Paul II we experienced a pope on the front lines, a real protagonist of Catholic life and thought. He was at the center of attention and this despite his own teaching or admission that the "real pope" was the priest in his parish.

Under Pope Benedict XVI we witnessed a cautious pullback from this seemingly necessary and predominant presence of the Successor of Peter as a sort of universal pastor, shepherding by word and deed, most particularly by capitalizing on his image transmitted by the whole spectrum of means of social communication. Like King David, very naturally and with a spontaneous approval by the prophet Nathan, later corrected by God Himself, papal protagonism in the service of the Gospel seems like David's plan to build God a house.

If there is or was something to do or to be done in the service of the Gospel, I think it must be done more by taking the Blessed Mother as our inspiration. Regardless of whether his image of Our Lady might be slightly idiosyncratic, if not heterodox, I take that of Bernanos to point in the direction of true simplicity and poverty at the service of the Divine Word:

"Our Lady knew neither triumph nor miracle. Her Son preserved her from the least tip-touch of the savage wing of human glory. No one has ever lived, suffered, died in such simplicity, in such deep ignorance of her own dignity, a dignity crowning her above angels. For she was born without sin-in what amazing isolation! A pool so clear, so pure, that even her own image-created only for the sacred joy of the Father-was not to be reflected. The Virgin was Innocence. Think what we must seem to her, we humans. Of course she hates sin, but after all she has never known it, that experience which the holiest saints have never lacked, St. Francis of Assisi himself, seraphic though he may be. The eyes of Our Lady are the only real child-eyes that have ever been raised to our shame and sorrow. Yes, lad, to pray to her as you should, you must feel those eyes of hers upon you: they are not indulgent-for there is no indulgence without something of bitter experience-they are eyes of gentle pity, wondering sadness, and with something more in them, never yet known or expressed, something which makes her younger than sin, younger than the race from which she sprang, and though a mother, by grace, Mother of all grace, our little youngest sister.'" (Georges Bernanos. The Diary of a Country Priest: A Novel (Kindle Locations 2282-2290). Kindle Edition.) 

As admirable as it might be to zealously roll up our sleeves and plunge into the work of promoting the Divine Will and Teaching, we do it rightly through a humble obedience like Mary's to that same will. "Catacomb pacts" and more smack of David's righteous will to build a house that God does not want or ask of him.

We seem to make big of our mediatic presence in a virtual public square. Prophetic gestures are indeed claiming center stage but they are for the most part human willed and created. One must wonder concerning what any of it has to do with my day to day; gestures seem to detract from possibilities for recognizing God living and true in our midst, as if I were doing the Lord some sort of favor. 

The Annunciation at Nazareth and the Birth at Bethlehem certainly cannot be disassociated from material poverty, but that poverty was not the sine qua non for what was first and foremost God's action, His entering into our world as one like us in all things but sin (tremble and bend the knee!). He built the house and chose His Dwelling in Mary for the sake of establishing within the hearts of a people He chose for His own a rapport of thankfulness and worship. Gift is primary and all else is trimming.  

There's a certain puzzlement at least in children and maybe in grownups too about the significance of carrying away from the Easter fire in the Vigil Service only a flickering candle. No matter how large and well decorated the candle, its flame is just too plain, small and uncertain a light. You couldn't read by it even if you tried. The emptying out, the kenosis we need in our lives is on God's terms and not ours, no matter how reasonable or heroic a project to His honor might be. The challenge is in recognizing Him and proclaiming Him as Lord.

PROPERANTES ADVENTUM DIEI DEI